Magical Hogwarts

Volume 37: March 2005

PAGE 1: CURRENT EVENTS AND MINI PLOTS

world The Ministry of Magic is experiencing record burnout within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, spurred along by mounting pressure both from the Wizengamot and the Wizarding public. Watch this space for more breaking news on the Widow's attacks this month. [OOC: This topic will be updated soon, thank you for your patience!] hogwarts Recently, a group of upperclassmen interested in writing and journalism (and, thus beginning to panic about bolstering their résumés now that spring is upon them) started a club and has decided to trial a project. With newly-granted permission from Professor McGonagall, they plan to start a monthly composite of sorts: best described as a hybrid newsletter-newspaper-magazine-type composite, in its nascent stages, with a plan to tailor and/or group content appropriately based on submission content and consumer response. For the pilot issue, they are accepting content submissions from the student body (as well as faculty and staff). Submissions may be written jointly or in small groups and - for the moment - may encompass any realm of writing: sports highlights, opinion columns, poetry, book reviews, and the list goes on. Submissions may be published anonymously, if desired. Potential contributors are advised that each submission will be reviewed by a staff member, and inappropriate content will be subject to repercussions as the final publication(s) will be available to the entire student body. General information has been posted on each Common Room's notice board, though potential contributors may contact Aimée de Havilland with specific questions. Additionally, this year the Easter holidays span both March and April. The Hogwarts Express will depart on Saturday the 19th at 11am and return on Sunday the 3rd. Students planning to remain at Hogwarts for the break should notify staff via the designated sign-in sheet (a copy is posted on each Common Room's notice board) no later than 11:59pm on Friday, 18th March. Traditional celebrations and feasting will be held on Sunday the 20th (Spring Equinox) and on Sunday the 27th (Easter Sunday).

beauxbatons The abducted girl, Mathilde Wagner, turned up again but interrogations proved that she has no recollections where she has been and what happened to her. The Third Year has been taken to the hospital for further examinations but returned to Manoir Vertneuf in the second week of March. Aurors are staying at Manoir Vertneuf and patrol the place day and night. Students are not allowed to go anywhere alone anymore. While moving around the place in couples is allowed, it is encouraged to stay in larger groups. The Mousquetaires are almost constantly on duty and other upperclassmen are encouraged to look after younger students and to alert a member of staff should they notice anything even slightly out of the ordinary. To keep the spirits up, Madame Maxime decided to keep the arts initiative going. This month's topic is painting. Students can get material and advice from Professeur Courtois. Students are also interested to see how Monsieur Ameliore's Transfiguration Relay, for which sign-ups were held in February, will shake out - and which team will win the Golden Leon, a trophy modeled after the Métamorphose professeur's cat. ilvermorny With negotiations with the Magical Carpenters and Laborers Union still ongoing, some Ilvermorny teachers are starting to show signs of restlessness and irritability with their “temporary” classrooms after almost six months. More than one professor has taken a class outside to enjoy the warming weather, allowing students to do classwork in small groups on the lawn. Though Headmaster Fontaine applauded the staff’s creative use of the beautiful Ilvermorny grounds, following a minor incident when a second-year Latin for Magical Purposes class and a W.E.N.D.I.G.O. level Magical Husbandry class attempted to hold concurrent lectures in the school’s northernmost courtyard, professors will be required to remain in their classrooms unless they have explicit permission to hold a lesson outdoors. All affected second years’ fingers have been reattached. durmstrang Complementary to Dragobetle in the previous month, March at Durmstrang means time to celebrate Women’s day. For this holiday, classes have been cancelled and a small group of female students, spearheaded by Klyk Vampira 7th year Venera Delcheva, have set up in the quidditch pitch with a small soiree supporting women's rights and fighting against gender inequality. At the event, which is ticketed (with proceeds going to charities), there will be food and drink, music, and party games. This outdoor event will be held in the afternoon into the early evening, but will end before curfew. Classes will return the following day on time, so the event is no reason for tardiness.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO... John Lennox (42) Sam Lynch (29) Piers Lovell (28) Jane Lennon (25) Ryan Hadley (24) Zviad Gogoladze (20) Adèle Appel (19) Winifred Gwartney (19) A'isha Belghazi (18) Amritleen Arneja (16) Rei Akiyama (16)

PAGE 2: SPORTS

ARTISTIC FLYING The artistic flying season is starting at the end of this month and Irina Sergeyevna Onishenko has once again made her way to the centre of artistic flying in Rybinsk, Russia, to interview one of last season's newcomers among the senior athletes. Nikon Vlaisyevich Zima has not only won the silver medal at the past Russian Nationals, he also had a great debut at senior worlds, capturing the bronze medal behind Anatoliy Tikhomirov and Gregoire Moulin. ISO: Nikon Vlaisyevich, you had a great first senior season. Congratulations on that. How does it feel to have medalled in both championships and to have beaten your long-time rival Rodion Shishkin who, unlike yourself, comes from the family that has invented the sport? NVZ: I am really proud of everything that I’ve done so far, and I look forward to taking gold next time around. Rodion and I are best worst rivals, basically. He and I have and interesting bond, both knowing what this sport is like in a way not a lot of people know. We’re best friends and worst enemies. Of course, it feels good to beat him. I don’t feel bad for him. He’s got the experience and training. If he was better, he would best me. Sometimes he does. ISO: You train in Rybinsk, how do you feel about the Shishkin and Tikhomirov family? Do they treat you as an equal or do you think that they give preference to their own athletes when it comes to practice time and attention of the coaches? NVZ: That’s a mixed bag of emotions there, yeah, but I think I’ve had to prove myself more than someone born into the family. I didn’t have the benefits they had, and there’s a little bit of favoritism there, but that just means I have to work harder. ISO: You medalled at the championships last year. What are your goals this season? We all have heard of your relationship with the Norwegian Mats Baldrshóll. Your fans worry that this distracts you from your artistic flying ambitions. How do you respond to that? NVZ: I plan to get gold, however I need to. As far as Mats is concerned, he’s not a distraction at all. In fact, having someone relatively steady stops me from going out and fucking everything that moves, which I would argue, is way more distracting. ISO: Do you feel that you had to make your homosexual relationship public in order to draw some attention to yourself as a person? NVZ: I should have expected this question. I mean, it’s not so much like I decided to tell everyone until everyone already saw us together. Tabloids let it out. I just decided not to hide from it. No one should have to hide who they are from the world. Fuck it if you don’t like it, but I’m just going to be myself. ISO: Personally I think that everybody can love who they want. I respect all kinds of relationships but how about your fans? Did you get any unpleasant feedback? NVZ: Not really? Not yet, anyway. I don’t see why anyone would care, but if they do I hope they know I really don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about anything that I do. ISO: Rule changes have been announced last month. How do you feel about these changes and about the fact that they already apply for the season that is about to start? Rumour has it that some athletes from Rybinsk knew about the changes before they have been released officially. Were you one of the lucky ones to hear about them early? NVZ: I don’t mind too much. I think there was always a possibility for this to happen, so I’ve had it in mind for awhile. As far as Rybinsk is concerned, I never buy into gossip, so regardless, I waited to hear official word before I really planned anything. That said, I think this season will be one of my bests so far. ISO: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and good luck for the new season.

BIL: MARCH HIGHLIGHTS With just a handful of rounds left in the 2004-2005 season, British and Irish teams are jockeying to improve their place in the standings before the semi-finals, though seemingly not with much urgency. For many teams, round nine (played during the third and fourth weekends of March) brought record low scores for this season. Of particular note are the Montrose Magpies, Caerphilly Catapults, and Kenmare Kestrels, none of which scored more than two hundred points in their two matches this month. Not for nothing do the Magpies now sit at the bottom of the rankings with 1140 total points. At the top of the leaderboard, the Holyhead Harpies have once again taken the lead, shortly after welcoming back Chaser Ginny Potter from maternity leave in February. Other particularly strong performances this month included the Ballycastle Bats and, surprisingly, the Tutshill Tornadoes, with Tutshill Beaters Alexei Tsigler and Mollie Jameson racking up a combined total of four concussions on opposing teams, while – unlike now-famed Caerphilly Beaters Gethin Edwards and Alun Davies – mostly avoiding foul play. HOGWARTS QUIDDITCH Both teams in last month's match-up were looking for redemption. Despite both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff having played one less match than the other two Houses, Gryffindor only trailed second-place Ravenclaw by 20 points whereas Hufflepuff lagged 160 points behind. Speculation was varied as to Hufflepuff's approach: would they play quickly to limit their Seeker's exposure to another head injury, or would they risk a bit more time on the pitch in an attempt to increase their margin? The ultimate strategy appeared to be a combination of the two. Hufflepuff Seeker and Captain Aase Trickett-Cassoway surprised spectators by flying more aggressively than usual, clearly intending to be more proactive than reactive, and the Hufflepuff Chasers attempted many more shots-on-goal than they have historically. Unsurprisingly, given recent events, at least one Hufflepuff Beater was never far from their Seeker. As usual, Gryffindor brought the intensity as well. Captain Donna West and her fellow Chasers were relentless in their shots-on-goal and ultimately dominated the total Quaffle possession time. This is what ultimately drove Hufflepuff to look to end the match quickly. After 47 minutes of play (and more than a few close-calls), Trickett-Cassoway managed to secure the Snitch and a Hufflepuff victory with a final score of 80 to 180. There are no matches scheduled for this month, so all four teams will have time to recover and prepare to wrap up the season. Current standings going into the break: 390 | 330 | 290 | 270

CURRENT BRITISH & IRISH QUIDDITCH LEAGUE STANDINGS Holyhead Harpies - 2730 Gravesend Griffins- 2580 Falmouth Falcons - 2470 Caerphilly Catapults - 2370 Ballycastle Bats - 2260 Kenmare Kestrels - 2150 Chudley Cannons - 2060 Tutshill Tornadoes - 1870 Puddlemere United - 1820 Wigtown Wanderers - 1780 Pride of Portree - 1750 Appleby Arrows - 1640 Wimbourne Wasps - 1590 Montrose Magpies - 1140 OTHER NEWS CONWAY AND CO by Jonquil Jones Continuing our coverage from last month, Ministry records show that Damien J Conway has created a Limited Liability Partnership with a Mr. Cormac McLaggen under the name Wine-Red Wyvern, LLP, with premises purchased at 116¼ High Street, Merthyr Tydfil — believed to be a proposed public house. When asking locals for comment, one witch who wished not to be named was horrified at the prospect of a former suspected murderer setting up a business in the town. Others seemed willing to give the young man "a chance", with some genuinely pleased to see new wizarding establishments in the Valleys. The Daily Prophet has reached out to Keela Doyle's representatives to determine if the rising Quidditch star has provided capital for the venture.

PAGE 3: OTHER NEWS (cont'd)

D. J. Conway, Manager/Co-Owner The Wine-Red Wyvern LLP Personal Contact: Box ᚳᛗ109 Caerphilly Owl Post Office CF83 1ᚢᛖ WINE·RED WYVERN TO SPREAD ITS WINGS ON MARCH 10 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Merthyr Tydfil, Wales – The press and public are invited to the grand opening of the new Welsh wizarding public house, The Wine·Red Wyvern, on Thursday, 10th March 2005. The event will take place at the Wyvern’s location, 116¼ High Street in Merthyr Tydfil, between 4pm and midnight. Ministry-certified Confounding Charms have been installed to keep Muggles from seeing the alley between 116 and 117 High Street, or from being bothered when they see wizarding patrons stepping into the brickwork. The first 50 guests of the evening will receive a voucher towards a free pint and half-off any dinner. The big selling point of the Wyvern is that, up to this point, there has been no wizarding pub in Wales. Welsh witches and wizards who have wanted to enjoy a pint without Muggles overhearing their conversations have had to travel to London to the Leaky Cauldron. “Mr. Conway and I are extremely excited to provide a dedicated space that Welsh witches and wizards can call their own,” says co-owner Cormac McLaggen. In addition to providing a relaxed, safe drinking and dining space in Cymru, the Wyvern also boasts a heavily Welsh-brewed beer menu, and it is the only public house that sells Cwmystwyth butterbeers – a Welsh competitor to leading butterbeer producers Prancepony Brewing Company in Falkirk, Scotland. However, both Prancepony and other well-loved international brews will be available as well. About The Wine·Red Wyvern: The Wine·Red Wyvern is Wales’ own premier regional wizarding public house. Located in Merthyr Tydfil in the midst of southern Wales, the Wyvern boasts proximity and access to many of the region’s largest cities. The public house was founded in 2005 on the premise of celebrating Cymry heritage, developing a strong working relationship with Welsh-based brewing companies, and providing outstanding and congenial services to its patrons.

information We have revamped The Daily Prophet based on member feedback and welcome any comments or suggestions in an effort to further improve the Prophet. credits This issue was created by the Administration team, with additional submissions and ideas from Laura and Taed . We would like to thank Christine for the easy-to-use coding and Samm for the amazing header. how to contribute We are always seeking member-produced stories and submissions. This can be in the form of in-character letters to the editors, rumours and gossip, or character-driven plots. You can submit your ideas to any member of the team, however if you have something in mind for a specific geographical area of the board please reach out to the respective admin: • Olivia - Hogwarts & British Isles • Inga - Beauxbatons & Western Europe • Dylan - Durmstrang & Eastern Europe • [lia]Lianne[/lia] - Ilvermorny & North America

"i've already told my parents not to buy anything from that criminal"

- hazel so, not knowing what a public house is, but needing to talk about jonquil jones' new article

the birthday column is v cute

wini would like to point out to all the boys in her life that with the bday column, they have no excuse not to give her a gift @Marin Clare @Phillip Donnelly and yes even @Michael Corner sorry

In-game, DJ is extremely furious that a blurb about his business was printed by known libel-writer Jonquil Jones, but the "for immediate public release" press notice that he had owled to the Prophet in mid-February was not printed?

Out-of-game, @Olivia I'm hoping you just accidentally forgot it?  in which case I'll retcon DJ's fury back to mild irritation.

DJ is mildly irritated at Mr. Jones' continued slander given there's a lawsuit against the Prophet already underway, but is very pleased and grateful to see the press copy that he sent included.

This may have been my bad, I think I did receive it at some point via Skype message and did not curate carefully enough 😩 I'll see if I can find it and fix it tonight. Thanks for the head's up

nope I definitely completely forgot - my fault!! read it when you sent it (I was on my phone at work) anddd promptly forgot to add it into the Prophet once I got home/ on my laptop 🙃 not personal or intentional!

BREAKING NEWS. Early this morning, Saturday, March 19th, a series of explosions rocked the Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa in Clonakilty, Ireland. With a four-week absence of Dark Widow strikes, only a few Ministry officials responded right away but confirmed this is another terrorist strike from the Orphans. The initial explosions were centered in the spa's equipment storage area, which is still on fire and resisting being extinguished thanks to the Widow's signature Viriduro curse. The second wave of explosions, in the overnight parking lot, appear to have been from some of the Muggle automobiles being transfigured into Erumpents, which were then triggered. While Magizoologists are still looking for where the Erumpents went after exploding, an entire array of Nifflers was released into the kitchen and dining room of the attached Dunes Bar and Bistro. Further investigation shows that every glass window was transfigured into a pane-thin waterfall, and all Muggle computer devices were turned into Snargaluff plants. Full teams of Aurors and Mediwizards are reporting to the scene to reverse enchantments, treat patients, and Obliviate witnesses. More on this story as it develops.