Daily Prophet 30th August Issue 8 Term XIV
Term XIV, Issue 08 August 31st, 2009
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Writing Activities:
hh_sugarquill
hh_writersblock
hih_thegame
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sortedchallenge
hogwartsicons
hogwarts_battle
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Last week's answer:
It was a Kneazle.
As there was so much confusion about what the image depicted, everyone who submitted earned the 10 points participation. Well done to everyone!
The Daily Prophet Quiz will continue from next issue under a new editor.
Welcome to hogwartsishome! You will find many great people and many, many fun things to do. Make sure you join your common room and then check out a bunch of the activities listed here. Also, please check out page 3 for fun in-house news! We hope you'll have a great time at Hogwarts!
Common rooms:
gryff_lions the_puff_house ravenclaw_house cunningfolk
Headmaster Dumbledore,
I know that Aberforth is quite fond of goats. What is your favourite animal?
Get Your Goat in Gryffindor
Dearest Gryffindor,
Whilst my brother has a certain fondness for animals that I cannot begin to come close to, I myself do have a few favourite animals. Because you are a Gryffindor, I will assume that you have been to my office for an official "stern talking to," at least once during your tenure at Hogwarts. I do love my phoenix, but I have always wanted a unicorn... In fact, I shall go and travel to another painting of Brian the Barmy, as a unicorn wandered there last night and awoke all the portraits on the fourth floor.
Kindly,
Albus Dumbledore, Unicorn Lover.
Dear Dumbledore,
There are many 'ships surrounding your wonderful school, ones including yourself even, and I was wondering if you had a favorite. Professor, what would you consider your One True Pairing?
OTPuff
Dear OTPuff,
I am blushing harder than ever at being considered part of a true pairing (or multiple, which does defeat the purpose, does it not?). I try not to get into the romantic affairs of my students, as that would be a conflict of interest, though I do enjoy the occasional midnight stroll and accidental happening upon student trysts. If you are seeking privacy, students, don't go to any of the high towers.
Ah, right, back to the question. My one true pairing would have to be... Gilderoy/Mirror. It works itself out nicely and no one gets hurt in the end.
Kindly,
Albus Dumbledore
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.
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Term XIV, Issue 08 Page 2
hh_sugarquill hh_writersblock
By nathaniel_hp
The term is drawing to a close, and I am sure most of you are powered out from a busy weekend at Hogsmeade and/or working on earning some last-minute points. Nevertheless, for those quiet moments in between, or for when you need to take a break, I am bringing you some hh_sugarquill and hh_writersblock recs from the last couple of weeks of term XIV.
hh_writersblock is owned by delorispea and yours truly at the moment. Where is everyone else? Come join us! Fifty-two challenges to choose from; surely you'll find something that tickles your fancy. But on to the recs:
delorispea's contributions are all wonderfully rare rarepairs, for example Lily/Hagrid: Her Eyes, rated PG.
Things are much more lively at hh_sugarquill, which has been insanely busy. I don't even know where to start. So many writers, so many fics, ficlets, drabbles and poems, so many pairings to choose from. Here's a little selection:
gryffinwhore wrote a, as she calls it, "crack haiku poem thing" about Gilderoy Lockhart's recovery at St Mungo's, titled ~*~GRIEF~*~.
Or maybe a smutty H/D? kiebeau's Exhale is a perfect summer fic.
latenightcuppa's all of this has happened before is a short and sweet look at Remus/Sirius through Dumbledore's eyes.
colours_unseen's Slave for a Day made me smile. So very Charlie!
And with that, I shall close the last Writing Spotlight of Term XIV. I am looking forward to more great writing in the coming term.
hh_sugarquill sortedchallenge hogwartsicons
By hecticity
I have followed Daily Deviant and Hump Day Smut over my years in the HP fandom, and I honestly thought I'd seen it all. However, one of our fanartists has managed to render me speechless. Congratulations, rijiysu of Hufflepuff, your Aragog/Lucius art. For some reason, even though the only other Aragog pairing I've seen depicted in art (it was Aragog/Ron, if I recall correctly) was much higher in rating, I find this one more... disturbing, for lack of a better word, although I'm not so much squicked as just... doing the train-wreck stare.
What makes it the most fascinating is the detail. The expression on Lucius' face, Aragog's eyes and leg hair... (And for anyone who actually wants the higher rated stuff, just read delorispea's fic! It's linked in the art post.)
If that's not your cup of tea, try naobot of Ravenclaw's drawing of the Sisters of Slytherin. I love everything about this piece - the simple, elegant lines, the colors (used sparingly and purposefully), and the characterization. Bellatrix is stark and perfect, Andromeda looks like she's off in her own little world, and Narcissa's facing the world head on with a little worried frown. I'm biased because I adore the Black sisters, but this is one of my favorite pieces to show up in hh_sugarquill so far.
There's been quite a lot of activity in hogwartsicons recently, as members scramble to post before the end of term. Each graphics maker has their own unique style, but there are a few posts that stand out - qioui of Hufflepuff's OotP icons, which have beautiful coloring and use of textures, and princessbloomy of Slytherin's amazing debut icon post. I've been following her work on bloomyicons for a while, but her animations and style never fail to amaze me.
Congratulations to all of the winners for Challenge 14 and 15 at sortedchallenge, and to the winners of Challenge 16, whenever those results are posted.
It's been great fun admiring all the beautiful artwork that was posted this term and getting to write about it. There are some truly wonderful artists in this community, and I hope you keep up the good work!
hih_insomniacs
By lotrangel17
As we wind up the term over at hih_insomniacs, things are a little sad as we complete our last activities with la_conquistador. August Activity #1 Pet Peeves found alohachary1851 of Gryffindor in first, yanderess of Slytherin in second, and zestyzorra of Gryffindor in third. Gryffindor took top points overall with Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff behind. The last monthly activity for the term was for a new layout at the late night community. Voting should be up as this edition goes out, so be on the lookout for that post and vote for your favorite new community makeover. Also coming soon will be the announcement of the August Insomniac of the Month, so those of you that did all the activities, keep your fingers crossed.
The scavenger hunts results for August were awesome! August Scavenger Hunt #2: "Whatever" found Gryffindor first, Ravenclaw second, Slytherin third, and Hufflepuff last. Scavenger Hunts 3 & 4 "International Superhits" & "Obscure Shops" found the Lions in first for both, as well as the Eagles in second for both. Hufflepuff and Slytherin alternated placing in third and fourth. August Scavenger Hunt #5: "THE END" is a graphic collage of what HiH means to you, so check that out before August 30th, but be sure and post between midnight and 8AM, during your local insomniac hours.
Until next term, I leave you with words by F. Scott Fitzgerald: "It appears that every man's insomnia is as different from his neighbor's as are their daytime hopes and aspirations."
hih_animagus
By accountingwitch
The term has been winding down, with activities ending and results posting, and as a result, the Animagus community has been very quiet over the past two weeks. I'm sure we're all anxiously awaiting the results to the Pack Collages activity, and at the time of posting, the Animagus potentials!
But that doesn't mean we can't raise a ruckus over the new additions! Say hello to:
Welcome to the forest, you guys!
As mentioned last issue, xfortytwo is stepping down after spending several terms at the helm. However, slyfoxesq is not, and has re-applied for Animagus mod. Including Kai, five hopefuls await our decision, but which two will come out on top? Why don't you go and choose!
Become an Animagus! We have a super-secret club, awesome animal forms and bonus points and knuts! Purchase Miranda Goshawk's The Standard Book of Spells, vol. 1-5 from Flourish & Blotts, then fill in the application. The application also awards PACKMATES POINTS to any referee you mention, so find a friend who's particularly active and give him or her some extra points!
If you would like to write an article for a future issue of the Daily Prophet, please comment at the signup sheet.
Term XIV, Issue 08 Page 3
gryff_lions|Flourish Shoppes|Pirates
By alohachary1981
Oh dear god, they're back again.
Some of you have broken out into songs by the Backstreet Boys, others of you are probably agreeing because of this and the subsequent aftermath here. Why, yes, you have all been subject to a Gryffinprank. We hope you enjoyed your time and we would all like to let you know that anything that is borne of GryffChat is subject to dubious insanity and widespread approval within Gryffindor Tower TM. How could you all actually believe that WE, the house that Godric built, could forsake CAPSLOCK completely? Oh, silly houses.
Onward and upward! The last two weeks brought about a great resurgence in Gryffindor power! This started with the sorting of the most recent and very active Gryffs: callousandcold, quackypenguin, amorfati1013, insideinsanityy, irishkitten441, orpheous87, phoenix_on_ice, _j_e_s_s_i_ and to_gild_a_lily. We crotchety, elder Gryffs find all these bright-eyed and eager cubs endearing, and we are looking forward to seeing more of them in the house!
Oh my HOGSMEADE! Unlike Hogsmeade's past, this most recent Hogsmeade had a recurring theme: Gryffindor. Yes, that was the theme. Gryffindor participation increased by some number, but the main point is that it is UP indeed (that's what she said). S.P.E.W., Care of Magical Creatures, Insomniacs, ABC Story, Shutterbug, Sorted Challenge, Gladrags, Astronomy- A LOT of activities had Gryffindor wins, whether by placement or sheer volume.
The term is almost over and the Gryffs are making their final push with posts from more than just the prefects telling everyone to participate. zestyzorra is especially prolific in the tower and we love her for it! weddingbeaches had an entire post of doom for Hogsmeade Weekend and gryffinwhore, 3whiteroses, jessilestrange, dither_spaz, planetgal471, and Gryffindor's resident Mufasa beckella keep the Common Room hopping on a regular basis. How do we all keep up?
WE NEVER SLEEP. OVER AND OUT LIKE A CUB SCOUT.
-Chary
cunningfolk|Flourish Shoppes|Mafia
By supremacy_born
First of all - CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SLYTHERIN QUIDDITCH TEAM FOR WINNING THE QUIDDITCH CUP FOR THIRD TERM IN A ROW. Yes, indeed, how awesome is that? :D Just about as awesome as this:
My dear Slytherin Quidditch Team, you rock our boat. :D Also, this past weekend Slytherins were buzzing in Hogsmeade, during which several interesting facts were revealed. First of all, whoever thought that Slytherins didn't have a sense of humour was seriously mistaken! It was also interesting to observe that trivalent had the best knowledge about the ongoings of Aberforth Dumbledore, and as always, it is apparent that Slytherins have a strange fascination with logic puzzles because mmailliw and hecticity placed 1st and 2nd in the Sorters Anonymous Hogsmeade Puzzle. Our wonderful graphics makers also had a wonderful showing in the Wizarding Wear sigtag sale, and overall, it was a very successful weekend. :D Well done my fellow snakes!
The official positions for TERM XV have also been announced, and plenty of ambitious Slytherins have stepped up to the job. Please welcome your new Slytherin Prefects, hecticity and (moi) supremacy_born! We have large shoes to fill after the great job our previous Prefects have done, but we promise to stand by you through good times and bad. :) slyfoxesq is also returning to be the Animagus co-mod together with trivalent, who is going to be our new Diagon Mod as well! And to top it all off, nathaniel_hp has picked up the great job of modding hh_writersblock. Please wish all these individuals the best of luck! I am sure they will do their best to represent our awesome House.
We've also got plenty of new Slytherin Club leaders: please welcome trivalent, our new Dueling Club leader, slyfoxesq, our new Potions Club leader and mmailliw who will be dealing with the complicated subject of Transfiguration! And last but not least, we've got some wonderful new snakelings in the dugeons: please give a warm welcome to discipuladc, tsunderess, kasenshiki, clytemnestra215, adonniel and sanggre_habagat! We very much hope that you will enjoy your stay in the dungeons, and we look forward to seeing you around! In Slytherin is truly where you find your best friends, and that is certainly the case here. :)
WIN WIN SLYTHERIN!
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