Australia vs New Zealand
By Nick Shwimmer

Hello Everyone! Last week, the Woollongong Warriors and the Thundelarra Thunderers vied for the chance to represent Australia against the Moutohora Macaws of New Zealand. At the end of a long, 4-hour match, the Thunderers were named the champions of Australia and therefore moved on to face New Zealand’s Moutohora Macaws. Just yesterday, they faced off to be crowned the Quidditch Champions of Oceania.

The Teams
The Thunderlarra Thunderers were the winners of last week’s match verses their fiercest rivals, the Woollongong Warriors. Living in the Australian Outback, they are said to have an advantage over other teams as a Quidditch Stadium easily fits into place. Meanwhile, the Moutohora Macaws make their home in Moutohora/Motuhora, New Zealand. It is a small island off of the coast of New Zealand, and so it is said that their Quidditch skills are not as developed due to their surroundings. Nevertheless, they have proved that they are just as good as any other team in the past.

The Game
This game was a rather short game which only lasted approximately twenty minutes. Both teams were astounded by the speed of the game and all fans applauded the seeker when they caught the snitch in close to record time. Instead of doing the usual Play-By-Play, since that would take a long time, below is a Minute-By-Minute Report on the Game… with intervals of 5 minutes.
Minutes 1-5: The Game Begins! The Golden Snitch and Bludgers are released, followed by the Quaffle. Almost instantly, New Zealand’s seeker comes within inches of catching the snitch by minute 3. As he reached out his hand, he furrowed his eyebrows in frustration and leaned forward a little too much. Falling off of his broom from an approximate 60 feet, mediwizards attended to him immediately. Though he was not able to continue in the game, Healers confirm that he will be able to play in the near future. Meanwhile, a New Zealand Chaser is also knocked off of their broom by a bludger in these first five minutes. Tough beginning for New Zealand. Nevertheless, the chaser was able to return the game soon and a total of 30 points were scored. Thunderlarra Thunderers :: 20, Moutohora Macaws :: 10
Minutes 6-10: Apparently, the New Zealand alternate seeker proved to be not as skilled as the previous, but equal in skill to the Australian. It is said that had the first seeker been a little more patient, New Zealand could have won the match and set a world record. Nevertheless, neither seeker came close to catching the snitch in this time. No casualties occurred either. However, many, many points were scored. The Thunderers were able to snag 40 Points while the Macaws were able to glean 30. Thunderlarra Thunderers :: 60, Moutohora Macaws :: 40
Minutes 11-15: These few minutes came quick, with many points scored and many casualties. BOTH keepers suffered blows to the head by bludgers and New Zealand’s alternate was unfortunately able to match the oncoming chasers. 80 Points were scored on the Macaws and only 30 on the Thunderers. As players were distracted by the sight of both bludgers exploding (by hitting each other), the flawless chasers of Australia were able to score a quick 30 points. Thunderlarra Thunderers :: 170, Moutohora Macaws :: 70
Minutes 16-20: Though the game came close to going over these 20 minutes, it was interesting nonetheless. New Zealand’s keeper remained incapable of catching any shots thrown by the Australian Chasers, allowing 40 more points to be scored! It all came down to the snitch for New Zealand, and after a miraculous move by a seeker, the snitch was caught! About 150 feet in the air, a seeker risked jumping off of his broom and caught the snitch (landing safely on his broomstick again) for… New Zealand!

The Results
MOUTOHORA MACAWS WIN 220-210! While it was an incredibly close game, the Moutohora Macaws of New Zealand were able to win the Oceanic Championship! Parties were heard throughout the night in New Zealand and surrounding islands.

By: Seymore Whydontcha

I’ve gotten rather used to being awakened at very strange hours these past few weeks. My crystal ball has not been this busy in quite some time, and is actually a bit refreshing, if I do say so myself. Last night’s wake up call, was not to a child’s crying, or screams of any kind. Instead, if was of laughter unlike any I’ve ever heard in all my years - which happens to be quite a large number. Anyway, I thought the laughter may have been from people bringing in the new year in celebration.. this was not the case. For one thing, the laughter wasn’t as loud as it would have been, if there were people outside celebrating, and the reason is, the laughter was coming from my parlor! I have been debating with myself on whether or not I should move my crystal ball down to the basement area, so I could possibly get a good night’s sleep for once, but then I would not be able to alert the Wizarding World of the strange things I’m being shown.
Well, upon entering my parlor, the fog in my crystal ball was a bright purple color - which usually means a good omen, although sometimes it can change depending on certain things changing the course of the event. With so much happening at Hogwarts lately, and my concern for the students there, I was ecstatic at seeing the bright purple fog. The scene inside opened up to show me a valiant duel of sorts, between Professors and dark wizards. Now, remember, even though the fog usually means something good is going to happen, it is not written in stone. There is always a chance that something will change the course of the scene inside the crystal ball. The scene didn’t stay on the duel long, it switched quickly to students celebrating at an end of term feast, graduation and award ceremony. Sadly, this is all I was shown on this matter, as the fog changed from it’s bright purple, and back to it’s regular misty fog.

Inside Scoop

This reporter has been given the inside scoop, about our Lovely Lioness Prof. Lena Svarri. She has recently found out she is expecting a baby! Congrats to both she and RJ Moncrief, on this great news!

Mr. Moncrief’s reaction to the news, was exactly what this reporter expected. Well when Lena told me the first thing that popped to mind was utter joy. I felt like a little kid on christmas day its a great feeling and an even more wonderful surprise. I can’t wait for them to be born. I know for a fact that she’ll make a great mother, i just hope i can make a great dad.

I believe both Lena and RJ will be AWESOME parents, and, as you can tell by RJ’s statement, we can pretty much believe that they are expecting twins! Once more, I want to congratulate both of them, and wish them all the best in their new and excitement filled years to come!

By: Lorinda Swansong

• Welcome to 2010, a new year, with new possibilities! Hooray!
• And, a new Governor! Please welcome Prof. Adreia Kragen to the all-star Governing line-up for 2010. Well done Professor!
• There’s an exciting new contest - H.O T-shirt contest! Judges are:- Prof. Aine MacArthur, Prof. Alice Reed, Prof. Tamara Guffrey, Prof. Stella Travers and Prof. Hortensia Lovingsgood. Round one is - design a crest for each house. Good luck everyone!
• Prefects and Head Students have been announced! Congratulations to Louis Weasley (Head Boy), Ariana Darkwood (Head Girl), and the following, who are Prefects:- Lyra Elani, Izzy Beckett, Albus Potter, Dominique Weasley, Jessenia Archer, Amarali Mendes, Steven Sprout, Leondil Guffey, Danica Fitzroy, Nick Shwimmer, Jessica Ashley, Adrian Adams, Ginger Wadsworth, Kayla Cruz, Ulrich Macnair, Josh Daniels.

• Anna Aragray will be in London with her family from January 3rd - 8th. At the same time, Fred Weasley will be Fred-napped (?) by the Dark Wizards, and Siob will be frolickling in Ireland.
• Prof. Aine MacArthur will be absent from 2nd January to the 6th, so any inquires about the T-shirt comp should be directed to one of the other judges (see notices above). Also missing at that time, Elisabeth, , and other assorted characters.
• Lilith Moonstorm is on tour from the 1st to 6th January. No tears or flowers are neccessary.

That’s all from me until next time. See ya!

He’s our new Head Boy and now, as voted by you, Writer of the Week! Here’s what he had to say in responce to my fabulous questions:-

My name is Louis Weasley
I am in Gryffindor house
I am 14 years old
An interesting fact about me is I have a soft spot for broccoli.
My favorite subject at Hogwarts is I guess potions.
My worst subject at Hogwarts is All of them really.
Outside of class, my favorite pass time is pulling pranks.
Three words I would use to describe myself are easygoing, fun, and kinda weird.
Three words my friends would use to describe me are wickedly cool, hotstuff, and random.

By Beatrice Langley

Hello and a pleasant day to you all! This is another rendition of the Ravenclaw Report! First of all, Happy New Year everyone! Get those new year’s resolution figured out and get them done! It’s a new year and hence, a new beginning for some of us. Like our beloved Head of House, Professor Adriea Kragen’s start as one of the Governors! Congratulations, Prof. Kragen! You deserve that! Now for some simple reminders and of course, the usual announcements:

The Claw House Party has already been closed but many thanks to those who participated actively! …Even those who merely crashed. It was a success thanks to the people who livened it up, though!

The Christmas Season is passing by and the Yuletice-related topics are being shut down one by one. As you’ve probably noticed, the Christmas Tree, Kris Kringle and the Festival of Lights have been moved to the Claw Archives. Although you cannot post in those topics anymore, they are still available for viewing.

Quidditch season is upon us and our awesome Head of House has already set up a thread for the interested to post their registrations for the new team! You can show your house spirit but either registering as part of the team, cheering the rest on or making a banner and submitting it!

Our Head of House has also posted a few more new threads. One is the Class Activity Checks. Just post whatever classes you’re taking with the form provided and you’re good to go. Another is the thread for the registration for the Quidditch team(details above).
That’s it for now. Apart from the flurry of general activity, not much to report on. Please contact Beatrice Langley via Owl (PM) should you want to include anything in the next issue. (Simply click the name in order to pm her).