Showing posts with label Convocation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Convocation. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Convocation

 The Return of Convocation!

The Tower is buzzing about the return of Convocation, a Ravenclaw tradition that hasn’t been practiced since the last Spring term. Convocation is a guided game within the game, allowing Ravenclaws, Not-Quite-First-Years, and Students on Sabbatical to earn chapters of a story as they pass points milestones during the term.

“This term, Auntie Eagle MeshaMarie has felt the call of Convocation, and she has taken on the mantle of Convocation Conjurer. Intrepid Spreadsheet Assistant freemiki will be her Intrepid Convocation Assistant. They invite you to join them on a journey of Ravenclaw discovery this Spring term!”

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

RavenLore -- Convocation

Ravenloreheader.jpg

Have you ever felt a bit lost in the conversation in the Tower?  Confused by the CASPNs and Prjónfestas? Then this is the place for you!  Each week in the RavenLore column, we will explore some of the unique vocabulary and history of Ravenclaw.  Previous columns in the RavenLore series can be found here. PM omeletsmom or s2five if there is some bit of RavenLore you would like to know more about.

This week, we are talking about a treasured Ravenclaw tradition, Convocation.  Convocation is basically a story in multiple parts.  Ravenclaws, NQFYs, and SOSs are invited to sign up at the beginning of the term*. After that, all you have to do is play the House Cup.  Our wonderful Spreadsheet Sorceresses and Convocation Conjurers keep track of everything you turn in. As you reach certain secret points milestones, you are invited to read segments of the story, sign the documents, and collect the corresponding badges.  Non-points earning students (NQFY and SOS) earn milestones based on the base points they would have received for their turn ins.

Convocation is different every term.  Last term, it was about what makes us Quintessentially Ravenclaw, the term before that, we visited various kinds of magical creatures.  Sometimes it is just a story, other times, there are activities you can do to go along with the story, as in the term we took a course in Alchemy.  Stories are released at the end of the term so that everyone may enjoy them; you can find previous Convocations here.

We hope you will be able to join us this term for this most Ravenclaw of traditions!

* The sign up form is yet to be posted this term; watch for it in the announcements thread and in What’s Happening This Week.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Tell it... For Luna!

As you walk through the Hogwarts grounds near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Luna steps out from behind a tree, smiling her usual slightly vague smile.  "Luna!" you say, delighted.  It has been weeks since you saw her, and after all your adventures together last month and last term, you were starting to feel a little bit forlorn.

Luna hugs you, something she hasn't done before. "I was off visiting Daddy," she says.  "The boys are there now; Rolf is off... doing things..." she glances up at the sky briefly, but when you follow her gaze, she takes your hand suddenly and looks you straight in the eye.  "And now you can come visit too!" she says.  "I've fixed Floo transport with SadieLou.  We can have a lovely weekend together, and there's something I want you to see."

You take the stairs to the dorm two at a time, arranging to meet Luna in SadieLou's office in fifteen minutes.  You pack your bag full of clothing and a couple of project bags (your OWL won't knit itself, after all!), and dash back down the stairs.  MightyGoodYarn and FricknFrack wave from the Sky Chairs as you sprint to SadieLou's office door, where you stand panting for a moment, a little afraid that Luna, in a moment of vagueness, will have gone off without you.  But you knock and enter at SadieLou's response, and there is Luna, waiting as if she had all the time in the world.

"Oh," she says, "you're ready, then!"  And she tosses a pinch of Floo Powder into the fire and waves you in.  "Lovegood House!" she shouts, and you are whisked away by the green flames.

You emerge in the odd rook-shaped house's kitchen, whose windows overlook the hills around Ottery St. Catchpole.  Xenophilius Lovegood, very very old now, sits in a rocking chair by the fire and smiles as you step out of the fireplace.  "I made some tea," he says in a creaky voice.  "Pour some for me and for yourself.  Will my Luna be along presently?"

In answer, Luna steps out of the fireplace a moment later.  "Hello, Daddy!" she says brightly.  "Where are the boys?"

Mr. Lovegood points up the wrought-iron spiral staircase in the center of the room, and Luna smiles.  "Oh, just right!" she says.  "We'll be back down for tea in a moment, Daddy."  She looks at you.  "What I wanted to show you is up here."

You hand Mr. Lovegood his cup and follow Luna up the spiral stairs.  At the top is the room that once had been Luna's.  You remember that this house was blown up by an Erumpent Horn back in the Second Wizarding War.  "Oh, yes, Daddy had it rebuilt.  The kitchen's a little less bright than it was--I'd had it painted with murals, you see, when I was very young, but after it was rebuilt I was in my seventh year at Hogwarts and after that I met Rolf, so Daddy just did a nice yellow.  But this room... this one I came back and repainted.  I wanted it just like it was."

You look around; it's a cheerful little room, and Lycan and Lysander obviously use it when they visit now.  Their books and things are scattered about, and they come hug you when you climb the last step into the room.  And then you look up, and you see it:

Just for fun | Luna Lovegood’s friends mural (by San Smith)

Just for fun | Luna Lovegood’s friends mural (by San Smith) (clipped to polyvore.com)

Luna's "Friends" mural.  You can see Harry Potter, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville in a circle, connected by a golden chain of the words 'friends friends friends.'

"This is a great month for friends, isn't it?" Luna says.  "My Ravenclaw friends are trying their hardest to bring the House Cup back to my friend SadieLou, and I hear that many have already turned in their OWL progress!  And I hear there's a Knit-Along for friends this month as well!"

You nod.  You've made something for the Knit Along and you reckon you'll be turning in OWL progress tomorrow afternoon.

"And something else.  I hear that Convocation has changed a bit this Term.  People are recording their own scores and the badges are for all sorts of things, big and small, and I mean to keep issuing challenges as the Term continues.  But the other part of Convocation has always been the stories, hasn't it?"

This is true.  The stories have always been amazing and fun; you're a little sad that they're not happening this Term.

"I have an invitation.  You know, you're not the only one of the Ravenclaws I've been having adventures with.  Ariadne Drake told about the time she came to see me with her bees last month, for example.  I love to have adventures with all my Ravenclaw friends!  And I think it's time they came forward to share their stories.

"From now until the end of Term, Ravenclaws can post their stories as part of their turn-ins, or in the Common Room, and send Editor-in-Chief Soprano1 an earburn in their post, and she'll begin compiling the stories in the Tower Pages for all to see.  Perhaps I'll even give a prize to a randomly selected participant at the end of the Term."

Luna's eyes are shining, and she turns once more to look at her mural.  "This Term, Convocation is in your hands, and the stories are yours!  We can't wait to read them all!"

Tell it ... For Luna!



Wednesday, December 21, 2011

2011 Fall Convocation: Luna's Adventures


Editor's note: In September, 2011, the following story was published in the Convocation thread. Many of you followed it; some did not. Now we invite all Ravenclaws to read the story. You can follow links at the bottom of this post to the rest of the story.

At the very end of this tale, you will learn that Luna has a request, a hope, for us Ravenclaws. Will you rise to Luna's challenge? Will you sign her pledge? Will you Do It For Luna?



You are in the Common Room, just settling down with that great book on Muggle Particle Physics you’ve been hoping to have a chance to read all week.  The Common Room is quiet--everyone else must be down at dinner, or up in their dorms. You spot Ember sleeping in a ball up on the mantelpiece, and Foxy’s tail disappears up the stairway to the dormitories, but otherwise, all is nearly silent.  Ah, well, you think, this will make for excellent reading time.

As you sink down into a particularly comfy armchair by the fireplace, you hear a sound over in the corner by the bookshelves.  “Psst!” You look up, puzzled, and seeing nothing, you look down again.  “Psst!!”  There it is again, louder and more insistent this time.  When you look up, you see--something--disappearing between two bookshelves.

You put down the Particle Physics text and glance around to see if anyone else has seen.  Ember is still there, but she doesn’t even open an eye.  You rise, too curious to just let it go, and move quickly over to the bookshelves.  There! You had never noticed it before, but there’s a space big enough for one person to fit between the two book cases in the corner.  You take a deep breath and turn sideways, sliding in between the cases, and you emerge in a room with high ceilings and tall windows.  The evening’s last rays of the sun stream in through the windows and illuminate a small round table surrounded by several spindly ladderback chairs.

This is the Breakfast Chat Room, you realize.  It’s no wonder you didn’t recognize it: you’ve only ever been in here in the early morning.  The moon is rising over the Scottish countryside and twilight is creeping in, and yet here is the Breakfast Chat Room, ready for tomorrow morning.  Steam rises from the two cups of tea on the table.

“Sit down,” says a dreamy voice behind you.  You jump, heart pounding, and turn around to face...

Luna Lovegood.  That is, Luna Scamander.  She is married now.

The Pride of Ravenclaw is here, in Ravenclaw Tower.  You’ve seen pictures, of course, of the girl she was when she attended Hogwarts all those years ago.  The long blond hair still hangs to her waist, but on her head is a green pith helmet, and she wears a khaki vest and skirt as if she has just come back from safari.  Her voice is as soft and lilting as you’ve always imagined, even though she must be in her … you do a quick calculation … mid thirties now.

Luna gestures toward the table.  “Please, sit down.  Do you take sugar in your tea?”

You nod as you slip into a chair, your eyes glued on Luna.  She puts two cubes of sugar in your cup and hands it to you, and you sip.  The tea is warm, and tastes faintly of some exotic spice you can’t quite name.  Eightlegeddj would know, you think, and then you shake your head.  You seem to be drifting off, and it’s important to stay awake!  Isn’t it?  You wonder, briefly, how you know this, and then Luna speaks again.

“I need your help,” she says, her large silver-grey eyes meeting yours.  “Rolf and I have been off cataloguing Magical Creatures, and we have come across some... oddities... in the newest generations of several magical breeds.”

“Oddities?” you ask.  “What kind of oddities?”

“Well,” Luna answers, her eyes shining, “some of them are a little mixed up.  We don’t know how it happened, but we have found several Magical Creatures that... just... aren’t quite right.”  She grows suddenly serious.  “We need you,” she says.  “We know you’re still in school, but we’ve read some of your papers for Care of Magical Creatures and you’re just the right woman for the job.  Of course, it may be dangerous, tracking down these poor creatures and setting them straight, so naturally, you should only accept the challenge if you’re ready and willing.  You probably won’t get hurt... much... but still, it’s up to you.”

If you accept Luna’s challenge, follow this link (link now removed) to sign the Magical Waiver and Release Form.  If you do not wish to accompany Luna on her Quest, do nothing.  You will return to the Common Room.  That Particle Physics Book awaits.

Epilogue (only this final document can be edited--add your name to let it be known that you will

Do It For Luna!!!