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Season 2 – Issue 3

IWSC

Follow all important events of the International Wizarding School Championship here in the Wizarding World News. We also have a live Twitter feed and an Instagram account for you to get day by day updates!

HANDY HINTS TO GET YOU POINTS

This article is all about helping you to understand how points are awarded and how you can get maximum points. Not all areas of judging are based on the quality of your writing, for example, you can write a beautiful story, but miss the theme. In this article I will be outlining what a theme is, how you can interpret the theme, and how to get maximum points.

Plot

In this issue we explore the plot of a story and how to maximise your points in that department. In the guidance tab on your judging documents you can find a number of things that judges are looking at when marking your plot:

  1. Structure
  2. Resolution Vs Open Ending
  3. Does it make sense
  4. Story-telling techniques
  5. Balance: Exposition Vs Action
  6. The idea

We look at three of those topics here. You will learn about the Do’s and Don’ts, as well as the many ways to use these three areas to improve your story. We also highlight why each of these aspects of your plot are important to your writing as a whole, not just important to competitions. 

Structure

  • Structure helps you to stay on track and focused on the main aspects of your plot. This is particularly important in competition writing as you have a limited word count to get an idea across. 
  • Good structure stops a story from going off on a tangent and will make the story easier to follow for a reader. 
  • Structure is also important for those writing a more complex storyline, even when you don’t want your reader to understand everything right away. 

The basic structure of any story should be: Beginning, Middle, End. You can add more structure within the story, particularly in that ‘Middle’ section, but it is important that all stories follow this to a lesser or greater degree. 

Beginning

  • This is where you set the readers’ expectations of your story. You may also make promises to the reader in this section. 
  • In the beginning of any story you will find:
    • Introduction to your world and its main characters
    • Introduction to the genre and themes; is this a romantic story, an adventure? This is important as your reader will decide during this part of the story if it’s something they want to commit to. 
    • You may or may not make promises here. In a romantic story, while there is conflict, there is likely to be a couple that your reader wants to get together. 

Middle

  • This is the part of the story where all the action takes place. 
  • This part of the story requires:
    • Tension – While you have likely made promises to the reader in the introduction, this is where that could be in danger. Without tension, there is nothing to keep the reader reading. Take a look at any successful novel; things happen that the reader doesn’t like, and this drives you to read on for your hero, be that a romantic hero or an adventure hero. 
    • Conflict – There needs to be something for your hero to overcome. It is part of what gives tension. This is someone or something that opposes you hero and they will have to fight them to achieve their goal e.g. Secrets that prevent Harry from knowing what Fluffy is guarding, Snape, the obstacles to get to the stone, etc. 
    • Conflict and Tension do not need to be life threatening; it’s an obstacle for your character to overcome:
      • Character vs Self
      • Character vs Opposing Character
      • Character vs Environment 
      • Character vs Society 

End

  • This is where you need to fulfil your promises — or break them! Your story needs some sort of resolution, even if you are leaving it ‘open-ended’.
    • Fulfilling promises means the couple gets together, the hero achieves his goal. You are giving your readers a satisfying and happy ending. 
    • Breaking promises is another option. This would be a story that does not have a happy ending and is typically found in a tragedy. 
    • Resolution – The story needs to come to a close and leave the reader knowing that this is the end. Even when something is left with an ‘open-ending’, you cannot leave the reader feeling that they are missing that final paragraph or chapter. 

Resolution Vs Open-ending

When planning what kind of ending that you want for a story, you need to consider the story you are telling and what will be most satisfying for your readers. Some stories will really lend themselves to an open-ending, leaving the readers with all main plot concerns resolved, but still hungry for more. 

A good example of this is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. By the end of the story, the issues within that story’s main plot are very resolved. We know Snape didn’t try to kill Harry, we know the Philosopher’s Stone has been destroyed, that our friends are okay, and even how Harry survived the night his parents were killed. We even know that Nicolas Flamel and his wife have enough elixir to set all affairs in order. This story, however, is still open-ended. We are left with one simple fact; ‘there are ways that Voldemort can come back.’ 

This is a good option if you want to give the reader the hint that there will be something more. You have resolved the ‘pressing’ concerns and leave just enough to get them to ‘tune in next time’. 

Some stories, however, do not fit this way of ending a story. There are many novels out there that are very much stand-alone, and the reader is not expecting a sequel at all. These stories would not satisfy the readers had all the questions not been answered. This is something to think about. When you are leaving something ‘unresolved’ is it something that will irk the reader, or is it something that will inspire another story? 

Does it make sense

Structure, as I have mentioned, can stop you from going off on tangents, and this is often going to help you have a clear storyline that makes sense to any reader. This is very important, because the reader will not be satisfied if, at the end, they are clueless. 

  1. Have your main idea clearly thought out and stick to it.
  2. Make sure that you highlight — for yourself — all the facts that you need to include.
  3. When explaining a more complex idea in a story, use simple, clear language. 
  4. If you have an “expert” character using jargon, ensure you have that explained for other characters, and therefore your reader. 
    1. Remember, make this natural, for example, a professional explaining something in layman’s terms for another character. Otherwise it can come across as an ‘info-dump’. This also comes under Action vs Exposition, and getting the balance just right.
  5. Read the ending of your story on its own, or get someone else to read it. Is it clear that all your questions are answered or acknowledged here?

Prompt of the Round – Creatures

Since this round is all about accidents, and we know that creatures are great at causing them, I decided to cover this kind of prompt here. Much like a character, the creature should be featured heavily in the story, especially if it’s your ‘main prompt.’ In order to get full points, I would always recommend building the story around the creature itself. Here I will show you a few ways to do this. 

  1. What is the creature?
  2. Descriptions
  3. Personality
  4. Turning it on its head

What is the creature?

Firstly, we need to pick a creature. For this article I will choose the Boggart. I will always start by asking myself the question: ‘What is a Boggart?’

“A Boggart is a shape-shifting creature that will assume the form of whatever most frightens the person who encounters it.”

Fear becomes a central aspect of my story, however, you can always tip it on it’s head. I will link below a story that does just that with the Boggart. To really do this well, you have to work with your character of choice, this means really understanding that character and what they are afraid of. 

Descriptions

To really immerse your reader into the story, you want to have a good description of your creature. Some creatures can always look the same, so it’s good to give your creature some defining characteristics, something that sets them apart from the crowd. During season one, former Hogwarts student, Heidlebergchick did this wonderfully by writing about the Dementor who made a deal with Lord Voldemort, please see: The Pact of Tur’el

A Boggart, is fairly similar and cannot really be described in it’s own right. It is described by the feeling that it gives to those around it and often will say more about the character that is viewing it than it would about itself. To make this more about the Boggart, you need to have more interaction with the Boggart. If you end this with an easy ‘Riddikulus’, your Boggart is gone before the reader can really understand it. For that reason, going down the fear route would mean that you want to make it more of a struggle for your character, giving the Boggart more air-time, as it were. 

Personality

One of the key things that the writer in the above fic did, was giving her creature a personality. The reader gets far more interaction with the creature if you can do this, and depending on how you go, you can really get immersed in that personality. 

One way of doing this, is to have the Boggart take on the form of a more sentient fear. For this example, I picked Molly Weasley, who fears for all of her family, what will happen to them and if they will survive. This doesn’t just involve death, in one story—linked here: Fear is a Liar—I looked at Molly’s fears with regards to the moral journey that Percy Weasley was taking and used this to have interaction between the two of them.

Turning it on its head

Sometimes, you can create an anti-creature. A creature that is intentionally related, or has been altered in some way to be the opposite or different than the rest of its species. This is another way of making your creature stand out. Examples could include:

  1. The black unicorn
  2. Dementor that gives joy
  3. Boggart that shows your heart’s desire
  4. Redcaps that are helpful to weary travellers

Another reason I picked the Boggart for this, is because a good friend of mine wrote a story about the opposite of a Boggart. A rare creature that showed you want you loved most. The creature in her story screams Boggart, and yet it does everything in the opposite way: The Traggob

I hope these hints and tips will help you go onto making more and better creature fics than ever before. And as usual, if you have any tips for writing a creature prompt, please drop us a comment below. 

Writing School –

Time for some more of Headmistress Lun’s creative writing tips (with the support of Admin TQA)! In the last issue, you learnt how to punctuate dialogue. This round we are looking at how you can improve your storytelling with dynamic dialogue. 

This will also be the technique judged in this round’s Writing School.

Making Dialogue Flow

Dialogue is an important tool for characterisation, subtle exposition and developing relationships. We will focus on how to keep dialogue flowing in your story naturally by framing it properly in your narration using dialogue tags.

  • Dialogue tags should be invisible

The dialogue itself is what is important; the tag is just functional. Try to delete dialogue tags whenever they are not needed (to know who is speaking or to understand the context), and focus completely on the dialogue.

  • ‘Said’ is not dead!

In most cases the word ‘said’ will do just fine — no need to come up with lots of fancy synonyms. This is one case where repetition really does not matter (much). ‘Said’ is efficient, it does not distract from the actual dialogue, and it saves you the cognitive capacity to find a better dialogue tag, allowing you to focus on what your characters are saying instead. Don’t feel pressured to find a more creative dialogue tag when ‘said’ can do the job.

  • Avoid using adverbs too frequently in dialogue tags.

Sometimes, an adverb might suit your meaning better than changing the verb (e.g. ‘he said darkly’ rather than ‘he muttered’)… but don’t overdo it as it adds a repetitive rhythm.

  • Vary where you position your dialogue tags.

They can go before, during or after dialogue; changing them around can create a more varied and interesting rhythm in your writing.

  • Punctuation in place of dialogue tags.

A question mark can come a long way, as does an exclamation point. But there are other ways to end a sentence. Maybe let it fade out… Give it an abrupt ending when your character is interrup—

You get the gist.

  • Trade tags with action beats.

Actions are a better route of conveying emotions than using any type of adverbs. People move around a lot while talking; they gesture, they mimic, they change poses. Those cues are really important and can add a lot to your dialogue. They also work as a great way to pace.

An action beat can often convey the way in which a line of dialogue is spoken, or add to the emotion of the words that are being said.

Example:

If a character slams his fists on a desk before saying, ‘Get out of my office,’ you won’t need to tell the reader that he is angry! That way you avoid too much telling.

  • Pace the reader

Dialogue sometimes reads really fast in the reader’s mind while the act of speaking takes more time than your narration. To slow the reader down, add information about body language, setting, thoughts etc. The rule of thumb here is to slow reading speed to approximately the same speed as the dialogue plays out.

A nice trick for pacing the reader is to include the dialogue tag or action beat between spoken words when a natural pause is in the dialogue — changing the rhythm of it subtly.

Example:

‘It’s not that I don’t like Ginny,’ Harry said, nervously scratching behind his ear, ‘but I don’t want her to get hurt.’

Avoid doing this whenever there is no natural pause in the dialogue as it interrupts the flow. Try avoiding long stretches between lines said within the same scene that could come across as unnatural pauses.

And remember that you are not writing a screenplay with instructions for the actors how to stand and move. Balance is key.

Writing School Challenge

Win up to 10 extra points by writing a drabble that will be judged specifically on the aspects of this round’s challenge. These stories are not to be beta’d by another member of your team. The idea is that you learn the rules and beta for yourself, ensuring that there are as few errors as possible.

Find the rules for this challenge in our rules and regulations thread!

For this round’s drabble, we want you to write a story with a focus on dialogue! Try to use the hints and tips above to give the judges some excellent and gripping dialogue. Our prompts this round are some of the best written dialogue on television. Each has a very different tone. Please remember to add submission information to your authors note, this contains important information for the judges. 

Prompts:
  1. “I don’t want normal and easy and simple. I want painful, difficult, devastating, life-changing, extraordinary love” – Scandal
  2. “That’s how you get away with murder.” – How To Get Away With Murder
  3. “Oh, I may be on the side of the angels, but don’t think for one second that I am one of them.” – Sherlock
  4. “I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested.” – The Big Bang Theory
  5. “Power is a lot like real estate. It’s all about location, location, location. The closer you are to the source, the higher your property value.” – House of Cards

REMINDER: This season, we want you to submit your Writing School drabbles without getting a beta. There is no penalty if you do so as we can’t control it, but this is meant as a training for you to rely less on others when writing.Closing date: 8am UTC 22nd February 2020

interview – IWSC FIXED?

We would like to introduce you to an important interview. Recently the heads became aware of some rumours, they decided to clear things up, so we got Verity and Lun in a chat with Admin Georgie to clear things up! These rumours are about the competition, how it’s run, and if things are really as fair as they seem.

Georgie: Anyone who has been around fanfiction.net for a while knows how common rumours can be. What have your experiences with rumours been on ffn net, and what are your feelings about these rumours?

Lun: Personally, I’ve only had a very small experience. It was more funny than anything. I had just started my first comp and wanted to prepare for everything, so I checked out the other team we were up against and wrote a little summary about all of their team members. It was innocent really, but once we were called out on it, I felt really bad. I had posted it in a public place and some of the things I wrote were a little inaccurate. That’s when I realised that I actually need to think about what I write about others online.

Verity: Rumours are always hurtful. I think this is something to remember, because if they aren’t hurting you, they are hurting someone else. Part of the reason is because a rumour is so very hard to take back. Once it’s out there, that’s it.

The rumours have not come from Beauxbatons, or someone that is still around for that matter.

Verity Grahams

Georgie: There have been some rumours circulating around the IWSC recently. How does this make you feel?

Lun: Well, I can laugh it off, but I know Vee takes it to heart. That makes me a little angry on her behalf. Because there is little to no truth in what is said.

Verity: I think the nature of the rumours is hard for me, mainly because I have put so much effort in, and my main aim is that the competition is fair. I’ve been in competitions that aren’t like that, and it’s very important to me that this competition is run in the right way. I take it a little too personally, which I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help thinking, ‘so this is how I’m perceived?’ This is something I need to let go of, because I know what I am like, I know what the other mods are like, and I know the rumours are not true.

Lun: I also try to remember that people are allowed to have opinions. We have so many ways to give us feedback, both directly and anonymously, so it is a bit sad that some people chose to state their criticism where we hear of it far too late and from different sources. There’s no way for us to react to that when it still matters to everyone involved.

Georgie: The biggest rumour going around at the moment is that the competition is fixed. What would you like to say to that?

We also want some closure on this topic I think. We know that we sometimes make mistakes and we hope we can be more open about that in general.

Lun

Verity: We have a headmistress that is attached to each school. They all have the same powers, and they can see and have access to every doc. We are all competitive and we rally behind our teams. We all want our school to win, so why would any of the other heads stand by and allow another to fix the competition? Having a mod in each school, means each school is equally represented in all of our discussions. It makes it very hard for any school to really have an advantage. It’s set up that way for this reason.

Lun: I know that we have a lot going on behind the scenes that the students don’t know about, so for them it’s like a black box until they get the results. We try to offer insight as much as possible. We also had a very extensive feedback questionnaire last season — remember, this is just the second season of this competition. Everything is still rather new — and we talked about the criticism a lot when planning for season two. There were a lot of valid points that fairness isn’t always guaranteed and we were very thankful for the feedback. We had a lot of changes because of that feedback, trying to make the comp better for everyone.

All we ask for is a little patience and honesty with us. We are all doing this in our spare time, we are still rather inexperienced. We try to be as close to our students as possible so that we can sense when things are going south.

Georgie: You mentioned some changes that were made for this new season to increase fairness and transparency. Can you explain these for those who may not be aware?

Verity: Well, in the feedback, it was felt that certain schools had better themes and that the way these themes were divided was favourable to some schools. Previously, I handed out the themes – so the point about fairness stands, I just said that we were competitive. My main concern was making sure a school didn’t get a similar theme twice, that everyone got something fresh. That being said, I understand why that would be raised. For that reason, no headmistress has any say on which school gets which theme. It’s all done by Admins. This is something we didn’t have access to last season. That just means we had to do things that would have been fairer to be handed elsewhere.

Lun: We literally now call our round ideas ‘theme one’/’theme two’ etc instead of ‘theme Hogwarts’ in our planning.

Last season we did a lot of work to fill the teams and that meant taking whoever we could get for judging positions. There have been some inconsistencies in judging, and that was partly due to us rushing ahead with our new and sometimes inexperienced judges. Of course, they were rotating, so all schools got all judges at some point, but still it was a valid point of criticism. Some judges were stricter than others and we had some rejudgings that could have been prevented. This season, we do a proper test judging with every new judge, check where they have weaknesses and then actively train them. We provide feedback, we let them start small and we have a better chat for answering questions. Also the judging guidance is now shared with judges and students equally to put everyone on the same page. We also have an age minimum now by the way, to make sure there is a certain level of experience. We also prefer those who are active writers.

Verity: Also something to add to above, that we are still making changes and tweaking things based on feedback. An issue was raised about the judging for the finals and the fairness of that, which has been being discussed with everyone for the past few days.

Basically, Admins are Headmistresses without a school allegiance

Lun

Georgie: You mentioned Admins. Can you explain for our newer students who the Admins are and what they do?

Lun: Basically, Admins are Headmistresses without a school allegiance. They do all the organizing work we do as well, but have less direct contact with students. We also write our rounds with multiple people now and our Admins have a huge role in making sure they are fair and varied, adding prompts, doing beta readings etc. You’d think it’s easy to write out all rounds before the comp started, but there’s always some last minute changes if someone points out things like ‘this theme is way harder to do than the others’ , ‘the prompts lean more to theme one than any of the others’. 

Verity: You are one of our admins! We also have the lovely TQA. You were both previously judges and we did put out ‘applications’ for anyone that had been involved last year to apply. Admins do a lot. Standing in when we lose a judge, allocating themes, writing articles, even being present on school chats when a Head can’t. You guys do so much, I don’t think I am even getting it all down. We have also looked at how judges will critique pairings and characters that they don’t like, as it was brought up that certain characters and pairings had no chance of getting JP for instance.

Georgie: Apart from the Admins, there has been another role added. Can you explain why we added the role of Deputy to each team, and what they bring to their teams?

Lun: The main idea was actually to take some of our tasks and let other people carry the weight. We wanted to make sure the teams had someone experienced there who has a little say and was responsible for organising, answering questions, helping to beta and also listening to problems when the head isn’t around or when the students can’t talk to their head for other reasons.

Verity: The goal for deputies was initially about lightening the load. Actually, they have been far far more productive. They are so connected to the team, and being able to discuss decisions with them, and in that we get to know how the majority of the students feel about a given decision before we make it.

Lun: We also decided to make a chat with all deputies and heads (and admins) as a way to bring the schools together.

Verity: It’s been invaluable for us. We want the competition to be the best it can be, particularly for the participants, and the deputies really amplify that, they help us do a better job. I think they connect the heads to all the teams too.

Lun: We also try to get opinions from them on comp related topics we’re discussing. We want the heads to get an overview of the whole comp and to have a voice, representing the students.

Verity: I tend to only have a view of what Hogwarts thinks and feels, but I can now chat to Crissie, Esme, Emmy, Sophie, who will give us all insight on the other teams. Ruhi would do the same for the other heads and Hogwarts.

Lun: I agree with getting a better feel for the other teams! Not all heads are online at the same time, and I chat A LOT with Werity while I have phases where I rarely catch any of the others who live in other parts of the world… I feel I have a better overview of how well their teams are doing with the deputy chat going on.

Georgie: As well as theme allocation, JPs have been another area of concern among the students, as you mentioned above Vee. Can you explain this process for us, and how it is kept as fair as possible?

We tried voting in the first few rounds, but inevitably we ended up at impasse. We started the number system so that in this instance someone wouldn’t be forced to change their mind.

Verity Grahams

Verity: Well, we don’t pick the judges picks initially. The judges do, hence the name. The overall JP get’s more points and that is selected by the heads. We have the same system this year as last year, except Admins get input too. Each head and admin reads all 5 stories that received JP, they will then rate them from 1 to 5. 1 being their favourite, 5 being the least favourite. We add up the totals and the lowest number wins overall JP. This is the best way to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard. We tried voting in the first few rounds, but inevitably we ended up at impasse. We started the number system so that in this instance someone wouldn’t be forced to change their mind. 

Lun: The judges pick is also something, we have debated about and will be awaiting feedback from our students about at the end of the season. We are aware that the process of selecting JPs is not always clear to students and want to make clearer rules for this.

Verity: I would like to clarify, we rate stories based on content, quality and enjoyment, not school. There are many times that I have been frustrated by the overall winner of JP, and when this has happened, it’s been a number of different schools, not just Hogwarts that I had wanted to win.

Georgie: Are there guidelines for the judges when it comes to choosing JP?

Another thing is that points aren’t everything. A technically perfect story, doesn’t guarantee JP.

Lun

Verity: Yes, we are specifically against, ‘but it’s my favourite character’.

Lun: We also encourage judges to consider SPaG to a certain degree, as that was something raised in student feedback. A JP shouldn’t be loaded with SPaG, but a small amount is no problem.

Verity: It’s about the enjoyment of the story, yes, but also quality. Judges should remain unbiased, and just because you are very ‘anti’ a certain pairing, doesn’t mean that it should be overlooked for this kind of recognition. As a Snape and Snily fan, I feel this point within the depths of my soul, lol.

Lun: Another thing is that points aren’t everything. A technically perfect story, doesn’t guarantee JP. There needs to be a certain depth and skill that can’t be put into points. This way sometimes even lower scoring stories have a chance

Verity: To add to Lun’s point, someone could write an excellent story and completely fudge up the theme, meaning they have a low score. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t the best story of the bunch, it means their content didn’t match the theme criteria we set out.

Georgie: One of the primary concerns underlying the rumours of comp fixing was around the fact that Beauxbatons did not win last year, despite being strong in the finals. Can you explain how this can occur?

Just because you are very ‘anti’ a certain pairing, doesn’t mean that it should be overlooked for this kind of recognition. As a Snape and Snily fan, I feel this point within the depths of my soul, lol.

Verity Grahams

Lun: Leeeet me pull up my spreadsheets!!!

Verity: This is where it gets dicey! Beauxbatons were very strong earlier on, but other teams really stood up to the plate part way through – a big shout out to the hooties who went from the bottom to third! I think there’s this idea that Beauxies were first place throughout the season, which isn’t the case, it was very neck and neck for a while. I know because I remember much teasing and banter between Paceso and myself as the two schools would overtake each other. In fact, before the finals, if I remember correctly, Hogwarts were in the lead. So much so, it was generally understood that they couldn’t be overtaken with one round. For that reason we started the final with each school having zero points. This meant that any of the final schools had a chance of winning!

Lun: I think the argument was that Beaux and Hooties didn’t get in their stories in time and therefore got a deduction for late submission. Without that deduction the argument is that they would have won. But I ran the numbers and the average story score for Hoggy was 27 and the average for beaux (without the deduction) was 26.7. This shows, that Hoggy would have won in any case

 Verity: What happened in the finals is that we all lost a lot of writers. I’m not sure about Hooties, but I know both Beaux and Hogwarts lost writers. I know Hogwarts lost 2, possibly 3 writers at the end. All the writers that we knew were missing, were replaced by writers from other teams. What it came down to was that two schools had students that submitted late.

I think that there was a writer that was writing but disappeared right at the end of the round for beauxbatons, and we have taken that into account this year by having more stringent rules for those that let their teams down.

 Lun: We did too. We lost fair and square. Hooties had at least 2 late stories I believe

 Georgie: I recall that there was a request to disregard the “extra” stories from those teams who had full submissions to even the number of stories being judged per team. What was the reasoning behind denying this request?

 Verity: There was a Hogwarts student that got in just in time, and could have been late too. There was a moment where students asked for that story not to count. It was decided by all Heads that this was unfair to that writer. A writer that worked so very hard on their submission, and was going through exams if I remember. The late stories were given the late deduction, and Hogwarts wasn’t and I do believe that the general census is that Hogwarts would not have won had their not been late deductions. I worked out the points myself, without late deductions, Mahoutokoro could have beaten Hogwarts, but Beauxbatons couldn’t have. 

 Lun: yea, I was so proud of my team. But we had clear rules, and they understood that and were happy about competing in the finals

 Verity: We did. I also think it’s really important to point out, that this isn’t Beauxbatons being sore losers, or anything like that. The rumours have not come from that school, or someone that is still around for that matter. Beauxbatons work very hard and if they were to win this year, they would deserve that crown.

Georgie: Definitely.

Verity: Would I be able to discuss how this came about? While discussing the finals?

Georgie: Sure!

Verity: So, I was looking at the points and how much effort that schools put in. I think it’s hard to deny how much effort that Beauxbatons put in, their scores are far ahead of everyone else’s. I thought it was a shame that this effort seemed to be ignored come the finals. I started a discussion with heads and then we took it to deputies. My thought process was inspired by little whispers in my ear that people thought the Hogwarts won because of me, and not through their own hard work. And they worked soooo hard. It made me want to make sure that the extra work was honoured. In this discussion with deputies, in some of the private conversations, we started to hear a little more about these rumours and that someone had said it was fixed, particularly JP’s. I want to say this because at a time when people are discussing how the competition is fixed, I am trying to involve everyone in making it fairer for other teams. Beauxbatons specifically, because they do the most extras.

 Georgie: Thank you both for being so open and honest about these issues. Before we wrap up, can you just explain why it was so important for you to address these rumours and concerns openly, and why you chose to do so in this format?

Still, we give our students feedback every round, so feel welcome you guys to do the same! If you have questions, complaints or just worries about how something is done, let us know 

Lun

 Verity: Because rumours only get worse. They are passed on and exaggerated, and before you know it, a reputation is in tatters. I, personally, want every student to feel confident that we will do whatever we can to make this fair. I also think keeping things out in the open is best for all. I hope that this interview will enable students to stand up and ask us the difficult questions, to let their voices be heard in whichever way they feel most comfortable. I want them to know that we will always address their concerns and do the right thing.

 Lun: We also want some closure on this topic I think. We know that we sometimes make mistakes and we hope we can be more open about that in general. It just sits badly with me when we are accused of things that aren’t true and without giving us a platform to defend or explain ourselves. Still, we give our students feedback every round, so feel welcome you guys to do the same! If you have questions, complaints or just worries about how something is done, let us know. 

Verity: Aunt Molly is taking anonymous questions for the next issue I believe. But the comp email and PM is open to all to question us. With the honeydukes chat, you should be able to join that, and you can pm any head or admin with any query you have

 Georgie: Thank you so much for talking with me, and for all of the hard work you both put into this comp. I know we all appreciate it very much

The Great Book Review

Ilvermorny: Tattered Threads by Mournful Severity

Mournful Severity keeps knocking it out of the park with these insights into background characters. I had never thought about what happened after Hagrid got expelled, but it makes so much sense that this was the time during which he got to know the centaurs. I also love how Hagrid just can’t stop thanking Dumbledore. After all, this moment basically changed his life.

The main plot, the death of Aragog, was beautifully written. Despite the fact that Hagrid had him as a kid, it never made much sense as to why Hagrid cared so much about the creepy spider. Now I get it. Aragog was Hagrid’s best friend, the one who never left, until he had to. I was about to cry when I read it.

– Headmistress Hope

Hogwarts: Grief by The Dark Enchantress Ruhi

This story paints a picture of grief that is so detailed you feel like a heavy blanket that settles around you while you read. It weighs heavily on you, like the emotions that are dragging Harry down. But this story is also about making better decisions, about an alternative that would have been better and that gives us hope. And that hope makes you feel light after witnessing Harry go through darkness and gradually reaching the end of the tunnel. Step by step, day by day. 

This story can be a cure, like crying your eyes out (literally) and feeling better afterwards.

– by Headmistress Lun

Beauxbatons: What Is Done In The Dark by Hemlockonium OVERALL JP

This story is unlike any I have ever read. Hemlockonium skillfully alternates between the point of view of James and Sirius, resulting in a story that is a delightful mix of mystery, horror, and even some comedy. 

This story is set at a fancy party held for the new Auror graduates, and James is not impressed when his best friend goes missing. But Sirius is dealing with problems of his own — namely what to do with the corpse of a person you’ve just accidentally killed. This story masterfully explores Sirius’ motives, beliefs and insecurities, and has left me wanting more — much more.

Hemlockonium has left herself open for a sequel — and to that, I demand a whole multi-chap! There is so much left to explore here, as this story sparks so many questions. With this character dead, how will the rest of the timeline change? What will the lives of the Marauders be like in comparison to canon? What will Harry’s life be like? And most importantly — can Sirius keep this a secret? 

This story is a must-read for every Harry Potter fan, and I sincerely hope that there is more to come.

– by Admin Georgie

Mahoutokoro: – Turning Point by Selene Blackburn

When this came to me, I was a little skeptical to begin with, having never been the biggest fan of Percy Weasley. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. 

But as I started to read, I felt myself drawn in. The detail was so completely vivid and bright, and the characterisation was spot on. I could easily see Percy racing around trying to get a Hippogriff for the Italian Minister. 

I loved Pansy Parkinson in this too. When I first heard mention of her, I did roll my eyes, and thought ‘oh here we go,’ but it was refreshing to see that she wasn’t being a total cow. She was gently teasing Percy, and being nice in offering him a job at her zoo, and for Percy to eventually accept that offer, was a really nice touch! 

This was a warm and witty story, and I wound up completely in love with it. Absolutely brilliant. It’s a must read!

~ Headmistress Claire.

Durmstrang: Creature Council by KeepSmiling

This story is certainly a contender for the Luna Lovegood’s Award for Creativity, and it holds a special place for me, because it reminds me so much of one of the first books I remember reading; The Chronicles of Narnia. It does have serious Narnia vibes, and yet stays true to Harry Potter. This took some serious world building skill. Central characters are some of our favourite creatures, Dobby and Buckbeak, and you will get to see them as you have never seen them before. 

The Creature Council — not really known to the wizarding community — is a collection of all creatures and it’s where they get to have their say without being downtrodden. It reminded me so much of Prince Caspian, and yet the magical creatures in this story have no need of a human king! This is a truly original story, and it deserved this JP for its sheer originality. It’s clear just how much work went into it, and it really paid off.

– by Headmistress Verity

Writing School – Honourable Mentions

Brushstrokes by Chibi-Shibi

This story was picked out of the writing school challenges because it was fantastically creative. This story used the character of Death, the writer, Chibi, managed to show me just how complicated that character was, and in less than 1000 words. Death is singular and plural, Death is detached and uncaring, but also involved in everything and feels deeply. This story explored that character in a way I hadn’t seen before, explored how Death felt about the task that had been set. It’s so worth a read, but if you click the link, grab a tissue.

THE GREAT BOOK REVIEW INTERVIEW

Congratulations Always a Dragon on winning overall Judge’s Pick for last round! Your story was absolutely amazing! It was so great that we want to know a little more about you as the writer behind it and your thoughts surrounding your incredible work. 

First, a quick introduction! What do you most enjoy about writing and what makes your stories unique?

I really like delving into what the characters are thinking and what their emotions are. It’s kind of amazing what a few words can say about a fictional person, and how you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes even if outwardly you really don’t like them. I tend to focus a lot on the character’s reaction when writing. It’s very fun.

I’m not quite sure what makes my fanfiction stories unique. I think I’m good with keeping characters in character, although I find some characters are a lot harder to write than others. 

Now we want to know all about your winning story!

How did you feel about your story when you first submitted it to the round? 

I certainly wasn’t expecting to get a J.P! I was happy and excited, obviously. I was also a bit nervous, since that had been the first time I’d submitted a fic to the IWSC. 

What inspired you to write Barty Crouch Jr.?

Barty Crouch has always been an interesting character to me. He’s smart: he can think on his feet and knows how to deceive people. Yet Barty also possesses an incredible anger and cruelty hidden beneath the surface — this is evident in the way he treats others when his plot is finally uncovered in GoF. When I saw the prompt (not being accepted by your relations or family on a fundamental level) I immediately thought of Barty’s relationship with his father. There’s been fault on both sides, and Crouch Snr.’s indifference towards Barty evidently led to a lot of Barty-bitterness.

Barty Crouch Jnr and Barty Crouch Snr are a perfect example of a father-son relationship gone horribly wrong, and for some weird reason that fascinates me. 

You wrote many scenes which flashed back to previous experiences in Barty’s life. Which memory did you find the most interesting to explore?

I really liked writing the scene where Barty finally has control over his father. It was interesting because Barty realises he can take revenge on his father, and suddenly the whole power dynamic has shifted completely. 

Why did you choose this particular scene as your entryway into the depths of Barty’s character? 

I enjoyed writing that scene because I feel it demonstrates how ruthless and vicious Barty is. He has no remorse whatsoever, and when he at last has control over his father, he has no qualms about murder. It’s so different from the other memories because this time Barty is the one who has power, and he loves it. Honestly, writing it kind of terrified me.

Is there an aspect of your story that you are most proud of? 

I’m quite proud of creating a character arc through flashbacks. I already knew I wanted to create flashbacks but as I was writing the scenes I really got into how Barty changes through them. It was heaps of fun!

Next time we will have an in depth look into this round’s overall Judges Pick with the author Hemlockconium.

The Lair of Madam Pince

Welcome to the library section. This season we are showcasing stories that you would like to have publicised, stories that you want more reviews for, and stories that you think are contenders for the IWSC Awards. 

There have been some truly great submissions so far, but unfortunately none put forward for an award just yet. What we would like more than anything is for stories that fit one of our awards, that have been published in the main rounds, to be nominated by you. A quick reminder of our categories:

  1. Snapes Award for Tragic Tales – Tragedy
  2. The Best Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes – Comedy
  3. The Luna Lovegood Award for Creativity – Originality
  4. Hufflepuff Hearts Award – Romance
  5. Dean Thomas’ Award for Artistic Flair – AU’s

Can you think of any other categories? PM them or send them to a head or Admin in the Honeydukes Server!

Review of the Week

More Than One Way To Skin A Cat By Average Fish

This week’s review of the week has been described as, ‘the oddest Severitus you’ll ever read’, so you know I had to give that a read! This writer gave me a sneak peek at the final chapter, but I will not be giving any spoilers in this review. There are 28 chapters so far, so you have plenty to keep you occupied. 

What I will say is that the beginning really draws you in, opening at Severus’ death. With the summary telling me it’s Severitus, I know that something’s got to really change here, which has me intrigued immediately. The rest of the chapter is a little tongue-in-cheek, we seem to understand what is happening far more than Severus does. It’s written comedically despite the fact that the situation is not amusing at all. 

I love that the tone changes as soon as Severus’ catches up with the reader. It’s a smart choice and punctuates the moment really well. This is by far one of the most interesting takes on Severitus, as Severus raises Harry due to being caught up inside the child after his own death. 

It makes for a unique story with so many smart choices. The sentences are smooth and easy to read. There is a little swearing, but this tends to be used to punctuate a moment or feeling. This is done very effectively too. The story is filled with strange but fabulous plot choices. From my reading of it, it may not be the story for everyone, because it is a little out there. What it is, is fun and entertaining, and something that I thoroughly enjoyed. It explores character’s in a way you may not have seen before. It delves into topics you may not have read before, but it does everything differently. For me, it’s worth a read. 

Dungbombs and the Parchment by Paceso

Did you ever wonder what Fred and George did when they discovered an old bit of parchment? How did they discover it was the greatest tool in achieving mischief? Well, luckily, Paceso thought about it. She also wrote a story about it. Paceso, is renowned for quality in her writing and her plots always excel. This story is no different, it’s well worth a read and review!

Please feel free to send more stories that you want publicising. Remember to send in any the competition stories you think are worthy of one of the awards above.

IWSC Awards Suggestions

At the end of the season we will have an awards season. It’s like the oscars, but for fan fiction, so you better get all dolled up! We have a few categories, you can find them listed above. You make the nominations, and at the end of the season you guys will vote. It will be in the final issue of the WWN that we will have our ceremony with even more awards for writers!

Dean Thomas’ Award for Artistic Flair

These stories are the best AU’s of the series, and in the honeydukes server, we already have two nominations!

An Explosive End by Ashen Moon

Frozen Hearts and Burning Love by Amythesica

What other categories for stories would you like this year? Please send all nominations or category suggestions to the competition account with the heading IWSC Awards Nominations/ IWSC Awards Categories.

Dear Aunt Molly

Dear Aunt Molly is our agony aunt article. You can send fictional character concerns, or even real worries and get an agony aunt respose. These can be anonymous, or from named characters. Send them all to the competition account with the subject ‘Dear Aunt Molly’, alternatively you can message Aunt Molly at her Tumblr account or her own Fanfiction.net account.

Dear Aunt Molly,

I hope you’re doing well. I find myself in a little predicament. It’s my Mum’s birthday tomorrow, so I was baking her some yummy treats as a surprise. In the process I accidentally broke one of my Mum’s favourite China bowls (which I was going to serve the goodies in). I swept the pieces away, and we don’t really use them so one broken bowl won’t be missed, but I still haven’t told her about it and it’s her birthday tomorrow and I don’t want to upset her, but I don’t want to lie to her either. What should I do?

Dear, I’mClumsyI’mSorry

Hello dear, 

How old are you dear? If you are old enough, do you maybe know the repair spell? Or maybe a relative you trust can help you? Otherwise I suggest that you maybe wait until after her birthday and tell her then. I do hope that your mum has a really good birthday. 

Dear Aunt Molly,

I’ve found myself in an awkward situation. The Yule Ball is just around the corner, and I’m being pressured to go by all of my friends; however, I don’t have a date yet and I’m not positive that I even want to go to the dance at all! I’m not sure what I should do, because if I don’t go, I feel like I’m missing out and letting people down, but at the same time, I don’t know if it’s what I want to do. Because of my chronic indecisiveness, I can’t decide if I should go or not. Any advice??

Yours truly,

Waffling Witch

Dear Waffling Witch

Hello dear, 

Why do you need a date to go to the ball? You are a strong independent woman, who doesn’t need a male to escort her. Go stag, dear, you’ll have a much better night. I shall be in attendance as a special guest that night, and if I catch anyone suggesting you’re sad that you don’t have a date, then I will set them straight. I hope you have a wonderful night, dear.

Dear Aunt Molly,

What can I do to get more attention to my stories? People who read them seem to like them, but I have trouble getting exposure. I’ve shared them on message boards and FB groups, but they still aren’t getting many views. Is there something specific I should be doing when writing summaries, or some other way I’m missing? Thanks!

Hello dear, 

Have you tried tumblr? Also be concise in your summaries, but also gripping. Think, when you read the blurb on the back of a book, what makes you as a reader want to buy it? If you do use tumblr make sure that the most important tags are in the first five you use! I hope this helps. 

Character Profiles

HOW TO WRITE: Neville Longbottom

Neville Longbottom is a fan-favorite in the series. Going from class underdog to resistance leader in the seven years we know him. It is amazing to see him develop. As Dumbledore says, “It is our choices, far more than our abilities, that show who we really are,” and Neville is the ultimate embodiment of this.

Neville’s story starts even before he is born. On the night that Sybil Trelawney made the prophecy that ultimately became about Harry Potter, Neville was also a candidate. However, Voldemort chose the Potters. Shortly after Voldemort’s downfall, several Death Eaters, including Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange, along with Barty Crouch Jr, broke into the Longbottom’s house and tortured Neville’s parents until they went mad. They were ultimately caught, but Neville was left to grow up with his severe grandmother, Augusta.

Over the next few years, Neville was thought to be a Squib (a none magical witch or wizard), until his Uncle Algie accidentally dropped him out of a window after being offered a meringue. This showed that Neville had magic, as he was able to survive by bouncing to the road, although it was still doubtful that he would attend Hogwarts. He did, however, and was given a toad by his uncle as a reward. Being forgetful and accident prone, he ended up losing the toad several times on the way to school. It was then that he met Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. They would end up friends, but it took a little while.

After being dubiously sorted into Gryffindor, Neville spent the next several years fluctuating from amateur to abysmal in all subjects except Herbology. His worst subject was Potions, possibly because of the terrifying influence of Professor Severus Snape. He was continually bullied by the professor, which highly colored his picture of himself.

Neville began to break out from his classmates in his fifth year, after the mass breakout from Azkaban that included the Lestranges. Having joined Harry’s group — Dumbledore’s Army — Neville started to master spells at an astonishing rate, beating everyone except Hermione in learning the Shield Charm.

The next year and a half, Neville spent growing in confidence, becoming a skilled wizard and gaining the respect of his peers. He was even good enough to survive both the Ministry of Magic escapade and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. He even accepted it when Harry and his friends learnt about his parent’s condition, but he often avoids talking about it.

After returning to Hogwarts for seventh year, Neville reforms the resistance group Dumbledore’s Army in order to keep morale up under the regime that Snape and the Carrows set up. He is the one that brings Harry, Ron and Hermione to the Room of Requirement. He is also the one to stand up against Voldemort after Harry’s “death”, and he is the one who destroys the final Horcrux; Nagini.

In later life, Neville studies to become a professor, taking over the post of Herbology teacher after Professor Sprout retires sometime between 1998 and 2017. He ends up marrying Hufflepuff classmate Hannah Abbott during that same time period.

My favorite headcanon for Neville Longbottom is that instead of Hannah, Neville ends up marrying Luna Lovegood. They are both quiet souls, and they would be lovely companions. It doesn’t help that the movie highlights a romantic connection between the two. While doing research, I also found a headcanon that Neville, along with Harry, renovated Grimmauld Place into a home for children who have nowhere to go, and I thought that was just beautiful.

A few ideas you could explore for a Neville story would be growing up with his family, and what it was like thinking he wasn’t magical. You could explore his enduring constant attempts to draw out his magical ability, or him bringing the members of the DA together for the second time, and his taking the leadership role along with Ginny and Luna. 

Have a look at the relationships he would have with his colleagues after being a teacher, particularly Minerva McGonagall. It would be interesting to see the amazing teacher he becomes, having students look up to him as he looked up to Professor Sprout when he was young.

Have fun with it, and stay tuned for the next article, where we’ll talk about how to write the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

Something mysterious is happening at Hogwarts…

Welcome back to another Hogwarts Mystery game update. If you weren’t already playing, I hope my previous article inspired you to consider downloading and playing the game. This issue, I am going to share a few handy hints about the game that you may or may not already know, all of which pertain to maximising your energy.

Energy is a pesky thing in the game; you need it to complete the majority of tasks, and yet you always run out first. Like many games, energy is filled up over time (one hit/ point every four minutes). Whilst buying more using real money or ‘gems’ is always an option, there are better ways to go about this. 

Level up: The longest way to get more energy is to complete new Flying classes. Each time you do, your energy bar increases by one limit. In the first year, you start off by having around twenty or so, yet by the end of Year 6, you have around forty-four energy points and counting. Whilst you need to complete each year to get this far, I recommend doing the Flying classes first whenever they are offered before completing other storyline lessons or tasks.

Hidden energy funds: The game holds many secret places that you can get free energy, with one or two places in each ‘area’ inside and outside of Hogwarts (some unlocking as you progress). Tapping these items will give you one point of energy. I’d recommend doing so mid-lesson or task (the lessons/tasks that require three or eight hours to complete). You can find the secret energy by tapping on the spots listed here:

Https://hogwarts-mystery.fandom.com/wiki/Energy 

As you progress in the game, more energy spots will be unlocked. Buying as many pets as possible will also give you energy. Simply tap your pet in your dormitory (or standing beside you) whenever he/she is asleep. The link above lists the waiting times for each pet.

Advertisements: When you run out of energy, continue tapping on a task. Each day, an option will come up asking if you’d like to buy more energy, wait, or watch a short advertisement. Tapping the advertisement option will give you three more energy points, and will appear several times in a row before resetting a waiting period until it’s offered again (usually every twelve or more hours).

Maximising class time: Whilst classes give you the option of how long you want them to go for (one hour, three hours, or eight hours), always go for the middle option (three hours). This one can often be completed within an hour or two (pending on whether or not you start with full energy, which is recommended), and offers many more rewards than the quicker one hour lesson. Completing four of these will unlock the main lesson and complete it, and is far less time consuming than doing an eight hour lesson with a few one hours, or other combinations, etc.

In addition, tapping tasks that require five hits of energy is recommended. You will earn an extra point of energy towards the star bar when completed the ‘five hit’ tasks, and therefore fill it up faster as opposed to always selecting the tasks needing one, two, three, or four taps.

Making friends: Levelling up your friendship with characters may also give you extra energy (from five hits/points up to fifteen), depending on what level your friendship with that character is up to (check by clicking the friendship book icon on the bottom right of the screen). You can level up friendships by meeting the character in the Great Hall for lunch, playing Gobstones in the courtyard, and sharing Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade (later years).

Extra tasks: With last year’s recent Quidditch game addition, you can now earn one point of energy each practice game you play. You can also earn energy by watching daily videos, tapping on the snow globe in your dormitory (a gift from Molly Weasley after completing the most recent Christmas event), competing in-house events, and more recently, completing the ‘daily task’ list.

Other energy rewards: If ever in a pickle, always pick the reward option of energy during lessons; there is nothing worse than being stuck in a short lesson with no energy. You can also earn energy by feeding adopted pets in the wild (offered in later years), or by ‘levelling up’ your character (which renews the entire energy bar, often at the most inconvenient times when all compulsory tasks are completed).

Don’t waste it! Even if you have finished all main tasks, events, and side quests, you should use up your full energy whilst waiting for the next chapter to be made available (usually Fridays/ Thursday evenings). Attend extra classes for more rewards, including ‘courage,’ ‘compassion,’ and ‘knowledge’ points, house points, and ‘books’ (used for adopting some pets). Check out the above extra tasks too for gem rewards, which can be used to buy more energy.

Can you imagine if characters had to wait for ‘energy’ to go about their lives? Perhaps that might inspire some writing 😉 Until next time!

Creative Corner

Welcome to the Creative Corner, where we show off all your lovely fanart and poetry, and where you can earn some extra points by joining in a creative challenge! This round the challenge will earn each participant 5 points for simply submitting! (Note that for every subsequent submission you will earn 1 point) The winner of the challenge will be featured in the next issue and will get themselves another 5 points!!

CHALLENGE

Something exciting is coming to the Wizarding World and we are all going to want to be a part of it! Whether it’s the Yule Ball or Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday party, the world of Harry Potter is down to party. For this creative challenge, it is your turn to plan the event of the year! Your event can be at Hogwarts, a manor, or anywhere else in the Wizarding World, but make sure there is some magic in the air. Plan the details of your spectacular occasion: the timing, the season, the theme, the activities involved, and whatever else you can think of. Create a poster for your magical event that gives all the information necessary for your invitees to not only attend, but count down the days until it arrives! Get your creative thinking hats on and get ready to create the party of a lifetime!

Here are the rules:

  1. As always, your submission must be of your own creation. We shouldn’t be able to find the same poster online!
  2. Your event must be related to the Wizarding World in some evident way.

To enter the challenge, please send your posters to us at wizardingschoolchampionship @ gmail . com. The deadline for submissions is 25th February 2020!

The meme challenge!

Firstly thank you to all of you for participating in this challenge, you have sent us some truly amazing memes! And without further ado, I give you your winner Viola Moon! Take a look at the memes you sent in. Do you agree with our winner? Or would you have picked something else?

Viola Moon – Ilvermorny
WINNER!
The Students of The International Wizarding School Championship!

Trivia and Puzzles

Welcome to the Trivia and Puzzle section of the WWN. We will now be accepting submissions until the end of the round, this is simpler than numerous deadlines. 

Congratulations to the winners of last rounds Trivia Challenge: Hemlockconium (Beauxbatons), NinjaDevil (Mahoutokoro), and Leprechaun (Hogwarts). Hemlockconium worked extra hard this round and got the most words in our word wheel puzzle!  

  1. Which chapter do we first learn about Amortentia?
  2. What is the first potion that Harry Potter ever attempts to brew?
  3. What floor is the tearoom located at St. Mungo’s?
  4. Who was the witch who let the Devil’s Snare cutting into the hospital?
  5. Who is the founder of St. Mungo’s?
  6. What is the hospital’s symbol?
  7. What happened to the patients in the same room as Mr. Weasley?
  8. What days and periods was potions class in Harry Potter’s third year?
  9. What is the minimum OWL grade in Potions needed to become an Auror?
  10. What was Harry Potter’s first year Potions book?

It’s Harry Potter mine puzzle time. It’s great, I’ve done lots of them before. Whoever sends us the correct position of all characters will win! For numerous winners, the Bot in the Headmistress’ Discord will pick the winner.

Starting with the one revealed position, and follow the clues to fill in all the spaces with Harry Potter characters.

The International Wizarding School Competition League Table

School Place This Round This Round Story Points Extra Points MVP
Beauxbatons 1st Place286.75146.25140.5Ashen Moon
Ilvermorny 2nd Place 252.7515795.75Daryl Dixons Girl
Mahoutokoro 3rd Place237.50160.577Liz Jean Tonks
Hogwarts 4th Place233.25151.2582Silvermist Ruhi
Durmstrang 5th Place168.5130.538Rose
Overall PositionSchoolOverall Points
First PlaceBeauxbatons Academy of Magic627.75
Second PlaceHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry526.25
Third PlaceMahoutokoro School of Magic500.5
Fourth PlaceIlvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry441.75
Fifth PlaceDurmstrang Institute of Magic347.75

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.

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