Scavenger Hunt (Part 1)

I was really trying to hold out until I got all the pictures, or at least the two in my mind, but I think I should just post what I have, since it's already late as it is....So without further ado, my photos!

First is my engagement ring (it's sitting atop the tower of Pisa)

Secondly is a broom, a common household item of any witch or wizard

Then comes the horcrux; I was surprised to find an object of such dark magic in my house! I suspect that my husband (who is a Slytherin through and through) had something to do with it's appearance...

Next, we have a bottle of Felix Felicis, my lucky potion, that I finally finished brewing recently

I found a certain Muggle artifact that Mr. Weasley would love to have....it's a plug converter! The appliances in my Muggle home are from America, so they're not compatible with Italian plugs. We have some actual energy converters for the larger Muggle appliances (like the television), but for the things like the laptop computer that have an AC adapter, we can simply use this plug that can change the number and shape of prongs that go into the wall

The next object I found in my travels is a tree changing seasons; this one happens to be in my Muggle neighbor's yard...I get to see this beauty every day...(the tree is now orange!)

I was fortunate enough to find a used textbook from a Muggle class I had taken a few years back

Oh, and I snapped a picture of the butterbeer that I was sent by owl from Ophelia Croockshanks while I was laid up at home. It was so sweet of her to think of me, since I missed the first Hogsmeade weekend and all! Thanks, Ophelia! It was tasty! :)

I found this fanged frisbee abandoned in one of the classrooms at Hogwarts, and it was only after I took it as my own that I found out they were banned in the school halls! So I brought it home. :)

And I can't believe I found this Boggart in my Muggle house! This magical creature turned into the Muggle version of a ghost when the Muggle children I was watching stumbled across it. Luckily, I was able to rid the house of it without anyone (even the MoM!) noticing...

And lastly, I found this raven's feather. Don't be fooled by it's color! It was a feather left over from an upper-year's Transfiguration class. I'm guessing that either the student couldn't turn it back to it's rightful color, or it somehow shed this feather before being turned back to black.

Unfortunately, that's all I have right now. Naturally, I'll be posting the other items as I get them, because even though it's late, I still have to complete the entire assignment! It would go against my nature to not! So keep your eyes peeled for the rest!

My Marker

So it's late, but I'm at last getting my scavenger hunt pictures up...I was afraid that my stay in St. Mungo's followed by the doctor ordered bed rest at my Muggle home would mean that I had let my roomies down, but alas, Rowena and Arianna didn't even post any of the pictures! I sure am glad I didn't pull a classic me and stay up all night searching for all the desired objects....but at least one Soaring Eagle has to post! So to begin, here is my marker:

I figured it was appropriate, seeing as how my Muggle residence is currently in Italy...

Oh yeah, I suppose I should take this time to share photos of the offending packages that landed me in St. Mungo's...

The first package was from fellow Ravenclaw Fiera Firenze. :) She was helping me to get my hands on some things for Draco's kit that I couldn't get shipped to my address, so I'm not posting any pictures of the full package, but here's what she stuck in there for me! :D I got very excited when I saw these pins! They still make me smile every time I look at them. :) They're decorating my crafting bag.

This one was from Minee. A prize for winning the quote pop quiz. I love the little sewn bag, can't wait to use the yarn, and this brings my collection of stitch markers to two whole sets! :D

This one was from my Muggle sister. There's nothing really special about the yarn or anything, it's just your plain old, soft Caron yarn, but this many packages in one day with yarn in them? Too cool! ;) She sent it to me to make her a poncho, along with a copy of her wedding invitation (she got married on Sept. 19th) and a little activity book for my boys.

And lastly...

...the package that sent me to St. Mungo's. My beautiful hat from Elladora and some sock yarn in Ravenclaw colors. I'm so excited to get to make myself my first ever pair of house socks!!!

That many owls setting upon any person at once is enough to do some serious damage without even the duel hat being a part of the deliveries! But I have one more picture to get before I post my scavenger hunt results....::scampers away clutching her camera::

My down time...

Oh, how I long for the halls of Hogwarts! I’m getting a bit stir-crazy being cooped up in my Muggle residence while waiting for the all clear for me to resume classes. I guess it’s a good thing that I’m out of the future duels, since I doubt I’d be able to have access to the pattern the moment of its release.

It really is almost disturbing to find out just how much time I spend in my transfiguration studies. I’ve been babysitting some Muggle kids that have been demanding every second of my attention, and I still have been getting bored! I have some good ideas on promoting elf awareness once I return to Hogwarts, though! I think I’ll try to put together a day where S.P.E.W. members remove all furniture from the assigned dorm, clean it thoroughly and then replace the furniture. I’ve been doing similar projects on a smaller scale, and they’ve been oddly satisfying.

And even though I’ve been MIA at school, I’ve been pushing hard to keep up with my studies! I’ve made excellent progress on Draco’s package, and I am getting more and more excited as each piece of it falls into place! I have also been hard at work in the intra-house scavenger hunt! I felt very bad for all but abandoning Rowena and Arianna with my St. Mungo’s trip. I contacted Olive, though, so hopefully I’ll get a little bit more time to get my pictures in. My Muggle Internet has not been working, so I didn’t even have access to the list of what I needed to take photographs of! I got the list last night, though. One of my Muggle companions let me use her Internet. I will post the pictures as soon as I can, I promise! Here’s to hoping the Soaring Eagles (I think that was what we had settled on for a name, though I’m not entirely certain) gets a bunch of points!!!

I was also very excited to find I had a couple of e-owls I had been looking for waiting in my inbox when I used the Internet last night. I got permission from the designers of the patterns that were used in the first round of the hat bracket of the duels to sell some with all of the proceeds going to fund cancer research! But I’d better get back to these Muggle children…they really are time consuming…

Hogsmeade...

Due to circumstances beyond my control involving out of control owls, I, unfortunately missed out on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year! To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But my stay in St. Mungo's wasn't all bad, I suppose. I was able to get some much needed rest, though it seems that I lost my duel. To say I'm not disappointed would be a lie, but at the same time, I now have more time to devote to my studies and S.P.E.W.

I really hate to cut this short, but the Muggle contraption called the "Internet" has gone out at my Muggle residence (I was instructed my St. Mungo's staff to take off a bit more time to recuperate) and I am at present borrowing the use of a friend's computer. I hope to be back at Hogwarts soon!!!

Daily Prophet Special Rush Edition

Hogwarts Student Found Near Death After Owl Assault

Oct. 3, 2008, 5:10 p.m.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (DP) - A Hogwarts student has been transferred to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries today after an absurd raining of owls. Hermione Bagnold of Ravenclaw House was eating a late dinner in the Great Hall with her roommates, Rowena Bladvak and Arriana Stylos, when a group of owls appeared to attack her. It turns out that they were all merely overzealous in delivering their packages, all being new owls from various owleries around the globe. The Ministry of Magic is looking into the situation to determine if this was truly by mere chance.

"It was pretty scary," says Rowena of the attack. "Out of nowhere, owls came all at once for her. One from a yarn dyer, one from the U.S. with potions supplies, one from a member of her own family, and another with a contest prize." Hermione seemed to obtain nothing but surface scratches and bruises from the initial group, but the last owl that came in is the one that kept her from being held at Hogwarts' hospital wing. A package from a certain Elladora Madley contained a hat that all but finished her off.

Elladora's representative maintains that it was an act of following dueling club procedures, and nothing more. Elladora herself has not yet been reached for comment, though she appeared to be overjoyed at the news her package found it's mark.

"Hermione was pretty stressed out about the duel's outcome," confides fellow Ravenclaw Minerva Wood. "She sent her owl out for delivery first and was anticipating going far in the tournament. I guess Elladora just had a better owl."

An anonymous Slytherin scoffed at the idea that it came down to the owls. "I suspect dark magic involvement," he states mysteriously. "I mean, Hermione finished her hat first and then helped out the others struggling with the pattern on top of it all! I think that Elladora should have surrendered on those terms alone."

A member of Gryffindor House, Prendolyn Wilcox, disagrees. "Hermione was all about fair. She helped out a lot of us that were struggling with figuring the hat out. She said it was an unfair advantage if others were seriously struggling with it. There are some things that are just beyond control, like international owls."

A second Slytherin, Ophelia Crookshanks, a friend of Hermione's long before the entered at Hogwarts, was only slightly shocked. "She did it to herself, you know. She helped her opponent out. Encouraged her to keep trying. I've seen Hermy do it before. When we were in Muggle school together, there was one spot open for Drum Major, and there was only one person that was an actual threat to her obtaining her goal, and he was going to give up! She told him he was better than he thought and convinced him to try out anyway, and he beat her out by half of a point!"

That story does not surprise her soft-spoken roommate Arriana. "She is a very encouraging person. I hope she pulls through!"

Hermione remains under close watch at St. Mungo's, with little hope of recovering, but many hope that she will beat the odds and come back to the duels, thirsty for more.