I hope it's been a fabulous day and that you enjoy the decorations I put up in the HS study. I may have gone a bit overboard with the streamers and have temporarily misplaced our desks but they're still in there somewhere, I promise.

Re-reading Half Blood Prince and I'd never appreciated before how sassy Bob Ogden is. For a Ministry official, he gets some real zingers in while at the Gaunt's cottage. "Now I come to think about it, I've seen noses like yours down in the village." "I don't doubt it, if your son's been let loose on...

This weeks rolls: dungeon, cauldron, inspiration I have been condemned to this dungeon for many ages. Nothing I have said has inspired her to any act of mercy: she is adamant that I brave that noxious cauldron. Footsteps outside. A chilling voice… “Dan, how many times do I have to ask you to wash th...

The Paw Print is Gryffindor's house newspaper. We release an issue every 2 months during the school year and we’re always looking for fresh material from the students and staff of HOL. We accept articles, features, graphics and creative writing on any subject so get your quills sharpened. There are...

I can't remember this being asked before but I was thinking about it a lot while out walking today. Mine is most definitely woodsmoke, so autumn is a wonderful time of year for me as everyone makes bonfires. I also love rich, spicy smells most of all so the colder months are ideal for that as well. ...

This is one of those annoying situations where the minute someone asks the question, all the answers go right out of your head. I do remember the one that particularly annoys me though is in Order of the Phoenix where the Inquisitorial Squad are given the power to take points where prefects can't. O...

Many happy returns! I hope you get a chance to relax, celebrate and enjoy yourself.

Our final words for October are.... bag of gold, voyage, flute She jangled the bag of coins at her belt. She'd spotted him, loitering on the edge of a crowd listening to a bard tell of some hero's voyage, while someone warbled on a tin flute. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist the target she was...

I hope you have a truly wonderful birthday!

This weeks items are.... forest, puzzle, map She crested the hill and saw the sea: a silver-blue immensity. The town was nestled by the shore, the harbour a forest of masts. She grinned at the map on the passenger seat, feeling as though she'd just solved some great puzzle by finding her way here. (...

Remember we'll be in #gamesroom from 5 until 8 PM HOL time tomorrow. See you there!

Scarlet's right . It's because the forum uses something called BBCode where the profiles use HTML. If you do a quick google search for useful HTML tags,you should be able to find all the ones you need.

Any one of us, even the lowliest, can create worlds within ourselves; we can people them with the most extraordinary creatures, the most amazing inventions, the most incredible things. We can live in those worlds ourselves, if we choose; and in our own worlds, we can be as we want to be. -Poison by...

Welcome to our very first collection of Spotlighted Books. Intended as a more relaxed replacement for our monthly book discussions, these are a carefully chosen set of suggested reads. This time, we’re focusing on world-building: each of these books takes a very different approach to it. Flip throug...

We’re beginning with a doubleheader as we discuss ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by Lewis Carroll. With everlasting tea parties, croquet games played with flamingos and very judgemental talking flowers, Wonderland and (to a slightly lesser extent) Looking Glass Co...

Our second recommendation for world-building, The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, is a rich and turbulent legend where the landscape of the world isn’t just there to set the scene but to drive the plot as well Synopsis from Goodreads: Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella Riosse ...

Our next recommendation for world-building, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, is a speculative sci-fi novel that takes place in a grittier kind of world. It plays with the question of what happens when the place that you’ve always known begins to die a slow death around you. Synopsis from Goodread...

Our last book for world-building, Poison by Chris Wooding, is a dark fantasy adventure through many different realms. It plays with what we call ‘metafiction’, where the author makes references to the fact that what they’re writing is not only made up but being written. It’s interesting because it s...

Welcome back to Quill and Ink! The Bookshelf and Between the pages are focusing on World Building this term, giving you a chance to get up close and personal with what went into creating your favourite fictional places. Here and on Ink Splatters, we’re passing the pen to you. It’s time to create you...

World building can seem very intimidating because of the sheer size of the undertaking. While some people spend years cleverly constructing a world over centuries or even millennia of development (J. R. R. Tolkien), others explore it as they go and only create what they need (a little like JK Rowlin...