The September Challenge - week 2- Results

[Equinox Chick]

THE JOURNEY

Just like Harry and Dumbledore fought for equality amongst magic users and muggles, we too are fighting for immigration reform, LGBTQ rights and equal access to education. Our Equality for the Win fundraiser is a drive to raise $50,000 so that we can strengthen our fight to equal the playing field. With your donation and your help we can launch a year of equality based campaigns to fight the dark arts of inequality.

We are Wizards. We are the Equality Generation.

(Thank you, Julia and Natalie for introducing me to this cause.)

Okay, week 2's challenge is going to incorporate the theme of equality.

Your chosen canon character is on the Hogwart's Express when they come across an article in The Daily Prophet. This article concerns a group in the Magical community that is repressed. So, this could be Muggleborns, werewolves, house-elves, centaurs etc. There are many options available to you as prejudice in many heinous forms is apparent in the Potterverse.

You need to drabble their reaction to the article, and what they do next.


Use this form for your entries

[B]Name:[/B]
[B]House:[/B]
[B]Title:[/B]
[B]Rating:[/B]
[B]Warnings:[/B]
[B]Word Count:[/B]
[B]A/N:[/B] 

The rules for the September Challenge are detailed in week 1. You may read them here.

I will close this thread next Saturday 15th September at 3PM.


Have Fun!


Madame Carmerta.

[Karaley Dargen]

Name: Karaley Dargen
House: Gryffindor
Title: Greyback
Rating: 1st-2nd
Warnings: psychopathy?
Word Count: 500
A/N:


He sits in the compartment with the same people that he sat with the previous year. There's a girl called Myra, who seems to think that now she's sixteen, she should start reading the paper. She has one with her anyway, and it rustles too loudly, not just when she turns a page, but the entire time, because she holds it so awkwardly in her tiny stubby fingers, and it's driving him mad.

The other girl never seems to talk. She doesn't read either. She stares out of the window the entire train ride. He likes her the best.

The boy, Avery, is one of those that he's supposed to be friends with. He doesn't need any friends. He only sticks with Avery because then his parents will shut up about how he should mingle more.

In a year, he won't need any of them. He doesn't even need them now.

There is a sharp intake of breath from the girl called Myra and the loudest rustle yet. He recognises the gesture for the dramatic request of attention that it is, and all he can muster is a derisive snort.

Avery takes a break from picking the dirt out from under his fingernails and looks at her. "What is it?" he asks.

"Werewolf march again." The hush in Myra's voice is staged. "They're protesting the registry again. Want it to be secret and all." He looks up and sees her biting her lip. "I mean, I get that they're people, you know," she continues, "but I'd want to know if my neighbour was a werewolf. Especially for families..."

His glance drops on the paper. There's an image of a group of people protesting. They don't look like werewolves. They are thin, exhausted looking men and women in front of the Ministry, carrying signs and chanting mutely.

He takes the paper in his hands almost without noticing. They don't want power. They don't want rights. They want to live in secret.

Paying no attention to the others, he starts crumpling the page up in his hands. It infuriates him. He knows about werewolves, and what they are capable of. Why would they want to hide? Why would they choose a life in the shadows? They have potential, and strength, and people are terrified of them. If he was a werewolf, he wouldn't put himself beneath anyone. He wouldn't hide; he wouldn't ask to be hidden. No, he would ask for the power that is due to someone of that physical potential. Surely, a werewolf shouldn't be treated like someone who has a disease. Surely, a werewolf is the superior creature. Stronger, more powerful senses, faster, more durable.

The meekness and chosen inferiority of these people in the paper infuriates him. They have the chance to be so much more, they have been given access to a whole new level of being, and they aren't even making use of it.

There is no leader.

If only he could be one of them.

[Nagini Riddle]

Name: that snake name... Nagini Riddle
House: the one that has gold and red colors, I think...
Title: The Lesser Beings
Ratings: 1st-2nd yrs
Warnings: Nope, there aren't any
Word count: 335, but who's counting?
Author's note: Bill Weasley is far more smarter than most wizards.

The Lesser Beings

He was deep in thought, brooding over the text books, though he knew that he didn’t care much about reading them at the moment. He just wanted to be alone for the time being, and reading seemed to make people back off.

Or so he thought.

“Bill! Look at this! Some guy died and there was a dispute over one of his possessions because it had been goblin-made and the goblins wanted it back!”

Lester Ackleby shoved the Daily Prophet underneath his nose. Lester’s father worked with goblins, so he would obviously find such an article entertaining. But Bill wondered why Lester would show him.

He reluctantly took the newspaper and looked at the front cover. There was a picture of a vicious-looking goblin arguing with another wizard and it seemed pretty heated. The article in question called the debacle merely “a discussion” that was no “cause for alarm” because the goblins obviously did “not understand the ways of the law, being near-intelligent and disgraceful creatures with selfish intent.”

Bill bristled at the word “near-intelligent.” He knew that goblins were clever from his study of history at Hogwarts, and “near-intelligent” seemed like how one would term a dog or a baby. He even knew some wizards that were “near-intelligent,” but he hadn’t ever come out and said it. He imagined what it would be like to be called something lesser than a sentient being or else not as smart as humans. He snorted. If humans were smart, the world would be a better place.

He glanced up at Lester, who appeared to be waiting for some kind of reaction.

“Lester, why do we let wizards control us?” he asked.

Lester appeared confused by the question. “Because they know how.”

Bill smiled. “Do we really?”

With that, he handed back the newspaper and stuck his nose back into the text book, though his mind was far from the material. He knew he would have a lot to think about on the long train journey to school.

[AidaLuthien]

Name: AidaLuthien
House: Badgers Proud!
Title: Nothing
Rating: 1st-2nd
Warnings: none
Word Count: 426
A/N:

The dark haired teenager scowled at the idyllic English countryside passing by outside the train window. They still had several more hours left on the ride to Hogwarts. I should apologize. I can’t. The tension between the two different and equally powerful thoughts was starting to give him a tension headache.

He rubbed his head, and the lines on his face deepened a little more. The weather was sunny and bright, mocking his pain.

“Hey, Severus, take a look at this!”

He turned away from the window. “What is it?” he asked warily.

“Article in The Daily Prophet,” Evan Rosier explained, holding up the paper. His lips quirked up in a smirk. “They’re defending Muggles -” A small chorus of snickers greeted the hated word. “- and it looks like you could use a laugh.”

Severus held out his hand wordlessly. The paper was handed over, and he settled in to read.

We Are All Human: A Plea
By Dorcas Meadows

“That’s an awful headline if I’ve ever read one,” he commented.

His Housemates hooted. “Wait til you’ve read the rest!”

Severus skimmed the rest of the article. It was the same sorts of arguments that had been made before. It wasn’t anything particularly new or interesting, except, perhaps, that the author chose to defend Muggles, in addition to Muggle-borns.

In conclusion, no one has been able to successfully isolate what separates wizarding kind from Muggles. We are, in the end, the same species. There is nothing that separates Muggle-borns from half-bloods or pure-bloods in terms of magical ability or talent.

Perhaps, one day we may even be able to live freely amongst them once again. I look forward to the day when we can live openly among our Muggle neighbors without fear, and without prejudice - from either side. I long for the day that the discovery that a child is a Squib or a Muggle-born wizard or witch makes no difference to their parents, to their community and, indeed, to all of us.

Severus reread the last paragraph.

“How charmingly naive,” he said, glad that his voice didn’t shake. “Mind if I hold on to the paper? I want to see what other drivel The Daily Prophet is publishing.”

“Go right ahead. We’re gonna start a game of Exploding Snap, if you want in.”

Severus shook his head and turned back to the paper.

There is nothing that separates Muggle-borns from half-bloods or pure-bloods in terms of magical ability or talent.

Nothing, he echoed silently. Nothing.

[Hokey]

Name: Hokey
House: Sssssslytherin
Title: Friends and foes
Rating: 1st-2nd
Warnings: None
Word Count: 361

Luna was humming to herself as she reached the very end of the fast-going Hogwarts Express. She was pleased with how many new friends and classmates she had spoken to along the way. Eager to meet even more people to share stories with she had not settled down in a compartment; she kept advancing further towards the rear of the train, saying ‘hello’ and having a chat with everyone who looked friendly.

She reached the final compartment, only to find it empty. Stepping inside with her trunk and her glass jar she decided to sit down for a breather.

She carefully placed the jar beside her on the seat and glanced at a copy of the Daily Prophet that lay discarded on the floor. She bent forward and lifted it up, intending to place it on the table by the window instead, and then noticed the headline of a short article at the very bottom.

Luna’s jaw dropped. All the joy that had filled her mere moments ago, joy to be heading towards a new school with so many friendly boys and girls (although some had acted rather snobbishly), was rapidly being replaced by repugnance.

The article stated that the members of a small association, the SFS, had been brutally persecuted during their group exhibition in the North. Locals had mocked and gibed at them, only to turn more violent when the group persisted to go through with their planned activities.

Luna knew that the SFS (Searching For Snorkacks) frequently organized trips to locations were the magnificent creature had been spotted. It was a dream of hers to one summer join an SFS exhibition, something Luna’s father had promised that they some day would do.

However, she had not anticipated the excursions to be dangerous. What could possibly have driven the local inhabitants to treat friendly visitors in such a way? How could there exist such evil and malevolence in the world, that the SFS were not free to carry out peaceful activities that did no one else any harm?

Letting the newspaper fall to the floor again, Luna’s heart sank - as did her expectations on the coming school year.

[Theloonyhermione]

Name: Theloonyhermione
House: Ze house of ze claws, of course!
Title: The Filthy Little Mudbloods
Rating: 1st-2nd
Warnings: Draco being mean?
Word Count: 375
A/N: Thanks to Megan/Noblefate for beta-ing this for me!! She did a fantastic job! I know these drabbles aren't normally beta-ed, but seeing as she made plenty of edits and this is my second drabble ever submitted to a contest, I needed one.



Draco growled as he read the headline in the Daily Prophet, ‘Muggleborns Receive Galleons from Ministry for Extra School Supplies’.

“What’s wrong, Draco?” Pansy asked him curiously.

“This stupid article. Mudbloods getting all of this gold from the Ministry. Apparently, since they don’t grow up in wizarding families, they need to have more money. Why not just keep them out of Hogwarts and save the money for more important people?” Draco shook his head disapprovingly. “Am I right, Goyle?”

Goyle looked up at Draco confusedly, grunting, “What?”

Draco shook his head. “Never mind.”

Pansy snatched the article out of his hands. Her expression turned from annoyance to frustration to complete infuriation. “That much gold? I don’t believe it. The ministry’s gone mad. And I thought your father was friends with Fudge?”

Draco snorted. “Most of the ministry has always been mad. Except for my father, that is. And I get the feeling that my father didn’t have much say in this. And I bet Fudge may agree with this, even though he might not have been the one who has started it…” He frowned thoughtfully.

Pansy looked at him curiously. “Do tell, Draco,” she said, smiling. She had always loved that Draco’s father was in the Ministry, for she always got insider information. Sure, her mother was there as well, but she refused to tell anything too secret to her daughter.

Draco grinned mysteriously. “My father’s been telling me about this wizard who’s obviously completely addled. He’s been giving the Ministry these crazy ideas. Some people think Xenophilius Lovegood sent him in so that some of his ideas could get through to a bigger part of the wizarding community. I think they might be right.”

Crabbe looked at him curiously. “Wait. What’s going on?”

Draco looked at Crabbe.. “I don’t really know… there’s got to be some pretty strange things going on at the Ministry for this to slip past Fudge, though.”

Pansy nodded. “I wish I knew.”

Draco frowned, looking through the paper. His eyes suddenly widened and he sat up straighter. “Pansy, I may know someone who might give us an answer.”

Pansy looked at him, curious as to what another one of his ideas might be. “Who?”

Draco grinned mischievously. “Loony Lovegood."

[the opaleye]

Name: Theo Paleye
House: Ssssssslytherin
Title: Kiss
Rating: 1st-2nd years
Warnings: not one
Word Count: 497
A/N: ew

The train rattles around them as Hermione closes her eyes, letting the sounds wash over her. If she tries hard enough she thinks she can pretend that she isn’t missing the two people who should be here with her.

The compartment door slides open and her eyes drift open, slowly, as if there will be two faces waiting for her if she waits long enough. And there are two faces but they are not the ones she hopes for. Luna and Dean smile at her as they step into the compartment and sit down. Luna digs around in a bag before taking out a tattered book, which seems to be smoking. Hermione smiles back and turns away to stare out the window.

She’s not sure how much time has passed before a strangled yell wrenches through the air.

She looks up to see Ginny fling a copy of the Prophet across the compartment. Dean picks it up, glancing down at the headline with a frown, before handing it to Hermione.

Azkaban Inmates Praise Dementor Banishment

“It’s inhuman, otherwise, Ginny,” she murmurs, gently. “They have the right to liveable conditions.”

Ginny’s head snaps up with a watery glare.

“So does Fred.”

Hermione closes her eyes at that.

“I’m not saying—”

Ginny grabs her arm and Hermione’s eyes fly open, ignoring the tightening of her friend’s fingers, focusing instead on the blazing and desperate look in Ginny’s eyes.

“Look at your scars, Hermione. Look what they did to you. They killed… they killed my—”

The grip on her arm loosens as Ginny sags back into her seat. Hermione leans over, placing her hand on Ginny’s arm—soft and warm and there. She doesn’t say anything, waiting for Ginny to look up.

“Don’t you see, Hermione? After everything they’ve done…”

“I want them to rot in hell with a thousand Dementors, Ginny. But don’t you see? We are no better than them if we allow ourselves to treat them as they treated us. Where do we draw the line?”

Hermione turns around to see Dean looking gravely at his feet. Luna, however, is staring at her, intently.

Ginny sniffs, snatching her hand away from Hermione. She wipes her eyes furiously even though Hermione cannot see any tears.

“I can’t think like that yet. I just can’t.”

“You don’t have to,” she replies, Summoning a bag of fudge from her bag and handing it over. Ginny takes a piece and offers some to Luna who is still looking at Hermione.

“You have very beautiful lips, Hermione,” she says. Dean’s eyes widen and Ginny lets out a choking noise. “Dean’s lips are nice to kiss but yours are much prettier to look at, especially when you are not sure of your words,” she pauses for a moment before continuing, “which isn’t very often, I think.”

“Um thank you, Luna,” she answers, before taking a piece of fudge for herself. “Dean, you better close your mouth before you catch a fly.”

[Equinox Chick]

Thanking you all

Results shortly ... (possibly)

[Equinox Chick]

Okay, well that was fun. One drabble had me laughing out loud, which doesn't happen often

As there were only six entries, I'm awarding first and second place only. One of the criteria I used here was how each drabbler incorporated the article.

First Place: AidaLuthian - Hufflepuff - Nothing - 15 points

Second Place: Karaley Dargen - Gryffindor - Greyback - 10 points


Thank you

Carole