Prof. Sky Alton

Package number 4 contains a wide range of different pairs of socks in eye-watering patterns.

Welcome to The Den, Remi! :)

Sky lightly kicks off from the ground and her broom rises gently into the icy air. She does a few circuits of the lake, her eyes streaming with cold. It seemed like such a good way to keep an eye on things to make sure nobody got into difficulty when she'd been nice and toasty by her office fire... She notices Maxim skating around with ease and skims low over the frozen surface of the lake to wave to him.

Our third package is a tin patterned with thistles and filled with ginger newt biscuits. Any idea who it's destined for?

Our second package is a very, very large box of Crystallised Pineapple. Know the recipient? Let us know.

You join the crowds streaming down the front steps, bundled up against the bitter north wind that seems determined to throw stinging snow into your face. Nobody seems to care: the whole school is abuzz with the news that the surface of the lake has finally frozen solid. The Situation: The lake has completely frozen over and people are heading down their for the afternoon to skate, throw snowballs and generally make the most of the cold weather. Wrap up warm, grab a flask of hot butterbeer and get going before you lose what’s left of the daylight. Location: You may roleplay anywhere on the lake itself and on the shores/the surrounding parts of the grounds. Make sure you've read the guidelines before jumping in. Have fun!

Draw up a chair and enjoy perusing the latest issue of our house newspaper. Our theme this time is patterns and rhythms. We've got fascinating pieces on music, poetry and astronomy, as well as some tasty recipes and much more besides. http://gryff.net/pawprint/issue/november-2020 Keep an eye on The Quivering Quill as we'll soon be opening submissions for the next issue.

Our first parcel contains a copy of New Theory of Numorology and some brightly coloured yarn. Think you know who it's for? Send in your answer!

Welcome to the Lost and Misdirected Parcel Department! There are a lot of packages here that, for a variety of reasons (inadequate addresses, weather damage, owls getting a bit over excited and crashing into mountains), have gone astray. It’s up to us to try to work out whom a parcel is intended for by casting an x-ray charm and trying to define it from the contents. (What do you mean it’s illegal to open other peoples mail? We’re not opening it. Shhh, you’re ruining the game with your logic.) Every 2 days I will post the contents of a parcel. The item or items inside should point to a particular Harry Potter character. If you know to whom the package was being sent, send me a private message with the answer. If you’re correct, you’ll earn 2 rubies. Please set up a group PM with myself (prof. Sky Alton) and Iverian Gnash. Use this conversation to submit all your answers (by replying to it every time you’re ready to submit) rather than creating brand new ones every time. While the questions will be posted every 2 days (with the first posted on the 30th of November and the last on the 18th of December), the final deadline for all answers is 11:59 PM HOL-time on the 20th of December. You can send in your answers one by one or in batches, just remember to use one PM chain to do it and to get them in by that final deadline.

It’s time for the prestigious owl of the month award! Voted for by the Post Office Staff, this is an honour given to a particular owl who has excelled with their deliveries recently. Competition is fierce, so it’s a big deal around here. To celebrate the latest winner of the award, we’d like you to either design a poster that can be displayed in the Post Office or right a profile/press release about the owl in question that will be sent to the Daily Prophet. You should include the owls name, breed and greatest achievement. You may also choose to include any of the following: their delivery stats, likes, dislikes and any other fun facts you can think of. If you choose the written option, your piece should be at least 80 words long. To earn 10 rubies, post your design as a reply below. The deadline is 11:59 PM HOL-time on December 20th.

You step into the bustle of the Hogsmeade Post Office. Owls of all sizes are preening on shelves, packages are being weighed on brass scales and people are browsing the vast selection of magical greetings cards. All around you there is a tremendous racket going on: hooting, screeching, chatting and the mingled rustling of paper and feathers. The staff and the owls are all looking a little flustered by the sheer volume of work to be done. They look like they could use a helping hand… This month in Gryffindor, we’re doing what we can to help some of the hardest workers in the wizarding world during their busiest time of the year! Winter is a time for festivities of all different types and for remembering those you love who live elsewhere. This often takes the form of letters, packages and cards which are all delivered by our trusty feathered friends. We’re taking up residence in the Hogsmeade Post Office to see what we can do to lighten the load. Everything for the activity is due at 11:59 PM HOL-time on the 20th of December. There will be 5 main tasks (a mixture of creative and puzzle based), with a new one released every 4 days (on the 30th of November and then the 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th of December). We’re also helping in the lost parcel department, with a new parcel to sort being posted every 2 days between the 30th of November and 18th of December. If you’re having difficulties completing a task due to accessibility reasons, just drop us a line and we’ll be glad to find an alternative that suits you better. Each task is worth 10 rubies and each parcel correctly sorted is worth 2. In addition, there will be a 20 ruby bonus for anyone who completes all 5 main tasks and answers at least 6 of the parcel questions correctly. That’s a total of 90 in all! Remember that everything is due on the 20th. Have fun!

If you have any questions, please ask them here and we'll get back to you ASAP.

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Hi Kat. Lovely to have you stop by!

We’re currently lagging behind a bit in the cup race so it would be an excellent time to earn a few extra points for the Gryffindor hourglass! The Departments have 4 projects for your delectation. The Library are providing new menus for The Three Broomsticks as well as thinking about what it must be like to see someone you love leave to attend Hogwarts. The Art Department are celebrating Dobby with a socks project and getting all autumnal. Deadline: 30th November Over on Hollers, there’s excitement afoot. Lots of creatures have escaped and are parading around HOL. If you can corral some or all of them, you’ll earn yourself lots of points! (Up to 80, to be exact) Deadline: 12th December Two newspapers are open for submissions right now! The Alte Sententiam is hitting ‘reset’ for their Drabble Babble Contest and, as ever, Creative Writing Bingo is going strong. Visit the Great Hall on the main forum to hear about those or speak to Gail Allen if you’d like to submit an article, graphic or puzzle to the paper. There are 90 points up for grabs! Deadline: 30th November Shh, the SerpenTimes has come over all secretive! If you can think of something top-secret or mysterious to write about, then head over to The Dungeons for more information. There’s another 90 points in it for you if you do. Deadline: 15th January

Hi, Zee. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy birthday, Lorainia! I hope the day is as sweet and sunny as you are. I'll get the cake!