The Daily Diviner - Issue 3

[The Daily Diviner]

Honeybadgers Win the House Cup!
Feature
Written by: kvmw
Edited by: MorganChi
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The House Cup has long been a tradition at Hogsworth. Dating back to the beginning of the school, the House Cup has been awarded to the House that gains the most points for excelling in various areas. Points can be gained through classes, dueling tournaments, flying tournaments, etc. And, for the final quarter of 2019, the winners of the House Cup is the Honeybadger house, gaining 22,201 points—an astounding amount! Today, I interview two Honeybadger staff members, Aria & Clairey.

All Hogsworth students know Clairey (Claireypants) as the Head of Honeybadger house! She is also the Head of Academics. Aria (BeanCheese) is also a member of the Honeybadger house, as well as a Prefect, a member of the Wizencouncil, and a fellow Daily Diviner writer!
[In this article, Clairey’s answers will be represented by a ‘C’ and Aria’s will be represented by an ‘A’.]

Q: To start off, is there anything you want to say to the Honeybadger students?
C: You guys are so amazing!! I’m super proud of how hard you all worked to earn those house points and how supportive everyone has been of each other! You’re all the best bunch of little badgers anyone could want!
A: I'm very proud of you guys for all your hard work and teamwork! You've all done a lot to get as many house points as possible and I find it lovely that you all encourage other Honeybaders to do so as well and reminders to vote, do the daily riddle, etc.

Q: What does the House Cup mean to you?
C: Honestly I think it’s just a really nice way to recognise how hard a house has worked as a team over the past quarter! Getting to have a little party in the courtyard to celebrate our hard work with our friends in other houses is a really nice bonus too!
A: Even though you'll likely see me with the Ravens role, I am a proud Ravenpuff but I also support every house so the House Cup means many things to me. Whichever house wins, I'm always super happy for the house that wins, but when it comes to my house, I always make sure to show Ravens/Honeybadger pride! Everyone in each house works equally as hard, and even to those houses that don't win, they should be such as proud because they've put a lot of effort into it too.

Q: What are the qualities of the Honeybadger house that helped them win the House Cup?
C: I think it’s got to be their kindness really, even if that’s a bit of a cliche. They were so good at encouraging each other and congratulating people on earning every single point, building people up when they needed a boost and celebrating others! They’re genuinely super kind and nice to each other, and I think the positive vibes just spread out and made everyone work even harder.
A: Apart from the obvious quality, which is kindness, I think that being in a certain house doesn't make the qualities different. I think many people are; hardworking, determined, motivated and have great sportsmanship. To Honeybadgers specifically the qualities may vary due to their personality, as all Honeybadgers I've met are sweet, kind and selfless so the reasons they've been earning house points could in fact be for the others in the house instead of it just for themselves and when you're doing it for others you always get that extra boost to do even better!

Q: Is there anything you want to say to encourage the Honeybadger students for the next House Cup?
C: Just keep being amazing, taking care of each other and having fun! I think it was the fact that everyone was really happy and having fun earning points that kept people going last time, so I’m sure that motivation will carry over again!
A: First and foremost, good luck! You're an amazing and kind house, truly one of a kind. I know for certain you'll do fantastically, you're encouragement to each other and determination will get you far, and even if you don't win, don't be disheartened, this win will most certainly not be your last.

Thank you to both Clairey and Aria for doing this interview and congratulations to the Honeybadgers for winning the House Cup!an they do it next time, or will another House take the Cup? Only time will tell—good luck to the Griffins, Serpents, Ravens, and Honeybadgers on the next House Cup!

 

[The Daily Diviner]

2019, 2020, and the Future
Editorial
Written by: ShaneChi
Edited by: Cweamish
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2019 was quite a year for our little wizarding world. With countless events participated in, much fun had, and many friends made, 2019 has been an unforgettable experience for us all. The year kicked off with loads of fun events like the Valentine’s Day event, as well as our first ever Spring Festival! Later on in the year we enjoyed celebrating the harvest season with the Butterbrew Festival, and finally concluded our year with the Winter Waltz celebration of Winter and the New Year. In addition to these events, we also saw countless updates including the first half of the Revelius update, the invention of player resets, and the legalization of LabyMod! These updates and events made 2019 a year to remember, but just what do we think about it?

Ultimately, the variety of festive events and the introduction of the new Spring Festival really sold the year for me! I was really pleased to see innovation being dedicated to our events and truly helped immerse me in the Hogsworth spirit. Personally, there was only one thing I saw as absent from our year. Come late 2018, starting with the 2018 Butterbrew Festival and ending around the 2018 Winter Waltz, there was utilization of House Point competitions for students of Hogsworth involved in events. I personally fell in love with these competitions and always enjoyed participating in them to generate a feeling of house pride and building stronger ties with my housemates. It is for this reason I hope to see these competitions return in future events and what I feel would have made 2019 a perfect year. However, the innovation from our staff in producing outstanding new updates and changes easily made up for the lack of one feature. Overall, I was extremely happy with 2019 and am looking forward to seeing what comes in the future.

As 2020 rolls on, many are left with the question of what is to come in the future. In my opinion, I look forward to seeing our staff team develop more outstanding and immersive events and updates. Innovation is what makes a great community, and having such a hard-working and positive memberbase is what makes us Potterworld. With perhaps the return of House competitions in events, I am excited to see the next great year that the future has in store for us. The Daily Diviner wishes all of its readers a happy New Year, best of luck in 2020, and an outstanding day!

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[The Daily Diviner]

Flying and Dueling Challenges
Games & Sports
Written by: BeanCheese
Edited by: MorganChi
​

Hello everyone and welcome back to another issue of the Daily Diviner! Today, I’ll be talking about Flying and Dueling Challenges! Previously, these classes would rarely be taught, but with the increasing numbers of Arena Masters, especially ones who love these challenges, these challenges can happen on a daily basis. The first Challenge (which was a flying challenge) was first taught by FliNanigans on March 26th of last year, and the first Dueling Challenge was taught on March 27th; the day after. From then on, they would happen a few times a week to a few times a month, but that isn’t exactly the case now. Flying Challenges and Dueling Challenges are held by the Arena Masters, though some Arena Masters prefer one over the other.

Flying Challenges can help prepare you for Flying Qualifiers, which makes them more challenging, hence the name Flying ‘Challenges’. Typically, the kind of challenges that happen are ones to help you get the feeling of tournaments, such as activities like relay races and lineups, mentioned by Sophie (Redmire). The structure of Flying Classes and Flying Challenges are very similar. You will have to try and be the first one to finish the map (unless you are playing Sharks versus Guppies in flying class, in which the goal is to not get caught). The first person to win in the group that is flying will proceed to the final if there are multiple groups, if not, they will simply get extra Academic Credits. Sophie, an Arena Master who hosts Flying Challenges often, tells us her opinion on them:

“I like hosting the flying Challenges because it allows students to have a taste of qualifiers and the tournament more than twice a month. It allows them to be more comfortable in the environment of high stakes, where the high stakes aren’t involved yet. So, the idea is less intimidating and they’re more encouraged to prepare and participate in the qualifiers/finals. All in all, I just want less students to be completely confused or too intimidated to join flying qualifiers. The more participants the better!”

Dueling Challenges are made for the same reason as Flying Challenges; to prepare you for that month’s Qualifiers, though in this sense Dueling Qualifiers. They’re competitive and fierce to get you in the spirit of doing your best in the Qualifiers, but of course, staying calm and settled is the key to not getting too worked up. Leyla tells us she likes to host games such as King of the Hill and Musical Chairs to give a fun variety of what you can do, as well as them being more competitive games. Leyla also tells us why she likes to hosts them:

“I like to host Dueling Challenges as there aren’t many dueling classes around my time so it’s fun to give the players that are awake around my time a chance to not only duel, but prepare them for Qualifiers if they choose!”

So, if you’d like to go to one of these Qualifiers, it’s recommended to attend the Flying or Dueling Challenge so you can prepare and get a taste of what you’re going to see. Due to the classes happening more frequently, you are likely to see at least one of each week, and sometimes multiple Challenges every other day, so don’t worry about not being able to attend these! We hope you enjoy these classes and enjoy the feeling of what the tournaments are like!

 

[The Daily Diviner]

Potterwatch New Year's Interviews
Lifestyle
Written by: MorganChi
Edited by: Cweamish
​

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Daily Diviner. In this week’s Lifestyle article, I will be interviewing some members of Potterwatch about all things New Year’s Resolutions. The Potterwatch members I will be interviewing today are Toby (Pikachu_789), Rani (RiverberryRani), and Leyla (Anoobalous).

The first question I asked these interviewees was “What is your New Year’s Resolution(s)?” Our first answer, coming from Toby was, “To try and maintain a normal sleep schedule.” Our second reply was from Rani, “My New Year’s Resolution is just to do the best I can for Potterworld, and make new friendships I hope will last forever. Besides that, regarding in real life, I want to do the best I can in school and try to only get one C at most.” Lastly, our third interviewee Leyla said, “My New Year’s Resolutions are to be a more positive person of myself, to be more selfless, get more sleep, to stress less, to travel more, and to be more adventurous.”

The second question that I asked these Potterwatch Performers was “How do you plan on maintaining your said resolution?” Toby’s response to this was, “I will try not to stay up until 2AM playing Minecraft and not procrastinate on my homework so I am not forced to stay up late until I get it done.” Rani’s idea for this was, “There’s certain things in life that you just can’t push, and honestly for me this is one of those things. I would rather it happen naturally than I force it to happen. So, I just plan to wait and see where life takes me.” and Leyla’s plan was, “I will track my progress and little by little, I will get to my goal.”

The third and final question that was asked of these interviewees was “What is your opinion on New Year’s Resolutions?” Toby’s reply was, “I think that people don’t usually follow them. Most people might intend to follow through with theirs but that doesn’t mean it will actually last.” Rani’s belief was, “New Year’s Resolutions are one of those things that are okay to have, but at the same time not everyone is forced to make them. Some people would rather let the year play out with no set goal in mind except for a few broad goals. If a person has them, or if they don’t, it’s perfectly fine and we have no right to judge them based on it.” and last but certainly not least, Leyla’s response was, “I think that New Year’s Resolutions are cool, but why wait to make a change in your life when you can do that anytime? I don’t see why you can’t just make the change then and there without waiting a whole year. That being said, it also creates something for us to look forward to for the New Year to come and if it gives you an opportunity to make a positive difference in your life then by all means, take that chance and go for it.”

That’s all for this week’s Lifestyle article, I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about these Performers’ thoughts and ideas on New Year’s Resolutions. I hope you all have a lovely start to your 2020, and I’ll see you next week!

 

[The Daily Diviner]

A Resolution Worth Making
Original Works
Written by: BaffledRabbit
Edited by: MorganChi
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The sun descended behind the jagged, mountainous horizon, the stars spreading as a blanket across the sky above the dark spires of the castle. In the moonlight the lake reflected the constellations above like dark crystal glass, and all was quiet across the grounds, save the gentle cooing of a distant owl.

Amid the corridors of Hogsworth, students traversed the cold stone floors to their respective common rooms – all but four. In the shadows of the now-abandoned transfiguration courtyard, four silhouettes could be seen by few, leaning against the pillars of the roofed walkway around the green courtyard. In the darkness the students whispered back and forth, their eyes wide and cloaks pulled tightly about them in the cool breeze.

“Christmas was so beautiful here, wasn’t it?” one of them, a girl, spoke to the others.

“Yeah,” one of the boys replied, “I’ve gotta say I missed waking up Christmas morning and opening presents with my family, but it’s nice being at Hogsworth with all the holiday decorations, especially when there’s no classes and less pesky Serpents around.”

“Oh shush, Harvey - they’re not that bad,” the girl scolded. “Anyway, at least our parents are back from their vacation now, and we’ll be going home for New Year’s. My family always has a beautiful formal dinner party with all our friends and relatives - the food is amazing.”

“That’s great Natasha,” Harvey smirked, “but it sounds kind of boring. My family goes to Diagonal Lane and watches their spectacular - and a bit haphazard - firework display.”

“Mine does the same - I heard someone caught on fire last year,” another girl spoke up. “What about you, Sebastian?”

The fourth member of the party shivered, standing a bit further away from the group as everyone else huddled close. He paused a moment before replying, “My family used to host a party with friends, and then head out over the hills behind the village and set off fireworks over the lake.” His voice drifted off a bit as he remembered the dazzling lights reflecting on the water’s surface, and the cheers of his old friends and family - voices which he hadn’t heard for some time. His parents had perished a year back in an incident with a couple of escaped magical creatures they were studying - they were both Magizoologists. Since then he’d been alone, except for his friends here at Hogsworth.

The other girl put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Seb. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. You must miss them a lot.”

“It’s fine, Sienna. I’ve heard that the Hogsworth firework display is a wonder itself.” “Though there’s probably a bit less butterbrew drinking and shenanigans going on,” Natasha added.

“Oh, it’s a big castle. The professors can’t be watching everyone all the time,” Harvey winked. They stood in silence for a moment, and Natasha sensed a mixed feeling of shame and sympathy creep up on her. She’d been so caught up in thinking about seeing her family, she’d forgotten that Seb didn’t even have that to look forward to. She couldn’t imagine not seeing her friends and family back home. She decided to change the subject.

“So, resolutions - that’s a big part of the new year, right? What resolutions are you guys gonna make this year? It’s a good time to make them, since it’s the start of a new decade.”

Harvey was the first to reply, and Natasha immediately regretted asking. “My resolution is to spend more time with my family on holidays, and to write to them more often-”

Natasha jabbed him with her elbow, stared at him hard and made a subtle gesture toward Sebastian. Harvey shrugged. She sighed. For a Raven, he could be so clueless sometimes.

Sebastian was trying his best to look cheerful, even managing a smile as Natasha sent him a concerned glance, but she could tell he was feeling down, and his friends weren’t helping.

She had always believed that spending time with family over the holidays is the most important part, but now she began to realize that maybe being that family for someone else could be just as important. She had an idea.

“You know what, I think I know what my resolution will be. Everyone thinks resolutions have to be a long term lifestyle change, but really “resolution” can simply mean a decision of any kind. And I’ve come to a resolution.”

“What’s that?” Sienna queried.

“I always wanted to see what Christmas looks like at Hogsworth,” Natasha began. “Now that I’ve seen it, I kinda want to know what New Year’s is like, too.”

“Natasha, don’t you do this to me,” Seb protested. “I’m gonna feel bad if you stay here with me-”

“I’m kinda curious, too, now that you mention it,” Harvey chimed in. “Plus I’ve seen the fireworks at Diagonal Lane a thousand times - they’re always the same.”

“Guys, you really don’t have to - you should be with your family for the holiday.”

“We will be. That’s why we’re staying.” Sienna grinned.

“Wow, Sienna, you’re such a stereotypical Honeybadger,” Natasha snickered, “that was really cheesy. But it’s true, Seb. We’re here for you. It’s a new year, and a new decade even - we’ll make resolutions, watch the fireworks, and dream about the things yet to come in the 2020’s. No one should be alone for that. Most people give up on their resolutions after January anyway... but I think that we’d all agree, this is a resolution worth making.” Harvey and Sienna nodded in agreement.

Sebastian had a bittersweet feeling - he felt bad that his friends were staying for him, away from their families, but he didn’t feel so alone anymore.

Fast forward a couple days later, New Year’s Eve had come. Four silhouettes could be seen sitting on one of the castle balconies, sipping warm mugs of butterbrew as the clock tower struck midnight, and the most beautiful firework display erupted in the silver clouds above them, a bright and beautiful beginning to the new year to come.