Catching Those Zzz's: Sleep Habits of Gryffindor Students
This is Sirius Orion Black, here with a subject all Gryffindor students are highly interrested in--sleep. No Gryffindor who has ever stayed up until three in the morning celebrating the latest Quidditch win can deny the importance of sleep (especially when you have to be up by eight for classes the next morning). But as O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s draw closer, students are losing more and more hours to homework and studying.
"I get three hours of sleep a night," one seventh year said quickly in a very high-pitched voice. "Studying, ya know. I gotta drink coffee. It's all that keeps me awake. The caffeine. It makes me jumpy. But I have to stay awake. N.E.W.T.s are just stressful, and you gottta study or you'll fail."
Typical students are supposed to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. "I get four to five hours of sleep a night," one fifth year said, circles under her eyes. "I get up in the morning and I look like a dragon. My eyes are puffy and my skin is scaly, and my brain is starting to freeze during class. I can't take much more of it. I don't see how seventh years stand it."
But more than studying is keeping students awake. "I brew five Awakening Potions a week," one seventh year said. "And twice that number of Restorative Draughts, just to keep students going. Some students can't sleep at all anymore, with O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s so close."
Your reporter has never had this problem, seeming to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere, which is beginning to happen to many students. "You get kids falling asleep at breakfast, in classes, and we even had someone fall asleep on their broom at Quidditch practice once," Gryffindor Beater Lacey Almea told me. "Not a pretty sight."
With more insomniacs crowding the Gryffindor common room, the late hour may become more and more common as exams draw nearer. Now, your reporter is off to catch some zzz's.
Hogwarts students have problems, from O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s to boy/girl relationships to Potions homework. To help Gryffindor students with their problems, you can...
Ask Moony
Dear Moony,
Can you do me a quick favor and please tell Padfoot to PLEASE stop stuffing the pillows and mattresses in our dorms with green Jell-o? Lily's just about ready to kill someone, she's so frustrated. I'm beginning to fear for our safety. Can you PLEASE do something?
Fed up with Jell-o
(from hpfreak2001)
Dear Fed up with Jell-o,
I suggest an Unbreakable Locking Charm on the door, maybe put a picture frame out front to guard it with a password, and put wards on your dorm so they squeak like styrofoam when anyone enters but you. Sirius hates the squeak of styrofoam, just between you and me...
Moony
Dear Moony,
Styrofoam?! Why on EARTH would Sirius hate the squeak of styrofoam?! Is there some kind of messed-up story behind his extremely bizarre pet peeve? Also, how many items on Filch's infamous 'forbidden items list' are you, James, Sirius, and Peter personally accountable for? Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your advice on the thing with the Jell-o. We came up with something that we think will keep Sirius out of our dorm... Hope it works. Hehe... Oh, and between you and me, I was the one who told the house-elves to take Sirius's underwear. You know, as payback. They gladly obliged, as they were the ones who had the wonderful task of cleaning up all of the Jell-o.
-Wreaking revenge ... Formerly Fed up with Jell-o
(from hpfreak2001)
Dear Wreaking Revenge,
Good for you! You rock! If only all my readers could solve their problems like you...
Moony
Dear Moony,
THE SQUEAKING!! It won't stop! I was just going to give the girls some jell-o and...it...*twitch* SQUEAKED! Help me!
-Losing His Grip(Padfoot)
(from Deirdre of the Sorrows)
Dear Padfoot,
I told you not to put green Jell-O in their dorms.
Moony
Dear Moony,
Sirius is curled up in his bed in the fetal position and rocking back and forth, muttering about cups or something. It was funny for the first ten minutes, but it's getting old fast. How do we make him stop?
-Prongs
(from Deirdre of the Sorrows)
Dear Prongs,
Um...a good Memory charm.
Moony
Dear Moony,
I'm...writting to you...while running...Sirius...chasing me...something about...rats...and squeaks...how do I get...him to...stop?
-Wormtail
(from Deirdre of the Sorrows)
Dear Wormtail,
Sorry.
Moony
Dear Moony,
If a hippogriff is flying toward Hogwarts at twenty kilometers an hour, but gets caught in a downdraft and lands in the Shrieking Shack, causing the ghouls inside to escape into the school, wrecking havoc and stealing girls' underwear causing a war withint the castle between the Pantie Brigade and the Loud Mosquitos what colour socks would Sirius Black be wearing?
-Wouldn't You Like to Know
(from Deirdre of the Sorrows)
Dear Wouldn't You Like to Know,
That was random. Sirius always wears green socks. Don't ask me why. It's the only color he has.
Moony
Do you want Moony to answer your questions? Send them to room ten, boys dorms, third door on the left, and YOU might appear in the Gryffindor Oracle!
Ever been plauged by what to wear to Hogsmeade? Ever wondered what colors are in? Well, now you can get fasion advice from the queen of fasion herself....
Lion's Skin
This is Alice Remerta, your Fashion Queen, here reporting on the latest fasions this week. The color of the week seems to be red and gold all the way! These patriotic Gryffindor colors are rich and powerful, giving a sense of power and warmth. Red in fasion goes with many complexions, and can be matched to almost anyone. Red also stands out, making you more prominent in a crowd, and red is proven to get blood pressures racing.
Gold makes an excellent touch to this red, turning it from hooker to hottie with this metallic color. Gold accents on red can turn it from cheap to classy, and gold jewelry or a gold scarf often presents a picture of perfect elegance. Makeup is more vivid this week, with shades of red and pink coming to light, warm colors being the preference.
This has been Alice Remerta with Lion's Skin, the Gryffindor fashion column. Need fasion advice? Need to know what to wear? Just ask Alice Remerta, dorm room 10, girl's side.
Lioness Poem of the Day
I am two
I admit it
Two different people
Fighting to fit
One is flaky and bubbly
The other is serious and calm
And though I try to make it stop
Something always goes wrong.
When I'm around them
I act so dumb
When I'm with him
I'm serious yet fun
I can not control it
I can not stay sane
When I'm around them
I just lose my brain
So now I admit
I am opposties, two
The ground, the sky
The sun, the moon
~Genki
Weather
Well, the Great Hall looks sunny today, coming to melt away the snow we had last week. Enjoy the warm weather while you can because later in the week it's going to rain, rain, rain. And I can promise you your dinner will get wet! You might want to take an umbrella to the Great Hall, folks, because I have a head-up on a prank that will make the ceiling rain on dinner...
Jim, weather wizard
House Points Currently:
Gryffindor: 415
Hufflepuff: 388
Slytherin: 425
Ravenclaw: 402.5
All Materials Copyright The Gryffindor Oracle, volume 115, 9th edition--all character copyright JK Rowling. Aladdin Niadra copyright Abigail Nicole, as well as any minor characters.
Notices:Thanks to kantomon for the Lioness's Poem, and all the Ask Moony questions. Um, yeah, I thought it was Tuesday but it turns out I"m leaving Thursday for California. So you get one more chapter. Enjoy it while you can. Have fun!