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Dark Autumn (5-2005) Challenge

During the first weekend visit to Hogsmeade in October, the Hogwarts students find themselves in the middle of a surprise Death Eater attack. Some escape and are able to warn a few teachers. Some are able to take cover in various buildings. But most are caught or trapped out in the open. The Death Eaters are slightly outnumbered, as their plan didn't include all the students being there on that weekend. Nor the effective skills of various D.A. members.

The author's challenge is to write a story to include:

1) Describing at least three different battles between students and Death Eaters.

2) One fight shall include Neville taking charge of a small group of students.

3) One student (not Harry) makes a frantic, hair-raising, heroic rescue of another student.

4) Harry uses a very powerful, bizarre, curse his fellow students have never seen before.

5) No student dies in the attack, but some may be injured enough (not Harry) to have to stay in the Hospital Wing for a while. If Death Eaters die, that's okay but make it believable.

6) Other Hogsmeade residents and visitors may be involved if you wish.

7) Rescue arrives but the students will have already won the fight or have it under control.

8) The time frame of the attack is Saturday or Sunday in October in Harry's sixth year. Only third year and above students can visit Hogsmeade. The telling of the story can be any time.

Rules:

1. All general submission rules apply. Huge stories over 10,000 words are discouraged but not prohibited. We have to read all of them, you know.

2. R-rated stories are allowed but discouraged.

3. All entries must be submitted under Dark Autumn (5-2005) sub-category under SIYE Challenge and be submitted by midnight EDT, October 15, 2005.

4. Multiple chapters are allowed as long as all the requirements are in the chapter(s) that are submitted by the deadline.

5. The categories for judging are Best Overall, Dramatic, Romance, and Adventure.

6. Judges are not required to read any R-rated stories or stories over 10,000 words.

Bonus phrases for extra creativity for using any of the following phrases but they are not required. A good, creative story will always count much stronger than any bonus.

Ã‚Â· Do you want me to kiss it and make it feel better?

Ã‚Â· I thought we were the good guys.

Ã‚Â· Who's blood are you wearing all over you?

Ã‚Â· Quick, get behind (whatever)!

Ã‚Â· When I give the signal, you (whatever).

Ã‚Â· That was brilliant, you have to teach us that.

*** Credit *** - This Challenge is based on an original suggestion by Irish_Lass08. Thank you. I hope you like it. Tom

Sir Ollivander on 2005.09.15 - 07:43AM ()

Comments

LuckyHP came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:44AM to say:

Cool. I'll give it a shot and hope I can write something good. Thanks.

Ginebra Wood came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 02:14PM to say:

What about the judges?

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 04:16PM to say:

LuckyHP - go for it! You have a number of good stuff already, this should be easy for you.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 04:18PM to say:

Ginebra Wood - I was getting around to asking. You are definitely one on my list to ask. Glad you're excited Miss N.

Potter47 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 05:10PM to say:

So this is Pre-HBP as well, then? Interesting. I've already got a couple ideas...

Ginebra Wood came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 05:31PM to say:

Yes very excited, canÃ‚Â´t wait to read LuckyHP, Potter47 and all the fics.

Prince Jeteon Evans came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 05:32PM to say:

Oh no. Potty #47? We all be doomed!

potterfan226 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 08:03PM to say:

ooh looks good. Never submitted a challenge before, but I MAY give this one a shot :P

rufiel came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 08:54PM to say:

Hmm, I wrote my first drama story recently, maybe I'll write my first drama in English now!

Ooooh, I've already got a devilish idea...

And btw, is this Pre-HBP then?

Desslok came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 09:37PM to say:

I'm confused about the timing as well. Wouldn't this be in the midst of HBP? Are we ignoring HBP??

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:15PM to say:

Potter47 - well...I didn't make it Pre or Post-HBP. But I needed it to be Harry's sixth year. If it was his seventh, then Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and a lot of other Gryffindors would be of age and different rules could apply.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:16PM to say:

Prince Jeteon Evans - now, now. Play nice... : )

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:18PM to say:

Potterfan226 - please give it a try. Every author has to start with their first story. And I've already did part of the work for you.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:20PM to say:

Rufiel - well..., read what I replied to Potter47.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:27PM to say:

Desslok - yes, you are correct. It is in the middle of HBP and therefore considered Post-HBP. But in October, certain events have not happened yet. Therefore, what happened after October in HBP cannot be written about if you are telling the story as it unfolds. If someone is telling the story as if it already happened, a memory or reminiscing about the past, then anything Post-HBP can be mentioned.

Riella came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 10:30PM to say:

So, OK, I'm confused, do we take everything that's happened in HBP up to October into account and then go AU with it? Or is it supposed to be a missing moment?

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.15 - 11:12PM to say:

Riella - you can take anything into account as long as you stay within canon. In October, Dumbledore is still alive. If Harry knows a bizarre curse, that doesn't contradict canon. Thinking like it's a missing moment is a good way of looking at it.

Desslok came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.16 - 03:18PM to say:

Ok, missing moment stuff. Harry and Ginny aren't together, we-know-who is still alive, Katie hasn't been cursed yet, blah blah... stay within canon, though. Got it! Thanks, that was very helpful!!

Potter47 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.16 - 04:47PM to say:

It doesn't HAVE to keep in line with HBP, though, right? We can choose whether to include it, right? I think that's what you mean, but I want to be sure.

melindaleo came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.16 - 05:50PM to say:

This sounds like so much fun! I'm thrilled to see an angsty one! It can be a Missing Moment if we include HBP, but can it also be post-OotP and have a slightly altered version of July through October?

Also, studens other than Harry have to be sent to the Hospital wing, but can Harry be sent, too. I read it as if he can't be injured...but that doesn't seem like a HP fic so I'm unsure.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.16 - 09:10PM to say:

Potter47 - you are more or less correct. You can add or change anything as long as it doesn't contradict the books. Harry stubbed his big toe where he can't wear his trainers for a week. You could write that. But you can't have Harry living at #12 Grimmauld in July if HBP says he's living with his aunt & uncle at #4 Privet Drive.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.16 - 09:22PM to say:

Hi Melindaleo - an angst is coming up.
If you say up front you are sticking to Post OotP and be Pre-HBP, that's okay. You just can't mix them up. That should give you a lot of lee-way.
"Some [students] may be injured enough..." but Harry is not injured in this fight. Sounds almost impossible, doesn't it.

Irish_Lass08 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.16 - 11:45PM to say:

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too bad I don't have time to write in this challenge, much less my own story. But I'll try my hardest.

Yay, now I'm so happy.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.17 - 12:17AM to say:

Irish_Lass08 - well, if you don't write one, you could always be a judge.

white oleander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.17 - 06:18PM to say:

How can we be a judge? I'm very interested in becoming one.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.17 - 07:22PM to say:

white oleander - "Poof" **while waving wand** You're a judge.

sugarquill112 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.18 - 01:42AM to say:

Can we include members of the Order in the fic? I mean at the end.

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.18 - 12:33PM to say:

Sugarquill112 - sure. They are probably the ones that come to the student's rescue. Them and aome non-member Aurors. That's canon and it's fine.

bibliophile19 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.18 - 01:27PM to say:

I'm not going to be writing a fic for this, as I already have one in progress that taking up most of my time, but I had an idea that just needs to be used, so someone, please incorperate into your story: A barfight in the Three Broomsticks/Hog's Head, with either Ambeforth or Rosmerta knocking out a Death Eater with a bottle over the head. :)

ChickenIsGood came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.20 - 12:38AM to say:

I might actually try that. It eliminates even more thinking on my part Bibliophile19

Torak came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.21 - 08:09AM to say:

I've made a start on a fic for this. I have to say, though, I love that bar fight idea - couldn't we consider that one of the bonus sequences? It's far too good to appear in just one fic, and I don't want to pinch it from ChickenIsGood if it's going to be exclusive...

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.21 - 08:55AM to say:

Torak - well, bibliophile19 opened it up to anybody & everybody. Therefore it's not exclusive. Who knows how many people will use it.

bibliophile19 came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.21 - 10:21AM to say:

*devilish grin* excellent. have fun, guys! and if I come up with any other ideas, I'll post them ;D

Torak came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.21 - 12:40PM to say:

Eeeeexcellent....

Torak came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.21 - 12:41PM to say:

Aaww... the parser removed my faux-tag Mr Burns joke. Ah well.

Bar fight it is, then.

ChickenIsGood came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.21 - 07:15PM to say:

In all honesty after reading your stories I think this idea is perfect for you Torak

Nackledirk came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.22 - 01:08AM to say:

I love this idea. And it somehow makes me feel very seasonal, talking about autumn. *is still suffering summer heat*

Torak came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.22 - 07:04AM to say:

ChickenIsGood: Thanks... I think. ;-)

Torak came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.27 - 02:31PM to say:

Just thought of something, which was touched upon earlier in this discussion but not really clarified... It has to be consistent with HBP up to the point of that Hogsmeade weekend, i e chapter 12 of HBP. But does it have to finish in such a way as to fit with the rest of the book? For instance, if I chose to write it as a fluffocentric fic with Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione and Crookshanks/Narcissa all pairing up at the end, would I be able to do that if it fits the context of the story? (No, I'm not planning to. At least not the Crookshanks thing. I haven't gone that far off my rocker yet.)

If I were to rephrase that without rambling, then, does it matter if it' goes mildly AU (by modifying the timeline rather than substantive facts) during the course of the fic?

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.27 - 03:57PM to say:

Torak - a little AU never hurt anybody. I know this isn't easy to write with HBP in mind. So, yes, you can go mildly AU.

neecerstarnishedhalo came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.27 - 11:22PM to say:

Sir Ollivander... can you wave your wand and make me a judge too? I have so much going on with the kids and school, I have put my writings on hold. Homework is more important atm.... but I can read! :)

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.09.28 - 09:06PM to say:

Neecerstarnishedhalo - allllright, if you insist. **waves wand over head**

Desslok came out of the woodwork on 2005.10.12 - 09:34PM to say:

Any chance of adding a "Most Humorous" category, or is that not appropriate for a "Dark" challenge? I've got a good idea for a funny story on this topic. :)

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.10.13 - 03:54PM to say:

Desslok - funny you should ask. Challenges normally have Best Humor as a category. But for this "dark" story, Humor was replaced by Drama. I could have kept both but I didn't want the list of categories to become a "Best of Everything." Four is enough. An Angst category will be coming up soon.

Potter47 came out of the woodwork on 2005.10.13 - 07:42PM to say:

Is the deadline the END of the fifteenth, or the beginning? I mean, which midnight is it? Because I'm probably going to be down to the wire on this one...

Torak came out of the woodwork on 2005.10.14 - 06:16AM to say:

Nothing to say dark can't be funny..

As for the time, I assume that "midnight" means the one at the end of the day...

Sir Ollivander came out of the woodwork on 2005.10.14 - 03:45PM to say:

Potter47 & Torak - midnight as in going to bed, at the end of the day, on Saturday night.