Weekly Drabble Challenge - Theme: Back To School - Results

[mugglemathdork]

It's BACK TO SCHOOL TIME
-tries&failsnottobetooexcited-

Your prompt this week is to write a drabble about returning to school after Voldemort is defeated. Who went back? Why? Who didn't return? How were the extra students handled? I particularly wish for you to focus in on one character and write it from his/her POV. Again, I'm looking for originality. So if you decide to use Harry think of how many other people might also choose Harry. I'm not discouraging you, but think how you would make your drabble stand out.

The following form must be used when submitting your drabble responses to this post -

[B]Name:[/B]
[B]House:[/B]
[B]Title:[/B]
[B]Warnings:[/B]
[B]Word Count:[/B]
[B]Character POV[/B]
[B]Author's Notes:[/B] 

Winners will be awarded 15, 10, and 5 points respectively.

All drabbles must be less than 500 words; All standard grammar rules, and MNFF submissions guidelines apply.

The challenge will be up for a week, and be closed exactly a week later (August 24th).

MithrilQuill and I will be judging them and posting results a couple of days later.

All questions should be referred to the Question Corner - Do not post questions here. Only drabbles!

Not So New Anymore for the Weekly Challenges:Due to a major lack of quality drabbles being submitted to the weeklies, Gato Loco will require that some real thoughtful, original submissions be posted from this moment on or you'll end up like this woman here. That's your one and only warning! XD


Other than that...have fun!

~Gato Loco & Mith~

[Equinox Chick]

Name: Equinox Chick
House: Hufflepuff
Title: The Other Brother
Warnings: DH spoilers
Word Count: 484
Character POV Dennis Creevey
Authors Notes: Thank-you, as always, to Terri (mudbloodproud) for beta'ing this at record speed.

Huddled into his seat on the Hogwarts Express, Dennis Creevey pulled his cloak around him. He’d arrived at Kings Cross early, not because he was anxious to see his friends, but because he wanted to duck into a carriage and hide. His dad had waved goodbye sadly.

“We have to leave Dennis. They’re rounding up Muggle borns.” Colin’s words still echoed through his mind.

They’d moved with their dad to another city and changed their names.

“You can’t do any magic, Dennis. No one must know where we are.”

Behind in all subjects and small for his age he’d endured nearly a year of taunts at his new school whilst they waited for Potter’s return.

“He’ll come back, Dennis. He’ll defeat You Know Who and then we’ll go back to Hogwarts.”

People were beginning to arrive on the platform now. Dennis noticed a particularly large crowd surrounding four people. He caught his breath. It was Harry. He had his arm around Ginny Weasley and was laughing with Ron and Hermione. Were they all returning? He had heard that Hermione was joining Ginny in year seven - but Harry and Ron?

There was a whistle from the train. Ginny scrambled aboard after a long kiss from Harry. Hermione wiped a smudge off Ron’s nose then after kissing him followed Ginny. Dennis could see Harry scanning the carriages and quickly sat back. He realised Harry wasn’t coming back but found he didn’t care. If Harry hadn’t returned to Hogwarts last May then Colin would still be alive.

“I want to come to Hogwarts too, Colin.”

“You can’t, Dennis. You’re too young.”

“Well you’re not of age either.”

“I will be next month but you’re not even 16. Dennis you have to stay with Dad in case…”

In case… the last words Dennis heard his brother say.

Other students joined his carriage now. He was pleased that he knew none of them.

He pulled out a letter signed by Headmistress McGonagall.

Dear Mr Creevey

We have great pleasure in welcoming you back to Hogwarts for the coming year. Please be advised that due to students repeating years and the influx of new students we have had to expand classroom sizes. We have also had to add extra beds to all dormitories…

There followed the usual list of the books required. In the past his Hogwarts letter had brought nothing but joy. Colin and he would read their textbooks excitedly over the holidays but this year he hadn’t opened a single one. He picked one up now and tried to read it- anything to block out the chattering excitement around him.

It was evening when they arrived at Hogwarts. Dennis stepped off the train and heard the bellowing tones of Hagrid calling the first years. He could still remember the smell of Hagrid’s coat that he’d worn after he’d fallen into the lake. He felt uplifted by the memory then guilt swamped him because Colin wasn’t there.

[luinrina]

Name: luinrina
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Not my Farewell
Warnings: 1st-2nd years; (slight) AU
Word Count: 448
Character POV: Draco Malfoy
Authors Notes: I got inspired by listening to the song Our Farewell by Within Temptation (that's where the drabble title comes from *rolleyes*), and it's my first attempt into Dramione - very slightly so, but *shrugs*. I consider making a story out of it, but not right now. Some day though.

Thanks to my beta Terri (mudbloodproud).

Hogwarts. An institution. A stronghold of magic. A castle that has stood for many centuries. A school that has seen many students pass.

Even me.

And I return now. Why? To finish what I couldn’t last term when the ancient walls of the place that is known by all of my kind became the arena of the last fight between light and darkness, between good and dark magic.

Hogwarts became the setting of the last battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

Now, only a couple of months later, the walls are repaired and the castle stands in its glory again. Starlight sparkles through the high towers, and the lake lies peacefully, glittering beneath the September moon. The wind breezes softly and blows my dark cloak.

I’m not sure if I’ll be welcome. I’ve done horrible things. I’m responsible for Albus Dumbledore’s death. I might not have fired the curse that killed him, but I let in the Death Eaters. I carry their sign on my left arm; I will carry it for the rest of my life.

But I regret what I’ve done. I know now that I had chosen the wrong path.

Around me students, chattering amiably and greeting each other in joy and happiness, rush out of the carriages and up the stairs into the Entrance Hall. I follow much slower. Many turn around and look at me, whispering with their friends. I try not to listen. I know that I have done the wrong things, but I want to make up for it, even if people believe I won’t be able to do so. I want to try to repair what I have done. I want to show them that I’m not only able to perform dark curses but good magic also.

I see Professor McGonagall come down the marble staircase. She looks at me, and weaves her way through the crowd. When she stands in front of me, she greets me and then only says, ‘You will have to share the dorm with the now seventh years.’

‘I know. I don’t mind, Professor.’

She looks at me a bit longer and finally nods. ‘Take a seat at your house table then.’

Still ignoring the whispers around me, I enter the Great Hall. Nothing is left to remind me of the battle that has taken place here, and the enchanted ceiling resembles the cloudless, night-time sky outside. I look around and see an empty seat at the Slytherin table, but when I turn to go there, I notice someone else coming towards me. Her brown hair is as bushy as ever, but her eyes look friendly. She smiles.

‘Welcome back to another year, Draco.’

~Bine

[Hufflepuff at Heart]

Name: Hufflepuff at Heart
House: Gryffindor
Title: A Grudging Return
Warnings: None
Word Count: 499
Character POV: Argus Filch
Author's Notes: Thanks to Hannah/coolh500, for managing to cut this drabble down to size!

Argus wheezed his way up the lawn to the grand doors of Hogwarts.

Stopping to catch his breath, he craned his neck up to stare at the monstrosity that had kept him on his feet for over forty years. Oh, the things he would do if he had a wand.

He wondered where he would imagine he had been this summer. Tywyn, perhaps. Maybe Brighton. Yes, that was it; he had kissed Mrs. Norris goodbye, leaving her with a less-than-happy Hagrid, packed his swimming trunks, and taken the 12.40 train to Brighton. He had had fun. And he hadn't worried about what Peeves was upending in his absence.

Of course, rules would be laxer this year, no doubt. With the Carrows gone, it would go back to the old ways. With pushover McGonagall in charge, there would be no more torturing or baiting of students. Never mind. Argus wasn't one to shirk from a challenge. A Filibuster Firework was the same to him, no matter what decade it was.

Ah, yes, the twins. At least they were long gone. Last time he had seen them there had only been one. He had wondered if a Filibuster had finally caught up with the other. He had stopped himself before he had gone too far with this idea, though. No point in getting your hopes up too high. Although, no doubts a new no-good beatnik would be on hand to take over. There always was.

He would take extra care to give the students the eye this year at the sorting ceremony. He had already confiscated their Fanged Frisbees and dungbombs on their way in, and he hadn't liked what he'd seen. Too many mischievous grins. Too many dangerous haircuts. And too many old students too; he could've sworn that specky, dark-haired troublemaker should have graduated by now.

But Argus wasn't prejudiced. They would all suffer equally, if he had anything to say about it.

No; Argus was ready for whatever they threw at him. There would be more to do this year - tighter security; extra classrooms to mantain; even more plaques to polish. Of course he hated the place - everyone in it and everything about it. But ... well, if he wasn't there, they would miss him. His services, that was. Argus had a tough job. He was a caretaker. And one doesn't simply walk away from a life of caretaking.

The bell struck six, and Argus began shuffling up to the castle entrance once again. He didn't want to be late for the sorting ceremony. He wanted to remind the headmistress about his new ban on talking too loudly after seven. And he had a few choice faces who would be getting the eye. That ginger bloke was getting it for sure. He looked too old for school, for one thing.

There was no way around it. He was getting slower every year.

He stared up at the monster that was his torment. His captor.

His home.

[cirelondiel]

Name: Chelsea/Cirelondiel
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Together
Warnings: None. (Implications of character death, of course).
Word count: 500
Character POV: Lavender Brown

It's different.

I'm the only student wandering the halls - strange, since there's still an hour before curfew and the sun is just setting.

The portrait frames are mostly empty. Every so often I come across a group of ink and paint figures gathered in a frame, murmuring quietly. I haven't seen any of the ghosts. Right now I'd even be happy to hear Mrs Norris miaow. As I walk these empty corridors I'd give anything for a sign of old times.

I sit on the sill of a large window overlooking the lake. Its surface is glassy and still, painted red by the sinking sun.

We won the battle. We won the war.

Yet we lost so much.

A dry sob escapes my throat. I lean my forehead on the stone wall. It's smooth, hard, cold.

Where's the warmth of Parvati's smile; her arm in mine as we hurry into Hogsmeade; her face close as we chat in our dorm?

Where are Seamus' kisses on my cheeks; his arms around my body; his cheeky grin?

Where are my classmates? Though the school has a larger population than ever, due to the number of students repeating the year they should have finished last year, the number of sixth and seventh years has decreased. There will be conspicuous absences from classes tomorrow. Our old cameraderie and friendship has been relegated to the ghostly realm of memory.

A salty tear slides down my face and rests on my lip.

Time passes. I stay there with my head on the cool stone, longing for the warmth I never properly appreciated.

Quiet, shuffling footsteps approach.

"Lavender," says Neville. I look up and see him in the middle half a dozen students, all holding hands or linking arms. Mostly my age, some younger. All different houses.

A Hufflepuff sixth-year on the end of the chain holds out a hand. We've never spoken, but I do my best to put gratitude in my eyes as I straighten up and go to join the chain.

We walk the halls and more students join us. Our chain is too wide for the hallway, so we fall into single file, still holding hands, as Neville leads us through the maze that is Hogwarts. By the time we reach the great double doors in the Entrance Hall, there must be a good forty students in our chain.

Outside, we spread out to walk side by side once more. Steadily and silently, we approach the lake. A tall, brilliant monument stands before it.

Our chain encircles the monument. Some of us kneel and pray, some lower our heads and others look heavenwards.

But we never let go. All four Hogwarts houses are represented here, an unbreakable chain. I'm certain that each and every one of us is thinking of the same thing.

We've lost so much. But we have so much left to live for. And we will move forwards together, just as we are together for this golden, precious moment.

-- Chels

[Azhure]

Name: Azhure
House: Ravenclaw
Title: Stupid Humans
Warnings: DH Spoilers, but it's very vague.
Word count: 500
Character POV: Crookshanks

Crookshanks hated the train ride to school. The floor was unstable, the students were loud, and he even had to spend half the time locked up in a small cage! But he knew that it wouldn't last much longer, because his owner was coming to let him free

He leapt out of the cage the minute it opened, hissing and spitting. His owner was talking to a red-haired girl, but Crookshanks didn’t care. He was free! Swishing his gingery tail, he walked over to the open compartment door and stepped out.

The noise was almost deafening, but Crookshanks knew of a place at the back of the train that was quiet. Walking with his tail held high, Crookshanks marvelled at the stupidity of humans. It seemed as if it got worse and worse every year! The humans were just talking amongst themselves, laughing. It was as if they didn’t remember the bad times that had just passed.

Crookshanks remembered. Admittedly, he didn’t have a huge amount to do with the bad times, but he had felt that something was happening. He had felt it in his whiskers; a cold, dark time. The feeling had gone, and everything had gone back to normal, but Crookshanks would never forget. Unlike the stupid humans.

So many of them had returned, but so many didn’t. That strange, blonde girl, who was always wore those earrings that looked like rabbit food walked past, giving Crookshanks a smile. Crookshanks had always liked her. She was kind, and seemed to understand Crookshanks on a level that no one else could. He was glad that the blonde girl had returned.

But some of his friends hadn’t come back. The small boy that was always holding a thing that flashed didn’t come. Crookshanks remembered the boy flashing the light at him, and then showing an identical version of Crookshanks himself! The other Crookshanks wasn’t moving, but it was just as handsome as the real one.

He was almost at the end of the train and Crookshank’s mind moved over to the one person that he was glad didn’t return. That red-headed boy that his owner was always with hadn’t come back on the train. Crookshanks was glad. That boy always yelled at him and was generally quite rude. Especially a few years ago when there was that food that didn’t smell like the proper food. It was small, had a scaly tail and brown fur, but it had smelt wrong. Crookshanks had tried to warn the red-headed boy about the strange-smelling creature, but did he listen? No. Then one day the strange-smelling creature disappeared, and Crookshanks felt proud of himself; he had been right.

Crookshanks stopped walking and sat down in a little niche at the back of the train. He was quite content to stay there and muse over the stupidity of humans. But first, a long nap was in order. After all, once he got to the school, he would have to be aware of foul-smelling food.

~~Azhure~~

[Inverarity]

Name: Inverarity
House: Ravenclaw
Title: The Sorting Hat's Song
Warnings: None
Word Count: 497
Character POV The Sorting Hat
Authors Notes: Eh, I'm not sure how well I blended snippets of the song into the narrative, but it came out not too bad, so I decided to post it. I was tempted to just write a complete song as my submission, but thought that would be more in the poetry category.

The Great Hall was lit with candles, as usual, but the tone was more somber than ever before in living memory. There had been difficult years before at Hogwarts. During Voldemort's first rise, students and staff had lived in fear then, too, as whispered rumors of murder and Dark Arts spread throughout the school. But the Welcoming Feast was always a time of celebration. Albus Dumbledore was always there to put them at ease with his corny jokes and gentle wisdom. It seemed impossible to imagine that anything truly awful could befall Hogwarts while Dumbledore was Headmaster.

Now, Dumbledore was gone, and the school was still being rebuilt. The ceiling of the Great Hall did not show the sky above; that enchantment had not yet been restored. Here and there around the hall, one could still see scorch marks or cracked masonry, scars of the battle that had left so many dead.

“Gryffindors, so many died;
their bravery cannot be denied.
Now you who wear the red and gold,
must be kind, and not just bold.”

The Sorting Hat also bore scars – or burns, to be more precise. Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall had used repairing transformations and cleaning potions aplenty, but the blackened smudges and charred holes remained. They had argued with it, as well. The hat questioned the wisdom of continuing the Sorting. But Slughorn and McGonagall insisted things would be different now. And, in the end, the enchantments that brought it to life a thousand years ago and gave it its purpose were stronger than its doubts.

“Hufflepuffs, you loyal folk,
where ne'er an unkind word is spoke,
all your hard work will be for naught,
if you can't share what you have got.”

Everyone was listening, as they did every year, but the Sorting Hat wondered if they would hear it this time. In the past, it had composed songs for its own amusement, for the entertainment of students and staff, and to set at ease the frightened young witches and wizards seeing it for the first time, whose futures lay beneath its brim.

“Ravenclaws, my clever sages,
possess the wisdom of the ages.
Let your minds not be fixed on lore;
the world around you needs you more.”

Everyone thought that the Sorting Hat just sat on a shelf all year, to be brought out at the beginning of the term, and then put away until next year. But it knew what was happening in Hogwarts. It always knew, often better than the teachers did.

“Slytherins, you are not fated,
to be always, ever hated.
Let your cunning and ambition,
bring better days to fruition.”

It sang now for the nervous, trembling eleven year-olds who stood in front of the High Table, and hoped that this year, they would pay attention.

“I sorted Riddle and his crew;
I sorted Death Eaters, and I'll sort you.
I can't choose the path you'll take;
your course is set by the choice you make.”

[mudbloodproud]

Name: mudbloodproud
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Her Last First Day
Warnings: None (though there is remembrance of death)
Word Count: 500
Character POV: Professor McGonagall

Professor McGonagall sat in the centre of the row of ornate chairs behind the long table at the front of the Great Hall. She watched as the students entered. She knew every student who would be returning this year. She also knew which students wouldn’t.

It was those who weren’t returning she thought about now. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley would not be back. They were continuing to help make the Wizarding world safe. Though the part of her that believed education was the most important thing was saddened by the fact they had given up on their education, she was quite proud of them.

Colin Creevy. The boy should have listened to her. He had snuck away from the group he was supposed to be evacuating with. Sadly, she shook her head. There were so many losses, so many had died in the battle that had nearly destroyed this castle.

She glanced down the staff table. There were new teachers this year. The usual new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and a new Potions teacher. She wished Professor Slughorn would have agreed to stay on for this year. She wondered if the jinx against the DADA post was finally over. Professor Dumbledore had assured her this morning it had lifted now that Voldemort was dead.

Her focus returned to the students. She watched as they stood in groups; groups of students from different houses. Smiling, she thought of the Sorting Hat and how it had preached house unity for the past few years. It seemed it had finally gotten it’s wish.

With the exception of one house. As she glanced over at the table reserved for the Slytherins, she couldn’t help but notice the students for that house were already seated. Sitting alone at the end of the table closest to the staff table sat Draco Malfoy. Professor McGonagall had been surprised by his request to return to finish his education. She was pleased that he had chosen along with many who should have graduated to return.

She noticed a group of students laughing as they stood next to the Gryffindor table: Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. She had to smile as she saw the confused look on Neville’s face as Luna adamantly tried to explain something to him.

Professor McGonagall nodded to Professor Flitwick who stood and walked to the front of the staff table.

“Please take your seats. I believe the first years will soon be joining us,’ he squeaked.

The groups of students split up and sat at their respective tables. Silence fell across the hall as Hagrid entered with an unusually large group of students behind him. There were not only the normal group of eleven year olds, but quite a few twelve year olds who had been denied their first year because of their blood status.

Professor McGonagall sighed. It was going to be a long year. Her final year at Hogwarts was going to be a busy one.

[solemnlyswear_x]

Name: solemnlyswear_x
House: Gryffindor
Title: Pass the Pudding
Warnings: One small bad word
Word Count: 491
Character POV Susan Bones

It is the first day back to school, but somehow, it feels all wrong. You wonder fleetingly if it was the right choice to come back, but you shake the thought off as quickly as it comes. What is there to be gained by stopping your education? It won’t bring back Aunt Amelia, and it won’t bring back all those who died fighting. Still, it feels decidedly different as you step through the front doors for the first time this term.

The train ride to Hogwarts had been strange, but it is nothing as surreal as stepping into the Great Hall. On the Hogwarts Express, you had noticed the empty spaces in the compartments, the slightly stilted tone to conversations as everyone danced around the subject of who was coming back. In the Great Hall, however, the tense atmosphere is much more pronounced. There are spaces at each table that everyone is trying to cover up inconspicuously.

You take your spot at the Hufflepuff table, Justin to your right and Ernie to your left. And though you are used to not having Hannah here by now, it still twinges whenever you automatically look across from you, searching for her blonde pigtails.

As the Sorting begins and ends, you notice the first years are as scared as ever. It is strangely comforting for you to know they haven’t had to grow up so much that they’ve forgotten how to be worried about making new friends and fitting in.

But the conversation still seems muted, as though everyone is afraid to enjoy themselves in a place where so much death happened. Maybe that’s it, you muse. Maybe the ghosts of the Final Battle are still lingering in the corners of this room. You know that for you, a moment’s lapse in concentration, and you can hear the screams. You can see the falling bodies. You try not to think of that day, though, and focus instead on other things about the Hall. You steel yourself against the assault of memories, and try to think of the fact that while so many people didn’t return this year, there are still so many who did.

You look down the Hufflepuff table and smile slightly. You can see Kevin Whitby and Rose Zeller discussing something intently, with Eleanor Branstone looking on with amusement.

You can see life going on.

With a timid grin, you ask if Justin and Ernie if they think everyone will call you eighth years. They return your smiles cautiously. Perhaps not as brightly as they might once have – after all, no one is quite sure how to be as happy as they once were – but you think it is start, a new beginning. And you think that eventually, not today, perhaps, or even this year, but eventually, everything will be okay.

You grin at this, and then tell Justin to quit being such a fat arse and pass the pudding.

[mugglemathdork]

Oi! I have to say this before you guys see the results! Every single one of you that posted an entry did wonderful! I was cooing and awwing over each one. Some of you wrote beautiful drabbles and I wanted to give you points but you had grammar or canon misspellings. Keep improving and submitting! XD

-huggles-

First Place:
The Sorting Hat’s Song by Inverarity

I was really, really impressed by Inverarity’s drabble. Not only did Inverarity use a
unique POV but made an astounding use of prose and poetry. Without a doubt it stood out above the other drabbles submitted.

Second Place:
Pass the Pudding by solemnlyswear_x

Solemnly wrote a very eloquent drabble using one of the least used characters in drabble challenges. I was highly impressed at the depth and emotion that came across from Susan’s voice. Beautiful.

Third Place:
The Other Brother by Equinox Chick

Equinox used an interesting POV in Dennis Creevey. Through his eyes we see the world as it was for Muggleborns: hiding. He blames Harry Potter, it appears, a bit for his brother’s death – a sharp contrast to Fred/George Weasley. I found it rather intriguing. That and it was very well-written.

Special Mentions:
A Grudging Return by Hufflepuff at Heart

Hufflepuff at Heart gets a special mention because I was highly impressed with the POV she chose [Argus Filch]. The only reason she didn’t place was due to canon misspellings. –hugs-

Together by Cirelondiel

Chelsea wrote a very touching drabble and it needed recognition.

Stupid Humans by Azhure

Azhure wrote using an interesting POV [Crookshanks] and that deserves a special merit