The Rules of the Realm

These are the general, spellcasting, and school rules for the AU.

GENERAL

- No god-modding or power-playing. Make any and all duels/fights realistic.
- You may ask the Professor to join your RPs, as well as start classes for you if there is not one listed.
- The lists of spells, classes, etc. can be found here.
- Any and all changes in plot/class schedule should be reflected in your character profile.

SPELLCASTING

- Exposing the existence of Magic to muggles is strictly forbidden!
- Underage magic outside of the school is forbidden. If you cast magic outside of school, and depending on the level of its severity, you may be anything from sent a warning to completely expelled from the school. (You will have to update your character profile to reflect this change if it happens)
- The ONLY exceptions to the rule are for self-defense, or if a recognized authority figure gives you permission. (Again, update your profile to reflect this.) In this AU, the Professor will act as that authority figure (Prefects and Head Boys/Girls are not high enough authorities).
- The Trace allows the Ministry of Magic to track improper use of magic. The Trace does not apply to students while they are at Hogwarts/on the Hogwarts Express, but does during their holidays. The Trace will automatically break when the witch/wizard reaches 17. Please use discretion when performing magic.
- The types of spells you are able to cast should be within the difficulty and skill range of your year. (For example, a first year normally wouldn't be able to transform an entire house into a rocking chair, even as a pure-blood.)
-The use of any and all Forbidden curses are punishable by a one way trip to Azkaban (if you're caught)

SCHOOL RULES

- All students are sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff upon admission.
- All students besides the Prefects must be in their dorm rooms by curfew. The list of Prefects/sign ups can be found HERE
- The Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students!
- Sign ups for classes can be found HERE
- Sign ups for Quidditch will be posted HERE
- Students are allowed a pet, which can be an owl, cat, or toad.
- 'Animagi', or any student that wishes to become an 'Animagus' must be at least a 3rd year (when you learn it), though legally one can't become one until much later in life. Therefore, anyone choosing to become an 'Animagi' early on in their RPs will be considered 'unregistered' (so don't get caught!). Transformations are based on personality. All changes should be reflected in the profile.
- Third year students (or those that use the secret passageways) with permission may take weekend trips to Hogsmeade.

DORM ROOM/COMMON ROOMS

- It is frowned upon to share passwords to the dorms/common rooms.
- The dorm rooms are separated by gender (boys have their own dorm rooms, girls their own)
- Boys are not allowed into the girls' dorms and vice versa
- There will be a maximum of 5 students per dorm.
- The dorms will be filled up on a first come, first serve basis (since we don't have hundreds of students like the canon verse).
- If you have a problem with one of your dormmates, you'll have to take it up with the House Prefects or the Professor.
- Dorm Room assignments will be posted under HERE

AN EXAMPLE OF THE DORM

RAVENCLAW DORM ROOM 1
1. Francis
2. Kiku
3. ANY YEAR EXAMPLE
4. ANY YEAR EXAMPLE
5. ANY YEAR EXAMPLE

QUIDDITCH RULES

1. Players must not stray over the boundary lines of the pitch, although they may fly as high as desired. The Quaffle must be surrendered to the opposition if any player leaves the boundary.

2. "Time out" may be called at any time by the Captain of a team. Time out may be extended to two hours if a game has already lasted for more than twelve hours. Failure to return to the pitch after this time will lead to the team being disqualified.

3. Penalties can be awarded to teams by the referee. A single Chaser may take the penalty by flying from the central circle towards the scoring area. The opposing team's Keeper may attempt to stop the shot being scored, but all other players must not interfere.

4. Contact is allowed, but a player may not seize hold of another player's broomstick or any part of their anatomy.

5. No substitution of players is allowed throughout the game, even if a player is too injured or tired to continue to play.

6. Players may take their wands onto the pitch, but they must not be used on or against any players, any players' broomsticks, the referee, any of the four balls, or the spectators.

7. A game of Quidditch will only end once the Golden Snitch has been caught, or at the mutual consent of both team Captains.

8. Only the Keeper can block Quaffle shots thrown by the opposing team.

FOULS

There are seven hundred Quidditch fouls listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records, though the entire list has never been made public (it was the department's view that some wizards and witches "might get ideas"). 90% of these are banned anyway, by the rule concerning wand use against the opposing team (or rather, lack thereof) and the remaining 10% would not occur even to the dirtiest player. There are, however, ten common fouls, named below (names of who the fouls apply to in brackets):

Blagging: Seizing the opponent's broom tail to slow or hinder. (All players)
Blatching: Flying with the intent to collide. (All players)
Blurting: Locking broom handles with the intent to steer an opponent off course. (All players)
Bumphing: Hitting Bludgers towards spectators. (Beaters only)
Cobbing: Excessive use of elbows towards opponents. (All players)
Flacking: Pushing any portion of anatomy through the goal hoop in an attempt to push the Quaffle out - the Keeper should defend from the front, not the rear. (Keepers only)
Haversacking: Hand still on the Quaffle as it goes through the goal hoop - the Quaffle must be thrown through the goal. (Chasers only)
Quaffle-pocking: Tampering with the Quaffle - e.g. puncturing it so that it falls more quickly or zig-zags. (Chasers only)
Snitchnip: Any player other than Seeker touching or catching the Golden Snitch. (All players but Seeker)
Stooging: More than one Chaser entering the scoring area. (Chasers only)

A foul will constitute a penalty being awarded by the referee.

SCORING AND THE QUIDDITCH CUP

Each goal scored by the Chasers is worth 10 points.

Catching the Golden Snitch is worth 150 points.

The winner of the match is the team who has scored the most points, regardless of which team has caught the Snitch.

The cup is awarded to the team who has tallied the most points, rather than the team who has won the most matches. (Matches will be tallied in the Castle Grounds section)