Potty Game: Five Words (Vol. XV)

I locked this thread on Monday, but forgot to post the usual official message, so here it is, some days later:

I declare this story, #141, officially F I N I S H E D ! As is customary, I will lock this thread temporarily until the story and stats are posted. It will be up by the end of the weekend. Stay tuned!

Hmmm... will this post stay in this thread, or Disapparate to a new one? Let's see... SEND

Still in Volume XV!

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Five Words: "A Minister’s Musings"

Cornelius Fudge sank back into the ornate and comfortable chair in his new office in the Ministry. He looked around at the dignified portraits of his predecessors, most of whom had been popular and illustrious leaders. Unscrolling a roll of parchment, Fudge began to write.

30 September 1990

Today begins my reign as Minister of Magic. There is much to do to stamp my personal touch on things and make my mark in the world. I was beginning to think this day would never come, but hard work and perseverance saw me through. Thankfully, Dumbledore did not prove to be a truly dangerous political opponent after all. His decision not to run for Minister was a stroke of luck, but I need to keep an eye on him. He may decide to leave Hogwarts another time and try to seize power. I really can't believe that he's satisfied with just being Headmaster. Although my speech about the Rotfang Conspiracy at the meeting of the Fudge First Party was such a resounding success that even the most cynical wizards and witches couldn't fail to be impressed.

Fudge stopped and looked at his watch. It was almost time for his meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street. Eager to finish his journal entry before he left, Fudge turned back to his parchment.

I was fortunate to have Rita Skeeter's support early on in my campaign. Her piece about my proposal to restructure the Statute of Secrecy that Millicent Bagnold so carelessly neglected was brilliantly insightful. She really knows how the masses' minds work. Minister Bagnold, while undeniably very capable, was lamentably shortsighted regarding security issues.

The voters weren't swayed by the promises of my rival, Dr. Filibuster. He proved to be nothing but a damp Squib, I'm glad to say. His money was no match for my craftiness, and my many years of experience.

My thorough understanding of the voting system certainly paid off as well. First, there's the question of choosing locations for the voting to take place. Not everyone pays attention to such matters, but I took great care to ensure that locations favored those wizards and witches who were most advanced in years and my greatest supporters. The Celestina Warbeck concert was a masterstroke. The concert-goers were only too happy to vote for me in appreciation of the mead donated at the concert.

My advertisement campaign was quite clever, if I do say so myself. Dr. Filibister had no chance against me. The campaign slogan, FUDGE WON'T BUDGE ON THE CAUSES THAT COUNT! said it all really. That favor I did for Barnabas Cuffe, the editor of the Daily Prophet, garnered quite a healthy return. His story about Filibuster's early years as a high-rolling gambler couldn't have helped his campaign.

While his piece about me had the complete opposite effect: I received so many letters of support for my plan to offer free dental care to vampires that I completely exhausted my supply of owl treats!

The ornate brass clock on the mantelpiece chimed the hour and Fudge looked up from his almost-filled parchment with concern.

One of my first jobs will be to meet with the Prime Minister of the British Muggles, the 'Iron Lady'! I'm curious. I'll have to see if this Margaret Thatcher is really as formidable as Bagnold said she can be. I must ask Dumbledore what he thinks. He's always so well-informed. I must learn how to pick his brilliant brain. Always keeping a lid on his political ambitions, of course.

FUDGE WON'T BUDGE   on the CAUSES THAT COUNT!

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Statistics for Story 141
ordered by first contribution to the story

User	# of     Submissions
Verity Weasley	38
Betelgeuse Black	4
Mona	20
freshwater	2
Potteraholic	42
Julia H.	12

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.

Total Submissions: 118
Total Words: 590
Last Submission Date: Oct 10, 2011 9:41 am (EST). (Julia H.)
Total Time to Create Story: 11 days, 0 hours, 18 minutes

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Post-Story Comments for Story #141, Volume XV,
Potty Five Words: "A Minister’s Musings"

This story was written from September 29, 2011 to October 10, 2011. Six writers contributed to the story, which is 590 words long. Three of the six writers posted feedback. All times listed are EST.

- Verity Weasley, October 29, 2011 11:41 pm: I know some posters found this story a bit of a struggle to write, and I was certainly stuck for ideas in a few places too. Even though it was my idea and it was something I was interested in finding out more about, I had few clear ideas for how the political system would play out in the wizarding world. However, none of those struggles or uncertainties were apparent in the final story. I think it reads very well, and we managed to capture Fudge's complicated combination of pompous self-importance and worried insecurity. Another triumph for the Five Words crew!

- Mona, October 30, 2011 7:52 am:

Another triumph for the Five Words crew! ~ Verity

I agree! I was surprised at how well our little story's turned out. It seemed rather a dry topic at first, at least to me, but we managed to make it interesting and funny. I like the way so many different characters and elements have been woven into the story - Rita Skeeter, Dr Filibuster, Margret Thatcher, Fudge's power craziness, his jealousy and suspicion of Dumbledore, meeting the Muggle prime minister, and so on.

Poor Dr Filibuster! We not only had him lose the election but made him into a high rolling gambler in his early years as well.

- Potteraholic, November 1, 2011 8:47 am: I liked the final story a lot, even though I was at a loss at what to write a few times. I think it helps to include little canon details when we are stuck, like we did in this story, because it inspires ideas, injects smart humor into the story, and helps keep us going. JKR wrote so many details about people, places, and things... we have a veritable treasure trove of information we can mine for our stories. And I'm a big fan of including real life Muggle facts into our stories when it makes sense, like when I introduced Margaret Thatcher into the story near the end.

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Yay, Story #141 is up! Well done, PAH!

Another triumph for the Five Words crew! ~ Verity

I agree! I was surprised at how well our little story's turned out. It seemed rather a dry topic at first, at least to me, but we managed to make it interesting and funny. I like the way so many different characters and elements have been woven into the story - Rita Skeeter, Dr Filibuster, Margret Thatcher, Fudge's power craziness, his jealousy and suspicion of Dumbledore, meeting the Muggle prime minister, and so on.

Poor Dr Filibuster! We not only had him lose the election but made him into a high rolling gambler in his early years as well.

'Featured Story of the Week' Comments for Story #76, Volume VII,
Potty Five Words: "Dumbledore’s Army: Alive and Kicking"

This story was featured during the writing of Story #142. It was the 4th 'Featured Story of the Week'. All times listed are EST.

- Julia H., October 3, 2011 1:43 pm: One of the reasons why I have chosen this story is that it was the first one I participated in and I became instantly hooked. But I think it is also a successful story with a coherent plot that satisfyingly fills a "gap" in the DH-year, exploring details not revealed in the book. The characters are in character from Neville to Phineas Nigellus Black, and I like the variety of HP characters appearing in this story. There is an entertaining mixture of drama and humour, and we successfully created a genuine "Hogwarts-feeling". I simply love Luna's insanely insightful remark at the end of the story! And, last but not least, the story includes Headmaster Snape, whose life in the DH-year we know so little about.

- Verity Weasley, October 4, 2011 6:17 am: This was a great choice Julia. I enjoyed re-reading it. I remember starting this story and being a little concerned initially as other posters didn't seem to get my intention. However, it soon got on track and continued apace. For a long, action-packed story I think we did very well. It has good pace and stays nicely on track. Suspension builds gradually, aided by the split towards the end from the action in the great hall to the action in the headmaster's office. It certainly fills in a gap inn the existing story and I think it does that very convincingly. And as you say, Luna's delightfully original take on the situation was the perfect ending!

- Mona, October 4, 2011 8:01 am: Great choice, Julia. It was a good story with an interesting plot, and I enjoyed reading it.

The concluding sentence, spoken by Luna, was wonderful!

I also liked this one -

"Try Alohamora," said Neville. "That's what Hermione would do."

"Or we could perhaps smash the case," Luna added serenely.

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