Term XXVIII, Issue 1
Welcome to the first issue of the term! Before we go on, just a reminder that The Daily Prophet is looking for a Comics writer and pinch writers! If interested in either, please sign up here!
Term XXVIII, Issue 01 January 13, 2014
Welcome to hogwartsishome! You will find many great people and many, many fun things to do. We hope you'll have a great time with us at Hogwarts!
Common rooms:
gryff_lions the_puff_house
ravenclaw_house cunningfolk
Activity: Harry Potter Word Puzzles, Part 1
Participation Points: Participation Only. 10pts/5kts (+5 bonus points with a Daily Prophet subscription
Deadline: Saturday, January 25th, 11:59pm UTC
Details: Create a word puzzle that is Harry Potter related. You can use either a phrase, a quote, or a concept. They have to be obviously HP-related and they have to be unique.
Submit your entries here!
By xonceinadream
Official Announcements
► Congratulations to Ravenclaw for winning the Term XXVII house cup!
► It's now officially Term XXVIII! If you have any suggestions or complaints a new post has been opened.
► Sara | ariake and Ashley | emptyhanded09 have stepped down from the official mod team. But welcome to Phoebe | rebel and Martine | la_loony who will be taking their place.
► Three more mods have been added to the officials lineup. Welcome surmise as one of the Slytherin prefects, kaitydid33087 as one of the Animagus mods, and melas_2ndsoul as one of the Hogwarts Icons mods.
► Welcome two new Phoenixes to the Order, Steph | alwaysawkward of Gryffindor and Susan | susako of Ravenclaw. Applications are still open here for Hufflepuff and Slytherins.
► The Order would like to know what you thought of last term. If you have a minute, fill out the survey!
Announcements
► Congratulations to Bei | sapphoatsunset for winning the Officials Icon Contest. Those Term XXVIII icons have been posted here, and there's an icon for everybody, even those without an officials position!
► Diagon Alley has been restocked, along with club OWLs from last term. Congratulations to those who earned any (and a round of applause to the three who earned them all).
► It's that time of term again for the Layout Contest. You can earn 25 points for participation alone, so check out the rules and submit if you're so inclined. The deadline is January 17 at 11pm UTC.
► Congratulations to Hufflepuff for earning the most points in the Order's Happy New Term activity and to Slytherin house for having the only member to participate in the Newbie Scavenger Hunt.
► The Order has posted a Get To Know Each Other activity. Sign up to be paired up with another person by January 28 at 11pm UTC and take turns asking your partner questions to get to know each other. The deadline for questions is January 30 at 11pm UTC.
HIH Job Openings
► New Appeals Judges are needed. There are spots for 3 permanent judges plus 1 backup judge from each house. Applications close January 15 at 11pm UTC, so if you have a strong canon knowledge and are interested, go check out the applications.
► The Daily Prophet is hiring! The Comics position is still open and pinch writers are always needed. If you're interested, check out the sign-ups here.
Misc
► Welcome to the December newbies! If you're not a newbie, stop by that post to welcome them.
► Cyn | cyn_ful is participating in the harrybang and would like to discuss what story to write and Severitus.
► Stephanie | lotrangel17 would like you to check out land_deduction and possibly join!
Don't forget to check out HIH on twitter and tumblr. @hihnews and fromplatform934.
To submit a classifieds ad, you can look here.
Apply to be a:
Registered Animagus
HP Character
Writing Communities:
hh_sugarquill
Icon Making Communities:
sortedchallenge
hogwartsicons
Sponsored Shops
Attention Shop Owners!
Would you like to see your banner here? Then come over to this post to find out how!
By slumber
"Dear Professor Dumbledore,
Did you make any New Year's resolutions this year? My mum says they are a waste of time, but I want to know what you think.
Signed,
Reflective"
Dear Reflective,
They're only a waste if you've done them only so you have some. It's always a good idea to re-examine what you would like to change or do better.
Yours,
Albus
"Dear Dumbles,
What's your favourite hot drink for the winter months? I'm starting to get a little sick of hot chocolate, believe it or not.
Regards,
Thirsty"
Dear Thirsty,
The house elves make a mean hot apple cider. Barring that, I find a spot of whiskey always he--
Yours,
Albus
"Dear Professor,
Do you think you'll be sharing a new year's kiss with anyone coming midnight?
a fan of love "
Dear Fan of Love,
In another time, perhaps.
Yours,
Albus
"Dear Dumbledore,
Why are there only four houses? This is something I'd really like to learn more about.
Sincerely,
Anon"
Dear Anon,
Because there were only four founders.
Yours,
Albus
Write to Dumbles
You can write to your headmaster here; Dumbledore will try to respond to all letters, but there may be some delay before he gets to yours. All letters dealt with in strictest confidence.
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.
Term XXVIII, Issue 01 Page 2
By la_loony
hh_sugarquill
By wasureneba
Welcome, all, to the first fanfiction column of Term XXVIII! Let's welcome Evy/slumber as our new editor, and welcome back Kristine/flipflop_diva as our copy editor. \o/
There are, of course, beginning-of-term updates over at Sugarquill. Your new mods are Bei/sapphoatsunset and Anie/wasureneba. If you need to talk to the mods, all your contact info is here. There's also a ton of information available over at the welcome post - go there to see everything that's been planned for this term!
The first Writer's Block of the term, 'Snow that isn't snow', has gone up here. Voting is up here!
January prompts are also up; you can find them here.
In recent fic-related news, the masterlist for last term's gift exchange is up at this post! Go and check out the reveals, and take a gander at all the beautiful gifts!
If you're in the mood for some lady loving - told in a fun semi-epistolary format - check out xonceinadream's On and Off the Field, a Cho/Ginny fic involving a good bit of Quidditch.
If, on the other hand, your desires for lady loving are on the more explicit side, nathalieweasley has some highly rated Padma/Pansy for you with Almost doesn't count. (There's some bonus Harry/Ron to be found at that post, too!)
flipflop_diva brings us a spot of gen where Hermione keeps re-dreaming the same dream in The Time is Coming (Closer and Closer).
You can find more gen at empressempoleon's Kreacher.
Last but not least, there's crossover action going on at SQ! Check out rhye's Wizards, an HP/Avengers crossover starring Sirius and Remus.
hh_sugarquill sortedchallenge hogwartsicons
By evening12
Welcome to Term 28! We have a new batch of mods in each community, so it'll be exciting to see what fun things they bring to us. I hope to see art and graphics from new HiH-ers as well as old ones.
Over at sortedchallenge, we said goodbye to musikurt and leadsisters, who handed the reigns of the community over to caitieness and flipflop_diva. Before getting on with the business of this term, a last batch of banners for Term 27 was posted. caitieness and flipflop_diva announced that they created a mod account and posted their Questions & Suggestions & Contact Info post.
Being so early in the term, there are no results to report, but the first challenge of the term has been announced. The prompts for Challenge 1 are Negative Space and First Scene. The mods are also trying something different this term. Banners will now only be made on request so there is now a question on the submission form that asks if you would like one or not, should you win. Please make sure you answer. The deadline is Saturday January 18 at 1am UTC. I can't wait to see all the lovely icons that will be created!
Nothing new has been announced as of yet at hogwartsicons but do count on me to keep you updated. alwaysawkward and lumoslaurie left the community with some new energy and in the hands of melas_2ndsoul and flyingharmony. Here is some of what's been posted in our graphic community.
Slytherin's Beth (djmayhem_aubrey) posted a beautiful assorted of icons. These are some of my favourite ones.
Stop by here to see the rest of the icons.
Kristine flipflop_diva) of Hufflepuff maxed out with 16 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone banners.
Come and see the other banners at Kristine's post.
Jess (rhye) of Gryffindor also shared some lovely icons.
To leave Jess a comment, come on over here.
Art wise, things have been slow at hh_sugarquill for this start of the term. So instead, I will showcase some of the art that was produced for last term's exchange.
Muffin (muffinpatronus) of Gryffindor created this beautiful piece of Helena Ravenclaw for Noe (sickle_girl).
Leave some love for Muffin over here.
Hufflepuff's Noe (sickle_girl) in turn created this great Luna and Hermione piece featuring lots of books.
To leave a comment for Noe, stop by here.
I wish you all a Happy New Year and I'm off for this edition of the Prophet, but keep on sharing your wonderful pieces of art and you might find yourself in the spotlight next time!
hh_clubs
By interchanges
Hello and welcome to the first clubs column of Term 28! As with the beginning of any month and new term, there's a ton of new activities, but before we highlight some of those, let's look at what else is new.
First of all, a big welcome to our new mods musikurt and pierhias! We look forward to what you have in store for the community.
November and December's members of the month have been announced - Congratulations to mmailliw of Slytherin and sapphoatsunset of Ravenclaw! The leaders of the month were announced as well - Congrats sanalith and slumber, both of Ravenclaw, and thank you for all your hard work and creative activities!
slumber's design won the Badgemaker Contest for the new OWLS on the System. Check your vaults to see which ones you earned for Term 27!
We have two new club leaders. Welcome to tralfamadore, who has taken over Muggle Cultural Society. The new roster can be found here. Also welcome to erzsebet, the new Gregory the Smarmy Society leader. The new roster can be found here. Make sure you sign them so you can get your bonus points!
Speaking of rosters, the clubs mods changed the roster tags. All current rosters are now tagged as 'active roster' so you can make sure you're signing the right ones ;)
Now onto current activities...
History of Magic has a fun flash game activity in Sutek's Tomb. Those of you who are addicted to Candy Crush like I am may find it similar. Hurry! It ends tonight (Tuesday) at 1am UTC.
Do you think Snape is awesome? Submit three reasons to this DADA activity about why he'll be the best DADA professor ever. Submissions due the 15th, 11pm UTC with voting to follow.
Smarmy Society has a cool activity going on that's almost a reverse Scattergories, called Follow the Crowd. There are a bunch of questions about minor characters and you're trying to match your answer with everyone else's for extra points. Go and give it a go before January 24, 11pm UTC!
Young Death Eaters' Just Blend In is about Death Eaters having to blend in with Muggles. renrenren3 wrote a clever drabble about Bellatrix trying to buy coffee.
Bellatrix Lestrange's attempts at blending in with the Muggle world don't go as well as she might have hoped. She starts bright and early at 11pm, because that's the earliest that she's able to wake up, what with all those late nights spent in graveyards trying to resurrect the Dark Lord and roaming the countryside terrorizing Muggles.
She's still feeling sleepy so goes straight into the nearest coffeeshop and orders a coffee. The Muggle barista looks at her blankly and asks her a lot of questions about large or venti or foam or cappuccino or cinnamon sprinkles or chocolate flakes or sparkly unicorn poop and Bellatrix isn't amused at all, she just wants her coffee, any coffee, and she wants it now.
The barista presents her with a cardboard cup full of something that vaguely smells like coffee and charges her so much that she could have bought dragon blood for the same amount of money. She pays, but only because she needs her caffeine fix, and goes back to the Dark Lord to complain that the plan was a failure and it's much better to just torture and kill Muggles because they can't even make decent coffee.
Submit your own entry before January 17, 8am UTC.
Muggle Cultural Society has brought us Time Capsule - an activity much more relevant to HiH than HP. Fill out the form with your HiH wishes and memories before January 18, 11:59pm UTC.
In addition to these activities, you can find more going by checking the latest weekly roundup and current tag.
Fainting for fashion
It seems that when a certain Potter sought out some help with his fashion dilemma, he got so nervous that he fainted when seeing a certain Slytherin in his leather pants.
Secret Society?
Several prominent Hogwarts students have been noticed to be gathering in between classes for what looks like some secret conspiring. And some say that these same students have been known to disappear for hours at a time when no professors are looking. Is there a new secret society being formed on castle grounds? And if so, what is its purpose? Stay tuned as we here at the Prophet will continue to keep our eyes and ears peeled for information!
Oh the weather outside is frightful…
Be careful! One brave Gryffindor tried to escape from Hogwarts whilst the castle was all snowed in, only to find themselves near frozen AND scared to death when encountering the frozen bodies of acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. Creepy!
Snow reason for a fight!
Did you hear about the Slytherins and Gryffindors? They were up to their old tricks again, having an epic snow ball fight whilst the Hufflepuffs were hard at work trying to dig out of the snow and the Ravenclaws were holed up in the library. I guess its not a bad way to spend your time when you're snowed in in Hogwarts.
Got gossip? Tell us here!
By sapphoatsunset
By starfaerie82
To start off the term here at Horoscopes, I'm going to go a little bit beyond the usual zodiac signs to the signs of the Celtic Tree Zodiac. We will still feature the normal sun sign horoscopes most of the time, but I thought it might be fun to also explore other traditions once in a while.
Birch - The Achiever
Born December 24 - January 20
Traits: Highly driven, ambitious, always seeking better horizons. Like the tree, you are tolerant, tough and resilient. Cool-headed, natural leaders, quick-witted.
Compatibility: Vine & Willow
Rowan - The Thinker
Born January 21 - February 17
Traits: Philosophical, keen-minded, visionary, cool exterior that belies a burning passionate ideal. Naturally transform situations and people by your mere presence, highly influential, offers unique perspectives.
Compatibility: Ivy & Hawthorn
Ash - The Enchanter
February 18 - March 17
Traits: Free thinking, imaginative, intuitive, naturally artistic, sees the world with watercolor purity. Sometimes moody and withdrawn, inspires others, enchanting personality. Constant self-renewal, little use for the opinions of others.
Compatibility: Willow & Reed
Alder - The Trailblazer
Born March 18 - April 14
Traits: Pathfinder, mover and shaker, charming, gregarious, mingles easily, gets along with everybody, very focused, values time highly, hates wasted time, fluff and superficiality.
Compatibility: Hawthorn, Oak & Birch
Willow - The Observer
Born April 15 - May 12
Traits: Highly creative, intuitive to the point of highly psychic, intelligent; keen understanding that everything has its season, very patient, excellent memory that often impresses others.
Compatibility: Birch & Ivy
Hawthorn - The illusionist
Born May 13 - June 9
Traits: Embodiment of “don't judge a book by its cover”, well-adjusted, naturally curious, excellent listener, people seek you out to release burdens, healthy sense of humor, clear understanding of irony, amazing insight, don't give yourself enough credit.
Compatibility: Ash & Rowan
Oak - The Stabilizer
Born June 10 - July 7
Traits: Possessed of the special gift of strength, protective, crusaders for those without a voice, nurturing, generous, helpful, the gentle giant among the zodiac. Deep respect for history, ancestry, and most happy in large family settings, large community and social networks.
Compatibility: Ash, Reed & Ivy
Holly - The Ruler
Born July 8 - August 4
Traits: Noble, high-minded, takes on challenges easily, overcomes obstacles with skill and tact, kind, generous, and affectionate (once people get to know you). Because things come easily to you, you have a potential to become lazy if not kept active.
Compatibility: Ash & Elder
Hazel - The Knower
Born August 5 - September 1
Traits: Highly intelligent, organized, efficient, high retention of information, well-informed, comes across as a know-it-all at times, eye for detail. Need for order and control can lead to compulsive behavior. Likes making the rules rather than following them.
Compatibility: Hawthorn & Rowan
Vine - The Equalizer
Born September 2 - September 29
Traits: Changeable and unpredictable personality, full of contradictions, indecisive, you see both sides of the story. You enjoy finer things such as music, art, wine and food. Charming, elegant, classy and poised.
Compatibility: Willow & Hazel
Ivy - The Survivor
Born September 30 - October 27
Traits: Overcoming all odds, sharp intellect, compassion and loyalty to others. Giving nature, deeply spiritual, soft-spoken, keen wit. Charming and charismatic.
Compatibility: Oak & Ash
Reed - The Inquisitor
Born October 28 - November 24
Traits: Secret keeper, a thirst to root out deeper truths. Easily drawn by gossip, scandals, legends and lore. Would be an excellent historian, journalist, detective or archaeologist. Sometimes manipulative, but with a strong sense of truth and honor.
Compatibility: Reed, Oak & Ash
Elder - The Seeker
Born November 25 - December 23
Traits: Freedom-loving, appears to be a bit wild, thrill seeker in younger years. Tendency to be withdrawn in spite of extroverted nature. Deeply thoughtful with a philosophic bent, considerate, genuinely strives to be helpful, brutally honest.
Compatibility: Alder & Holly
hih_animagus
By starfaerie82
Hello and welcome to Term 28 everyone!
First up, a bit of housekeeping from the wrap up of last term. The December monthly activity results are in! In first place, with 421 points, is Hufflepuff house! Those who stamped their fellow students enough to earn the special prize may pick them up at the results post. Next up, please put your paws, fins, flippers and wings together for our December Animagus of the month.... sapphoatsunset/Bei of Ravenclaw!
Finally, on the Term 27 wrap up, Animagus choices have been posted for our lone December applicant; those who are curious can check out the choices post.
Next up, the new term has begun! Let's all welcome our Kaity//kaitydid33087 and Nikki//nowheretogo26, Animagus mods new and old. Kaity joins Nikki in Samantha//samantha's place-- Sam, thank you for all that you've done and Kaity, Nikki, welcome!
We have our January activity of the month, a cute little flash game called These Little Pigs. All you have to do is earn 500 points or more and screencap your results, then post them as a reply to the activity post. We also have a suggestion and question post for the new term, so why not go and offer up a few suggestions and get all those burning questions answered? We have also had our sweeps of those members who are deemed inactive from last term. The list can be found on the sweeps post. If you think you were cut in error, please contact a mod asap!
Finally, we are always open for new applicants who wish to become registered Animagi. You can find the application on the application post; just fill it in and submit. Of course, you have to possess the proper items in your vault before you apply. You will need The Standard Book of Spells grades 1-5, and that's pretty much it!
Let's have an amazing January, and an even more awesome Term 28!
hogsmeadewkends
By flipflop_diva
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Term 28 and 2014! I’m going to be filling you in on all the wild and crazy happenings over at hogsmeadewkends this term.
Let’s start with Term 27, though, shall we?
I want to give a warm round of applause to Avi/flyingharmony and Jamie/Jamie_love13 for their hard work as mayors last term! They did a fantastic job and gave us some great memories.
Which, speaking of, you should all head over right this second to check out the final results from December’s Hogsmeade. And if you participated in either October’s Hogsmeade or December’s, make sure you stop off over here to see if you earned a banner or two or ten. (Don’t forget to comment to let the makers know you picked yours up!)
And now, let’s move on to Term 28.
Huge congratulations go out to our new mayoral team of Liz/erzsebet of Gryffindor and Bei/sapphoatsunset of Ravenclaw! These two lovely ladies sure know how to jump into things fast. Before some mods even had their posting access, Bei and Liz not only got up their Term 28 Help Desk post but they also announced the dates and theme of the next Hogsmeade!
What’s that, you say?
That’s right, you guys. Hogsmeade is this weekend! I repeat, Hogsmeade is this weekend!!! As in, five days from now!
Okay, now that we’re all done panicking, let’s look at the details:
FOUNDER’S HOGSMEADE!
January 17-19, 2014
That’s right! We are going back in time and hanging out with Godric, Helga, Rowena and Salazar. Let’s just hope we can get back to the present once it’s over.
Normally, I would direct you all to activity signups and social director signups, but those are both closed, so while we wait for the schedule, why not head over to the banner contest? There are still a couple hours left to get your entries in if you are like me and haven’t done that yet. Those are due by 11:59pm UTC today (Monday, January 13).
After that, you can head over to this post and welcome our social directors for the weekend: Beth/prongsy of Gryffindor, Whitney/csichick_2 of Hufflepuff and Susan/susako of Ravenclaw.
And, of course, everyone should then finish up by heading on over to hh_flourish and signing up for a shop or stall! All houses have plenty of room left! Remember, themed tags can include the time period as well as the founders themselves!
Finally, before we go, there is one more shiny fancy thing to look at - Trophies and Souvenirs. For this term, activity banners have been replaced with trophies.
One activity in a category earns you a bronze, two or three a silver and four or more the gold. There may or may not also be souvenirs for other things, but I guess we’re going to have to wait and be surprised by those!
That’s it for me. Time is counting down fast, so go! Get ready for Hogsmeade! I’ll see you there!!!
By evening12
I hope that you've all had a great start to the new year. I am back with January's Member of the Month. This month we get to know one Gryffindor a little bit better. When this person was nominated, their nominator said that "[they] do so much in HiH that doesn't get noticed" and "[they] do a lot for the Gryffindor house".
coolceruleanblu of Gryffindor!
Alex and I talked a little bit over the holiday break and got to know each other before doing this interview just a few days ago. I learned that she had a lovely trip to Greece.
Because this question needs to be asked of everyone, how were you first introduced to Harry Potter?
My cousin Frances. She's 14 years older than me, and she introduced it to me when I was in high school. I - surprise surprise - didn't want to read it at first because I used to be a bit of a brat and tried to do everything anti-mainstream. Hahahah. But she convinced me that I would love them and I read the first book and got hooked. I think it was when I was 17 or 16.
I'm just realizing that I don't know how old you are so I can't do the math. Were the movies out when you first read the books?
I'm 29. I almost said 28, because I try to hold on to the young years and don't want to face the fact I turn 30 this year, so I think the first movie may have just come out or was about to come out. I didn't see it until it was on DVD. But I saw the second one opening night (midnight opening) with my sister when I moved to New York City for college.
Do you speak Greek? I know that you have family in Greece.
I do. It was actually my first language. When my mom brought me to apply for kindergarten, she was worried I wouldn't get in because she thought I didn't know any English. Unbeknownst to her, I'd watched a lot of Sesame Street and had my sister to talk to.
Does that mean that you've read HP in Greek?
I've tried to! I actually started it. But even though Greek is my first language it's not my best language. hahah. I do have a copy of the Philosopher's Stone in Greek, and when I was recently there for the holidays, I started it but never got to finishing it. It's on my list of things to do this year, though!
You'll have to let me know if/when you finish it :) What was your favorite fan moment?
I think my favorite fan moment was when I stepped into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the first time. I mean my sister and I spent three days JUST THERE, and barely went to anything else at the Islands of Adventure. No joke, we had lunch and dinner at the Three Broomsticks, and would just stare at the castle. It's the best. I've been two more times since. Both times with others. I'd like to go alone or with my sister again, because though I love traveling with others you have to cater to other people's wishes and I'm so stubborn that I like getting my own way.
I am so jealous that you went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It looks amazing. Let's talk about HiH for a bit. What makes you want to stay in the community?
Definitely the friends I've made and that it's just awesome. I mean with the clubs and everything, it's like you're there (or can imagine that you are), and I just love Hogsmeade (even though it was intimidating at first).
Hehehe. Any tips to braving Hogsmeade and having fun?
You don't have try to do EVERYTHING on the first time. I think that's what scared me is that there is SO much going on. I would say focus on the social posts because it's a good way to make friends and there are a ton of awesome people at HiH.
That sounds like solid advice. Your nominator said that you were "amazingly friend to everyone in HU chat". Is that something that you try to do?
I do :) I like meeting new people, and making friends. I always try to be nice to people (though sometimes it's not possible), but I think it usually does you more harm than good to be indifferent or mean. I have always believed in karma that you get what you give.
What has been your proudest moment at HiH?
When I sold my first sigtag at my flourish shop. I think my thoughts exactly were, "YAY! PEOPLE LIKE THEM!"
How did you come up with the name of your shop?
It was actually a suggestion I'd had for a real shop that sold knitted things and had like a "witchy" feel to it. I had other ideas for it too.
Ohhh. Do you remember any of the other contenders?
I found them actually because I remember what I'd tagged it:
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia,
Antiquated Annotations,
For F*@&'s Sake (which I'm not sure would be allowed but it's not the actual curse word. It's gobbledygook),
Siberian Flying Squirrels,
A Pirate's Den (or Booty),
And someone was like 'I also kind of like gobbledygook as a name', which made me giggle.
Anything else you'd like to say to the Daily Prophet readers?
Thank you to whomever nominated me, I am deeply touched and honored :)
And because I was asked this question before and couldn’t think of a great answer, I’m asking you: If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only eat one fruit/veggie what would you pick?
Oh, man, I know it. Apples. I could eat all the apples in the world. All the time, ever and only those. I'd be okay with that.
Thanks a whole bunch for doing this. And it was nice to get to know you.
This is it! Know someone who is just as awesome and deserves to be our Member of the Month? Drop by the Nomination Post.
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.
Term XXVIII, Issue 01 Page 3
gryff_lions|Flourish Shoppes|Pirates
By xonceinadream
Welcome to Term XXVIII, Gryffindors! I hope you guys are all ready for a great new term.
First things first, let's give a warm re-welcome to Jessica | admires who has rejoined Gryffindor! Check out her welcome post here and welcome her back to Gryffindor. There were no new cubs last week, but we did have 13 Top Sorters earning Gryffindor 390 points! If you sorted last week, there's a sigtag waiting for you. And an extra round of applause to Caiti | caitriona_3 who was our star sorter!
Your prefects for this term are Morgan | wizbey and Emily | xonceinadream. There's an introduction post to get to know your new prefects here and a contact post here if you ever need to get a hold of them!
We say a sad goodbye to Ashley | emptyhanded09 as Gryffindor's mini-mod, which was announced here. But welcome to Martine | la_loony as the new Gryffindor mini-mod! Let's treat her well.
Something you didn't like last term? Something you really want to see this term? Check out the feedback post here and be sure to let the prefects know what you'd like to see this term! Gryffindor is also looking for some helpers, mostly people who'd like to create social posts or host Gryffindor chats. Gryffindors are welcome to make posts in the tower whenever they'd like but having a social circle (of life) means that there should be regular social posts. If you'd like to help out around the tower, then sign up!
The Big Lion/bb cub program has been restarted! If you're interested in being a Big Lion, you can check out the sign-ups here, and new members should sign up here.
The January In-House contest has been posted! We all know that Gryffindor is awesome, but we want other houses to see it too. If you get in the top five, then your reason that you love being in Gryffindor could be posted on the profile for everybody to see! The deadline for submitting your reason is January 27 at 11:59pm UTC time and you can submit here.
The Spreadsheep has been updated! Thanks so much to Alex | gryffinwhore for updating it for the new term. To fill up the spreadsheep, be sure to check out Martine | la_loony's Activity Round-Up. There's plenty to do to earn those precious points for Gryffindor, so let's do this!
Don't forget to keep an eye on the Gryffindor Bulletin Board. Important posts, things to see in HIH and a featured Flourish shop are just some of the fun things on there. There's also some Hogsmeade information on the Bulletin Board, along with Liz | erzsebet's post here. The first Hogsmeade of the term is coming up fast!
Until next time! Stay awesome, Gryffindor!
the_puff_house|Flourish Shoppes|Puffs of the Round Table
By kaitydid33087
Hello Puffies!
Welcome to a new year and a new term! I hope all of your holidays were happy ones!
The new term has brought new prefects, so let's give a warm welcome and a big congrats to Sam//samantha and Dani//pinkphoenix1985! Congrats to the both of you! We're looking forward to what Term 28 brings!
With new prefects, we also have other new HiH officials. Give a big congrats to
-Kaity//kaitydid33087 as the new Animagus mod, also working with Nikki//nowheretogo26
-Curtis//musikurt as the Voting Manager and a Clubs Mod
-Nikki//nowheretogo26 as a Flourish mod
-Avi//flyingharmony as a Hogwarts Icon mod
-Kristine//flipflop_diva and Caitie//caitieness as the Sorted Challenge mods
-And Kristine//flipflop_diva as an Order mod
We're all very excited to see what you do in Term 28!
Already, we have a brand new bb Badger in the Dens! Welcome Layla//delacourtings! We're happy to have you with us!
Speaking of bb Badgers, be sure you stop by over here to sign up to be a Big Badger and Newbie Sigtag maker, to help show our new bbs around!
Sam and Dani have already brought in some super exciting changes! See their intro over here!
Check out the Weekly Round Up! if you haven't! It gives you lots of information for what's going on around the comm and in the house!
Our new In-House activity is posted! Stop by and fill out the app and then stamp everyone else! It's lots of fun, I promise!
Did you earn a prize for Knight Week? Be sure you stop by the prize post to see what you won!
Participated in Secret Santa? The gifts can be found here! Stop by to get your goodies!
The December Puff of the Month was announced! Congrats to Whitney//csichick_2!
That's it for this week Puffies! Keep being awesome!
ravenclaw_house|Flourish Shoppes|Vikings
By susako
Welcome, Claws! First off, let's say hooray because WE WON THE CUP, YO. YEAAAAHHH. Congrats to everyone for their hard work this past term and to Anie//wasureneba and Erin//anirishlullaby for being our lovely prefects ♥
Now that that's done though, we've rolled straight into Term XXVIII with Martine//evening12 and Emma//storminmay as our queens prefects - say hello to them here or leave a comment/question/suggestion! We also have a number of lovely Claws stepping into officials positions, so congratulations and good luck to Evy//slumber (HiH Mod, Appeals Mod, Daily Prophet Editor), Iris//pierhias (Clubs Co-Mod), Bei//sapphoatsunset (Hogsmeade Co-Mayor, Sugarquill Co-Mod), Chelsea//interchanges (Order Co-Mod, Stamping Mod) and Anie//wasureneba (Sugarquill Co-Mod). Love and hugs to you all! There is now a spreadsheet so go forth and tally to your heart's content. Also, why not sign up to be a Viking Voyager? Oh, and check out the term's first issue of The Quibbler and all the top sorters while you're at it.
Let's take a break to celebrate the cup again!
You can all expect to have trophies in your vaults shortly, by the way because WE WON THE CUP, YO.
Elsewhere around the tower, our Mini-Rowenas prefects have set up a Claw Tumblr for us to get even more Clawesome. Lii//kinglii also wants help from fellow Disney fans.
Ohhh, we had a good time in Term XXVII, didn't we? Allison//pinksonia wrote a very useful guide, we had all that excitement over the spreadsheet, Ravenclaw/Stamping totally became a thing, Bei taught us all how to max out at Hogwarts Icons, there was that crazy party post that time. Oh, and remember when we all shared our love of spreadsheets? Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Ravenclaw victory, in fact, anyone who is a Ravenclaw in general because you are all BAMFs and Mama Rowena and Hiddles loves every. Single. One. Of. You.
cunningfolk|Flourish Shoppes|Vampire
By autumn_mist
Welcome to another edition of "Cunningfolk", where I tell you all about the fun things going on over in the Slytherin Common Room.
Term XXVIII has begun, and although we had to say goodbye to mmailliw, your prefects surmise and autumn_mist came out ready to rock! We have some really exciting things planned for this term, and we hope you will all join us in making this our best term ever!
• Don't forget to participate in our current In-House contest, going on over HERE. We've had a decent turnout so far, but we'd love to see more participation.
• CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER FOR blaze2242 for becoming our FIRST Star Sorter of Term XXVII!!
• Speaking of Star Sorters... have you been collecting your tags? Now everyone who votes on an applicant gets a shiny tag to display!
Now on to Slytherins Around HiH!
=================================
SLYTHERINS AT SUGARQUILL:
• mmailliw has posted a manip entitled "The Least Likely Vampire" that can be viewed HERE
• autumn_mist has posted a manip entitled "Voldemort's Newest Horocrux" that can be viewed HERE
• superficiality has posted artwork entitled "Pansy Parkinson Sux (Blood)" that can be viewed HERE and House Makeup that can be viewed HERE
• cyn_ful has been a busy little bee. She has posted a FIC entitled All I Want For Christmas -Part 2 that can be viewed HERE (part ONE can be viewed HERE), a FICLET entitled Trapped, part 2 that can be viewed HERE and a FIC entitled Christmas Eve Magic that can be viewed HERE
=================================
SLYTHERINS AT HOGWARTSICONS:
• djmayhem_aubrey has posted 16 ASSORTED ICONS that can be viewed HERE
• cyn_ful has posted 10 VARIATIONS - PANSY PARKINSON that can be viewed HERE
• MOONY_BLUES has posted 10 VARIATIONS: HERMIONE GRANGER that can be viewed HERE
• _SHAOMAO_ has posted 10 VARIATIONS: HERMIONE GRANGER that can be viewed HERE
• FANGSS has posted 4 icons and 2 banners that can be viewed HERE
=================================
SLYTHERINS AT HH_CLUBS:
• djmayhem_aubrey has posted a new event for the Slug Club that can be viewed HERE. Make sure you're on the ROSTER to get those bonus points!
• cyn_ful has posted a new event for the Ministry of Magic that can be viewed HERE. Make sure you're on the ROSTER to get those bonus points!
• autumn_mist has posted a new event for the Charms Club that can be viewed HERE. Make sure you're on the ROSTER to get those bonus points!
=================================
SLYTHERINS AT HH_FLOURISH:
• Don't forget you can order a MAX of 10 sigtags from ALL our Slytherin shops located at hh_flourish if you find any that strike your fancy. Our current shop keepers are:
autumn_mist with Accio Malfoy
burningxhope with Black Rabbits
cyn_ful with Ultimate Surprises
fangss with Riddikulus
moony_blues with MoonyDoodles
OR if you are graphically inclined yourself, why not apply for a spot?. There are currently still FIVE spots available!
=================================
And always remember Slytherin House - You ROCK!
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.
Term XXVIII, Issue 01 January 13, 2014
Welcome to hogwartsishome! You will find many great people and many, many fun things to do. We hope you'll have a great time with us at Hogwarts!
Common rooms:
gryff_lions the_puff_house
ravenclaw_house cunningfolk
Activity: Harry Potter Word Puzzles, Part 1
Participation Points: Participation Only. 10pts/5kts (+5 bonus points with a Daily Prophet subscription
Deadline: Saturday, January 25th, 11:59pm UTC
Details: Create a word puzzle that is Harry Potter related. You can use either a phrase, a quote, or a concept. They have to be obviously HP-related and they have to be unique.
Submit your entries here!
By xonceinadream
Official Announcements
► Congratulations to Ravenclaw for winning the Term XXVII house cup!
► It's now officially Term XXVIII! If you have any suggestions or complaints a new post has been opened.
► Sara | ariake and Ashley | emptyhanded09 have stepped down from the official mod team. But welcome to Phoebe | rebel and Martine | la_loony who will be taking their place.
► Three more mods have been added to the officials lineup. Welcome surmise as one of the Slytherin prefects, kaitydid33087 as one of the Animagus mods, and melas_2ndsoul as one of the Hogwarts Icons mods.
► Welcome two new Phoenixes to the Order, Steph | alwaysawkward of Gryffindor and Susan | susako of Ravenclaw. Applications are still open here for Hufflepuff and Slytherins.
► The Order would like to know what you thought of last term. If you have a minute, fill out the survey!
Announcements
► Congratulations to Bei | sapphoatsunset for winning the Officials Icon Contest. Those Term XXVIII icons have been posted here, and there's an icon for everybody, even those without an officials position!
► Diagon Alley has been restocked, along with club OWLs from last term. Congratulations to those who earned any (and a round of applause to the three who earned them all).
► It's that time of term again for the Layout Contest. You can earn 25 points for participation alone, so check out the rules and submit if you're so inclined. The deadline is January 17 at 11pm UTC.
► Congratulations to Hufflepuff for earning the most points in the Order's Happy New Term activity and to Slytherin house for having the only member to participate in the Newbie Scavenger Hunt.
► The Order has posted a Get To Know Each Other activity. Sign up to be paired up with another person by January 28 at 11pm UTC and take turns asking your partner questions to get to know each other. The deadline for questions is January 30 at 11pm UTC.
HIH Job Openings
► New Appeals Judges are needed. There are spots for 3 permanent judges plus 1 backup judge from each house. Applications close January 15 at 11pm UTC, so if you have a strong canon knowledge and are interested, go check out the applications.
► The Daily Prophet is hiring! The Comics position is still open and pinch writers are always needed. If you're interested, check out the sign-ups here.
Misc
► Welcome to the December newbies! If you're not a newbie, stop by that post to welcome them.
► Cyn | cyn_ful is participating in the harrybang and would like to discuss what story to write and Severitus.
► Stephanie | lotrangel17 would like you to check out land_deduction and possibly join!
Don't forget to check out HIH on twitter and tumblr. @hihnews and fromplatform934.
To submit a classifieds ad, you can look here.
Apply to be a:
Registered Animagus
HP Character
Writing Communities:
hh_sugarquill
Icon Making Communities:
sortedchallenge
hogwartsicons
Sponsored Shops
Attention Shop Owners!
Would you like to see your banner here? Then come over to this post to find out how!
By slumber
"Dear Professor Dumbledore,
Did you make any New Year's resolutions this year? My mum says they are a waste of time, but I want to know what you think.
Signed,
Reflective"
Dear Reflective,
They're only a waste if you've done them only so you have some. It's always a good idea to re-examine what you would like to change or do better.
Yours,
Albus
"Dear Dumbles,
What's your favourite hot drink for the winter months? I'm starting to get a little sick of hot chocolate, believe it or not.
Regards,
Thirsty"
Dear Thirsty,
The house elves make a mean hot apple cider. Barring that, I find a spot of whiskey always he--
Yours,
Albus
"Dear Professor,
Do you think you'll be sharing a new year's kiss with anyone coming midnight?
a fan of love "
Dear Fan of Love,
In another time, perhaps.
Yours,
Albus
"Dear Dumbledore,
Why are there only four houses? This is something I'd really like to learn more about.
Sincerely,
Anon"
Dear Anon,
Because there were only four founders.
Yours,
Albus
Write to Dumbles
You can write to your headmaster here; Dumbledore will try to respond to all letters, but there may be some delay before he gets to yours. All letters dealt with in strictest confidence.
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.
Term XXVIII, Issue 01 Page 2
By la_loony
hh_sugarquill
By wasureneba
Welcome, all, to the first fanfiction column of Term XXVIII! Let's welcome Evy/slumber as our new editor, and welcome back Kristine/flipflop_diva as our copy editor. \o/
There are, of course, beginning-of-term updates over at Sugarquill. Your new mods are Bei/sapphoatsunset and Anie/wasureneba. If you need to talk to the mods, all your contact info is here. There's also a ton of information available over at the welcome post - go there to see everything that's been planned for this term!
The first Writer's Block of the term, 'Snow that isn't snow', has gone up here. Voting is up here!
January prompts are also up; you can find them here.
In recent fic-related news, the masterlist for last term's gift exchange is up at this post! Go and check out the reveals, and take a gander at all the beautiful gifts!
If you're in the mood for some lady loving - told in a fun semi-epistolary format - check out xonceinadream's On and Off the Field, a Cho/Ginny fic involving a good bit of Quidditch.
If, on the other hand, your desires for lady loving are on the more explicit side, nathalieweasley has some highly rated Padma/Pansy for you with Almost doesn't count. (There's some bonus Harry/Ron to be found at that post, too!)
flipflop_diva brings us a spot of gen where Hermione keeps re-dreaming the same dream in The Time is Coming (Closer and Closer).
You can find more gen at empressempoleon's Kreacher.
Last but not least, there's crossover action going on at SQ! Check out rhye's Wizards, an HP/Avengers crossover starring Sirius and Remus.
hh_sugarquill sortedchallenge hogwartsicons
By evening12
Welcome to Term 28! We have a new batch of mods in each community, so it'll be exciting to see what fun things they bring to us. I hope to see art and graphics from new HiH-ers as well as old ones.
Over at sortedchallenge, we said goodbye to musikurt and leadsisters, who handed the reigns of the community over to caitieness and flipflop_diva. Before getting on with the business of this term, a last batch of banners for Term 27 was posted. caitieness and flipflop_diva announced that they created a mod account and posted their Questions & Suggestions & Contact Info post.
Being so early in the term, there are no results to report, but the first challenge of the term has been announced. The prompts for Challenge 1 are Negative Space and First Scene. The mods are also trying something different this term. Banners will now only be made on request so there is now a question on the submission form that asks if you would like one or not, should you win. Please make sure you answer. The deadline is Saturday January 18 at 1am UTC. I can't wait to see all the lovely icons that will be created!
Nothing new has been announced as of yet at hogwartsicons but do count on me to keep you updated. alwaysawkward and lumoslaurie left the community with some new energy and in the hands of melas_2ndsoul and flyingharmony. Here is some of what's been posted in our graphic community.
Slytherin's Beth (djmayhem_aubrey) posted a beautiful assorted of icons. These are some of my favourite ones.
Stop by here to see the rest of the icons.
Kristine flipflop_diva) of Hufflepuff maxed out with 16 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone banners.
Come and see the other banners at Kristine's post.
Jess (rhye) of Gryffindor also shared some lovely icons.
To leave Jess a comment, come on over here.
Art wise, things have been slow at hh_sugarquill for this start of the term. So instead, I will showcase some of the art that was produced for last term's exchange.
Muffin (muffinpatronus) of Gryffindor created this beautiful piece of Helena Ravenclaw for Noe (sickle_girl).
Leave some love for Muffin over here.
Hufflepuff's Noe (sickle_girl) in turn created this great Luna and Hermione piece featuring lots of books.
To leave a comment for Noe, stop by here.
I wish you all a Happy New Year and I'm off for this edition of the Prophet, but keep on sharing your wonderful pieces of art and you might find yourself in the spotlight next time!
hh_clubs
By interchanges
Hello and welcome to the first clubs column of Term 28! As with the beginning of any month and new term, there's a ton of new activities, but before we highlight some of those, let's look at what else is new.
First of all, a big welcome to our new mods musikurt and pierhias! We look forward to what you have in store for the community.
November and December's members of the month have been announced - Congratulations to mmailliw of Slytherin and sapphoatsunset of Ravenclaw! The leaders of the month were announced as well - Congrats sanalith and slumber, both of Ravenclaw, and thank you for all your hard work and creative activities!
slumber's design won the Badgemaker Contest for the new OWLS on the System. Check your vaults to see which ones you earned for Term 27!
We have two new club leaders. Welcome to tralfamadore, who has taken over Muggle Cultural Society. The new roster can be found here. Also welcome to erzsebet, the new Gregory the Smarmy Society leader. The new roster can be found here. Make sure you sign them so you can get your bonus points!
Speaking of rosters, the clubs mods changed the roster tags. All current rosters are now tagged as 'active roster' so you can make sure you're signing the right ones ;)
Now onto current activities...
History of Magic has a fun flash game activity in Sutek's Tomb. Those of you who are addicted to Candy Crush like I am may find it similar. Hurry! It ends tonight (Tuesday) at 1am UTC.
Do you think Snape is awesome? Submit three reasons to this DADA activity about why he'll be the best DADA professor ever. Submissions due the 15th, 11pm UTC with voting to follow.
Smarmy Society has a cool activity going on that's almost a reverse Scattergories, called Follow the Crowd. There are a bunch of questions about minor characters and you're trying to match your answer with everyone else's for extra points. Go and give it a go before January 24, 11pm UTC!
Young Death Eaters' Just Blend In is about Death Eaters having to blend in with Muggles. renrenren3 wrote a clever drabble about Bellatrix trying to buy coffee.
Bellatrix Lestrange's attempts at blending in with the Muggle world don't go as well as she might have hoped. She starts bright and early at 11pm, because that's the earliest that she's able to wake up, what with all those late nights spent in graveyards trying to resurrect the Dark Lord and roaming the countryside terrorizing Muggles.
She's still feeling sleepy so goes straight into the nearest coffeeshop and orders a coffee. The Muggle barista looks at her blankly and asks her a lot of questions about large or venti or foam or cappuccino or cinnamon sprinkles or chocolate flakes or sparkly unicorn poop and Bellatrix isn't amused at all, she just wants her coffee, any coffee, and she wants it now.
The barista presents her with a cardboard cup full of something that vaguely smells like coffee and charges her so much that she could have bought dragon blood for the same amount of money. She pays, but only because she needs her caffeine fix, and goes back to the Dark Lord to complain that the plan was a failure and it's much better to just torture and kill Muggles because they can't even make decent coffee.
Submit your own entry before January 17, 8am UTC.
Muggle Cultural Society has brought us Time Capsule - an activity much more relevant to HiH than HP. Fill out the form with your HiH wishes and memories before January 18, 11:59pm UTC.
In addition to these activities, you can find more going by checking the latest weekly roundup and current tag.
Fainting for fashion
It seems that when a certain Potter sought out some help with his fashion dilemma, he got so nervous that he fainted when seeing a certain Slytherin in his leather pants.
Secret Society?
Several prominent Hogwarts students have been noticed to be gathering in between classes for what looks like some secret conspiring. And some say that these same students have been known to disappear for hours at a time when no professors are looking. Is there a new secret society being formed on castle grounds? And if so, what is its purpose? Stay tuned as we here at the Prophet will continue to keep our eyes and ears peeled for information!
Oh the weather outside is frightful…
Be careful! One brave Gryffindor tried to escape from Hogwarts whilst the castle was all snowed in, only to find themselves near frozen AND scared to death when encountering the frozen bodies of acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. Creepy!
Snow reason for a fight!
Did you hear about the Slytherins and Gryffindors? They were up to their old tricks again, having an epic snow ball fight whilst the Hufflepuffs were hard at work trying to dig out of the snow and the Ravenclaws were holed up in the library. I guess its not a bad way to spend your time when you're snowed in in Hogwarts.
Got gossip? Tell us here!
By sapphoatsunset
By starfaerie82
To start off the term here at Horoscopes, I'm going to go a little bit beyond the usual zodiac signs to the signs of the Celtic Tree Zodiac. We will still feature the normal sun sign horoscopes most of the time, but I thought it might be fun to also explore other traditions once in a while.
Birch - The Achiever
Born December 24 - January 20
Traits: Highly driven, ambitious, always seeking better horizons. Like the tree, you are tolerant, tough and resilient. Cool-headed, natural leaders, quick-witted.
Compatibility: Vine & Willow
Rowan - The Thinker
Born January 21 - February 17
Traits: Philosophical, keen-minded, visionary, cool exterior that belies a burning passionate ideal. Naturally transform situations and people by your mere presence, highly influential, offers unique perspectives.
Compatibility: Ivy & Hawthorn
Ash - The Enchanter
February 18 - March 17
Traits: Free thinking, imaginative, intuitive, naturally artistic, sees the world with watercolor purity. Sometimes moody and withdrawn, inspires others, enchanting personality. Constant self-renewal, little use for the opinions of others.
Compatibility: Willow & Reed
Alder - The Trailblazer
Born March 18 - April 14
Traits: Pathfinder, mover and shaker, charming, gregarious, mingles easily, gets along with everybody, very focused, values time highly, hates wasted time, fluff and superficiality.
Compatibility: Hawthorn, Oak & Birch
Willow - The Observer
Born April 15 - May 12
Traits: Highly creative, intuitive to the point of highly psychic, intelligent; keen understanding that everything has its season, very patient, excellent memory that often impresses others.
Compatibility: Birch & Ivy
Hawthorn - The illusionist
Born May 13 - June 9
Traits: Embodiment of “don't judge a book by its cover”, well-adjusted, naturally curious, excellent listener, people seek you out to release burdens, healthy sense of humor, clear understanding of irony, amazing insight, don't give yourself enough credit.
Compatibility: Ash & Rowan
Oak - The Stabilizer
Born June 10 - July 7
Traits: Possessed of the special gift of strength, protective, crusaders for those without a voice, nurturing, generous, helpful, the gentle giant among the zodiac. Deep respect for history, ancestry, and most happy in large family settings, large community and social networks.
Compatibility: Ash, Reed & Ivy
Holly - The Ruler
Born July 8 - August 4
Traits: Noble, high-minded, takes on challenges easily, overcomes obstacles with skill and tact, kind, generous, and affectionate (once people get to know you). Because things come easily to you, you have a potential to become lazy if not kept active.
Compatibility: Ash & Elder
Hazel - The Knower
Born August 5 - September 1
Traits: Highly intelligent, organized, efficient, high retention of information, well-informed, comes across as a know-it-all at times, eye for detail. Need for order and control can lead to compulsive behavior. Likes making the rules rather than following them.
Compatibility: Hawthorn & Rowan
Vine - The Equalizer
Born September 2 - September 29
Traits: Changeable and unpredictable personality, full of contradictions, indecisive, you see both sides of the story. You enjoy finer things such as music, art, wine and food. Charming, elegant, classy and poised.
Compatibility: Willow & Hazel
Ivy - The Survivor
Born September 30 - October 27
Traits: Overcoming all odds, sharp intellect, compassion and loyalty to others. Giving nature, deeply spiritual, soft-spoken, keen wit. Charming and charismatic.
Compatibility: Oak & Ash
Reed - The Inquisitor
Born October 28 - November 24
Traits: Secret keeper, a thirst to root out deeper truths. Easily drawn by gossip, scandals, legends and lore. Would be an excellent historian, journalist, detective or archaeologist. Sometimes manipulative, but with a strong sense of truth and honor.
Compatibility: Reed, Oak & Ash
Elder - The Seeker
Born November 25 - December 23
Traits: Freedom-loving, appears to be a bit wild, thrill seeker in younger years. Tendency to be withdrawn in spite of extroverted nature. Deeply thoughtful with a philosophic bent, considerate, genuinely strives to be helpful, brutally honest.
Compatibility: Alder & Holly
hih_animagus
By starfaerie82
Hello and welcome to Term 28 everyone!
First up, a bit of housekeeping from the wrap up of last term. The December monthly activity results are in! In first place, with 421 points, is Hufflepuff house! Those who stamped their fellow students enough to earn the special prize may pick them up at the results post. Next up, please put your paws, fins, flippers and wings together for our December Animagus of the month.... sapphoatsunset/Bei of Ravenclaw!
Finally, on the Term 27 wrap up, Animagus choices have been posted for our lone December applicant; those who are curious can check out the choices post.
Next up, the new term has begun! Let's all welcome our Kaity//kaitydid33087 and Nikki//nowheretogo26, Animagus mods new and old. Kaity joins Nikki in Samantha//samantha's place-- Sam, thank you for all that you've done and Kaity, Nikki, welcome!
We have our January activity of the month, a cute little flash game called These Little Pigs. All you have to do is earn 500 points or more and screencap your results, then post them as a reply to the activity post. We also have a suggestion and question post for the new term, so why not go and offer up a few suggestions and get all those burning questions answered? We have also had our sweeps of those members who are deemed inactive from last term. The list can be found on the sweeps post. If you think you were cut in error, please contact a mod asap!
Finally, we are always open for new applicants who wish to become registered Animagi. You can find the application on the application post; just fill it in and submit. Of course, you have to possess the proper items in your vault before you apply. You will need The Standard Book of Spells grades 1-5, and that's pretty much it!
Let's have an amazing January, and an even more awesome Term 28!
hogsmeadewkends
By flipflop_diva
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Term 28 and 2014! I’m going to be filling you in on all the wild and crazy happenings over at hogsmeadewkends this term.
Let’s start with Term 27, though, shall we?
I want to give a warm round of applause to Avi/flyingharmony and Jamie/Jamie_love13 for their hard work as mayors last term! They did a fantastic job and gave us some great memories.
Which, speaking of, you should all head over right this second to check out the final results from December’s Hogsmeade. And if you participated in either October’s Hogsmeade or December’s, make sure you stop off over here to see if you earned a banner or two or ten. (Don’t forget to comment to let the makers know you picked yours up!)
And now, let’s move on to Term 28.
Huge congratulations go out to our new mayoral team of Liz/erzsebet of Gryffindor and Bei/sapphoatsunset of Ravenclaw! These two lovely ladies sure know how to jump into things fast. Before some mods even had their posting access, Bei and Liz not only got up their Term 28 Help Desk post but they also announced the dates and theme of the next Hogsmeade!
What’s that, you say?
That’s right, you guys. Hogsmeade is this weekend! I repeat, Hogsmeade is this weekend!!! As in, five days from now!
Okay, now that we’re all done panicking, let’s look at the details:
FOUNDER’S HOGSMEADE!
January 17-19, 2014
That’s right! We are going back in time and hanging out with Godric, Helga, Rowena and Salazar. Let’s just hope we can get back to the present once it’s over.
Normally, I would direct you all to activity signups and social director signups, but those are both closed, so while we wait for the schedule, why not head over to the banner contest? There are still a couple hours left to get your entries in if you are like me and haven’t done that yet. Those are due by 11:59pm UTC today (Monday, January 13).
After that, you can head over to this post and welcome our social directors for the weekend: Beth/prongsy of Gryffindor, Whitney/csichick_2 of Hufflepuff and Susan/susako of Ravenclaw.
And, of course, everyone should then finish up by heading on over to hh_flourish and signing up for a shop or stall! All houses have plenty of room left! Remember, themed tags can include the time period as well as the founders themselves!
Finally, before we go, there is one more shiny fancy thing to look at - Trophies and Souvenirs. For this term, activity banners have been replaced with trophies.
One activity in a category earns you a bronze, two or three a silver and four or more the gold. There may or may not also be souvenirs for other things, but I guess we’re going to have to wait and be surprised by those!
That’s it for me. Time is counting down fast, so go! Get ready for Hogsmeade! I’ll see you there!!!
By evening12
I hope that you've all had a great start to the new year. I am back with January's Member of the Month. This month we get to know one Gryffindor a little bit better. When this person was nominated, their nominator said that "[they] do so much in HiH that doesn't get noticed" and "[they] do a lot for the Gryffindor house".
coolceruleanblu of Gryffindor!
Alex and I talked a little bit over the holiday break and got to know each other before doing this interview just a few days ago. I learned that she had a lovely trip to Greece.
Because this question needs to be asked of everyone, how were you first introduced to Harry Potter?
My cousin Frances. She's 14 years older than me, and she introduced it to me when I was in high school. I - surprise surprise - didn't want to read it at first because I used to be a bit of a brat and tried to do everything anti-mainstream. Hahahah. But she convinced me that I would love them and I read the first book and got hooked. I think it was when I was 17 or 16.
I'm just realizing that I don't know how old you are so I can't do the math. Were the movies out when you first read the books?
I'm 29. I almost said 28, because I try to hold on to the young years and don't want to face the fact I turn 30 this year, so I think the first movie may have just come out or was about to come out. I didn't see it until it was on DVD. But I saw the second one opening night (midnight opening) with my sister when I moved to New York City for college.
Do you speak Greek? I know that you have family in Greece.
I do. It was actually my first language. When my mom brought me to apply for kindergarten, she was worried I wouldn't get in because she thought I didn't know any English. Unbeknownst to her, I'd watched a lot of Sesame Street and had my sister to talk to.
Does that mean that you've read HP in Greek?
I've tried to! I actually started it. But even though Greek is my first language it's not my best language. hahah. I do have a copy of the Philosopher's Stone in Greek, and when I was recently there for the holidays, I started it but never got to finishing it. It's on my list of things to do this year, though!
You'll have to let me know if/when you finish it :) What was your favorite fan moment?
I think my favorite fan moment was when I stepped into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the first time. I mean my sister and I spent three days JUST THERE, and barely went to anything else at the Islands of Adventure. No joke, we had lunch and dinner at the Three Broomsticks, and would just stare at the castle. It's the best. I've been two more times since. Both times with others. I'd like to go alone or with my sister again, because though I love traveling with others you have to cater to other people's wishes and I'm so stubborn that I like getting my own way.
I am so jealous that you went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It looks amazing. Let's talk about HiH for a bit. What makes you want to stay in the community?
Definitely the friends I've made and that it's just awesome. I mean with the clubs and everything, it's like you're there (or can imagine that you are), and I just love Hogsmeade (even though it was intimidating at first).
Hehehe. Any tips to braving Hogsmeade and having fun?
You don't have try to do EVERYTHING on the first time. I think that's what scared me is that there is SO much going on. I would say focus on the social posts because it's a good way to make friends and there are a ton of awesome people at HiH.
That sounds like solid advice. Your nominator said that you were "amazingly friend to everyone in HU chat". Is that something that you try to do?
I do :) I like meeting new people, and making friends. I always try to be nice to people (though sometimes it's not possible), but I think it usually does you more harm than good to be indifferent or mean. I have always believed in karma that you get what you give.
What has been your proudest moment at HiH?
When I sold my first sigtag at my flourish shop. I think my thoughts exactly were, "YAY! PEOPLE LIKE THEM!"
How did you come up with the name of your shop?
It was actually a suggestion I'd had for a real shop that sold knitted things and had like a "witchy" feel to it. I had other ideas for it too.
Ohhh. Do you remember any of the other contenders?
I found them actually because I remember what I'd tagged it:
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia,
Antiquated Annotations,
For F*@&'s Sake (which I'm not sure would be allowed but it's not the actual curse word. It's gobbledygook),
Siberian Flying Squirrels,
A Pirate's Den (or Booty),
And someone was like 'I also kind of like gobbledygook as a name', which made me giggle.
Anything else you'd like to say to the Daily Prophet readers?
Thank you to whomever nominated me, I am deeply touched and honored :)
And because I was asked this question before and couldn’t think of a great answer, I’m asking you: If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only eat one fruit/veggie what would you pick?
Oh, man, I know it. Apples. I could eat all the apples in the world. All the time, ever and only those. I'd be okay with that.
Thanks a whole bunch for doing this. And it was nice to get to know you.
This is it! Know someone who is just as awesome and deserves to be our Member of the Month? Drop by the Nomination Post.
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.
Term XXVIII, Issue 01 Page 3
gryff_lions|Flourish Shoppes|Pirates
By xonceinadream
Welcome to Term XXVIII, Gryffindors! I hope you guys are all ready for a great new term.
First things first, let's give a warm re-welcome to Jessica | admires who has rejoined Gryffindor! Check out her welcome post here and welcome her back to Gryffindor. There were no new cubs last week, but we did have 13 Top Sorters earning Gryffindor 390 points! If you sorted last week, there's a sigtag waiting for you. And an extra round of applause to Caiti | caitriona_3 who was our star sorter!
Your prefects for this term are Morgan | wizbey and Emily | xonceinadream. There's an introduction post to get to know your new prefects here and a contact post here if you ever need to get a hold of them!
We say a sad goodbye to Ashley | emptyhanded09 as Gryffindor's mini-mod, which was announced here. But welcome to Martine | la_loony as the new Gryffindor mini-mod! Let's treat her well.
Something you didn't like last term? Something you really want to see this term? Check out the feedback post here and be sure to let the prefects know what you'd like to see this term! Gryffindor is also looking for some helpers, mostly people who'd like to create social posts or host Gryffindor chats. Gryffindors are welcome to make posts in the tower whenever they'd like but having a social circle (of life) means that there should be regular social posts. If you'd like to help out around the tower, then sign up!
The Big Lion/bb cub program has been restarted! If you're interested in being a Big Lion, you can check out the sign-ups here, and new members should sign up here.
The January In-House contest has been posted! We all know that Gryffindor is awesome, but we want other houses to see it too. If you get in the top five, then your reason that you love being in Gryffindor could be posted on the profile for everybody to see! The deadline for submitting your reason is January 27 at 11:59pm UTC time and you can submit here.
The Spreadsheep has been updated! Thanks so much to Alex | gryffinwhore for updating it for the new term. To fill up the spreadsheep, be sure to check out Martine | la_loony's Activity Round-Up. There's plenty to do to earn those precious points for Gryffindor, so let's do this!
Don't forget to keep an eye on the Gryffindor Bulletin Board. Important posts, things to see in HIH and a featured Flourish shop are just some of the fun things on there. There's also some Hogsmeade information on the Bulletin Board, along with Liz | erzsebet's post here. The first Hogsmeade of the term is coming up fast!
Until next time! Stay awesome, Gryffindor!
the_puff_house|Flourish Shoppes|Puffs of the Round Table
By kaitydid33087
Hello Puffies!
Welcome to a new year and a new term! I hope all of your holidays were happy ones!
The new term has brought new prefects, so let's give a warm welcome and a big congrats to Sam//samantha and Dani//pinkphoenix1985! Congrats to the both of you! We're looking forward to what Term 28 brings!
With new prefects, we also have other new HiH officials. Give a big congrats to
-Kaity//kaitydid33087 as the new Animagus mod, also working with Nikki//nowheretogo26
-Curtis//musikurt as the Voting Manager and a Clubs Mod
-Nikki//nowheretogo26 as a Flourish mod
-Avi//flyingharmony as a Hogwarts Icon mod
-Kristine//flipflop_diva and Caitie//caitieness as the Sorted Challenge mods
-And Kristine//flipflop_diva as an Order mod
We're all very excited to see what you do in Term 28!
Already, we have a brand new bb Badger in the Dens! Welcome Layla//delacourtings! We're happy to have you with us!
Speaking of bb Badgers, be sure you stop by over here to sign up to be a Big Badger and Newbie Sigtag maker, to help show our new bbs around!
Sam and Dani have already brought in some super exciting changes! See their intro over here!
Check out the Weekly Round Up! if you haven't! It gives you lots of information for what's going on around the comm and in the house!
Our new In-House activity is posted! Stop by and fill out the app and then stamp everyone else! It's lots of fun, I promise!
Did you earn a prize for Knight Week? Be sure you stop by the prize post to see what you won!
Participated in Secret Santa? The gifts can be found here! Stop by to get your goodies!
The December Puff of the Month was announced! Congrats to Whitney//csichick_2!
That's it for this week Puffies! Keep being awesome!
ravenclaw_house|Flourish Shoppes|Vikings
By susako
Welcome, Claws! First off, let's say hooray because WE WON THE CUP, YO. YEAAAAHHH. Congrats to everyone for their hard work this past term and to Anie//wasureneba and Erin//anirishlullaby for being our lovely prefects ♥
Now that that's done though, we've rolled straight into Term XXVIII with Martine//evening12 and Emma//storminmay as our queens prefects - say hello to them here or leave a comment/question/suggestion! We also have a number of lovely Claws stepping into officials positions, so congratulations and good luck to Evy//slumber (HiH Mod, Appeals Mod, Daily Prophet Editor), Iris//pierhias (Clubs Co-Mod), Bei//sapphoatsunset (Hogsmeade Co-Mayor, Sugarquill Co-Mod), Chelsea//interchanges (Order Co-Mod, Stamping Mod) and Anie//wasureneba (Sugarquill Co-Mod). Love and hugs to you all! There is now a spreadsheet so go forth and tally to your heart's content. Also, why not sign up to be a Viking Voyager? Oh, and check out the term's first issue of The Quibbler and all the top sorters while you're at it.
Let's take a break to celebrate the cup again!
You can all expect to have trophies in your vaults shortly, by the way because WE WON THE CUP, YO.
Elsewhere around the tower, our Mini-Rowenas prefects have set up a Claw Tumblr for us to get even more Clawesome. Lii//kinglii also wants help from fellow Disney fans.
Ohhh, we had a good time in Term XXVII, didn't we? Allison//pinksonia wrote a very useful guide, we had all that excitement over the spreadsheet, Ravenclaw/Stamping totally became a thing, Bei taught us all how to max out at Hogwarts Icons, there was that crazy party post that time. Oh, and remember when we all shared our love of spreadsheets? Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Ravenclaw victory, in fact, anyone who is a Ravenclaw in general because you are all BAMFs and Mama Rowena and Hiddles loves every. Single. One. Of. You.
cunningfolk|Flourish Shoppes|Vampire
By autumn_mist
Welcome to another edition of "Cunningfolk", where I tell you all about the fun things going on over in the Slytherin Common Room.
Term XXVIII has begun, and although we had to say goodbye to mmailliw, your prefects surmise and autumn_mist came out ready to rock! We have some really exciting things planned for this term, and we hope you will all join us in making this our best term ever!
• Don't forget to participate in our current In-House contest, going on over HERE. We've had a decent turnout so far, but we'd love to see more participation.
• CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER FOR blaze2242 for becoming our FIRST Star Sorter of Term XXVII!!
• Speaking of Star Sorters... have you been collecting your tags? Now everyone who votes on an applicant gets a shiny tag to display!
Now on to Slytherins Around HiH!
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SLYTHERINS AT SUGARQUILL:
• mmailliw has posted a manip entitled "The Least Likely Vampire" that can be viewed HERE
• autumn_mist has posted a manip entitled "Voldemort's Newest Horocrux" that can be viewed HERE
• superficiality has posted artwork entitled "Pansy Parkinson Sux (Blood)" that can be viewed HERE and House Makeup that can be viewed HERE
• cyn_ful has been a busy little bee. She has posted a FIC entitled All I Want For Christmas -Part 2 that can be viewed HERE (part ONE can be viewed HERE), a FICLET entitled Trapped, part 2 that can be viewed HERE and a FIC entitled Christmas Eve Magic that can be viewed HERE
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SLYTHERINS AT HOGWARTSICONS:
• djmayhem_aubrey has posted 16 ASSORTED ICONS that can be viewed HERE
• cyn_ful has posted 10 VARIATIONS - PANSY PARKINSON that can be viewed HERE
• MOONY_BLUES has posted 10 VARIATIONS: HERMIONE GRANGER that can be viewed HERE
• _SHAOMAO_ has posted 10 VARIATIONS: HERMIONE GRANGER that can be viewed HERE
• FANGSS has posted 4 icons and 2 banners that can be viewed HERE
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SLYTHERINS AT HH_CLUBS:
• djmayhem_aubrey has posted a new event for the Slug Club that can be viewed HERE. Make sure you're on the ROSTER to get those bonus points!
• cyn_ful has posted a new event for the Ministry of Magic that can be viewed HERE. Make sure you're on the ROSTER to get those bonus points!
• autumn_mist has posted a new event for the Charms Club that can be viewed HERE. Make sure you're on the ROSTER to get those bonus points!
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SLYTHERINS AT HH_FLOURISH:
• Don't forget you can order a MAX of 10 sigtags from ALL our Slytherin shops located at hh_flourish if you find any that strike your fancy. Our current shop keepers are:
autumn_mist with Accio Malfoy
burningxhope with Black Rabbits
cyn_ful with Ultimate Surprises
fangss with Riddikulus
moony_blues with MoonyDoodles
OR if you are graphically inclined yourself, why not apply for a spot?. There are currently still FIVE spots available!
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And always remember Slytherin House - You ROCK!
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.