Happy Halloween!

I solemnly swear, that I am up to no good! As a Halloween gift I picked to draw the Augurey, which is in my opinion an appropriate choice for Halloween, since many wizards believed its cry to be fatal to anyone who hears it.

Augurey (also known as Irish Phoenix)

The Augurey is a native bird of Britain and Ireland, though sometimes found elsewhere in northern Europe. A thin and mournful-looking bird, somewhat like a small and underfed vulture in appearance, the Augurey is greenish black. It is intensely shy, nests in bramble and thorn, eats large insects and fairies, flies only in heavy rain and otherwise remains hidden in its tear-shaped nest.

The Augurey has a distinctive low and throbbing cry, which was once believed to foretell death. Wizards avoided Augurey nests for fear of hearing that heart-rending sound, and more than one wizard is believed to have suffered a heart attack on passing a thicket and hearing an unseen Augureay wail. Patient reasearch eventually revealed, however, that the Augurey merely sings at the approach of rain. The Augurey has since enjoyed a vogue as a home weather forecaster, though many find its almost continual moaning during the winter months difficult to bear. Augurey feathers are useless as quills beacuse they repel ink.

© Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Newton Scamander, p.5, J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury

Mischief Managed!

Daniel Radcliffe = Rap God?

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Daniel Radcliffe was on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon where this happenend:

He is ridiculously good! So funny!

Mischief Managed!

Hogwarts Themed Hotel in London

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

So in the Georgian House Hotel in London you can now stay at Hogwarts for as long as you like...if you have the money. Prices starting at £249 per night (including breakfast and Muggle tour) in the smaller Wizard Chamber, which sleeps three people, it can rocket up to £363 a night (including breakfast, Muggle tour and Warner Studio Tour). For two people, without the Muggle tour, it is £209.

But seriously, which die-hard Harry Potter Fan wouldn't pay for that? With staying at "Hogwarts" a dream would come true! Would you stay there? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comment section!

 

And here's a video showing the Wizard Chambers:

 

Mischief Managed!

House Crest Pins Review

I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good!

This beauty arrived with the post a few days ago. I was so excited when I openend the package from The Noble Collection (click here to get to their website). The House Crest Pins Collectors Box costs $24.50. If your shopping from Germany I strongly recommend Elbenwald®­­ (see here). Unfortunately the box is much more expensive (34,95€).

The collectors box includes 5 pins. The pins are made of some kind of plastic, but they look like they are made of metal. The only way to find out that they are not actually made of metal is if you hold them in your hands, since they are really light-weight. The box itself is made of wood and is really beautiful, though there are a few dents in mine (I hope this doesn't happen when you order yours!), which I find really frustrating, because you know, I spend a good amount of money on it. Secondly what I find disappointing is that the glass sheet is not made out of real solid glass, but of Plexiglass, which scratches easily so you want to be extra careful with that.

The 5 pins are, according to The Noble Collection's website, hand enameled. The pins are finely detailed and close with a butterfly clasp so they won't fall of if your wearing them.

The Hogwarts™ coat of arms is bronze. It shows a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle surrounding the (in this case) red letter "H". Beneath it is the motto of the school. Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus which is Latin and means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".

Usually the Hufflepuff™ crest is a black badger on yellow. In this case the badger is bronze as the decoration surrounding it. On top is a tiny badger underneath which we can see a knight's helmet.

The Slytherin­™ crest is exactely like I expected it to be. It shows a silver serpent on green. On top there's a tiny serpent beneath which you can find a knight's helmet.

Gryffindor's™ crest shows a bronze lion on yellow and scarlet. On the very top, however is not a small lion but the moon and a star together with a little wizards hat. I don't know why they made it that way, but it's probably because Gryffindor™ plays major part in the books and movies, since it's the house of the main characters. Maybe they wanted to make it stick out of the other 3 house crests by adding this little difference.

This is my favourite crest, but that's only because I'm in Ravenclaw™ house. The coat of arms of Ravenclaw™ is actually the most inaccurate of all 5 pins. The symbol of Ravenclaw™ is not, as the name suggests, a Raven but it's really an Eagle. (on the Hogwarts™ coat of arms pin this is portrayed correctly, so it is quite illogical that they made the Ravenclaw™ crest this way). Also the house colors are bronze and blue. In the movies, however they used blue and silver. I guess that is why they adopted those colors to all Ravenclaw™ products (so this crest is just disappointing for all of you who have read the books, including myself).

I hope this post helped you with your decision on whether you should get the House Crest Pins or not. I'm in love with them, despite some inaccuracies. I love wearing them sometimes, but I mostly keep them in the collectors box which I attached to my wall so I can always look at this beautiful treasure.

Mischief Managed!

PS: Check out my twitter!

Finely detailed and hand enameledh

Finely detailed and hand enameled

Welcome Marauders!

I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good!

It took me a while to get a name for my blog since all the obvious Harry Potter themed ones were taken. So I picked up my copy of Fantastic Beast & Where To Find Them by Newton Scamander and picked out a beast. My choice was, obviously, the Kneazle. And just in case you don't have your copy of Fantastic Beasts at hand (you can get your copy for 1 Galleon 11 Sickles at Flourish & Blotts), let me explain with the words of Newt just what a Kneazle is.

The Kneazle was originally bred in Britain, though it is now exported worldwide. A small cat-like creature with flecked, speckled or spotted fur, outsize ears and a tail like a lion's, the Kneazle is intelligent, independent and occasionally aggressive, though if it takes a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes an excellent pet. The Kneazle has an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are lost. Kneazles have up to eight kittens in a litter and can be interbreed with cats. Licences are required for ownership as (like Crups and Fwoopers) Kneazles are sufficiently unusual in appearance to attract Muggle interest. © Fantastic Beats & Where to Find them, J.K. Rowling, Comic Relief, Bloomsbury

So now you know what a Kneazle is and I hope you find them just as cute as I do! I found this picture by Xenia-Cat (check out her website here)and it is absolutely amazing!! I wish I could draw as good as this, but whenever I try...let's just say most of it ends up in the bin.

Drawing of a Kneazle by Xenia-Cat

As you probably figured I'm a potterhead. So obviously im on pottermore as well. My nickname is TurmAccio9951 and I'm part of Ravenclaw™ house! If your on pottermore please comment your nicknames, I'd love to add you all as friends!

Mischief Managed!

Coming up next: House Crest Pins Review