Quidditch!

1. When Hagrid returns to Hogwarts after being sent to see the giants with Madame Maxime, Professor Umbridge questions him on his late return to school. She suspects that Hagrid had been to the mountains, but where does he tell her he has been? South of France



2. Professor Umbridge comes to Hagrid's Hut and searches his cabin one evening (as she believes Harry, Ron and Hermione are there visiting him at night when they are not supposed to). When she walks past the place where Harry, Ron and Hermione are hiding under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry holds his breath. False



3. A stately-looking witch in an emerald green shawl is one of the members of the Advance Guard who rescues Harry from Privet Drive. What is her name? Emmeline Vance



4. What is the name of the witch who was killed two weeks after the photo of the original Order of the Phoenix was taken? Marlene McKinnon



5. Which two fifth year Ravenclaw students does Dumbledore choose to be prefects? Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil



6. Which house was Rose Zeller sorted into? Hufflepuff



7. What is the color of Murtlap's essence? Yellow



8. Name the Ravenclaw girl who became prefect in Harry's fifth year Padma Patil



9. According to a healer's portrait at St. Mungo's hospital, which disease was Ron suffering from? Spattergroit



10. Which book did Harry give Hermione for Christmas? "New Theory of Numberology"

EXTRA POINTS: The actor who played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter will play Edward Cullen in Twilight.

I Cannot Rave Enough

about my spoiler, who has totally lived up to her title! Just look at all the fantastic things she sent me. Enna Kirts, you rock! She's from one of the larger cities in the Netherlands. In the middle ages it was a center for trade thanks to a canal that was dug to allow goods to go from the Rhine to Utrecht more easily. It was also important in church history.

First, I had to pick up the box at the post office because it was too large to fit in my mailbox. So I picked up it on my break at work. Boy, I had to sit with it at my desk all day at work without opening it. That was TORTURE! I didn't dare leave it in the car all day in 90 degree heat. What if she had sent me some of that delicious European chocolate?

As soon as I got home I tore the box open and tossed all the newspaper (written in Dutch. Lenny Kravitz was in the Dutch newspaper. Weird.) out of the box. Look! It's stuffed full of good things. Right on top was a post card of some of the famous sights in Utrecht like the Dom, and the canal. Enna had written me a nice note describing the contents of the box for me. She apologized for not including more items that were directly related to Hogwarts. Silly girl. She put in a lovely assortment of things related to the Netherlands including fabric with a Dutch theme. Can you see it it the pictures? Windmills and tulips and a Dutch boy and girl kissing. I think I'll make a table runner for the breakfast nook. And, yep, there's chocolate. A nice thick bar of the very best milk chocolate. I have to keep telling myself: Not until after supper! And there's a bag of yummy peppermints and another of Stroopwafels, which Enna confessed she had to buy a couple times because she kept eating them herself!

How can I even begin to describe the wonderful things Enna sent me? First there's the knitted bag in my favorite colors. I'm gonna take that with me to my knitting group this weekend, along with the handpainted Ravenclaw yarn. I haven't decided yet whether to make the Millicent Socks from

Cookie A. or the Chuck's Cabled Socks yet. I think the skein of variegated Regia will be nifty for the two-tone cabled socks. I have the KnitPicks Harmony needles to use, and the very nice stitch markers in Ravenclaw blue. She also sent a zippered bag to hold my double point knitting needles. Very very nice.


For me the very nicest thing in the box were the items that related to the Cathedral of St. Maarten. In case you couldn't tell from my opening paragraph, I am devoted to European history, particularly European history in the 13 and 14th centuries. I believe the Dutch refer to the catherdral today as the Dom. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture built in the 13th Century. Part of earning my history degree required a fairly in depth paper on a topic of our choice, and I chose Gothic architecture. I wanted to avoid all the obvious monuments like Chartres and Notre Dame and the cathedrals in built in France in the 12-13th centuries and concentrated on the later Gothic period in northern and western Europe. OK,OK, I'll stop teaching now. Anyway, my point is: this cathedral is one I had used in my paper. And Enna, that mind reading angel, sent me postcards and pictures from that church. See the postcards and the smaller lighter medieval images? They are *exactly* what I would have bought for myself if I had been in Utrecht. I'm dancing with glee.

Thank you, Enna! This is the best present I've had all year!

Homework for Ravenclaws

1. What is the literal translation of "Albus Dumbledore"?
White Busy Bee
2. "Occlumency" is not, in reality, a word. However, it seems to be derived from a familiar real word that means "to block". What is that word?
Occlude
3. Remus Lupin, the werewolf, has a name that is a double reminder of his traits. From what languages are his two names derived?
Greek and Latin
4. Percy Weasley's owl takes its name, quite appropriately, from the Greek messenger god. Who is this god?
Hermes
5. Many of the creatures studied in the Care of Magical Creatures class or encountered by Hogwarts students are based on mythological animals while many others were made up. Name a mythological animal which is studied and/or encourntered by Hogwarts students.
Unicorn
6. Harry is tried for the "crime" of using magic outside Hogwarts by the Wizengamot. From
what culture is the name "Wizengamot" derived?
Old Norse
7. The hospital in OotP is called St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Who was the real St. Mungo?
Saint Mungo is the commonly used name for Saint Kentigern (also known as Cantigernus (Latin) or Cyndeyrn Garthwys (Welsh)). He was the late 6th century apostle of the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in modern Scotland, and patron saint and founder of the city of Glasgow.
8. Dobby the house-elf gets his name from another kind of creature. In English folklore, what is a dobby?
A work horse
9. Mundungus Fletcher is a disreputable little wizard with a penchant for trading in stolen goods. What exactly does mundungus mean?
Poop
10. Harry's arch-nemesis throughout OotP is Professor Umbridge. Why is her name appropriate for her?
Because she takes umbrage at everything - especially at the breaking of rules/lawsAnd because almost everyone takes umbrage at her attitude

My Owl Has Left the Building

I tied the package I'm sending to my Spoilee to my Owl's leg and sent it off this afternoon. I hope she likes everything. I have almost nothing that is specifically Slytherin and I'm wishing now that I had gathered more things from Hogwarts.

Oh, well, too late to second guess myself. I guess I'll hear in a few days if she liked it.

Allergies Lead to Asthma and Asthma Leads to...

I honestly don't know what is more frightening than not being able to breathe. I did manage to drive myself to the Walk-In Clinic, but there was quite a wait and everyone could hear my struggles to breathe so they walked me down the hall to the ER.

So... I guess I need to make an appointment with my doctor to review my asthma meds. Gee, I sure wish I could go to the infirmary wing and let Madam Pomfrey heal me.

The worst thing is, this is the first time all term that I haven't blogged at least once during the week. Usually I blog multiple times.

End of Term is Getting Closer

The end of term is right around the corner. I have most everything I want for my spoilee's package. I'm just waiting on an item to come by owl and to put some last touches on the bag, and then it's off by owl. My plan is to finish everything up and get it sent by July 7.

The goofiest thing happened this morning. I went downtown to a specialty boutique I know to pick up a little goody for Perenelle and when I tried to open the shop door I found it was locked. I looked through the glass door and there was a woman wearing only her bra and knickers standing by the counter. The moment our eyes connected she dropped to hide behind the counter. I stared for a moment and decided that I would not get that particular item for my spoilee's package. Sorry, Perenelle. I wish Elanor had been with me. She would have made me laugh about it.

House points

Well, Ravenclaw House is firmly in third.

Good thing this is only a game! Competitive people don't take being in third place well.