After a Hogwarts school weekend where Neville Longbottom was noticeably missing, he was seen in the corridor walking towards the Great Hall for Monday morning breakfast.  His fellow Gryffindor friends wondered where he was as he didn’t sleep in the dorm the previous night.  Harry, Ginny, and a few others watched from their seats as Neville entered the Great Hall.

“What was that all about, Neville?  That Slytherin looked like she curtsied to you.” Ron spoke.

“Yeah.  And that other guy looked like he stood out of your way like a servant.”  Harry said.

As he sat down on the other side of Ginny, he replied, “Well, you’ll get used to it Harry.  Your turn may be coming up.”

Before Harry could respond, the owls arrived with the mail.  Surprisingly, Neville received more mail than the rest of all Gryffindor put together, including a very formal envelope from a regal-looking falcon.

“Neville, is there something you’d like to tell us?” Ginny asked.

“Well, I’ll tell you more about it later, but you are looking at Lord Longbottom of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom.” he said talking to the small group around him but looking at Harry directly.  Even Hermione had the sense not to continue asking questions as Neville started to load his plate with food.

As breakfast was winding down and students started leaving for first class, Professor McGonagall came over to where they were sitting.  “Mr. Longbottom, you and whomever you decide may be dismissed from first class and use the empty classroom next to the Charms classroom to discuss any recent events if you wish.”   Hermione was about to ask a question when both Neville and the professor raised their hands to stop her.  She quickly closed her mouth at the obvious, abrupt dismissal.

“Thanks you Professor McGonagall.  I shall utilize the opportunity wisely.” Neville replied and nodded towards her.

The professor returned her own ‘thank you’ and gave what appeared to be half a nod and half a curtsy before leaving.  The students appeared in awe at what they thought just transpired.

“Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, if you don’t mind, would you please join me in the classroom? Ginny, could you please collect Luna with you on your way to the classroom?”

Here is a plot that might help you come up with an idea you can write for the Challenge.  It's called a Challenge for a reason.  Good writing!

The votes have been tallied and the winners are as follows:

Best Comedy
• Winner:Beard Hunters (A Yuletide Tale) by Northumbrian
• Honourable Mention: What Luna Sees by Northumbrian

Best Drama
• Winner:Shut and Be a Bud Again by MinistryMalcontent
• Honourable Mention: Foolish by Tonksaholic

Best Romance
• Winner:Foolish by Tonksaholic
• Honourable Mention: I Choose You by YelloWitchGrl

Best One-Shot
• Winner:What Luna Sees by Northumbrian
• Honourable Mention: The Duplicitous Nature of Chest Monsters by Quidditchmum

Best Completed
• Winner:Mischievously Managed Brewery by Mutt N Feathers
• Honourable Mention: Beard Hunters (A Yuletide Tale) by Northumbrian

Best New Story
• Winner:Beard Hunters (A Yuletide Tale) by Northumbrian
• Honourable Mention: The First Annual Weasley Brothers’ Halloween Extravaganza! by DukeBrymin

Thanks to all who nominated and voted. Congratulations to the winners!

The annual polls are open! Vote here

Votes will be tallied on January 31st.

Jenn

Silver Trinkets Admin

Once again, the time has come to cast our ballots for the November/December Silver Trinket Awards.  Remember, votes will be counted through January 10th.  Results will be posted on January 11th.  So vote today!

Jenn 

Silver Trinkets Admin

Mr. Sirius Black has stated more than once that he was of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.  But one rarely heard the title from other families.  Why is that?  Weren’t there others?  It took an unsuspecting student at Hogwarts to explain it to Harry and why he might be affected.

The Challenge is to write a story explaining the title of the Noble and Most Ancient House, why some families can use it and others can’t, and how it may affect Harry.

Suggestions:

1.  The time frame can be any time during Harry’s years at Hogwarts once he meets Sirius.

2.  Malfoy knows of the title but is furious he can never use it.

3.  The only reference Hermione can find is that it’s really “ancient.”

Rules:

1.  All general submission rules apply. Stories over 20,000 words are discouraged but not prohibited.  R-rated stories are allowed but discouraged. Judges are not required to read stories over 20,000 words or any R-rated stories.

2.  All entries must be submitted under The Noble and Most Ancient House Challenge (2012-1) sub-category of SIYE Challenges and be submitted by midnight SIYE Time, Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

3.  Multiple chapters are allowed as long as all the requirements are in the chapter(s) that are submitted by the deadline.  Completed stories are seriously preferred.

4.  The categories for judging are Best Overall, Best Historical, Most Dramatic and The People’s Choice Award.

Bonus phrases for extra creativity are the following. Using any or all of them is not required.  A good, creative story will always count much stronger than any bonus.

1. “If I’d known that you [blank] I never would have married you.”

2. “Naturally we have to [blank].  We’re British.”

3. “Two hundred miles to [blank] sounds like a nice leisurely walk.”

4. “What did that [blank] ever do to you?”

5. “Should I spend the extra five Sickles for the [blank]?”

6. “They’d never write a book about [blank].  Who would read it?”

As far as I can tell the problems with editing/adding new chapters has now been fixed. If anyone is still encountering problems can you let me know.

We the administrators, staff and membership of Sink Into Your Eyes would like to wish each and every one of you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.  May the new year bring us happiness, prosperity, and still more incredible Harry/Ginny stories.  Please remember to keep the house-elves away from the butter beer during the celebrations (they go a little crazy).

Mischief managed!  Ho, ho, ho!

It has been brought to our attention that someone has made a site (http://www.ultimatehpfanfiction.com) and taken it upon herself to archive what she deems to be the best of HP fanfic.  Unfortunately she has chosen to do this by copying stories from other HP web sites and posting them on hers rather than just archiving links.

It is important to note that this is not plagiarism; she has credited the original authors and promises to comply with requests to not host stories. However, at SIYE we believe you as the author should have the final say as to where and how your stories are published. We also believe that a better way would have been to contact the authors concerned, allowing them to opt in rather than forcing them to first find out about it and then opt out.

We encourage you, our authors, to go to that site and see if your stories are posted there. If they are, it is up to you to decide whether you're happy for her to continue hosting your story. We recommend that you ask to have your stories replaced with a link to the story in its original location. That way, you retain full control of the story - changes, updates etc - and of course it means you still get the reviews.

Do be polite, though - she has at least tried to do it the right way, even if it hasn't quite worked.

Well, this was a very interesting Challenge I must tell you.  There were crosses of just about every type.  It wasn’t an easy Challenge but quite effective.  Five brave authors took the Challenge and did pretty good with what they had to work with.  And now the winners….

The award for Best Overall goes to:

Healer Who? by Miz636

The award for Best Comedy goes to:

Hog Treck VII: the Wrath of Harry by vikehi

The award for Most Insane goes to:

Sherlock Potter And The Red-Headed League by Spenser Hemmingway

The award for Greatest Advance in the Field of Molecular Gastronomy goes to:

Sherlock Potter And The Red-Headed League by Spenser Hemmingway

The winning stories are now prominently listed in our Featured Stories section.  Those of you that have multiple chapters or need to do some editing may continue at this time.  The Challenge category is back open.   If your story is completed, please ensure it is edited and YES, as completed.  The 2012-1 Challenge will start January 1st.  You’ll have to dig up some ancient honors on this one.

I would like to thank my many judges who worked hard for this Challenge: AM, AP, EB, IC, ML, NS, P, SM, & YC.  You know who you are. Thank you very much for all that reading and judging. Your time to help out is quite valuable. The Challenge would not exist if nobody judged them.  IC picked all the first place winners.  Good show!

Some authors have asked if I would tell them how well they did in the judging. If you wish, e-mail me and I will tell you your results.

Well, “Revenge of the Mary-Sue: Crossing Over” Challenge (2011-4) is now closed.  If you haven’t returned your seats back to the upright position and locked your trays away, you’ll have to wait for the next episode.  Five brave, or foolish, depending on your point of view, authors went forth and answered this call.  Now sit back and watch (figuratively) as the judges pick through the stories and try to nail down Best Overall, Best Comedy, Most Insane, and Greatest Advance in the Field of Molecular Gastronomy.  Please return on Wednesday, November 30, to see if your guesses matched our most esteemed judges.  Good luck to all.  First round of Firewhiskey is on me.

Here's the slate of winners from the September-October Dumbledore Silver Trinkets.  We had a tie for the Best One Shot.  The tech admin will be helping me correct this posting to accurately reflect that.

Best Comedy
• Winner:The Seven Potters by writetress
• Honourable Mention: The Question by Northumbrian

Best Drama
• Winner:Foolish by Tonksaholic
• Honourable Mention: Remember by potterfan2008

Best Romance
• Winner:A Long Overdue Confession by writetress
• Honourable Mention: Free Life by fake a smile

Best One-Shot
• Winner:The Seven Potters by writetress
• Winner: Owl Post by Northumbrian

Best Completed
• Winner:The Drakeshaugh Dragon by Northumbrian
• Honourable Mention: Memoirs of a Red Headed Witch by My Wicked Quill

Best New Story
• Winner:Trapped Souls by quillthorn58
• Honourable Mention: The Leaders Of Light by peverralquest

Congratulations to all the winners!  Nominations are now open for the November/ December Silver Trinkets.

Jenn

Silver Trinkets Admin