HOL

The Departments section of the fair is cluttered. Quidditch balls are whizzing overhead, a flock of quick quotes quills are churning out quatrains by themselves and there are ribbons and origami flowers fluttering everywhere.

The Departments are an excellent place to unwind or challenge yourself outside of classes (and earn some extra house points or glory too). You can find all three by visiting the Departments tab on the main HOL site. They also each have their own forum (particularly important to remember for Quidditch as that’s where the actual game schedules and notices are posted). Remember to stop by when you need a break from that homework!

The Art Department is the place where you can show your creative side. Whether it is photography, drawing, or graphics we are here for you! Each month there will be at least two projects to bring your creativeness out and help you earn more points for your house.

Themes can vary each month and we try our hardest to let you be as creative as possible. Currently we have two projects happening right now, Back to School Supplies (Show us what you will need to bring to school) and Textbooks 101 (create a textbook cover for one of your Fall classes). Do you have a suggestion for a project theme, come post it here.

If you are nervous to have your work showcased, don’t worry, all submissions are anonymous. Once you’ve submitted your submission, go back and look at what others have created and give them your feedback. You can give other students some encouragement and rate their project; we just ask that everyone keep comments positive as we all are trying our best. If you’re looking at becoming a points hoarder, submitting to the Art Department is a must!

Welcome to the Library Department!

If you like to read or write this is the place to go. Each month there will be new projects available for you to respond to. The projects are all writing prompts with different themes; you might be invited to write a short story, an instruction manual or even a postcard from one month to the next. Some of them are Wizarding World themed while others are something totally new, so you will surely find something that piques your writerly interest. And of course you also earn a tidy sum of house points by submitting to the library so that's another good reason to get involved!

This month you have the chance to tell about your very first evening (back) at Hogwarts as the Welcoming Feast is underways... but, unfortunately, something hasn't exactly gone according to plan. For the more adventurous amongst you who might have thought about what would happen if you ever found yourself lost or stranded on an desert island or in a similarly desolate destination, we're inviting you to keep a log of your discoveries, hardships and adventures. Why not go and check them out?

You will also be able to read the submissions others have made - you can even vote on them and make a comment about what you think of the entry. (Just remember that comments should always be constructive and considerate of the person who wrote the entry!)

You are also able to see all the past projects of the library, so you won't soon run out of amazing reading material, penned by your fellow HOLers. And, who knows, maybe soon by you?

Welcome to the most dangerous of the sports in Harry Potter - and the most fun!
As it has in the past, HOL Hogwarts starts the house games for the Quidditch season in November. The four Houses take turns playing each other - as you can see in the Official Quidditch Schedule for season 2018-2019 (click). Often the Crystal Ball is consulted ahead of time - in Unfogging the Quidditch Pitch. (click). Warm-ups for actual Quidditch play is done in the Quidditch Pickups click.

As it says in the HOL Quidditch topic here in the forum --

Quidditch in HOL is played on IRC and is based on Harry Potter trivia. This trivia is taken from the 7 Harry Potter books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and Quidditch Through the Ages, by Kennilworthy Whisp.
Each House has its own team. Students, Post Graduates and Professors can all play Quidditch for their House, as long as they are in an 'active' status.
Find out more about HOL Hogwarts Quidditch in the Quidditch Handbook. You can see the basic rules for both Quaffle and Snitch play, as well as more in-depth detail about this game.

We encourage you to check out how to get on your House teams and play HOL Quidditch. Everyone can play -- and everyone starts at the beginning -- truly! In the meantime, get on IRC and go to #quidpractice. click for more information. The bot has been reset for the new school year.

In addition to Quidditch Pickups, there might be the odd Snitch Tournament. We are now finishing up our Summer Quidditch League activity -- SQL 2019: The Race for the Quods -- with twenty people earning over 3,460 Quods (and no one blew up ... very much anyway).