Quidditch

1. What was Harry dreaming about the first time he woke up with his scar on fire?


a. Voldemort and Wormtail plotting to kill Dumbledore

b. Voldemort and Wormtail plotting to kill him

c. Voldemort and Wormtail plotting to kill Sirius

d. Voldemort and Wormtail plotting to kill Cornelius Fudge



2. What is the problem with leprechaun gold?


a. It vanishes after a few hours

b. It vanishes after a few weeks

c. It's only good in Ireland

d. It enchants you and makes you forget everything else



3. Why did Mad-Eye Moody turn Malfoy into a ferret?


a. Malfoy had said something rude about Mad-Eye

b. He was teaching him 'constant vigilance'

c. Malfoy attacked Harry when Harry's back was turned

d. He hated Malfoy's father

4. Sirius warns Harry to be careful around Karkaroff because he had been a Death Eater. Which one of the professors at Hogwarts, who also used to be a Death Eater, is frequently bothered by Karkaroff?

Snape

(Answer is One Word, Last Name Only)



5. Voldemort could have used the blood from any foe to make the potion that revived him work, but he held out for Harry's blood. Why?

a. To show that Dumbledore could not protect Harry

b. To prove that Harry could not apparate

c. The special protection Harry received from his mother would also pass to Voldemort

d. Simply because he hated Harry that much


6. How old would Frank have been on his next birthday?


a. 76

b. 73

c. 70

d. 77



7. Amos Diggory works for?


a. The Department of Mysteries

b. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

c. The Goblin Liaison Office

d. The Committee of Experimental Charms



8. Who shared a carriage with the three friends on the way from the train to Hogwarts?

Answer: (One Word) Neville

9. What date in October did the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive

a. 30th

b. 31st

c. 1st

d. 2nd

10. What color were Percy's dress robes at the Yule Ball?


a. Navy Blue

b. Maroon

c. Emerald Green

d. Claret

Picture Scavenger Hunt

Mr. Ollivander

Mad-Eye Moody

Cedric

World Cup Tournament

Dark Mark

The Snitch Half-Sock!

Well my dears, I've been so busy making things for the sock kit that this magical portal has been woefully neglected these last few days. Of course I cannot tell you precisely what I've been doing because I don't want to spoil the coming surprise for my partner (who is a delightful girl despite being a Slytherin). I can, nevertheless share a little about how things are going with the Dobby Seeker Socks.


You may have noticed that things were not going well with the socks, and indeed I cast on many times with different numbers of stitches on varying sizes of needle. At one point I was tempted to blast the accursed thing into oblivion. I resisted, however, and patiently 'frogged' it instead (sometimes muggle knitting terms really tickle my magical sensibilities fuschia!). I do now believe that I have found the right combination of stitch count and needle size. The snitch sock is knitted almost as far as the heel (I hope to get there tonight), and it does fit on my foot and ankle. As I think mine is a fairly average sized foot (albeit a little short on length), I think this means the sock will fit all but those with very substantial ankles.


I've taken this picture so that you can see the progress I've made. Alas - I cannot get my wand to make the snitches fly around, so it is a very static pattern. I do hope that whoever wins the socks will like them. It feels good knitting them for the sake of dear Dobby's memory.

House quiz

All the Wigworthys had fun with this at tea last night. Thank you Neila.

1. RWIDZTAIR UANONETRMT
Triwizard Tournament

2. NRNAGIHAU RAHNIOTL
Hungarian Horntail

3. AEEMDY ONYOME
Madeye Moody (not Mooney!)

4. ARTI KEESTRE
Rita Skeeter

5. ELSAUAEPBNKS
Unspeakables (this one took me AGES!!)

6. ULSFENFS
Snuffles

7. NEPSVEIE
Pensieve

8. RMUEIIPS
Imperius

9. TREUEEBTBR
Butterbeer

10. ROFELIBT
Firebolt

Sknitching

Cast on 66 stitches on 2.5mm needles. Knit 15 rounds of K2 P2 rib and 30 rounds of pattern. Try it on. Oh dear - its too tight!

Cast on 66 stitches on 3mm needles. Knit 15 rounds of K2 P2 rib and six rounds of pattern. No - the yarn is much too thin to make intarsia work on needles this big.

Cast on 88 stitches on 2mm needles. Knit 15 rounds of K2 P2 rib and 25 rounds of pattern. Oh dear - those snitches look rather pointy.

Rip back a few rounds and reknit the snitches without the bottom two stitches. Knit a few more rounds beyond. Yes - definitely better.

I wonder if it would look rounder without that gap under the wings? Rip back a few rounds and try that. No definitely not. Rip back and revert to original pattern for top of the snitches.

Knit 30 rounds of pattern. Approximately ten hours of knitting on this project so far.

Try the sock on. I don't believe it! It is still too tight - can't get it over my ankle! (Mutter curses.) Rip back all the way to the cuff and fling it aside in disgust.

What next - 110 stitches on 2.25mm needles? I guess so....

Angelic?

Madam Pince is such a lovely, obliging, and helpful witch. She sent Verso (our sweet owl) back straight away with a message inviting me to come to the library whenever I want, and offered to help me personally with searching the massive Hogwarts book stock for information on how little old Rumpelstitskin spun straw into gold. So off I went, apparated in Hogsmeade last night with me old broom and flew on to the castle from there. Madam Pince met me at the main entrance, as arranged, and took me straight to the restricted section where she'd already found a few tomes containing references to the aforesaid goblin. How kind is that?

Well, I might tell you I was not particularly surprised to find that the little chap employed dark arts to make the gold yarn. In fact he summoned dark angels to assist him. Apparently angels shed metallic fibre from their wings that can be added to any other fibre to spin precious metal yarns. Of course, I'm not about to start summoning dark angels to be able to make me some silver yarn. I have, however, left a little note under my pillow politely asking any kind angel, guardian type or such, that comes by if they might be willing to moult a few fibres in my home for me to use in ever such a special and truly very "good" project. You never know...

Whilst at Hogwarts I took the opportunity to check in on my eldest "little" wizard (who in fact has towered over me for quite some time now). He was quietly studying in the corner of Ravenclaw common room, obviously trying not to appear to notice some rather pretty girls who were giggling in another corner. I heard lots of excited chatter about the new potions professor, who they seem to think rather dishy. Alas, I couldn't stay long enough to go and see for myself, and really, I think I might have felt a slight twinge of guilt next time I saw Mr. Wigworthy if I had indulged such a girlish whim!

Izzy Wizzy Lets Get Quizzy!

It took me ages to do the research for this quiz. I'm too Ravenclaw to depend on somebody else having got it right - have to check it myself. Then, after all that work I visited Cecilia Kettleburn's portal.Imagine my mirth when I realised how much easier the quiz would have been if I'd visited her portal first. The clever girl had used a charm to magically take one to the exact places where each answer could be found. Nevertheless, I have completed the quiz, albeit laboriously, and my answers are as follows:

1. Name 4 housemates who have revealed their Patronuses and list the form their Patronuses take.
Phoenix - Fleur Lovegoods
Eagle - Cassandra Hopkirk
Tiger - Patonga pinkstone
Eagle - Perpetua Phoenixfire




2. Who attended the first meeting of the Ravenclaw Knitting Club?

Elanor Cadogan

Gabriella Clearwater

Fleur LovegoodsEsmerelda

Cassandra Hopkirk

Millicent Brocklehurst

Minerva Kwikspell

Enid Black

Allitrya Spelling

Mafalda Ackerley

Serafina Starfire

3. Name the housemate who likes to knit with peacock feathers.
Fleur Lovegoods


4. Name the Ravenclaw who spent the New Year at Hogwart's Costume Ball.
Emma Diggory


5. Which Ravenclaw got the first howler?
Lavender Ackerly



6. Name 5 different types of wood used in the wands of Ravenclaws and name the housemate having that wand.
Ebony - Fleur Lovegoods
Holly - Cassandra Hopkirk
Hawthorn - Elanor Cadogan
Walnut - Gabriella Clearwater
Olive - Enid Black


7. Who accidentally ate a toenail flavored Every Flavor Bean?
Serafina Starfire


8. Who cast a noise dampening spell before going to bed and then overslept?
Esmerelda Beanswallow


9. Besides the HSKS4 blog, on what blog will you find the Ravenclaw Anthem?
Minerva Kwikspell


10. Which housemate has a Muggle cellular phone?
Victoria Black

Witchcraft?

Its been a very busy weekend at the cottage. Mr. Wigworthy has been planting some gooseberry bushes, and building a play shelf in the room that our two youngest wizards share. They have a toy quidditch set that I keep tripping over when I go in to cast a few cleaning spells, and after my latest fall I begged the dear man to make something they could put it on other than the floor. He's so obliging - I guess because it gives him the chance to play with his favoutite wand attachments!
Despite all the disturbing bangs and blasts sounding from the boys room, I managed to find some quiet to do a little work on things to include in the kit I'm sending my swap partner. I am so enjoying this little wheeze, and learning quite a lot of new stuff doing it. Instead of just knitting I'm trying my hand at quite a few popular muggle crafts. Of course, I don't want to say too much in case my partner should pop in and find out too much!
Sadly, because we were so busy at home I missed the start of term feast at Hogwarts. Professor Wartbobble invited all the alumni that are involved with the sock kit swap (which it turns out is her invention). Very interesting that the new headmistress is fond of socks because I remember Professor Dumbledore was also a sock-lover.
When I have time I will leave my answers here for the little quiz the Deputy Headmistress has set us Ravenclaws.

Wicked?

How did Rumpelstiltskin spin straw into gold? I ask because I want to spin some silver, which must be a related technique. I've sent an owl to Madam Pince to ask if I can do some research on this in the Hogwarts library - probably in the restricted section given the nefarious character of the aforementioned little chap.

You might guess from this that I have been informed of who my sock swap partner is. Indeed, it is a young lady who's a Hogwarts student in Slytherin House. She seems to be rather a lovely girl. I'm afraid that like so many I find it difficult not to be prejudiced against Slytherins because of all the negative stereotypes associated with that house. However, I really hope I'm ready to learn and have my prejudices challenged. Expand yourself Emma (I mean personally - not literally, of course!!).

Anyway, the young lady in question is allergic to wool. Rather a shame as wool is the most readily available fibre in sheepy England. We do have plenty of nettles in our vegetable patch, but I'm not keen on risking injury to spin a non-ovine yarn. So, I either have to search for sources of exotic fibres in our very unexotic "green and pleasant land", or import some from abroad (perhaps a word with someone in the ministry?). What will it be - bamboo, alpaca, cashmere, linen, .....?

Actually I only intend to spin a little yarn (am I being mysterious enough?) - I already have the bulk of the sock stuff, but I do want to incorporate a little bit of handspun. And I'm very keen to spend some time muttering over my cauldron (hopefully transfiguration spells and not curses!).

Magic loop

Just the other day one of the new Hogwarts students (Olive Bladvak) mentioned a very interesting knitting technique muggles call 'magic loop'. The name rather made me wonder if it wasn't invented by a witch (or even a wizard - I do know some that knit!). Anyway - I haven't come across this before so I did a little research (always a joy to Ravenclaws to discover and learn new things), and found that it is indeed a magical method of knitting small round articles (such as socks) on one long circular needle. 'Ooh, I must tell everybody about this' thought I. Of course, difficult spells are much better learned through demonstration than explanation, so I've enchanted this little tutorial (by 'The Knit Witch') to make it available here. As usual, just let your pet mouse nibble the magical words and it will appear:

Ostendo Rudimentum

Charming knits?

Such a busy time I've been having at the cottage, scouring the Daily Prophet adverts for things to buy for the sock kit swap. It's rather frustrating not knowing what colours I need (I don't yet know who I'm making the kit for). At the moment all I can do is purchase essential tools and make a note of the other bits and pieces that I have to get later in specific colours.

I've got to make a bag, something I've only ever done once before, and that was by accident! It started out as a fairisle tank top for Mr. Wigworthy, knit from my own handspun and hand-dyed yarn (I love the magical world's commitment to the spinning wheel, and often think of magical spinning legends such as Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin as I sit at my own). Anyway, the yarn proved to be too heavy for knitting double-strength and poor Mr. Wigworthy could barely stand up with the top on, so I cut it down to make a bag. Sadly the bag also is no more - it was attacked by moths (though my little wizards insist it was nargles!).

The six-year-old little wizard has, alas, worn through the heels on a pair of the socks I've knitted for him. I had a go with a charm to repair it ('impilium resarcio'), and unsurprisingly didn't succeed (charms was my worst subject in my Hogwarts days). So I've sat and darned them the muggle way. Then, not wanting a repeat performance with further homeknitted socks, I ordered something like the stuff muggles use to strengthen the heels and toes in their socks. It's called 'woolly nylon', and is readily available to American witches and wizards who love to knit (they call it 'wooly nlyon' - a very American variant of the spell!). It is, however, impossible to get from magical knitting suppliers here in England. After much searching I eventually found some in a magical sewing suppliers who say robe-makers use it to make very elastic seams (essential for broom-wear).

Spells and Potions

How exciting! Professor Wartbobble has very graciously accepted my offer of a pair of Dobby Seeker socks to be 'The Dobby Prize' at Hogwarts this year. This means I do now have to knit some! So I have drafted a plan on some parchment to guide me through as I knit. I've decided to knit the broomsticks and snitches all over each sock, except the cuff, heel and toe, which will be knitted in the main background colour of the other sock (I will have to do an hourglass heel for this to work).
I do apologise to anyone who might possibly have taken a picture of the designs I enchanted to appear at this portal yesterday - there was an error on the broomstick design, which I have now corrected with a quick piece of wand-work.
A dear friend (Fleur Crockford) asked for the spell I used to create the design. Well, I used a potion actually that uses very basic ingredients that nearly all witches and wizards have in their kit. A very kind magical friend of mine gave me the instructions and if you let your pet mouse nibble these magical words you'll find them yourself:

Accio Potion

Dobby Seeker Socks

Well, I've never spent so much time playing with quill and parchment as I have these last two days since a dear friend, Miss Mandy Finch-Fetchley, thoughtfully suggested (she's a Hufflepuff - need I say more?) that we could make some kind of tribute to the memory of that very special house-elf, Dobby. What a lovely idea, I thought, and why not make it a sock-themed tribute as he was so fond of knitting socks (because it was the gift of a sock that liberated him I guess)? Anyway, it is common witch-lore that Dobby gifted our greatest hero, Harry Potter, some socks with a broomsticks and snitches pattern knitted into them (Harry demonstrated great talent as a seeker whilst at Hogwarts) . I've seen something like this in that marvellous book for knitting witches and wizards, 'Charmed Knits', and thought I would have a go at designing some myself. Oh the fun!! Here is my repeating broomsticks design:



And here is the snitch design:



If you let your pet mouse nibble the pictures you'll get a Hagrid-sized version.

The broomsticks are an 11-stitch wide repeating pattern, and the snitches are a 22-stitch repeating pattern, so socks would have to be done on 66 stitches in fingering yarn on appropriate needles to make that fit your own measurements (I'd use 2.5mm needles for me). I've named the pattern 'Dobby Seeker Socks', and am thinking of offering a pair to Professor Wartbobble to be a prize in the sock swap she's running, in tribute to the dear memory of Dobby.

Comfort and joy!

It has been a cold day here in Ottery, and we expect snow tomorrow, so I've been very busy knitting a hat for Mr. Wigworthy, who despite his name does have hair, but not enough of it to feel comfortable in sub-zero conditions. Of course, I do my best to make things that will keep him anonymous as he mostly works incognito among muggles (he is a vortex engineer, ensuring magical buildings don't affect the apparent normality of their situation in the muggle world). So his favourite mix of lime green, orange and pink are definitely reserved for leisure time in the magical world!
Otherwise my time has been rather taken up with preparations for a marvellous wheeze I came across in the Daily Prophet. It's called a 'sock kit swap', and is lots of fun for witches and wizards who love to knit. I am, however, a little sad as I can't help thinking of how much the best sock-knitter of all our magical world, the liberated house-elf Dobby, would have loved to take part in such a frolic.

Not Too Magical Me!

As a Mum with three young wizards you may imagine how many housework spells I have to cast each day! Knitting saves my sanity (though Mr. Wigworthy might say it is just evidence of my madness!), and though I know I could get the needles to do it on their own, I admit I like to sit and do it like the muggles do. We're very friendly with our magical neighbours, the Weasley's, and me and Molly have shared many an hour chatting as we sit and knit together. Sadly, I haven't yet managed to persuade her to have a go at socks, which are my very favourite thing to knit. The boys rarely wear any from Madam Malkin's, much preferring my own handknits. Which just shows that despite the prejudices of those who secretly admire you-know-who, in some things muggle ways can be best.
Anyway, I must go and conjure a meal for the hungry males of our cottage.