Prof. Sky Alton

Have a truly wonderful birthday, Dario!

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9747 Friendly reminder to please check that you're on the final page before posting as I just had to do a mass edit to get us back onto the right number. :D

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Welcome to Gryfftoberfest! This is our annual, month-long party to celebrate everything Gryffindor: Bravery, chivalry, daring and lots of butterbeer. But this year, we’re focusing on a slightly different aspect that our house has also become famous for over the years: mischief! In preparation for Halloween, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes (founded by two of the most ingenious Gryffs of all time) has launched some incredible deals for Hogwarts students so that they can engage in some spectacular tricks this spooky season. Unfortunately, someone told Peeves and he decided to put a rather large order in himself… So, now the castle is overrun with pranks of every description and our Gryfftoberfest celebrations are looking a bit more chaotic than usual. But hey, as our motto for this year (provided by Prof. Sindor Aloyarc) says: “Where’s the fun without a bit of risk.”? I hope you’re all feeling brave! There will be 12 main tasks, with 3 released each week. They’ll be the usual mixture of puzzles and creative. There will also be some fun mini games to get stuck into over in the Mayhem Makers subforum. If you have difficulties with a task for accessibility reasons, please let a staff member know and we’ll work with you to find an alternative that suits you better. Each of the main tasks is worth 20 rubies and there’s a 20 ruby bonus for doing them all, totalling 260. You can earn 70 from the games in Mayhem Makers, meaning the maximum available altogether is 330. Anyone who completes 9 of the main tasks (not including the games) will earn the shiny Gryfftoberfest Award. Everything is due by 23:59 on the 31st of October. I think that’s everything I need to say except be on your guard and watch out for the Canary Creams!

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

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Wishing Ellie Vernez a truly spectacular birthday! I hope you’ve had a brilliant celebration.

This month we’re exploring the rich and eventful history of the wizarding world’s favourite sport via Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp. This compendium of all things Quidditch was first published in 1952 and tracks Quidditch from it’s very beginnings through to the teams we know and love today. Task 1 – Broom design https://gryff.net/index.php?/topic/4189-quidditch-through-the-ages-task-1/ Task 2 – Chants https://gryff.net/index.php?/topic/4190-quidditch-through-the-ages-task-2/ Task 3 – Jigsaw https://gryff.net/index.php?/topic/4188-quidditch-through-the-ages-–-task-three/

It’s not just the talented players and the nail biting matches that make Quidditch what it is, it’s the spectators too. These are the people who turn out every match to cheer on their team, whatever the weather and whatever the result. Over the years, each team’s supporters have perfected certain chants that they can yell at the top of their lungs to encourage their players onto victory. The publishers of Quidditch Through the Ages are hoping to produce an appendix with some of these chants, to be added to the next reissue of the book. They’re asking supporters to owl in their favourite chants for a chance to be included. So, let’s have a go! Come up with a supportive chant for a quidditch team of your choice. It should be at least 5 lines long for full credit. No bashing other teams! You’ll earn 10 rubies by posting your chants below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 30th of September!

As you flip through, you’ll find that one of the most striking parts of Quidditch Through the ages is the full colour, moving illustrations. One thing that makes these pictures stand out the way they do is the bright kits that each team wears, designed to show off their team pride and to give spectators a fighting chance of telling the opposing sides apart as they whiz through the air. But some teams take it a little further and even decorate their brooms to reflect their team colours, mascots and the in-jokes that have developed over the years. Show us how a member of your favourite quidditch team might customise their broom to demonstrate their team pride. You can either create a graphic (upload it to an image sharing website and share the link) or describe it in at least 80 words. You’ll earn 10 rubies by posting your broom designs below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 30th of September!

You just bought an ice-cream but noticed that the vender who sold it to you is pretty down. Apparently her stall is too far out from the centre of the carnival and she just can’t seem to get enough customers. You want to help, so you decide to devise a way to tempt people to come out to her stall for a frozen treat. You decide to set up a series of signs throughout the carnival that will act as a bit of a scavenger hunt, leading people directly to her stall. But what should you put on the signs? Well, it’s up to you! You could write clues, you could draw cartoons of her products, you could write jokes, you could write slogans about how delicious her quadruple chocolate chunk flavour is or you could even write a poem, with one line on each sign. Providing it’s HOL appropriate and will intrigue people enough to follow the signs, it’s all good. We need 4 signs for full credit. You can either write about them (25 words per sign, 100 overall) or create graphics of your 4 signs. Because this task is a little delayed, you have until 23:59 HOL-time on the 1st of September to post your responses below. You’ll earn 15 rubies.

Step inside, if you dare! Welcome to the haunted house attraction. Unfortunately, it’s looking a bit run down and it could definitely use a few new illusions and spooks to get people’s spines tingling again. Being able to use magic opens up a whole new world of chilling special effects we can use but it also means the people coming through will be much harder to impress - they know a boring old hover charm when they see it. Your job is to come up with 2 haunting characters, scenes or special effects for the haunted house. You can describe them (50 words each, 100 in all) or create a graphic to show them in action (though please include a sentence of written explanation to let us know what’s going on and the magic involved). Remember to keep things suitable for all ages– we want things to be on the fun side of scary. Because this task is a little delayed, you have until 23:59 HOL-time on the 1st of September to post your responses below. You’ll earn 15 rubies.

Happy, happy birthday to the wonderful @Reyyan Azkendra! I hope you've had a brilliant day full of your favourite things. *Tosses handfuls of chocolate frogs and scarlet and gold confetti into the air*

Now, we've already talked about favourite muggle carnival foods. But how about when magic enters the mix? Just think about what the makers behind some of those Honeydukes classics could do with a vat of hot sugar and some clever magical machines? Whip up a magical dish that’s ideal for people to munch on as they enjoy the carnival. It should have some kind of magical theme or twist (like a minor enchantment, as with Peppermint Toads that hop in people’s stomachs or Pepper Imps that cause people to breathe fire) You can either describe it in at least 100 words or design an advertising poster for it. If you take the graphics route, please upload your creation to an image hosting website and share the link. Post your delectable creations below by the 31st of August to earn 15 rubies!

You find the antique carousel at the heart of the carnival. As you watch, the carved figures rise and fall, people sitting proudly atop them. But this is no ordinary carousel. This is a wizarding carousel, so everything is just a little bit more bewitching. From magical creatures to clever decorative charms, there’s a touch of magic every where you look. Design your own magical creature or object for the carousel. It could be a unicorn in place of a traditional horse or perhaps a flying carriage. Providing it’s comfortable for people to ride on and looks spectacular, it’s up to you. You can either create a graphic or describe it in at least 100 words. Post your additions to the carousel below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 31st of August to earn 15 rubies!

Hi Emerald, they're all supposed to be in one reply as usual. :) Thanks for checking.

This month we're peering into the mists of what-yet-may-be with the help of Cassandra Vablatsky's Unfogging the Future. Vablatsky (1894-1997) was a celebrated seer and poured her considerable wisdom into this handy textbook for divination students. Task 1: Task 2: Task 3:

Finding meaning in tea leaves is a delicate art. Many divination practitioners believe that Every aspect of making and drinking the tea is important. They all have their own particular ritual for brewing a revelatory cupper. Share a little of your own tea-making ritual: 1. You can describe the type of tea, how you’d brew it and the type of cup you’d use in at least 80 words. 2. You can create a collage showing the elements of your tea-making ritual (cup, type of tea, etc). If you do that, please upload your graphic to an image hosting website (like Imgur) and share the link - it should be no more than 600 X 600 pixels. Post your responses below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 31st of August to earn 10 rubies!

There’s a great deal about defining the future from the movement of the planets in Unfogging the Future. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get tangled up in calculations, particularly when you find yourself with unaspected planet. You could plough through… Or you could use Harry and Ron’s old divination standby. Make it up. Make some predictions about your life for the next week: there should be at least one prediction for each day (but you should post all 7 in a single reply). Your predictions should be as wild and outlandish as you can make them. Each should be at least 10 words long (written in your own words) for full credit. Post your predictions below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 31st of August to earn 10 rubies!