Four short weeks until March 15 challenge deadline, mates! Poor Harry will languish if you don't give him that kick of inspiration. Poor Ginny will wonder, again, whether she'll ever find that perfect arm about her, banishing the old fears... In case it's any help, here's a little scribble to spark some creative engines. ============================== Harry's knuckles whitened... then he released the edge of the table and glowered at an empty chair across of him. Chewing her lip, Hermione listened to the thuds of Ron stomping petulantly up the steps toward the dorms. She loosed a weary breath, and patted her friend's arm. "I'm sorry, Harry." "Sorry?" Harry's brow crinkled. "What are you sorry for?" "I, er..." Hermione's chewed lip grew paler. "I'm sorry that Ron's being so impossible, but I can't really take your side either." Harry stared at her. Hermione looked away, shaking her head. "Sorry, I just can't. The two of you will just have to sort it out for yourselves." She turned from the table and made her way quickly, quietly, toward the girls' dorms. Harry stared after her for a long moment, incredulous and hurt. Alone. Indeed, their latest row had (once again) cleared the Common Room. Harry's weary eyes swept the empty chamber. The gaggle of first-years had fled an hour ago. Dean and Neville had long since packed up their chess match. Even Ginny had given up on them -- her favourite desk vacated, jumper gone from the chair-back, not a hint of... Huh? Harry's eyes caught a glimpse of... something fallen into the shadowy space between the wall and the bookcase -- perfectly hidden but from his odd current vantage. He crossed the room, knelt down, stretched his arm into the narrow crack, and pulled out -- a scroll. Upon which he saw flowing script, neatly stating, 'Potions Essay 12. Ginny Weasley.' "Oi!" Harry blinked. "Wouldn't want to lose this, would you Gin'? I reckon it's due tomorrow." He pursed his lips. "Where did she say she was off to? For a stroll by the lake?" He glanced at his own swotting -- parchment strewn about from the argument, lessons driven from his mind by the frustration of having such a git for a best friend. He gazed at the window, at the late sun playing off moody clouds and felt a vague longing for... For what? For fresh air? A friendly face to chat with? Harry shrugged. "Well, at least she'll be glad to have her essay back." He pulled on his cloak, and made his way to the portrait hole. ============================== Remember, the categories for judging are Best Overall, Most Romantic, Most Unexpected, and the People's Choice Award. 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 Carpe Diem Challenge (2017-1) sub-category of SIYE Challenges and be submitted by midnight SIYE time on Wednesday 15th March 2017. 3. Only completed stories will be accepted. Multiple chapters are allowed as long as all the requirements are in the chapters and the story is completed by the deadline. All stories still go through the same approval process as normal submissions so please don't wait until the last minute to submit your story. |
Gin110881 came out of the woodwork on 2017.02.15 - 06:25PM to say:
I wonder if it is rude to ask for a weekly reminder to the challenge, of course with a continuation of this little scribble...just to continue to spark some creative engines. Well, yeah...OK...also to satisfy my nosiness. I'm looking forward to reading a bunch of stories for this challenge.