Weekly Drabble Challenge - Theme: Snow - Results

[x_GinnyPotter_x]

Name: x_GinnyPotter_x
House: Gryffindor
Title: To Achieve Perfection
Warnings: DH spoilers
Words: 400

Perfection.

Helena had always hated the word, its definition, and the impossibility for her to obtain it. Her mother had achieved it long ago, however; perfect wisdom, perfect looks – perfection. Everyone expected Rowena Ravenclaw to have a perfect daughter, too.

But she did not.

Helena was not as pretty, nor as brilliant as Rowena; she did not have her mother’s charm, elegance, or infinite knowledge. Throughout her life it tormented her, always being second best, never able to live up to impossible standards. She longed to know, if only for a moment, what it felt like to be perfect. To achieve perfection.

The winter night settled in dark and cold, and Helena made her decision. If she couldn’t have a perfect life, she could at least have the same unparalleled knowledge and wisdom her mother boasted. She could steal the diadem.

Sneaking into her mothers chamber with only the light of the moon to guide her, Helena searched for the hidden cupboard she knew her mother kept locked at all times. No one but herself knew how to break the enchantments her mother set over the diadem; Rowena had made the mistake of casting them in her presence one evening. Waving her oak wand Helena quickly opened the cupboard, revealing the shining diadem in all its wonder. Greed and triumph surged though her veins, and she took it from its cushion without a second’s hesitation.

Knowing she could not remain within her mother’s reach, Helena fled. Apparating to the remotest place she could think of, she arrived with a small ‘pop’ in a secluded Albanian forest. Snow was falling thick and fast over the ground, causing Helena to grimace in annoyance. She hated the snow; it too was perfect. The fresh white blanket, undisturbed, fascinated wizards and muggles alike with its simple beauty. All too often people called the first layer of snow perfection. Only now could she appreciate the snow’s perfection, now that she could at last become its equal.

A small smile played at Helena’s features as she pulled out the diadem from under her cloak. Taking a few steps in the untarnished snow, she looked back at her footprints. Where she had walked, the snow was not perfect… but the snow ahead was forever pure.

Eagerness and euphoria overwhelming her, Helena placed the diadem on her head – the moment she had dreamt of for so long.


Perfection.

[Quercus]

Great job to everyone, I don't think I've ever seen this many responses to a weekly...

So now I'll throw mine in too

Name: Quercus
House: Ravenclaw
Title: Braving the snow
Words: 463
Warnings: may be slightly AU because I'm not sure when the marauders all became a group, but nothing major.

The reflection of the waxing moon on freshly fallen snow gave a frosty, eldritch glow to the grounds of Hogwarts, which Remus Lupin observed quietly from the deserted common room in Gryffindor tower. He was dreading the arrival of his inevitable transformation, only the third since he had arrived at school in the fall, and being locked in that terrible shack in the bitter cold. The light which others might have called beautiful only mocked him.

His reverie was interrupted by the sound of slippered feet on the stairs, and the appearance of a short, round-faced boy. Remus recognized Peter Pettigrew, who went around with James Potter and Sirius Black. They had met briefly on the Hogwarts Express, but Remus had been wary of getting too close to the other students. Peter looked suddenly shocked to see someone else in the common room, but then tried to be casual and stuttered,

“Why are you up so late, Remus?”

Remus shrugged. “I don’t know. Just couldn’t sleep, I suppose. What about you?”

Peter turned red. “My bed was cold, so I thought it might be nice to sleep here, by the fire…” Remus noticed that the boy’s hand was wet, and stifled a giggle when he realized what had happened. Peter tried to change the subject. “And the snow’s so pretty from this window.”

“I don’t like the snow much,” Remus said, doing his best to spare Peter the embarrassment. “It changes everything, and you can’t even tell if you’re in the same place anymore.” Like it is when you become a wolf. “Your clothes get soggy and damp, and then when you come inside everything smells like wet socks.”

Peter walked to the window and stuck his face right up against the glass. “I don’t mind. It’s worth it. It might be a little inconvenient, but snow’s a lot more fun than not having it. You can’t have anything good without a little bit of trouble, huh? And when you have friends to make forts with and have snowball fights, it’s even better!” He looked at Remus cheerfully, his earlier humiliation completely forgotten, and said, “You know, Sirius and James challenged some other Slytherin first-years to a snowball fight tomorrow. Do you want to come and be on our team?” he finished, grinning.

Remus was perplexed that the other boy was so happy at only the thought of throwing lumps of frozen precipitation around, but he nodded. “Sure.”

The two stared at the falling flakes a little longer, until Remus noticed that Peter had fallen asleep against the window, chin in hand. The moonlight outside illuminated his round cheeks. Remus smiled. Perhaps, as Peter said, the snow could be bearable with a friend by his side.

[**plotbunnies**]

*pops in* Here I am!

Name: Anne/**plotbunnies**
House: Hufflepuff!
Title: Snowflake
Word Count: 336

I am a snowflake. I fall from the sky, and watch as young lovers meet. Every day of my life I have dreamed of the day I will fall, and today is that day. And I am spending it by dreaming.

I’m dreaming I am a young lover down there. The one boy calls Lily. She is pretty, but her hair reminds me of what we snowflakes fear: Fire.

The boy likes her a lot. His black hair (greasy, to be sure) hangs nicely as she walks with him. I want to follow, but only once a gust of wind blows do I.

I float along, listening to them chat. The boy listens while Lily recounts the latest stories with her friends. However, now that she is mentioning another boy, I can see his temper firing up inside him.

She is ignorant to this fact, and continues. His annoyance grows until finally says that the other boy is a complete jerk. He instantly cools, as if a dozen snowflakes have touched him at once.

I wonder where they are headed. Hopefully not into those warm, crowded places they call shops. If I want to follow them I’ll instantly melt or get squashed! Those may be nice for them, but they are the death of me.

The couple walks on. I wonder how old they are. Older than I will ever be, in any case. I wish for them that their love lasts for long, long days.

They sit on a park bench at the suggestion of the boy. A crowd of boys walk past. The boy with Lily colours, but she simply lifts her head in scorn at the boys. I suppose one is the boy that neither like, but the black-haired boy seems to think he is competition for his fiery girl.


I think on about them, cuddling on the bench, as I slowly drift forward. I land on Lily’s cheek, and she laughingly brushes me away. But I am already melted, and gone forevermore.

[mrsmcclnt]

Name: mrsmcclnt
House: Slytherin
Title: The Doe
Word Count: 270
Warnings: None.

He tripped over a branch and fell face first into the ground. “Stupid snow!” he muttered into the earth.

Lily couldn’t help but to laugh as she dusted off her friend. “Come on, Sev! What did the snowflakes ever do to you?” Severus responded to her question with an obnoxious glare. She returned it by rolling her eyes. “Have you forgotten how to have fun?”

“Rolling around in dirt is fun?”

She lay on top of the snow and promptly flapped her arms and legs, “Come on! We use to play in the mud when we were little! Remember?”

Severus looked around to see if anyone was watching. “But the mud wasn’t cold and it didn’t have snow in it, Lily.” Before he knew it, she dragged him to her level. Both of them laughed as they saw how cold and dirty they looked.

Just then, a small crack interrupted their ruckus play. They looked up to see a small doe walking past them.

“What’s that in it’s mouth?” Lily pointed to the greenery it was holding. As she moved, the doe wandered a little ways in her direction. It then dropped the item within Lily’s reach and ran off.

“Look,” Lily showed him.

“It could be poison oak,” he said jokingly as he pointed to the small white flowers.

Lily placed it over his head then quickly kissed him. “No it’s not.”

The two held onto each other as they continued their walk through the woods. “Next time you’ll remember how to have fun,” she reminded him.

“Of course, dear,” he said to her. “Always.”

He would never forget.

[Cheshlin]

Name: Cheshlin
House: Slytherin
Title: Wonderous SNow
Word Count: 348
Warnings: DH Spoilers

Andromeda looked out of the window and saw the world covered in white. It was mornings like this that made the world seem new. Teddy would be so amazed at the change a single night could make. It was amazing to see the world through the eyes of a two year old!

A soft cry came from Teddy’s bedroom, so Andromeda went to get him ready for the day. After changing him and feeding him, she bundled him up into some warm clothes. Picking him up, she walked outside.

The brightness of all the white made Teddy turn his face into her shoulder to hide his eyes. Slowly he turned his head and let his eyes adjust to the brightness. Wonder seemed to shine out of his face as he looked at the crystal covering the trees and bushes and the drifts that would have buried him were he to stand in them.

A small cry of glee erupted from the toddling little boy. Andromeda found a relatively shallow spot in the snow, and put the blue haired boy down. He reached his hands out to feel the soft but wet flakes that were still falling from the sky. Turning to one of the deep drifts, Teddy grabbed at the snow and pulled back from the cold. After a few minutes of just looking and trying to touch everything, he suddenly turned and fell backwards into one of the piles.

Andromeda gave a cry of surprise that turned into out right laughter as the small boy reveled in the feel of the soft snow under his little body. It was moments like this when she was happiest, yet they brought the wish that Nymphadora and Remus were here to share the imaginative workings of this small child that made every new event seem like a miracle.

Andromeda walked over to Teddy who held his small hand out to her. Instead of pulling him up out of the snow, she fell into it beside him and showed him how to make snow angels, just like she had his mother.

Cyns

[solemnlyswear_x]

Name: solemnlyswear_x
House: Gryffindor
Title: Everything She Wasn't
Word Count: 421
Warnings: None

Sounds of feet shuffling down the stairs and her mother shouting at their house-elf Dot filled Narcissa Black’s room. The noise startled her awake and, grumbling, she sat up in her bed. She hated starting her day with her mother’s yells and was only slightly comforted by the fact that she wouldn’t have to suffer them much longer.

Absentmindedly, Narcissa’s fingers slipped around her ring finger, where a diamond ring was snugly in place. Malfoy Manor would be her new home soon, now that Lucius had proposed and she had graduated from Hogwarts six months before. Marrying might be better than living with her parents, but she didn’t love her fiancé - a Black never became too attached to anyone - nor did she expect to be happy with him. Still, Narcissa decided she would be less unhappy there than here. She hated listening to her parents like the good Black daughter she had always been, hated being told what to do.

After a few moments, Narcissa climbed out of bed, but with her warm blankets off her, she was met by a rush a frigid air. Her eyes shot towards the window and found that it had snowed heavily overnight, the freezing temperature having seeped into her room.

She frowned slightly. Narcissa hated snow; she always had. It reminded her of how much she missed wintertime at Hogwarts, and the whiteness reminded her of her impending wedding. Snow was cold and miserable and everything she was and wished she wasn’t.

Narcissa moved closer to the window and stood there, staring through the glass at the sheet of powder covering the ground outside. She imagined herself sitting in the Slytherin common room, waiting contentedly by herself for everyone to come inside from enjoying the snow on the grounds. Winter days at school had given her a chance to enjoy solitude and a moment of peace. For even as a student, as well as a young girl, she had never liked the snow.

Fleeting images of her two sisters laughing and playing outside their house filled Narcissa's mind. Andromeda especially had loved the snow, she knew. But then, Meda had always been full of fire, with enough spark to stand the cold. Narcissa, with her white-blonde hair and pale skin, had always seemed to freeze, blending into the colorless backdrop.

Sighing, Narcissa took one last look at the graying sky, and dreamed she was somewhere it never snowed. Somewhere it was bright and happy and everything she wasn’t and wished she was.

And thanks to Nikki for being awesome.

[Merlynne]

Name: Merlynne
House: Slytherin
Title: Silver and Snow
Warnings: none
Words: 495

The midday sun lit up the snowy scape, reflecting off every pane of crystal in the tiny flakes until the brightness stung Harry’s eyes. He kept his head up, feet dragging through this heavy, freshly fallen wonder. It was mid November, but it could have been Christmas.
The houses in Godric’s Hollow looked like gingerbread, the electrical lights strung up by the Muggle-half dull in the daytime. The wizards would not string lights, but live pixies and enchanted flowers that stood out like gumdrops.

The petals of an enchanted daisy tacked to the awnings of one of the gingerbread houses fluttered in a gentle breeze that carried traces of December. But Harry didn’t want to think of tomorrow; tomorrow was a Monday. Wiping his boots on the mat outside, Harry let himself in.

“Ron?” a voice called automatically.

“No,” Harry replied, unwinding his scarf and stepping out of his boots, which were already creating puddles in the entrance hall. “It’s just me, Harry.”

“Harry!” a second voice called.

Entering the room, Harry took in the smiling faces of both Ginny and Hermione, seated around a small cedar table. Three steaming cups of cocoa were set out before them. Harry sighed. “You made one for me. I told you not to; I’m just here to pick Ginny up and congratulate you, Hermione, on your engagement.”

Hermione smiled coyly, taking a sip of her cocoa. “You don’t sound surprised.”

“Ron’s been bouncing proposal ideas off of me for the past month,” Harry admitted.

Hermione was too pleased with the silver ring on her finger to comment on Ron’s procrastination. “Well, was it your idea to ask me at the apothecary?”

Harry laughed, “No, it wasn’t, but it worked, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Hermione said, the grin not having left her face for a moment.

Ginny had not looked away from Harry, either. “Harry’s right, Hermione,” she said quickly. “We’ve got to be off. We’ve left Winky alone with the house and there’s butterbeer in the icebox, so we’d best go check on her.”

“Very well,” Hermione said, vanishing the cocoa cups. “Travel safe. I’ll send you an owl when I’ve talked to Ron again.”

Slipping back into their coats and boots, Harry and Ginny left the gingerbread house for the snow outside. Their boots crunched on it as they walked up the street, and Ginny turned to Harry.

“When are you going to ask me to marry you?” she demanded.

Harry arched his eyebrows. “When you stop asking me that.”

Ginny gave a small laugh, but turned her gaze on a column of glittering snow that had blown from the branches of an evergreen. Watching her, Harry slid his hand into hers. The motion said; soon. When the trouble’s over. When I can afford a ring, Harry thought to himself.

Ginny understood, and squeezed his hand back. Letting go, she deposited the handful of snow she’d gathered in her other hand down the back of her one-day husband’s coat.

[A Cappella]

Name: A Cappella
House: Hufflepuff
Title: When the First Flakes Fall
Word Count: 498
Warnings: ---

“Come back soon, all right?” I could not hide the anxiety in my voice. My fingers gripped the mirror’s handle harder. How I hated it when he kept secrets from me! I should have known; he was a Black, after all.

Sirius chuckled, lifting the left side of his mouth in a lopsided smile. “Lily, I’ll be at Hogwarts soon enough—stop being so bloody persistent.”

Heaving a heavy sigh, I pursed my lips. “Well, stop being so bloody mysterious!”

“I know that you hate not knowing everything, but…”

Shooting him a green-eyed glare, I said nothing.

He stared at me with misty grey eyes. “Don’t give me that face, Lily. I promise I’ll be back at the first snowfall, by the latest.” Reaching out his fingers to touch the edge of the looking glass, he smiled at me sadly. “You know I would kiss you to make you feel better, but it’s kind of impossible to do that with a two-way mirror.”

A blush crept to my cheeks and I raised my fingers to meet his. “Don’t worry about it.”

His eyes darted back and forth before he whispered, “Time for me to go now. Bye.” The mirror went blank.

Leave it to Sirius to be unexpected. Shaking my head, I placed the mirror into the trunk at the foot of my four-poster.

Maybe my suspicions were correct. Curiously, none of the Marauders seemed to be anywhere around the end of the month. And Remus was always looking rather haggard in that time frame.

The sky was draped in a blanket of pink, purple, and red as I sat by the window, waiting, hoping, that the snow would fall.

After ten minutes I was growing impatient, so I fished out my Potions textbook to get some studying done.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

My eyes did not lift from the book for a long time. Studying, writing essays, doing everything to avoid thinking about—him—was how I spent my time at the end of each month, so I was accustomed to it.

Then I looked up to the window to see flakes of snow. I did not know how long it had been snowing, but a smile leapt to my face as I grabbed a coat and scarf.

Powdery snowflakes blew across my face as I stepped outside of Hogwarts castle. Sirius said he would be here. Wrapping the scarf tighter around my neck, I started towards the lake.

“He’s not here,” I murmured to myself, frowning.

The sound of footsteps met my ears, and I turned around, willing myself to expect nothing. But my heart quickened anyways.

And he was there, his hair so black that it glinted blue in the moonlight. He grinned impishly and spread his arms.

Laughing, I threw myself into his embrace, his deep scent washing over me. “You're late,” I muttered into his chest.

He kissed my forehead lightly and whispered into my hair, “No, you were the one who was late.”

[mugglemathdork]

Congratulations to the following drabblers for writing exceptional drabbles for the Weekly Drabble Challenge - Theme: Snow

It's never easy picking just three, and Ebil Gato Loco and MQ angst a lot about this sometimes. However, the following were notable in that they were written, had a developing plot, had interesting twists, or unique POVs and that's always a pleasure to read.

So Congrats!

1st - tc015 - Purity

2nd - Tie
tibi jones - Far from Home & Air Elemental - The Dead Bird

3rd - Tie
The Marauding Cupcake - Winter Wonderland & Mistletoe - "I am..."

Points will be posted later. XD
~Gato Loco

[Weasleyboyfreak]

Congradulations to our winners! They were truly brilliant pieces of work! *claps with joy!*

It must have been difficult for Gato Loco to pick the best out of 27 drabblies! But he managed to do it! Great work to all!

~Weasleyboyfreak