Clubs and associations homework

HAGS: Hogwarts Apparition Game Society: This was meant to be a sort of hide and seek game for students who have been licensed to apparate. It was founded by one of the less intelligent students, who forgot that apparition is blocked at Hogwarts.

SQUEALers: Student QUilt, Embroidery or Adornment League: A group of students who learn the Muggle needle arts. Typically these skills are practiced non-magically, but can also be done using enchanted tools.

The THE Club: Top Healing Embodied: An organization that prides itself on indentifying the best healers in the Wizarding world. Only top healers are allowed to join. (Some people find this organization rather elitist)

FIRE and ICE: Flying Incantations, Riding Elements, and In-air Cartwheel Exhibitions: A club to learn and practice stunt flying on brooms.

Muggle Studies homework

I must confess, I do have a soft spot for Muggles. I thought that would make this part of our homework easy, but it only helped a little. But I must say, Muggles can be very creative in overcoming their lack of magic.


This was definitely the easiest one for me, because I'm a big fan of the game it's from. This is a club from a Muggle game called "baseball". Only they don't call it a club, they call it a bat. Since Muggles can't use brooms, they play this game by running around on the ground. The "pitcher" throws a ball at a batter, who uses the "bat" to hit the ball, similar to hitting a bludger. Then the batter runs around the "bases" as fast as he can, while the other team tries to catch the ball and tag him with it. Some Muggles are as big of fans of baseball as we are of Quidditch.


This is called a "can opener". Muggles buy some kinds of food in metal containers called "cans". They are sealed up tight and keep the food from spoiling. But since the metal is so hard, it requires a special tool to cut them open. The round pieces are a sharp cutting edge, and a gear that moves the can around while it's getting cut. There's a handle on the other side that makes the can go around. I do have a can opener myself, but it isn't like this one. Mine used a sort of Muggle magic called "electricity" that is somehow stored in the walls.



This is called a "lawn mower". Muggles use it to keep the grass in their lawns short. Sometimes they have motors, which makes them noisy and smelly. Other ones just have turning blades that move when the mower is pushed. Those are quiet, but harder to push.



This is called an "iron" even though I'm not sure if it's made with iron or not. This get's hot, and Muggles use it to get the wrinkles out of their clothes. They put the clothing on a padded board and then move the flat part of the iron around on top, smushing out the wrinkles.

Spells and Incantations

Wow, we got a LOT of homework this week. Being the clever claw that I am, I'll knock off the sections one by one. I don't want to be here working feverishly away on Saturday!

Spell Creation: Come up with an incantation for the following situations. Creating our own spells and charms is NOT easy, but I do adore a challenge like that.

1- A fellow classmate never lets you speak in a conversation. What incantation do you mutter under your breath? What happens to your classmate when you say the incantation? Silencio of course would work. Then the other speaker loses the ability to speak. But that's kind of obvious. The classmate knows full well what's been done, and then one has to worry about turn-about. So I've come up with a little beauty of my own, Blankus. It causes the speaker to forget what they were saying. Much harder for the recipient to figure out what happened, unless used too often.

2- You’ve just entered a Muggle city in complete wizard clothing and a restroom cannot be found to change out of your outfit. What charm or spell do you say to change what you are wearing? An invisibility cloak would be very handy at a time like this. One could change underneath it with impunity. Barring that, I think I would use a switching spell we learned in Transfiguration. And I could also possibly use Repello Muggletum to keep away the muggles until I was finished, and then cancel it with Finite Incantatem.


3- You are riding a bicycle along on a country road and suddenly notice your tire is flat and needs air. What spell do you perform to give your tire air? First I would use a Reparo spell, to be sure that whatever caused it to go flat was fixed. Then I would use Inflatio or a Refilling Charm to reinflate it. Of course, one must use care not to overinflate the tire, and cause it to blow up. That would be a little harder to fix, as well as drawing attention of any muggles in the area.

4- You are reading a valuable and one-of-a-kind book, and, quite unusually, you’ve left your quills and parchment in the dorm. You only have your wand for assistance. Create a spell for highlighting or remembering the important pieces of text without harming the book. Hmmm, this is tricky. We Ravenclaws revere books too much to want to cause any permanant damage to them. I might use wand writing to take notes, but it would only be for a small amount. Otherwise the amount of ribbon coming from my wand would be too much. The simplest thing would probably be Accio Bookbag, to bring me my book bag, which of course is always packed and ready with the necessary implements. But to actually highlight in the book, I would use a little darling I created, called Tintus Diaphanous, which lets me use my wand like a highlighter marker. Of course, being magical, not muggle, there's always a little extra. Once I'm done marking all the parts I want to concentrate on, I use Duplicatus to copy it all onto a piece of parchment, allowing me to concentrate on studying just those parts. And then I would use Finite Incantatum on the book to remove the marks.

Quidditch pictures

Kreacher:



Dursley's house:



George Weasley - "Saintlike. You see. . .I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"


Tonks - Wotcher, Harry.


Mad Eye Moody - Constant Vigilance!

quidditch questions...

Boy this sure was a lot easier for me than last term's questions. I guess it really does help to read the books right as term is starting. Maybe I'll have to read it again :-)

1. What momentous event was the reason that the members of the Order of the Phoenix felt it necessary to move Harry out of the Dursley’s house?
a. The start of the new school year
b. The Dursleys kicking him out
c. Voldemort’s escape from Azkaban
d. Harry’s upcoming birthday

2. Who revealed the actual date of Harry’s transfer to Voldemort, despite the misinformation the Order had been spreading around that the move would occur on the eve of his actual birthday?
a. Mundungus
b. Snape
c. Yaxley
d. Shacklebolt

3. With the use of Polyjuice Potion (and to confuse any possible attack by Death Eaters), six member of the Order were disguised as Harry and escorted out of Privet Drive, along with the real Harry. Which member of the order did not survive that night?
a. Mad-Eye Moody
b. Nymp0hadora Tonks
c. Hagrid
d. George Weasley

4. Who informed Harry, Ron and Hermione of the bequests left to them in Dumbledore’s will?
a. Kingley Shaclebolt
b. Minerva McGonalgall
c. Arthur Weasley
d. Rufus Scimgeour

5. During the wedding celebration for Bill and Fleur, Kingley Shacklebolt sent a Patronus to tell the guests that the Ministry had fallen, Scrimgeour (the Minister) was dead and the wedding celebration was about to be attacked by Death Eaters. What form did the Patronus take?
a. A lynx
b. An otter
c. A doe
d. A stag

6. Escaping from the wedding to London, our three friends found themselves confronted by a pair of Death Eaters, disguised as workmen. This close brush impressed on them the need to find someplace to hide. Where did they decide to go?
a. The Leaky Cauldron
b. Sirius Black’s house
c. The Dursley’s house
d. Ron’s Auntie Muriel’s house

7. Kreacher’s animosity towards Harry, Ron and especially Hermione (a Mudblood) was well documented in book five, “The Order of the Phoenix.” His initial interaction with them showed that his attitude had not changed. How did they win him over?
a. By giving him clothes and his freedom
b. They didn’t win him over!
c. By giving him something to eat
d. By giving him Regulus Black’s old locket

8. Who did they eventually find was in possession of the locket/Horcrux?
a. Severus Snape
b. Lucius Malfoy
c. Lord Voldemort
d. Dolores Umbridge

9. What did Harry find embedded in the door of Umbrdige’s office?
a. Moody’s magical eye
b. Nymphadora’s purple hair
c. Hedwig’s head
d. George Weasley’s ear

10. After retrieving the Horcrux, they tried to return to their safe place but they were pursued (actually Yaxley tagged along when they disapparated). This meant that the Death Eaters knew their hiding place and they had to go somewhere else. Where did Hermione take them?
a. To Godric’s Hollow
b. To the Forbidden Forest
c. Back to the Burrow
d. To the site of the Quidditch World Cup

Secret Valentine

I got my Valentine from Wisty! I (very, very briefly) considered waiting until the 14th to open it, then said, nah, can't wait. I got scrumptious umptious truffles (how did she intuit just how much I love truffles? Is she an Occlument?) And then, she got me the cutest little stitch markers. They're conversation hearts! That is just all kinds of wonderful! I use stitch markers for all my projects, and these are just great. And they came in this cute little Valentine box. Thank you sooo much, Wisty!



Here's the whole kit and caboodle:


And here are the stitch markers:

Homework!

Ok, we've got homework, and I want to jump right to it.

1- What form does your Patronus take? What does it symbolize for you? A cat. They're clever, stealthy, playful, and cuddly, too.

2- Did you bring a cat, an owl, a toad, or other pet with you? What is their name?
A cat. His name is Pepper. He loves people so much, he's more like a dog. He would have hated being left behind while I went to school.

3- What is your favorite class here at Hogwarts? I think I'm best at Herbology. I've even got a Muggle veggie garden, and love flowers. I'd really like to be better at transfiguration, though. That would be very handy.

4- What is worth sneaking out of the castle for, even if you got caught? I'd definitely do it to help a friend or a house-mate, and probably a school-mate, even a Slytherin :-)

5- What has made you laugh so hard that you've had butterbeer come out your nose? I'm president of a local weaving/spinning/knitting/whatever guild, and at the last meeting, a 4 yo was there. When I called the meeting to order, obviously his mom told him it was time to be quiet, because he came up to me and whispered, "it's time for us to be quiet now." I said "you're right, but I'm the one who does get to talk now, because I'm the president." His eyes got big and round, and he made this little "oohhhh" of amazement. I thought I was so cool, until his mom leaned over to him and said "She's the president of the club, honey, not the country."

6- What yarn do you covet? Link please... There's not a very strong brand preference, but I'd love to try sock yarn that's a bamboo/wool blend. The Zitron Trekking Pro Natura looks very interesting.

7- What is your favorite flavor... the one thing you could simply not live without? Is brand important? Chocolate! Brand is not important, but I much prefer dark chocolate over milk or semi-sweet.

8- How many HSKS terms have you participated in? This is my second term.

9- Do you have a birthday, anniversary or other big Muggle event during this year at Hogwarts? If yes, please tell us what. Nothing. My big fun isn't until June, when I have my birthday, and plan on going to Hong Kong and China again, to see my sister and for fun.

10- You in 5 words. Crafty, creative, clever, compassionate, cheeky :-)

More wish list stuff

Ok, this is a little lame, but after reading Bevin Rae's wish list, I'm going to copy her and put some things about myself for my spoiler to use :-) A little self serving, but hey, if it make life easier for Agatha, it's a good thing, right?

I too love chocolate, the darker the better. And I like it in any form, plain or with fruit and/or nuts. Cocoa is good, too.

Speaking of drinks, I'm a coffee and tea fiend, and like all different flavored coffees and teas, including herbal teas. I especially like jasmine tea, and Earl Grey.

As much as I love knitting, my first love is weaving. I own a few different looms, and will probably be selling the love seat in my den to make room for one of my 2 floor looms :-). I love trying my hand at different techniques, and using different kinds of yarns and fiber to weave with. In the past I've woven with ribbon and rolled paper.

Knitting is definitely second to weaving, and I've been knitting for about 10 years. I've definitely been on a sock knitting kick lately, but I really should take a break, because my cousin is due in 5 weeks, and I should get cracking on something for the baby, so that she gets it while she is still a baby. I will of course also be weaving a baby blanket.

Ironically, the first craft I learned, and was pretty much the only one I did throughout my childhood and twenties, is counted cross stitch. I also did some embroidery, crewel and needlepoint, but mostly cross stitch. Ironically, that's the craft I do the least of now, and I've got a couple of UFOs that are at least 10 years old (hmm, wasn't that about the time I taught myself to knit?) I also do a little beading, and some scrapbooky kinds of things.

My kitchen has a fruit theme going. My favorite fruits are pears and apples.

I'm a total bookworm. I've newly discovered paperbackswap.com, which lets you send off books you don't read anymore, and get others in their place. I got 2 Harry Potter books that way.

I'm working on improving my vegetable garden, both the soil and my skills. I also have a lot of flower planting in my future. I bought a fixer-upper house, and there wasn't a single bed or garden when I moved in, so I've been slowly working on that. I painted one room of my house with yellow vertical stripes. The curtains in that room are purple, and I call it my iris room. It's also my library, which is what happens when a single person buys a 3 bedroom house :-) I'm still trying to decide what the heck to do with my bedroom. I want it soothing and spa-like, a real sanctuary. But for now it's got white carpet, army green walls, and hand-me-down furniture. At some point, I want to rip up the carpet and red0 the hardwood floor underneath (previous owner put down the carpet, not me) then paint and get new furniture.

My favorite colors are in the blue, aqua, lavendar, purple range. I wear a lot of purple, and also a lot of red. I'm definitely a winter. But for the right purposes, I do like hot tropical colors, too.

I play the piano, and I collect sheet music with the name Amy in the title, because that is my muggle name. Just my little bit of egotism, I suppose, which is what this blog entry totally is.