Prof. Sky Alton

Prof. Alton greets you outside the Great Hall and she is practically vibrating with excitement. “Have you heard? Someone has loaned Hogwarts a chest belonging to Merlin. Yes, THE Merlin, the most legendary wizard of all time, friend of King Arthur, prince of enchanters… well, you know all that. It’s a beautiful looking thing. It has his Sigel on it in silver and everything! I mean… nobody has ever been able to open it, which is a bit disappointing but never mind! Come and have a look.” She ushers you into the Great Hall. The chest has been set on a pedestal in the centre of the room. It’s made of a glossy dark wood and has a silver lock on it, in the shape of a rune. You take a step nearer to get a closer look…. *Flash.* You leap back. There’s a resounding boom and a strange, electric sensation that makes all your hair stand on end. When you’re able to see again, you’re shocked to realise that Merlin’s box has flown open and there’s a shining silver light pouring out of it. You’re even more flabbergasted to see a group of people standing around the chest. They seem pretty flabbergasted too. You blink. All of them seem to be wearing some kind of armour. One of them, a very regal looking gentleman indeed, half draws his sword and turns to you and the professor, looking like he’s not sure whether he should greet you or challenge you to a duel. The others look at him, like they’re waiting to be told what to do. There’s a sharp snap and the sound of a lock sliding into place. The box has closed its lid again. ***** Oh dear. It looks like there’s been a mysterious mishap with Merlin’s box. How else could the legendary King Arthur and six of his knights have ended up in our Modern Day Great Hall? We’re going to need everyone’s help if we’re going to get them calmed down and somehow work out how to get them back to their home of Camelot. Instructions Welcome to Gryfftoberfest! This year, we’re playing host to some unexpected guests from Camelot, the court of King Arthur. Your job is to gain the favour of the king and his knights, so that we can make sure they don’t get up to mischief around the castle while we try to work out how to send them home. You’ll do this by completing tasks. There are 14 main tasks, 7 creative and 7 puzzles. We'll be posting new tasks every weekend and everything will be due on the 31st of October at 11:59 PM HOL-time. For every 2 tasks you complete, you’ll gain the favour of 1 of the 7 knights. You’ll earn 25 rubies for each task you complete and a bonus of 30 if you manage to gain the trust of all 7. I’ll keep you updated about what’s happening with the knights every week by posting in this thread. Our very own Sir Cadogan is very over excited that his old friends from Camelot are here (he was a knight of the round table, you know) and has decided to hold some games to celebrate. You'll find those in the Sir Cadogan's Challenges subforum and they'll include a trivia challenge, as well as forum games. You can earn 50 additional rubies by taking part in those. So, that’s 430 rubies up for grabs in total. And that’s not all. If you manage to complete at least 10 of the main tasks, you’ll earn the shiny Gryfftoberfest award! If you have difficulty completing any of the tasks for accessibility reasons, please let a staff member know and we’ll find an alternative that suits you better. Remember that the deadline for everything is 11:59 PM HOL-time on the 31st of October. Now, are you ready to embark on your quest?

If you have any questions about the activity, post them here and a Gryff staff member will get back to you ASAP.

Happy, happy birthday to the ever-so-lovely Luna Lemongrass! I hope it's been full of sunshine.

Welcome to another year at HOL! September is always a busy time around the castle and that means there are plenty of point earning opportunities to tell you about. Remember that every point you earn helps Gryffindor in the cup standings, so even if you can only do a little, it still makes a big difference! First things first though, have you signed up for classes? Aside from being magical, fascinating and fun, classes are the best way to earn house points. Remember to make a note of the quill requirements and deadlines for each class, so you don’t run out of time later on in the term. And now onto the extracurriculars! The Departments have kicked off the year with brand new projects! The Library Department is asking you to solve the problem of a missing professor and giving you the chance to attend another wizarding school. The Art Department are asking you to redesign a book cover in celebration of National Literacy Day and to show off the items you’ve brought with you to decorate your dormitory. Link: https://hol.org.uk/departments Art Deadline: 30th September Library Deadline: 1st October The school newspaper, The HOwLer, is open for submissions! This issue’s theme is ‘unexpected sunshine’ and you can interpret that in whatever way you’d like. You can submit articles, graphics, stories, puzzles and more. If you’re struggling to find inspiration for something to submit, stop by the idea bank and check out the suggested ideas there. You can earn up to 60 points! Link: https://hol.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=614 Deadline: 31st October Let’s get this school year off to a roaring start. Go go Gryffindor!

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Welcome (back) to Gryffindor Tower! This is shaping up to be an exciting school year and I’m really looking forward to seeing what it brings. First of all, there are a few announcements to make…. We added two fabulous Junior Prefects over the summer: Reyyan Azkendra and Lorainia Riverrider (who is returning to the staff after an absence). They’re already hard at work and have created our ‘Bright Beginnings Bingo’ event. Get yourself over to the Current Activities area and sign up! I’d also like to welcome Prof. Maxim Trevelyan who is joining us from Ravenclaw. Maxim has been a regular in The Den for many years (in fact, he’s won the award for the visitor with the most rubies every term since we created it), so I think he’ll feel right at home. I’m very excited to have him on the team. We’re also gearing up for our annual Gryfftoberfest, a huge party in October that gives us the excuse to drink far too much butterbeer… *clears her throat* I mean the chance to celebrate everything that makes Gryffindor what it is. So, stay tuned for news on that very soon. As ever, we’d love to hear your ideas for Gryffindor, so whether you have a suggestion for an activity or want to tell us about a new forum you think would be a great addition, please let a JP know. Whatever your plans for the school year are, I hope you have a magical time. Let’s go, Gryffindor, let’s go!

You step off the Hogwarts Express and into a swirling mass of mist that obscures the platform almost completely. People are shouting and laughing all around you but it’s impossible to pick anyone out. The cold nips at your nose and fingers after hours of being cooped up on the stuffy train and you hurry forward, hoping it won’t be long before you can get into the warm. The Situation: It’s a chilly and foggy night and you’ve just disembarked at Hogsmeade Station, ready for the new school year. If you’re a first year, you’re probably wondering what’s going on. If you’ve done this before, you’re probably wondering how soon you can clamber into a carriage on your way to the cosy Great Hall. Unfortunately, the mist is making it very difficult to see what’s right in front of your nose, let alone your mode of transportation… The Location: You can roleplay in and around the Hogsmeade Station. Read the guidelines before diving in. Have fun!

The easiest way to help out your house and show your lion’s pride is to earn points! There are lots of ways you can do this so you’re bound to find some that play to your strengths. In this post, I’ll give you a brief run-down of the regular point earning opportunities available to you. Whenever a new one opens up throughout the term, we’ll post it as a reply so keep checking back! The first and most obvious is to take part in classes. All classes will give you the chance to earn 300 points in a term through homework and extra credit. If you take several classes (even if you don’t have the time for the maximum of 5 every term), those homework points soon mount up to quite a tidy haul. Class sign-up opens on the 1st of September 2022 and will remain open until the 20th of December, so remember to put your name down for the classes that interest you and get sending in that homework! (It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the individual assignment deadlines so that you don’t run out of time or put too much pressure on yourself) The next are the creative projects offered each month by the Library and art departments. If you enjoy getting artsy or brushing up on your writing, visit the 'Departments' tab on the main website. Don't be shy: your submissions are anonymous during the rating period. You can get started by going to your profile and telling everyone 'How you Got Into Harry Potter' in the designated section - that will earn you a cool 10 points! Finally there's the HOL Newspaper, the HOwLer. This is a great chance to earn plenty of points by writing about what interests you. If articles and reviews aren’t your thing, it will also offer creative prompts and the chance to submit your own puzzles, graphics and more. Keep an eye on the Newspaper section of the main HOL Forum for updates about the latest issue. https://hol.org.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=612 Throughout the term, there will be unique and exciting activities to take part in which will give you the chance to earn points along the way. Remember to check the replies to this thread for announcements and reminders about anything that might be occurring!

Well, what a spell-binding summer that was! Mr. Ollivander would like to extend his heartfelt gratitude to everyone who helped out. He hopes some of you will choose to pursue wand-making in the future. Here are the total number of rubies earned by each person. I'll be awarding them once term begins and the ruby system reopens. If you spot any problems with your total, please let me know so I can look into it for you. Kudos to Harry and Louis for earning the maximum available! Andromedia Delacour: 44 Arco Bardalles: 36 Astor Arensin: 78 Aura Nightmoon: 86 Aurelia West: 2 Elizabeth Hermione: 2 Emerald Wolvenhowl: 80 Emily Spencer: 68 Gregor Lee: 127 Harry Walles: 160 (+40 bonus, total 200) Kandren Lea: 32 Louis Walles: 160 (+40 bonus, total 200) Luna Lemongrass: 136 Maxim Trevelyan: 40 Patrick James: 30 Prof. Felicia Hartwick: 14 Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis: 10 Prof. Sindor Aloyarc: 20 Prof. Tarma Amelia Black: 108 Prof. Will Lestrange: 154 Raevia Ward: 12 Reyyan Azkendra: 14 Rory Devany: 34 Silvana Mandeville: 40 Thank you all for your sterling efforts. It's been a pleasure to see your responses (and I know Mr. Ollivander quite agrees).

Remenber the deadline is tomorrow (the 21st) at 11:59 pm hol time!

Happy, happy birthday to @Reyyan Azkendra! I hope you have an absolutely incredible day. *Conjures up a shower of red and gold balloons*

Remember that you have just over a week to turn things in for Summer Wand-erings as the deadline is 11:59 PM HOL-time on Sunday the 21st of August. It's been great to see everyone's magical efforts so far.

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Happy, happy birthday to Kelly Hickory. I hope it's a fabulous day full of sweet treats.

I hope you're all having a fabulous summer! Just because there aren't any classes at the minute doesn't mean you can't get a head start on earning house points though. The Art Department has two new projects to get stuck into. They're inviting you to go on a shopping spree at your favourite wizarding store and to celebrate one of the many national/international days that take place in August (National Llama day is my favourite, just saying). There's also just time to take part in the Library's current projects: head to the beach and get swept off into an adventure or settle down around the campfire to tell some spooky stories. Library Deadline: 7 August (with fresh projects to come after that) Art Deadline: 31 August

Flourish and Blots is buzzing. People are milling between the shelves, trying to get in prime position. You have to move quickly to avoid being trodden on. The Situation: Myron Wagtail, the lead singer of the Weird Sisters, is launching his tell-all autobiography today with an event at Diagon Alley’s famous book shop. Flourish and Blots is crammed with excited fans eager to get their books signed, vaguely interested onlookers and people who hadn’t realised about the event and are desperately trying to buy their books and get out before complete chaos descends. You might well bump into someone you know in the crowd. The Location: Please roleplay within Flourish and Blots. Give the guidelines a read before diving in. Have fun!

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Thank you, thank you, everyone. I truly appreciate you all and your lovely messages so much. <3

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Happy, happy birthday to Sheila Bagnold. I hope you have a sensational day!