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- Ancient Runes
- Grammar School
- Creative Corner
- How can I be a better Writer
- Story Corner
- Great Book Review
- Dear Aunt Molly
- League Table
- Trivia and Puzzles
A Vision Of The Future
“That thing that you carry does not belong here,” a voice said out of nowhere, startling the poor girl as she made her treacherous trek across the decaying mass that was her personal garden. It had been gifted to her by her captor, Hades, as a peace offering but she found the deceptive buds and mesmerizing hues a bit too discerning. Persephone looked around, capturing only a glimpse of the image of the owner of the mysterious voice. Her unpleasant guest was incorrigible and arrogant. What she possessed could very well change the course of history if it fell into the wrong hands, and she was sure she was doing the right thing by destroying it before it ever did.
“You know not what you are doing.”
“I know more than you think,” she whispered with a scathing tone. Whipping her head around, Persephone came to an embankment just beyond the reaches of her garden. There, she sat down and allowed the creatures of the land to entrance her.
Persephone stared into the endless abyss that lay before her. She’d grown tired of waiting for the eclipse that would become the new world… a world that she envisioned so many times created at the hands of some unknown tyrant. The smoke from her signature hand-sculpted skull vape swirled around her in voluptuous clouds, rotating in synchronization as she closed her eyes and almost inhaled the colorful visual she was witnessing before her. She saw shards of darkness and heard the sharp intake of air upon the first elegant blow of a powerful reign. This wasn’t a vision she was witnessing; it was the future of the world as she knew it. One day, the world would come to an end.
“You know it is terribly impolite to stare,” she whispered to the darkness, opening her eyes and exhaling deeply as if the light in which she found herself was scorching her skin. She’d come to the realization someone had followed her long before she sat down in the dank abandonment that was her home and in the embankment of this starry night, the boy’s presence only served to anger him. Three nights in a row she found herself playing a morbid host and it was about time she put an end to it. “Even more so… it is entirely impolite not to introduce yourself before you try to draw your wand on someone.”
A shadow moved in her peripheral vision.
She watched him from the corner of her eye, a trait that she’d long since come to own. Aside from her frosty appearance, her admiration in herself was ghastly and only served to motivate her more in her journey to rid the world of all that was unholy. Unfortunately, that didn’t explain her newly found companion’s decision to follow him during the apex of the night and scurrying away like a damn fool at the slightest inclination.
For some strange, the boy fascinated her. No matter how much she tried, Persephone could not see the boy in the foreseeable future, something that had been troubling her as of late. She believed that one day, she would die at her companion’s hands. But, what sort of death would it be without knowing the name of her executioner?
“I’m gonna die and I don’t even know your name,” she finally said. The cold thin air became their anthem, a pounding demonstration to how much the boy controlled her. She’d never known such submission or absolute domination. “If that so pleases you, then at least give me the liberty of knowing it before I meet my demise.”
“I would rather not,” the boy said, his voice nothing but a breathy whisper upon Persephone’s otherwise cool skin. “Otherwise, you would know the name of your murderer.”
With swift movements, Persephone surrounded herself with the vestigial creatures of her new homeland, ushering to aid her to the best of her ability. They knew what she was sent on doing and came to guard against anything or anyone who was courageous enough to oppose her. She stood up, guarding herself with only her wand, a simplistic relic of the Gods that served as one of the most powerful weapons in the Mythical world. Her husband did not know she possessed such an astounding artifact, and even if he did, she would protect it with her life. This boy did not belong to her world, or any world for that matter and needed to be exterminated immediately.
“To wield such a powerful weapon and not know how to use it…” the boy mused in a playful tone, contradictory to his otherwise stoic demeanor. He excused himself from the shadows, taking root in the very spot that protected her from his strange aura. With a glance, he chuckled at the surrounding army she summoned before meeting her with two different colored irises.
Persephone held her breath.
These eyes had been in her vision and she knew right then and there she found the one who’d destroy them all.
INTRO TO ANCIENT RUNES
Welcome to Ancient Runes class! In this subject you will learn how to translate various types of runes and how to form them yourselves. This is a very advanced subject, so think twice before taking it when starting your extra classes. The textbooks you will need are either Ancient Runes Made Easy or Spellman’s Syllabary. One Hermione Granger swears by Spellman’s!
Many of the runes you will learn are adapted from Old Norse or proto-Germanic runes, with other influences as well. Ancient Runes are well, ancient, so dig into the deep past for this tricky round!
Okay, it is time to get started, so have fun translating.
EXPERT HELP FROM CLAUDE AMELIA SONG
This fortnight’s we have a bonus round, “All Aboard The Ancient Runes Express”, which is dedicated to the Ancient Greek Mythology. Now, for a person who is completely in love Greek Mythology, I have to say, I really love this round. I like in particular the fact that we are talking about Ancient Greek, not, Percy Jackson. I am a huge fan of Mr. Riordan’s work, but without the Greeks, we wouldn’t have had Percy and the Olympians. To help you with your stories—although probably many have already started—I decided to break down some of the prompts that have been presented us.
Medusa and The Gorgons
Medusa is the name of the most known and most ferocious Gorgon and the most hideous of them as well. Medusa and her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, were the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, and lived in an island away, in the realms of the eldest of titans, Oceanus. From the three sisters, Medusa is the sole mortal, the other two having been born with immortality.
However, she wasn’t always an atrocious monster who petrified anyone who dared to look at her. No, once she had been a most beautiful maiden, so beautiful that she had caught the eyes of one of the most powerful gods, Poseidon, the god of the sea. He had been so besotted with the girl that he had decided to have her in any way possible. As such, he had taken her right in Athena’s temple. The maiden goddess of wisdom and fair war couldn’t stand such disrespect and cursed Medusa, transforming her from the beautiful girl she had been into monster we know her now, with snakes instead of hair that turn everyone to stone. Her sisters had shared her fate.
Years later, Perseus, the son of Zeus (hey that rhymed!), had been tasked by Polydectes to bring him her head. The king wanted Perseus mother and thus eliminating the son who opposed the union was top priority. For an ordinary mortal, this would have been a death sentence. For Perseus, it had been a chance to prove his bravery and take his place between the Greek Heroes. With the aid of Athena however who gifted him magical objects from different gods (the Cap of Invisibility from Hades, the pair of winged sandals from Hermes, a reflective bronze shield from herself, and a sword from Hephaestus) he managed to defeat and kill Medusa, taking her head with him to the king.
The Labyrinth
A cousin of Perseus and the son of Poseidon would be Theseus. He had been raised by his mother, Aethra, and later had become the son of Egeus, the king of Athene whom her mother had laid the night he had been conceived. Aethra had told him about his birthright—to become the king of Athene, and had send him to his father. On his way, Theseus had faced six labours who had changed him into a man and had brought him in the Heroes chariot. Athenians praise him as the Dorians praise Heracles.
There are many tales on how exactly Theseus found himself on the Crete Island, facing the wrath of King Minos and being sent to the Labyrinth to die of the hands of the Minotaur. Certain is, that he went, leaving off with set a black sail, promising to his father, Aegeus, that he would change it to white if he were to succeed.
Once arrived, Ariadne, King Minos’ daughter, fell in love with Theseus and decided to help him defeat her half brother—the Minotaur by giving him a ball of thread so he could find his way out of the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth had been a complex and confusing structure designed and built by the legendary architect Daedalus for King Minos at Knossos, near the royal palace. It had been designed specifically to keep the Minotaur in as well as anyone who dared or was sent to enter inside it. Daedalus had made it in such a way the he had trouble escaping it.
Inside the labyrinth, our hero followed the instructions given to Ariadne by Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth: go forwards, always down and never left or right. Theseus found the sleeping Minotaur right in the middle of it. They fought, with the son of Poseidon winning. Using the string to get out, Theseus escaped with all of the young Athenians, Ariadne and younger sister Phaedra, leaving the twisted Labyrinth behind.
The Golden Fleece and The Garden of Hesperides
This would be one of favourites stories in Greek Mythology where you can really see how related everything is and just every piece fits. It’s also known as “Jason and the Argonauts” and it basically reunites Greece’s greatest heros in their mission to take the Golden Fleece from its resting space.
Hesperides is the name given to the nymphs of the evenings and sunsets and they are in one of the versions daughters of the titan Atlas and in other they share parents with the Gorgons.
They live in a beautiful garden—The Garden of Hesperides, at the end of Oceanus, today—near the Atlas Mountain. There is said to have been the garden of Hera, the queen of gods. At her wedding with Zeus she had received many gifts, one of them—from Gaia—the Golden Apples. She had planted them in her west garden with the Hesperides and the dragon Ladon as their keepers. In some legends the garden had also been the place where The Golden Fleece was kept (safely), until it had been taken by Jason and his “team of heroes”. In others, it is not the case. For sure, the Argonauts had taken it in the end.
The way that the Golden Fleece came to be is not as golden as its name. Athamas, the ruler of king of Orchomenus married the goddess Nephele. They had two children, a boy and a girl, Phrixus and Helle. Later he fell in love with another, Ino, and married her. However, Nephele was a goddess and she cursed the land with drought.
Ino was so jealous of her husband’s children that she plotted their death. One legend says that she convinced their father that Phrixus’ death was the only way to end the drought. Nephele had been the one to save them in the end. She appeared to them with a winged ram which had a golden fleece. They run with it, flying over the sea. Unfortunately, Helle fell and drowned in the strait now named after her, the Hellespont. Her brother arrived to safety in Colchis, a place ruled by a son of Helios, the sun god.
There Phrixus sacrificed the winged ram to Poseidon, it’s supposed father. It became the constellation Aries. Phrixus remained there for the rest of his life. He hung the Golden Fleece on an oak and had it guarded by a never sleeping dragon.
Themes
Ilvermorny – Hermes
Hermes is the god of thieves, the messenger of the gods, and in many ways, the trickster god. Hermes is not always the funny good guy; he can be a thief and easily come through in a villain for your story. Elements of his character should be incorporated, such as plot point of something being stolen, or someone who is a messenger, or maybe it would be a fantastic way to incorporate Fred and George or the Marauders prankster natures into the tale? Make sure you also include the Ancient Greek theme in your story. To help with this, the prompts include creatures and characters from the mythology.
Beauxbatons – Athena
Athena is the Goddess of wisdom, intelligence, peace, and warfare. She is clever and likes to play with the faith of the world, but she can be reasoned with. Her character can influence the story in many ways, such as a battle strategy, for the more serious plots, or even strategies in the everyday struggles your characters have. For this theme, your characters should use their wit to get out of sticky situations or strategy, this can be in how to deal with the problem or even how to handle a battle or war. The prompts for this round are themed on Ancient Greece too, and that is to help you really bring that theme to life.
Durmstrang – Pan
Pan is the god of shepherds, pastures, and fertility. He takes care of all souls wandering this earth. This theme is really going to be about nurturing, and caring. The fertility can inspire familial care or love as the centre of your story, but you can also use Pan’s characteristics as the god of nature, to inspire a deep love of animals and nature. For example, how would Pan feel about creatures being enslaved or mistreated? I think he would be about as happy as Hermione and the rest of the SPEW organization. There is also the theme of spring and new life. Remember that the prompts are linked to Ancient Greek culture this is to enable you to keep stories somewhat linked to the overall theme of the round.
Mahoutokoro – Artemis
Artemis is the virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals and young girls. She is playful and immature but holds a pearl of naive wisdom and intuition. This story should have a focus on innocence, and a serious lack of romance. Artemis did not trust boys at all, and encouraged all her huntresses to steer clear of them for life! She is playful, but also a huntswoman, which means she is very good at chasing down a creature, a criminal, anything that you think needs to be dealt with. Remember to include something from the Ancient Greek culture. The prompts this round are linked to the theme and should offer you a variety of options to represent the overall theme in your story.
Hogwarts – Zeus
Zeus is the ruler of the gods, and god of thunder and lightning, order, and justice. His judgment is law, but it can sometimes be clouded by the thunderstorm that comes with his wrath. For this theme to be fulfilled, we are looking for characters that have anger issues, someone that is really struggling to keep a lid on it! This can be righteous, trying to dish out their version of justice. Keep in mind that justice can be both right and wrong. Remember to incorporate some of the Ancient Greek cultures into your story, this should be easier due to the prompts that are available to you. Zeus represents leadership due to being the king of the Gods, and lightening, due to Zeus being the god of thunder. Immortality due to the Greek rune for immortality being a lightning bolt
Firstly, we would like to apologise for not featuring a Grammar School last round. Sometimes our lives are far too busy, and while we wish this was what we did for a living, it is not, which means sometimes we drop the ball. This is one of the things that just had to be dropped last round, as work, families and other obligations must sometimes supercede this fabulous competition.
Round 5 – Dialogue Tags and Action Beats
This round we are looking at the way that we punctuate and write both dialogue tags and action beats within our writing. Initially, we need to define each of them. A dialogue tag is the small phrase at the end of dialogue that indicates who and how something was said: ‘Harry shrieked’ or ‘Hermione sighed’. Action beats also come after dialogue, however, it indicates an action that is taking place rather than indicating how something was said: ‘Ron smiled’, ‘Snape glared at Harry’.
Dialogue Tags
When you are using dialogue tags, here are some simple rules to consider:
- Be unobtrusive.
- Use tags when it is unclear who is speaking.
- Avoid using adverbs (a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb or a word group, expressing a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, degree, etc. (e.g., gently, quite, then, there )) too frequently.
- Vary positioning of dialogue tags.
Punctuating a dialogue tag
If the tag comes before the dialogue, use a comma straight after the tag. Start the dialogue with a capital letter:
Harry said, “It’s so gloomy out.”
If the tag comes after the dialogue, end the dialogue with a comma, even if it is a full sentence. The first letter of the tag should be lowercase (unless it is a name).
“It’s so gloomy out, Ron,” he said.
“It’s so gloomy out, Ron,” Harry said.
If the tag comes during the dialogue, end the first part of the dialogue with a comma then have the tag as normal.
“It’s been like this all day,” Ron replied. “The sky’s such a weird colour, too.”
Then, if you have broken the dialogue during a sentence, rather than at the end of a sentence, use a comma after the tag and start the next piece of dialogue with a lowercase letter:
“It’s been like that all day,” Ron replied, “and the sky’s such a weird colour, too.”
Finally it is important to note that when using other forms of punctuation, such as an exclamation point or question mark, that the ‘dialogue tag’ should still be lower case:
“Is it gloomy out, Ron?” he asked.
Action Beats
- This does not have to be an action, it could be a thought or description.
- This could convey the way in which dialogue is spoken: If a character slams their hand on the desk, you do not need to say that they are angry, as it is evident from your action beat.
- Even if the action beat does not add meaning, they can be a useful way to create a pause in dialogue by changing the rhythm of it subtly.
- An Action Beat can also “ground” the reader—without any action beats characters can feel a little disembodied.
Punctuate Action Beats
Action beats are punctuated as normal, full sentences (unlike dialogue tags), so they always start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. This also affects the dialogue preceding them.
Snape walked over to the window. “It’s gloomy out.”
“It’s been like that all day.” Minerva had tried not to dwell on it, but she couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong. “Did you read what they were writing in the Prophet?”
When writing your Grammar School piece, pay special attention to your use of dialogue tags and action beats. Are your tags unobtrusively making clear who is speaking? Are your action beats adding variety and meaning?
If you get stuck, you might want to look at a few of your favorite books: Find a passage of dialogue and see how the author uses dialogue tags and action beats.
Creative Corner
We have had a massive influx of work sent in for the Creative Corner of late. We love to have these wonderful pieces of art, poetry, and songs published here, and we are pleased to showcase another artist this round: Ninja from Mahoutokoro. Ninja has composed a poem in honour of one of our favourite house elves, Dobby.
Dobby, Dobby, how I miss you,
with your bat-like ears and bright green eyes.
I will always love you,
and I think of you,
whenever I make pies.
You never cared what others thought,
and you always did,
what you believed was right.
Perhaps you did make mistakes,
but you didn’t deserve the awful aches.
You were so full of kindness and love,
but now, you must look down from above.
You loved Harry and his friends,
and you protected them with your life.
Sadly now, that life is lost,
due to an evil, dagger-like knife.
You loved your sweaters and socks,
and what you did for me, I won’t forget.
You risked everything to save a stranger,
and paid with your pain and sweat.
Dobby, Dobby, how I miss you,
with your bat-like ears and bright green eyes.
I will always remember you,
when I see stars at night,
or beautiful bright blue skies.
By Ninja Devil
We also have a few new pieces of artwork! All those who contributed received five points for their school, so if you want to share anything, there’s an added incentive for you!
How Can I Be A Better Writer?
This is Headmistress Lun presenting a new segment of the paper: ‘How can I be a better writer?’ I have browsed the internet, and read a great many articles looking for hacks and solutions to the biggest mistakes that amature writers make, but really want to avoid.
Do you ever wonder why JKR’s stories are so satisfying to read? Why it is so much fun to follow her characters into an adventure and solve one riddle after the other?
Today, I will introduce you to one of my favourite techniques that can make your stories intriguing to the point where the reader simply cannot stop reading. The technique I will explain to you is ‘Set Up and Pay Off’.
Basically, JKR writes fantasy, but underneath is a whole different genre: Mystery—the basis of all captivating stories. For seven books, Harry and his friends are solving mysteries like Sherlock Holmes himself, and it keeps us glued to the page. Mystery alone does not make for a satisfying story, though. Harry Potter is satisfying because we get a chance at solving the mysteries alongside Harry. There are hints and clues hidden in the story that enable the attentive reader to solve the riddle without the very clever Hermione giving us the solution.
For example, when reading Chamber of Secrets for the first time, it seems like Ginny simply has a crush on Harry and is unable to have a normal conversation with him. She is not taken seriously by any of her brothers, and because we are reading from Harry’s perspective, it makes sense to brush her off just like he and Ron do. When you reread the book, though, it is quite obvious that something is wrong with Ginny. At several occasions, she tries to tell Harry something important; she is on edge, and even in the movies, the scene where Lucius Malfoy puts a book into her cauldron hints at her involvement with Riddle’s diary. When it is revealed that Ginny opened the Chamber and released the Basilisk, it feels like an earned and satisfying explanation for the big riddle Harry has tried to solve for so long.
This is what I call set up—something going on with Ginny while at the same time there are terrible, unexplained things happening at the school—and pay off—Ginny being involved with those events.
This method can make your story more well-rounded, no matter if you write romance, horror, drama or angst. Set up and pay off can be something really basic: When at one point in the story your character needs a special spell, make them learn that spell beforehand. If someone has a good friend, make them need that friend later in the story. This method should also be used the other way round: Make every detail meaningful! If your character has a necklace, let it have a consequence, be useful, or have significance later in the story. Maybe use the old: “Someone shot me, but it bounced off this pendant and saved my life—how convenient!”-trick! Of course, that has been overused to the point of being cliché, but you get the idea, right?.
If you have difficulties finding a proper way to use this method, have a look at YouTube. There are thousands of videos about how it is used in movies that will offer you great examples and help you understand how it works! This principle is also known as Chekhov’s gun if you want to do some research of your own.
STORY CORNER
Fluffy Is, As Fluffy Does – By ClaireBear1982
A story about Hagrid’s pet Fluffy. How Hagrid came to own him and rescue him.
It was on a dark stormy night that our story starts. Hagrid, as per usual when Hogwarts was on school holidays, was sat in a dark corner of The Leaky Cauldron with a very large tankard of mead in front of him. Beside him sat a dark cloaked man with a Greek accent. They were talking about all the magical animals in the man’s care. Minute by minute, Hagrid was getting more and more wound up and angry at the carelessness the man seem to give off over the care of his beasts — particularly his Cerberus; Fluffy.
According to the guy, Fluffy lived in a huge magically wired cage and was only fed a few times a week. The poor beast had nothing soft and comfortable to sleep on, and when it rained, well, the poor thing got a right old soaking! Hagrid who’d by this point had had a few too many, whipped out his pink umbrella, and threatened to maim the guy if he didn’t give up control of Fluffy then and there. The guy sensed that this half-breed giant of a man would likely do what he’d threatened; so rather than risk his own neck, he gladly gave up the beast and said in his haste that he was glad to be rid of the pest! Not a wise move, for Hagrid picked the guy up and flung him out of the pub (London side). Tom called time on Hagrid after that and sent him home.
By the next evening, Hagrid had full charge of Fluffy. The poor pup was so thin, and had a large sore on its very large hind paw. Hagrid promised to patch Fluffy up and make him feel as good as new — which is what he did. He gave the poor beast a whole cow to eat as a start, plus a paddling pool sized bowl of water to drink; he plastered some stinky violent purple coloured ointment on the dog’s paw to help soothe the sore before trying to get Fluffy to settle down and sleep for the night on a huge cosy dog bed.
Fluffy wasn’t having any of it!
Hagrid tried everything he could think of to get the poor beast to settle in for the night, but no matter what he did, Fluffy would not stop barking and howling. It was lucky Hagrid’s place was right in the middle of the countryside so he had no neighbours to disturb — magical or Muggle! In fact, he was lucky Dumbledore had made his place unplottable, as well as cast repelling charms. Hagrid could only assume that he had a Mufflilato charm on the house as well, but he didn’t want to take the risk, he had to find a way to settle Fluffy.
It was the next morning before Hagrid could do anything, and by this point he was seriously sleep deprived, and deeply worried that Fluffy was very upset to be in his care. Hagrid fired off what felt like a hundred owls begging for help from his ‘acquaintances.’ But help didn’t arrive until an owl pecked at his window in the wee small hours of the night. By this point, Hagrid had a splitting headache and a pair of heavy duty earmuffs on just to drown out the sound of howling. Hagrid ripped the note open and found in scruffy handwriting ‘Play it some music, you damn fool!’
Coming to stores in April 2019
Feeling a sense of relief flood through him, Hagrid dug out his old magical gramophone and set it up next to Fluffy, inserted the needle into the groove of the record, and the first strains of ‘A Cauldron Full Of Hot Strong Love’ suddenly made Fluffy appear to almost keel over. Moments later and Fluffy was snoring and drooling. Hagrid could have cried with joy! Finally he could take his earmuffs off, and sleep!!!
The Great Book Review
Durmstrang:
The Theory of War By DitzyMagic
As insomnia gripped me again, I settled down with a hot camomile tea, and a hot water bottle and read the story that had come so highly recommended to me by a good friend.
As I started reading this incredible story by ditzymagic, the premise of this story had left me in awe. This was so different to anything I’d ever read before.
I loved that McGonagall had found love with Alastor Moody in this alternate universe, and the end saddened me as Harry travelled back in time to put everything right, to stop Grindlwald winning, to stop the nuclear fallout, but in the end it was for the best, the way they were living was no way to live. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I look forward to more like this from ditzymagic.
By ClaireBear1982.
Ilvermorny
A Winter Night by Nottheonlyfanaround
I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked this fic! A Winter Night by Nottheonlyfanaround is a sweet and heartfelt story that anyone would enjoy.
First off, I love the characterization of Blaise. He’s such an unknown in the series as a whole, and I love any fic with him as a proper character. I can see him being like this; impatient and overeager to get out of Pansy’s annoying company. It was nice to see what he thinks of others, being in such a high position.
Secondly, the ending is superb. I wasn’t sure what Nottheonlyfanaround was going for with the ending at first, and I love stories like that. Seeing the other side of the royal life, the regular peasants. It was interesting to see how the other Weasleys—other than Ron—reacted to having someone so important over.
All in all, this was a story I enjoyed quite a lot. Anyone who reads this is sure to enjoy it and will not have wasted their time.
By Headmistress Hope
Beauxbatons
Destruction By Liasis
It was with great pleasure that I sat down to read ‘Destruction’ by Liasis. I have already thoroughly enjoyed many of her previous works, and I am struggling to find the time to keep reading a particular favourite of mine: Confluence of Truths. Her story was littered with turns of phrase that captured the devastating theme that she had been tasked to fulfil, phrases like:
‘Those Voldemort struck fell to the ground one by one, wasted fatalities in a battle that had already been so costly.’
‘She began to weep into his chest, not caring if Voldemort killed her too.’
‘…it hadn’t mattered which side either had taken. The end — for them — had been just the same.’
Without having to go into detail, Liasis shows me — makes me feel — the overwhelming loss that her characters are experiencing. She opens a window to the other side of the war and how the devastation costs them too, that heartbreak was not only for those that stood against the Dark Lord. The narrative around these points was practically flawless and brimming with emotion, showing the conflict in the characters that she had chosen.
There is an element of loss within Voldemort’s win — a win that Liasis had to include. I loved her choices. I did not rejoice in the ending; I found it bitter-sweet, which fit very much with the tone of this story. It was brilliant read, and one that I should recommend.
By Verity Grahams
Mahoutokoro
A Day Out by Scribbles the Vixen
As I settled down in my favourite window seat with my fluffy mauve blanket and a mug of hot chocolate, an owl appeared at my window with the new edition of ‘Writers Fortnightly.’ I quickly delved in and started to read. To my great disappointment, nearly all of the stories were old tired themes I had read a million times before, until I got to the second to last chapter. As I started to read, I found myself transported to the world that Scribbles the Vixen had created.
So clearly I could see Lily stood with a bowl and spoon in hand mixing pancake batter, just as easily as I could see little Harry plod across the kitchen to Lily looking all proud of himself for being able to tie his own laces. I could very easily imagine the swing attached to the tree branch, and the look of glee that would have crossed Harry’s little face.
I could feel Lily’s wrath when she came off of the swing, and see how James went haring off with Lily in pursuit — that made me laugh so much, as did the banter between Lily and James in second section of the story. By the third section, I was ready to be laid in the grass with all of the characters, and playing on their swing instead of in this window seat with a blanket, listening to the sounds of the wind and rain.
By ClaireBear1982.
Hogwarts
The Green Dimension by Charbo – OVER ALL JP GETS FIVE POINTS!
Wow, I enjoyed this quite a lot, and I usually don’t like “Harry’s a Slytherin” stories. This isn’t exactly that though. Harry still has his regular Gryffindor traits, it’s only to the others in the other dimension that he’s a Slytherin. I really loved this and will be rereading it immediately.
The first thing I loved were the explanations if what’s what in the other dimension. Because Harry and Hermione didn’t really know each other, she died from the troll attack. Ginny died from the Basilisk because Ron stopped the Slytherins. There are more details, but those two were my special favorites. It’s interesting to think about how many people would be dead or seriously injured were it not for Harry.
The other thing I really loved was how Harry and Draco worked together to figure out how Harry can get back. They didn’t become best chums, even though in the other dimension they were. They still didn’t really like or trust the other, but I think that they gained some respect for each other.
Overall, a definite read! Check it out and enjoy!
By Headmistress Hope
Dear Aunt Molly
Dear Aunt Molly,
I’m extremely torn! I really, really need a word of guidance and wasn’t sure who I could ask. But then I came upon your column by chance and hoped that you could help me out… I have two possible career paths ahead of me- a healer’s job at St. Mungo’s or a desk job as a junior lawyer at the Wizengamot. Both are respectable positions and both have core subjects close to my heart, but completely different! I’m not sure what to choose!
Yours faithfully,
A Troubled Soul
Hello Dear,
All I can say to this is this: Go with whatever your heart tells you. To you, which job would be the more rewarding? Which area do you think you could do the most good? Also, where does your passion lie more so? Only you can answer these questions, my dear. I wish you an abundance of luck in choosing your chosen path.
Dearest Molly,
I do hope you are well. I also hope you may be able to give me some sensible advice in regards to this matter that has plagued me for many years.
Many people often think that I am not the sentimental type, and generally, I would agree with them. However, it would surprise them to know that I have been holding onto several letters from a man I was in love with many, many years ago. He was a Muggle farmer and a rather kind man, but I was foolish enough to turn down his proposal. Whilst he eventually moved on and married someone else, and had children—another thing I deeply regret—he ended up being killed in an anti-Muggle attack.
Although decades have past and there are other regrets I have, I continue to hold onto the belief that I could’ve saved him if I married him. It’s time I moved on, but I don’t know where to begin or who, if anyone, I should confide in to help me.
All the very best,
A lioness without her king.
Hello Dear,
I am very well, thank you for asking. I would maybe suggest talking to one of the magical counsellors at St. Mungos, they would probably be able to advise you so much better than I ever could. When it comes to matters of the heart, I am not the best person to ask, I was lucky to be with a great man since we were Sixteen, all I can say is this: It is very much time you move on, and do not live with regrets. Sometimes life will get in the way, and circumstances mean that things will not go in the direction you would like. But as I said, I am not the best person to ask about this.
Hello Dears, if you have a problem, or you want to ask a question, send an owl over to my personal account. I will do my best to answer them all. You can ask a question about the competition, personal issues, or maybe you would like to send a fictional problem in from any of the Wizarding World characters? All are welcome!
Dear Aunt Molly
The International Wizarding School Competition League Table
| School | Place | Points | MVP |
| Beauxbatons | 1st Place | 689 | Liasis |
| Hogwarts | 2nd Place | 646 | SilvermistRuhi |
| Mahoutokoro | 3rd Place | 557.62 | Ninja Devil |
| Durmstrang | 4th Place | 523 | DitzyMagic |
| Ilvermounry | 5th Place | 479.25 | nottheonlyfanaround |
Trivia and Puzzles
Who Said It?
“I think we’ve outgrown full-time education … Time to test our talents in the real world, d’you reckon?”
‘It unscrews the other way.’
“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”
“‘The thing about growing up with Fred and George,’ said ____ thoughtfully, ‘is that you sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.’ ”
“And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
“Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”
“I’ve always wanted to use that spell.”
“Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself.”
“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”
“You ought to be careful, people will think that you’re up to something.”
Runedoku
The last challenge was a crossword, and was also won by SilvermistRuhi at Hogwarts! The anagram was the name of one of the Fantastic Beasts Actors: Derek Riddell! Thanks for all the hard work! And I hope you guys enjoy yet another Runedoku! Just for clarification, send the highlighted numbers, in order, from left to right, to the competition account. Thanks. The easy print edition can be found here.
Feel free to contribute to other aspects of the paper by sending a private message to the Competition account. We are always looking for pieces of fanart, and even your thoughts or recommendations. Even if you want to send a message to someone in the competition that you think has excelled, or maybe they helped you out? Send it to Aunt Molly! Anything else should be sent to Wizarding School Championship In the Subject should be Wizarding World News: [Name the section of the paper you are writing about] depending on what you’re messaging about.
Wizarding World News 