SNITCHSEEKER, A HISTORY

In order to summarize the plot for this past term, we must begin with a story.

Many many years ago, there existed four separate orders at Hogwarts. One order was composed of Ravenclaws. Then there was another order made up of Slytherins. There was also an order made up of Hufflepuffs, as well as an order made up entirely of Gryffindors. Each of these orders was composed of the best and brightest alumni from each house. But there was no order between the four, there was no unity. The four orders disliked and distrusted each other until one day things got out of hand. A prank was pulled by the Slytherin order on a Hufflepuff student, a prank involving the Draught of Living Death, and the student unfortunately passed away. After that, members of the four orders began to work together to bring unity back to the school, forming what was to be called the Order of the Seal. This was composed of alumni from all four houses, working together to ensure unity amongst the four houses. Eventually, the Order of the Seal was no longer needed at Hogwarts, and so they became forgotten.

But something happened. Many years later, here we are in present day time at Hogwarts. The school has been split, just the past term was spent with the male students at one school and the female students at another. Once again dislike and distrust have sprung up, much as in the days when there were four separate orders. Somehow, after all this time, this secret order of so long ago has felt the need to make itself known once again at Hogwarts, with the hope of bringing unity to the school once again.

Thus begins the hunt. Students from each of the four houses are led to a journal, a journal which contains letters from four different Order of the Seal members, one of each house, and which explains the process of how the Order was formed. But it soon becomes apparent that there is more involved here than just a story. There is allusion to a treasure of some sorts throughout the entire journal. It turns out that there is a clue hidden in invisible ink at the bottom of the last page of the journal of letters, a clue which, with the help of a mysterious Narrator, will take the students from each house to four separate hiding places where a scroll is hidden, four scrolls containing rather complex riddles and eventually leading to a room where a piece of a map will be found. The map will lead the students to a crest, a crest they will need to open and walk down a secret passageway where it is revealed what their task will be. The crest is in four equal parts. The Gryffindor portion must be pressed by the Gryffindor students, et cetera. Then the individual challenges for each house begin.

The students are led to four separate locations to undergo a challenge which will test their unity and ability to act together, the lesson of each of these challenges is unity, of course. The Gryffindors find they must get past Devil's Snare. The Hufflepuffs have to find their way through a totally dark room where no magic will work. The Ravenclaws have to figure out a complex code and color sequence pattern. And the Slytherins have to brew a difficult potion. None of the tasks are simple, but the invisible Narrator is present guiding them through the challenges. Upon the successful completion of each task the students are presented with a piece of a rock, not a valuable rock but a rock nonetheless. Is this rock somehow part of the mysterious treasure hunt? Is there something the students are supposed to do with these rocks? The answer to that is yet to be revealed!

The term started with the usual opening feast, with Bontecou taking over as headmaster and six new staff members introduced. The new staff members were: Professor Kazimeriz taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Truebridge taking History of Magic, Professor Lupa teaching Ancient Runes, Professor Morgan teaching Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Ashby taking Charms and Professor Bunbury teaching Herbology. If that wasn t exciting enough, right in the middle of the feast, the old Hogwarts ghosts decided to return! Chaos erupted at the staff table where the majority of the staff had their shoelaces tied together by an anonymous prankster, and the students came to terms with the return of their house ghosts, who were all apparently looking for something. It wasn t only the house ghosts who had returned. With them came Moaning Myrtle and Peeves the Poltergeist who both caused chaos and disruption wherever they appeared.

Moaning Myrtle immediately began to flood the bathrooms. She convinced Hufflepuff Prefect Kayla Winters to throw her a party in the prefect s bathroom, where she revealed to the Prefects and Quidditch captains the presence of a previously unnoticed portrait of a Hebridian Black Dragon. Upon examination, the portrait revealed a chamber behind it containing the mysterious Mirror of Erised. Many students and staff visited the mirror and their greatest desires were revealed to them. After a few weeks, several staff began to show strange behaviors that would have gotten most students detentions.

Meanwhile, tragedy occurred in the library. A strange present was felt and the body of a first year Hufflepuff was discovered. Young Set Avis had been killed and there was no evidence as to why or how it had happened.

"Oh it was a terrible thing that happened to young Set. He was a good kid. I only got to speak to him a couple of times but he gave me the impression of being kind and caring. It was an extremely sad and unfortunate thing to happen to one who was so young." Kayla Winters, Hufflepuff Prefect.

"Well as you all probably know by now, a first year Hufflepuff was killed. The intrusion was upsetting because it interrupted my meeting with Madame Kohan, but also to lose the life of a student, especially one who is as hardworking and loyal as a Hufflepuff, is a downright shame. Not only that but also the nature of the student being so young and innocent - so impressionable. Gone. But we should not take this loss in vain, rather as a lesson, to move forward and remember that our days here are numbered. Remember to study hard and hope that someday, our efforts will pay off and that we could overcome the evil in this world." -Dominic Denton, Hufflepuff Prefect.

"I didn't know the young man very well, but from the times I did interact with him, he seemed very enthusiastic. He was particularly interested in learning about his ancestor Polarius Hufflepuff. An inquisitive mind such as his would have gone a long way." - Madame Kohan.

While Hufflepuff house reeled from the shock of losing one of their own, some of the staff began acting even stranger. They were immature and, well, they were like us. This culminated in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, taught jointly by Professors Morgan and Truebridge, two of the relatively normal-acting staff members. Headmaster Bontecou attended to help harvest dragon venom, but to the surprise of the students, Professors Bunbury, Lupa and Dumont, along with Groundskeeper Masterson, attended the lesson as students, even squeezing into the desks alongside us. Chaos erupted and Professor Morgan turned the groundskeeper into a niffler and Professor Truebridge placed Lupa into a full-body bind. While Niffler!Neo was happy playing with shiny things, Truebridge was challenged to a duel by Kazimeriz who showed up to defend the honor of Lupa.

"Ah... *long awkward pause* ... no comment." Professor Ethan Truebridge, History of Magic.

Everyone was beginning to realize that strange things were indeed afoot. After talking to the ghosts, some students realized there was a connection between the ghosts' return, the Mirror of Erised and the strange behavior of the staff; those who had viewed the mirror were mentally regressing in age. This was due to a protection the ghosts placed around the mirror to ensure that nobody tried to take whatever it was they were trying to protect. We had awoken them with our searching for an unrelated treasure the previous term.

"When one of them tried to steal my boyfriend, I knew something mysterious just had to be going on! They were being way too friendly with the students... getting on our level and all, you know. We were even able to bribe them with candy!" Anna Greingoth, Sixth Year Gryffindor Prefect.

Now the students had the challenge of luring the regressed professors back to the mirror to cross the reversed age line that the ghosts had created. This was done with bribery and candy. While all returned to normal, life at Hogwarts was not unaffected, Professors Kazimeriz and Truebridge dueled and Kazimeriz was crippled, making him unfit to teach as physical subject as Defense Against the Dark Arts ever again.

After the death of the Selkie ruler, Mercheiftainess Murcus, the disgruntled brother (Aornos) of her heir (Arethusa) usurps power for himself. Aornos has his sister, Arethusa, imprisoned in a rocky cave at the bottom of the lake. He and a group of loyal followers rule in her stead and he enacts a movement amongst the merpeople of his domain to reclaim the lands once ruled by the merpeople. Part of these lands are the grounds on which Hogwarts stands. In order to over-take this territory, Aornos creates a plan to flood the castle. His ultimate goal is to rid the place of all non-merfolk inhabitants so that it will be easy to simply move on in.

The flooding began in October in the dungeons and the kitchen level flooded soon afterward which forced the Slytherins to bunk with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs with Ravenclaws. The Quidditch pitch went soggy in December, cluing the students and staff in that the flooding might not be natural. No matter what they tried, the staff was unable to force back the waters from the school and by February the ground floor started to flood and turned to ice. Though ice skating i the great hall was fun, students and staff began to worry.

The ice thaws in spring and the ground floor becomes completely flooded. The Giant Squid, Bartholomew Henry, makes an appearance, speaking to some of the children. He promises to look into what might be causing the flooding and that the students should meet him at the lake when the tide is high. Apparently if you're polite to the squid, Mr. Henry is actually quite nice and will even give high fives. Because the ground floor was flooded the staff set up slides and ladders so th inhabitants ofthe castle could get in and out.

In April, the first floor flooded. Truebridge moved in with Forrester, Ashby gives his office to Dumont and Lawson and he moves in with Kapoor. The Giant Squid met with the students once more and told them that in the lake, the Merchieftaness Murcus, has died and her son, Aornos, has taken the crown. But greedy newly crowned Merchieftan Aornos is apparently not satisfied with just ruling the lake... he wants to take back the land that was originally theirs and rule Hogwarts as well. His sister Arethusa, the rightful heir to the throne, was tricked and magically trapped in a cave in the lake, with a shell lock on the door. She is stronger and more powerful than Aornos who holds the is a key to the cave.

In May, merpeople, grindylows, and Aornos entered the school, attacking students. When the merpeople spoke it was in mermish and the screeching could be heard all over the school. Then, the second floor starts to flood as Aornos (with the key round his neck) set his sights on the Headmaster's office. While Myrtle lead a group of studens to the cave to rescue Arethusa, a group of students and staff head off Aornos, engaging him and his army of mermen and women with spears and tridents and their pet grindlows, in fierce battle.

The merpeople are finally defeated when the resced Arethusa arrived to subdue her brother, Aornos. She put the castle back to rights and it seemed as thoug everyone would live happily ever after....

But of course, this is Hogwarts and if there isn't some big bad out there causing chaos then it's the professors themselves wreaking havoc. In an effort to promote awareness and understanding of werewolves, the DADA, Ancient Runes, and Potions professor, with the support of the headmaster and the rest of staff in attendance, held a special assembly for all students in the great hall. There, the students and staff learned that none other than Professor Lupa, the Ancient Runes teacher, had a second face upon the full moon. She is a werewolf. In addition to several lectures, the students were witness to a werewolf transformation. However, despite all precautions, Professor Lupa's wolfsbane potion was inactive (sabotage?) and she somehow managed o break out of her cage (sabotage?). As she lept toward the tastey students, the headmaster, Bontecou, jumped into her path and took the full force of the werewolf's attack while the otherprofessors jumped in to do what they could. The prefects hustled the students out of the hall and a quick thinking Professor Dumont distracted the wolf while Professor Kazimeriz prepared to subdue her. The headmaster and subdued wolf were rushed to St. Mungo's and it wasn't until after the term ended that it became known that the headmaster would live.

Has there ever been a time at Hogwarts when things run smoothly, without something of extreme interest happening? History has proven that things never run smoothly at Hogwarts, and Term 23 was going to be no exception!

Suspense began early this term, on the Hogwarts Express. It all started when Varius Tipps, a Hufflepuff student, began to distribute leaflets and fliers showing pictures of werewolves and how to identify them. It was common knowledge by this point that Headmaster Bontecou had been bitten by Professor Alessia Lupa, and that both were werewolves, therefore it was obvious to the students and staff that this was propaganda against the afflicted staff.

Once the students arrived at Hogwarts, the speech from the Headmaster was not reassuring. Headmaster Reynard Bontecou mentioned that long-time Astronomy professor Edward Forrester would not be returning this term, the reasons for which were found within the Daily Prophet; he had been been murdered whilst in the Leaky Cauldron. This had caused speculation as to whodunnit as well as unease among students and staff alike. A memorial to the late Professor Forrester was set up in the Astronomy tower for students to pay their respects.

Headmaster Bontecou then brought up the subject of werewolves, stating that there were certain misconceptions which were being spread about them. He promised that he and the Ministry of Magic were working to ensure all the students were safe not only from werewolves but from other similarly frightening creatures or circumstances.

An arrival which caused mixed reactions throughout the student body was that of Healer Melita. Some were truly horrified by the woman s reappearance as a temporary substitute for Healer Avalon, whilst others reveled in her delicious cookies. The very same that were her solution to all of life s problems. Shortly after this, applications began to open up for something called "Healer's Helpers". This had never been done before at Hogwarts and was enough to raise a lot of speculation, though many students did sign up to become a healer's helper. Curiosity is a powerful thing!

Shortly after this time, the wands of all the professors, minus that of Professor Ethan Truebridge, began to go missing. It was something which was happening again and again, and soon every single professor at Hogwarts was missing his or her wand, Truebridge excluded.

Throughout the term, suspicion within the castle heightened as three students, all Hufflepuffs, were found dead at various points in the year. The victims were all within their last years of Hogwarts; sixth year Kyla Blaise, seventh year Abby Wright and seventh year Helios Sunrider. Amidst the panic and speculation surrounding the deaths and unnamed murderers, the Hufflepuffs and other students mourned their fallen three who would never graduate.

Things seemed like they had reached a new height of craziness when love began to fill the air! Professor Bontecou proposed to Ancient Runes Professor Alessia Lupa, then Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Marcus Lawson proposed to Care of Magical Creatures Professor Iliana Morgan. Everything seemed to be going well until Professor Bontecou suddenly vanished! Where could he have gone? Interestingly enough, none of the students were informed of the disappearance, leading to still more speculation.

As if this wasn t enough, a small group of students appeared to form an alliance against werewolves and werewolf lovers, their antics including graffiti(?), posters, and general harrassment. Alessia Lupa in particular was most affected when very LOUD barking was heard around her offices, which nobody could stop. The Professor had to be rescued from her classroom via the window, and the boxes placed by both of her office doors continued to bark(?).

Potions Professor Valon Kazimeriz, as Acting Headmaster, gave the end of term speech, where a few interesting announcements came to light. First was the statement that History of Magic professor Ethan A. Truebridge would not be returning to Hogwarts but not exactly of his own accord; because Kazimeriz was firing him, and Professor Lawson was moving to a lateral position which would allow him to utilize his unique experiences to teach the students things they might not learn otherwise. In Muggle Studies. It was then announced that Flying Professor Maximus Vindictus would be appointed as the new Deputy Headmaster, since Kazimeriz was taking over the Headmaster s post. Nurse Caroline Avalon was also dismissed, as Kazimeriz deemed her unfit to be a staff member after she stood up for Truebridge. A handful of other students stood up for the illustrious History of Magic professor and finally, in an exciting climax for the feast, Truebridge was thrown through the window.

All the wands were somehow magically returned to all the professors before the term ended, and everyone left looking forward to the summer holidays before returning to another wild and crazy term at Hogwarts!

Part One: The Arrest
After the scandalous and sudden dismissal of one Professor Ethan Truebridge and the subsequent resignation of Healer Avalon at the end of term feast last year, there were certainly many changes expected this term. Newlywed Professor Marcus Lawson stepped out of DADA and into Muggle Studies, while Dumont, Kapoor and Svensson also switched to new roles. With Forester murdered, Ashby and Bontecou missing and Kazimeriz set to rule the school. What happened next was more outrageous than anyone could possibly guess and by the culmination of the year, many loose ends and unanswered questions would be tied up and resolved.

While most people found out via an article in the Daily Prophet, there were a few witnesses to the shocking arrest of Truebridge in Diagon Alley during the summer break, for the crimes of murder and jaywalking. Even his wand incriminated him, showing that several Imperius curses had been recently cast from it and yet many know that Truebridge did not have his own wand for much of the previous term. Michelle, his wand, was instead being used by someone else, someone who Truebridge was trying to protect. A student perhaps?

The man who arrested him,Gaellan Tate a former school chum, was working for the International Confederation of Wizards, on the International Taskforce and was set to become headmaster for Hogwarts, despite his lack of teaching experience. It was his other administration and leadership abilities which had him placed in the role. He took Truebridge in and no more was heard from our former History of Magic professor.Though that s not too surprising since it turned out he was being held at Azkaban.

Part Two: A Fresh Start?
As the term began and gossip spread, nobody seemed to believe what the evidence had made clear. Was this the reason that Kazimeriz had fired Truebridge at the end of the previous year? Professor Bunbury certainly didn t appear to think her man was guilty, and she slowly began losing grip of her sanity as the months passed by. With several new staff at Hogwarts, including JD Kade as charms professor, Maidee McFarlane in the Astronomy post and Professor Mildred Pilliwickle teaching Transfiguration, it was clear consistency was a thing of the past. Many other professors and staff had changed roles in response to the gaps left by the tragedies of the previous term and the most surprising and scary new hire was that of Thomas Duskurk as Defense professor. That s right, as a few smart students realised almost as soon as his name was spoken, Voldemortist himself was to be teaching them.

The new headmaster Gaellen Tate kept a close watch on Duskurk, and on the students. His reasons for being stationed at the school were not clear until students began to go missing only to return again seriously injured. A feeling of unease settled over the school. What was happening? Were any more Hufflepuffs going to die? Due to the sudden disappearance of the former Arithmancy professor, and Bunbury s increasing insanity, two substitute professors began to teach about magical numbers and plants respectively. Professors Crispe and Cutter seemed to remind students that all would carry on as normal and professors began handing out Hogsmeade coupons as rewards for hard work in class. A false sense of security seemed to wash over many students and staff.

Part Three: Strange Behaviour
There was one student however, who wouldn t let go of the sense of unease. Celandine Toussaint, Ravenclaw Prefect, seemed to be following in the footsteps of the redheaded professor, even having a breakdown in a flying lesson and harassing several younger students by setting their coupons on fire and making her own explode into thousands of little pieces. Even Professor Vindictus was worried by this erratic behaviour and slowly other students began to notice that there was something a little odd about the free Hogsmeade coupons that were being handed out like candy. Miss Toussaint went missing one Hogsmeade weekend, her wand and prefect badge were found in the alley beside the Hogs Head.

Several things began to happen at once. More students went missing, though all but Prefect Toussaint returned. The students who returned were badly injured, bleeding and had little to no recollection of where they had been, and Headmaster Tate brought Truebridge back from Azkaban, revealing that Truebridge had only been committed of the crimes in order to lull the true culprit into a false sense of security, to flush him out and make him think he was no longer being sought.

Strange clues appeared, blown by the wind from the Forbidden Forest, including scraps of parchment that seemed to be advertising some sort of gambling event. Students also found bloody scraps of robes, as well as another prefect badge, that of Slytherin Reese Upstead, who like many other students went missing only to reappear with serious injuries.

Tate locked down the school, barring the gates and instructing prefects and professors to increase their patrols. It was revealed that Miss Toussaint had spoken to Slytherin Prefect Raiden Kururugi about the Hogs Head before her disappearance. Professor Kazimeriz and Headmaster Tate were quick to react once information became available and yet not quick enough.

Part Four: The Murderer Revealed
Three weeks after Toussaint s disappearance, with many more students showing up injured and confused in the meantime, a man appeared at the front gate, the blonde prefect in tow. Professor Pilliwickle, upon seeing the state of the girl immediately let them both in, unaware that the girl was imperiused and cursed so that she could not speak a word of what she d learned. The man appeared to be the Hogs Head Bartender, Samuel Huxley.

Meanwhile in the entrance hall, those students who had disappeared during the term and returned with injuries began to gather. A fight broke out, students hurling curses at one another, and in the confusion, Samuel Huxley appeared, dragging the Ravenclaw Prefect by the hair. She fainted with one word on her lips Murderer! Samuel headed upstairs, barking orders at the students who were defending him, some instructed to stay where they were and stop the professors from reaching the 5th floor, others told to follow him and act as a shield.

It was soon very clear that these students were still under the effects of an Imperius curse. To add to the confusion, powerful dark magic allowed several of the Imperiused students to create doppelgangers which continued to attack anyone who got in the way of Huxley as he pushed through the fifth floor in search of his quarry. Groundskeeper Masterson and the heavily pregnant Iliana Lawson were knocked out of the fight, while Professor Marcus Lawson was so consumed with worry for his wife that he barely had a care of the students at all.

Toussaint s accusation Murderer turned out to be right, for Samuel Huxley was not the Hogs Head bartender at all, instead he was Remi Devereaux, former boyfriend of Professor Alessia Lupa. It was he who killed Professor Forrester, Imperiused students to hurt and kill one another, sabotaged the Werewolf assembly that resulted in Bontecou being bitten and committed every crime which Truebridge had gone to Azkaban for. Devereaux who runs ran an illegal werewolf fighting ring, once forced Lupa to fight for him. In his obsessive quest to once again own her body and soul, he created an underground duelling ring in the Forbidden Forest and forced students to fight. This was his revenge for being spurned by Lupa, and he was simply biding his time in order to gain entry to Hogwarts and make her his once more.

In an attempt to avoid any more students being hurt for her sake, Lupa told Devereaux she would leave with him, but Truebridge spoke up, opposing this announcement and arguing that it was unfair of her to simply leave with Devereaux, unfair on those who had already been injured or killed, and that the sacrifices made by Hogwarts could not be paid back by Alessia Lupa giving up. Professor Iliana Lawson backed Truebridge on this, yelling out to Lupa. Nobody wished for her to go. Students formed a defensive wall of shields around the injured and waited tensely. One Gryffindor took the initiative and summoned Headmaster Tate with a patronus message. Tate arrived on the scene even as Truebridge and Devereaux began to duel. He had been held up on the second floor, where he had rescued Toussaint and ensured that many injured students were safe.

The students left behind to battle others figured out how to break the hold of the Imperius curses on their peers. They spoke to them, calling out anything they could think of, reminding the Imperiused ones who their friends where, what their favourite things were. They spoke of their house bonds and their skills, and shared memories. They were united and all but the weakest willed students under Imperius spells managed to break free of Devereaux s control.

Part Five: The Battle Begins
Back on the 5th floor, students watched in horror as Devereaux blasted a hole in the wall and retreated into the prefect s bathroom, followed immediately by Truebridge. The sound of the battle inside the bathroom was punctuated with smashes, crashes and bangs. Apparently a toilet was levitated and thrown and all the mirrors were smashed. Moaning Myrtle did not much like this violation and she wailed loud enough to be heard by all the students and professors still in the corridor.Brave little Madison Winloch peeked through the hole in the wall and shot a little stupefy at Remi Devereaux, but she missed and was hit with a body bind curse, even as Devereaux managed to shoot a conjured arrow through Truebridge s arm, causing him to drop his wand.

Remi Devereaux somehow managed to flush the professor s wand down the toilet and an unusually enraged Truebridge launched himself at his opponent, tearing the arrow out of his own arm in order to stab Devereaux through the thigh. Unarmed now, it seemed Truebridge would be killed but at that moment Headmaster Tate stepped into the bathroom and into the battle while Truebridge escaped, taking the young Ravenclaw to safety.

Meanwhile in the corridor, Lupa found her strength again and stood tall, instructing the remaining students to stun anyone who came out of the prefect s bathroom. The injured students were being evacuated to a triage area set up on the second floor.

And then came justice. Professor Valon Kazimeriz, upon whom the hopes of many rested, arrived at the fifth floor, immediately assuming that Truebridge was the culprit or at least working closely with Remi Devereaux due to a rather sketchy history between Truebridge and Kazimeriz, former student and mentor. He hogtied the unconscious professor, who had been stunned upon exiting the bathroom and students tended to Madiison Winloch, the Ravenclaw girl whom Truebridge had brought to safety.

Kazimeriz joined the battle, stepping into the prefect s bathroom and cutting off Devereaux s hand, getting himself Crucio d and almost Avada Kedavra d for his troubles. He and Tate worked together to save lives and further weaken the enemy. Devereux crawled into the corridor and was met by stunners from all direction, as well as conjured ropes which restrained him entirely. Truebridge was freed and though he could not fight or even stand, he remained a strong presence, directing the students to tend to their peers.

Tate, carrying an unconscious Kazimeriz, emerged from the bathroom and had Lupa levitate the restrained Devereaux to the Headmasters office so that he could be floo d to the Ministry. Those who had been left injured throughout the castle had taken shelter in the library, the hospital wing and the seating area outside of Headmaster Tate s office where Healer Ashford had set up a triage.

Other professors and students who had not taken part of the main battle had fought battles of their own. Many were injured and yet all were united. Hogwarts once more belonged to the students and staff, the evil presence that had been lurking for the past several terms had been eliminated. Remi Devereaux would rot in Azkaban.

The 2071-2072 school term did not only welcome new student faces to the legendary school but also the faces of shiny, new professors that Headmaster Tate assured everyone at the feast he had searched the globe for. Right away things began to get on with their usual pace: classes started, homework began to pile up, and the Slytherins were in trouble again.

The Great Hall was home to many things besides just the fantastic meals the house elves serving the castle s inhabitants this term. The first of which was something each of the students took advantage of. The Hogwarts Job Fair was hosted this term allowing the kids to take a look into, explore, and talk with witches and wizards about their various careers in the Magical World. Whatever you could think of, a booth and individual was present to talk with you. Wand-making, the Professional Quidditch League, Dragon/Creature Reserves, Healers and many others were all represented. After the Job Fair was wrapped up, the staff decided it was a good time for the students to take some dance lessons before the Alumni Ball at the end of the term. Professor Vindictus did his best to teach the kids some common formal steps and tried to make them presentable for when the castle doors were opened.

When all of this fun stuff was happening, behind the closed doors of the Headmaster s office there was trouble and it reeked of potions and Hecate Lafay. If you hadn t attended the most recent Potions lesson then you are certainly in for a treat when you find out what all the harsh words are for. Professor Lafay decided burning students would be a good demonstration for her class and Headmaster Tate seemed to disagree, along with the Prefects who attacked her in an effort to end the madness. These combined actions nearly had the Professor ready to quit and the Headmaster was ready to see her go but somehow, mysteriously the Hogwarts Board of Governors appointed her as Head of Slytherin House. How exactly did that happen? Way to set an example for the kiddies Governors.

Finally once school work and gossip died down it was replaced with anxious thoughts and excitement for the fast approaching Alumni Ball. Hogwarts was hosting this Ball in order to welcome back to the hallowed halls all of the students it had housed and taught for its many years of existence. The night went as planned as new and old, young and wise witches and wizards toasted and mingled with each other over all the things they did over the years in the Castle. The evening was brought to an end when the Headmaster made an exciting announcement: the following term Hogwarts was going to host the Triwizard Tournament once more!

With anxious kids awaiting the next term s legendary event, the Hogwarts Express rolled out of Hogsmeade station that June swiftly but only to make its return in a few short months.


The term began with preparations for a Job Fair and an Alumni Ball. The first 8 booths were:
Daily Prophet: manned by Antartica! (Xiao Qiangwei) and Tomasina Riddle (Egypt Riddle-Greenwood)
Horticulturist/Herbology: Tailzinator (Adrienne Dior, professional landscape designer) and Luna Laufghudd (Amara Ceres, a world famous horticulturist)
Quidditch Player: Waterloo (Clifford Carden) and demented_death_eater (Kayleen M. Harrison)
Some entertainment field: Droo (Delilah Cravey, not-so-famous-anymore famous childhood actress) and individual (Andrew Pierre, nervous perfectionist wizarding portrait painter)
Healer: Cassirin (Stella Wojack, Healer) and grangerfan8 (Salim Malik, Mediwizard)
Entrepreneur: Mad Eye Touz (Haylan Morgan) and Slytherin Fox (Excelsior Black)
Higher Education (University): Cassirin (Copernicus Kettleburn) and lemondrop13 (Kennedy K. Jennings)
Dragon/Creature Reserve: Ashwinder (Ivan Rushton) and Tazenhani (Denise Marilan)

The second set of booths were:

Ministry Rep/Muggle Relations Specialist: Miss Lissy Lou (Cale Newell) and Sneakah Cat (Samuel McDean)
Culinary School/Restaurateur: AmbiguouslyMe (Denny De Palma) and Jack Mannequin (Leo Baccus)
Beauty Potions: Orchideae (Sophia Anne Vivaldi) and Oesed (Etienne Kenning)
Curse-breaker/Gringotts: aussiegirl (Kayla Winters)
Potions: Anna Banana (Anna Greingoth) and Con_Stripes (Nico Toussaint)
Fashion-design: Colley <3 (Evolette McKenna, Fashion Model) and Ivy Nienna (Isaac Colton, photographer)
Diagon Alley Shopkeeper: Ameh (Trystan Park) and destinyjazzhands (Sullivan Merivel)
Wand-making: Liisa (Sara Beezwick) and SlytherinSistah (Otavio Beezwick)

Students were asked to volunteer for the Food Committee, the Decorations Committee, the Music Committee and some to make the Invitations and Ads. Many old students came back to the halls of Hogwarts and mingled reminiscing.

The term, also known as the Most Recent Triwizard Tournament, began with a bang as visitors from two very different schools became guests at Hogwarts' traditional opening feast. Moments after Headmaster Tate announced that any student whose birthday fell before June 30, 2056 could place their name into the Goblet of Fire, a loud banging sound rang out in the Great Hall.

The banging was the cane of Headmaster Zitnik of the Durmstrang Institute. Zitnik loudly made his way into the castle, followed by his four students, all of whom performed impressive acrobatic stunts as they entered the Great Hall. Zitnik presented two males and two females for selection by the Goblet of Fire; as it turned out, Vladimir Petrov, Danika Malik, Nikolai Ognian, and Aleksandra Miroslav were all selected to represent their school.

Then came the representatives of Beauxbatons Academy, led by their Headmistress Maximillienne Enzo. Monique Bernard, Brielle Lambert, Jermaine Rousseau, and Noel Laurent all strutted their way into the Great Hall and took their seat amongst the ordinary Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws, all of whom were staring, needless to say. The four students from Beauxbatons would also later be selected by the Goblet of Fire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament... but who would be representing Hogwarts?

After many a student entered his or her name, and after a few underage kids were rejected, the Hogwarts champions were selected at last. Slytherin Raiden Kururugi, Ravenclaw Miles Vorkosigan, Hufflepuff Duncan Fletcher, and Gryffindor Cameron Caddock were selected to represent their House and their school. A wand weighing ceremony and press conference followed, both of which helped introduce the champions to the wizarding public and to their peers.

The weighing of the wand ceremony was supervised by International Wandmaker Freja Svealand and was covered by representatives from the Quill and the Daily Prophet.

The first task of the Triwizard Tournament took place in the fall of the term and also took each champion's wands. The champions had to go into a series of tunnels, with each champion getting his or her own tunnel challenge. The dark tunnels had several branches splitting off them, although all had a firebush in it. Some champions had to face an overly friendly vine to get to their wand, while others had to break a barrier with the aid of a baby mandrake's screams. At the end of the task, and after every champion successfully stole his or her wand back from some evil bowtruckles in a floating tree, most received a very fancy, decorated mirror with the Roman Numeral III inscribed above it. Additionally, by the end of Task One, the list of champions moving on was cut in half from twelve to six. Moving on to the second challenge were: Raiden Kururugi with 146 points; Noel Laurent with 146 points; Aleksandra Miroslav with 144 points; Duncan Fletcher with 142 points; Nikolai Ognian with 139 points; and Monique Bernard with 139 points.

The second task of the Triwizard Tournament took the six champions out to the Quidditch Pitch, although they were certainly not playing quidditch during the task. The pitch was actually turned into a maze for this task, a maze that seemed to come out of the tales of Alice in Wonderland. First, champions had to figure out a riddle that accompanied a table full of potions. One of the potions would make them shrink to a size small enough to continue through the maze; one would make them fly; one would make them grow; and two would cause them pain. If the champions selected the correct potion, then they moved on to the potion-brewing stage of the competition.

The potion stage involved champions solving a series of riddles that told them which ingredients to add and in which order. The champions' answers to these riddles either helped or hurt the outcome of their potion. One champion, Duncan Fletcher, apparently washed something important out of his cauldron before he brewed his growth potion. When he drank what he had brewed, he returned to only toddler size instead of his appropriate six-foot tall frame. Fortunately, the school healer was on hand to fix him up nicely.

Champions who survived the second task found a bag filled with several little runes at the end of their maze. And once again, after this task was tallied, the playing field was cut in half; only Raiden Kururugi with 291 points, Noel Laurent with 287 points, and Duncan Fletcher with 285 points were able to move on to the third and final task of the competition.

The final task of the Triwizard Tournament proved to be the most testing for the two Hogwarts and one Durmstrang champion. The champions entered a circular maze, working together for the first time in the entire competition to defeat the obstacles within. All three had worked out the clues provided by their mirror and runes, and all three knew what they would be facing in the maze and had thus armed theirselves with each item.

The first obstacle to hurl their way was actually... fairly easy. The champions worked their way through the maze and to a circular clearing containing only a clabbert, some bowtruckles, and an ordinary weasel. The weasel appeared agitated and kept circling the boys' ankles until Fletcher immobilized it. Raiden pocketed the stiff thing and after getting away from the clabbert, all three passed by a fallen tree that had temporarily been blocking their path.

They made their way to some brackish water containing stepping stones and, naturally, dugbogs just beneath the surface. The boys just manage to escape the ankle-biting dugbog, only to find that their path was now blocked by a kappa. Fortunately, Fletcher thought fast and tricked the kappa into bowing, which cleared their way and allowed them to enter another clearing.

This clearing seemed pretty harmless as they heard a crup yapping. The crup was chasing a rooster around, and was pretty friendly to the champions who greeted it. Soon, though, the Beauxbatons champion and the Hufflepuff Hogwartian locked eyes on the rooster. Fletcher says he called 'dibs' on the rooster, but Laurent insists that he summoned the bird well before the Glitterpuff ever picked it up. A brief verbal spat ensued and Fletcher ended up with Laurent's wand, while the Frenchman was left holding nothing but a rooster. Despite Kuruguri's pleas to 'just get along,' neither boy caved until it came time to move into the third clearing.

It was at that point that both champions agreed to let Raiden take care of the wand. Fletcher tossed it to him and was able to summon back his rooster, while Noel somewhat grumpily took back his wand. The spat behind them, all three boys started talking strategy while they walked through a tall, narrow, and twisting hedgerow. Just beyond the end of the row, the boys could make out the shadow of a the impending beast they were to defeat. All three took out their mirrors and tightened their grip on their animal assistants.

Fletcher was the first into the clearing, followed swiftly by Noel and Raiden. The latter two enlarged their mirrors and used sticking charms to apply them to their clothing. Fletcher had a different strategy; he made his as large as a shield and did some swift wandwork to give it a handle. He revitalized his rooster at the same time Raiden reanimated his weasel, and both boys set their creatures loose. Unfortunately, neither worked according to plan; the weasel sought protection and curled up around Raiden's ankle, while the rooster mistook Fletcher's shoelace for a worm. Noel, meanwhile, busied himself with simply staying alive and away from the cockatrice blocking the exit.

A cockatrice was indeed the animal the boys had suspected, and now knew, they would have to defeat. With giant wings, the body of a rooster, and the tail of the serpent, the cockatrice was no easy sight on the eyes - especially not when one recalled that it could petrify its prey with a single glare. Each boy wanted the cockatrice to look into their reflective mirror shields, but they also wanted to stay well away from the bird at the same time.

Fletcher had the idea to try to lure his rooster closer to the cockatrice by laying a trail of three worms for it to follow. When that didn't have results beyond the first worm, the Hufflepuff decided to duplicate the rooster. With five or six roosters and both Raiden and Noel casting giant light charms, surely the rooster would crow at any moment.

But it didn't. It took a fake rooster call from the valiant Hufflepuff to get the real roosters crowing. Raiden and Noel then cast amplifying charms on the extra roosters so their echoing ca-caw would be enough to kill off the cockatrice. As it turned out, the three champions' combined efforts were successful, and the monster keeled over just as soon as the last crow sounded.

Ready to celebrate their victory, but still uncertain that the giant cockatrice was really dead, the three champions quickly worked together to bind and blind the half-bird up. When they were satisfied that it wasn't coming back from the dead, no matter what, all three stepped onto a spiral staircase just outside the maze. They were taken up to the stands and were finally allowed to celebrate the winner.

Headmaster Tate gave a speech a the end of the first casualty-free Triwizard Tournament in YEARS. "I'm proud to announce that this year's Triwizard Champion, with a total of 382 points, is Duncan Fletcher," announced Tate. "The final scores were closely contested, with Raiden Kururugi receiving 373 points and Noel Laurent receiving 366 points. Please join me in a round of applause for all our champions."

Fletcher of course soaked up the attention, and even wore his crown and a chain-link King outfit to the post-tournament costume ball. It was a lovely evening to be had by all, and despite all the excitement surrounding the tournament, the OWL and NEWT exams were NOT cancelled for the term.

All in all, the term was one of Hogwarts' best moments, successfully pulling off a TWT without ANY deaths!! No student deaths, anyway, and it was a fun time for both staff and students. Congrats again to current Triwizard Tournament Champion Duncan Fletcher, and to all who participated and rooted on their favorite champion from the stands! We never know when another event like this one is going to roll around again...

The school term started as all did, with confusion on what is actually happening in this Wizarding World of ours. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Cult of Walpurgis was slowly taking over the ministry.

The Cult of Walpurgis has been around for a long time. Elusive as they are, not many realised the existence of the Cult. They are, however, a big concern to the wizarding community as the Cult's objective is to remove the Statute of Secrecy. They wish to expose their world to muggles. They are an international secret "cult" that wish to control both the wizard and muggle worlds.

A man by the name of Ikenna Gevrik was sent to Hogwarts as a Security Advisor. Someone who would protect and take care of the students. He tried to befriend the students, and gifts started arriving to certain staff members who seemed to favor muggles, and taught about them. The students didn t have to learn about muggles in muggle studies seemed like everyone was teaching about them in one way or another.

Oddly enough, muggles wandered onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Thankfully students sent them on their merry way. Lord Berty Borr was announced as the new Senior Undersecretery, and he in turn cancelled all OWLs and NEWTs.

Gevrik mysteriously disappeared, and the professors seemed to realize they were being used.

Gryffindor took the house cup, Ravenclaw took the Quidditch Cup whilst Slytherin took the Gobstones Cup.

Once again this term students flocked from the Hogwarts Express ready for what they all no doubt had been the most excited about during their journey to the legendary school the food. The Feast began with the usual speech from Headmaster Tate mentioning a possible visit from the Ministry or something but more importantly, the messy state of the Great Hall. When the students took a second look around the dishes and silverware were not shined to their usual luster and were actually rusty and tarnished. What was up with that?! And if they thought that was bad, the food was worse which probably had something to do with the shifty No Studensies sign plastered on the entrance to the Kitchens by the House Elves.

The message from the kitchens wasn t the only odd sign put up; students roaming the halls on their way to their Common Rooms and lessons came across strange decrees made by Professors such as sticking mustaches onto the suits of armor, the necessity of house colored gloves, and kissing statues. Obviously the Professors were on a power trip or had lost their marbles. If those signs weren t enough the kids of Hogwarts found three other rather interesting ones posted in the Common Rooms for the new Dueling Club, the Prefects and Quidditch Captain s Around the World Event, and Nearly Headless Nick s 583rd death day party hosted in the Dungeons. Needless to say this term was without many dull moments.

When winter arrived and snow began to fall on the Hogwarts Grounds a snowman building contest was started which was crashed by the arrival of Minister of Magic, and former Professor, Lord Berty Borr. The man s large presence had the students and staff all a titter but maybe the man had some sort of effect on the snowmen because shortly after, the icy structures seemed to get up from their resting spots, became snow CREATURES ,and make their way to the Greenhouses and other parts of the Castle dripping snow all over the place and causing havoc. Perhaps it was the Minister of Magic or whoever was responsible for the disappearance of Groundskeeper Stryker who made the snowman search for a warmer place?

Although the snowmen were easily melted away after causing mostly no harm, a mysterious figure had made its way into the walls of Hogwarts destroying classrooms, stealing items from the Headmaster and setting the broomshed on fire. House Elves began to show up in classes and other odd places seeming to be flustered and lying to Professors and it wasn t until the End of Term Feast that we found out why. The mysterious person behind all the sneakiness, destruction and closing of the Kitchens was a baby house elf! Headmaster Tate decided that the baby elf could stay as long as the other House Elves and students watched out for it and then sent them to the trains with well wishes for the summer.