Sorting Hat:

Challenges!

je_regret_riens — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 02:47:32 GMT

Hokay. Here we go! I'm using ganimede's idea of easing slowly into things. :)

1. Pick a canon character you absolutely HATE, and make them an icon and sig tag as if they were a part of the community!

2. Advertising is a part of life nowadays. Even wizarding life. Make an advertisement for something. This can be anything, even a youtube video or an mp3 of a jingle!

3. I saw an icon of a fake HP7 spoiler, and I think it's a brilliant idea for a fic challenge! Voldemort discovers the true meaning of Christmas. You can swap out Christmas for any holiday you prefer, if Christmas isn't your thing.

4. St. Mungo's is under appreciated, methinks. Give it some more of a history--who was St. Mungo, why is there a hospital named after them, how did the hospital come to be?

5. And now I'm showing my age. Remember the old Dr. Brain series? I hope you do, because this is one of his puzzles!

At the end of each row, column, and diagonal, you will see a number. Your goal is to get all of the rows, columns, and diagonals to add up to the totals in the white boxes around the edge of the grid. Use only the numbers one to nine, but you can reuse them or not use ones as you see fit.
Free hint: Do not repeat any numbers in each column, row, or diagonal.

6. And for the more faint of heart, 'excercise, hungry, kitten, and merpeople'.

Drabble Entry!

je_regret_riens — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:10:14 GMT

Characters: Cho Chang, her owl, Cedric Diggory
Warnings: Drug Use, Suicide
Notes: I would assume everyone knows that coke is slang for cocaine. And I'm assuming that the plural of thestral counts. ♥

Neither Cho Chang nor Cedric Diggory were casualties of the war, though Cedric only wasn't by the technicality of when the 'war' started. Supposedly it had begun at the start of Harry Potter's seventh year of school. Cho, however, was a casualty of a broken heart. No one had realized until after the war was over how much she had loved Cedric, not even herself. Not until after the dust had settled, not until after it was a rare student that did not see the thestrals pulling the carriages did she realize. And the worst part of it all was that, even then, no one else noticed. She tried to forget Cedric in firewhiskey, and when that no longer worked, she moved to drugs, moving through many, even heroin and coke, but not even that worked in the end. She sent her beloved owl along ahead of herself, perhaps to make sure she could perform the spell properly, perhaps to keep herself company. She cried when the bird died, and she buried it beneath a willow tree. She returned inside, one last walkthrough of her parents' home before it was over. Everything was in order, even the elegant note settled on her bed. She ran her fingers over the music box on her vanity, a gift from Cedric, and smiled. She aimed her wand at the mirror, and let the green light engulf herself. "Avada kedavra."

polkadotsquared — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:00:24 GMT

Ok, I made us a few promo banners

Made by brimac13

If you have any slogans or banners to add to this set please comment with them, points will be awarded for both.

Jill, Headmistress

polkadotsquared — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 01:53:09 GMT

If anyone runs a community they want affiliated with ours, please leave a comment in this post or email us at sortinghat.mods@gmail.com. We're all in a ton of other cool communities and I would love for us all to associate the communities.

__sortinghat__

castlehogwarts

hh_sorting

hogwartsharmony

newts_exam

scarofconquest

bruisedbuthappy — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 19:07:26 GMT

Wow. PotterxCore. It's crazy.

Have a listen...

swansong19 — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 18:10:36 GMT

Hey everyone! I just want to fill you all in with a bit of what's been going on. I was grounded for about 3 weeks. A few days before my un-grounding, a construction company pulled up the fiberoptic cables that housed our phone lines and it took a little over a week to fix. Random storms for the past few weeks (no hurricanes towards us yet this year, thank God...) have been knocking out our power sporadically and school is killing me. Plus, ahh marching band...so much time! But I promise that from now on I'll be online more often and start fulfilling my duties as...whatever it is that I am now XD

Hopefully, there will be a new trivia contest up tomorrow night (That'd be Sunday night, EST).

Classes deleted?

the_zedster — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 00:28:53 GMT

I'm trying to get some ideas as to how to prepare a lesson plan for a class I want to apply for, but noticed the classes section has been deleted.

HP Goodies!

the_zedster — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 01:14:30 GMT

Enjoy

X-posted on Sorting Hat's The Daily Prophet

Zedster ~ Ravenclaw

More on Katrina

merrymagpie — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 16:46:07 GMT

I thought I would add on to cyn_ful's post regarding aid to Katrina victims. One of my 'net friends, limyaael, put together a list of fellow LJers who are offering artistic services in return for donations to the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, etc. People may request short stories, art, icons, fanfic and fanart (perhaps people in this community might be interested in?), and the like.

The list of artists/authors is here.

-Megan

onezeronothing — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 16:45:36 GMT

Want to help the victims of Katrina?

Have no money?

Completely unwilling to leave your house?

Spend most of your time online anyway?

If you answered 'Yes!' to any of those questions, Wikipedia needs you

Wikipedia is building a database of missing and found victims of Katrina by consolidating the posts from various sites. You can find out more here. Trust me, I make it sound harder than it really is. At least click the link once before you decide it's too hard.

I had my chunk done in about 30 minutes. Granted, I had to take a break when I saw a post about an 8 year old girl that was missing on the first. *sniffles* Her birthday was the third. I highly doubt she had a nice one. So yeah. Go and be a humanitarian.

Help Wiki and improve your karma.

I hope it's okay to post that here. X-posted to lotsa places.

Sigtags

kikithepirate — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 18:09:06 GMT

Well, since I've been the most horribly inactive member ever lately, I thought I'd whip up some sigtags for our Headmistress and win us 'Claws some points. Hope you enjoy them, Nichole. :-)

-Sarah-
Ravenclaw

Tarot Readings (Mary Sue Challenge)

wulfkub — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 19:10:39 GMT

Title: Tarot Readings
House: Gryffindor
Rating: PG
Characters: Harry and a MarySue
Challenge: Omens, Portents, and Visions
Word Count: 100
A/N: Sorry, I think it’s all the bad fic I’ve been reading lately. Oh, god, this actually hurt to write. I wrote this a little while ago for one of the HP100 challenges but it's too good for this one not to ~~inflict~~ pass along to you. More coming soon...

“I’m Lady MarySue-Isabella-Lilian-Selina-Vanessa-Arabella-Virgina-Miranda-Eleanor-Malefiscious.”

Harry wondered, did she even breathe?

“I’m the world’s best Seer though none know of my powers because my powers are too powerful.”

Harry could feel his brain start to melt.

Flipping a card, she gasped (prettily, of course) and laid a trembling hand upon her heaving bosom, “Death.”

Harry smiled, “Avada Kedavra.”

As MarySue dropped dead, an astonished silence filled the fandom. Harry glanced round and shrugged, “Oh, please. What did you expect? Fall in love with Barbie so either she can die tragically or we live happily ever after? I’d rather marry Snape. Or Voldemort."

Amanda - a Gryffindor who loves Fridays!

Meet Mary-Sue...

sam_can_do_it — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 16:43:35 GMT

Something to do until the new challenges start going up

This was inspired by a conversation my friends and I had on a camping trip in the beginning of August. We had all finished HBP and were on one of our many tangents. It had to do with Harry Potter but it also had to do with basically every fandom we are part of (and we are geeky, there are many)!

We were joking about the fact that all writers have Mary-Sues spinning around in their heads. We were commenting that we've all got Mary-Sues in every fandom we write fic for (there are lots), but we are the nice writers who don't force our Mary-Sues on other people. We then went on to basically confess our Mary-Sues to one another. There were many groans and giggles, but in one situation, we were able to combine a couple of our Mary-Sues into a situation where they would be friends.

So here is what I'm hoping to get people to do:

Write a ficlet that introduces your [Harry Potter] Mary-Sue. Keep it short so as not to torture people, but since this is not an official challenge I'm not putting a maximum on length. Read other peoples Mary-Sue story and if you think your Mary-Sue would get along with their Mary-Sue, comment. It may be a little bit like Role Playing, but we're not getting a full RPG going here, just something fun for a little while until we get more challenges to occupy our time.

If nothing else, it may be a good release for that Mary-Sue floating around in your head!

Christie//Ravenclaw

P.S. Congratulations on winning the House Cup Slytherin!

P.P.S. Sorry for the overusing of the word Mary-Sue!

winter_noir — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 04:28:32 GMT

Well, a whole lot of people managed to get themselves kicked out of the community. I told everyone to take my poll or on the second of september they would be removed from the community, and they have been. The complete list is under the cut of people removed from the community. This post is public so they can see it themselves. Anyone who wants to get back in can either take it up with me (AIM:Noir Snow, email:sortinghat.mods@gmail.com) or post in sortinghat_mom under normal procedure for trying to get back in the community. Keep in mind, now I have to be convinced to let these people back in and the decision rests solely with me, you can't try to convince Sean because you think he's easier.

Gryffindor
_angels_touch_
cougprincess
deus3xmachina
disgruntledjenn
enders_girl
fiverly
fliboing
gurlslieinbed
jennifurret
lizzychan
mystical_pools
o0teh_goodehz0o
silverkit
swmmr89

Hufflepuff
__soul_less__
banana_07
cosytea
debacul
endilwen_09
forgetablelove
halfelvenbird
im4u2nv3145
jitterbug5bi5
julietnromeo
kniob
lodessa
markov55
mary_goodnight
micahmoses
musicalpanties
pinaylily36
queeen_schitzo
redheadedbeauty
shellydkitty
svettles_inc
vinacross

Ravenclaw
amberflamed
archsophos
danii_ellie
jmljasmine
lilyalta
marmot_pie
medusicah
nichalia
rayne_wyvren
smileletmein
zillah_mahala

Slytherin
deniseraven
ewanioangal2511
queen_sinistra
shadowsdancer
xstar_iconx

oshunanat — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:23:11 GMT

It's 12:08, I just finished this and now I'm ready to put it up and then sleep (procrastinate? me? never!)

Hannah Abbott
Hufflepuff

Although both of her parents are wizards, she is not a pureblood, as not only is her mum muggle-born, but her father's side of the family contains several muggle-born relations. Her parents Sara and Peter run a small group that assists families with muggle-born children adjust to the wizarding world by providing counseling, helping guide the parents to setting up accounts at Gringotts and literature to help the parents adjust, finding solicitors that understand the laws of both the magical/muggle world, etc.

She is a witch with average talents. She first began showing signs of accidental magic at seven years old, when she turned her pet cat purple and gold while playing princess (her cat was her father the king). She excels in none of her classes, but gets more-or-less respectable marks in everything including potions (thanks to the help of her older housemates who tutor her), although Herbology often gets the better of her. She prefers History of Magic because she likes to imagine herself living in the past and Charms because she finds it enjoyable. She has a love/hate relationship with Defense Against the Dark Arts. She knows it’s useful, but the constant change of teachers makes it difficult for her because there is no continuity from year to year. That being said, she joined Dumbledore’s Army in her fifth year—she rather learn it in a secretive manner, than not learn it at all. Of her electives, she enjoys Runes and Divination the most because she likes predicting what the future has in store. (She would have taken Arithmancy, but both of her parents had no head for the subject and the older students she asked said you got it or you didn’t).

Hannah is a friendly girl who has a large group of friends—many not more than mere acquaintances, and several whom she expects she’ll keep in touch with the rest of her life. She is trusting of older people—perhaps too much so—simply because they have lived longer and thus have more life experience. This got her into trouble during the second year. She’d heard some sixth-years gossip that Harry Potter simply had to be the Heir of Slytherin and so she started touting that too. She felt awfully embarrassed when it came to light that not only was he not who she thought he was, but that he had in fact rescued Ginny from the basilisk. She fretted over it most of the summer, to the point that when the next year started, she made sure to apologize to Harry when she caught him in the halls during the first week of school. Her mother always taught her to be a good example to others, even when you didn’t think anyone was looking, and this advice paid off when she was made prefect in her fifth year. She wears her prefect’s badge proudly although sometimes she frets that she isn’t doing a good enough job—she doesn’t want to fail the youngest members of her House. She has a strong sense of House pride (as evidenced by her Support Cedric Diggory badge) and goes to ever Qudditch match that she can. She constantly strives to earn points for Hufflepuff—perhaps even going overboard as she’s heard the occasional Ravenclaw call her a teacher’s pet as she offers to do little favors for the teachers, like magic the erasers clean or run messages to other professors if the recipient is on her way.

Many of Hannah's fondest memories stem from time she spent with her grandmothers, and thus one of her greatest worries was that her own mom would die before Hannah could have children of her own. Unfortunately, this fear came true during her sixth year when her mother was the victim of a Death Eater attack. Her father took her out of school that same day. No longer convinced that the Ministry could keep anyone safe—let alone at a school where You-Know-Who's biggest enemy lived—Peter decided to not let Hannah return, hiring tutors to finish teaching Hannah the magic she'll really need for day-to-day life.

After several weeks passed for mourning, Hannah has thrown herself into the family business. She knows that she cannot fight the Death Eaters or defeat You Know Who, so she wants to do what she can to help the newest members of the wizarding community feel comfortable and accepted. Hannah knows that it's not much considering the times, but it is the best that she can do, and because she knows that her mom would want it that way.

El Lance//Slytherin

Magical Melodies, H/G

fragilesymphony — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 17:31:33 GMT

Okay, I've got my contribution...a Harry/Ginny, very much HBP spoilery soundtrack. Note: Um, I'm currently without PSP or any program of the like (computer problems awhile back are still causing trouble). I may possibily be able to make a cover before the contest ends. I'm not entirely sure, but I'll edit it in if I can. I just really wanted to post the songs I picked.

Several Sunlit Days: The Harry/Ginny Soundtrack (Or, an Ode to the Creature in Harry's Chest.)

1)Underdog, by Lisa Loeb
2)Beautiful Disaster by Kelley Clarkson
3)Under Your Spell by Amber Benson
4)Collide by Howie Day
5)Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
6)You and Me by Lifehouse
7)Heaven by DJ Sammy
8)Be My Escape, by Relient K
9)A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos
10)Superman by Five for Fighting
11)Walking After You by the Foo Fighters
12)Love Song by the Cure

Comments:
1-Underdog is just so very Ginny. Especially circa CoS. She's already fallen for him, but to her, it doesn't seem like he'll ever notice her. She's the underdog, the last in line.
2-Ginny, about Harry. Harry's got a dark past, he's got a dark future, too.
3-Ginny, when Harry starts noticing her, becoming her friend, and such. (Plus, I'm just in love with this song. Heh. I've had this fanatical obsession with the Buffy musical episode, and this is my favorite song from it.)
4-Harry throughout book 6, noticing Ginny.
5-I think the title says it all, hah. The common room kiss.
6-"Cause it's you and me, and all other people" Heh, yeah, also about the first kiss.
7-For some reason, this is what I thought of when the "particulary happy hour spent by the lake" was mentioned in HBP.
8- "It's been like something out of someone else's life, these past few weeks with you." It reminds me of Harry, feeling trapped in his destiny, and Ginny being his escape, making him happy even if it for just a short time.
9-"And I'm so sad/like a good book I can't put this/day back" Their short relationship, and how happy it made them, even though it had to end.
10-Ah. The Harry theme song, I've come to think of it as. It's about a reluctant hero. He doesn't want to, he has to. Plus, the line "More than just a pretty face standing beside a train" reminds me of SS, the scene and King's Cross, and Ginny wanting to see him.
11-"If you walk out on me, I'm walking after you" Ginny's initial "what if I don't care?" when Harry is explaining that they have to break up for her safety.
12-Oh, come on. This is classic. "However far away/I will always love you" They broke up, but they still care for each other. That's why they had to break up, because Harry cares for her.

-Tina//Hufflepuff

Another non-contest related fanfiction

onezeronothing — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 10:30:15 GMT

Author: Ilujna / Betrayedjudas
Title: Potter
Genre: Angst
Pairing: Severus / Harry implied Severus / James
Rating: R, because they're naked and... just finished um, meeting the beast with two backs when the story starts.
Word Count: 1,663
Warning: Slash
Summary: Harry questions why Severus never calls him by his first name.
Misc: I really do write things that aren't angst! Just, angst makes the best one-shots. Also, I'm not a Snarry writer, just was this one of those stories that refused to let itself not be written. I tried to find a Snarry writer for it, but they're always into Harry and Snape being in love and whatnot, and that love is kind of one-sided in this story.

Severus collapsed, completely spent, onto the sweating back of his lover. "Potter." He exhaled, before rolling off his completely legal co-worker and reaching for his robe.

"What did you call me?" Harry asked fearfully, knowing the name that Severus had shouted earlier, the only time he had ever spoken during intercourse, wasn't his own.

"Potter." Severus scowled over his shoulder at his ex-student, upset at him for asking such an obvious question.

"Just now, yes. But earlier... while we were..." His voice trailed off as Harry gathered the blankets from the foot of the bed and wrapped them around his lithe form.

"Yes. What?" Severus asked impatiently, straightening his robe and getting ready to leave Harry's apartment.

"You yelled."

"People have been known to do that during times of-"

"You yelled my father's name. You yelled out 'James'." Harry broke in, the words rushing out of his mouth.

Severus scoffed and a smirk stole across his face before he crossed the room back to the bed. He reached out and almost tenderly moved an unruly hair from Harry's forehead. "You do look just like him."

"What?" Harry jumped up from the bed, the blankets forgotten, and stared at the Potions teacher.

Severus's gaze ran down his lover's naked body and the trademark smirk snuck across his face once more. "Just like him in almost every way."

Harry twitched, unable to come to terms with what was being said. "You and my father...?"

"All the time."

"Is this why you never...?"

"You think I'm here because I love you? You think I like you? The only thing I like is pretending you're James." Severus laughed cruelly at the expression on Harry's face. Part disgust, partly anger, mostly sadness.

"You mean you never..."

"I never loved you Harry. But I did see a future with Potter, before he decided to marry that horrible redhead." With that, the teacher slammed the door to Potter’s chambers and swished down the hall. He felt no shame, no remorse, no sorrow.

“Just like his father…” he laughed to himself.

Magical Melodies!

braynstorm — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 05:31:10 GMT

Concerning the music choices for this album:
I chose some on the basis of "the title of the song conveys the feeling" otherwise, for example, like the classical music or much of the instrumental stuff (Apocalyptica) the nature of the music is something that goes with something I imagine to have happened.

1. Betrayal and confrontation with Pettigrew - Saint Saens Cello Concerto # 1 in A Minor

2. Sirius is convicted - The Parliament of Fools - Skyclad

3. Sirius' turmoil in Azkaban - Harvester of Sorrow - Metallica

4. Fighting for sanity - Refuse/Resist - Apocalyptica

5. On the run from the law - Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi

6. Sirius looking out on Hogwarts as he flies off on Buckbeak. Harry's sadness. - Beyond Time - Apocalyptica

7. Snivellus - Dueling Banjos - Chet Atkins and Roy Clark

8. Spotted by Malfoy - Vivaldi Cello Concerto in C minor, Movement 3, Allegro man non Molto

9. Harry dreams of Sirius in the Dept. of Mysteries - Enter Sandman - Metallica

10. The Veil - Into the Void - Black Sabbath

11. Sirius' death and then Harry's subsequent battle with Bellatrix - In Memoriam - Apocalyptica

12. End of an existance - Fade to Black - Metallica

Explaination of songs:

1: The Saint Saens Cello concerto is so cool. It starts with a very angry opening, is very brisk and fast-paced. It eventually calms down. (briefly, though, which I felt would be a few quick tears from Sirius) Then it goes back into this huge, fast, extremely brusque chromatic passage. (the confrontation between Black and Pettigrew) It ends, of coursePettigrew's "death" and Sirius being caught.

2: I think it's self-explanitory, personally.

3: Again, fairly self explanitory, but it's referring to the dementors, although they don't actually harvest sorrow...the opposite, but I felt it was too close to pass it up. heh heh

4: This one is another instrumental, it has lots of scraping, dark goodness. I think you can imagine him trying his best to keep from going completely bonkers.

5: Again, self explanitory, but for the record: Yes. I like Bon Jovi. w00t. ::metalheads throw tomatoes at me::

6: This is one of the ones you have to listen to in order to really "get it" but, I think that it works here.

7: I had to get something in here that made me laugh. It is EXACTLY the right song for this, don't you think?

8: This is one of the things that I hear in my head everytime I see this scene. Because it's Vivaldi, and therefore, Boroque music, the piece feels kind of "rich guy" and I just imagine Lucius seeing him and having this huge, dark smirk on his face as he walks away.

9: I think this one is fairly self explanatory as well, but for those of you who are not metallica fans, it's a song about horrible nightmares.

10: This one I shouldn't have to explain. "Into the void." yeah.

11: While the title fits in somewhat, the music, itself, is so great for this. I just see the beginning of this with Sirius getting knocked into the veil and Harry reaching out for him, Remus holding him back...and then later on it gets much more angry as Harry goes after Bellatrix.

12: The end of Sirius' existance, losing grip of self. "Death greets me warm, now I will just say 'goodbye.'"

I hope you all like it! ^_^
Braynstorm//Gryffindor

liquidrose — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 18:28:16 GMT

Wow! I like the new layout since I was last here! Great Job!

Linda~Ravenclaw

Heraldically Correct Iconage

wulfkub — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 18:27:02 GMT

I know that you guys want icons and I decided the other night that the shields the HP lexicon, while uber cool and nifty, are not actually heraldically correct at all from the descriptions in the book. Did I mention that I am a SCAdien, lol? Herald nazi! Anyways, instead of just complaining I went and did something about it. Use them if you like, please credit me if you do (considering how many hours this took away from my school work ~sigh~) and don't steal my bandwidth *G*.

Obviously, the Squib one is not described in the books...however, with the exception of that particular banner, the rest of it is.

And as a small side note, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are on lozenges, not shields, because their founders were women...

Non-Contest related Fanfiction

onezeronothing — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 12:46:46 GMT

Author: Ilujna / Betrayedjudas
Title: Please Bleed
Genre: Angst, Drama
Pairing: Ron / Hermione
Rating: PG-13 for Domestic Abuse
Word Count: 3,071
Warning / Misc: Uncaring!Ron, spousal abuse, also EVIL!RON, slight HBP spoiler, really and incredibly small, If you didn't read the book, you won't even notice it. Also, Bad!Ron, Mentions of Character Death
Summary: When he threatens the life of their unborn child, Hermione finally decides to leave her abusive husband.
Misc. This is a songfic based on Please Bleed by Ben Harper. I don't normally write or read song fics, but this story was begging to be written.

Hermione slammed the door to the house, grateful, for once that Ron was “at work”. Resisting the urge to slump to the ground and cry, she braved a smile at her children, twin boys.

“What do you two want for dinner?” She put her purse on the table as she walked past the two boys, who stood in the hallway watching her.

“Mommy?”

“Yes Fred?”

“Percy.”

“Sorry, yes Percy?”

The boys, having been born so soon after Voldemort was officially defeated, were named after the only two Weasleys that didn’t survive the war.

“What was Daddy doing at the restaurant?”

“Today?” Hermione stalled for time, knowing Percy, so much like his namesake, wouldn’t stop until his question was answered.

“Yes, Mum, today.” His tone could have been easily mistaken for snotty, but Hermione, who had had that exact same tone, knew that it was only an indication that he was trying to hold in his temper. Smiling at him, she ruffled his red hair, reflecting on how much it was like Rons’.

“He was eating.”

Make me feel like a beggar
Make me feel like a thief
Make me feel like a battle, that cannot end in peace
Make me feel like running, as if I've lost my nerve
Make me feel like crying, tears I don't deserve

“How can he eat with that woman kissing him?”

Hermione froze. She had hoped the boys hadn’t seen that. She was spared from answering by Fred’s soft question.

“Are you and Daddy going to get a divorce?” The tears were evident in his voice and when she turned around to face the boys, she could see them sliding down his still plump cheeks. It took her mere seconds to cross the room and envelope him in a hug.

“Of course not Freddy. Daddy and I are… having a few problems, but we’ll be together forever.” At least that’s what you promised me at Harry’s funeral. But you’ve broken so many promises since then, what’s one more?

“Forever is a long time.” Percy responded quietly, his voice coming from just over her right shoulder. Moving slightly, she included him on the hug.

“There’s no such thing as a long time, if you love someone.” But do you still love me Ron?

The three stayed that way for several moments before Hermione stood up, dusted off her knees, and asked, once again, in an overly bright voice, “What do you guys want for dinner?”

Fred shrugged as he mumbled something about not being hungry. Hermione frowned at him, and took a quick glance at Percy, noting that Fred was consistently losing weight. Two months ago, he and Percy wore the exact same size, but now, their matching outfits were drooping off of Fred’s slender frame.

“Perce?” Hermione asked the oldest of the twins, only to be awarded with a melancholy shrug. She ruffled each of the boys’ hair and watched as they slowly went up the stairs into their room.

Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that you've done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb
I am numb
I am numb

Hermione stood in the bathroom smoothing down her skirt, her hands lingering on her stomach. When they first bought the house, Ron had surprised her with a room that was ‘just for you’, and Hermione, aspiring to be a Potions Master, had turned it into a homelab. She shook her head as she went through her stock and wondered what had happened.

They had been so happy at Hogwarts, even managed to laugh through the war. They had shed their tears at all the funerals, but were the ones who recalled all the funny stories and good times at the following Wake. Sometime around the twins fifth birthday, Ron started spending more and more time at work. Hermione, originally, accepted this. But then she realized that they had less and less money, that Ron never acted on her advances in the bedroom… And then there was that day where she appareted to his office and realized he wasn’t there.

His secretary, who was leaving for the day, informed her that Ron had been leaving the office earlier and earlier for the past two years. The look in the womans’ eyes was sympathetic as she patted Hermione’s shoulder before exiting the office. Hermione wasn’t sure if the woman had purposefully left it out, but on her desk was a picture of Ron hanging onto a blonde, a bottle of wine in his hand. His beaming smile as he shook the bottle at her made her realize how much Ron hadn’t smiled in the past few years.

Is this really living? Sometimes it's hard to tell
Or is this a kind of gentler hell?
Turn out the lights
And let me stare into your soul
I was born and bled for you to hold

The door slammed shut as Hermione kissed the sleeping twins on their foreheads. She winced, glancing at Fred. The child was an incredibly light sleeper and had taken to waking up in the middle of the night and wandering around the house.

“Hermione!” Ron roared from someplace downstairs. Though his tone was jovial, she closed her eyes in remembered pain. Each time Ron came home roaring, something always got broken. Hermione practically flew down the stairs and into her husband’s waiting arms.

“You’re home.” She managed a fake smile as she looked up at him.

“Of course I’m home. Why wouldn’t I be home?” His eye flicked around the room suspiciously as he threw her unceremoniously away from him. “Is someone here? Is there a man here? Are you cheating on me?” His voice started to raise in volume until he was shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Ron. Please. The twins… Fred is such a light sleeper…”

“How. Dare. You.” Ron was practically vibrating in anger as he moved closer to Hermione. Hermione was attempting to back away from him, but she found herself pressed against a wall.

“Ron, I’m sorry. What did I say? I take it back.” She begged, her eyes darting around the room.

“Are you looking for him? Are you trying to distract me from seeing him?” Ron stomped towards her just as Hermione glanced at the staircase. The sight of twin sets of brown eyes and red hair threw her off guard. The boys were huddled at the top of the staircase, Fred wrapped in his older brother’s arms, his shoulders shaking as though he was crying. The look on Percys’ face, though Hermione could never call it cold, accused her of somehow upsetting his not completely happy home.

“There’s no one Ron, no one but you. It was always only you.”

“Always? Always?” Ron barked moments before his hand slammed into the side of her face. “What about Viktor Krum? Did you love him? Do you wish you had married him?” With each question, he hit her again. “What about Cormac McLaggen? Did you just date him to make me jealous?” More blows rained on her.

“Ron… the children…” Hermione’s dignity refused to let her fall to the ground, though that would usually deter Ron from hitting her further. She pointed vaguely at the staircase, where the twins sat. Ron’s anger melted immediately as he abandoned Hermione and jogged up the stairs. He embraced both boys and started asking them about their day. Hermione felt anger and resentment welling up inside her as he acted as though, moments before, he wasn’t just beating her.

Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that you've done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb
I am numb
I am numb

She stood at the mirror again, rubbing her stomach. The bruises on her face had yellowed, thanks to her studies as a medi-witch. Studies, she thought bitterly, that she had given up for Ron. He wanted the family he had growing up, with his mother always at home. Hermione had, in her eagerness to give him everything, left school the month before the twins were born. Pushing her hair back, she studied her bruises again, hoping they had yellowed enough that they could be covered with a simple charm in the morning. Though the twins had seen their… disagreement, she was hesitant to answer their questions the next morning.

The baby. She had to tell him about the baby. Raising her shirt slightly, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her stomach was starting to round out gently though only she could see the difference. Sniffling, she remembered her joy when she went to see a medi-witch to confirm her suspicions. Pregnant. Smiling she covered her exposed stomach with a hand, hoping she could protect her little girl in the next few months.

Composing herself, she left the bathroom and checked the kitchen, putting away the food that Ron left out while he made, what looked like, a sandwich. Then she went upstairs, checked on the boys, and finally, hesitantly, went to the bedroom. The lights were still on and she could hear Ron humming in the shower. His mood had lightened considerably, as it usually did when he spent time with the twins. If he were home more, we wouldn’t have this problem. Hermione reflected as she changed into her nightclothes and got into the bed. Ron came in moments later, still wet from his shower, and clambered in beside her.

His getting into bed wet was something she hated, but had tolerated when they were newlyweds. During her first pregnancy, he had stopped and started taking the time to dry off, not wanting her to get sick.

“You’re putting on weight.” He commented dryly, rubbing her slightly expanding stomach. “You should eat less.”

Hermione closed her eyes against the wave of anguish that washed through her. “I’m not ‘putting on weight’ Ron…” she began. Almost immediately, his hand stopped moving and she flipped over so she could look in his eyes.

“Ron, I’m pregnant.” She smiled uncertainly, unsure of his reaction. He had swung her around when he found out she was pregnant with the twins. Swung her until they were both dizzy, then stood outside the bathroom door, apologizing profusely, as she lost her dinner, lunch, and everything in between.

Never said thank you
Never said please
Never gave reason to believe
So as it stands
I remain on my knees
Good lovers make great enemies

“Get rid of it.”

“What?”

“Get rid of it. We can’t afford another kid.”

Hermione tried to hide her glare from him. “Well, with all the extra time you’ve been spending at work…”

Ron, at least, had the decency to turn a bright red color. “I said, ‘Get rid of it’, not ‘Argue about money.’”

“I am not killing my child. Our child.”

“You were right the first time.” He said coldly, flipping over so he was no longer looking at her. “It’s your child.”

The tears that stung her eyes were quickly replaced by rage at his next words. “Get rid of it or I’ll get rid of it for you.”

Hermione lay there, simmering in rage, long after Ron had fallen asleep. She listened to his ragged snores and had to resist the urge to grab a pillow and suffocate him into silence. Her hand moved to her stomach, her daughter’s home. The place Ron was threatening to destroy… Anything to protect you.

Realizing what she had to do, Hermione quietly slipped from bed. She gathered a few of her things and threw them into a bag, then slipped into the twins room and grabbed some of their clothes. For once, Fred slept peacefully. She tossed a few toys into a bag, then hauled everything downstairs, fully aware that pregnant witches aren’t supposed to use magic. She took a few things from the kitchen then went back up to her and Ron’s bedroom.

She stared at him, not seeing the boy she had fallen in love with, or the man she had married. Instead, she saw only the monster he had become. Tracing his chin up to his ear, she moved a strand of hair out of his eyes. Leaning over him, she pressed a dry kiss to his hair, saying ‘Goodbye’ to their love as she said goodbye to him. She glanced at the nightstand and eyed Ron’s wand. Hermione stared at it for long moments, thinking of Ron’s anger and knowing that he would be livid if he were to wake up before she got the boys out. Turning slightly so that she faced wand, Hermione grabbed it and in a sudden fit of rage for all that he had done to her, she snapped the wand in two, then calmly replaced it back on the nightstand.

Without taking another glance at her sleeping husband, Hermione left the room and crossed the hall to the twins’ room. Smiling slightly at their innocent expressions, she crept across the carpeting to Fred’s bed.

“Hey.” She whispered as she shook Fred awake, putting a finger to her mouth so he would know to be quiet. She moved to Percy’s bed and gently shook him, once again putting a finger to her mouth.

“Do you guys want to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Granger?”

“Tonight?” Percy yawned, stretching out his arms in a perfect imitation of his father.

“Yeah. Right now actually. All of our things are downstairs, just waiting for you two!” She tried to sound excited but fell short. She could tell Fred knew something was wrong, but he nodded anyway.

“Daddy’s not coming, is he?” Fred asked quietly, glancing at the doorway.

“No, not this time.” Hermione whispered.

“It’s because of the baby, isn’t it?” Fred’s eyes searched hers, and seeing the question in them, he shrugged, “Grammy says you’re
pregnant…” He hesitated, “And that she’s sad her son has turned out to be everything she didn’t raise him to be.”

“Grammy told you that?” Hermione asked, her eyes brightening from unshed tears. She had assumed if she ever left Ron, she couldn’t go to his mother’s house. Mothers generally side with their children.

“Yes, when we visited last week, without you.” Percy whispered, “Grammy said that we should tell you that if anything ever happened, to tell you that she loves you, like a daughter.” Percy shook his head, upset that he couldn’t recall the exact phrasing from memory.

Hermione brushed the tears out of her eyes. “Well then, let’s go see Grandma and Grandpa Granger tonight and we’ll go see Grammy and Pappy in a few days. Does that work boys?”

They both nodded. Hermione went to their closet and got them each a set of clothes, then left the room for a few moments to get herself dressed. When she got back, the twins were sitting on Percy’s bed, Fred holding onto a stuffed bear and Percy holding onto Fred.

“Let’s go guys.” Hermione smiled at them and the two got off the bed and went quietly downstairs.

The three were almost to the door when a shout interrupted them. “What. Are. You. Doing.” Ron stated, infuriated, from the top of the stairs. Each word rose in volume and in his hands were the broken pieces of his wand. “You’re not leaving me. You’re not taking my children away.” He shouted, racing down the stairs. Hermione felt the courage that Ron had tried to beat out of her return. In his state, there was a chance that he would hurt their children. Her children. The two boys that stood behind her, one of them shaking with fear in the other’s arms. She thought about her baby, the one that Ron had wanted her to destroy. Raising her wand as he ran down the last stairs and towards them, she said two words, “Petrificus Totalus”.

Ron froze and fell over a few feet away from the group. Hermione stepped towards him and leaning over his stiff form, whispered in his ears, “Ron, I wanted to tell you earlier, but there was never a good time. I’m leaving you and I’m taking the children.” When she straightened up, a small smile graced her features. She was finally remembering the strength that she had had when she was younger. The strength that got her through the war and through the death of several people she loved.

Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that you've done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb
I am numb
I am numb

Hermione sat between the twins on the Knight Bus, one arm around each of them. Percy had fallen asleep almost immediately, but Fred stared off into space before silently slipping into dreamland. Hermione stared out the window and chastised herself for not leaving Ron sooner. For dropping out of school for him. For giving up everything because of some archaic idea of love.

As a tear slipped down her cheek, Hermione watched her parents house come into view. She gently shook the boys awake again before they got off the bus. She sent the boys up to the house while she waited for the driver to get their bags. When she was done paying and looked back up, she saw her parents rushing from the house, taking turns to hug the children before nearly sprinting down their driveway to embrace their daughter.

“It took you so long to get here.” Her mother stated, desperately wiping tears from her eyes.

“I was numb mother. But now…” she couldn’t complete the sentence, the fresh hot tears that started pouring down her face obscured her vision while the tightness in her throat forced her to stop speaking.

“You’re not leaving.” Her father stated, grabbing most of the bags as the bus drove off. “You’re going back to that University. Your mother and I have been talking about this for several months. You’ll go back to school while she watches the boys.”

Hermione was surprised and relieved beyond measure. “Months? How did you…”

“Mothers know.” Mrs. Granger shook her head sadly. “I just didn’t know it would take you so long to come back home.”

Write Stuff

eyespysenorita — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:01:26 GMT

BZ/LL- takes place during HBP, but not very spoilerish at all...

Blaise Zabini/ Luna Lovegood- seriously my favorite ship ever.

Luna raised her hand quickly in class as she suddenly decided she needed to go to the loo. Frieze just merely nodded to allow her to leave, being a centaur he was not completely knowledgeable of the human system and didn't seem to notice Luna had left for the bathroom at exactly 10:42 every single class.

She left the classroom quickly, her sandy blonde hair flying after her as she took off at a quick walk. She made it to the restrooms and stepped in to fix herself at the mirror. She didn't actually need to go to the bathroom, in fact she wouldn't have even stopped in here if she didn't need Moaning Myrtle to notice her- a witness to the fact that Luna had gone to the bathroom if she was caught.

"I don't get it, Won-won and I, we were so perfect together!" Lavender Brown sat on the sink and cried to Myrtle. Luna's bright blue eyes wandered over to Lavender with a dreamy expression of curiosity.

"What are you looking at Loony Lovegood?" Brown spat when she noticed the Ravenclaw watching her, "Think its funny? I bet you've never had your heart broken!"

"No, you're right, I haven't," Luna confessed and bowed her head, not out of sympathy, but to hide her coy smile.

"Thought so- why don't you just leave already?" Brown was firing harsh bullets at Luna though they weren't hurting her at all. She just looked up at Brown with her doe like eyes.

"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing," Luna told her. Brown blinked twice and Luna left the bathrooms.

Instead of going back to class though Luna turned in the opposite direction and down the grand staircase. She picked up her pace a bit and ran through the front doors and over to the Quidditch pitch where a team in green robes were up in the air flying.

She ran into the Slytherin locker rooms as she saw one of the players heading down to land. Inside she then waited knowing that time was of the essence.

Then he entered.

Blaise Zabini.

Her heart flipped so quickly she almost lost her balance, but she stayed still in the Quidditch locker she was hidden in. Her breath hitched as he set down his Quaffle before stripping off his shirt. She counted all six muscles and resisted the sweet urge to reach out and trace them. His hands went to the top of his pants and her knees buckled making her fall back against the opposite locker.

Blaise stopped undressing and smirked as his eyes went to his locker. He walked over to it and opened the door to see little Luna Lovegood standing inside, her dreamy eyes tracing his body.

His hand went to her hip, pulling her close to his body. Instinctively her hands grasped his chest to steady herself. Her breath was gone, butterflies everywhere and all he was doing was smirking.

His face moved closer to hers letting the soft lips of two lovers touch in the most innocent of kisses, yet the emotions that was held in between the two was exploding inn two separate bodies to become one. Luna traced her hands up his chest lightly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Hesitantly, the Slytherin licked her lips quick and snakelike, making her smile into the kiss and open her mouth. She was on her tippy toes, his fingers were in her hair, and the air was becoming filled with the lustful passion between the two. Slowly they pulled apart though, breath uneven and lips swollen.

"Sometimes, I think if I blink, you will disappear," Luna whispered looking into his chocolate pools that normal people called eyes.

He bent down and kissed her eyes, the light blue orbs he had seen watching him over a Quibbler Magazine, the ones he fell in love with. His kisses made her eyes lightly close. And when she opened them he was still there, his arms tightly around her miniature waist.

"I'm still here, love, I always will be," he kissed her lightly making her smile. Rumored Slytherin Slut he was gentle with her, loved her. 'No Lavender, I've never had my heart broken, and I never will.'

She licked her lips lightly and moved one of her hands away from his neck, down his arm, and to the hem of his pants. An impish smile laced her lips.

"So about that shower..."

All thoughts of getting up to Defense with Snape left his mind as he pressed his lips to Luna's.

Fran//Slytherin

Magical Melodies - sort of, it's my second post :)

apsik — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 05:55:46 GMT

Yeah, I made another one. Couldn't help myself :P It's purely for my own enterainment.

1. 'roxie' from the film 'chicago' (ehem... because it's not really that hard to imagine the dark lord in a pink dress singing about his ambitions straight from his blond little heart... or something... come on, roxie hart was such a little slytherin! a bit dim, but smart enough to finally get what she wants!)
2.'big machine' by goo goo dolls (harry - a bit cynical, hopeful, rather opposite to voldemort)
3.'city rain, city streets' by ryan adams (harry thinking about friends he used or mistreated)
4.'pretty when you cry' by vast (voldemort thinking of his minions)
5.'strong' by robbie williams (harry doubting himself)
6.'first day of the rest of your life' by timo mas and brian molko (war is starting and voldemort is having the time of his life)
7.'who wants to live forever' by queen (now that's rather obvious)
8.'land of the living'by bush (harry trying to live, simply to live)
9.'bad reputation' by halfcocked (because in the end neither of them cares if they look 'right' in the eyes of the society)
10.'out/in' by remy zero (harry calming himself before facing voldemort)
11.'augen auf' by oomph! (voldemort before the battle)
12.'die another day' by madonna (the winner's song)

Credit for the images on the cover goes to the one and only potterpuffs. The simplicity of the cover is the result of the war between any</span>graphic-making-programs and me.

Ola, 'Puff

Write Stuff Challenge

sam_can_do_it — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:46:55 GMT

Title: I suck at titles, so you’ll just have to make one up for yourself!
Word Count: 383 (according to MS Word
Characters: Dean/Seamus
Warning: Very slight slash implications. Possibly a little hard to follow, I enjoy trying to confuse people a bit. Basically it’s just a back and forth conversation between the two characters.

“Hey Dean, what are you doing?”

“Giving myself some practice incase I’m needed for later quidditch games. I am the alternate. Here catch.”

“Don’t throw the damned bludger at me; I’m shite at this game.”

“Seamus, that’s a quaffle and you caught it just fine. Toss it back.”

“Here ya go.”

“Wow, you are shite; you missed by a mile!”

“I’m not that bad. Throw it back.”

“Nope! You are never touching my quaffle again!”

“That’s not what you said last night.”

“Shut it Seamus, you don’t want Ginny’s already hating me brother Ron killing me, do you?”

“Don’t worry about Won-Won. Lavender’s snogging his brains out in the common room.”

“Well, in that case, you want to skip divination today?”

“Professor Trelawney might catch us using that inner eye of hers.”

“It’s so much easier ditching her classes then Professor Firenze’s classes.”

“That’s because the centaur actually had some skills in divination. He wasn’t a complete joke!”

“Speaking of jokes, whose cruel joke was it to put Snape in charge of DADA? I dropped potions because I can’t stand the prat and then he shows up in one of my favorite classes.”

“I know! I almost wish I could transfer back to potions, Slughorn seems like an interesting bloke.”

“Seamus, are you involved with Blaise Zabini?”

“What? No! Of course not. What would make you ask that?”

“Well, he was looking at you funny during breakfast this morning and now you’re talking about transferring into a class he’s in.”

“I’m not interested in that Slytherin show-off. I was just interested in getting the bloody hell away from Snape. Not to mention, I think he’s dating Parvati’s sister, you know, the one from Ravenclaw, I think her name is Padma.”

“Then what’s with the looks this morning.”

“I don’t know he’s a Slytherin. Plus, I don’t think it’s really fair for you to be acting jealous. I put up with your thing with Ginny.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m being stupid. I will break up with Ginny, but I just don’t want to hurt her. She’s a sweet kid.”

“She’s only a year younger than us!”

“Seamus…”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“…”

“Seamus?”

“…”

“Seamus!”

“…”

“SAY SOMETHING!”

“I love you, too, Dean!”

“Good to know. Catch!”

“You are not a quaffle Dean.”

Magical Melodies Entry

wulfkub — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:01:11 GMT

My first challenge response here. Hope you like it.

1. Cranberries - Dream (Ginny chasing after Harry)
2. Lit - Completely Miserable (Ron when he is trying to work up to breaking up with Lavender)
3. Pat Benatar - I Need a Lover (Ron in breaking up with Lavender)
4. Lifehouse - Everything (Ron and Hermione)
5. A Perfect Circle - Blue (Lavender when she realizes Ron and her are wrong)
6. Sarah McLachlan - Angel (Ginny and Harry, their first time together)
7. Prime STH - I'm Stupid (Ron when he realizes Hermione is really in love with Harry)
8. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Hermione when she realizes she is actually in love with Harry and he is in love with her)
9. Sinead O'Conner - Nothing Compares to You (Ginny after Harry dumps her)
10. Sisters of Mercy - Cry Little Sister (Ron to Ginny when Harry breaks up with her)
11. It's Your Love (Harry and Hermione)
12. Five for Fighting - Superman (Harry's Theme)

I tried to do a triangle thing and it evolved into a double sided triangle on me...but these are all about the relationships and not a particular storyline.

Amanda - a very happy Gryffindor