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Season 2 – Issue 2

IWSC

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HANDY HINTS TO GET YOU POINTS

This article is about tackling a different prompt type or judging category and looking at them in depth. We will be looking at the many ways you can get the most points from any given category. Many of these articles are used to support the judges in their role of critiquing these categories.

What is Characterisation?

Characterisation is how you write your characters’ personality, actions and foibles. When you read a story, the characters are a big part of what makes it work or, in some cases, not work. Everything from dialogue to character choices tells us who a character is and what we should think about them. Characters are a way to get a reader to emotionally connect with a story. E.g. the characterisation of the Dursleys – in canon – makes us feel for Harry, it makes us care about what happens to him. 

Why judge characterisation?

There is often quite a bit of debate about this category, and is one of the most complained about categories in judging. There is an argument that this is fanfiction, so does it matter if Draco was sorted into Hufflepuff and just can’t get enough of that drop dead gorgeous Muggleborn bookworm? The problem is, it is also a competition, so we need to hold everyone’s characters up to the same measuring stick: Canon. This is the only way to make this category fair to all participants. 

Writing ‘in character’ characters

If you are writing a character within canon, then the character themselves should be in character. Headmistress Hope is writing a character profile for each issue. This will give you a range of ideas to include for different characters to help keep them in character, or even to flaunt their character. 

There are a variety of ways that you can nod to a canon character’s characterisation, and for this section I will use Molly Weasley as an example

1. Descriptions

When introducing a character give a description that shows of their known traits. Molly Weasley is often thought of as ‘the ideal mother’ and a replacement mum for Harry. She is big, warm and cuddly, and seems to always have exactly what any of her children need; especially food. You could include describing her apron: flowery, well-worn (as they don’t have much money) dashes of flour and a wooden spoon and wand peeking out from the pocket. 

There are a variety of other ways that you can describe Molly that will give your readers a very motherly impression, her stance, her facial expression, the list is endless.

Dialogue

Thinking about how a character speaks is very important. There have been points docked for characters using words that they would not ordinarily use. Once, for comedic purposes, I had a character swear — a lot. Molly Weasley, for example, would not swear. She uses words like ‘peaky’ to describe an underfed Harry, or she might refer to any of her children as ‘young man’ when chastising, and in these moments can have a fierce temper. 

‘Action Beats’ after or before dialogue can really set the scene of what Molly is saying. ‘With her hands on her hips’ or a description of how something is said can nod to how Molly is saying something and leave your readers imagining the great Julie Walters in all her Weasley Glory!

  1. Action

Molly will not do things that other characters might do. Sirius Black was okay with Harry knowing things that happened within The Order of the Phoenix, but Molly is far more protective and motherly, so you might have actions that show that side of her nature. She does not rejoice in the kinds of pranks that her sons, Fred and George, pull, so including this aspect of her personality will likely show your readers that they have the real Molly Weasley. 

  1. Character-isms 

Character-isms are little things that a particular character does that really let you know that it’s that character. No other character but Luna would talk about fictional beasts as though they were real. Molly has these too. She loves to feed Harry when he leaves the Dursleys. She is has turns of phrase that she uses, just look at Headmistress Claire’s articles as ‘Aunt Molly’. She will refer to any child as ‘dear’, using terms of endearment. Molly is also known for her fierce temper — particularly when the children do something wrong!

Writing characters ‘out of character’

Sometimes we want to write characters that are not behaving the way that they might in canon. Sometimes we want things to go differently than they did in canon, and sometimes your prompt or theme will demand it! Many students have said that they felt penalised for writing characters out of character and want to be able to do so without losing points. We are not against writing characters out of character — how could we be, I am particularly known for writing Severus Snape, and he is often out of character. That is why I am going to use that character to demonstrate how. 

  1. Repurposing canon traits

When writing a character in a way that they do not appear in canon, it is important that they are still recognisable, otherwise you are really writing an OC with a canon character’s name. The way that I like to do this is to repurpose traits that are recognisable from canon but have a different purpose. An example of how I do this can be seen in many of my Severus Snape fics. I will take his predominant characteristic of of being moody, grumpy and mean, and I can alter this slightly into a darker sarcastic sense of humour that really shows that mean streak but still makes him a nicer, happier person than he was before.  

  1. Reasoning behind changes

Often we make changes and additions to a character that do not make sense with their canon story. For example, why Lily forgave Severus for calling her a Mudblood, especially, if like me, you are going to pair Lily and Severus. One of the major ways I will do this is change history:

  1. Severus gets sorted into Ravenclaw.
  2. Severus realises his error and works hard to show Lily he has changed. 
  3. Fifth year incident with the Marauders and the Whomping Willow causes Remus to express his own feelings of remorse and eventually becomes a good influence on Severus, preventing the moment from taking place. 
  4. Building some of the above into reasons why Severus was a spy straight from Hogwarts for Dumbledore.

It is important when doing this to keep and explain details from canon if we want events to still take place like they did in canon. For example, Peter Pettigrew is the one that reveals the prophecy to Voldemort. Essentially, we want to make sure these changes work with the character, and, where necessary, to give explanations for the changes within our narrative that make the new actions and attributes of a character believable for their canonselves. 

We hope these tips and tricks will help you excel in writing personable characters that really captivate your readers. If there are any tips or tricks you think we have missed, let us know in the forum below, or in a comment on the blog.

Prompt of the Round – [behaviour]

Behaviour, by definition is: ‘the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others.’ 

This is important to remember when using this prompt as it tells you exactly what to include. Firstly, that the way one of your characters acts — it’s smartest to use your main character, as it becomes a focal point of the story — and particularly how they might act toward another person. This article will look at ways of using this prompt as effectively as possible. 

The behaviour that I will use as an example, is pretentious. This means: ‘attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.’ Instantly, this involves more than one character for me, and I can make this behaviour between them key to the plot that I want to write. I might even use this theme to inform my plot. 

I think it always works best if you can think of a character that would naturally use these traits and explore that within the fiction. Lucius Malfoy oozes pretentiousness. I need to pick a character to put him against, maybe someone who is impressed by him, or someone decidedly unimpressed by the things that he values the most. Here are a few examples that I might use:

  1. Lucius Malfoy’s pretentious behaviour in his youth at Hogwarts — this could be the way that he holds himself above the others in his dorm in Slytherin House.
  2. Lucius Malfoy’s relationship with Narcissa and how she might find this behaviour alluring.
  3. Lucius Malfoy and the way that he manages to engineer his way into high-up positions with high profile wizards in the ministry and how he gets what he wants with people like Cornelius Fudge.
  4. Lucius Malfoy trying to use pretension and charm to overcome someone that is not swayed by his usual tactics, such as Hermione Granger when she is Ministress of Magic. 

Ways you can show pretension more pointedly could include:

  1. The manner in which someone says things. You can use words and present the attitude of your character as pretentious at key moments.
  2. Actions that are key to the story being pretentious in nature.

Ways that can add to this prompt but are not enough on their own:

  1. Simply using the word ‘pretentious’ in a dialogue tag. 
  2. Minor characters displaying this behaviour that has little significance to the plot.
  3. Minor use of the behaviour that has minimal impact on the plot.

With any prompt, try to make it as significant as possible to your core plot. This will enable you to use it well and significantly. Connection to your main plot will make it significant without you falling into the trap of overusing the prompt. Remember, balance is important, and if you do not stay focused on the plot, the story can end up running away with itself.

Writing School – Dialogue Tags and Action Beats

Time for some more of Headmistress Lun’s creative writing tips (with the support of Admin TQA)! This round we are looking at how to correctly use Action Beats, Dialogue Tags, and the tricky punctuation that goes along with it. 

This article will also be the challenge for this round’s Writing School.

Dialogue Tags and Action Beats

What are dialogue tags and action beats?

  • A dialogue tag looks like “Luna said” or “he whispered”. It “tags” the dialogue to a particular character.
  • An action beat can be almost any sentence! It might be an action (“Ron closed the curtains”) or a thought or description.

The layout of dialogue

  • When a character speaks, their dialogue should be on the same line as their dialogue tag or action beat.
  • When a different character speaks or acts, start a new line.
  • Punctuation at the end of dialogue should go before the closing quotation mark.
  • You can use single or double quotation marks (double are standard in the US, single are standard in the UK) — just be consistent!

How to punctuate dialogue tags

  • If the tag comes before the dialogue, use a comma straight after the tag. Start the dialogue with a capital letter:

Harry said, “It’s so gloomy out.”

  • If the tag comes after the dialogue, end the dialogue with a comma, even if it is a full sentence. The first letter of the tag should be lowercase (unless it is a name).

“It’s so gloomy out,” he said.

  • Even if the dialogue ends in a question mark or exclamation point, the dialogue tag is lowercase:

“Isn’t it gloomy out?” he asked.

  • If the tag comes during the dialogue, end the first part of the dialogue with a comma then have the tag as normal.
  • Then, if you’ve broken the dialogue during a sentence, rather than at the end of a sentence, use a comma after the tag and start the next piece of dialogue with a lowercase letter:

“It’s been like that all day,” Hermione said, “and the sky’s such a weird colour, too.”

  • However if the first part of the dialogue was a full sentence, you should use a full stop after the tag and start the next piece of dialogue with a capital:

“It’s been like that all day,” Hermione said. “Did you hear what they were saying on the wizarding wireless?”

How to punctuate action beats

Action beats are punctuated as normal, full sentences (unlike dialogue tags), so they always start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. This also affects the dialogue preceding them.

Harry entered the tent. “It’s gloomy out.”

“It’s been like that all day.” Hermione had tried not to dwell on it, but she couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong. “Did you hear what they were saying on the wizarding wireless?”

Writing School Challenge

Win up to 10 extra points by writing a drabble that will be judged specifically on the aspects of this round’s challenge. These stories are not to be beta’d by another member of your team. The idea is that you learn the rules and beta for yourself, ensuring that there are as few errors as possible.

Find the rules for this challenge in our rules and regulations thread!

For this round’s drabble pay special attention to your use of dialogue tags and action beats. Are your tags unobtrusively making clear who is speaking? Are your action beats adding variety and meaning to the scene?

Use a variety of the presented tags and action beats; your story will be rated on how well you fit (at least three) different methods into your story and if everything is implemented correctly.

Your prompts this round will be inspired by the tales of Beedle the Bard!

Prompts:

  1. The Wizard and the Hopping Pot – [Object] A Magical Cauldron (must have an attribute that makes it different from the usual cauldrons in the WW)
  2. The Fountain of Fair Fortune – [Setting] A serene Garden with a beautiful fountain
  3. The Warlock’s Hairy Heart – [Emotion] Pride
  4. Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump – [Magical Ability] An Animagus
  5. The Tale of the Three Brothers – [Character] Death

REMINDER: This season, we want you to submit your Writing School drabbles without getting a beta. There is no penalty if you do so, as we can’t control it, but this is meant as a training for you to rely less on others when writing.

Closing date: 8am UTC 8th February 2020

interview – Teamwork with 3cheersforidiots 

Welcome again to our interview section. This is where you will get to have a look behind the scenes and hear from Heads, Judges, Admins and other students in the competition. Today we have an interview with a Mahoutokoro Alumni and deputy 3cheersforidiots from season one about teamwork.

Hi, I’m Sophie, serial procrastinator, lover of Hermione ships, and seasoned fanfic comp writer.

You helped out as head student for Mahoutokoro in season one and are coming back as head student for our second season, so you know what it means to hold a team together. What should a team do for each other in a comp in your opinion?

Honestly, it depends on what kind of teammates you have. In most cases, especially with fanfic comps, you’ll get a team of 7–8 people that have very different ways of writing fanfictions and have varied experience with competitions. As such, part of working in a team is helping out the newer people get comfy with the competition, helping your teammates brainstorm ideas (I’m almost always at a loss for what to write, so having teammates help with ideas is one of the most important things for me), and being there to beta.

People have very different ways of writing fanfictions and have varied experience with competitions.

-Sophie

The single most important thing in team comps, however, is keeping each other motivated. As you may know, I was a Chaser in QLFC Season 4 for the Wimbourne Wasps. It was a difficult year; there was a lot of drama and there were a lot of quitters on almost all teams. And in that situation, I think the reason why we managed to pull through with that win without ever using any substitutes is because we were always there for each other. We checked in with each other about how our fics were progressing, we were openly discussing any distress the competition brought up, and sometimes, we would stay up till 4am just to get that submission ready on time. Keeping your teammates motivated and in the loop, that is the most important thing.

It was a difficult year; there was a lot of drama and there were a lot of quitters. I think the reason why we managed to pull through is because we were always there for each other.

– Sophie

Would you say it is harder for new students to get comfortable in a team and learn how everything works?

If they don’t have a lot of experience with competitions, yes, I would imagine so. Being in a competition is different from casually writing fanfiction whenever you feel like it because of the time restrictions and all those rules. It can be quite stressful as well, so again, how long it takes for newer writers to integrate into the competitive community depends almost entirely on how well they are treated (by their team and by the community as well).

Is there a golden rule you can give new students and also team mates of new students to make it easier for them?

No golden rule, since everyone does fanfiction in their own way, but a good tip for new students would be to stay open to possibilities. You’ll come across ships, AUs and prompts you can’t imagine working but will have to make them work anyway, and being open to new things helps immensely. For teammates, I’d just advise to get to know your new members, what their favourites and quirks are, and be ready to answer questions.

What role does the head student have when it comes to team stuff?

I’d say being a head student is not that much different from being a normal student in terms of what you’re doing within the team (in essence, you’re still doing all the motivation and brainstorming and everything I’ve told you about above). The difference is the amount of responsibility you have. If somebody’s submitting late, you should be the first one to ask them if everything’s alright or if they need any help. Same with a student that goes MIA. There is a bit of leadership involved, when deciding how to go about tasks that involve the whole team, but it’s more about having that extra responsibility to keep the team together and keep everyone happy within the team (even going as far as to resolve disputes, if need be).

What kinds of problems would you prefer your fellow team mates would take to the headmistress instead of coming to you as the head?

In resolving issues as a head students, I’m mostly thinking about minor issues like technical stuff within fics, disagreements about how to complete a task and the like. When it comes to more personal stuff, like a teammate having a problem with another teammate, I’d be very careful with the authority I have. If it’s something that can be resolved via DM’ing the people involved without including anyone else, I would deal with it, but would definitely tell the Headmistress about it. If it’s something that warrants more than a courteous DM, or if it includes students from other schools, then it’s not within my authority to make a decision.

What would your advice be to someone who has problems with one of their teammates, head student or even the headmistress?

Approach the person you have a problem with at first. Explain the problem, ask if anything can be done, or if you could discuss the problem (in DM’s or on Discord, for example). If you don’t find a solution, dependent on who you have a problem with, send a message to the person one above (teammate < head student < headmistress < another headmistress you trust).

If you don’t find a solution, dependent on who you have a problem with, send a message to the person one above (teammate < head student < headmistress < another headmistress you trust).

-Sophie

You’ll notice that I’m rather picky about keeping issues in DMs. This is because when a problem blows up, it’s never good for anyone. The people included will get offended, the reputation of the forum will be tarnished, and there will be a rumour mill, and these are the kinds of things I would never want to see in such a lovely forum as IWSC.

Communication is key, some would say 🙂 What is the biggest obstacle in a comp when it comes to teams?

TIME ZONES! Again, something the previous season’s Mahoutokoro team will remember; we had a bunch of people from the US, another bunch of people from Europe, and we also had Tiggs, now headmistress of Durmstrang, from Australia, so it was literally impossible to find a time when everyone was likely to be available. This kinda stuff really makes effective communication difficult.

Imagine, I write to somebody to ask how their story is coming along, but they are busy or asleep, and by the time they reply, I am the one busy/asleep, so we never get to discussing stuff. It’s unfortunately something we don’t really have control over, but something worth considering at the beginning of the season. If there are lots of people from different time zones, it might be worth setting up a routine meeting of sorts once or twice a week at set times.

Last but not least: What is your ultimative advice on team building?

Be committed to your team! You can make amazing friends here on FFN (shout out to Jenny!), and we’re all here to enjoy writing fanfiction, so this is really an open place where you shouldn’t be afraid of being yourself. Approach your team and the comp with this mindset, and it will be very easy to make a cohesive team that works like a well-oiled machine 😉

Our Bullying Procedure

  • If there is an issue in your team, please report it right away, the people below can be contacted, based on who you feel most comfortable talking to.
    • Deputies.
    • Headmistresses.
    • Admins.
    • You can report anonymously through Dear Aunt Molly if you wish.
  • At the IWSC we take all issues seriously. Speak to us about it.
    • Serious bullying.
    • Feeling left out from your team.
    • Insecurities about teammates, comments or reviews.
    • Issues with a Headmistress, Headstudent or Admin.
  • Different issues often need handling in very different ways, however, we try to approach everything as a united administration team.
    • We will hear out all parties.
    • We will get a Headmistress or Admin that is able to be impartial to look at the chats, comments or reviews that are causing distress — we will always protect people’s confidentiality and this is only done to ascertain the truth and all parties will be made aware beforehand.
    • Heads and Admins may consult with Deputies.
    • Heads and Admins will discuss and try to operate democratically — voting and the majority’s decision being final.
    • We will do everything to make sure this decision is fair to everyone.
  • We will always aspire to working issues out between students and teams were possible.
    • We will, in most cases, set up a private chat with the parties involved, the Headmistress of the given school(s), and an independent member to resolve the issue.
  • When necessary, penalties will be put in place. This is not something we like to do, but sometimes the situation calls for it. Options are:
    • Suspension for a round 
    • Point deductions
    • In extreme cases someone might be asked to leave the competition entirely.
  • If a resolution has taken place, but someone still feels uncomfortable on their team, in extreme cases, we will allow a switch to take place.

The Great Book Review

These judges picks were the best of the best, according to our judges! That means that each and every one of them is worth a read. Each story was awarded 3 extra points for their judges pick, except for the overall judges pick, which will get 5 points!

Ilvermorny ~ Heartbeats by Mournful Severity

Wow, was this a breath of fresh air after so many dark and heavy stories this round! MournfulSeverity writes this tender pregnancy reveal with such insight and humor. And boy, the sweetness! I seriously think I had cavities from reading the love that exists between Molly and Arthur, despite their initial reservations about having children due to lack of money. I also loved that she looked up an etymology for Molly’s nickname, which just added to the fantastic detail of the story.

At first, we don’t know what’s going on. It just starts off with Arthur catching sight of Molly by a window, and we think that it’s going to be a moment where Arthur realizes exactly how much he loves her, but it turns away from that cliche and brings us into a deeper moment.

The story is full of humour near the end. I love the bits about Molly joking about having to explain pregnancy to Arthur, and the clever twist on the “birds and bees” conversation. All in all, the story was a wonderful read, and I will recommend it for certain to anyone who loves Molly and Arthur.

~ Headmistress Hope

Hogwarts ~ Freedom by Always a Dragon – OVERALL JP

It is a brave move to put the reader in the perspective of a villain, it is a brilliant move if it offers a new view to the story we are so familiar with. Barty Crouch Jr. is one of the most loyal followers of the Dark Lord and yet, throughout the story by Always a Dragon, it dawns on the reader with quiet horror how a once innocent and unloved boy became so much like his master. 

The introduction of this story is strong, pulling the reader in with a mixture of nerve-wrecking anticipation and glimpses of emotional turmoil in the main character that makes us want to know more about Barty. 

In the following, we learn more about his history, his troubled relationship with his father and how he slowly grew cold and indifferent towards his parents without ever losing the pain of never experiencing parental love. 

In the end, we fear his failure and we feel his triumph. But we never forget the tragedy of his personal history that lead to him becoming the person he is.

~ Headmistress Lun

Beauxbatons ~ Don’t Let Them Look Through the Curtains By Paceso

This cleverly-written piece by Paceso gives us not only a rare look into the Dumbledore family, but also shows us a perspective we haven’t seen before – that of Aberforth. This story took a cynical, angry old man and showed us the loving, compassionate boy he once was. Paceso has shone a bright light on Aberforth’s bitterness towards his elder brother, and shows the stark differences between them. 

Paceso handles Albus with extreme care, showing us his early skill at manipulation, but also taking care to showcase a softer side he hid from both his family and the wider wizarding world. This moment in the Dumbledore family’s life foreshadows the position and power that Albus wields through three wizarding wars, but also gives away a part of him that Harry only ever gets to glimpse at. 

At its core, this story is a revealing commentary on the secrets that we all keep, and who we may be hurting by doing so. Paceso forces us to look not only at the truth about the Dumbledores but also the truth about ourselves. 

~ Admin Georgie

Mahoutokoro ~ Like Father Not Like Son By Ninja Devil

As soon as I saw who the author of this story was by, I got excited! Ninja writes some of the best stories, and I always thoroughly enjoy her work. So with that being said, I couldn’t wait to start reading this story! As usual, Ninja didn’t disappoint either. 

Like Father Not Like Son was a real tear-jerker! My poor heart went out to Draco as he remembered how his own father had been during his childhood. Despite the fact that Lucius didn’t mean to act the way he did due to the fact he was tired, unfortunately he still acted rashly towards his son – despite the fact he hadn’t seen him in six months. 

I love how Narcissa stands up to her husband and tells him off for his actions! Good bit of girl power right there! 

I loved the description of the huge bay window, that sounds like a huge slice of heaven to me! I love how in the end, during the thunderstorm, both parents soothe the boy when he’s frightened by the storm, that gave me such a warm fuzzy. 

Then the epilogue, oh my! I love that Draco remembered what had been meted out to himself during that summer after his first year at Hogwarts, and made sure that he would never be like his father, that he could make the time to listen to his son there and then. Very well done Ninja!  

~ Headmistress Claire

Durmstrang ~ Finding the Truth by Ginnys01

This story was definitely the mystery that the genre promised. I was clueless for a while, had theories part way through, and at the end the resolution was very satisfying. 

The story really does start with the action. You are thrust into the situation, much like our leading lady, Luna Lovegood, when we awakes in a prison of somesort. She is slowly given scraps of information, which you the reader will piece together, earlier on getting it wrong, and later getting closer to the mark. There are detailed descriptions, allowing the reader to feel more immersed in the story. The way the narrative twists and turns with Luna running through the unknown dungeon, you get a real sense for what she’s going through too. 

This isn’t a story you want to thoroughly explain, because the joy is in the wondering. Luna not only finds herself trapped with no explanation, but there are whispers of a secret. Who was in Cell 13? Was someone with her? Or is the secret about Luna herself? To find out, you will have to read it, and I promise it will be worth it.

~ Headmistress Verity

Writing School – Honourable Mentions

This Tumbling World by Always a Dragon

This story was singled out from the Writing School edition for a few reasons. Mainly because it’s a bloody good read! Some comments from the judge include: ‘It’s so good I could feel Emilia’s desperation’; ‘showing a mastery of “show don’t tell”’ and the stunning metaphors and comparisons made this OC fic one that stood out from the crowd!

The Demise of Innocence by KeepSmiling

This is the second story that was singled out in our writing school challenge. The judge in question referred to it as ‘pretty amazing’. It boasts excellent characterisation, and delves deeper into a well known character in a way we had not seen them before. This story stood out against a number of other excellent works, and deserves to be read.

The Great Book Review Interview 

In our next issue the overall Judges Pick winner will be featured with an interview about their writing, the winning story, and their process. The interview will be conducted by our esteemed and rather brilliant Admin: TQA! 

The overall Judges Pick winner also gets 5 bonus points, rather than 3!

The Lair of Madam Pince

Welcome to the library section. This season we are showcasing stories that you would like to have publicised, stories that you want more reviews for, and stories that you think are contenders for the IWSC Awards. If there are any stories this round that you think will fit one of the following categories, please PM us with a link.

  • Fred and Georges Award for Best Wizardly Wheezes
  • Snape’s Award for Tragic Tales
  • The Lovegood Award for Creativity

Review of the week

Let Me Be There By LunaPrinBeauty

LunaPrinBeauty has written a Marauders Era story. What makes this story stand out from the rest, is the focus on an original character called Eve Gamp. When I saw the second name, I had preconceived notions about the character, and all of them were wrong. Luna has well thought out her characters, particularly her OC. The story also features known characters such as Marlene McKinnon. It delves into a time that has less canon information, and she uses this to create her own headcanon, for example, Marlene is in Slytherin!

The story starts in the middle of the action. Your two main characters are already at Hogwarts, and instantly, she lets you know who they are; it’s all in the way that they interact. Luna quickly draws your attention to the romantic element of the story. She weaves the information you need into the narrative. This leaves the reader satisfied and feeling less like you have just had a lot of information dumped on your lap. 

LunaPrin ensures Eve Gamp is thoroughly well developed, as well as exploring new and exciting characterisation for Marlene, as so often we assume her to be in Gryffindor. LunaPrin looks at canon characters, such as Remus – another central character – she gently nods to canon traits, making them feel authentic.

With a sweet dose of romance in Chapter One of this story, I am left ready to dig into the remaining eight chapters, and there are more to come, as it is not marked as complete! If you are interested in this type of story, it’s sure to be worth a read and review. 

Hallowe’en Darkness – By Paceso

Hallowe’en Darkness is a canon-consistent fill-in story covering the 36 hours between the deaths of Lily and James and the placement of Harry on the Dursleys’ doorstep. Inconsistencies within canon itself have been explored and addressed in the author’s notes.

As with all of Paceso’s writing, the story is well thought-out and intriguing. All 22,000 words hold your attention, and tell you everything you wondered about those fateful hours after Harry became the Boy Who Lived. This is certainly worth a read. 

Harry and Ted’s Excellent Adventures – By Janie Ohio

This is a Drarry fic, but it focuses more on the Harry/Teddy relationship. The number of amazing birthday experiences in Harry Potter’s life could probably be counted on one hand, and most of those were somewhat recent. So if he wants to give his godson the best birthday experiences he’s never had, who is going to stop him? Certainly not Teddy, because turning seven is EXCELLENT!

Dear Aunt Molly

Dear Aunt Molly is our agony aunt article. You can send fictional character concerns, or even real worries and get an agony aunt respose. These can be anonymous, or from named characters. Send them all to the competition account with the subject ‘Dear Aunt Molly’.

Hello dears, it has come to my attention lately that there has been some issues with beta work and how it is being done. So I wrote this article in the hopes that you will find it helpful and instructive. 

  • Know your beta: How do they work? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is their work ethic like? These are all important questions that you mustn’t be afraid to ask. 
  • Set clear boundaries of your expectations: If you want your beta to only check SPaG for you, ask. If you want only suggestions made, ask. If you want your beta to insert the edits themselves, ask. Remember to use your voice. 
  • Your beta can be your cheerleader, as you can be theirs! Exchange encouragement and motivation. It can be a hard slog both writing and editing! 
  • Listen to your beta: If they’ve made a suggestion, they’ve done that for a reason. It could be that maybe you’ve used the wrong word, or the wrong piece of punctuation etc. They aren’t there to criticise, they’re there to make sure that your story flows seamlessly, and to make sure it will score the maximum amount of points. If you don’t understand why something has been changed, ask questions — don’t get irate! Remember, this person has taken the time out of their day to read your story, and correct it. 

I understand that having a story betad for the first time can be quite upsetting, but learn from it, it is one of the most important tools in a writers arsenal! 

Hope this goes some way towards helping you better understand beta etiquette. 

Aunt Molly, signing off. 

Dear Aunt Molly,
I’ve gotten into a bit of a fix, and by a bit of a fix I mean a huge problem which will change the course of my life. So I like a person. And they like me back (even though they’re holding back). But there is a tiny problem, which is that they are slightly older than me. And by slightly older I mean twice my age. Before you start to judge, please remember that love (or even attraction) do not see age or anything. They’re really nice, and they make me feel really special, and they make me really happy, and I like to think I do the same for them. But they’re a little (very) apprehensive about ‘us’ because of the age difference, and every time I suggest that we should get together they say that I deserve someone better my own age. They’re very adamant about it. Should I press it further or let them go?

Troubled Lover

Dear Troubled Lover, 

Hello dear, I would say that if they’re holding back, and seem unwilling to commit maybe they’re not the one for you! It sounds like your lover is thinking about the logistics of being in a relationship with a younger person. By that I mean there’s things that you will still want to go and do, but they won’t because they’ve either already done it, or don’t feel comfortable enough to do it. Also if you wish to start a family, perhaps they feel that they would be too old to cope and would end up with you splitting up. I think Mr. Loverman is trying to spare you that pain. I would say the sensible thing to do would be to let them go, and find yourself someone closer to your own age. But that is just my opinion. Good luck. 

Dear Aunt Molly,

I have found a wonderful wizard. Granted he is rather on the dark side on the magic spectrum but his heart is good⁠—for the most part. However, he refuses to tell me what House he was sorted into back in the day. It is rather trivial but I cannot help but wonder if he doesn’t feel comfortable telling me something as small as this then what else he could be hiding…

Should I force the matter or just drop it?

~Searching for a House?

Dear Searching for a House. 

Hello dear, that, in my opinion, is very strange indeed! No one should be ashamed of their house. Besides is it wise to be dating someone on the dark-side? I would hate for you to be hurt in any way… I would maybe drop the issue, I know you said that they have a heart of gold, but maybe not rile them! 

Dear Aunt Molly,

These tiring days have found me in a bit of a conundrum. You see, I attend a rather large school and have many great friends from all houses. However, my ex always seems to get to them first! We broke up about three months ago and it wasn’t mutual or pleasant, so he’s made it his mission to make my life miserable. It wouldn’t be so bad, except we quite literally share a dorm room with three other people.

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

In A Pickle

Dear In A Pickle. 

Hello dear, this sounds like a job for your head of house to deal with. Try talking to your friends, and tell them how you feel. If they refuse to listen to you and side with your ex-boyfriend then they weren’t really your friends to begin with. I hope this helps!

Character Profiles

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Kingsley Shacklebolt is quite a mysterious character. Known for having an extraordinarily calming effect on those around him, so much so that even the Dursleys were willing to tolerate him over other wizards.

Despite being a fairly late presence in the series, Kingsley left his mark in that time, joining the Order of the Phoenix in 1995 after being convinced by Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore. Head of the Auror Department at the time, he and fellow Auror Nymphadora Tonks worked as moles within the Ministry which exercised a smear campaign against Harry.

Kingsley was particularly useful to the new Order because as well as being a member of the Advance Guard to get Harry to Grimmauld Place, he fed false information to the Ministry about the whereabouts of Sirius Black during the search. A skilled wizard, Kingsley took part in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Astronomy Tower Battle. Such was his skill that he was eventually assigned to protect the Muggle Prime Minister after Voldemort’s return was publicly accepted under the guise of his new secretary.

After Dumbledore’s death, Kingsley took on more of a leadership role. He was also the one who warned the attendants of Bill and Fleur’s wedding that Rufus Scrimgeour had been killed and that Death Eaters were on the way. This gave many people time to escape, or enough time to arm themselves at the very least. During the war, he went into hiding along with most of the Order, after nearly being caught when he broke the Taboo on Voldemort’s name. We can assume he was with Fred and George, as he was a regular presence on their radio show Potterwatch, where he took the nickname Royal.

Kingsley was quickly informed that Harry and the DA were going to make a stand, and arrived shortly to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. Taking groups of students to fight in the grounds, he is the last person to have seen Remus Lupin alive, fighting Antonin Dolohov. After the battle had ceased and broken out again, he, along with Minerva McGonagall and Horace Slughorn, fought Voldemort until Harry stole his attention. 

After the battle and the end of the war, Kingsley was made the new Minister of Magic and spent most of his later life restoring the Wizarding World back to full operation. His heroic actions earned him great renown long into his life.

There is only one really great headcanon concerning Kingsley. As his age is never specifically stated, it is possible he was the fifth student in the Marauder’s dormitory. It seems likely, as a few times, despite his normally austere facade, he cracks some jokes. In the movies, he even gets some extra laughs, taking Phineas Nigellus’ line about Dumbledore having style.

Some ideas to explore for him are mostly concerning his early life. Where did he grow up? What made him reject pureblood mania? How was he convinced to join (or rejoin) the Order of the Phoenix? Alternately, his later years. What did he have to do in order to bring a ruined world back even stronger than before? Why did he retire, and how did he get on with his successor, Hermione Granger?

Creative Corner

Meme-Challenge

Welcome to the Creative Corner, where we show off all your lovely fanart and poetry, and where you can earn some extra points by joining in a creative challenge! This round the challenge will earn each participant 5 points for simply submitting! The winner of the challenge will be featured in the next issue and will get themselves another 5 points!!

Smiles, giggles and silliness galore! Memes make us laugh, they help us to share what we love in a fun and exciting way, bringing people together. For the next creative challenge of the year, we want to see the most hilarious, relatable, cheesy, or even cringeworthy Harry Potter memes you can come up with! You could use a screen grab from a movie, character pictures, or images of your own artistic creation. Like any good challenge, there are rules to follow for submission:

1.    These memes must be of your own creation. No copying, we don’t want to be able to find the same one on Google!

2.    Make sure it is appropriate for the competition. We only allow T rated stories, ensure your memes are the same!

3.    Memes are fun, community building creative content. Offensive jokes will be disqualified.

To enter the challenge, send your masterpiece to us at wizardingschoolchampionship@gmail.com. The deadline for meme submissions is 11th Feb so get creating!

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

In the last issue of the WWN we asked you to send in some of your favorite quotes, but in your own artistic way! In our online blog we will be featuring some of the submissions and highlighting the Issue 1 Winner!

Congratulations to Socrates from Mahoutokoro on winning the iconic quotes challenge and 5 additional  points for her team!

The background image was taken by Socks, reminding her of the Hogwarts Express.
The combination of the self-made picture and the thought behind it as well as the fitting colours and script for the quote made us chose this as the winner of the quotes challenge!

Other submissions

Honourable mention: This hand-drawn masterpiece by ReadBooksWriteThings – Durmstrang
Liz Jean Tonks – Mahoutokoro
Arasulgil – Beauxbatons
Lady Sloane – Beauxbatons
NinjaDevil – Mahoutokoro

Emmaline Vance – Mahoutokoro
QuickSilverFox – Hogwarts
Little Tee – Ilvermorny
Hemlockconium – Beauxbatons

Fanart

Ron Weasley by Always a Dragon
Luna Lovegood Edit by NinjaDevil

Luna Lovegood Edit 2 by NinjaDevil
Harry Potter by Lillian Smith

Send in your own Harry Potter artwork, photographs and designs for us to decorate our WWN and feature on Instagram. As a reward, you will get some extra points! 5 points for each submitted artwork (Artwork already submitted in Season 1 is excluded from this).

With our deepest sympathy

The wizarding world is filled with magical and non-magical familiars that we fall in love with like Hedwig, that we find funny like Crookshanks, that we are afraid of like Aragog. But even the worst of them are still held dear to the characters that own them and so it breaks our heart to read about Hagrid losing his long-tim friend, even if it is a murderous spider.

Many of us know how it feels to lose a pet, how much it hurts to not have a Philosopher’s Stone to keep them with us for as long as we wish to. So let us together say good bye to Li Si, Liz’ guinea pig that passed away recently, leaving a gap that no one will be able to fill.

Liz wrote a little goodbye message that we offered to publish here as a last wave upwards to heaven where Li Si is now watching over Liz.

Li Si, pet of Liz Jean Tonks – Mahoutokoro

“Strong I am with the Force, but not that strong.”

Yoda

I was thinking about this quote by Yoda a lot the last days. To me, it perfectly sums up Li Si’s overall condition before she passed away. She was a strong warrior, but time and age are stronger. I’ll never know how old she’s been exactly, since I got her from an animal shelter and they found her in front of their gate and couldn’t guess her age, but she was presumably 8 years or even way older, which is pretty old for a guinea pig. I had her for five years and she’s always been a wonderful friend.

When I got her, I had no idea that she’d turn into my best friend. Unlike the other guinea pigs I’ve had so far she really seemed to like humans and came up to me even if I didn’t have any food with me. I had always figured that out of the three (Krabat, Momo, Li Si) she’d be the first to go, because she always seemed so old and she later also had troubles wit her heart, but she proved me wrong.

When Krabat and Momo died, she lost a lot of weight and got weaker, and I thought I’d lose her. But she made her way through that time and got better. Last summer I got Mia and Dracula from the animal shelter. Mia wasn’t nice to her at all, but after a while, she accepted Li Si, at least most of the time – she never completely stopped teasing her.

Dracula and Li Si grew very close and became best friends. Nevertheless, Li Si got weaker and weaker the last months. She’s been losing weight and on top of her weak heart she also had troubles with her jaw. But she never stopped fighting. About eight weeks ago, there was a moment where I thought the day had come – she was so weak that she couldn’t even walk properly and she didn’t want to eat. I was so scared, but once more Li Si proved me that she was a strong girl. Within a few hours, she was okay again.

She fell asleep on the 10th of January and the cage and my room have never been the same since. I don’t think I’m able to put my emotions into words, but I don’t think I need to. I’m sure most of you know how it feels to have lost someone you love and we all know the quote by Albus Dumbledore:

“You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death by the pain of it.”

Albus Dumbledore

Birthday Announcements

Happee Birthdae to You!

We have so many wonderful people who have celebrated their birthday in January, and who are celebrating their birthdays this month. We’d love to wish them all a wonderful day!

January – You share your birthday with Severus Snape (9th), Gilderoy Lockhart (26th), and Lily Evans (30th)

Ruhi (Hogwarts) 

Liz Jean (Mahoutokoro) — 13th

February – You share your birthday with Arthur Weasley (6th) and Luna Lovegood (13th)

Sloane (Beauxbatons) — 27th

The International Wizarding School Competition League Table

School PlaceOverall Points Story PointsExtra Points MVP
Beauxies1st Place341188153JanieOhio
Hoggies2nd Place 293199.593.5QuickSilverfox
Hooties3rd Place 259.75185.2574.5Ninja
Ilvies4th Place189139.549.5Little Tee
Durmies 5th Place 174.25111.7562.5Ginny01

Trivia and Puzzles

Welcome to the Trivia and Puzzle section of the WWN. As usual anyone that answers the trivia correctly within the first 48 hours, will have their name put into an internet hat! A random number generator will then pick up to 3 names! (this is depending on how many people submit answers, if only 3 people submit, we will choose only one name).

  1. In which book was Gryffindor Vs Ravenclaw a chapter? 
  2. What is the name of Aragog’s wife? 
  3. What wood was Lily Evan’s wand made from? 
  4. Which Quidditch team did Oliver Wood go on to play for after leaving Hogwarts? 
  5. What were the names of the two positions Dolores Umbridge held at the Ministry of Magic? 
  6. Who was the Ravenclaw captain when Gryffindor beat them in the Quidditch Cup? 
  7. Name all of the people who were Sorted before Hermione Granger 
  8. Who were the two Gryffindor Beaters when Harry was Captain? 
  9. What is the password to get from Hogwarts to Hogsmede? 
  10. Who was the referee at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup? 

Harry Potter Word Wheel

The student that can make the most words from this word wheel will get the points! That means only one winner unless you tie with someone. The rules for a word wheel are:

  1. You can only use each letter once
  2. The central letter must be in every word
  3. You are not limited to Harry Potter words

Feel free to contribute to other aspects of the paper by sending a private message to the Competition account. We are always looking for pieces of fanart, and even your thoughts or recommendations. Even if you want to send a message to someone in the competition that you think has excelled, or maybe they helped you out? Send it to Aunt Molly! Anything else should be sent to Wizarding School Championship. In the Subject should be Wizarding World News: [Name the section of the paper you are writing about] depending on what you’re messaging about.

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