Hello and welcome to our second edition of Royal Holloway’s Daily Prophet. In this edition we will have overviews of forthcoming events (especially the much anticipated Yule Ball) as well as a recap of what went on last term! There will also be an update of the housepoints as well as other Harry-related excitement! Subsequent editions will aim to keep members up to date with forthcoming events along with providing a space for people to submit articles about any aspect of Harry Potter that they like and also try to stimulate debate and discussion. If you want to submit an article or any other form of writing on or around the theme of Harry Potter, please send it to the society’s email address - HarryPotterSociety@su.rhul.ac.uk - with the subject line Daily Prophet Submission. We look forward to hearing from you!

A word from our Dumbledore (President)

I hope everyone enjoyed the events of the first term at Hollowarts. We had a very successful studios tour trip with 53 people attending. We may have lost to the Tolkien society in our competition quiz, but it was a morale victory for the society as 5 times as many people turned up. Quidditch is slowly starting to take off and we hope more people try it out this term. We also tried our hand at pumpkin carving for Halloween which sprung some very interesting and creative designs.

This term is going to be bigger and better with the Yule ball and the triwizard tournament so buy your tickets and prepare to put your name into the goblet of fire and compete to be the triwizard champion!! We will of course have our usual quizzes

and film nights for those who like to have a break from essay writing and reading. We look forward to celebrating with thousands across the country, the Harry Potter Book Night by having an evening dedicated to the books. This will involve quizzes and guest the quotes games as well as various fun tasks to do with the characters and objects of the books.

Later in the term is also our Harry Potter SU night. For those of you who weren’t here last year or did not attend it was a very successful evening with potion themes cocktails; a platform nine and three quarters and even a Hagrid walking around greeting students. So make sure you keep your eyes out for when the tickets go on sale!!!

The house cup is now in full swing for those of you who haven’t noticed. Attached to the end of this edition of the Daily Prophet are the current standings for the house competition. This term there will be many more opportunities for you to gain house points and put your house in the lead so make sure you get involved. I

would also like to remind people that they can write for the next edition of the Daily Prophet which we hope will be coming up soon.

I end with a few words.. Nitwit! Blubber! oddment! tweak!

Leanne George, President

The Harry Potter Novels

It’s where it all started. Seven novels from J.K.Rowling started the major series that we know today as Harry Potter.

The Philosopher’s stone was first published in 1997!! Can you believe that?! 18 years ago! And people are even crazier about it now. Rowling was turned down by eight other publishing houses before Bloomsbury decided to offer her a £2,500 advance for its publication. Can anyone imagine a world without Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore?

Rowling states that the idea of Harry, simply ‘fell into her head’. On her website it says that “I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy

who did not know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.". This is one time I am grateful for a delayed train, who knows, if that train had come on time, Rowling may not have had the time she needed to develop this idea.

Bloomsbury only decided to print 500 hardback versions for the first print run, 300 of which went to libraries, so if you ever see a hardback copy, keep hold of it!! It’s worth a lot of money. Critics started to liken Rowling to people like Roald Dahl, and that it “had all the makings of a classic.” So much so that, schools are even starting to base their A levels on it, (my creative writing piece had to be based around Harry Potter).

On the 5th February, the Harry Potter Society is holding the National Harry Potter Book Night. I think it’s really important to remember where things started. All the merchandise, the films, even the theme parks would not have happened if it weren’t for the books. A lot of people have only seen the films and haven’t discovered the wonders that are in the books. Therefore whenever I get a free moment, the first book I reach for is Harry Potter, because it reminds me of my childhood and because it is now a modern classic.

Lucy Gatford, Secretary

A reminder of our Studios tour trip

For any of those people who missed it (seriously where were you???) in

November the society took a trip down the road to the warner brother’s studios tour in Watford. Not only do we have the advantage at Hollowarts of going to university in a building that literally looks like Hogwarts but we also live 20 minutes down the road from where the magic came to life on screen. I have now had the pleasure of going to the tour on four different occasions and yet there is still something new I notice with each trip and I still look around me in amazement at how the magic of the wizarding world was brought to life on screen.

Hogwarts in the snow was the theme and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The great hall was decked out with Christmas trees and a full Christmas roast spread across the four long tables. This theme continued into Gryffindor common room and the dormitories which were looking very festive with their tinsel. In the main studio, staff were showing visitors the different types of snow used in the films. Past the Quidditch experience was the newly established dark arts section, which to all those who haven’t seen yet I would highly recommend. The wax work of Charity Burbage, the muggle studies teacher, hanging above lord Voldemort’s dinner table is as creepy as it was in the films. Out into the courtyard and I was pleasantly surprised to see the bridge open for once!!! Here we all stopped to enjoy the butterbeer sitting outside number 4 privet drive.

The tour finishes as you walk around the 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts castle, also covered in snow for the winter theme. In my opinion this is the most ingenious set of the entire movies and made me want to own one in my own house. After spending 15 minutes circling the castle trying to find the best angle for a selfie we finally descended upon the shop, which is both every fans dream and nightmare. You could quite literally leave kitted out with the Hogwarts uniform, a new wand, plenty of Quidditch gear and a few chocolate frogs for the train journey but you would also be considerably poorer. So alas self-restraint has to be employed.

Overall I think the trip was a huge success. We all left with our pockets considerably lighter as we left the gift shop but with our cameras full of pictures from our experience. I hope everyone had as an enjoyable day as I did and that next year’s trip will be even bigger and better than this years.

Leanne George, President

The Royal Holloway Harry Potter Society is proud to present:

The Yule Ball

On Thursday 22nd January Founder’s Dining Hall will once again be full of

Christmas spirit, decorated from head to toe in snowflakes, baubles and tinsel. Founder’s has been turned into the magical hall at Hollowarts, Royal Holloway’s very own Hollowarts! So slip on your dressrobes and come and enjoy the live band, the Harry Potter themed drinks and the photo both filled with props from the world of Harry Potter.

There will be a raffle with awesome Harry Potter themed prizes. All proft will go to Lumos! Also, we will be announcing the first task of the Triwizard Tournament so come put your name into the Goblet of fire! With tickets being only £10 for members and £12 for non-members there is no reason not to come along and bring your friends.

As professor McGonagall once said, “The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to — er — let our hair down."

So the crucial questions really is: can you dance like a Hippogriff?

You can buy tickets from the SU website (www.su.rhul.ac.uk/yuleball). £10 for members, £12 for non-members

Pippa Bolton, events officer

An update on Quidditch

Sadly last term proved that Potterheads might not be the most athletic people if Quidditch attendance was anything to go by. Nevertheless, we are not disheartened and are optimistically thinking that Saturday afternoons might not be the preferred exercise slots for everyone. Consequently we are looking into changing the day and or time of training so keep your eyes peeled on the relevant pages for any updates. Meanwhile, please come if you can. It is fun, I promise (and I’ve been first-aid trained so it’s now safe)

Georgina Marsay, Quidditch Captain

The Much Anticipated house points

Gryffindor: 175

Hufflepuff: 250

Ravenclaw: 295

Slytherin: 120

A final treat!!

P R F E U J L T Q A H X A H H U O S X R G R Z O A U U B W G P D K L X O L M H P H F R D A G N D J Y P D E Y M X K X U S B I V P N T Z E D R F T I M V P F Y C A D H P L F N U B O O X F F R O H K E U B H B E Z L N Y W E R R D P R O M N C M D O R J A H A E E G I V U M P E R G G Q C L H W W K N S D T M S Q R Y F R A V E N C L A W O W A H F E R E N O I M R E H R K J U V T C J L W M W E J C T Y H I S W W E I A H G E K I U B N B P R Y G Y F Z M H H M A

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