SNITCHSEEKER, A HISTORY

The crazy young animals dressed in their Hogwarts robes descended on the Castle once again this fall for just another year at school but soon realized that would not be the case. Headmaster Tate informed those who hadn t kept up with the Daily Prophet over the summer that Hogwarts School was celebrating its 1000th year of existence and that they should be on the lookout for fun events; certainly sounded cool. The house elves also made another appearance to let the students know that they were taking suggestions on what to name the baby house elf from the previous term AWWW.

As classes resumed and everyone began settling into their usual schedules, things started to get strange. This IS Hogwarts, what did you expect? During a joint History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures lesson Bartholomew Henry, the Giant Squid, decided to show up and converse with the kiddies for a bit, and then helped the professors lead the students in a short trip into the Lake. Not too strange. Shortly after this lesson the school s celebrations began with the opening of the Founder s Fandango, a carnival type party hosted out on the Hogwarts grounds with games and activities such as races and treasure hunting in the lake.

It seems that not only the students and staff were excited to come out to the school during its 1000th year, shortly after festivities ended, students began to notice visitors making their way into the grounds from the Forbidden Forest. Unicorns, Thestrals, Bowtruckles, an Acromantula, and even a Blast-Ended Skrewt started to leave their dark home for the apparent safety of the Grounds because according to the giant Acromantula, they wouldn t return home until the THING was gone. What thing? Very ominous.

One evening after a sleep-over event hosted by the Astronomy Professor was ended, Thereos the school s centaur Divination professor, led a search party of sorts into the forest where they found a mysterious orb. The Deputy Headmaster, Maximus Vindictus pocketed the orb to bring back to the Castle but it was lost again. Soon after the shiny object was found by a little Ravenclaw outside in the pathways and began to make its way around the Castle and from student to student. At the End-of-Term Feast the orb was returned to the Headmaster yet some of the kids involved were acting a bit strange, could this be the end of whatever nonsense the school s millennium birthday held?

With the memories of last term s strange occurrences, including animals leaving the forest and a strange orb being found, the students at Hogwarts were hoping that when they arrived at the school after their much needed summer break things would return to normal. It seemed as if, once again, that was not in the cards. The opening of term feast welcomed Toddles, the baby house elf, trying to play catch with another familiar mysterious item the orb. Apparently the little fellah broke into Headmaster Tate s office to get his play thing once more. After being passed to many students, the orb was taken back by Tate and the feast was concluded with the usual words being said.

Shortly after the feast and students getting into the swing of things once more, a Ministry official from the Department of Mysteries, Mr. Corineus Vanderbilt, showed up to an appointment with our dear Headmaster regarding the orb. Unfortunately the man didn t know what it was besides not being a prophecy orb and also refused to take it with him why would he leave it with all the children present? Does he know something we don t know? Regardless this seemed to be a red flag: Orb equals bad.

Not everything that happened this term was creepy and mysterious. Professor Williamson, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, welcomed to the castle a hybrid baby dragon named Roro which the students and staff took great interest in watching grow. While we are on light topics, the students flocked to Hogsmeade during their first free weekend to explore the village and got to meet and mingle with the shopkeepers of the familiar and new shops like the hair salon and bookstore. What the students didn t pick up on, however, was the gossip and whispering the shopkeepers were doing about each other. Something was definitely up with one of their colleagues. What the students don t know won t hurt them, right?

Out of the blue, when the school was out watching the Slytherin and Hufflepuff Quidditch match, Professor Vindictus froze in midair and fell to the ground. After being rushed to the hospital wing everyone calmed slightly thinking perhaps it was only due to age and declining health until the students began to freeze. First it was just random, short periods of time in the halls and in classrooms but it got worse. Professor Williamson was frozen soon after. Four students (Gryffindor prefect Kurumi Hollingberry, Hufflepuff prefect Lewis Rasting, Slytherin prefect Sierra Greingoth, and Ravenclaw Nerida Eventide) froze in Potions class and Gryffindor Anya Phillips followed soon after in a History of Magic lesson. Ravenclaw Jezabel Black was found on the ground and soon the hospital wing beds beside the Flying instructor were getting full. The orb was smashed by the Healer in frustration, causing the curse on the frozen somehow broke and people were awakened.

The cause of all this needed to be discovered and fast! A mysterious locket was found in the Forbidden Forest during one of Professor Clalista Elwood s Divination lessons and when opened showed a date nearly 300 years previous and a photo of a slightly familiar girl. The girl was soon recognized as the owner of the bookshop in Hogsmeade! The next weekend the village was open students and staff went to talk to the woman about the picture and locket but she was spooked and took off, trying to escape from their questions. Finally, with the help of the other shopkeepers, the redhead was stopped and Amarantha de Talone confessed her crimes stealing time from the staff and students of Hogwarts again, just as she had done for the past 300 years in order to stay young forever. She managed to escape but the Wizarding World continues the search.

The End of Term Feast should have been a happy one, what with all the frozen students and staff being restored to their previous fit selves but it wasn t. Headmaster Tate mentioned a few leaving staff members in his speech and then dropped the real bomb on the assembled audience, he was retiring early. And with the close of this term came the close in a great man s time as Headmaster for the legendary school.

Term Thirty-Two truly began during the summer break, as long-term Headmaster Gaellen Tate resigned and was succeeded by redheaded wizarding university professor and former Hogwarts Herbology professor Anastasia Truebridge. New leadership called for a new showing of the partnership between the head of the school and the school s board of Governors, and so Truebridge invited the Board of Governors to join the traditional start of term feast.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Governors and new Headmistress decided to ride the Hogwarts Express to the feast, along with the usual student entourage. At the start of term, the Board consisted of former Headmistress, Auror, and current board President Cassandra Rae-Branxton; former Auror, Ravenclaw ghost, and History of Magic professor Vice President Anjelica Lainey; Ministry Senior Undersecretary and board Secretary Ian Amoroso; and businessman/Three Broomsticks owner and board Treasurer Hops Lagerty. All but Lagerty were present on the eventful train ride.

Despite the Board of Governors additional presence on the train, unforeseen circumstances caused the Hogwarts Express to lose steam literally and to power down halfway to the school. The Headmistress sent off a patronus to the Ministry s Department of Magical Transportation and the train was rescued, in a way, by the department s head Armen Recard.

Recard arranged for a set of portkeys to transfer the students to Hogsmeade station. And despite a few bumps and bruises along the way, everyone finally made it to the start of term feast. Recard arranged for the train to be taken back to the Ministry for further investigation, and Truebridge opened the feast with a speech promising that no more abnormalities will occur under my watch and tenure as the Head of Hogwarts. I will do my personal best to ensure the safety and education of all students at Hogwarts remains protected at all times.

With that in mind, the delicious elf-made food appeared on the tables, followed swiftly by the elves themselves. The band of merry creatures stumbled through all four house tables before arriving at the Headmistress plate with a giant Umbrella Vinora plant in hand. The gift, which arrived for the Headmistress via the elves but not with any message attached, was simply described as scary by the house elves and beautiful, by the Herbology professors. Meanwhile, the term went on.

The increased presence of the Board of Governors was felt as the Headmistress led them on several tours and invited them to pop into the school whenever they felt necessary. The Board also received a permanent meeting room on the first floor of the school, in a converted and upgraded classroom.

Then the weird things started happening, as if the start of term events hadn t been weird enough. The ghosts seemed to awake from wherever they had been hiding, the Headmistress green, flower-shaped Egyptian brooch went missing, and the tables in the great hall disappeared overnight. The Headmistress seemed to think it was necessary to hold a s ance with the Divination professor, and she discovered, to an extent, that there was indeed a spirit haunting her.

Peeves had been creating mayhem throughout the term, which is not unusual for a poltergeist of his reputation, but then he started getting violent. The other Hogwarts ghosts thought he was to blame for the destruction of a set of perfectly nice library books and the deaths of the entire population of Jobberknoll out in the Care of Magical Creatures barn. The Headmistress, meanwhile, started to think that a specter was now haunting her and stealing her things, and decided to go through an exorcism with the Divination professor, Calista Elwood.

Christmastime in the castle came and went and the prefects hosted a lovely Winter Wonderland theme party for the school with a life-size gingerbread house, baking with the house elves, an ice slide, refreshments, a Meet the Headmistress event, and so much more! Much fun was had but the event was rudely cut short when Nearly Headless Nick and the Grey Lady floated in and informed the Headmistress that all four common rooms were suddenly locked...and all the students in each house were locked out! Even students who had been in their common rooms at the time were apparently pushed out of their dormitories and common areas by a mysteriously strong, invisible force. The Headmistress formed a team to investigate the lock-outs and ordered all the students to sleep in purple sleeping bags in the Great Hall for the time being instead.

The friendly plant from the feast got friendlier in the meantime as Professors Sophia Bellaire (Charms), Medea Romanos (DADA), Dash Scabior (History of Magic) and librarian Leobald Kitridge worked to bypass whatever spell was keeping the common rooms sealed. Valuable items and keepsakes also started disappearing from several different professors' offices, including those of the librarian and the Muggle Studies professor. The House Ghosts held secret meetings in the observatory and the broom cupboard as they tried to figure out who or what was being all these mysterious occurrences, and eventually decided to corner Peeves and force him to admit to being behind all these little pranks.

Peeves was led to the Hogwarts Staff Room by a trail of candy, and once he was in the room, he was trapped in a salt barrel and forced to squeal. After minutes of grueling questioning by the other Hogwarts ghosts, the pesky poltergeist finally confessed that it wasn't he who was behind all these pranks, it was a revenge-driven ghost by the name of Isfret. While Peeves was admitting the true mastermind behind this year's mayhem, the students were witnessing it firsthand. The Umbrella Vinora tried sucking a student away in the hot springs, eating an abraxan straight out of the CoMC stables, and nomming an entire row of books from the library's shelves. Then two students saw - or heard, more like - the groundskeeper's wombat go missing with a heart-wrenching squeak, as well as a little garden gnome from the Herbology classroom. What in Merlin's beard was going on?! Who knew the umbrella vinora could be so... hungry??

The Headmistress and her team of professors finally managed to unlock the common rooms, and not a moment too soon, as it quickly became evident that no one in the castle was safe. The kitchens were destroyed by a terrifying force unbeknownst to the house elves, and the charms annex was similarly ruined by Moaning Myrtle. Astronomy Professor Marion Burbage and Ancient Runes Professor Tristan Christiansen were also devastatingly eaten, both right in the middle of teaching their lessons. Despite numerous students being present in both classrooms at the time, both professors were taken by the sneaky plant without so much as a solid eyewitness account to its crimes.

Things came to a head in the Spirit Room when the school's prefects, and their pet cats, were invited to attend and hear the story of Isfret. For it was not Peeves who was behind this term's mayhem, nor was it Moaning Myrtle acting alone; it was an ancient Egyptian spirit who was once banished from the castle and had been seeking a way back in ever since. He managed to sneak onto premises by possessing the form of a brooch, bought by unsuspecting Cairo WU professor Anastasia Truebridge at a market bazaar, and worn by Truebridge all around Hogwarts. Isfret furthered his plan for destruction to the school by roping Moaning Myrtle and Peeves into his plan for mischief, and by taking possession of the ordinarily not-so-hungry Umbrella Vinora.

The prefects meeting with the house ghosts only heard half the story, however, as Myrtle interrupted their t te- -t te by dropping the missing brooch. Isfret was released as a sliver vapor began to swarm into the room and cover the floor. The brooch glowed a bright light green color and then the four house ghosts were mysteriously, suddenly sucked inside of it. A loud cackling sound overtook the room and then all was silent, with only the quivering brooch still sitting in the center of the room. Myrtle, Isfret, Nick, the Grey Lady, the Bloody Baron, and the Friar were all noticeably absent.

The Prefects decided now would be a good time to get some adult help. They sent a patronus message to the Headmistress, and Truebridge came in confused and yet pleased to see her brooch had been found. The redhead picked it up, despite Myrtle's last words to leave it alone, as everyone explained the reason for their gathering. Gryffindor Prefect Kurumi Hollingberry and Slytherin Prefect Sierra Greingoth noticed some strange writing on the bottom of the brooch as Truebridge picked it up, and suggested doing a rune reading on what might be a clue. The rest of the group thought it might be best to target Myrtle for more information, so they headed to her infamous bathroom first.

Myrtle was hardly what one might call 'cooperative' until Quidditch Captatins Dylan Montmorency (Slytherin) and Milton Shacklebolt (Ravenclaw) started to flirt with her. Then the information oozed out of Myrtle like bubotuber pus from a boil. As Myrtle explained, "A long long time ago, someone brought some Egyptian stuff to Hogwarts and the magic of the school woke up this ghost guyyyyyy named Isfret, who happened to live in this fancy schmancy brooch. Isfret was like a herrrrrrrrro at first to the ghosts, but then he went bad or something- like I said, I wasn't there, so I didn't get to hear the whole story -and the ghosts did this spelllllll to banish him." Apparently he was hell-bent on getting back to the castle and getting revenge for his banishment.

But how were they to get rid of Isfret without the aid of the ghosts who originally kicked him out of the castle? Hollingberry and Greingoth, along with Head Girl Louisa Carter, suggested a little library research to see if they could find out anything on this mysterious Isfret. While at the library, the brooch research party happened to run right into the Umbrella Vinora-hunting party, who still, at the time, had hopes for finding Burbage and Christiansen alive.

Both teams got to work straight away, and with the aid of some valuable library resources, the students were able to discover that the inscription on the brooch were a warning for Isfret. In fact, they said, ISFRET: BEWARE OF FELINES.

The students decided to round up as many pet cats as they could, then, while the Headmistress and Muggle Studies Professor Gemma Cerulean decided to interrogate Myrtle further. The team thought that if they could just squeeze the details on how the ghosts originally got rid of Isfret out of her, then they could really and truly be rid of the pesky spirit once and for all.

While most of the Prefects were busy being problem-solvers, Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain Milton Shacklebolt lazily wondered aloud if he could summon Isfret. "I wonder if you can summon ghosts. Accio Isfret," Shacklebolt said, causing a tendril of the green and pink umbrella vinora to come zooming in through the window and over to him. The plant took charge and grabbed Shacklebolt by the wrist, yanking him clear out the window and all the way out to the greenhouses. A rescue party of older students and professors split off from the plant manhunt team/brooch research group and hurried out to the greenhouses. Meanwhile, Cerulean returned with Myrtle in tow.

Out in the greenhouses, the rescue party met up with the plant-hunting group and chaos ensured. While some students (mostly Gryffindors) tried to duel the plant Muggle-style, others decided to rescue Milton with magic. Then Professor Bellaire (Charms) blasted the plant apart, even though it still had Milton in its clutches, and pieces of plant rained down on everyone.

A few minor injuries later, the Headmistress and co. returned to the library to see if they had made any progress. And, in fact, they had. Myrtle confessed to overhearing the spell to vanish Isfret, something in Latin, and Professor Cerulean figured out that what Myrtle heard was actually, Absent malm phantoms. No expellomos! Vestra exspectacular inducto! an ancient banishment spell for spirits. The professors and older students all started chanting the spell together, and just as soon as they started the chant, Isfret himself popped up in the library in a cloud of smoke. He started throwing fireballs around the library, and it being a library, naturally the highly flammable books became enflamed.

The spell did its job, however, and caused Isfret to vanish completely, for (hopefully) ever and ever. The mysterious spirit did leave behind several smoking books, the librarian s head on fire, and a giant ball of flames in the reference section. The library had to be evacuated and watered down as a result, and a large portion of the reference section was not even salvageable.

At the end of the day, though, no one was seriously injured (except for Isfret, and the two professors that had died), and all of the Hogwarts house ghosts survived to fight another day! Or another evil spirit, if any more decide they need revenge on the school.

The 2079-2080 school year kicked off with a few new guests at the start of term feast. Instead of there being four house tables and one staff table, the Great Hall was crammed with six tables total: one each for the Houses, one for the staff, and one for the sixteen Board of Governors candidates vying for the eight open positions on the Board.

The fundraiser, however, was very, very successful, raising over 156,000 galleons and numerous donated books for the school. Much of the money came from donated items being auctioned off, items that had been donated from Diagon Alley shopkeepers, Board of Governors candidates, and professors, like Hecate Lafay, who donated a vial of liquid luck. Some professors were even auctioned off themselves in a special "Spend a Day with" auction.

After the auction, the BoG candidates started observing lessons and evaluating professors, as practice for what they would do as actual elected governors. Although the professors didn't know it, one candidate was also using this freedom in the school to snoop around several offices. Ancient Runes Professor Abraham Botros, Herbology Professor Seren Bentley, and Astronomy Professor Airey Flamsteed all had their offices broken into and rummaged around in. It was unclear what the foreign candidate Erik Vinteren was looking for, but there were no clues to link the break-ins back to him anyway.

The term continued with the first Board of Governors debate in Hogsmeade in December. Planned by Muggle Studies Professor Gemma Cerulean and a team of good students, the debate featured several general questions to the candidates at large and a poll for the audience at the end. The debate took place in Hogsmeade, and the three candidates with the lowest poll results were dunked in an large vat of icy water. Despite having imbibed something spiked with a babbling beverage, Althea Schirmer placed first in the Hogsmeade debate. Rounding out the top four were also Erik Vinteren, Carter Phillips, and Sherman Clark. The bottom three, who were dunked, were Nolan Reynolds, Amelia Thorne, and Layla Dacosta.

After this debate, Thorne dropped out of the race, and Board Vice President Anjelica Lainey also resigned from the Board of Governors. There were now nine open positions as the BoG hosted a second debate January 1, 2080 at the Ministry of Magic. Before the debate, candidates Erik Vinteren and Ivy Knox met with Atropos Trelawney, known Dark Wizard and owner of Moribund's Pub in Knockturn Alley. Vinteren ended up putting out a hit on his fellow candidates, Corin Vanderbilt and Gavin Higareda.

The Ministry Debate proved to be much more lively for the candidates and their managers. Ministry employees and the Board President, Rae-Branxton, oversaw the debate and tailored their questions to each individual's background and platform. The candidates were also allowed to [s]attack[/s] question each other. At the end of this debate, Schirmer, Reynolds, and Vinteren placed in the top three, and Dacosta, Zabini-Riddle, and Aldredge finished as the bottom three.

Zabini-Riddle and Dacosta were the next two to drop out of the race. Dacosta cited the "safety of my unborn child" as her reason for dropping out, while Zabini-Riddle said she was "sickened with grief over the death of her aging pygmy puff" and thus unable to continue her campaign.

Shortly before the third and final debate was to be held, the remaining thirteen candidates were able to interact with the public in an afternoon candidate rally held in Diagon Alley. With nine slots open and sixteen people still campaigning for them, the candidates went all out at the rally, handing out free goods from their sponsoring stores and even bags, candy, and t-shirts with their faces on them.

The third debate was then held in Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor, in a laid-back, round-table style setting. Audience members were able to sit almost elbow-to-elbow with the candidates, and were in fact encouraged to shout out questions whenever they felt the urge. Candidates faced questions from young Hogwarts alumni including one about how to handle grief and tragedy at the school, and one directly from the Headmistress herself about how to handle ineffective teaching staff.

It was soon time to vote, and polling locations opened up on May 1 all across the wizarding world. Ministry employees were able to vote at work in the Atrium, Diagon Alley employees and members of the public cast their ballots in the middle of the street, and Hogwarts employees and legal students could vote just outside the Great Hall. Students younger than seventeen were also able to take part in the democratic process, although their votes were just counted in a mock election.

The results for the election were announced at the end of term feast and in a Daily Prophet article. The Hogwarts students elected the same Governors as did their adult counterparts, with the one exception of the students picking Gavin Higareda instead of Erik Vinteren. The nine official, new Hogwarts' governors, elected by the popular vote, include Atticus Aldredge(managed by Livia Frost); Sherman Clark (managed by Chesney McCready); Cooper Cope (managed by Warfield Rockefeller); Ivy Knox (managed by Chandler Montgomery); Carter Phillips (managed by Charles Hollingberry); Nolan Reynolds(managed by Satine Ferris); Althea Schirmer (managed by Keaira Black); Corineus Vanderbilt (managed by Honora Aveleen O'Fay); and Erik Vinteren (managed by Bjorn Berg).

The term ended with a few last-minute House points being given to Slytherin House, and thus both Slytherin and Hufflepuff wound up as co-victors of the House Cup. Hufflepuff also won the Quidditch Cup, and Slytherin won the Gobstones cup. Overall, it was a calm term at the school and an exciting one for many adults in the wizarding world. With the new Governors in place, hopefully the next year will be even safer for the Hogwarts students and staff.

Trouble for Hogwarts began brewing in Diagon Alley before the 2080-2081 school year even started. Over the summer, a thief slipped by Gringotts security goblins and emptied Hogwarts vault 713 of the school s funds and charter in what appeared to be the perfect crime.

Upon learning about the thievery, Hogwarts Headmistress Anastasia Truebridge blamed the Board of Governors Treasurer, Hops Lagerty, while Lagerty blamed the Gringotts goblins and the Gringotts goblins blamed Hogwarts in a vicious circle of irresponsibility. The Headmistress was unable to fill two vacant positions due to the lack of funds, so Governors Ivy Knox and Erik Vinteren volunteered to teach Charms and History of Magic, respectively.

When the year officially started, students and staff alike were stunned by the broke Hogwarts changes. Hogwarts silverware and plates had been sold to keep the school running, and the school s elves (save Toddles the baby elf) had mysteriously disappeared. Toddles was no expert cook, so students were forced to eat sub-par and bland food off their assigned paper plates and with their plastic silverware.

The school was also very dirty, as a castle is really too much for one elf to clean, and new turnstile barriers had popped up at the entrances to key parts of the castle. Entry was barred to the Quidditch stands, the library, the astro lab, the Great Hall, and all four common rooms, to name a few, until the person wishing to enter paid the fee (up to ten galleons in some places). If they did not pay and tried to pass, a giant, invisible force field would repel their progress.

ICE CREAM ICE CREAM! A brand-new ice cream machine popped up in the kitchen to supplement the student diet. Not only was the ice cream at least delicious, but it also left the eater feeling extremely bubbly, happy, and bursting to share their love of the dairy treat.

While students and ice cream eating staff were feeling so happy despite the school s poverty, Gringott s goblins were moving in to exact their revenge. Hogwarts had apparently been making regular payments on a loan from the bank, but when their vault was emptied, the school defaulted on their loan and the goblins came in to take repossession of the school s most valuable items as payment. The colorful House gems, furniture from the Hospital wing, man-eating plants, all the telescopes and crystal balls, and various other pieces of furniture and portraits were confiscated in the middle of the night by the goblins. Headmistress Truebridge and Governors were OUTRAGED when they tried to stop the goblins, but they could do little except raise as many funds as possible to save their school.

Students and staff alike rallied together to raise funds. Professor Bentley s Herbology classes sold flowers in Hogsmeade one weekend to raise money, and the staff and governors threw a Winter Ball Fundraiser to drum up some funds. Just as things were starting to look up, a cold front was moving in.

Everywhere the happy ice cream eaters seemed to go, dementors seemed to follow, from interrupting classes to attacking on the Quidditch pitch, from drawing students to their hideout in the Forbidden Forest to ruining their study time beside the lake. The creepy, cold-bringing creatures were likely drawn to the school by all the ice cream happiness. The ice cream and dementor feeding frenzy came to a peak in a party in the Great Hall one afternoon as part of a potions practical. Potions Mistress Lafay had noticed the growing ice cream addiction and had decided to retaliate with what she called the Glee Ice Cream Antidote. The antidote to the happy ice cream was disguised as fudge, caramel, butterscotch, and marshmallow syrup, and once the eater ate a bowl of ice cream with one of those toppings, their happy mood would deflate dramatically.

The potion s depressing after-effects weren t helped by the horde of dementors suddenly appearing in the Great Hall. This was their umpteenth attack, but the first the Headmistress actually witnessed. Fortunately, Erik Vinteren was there to save the day with his magical, numerous patronuses but for Groundskeeper Firth, Vinteren was not fast enough. Firth had jumped in front of Ivy Knox to keep the dementors from performing their deadly kiss but instead, he was kissed himself. As the groundskeeper fell to the ground soul-less, the patronuses did their job and encircled all the staff, including the redheaded target of the Headmistress.

After this final showdown, no more dementors (or ice cream!) was seen around the castle. Hogwarts students were still eating off paper plates come the somber end-of-term feast, but at least they all had their souls.

While still suffering its losses from dementor attacks and stolen funds, Hogwarts was finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. With many of the previously repossessed items returned to the school, students and staff alike were pleased to find that the quality dinnerware and house elves had also returned. No more doing their own laundry! But that s not all that had Hogwarts hearts filled with hope. With a renewed emphasis on academics, it was announced that the school would play host to the European Bureau of Wizarding Education Quiz Bowl Scholarship Competition (EBWEQBSC, for short). Often referred to as the Triwizard Tournament of wits, the students of Hogwarts were set to compete in two rounds consisting of three tasks each of academic competition against Beauxbatons Academy and the Durmstrang Institute.

The first round of competition took place in the fall near the wizarding village of Hogsmeade. While family, alumni, and student supporters filled the stands, the three wizarding schools representatives mentally prepared themselves for the tasks ahead.

The first task took place in the morning and was a combined challenge of Ancient Runes and Divination in which students found themselves in a large circular arena. Upon further inspection, the walls were covered in random writing among which participants would have to correctly identify four runes that would spell a word and give them their first hint to escaping. Hogwarts representatives (fifth year Slytherin West Odessa and sixth year Hufflepuff Alec Summers) made quick work of this first puzzle while the representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang struggled to make much sense of the wall carvings at first. Once it was figured out that the next task was to perform Wyrd Spread, Odessa and Summers sailed through the rest of the challenge, literally, by summoning two brooms that they road out of the arena. Meanwhile, Durmstrang (Vilhelm Andersen and Regina Romanov) and Beauxbatons (Beau Gagnon and Z line Labelle) representatives found themselves too stumped to complete the task, and were left with a parting gift in the form of a white foam bath.

After a short break for lunch, the second task of competition took place. This time, the task focused on utilizing skills from Herbology and Potions. Participants found themselves in a cave with several varieties of plants growing and a large cauldron. After a few moments, a house elf, unable to speak because the poor creature was bloated from ear to ear, stumbled towards each pairing and the task to be completed was clear: brew a Deflating Draft to stop the house elf s suffering. L a Maltisse and S bastien Voclain of Beauxbatons were first to complete the task while Hogwarts representatives Alexa Cambridge and Katrina Hudson came in a close second. Durmstrang representatives Str m Svensson and Bronislava Zvonimir once again failed to complete the task and came in third.

The third task of round one of the competition took place after nightfall and was a combination of skills acquired from Astronomy and Muggle studies. Participants found themselves in the middle of a meadow with nothing more than a sextant, a muggle flashlight, and muggle money. On the ground was a rock with a number carved into it, representing the Latitude which was to be used in association with the sextant to find their next clue. As the task progressed, it was not just degrees that appeared on the stones as clues, but a seemingly random series of numbers. All became clear in the end when they ended up at a muggle phone booth. After depositing the correct amount of money and dialing the correct numbers, the phone booth was activated as a portkey and participants were transported out of the meadow to the stands. Hogwarts representatives, Alice Fischer and Kaiden Yarborough made quick work of this complicated task and finished first. After some struggling and much mistake making, the Durmstrang representatives (Mischa Moller and Karina Wozniacki) eventually figured things out and completed the task second while Beauxbatons representatives (Gaston Le Blanc and Adele Rousseau) never made it past the first clue.

The first round proved to be an easy victory for Hogwarts, earning them a total of 91 points while Beauxbatons and Durmstrang scraped by with 64 points and 68 points, respectively.

In the days following the first round, it was clear that the visiting schools had brought sore losers with them. From hexes and generally disrupting lessons to pranks about the Chamber of Secrets reopening, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were doing everything that they could to try to knock Hogwarts off their game in the weeks leading up to the second round of competition. One student, S bastien Voclain, even went so far as to set one of the Herbology greenhouses on fire! While some Hogwarts students felt the urge to retaliate against these ridiculous actions, there were better ways of getting back.

Like kicking fanny in the second round of competition.

Held in mid-April, the second round of competition opened with a task based on the combined knowledge of Charms and History of Magic. Participants found themselves standing before the rear of what appeared to be the Hogwarts Express. Once they stepped inside, the train began to move forward and a clue appeared before them along with an obstacle in the form of a slithering 12 foot snake. After stunning the snake and writing the correct name on the parchment provided, Bathilda Bagshot, participants were able to move to the next compartment where they were faced with yet another riddle and a swarm of cornish pixies. The next and final compartment, the driver's compartment, revealed a view of a cliff up ahead with broken tracks. As the train continued to gain speed, participants had to figure out that they needed to stop the train s movement using Arresto Momentum or else plummet to their dooms. Thankfully for Hogwarts, Marcus Branxton and Kendall Quinn kept their Ravenclaw wits about them and finished the task unharmed and first. Beauxbatons participants, Gaston Le Blanc and L a Maltisse, made easy work of the first two compartments but quickly lost their cool in the driver s compartment. After some struggling - and spouting out every charm they knew - they eventually came to the correct conclusion and finished in second. Durmstrang participants, Str m Svensson and Karina Wozniacki, were unfortunately bested by the task in the first compartment and failed to complete the task.

Taking place in the afternoon, the second task was a combination of Arithmancy and Defense Against the Dark Arts. A seemingly harmless setting in a library, participants quickly learned that things were not as simple as they seemed. Some even quite literally found themselves tongue-tied thanks to a hex on the very book needed to complete the task. Needing to levitate the required book off the shelf, participants were next required to perform Arithmos Revelio to see just what sort of curse had been placed on the book. While the task entailed much more than this, none of the schools participants were able to make it past this stage.

The third and final round of the entire competition was a showdown utilizing the skills acquired through the study of Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures. In a setting reminiscent of the Triwizard Tournament of the 1994-1995 school year, participants found themselves in a hedge maze where various creatures roamed around. First up was a hippogriff who, after being showed proper respect, allowed participants to read from the scroll tied to its neck. The scroll revealed a clue to the next task. After a ride on the hippogriff s back, participants arrived at a stone gargoyle who, once transfigured to life, taught the spell to change living creatures into glass. Only the Hogwarts participants, Minerva Wheatborn and Wade Potter, successfully transfigured their hippogriff companion to glass while the representatives from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons just barely scraped by appeasing the hippogriff s pride.

With both rounds of competition complete, Hogwarts was the undisputed champion with a combined score of 181 points. The victory not only proved that the academics at Hogwarts could not be met by any other wizarding school in Europe, but also secured Hogwarts financial future in the form of a large monetary reward. Well done students, well done!

First was the appearance of gray hairs and unusual aches and pains among the students after only a week into the term. Then came the sighting of an unknown ghost in the Astronomy Tower's Tower Patch. With more signs of premature aging, like hair loss and beard growing, spreading among the students, the overall mood of the school began to darken. Hoping to put a bit more life into the school, the four Hogwarts House Ghosts, ironically, proposed a pep rally in the dungeons to the Headmistress. With staff assistance, the pep rally was held with various activities and stinky spoiled food for all to, er, enjoy. During the festivities, it was revealed that the ghost first seen in the Tower Patch was none other than Marion Burbage - the former Astronomy professor who had been devoured by a giant Umbrella Vinora 5 years ago. Goodness gracious HEAVENS above!

After the pep rally, the aging epidemic appeared to intensify as aches and pains worsened. Some students walked around with beards down to their knees and others had to be shouted at to be able to hear. Professor Flamsteed (Astronomy) was rushed to the hospital wing while in the middle of teaching a lesson. But perhaps the most mysterious occurrence was that Abraham Botros (Ancient Runes) arrived to one of his lessons with a head full of blonde hair and walking upright without the use of his signature cane!

The Hogwarts Board of Governors held a meeting to discuss the best course of action to take with this epidemic, but had their meeting interrupted by a chorus of partly deaf students concerned about their aching wrinkly bodies and graying hair. Slytherin third year Sophie Newell brought it to the Board s attention that Botros was aging backwards along with bringing Burbage s presence in the school to question. The Board decided to split into two teams to investigate both leads and hopefully find something conclusive.

The group that went to the Tower Patch seeking out Burbage, lead by Board member Nolan Reynolds, found that the ghost had no connection to the aging and really was just a lonely spirit. Board members Erik Vinteren, Ivy Knox, Sherman Clark, and Atticus Aldredge were the ones who went to speak with Botros in his office. After a series of questions, the de-aging professor was asked to request the presence of his personal St. Mungos Healers to pay the school a visit to see if they could find the missing piece to this puzzle.

Meanwhile, with talk of quarantines and closing down the school, Ministry of Magic Healers were called to the school to perform physical examinations on the infected. Unfortunately, the Healers could find nothing conclusive and the epidemic continued to spread. Serious injury among students began occurring as a result of the aging epidemic. First was Hufflepuff Adi Rehman breaking his leg by the Black Lake, then Ravenclaw Hope Evans took a serious tumble down the moving staircases, Gryffindor Penelope Greenwell nearly busted a hip in the kitchens, and finally Slytherin Caleb Newell broke his hip in the Student Garden. With Healer Tillstorm running out of hospital beds and infected students and staff growing older and older every day, it was clear that Hogwarts was running out of time. Literally.

Hope was restored with the arrival of St. Mungos Healers Amethyst Boyle, Botros personal Healer, and her assistant Andrew Wombley. The pair immediately began researching and testing for possible reasons and a cure, but it was not until the End of Term feast that an answer would be revealed. At the final hour, Boyle approached the Heamistress and whispered that the cause of the epidemic was due to an experiment-gone-wrong on Botros' healing potions which instilled the elderly gentleman with a youth sapping touch. Meaning that while he was getting younger, the people he touched got older. A cure was passed out to each of the tables and, after drinking it, students and staff returned to their proper ages. HOORAY!

The Hogwarts Express hadn t even pulled in to Hogsmeade Station before unfortunate events fell on students and staff. In the weeks preceding the term, four identical copies of the same letter threatening the lives students were owled to Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and the Daily Prophet. Its demands were simple: QUIT QUIDDITCH OR DIE! This led Headmistress Truebridge to surprise the returning Quidditch Captains with her presence on the Hogwarts Express where she delivered the grave news that quidditch was canceled and they would have to turn in their captains badges. This announcement was echoed during the Headmistress opening speech and left the Great Hall uncharacteristically silent as added security from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement looked on.

Law Enforcement s presence continued as the days and weeks went by, and with all brooms grounded and the quidditch pitch closed, it seemed as though Hogwarts had already faced the worst this term. Autumn felt a little colder than usual and come November, snow had already begun to fall. Also arriving at Hogwarts was the fiery new Arithmancy professor Lolita Domingo, who had left quite the impression on those who went on the field trip to Peru that past summer. An acquaintance of Hufflepuff Head of House Josephina Hadley, Domingo volunteered her teaching services which were reluctantly accepted by the Headmistress. Meanwhile the cold continued to creep its way across the grounds as bats and other small critters began fleeing the Forbidden Forest in search of warmer quarters.

The cold showed no signs of letting up and only intensified as time went on. During the first, and only, Hogsmeade weekend of the term, the wizarding village experienced a herd of unexpected visitors: unicorns. Having fled the forest as well, the creatures were eventually herded away to safety by the help of professors and students. Unicorns were not the only unusual thing in Hogsmeade, however. Compared to the freezing temperatures surrounding Hogwarts, Hogsmeade felt almost warm

Centaurs began showing unease as well, appearing all over the Hogwarts grounds seeking shelter from the cold and warning students that the Forbidden Forest was no longer suitable for habitation. Meanwhile, Domingo began snooping around the Forbidden Forest and encountered a colony of acromantulas, who warned her (and the rest of the school) to stay away from the forest because it is unsafe...even for the likes of them.

Professor Romanos, who had been growing anxious ever since the unusual cold began settling over the grounds, wrote to an acquaintance about her suspicions, only to receive word back that everything was as it should be. Despite this, something in the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor remained uneasy.

Winter only got worse and worse, the cold becoming so violent that the glass on the greenhouses cracked and the Black Lake entirely froze over. All outdoor lessons, creatures, and greenhouse plants had to be moved inside and both Professors Thompson and Bentley were forced to relocated their offices. Students and staff began suffering more severe cases of dry skin and frostbite even after brief exposure to the outside weather. Domingo, yet again, attempted to sneak into the Forbidden Forest and accidentally shot sparks from her wand when she discovered something to her liking. These sparks were noticed by staff and students inside the castle. Professor Thompson, Professor Fuller, and Mr. Kitridge lead a small group of students into the Forbidden Forest to investigate the source of the sparks. They were briefly interrupted by a small group of acromantulas who spoke of a woman with a strange accent snooping around the area. Their conversation and investigation were cut short as unknown creatures from deep within the forest attacked the group, killing one of the large acromantulas, seriously injuring 6th year Gryffindor Victor Bay and the school librarian, and maiming a few others.

Within the next few days, an unusual winter storm caused the entire castle to be snowed in and all the owls fled, leaving Hogwarts without any means of communicating with the outside world. It wasn t long after that it began snowing INSIDE the castle as well. After an unsuccessful weather experiment in class, Astronomy professor Airey Flamsteed sought the help of Ancient Runes professor Abraham Botros for a research session in the library to hopefully uncover something to explain the mysterious weather. After discovering an unusual passage involving Morgan la Fay, the rune Isa, and five months of winter, the group divided into two groups. Botros took a group of students to look around the castle for any signs of runic cravings that may have cursed the castle, while Flamsteed remained in the library and summoned Professor Romanos and Headmistress Truebridge to discuss the possibility of chort involvement

Prior to her arrival, the Headmistress had held a brief meeting in her office with Professors Thompson, Culloden, Fuller, and Morgan to ask what their thoughts were on the unusual weather. Morgan shared her feeling that something was disturbing the Forbidden Forest animals while Thompson raised his suspicious about chort involvement. A few minutes later, Healer Tillstorm arrived to announce that Gryffindor Victor Bay had finally woken up from his coma after two weeks. The Headmistress dismissed Tillstorm and Morgan afterwards, and instructed Culloden, Fuller, and Thompson to stalk Lolita s movements as there was a good chance that she was the woman mentioned by the acromantulas.

After dismissing the research session, the Headmistress returned to her office and successfully contacted the Department of Environmental Regulation and Protection Department Head Bryce Howell using the floo in her office. Despite the faulty connection, she was able to relate the current situation at Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic just before the connection cut out.

Hogwarts was finally able to catch a break...in the form of chort mating season to be precise. The weather warmed up just enough to allow students to make it to Hogsmeade safely - either by using the boats across the Black Lake or in carriages. Kitridge woke up from his coma just in time for the feast as well, much to the relief of his colleagues and students. With the Ministry promising to remove the chorts over the summer, and therefore saying good bye to the plague of an eternal winter, students and staff could depart Hogwarts with a sense of relief. Bye bye frostbite and demons...HELLO SUMMER!

Once upon a time, in a magical school named Hogwarts, students and staff alike settled in for what was perceived to be a quiet year. Someone should have warned them that looks can be deceiving and all it would take was one permission slip to the Restricted Section to change everything. Alexa Cambridge, Gryffindor seventh year and Head Girl, was the first to be whisked away by a fairytale alter ego after a mysterious leather bound book called The Fairy Tale Book of Fairy Tales unceremoniously fell off the shelves at the girl s feet. Departing with the book in hand, Cambridge left not as herself, but as the Mistress of All Evil - Maleficent.

Mysterious books were not the only game afoot early on in the term, however. In light of the chort invasion of the previous term, Headmistress Truebridge held a secret meeting in her office with Professors Culloden, Fuller, and Thompson to request their assistance in investigating the motives of Lolita Domingo, the school s new Arithmancy professor as of last term, for being in the Forbidden Forest. While Culloden and Thompson distracted the woman in the staff room, Fuller broke into her office and found incriminating evidence of Domingo s involvement with the chort attacks. Magical Law Enforcement were called in, who promptly arrested the woman and escorted her off school grounds to face trial.

Meanwhile, back in the castle, a spinning wheel appeared in the Room of Requirement and and giant sinkhole engulfed the entire quidditch pitch and stadium. Did both events have a connection to the mysterious book? The Ministry placed the blame of the sinkhole on all the accumulated moisture from the previous school year's long snowfall, so at least the fairy tale book s influence had not spread that far. Yet.

The fairy tale book began making bolder movement, enchanting Hogwarts staff and students alike while turning some lessons into under the sea adventures and food fights between Captain Hook and Peter Pan. As wave after wave of fairy tale character popped into existence, the effects were not permanent and each enchanted student and professor returned to their usual selves. This all only seemed to encourage the book to grow more bold, releasing pixies in the Ravenclaw common room, a troll during a Potions lesson, and a giant beanstalk straight through the Groundskeeper s hut.

With the school thrown into a magical chaos, it was no wonder that The Fairy Tale Book of Fairy Tales was brought up at Mr. Kitridge s Book Club Meeting. All the club s participants began an extensive search for the book throughout the castle, and while the book made its presence known, everyone returned to the library empty handed. Cue the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked buns coming from the Restricted Section! Unable to resist the smell, everyone moved to the Restricted Section where it was discovered that smell was being produced by none other than The Fairy Tale Book of Fairy Tales. The book released another flock of pixies at the group, soon followed by a herd of magic carpets.

Dealing with all these obstacles with counter attacks of their own, nothing seemed to work against the fairy tale book s magic except for some sarcastic words uttered by the very girl who had started it all - Alexa Cambridge. Instead of clawing and biting, the pixies began braiding hair and kissing people while the magic carpets started dancing with their captive partners. From the book, hordes of frogs - chocolate and regular alike - hopped out of the pages and tried to sneak kisses from anyone who would let them. When the Head Girl said the magic phrase again, the pixies and carpets vanished and were replaced by singing flowers. It was quickly determined that saying the words happily ever after provided the sort of counterspell needed to put the book to rest, as that was precisely what the book had wanted to do all term - give the residents of Hogwarts their happily ever afters!

In a moment of unity, everyone present in the Restricted Section joined together in a chorus of happily ever after. In a shower of golden light and sparkle, all fairy tale elements that had been released from the book were gone and the book lay dormant on the table with its cover closed and not a giddy giggle in sight.

What happened to the students and staff of Hogwarts after this enchanting showdown? The all lived happily ever after - at least until the train back to London.

With the Fairy Tale Book of Fairy Tales now locked safely away in the Department of Mysteries, students and staff alike looked forward to the reset the new term would be.

At the start of term feast, Headmistress Truebridge s announcement of a Hogwarts Reunion, sponsored by the Board of Governors, had the entire hall buzzing with excitement. The event, also held in the Great Hall, was a huge success and gave one and all a renewed sense of pride in the school. This pride became the foundation for the first ever Cartographers Club at Hogwarts - a club opened to all who wanted to thoroughly explore the thousands-of-years old castle and all its mysterious wonders to create a complete map of the establishment. Club members were joined by esteemed cartographer, Thorbert O. Kenting, and met three times over the course of the term and would continue into the next.

Mysterious things began happening about the castle as students and staff alike began their mapping. The Weasley swamp grew in size and flooded the majority of the first floor. The barrier that had once prevented the living from entering the Spirit Room without the invitation of a ghost vanished on All Hallow s Eve by a mysterious force that left the ghosts feeling both anxious and rejuvenated. Portraits became more chattery all over the castle and the moving staircases became wild and unpredictable. Passageways that had never been discovered before began appearing, giving students access to easily sneak into the Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff common rooms as well as into Hogsmeade. The Chamber of Secrets was opened for the second time in the last decade and the Room of Requirement became even more obliging and easily accessible.

While the interior of Hogwarts seemed to becoming alive, the events that took place on the grounds this term were quite grim. Fifth year Gryffindor Aegis Dane and Gryffindor prefect Zander Adair had their unauthorized exploration of the Forbidden Forest interrupted by hungry acromantulas who sought to make the pair their lunch. Slytherin third year Gregoire Bastion charged onto the scene and began shouting and shooting spells at the creatures to draw their attention. The giant spiders retaliated and soon centaurs came from the forest to try to protect the children, but to no avail. Just after Professor Quigley, Ravenclaw prefect Gabriel Banner, and Gryffindor prefect Puck Greyvson appeared on the scene, the acromantulas descended upon Bastion and devoured the boy. In the aftermath of the death, an Age Line was placed at the border of the Forest by the Board of Governors, and a mandatory Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson held by the Headmistress herself for all students.

With one student dead, another expelled, and a castle seemingly coming alive right under everyone s feet, by the end of term, the Hogwarts population was left with a firm reminder of constant vigilance and that no where is safe. Not even Hogwarts.

Stay SAFE, Hogwartians!