Happy Holidays!
Muggles Explain Magic: wizarding olympics
by Rose Jean
The Apprentice Sorting Hat is now available for the mH members once again. This is the 2nd annual time that the Apprentice Sorting Hat competition has been available for all, hosted by HG's AnneliseWolfe and Asphodel. It lets all members compete to guess which house the new underages will be sorted in.
By going onto the google form, you can add your username, and then find the names of the underages and sort them into a house. You can make your predictions and win prizes if you get them right. The names of the winners will be announced around week 3 or 4. The names of new underages will be added as the users become underages. Then, any names of people who’ve been sorted already will be taken out so nobody can cheat :) . I myself have already done it and it is extremely fun to see if I have gotten anyone right or wrong.
But as the competition states, "you are not the Sorting Hat when you complete this activity. Any attempts to brainwash the sorting hat and take its place will result in serious consequences." :P
On that note I hope you all enjoy this experience with the Apprentice Sorting Hat and I wish you good luck with the results! I would also like to wish everyone good luck on their sortings. Have a magical week everyone.
- by Grinch2019
This past summer camp, we enjoyed playing a lot of traditional wizarding games. We drew inspiration from Muggle Olympic games to award exceptional athletes through medals, but many Muggles have also looked to our sports to create new games. These are just a few games that you can play with your Muggle friends to give them a taste of wizarding sports!
Quodpot
A beloved and popular game on mH, Quodpot involves two teams fighting over a ball, called the Quod. They can catch it and pass to other teammates, or even steal from the opposite team if they’re quick enough. The aim is to score points by shooting the Quod into a pot. There’s an important twist: the Quod can explode at anytime!
The Muggles have created an explosive game like this, which involves having an inflated balloon that can pop at any time. With a group, you must accomplish a task before passing the balloon to someone else. Whoever is holding the balloon when it pops loses!
Creaothceann
This sport is a rare one to see in play because of how dangerous it is. Players need to catch rocks and boulders falling from the sky using cauldrons strapped on their heads. You can see how dangerous this can be and the many mishaps that could happen! For our safety, we played with jellybeans at summer camp.
Muggles have also created a safer variant of this game, using a colander that they hold on their head. Water balloons are tossed into the air, which they need to catch in the colander. You know you’ve scored a point when you get a splash of water down your head!
Shuntbumps
This sport is also one of the more dangerous ones as it requires players on broomsticks to knock each other off and fall to the ground. Ironically, it’s a popular game for Underages on mH at Hogsmeade Station, where they can play while waiting for summer camp to arrive.
Now, there are many games based on pushing people over, but I like to think falling into water is safer than falling on the ground In one popular South Korean variety show, players stand on floating mats on the water and engage in a joust to knock the other player into the water.
Swivenhodge
This is another secret treasure of a sport that involves players hitting an inflated pig’s bladder over a hedge. It seems like Bludger Pong, but players take an unusual approach of using the brush end of their broom to hit the bladder. And yes, this means they’re sitting backwards, too! To me, it is all about giving the game that unusual characteristic in how to play it.
Muggles can mimic this game by adding unusual twists to their popular sports. For example, volleyball involves hitting a ball over a net between teams. Another (newer) South Korean show adds a twist by only allowing players to hit the ball using household items like frying pans and baskets. This will surely spike up the hilarity of the game!
House Cup Standings
The Apprentice Sorting Hat
✧ Quibbler Quest ✧
By Rowena Riddle
Year 46 is well on its way and everything is going normally... or so it seems. You see, often times, a mystery is always lurking around the corners of the Hogwarts Castle. At least, a mystery was definitely present today.
We all know our dear Potions and Muggle Studies Professor, Professor SusanHP, known to most as Linda. What I am about to tell you may shock you, so prepare yourself as I tell you a tale of an... adventure I went on today that involved both mystery and humiliation.
It all started early this morning. Well, maybe not that early but early enough that I needed a cup of tea before I would be able to do anything productive. Now that I have my very own house, I was able to get up and get my cup of tea myself without having to go to the Great Hall like I did back in my Hogwarts years. However, I still had to head off to Hogwarts today so that I could check in with my Career Counseling students! At the time this all happened, it was almost the weekend, so I was ready to get up and go to Hogwarts in just my pajamas. After debating whether it was worth the stares or not, I decided that it was and headed off toward Hogwarts clothed in my fuzzy slippers, Hufflepuff sweatpants, and Doctor Who sweatshirt. Before you ask, my outfit totally matched, I don't know what you're talking about. ;)
I arrived at Hogwarts but as I was walking toward the Library, I realized too late that the stone floors had recently been polished by our (*cough*notreally*cough*) lovely caretaker, Mr. Filch. As I was wearing fuzzy slippers, it was like walking on the slippery part of a bowling alley: not possible with my walking skills. My feet slipped out from underneath me and I fell to the ground, roughly hitting my head against the stone floor.
The students were in class, so thankfully no one was there to witness one of the most humiliating moments ever (just picture it: my bedhead, pajamas, and The Great Fall). After a moment of forcing myself not to cry, I was able to sit up. The world swirled around me and as I realized that I couldn't stand up without falling over from dizziness, I decided that I should probably head over to the Hospital Wing.
Yet another moment where I am thankful the students were in class: picture me, with my glorious bedhead and outfit, a full grown Of-Age woman, crawling (not very successfully) across the halls of Hogwarts. It took me a solid five minutes to reach the Hospital Wing, which was luckily just around the corner. By then, I was able to stand up and enter like a normal human being -- not crawling across the floor.
Oddly enough, when I entered the Hospital Wing, there was no one in sight. Just as I was about to call out to see if anyone was there, I heard footsteps coming my way. A normal person would stay there and greet the person, not acting suspiciously at all. But of course it was me and I have super weird reflexes, so I immediately jumped behind a privacy screen and waited for the person to enter.
I've had Linda as my professor for many years, so I was immediately able to recognize her by her voice.
"Finally, I've gotten all those people out of the Hospital Wing! Now I can actually grab it without being disrupted..." Okay, how much more suspicious can you get?! I leaned forward and pressed my ear against the screen, trying to hear what else Linda might say. The only things I could hear was Linda digging around in the cabinets and then walking back out. Anyone else might have just thought that Linda was just grabbing some Potion ingredients, but when you're me, you'll always think that there's something more to it. I followed my instincts and ended up following Linda out of the Hospital Wing to her office. Now, instead of actually entering her office, I stayed around the corner and tried my best to listen to what was happening.
"My plan is finally complete! I can actually send this to her... she'll never see it coming." After that, Linda let out a laugh that to me, sounded like an evil cackle.
Was she going to blackmail someone? Linda? Our beloved Hogwarts professor, being evil? I can't help myself ... I jump out into the doorway and shout, "EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"
Linda lets out a small yelp and visibly jumps in her seat. "Rowena! Goodness, you scared me! Was this a dare or something?"
"Don't try to lie to me! I heard you. So tell me, who are you planning on blackmailing?" I ask, trying to act like I definitely wasn't wearing pajamas yet still seeming in power.
"Blackmail? What are you going on about?" Linda asked, her voice incredulous. "Do you mean what I was talking about earlier?"
I nodded, and Linda continued. "Oh, that was a present for Jess, I put it in a cabinet in the Hospital Wing because for some reason, students always place their homework directly on my desk and I always lose things! Honestly, I should probably get that sorted out soon. But anyway, it was just a present for Jess since she does so much for us."
I resisted the urge to smack myself in the forehead. "Right.. ermm.. okay... I'll just be leaving now. Have a nice day!" I immediately ran away from Linda's office, my face turning crimson with humiliation. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, I forgot the floors were polished. And guess what? I fell. Again. And you know what's even worse? Class had just been dismissed.
The mystery had been solved and, after convincing everyone that I was perfectly fine and did not need to go to the Hospital Wing (no way was I facing Linda again so soon!), all was well in the halls of Hogwarts.
