Round Three - The Magic Box, Collaborative Fan Fiction Options

[evlpez]

A Magic Box has been left on the head table in the Great Hall. One by one, characters pick up the box, speculate on its contents and leave it in another location. It's clearly marked "Wizard's Box", so we know the space inside is magical and could hold just about anything. None of the characters who find the box can open it, though they will each try more than once. No charm or key works, so we never really find out what it holds inside.

• Describe finding the box in the location in which it was left in the previous post.
  
  
• What does the character(s) think or hope is inside?
  
  
• How does he/she try to open it? (Try a couple of new attempts beyond the easy choices.)
  
  
• Give the box away or leave it somewhere for another character(s) to find.

Each submission in this challenge must follow the previous one, so that all of them together make one continuing story. Please do not end your submission in such a way that it is impossible for another writer to find the Magic Box and continue the story.

All submissions must have a unique title and be posted in this topic



Note to ferrets: Remember that you are writing fan fiction as though you are the Floo-Between user you've chosen. This means that if you've chosen Snape, you are writing as though Snape is writing fan fiction, not as though he is a part of the story. Each character may write as many submissions as they wish for this challenge, as long as each submission is significantly different from their others. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday December 1st.

The Voting Booth for Round 3 will open on Sunday, November 14th. Click this text to go there.

Posts which are not prefaced by the Character Form will be deleted.

When you post, you'll see a button (up by the "code" and "list" buttons) that says "blank character form." If you press that button, the form will appear in your post. Just edit in your character's details and put the body of your text in the middle. If you've chosen not to use a signature for your character, delete that part of the form.

Do not edit your submissions for this challenge once they are posted in the Forum.

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When rating submissions, please use the following score card to guide you:

Score Card

__ Ferret Points for following the mission
__ Ferret Points for technical (grammar, spelling are consistent with the author's character)
__ Ferret Points for overall creativity
__ Ferret Points for characterization
__ Ferret Points for adherence to canon
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Total out of 10 maximum Ferret Points

0 = Poor, 1 = Okay/good, 2 = Great

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[evlpez]

Proud_Pureblood

Seeker
Floo Ferret



Stupid Gryffindors

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley made their way down the stairs of the Entrance Hall, brooms in hand. They were up very early, heading out to the quidditch pitch for some pre-dawn practice, which they sorely needed as they were to play against Slytherin later that week. They really didn't have much of a chance, as Weasleys's keeper skills were still abysmal and Potter's luck on the pitch was bound to run out soon.

Neither had mentioned the Wizards' Box to the other, but as they passed the door to the Great Hall, each slowed as they noticed the box sitting on the floor near them.

"What the... I thought I..." Ron muttered.

"What's that doing here?" Harry asked in a whisper. The two looked at each other, baffled.

"Do you know anything about Wizards' Boxes, Ron?" Potter asked. Not being able to really do much of anything on his own, he hoped his friends would solve this mystery for him. "I found that last night but I couldn't open it. I thought I left it in the Room of Requirement, but it found its way here, somehow." Potter went over and picked up the box again.

"Really? I found it last night too, only I gave it to Madam Pomfrey. I wonder why she'd leave it out here for just anybody to find. Did she open it? Maybe she knows who it belongs to and left it here for them to find." Weasley began to drool a bit. He'd really hoped he would be the one to open it and find some money, but he couldn't, pathetic wizard that he is. Maybe the person who owned it would pay him a big fat reward for finding it. He started to think about all the things he could afford with the reward.

"We should take this to Hermione. She's the smart one. She'll be able to open it if anyone can. I'll bet she's read everything ever written about this sort of thing." Potter paused, running his fingers over the numerous tool marks on the box. Someone went through a lot of trouble to try and open this thing, he thought. There must be something very important inside. An idea struck Potter. He nearly fell over from the shock of it, not being used to thinking for himself.

"Ron, what if this box has something in it that we could use to defeat the Dark Lord?"

"Nah, it's probably got a bunch of money in it. Something as important as a weapon against V... Vold.. You-Know-Who wouldn't be laying around Hogwarts. It would have been by destroyed by You-Know-Who long ago; he'd never allow something like that to exist, if it ever did," Weasley reasoned.

Potter was more optimistic. Every time he'd been face to face with the Dark Lord, he'd managed to weasel his way out alive with pure dumb luck or help from someone else. This was just the sort of dumb luck he needed; to find the secret to winning inside this box. I can finally avenge my parents' deaths, he thought, a tear running down his cheek.

They agreed to take it to Granger. All the way up to Gryffindor tower Potter envisioned the hero party they would throw for him, wizards carrying him through the streets on their shoulders and chanting his name. Weasley was lost in his own thoughts; leaving the miserable shack he lived in and... and what? He wouldn't know what to do with more than two knuts to rub together.

They crept through the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room to find Granger sitting at a table already, a big stack of books in front of her.

Potter put the box on the table in front of her.

"Hermione, can you open this for us? I think it might be important," Potter said.

"Like money or something," Ron added, a bit of spittle hanging from his chin.

"It might be more important than that, Ron," Potter reminded him. He turned to Granger. "What if it's something I can use to save the world again?"

Granger laughed. "Like what, Harry, a copy of Defeating the Dark Lord for Dummies? Honestly you two, haven't you ever read a book? This is a Wizards' Box. I'm muggleborn and a witch. If you knew anything, it's that although I may be the smartest, most brilliant witch ever to attend this school, I still won't be able to open this box. Now leave me alone, I'm busy looking through these books for something I don't already know."

Weasley and Potter stood there, looking stupid. They knew she'd opened her mouth, but they didn't really understand anything she'd said.

"I know," Ron said, "Let's ask the twins! We'll leave it here with Hermione and go owl them right away and see if they have any tricks to get it open."

The boys left, forgetting their quidditch practice, and headed to the owlry.