Lesson 4
What is a Hufflepuff?
Welcome to the wonderful house of Hufflepuff. You can find The Sett (the Hufflepuff house forum…Here. Click for Badgers The Sett is a fun place to be for every HOLer, whether or not they’re a Badger. Remember, though, that registration is a three-part process: first, you register, following the instructions on the registration page (particularly the parts in red); second, you verify your email address, which will be explained in the registration email you’ll receive; third, a Hufflepuff admin (usually Professor Cosmo B. Mott) will approve your account. Miss any of these steps, and your account won’t be approved and you’ll miss out on the fun that is the Sett.
Once you have access to the Sett in full, there are a few areas at the Sett visible to everyone (all houses). They are
The Fireside: An area for Badgers and friends to gather and chat, play games, and generally hang out. You’ll also find the monthly Citrine totals (more on that later), invalid registration notes, and some general announcements;
The Giant Birthday Card: This is where we wish people happy birthday, according to their listed birthdays in the Sett profiles;
Once Upon a Time: In the land of Imagi Nation, people come to play together and weave exciting tales. In other words, it’s where you can role-play! Be sure to read the rules in the pinned topic;
The Department of Huffle Games and Sports: Limited to fully registered members, this is where monthly games are posted for pleasure and profit (in the form of citrines, our internal sort of house points). They often are Harry Potter related, because, well, this is Hogwarts and all, but sometimes Tarma likes to throw something random in there, like The Mikado.
Summer Camp: Open only during the summer period, part of this forum is open to all houses and they’re more than free to join in the fun and earn themselves citrines for participation.
And the other three areas for badgers only include:
The House Announcements section, which contains;
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, a place where prefects, Professors and our lovely Head of House make
Hufflepuff type stuff announcements, any changes in the Sett or HOL will be made here.
The Badger Soapbox a place where all badgers can make announcements.
Huffle Orientation – Orientation takes place at the beginning of each term to help the new badgers learn about HOL and the house a little bit better.
The Huffle Tower Section, which contains;
The Dorms – Here is where he talk about our day and anything exciting that happens we can share with our fellow badgers
The Broom Cupboard – All things Quidditch relates, (including the Cheerie-O’s, the Hufflepuff cheerleaders) can be found here.
The Huffle Kitchen – Since Hufflepuff’s are known for their recipes and food
The Huffle Hallway – The secret places of the Sett are kept here, though I can’t talk about it unless you already know.
The Badger Library – Where we share our love for books and search help for our HOL work.
Last but not least we have the Kingdoms Section, which contains;
Yellow – The home of all badgers whose name begins with A-J, and is only accessible to those in that group.
Black – The home of all badgers whose name begins with K-Z, and is only accessible to those in that group.
Citrines:
We have our own internal points, called citrines. Citrines are yellow jewels, so they’re perfect for us. Hufflepuff citrines can be earned by any HOLer through a variety of activities and are tallied every month; then, citrines are manually added to people’s forum accounts so they can buy things in the SettShop. While there is a yearly citrine count that is reset every August or so, your forum citrine count will only go down when you purchase something in the SettShop. Which means you’ll probably end up with more citrines than you can spend, but you will have a nice, non-zero number under your name when you post, and that’s always cool.
Who is Who in Hufflepuff:
Hufflepuff has a fair number of prefects and professor, and so every Badger has his or her own prefect. You can turn to them for questions you have about different things around the Sett, if you need help or something. Here’s the list!
Prefects
Ely Granger
Rachel Selenia
Sirius Fudge
Violeta Lost
Zoki Phantom
Hufflepuff Minis
Enid Labs
Eve Roake
Hermionie Miranda
Ivelisse Ada
Current Active Professor List:
Prof. Cosmo B. Mott – Deputy Head of House
Prof. Felicia Hartwick – Head of House
Prof. Kath Snape
Prof. Opal Dragonfly
Prof. Rilla White
Prof. Rorey Padfoot – Deputy Head of House
Prof. Tarma Amelia Black
That said if you have a technical and/or forum-specific question, Badger or not, you should probably contact Prof. Cosmo B. Mott, because she oversees all of that stuff.
Ghosts and Beings:
In addition to professors and students from all over HOL, there are also several, ahem, non-human things roaming about the Sett. Not to worry, though, as they’re all mostly harmless. Naturally, The Fat Friar floats in and out at his leisure, making sure the Badgers are keeping themselves out of trouble. Being so close to the kitchens, Wilbur the House-Elf is around a lot, and he’s often doing odd chores and things around the place.
If a Badger is in need of a different outlook, they can always stop by Helga Hufflepuff’s
Portrait; she’s always happy to spend some time with her magical kin. Last, and certainly not beast… er, least, is Parker, a poltergeist who delights in creating havoc around the Sett. He doesn’t strike often, but when he does, it often ends in something blowing up or something.
Wizarding Times:
Besides participating in various forum activities, there are other ways to get involved in Hufflepuff. We have a house magazine called the Wizarding Times (which you can find here or via the “magazine” button at the Sett), which comes out fairly regularly during the school year. The paper is managed by a group of staff members who oversee it and make sure we have all sorts of articles and interviews, and that anyone, Badger or not, can contribute. Just look at the contact page at the magazine for information. We also have a library (currently closed for renovations) and a website (only bare bones at the moment), and both are happy to welcome Hufflepuffian input. If you’re interested in helping out, send a message to Prof. Cosmo B. Mott (for the library or website) or Rorey Padfoot (for the Wizarding Times).
IRC:
Like other houses, we also have an IRC channel: #hufflepuff on the Blitzed network. Any HOLer is welcome to come hang out and visit, though we’re often quiet. Don’t let that fool you into thinking we’re boring, though. We just talk when we have something to say. And, you know what they say, that if you can sit in silence with a person for half an hour and still be entirely comfortable, you can be friends.
Quidditch and Cheering:
Spiffies! The Hufflepuff Quidditch Team is a small but active group of badgers who are always looking for more converts… er… players. The Spiffies, as they call themselves (for they are spiffy, yea and verily), are led by Askeron Kyle (Co-Captain) and Prof. Cosmo B. Mott (Co-Captain), who are the persons to go to with all your Quidditch questions. If you’re interested in finding out about Spifftacular Quidditching, stop by the Broom Cupboard at the Sett for the latest information.
The Cheerie-O’s are a fantabulous group of badgers who cheer on the Spiffys during their games. Rorey Padfoot Captains the Cheerie-O’s and makse sure all the badger fans are on their feet cheering. During the year the Cheerie-o’s put on special activities (which can earn you citrines) to keep up the badger spirit up all through the season.
The Precious:
Years ago, while she was still a student, Felicia Hartwick got a hold of the house credit card (affectionately known as the Precious), and she hasn’t loosened her grip yet. Don’t be surprised if one day you’re walking down the hall and suddenly find yourself dragged down to Hogsmeade for the latest Kenneth Troll or Calvin Kappa sale. Felicia just senses when these things are going to happen, and she needs all the help she can get with her bags. It’s not a glamorous job, but if you play your cards right, Felicia might even let you look in her dimensionally transcendental closet. However, don’t ask to borrow any of her shoes. Just… trust me on this.
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Gryffindor
1. Gryffindor Website
2. Gryffindor Common Room
3. Gryffindor Staff
4. Gryffindor Clubs/Activities/Ecetera
5. Miscellaneous Gryffindor Stuff
1. Gryffindor Website
The Gryffindor website located at here is mainly used to host content that is important to the house, and of course the links that we allow all houses to view. It is updated solely by Prof. Missa Matz.
On gryff.net the links are found at the bottom of the page. The Recent Updates links allows people to see when and what content has been recently updated. There are other links that are self-explanatory, so we will only go over the most important ones.
The Gryffindor FAQ is probably the most important link on the website, as all Gryffindor students should read it. This link will be going through revisions shortly, but currently it is still working and should still be read.
The Owl Post link is updated every few months, and it’s contents include the information posted in our monthly newsletter to the students.
The link for Housemeeting Logs is there for any student who missed the monthly house meeting held on IRC, it helps keep the students up to date on the most recent happenings in gryff and any changes that may have or may be occurring.
Finally, there is the link to The Paw Print, Gryffindor’s newspaper – which is updated every one to two months with a brand new issue for all students of HOL to read.
2. Gryffindor Common Room
The Gryffindor Common Room is the home of all things Gryffindor. This is where the most interaction (other than IRC) is hosted at. Gryffindor welcomes all houses to register for it’s forum, though only Gryffindor’s will get the full benefit of the forum. We do however have an area solely dedicated to where guests from other houses and Gryffindors can talk, chat, and role play with each other. Recently due to some server issues, we lost everything located on our forum and have had to start over from scratch, which means there is not very many posts on the forum. We encourage everyone to sign up again and start posting. Here is an indepth breakdown of the GCR and it’s functions.
2.1 Registration
We require anyone who wants to post or to read the forum to register an account with us. We have strict registration guidelines, so we ask all those wanting access to our board to read our registration topic first. Registration Guidelines
This area hosts very detailed information on how to register for our common room CORRECTLY, so that your registration is not deleted multiple times. This area of the forum is viewable without having to register first. Please note that after registering it will take between three and seven days for your registration to be accepted. Validating registrations is done solely by Prof. Missa Matz. However if you have any questions, please see a gryffindor prefect first. If you receive no response from the prefect, then at that time please forward your question to Prof. Missa Matz.
It is important to note that after three failed registration attempts there is the possibility that your IP address may be banned from the forum. The rules are explained clearly in the post linked above. You will be able to tell if your registration is accepted or not by going to the 2009/2010 Approved/Unapproved Registration topic. If you were not approved, the reasons will be clearly stated as to why. Correct your errors that were listed and sign up again correctly.
2.2 Areas of the GCR (Gryffindor Common Room)
We will start with the areas of the forum that are open to Gryffindor’s only. Some of you reading this are first years who have yet to sign up for the forum, others may be in later years and have lost their information when the forum went down. Here is what the new forum looks like.
Agrippa’s Announcements
In this area of the forum we post announcements that are meant for Gryffindor eyes only. They are put in the Scarlet to Gold area. Only a prefect or professor may post in this area, though it is open to the rest of the house to read. Below that area is The Lion’s Mouth, which is a Gryffindor questions and answers area, much like HOL’s Ask a Prefect. If you have any questions you want to ask, you may post there and await an explanation. However, we ask that only staff (professors and prefects) answer questions.
Daisy Dodderidge’s Domain
This area is host to three subforums and their own sections. First is The Cozy Corner. The main portion of this forum is for general posts ranging from the topic of the year last year (a poll on pizza vs sushi) to congratulation posts for something well done, or noticed in HOL. There can be silly posts or serious posts in this area. It also hosts four subforums itself: Movie Talk (where you discuss movies), HP Book Talk (Harry Potter book discussion), Zen of the Lion (non Gryffindor Library poetry – does NOT count for posting points), Music Talk (discuss your favorite music genre, singers or bands), and Stage Plays/Musicals (discuss a play or musical area).
The second subforum in DDD is Humfrey’s Hollow. Currently this area is closed to students while we try to get our previous posts and clubs back up. This area hosts the Anime/Asian Drama Club and the Graphics Club. The AADC will be run by Jenny Lupin and Prof. Missa Matz. The Graphics Club will be run by Katie Potter and Joel Aireserkeiel. Once these areas are open to the Gryffindor students an announcement will be made.
The last area in DDD is HELF, which is pretty much Gryffindor’s way to appease spammers. Basically it is Gryff’s game section of the common room. Here there are a host of silly games that we encourage all of our students to participate in. No, you don’t get post points, but you will still be allowed to interact with others as often as you like. Currently there are such games as This or That, Who/What Am I, and an Acronyms game. We’re always looking for more games to play, so if you have one, suggest it to a prefect for approval so we can have another game to play!
Queen Maeve’s Quarters
This area hosts our dens, study room, library as well as the quidditch and cheerleading teams.
Prefect Dens are broken into three areas and each area is run by different prefects. Each year a den is created with different names and themes in mind. At the beginning of each term existing students without a den and new students just registering are sorted into a den. Their prefect will send them a password and it will become their home within home of the GCR. The dens are where you interact with other people sorted into the same area, play games, and participate in Den Challenges (which are a monthly event).
The Study Room is where our prefects post challenges to students in regards to earning points, as well as helpful hints on time management for getting those pesky assignments in on time.
Cubs with Clubs is where the quidditch team and quidditch related posts go. Anyone can post in the Cubs with Clubs forum, but the sub-forum “Weapons Safe” is for team members only.
Spice Squad is closed to those not in the cheerleading squad and is fully password protected, so sadly we cannot offer any information on that area.
Lastly in this area is the Gryffindor Library, also known as GLiB. The library was down for quite a few years until we found a capable librarian and her trustworthy staff to get it back up. This area has a Help Desk for those who may need some help navigating the libary, or for those who need help translating something into English. The Gryffindor Book Club is an area where you can go to discuss your favorite books and books that share a like theme. Then there is the Short Story/Writing forum, and just like the name implies, you may post short stories or writing there. Next there is the Poetry section where you go in to post in the themed monthly poetry challenges as well as your own poetry. Then the last section that non-library staff can enter is Reality Check, which is where discussions are held on current events or random topics.
Merlin’s Management
This area is almost solely dedicated to Gryffindor staff. The only area in here that would apply to non-staff is The Paw Print, but that area as well is password protected from non-Paw Print staff members.
Waffling’s Ward
This area is the one that is open to all houses. Posts in this area usually do not count against your post points, but rules are less strictly enforced in this area than the rest of the forum.
First is the Announcements section. This area does not get posted in often, only when there is an update that we need everyone who visits our board to read. Any time the board will be going down due to updates, or we need to address an issue with all members of the board is this area updated.
Next is Q & A, which is pretty much like HOL’s Ask a Prefect. Again, if you have questions as to why something is, or need an answer, this is the place to post. We prefer only Gryffindor prefects answer however.
Godric’s Gate is pretty much our welcome center for all houses. Here you can post gifts of cookies, or do introductions, or just discuss random topics with students from all houses. It’s a great place to meet new people and have a little fun.
Tales by the Fireside is our RPG forum. When we lost all our data, we lost all our RPGs and other areas, which include our Character Discription Thread. In order to be able to participate in the RPG, you must first create a character description and wait for it to be approved (your post will be edited with an ‘Approved by:’) post. Currently the rules of the RPG are very uptight, but this is because we ALSO lost our newest set of rules and had to go with our rules created when HOL first came out. Needless to say, these rules will be reviewed and corrected, and will be much more lenient when there is time to go over them.
The last area of the forum is Ye Olden Poste, which is where we post birthday notices, vacation notices, and that sort of thing. So if you want to wish a Gryffindor a happy birthday somewhere other than the HOL forum, this is the place to go.
That concludes the Gryffindor Common Room, and we thank you for reading that very long-winded post. Hopefully you won’t be quizzed on much of it.
3. Gryffindor Staff
Gryffindor is run by chain of command. It goes much like this… Student —> Junior Prefect —> Prefect —> Prefect in Charge —> Professor —> Deputy Head of House —> Head of House. As you may note, it looks a lot like HOL’s chain of command. We also have a group of house creatures and guardians that will be listed in this section.
* House Creatures/Guardians
– Humfrey B. – Our friendly, and incredibly obnoxious house poltergeist. Watch for him to randomly insult people and constantly break things.
– The Gryffindor Fat Lady – Of course, our lovely portrait. She does not post often, but when she does, do not take what she says lightly.
– Sir Nick – Our resident ghost. He enjoys sighing abour his woes and never getting a date for Valentines day.
– TBA: As part of 2009 Gryfftoberfest we will be introducing a new house pet. In the past we’ve had pets such as Boris the Sock. When we know what the new pet is, you will as well.
* Students – You make up the largest group of Gryffindor House. While you have no true responsibilities, we always hope that you follow the rules and participate as much as you can. Students can join clubs as well as runs clubs if promoted from within those clubs, or contact a prefect and get a club of your own approved. Any time you need a question answered, after looking for it yourself your next recourse will be to contact a Junior Prefect or Prefect, preferrably one of the ones that is leading your den.
* JP/Prefects – These people are broken into two groups. Den Prefects (meaning they run the dens) and SPD prefects (the brains behind all the monthly challenges and getting such things as Owl Post up). These positions are divided between prefects at the beginning of the year, and not everyone always gets what they want. It’s all about supply and demand. Our current list is as follows:
Junior Prefects:
Amanda Summers – Leave of Abscence
Joanne Grey
Madeline Bronte
Maria Vianney Gracia
St. John Aloisius Sloots
Tom Foster
Prefects:
Eno Kule
Hailey Potter
Jinxy Jo
Kadina Tigano
Risa Swan
St.John Aloisius Sloots
Prefects are chosen as needed. First as a JP, then based on their contribution during that time frame are either promoted, kept as JP, or asked to step down. We do not announce, we do not accept applications, we do not accept bribes when choosing new prefects. We basically watch the Gryffindor forum for those with a helping hand, who participate within their dens, who participate within HOL, basically those who work hard and don’t beg for attention.
*Prefect in Charge
Currently this position is not filled and is not set to be filled at this time. But usually it is a prefect selected from the Head of House to oversee all other prefects and make sure they are doing their jobs properly.
* Professors
- Currently Gryffindor House is kind of low on professors, currently (and this may be subject to change) our professors are:
* Prof. Jenny Lupin (assists with History of Magic)
*Prof. Lani Sil-Aria
* Prof. Miette Bynny
* Prof. Missa Matz (teaches History of Magic, HOL Quidditch)
* Prof. Zenix James (teaches HOL 101, When Muggles and Magic Collide I and When Muggles and Magic Collide II)
* Deputy Head of House
Jenny Lupin
*Head of House
Prof. Missa Matz
4. Gryffindor Clubs/Activities/Ecetera
Gryffindor has many clubs and activities that are open to our students. Almost all of these require an application process, though not all of them do. Below is a list of what we have to offer.
* Gryffindor Quidditch Team (GQT)
The GQT is run by the ever wonderful and capable Prof. Jenny Lupin. You make the quidditch team by a series of tryouts. When tryouts are open and available, a post indicating the rules of participation for the team, as well as how to tryout is posted in the common room. GQT’s area of the board is called Cubs with Clubs. Anyone may post in this forum area as long as it is quidditch related, however only team members may post in the team area, which is labeled Weapons Safe.
* Gryffindor Spice Squad
The SS is run by Ardeliah Longbottom and Rowan Dream, and it is our Gryffindor Cheeleading Squad. Now this group of people do far more than just cheer at quidditch games. They also help promote cheer and activity within the common room. Joining this club is held through an application process whenever new people are needed. When new people are needed, or applications reopen, a post will be made in the Announcements forum of the GCR with information on how to apply.
* The Paw Print
The Paw Print is Gryffindor’s Newspaper that is brought to you by Gryffindor students and staff. It is run by the stunning Ardeliah Longbottom, and there is an application process (to be reposted) in order to join the writing staff. Writing for the Paw Print does earn you house points, depending on the number of articles you write per issue. Currently there are 40 issues posted. The Paw Print is currently located at http://gryff.net/pawprint/ and is always there for a fun and enjoyable read. We also hold a Prose and Cons section for the whole of HOL to participate in and earn points.
* Lion’s Pride (Gryffindor Award Committee)
The Lion’s Pride is based on application only, and then from the applications we choose the best representatives. This committee is responsible for awarding Gryffindor students with some of our many awards. Currently this area is closed, but applications will be going up for second term. Below is a list of our awards.
- Curious Kitten Award: Given to the best First Year student; awarded each Term.
- Exploding Snap Award: Given to the most humorous student.
- Fellytone Award: Given to a Gryffindor who is vocal and active in the forums or on IRC.
- Friend of the Den Award: Given to someone from another House who is a good friend to Gryffindor…based on specific deeds.
- Golden Snitch Award: Given to the most enthusiastic student.
- LionHeart Award: Given to someone from another House who has shown themselves to be in constant friendship to Gryffindor.
- Nimbus 2000 Award: Given to the most helpful student.
- Phoenix Award: Given to the most innovative student.
- Platinum Quill Award: Given to the most studios student, usually every 2-3 months.
- Pride of the Pride Award: Given to the Gryffindors who work extremely hard within the house and HOL. This is our most prestigious award and is rarely given out.
* Graphic’s Club
This is a semi-application process. Parts of the club will be open to all Gryffindor students, but workshops and theme month contests will be held for club members only. Once the club is fully reopened, an announcement will be placed in the GCR.
* Anime/Asian Drama Club
This club is open to all Gryffindor’s and does not require an application process at all. The club is run by Jenny Lupin and Prof. Missa Matz. Currently due to losing all the data and posts the club is closed until we can get the information back up. As soon as it is open to the Gryffindor public again a post will be made and the password for this area removed.
* Gryffindor Library (Glib)
The Gryffindor Library is run by Ardeliah Longbottom, though there are sections of the library run by other individuals. These individuals are: Kadina Tigano (Book Club), Pavel Lagrange, and Serenity Thomas. The library itself is open to all Gryffindors, though some areas (such as Battle of the Books) is closed to those who do not apply to post in that section. The library offers Gryffindor’s a place to share their creativity and have discussion on all sorts of books and events, as well as share their favorite stories or poems. The library’s sections are as follows:
* Help Desk – This is where you go if you have *any* questions about the library at all. Also, if you need help translating something into English, our library staff will try their best to help you do so. So if you are lost along your way, this will be your first stop.
* Book Club – This area contains the book club, which the name should have given away. Every month a theme or a quote will be posted and for that month you will try and read a book that matches the theme or quote. There will be a discussion thread open once you’ve finished the book of your choice. There is also a Book Survey and the Battle of the Books. There are so many parts to this section of the library that you may want to check out the FAQ post located: http://gryff.net/CR/index.php?/topic/71-book-club-faq/
* Short Story/Writing – This area is where you show off your writing skills. There may also be monthly contests or themes posted. Also, some helpful hints for writing may be posted from time to time, and of course, everyone is encouraged to post ideas for others to work on.
* Poetry – Just like the Short Story part of the library, this area works exactly the same, just with poetry! So please, don’t be shy and show us your fantastic writing!
* Reality Check – This area of the library is run by Ardeliah Longbottom and it is dedicated to quotes, articles and open-minded discussions about topics that are posted here. At LEAST once a month, a series of quotes, topics for discussion, or even articles in the News will be posted and open for interpretation and discussion. Normally Ardeliah picks these, but if you have something of interest that you want to see put up, send her a message on the forum and she will get back to you, letting you know if the content is appropriate!
5. Miscellaneous Gryffindor Stuff
There are a few things that are uniquely Gryffindor that have been going on for years. Here is one of them…
* Gryfftoberfest
Gryfftoberfest is held in October of every year. It is the month where we Gryffindor’s celebrate our Gryffindorness with contests held for the whole of the house, and is pretty much an all-around party month in Gryffindor. Each year right before the party starts, there is a motto contest and then after the winning motto is chosen, there is a signature and avatar contest. Sadly for this year, the forum died halfway through, so we will be rerunning it again in December for all Gryffindor’s to participate in again. 2009′s motto is: Gryffindor, so insane we broke the padded walls. Which is fitting, seeing as we actually broke the common room.
