Audiofictions - The Contest Archive

[Lupinpatronus]

~THE CONTEST ARCHIVE~

Scroll down to read through closed contest summaries and entries.

~HALLOWEEN DRABBLE CONTEST 2011~

Greetings, listeners! With the leaves turning gold and the wind whipping about, it's time to get into the spirit of Halloween. The MerMuggles need your help to do just that!

We're asking you to submit Halloween-themed drabbles for us to read. If your drabble is chosen by us, it will be read by the MerMuggle team and you will receive house points (exact value to be determined)! There is no 1st, 2nd or 3rd place - we'll pick as many stories as we are able to divide amongst us, so your chances are high.

The rules are as follows (review them carefully!):

• Story length cannot exceed 700 words
• Story must be Halloween-themed
• Original characters are permitted, but the focus of the story must be on canon characters.
• No song lyrics for copyright purposes.
• Keep ratings at or below 3rd-5th Years, with minimal warnings
• Have your story overviewed by a beta to avoid spelling/grammer issues
• Post your completed story as a response to this thread; you are not required to submit it to the main site
• One entry per person
• All stories must be submitted by 11 PM (MST) on Friday, October 21st, so as to give the MerMuggles enough time to record them for the episode

If you have any questions, please post them in this thread.

Good luck to all of you who enter!

[secret_hermoine]

~WINNER~

Name: secret_hermione
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Halloween by Moonlight
Ratings/Warnings: 1st-2nd Years/ None
Word Count: 699

The Halloween feast had long been over, but in the Gryffindor Common Room, celebrations were still in full swing. Someone, probably the oldest Weasley girl, who was as much a trouble-maker as her father and his twin had been before her, had gotten Butterbeer and sweets from the house-elves. While the First- and Second-years had been ushered off to bed by the Sixth-year Prefects, Third-years and up were all enjoying Halloween to the utmost.

Upstairs, in the Second-year boys' dormitory, James Sirius Potter lay wide awake in his bed with the deep red curtains open listening to the faint noise drifting from the party of the rest of the House. Unable to fall asleep, but knowing that he shouldn't risk trying to re-join the group, he tip-toed over to the window, knelt down and stared out into the night. There was a full moon hovering over the Forest obscuring the faintest of the stars, but still leaving an incredible number visible.

Just as he began to lose himself in the darkness and doze off, something green flashed across the sky. James jerked upright and looked more intensely out the window. Another green burst of light originated from the edge of the Forest by the lake. Without stopping to think about anything, he grabbed his father's Invisibility Cloak from his trunk and ran through the castle, emerging from a tunnel below a long table in a Greenhouse. Shedding his Invisibility Cloak, he carefully slipped out a window and into the night.

He edged around the corner of the building and looked towards where he had seen the jet of light. Nothing appeared to be there anymore, so James walked quietly across the grounds. As he grew closer to the edge of the Forest, it seemed as though a thick cloud obscured the moon, although the night was perfectly clear. A shiver ran up and down the young wizard's spine and he began to regret coming out so late on Halloween without telling anyone where he was going. If he were caught, he would be severely reprimanded and probably given a week of detention, but if he never got back . . . he didn't want to think about what could have sent the green jet of light. Every nerve of his body urged him to just turn around and slip back into the castle, but something kept him moving forward.

Another green flash flew before his eyes barely ten feet from where he stood. He whirled to face the part of the forest that it had originated from, but saw nothing. A twig snapped behind him. He could feel his heart-rate speed up and his breath grew ragged. A whisper of a sound came from somewhere by the lake shore. Something rustled in the bushes next to it.

James could tell now that he had walked right into the middle of a group of people or things. He didn't know who or what they were, but he knew that he had to get out. He started breathing faster and faster as he turn in every direction that he could, but each time was faced by a new noise. At last, he made a break for it and ran in the general direction of the castle. Just as quickly, something grabbed him from behind. He started to scream, but the sound was cut of as a hand covered his mouth. Darkness surrounded him, and he felt a blindfold being tied behind his head. He struggled to get away, but already someone was tying his hands together, and his feet were held fast. Eventually, he was wrestled to the ground and held there, breathing hard.

“Enough, boys. Stop it,” a deep voice commanded, laughing.

James knew that voice.

“Shh, come on, just a little more,” a much younger one pleaded.

“No, let him go.” It was more serious this time.

The blindfold was gently loosened, and James saw his captors, doubling in laughter over him. It was a large clan of his Weasley cousins and his best friend Anthony Shalan.

Anthony looked down and the black-haired boy. “All that trouble was just worth the look on your face.”

[welshdevondragon]

~WINNER~

Name: welshdevondragon
House: Gryffindor
Title: King Of The Cats
Ratings/Warnings: 1st-2nd Years/None
Word Count: 457
A/N: The story Molly tells is a variant of an old English folk tale.

“Gran?”

“Yes, Lily?”

“Why can’t I go out with Mummy and Daddy and James and Albus?”

They were sitting in the living room at the Burrow. Outside, the rain was lashing the windows, and the occasional flash of lightning could be seen.

“You don’t want to be out in this weather. And James promised to save some sweets for you.”

“James sometimes breaks his promises,” Lily said, suddenly snuggling into her grandmother and sucking her thumb. It was a habit Ginny disapproved of, and therefore Lily had taken to doing it only when at her Gran’s.

“Your Mummy and Daddy will make sure he doesn’t.”

“I don’t think its fair, that they all go out, even Mummy, and I have to stay here!”

Molly sighed, put down her knitting, and wrapped an arm around her granddaughter.

“I’ll tell you a story then. On this night, All Hallow’s Eve, which is halloween to you or me, a few years ago, your Grandpa and I were sitting in the kitchen, just over there, having our dinner. It was a stormy night, just like this one, and your Grandpa was very quiet. So I ask him, “Penny for your thoughts?” and he tells me the strangest thing.

“He said he’d been out in the garden, degnoming, and he had seen two black cats talking.”

“But––” Lily began, but Molly shusshed her.

“If you want me to tell you a story, then don’t interrupt. Anyways, your Grandpa overheard these two cats saying they had to go to the funeral. Now, Arthur was intrigued, and so followed them as they walked to the graveyard in the church across the way. By the light of the full moon, he could see a cat on every tombstone, every grave and every patch of grass.

“He could also see seven cats carrying a coffin, and placing it in an empty grave. Then the cat sitting on the tallest, oldest tombstone yowled, “Tim Toldrum the King is dead. Long live King Tom Toldrum!”

“And the cats set up such a wail, the like of which Arthur had never heard in his life. Now, Arthur was telling me this story, in our kitchen, when our black cat––you remember our black cat Tom?”

Lily nodded.

“Well, he sat up from where he was sitting, just in front of that fire, and cried, “If Tim Toldrum is dead, then I, Tom Toldrum, am King of the Cats!” And he leapt out through the window, and we never saw hide or tail of him again.”

Once Molly had finished, she sighed. Lily sat up, frowning, and said, “Did that really happen, Gran?”

“That depends, deary, entirely on whether you wanted it to have happened or not.”

[crazy717]

~WINNER~

Name: Abi/crazy717
House: Gryffindor
Title: An Old Muggle Tale
Ratings/Warnings: 3rd-5th Years/Character Death, Mild Violence
Word Count: 517
A/N: Hmm, hoping this isn't above 3rd-5th years, but as I don't get creeped out as easily as others it could freak some people out (it creeped my frined out but she's a woss when it comes to ghost stories, you should have seen her watching "the Others" in English) =/ I don't know, I have a back up one if this one isn't okay but this is my favourite one.

“And that was the tale of the missing girl.” Peter finished.

“Peter, that was rubbish! It's Halloween, we're supposed to get scared, not sent to sleep!” Sirius cried.

“I thought Gryffindors weren't supposed to get scared.” Lily said and Mary nodded in agreement.

“We don't, but that story was pathetic.”

“Well you tell a better one then.” Peter said, feeling quite annoyed.

“Fine then I will.” Sirius said. “It was late on Hallo-” he cut off by a snort from Lily.

“Oh please, we all know wizard ghost stories are rubbish. I'll tell it.” she said.

“Many years ago there was a little girl who was a servant in a huge house. Her family were awful to her and beat her if she did the slightest thing wrong. Then one day she was sweeping the floor near the cellar when she broke an expensive vase. The owner of the house beat her so much that she could barely stand. She tried to escape into the cellar but she fell down the stairs and was killed. The old man was terrified so he hid her body on the cellar and the door was locked, never to be open again. That was until one day the door was discovered by Peter and Jennifer.” she looked around at her classmates and smiled with satisfaction when she saw each one of them already looked scared.

“They were playing hide and seek when they found the door and decided to explore what was behind it later that night as their Halloween adventure. They had found a set of keys in a trunk up in the attic and they had decided that they must belong to this door. As soon as they opened the door they were met by a horrible smell. The smell of decay. They looked around in the cellar and they found the body, disturbing the spirit. The ghost of the little servant girl was awoken, scared but vengeful. She only wanted to play with Peter and Jenny as she had never had someone to play with before. They played late into the night until their parents realised they weren't in bed. They looked all over the house for them until they discovered that the cellar door was open. As they started to come down the stairs the little servant girl seemed to change. She disappeared from where she was playing with Peter and Jenny and reappeared behind their father and pushed him down the stairs. You see, she had mistaken him for her previous master and had wanted revenge. The sweet girl was gone and was replaced by a demonic creature, intent on hurting the people who had once hurt her. Then there was a blood-curdling scream!”

Lily screamed just after she finished the sentence and then laughed as Mary screamed and Remus fell out of his chair. She looked around at James and Sirius and was delighted to see them clinging to each other in fear.

“Well,” she said, “I think I'll go to bed now.”

~Abi~

[Kerichi]

~WINNER~

Name: Kerichi
House: Gryffindor
Title: Kreacher Feature
Ratings/Warnings: 1st-2nd Years/None
Word Count: 688

“I want to carve a giant pumpkin like James and Albus,” Lily said.

Her dad smiled across the kitchen table. “You’ll get your chance next year.”

Lily jabbed her fork into her fish pie. The thought of waiting ages wasn’t cheering.

“Hagrid’s pumpkins were only used for decorations when we were at Hogwarts.” Her mum sighed. “I’m a bit jealous, too.”

“Then why don’t we have our own contest?” Dad said. “Halloween at the Burrow. Families compete instead of Houses.”

“Brilliant idea. I’ll send owls to let everyone know they have a fortnight to practice.” Mum winked at Lily. “Tomorrow, when Granny and Granddad visit, you can draw designs and give Team Potter a head start on the competition.”

It wasn’t the same, but Lily said, “Okay.”

A tart suddenly appeared on her plate: dainty and golden.

Next to Lily, Kreacher held out a sauce boat. “Toffee sauce?”

She felt a little cheerier. “Yes, please.”

.

The next morning, Lily did maths while her mum got ready for her meeting with the sports editor at the Prophet. Lily raced out of the study when the doorbell chimed. Granny Weasley swept her into a cinnamon-scented hug. Lily wriggled free to hug Granddad Weasley.

Her mum walked into the entrance hall, portfolio briefcase in hand. “I should be home around noon. Try not to have too much fun without me.”

“We make no promises,” Granddad said. “Do we, Lily love?”

She shook her head.

After her mum left, Lily followed her granddad up the stairs. “Is that a Muggle newspaper you’re holding?”

“What big eyes you have.”

“Now, Arthur, don’t show the child spooky photographs that don’t move,” Granny said. “She’ll have nightmares.” In the drawing room, Granny settled into a chair by the fireplace and opened a Witch Weekly magazine.

Lily sat on the sofa next to Granddad. “I won’t have nightmares.”

He gave her a section of newspaper. “You’re a born Gryffindor.”

She happily flipped through the pages until a photo of a carved pumpkin caught her eye. “Look. This store is having a children’s competition on October twenty-eighth. D’you think I could enter?”

“You’ll have to ask your parents.”

Lily frowned. By the time Mum got home, all the entrant spots were sure to be taken. She went to the kitchen to show the article to Kreacher.

His wispy eyebrows rose to hide in the wrinkles on his forehead. “Miss Lily is wanting Kreacher to use a Muggle device and talk to Muggles?”

She bit her lip. “The grand prize is a crate of Splendid Sweets.”

Silence. Finally, he said, “Kreacher is preferring to secure Miss Lily’s place by . . . other means . . . if Miss Lily is agreeable.”

She grinned. “Yes, please.”

.

On the afternoon of the contest, Lily waited until Mum was busy writing an article to poke her head into the study. “May I go shopping with Kreacher?”

“Mmhmm.”

Lily carefully shut the door.

Her grandfather for the day stood at the bottom of the stairs. She said, “You can’t wear a tea towel!”

A few minutes later, they left the house.

“Kreacher should not use magic to look human. Kreacher does not like heavy coats and boots.”

Lily reached out to take his hand.

They Apparated to the Piccadilly store. Lily’s silvery dress robes seemed plain compared to some of the Muggle costumes, but she didn’t care about the fancy dress award. She marched to the table with her assigned pumpkin and took out her keyhole saw.

“Disqualified!” one of the mothers shrieked. “Only safety tools are allowed!” She waved an orange plastic knife in Kreacher’s face. “You should be ashamed.”

“Leave him alone!” Lily clenched her fists.

The woman cried, “Something stung me!”

“Let’s go, Granddad.” Outside the store, Lily said, “I hexed that lady didn’t I?” She lifted her chin. “I’m glad. I don’t need those stupid sweets anyway.”

“Then Kreacher shall send the crate back.”

“What? No!” She looked at his coat pocket. “Where is it?”

Kreacher smiled. “Would Miss Lily like to go home and see?”

She put her hand in his. “Yes, please.”

[the opaleye]

~WINNER~

Natalie (hestiajones) and I decided to collaborate for this challenge and wrote two drabbles. It's the same narrative but from two different PoVs.

Name: hestiajones
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Black Secrets: Part One
Ratings/Warnings: 3rd-5th Years/None
Word Count: 700

Halloween always had a different meaning for Slytherin House. They tended to forgo the crass and loud frights that the Gryffindor’s favoured, or the bonhomie that the Hufflepuffs loved to spread with their warm, smothering smiles. Even the Ravenclaws, with their pretentious jokes and over-planned pranks, slipped into the spirit of the holiday.

But in Slytherin, Halloween was a night for secrets.

And Andromeda certainly had her fair share.

She sat on Bella’s bed in the seventh-year dormitory, legs crossed as her fingers weaved through Cissy’s hair. Bella was sitting on a chair beside the bed; she had a jack-o-lantern suspended mid-air, that hissed and smoked as small trails of flame shot from its mouth.

“Do you like this nightgown, Meda?” asked Bella with a smirk, her hands trailing across her legs against the emerald silk. “Rodolphus gave it to me.”

Andromeda’s eyes narrowed.

“Bella,” she said warily. “Not in front of Cissy.”

“Oh please,” said Bella with a laugh. “Our dear little sister is not as innocent as she looks, are you Cissy?”

Narcissa stiffened but didn’t say anything. Dropping her hands onto her younger sister’s shoulders, Andromeda gave her a gentle squeeze.

“Come on, Bella. I thought you were going to tell us a story. Don’t tell me we’re just going to watch you play with a pumpkin all night.”

Bella stretched. “I see boys aren’t a very welcome subject tonight,” she said. “Fine, I shall tell you a story. Something perfect for Halloween.”

“Oh! Is it about the haunted manor?” asked Narcissa.

“No,” Bella said. “It’s about this young witch named Elsa, who belonged to a noble, pure-blood family just like ours.”

Andromeda’s head shot up, eyeing her sister carefully, but Bella wasn’t paying her any attention. Instead, she was now fiddling with the silver dagger their parents had presented her with on her seventeenth birthday. “Elsa went to Hogwarts,” she continued, “where she met a boy from a lowly, half-blood family. A Hufflepuff, no less.”

Andromeda moved her hands from Narcissa’s shoulders, fists clenched as she tried to keep her face passive.

“Was she a Slytherin, Bella?” asked Narcissa. “Did you know her?”

Andromeda looked at the younger girl sitting before her, hunched forward, eagerly staring at Bella, who was laughing. “Oh yes, Cissy,” she said, “Elsa was a Slytherin but this was years ago. Of course, every true Slytherin knows the story, though. Or rather... well, I don’t want to spoil the ending!”

“Go on, Bella,” interrupted Andromeda, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “The suspense is just killing me.”

With an amused smile on her face, Bella replied, “Are you sure you want to know, Meda?”

“Of course,” Andromeda answered, smiling just as sweetly while she clenched her fists even tighter until her nails dug into her palms.

“Is it something horrible?” asked Narcissa, her voice shaking a little.

Bella didn’t reply immediately; she rested the blade of the knife in her right hand, twisting it to and fro as it caught the candle light. Andromeda waited, not taking her eyes off her older sister. How could she know? Was this some sort of trick? Some sick way to get Andromeda to confess all her secrets?

Suddenly, Bella sat up straight.

“The two lovers continued to meet in secret. Elsa knew exactly what her family would think if they found out, but the boy had fallen in love. He grew tired of lying to his friends. Those Hufflepuffs love to throw their happiness in everyone’s faces, you see, and of course, he was no different. They grew careless. Someone saw them.”

Andromeda flinched, and Narcissa turned around to look at her.

“Scared already, Meda?” she giggled.

“Oh you better be,” Bella said, and while her tone was casual, there was no mistaking the gleam in her eyes.

There was something hard and cold sitting in Andromeda’s stomach, as if all that food she had eaten at the Halloween feast would come up at any second. She tried not to think of Ted, knowing that would make the guilt show on her face.

“When you spit on your family’s honour,” Bella said, one finger running along the edge of the knife, “there can be no happy endings.”

Name: the opaleye
House: Slytherin
Title: Black Secrets: Part Two
Ratings/Warnings: 3rd-5th Years/Character Death
Word Count: 700

Narcissa wasn’t sure she was going to enjoy the rest of the story. Bella had always been a dramatic narrator, but tonight’s tale was different.

It had been a strange month for Narcissa. Gone were the days when boys were something to ignore. Recently, she’d begun to notice them more and more, and she wasn’t the only one to sense this new shift. First arrived the anonymous notes, slipped into her satchel sometime between Charms and Potions, then came the furtive glances and flushed cheeks across the Slytherin table. She’d never paid much notice to Aloysius Edgecombe, at least not until he started paying close attention to her. Earlier that night, during the Halloween feast, he’d finally asked her out for the next Hogsmeade visit, even though it wasn’t until February.

Aloysius may have been a Slytherin but, unlike her or her sisters, he was from a half-blood family that had worked in the Ministry for generations. And now, Bella was telling them an ominous story about a pure-blood Slytherin witch named Elsa, who fell in love with a half-blood student from Hufflepuff.

“But Bella,” she began, her mouth curving into the innocent smile she’d spent her life perfecting, “what if the boy had been in Slytherin?”

“Don’t be so stupid, Cissy,” Bella replied, her voice low and soft. “A Slytherin Mudblood is still a Mudblood no matter where that raggedy old hat decides to sort it. Remember that.”

Narcissa bit her lip hard as the sense of guilt deepened.

Andromeda, who had been quiet for some time, spoke at last in an even voice. “You mean that only someone from a well-established pure-blood was good enough for Elsa.”

“I do,” said Bella, the expression on her face one of challenge. When Andromeda didn’t comment, she continued. “As for Elsa, someone saw her with the Hufflepuff boy and the news eventually reached her older brother. She didn’t know they’d been found out until Halloween night...”

She trailed off, seemingly preoccupied with the sharp tip of the blade. As though out of curiosity, she pressed a finger down upon the point, not stopping until Narcissa let out a soft gasp.

“Elsa enjoyed the Halloween feast as usual,” she went on, “looking forward to a secret assignation at the top of the Astronomy Tower later on. But perhaps she’d had too much chocolate cake like you, Meda, because for some reason she decided to return to her dorm first. I guess she wanted to change into something more... alluring, but when she opened her trunk…”

Narcissa swallowed nervously, and she could feel Andromeda shifting uncomfortably beside her. Bella was now holding the knife up to the pumpkin, carving away at the two eyes, widening them further until it looked positively grotesque.

“What she found in her truck,” she told them, “wasn’t much at all. Only a yellow and black scarf with just the tiniest amount of blood spattered across the wool.”

There was the tiniest bit of pause when she turned to look at them as though to check their reaction. They must have reacted the way she wanted to; she was smiling when she spoke again.

“They found the boy’s body the next day, broken and cold beneath the Astronomy Tower. It was assumed he’d fallen while doing some for his NEWTs, but every Slytherin knew what had really happened, and once Elsa left Hogwarts, she was never seen again.”

“She died,” murmured Narcissa softly.

Bella nodded. “They say there is a ghost of a former student that resides within the castle, watching as other Slytherin girls fall into the Mudblood trap. They say that if she finds you, well...”

Her eyes bored into the two of them as she withdrew her wand and flicked it at the pumpkin, making it spin towards the door, a blur of fiery orange in the dim room. But before Narcissa could process what was happening, Bella had already turned away. There was a blur of movement, followed by a loud whiz that abruptly stopped as the silver dagger found its mark, right between the eyes of the pumpkin.

“So you see, my darling sisters, some secrets are impossible to hide.”

[Lupinpatronus]

~THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS CONTEST~

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o’clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it.

Fifteen years ago, possibly one of the most iconic pieces of imagery from the Harry Potter series made its debut. For readers, the Hogwarts Express is the first time we encounter magical transportation in the series, representing the ultimate transition from the Muggle world to the Wizarding world. To celebrate this special locomotive, write us a short story (1,500 words or less) based on one of the following prompts about the Hogwarts Express, and enter it for a chance to have your work read on a special episode of Audiofictions, to be released on September 1st just as the train departs Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

#1: Hermione’s Ride
“I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors.”
While Harry and Ron were making friends and eating sweets, young and eager Hermione Granger was busy helping Neville find a toad and determinedly looking for some mature company. For a simple train ride, it appears Hermione kept herself occupied with various tasks, and she was quite persistent in her attempts to talk to Harry and Ron. Diving deeper in to some or all of these observations, write about the first train ride of the trio’s academic career, but this time from the perspective of the most academic of them all.

#2: The Great Train Robbery
Where exactly the Hogwarts Express came from has never been conclusively proven, although it is a fact that there are secret records at the Ministry of Magic detailing a mass operation involving one hundred and sixty-seven Memory Charms and the largest ever mass Concealment Charm performed in Britain.
J.K. Rowling revealed a wealth of information about the Hogwarts Express’s history via Pottermore, divulging that obtaining the engine was not only a massive effort on the part of multiple wizards, but that the act was preceded by intense political debate between the Ministry of Magic and the general wizarding public. Tell us the story of the greatest train robbery never known.

#3: Expecto Patronum!
He may not be very good company, but Professor Lupin’s presence in their compartment had its uses.
In Harry’s third year at Hogwarts, terror struck the Hogwarts Express as Dementors climbed aboard in search of Sirius Black. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, managed to protect those in his compartment, much to the surprise of his fellow travelers. But what was running through the professor’s mind during the unexpected attack? What did he see as he travelled to talk with the train’s driver? And was he really sleeping through all of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s conversation? Explore Lupin’s mind and tell us more!

#4: Working on the Railroad
There was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, “Anything off the cart, dears?”
There are two unsung employees on the Hogwarts Express who we have often heard about but rarely, if ever, encounter: the woman with the food trolley and the train’s driver. Pick any year you wish and tell us about what it’s like riding the train for these vital, but often unseen, characters.

#5: The Last Express
“They dragged Luna off the train.”
As Harry, Ron and Hermione begin their search for Voldemort’s Horcruxes, the students of Hogwarts face their first challenge against the Death Eaters in the most surprising place: aboard the Hogwarts Express. Throughout the year, students are abducted during train rides to and from the school, some of their fates unknown until much later. Tell us the terrifying details.


Rules
• Submissions are due no later than August 18th at 11:00 PM MST
• Your story’s word count may meet but not exceed 1,500 words
• Your story must remain at or below the rating of 3rd-5th Years
• Follow the provided prompts
• You must be a member of the MuggleNet Fan Fiction Beta Boards to participate, although you do not need to have been sorted into a house. If you are not currently a member of the boards, you may still participate by creating a login
• You may submit up to one story for two different prompts
• Submit your story by posting it in this thread. You do not need to submit it to MuggleNet Fan Fiction, although you are permitted to do so. When submitting, include the below information preceding the story in the following format:

[B]Title:[/B] [B][U]Paste Title Here[/U][/B]
[B]Author:[/B] (Your screen name and/or your real name: what you put is what we will credit you as in the episode)
[B]Prompt #:[/B]
[B]Warnings:[/B]
[B]Ratings:[/B]
[B]Summary:[/B] [I]Paste Summary Here[/I]

Winners
• Winners will be selected by Audiofictions’s MerMuggle reader team
• For winning, your story will be read aloud and credited to you by a MerMuggle reader in the September 1st episode of Audiofictions

If you have any questions, post them in this tread and they will be answered by Lupinpatronus as soon as possible.

[Gmariam]

~WINNER~

Title: For Him
Author: Gmariam
Prompt #: Expecto Patronum!
Warnings: None
Ratings: 3^rd-5^th Year
Summary: As an older, wiser Remus Lupin returns to school on the Hogwarts Express, he meets a memory from his past: his best friend's son. And he realizes that he now has a second chance to protect Harry from whatever harm the recently escaped Sirius Black may intend.

* * *

As the train pulls away from the station, I watch the families—brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers—waving at their loved ones, children sent off to learn their magical heritage, perhaps for the first time, perhaps for the last. There is no one waving at me, no wife, no children, but that is all right. That is not why I chose to ride the train, when I could have Apparated to Hogsmeade and enjoyed the walk from the village, or arranged to Floo directly to the castle with Professor Dumbledore.

No, I simply want to experience the Hogwarts Express once more, as the older, wiser man I am supposed to be. I want to put the past behind me. Yet as I settle into the compartment and gather my cloak around me, I am reminded of my own first train ride, a trip I had thought I would never make, until Albus Dumbledore had made sure someone like me would be able to study at Hogwarts…

*

I opened the door to the compartment, where two boys were laughing uproariously. They turned toward me and laughed even more, and I couldn't help but glare at them, offended when they had no reason to be laughing at me—at least, not yet.

"What's so funny?" I demanded, still standing in the doorway and putting forth far more bravado than I felt.

"Some gorm who wants to be in Slytherin," replied the first boy, who was about my age with messy hair and round glasses. "Can you imagine? Blimey, Sirius, I hope you don't end up with that Snivellus."

The other boy shook his head. "I'll drop out if I do, now that I've met the git."

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" I asked, although I knew many people disliked Slytherin, and I was not ignorant as to why. I was curious to see what they might say.

"They're bloody prats, the whole lot," said the first boy, frowning. "Why? Is that where you're going?"

I shrugged as I entered the compartment and stowed my trunk above the seats. The train had started, and it was the last open compartment. I'd have to sit with them, although truth be told, even then I had a feeling that there was something different about these two strong personalities.

"I doubt it," I replied. "Ravenclaw, I'd guess. Although my dad was in Gryffindor." My mum had been top of her class, and as I enjoyed many of her same interests, I hoped to follow in her footsteps; I didn't feel brave enough to be a Gryffindor, especially back then. Sometimes I still don't.

The first boy grinned and nodded. "Brilliant. I'm James." Even then he was bursting with easy confidence as he brushed his hair from his face. He motioned at the other boy, who was a bit more dark and brooding, though he seemed drawn out by James's infectious energy. "This is Sirius. He's a Slytherin legacy, but we're trying to figure out how to get him into Gryffindor."

I nodded as I sat and joined them. "Just ask?" I suggested, and for some reason we all burst out laughing. Little did we know, it was as almost as simple as that…

*

The door opens and several students enter my compartment. I had hoped to make the ride alone with my thoughts, but it's likely there is no room for them elsewhere. I glance through half-open eyes to see who is joining me in my solitude, and hold back a gasp as a ghost enters the compartment: a young boy with glasses and black hair that he can't seem to control, it is as if he has stepped straight out of my memory. He glances around, and brilliant green eyes break my heart in two.

Harry. James and Lily's son.

It has been almost twelve years since I last saw him, but I am instantly transported back to that day. It was late fall, and the war was escalating to the point of defeat. There seemed to be little hope, especially for my friends…

*

"It's the only way, Remus," said James, pacing the floor. Harry sat on my lap, babbling happily as he played with the small stuffed lion I had brought over. "Professor Dumbledore says You-Know-Who may come after us any day, and the Fidelius Charm is the last, best way to protect Harry and Lily."

"And you," I pointed out. I made some sort of ridiculous noise at Harry, who giggled and reached out toward my lips, shrieking as I tickled them with the coarse stubble I'd forgot to shave after several days on assignment.

James waved me off. "And me, yes. Merlin, I hate this, Remus. I want to be out there, fighting to end it—not in here hiding and just waiting for it to be over."

Harry squirmed in my arms, obviously wanting to be let down, so I set him on the floor, where he quickly tottered over to the corner. A large chest held a plethora of toys, and he began tossing everything onto to the floor, apparently determined to empty it while we talked.

"I know, Prongs," I said softly. "But you have to do what's best for your family now. It's the price you pay for falling in love and all that." He gave me such a skeptical look that I laughed in spite of how dangerous things truly were. "No, really. And it will be worth it. I promise."

James sighed. "I hate not knowing how long it will last." He paused and let his shoulders slump, a rare show of emotion and defeat. "Or who to trust."

"You can trust your friends, James," I said. "We are here for you.

"I know. Thank you, Remus," he said. Harry tumbled into the toy box, and James walked over to pluck him out as if it had happened a dozen times already. "I just hope it's over soon."

*

It had ended not long after that, but not in the way any of us had hoped or foreseen. James and Lily and Peter, all dead. Harry, sent off on Dumbledore's orders to live with his Muggle family. And Sirius, sentenced to Azkaban for betraying us all. A rush of anger fills me as I listen to Harry tell his friends about Sirius Black. I can't imagine what Sirius would want with James's son, yet at times I still cannot comprehend his treachery, even so many years later.

Harry has no idea; that much is obvious. He does not know why this prisoner of Azkaban would want to see him dead. He does not know that both Sirius Black and the man pretending to sleep in the corner were once two of his father's best friends. Harry is so much like James that it almost hurts to be sitting there with him, and yet he is more like Lily in his calm acceptance and quite composure. James would be angry, like I was.

The memories of the brief time I knew Harry as a child are overwhelming. James's son. He should have had a normal childhood, should have grown up in the wizarding world, with parents who loved him and cared for him. Instead they died for him, and now their killer has escaped.

It occurs to me that I can protect Harry now; perhaps I can even be the godfather that Sirius was not. I feel I must make up for my failure in not seeing Sirius for what he really was, for not insisting I be their Secret-Keeper. In many ways, my failure ruined this boy's life. I must redeem that tragedy, for James.

With that thought I drift off, the steady hum of the train lulling me into sleep and dreams full of sorrow and regret. The time passes quickly, until a strange chill pulls me from the depths. I hear cries and feel icy fingers wrap around my heart. My eyes snap open as I realize what is happening.

Dementors.

The temperature plummets as the train slows to a stop, and darkness takes over. The students are scared and stumbling around until I cast a small light. And then the Dementors enter our compartment, as if they have come for him and him alone. Harry collapses. I cast my Patronus and they are forced back, and slowly life returns to the train.

As Harry awakes, I am struck once more by his eyes—his mother's eyes. It is as if Lily is looking at me through James's face and it is all I can do to keep myself together. I offer him chocolate to recover and excuse myself. I am a teacher now and must attend to the rest of the train.

Yet as I leave the compartment, my purpose suddenly becomes clear. I have not come to Hogwarts for a job, nor have I really come to teach. I have come for Harry, so that Sirius cannot.

And I will do anything to protect him.

* * *

Author's Note:
Many thanks to Lea/Mugglegirlmarauder for reading this over!

[Willowswanderings]

Title: Remus Returns
Author: willowswanderings
Prompt #: Expecto Patronum (3)
Warnings: None
Ratings: 1st-2nd years
Summary: A look inside the mind of Remus Lupin upon his return to Hogwarts as a professor via the Hogwarts Express at the start of Harry's third year.


Running maniacally on all fours, I look swiftly behind me to find that they are still chasing me. The stag is closest to reaching me, the black dog not far behind him, and the rat bringing up the rear. My gruesome teeth are bared into a smile for I know that they cannot catch me. In my elation I fail to notice a significantly large tree stump in my path. As the stump hits my front paws I stumble onto my back. I attempt to quickly get back on all fours and continue the chase but it is too late.

Padfoot has already jumped on top of me, holding me down, his tail wagging all the while. Prongs is nudging my side playfully with his antlers while Wormtail takes a particular fascination in running his tail between my toes.

I am about to make my attempt at escaping my defeat when the cold air of the night drops significantly. It feels as though an unbearable frost has enveloped my current form. From the looks on the faces of my friends I can tell that they feel it too. We turn our heads into the distance looking for the cause of such chilling unhappiness in our moment of contentment.

And then it happens. I startle awake feeling more upset than usual that I have been disturbed from dreams of the nostalgic glee I experienced as a young man at Hogwarts. That is when I notice I am not alone in the compartment. Four students sit before me, their faces display a look of petrified horror. Instinctively, I check that I am in fact Remus Lupin, man not wolf. I follow the direction of their faces to see a Dementor standing in the doorway of the compartment fixated on a young boy with black hair and round glasses.

Before I know what I am doing my hand is pulling out my wand and I am speaking the incantation that will protect this boy. He faints and without hesitation I bend over him to assess the damage when I notice something. Not the scar on his forehead barely hidden by his unruly hair but simply the features on his face. It’s James Potter.

One of the students, a girl with untamed brown hair, jumps swiftly down from her seat. She begins to lightly slap James’ face.

*“Harry! Harry! Are you all right?”

Harry? James and Lily’s son? But his face, it’s James’, distinctedly so. But just then the boy opes his eyes, green, shocking green. I know now that this is their child. The one we all protected, his parents, my friends, with their lives. I grab for the chocolate stashed inside my robes. I had known the Dementors would be at Hogwarts, but on the train? Dumbledore would never have allowed this.

*“Here,” I offer a piece of the chocolate to Harry. “Eat it. It’ll help.”

*“What was that thing?” he asks. His voice didn’t falter, but his eyes betray his fright.

*“A Dementor,” I told him giving chocolate to the other students as well. “One of the Dementors of Azkaban.”

They all stare at me expectantly, chocolate uneaten. My mind, however, is elsewhere. Why were they on the train?

*“Eat,” I repeat. “It’ll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…”

In the hallway outside the compartment, I realize that I feel sadder now without the Dementor present. Already the lives of the Hogwarts students are in danger and I feel responsible. If only Dumbledore had denied me the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor there would be one less danger lurking the Hogwarts grounds. Even with Severus’ promise to provide me with the Wolfsbane Potion, I fear that he still holds a grudge against the Marauders.

There’s myself, there are the Dementors, and there’s Sirius… I almost chuckle when I think, of course it would be the two of us that would be wreaking havoc to the school, just like old times. I miss Sirius, the only other of the Marauders that’s still alive. I shudder at these thoughts. He’s the reason the rest are dead! And now, he’s after Harry again, after he protected him, after he was made Harry’s godfather…

Eventually reaching the driver by the front of the train, I search my mind for words. The polite, calm conversation I had planned is lost in my mind, surging through me is a rage I didn’t know I could feel. I yell about the Dementors, scream about Sirius. I bawl about the danger he had put everyone through. My usual cool demeanor and even temper is most definitely shot. It is with great shame and utter embarrassment that I walk back to the end compartment to collect my things as the train halts to a stop at Hogsmeade Station.

Stepping off the train Harry and his friends catch my eye and I give them a small smile. Across the lake I can see that Hogwarts hasn’t changed a bit since I had been there last, many years ago. I can’t help thinking that it looks more beautiful and enchanting than ever.

Staring in awe at the place where I had grown up, where I learned to trust and be myself a thought crosses my mind. As much as I believe myself to be an added possible danger to the school, I will not back down in protecting the school from the likes of Voldemort and his followers.

The only thing I know for sure is that as long as I’m around, James and Lily’s son will never cease to be protected.

End note:
Astriks (*) are used to indicate where I borrowed direct quotations from The Prisoner of Azkaban.

[Lupinpatronus]

~HALLOWEEN DRABBLE CONTEST 2012~

Our yearly tradition continues with the Audiofictions Halloween Drabble Contest, where you submit your scariest stories for us to read! The MerMuggles will choose their favorites from the submitted entries to be read aloud on the special Halloween episode.

Rules

• Story length cannot exceed 1000 words
• Story must be Halloween-themed
• Original characters are permitted, but the focus of the story must be on canon characters
• No song lyrics for copyright purposes
• Keep ratings at or below 3rd-5th Years, with minimal warnings
• If you are able, have your story overviewed by a beta to avoid spelling/grammer issues (this is a preference more than a requirement)
• Post your completed story as a response to this thread; you are not required to submit it to the main site, although you are permitted to do so
• One entry per person
• All stories must be submitted by 11 PM (MST) on Saturday, October 13th
• Submit your story by posting it in this thread. When submitting, include the below information preceding the story in the following format:
  

  [B]Title:[/B] [B][U]Paste Title Here[/U][/B]
  [B]Author:[/B] (Your screen name and/or your real name: what you put is what we will credit you as in the episode)
  [B]Warnings:[/B]
  [B]Ratings:[/B]
  [B]Summary:[/B] [I]Paste Summary Here[/I]

  Winners
• Winners will be selected by Audiofictions’s MerMuggle reader team
• For winning, your story will be read aloud and credited to you by a MerMuggle reader in the 2012 Halloween episode of Audiofictions

If you have any questions, post them in this tread and they will be answered by Lupinpatronus as soon as possible.