A Halloween Update for the Quidditch Challenge Harry was playing like a first-year Slytherin. He couldn’t find the Snitch! Harry couldn’t see the Snitch, or much of anything else for that matter! Normal glasses had years before been replaced with match goggles with prescription lens, but it didn’t matter. He was experienced with rain, fog, snow, heavy winds, and annoying Dementors. The problem was the freezing rain. Except for lightning, it was the only weather condition which could postpone a Quidditch game…if detected before its onset. Once a match had begun, Voldemort himself arriving wouldn’t stop the contest. As this type of rain comes in contact with anything, especially so high in the air, it will instantly freeze…to the brooms, to their robes, to the balls and bats, and, unfortunately, to the special glasses Harry needed to see. With each passing moment, it became harder and harder to make anything out, and the wind didn’t help. It was as if he was trying to read fine print through a stained glass window while riding a bucking bronco. I’m blind with or without these blasted things! he realized. I have to get to the ground now before I… Wham! The decision came too late. Harry couldn’t tell if he’d hit someone or something, or if he’d been the one struck. A falling sensation washed over him. The last thing he remembered before blacking out from the pain was Ginny’s voice calling out his name. He was gone before he could decide if it was real. What's your inspiration? Baseball season is over now. Devote the time you're saving to that great story plot that's bouncing around in your head. It doesn't need to be an enormous endeavor for you. Ernest Hemingway (no relation) wrote a famous novel with only six words. All we're asking is a thousand plus. You can even wear your Albus Dumbledore costume and munch away at your Trick-or-Treat candy as you type away. Happy Halloween! |