Season 1 – Issue 8

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• Muggle Studies
• Grammar School
• Creative Corner
• How can I be a better Writer
• Story Corner
• Great Book Review
• Figures in History
• Dear Aunt Molly
• League Table
• Round Design Challenge Winners
• Trivia and Puzzles

Durmstrang Institute of Magic, Twenty Five Years of Equality

It has been many long years since Headmistress Claire took over at Durmstrang Institute of Magic. It has been so long that the previous reputation of Durmstrang has been all but forgotten. Her predecessor, Igor Karkaroff, abandoned his post shortly after the famous Triwizard Tournament where Harry Potter himself was a champion. This time while the Durmstrang students were staying at Hogwarts gave many a keen insight into how things were run under his and many other Headteachers’ regimes. The school had a grim reputation, it became more well known for the notorious wizards it produced—among which was none other than Gellert Grindelwald—than the excellence of their curriculum, teaching staff, and skilled graduates.

Up until Headmistress Claire was appointed, Durmstrang was one of the only schools that continued to refuse to allow Muggle-borns to be taught magic. It is amazing how much change, including this dramatic one, came with a single Headmistress. Claire was appointed at the start of the Second Wizarding War, and it would have been so much easier, politically speaking, for Claire to continue in the same manner as those before her. Headmistress Claire, however, did not take the easy path. She forged a new way for the school, banishing its dark and dismal reputation. For many in the wizarding world this choice showed more than ever, that in the darkest hour, the light shines the brightest. In the dark days of Europe, Durmstrang became a safe haven for those that were Muggleborn, and they were able to hide from persecution.

It has been twenty-five years, and now it is one of the most inclusive schools in the wizarding world, and for this round of the competition, the WWN wants to focus on and celebrate Muggles and Muggleborns and the progress made by one amazing Headmistress.

Claire: Sometimes doing what is right is more important. To me, it seemed the best time to show that our little slice of the world could stand against hatred, even in such a small way. I wanted to make the change effective immediately; it might not have been easy but it was the only way I could be Headmistress and hold my head high. Despite the war, I knew things had to be shaken up. The school governors weren’t at all happy about it, but I can be very persuasive when I need to! I also think that by standing up and showing my strength for what is right, it inspired those children that could have gone down a dark path. After all, we didn’t know when the war would end, or if we would win it.

Reporter: Is it true that many pureblood families, those that had filled the halls of Durmstrang previously, refused to attend once you made your changes public?

Claire: They did indeed. But they soon changed their minds when they realised that they couldn’t get their children into any of the other schools due to them already being oversubscribed, and the thought of homeschooling them left a bad taste in their mouths. So they let up. More so, the average grades that are put out by Durmstrang are some of the highest, and everyone wants a good education for their children.

I’m extremely proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Headmistress Claire

Reporter: How did you change the curriculum at Durmstrang, removing the emphasis of the Dark Arts must have been challenging for a student that had already studied them for so long?

Claire: I like a challenge. I changed it by changing the curriculum altogether. I’m extremely proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts and taught all the classes personally. Once I handed out the new DADA spell books, I cancelled the Dark Arts classes for a couple of weeks until all the students had read their books. Fifth-year and upwards was tricky, but I got there in the end just by patience and perseverance—my two favourite P-words, and a motto I stand by to this day.

Reporter: There was a recent survey on the success of Magical Schools, how does it feel to know that because of your hard work, Durmstrang was not only a school that was close to the top for academic results, but was also described as ‘a welcoming and warm environment. An environment that nurtures all its students’?

Claire: This has pleased me immensely. Once I put a stop on students hexing and jinxing each other in the corridor and added some more lighting, I was able to drum out the troublemakers and put them in detention, and if required, implementing a Quidditch ban too! At one stage, I had almost a whole year in detention, but I soon got through to them that that kind of behaviour isn’t acceptable any longer. The more the atmosphere changed, the happier the students were, and it had a knock-on effect. Looking back, it was all completely worth it.

Reporter: I would just like to finish our interview by asking for a comment on this statement. The statement was taken from an ex-Durmstrang student. This student was at school before you took over, but now their child attends Durmstrang. It’s none other than Viktor Krum:

“When I was at Durmstrang, Igor Karkaroff did not care for his students, he was well looked after, and took advantage of having the finest of everything, however, we were left with nothing, no care, no attention, and very little of anything material needed to help us live or study. It was a cruel regime, and the weak were punished, and the strong exalted. I was lucky that I was a strong student, others weren’t.

My children love their school, they come home happy.

Viktor Krum

I now have two children, they were so excited to go to Durmstrang, and despite the stories how much it had changed, my own experience made me nervous. My children love their school, they come home happy. They are desperate to stay for Christmas as now it is a beautiful and lavish affair! They get high grades and are happy, we even get to have a parents meeting at the end of the year, and I can see for myself how wonderful an environment it is. I can honestly say, I am happy and feel confident that my children are looked after at Durmstrang Institute of Magic, something I never thought I would say”

Claire: Viktor you flatter me! I’m exceedingly glad they’re so happy here, and they are excellent students—your daughter especially! She’s a chip off the block, her Quidditch skills are excellent. It makes me so happy to know the parents are happy with the work I put in, and that things have definitely changed for the better! Thank you..

The interview ended with a warm embrace from a very kindly headteacher, a teacher that cares deeply for her school. I hope this story helps to tackle lasting prejudice within our wizarding world, her example is a fine one.

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INTRO TO MUGGLE STUDIES

Muggles can be awfully confusing sometimes, can’t they? This lesson is Muggle Studies, where you will learn all about Muggles. You’ll learn about their technology, their customs, and how in Merlin’s name they manage without magic.

Ready? Our counterparts aren’t really so different, so let’s get started.

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THEMES WITH A DIFFERENCE

Themes are very different this time around. Your teammates will have chosen the theme that you will be working from. Every story must be a Muggle!AU, but what will be the focus?

Theme One – Medical Muggles

This means that there should be a focus on medicine, maybe you want to explore a character that is a doctor? Or maybe, you want to explore a Harry Potter character that is sick? Medicine needs to be a key element of the story.

Theme Two – Survival Muggles

No one knows what happened, that’s up to you. But your character is fighting to survive in the wild! Maybe they are an adventurer, maybe a professional survivalist like Bear Grylls. It could be that they are castaways! That is all up to you, you just have to write about your favourite character surviving.

Theme Three – Highschool Muggles

This is a story that needs to be set in a high school, we are thinking; high school drama! But is it the teachers, is it the students? Is it a story about bullies, or first love? You can look at any aspect of school life, students or teachers. High School is the required element of this Muggle!AU

Theme Four – Spy or Detective Muggles

This story should have a bit of cloak and dagger! This can range from having a character that is a private eye to a suspicious spouse trying to catch their partner red-handed, or maybe in your Muggle!AU Snape works for MI6!

Is your character the victim, the perpetrator, or the one trying to solve the case? The rules are that a crime must be committed and the police must be trying to figure it out, your main character must be involved in the crime intimately, be that as a victim, inspector or perpetrator. Remember, T is the highest rating you can go, so think carefully about the crime that you choose.

Theme Five – Family Drama Muggles

This is a family centred story, and as such you want to focus on a family. The thing is, we are not looking for fluff, so get some drama in there, did Fred steal Rons Action Man? Did it cause world war three? Maybe you want to take a more serious tone and deal with issues that can be hard to deal with within a family, divorce, taboo relationships, not living up to the family name.

Theme Six – Coffee Shop Muggles

This theme must take place in a coffee shop! It is Verity’s favourite place to be, and caffeine always makes everything more interesting. Maybe one of your characters runs a coffee shop, or maybe that’s the meet-cute for your pairing? The coffee shop must be the primary location of your story, and the characters have to be involved in some way, maybe they run it, or visit on a regular basis, maybe they are doing business there. It’s up to you.

Theme Seven – Floral Muggles

This theme must be influenced by flowers. Does your character work in a florist? Do they work in a botanical garden, or maybe even they go to their allotment to get away from the stresses of ‘That Muggle Life’. To fulfil this theme you must have a strong connection between your main character and the floral! To add a bit of depth you might want to look up Victorian flower language.

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Welcome to another round of Grammar School. This round we are paying close attention to semicolons. As usual, you may write whatever you want, as long as it is within the Harry Potter world, your word limit is 500 minimum to 900 maximum and there is 10% grace. You will be judged on plot, spelling, grammar, punctuation and on the technique we look at today: semicolons!

Semicolons

Semicolons can be daunting and intimidating, but we are here to clear up any anxiety you may have; that is just what we do. Using a semicolon is easier than you all may think, and it will give your writing a refreshing and interesting boost. Just remember these simple rules, and you will be using semicolons like a pro; we guarantee it.

What are semicolons?

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses together without using conjunction (a word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause) like ‘and’ or ‘but’. The two complete sentences should share a logical connection and be able to stand on their own. If they do, then you are able to use a semicolon!

Example:

‘Luna loves to dance; she’s the life of the party.’

Remember: Substituting the semicolon with a comma will result in a comma splice (An instance of using a comma to link two independent clauses — which should instead be linked by a colon, semicolon, or conjunction — as in Molly loves cooking, she’s great at making pudding.) You need to have a buddy with the comma to avoid a comma splice!

Note: When you have a conjunctive adverb linking two independent clauses, you should use a semicolon. A conjunctive adverb then provides a smooth transition from one thought to the next. Typically, the first clause is followed by a semicolon. Conjunctive adverbs are not strong enough to join two clauses without some punctuation. Then, there is usually a comma after the conjunctive adverb.

Conjunctive adverbs include:

Moreover
Nevertheless
However
Otherwise
Therefore
Then
Finally
Likewise
Consequently

Example:

“He looked feverishly around in case there was a glass of water somewhere but couldn’t see one; the bird, meanwhile, had become a fireball; it gave one loud shriek and in the next second there was nothing but a smouldering pile of ash on the floor.”

(Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets J.K. Rowling pg 205)

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Creative Corner

Welcome to The Creative Corner, this is where you can earn points by sharing your other creative endeavours. We have poetry, art and haikus. If you want to showcase something that you have created, Harry Potter related of course, then put it in a doc and send the link to the competition account. Everyone who published something has earned their school 5 points. Please download to see some of the fabulous pieces of art that have been submitted for this issue.

Harry, chosen one,
the boy who lives on today,
in our hearts always.
By Ninja

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How Can I Be A Better Writer?

Time for some more of Headmistress Lun’s creative writing tips! This round we are looking at how you can write unique characters. Detailed characters can make you fall in love with them, can rile you up and have you in tears when they are devastated. Flat characters, however, can be anything from plain to annoying. Here is how you can avoid them and create interesting characters:

Unique Characters

Nobody is perfect—except Mary Sue. She is a character trope that becomes most apparent in amateur writing and was first recognised in fan fiction. A Mary Sue is a character without flaws, often claimed to be a self-insert and wish-fulfilment for the writer.

Readers want compelling characters because they want to insert themselves into them. That means your characters should not have too many flaws making them pose more as a villain of the story than a likeable hero. A Mary Sue does not make a likeable character, however, because of her complete lack of flaws which makes her difficult to identify with. We like to see ourselves in characters; we want to understand their motives and what made them who they are to understand ourselves better and learn from them.

It is important to avoid stereotypes. They are easy as they don’t require much creativity or planning, but they deprive us of genuine details, which are more convincing and interesting. You can still use a stereotype as a form of characterisation if you write from a point of view and your characters perceive others that way. Just make sure the reader understands that your narrator is unreliable and his perspective flawed.

The first impression counts! Make your characters distinctive the first time they are mentioned and try to avoid similarities so they are memorable. For example, there rarely are two characters in the Potter Universe, that have a name starting with the same letter, and every character has a defining characteristic that sets them apart from others visually and as a person. Describe your characters in a unique way. Give them at least one key feature that sets them apart from other characters (eg. speech, clothing, status) and has them be defined by that key feature in the way they behave, carry themselves, react and appear to others.

Humans rarely exist in a world alone and often their characteristics show in their relationships and when interacting with others. We all remember the quote: “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” Everyday interactions can often be very telling so use them to build your characters.

The backstory wound is an often used character trope which can help you built a motive. Essentially, it means that every character has a defining moment in their past that explains all their character traits and their motivation. This can be used very well if you look at Snape and Dumbledore as examples, but it can also be an easy excuse to create conflict. Try to create a whole backstory instead of simply building a character on one event alone.

Most important of all, there is nothing more satisfying than a character that grows into being a better person. Give your main characters a character arch, but take one step at a time, and find a good motivation for them to be better. Quick changes are unbelievable and the reader feels cheated. Change involves hardships and failure. A character can only truly grow if they have lost everything and have to fight to regain it. Decisions also reveal a lot about a character so make sure to give them hard choices to make on their way to self-improvement. Let them make sacrifices no matter what they chose.

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STORY TIME WITH HEADMISTRESS CLAIRE

As soon as Severus had flipped the sign on the door from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’, the little bell on top of the door tinkled. Severus looked around a huge potted snake plant at who had just entered his shop and groaned inwardly. It was the insufferable Mrs Dursley.

“Good morning, Mrs Dursley, what can I do for you?” asked Severus as politely as he could.

Sniffing, and looking around at what was on offer, she sneered.

“Don’t you have any lilies in stock?”

A least once a week they had this conversation, he would tell her no, and she would settle on a small bunch of pink roses instead. It seemed this morning wasn’t going to be any different.

But it wasn’t.

“What kind of florists doesn’t stock lilies? You damn fool!” snapped Petunia. “My sister, Lily, is visiting me later today, and I wanted to get her favourite flowers!”

With that Petunia stormed from the shop, knocking the bell from its perch above the door due to the sheer force at which she’d wrenched the door open. Severus smirked, how he loved to p*** Petunia Dursley off! Of course, he stocked lilies, but he kept them hidden in the back away from certain customers eyes. These lilies weren’t exactly cheap and had to be preserved in a hothouse.

Severus prided himself on the fact that he stocked the best of everything in his shop. Every morning he was up at four o’clock, went down to the shop below and threw out any wilting flowers, topped up their water, before heading to the flower market to buy new stock. Once he returned, he would put all the new stock out and then have breakfast and a hot cup of tea before starting his day.

His job kept him busy. He’d seen it all in his tenure of keeping shop; births, deaths, marriages. He decorated the church with each season—he loved harvest time the most, making the corn dolly which would be placed on the altar next to the sheaths of wheat and barley. He could hold his head high once amongst the congregation during each celebration. Severus was a renown florist, nay, artist.

The afternoon rolled around for Severus quite quickly; he’d been busy all morning with Miss Temperance who was to wed Master Peters in a couple of months. They’d be hashing out colour schemes, and various flowers that would make up her bouquet, as well as a flower crown for the youngest bridesmaid. There were the flowers for the table arrangements—a speciality of Severus’. Currently, he was in the throws of making corsages for local secondary school when the bell above the door rang. He looked up to find a young woman with dark red hair and brilliant green eyes; she stood at the counter with a brilliant smile.

For a moment, Severus stilled. He was sure he recognised the face, but he couldn’t quite place it. It was a face he hadn’t seen in many years; it was only when she smiled that he remembered. This was Lily Evans!

“Miss Evans?” asked Severus.

“My goodness, is that you, Severus Snape?” smiled Lily.

Severus felt a thrill pass through him; she remembered him! Oh, how he’d missed looking at her! She was just as gorgeous as she’d been at age seven when she’d left the local primary school to go to live with her aunt in the city and attend a grammar school. Severus had missed her badly, to begin with, but as time had gone by, it had gotten easier to bear—not that young Miss Evans ever knew of his feelings for her.

“It’s Mrs Potter now.”

Severus swallowed the lump of disappointment that seemed to have lodged itself in his throat.

“Congratulations, Mrs Potter. Now what can I get for you?” asked Severus sullenly.

“I need some flowers for my sister, please. Do you know what she likes?” asked Lily briskly as she examined the wears.

“Pink roses,” grunted Severus. He wanted this transaction over with, having Lily in his shop was driving him to distraction.

“I’ll take half a dozen pink roses then, please. Say, you don’t seem to stock lilies,” remarked Lily.

“Oh I do, but only for special customers who can afford to buy my special hothouse lilies,” said Severus with a try-not-to-care-nonchalant-shrug.

“Oh! May I see them?” Lily asked a look of intrigue on her face that seemed to put a sparkle in her green eyes. Floundering, Severus beckoned her to follow him out back.

Once in the greenhouse, Severus showed her his proud display of hothouse lilies. Lily oohed and aahed at the bright pink blooms behind the glass.

“How much for a bouquet?” Lily asked in excitement.

“For you, fifty pounds,” Severus found himself saying. What was he saying? He could easily get seventy-five pounds— if not more! But he’d fallen for her green eyes.

“Fifty? Is that all? How are you going to make a profit selling them so cheaply?” asked Lily in concern. “I’ll give you one hundred pounds for a bouquet.”

“I couldn’t… That’s too much!” he found himself saying again.

“Don’t be daft, I’ll take half a dozen pink roses now, and I’ll collect the lilies on the way home.”

It was done. He would see her this last time before news filtered through that she’d been murdered on her way home from work one evening. The heartbreak was almost too much, but Severus endured much like he always did.

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The Great Book Review

Durmstrang

Death and Desires – Ditzy Magic

This was truly a wonderful piece to read! It captured my attention from the very first paragraph and an I remained eternally intrigued until the last line! I loved the flow of the entry and Death’s repetitiveness with his question. Although it took Harry a while to realize what he truly desired, it all fell into place before it was too late. Hermione was right- there is no point in trying to save anyone and Harry should have heeded her words sooner to save himself from more heartache later down the road. So long as you keep your loved ones in your heart, anything is possible. This piece touches a nerve with me; I enjoyed every second of it 🙂

-Carol

Ilvermorny

Running from Trouble by MrsDragneel

I really enjoyed the story that was recently given to me by Mrs.Dragneel. writing Crisis Era can be difficult, but she managed it quite well! It was EXTREMELY well written, and the characters were interesting.

The first thing I loved was the characters they are excellent, and so well written. I could feel everything that everyone was going through, and that’s the most important thing a story can do in my opinion.

The other thing I loved was how it tied into the larger HP verse. I wasn’t sure how it was going to for most of the story, but then when it turns out that Eliza is a Peverell, and Harry is watching a memory it all fell into place.

I do wish to see more of this, and recommend!

-Hope

Beauxbatons

In the Shadows – Paceso

The opening paragraph filled me with intrigue and made me excited to continue. As I am not usually one that likes a historical piece, this was a surprise to me. The language and the dialogue were effortless; sounding authentically French and yet easily understood. The story merged the magical world effortlessly with muggle history and created a unique and creative read.

The continued story did not disappoint. Paceso managed to give an air of mystery to her tale, a dash of suspense, leaving the reader feel completely engaged and invested in the story. This is all with characters we know little of, or are from her own imagination. L’Incomparable was a sweet character who was desperate to save someone close to her, and immediately I felt that this was a character I could root for. The Flamels were a great addition and supported the main cast, they tied everything back into the wizarding world, and gave the story the magical twist.

The ending brought hope, and even tied in the theme in an altogether different way; the hope that acts of such heroism would not need to be secret. I truly enjoyed this read and was sad to see it end.

-Verity

Mahoutokoro

White Feathers by WhiteTiger91 – OVERALL JP

If there’s one thing I love, it’s how we can transcribe our beloved Harry Potter characters into any period of time. Such as Tiggs has done. This story takes place in the late sixties but flashes back to World War One.

This story tells us how Edith Fitzgerald met Aberforth Dumbledore during WW1 as she regaled to her grandson, Severus Snape.

I always HATED how women during WW1 would hand out white feathers to those they deemed to be cowards, quite simply because those men refused to ‘take the King’s Shilling.’

In this story, we see how Edith tries to shame Aberforth into signing up by presenting him with a white feather, and how he stands by his morals and refuses to do any such thing. I love how Aberforth appears each time, and as he does so, he and Edith grow closer – until it is implied they loved each other one night.

I love how in the end Edith tells Severus not to allow himself to be branded a coward – how nicely that fits in with canon.

I loved this story very much. WW1 is one time period I like to write about, and have done. Great work Tiggs!

-Claire

Hogwarts

Love is Often Described as Deadly – by Leprechaun

One of the things I adore about Harry Potter is the endless background stories of its dozens of characters. Each one offers so much depth and detail that it URGES you to explore and dive deep into the richness of the world. One of these stories is the tragic relationship between the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron—or Helena Ravenclaw and Baron Walter von Herrschren.

These early days of Hogwarts are portrayed in a familiar way: by students attending the school, we love to read about for his first year. This introduction eases the reader into a time so different from the one we know.

The story guides us through the Hogwarts years of our tragic couple with smooth transitions that effectively help the reader orientate in the plot and make them eager to find out in what year everything will eventually go downhill. It is nearly a relief however when the reader is spared of the gruesome details in the end and only gets a glimpse at the sad end of Helena and Walter.

-Lun

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FIGURES IN HISTORY

As its the Muggle Studies round, thought it’d be worth looking into some famous Muggle-born witch or wizard. Nobby Leach was the first Muggleborn Minister of Magic. Holding office from 1962 to 1968. This was protested strongly by purists in the magical world, so much so that many long-standing members of the Wizengamot resigned in protest.

Besides being Muggleborn, Leach was thrown into controversy again during the 1966 World Cup, during which he was alleged to have aided in England’s win, which he denied.

He eventually resigned in 1968, during a plot believed to have been instigated by Abraxas Malfoy.

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Dear Aunt Molly

Dear Aunt Molly,

I have a bit of a problem, I am a muggleborn that is in my 5th year in Slytherin House, and I am smitten with a Gryffindor Witch in the same year. I know of the rivalry between our houses, but I do not care. She captures my every thought during the day and it is driving me to the point of madness. My problem is i am not sure how to approach her because I am not sure if she feels the same. I want to “Gryffindor” up, but at the same time do not wish to cause problems in either of our houses. Any advice?

A Bewitched Snake

Hello dear, I would say rivalry be damned! Just ask her, you’ll never know unless you do. Be kind, should she rebuff you, thank her for her time and walk away.

Dear Aunt Molly,

I have a weakness (a crush weakness) towards guys with glasses. No matter what House or school or whether they’re deemed Dark or Light or Grey, if they are sporting glasses I am secretly drooling over them. Is this normal? Or, will I grow out of this as I age? Sincerely,

Crushing on Glasses

Hello dear, I’m certain you’ll grow out of it eventually! Maybe, you’ll fall for a certain someone and that’ll be that.

Dear Aunt Molly,

I’ve a bit of a family issue. The thing is, my mum really wants me to go study outside and to get a job that earns a lot and wants me to shift out of my country to somewhere in, I don’t know, Estonia or something. I really want to stay here and work here in the ministry, and I’ve told her this, but she doesn’t listen. How do I deal with this and how do I tell her that this decision is mine to take and she cannot take it for me?

—A Worried Ravenclaw

Hello dear, is there anyone you can talk to that could perhaps speak to your mother on your behalf? Otherwise, I would suggest you yourself be very firm with your mother and tell her that you’re going to live your own life anyway you see fit.

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Shout Out

I want to give a huge shout out to my friend *drumroll* Sophie! She is a fantastic beta reader and really helps me out with SPaG! She is also a fantastic friend to chat with and her stories are utterly fantastic!

I also want to give a big shout out to Headmistress Lun! She is so nice and always keeps me up to date with how the team’s doing. She gives me great feedback on my stories and helps me improve.

Also, to Verity Grahams! Verity, I don’t know how many times I’ve asked you questions, but you are always so patient and answer them very clearly! Thank you so much for helping me become a better writer! Also, I love talking with you in the three broomsticks about Loki, chocolate, or just friendly competition.

And last but not least, I want to thank this competition! It’s really helped me become a better writer and I love writing even more now because of it. I’ve written different pairings, really weird plots, and other stuff I would’ve never dared to write before! Honestly, I spent the whole day writing thanks to you guys! I can’t wait to finish the comp (and win *hee hee*) and come back next year! thank you all!

Okay, see you, gotta go write! *sprints off to go to the desk, leaving a trail of dust and paper*

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The International Wizarding School Competition League Table

School	Place	Points	MVP
Hogwarts	1st Place	1160.5	Heidlebergchick
Mahoutokoro	2nd Place	1113.87	NinjaDevil
Beauxbatons	3rd Place	1086.37	Paceso
Durmstrang	4th Place	890.75	Secretfanficlover
Ilvermounry	5th Place	714	Sonya-Heather-DeVito

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Round-Design Challenge – THE WINNERS

We have been delighted to have so many submissions for the rounds challenge. We have picked three great winners, and it is with great pleasure that we reveal that these three rounds will be used in the final. Each house that is in the final will be sent their round. They will be able to chose as a team the theme that they wish to use for their linked stories. Each of our winners has been awarded a further five points as well. It is without further ado that we reveal our winners:

First place: Heidlebergchick – Hogwarts

Second place: Whitetiger91 – Mahoutokoro

Third place: 3cheersforidiots – Mahoutokoro

All other submission—brilliant ideas among those—might be used by us in future seasons of this competition in some form.

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Trivia and Puzzles

Welcome back to our well missed trivia challenge. We hope that you enjoyed the change, but we are back to testing your knowledge of all things Harry Potter! This quiz is solely focused on areas of the books, so if you can’t find the info from the movies, it may not have been included. I have tried to make them a little obscure too.

1. How did Albus Dumbledore describe a particular article by Rita Skeeter?
2. Which core does Ollivander not use when making wands, this would be due to making wands that are more temperamental?
3. Which character’s first description is ‘pale, pointed face…’?
4. “There’s nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… he’s gone.” – who is talking to Harry here, and about whom?
5. What emotions made it easier for Snape to penetrate Harry’s mind?
6. What is the initial feeling of the living room at Spinner’s End?
7. What hotel in Cokeworth did the Dursleys stay at?
8. According to Seamus, Seekers always get, ‘what’, by the other team?
9. During Harry’s search for the Horcruxes, there is a place where he finds magical graffiti in the form of notes of encouragement to him, where is this?
10. What does Madam Pomfrey say about Professor Lupin at the start of term?

We also have a wordsearch in the downloadable version of this paper. Within the gaps between the words that you find is the name of the book and author that I, Verity Grahams, is currently reading! Send the answer to the competition account to win five points!

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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.