Hogwarts Live Blog

Find those beans because you'll need them to get a chance to win 500 Donator Points!

Search high and low, gather what you can, and enter for your shot at the prize.

-Last day to enter: March 31st

Don't miss out, the more beans you find, the better your chances!

I've just released a new event for Valentine's Day called Cupid's Arrow, in which an incompetent cherub roams the land firing romance-infused ammunition at anything that holds still long enough to regret it.

It ties into marriages by giving married players bonus flirt points, occasional double rewards, and owl-delivered love letters from an owl who would very much prefer a different career. Charm gains and losses also plug directly into the flirting system, which is either delightful or alarming depending on your tolerance for chaos.

Cupid shows up in villages, cities, and other unsuspecting locations like the Shrieking Shack (which objects loudly) and the Forbidden Forest (which was already having a difficult century).

When confronted by this winged hazard, players get three choices. Accepting the arrow can lead to charm buffs, gold, gems, disastrous poetry, or falling hopelessly in love with a signpost. Dodging it may result in rosebush collisions, ricocheting arrows, pickpocketing the cherub, or sudden existential crises. Reasoning with Cupid tends to devolve into philosophical debates about socks, emotional meltdowns, arrows to the knee, or forming a biscuit-sharing friendship.

Official guide: https://hogwartslive.com/guide/cupids-arrow

If Cupid breaks something (emotionally or mechanically) send a petition or report it in the #bugs Discord.

Thought I'd surprise people with this for Christmas, especially you roleplayers who wanted a place to post longer-form content: https://hogwartslive.com/forum/

Same rules apply as with the rest of the site, but for those of you who are truly helpless I created an etiquette guide:
https://hogwartslive.com/guide/forum-etiquette

Enjoy :)

The Yule Ball has been created (look for The Yule Ball in your navigation). This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move (particularly by those who must now dance in it). The Yule Ball is now open on HL and will continue to inflict social anxiety upon players through January 5th. This festive occasion offers you the unique opportunity to:

- Dance (and discover whether your limbs move in ways that could be generously described as "coordinated")
- Drink punch (of mysterious origin and concerning luminescence)
- Propose to other players (because nothing says "I've thought this through" like a public proposal at a magical school party)
- Watch disasters unfold from the safety of the wallflower section

Entry requires dress robes, which you must purchase if you don't already own them. This is non-negotiable. The Great Hall has standards, even if your dance moves don't.

The event runs daily until January 5th, at which point the Great Hall will return to its normal state of being merely a room where people eat, rather than a room where people eat and publicly humiliate themselves (unless they were already doing that).

If your curious about it check out the entry on the new player's guide or just try it out for yourself! https://hogwartslive.com/guide/yule-ball

It's time to kick off the holiday season in true HogwartsLive fashion! Break out your most festive spells, charm up those branches, and craft the most spectacular Holiday tree in the entire wizarding world.

PRIZE: The Hogwarts House with the highest scoring tree will earn a House Buff for the entire first month of 2026 - start the new year with your House riding high on holiday magic!

The contest runs through Christmas Day, so make sure your tree is fully enchanted before the holiday ends!
To decorate your tree, go to your respective common rooms and on the left you will see the options below:

Christmas Options

Work on Tree (Costs Turns)
Use your turns to shape, strengthen, and enchant your tree. Every improvement boosts its magic and brings your House closer to claiming that January Buff.

Buy Baubles (Costs Gems)
Purchase enchanted baubles infused with gemstone energy. These sparkling ornaments add shine, charm, and the occasional mischievous festive spell.

Buy Tinsel (Costs Gold)
Decorate your tree with shimmering wizard-crafted tinsel. The more gold you invest, the brighter, and more musically enchanted your tree becomes.

Happy decorating.. and may your Holiday Tree shine brightest this Christmas!

(P.S. Check out the candy raffles.. )

I just migrated to a new server for HL (I know last migration was only in June, but this new server should be faster and more reliable). It may take few days before things are back to normal. If you notice any weirdness or slowness or missing data petition for help or post in Discord.

If the website won't load for you or parts of it won't load try clearing your DNS cache:

Windowsa
Note: These instructions will require you to use the Windows command prompt. For information about using the command prompt, please visit http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/command-prompt-faq.

Windows 10. 8 and 8.1
Navigate to the desktop. (From Home, tap or click the Desktop tile).
Right-click the Start button (the Windows logo in the lower-left).
Choose Command Prompt (Admin).
When asked whether to allow Command Prompt to make changes to your computer, select Yes.

Note: If you are asked for an administrative login, you will need to contact your system administrator.
Type "ipconfig /flushdns" and press Enter.
Type "ipconfig /registerdns" and press Enter.
Type "ipconfig /release" and press Enter.
Type "ipconfig /renew" and press Enter.
Type "netsh winsock reset" and press Enter.
Restart the computer.

Windows 7
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories.
Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
When asked whether to allow Command Prompt to make changes to your computer, select Yes.

Note: If you are asked for an administrative login, you will need to contact your system administrator.
Type "ipconfig /flushdns" and press Enter.
Type "ipconfig /registerdns" and press Enter.
Type "ipconfig /release" and press Enter.
Type "ipconfig /renew" and press Enter.
Type "netsh winsock reset" and press Enter.
Restart the computer.

XP and Vista
Close all browser windows.
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.
Type the following at the command prompt: ipconfig /flushdns
If the command was successful, you will see the message, "DNS Resolver Cache Successfully Flushed."
If you receive the message, "Action Requires Elevation" please contact the administrator of your computer to complete these steps.

Mac OS X
Close all browser windows.
Click Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
In the Terminal window, type in the corresponding command for your Mac OS X version:
OS X 10.10 (Yosemite): sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache
OS X 10.7 - 10.9 (Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion): sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
OS X 10.6 and older: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
Press Enter again and the DNS cache should be flushed.

Additional Steps
If the steps above do not resolve the issue, and you are on a home network, you may need to run a power cycle:

Turn off your computer.
Turn off your modem and router (if you have one), then wait for about 15 seconds.
Plug in your modem, then wait for 1-2 minutes.
Plug in your router (if you have one), then wait for 1-2 minutes.
Turn on your computer.

Ever dream of becoming Minister of Magic (yeah, me neither)? But for those of you who like popularity contests we now have monthly elections for the Minister of/for Magic. You, with your 7+ Voldemort Encounters (the metric of all true leadership potential), can vote daily like it's a BuzzFeed poll, or run for Minister of Magic yourself if you've hit 50 VEs. Candidates give speeches, accept donations, and cry when they lose. The winner gets to keep the title for a month in the real world. The losers get the existential crisis they deserve.

Now on to Ministry Jobs, which answers the age-old question: "What if my wizard could file TPS reports and get mauled by a cursed typewriter in the same day?" That's right. You can now work in various Ministry departments (yes, including the Department of Magical Accidents because irony is not dead), earn gold, gain work experience, and even get performance reviews, because nothing screams "fantasy escapism" like being judged by a fictional middle manager. You might even get promoted, provided you survive the office dragon (we don't speak of the Intern Massacre of 2020).

And lastly, do you like brooding NPCs with dramatic backstories and suspiciously few dialogue options? Excellent. You can now "Search Your Soul" (which sounds like a rejected Linkin Park album title) on the 7th floor of Hogwarts, "Daydream About Someone" at the Hogshead Inn (because mental instability is fun), or "Reflect on Romance" in the gardens like a teenage Dumbledore. Warning: you may become emotionally attached to a pixelated character who doesn't know you exist (just like real life). We may add additional NPC options (ideally quirky ones), but for now there's only three. Note: This feature is only for players who are not married.

If you notice something wrong petition for help and we'll try to fix it when we have time.

5/6/25
Could you use a new day? Quidditch training not progressing quickly enough? Are you tired of dying to the Dementors and not being able to escape through the tunnel? Or maybe you want to try to win the Wizard Card contest? Whatever the reason for wanting a new day, this could be your lucky week! We are raffling off 25(!!!) New Days to ONE lucky winner! It will run for 1 week only so be sure to buy a ticket or two! But wait, THERE'S MORE!

Next week we will be giving away another 25 New Days to yet another winner! In fact, we'll be having a weekly New Day Raffle for the next 5 weeks! So get out there, collect your beans, and buy some tickets!

Good luck!Could you use a new day? Quidditch training not progressing quickly enough? Are you tired of dying to the Dementors and not being able to escape through the tunnel? Or maybe you want to try to win the Wizard Card contest? Whatever the reason for wanting a new day, this could be your lucky week! We are raffling off 25(!!!) New Days to ONE lucky winner! It will run for 1 week only so be sure to buy a ticket or two! But wait, THERE'S MORE!

Next week we will be giving away another 25 New Days to yet another winner! In fact, we'll be having a weekly New Day Raffle for the next 5 weeks! So get out there, collect your beans, and buy some tickets!

Good luck!

EDIT 5/13/2025
Supreme Deity stranger was the winner of the first Stack of New Days. Congrats to him!
Second Week-long Raffle for 25 New Days is Active!

EDIT 5/20/25
Archmage michalba was the winner of the New Days Stack Week 2. Congrats to him!
Third Week-long Raffle for 25 New Days is Active!

EDIT 5/28/2025
The God aurorx was the winner of the New Days Stack Week 3. Congrats to him!
Fourth Week-long Raffle for 25 New Days is Active!

EDIT 6/4/2025
Youthful Exuberance Henderson was the winner of the New Days Stack Week 4. Congrats to him!
Fifth WQeek-long Raffle for 25 New Days is Active!

EDIT 6/13/2025
Twinless Geminiii was the winner of the New Days Stack Week 5. Congrats to her!
Sixth and FINAL Week-long Raffle for 25 New Days is Active!

So your Headmaster (me) just dropped a new feature that's basically Pokemon but with more British accents and ethical ambiguity. Enter the Fantastic Beasts Module, where you punch magical creatures in the face, then shove them into a sentient suitcase like a deranged wizard hoarder.

You'll meet Newt Scamander (aka Magical Steve Irwin), buy a suitcase (because apparently backpacks are passe), and start your morally dubious journey to "catch 'em all" but only one of each, because this isn't a petting zoo, it's a prestige prison.

Fight creatures. Capture them. Log their trauma in your Bestiary. Rank up until you're a Supreme Magizoologist (which sounds fake but okay). Give your beasts names like "FartGoblin" or "VoldyDaddy" because this system allows color formatting and we know you can't be trusted with power.

Will there be trading? Maybe in the future. Will we read your feedback? Also maybe. Just don't cry if we don't implement your 42-slide deck on creature mating mechanics.

Now go forth. Capture beasts. Name them dumb things. Do your best impression of Cesar Millan.