Archive of Five Words Stories

Potteraholic Thu Jul 28, 2011 4:11 pm

This page contains a list with links to all the stories written in Volume VI.

Five Words Stories - Volume VI

• Click on Story #62 (5 February 2008) for "A Very Important Discovery for the Grangers"

• Click on Story #63 (13 February 2008) for "A Playdate with the Crabbes"

• Click on Story #64 (20 February 2008) for "Dean and Seamus' Strange Aussie Excursion"

• Click on Story #65 (29 February 2008) for "Dean and Seamus' Strange Irish Excursion (The Sequel)"

• Click on Story #66 (10 March 2008) for "Life After Fred: George's Epiphany"

• Click on Story #67 (17 March 2008) for "Presenting... the One, the Only... Gilderoy Lockhart!"

• Click on Story #68 (27 March 2008) for "The Granger-Weasleys Meet their Neighbours"

• Click on Story #69 (30 March 2008) for "Hogwarts: The Next Generation"

• Click on Story #70 (6 April 2008) for "A Mystery on the Hogwarts Express"

• Click on Story #71 (10 April 2008) for "The Trophy Room Rendez-vous"

There are no post-story comments in this volume. See explanatory NOTE in the header post.

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:16 pm

This story was first posted by Finn BV - Feb 5, 2008 5:47 am (#304 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "A Very Important Discovery for the Grangers"

Hermione left the school playground. The bullies were at it and strange things happened whenever she was anywhere near them. She searched for a logical reason to explain how she made Sam’s feet grow twice, because everything had a logical explanation. Maybe the library held the answer? She decided to head over there before dinner.

She walked into the library and headed straight for the Reference section. “Closing time’s one hour away, young lady. Please plan accordingly,” said the librarian, who was observing Hermione with a smile. “Your fourth visit this week,” she noted.

Hermione nodded sheepishly. “Yes, Mrs. Glass, I find that books always contain the answer, no matter what the question.” Hermione blushed and hurried to the shelves. “World History, Philosophy, Religion, Science… but I’ve already checked all categories and found only this…” She took down a book titled Magic: The Only Logical Explanation and flipped it open. Inside there was a drawing of a young boy standing on a stool and holding a two-headed chicken. The words “science creates magic” were written in bold at the top of the page.

Hermione took another look at the page and noticed a sickly green color surrounding the word “magic.” Had that been there before? Suddenly a scarlet color began to wash over the word. She stared at it, thinking, “What kind of ink is this?” The letters rearranged themselves to spell “Magic Aces, Nice Secret.”

Hermione squealed and dropped the book. An old man with a purple pork pie hat exclaimed, “You finally found it!”

Hermione stammered, “The book. It… changed — the words, the color — but it couldn’t,” stammered Hermione, looking paler by the second.

“Why not?” asked the wizard. “Magic can do anything!”

“Magic is not REAL! What intelligent human being believes in silly tricks and illusions?” she scoffed. “Everything can be explained by numerous laws of science!”

The man smiled benignly and said, “You’re much too young to know that, surely? I would think a bright girl like you would have an open mind on these matters.”

“Sorry, sir, but how do you know magic exists? What proof do you have? And I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen you before. My parents always taught me not to talk to strangers. So if you don’t know me, I really shouldn’t be talking to you.”

Hermione started turning away, thinking she’d sneak another peek at the book. It had landed facedown on the floor. The wizard drew a wooden stick, long and thin from beneath the strange robe he was wearing. Hermione’s eyes widened as the man pointed the leather-bound text. “Accio!” he shouted, and the book flew into his hand.

“Whoa! How’d you do that?” Hermione gasped, her eyes wide.

“Magic,” he replied simply. “Now let us find somewhere we can talk freely,” the wizard said, smiling at her.

Hermione, still a bit doubtful, suggested going back to her house. “My Mum will be picking me up in five minutes, Mr.… and, sir, I don’t think Mum will mind me bringing a guest home.”

The pair went outside and waited. Shortly, a car pulled up and Hermione began telling her mother what happened. “Mum, I’d like you to meet Mr. … um, what’s your name, sir?”

“It’s Diggle, Dedalus Diggle, and I’m very pleased to meet you both!”

Mrs. Granger looked wary. She stared at Hermione while trying to shake the wizard’s hand. “I don’t understand. Why are you talking to my daughter?”

Dedalus smiled indulgently. The Muggles were always so protective of their children. It was heartwarming. “Your daughter has a special talent that I would like to discuss with you. Perhaps I could join you for a glass of mead or a cup of tea? I am on the Board of Governors at a school called Hogwarts. I would like to discuss a placement for your daughter.”

Mrs. Granger looked surprised. “This is all very strange, but I suppose it would be better to talk about in private. How about a chat at our house? Hermione’s father will want to hear about this school too.”

Diggle nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, that would be perfect. Would you mind terribly if I rode with you?”

Mrs. Granger hesitated for a second, then nodded. Twenty minutes later they pulled into the driveway. Mr. Granger was already home and came to the door with an inquiring look.

“Was there traffic, dear?” Then he noticed the strange older gentlemen with the purple hat that was just getting out of the car, his robes caught on the door. “Who’s that?” he asked surreptitiously.

Mrs. Granger glanced at Hermione. “Hi, Dad! Something very unusual happened to me today!”

Mr. Granger nodded. “Robes and a purple porkpie hat?” he thought. “If that’s not unusual, I don’t know what it is.”

Hermione turned as Dedalus climbed the front stairs, puffing, and said, “Mr. Granger, my name is Dedalus Diggle. I have wonderful news about your extraordinary daughter!”

“Please, call me Egeus,” responded Mr. Granger. “Portia, can I speak with you privately, please?”

Hermione strained to hear what they were saying. She wished desperately to make sense of what was happening. Walking back to the kitchen, excitement growing, Hermione decided to put the plates out for dinner. Dedalus followed Hermione into the kitchen. He conjured four glasses and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. He smiled at Hermione and said,

“One day, you will be able to do this.”

Hermione’s eyes widened. “But how? There wasn’t anything to change…”

“Wizards can create things by concentrating their power on a certain spell and using a wand. You have the ability to do this also.”

“Wizards?! There’s no such a thing as wizards!” Hermione said adamantly. “They just exist in fairy tales!”

“Have you ever experienced something unusual that you couldn’t explain? Done something that seems impossible and defies all that logic and rational thinking?” Hermione pondered that for some minutes. She hated to admit that weird things happened around her with increasing frequency, when she was upset especially. But magic? Surely there was no such thing. “Mr. Diggle, no offense, but this just doesn’t make sense.”

At that moment, Hermione’s parents came into the kitchen. They looked excited. “Has Mr. Diggle explained what is happening? He has given us a letter.”

“What kind of letter?” Hermione demanded.

Egeus Granger held out a piece of parchment with green handwriting on. Hermione took it hesitantly and opened it, skepticism clearly etched on her face. The letter had a crest with a motto in another language. There was a name across the top: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She couldn’t deny the fact that the letter looked authentic. Did she dare believe what was inside? Could this man be a wizard?

She asked, “Did you go to this school? Is Hogwarts the best school in the country?”

“It’s the only school of witchcraft and wizardry in the country. Only forty students are offered a place a year, as well.”

“That’s a very small number,” chimed in Hermione’s father helpfully. “They must really think our daughter is special!”

“Magic,” Portia added, “doesn’t just make you special, Hermione. It can also help you to experience exciting new opportunities!”

Hermione mulled this over. Her parents looked both apprehensive and excited. They were the sort who would do what was best for their child, even if it meant sending her away for most of the year. “Where will I get the things I need for this school?” asked Hermione. The list consisted of items that she would need for magical spells and potions. Eight books were listed, but Hermione had never heard of any of them.

“Ah, there is a very good shopping area where you can purchase everything you need.” Dedalus’ eyes twinkled brightly. He drank some pumpkin juice and waited.

“Where is this placed?” enquired Portia.

“It’s called Diagon Alley and Muggles don’t know where to find it.”

“Muggles? What’s that?” enquired Portia.

“It’s what we call non-magical people,” explained Dedalus.

Hermione looked at her parents, the Muggles. Would they feel out of place in a magical world? “When will I go to Diagon Alley? Is it far?” she asked eagerly.

“It’s in the middle of London,” Dedalus explained. “You will need to wait until tomorrow morning to go there. I will escort the three of you.” He left in an instant, Disapparating right on the doorstep.

Egeus turned to his wife and said, “You don’t see that kind of thing every day.” Hermione smiled. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

She woke up early the next morning, brushed her bushy hair a bit more than usual, and went outside to wait for Mr. Diggle. He arrived shortly, and gave Hermione a warm smile. “Good morning, my dear. Are your parents ready?”

“Here we are, Mr. Diggle!” said Portia, running down the front steps. Mr. Granger linked his arm in hers and whistled a happy tune.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:18 pm

These stats were first posted by Finn BV - Feb 5, 2008 5:52 am (#306 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 62
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Potteraholic	89
Finn BV	9
Puck	59
geauxtigers!	15
Snuffles	8
journeymom	9
azi	56
PatPat	38
Columbine Fairy	5
Ticker	3
freshwater	2

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 293
Total Words: 1465
Last Submission Date: #296, February 3, 2008, 10:41 A.M. (Puck)
Total Time to Create Story: 5 days, 15 hours, 39 minutes.

**Please note that the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.)

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:21 pm

This story was first posted by Finn BV - Feb 13, 2008 4:55 am (#562 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "A Playdate with the Crabbes"

Vincent sat staring at his reflection in the mirror. He had always been ugly but today he looked worse than usual. His nose had tripled in size, his face was a weird shade of orange, and his eyes were bloodshot.

“What happened?” enquired a voice behind him. “Vinnie, why is it that every time I leave you alone for five minutes you get hurt?” exclaimed his mother. Vincent simply shrugged. He could be quite clumsy sometimes. He wasn’t exactly gifted, either. His mother pulled out her wand. She waved it and the swelling subsided.

“Come and have some lunch. Draco is coming over. I’m cooking his favorite, stoat soup.” Five minutes later, Draco arrived with his mother, and Vincent was finally ready to greet him.

A quick nose wipe and he reached out to shake Mrs. Malfoy’s hand. Narcissa looked revolted and hastily started talking to Morticia. A grubby house-elf was behind Narcissa, trying to push a chair under her.

Narcissa turned sharply to him and said, “Morticia, your house is tiny. How can she ever get out from under there? Go on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They’ll give you a roomier house, and then you’ll be living the way we did before we had Lucius’ estate.”

Morticia’s mouth twisted into a forced smile. “We are quite happy with our house, thank you. We recently redecorated several rooms.” Morticia eyed Narcissa distrustfully. “I hope you find your own way out as our rooms can be difficult to navigate.”

Narcissa turned on her heel and strode out of the room. Vincent sat down hungrily at the table and began to stuff his face with cream cakes as Draco sat down. “I am not very hungry, Mrs. Crabbe,” Draco drawled. He pushed his half-eaten chocolate éclair away.

“Hey, Draco, want to see my new broomstick? It’s a Twigger 90 made by Flyte and Barker!”

“What?” Draco scoffed. “That’s a rubbish broom! Why’d you want that?”

“It’s nice! Plus it’s sturdy enough to endure my cousin throwing it across the room when he gets mad. Let’s go outside!”

Draco looked disdainfully at the broom and reluctantly followed Crabbe outside Just as they were stepping into the garden, a gnome streaked in front of Draco, who tripped and fell into the mud. Crabbe laughed stupidly as the gnome squealed and darted into the bushes. Malfoy got up, spitting mud out of his mouth. “You’ll pay for that!” He yelled at the gnome.

“Draco,” said Crabbe, stifling giggles, “it’s only a gnome! Let’s take my broom for a spin.”

Malfoy scowled and followed Vincent to the open field. Just as they got there, the wind gusted strongly. Vincent glanced at the sky, scratching his head. He thought he saw something flash, but the bright sky showed no signs of anything extraordinary. Then, Draco began to wheeze and gasp for breath. “What’s happening?” he whispered. “I can feel my throat tightening!”

Crabbe looked around, panicking. He saw Draco clutching his chest and fall to the ground. An evil laugh sounded from a shoddily manicured hedge.

“MUM! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” cried Crabbe.

“The spoilt brat deserves everything he got. Looking down on us because we have a—”

“—pathetic house!” Vincent spat. He looked at Draco who was now unconscious. “Make him better, Mum!” he pleaded. Reluctantly, she said the counter-curse and Malfoy came to, dazed.

“What happened?” he said groggily.

“Must be hay fever,” Vincent lied. He didn’t want his mother to get into trouble.

Draco sat up as a giant beetle landed on his knee. “Argh! Get it off!” he shouted. “Wait! Is that… Rita Skeeter? I heard she can transform into an Animagus!”

“What’s an Animagus?” Vincent asked dully.

“Someone who can turn into an animal, you dolt,” Malfoy sneered. “At a dinner party I saw Rita do it outside. She had one too many glasses of mead and forgot to stop talking when I came outside. She was telling her quill wild exaggerations about our family and how she managed to fly in through the gap under the door.” He sniggered. “But then Father came out and heard her and Rita immediately transformed into a beetle and flew away.”

“Is that her, then?” Crabbe asked pointing at the revolting insect. Draco gestured at the marks around the beetle’s eyes. “See the shape of her eye-glasses?”

Crabbe moved closer. Suddenly, the beetle flew off, landing on Vincent’s nose. “Argh, get it off, gerrit off!” he yelled, as he looked cross-eyed at it. The beetle merely flapped its wings. Draco was doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down his face.

“Oi! Stop laughing and get this thing away from me!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the less-than-truthful reporter zoomed toward a large rose bush and settled on a garden bench. She began to buzz with laughter. These boys would provide enough material for her latest story, “Purebloods: Not as Smart as They Seem,” running early next week.

A shadow fell over her as Crabbe leaned his broom towards her. He raised it above his head and then as he swung it, tripped over Draco’s outstretched foot. “What’s the matter with you?” Vincent yelped as he landed in the rosebush. Thorns were stuck all over his arms. “HELP ME UP!” he bellowed. His mother ran forward and quickly pulled him out.

“What happened?” Morticia growled, looking from Vincent to Draco, accusing the latter with her long squint-eyed stare.

Vinnie quickly came to his friend’s defence. “It’s not his fault, Mum. I just fell.”

“Fell indeed,” Morticia scoffed. “I saw him trip you.” She looked angry.

“What is this?” demanded Mr. Crabbe, who had appeared from inside the conservatory.

Malfoy stood up and looked arrogantly at the newly arrival. “Your son is clumsy,” he drawled. “You should give him a balancing potion in his morning pumpkin juice.”

“My son is not clumsy,” growled Mr. Crabbe. “Apologise to him at once!” Crabbe looked from Draco to both his irate parents. “Mum, can you get these thorns out of me? They hurt!” he whined.

Draco smirked as Vincent tried to wipe tears from his eyes without anyone seeing. As Morticia wiped off the blood from his arms, Draco noticed the black beetle inching away from the rosebush. It hovered just inches away from the whole group. “Grab that beetle!” he said, pointing. Mr. and Mrs. Crabbe’s expressions changed from anger to puzzlement as Draco leapt over Crabbe, his hands wildly grabbing for the beetle, which landed on a low-lying branch on a nearby tree.

Draco nearly grabbed it, but Narcissa appeared, calling from the conservatory, “Draco! It’s time for your lesson in robotic dancing. You know that your father and I want you to win the Best Young Robotic Dancer of Wizarding Great Britain. Stop jumping about, you may hurt yourself before the final!”

Draco looked guiltily at the floor. “Sorry, Mum, though I’m not sure I’m going to win. I—”

“What do you value most, being happy now pursing this ridiculous ‘friendship,’ or fame and fortune?”

“I don’t care about dancing! I can be famous for playing World Cup Quidditch one day if I want to.” He looked up poutily up at his mother, whose expression softened.

“Perhaps he could stay just a bit longer, Morticia?” she asked. Mrs. Crabbe fumed. Draco’s gaze had jumped back to Rita, who had flown to a higher branch and, thus, out of reach.

“Drat,” he mumbled, watching her wings fly away. “So, Vincent, how about we practice some new Quidditch moves?” he suggested awkwardly.

Crabbe smiled and said, “I’d love to. Beat you to the broom shed!” He smiled.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:24 pm

These stats were first posted by Finn BV - Feb 13, 2008 4:59 am (#563 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 63
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Puck	43
azi	60
Snuffles	10
Potteraholic	36
geauxtigers!	21
journeymom	4
Ticker	2
PatPat	30
Finn BV	17
Tazzygirl	1
freshwater	10
Columbine Fairy	18
haymoni	1

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 253
Total Words: 1265
Last Submission Date: #559, February 12, 2008, 12:13 A.M. (Columbine Fairy)
Total Time to Create Story: 6 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes.

**Please note that the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.)

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:27 pm

This story was first posted by Finn BV - Feb 20, 2008 5:35 am (#836 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "Dean and Seamus' Strange Aussie Excursion"

“The hills are bouncy,” muttered Seamus. He and Dean were riding kangaroos in Australia.

“This has to be the strangest holiday I’ve ever been on!” shouted Dean. The sun was blazing down upon them. Above them in the air a large shadow suddenly appeared that was the exact size of an Antipodean Opaleye. Seamus looked wary. They had encountered another dragon before on their travels through China. That time they came close to being squashed when the dragon’s enormous wings hit them while they were hiking back down Mount Huashan. Dean had been knocked off his feet while scrambling over a large rock pile.

The dragon now above them was circling and looking hungrily. “If we don’t get the heck out of here we are gonna bite the dust!” Dean said, eyeing the dragon uneasily. He urged his kangaroo forward, motioning for Seamus to follow him. He could see their camp in the distance. But wait! There were Muggles looking inside their tent and completely oblivious to the fact that a dragon was flying nearby, slowly circling closer and closer to the unsuspecting group.

The kangaroos were perceptively avoiding the powerful bursts of flames from the dragon. Seamus and Dean pulled sharply on their reins and steered them toward the portkey. “If we can make it back to the village, we can return with help. I heard Ron’s brother Charlie is randomly visiting Melbourne; perhaps we can find him,” said Dean.

The portkey, a pipe, was near the road leading away from the camp. “Okay,” Seamus panted, “we’re almost there!” They both grabbed the pipe and in an instant they arrived in Melbourne. “So where did you hear Charlie would be?” Seamus asked.

“There’s this big hotel on Lygon Street. Maybe we should head there. It’s the Australian Wizarding Headquarters of Dragon Regulation.” The two set off quickly to find Charlie, with their trusty kangaroos in tow. “D’oh—let’s Apparate!” said Dean. They turned on the spot, after looking for a place to hide while they Apparated.

“Arrrrgh!” yelled Seamus. “I’m splinched!” Dean turned toward Seamus and burst out laughing. Seamus had left his hair behind. A few scraggly tufts were all that remained, making him look like a plucked chicken. Seamus felt his head sheepishly as Dean collapsed on the ground. The kangaroos jumped back, alarmed by the ruckus.

Gasping, Dean pulled himself back up. “We’ve got to find Charlie,” he said.

They ran down the street and entered the non-descript building near the corner. The lobby was tiny and cozy. They went to the nearest desk. A witch with a monocle said, “No kangaroos allowed in the building. Please leave them outside.”

“But there’s a dragon headed towards some Muggles near our tent in the Drysdale River Park area!” panted Dean.

The witch looked up, but seemed unconcerned by the news. Seamus and Dean couldn’t understand why she wasn’t worried.

“Didn’t you HEAR him?! Muggles are in danger! We got away from that brute just in time! Now we must save those poor people before the dragon gets them! Or don’t you Aussies care what happens to Muggles?” Seamus demanded.

“Of course! I’ll send a squad to check the area,” said the receptionist apologetically. She pointed her want to her throat. “Sonorus,” she whispered. “Code Green. Team 3 to the front desk. Repeat, Code Green.”

A few seconds later four wizards appeared, Charlie among them. “What’s going on?” Charlie asked. Dean and Seamus took turns explaining about the dragon. He didn’t seem at all surprised to hear about it. “Whereabouts did you last see it?”

“We’ve been tracking it all over the wilds of the outback for some time.”

“Our campsite is near Morgan Falls,” explained Dean. “It was north of the headlands, about three miles, maybe?”

“OK, let’s go. We’ll leave these kangaroos in my room. They’ll be safer there. Dragons love kangaroo meat.”

Seamus and Dean followed Charlie to his room. They quickly strapped on protective clothing. “What happened to your hair?” Charlie asked with a grin.

“Er, well, I had some trouble getting here,” Seamus offered. He looked crestfallen.

“No worries,” Charlie replied. We can travel to one of the park stations by Floo network.” He led the way to the fireplace, offering them Floo powder and grabbing three brooms from the cupboard. They departed.

When they arrived at their destination, Charlie led them up a hill, followed closely by Dean. The other members of the crew arrived shortly after. The dragon was still wheeling above but had not attacked as of yet. Muggles were running for cover under trees and screaming loudly. Others were taking their chances under some overhanging bushes.

Suddenly, the dragon swooped, its iridescent, pearly scales flashing in the hot sun. Charlie jumped on his broom and shouted an order to the three other dragon wranglers. “Helen, you prevent it from getting any closer to the people – try to divert its attention. Peter and Edmund, you need to come with me and fly above this critter so we can capture it.”

They all zoomed off. Dean and Seamus followed at a distance. They could see Helen in front of the dragon, bravely dodging its vivid red flame and shooting pink sparks from her wand. Charlie and the others yelled, “STUPEFY!” but the spell didn’t affect the Opaleye. It emitted a roar of anger and dived down towards Helen. She’d hit its eye with a Conjunctivitis curse. The dragon twisted in agony. “NOW!” Charlie yelled, and all four of them sent stunning spells aimed at its soft underbelly. With a thundering crash, the dragon fell into the trees.

“Quick, put a Disillusionment Charm on it,” said Helen.

Charlie landed neatly on the ground. Helen ran off to Obliviate the Muggles. “Dean, Seamus, help us tie him up.” Quickly the pair conjured ropes which wrapped themselves around the massive unconscious hulk.

“Right, now we need to move this fella to somewhere Muggles won’t find him and he can find plenty of sheep to eat,” said Peter.

“There’s a place just past the river that is pretty impossible to get to without magic,” suggested Edmund.

“Okay, let’s do that,” Peter agreed. Together, the six wizards raised their wands to maneuver the sleeping giant off the ground.

“Crikey!” muttered Helen. “He’s a big boy!”

Charlie nodded as it hovered above them. “Yes, it will take all of us to lower him into the valley past the Solea Falls. Full-grown Opaleyes aren’t usually this big, so I guess this one’s been feasting on ’roos and Toohey’s best.”

Everyone laughed, but stopped when the Opaleye loosed a growl and thrashed his wings uselessly. One glittering, multicolored, pupil-less eye looked around malevolently. Slowly the beast turned its head. Dean noticed and yelled, “IT’S AWAKE!”

“Calm down, you’ll agitate it!” replied Peter coolly. “All we have to do is get him over that ridge and—”

“Look! He’s almost fully awake!”

As one, they chanted, “Sonomulus Draconis.” Loud, rumbling snores erupted from its nostrils and it finally fell sound asleep.

“Right!” said Charlie. “Let’s move!” He barked orders to the team who began waving their wands.

Slowly but surely, the dragon hovered over the trees toward Solea Falls Valley. As they moved slowly beneath him, the Opaleye drifted lazily along like a large, dense iridescent cloud. Gradually they made their way into the valley and slowly lowered the gigantic animal onto the ground. A contented snore echoed around the valley, emanating from the huge snout and mouth. Charlie grinned happily. “They really are the most beautiful creatures when they’re asleep, aren’t they?” Dean and Seamus glanced at one another, amused, before Charlie reminded them, “Never tickle a sleeping dragon, of course!”

Dean and Seamus laughed and said, “Cheers, Charlie!” as they headed back to the campsite. They couldn't wait to tell their friends about this. Although it probably would be best, Dean thought, to wait until poor Seamus sported a full head of his own hair!

'Featured Story of the Week' comments

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

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* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:33 pm

These stats were first posted by Finn BV - Feb 20, 2008 5:38 am (#837 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 64
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
azi	53
Puck	42
Finn BV	10
megfox*	5
Potteraholic	75
PatPat	29
Ticker	2
geauxtigers!	23
freshwater	17
Columbine Fairy	9

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 265
Total Words: 1325
Last Submission Date: #830, February 18, 2008, 12:22 P.M. (PatPat)
Total Time to Create Story: 5 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes.

**Please note that the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.)

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:34 pm

This story was first posted by Finn BV - Feb 29, 2008 2:24 am (#1100 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "Dean and Seamus' Strange Irish Excursion (The Sequel)"

Dean thought the Cliffs of Moher were a damn foolish place to have a picnic. Seamus, on the other hand, thought this site was one of the coolest he’d ever seen in all of Ireland. The wind was sweeping around his fresh head of hair, tying it into knots. The sea was splashing against the rocks below, sending spray into the air and carrying it over their heads.

Dean opened his backpack and started rooting around in it for his sandwiches. “Nice of your mum to pack lunch,” he said.

“No problem, she likes interfering in these things,” replied Seamus.

“She’s not that bad! She didn’t ask any questions about where we’ve been for the past month and she didn’t comment on your new hair!” Dean reminded him.

“True,” Seamus agreed, grudgingly. “What’s on the agenda for today’s meeting?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Well, Lavender said she wanted to figure out a way to get Neville a girlfriend,” replied Dean.

Seamus raised his eyebrows. “I think Neville can get a girl on his own, without us meddling in his business. We have more important matters to discuss now that You-Know-Who is gone. I mean, there are plenty of Death Eaters still—”

Suddenly, Lavender appeared. “Ooh, this is a chilly spot for a picnic, isn’t it,” she squeaked. “Shall we move to somewhere more sheltered?”

Dean and Seamus nodded and grabbed their backpacks. “The castle’s over that ridge,” Dean pointed, happy to change locations. The walk over was a precarious one, the wind threatening to knock them down every few steps. One particularly strong gust blew sea water in their faces and Lavender tripped, falling in some mud. “Tergeo!” said Dean, putting his arm around her waist to help her up.

“Thanks,” she said, blushing, as she steadied herself. Dean smiled awkwardly and let her go quickly.

“Not at all,” he muttered. There was an embarrassed silence following this exchange, until Seamus called from ahead: “Hurry up, you two! The cave’s just over these rocks!”

“Cave? Don’t you mean castle?”

Seamus shook his head. “The castle’s still too far away; the storm’ll hit us before we reach it. I think there’ll be enough room for the three of us!”

He led them down the narrow outcrop to where a small entrance became visible.

“We’re not going in there, are we?” Lavender asked. “It doesn’t seem big enough.”

“Engorgio Cavalus!” boomed Seamus. The cave creaked softly and seemed to wobble, then settled down with a squeak. The three clambered inside, finding the cave to be large enough to fit them comfortably.

“Let’s sit down, shall we?” Dean waved his wand. Three minutes later, after much waving of his arms, three cushions appeared.

Chuckling, Seamus said, “Took you long enough.”

Dean muttered something about how solid rock interfered with spell refraction, and that making cushions appear was difficult in the dark. Seamus joked, “It’s not that dark, mate,” with a sideways glance at Lavender. She giggled as she settled onto a cushion, and motioned the other two to follow suit.

“Lumos!” Lavender murmured, and her wand tip glowed brightly, filling the cave with a soft warm light.

“So now that we’re safe, we can get down to business,” Seamus began.

“Absolutely,” Lavender said, smiling. “I have a few ideas about finding Neville a girlfriend.”

Dean and Seamus rolled their eyes. “Lavender, we have more important things to discuss. Even though Harry defeated What’s-His-Name, he had plenty of supporters that are still at large.

“The Aurors will be able to round them up,” Lavender insisted. “They’re good at that kind of thing.” She looked put out by their lack of concern for lonely Neville.

“We wouldn’t meet in Ireland,” said Dean patiently, “if we just wanted to play matchmaker for one of the heroes.”

Lavender pouted. Didn’t they understand that Neville deserved some happiness in his life for once!

“Listen, Neville had an awful year, and I—”

“No!” Seamus yelled. Something hit Dean hard on the head.

“Er, Seamus, what’s the matter?” said Lavender, looking confused. Seamus ignored her and looked on, horrified, as a rumbling noise echoed around the cavern. “Dean! Are you okay?” he shouted. Rocks were falling all around now and the ground was shaking.

“We should get out of here right now! Help me! Don’t let those screaming banshees get me!” Dean cried.

Lavender looked around anxiously, but nothing was visible through the dust. “What’s wrong with him?” she gasped. The earth below them cracked and started opening up.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Lavender and Seamus yelled simultaneously. Unfortunately, the spell couldn’t raise the cushions and support their weight. “Let’s Apparate!” Dean exclaimed as they fell down the crack. They turned their minds to focus on their destination. They landed on their feet, behind Seamus’ house.

“Did our Enogorgio spell weaken the cave?” asked Lavender.

“I dunno, but a nice cuppa would be lovely. Maybe a biscuit or two,” said Dean.

Seamus shook his head. “We were just unlucky in our timing. Today is the annual County Clare Ceilidh Festival at O’Brien’s Castle. I forgot that they dance up a storm and cause the ground to rumble.”

“Well,” said Lavender, “now that we know what caused the earthquake, can we have a nice chat about Neville?”

“I don’t give a toss about Neville! He can look for his own girlfriend.”

“Neville’s popular now,” added Dean. “Girls think he’s the strong, silent type and are therefore attracted to him. We,” he gestured to them both, “need more help than he does.”

“Okay!” said Lavender. “Let’s find you two girlfriends! We won’t find any standing around here, in your parents’ garden, will we? Let’s go inside and talk about what qualities are important to you, and then we’ll go back home and try to find someone appropriate!”

Dean and Seamus glanced at each other warily. “Dean was exaggerating,” Seamus said quickly. “We don’t—”

“Oh no! Don’t try to back out now!” She marched into Seamus’ front yard.

“Oi! Where do you think you’re going! You just can’t waltz into the yard, where our neighbors can see you!”

“So what if they do? I’m not sure what you’re suggesting, Seamus!” Lavender’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Uh,” stuttered Seamus, “I—”

“Are you trying to say that I’m an embarrassment to your family?”

“What? No! Look at the state we’re in. That cave-in covered us in dust and, um, surely you don’t want people to see that hair?”

Lavender paused. “You’re right, Seamus, what was I thinking?! Dean, why didn’t you warn me? I’m not fit to be seen – even by you two!”

“You don’t look that bad. Actually, I kind of like seeing mud in your hair. This smudge on your cheek makes you look… umm… spunky, too,” said Dean, as he tried to conceal the blush covering his face with lightning speed, while gently wiping Lavender’s face. His nonverbal, anti-blushing charm backfired. His face turned brighter still.

Suddenly, Mrs. Finnigan came running down the walk. “Seamus! What’s happened? You three look a sight! How earth…? Dean, you’re as red as a Chinese Fireball! What’s going on? Where have you been? You told me that you were going on a picnic…”

“Right, Mum, but we found a cave after we ran into a storm and it collapsed all around us,” Seamus answered.

“Oh, yes, that would be the annual County Clare Ceilidh Festival at O’Brien’s Castle. Right, some tea is in order. Lavender, won’t you come inside. We can look at Seamus’ baby pictures. He was always taking off his nappies. He was such a mischievous little tyke.”

Lavender grinned. “I’d love that, Mrs. Finnigan.”

“Mum, just tea’ll do, if you don’t mind!” Seamus blushed.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:37 pm

These stats were first posted by Finn BV - Feb 29, 2008 2:28 am (#1101 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 65
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Potteraholic	84
Columbine Fairy	35
azi	34
Puck	44
PatPat	17
geauxtigers!	10
Finn BV	20
Snuffles	2
John Bumbledore	1
freshwater	8

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 256
Total Words: 1280
Last Submission Date: #1096, February 26, 2008, 4:05 P.M. (PatPat)
Total Time to Create Story: 6 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes.

**Please note that the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.)

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:51 pm

This story was first posted by Potteraholic- Mar 10, 2008 9:55 am (#1450 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "Life After Fred: George's Epiphany"

George was lonely without Fred. It had been three months since he had died and George still couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his brother's vacant stare. Sighing, George turned away from the window and went downstairs. In the kitchen, his mother was flipping through the pages of the family photo album. She was gazing intently at a picture of a red-haired baby, with the letter "F" on his woolly jumper. The picture was taken on Christmas Day, when Fred performed his first bit of magic, twirling a piece of tinsel around his head.

"Morning, Mum," said George, with forced cheeriness. Mrs. Weasley was startled as though she had been doused with ice water.

"George! I didn't hear you come down," she said as she started to busy herself with breakfast. He noticed the photo album and started to flick through its pages. One particular snapshot caught his attention.

He and Fred were about five years old. They had been teasing some chickens by blowing bubbles out of their ears. Mr. Weasley had caught them at it, but before he could transfigure them back from blue to flesh-colored, they had jumped onto the roof of the garden shed. Their dad had spent 10 minutes looking for them inside the chicken coop. Charlie had come outside with the camera. George turned and poked Fred. They smiled mischievously and waved. The next picture showed a confused Mr. Weasley holding Ginny, whose green hands were clamped around a squirming frog covered in algae. Fred had helped her catch it in the pond and George smiled at the memory of mingled shouts and laughter.

"Mum, do you remember when Fred and I first made those ever-growing quills?" he asked. He knew that his mother would recall the damage caused by their spell-casting with amusement.

Mrs. Weasley tried to smile. Her eyes, however, were misty as she quietly said, "I remember well," before turning back to the bacon sizzling in the frying pan. Footsteps sounded in the hall. Ginny walked in holding a letter. An owl flew in after her seeking a bit of bacon.

"This just came from the Ministry," Ginny announced. "It looks like it's important! It has the official seal on it. Kingsley says he wants to meet to give the Order an update on those Death Eaters that are still at large." George looked up in interest. One of them may have been the one who killed Fred. It made him angry to think of any Death Eaters going unpunished for what they did to his family.

"When is the meeting?" Molly asked. "We need to tell your father about it as he didn't go to work today."

George's dad hadn't been to work since Fred's death. He had spent a lot of time walking the countryside. "Didn't he say he'd go in today?" asked Ginny.

"He said he thought it was better to wait another day." Ginny nodded and left to visit Harry.

George sat down, thinking. What if they never found out who was responsible for Fred's death? What if the filthy scum got away and Fred was never avenged? He slammed his mug down and walked outside, thinking. He saw Ron, de-gnoming the garden, and decided to pitch in. He put all his frustration into grabbing the pests, spinning with lightning speed, and flinging them over the garden hedge. The anger bubbling inside him gradually subsided. He continued tossing gnomes until Ron said, "Looks like we're done. Do you want to check the inventory in Diagon Alley? You haven't been there in months."

George sat on the ground. "I suppose it's time I took a look there. It's just weird to think I won't have to always worry about what crazy trouble Fred will get up to. I'll miss him more than ever."

Ron cleared his throat and nodded. He reached over and put his hand on George's shoulder. "What would Fred tell you to do?"

George grinned. "He'd probably tell me to get over it and find a girlfriend. 'You're not getting any younger! And your ear is still rather spacious, I see!'"

Ron laughed and nodded. "Go on, your ear doesn't look so bad. Especially compared with those burns Charlie got while dealing with an Antipodean Opaleye."

"Yeah, but people don't see him without a dragon. The burns are part of the mystery surrounding a dragon keeper," George concluded.

At that moment their mother called from the window. "What are your plans for today? I was thinking that you two could help me to clean out the attic. The ghoul hasn't been too careful with its slime." George looked skeptically at Ron.

Frowning slightly, Ron shook his head. "Actually, Mum, George and I were going to go to Diagon Alley and work in the shop. The inventory needs to be counted since George is going to re-open next week." He looked at his brother and smiled sheepishly. Grinning back, George nodded and returned the shrug, as if a weight had suddenly lifted off his shoulders.

"That's wonderful news," Molly said smiling a weak smile. "I just thought you could use the slime in a new product or something."

George's eyes brightened. He hadn't thought about inventing since Fred had died. But now the idea of it made his heart feel light. Fred would think it was funny. "Okay Mum, we'll give you a hand."

"We will?" Ron said, looking surprised.

George smiled and suggested that they get something to collect the slime. They found some dusty jars in the broom shed and cleaned them using Scourgify. Afterwards, they went into the kitchen and rummaged in the cupboard for some biscuits.

"What are you boys looking for?" Molly asked.

"You don't expect us to go up there without some fortification, d'you Mum?" Ron grinned and grabbed a handful of chocolate-covered custard creams. George took a few ginger newts. Molly couldn't help but smile as she watched her sons act so relaxed and carefree. It had been so long since she'd seen them like that.

Just then, Arthur walked into the kitchen, holding a flashlight he'd found while walking through town. "Ah, those Muggles are so clever. Look, Lumos!," he exclaimed as he pushed a button on the side. Ron, Molly, and George grinned; seeing Arthur show interest in Muggle inventions again was a good sign. The old Arthur was beginning to shine through.

"That's remarkable, dear. Now then, shall we head up to the Ministry? A letter came from Kingsley. He wants to update the Order on the Death Eaters that are still roaming free. The meeting starts in about a half hour."

Arthur mulled this over for a moment. "Yes, let's get going straightaway. It will be good to get back to work. I dare say they could do with some more of Molly's biscuits. Kingsley particularly likes—"

"Dad, biscuits aside, news is coming! We must go!" stated Percy, who had walked in just as Arthur's praise of his mother's biscuits had finished. "I heard we need to round up a few Order members first."

Ginny nodded. She had returned with Harry and Hermione. They looked apprehensive. They had been waiting for Kingsley's message for days. The Aurors had asked Harry to remain in hiding while they caught Voldemort's supporters. Harry thought this was ridiculous and had been looking for Death Eaters without the Aurors' knowledge. Kingsley had faith in Harry and let him do what he wanted. Harry — with Neville's help — had successfully hunted down many Death Eaters.

"Right. Let's get moving," said Molly briskly. Everyone looked over at George and waited for him. He picked up the jars that they needed.

"Here," he said, giving his family a small smile.

"What do you mean?" Ginny queried.
"I need slime to continue our work with the business. There are enough Order members here to help me."

"Help you do what, George?" asked Arthur. He was thrilled to have something to do with George. He had been on a self-imposed break from family activities. Without Fred, it felt like they were all sleepwalking through life. Today, however, was different. They were waking from the nightmare. It was time to move on and rebuild their lives. Together, they could help each other pull out of the sadness and come to terms with Fred's death. It had been a horrible three months.

"There's enough time for us to collect the ghoul's slime before we go, isn't there?" George asked.

"Ghoul slime?" Hermione inquired. "Why do we need that?"

George explained how he wanted to use the slime for a new invention for the shop. Arthur smiled, but shook his head. Harry's reaction was different.

He nodded. "We need to show everyone that it's okay now to get on with life and have some fun," he said, turning to the others. "I'm glad you've decided to keep the shop open."

"Me too," George said, quietly, "but, to be fair, Ron deserves the credit for getting me to realize that I should return to our vocation. Fred would want me to resume."

Ron's ears turned pink as Hermione hugged him. "You know, these days, you say just the right thing!" she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek. Ron's blush spread down to his neck.

"Well, he'd be wasting his talents if he didn't go back to building up the business," Ron said sheepishly.

Molly smiled and said, "I don't mean to rush us all, but we don't want to be late, do we?" Quickly, they all went outside. The sun was shining as they collected in a circle in the yard.

"Ginny, I'll take you with me," Harry said.

"Okay!" She smiled as he grasped her hand securely in his. Arthur and Molly exchanged glances, but said nothing.

"Everyone ready? Let's go!"

The Ministry appeared before their eyes almost instantly. Up in his office, Kingsley was awaiting their arrival.

"Nice to see everyone!" he boomed. "Especially you, Arthur and George. I'm glad to see you back here."

"Fred would've wanted me here," George said. Kingsley agreed, conjuring up bottles of butterbeer. "To Fred, Remus and Tonks, who died nobly, fighting for the good side, for what's right."

"Hear, hear!" they cried together, taking a drink.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:52 pm

These stats were first posted by Potteraholic- Mar 10, 2008 10:02 am (#1452 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 66
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Puck	65
Potteraholic	119
azi	77
freshwater	10
PatPat	49
geauxtigers!	13
Finn BV	1
Ticker	3
Verity Weasley	5

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.
Total Submissions: 342
Total Words: 1710
Last Submission Date: #1444, March 9, 2008, 12:14 P.M. (azi)
Total Time to Create Story: 9 days, 6 hours, 56 minutes.

**Please note that the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.)

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:00 pm

This story was first posted by Potteraholic - Mar 17, 2008 11:02 am (#1745 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "Presenting... the One, the Only... Gilderoy Lockhart!"

Professor Lockhart arrived at Hogwarts wearing his favorite magenta robes. He bumped into Peeves as he twirled and spun through the corridor, admiring the way his hair shone and his face reflected in the armor. "Terribly sorry Peeves, but you may have an autographed picture to show no hard feelings."

"Don't know who you are, but thanks for the confetti!" said Peeves, throwing a lot of bits of paper around.

"REPARO!" shouted an anguished Lockhart as his new book was shredded before his eyes. Professor Snape, who passed them on his way to Dumbledore's office, smirked.

"That won't help you find your teeth whitening strips, Gilderoy," he sneered.

"What? Oh! I assure you, Severus, my teeth are naturally white. Perhaps you are mistaking me with someone else. I'd never become Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award winner if I needed whiter teeth." He flashed his most winning, sparkling smile at Snape, who had already turned and stalked away. But not before he had managed to attract the attention of Professor Trelawney.

"Oh, Professor Lockhart!" she called loudly. "Professor Snape! I have something to tell you. It's very important!" Snape ignored her, but Lockhart turned to Sybill, smiling broadly.

"What is it? Predicting my future will be filled with cherubs and roses? My grandmother told me, bless her heart, that I was a beautiful and charming baby, destined for success and stardom!" Professor Trelawney held up a playing card; the King of Clubs. She waved it in front of her, while advancing quickly towards Lockhart.

"Behold," she whispered. "This card foretells that you will lose something very dear to you... perhaps a letter, or a treasured memento, or—"

"My book! Yes, Peeves just now tore it apart! I have been unable to repair it; I think my wand is faulty. I got it as a present from the flying carpet seller I wrote about in Magical Me, my bestselling autobiography."

Snape had turned the corner already, but harrumphed noisily, with a look of disgust. "Those idiots deserve..."

The rest of his words were drowned out by the sound of Professor Trelawney, screaming, "No! Severus! You cannot go there!"

Snape turned back, snarling, "Why... what terrible, torturous, terrifying fate awaits me in this life?"

Professor Trelawney shuddered and intoned, "The future is nothing to be afraid of, if only one prepares oneself for all that may be coming. Severus, you will encounter an unusually large creature very soon. Overpowering it will be your downfall in spite of your many talents."

"Excuse me, Professor, these unsolicited so-called predictions of yours are..."

"Just fascinating!" broke in Lockhart. Snape looked murderous. Lockhart jauntily linked arms with both Snape and Trelawney, smiling happily. "Severus, come now, let us indulge in some light refreshment in the staff room, before we start the new term, shall we?

"Ah, Severus!" said Dumbledore, who suddenly had appeared behind them. "Glad to see you; we're having a party in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She's been decorating it the entire morning." He hummed cheerfully as they started walking towards the bathroom.

"Umm, I have a potion that I have to take off the boil," muttered Snape. Toilet paper streams hung floor to ceiling. Snape looked aghast at the unusual decorations and the punch-filled toilet bowls. Lockhart picked up one of them and something was swimming inside.

"Hello, Myrtle," Dumbledore greeted.

"Ooooooh. I'm so glad you've come! I didn't think anybody would show up."

Professor Snape looked imploringly at Dumbledore, "You can't seriously be suggesting we participate in this fiasco, Headmaster!"

"Severus," soothed Dumbledore, "have some punch, come on! You might enjoy it. The recipe came from a book written by a dear departed friend, Scarlet Smethwick. She pioneered the use of cockroaches in modern recipes."

"Sounds lovely," Snape interrupted, "but my potion will boil off and it is rather important..."

"Oh, Severus, lighten up!" exclaimed Gilderoy. "I'll fix your potion, don't you worry! Just tell me where you keep the ingredients and I'll pop down and show you how to automate potion-making! It's a lot more convenient than the old-fashioned ways. Why waste your day stirring it yourself, when you can just automate and go to a party instead?"

Myrtle cried, "He just doesn't want to be around ME! He thinks I'm pimply!" She then burst into tears.

"Oh, Myrtle," said Professor Trelawney, "He didn't want me to predict his fortunes. Sadly, dear, some choose to ignore my Inner Eye and live in the mundane, ignoring the omens of Death... "

"DEATH!" screamed Myrtle, "HAVEN'T YOU GOT ANY RESPECT FOR MY LIFE!! I'M DEAD!! NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT DEATH IN MY PRESENCE!" With that, she dove headfirst into the punch, splashing everyone with the red liquid.

Dumbledore licked his lips and said, "Mmmm... quite tasty! I think." Snape looked down at his soaked black robes, and turned on his heel and fled.

"He probably needs my help with that stain," gloated Lockhart. "I might go and offer him my stain removing services!" Lockhart turned away, but Trelawney turned towards Dumbledore.

"Albus, I've been meaning to tell you, I have foreseen tainted cockroaches will cause you serious harm, so you should avoid anything with any hint of cockroaches." Dumbledore nodded, and thanked her, then began wiping pink spots from his beard. The party disbanded, with Moaning Myrtle sobbing in the u-bend. Dumbledore smiled and followed Professor Trelawney to the seventh floor. "It has been a nice party, Headmaster, but I feel I should return to my tower. Danger lurks everywhere," Trelawney said in a whisper.

"Goodbye, then, Sybill, and I hope we meet again soon.

"Farewell, Headmaster," and Sybill swept up the stairs to unfog her Inner Eye.

Dumbledore chuckled quietly as he made his own predictions of this year's House Cup winners. Gryffindor had won it last year. Seven long years of Slytherin domination had finally come to an end. Severus' unfair discrimination against Gryffindor House could not interfere with the Quidditch competition. Dumbledore rounded the corner lost in his thoughts, when suddenly Professor Lockhart skidded around the statue of Lachlan the Lanky and bumped into him.

"Ah, hello, Headmaster. I was just thinking to myself that the teachers would enjoy my rendition of the school song."

Dumbledore smiled absent-mindedly and said, "What a splendid idea! I am sure that they will appreciate the... mellifluous tones of your masterpiece. Why don't you demonstrate it to us tonight? I have prepared a surprise for them, and would like you to be a part of it."

Gilderoy nodded, and flashed his award-winning smile. "I'll need time to fix my—"

"LOCKHART!" Snape had turned up at that moment, a murderous look on his face, and his robes in a state of terrible disrepair. The places where the punch stains had been were now bright pink. "That stain remover you flung did this! You incompetent excuse of a wizard! How you could become Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, I don't understand!"
"There's no need to make disparaging comments Severus," Dumbledore said, frowning. "We can all discuss it over dinner."

They started making their way down to the Great Hall. Lockhart said, "Severus, I could lend you some robes. I have one that would be perfect with your complexion. Your hair color and your dark eyes would go very well with—"

"That won't be necessary!" Snape bellowed.

"Perhaps a shampoo, then?” Lockhart suggested. "You ought to try—"

"Absolutely not! I don't believe in washing my hair! Borrowing one of your ridiculously unneeded shampoos would be against all sense! As for wearing your robes - that would be equally ridiculous! I would never dream of putting on anything you own! All that showy clothing makes me want to gouge—"

"Severus, that's enough!" Dumbledore said, clearly annoyed. "There is no reason to insult Gilderoy." Snape looked menacing, but said no more. He left quickly to find some spare robes.

"I happen to know, Headmaster, that Professor Snape was not, in fact, making a potion. He's working on a range of... creams, by the looks of things. He's planning to make—"

"What proof do you have?" asked Dumbledore.

"Sybill told me she saw it in her crystal ball. Naturally, she told me, because she knew how helpful I could be..."

"Gilderoy," said Dumbledore, "I think it may be wise not to accuse your fellow colleague of engaging in an activity he would find highly inconvenient."

Lockhart's smile wavered momentarily. He looked as though he didn't often hear the word "no". Abashed, Lockhart scurried down the hall back to his office to regain his perfect composure. Once inside, he immediately began checking his reflection in the mirror. He smiled. "Yes... charming."

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

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* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:03 pm

These stats were first posted by Potteraholic - Mar 17, 2008 11:06 am (#1747 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 67
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Potteraholic	56
Puck	44
Snuffles	5
Anna L. Black	38
azi	21
geauxtigers!	6
freshwater	19
Verity Weasley	20
Phoenixfeather	40
Swedish Short-Snout	37
Ticker	2

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 288
Total Words: 1440
Last Submission Date: #1744, March 16, 2008, 9:44 P.M. (Phoenixfeather)
Total Time to Create Story: 6 days, 19 hours, 24 minutes.

**Please note that the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.)

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:07 pm

This story was first posted by Finn BV - Mar 27, 2008 3:31 am (#2056 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "The Granger-Weasleys Meet their Neighbours"

Rose and Hugo hid behind the large oak tree in the back garden and peered over into their neighbors’ garden. Their neighbors were Muggles, and they were interested in the silly things that they got up to. Once they had seen the children play with these shoes with wheels. They had told their grandfather Weasley all about them. He had told them that the Muggles were quite creative.

Today they’d been rolling on a board with wheels on the pavement outside their garden. Hugo found it very amusing. “Why do you think they’re doing that?”

“Because Grandpa Weasley said young Muggles use these instead of brooms.”

“Can it fly?” asked Hugo.

“I don’t think so.”

“We could ask them!” Hugo looked a bit apprehensive but Rose nodded.

“Yes, let’s ask them, I’m sure they will tell us!”

Hugo replied, “But what will Mum say?”

“She doesn’t have to know. Don’t be such a coward!”

“I’m not a coward!” Hugo said.

“Prove it, then,” said Rose teasingly.

“Fine! Let’s go!” Hugo grumbled as he started walking towards the Muggle children.

“Hi!” Rose called out to them. They looked surprised, but they didn’t shout or run away.

“Hi,” answered the girl. “Who are you?”

“My name is Rose. That’s my brother Hugo.” She pointed at him.

The Muggle children eyed them both with interest, Hugo leaning against the fence and Rose standing straight and proud. The self-assured pair impressed the young Muggles. “What is that you’re standing on?” asked Rose.

Hugo blurted, “Wait, who are you?”

“I’m Lola, and I’m nine years old. That’s my brother Daniel, and those others are our cousins. They’re visiting from Edinburgh, where that famous author lives. They saw her once but she wasn’t any good in person.” Lola spoke quickly.

“We never heard of her,” responded Rose. She walked closer, staring, fascinated, at the skateboard. “Can it fly?” she asked, while prodding it with her left foot.

Lola laughed. “Of course not! It’s a skateboard! Haven’t you ever seen a skateboard before?”

Hugo shook his head and said, “What does it do?”

Daniel looked at Hugo and Rose with shock. “Don’t you know what a skateboard even does? Seriously?” Lola looked as shocked as Daniel.

A murmur of surprise rippled through the assorted ranks and Rose snorted. “If you are trying to make my brother nervous, it’s working!” she said angrily.

Hugo, however, didn’t look nervous at all. In fact, he was rather enjoying seeing everyone’s reaction. He had never seen his sister stand up for him like that. “Thanks Rose. It’s okay. I don’t need defending.” He turned to the others and began to speak. “Can you show us what it does?”

Daniel jumped back on the skateboard and scooted off along the street. Seconds later he fell. “Owwwwwww! That hardly ever happens,” he said quickly, standing up and brushing the dirt off his jeans, then rubbing his elbow. A red flush started spreading across his face.

“Hugo! Rose! Where are you two!” Ron called out from the kitchen.

“We’re… ehh… in the yard,” Hugo called back, then turned to Daniel. “Murtlap Essence will help with that,” he said without thinking. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

“Murtlap Essence? What’s that?” asked Lola.

“Uh… uh… it’s just something my Mum uses to make our cuts heal faster.” Rose hoped his answer would be sufficient. The Muggle children, already shocked by Hugo’s ignorance of skateboards, were bound to be suspicious of anything remotely out of the ordinary.

Lola and Daniel were looking at the young Weasleys with a strong curiosity. They had never met them before, but there was talk that their neighbors were a bit odd. Strange things happened sometimes, especially when the kids were outside playing. Often, in warm evenings, the children's father, a tall red-haired balding man, played what looked like an odd combination of football and dodgeball, but the funny thing was, whenever Lola and Daniel tried to peer through the hedges, they never managed to see anything unusual.

Ron called out again, “Rose and Hugo! What are you doing? You need to come home. Where are you?” Rose and Hugo looked at each other. “Are you hiding from me?”

“No, Dad,” answered Rose. “We were just looking for our—”

“There you are! I was beginning to get worried!” he said, walking up the pavement. When he saw the children gathered around the skateboard, he looked confused.

“Er… what is this interesting… object?” Ron asked.

Lola and Daniel stared at him, absolutely gobsmacked. “Grandad Weasley would like to see that, I think. Does it fly?” He asked with interest. “How fast can you go, and how do you hold on?”

“Are you their dad then?” asked Lola, indicating Hugo and Rose.

“Yeah, why?”

“Just wonderin’. I’m Lola and this is my brother, Daniel.”

“Hello there,” Ron said, shaking their hands before indicating to his children. “What’ve they been telling you, I wonder? Nothing too outrageous, I hope?” Lola shook her head. She didn’t want Rose to get into too much trouble with her father.

But Daniel blurted out something about that healing ointment for his knee. “He said his mum uses it and it helps make cuts get better.”

“They were just showing us this stakeboard,” Hugo explained.

“Skateboard, it’s called skateboard!” said Daniel.

Ron looked at his son. “Oh, a skateboard, I know all about those,” he said distractedly. “Your mum used to complain about the boys in her neighborhood riding them…” His voice trailed off as he noticed something moving in the hedge behind them. He signaled to Rose that they should move away. Just then a pair of big round eyes flashed briefly. Hermione had been pestering the house-elf about taking the garbage out. He wasn’t complying, though.

“What was that?” asked Daniel pointing at the hedge. Ron, Rose and Hugo looked as though they didn’t see anything.

Suddenly, Hermione appeared over the hedge and said, “Oh, there you all are. I wondered where you’d all gone.” She was Lola and Daniel and smiled. “So you must be our neighbors. How long have you been living here? We’re the Weasleys and we’re very pleased to meet you.”

Lola and Daniel were still staring at the place where the house-elf’s eyes appeared in the hedge. They were absolutely flummoxed and quite speechless.

“Look, dear, they have a stakeboard. You know what they’re for, don’t you? Lola and Daniel were showing us.”

“Skateboard, Ron, dear, don’t you remember me telling you about them?” Hermione replied, giving Ron a forced smile. Clearly, she was not pleased.

Daniel interjected, “I saw some big round eyes there and I intend to catch them!” He dove headfirst into the bushes, but Hermione managed to grab his ankles and get ahold of him.

“Careful!” she exclaimed. “You don’t want to get hurt, do you? Those eyes were headlights. The road is just beyond the hedge.”

“They didn’t look like headlights,” said Daniel suspiciously. He took a step closer to the bushes. “They looked like they came from over there,” he said, pointing downwards. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.

“Mum, he hit his head before. Maybe he’s con–… con–… confused… yeah.”

“Well, I think perhaps you should take your brother home. And collect Toffy and bring…”

“But I saw the eyes too,” Lola interrupted.

Fortunately, they were interrupted. An alarming whistle sounded behind them as one of Lola’s cousins had brought some fireworks. He and the other cousins had just heard: Hibernian beat Hearts! Boom!

Everyone looked up at the sky as the fireworks burst into beautiful colors. Then the cousins cheered, “Hibernian won! They won!”

Daniel whooped with pleasure. “Wicked! Set off some more!”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” said Hermione.

“But our parents gave us permission,” said a cousin matter-of-factly.

Daniel and Lola turned and went back to their house. Hermione turned to Ron and raised her eyebrows. He smiled and said, “I was doing all right ’til Toffy’s eyes appeared in the hedge.” Hermione gestured to Rose and Hugo to get back to the house.

“Goodbye, Lola and Daniel!” called Rose. “See you tomorrow!”

“I don’t think so,” said Ron. “That was a close one!”

After everyone was back in the kitchen for dinner, Hermione turned to Toffy and scolded him. “You bad elf! You were seen! You could get us into a heap of trouble!” Toffy’s lip quivered. Hermione’s look softened, then she patted the elf gently on the shoulder. “It’s okay, the fireworks happened just in time to prevent the kids from spotting you.” She stretched her arms and yawned. “I’m sure they’ll forget all about thanks to their cousins’ excitement about the results of the football game.”

“Toffy is sorry for causing any distress, Miss. Toffy will now go and finish the house-elves’ payroll.”

The elf toddled off to the next room, and Rose said, “Mum, Toffy didn’t mean any harm. He just wanted to report he wished to change the sheets without your permission.”

“Clearly, Toffy’s better at accounting for his time than I am. I just wish he’d pay himself more!” said Hermione.

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Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:13 pm

These stats were first posted by Finn BV - Mar 27, 2008 3:36 am (#2058 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 68
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Puck	45
Potteraholic	80
Orion	8
Snuffles	9
Swedish Short-Snout	27
Phoenixfeather	49
Herm oh ninny	5
Anna L. Black	28
geauxtigers!	10
Verity Weasley	33
Finn BV	10

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 304
Total Words: 1520
Last Submission Date: #2052, March 26, 2008, 2:22 A.M. (Finn BV)
Total Time to Create Story: 8 days, 13 hours, 29 minutes.

**In the past, the times used to record the Last Submission Date and all other time-based data for these statistics were taken by subtracting 8 hours from the time that currently appears next to posts, to (approximately) reflect regular Forum time, which is based out of San Francisco, CA. (The hour is not the only number that is off; the minutes are somewhat fast as well, but the number by which they vary has not been constant across the whole posting period, and thus they will remain as they are.) From this story and on, because it seems unlikely that Forum time will ever revert back to its original state, times in statistics will appear as you see them now, UTC time. This message will no longer appear after statistics unless the time changes again.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

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Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:00 pm

This story was first posted by Finn BV - Mar 30, 2008 11:35 pm (#2498 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "Hogwarts: The Next Generation"

“SLYTHERIN!”

Albus removed the Sorting Hat, hands shaking, and placed it back on the stool. But he walked confidently towards the Slytherin table, where people both cheered and muttered nervously as Albus took his seat. He could feel the tension in the room. Harry Potter’s son in Slytherin? Nobody could understand how this had happened.

“Hi, I’m Scorpius,” said the pallid boy who had dropped his fork when the Sorting Hat had made its surprising announcement.

“Nice to meet you, Scorpius,” said Albus, smiling nervously. “Do you know how we get to our common room?”

Scorpius laughed. “Of course! My father knew all the secret passages and he told me exactly how to reach it. He knows this castle like the back of his hand! I can show you after the feast. I bet you are nervous about being in Slytherin.”

Albus sniffed and shrugged his shoulders. He saw his brother at the Gryffindor table staring at him in shock. He stared defiantly back. Eventually, James rolled his eyes and turned to Micheàl Finnigan.

Headmistress McGonagall had stood up at the head table. “Quiet down everyone! I have a few start-of-term notices to read from Mr. Filch.” She then proceeded to hold her usual speech regarding the school year. A few minutes later, the prefects assembled the first-year students, and everyone was off to the main hall. Albus looked around and saw his brother going up the stairs towards his dorm, while the Slytherins descended into the dark dungeons.

The Slytherin prefect, Nelson Flint, said, “Okay, now, first years to me. The password is ‘unity.’”

Albus looked at Scorpius and hoped he could fit in here. Everything was so different without James by his side. But with a new friend, hopefully, by his side, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.

The first years were directed into the common room, where a cozy fire was blazing. To Albus’ surprise, Scorpio prodded him and whispered, “Father says there’s free food in the closet behind that statue that leads to—”

He broke off suddenly. Then he wandered off and greeted someone who he recognized. Albus was left by himself in the middle of an empty spot while everyone chatted around him. In one whirlwind of a moment, Albus felt anxious and frightened. He was away from home, he didn’t know what to do. He took a deep breath, thinking of what his father had told him: “Your friends are those who stick by you when you’re in trouble. Even if you feel completely alone, they’ll be right there.”

Bravely, Albus approached some other Slytherin first years. They looked at him haughtily before turning their backs to him and resuming their conversations. Albus sighed, and looked around. In a corner there was a very beautiful girl, curled up and staring wide-eyed at everyone. She looked as lost as Albus and surely felt just as lonely. He approached her and stuck out his hand. He wondered who she was.

“My name’s Linda Macmillan,” said the apparition, who took his small hand gently in hers.

“Nice to meet you, Linda. I’m Albus Potter. Did you get Sorted today?”

Linda nodded ruefully. “I didn’t expect to get Sorted into Slytherin,” she said. “Daddy was in Hufflepuff and Mummy was in Ravenclaw. I don’t think anyone in my family has ever—wait, there was mad, old Aunt Violetta. My parents don’t like to speak of her. She turned puppies into potions.” Albus felt his mouth drop, then smiled as Linda laughed and said, “I’m only joking!”

They both glanced around the room full of strangers. How would they ever begin to fit in with these people? Albus turned to ask Linda, “What pet did you bring with you?” Linda reached into her pocket and carefully pulled out a pink ball of fur. “This is my pygmy puff, Harold. What did you bring?” She looked around for a cage. She finally spotted one on the floor next to the fireplace. Albus knelt down and opened the door. Inside, curled up, was a niffler.

“My word, who brought this?” wondered Scorpius. I’ve always wanted one. There must be a way to tell who it belongs to.”

“Er… it’s mine,” Albus said.

“Yours?” exclaimed Scorpius. “Why, er… how’d you get one?”

“Minister Shacklebolt gave it to me. Luna, Mum and Dad’s friend, trained it not to bite.”

Scorpius was torn. He wanted a niffler badly, but didn’t think it wise to seem too interested. After all, this was the famous Harry Potter’s son! However, his curiosity got the better of him and he said, “Can I hold him?”

“Her. Goldie’s shy and doesn’t like meeting new people just after she’s been woken up. She gets fidgety. But she’s much better after she’s settled into new surroundings, so I think tomorrow you will be able to.”

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, okay then. Look what I’ve got.” He showed them a plump, round, golf-ball–sized piece of candy and waited for their cries of amazement. He wasn’t disappointed.

“Where did you get that?!” asked Linda. Scorpius looked very pleased. A lot like James, Albus thought, when he’s up to something. And James could be a bit of a show-off too. Albus walked over towards Scorpius, watching the ball, enthralled despite himself. “A Dragonball!”

“Yeah,” said Scorpius, as others looked at him with admiration and surrounded him, trying to catch a glimpse of the now faintly smoldering candy ball.

“Wow! That’s the top of the line, that is!” said Albus.

“I know,” said a beaming Scorpius and started ripping off a scale from the ball. He chewed it a few times, and then flames erupted from his mouth, bouncing off the damp stone walls towards Harold, and setting his fur on fire. Harold screamed.

A prefect yelled, “Aguamenti!” Water spurted out of his wand and almost drowned Harold.

Linda, half soaking wet, yelled, “YOU IDIOT! Harold? Harold? Are you alright?” and held the trembling pink ball of wet fur in front of her nose. Albus didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The pygmy puff moaned pitifully. Linda turned to Scorpius, murder in her eyes. “You’ve got bogeys for brains, you stupid git! Can’t you think? Harold could have died! Don’t you have any sense?” She turned back to Albus, wished him goodnight, and ran into Scorpius who looked nothing short of terrified.

“I didn’t know the flames would be that big! I didn’t mean to harm anyone, I swear!”

“Those are pretty powerful—my brother had one, a long time ago. Even Uncle George thinks they’re a bit dangerous,” said a tall boy knowingly.

Scorpius nodded miserably and wandered upstairs. He was tired from all the bickering.

Linda caught up with Albus before heading upstairs. “Can you believe that prat?” asked Linda.

Albus, who found the incident rather funny didn’t want to upset her and bade her a friendly goodbye. “See you at Herbology!” he called as he walked further up to the boys’ dormitory. He entered, and saw Scorpius sitting in the room, on the bed next to his fuzzy stuffed dinosaur. He jumped and quickly put away the animal.

“So… the first night at Hogwarts, eh?” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “It’s—”

“Oh, be quiet!” Scorpius said loudly, his voice quivering. “I am not interested in talking about what happened in the common room! Do you understand me? Never!”

Albus rummaged in his trunk, looking for his own teddy bear. Some of its fur was missing. James had once given it a haircut to impress Lola, their cousins’ Muggle friend. Albus had always suspected that James was trying to flirt with her, which embarrassed him and Rose, his cousin, too.

“Well, good night, then Scorpius. I’ll see you in the morning.” At last, sleep.

The next morning, Albus awoke before everyone else in his dorm and went down to the Great Hall to see where Rose was sitting and if he could find James. He saw them both seated at the Gryffindor table. Rose waved when she saw him and got up and ran over to the Slytherin table, where she was greeted by jeering from a couple of seventh years leaning against the table. After a few more jeers and furious glances, which didn’t bother Rose in the least, she sat down next to Albus and smiled brightly. “How was your first night as a Slytherin?”

Just then, the post owls arrived, and one headed straight for Albus. It was a letter from home. With trembling fingers, Albus ripped it open. He recognized his father’s handwriting.

“Dear Albus,

We hope that your first night at Hogwarts was fun. Remember what I said to you at the train station? We’ll always be proud of you. Slytherin House has gained an excellent student. I’m sure you will find your way and do great things.”

Albus folded the letter. His dad’s familiar handwriting was still in his thoughts when his mother’s script on the back caught his eye. He smiled at the reminders to behave and not let James get the best of him, particularly about being in Slytherin House. Lily had sent her love. Albus tucked the letter in his pocket.

Then, he turned to answer Rose. “I made a couple of friends—well, sort of. You?”

“I went to the library and checked out Hogwarts, A History, which I read all the way through, cover to cover, last night. 9 AM is my first Transfiguration class. Too bad McGonagall doesn’t teach that subject anymore. My Mum said she was the best teacher in all of Hogwarts.”

“Well, at least I’ll see you in Potions. Hope your Transfiguration class will go fine!” Albus smiled before leaving the table. He had eaten very little breakfast, being too nervous about the first day of school. He hoped that the other Slytherin first-years would be friendly. He saw Scorpius headed toward Herbology, and hurried to catch up to him.

“So, what do you think Herbology will be like?”

Scorpius said, “Er… thanks for showing me ‘Spiders’ last night. I know you were trying to put me at ease about my Dragonball. I’m not into showing off or hurting magical creatures, which is why Harold getting hurt upset me so.”

By now, they had reached the Herbology greenhouse. Professor Longbottom was passing out potted plants. “Good morning class! Before we begin your very first Herbology lesson, there are two things we need to do. First, an introduction. I am Professor Longbottom. I have been teaching Herblogy for the past ten years here. Second, I need to tell you something very important. You don’t have to be a genius to do well. I wasn’t when I was in school. You’re here to learn as much as you can. I don’t expect you to know everything already.”

Albus rolled his eyes and glanced at Scorpius. He wanted to laugh. He had known Professor Longbottom since he’d been a baby. He’d heard “Uncle” Nev’s stories about Professor Snape, who had taught potions. Now it felt strange to see him as a teacher.

Scorpius watched Neville with a disdainful look. “I can’t believe that Longbottom got that job. I heard my Dad say that some guys at the Ministry give him credit for killing that famous snake of the Dark Lord.”

“Really?” said a nearby Ravenclaw. “That was him? You’re not serious, are you? That fat bloke—”

“Don’t you even dare to think to insult him,” snapped Albus and he turned around. But he felt the stares of the other students. He turned bright pink and looked down.

Scorpius caused a distraction by throwing his Dragonball right across the greenhouse. It landed on a Mimbulus Mimbletonia that stood innocently on the desk, but it was several minutes before sparks began to jump out of Neville’s prized plant.

“AHHHHHH! MY EYES!” shouted a Ravenclaw who had been sitting closest. Professor Longbottom whipped out his wand and shouted “Aguamenti!” A jet of water hit the screaming child and he stopped abruptly as his mouth filled with water.

“Who did that?” asked Linda, looking pointedly at Scorpius.

“It was me,” said Albus. “It accidentally flew out of my hand. I was trying to—”

“No,” interrupted Scorpius. “It was my fault. I threw it. I was only trying to prevent a fight breaking out. I didn’t do a thing to your plant, sir.”

Albus looked at Scorpius with surprise, and Scorpius grinned sheepishly. Linda watched them both, then smiled in spite of herself. “I think both of you are mental… just like me.”

“What’s going on here?” Professor Longbottom shook his head. “Now who’s responsible for this?” He asked, looking around the greenhouse. “Never mind,” he continued. “We’ve wasted enough time. Oh, Albus, Scorpius and Linda: please try to pay attention when I’m speaking. You don’t want detention on your first day, do you?” He glanced towards Albus.

“No, sir!” they said together.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

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* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:03 pm

These stats were first posted by Finn BV - Mar 30, 2008 11:41 pm (#2500 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 69
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Phoenixfeather	33
Verity Weasley	30
Anna L. Black	28
freshwater	27
Orion	51
azi	24
Puck	48
Finn BV	53
Snuffles	12
Herm oh ninny	2
Swedish Short-Snout	40
Potteraholic	69
Tazzygirl	13

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 430
Total Words: 2150
Last Submission Date: #2489, March 30, 2008, 12:44 P.M. (Potteraholic)
Total Time to Create Story: 3 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

* Five Words - Main Archives *

* Five Words - Stories Index (by topic) *

* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:06 pm

This story was first posted by Potteraholic - Apr 6, 2008 8:53 pm (#2799 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "A Mystery on the Hogwarts Express"

The Hogwarts Express conductor, Ben, rushed over to see what the matter was. A crowd of 6th years, including Sirius Black and James Potter, were blocking Severus Snape's way. He was trying to board the train, but the two Gryffindors were blocking his way as he ascended.

Nearly eleven o'clock, Ben thought. Time to get going. Then he noticed a tall wizard in black robes up at the engine. Puzzled, Ben went over to him to ask what he was doing. As he approached, the other wizard stood up and asked him a question about the train's departure.

"When will the train be leaving?" he asked, a curious expression on his face, while all of the fingers on his right hand clutched his wand. Ben stared intently at the wizard. His expression was unreadable. The hairs on the back of his neck started to prickle. Without thinking, he put his hand inside his robes, wand ready.

"At eleven o'clock, sir, as you know." The strange wizard smiled, gave a little bow, and walked away. Ben looked intensely at him. He seemed familiar but he couldn't think of where he'd seen hair so greasy and lank that it stuck flat to his forehead. Only one other person he knew had hair that looked like that... Severus Snape. Now he remembered... when he was at Hogwarts, a relative of Snape's had been in the year above him. He had some trouble with this person – once, Ben had been leaving Professor Dumbledore's office when Jack Snape and his friends had hexed him with a number of spells. His face had been purple for almost a week, and the tentacles had lasted even longer. Ben suffered a lot of teasing that year.

Does he remember me? That sneer...I'm sure he does... But then, why did he act as though he didn't? Just playing with my head. Ben turned around to check if the boys in the front had quit their tomfoolery. They had. He signaled to the engineer to leave the station. The train slipped from sight as it rode into the darkness.

Ben walked slowly down the corridor, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, a hand reached out, trying to catch an Exploding Snap card. Ben startled terribly and bumped into the lunch trolley.

"All right, Mr. Bottomley?" asked the grey-haired lady who sold refreshments on the Hogwarts Express.

"Fine. Have you seen a tall man aboard the train? I saw him at the station. I thought he got on near the front of the carriages."

The door to a nearby compartment was slightly ajar. Very slowly it was pushed from within and a voice called out, "Get in here now if you know what's good for you, and make sure you shut the door!" Slowly, Ben walked in, his wand hand inside his robes, ready for any move this man might make.

"What do you want with me?"

Jack Snape eyed Ben with contempt. He had not yet spoken, but he gestured for Ben to sit in the seat opposite him. Ben sat.

"Okay, get on with it."

"What do you want?" asked Jack.

"Why are you on the train? It's traveling to Hogwarts. It's not often we get grown wizards riding along with all the students."

Jack pulled a letter out of a small pouch. He said, "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm meeting with a friend in Hogsmeade."

"What friend?" asked Ben.

Jack eyed him suspiciously and said, "You wouldn't know him. He's new to the country. He's from the Continent."

"Why not just Apparate or use Floo Powder?"

Jack didn't answer. He stared at the letter thoughtfully, contemplating his answer. Slowly, he handed Ben the letter. "Here," he said. Ben took it, wondering what it would say. It read,

Jack,

I have some bad news. I can't say too much in writing, but I'd be grateful if you could advise me on a matter of mutual interest. The investment I made on your behalf has suffered due to unforeseen circumstances. I have reason to believe that someone at Hogwarts may be to blame.

Sincere regards,
Eberhard Richter

"I see why you showed me this letter, but I'm in charge of this train. And I know you're stopping off at Hogwarts. I remember you from when we were at school, and I never trusted you then, so why should I now?"

Jack had a strange look on his face, as though it suddenly dawned on him that Ben might not be just a stranger to him, but someone he knew. Jack asked, "What's your name?"

"Ben Bottomley. Do you remember me?"

"Yes," Jack said slowly, "I need your help. I know we didn't always get along very well in school, but we're adults now. I apologize for how I treated you." Ben couldn't decide if he should trust Jack, but his instincts told him Jack wasn't lying. Jack pulled a tiny flask from his pocket. "Shall we?" he asked, offering Ben a drink.

"Thanks, but I can't. I have a duty, and I shouldn't neglect it."

Jack's eyes glittered. "Come on, a sip won't hurt," he pushed.

"I said no, Jack. Anyway, how can I help?"

"Have you ever heard of Acromantula venom? It is very rare and quite valuable. I need to get some out of the country for a friend."

Ben asked, "What does that have to do with me and my train?"

Jack hesitated before answering. "I have a package I need transported to Hogwarts. Don't ask why. I need to appear to be out of the picture."

"Is this before you try smuggling venom out of Hogwarts? NO! I'm not getting involved in this!"

"I'm working for a professor at the school. I'm not doing anything illegal."

"Which professor? None of the ones I know would smuggle! Hagrid might, for want of a dragon egg – you know, he has always wanted one – so are you bribing him?"

Jack smiled. Ben was smarter than he thought he'd be. "Will you deliver the package? Naturally, there'd be some... compensation for your troubles."

Ben seemed very uncomfortable with the idea. "I'm sorry but I don't think I should. What if we're found out? Hagrid will lose his job, and so—"

"Please!" Jack interrupted Ben with his plea. "I can't tell you how important this is! You'll be fine! It doesn't involve anything dangerous or illegal."

"Who's to blame, do you think?"

"Well..." Jack shifted uneasily in his chair. He didn't want to tell Ben about his past in Azkaban, the blackmail, or any of the other negative associations. Mundungus had warned the Order against Jack because of the time he had lost all his World Cup fame and had begun to suffer losses on his "investments". He had bet against his own team and thrown the match.

The train started shaking and the lights flickered. "I've got to get back to my duties. I'll think about what you've said but I'm not really the cloak-and-dagger sort."

Several hours later, Ben could see the distant mountains that signaled the approach to Hogsmeade. "Attention passengers, we'll be arriving in Hogsmeade in five minutes." Ben repeated this announcement, then went to the engine room to send an owl to the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

The train finally arrived at the station. Ben stepped onto the platform and was swarmed by Ministry workers. Ben pointed to the compartment Jack was in, and the workers began to board from both ends of the carriage. Students began spilling from the train. Severus ducked behind some taller students to camouflage himself from James and Sirius.

"Hello, Severus," said a tall wizard, leaning out a train door. Severus startled and looked up.

"Er... Uncle Jack? What are you doing here? Did my father—" He was interrupted as Ministry workers approached Jack in the train's corridor. The one in charge, Fabius Goodfellow, could be seen talking to Ben out on the platform. Severus quickly stalked away towards the carriages. Luckily, he just missed being caught. Jack had slipped him the dragon egg at the last second before the Magical Creature Controllers apprehended him. Jack's look of surprise was well rehearsed. He acted indignant, asking to speak to the person in charge.

Meanwhile, Severus had to somehow dispose of the egg. He had a feeling that Professor Slughorn would consider helping him to achieve that "O" in potions this year. As carriages rumbled away towards the castle and students chatted loudly, Severus was relieved that a potentially embarrassing situation had passed off so discreetly. Shame had been averted. All was well. For now...

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* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:07 pm

These stats were first posted by Potteraholic - Apr 6, 2008 9:13 pm (#2801 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 70
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Finn BV	9
Potteraholic	73
Verity Weasley	23
Phoenixfeather	47
Anna L. Black	6
Snuffles	26
azi	3
Puck	37
Swedish Short-Snout	24
Herm oh ninny	6
freshwater	15
Orion	12
geauxtigers	8

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 289
Total Words: 1445
Last Submission Date: #2791, April 5, 2008, 8:52 P.M. (freshwater)
Total Time to Create Story: 5 days, 21 hours, 7 minutes.

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* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:09 pm

This story was first posted by Potteraholic - Apr 10, 2008 2:04 am (#2983 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "The Trophy Room Rendez-vous"

"Molly Prewett! Arthur Weasley! Why are you out of bed?" asked Professor McGonagall. She was glaring at them angrily, having just caught them sneaking into the trophy room.

Startled, Molly gulped and stammered, "Oh! We uh... thought we heard Peeves and decided to investigate."

"And you heard this from up in your dormitory?" Prof. McGonagall's eyes narrowed, but her mouth looked like it was trying to repress a smile.

"We saw him in the corridor just before entering the common room," added Arthur, his voice wavering only slightly, "and thought we should stop him from breaking something."

"And what time was this?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Er, uh," Molly stammered.

Arthur interrupted. "It was five minutes ago, so he may already be gone by now, Professor."

"Unfortunately, that's not a reason to be gallivanting around the school at all hours." Molly bravely lifted her eyes to meet Professor McGonagall's, her reaction a measure of her spirit. The stern teacher was taken aback by her boldness. "I want you to go back to your beds and not another word!" she added, as Molly opened her mouth to protest.

Arthur and Molly started going upstairs. When they got to the top they heard a strange sound from the other side of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" Molly inquired above the din.

"Curmudgeon" she yawned reproachfully and entered the common room to find an owl hooting dolefully.

Arthur ran over to him. "This is my dad's owl, Herbert. I wonder what he's writing me about... I didn't ask Dad for anything." He tore the letter open and read it quickly.

"What does the letter say?" Molly asked.

"He's just reminding me to let him know if we are coming home for Christmas. Do you want to join us for our annual Boxing Day celebration? Dad always makes extra crackers for us to pull! They make really loud noises and the hats inside let you levitate two feet at least!"

"Wait!" Molly said, "What about Christmas at my parents? They really want to see me, you know. And they'd really like to meet you!"

Arthur smiled at her. "How about spending one week at each of our houses? Christmas could be at your house, and then we could do New Year's at mine. What do you think, Molly?"

Molly had wandered over to the fireplace, where a fire was dying out. "Incendio!" she cried. The fire returned and its crackling sounds filled the tense silence. "Arthur… I just don't know if my parents would want me to spend more time away from them. I'm gone most of the year, so they'll want to see me for the whole holiday." Arthur looked disappointed but did not let his initial reaction get in the way of enjoying the present moment with Molly. He smiled and sat on a cozy couch, inviting her to sit beside him. She smiled coyly before sitting down.

"That trophy you were going to show me earlier - who was it given to?"

Arthur smiled brightly. "To my brother Arnold. He was the best student in his year. He won that trophy for explaining how confusers work. Got an "O" in Muggle Studies, and–"

"What's a confuser?" asked Molly, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"Oh, it's a really new eclectical device; it's supposed to make Muggles' lives much easier..."

Molly yawned. "Well, that sounds ever so interesting, but I must get some sleep. I've got to write two rolls of parchment for Professor Binns in the morning." They said their goodnights and headed towards their dormitories.

"Oh, Molly," Arthur whispered, "Do you think that you'd like to meet up sometime tomorrow when we can have a look at Arnold's trophy? No one goes in around lunchtime. I can ask Nick to keep an eye out for us. Just make sure you're not late."

"I'll be there, don't worry," Molly answered.

The next day while at breakfast, Molly received a visit from Arthur's owl. A note tied around his leg invited Molly to a cozy breakfast in an empty classroom. She grinned, made an excuse to her friends, and left. When she entered the room, she was amazed to find a bountiful feast of her favorite foods, while Arthur sat on a cushion, grinning from ear to ear. He held a towering stack of pancakes while tiny Cupids flew around.

"Cupids!" Molly giggled. "In December!"

Arthur smiled and blushed. "I thought it might make up for being apart on Christmas. I know how much you want to be with your family, so I wanted to share a special breakfast with you." Molly sat down on a small purple cushion that was too small to seat her properly. She wobbled into place, but then slid right into Arthur's plate of pancakes. Blushing furiously, Molly looked up at Arthur, who was grinning and held out a hand to help her up.

"Honestly, Arthur," Molly smiled. "Did you really think I'd be able to fit on that?"

"It was the best one I could find," Arthur apologized, "but it was a bit funny, ... wasn't it?"

Molly laughed. "I didn't think it'd be so wobbly!"

"Well, Mollywobbles, would you like to use my cushion instead?"

"Mollywobbles?" Molly exclaimed.

"I think it's sweet, don't you?"

Suddenly, the door burst open. Professor McGonagall was standing there trying not to smile. "You two certainly are persistent," she said, amusedly shaking her head.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

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* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:11 pm

These stats were first posted by Potteraholic - Apr 10, 2008 2:09 am (#2984 of 2989) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 71
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Potteraholic	46
Anna L. Black	18
PatPat	17
Verity Weasley	22
freshwater	7
Finn BV	7
Puck	17
Swedish Short-Snout	12
Phoenixfeather	2
Snuffles	20
Herm oh ninny	1
Orion	2
azi	10

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 181
Total Words: 905
Last Submission Date: #2982, April 9, 2008, 12:44 P.M. (Verity Weasley)
Total Time to Create Story: 2 days, 15 hours, 25 minutes.

* Five Words – Volume 6 Index *

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* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:03 pm

This page contains a list with links to all the stories written in Volume VII.

Five Words Stories - Volume VII

Happy Birthday, Five Words!

• Click on Story #72 (14 April 2008) for "Peace", Two-and-a-Half Year Anniversary Special!

• Click on Story #73 (22 April 2008) for "Mundungus Fletcher’s Downfall"

• Click on Story #74 (7 May 2008) for "The Malevolent Manticore"

• Click on Story #75 (18 May 2008) for "The First Defiance"

• Click on Story #76 (30 May 2008) for "Dumbledore’s Army: Alive and Kicking"

• Click on Story #77 (6 June 2008) for "Minerva’s Mistake, A Lesson Learned"

• Click on Story #78 (13 June 2008) for "Marauder Rescue"

• Click on Story #79 (18 June 2008) for "Expecto Patronum!"

• Click on Story #80 (24 June 2008) for "Hungarian Rhapsody"

• Click on Story #81 (27 June 2008) for "Lost and Found"

There are no post-story comments in this volume. See explanatory NOTE in the header post.

* Five Words - Volumes Index *

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* This volume's stories, stats and post-story comments archived from WX by Verity Weasley; formatted/posted by Potteraholic

Potteraholic Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:46 pm

This post was originally made by Finn BV - Apr 10, 2008 3:39 am (#1 of 2994)

Potty Game: Five Words!

Just a few hours ago, the "Potty Game: Five Words" turned two-and-a-half years old. Since our existence, we have had dozens of members of the Harry Potter Lexicon FanFiction Forum partake in this simple yet endlessly enjoyable game. In the game, there are no boundaries, save that you must add five words, no more and no less (though there are always mistakes Archive of Five Words Stories - Page 9 2752390508

Archive of Five Words Stories - Page 9 2752390508

), to your post that continue the story told through other members' five words. Strung together, the five words will make a much, much longer story.

I'm not going to repeat all the history, which can be found in our last birthday celebration of October 9, 2006, which I recommend you read when you finish this post. I have decided to hold a two-and-a-half-year celebration not because of its mystical symbolism (ooh… half of the amount of words you're allowed to post!) but… well… we missed our second birthday. Just flat out missed it. So, what better excuse to celebrate than with an unbirthday, as Eeyore would say? (Is it Eeyore? Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Anyway, one little tidbit from the old post I'd like to keep in because it is STILL true, to the best of my knowledge (Potteraholic may correct me on this one): We invented the "Potty Five Words Crown," given to the poster who held the record for most number of posts in a story; the crown, I believe, is still currently retained by Tazzygirl (Kristina), with a thrilling 176 posts in the story "Just Another Week at the Ministry" on April 23, 2006.

I owe many, many thanks to Kristina and Potteraholic, who have been indisposable in the workings of this game. We've all had our periods where we come and go from the thread, due to circumstances we all wish we could control. As I work my way deeper into high school, time for other stuff gets cut short and it has been these two who have been instrumental in the prolonging of Five Words. You two do not know my sincere gratitude I have for your devotion to and love of Five Words.

We also all owe extra special thanks to all of our Hosts, most especially Kip Carter, our Forums manager. They do so much for us, not least monitor the Forums and make sure they run smoothly. Their patience with us during a train wreck is unceasing and their work to keep our header updated is invaluable. As I said before: a round of butterbeers, please!

And now, as we begin our seventh volume of stories (now this is mystical… it's seven! so powerful!), I invite each and every one of you to take the opportunity to play some ultimate Five Words: anytime that Forum time reads April 10 (we were founded on late October 9, 2005, and since we had to close out Vol VI we're doing this a day late), instead of posting five words, post... (drumroll, please) TEN WORDS! Okay, so, whatever, that was the same surprise as the old birthday celebration, but I promise you we'll do something super cool next time for our third anniversary in October 2008! RSVP now!

Same rules as last time apply: double up on your posting chances if you're not a premium member, and get more bang for your buck if you are. (Plus, if you miss out on this exciting, once-a-year special, we'll be nice and let you post ten words for just a few posts whenever you get your chance... if it rolls into Aprill 11, no big deal.

)

Let the festivities begin, and thank you for staying by Five Words!

—Finn BV, April 10, 2006, 3:39 a.m.

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Potteraholic Mon Aug 01, 2011 2:29 pm

This story was first posted by Potteraholic - Apr 14, 2008 10:46 am (#144 of 2994) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Potty Five Words: "Peace"

The Crumple-Horned Snorkack grazed peacefully as Luna Lovegood and her father watched from the shelter of the stone outcropping. They were taking one last trip to Snorkackal before Xenophilius died from an accidental overdose of Billywig stings. Luna glanced over at her father, and she could see the excitement in his eyes.

"It's so beautiful!" he whispered. "Just look at its beautiful horns; such amazing examples of curving, twisting loveliness!" Luna beamed at her father. It made her so happy to see his delight at finally finding the creature. She was afraid that they wouldn't get there in time. Even Luna, always the optimist, wasn't sure her father would live to see this day. His health had declined in recent years, almost to the stage where he could no longer walk without aid. Azkaban, many years ago, had weakened him. He had tried to stay positive but the Dementors made him suffer from seemingly permanent depression, and his mood altered only when the Dementors moved to other cells after new prisoners had come in.

"Look, Luna! Is that a baby Snorkack over there, away from the rest of the others?" exclaimed Xenophilius. Sure enough, when Luna turned to look there was a small creature, his horns short and light-purple. She gasped in delight and made to move closer.

"Careful, Luna," said Xenophilius. "You might scare it." The baby Snorkack looked up suddenly and gave an odd bleat. A cloud of birds that were nearby on the grass rose into the sky, disturbed by the sound. A larger Snorkack ambled over to where they were hiding, and it gave an almighty shriek before herding the smaller one back to the group.

"Look!" exclaimed Luna, "It's the baby's mother!"

Xenophilius' eyes filled with tears. "Yes," he said. "Its mother. She's protecting it." The Snorkacks returned to grazing quietly. Xenophilius was taking notes on a long piece of parchment, which was trailing behind him like a flowing beard. He was hoping to write the final edition of The Quibbler before his time ran out, and include in it a full description of the Snorkacks' life cycle, from infancy to adult maturation. But in the short time they had been here, his health had deteriorated further, and he knew he didn't have long. Hopefully, he would finish this last article.

"Luna, could you please pass the camera? I'd like to get some photos of the mother and ba—." He stopped suddenly and grabbed his chest. "The poison—," he gasped. His breathing became more ragged. He felt unbearably lightheaded and could feel himself rising off the ground. "Luna, help me!" he shouted. Luna grabbed his bag, and started searching frantically inside it. She pulled out some rope, but time was running out.

"Descendere!" she shouted in desperation. Xenophilius halted mid-air but was no longer rising. He was about 15 feet up. The rope was about the same length. Luna magicked the rope up to her father and he grasped hold of the end.

Accio rope! he thought, unable to speak. Luna pulled with all her might, but her father wouldn't budge. The Snorkacks were ambling in their direction. Desperate for help, Luna called to them not really knowing what would happen. To her surprise, they galloped over and began pulling the rope with her. She watched them grab hold of the rope in their snouts and begin to move slowly backwards.

Mr. Lovegood drifted near an odd-looking bush. As the foliage touched his skin, he started to sneeze, reducing the speed of his final descent. He landed on the back of the mother Snorkack they had observed with her baby earlier. She allowed him to rest for a bit before she became restless. He slid gently to the ground and lay there while the mother nuzzled him, checking to see if he was still breathing. Luna knelt by his side, and surprisingly, the mother Snorkack did not back away. Weakly, Xenophilius raised his arm and rested it lightly on Luna's shoulder.

"Help me up, dear," Xenophilius said.

"Are you sure? Perhaps you should rest some more," Luna urged. "Let's have you lean against these boulders for a while. I'll send Nifty back for the camera. We can put a picture of you and the Snorkack in The Quibbler's next edition. What do you think about that?" Xenophilius did not answer, but smiled faintly at Luna. The niffler quickly fetched the camera. "Say, 'blibbering humdinger'," Luna said, levitating the camera in front of her. Her father smiled and attempted a wave. The Snorkack inclined its head towards him, his snout almost touching Xenophilius' ear. "Fotoshute!" Luna exclaimed. There was a click and a flash of light and the camera emitted a little puff of smoke. She smiled with satisfaction. At long last her father's dream had come true, and she only hoped he would be able to see the photograph he had sought for years, spread across the front page.

"Luna, my dear, I think it is time we packed up our things and went back home. While our time here in Sweden has been so illuminating, I don't think we can publish that picture. Think of how the beautiful serenity of this place, their home, will be destroyed by wizards who flock here to see them. They are so trusting, they wouldn't know how to defend themselves." He looked at them with reverence. The beasts ambled peacefully around them, occasionally nuzzling Luna and her father. The youngest of the herd were still wobbly on their thin legs. It is so amazing to be here among them, thought Xenophilius. He wanted to savor every moment before time ran out. He was weak, and breathing was becoming more and more labored. Luna looked concerned, but he smiled weakly.

"But Father," Luna protested, "what about your reputation? Everyone is waiting for proof of the Snorkacks' existence! Perhaps if we kept this location secret, then no one would be able to find them."

"No Luna," Xenophilius whispered. "I know that we are supposed to keep their existence a secret. It doesn't matter about my reputation. We'll know the truth."

"All right, Father, if that's the way you want it," whispered Luna. "Let's get you home, the sooner the better."

"No, Luna," Xeno replied softly. "I'm staying right here."

Luna shook her head, but smiled at her father. "Oh, Dad," she giggled, "you don't really mean that you want to spend your last minutes lying here among the Snorkacks, do you? I thought you wanted to pay one last visit to the Erumpents?"

Xeno smiled weakly and shook his head. "This is as far as I go Luna," he murmured softly. "It will be a relief to go on in such a peaceful, beautiful place."

Luna's eyes filled with tears as she gazed lovingly down at her father. Nifty nuzzled up against the old wizard's hand, whimpering softly. Luna finally realized that her father had closed his eyes and he had stopped breathing. She listened frantically for a heartbeat. There was no sound. Luna leaned back against the standing stone and tried to resist the tears now trickling down her face. She picked Nifty up, held him close, and sobbed. Taking out her wand, she carved a symbol into a small boulder, one of the fifty or so arranged in a ship-like formation around them. She then levitated her father's lifeless body close to the newly made headstone, the image of the Cloak, Wand, and Stone marking the place where Xenophilius Lovegood would rest for eternity. Using her wand, Luna dug a hole in the ground, slowly removing the earth in small clumps. She was prolonging the inevitable. The moment eventually arrived. She lowered her father's body, took one last look at his beloved face, and blanketed him with yellow smörblomma flowers.

"I'll miss you, Daddy," Luna said quietly as she started covering Xenophilius' body with earth. "And I promise that I'll keep the Snorkacks as our little secret, forever." With that, she threw the whole camera into the grave. "I hope you have a nice voyage to meet Mummy as you sail away to the land beyond the veil."

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Potteraholic Mon Aug 01, 2011 2:32 pm

These stats were first posted by Potteraholic - Apr 14, 2008 10:51 am (#146 of 2994) on the World Crossing home of the 'Harry Potter Lexicon Forum'.

Statistics for Story 72
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of Submissions
Verity Weasley	16
freshwater	8
Finn BV	4
Phoenixfeather	3
Swedish Short-Snout	5
Potteraholic	29
PatPat	6
Puck	24
Snuffles	6
azi	19
Anna L. Black	16

The user in red is the rightful starter of the next story. They are welcome to pass on the privilege to the user who posted the second most number of times, who may in turn pass it to the user who posted the third number of times in the story, and so forth.

Total Submissions: 136 (Note: these were 10 word posts, instead of the usual 5.)
Total Words: 1360
Last Submission Date: #139, April 12, 2008, 8:40 P.M. (Potteraholic)
Total Time to Create Story: 2 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes.

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