The Hogwarts Headliner, Issue #47

PAGE 11.

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When a student sets foot on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they step not only onto weathered stones beneath spiralling towers, but into customs shaped by witches and wizards morbidly susceptible to the rarefied attitudes of centuries past.

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───────────────── It is made abundantly clear to even the most vaguely interested observer that Hogwarts is one institution that takes pride in its traditions, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Code of Conduct. In the most basic terms, the Code is a document that governs student behaviour and ‘safeguards order’ within the institution. Yet as we begin to move from quills to ballpoint pens, from live music to radio, it is worth posing the question whether this Code still serves its intended purpose. ─────────────────

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❝ ─ ───────────┓ x ─. Rules on Review: Should Hogwarts’s Code of Conduct Be Kept? by Evpraksiya Vinogradova ── x┗─────────── x❞

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───────────────── The Code of Conduct is clearly intended to protect. One only has to begin reviewing the text to notice that the rules regulating curfews, spell usage, and student interactions all exist to pre-emptively prevent harm whether through accidents or intention. Given that Hogwarts houses hundreds of partially-trained adolescents, structure is undeniably necessary, but as Louis D. Brandeis once put it, “If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” ─────────────────

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As it stands, the most prevalent issue with the Hogwarts Code of Conduct lies in its inconsistency. It relies heavily on an individual’s judgement. In the past, specific students have been repeatedly excused for severe infractions under the pretence of bravery, talent, or even mere circumstance, while others are reprimanded for comparatively minor disobedience. This selective enforcement does not lend itself to trust in authority and actively encourages students to view rules as obstacles rather than principles that can be respected. When you make discipline unpredictable, compliance becomes performative in response. While we are not criticizing any professor in the wake of recent controversy, we are encouraging students to think critically about the rules they follow.

x

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❝ ─ ───────────┓ x ─. Furthermore, the Code leans towards punishment over education. ── x┗─────────── x❞

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Furthermore, the Code leans towards punishment over education. Detentions, point deductions, and private reprimands are common responses, but rare are the times the system allows for students to reflect meaningfully on their actions. A Code that enforces rules without fostering comprehension has only produced compliance rooted in fear, and not responsibility as the founders themselves intended. Hogwarts should aim to cultivate witches and wizards who act ethically because they understand consequences and not because they are being watched.

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That said, any call to abolish the Code of Conduct is entirely misguided. Complete freedom within a magical institution is akin to setting a dragon next to a pen of sheep; no one immersed in magical culture would be surprised to see the resulting butchery. Rules provide boundaries, and boundaries create safety. The problem, however, is not the presence of the Code, but its failure to evolve.

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❝ ─ ───────────┓ x ─. The problem, however, is not the presence of the Code, but its failure to evolve ── x┗─────────── x❞

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A revised Code of Conduct should emphasise transparency and fairness. Rules must be applied evenly, regardless of House, reputation, or personal relationships with staff. Students should be taught the reasoning behind the regulations, particularly those involving dangerous magic. In addition, the Code should acknowledge the realities of the modern magical world and prepare students accordingly, rather than sheltering them in outdated ideals of innocence. Accountability must be extended beyond students alone. Professors and administrators play central roles in shaping how rules are perceived, and if authority figures bend or ignore the Code when it suits them, they undermine its legitimacy in its entirety.

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ELECTIVES PG. 02

SCANDAL PG. 06

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GALENTINE’S PG. 09

MEALS PG. 13

PAGE 12.

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New Year, Old You — Why Self-Reinvention is a Myth

by Archer Duncan

New year, new you. The same mantra echoes across duelling halls and Quidditch pitches, occupies the Great Hall and student dormitories, and courses through frozen January fingers with the promise of novel possibility. As the year dips into 2026 as swiftly as a diving falcon, the seductive desire to become an entirely different person, this so-called “rebranding”, is a presence stronger than ever. The calendar flips, and without any further ado, we are invited to shed our old skin along with all our perceived imperfections. But have we ever considered that we have made a myth out of an unattainable goal?

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"Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change" - Jim Rohn

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Change is made by meticulously editing through existing texts, not ripping out the pages entirely, yet we are so drawn to the latter because of the inevitable human nature of regret. We carry patterns we are ashamed of, and we wish to discard them in the new year, not through strategic tactics but through a reptilian shedding of skin. The problem is that the ones who seek solace in the mantra of new year, new you do not have a desire for improvement, but instead indulge in fantasies of discontinuity. As we aim for “reinvention”, we declare war on our past selves, believing the only way of moving forward is to kill our pasts. Not only is this internal war exhausting, but it is inefficient and only leads to failure two weeks into 2026.

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To understand how to move forward in a manner that is not just effective but healthy, we must dissect the architecture of the mind. We are more than a singular entity, not a sole being, but a collection of layers based on our values, our temperaments, and our memories. These layers form the bedrock upon which sit our skills, beliefs, and habits. To become a new person entirely is to ignore this structure, which would only lead to ultimate defeat and collapse. To change without shaking our foundations, we must work with and integrate into this psyche’s architecture rather than work against the current.

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Growth is, above all, evolution. This mindset is kinder, more sustainable, and in the end, more successful. It begins with acceptance, embracing that the person who struggles with their aspirations and the person who sets their goals are the same, and that there is no fault in such an existence. Instead of trying to delete the saga known as life, make edits where due, and build upon the strengths that already exist to reach greater heights. Changes are not pivoting from a Renaissance building towards a jarringly brutalist work, but rather a representation of values and their development.

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Reinvention is a siren’s song that ought to be resisted. We must exit this cycle of useless desperation and see light in the beauty we have worked so hard to create. A flower must be allowed to bloom before it is ruthlessly cut down and replaced with another all over again.

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ELECTIVES PG. 02

SCANDAL PG. 06

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GALENTINE’S PG. 09

MEALS PG. 13

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Magical & Muggle Meals: Pancakes!
by Ruth Fairchild & Aly Salinger

With Pancake Day coming up on the 17th of February, Aly and Ruth have decided to collaborate to provide you with a brief history of this day, and a fantastic recipe to try yourself! Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day, marks the day before Lent, a period of fasting and restraint in Christian tradition. “Shrove” comes from the phrase “to shrive”, meaning to confess sins. The date of the feast is moveable, determined by the date of Easter. Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the March equinox, changing every year with the lunar cycle. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, forty-six days before Easter, making Pancake Day forty-seven days before Easter Sunday. As pancakes were easy to make and used rich ingredients that were not eaten during Lent, such as eggs, milk or butter, it became a tradition to make and eat pancakes on the day itself. Other cultures celebrate with variations, such as Polish-Americans, who eat filled doughnuts called paczki instead. While some people observe the day in a religious sense, others do so purely out of cultural tradition, with Pancake Day evolving into a festival or carnival such as New Orleans, Louisiana. People in England even gather to watch or compete in pancake races, when participants race while flipping pancakes in a frying pan! Since we can’t exactly go about flipping pancakes around the grounds, there are other ways you can celebrate Pancake Day, such as hosting pancake breakfasts or even dinners in the common room. Here’s our recipe to make these delicious flippers if you so choose! ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────

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Periodical Pancakes
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Makes: 8 pancakes
Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients: ▫ 1 ½ cup Wizarding Wheat Self-Charmed Flour (*all-purpose flour) ▫ 1 tablespoon sugar from Sugar Shrub (*white sugar) ▫ 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder ▫ 1 ¼ cups dragon milk (*cow milk or alternative) ▫ 1 ½ cups dragon butter (*cow butter or alternative) ▫ ⅓ teaspoon salt ▫ 1 Occamy egg (*chicken egg) ▫ Any wanted mix-ins (see recipe for details)

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* Muggle alternative.

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Directions
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𝟭| Over a low flame (*microwave or stovetop), melt 1 ¼ cups of butter, reserving a quarter cup for later. 𝟮| Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large cauldron until well-combined. 𝟯| With a spoon, pat a shallow hole in the centre of the dry mixture. Pour inside your milk, egg, and melted butter from earlier. 𝟰| Mix until batter is smooth and silky, making sure to beat out any clumps of dry ingredients against the side of the bowl. 𝟱| OPTIONAL: If you like, you can add mix-ins to your pancake batter during this step! Chocolate chips or blueberries are classics, or you can add anything from chocolate sandwich cookies to cinnamon to lemon! (Just don’t add those all together. That would be one odd pancake.) 𝟲| Over a medium or medium-high flame, lightly ──────────────────────────

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coat the bottom of a flat cauldron (*pan or griddle) with a small portion of the remainder of the butter. Pour about ¼ cup of batter into the cauldron; if you’re able to fit multiple at a time, make sure they don’t touch! 𝟳| Flip the pancake via Levitation Charm (*big spatula or similar tool) when the edges are crisping up and drying out, and bubbles are forming and popping in the gooey center. Be careful with your flips—the last thing we need is more house-elves with facefuls of batter! 𝟴| Cook the pancakes for about 2-3 minutes per side before removing them from the pan. Refresh the melted butter in the pan between batches! 𝟵| Eat your pancakes in a stacked form and top with whatever you like. Honey, maple syrup, bananas, whipped cream—or bologna, who are we to stop you? ──────────────────────────

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ELECTIVES PG. 02

SCANDAL PG. 06

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GALENTINE’S PG. 09

MEALS PG. 13

PAGE 14.

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▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ A Prank Played, A Retaliation Returned by Oonagh Brown ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ To the readers,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Cheers to you from your favourite writer for relevant information—or what I would call relevant, at the very least, so it would be only natural to assume it is relevant for you, too! I am sure this is the response you have all been waiting for, naturally so, a report on what retaliation Al received after so boldly starting a fight of pranks and tricks.

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What better audience for this spectacle than the Headliner to spread the word?
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Al, of course, has had a strong start in response to me calling him out, going as far as to steal, or, well, “rehome” the gargoyle that has been guarding one of the classrooms. You know, the one that	x	is basically scheduled nap time? Yeah, that one. He allowed for the gargoyle to be freed from its previous place under cover of night and rehomed it whilst teaching him some tricks.	x	Well, with Valentine’s Day fast approaching while this article is being written, it is the time of trickery indeed. So, I have chosen to make my move. Take notes, because this was a fun one!
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│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │	─ x The Set Up Al is someone who is open about many things, someone who likes to share about their life, you see. So it was not hard to know that he would be quite susceptible to a Valentine’s-themed prank such as this one. If you have friends that are the same, lovesick and easy to prank, perhaps take some notes! The idea was simple. Waste. His. Time. Awesome, right? So I simply took a trip to that perfume-stinking shop in Hogsmeade and got a whole lot of their sweet-smelling Valentine’s Day cards, on which I wrote little notes—ensuring to alter my handwriting and all. ── ─ ──────────────────────────── ── ────────────────── ──	│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
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The Goose Chase As poor Al—though I would say he deserved it for challenging me—followed the trail of stupid cards, I was waiting. And I mean that literally! I was waiting on one of	x	the pillars in the Courtyard—the final area the cards had led to—with a water bucket. And, as he approached the final note, he—you guessed it—got a shower, free of charge!	x	The Conclusion Revenge, truly, is a dish—or shower—best served cold. YOUR move, Alphonse. Hope you enjoyed the goose chase.

	Sincerely, Oonagh, a student who won’t back down from a challenge >:) ==================================

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ELECTIVES PG. 02

SCANDAL PG. 06

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GALENTINE’S PG. 09

MEALS PG. 13