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Welcome Wizardkind!
Time has finally come for the second event of our Harry Potter series.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is known to have housed and guided some of the most powerful, clever, brave and ambitious witches and wizards throughout history. This time around we would love to get to know these magnificent students a little better! (But of course not the famous ones we already know about . . .)

This time we challenge you to create your own Hogwarts student!
What is the name of your character? Is your student male, female, non-binary, trans? - It's completely up to you! What does your character look like? What house are they sorted into? Is your character a muggleborn, pure-blood or half-blood? What are their dreams in life? What is their pet, wand and patronus? Do they have a favorite class at Hogwarts? Do they possess or want any particular magical objects?

These are some of the things we are eager to hear about! (Psst . . . We have gathered some information about the HP universe so that those of you unfamiliar with it can still participate! The information can be found on the first comment in this thread)



Choose one of these two ways to bring your student to life!

 1) Write a description of your Hogwarts student
Your description must at least include: Their name, their house, their wand, their patronus and their pet. (150 - 300 words)

2) Draw your Hogwarts student
Your drawing must include: Your characters name, something that symbolizes your students house & their wand.

For your drawing a waist-up would be the easiest way to express their house through clothing, as well as their wand. However, you could also do a portrait, and make some doodles of things that represent them. It could for instance be fun to draw inspiration from the "what's in my character's bag" challenge. Here's an example of the challenge mentioned!



Now . . . What are the prizes you may wonder?

Nothing less than these gorgeous sets made by Bones (F) & Bowie (M)
The amount of winning writing entries & the amount of winning drawing entries will both depend on the amount of people that enter using that method



Rules:
 You're only allowed to enter once - no sideaccounts
 Your entry has to be your work and yours alone
 No edited entries; if you wish to make a change delete the old one and re-post it
 Make sure your entry meets the requirements given for whichever option you chose
Any rule breaks will result in disqualification

Deadline:
Sunday the 21st of February 23.59 GMT+1
You can check the current GMT+1 time here

We can't wait to get to know your witches & wizards!



HP Info Hub
Are you new to the wizarding world? Then fear not, here is a brief guide:

What is the Wizarding World?
The wizarding world exists separately from the regular world. It has its own communities, shopping districts, schools, laws, ministries, and so on. 

The wizarding community consists of witches and wizards. Depending on their family, they might be either pureblod (all your grandparents have to be  magical), muggleborn (someone without magical parents - people without magic is known, in the British magical community at least, as muggles) or halfblod (a mix between the two). 

Wands
Every witch or wizard has a wand which is used to perform magic with. 
It is possible to use wandless magic just like non-verbal magic, but it is much more difficult. Therefore, a wand is a wizard's best friend. Wands are typically made of a wood type combined with a core that can be everything from a phoenix feather to dragon scales. A witch or wizard typically gets their wand right before starting school. 

Hogwarts
The British wizarding school is Hogwarts. It is placed in Scotland, in a beautiful old castle, surrounded by a lake and a large forest, both homes to various magical creatures.
The school was founded many years ago by Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.
Hogwarts is the home of most students for 7 years - students begin their first year around the age of 11 and finish their seventh year at around 18.

Hogwarts Houses
At school, the students are split up in four houses, one for each founder. Each house values different qualities & is represented by different colours:

Gryffindor (red & gold)
bravery, courage and chivalry

Hufflepuff (yellow & black)
patience, loyalty and justice

Ravenclaw (blue & silver)
wisdom, learning and creativity

Slytherin (green & silver)
ambition, cunning and self preservation

While at Hogwarts, your house becomes your family, as it is those you live with, eat with and study with, so your Hogwarts house becomes a big part of your identity. There is also a legendary rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, with the other houses mostly siding with Gryffindor. 

Hogwarts classes
Many subjects are taught at Hogwarts. Some of the most common are:
Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Muggle Studies, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Astrology, Divination, Flying and so on.

Sports: Quidditch
The most popular sport at Hogwarts - and in the wizarding world in general - is Quidditch. It is played on brooms in teams of seven. One is Keeper, who guard the three goal rings each team has, while the other team's three Chasers try to score by throwing a ball, called the quaffle, through them. If they score, they get 10 points. Meanwhile, each team has two Beaters armed with bats, whose job is to knock a heavy ball called a bludger against the other team's players - and guard their own team against the same. Finally there is the Seeker, whose job is to try and catch a tiny, fast golden ball called the snitch. Catching this gains 150 points and ends the game. 

Pets at Hogwarts
At Hogwarts, it is allowed to have a pet, however only owls, toads and cats are officially approved. That isn't to say that the odd pet hasn't found its way into Hogwarts before; there have for example been different breeds of spiders, and one of the founders, Salazar Slytherin even had a basilisk!

The Patronus spell
One of the spells you can learn at Hogwarts is called a patronus. It is a protective spell, and one of the key 'ingredients' to performing it successfully is a happy memory. If cast correctly, the patronus takes the shape of an animal - it can kind of be linked to the muggle belief of 'spirit animals'. Known examples include a doe, stag, otter and hare.

FAQ

1. Q: I just can't be bothered to read that much text/ I've read the text and am still a bit confused - what exactly is the task of this competition?

A: We want you to create an OC - a Hogwarts Student. You can do this either by writing or drawing. An OC (Original Character) is a fictional character that does not exist & so we don't want to see any Harry, Ron & Hermione's etc.



2. Q: I think I want to draw but I am not quite sure I understand the explanation under the drawing prompt - what exactly would be the best way to portray my OC in drawing?

A: Doing a full-body or waist-up drawing would be a good way to portray your OC - this would also let you show their wand naturally. Only doing a portrait could also work if it's accompanied by smaller doodles to illustrate more about their character. We recommend that you try looking up OC drawings to get a feel for what works well.



3. Q: I've made my (written) entry but it's a little short/ a little too long - do I have to make a new/ edit it?

A: We're allowing for 5 words +/- the limit so make sure your entry isn't too long or short - you can find multiple word-counters online to double-check if you don't have a program that can show the amount of words

New student who this?