Here's my double drabble for this year's hp_halloween fest. My recipient was my good friend iselima. She asked for "drabbles about cold, foggy, spooky nights. Romantic, angsty or melancholic."
It's not too hard to come up with foggy spookiness (or spooky fogginess) on Halloween! I've written better HP Halloween entries; I've written worse. I had fun, which is the main thing.
Title: Goodbye Characters: Filius Flitwick, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, Minerva McGonagall Rating: G Word Count: 200 Summary: Professor Flitwick and Professor Grubbly-Plank help a friend on Samhain.
This year's hp_halloween fest was its usual delight. For nine years now, I have spent October 31 kicking back in the recliner to read dozens of Halloween-themed double-drabbles. 2018 was not a disappointment: I loved the range of tones and characters. The works are so short that I get to experience all sorts of pairings that aren't in my usual circle.
My excellent gift came from none other than the fab magnetic_pole. I often put Dolores Umbridge in my list of requested characters, and this year Maggie was kind enough to scratch that particular itch for me with a revealing and complex little story -- a real treat. And very appropriate for our current dark political times. Thank you, M!
Title:The Two Faces of Power Author:magnetic_pole Characters: Dolores Umbridge, with mention of Rufus Scrimgeour, Albus Dumbledore, and Alecto Carrow Rating: G Maggie's Summary: Sometimes Halloween is a season for masks. Sometimes it isn’t.
The drabble I wrote was for honeymink, new to the fest this year. Among other fun requests, they asked for Albus and Gellert and mist. Here's the result (and my thanks to my fine beta, therealsnape):
Title:Je Ne Regrette Rien Author:kellychambliss Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald Rating: PG Summary: It always starts slowly--just an eddy of mist under the window sash. Notes: The title comes with apologies to the great Edith Piaf.
I'm a bit behind at reposting my fest entries this year. Here's my contribution to hp_halloween, the double-drabble fest that has been my Halloween tradition for quite a few years now. Written for my friend _hannelore, who asked for "fond childhood memories of holidays."
Title: Samhain's Child Characters: Minerva McGonagall, OCs Rating: G Summary: Minerva and her grandmother always spend Samhain together. Notes: My thanks to my always-excellent beta, therealsnape.
One of my favorite HP fests is hp_halloween. Participants write 200-word Halloween-themed drabbles that are all posted on -- you guessed it -- October 31.
This year, there were about 60 entries ranging from gen to standard pairings like Harry/Draco to the rarest of rarepairs, like a fascinating Dudley/Pansy. Femmeslash, het, and slash were all well-represented, and the "old ladies" had a good night overall. Minerva showed up eight times.
I wrote. . .
For my friend iselima, I wrote On Silent Haunches, featuring Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank/Minerva McGonagall. Many thanks to therealsnape for the fast and expert beta.
I received. . .
In return, I received a gift of fabulous old-lady femmeslash, beautifully written and characterized. Don't miss Yellow and Gold by sdkshelly. Minerva/Pomona.
2015 marked my sixth year of participation in hp_halloween. It's a really fun, low-pressure fest: all you have to do is to write a 200-word drabble.
I've had the chance to write all sorts of different characters and pairings: Bellatrix, Luna, the Grey Lady, Severus, Minerva/Septima, Minerva/Rolanda. I've also received some wonderful gifts, and this year's is superb: Auntie Muriel AND Bathilda Bagshot, courtesy of one of my favorite HP writers:
Since they are so short, I always have time to read and comment on all the drabbles posted, no matter what the pairing. Wow, have there been some gems over the years. Here are just a few of my favorite drabbles from the 2015 fest:
This one's just terrific -- atmospheric, layered, and beautifully characterized, all in 200 words. This writer's previous entry (2014) was also top-notch, iirc. I'm going to have to read everything they've written.
Talk about telling a full story with strong characterizations in 200 words: this one's a textbook example of how to do it right.
~ ~ ~
And here's mine for this year. It's nowhere close to my best work, but I had an ulterior motive in writing it, so I had to sacrifice quality. Don't feel you need to comment. I include it here only for posterity.
This year was my fifth to participate in hp_halloween, a delightful exchange fest in which fifty to sixty 200-word drabbles are posted all day long on Halloween. It was rainy and cold on Halloween night, so I had a fine time sitting in my cozy recliner, drinking tea, handing out candy to the local kiddie ghoulies, and reading drabble after drabble. There's always a fascinating range of pairings, ratings, and genres, and I particularly appreciate the chance to write characters who are outside my usual wheelhouse. In 2012, it was Septima Vector; last year, it was Bellatrix.
This year, it's the Grey Lady. I had the opportunity to write for pauraque, who gave me a fascinating list of characters to choose from: the Grey Lady, Luna, Lily, Hermione, and Minerva. (In a fun twist of fate, pauraque was assigned to write for me. I've linked to hir really fine drabble below, along with a few other recs).
But first, here's my own entry:
Title: Chromatic Author:kellychambliss Characters: The Grey Lady, Luna Lovegood Rating: PG Summary: Every year, the Grey Lady waits for Samhain. Notes: For some reason, writing this drabble gave me fits this year. The first version was unusable, the second was not much better, and the third. . .well, the deadline was upon me, so I had to send it out regardless! Several of you were kind enough to lend your beta expertise, and I thank you. You saved me from embarrassment: ragdoll, magnetic_pole, iselima, and Boadicea12.
Here are a few recs from the fest. I'm limiting myself to only four, because otherwise, I'd be linking to at least half the entries or more.
Let me start with my excellent gift. It's a triumph of form and content, with superb characterizations, and all in 200 words. I love it:
Title:The Margin Author:pauraque Characters: Minerva, Filius, Pomona, Severus, Horace Rating: G Summary: After the children are asleep, the Heads of House have their own Samhain ritual.
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Title:Absence Author:hikarievandar Characters: Tom Riddle, Founders Rating: G Summary: The Founders sealed the wards with their deaths, but one of them is missing. Tom finds Hogwarts’ weakness.
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Title:white as death, fresh as snow Author:lq_traintracks Characters: Narcissa, Pansy Rating: R Summary: Narcissa visits her husband's grave on Samhain... with her new lover.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Title:Dearly Beloved Author:_hannelore Characters: Neville, Augusta Rating: G Summary: Neville's Gran has always been a part of his life. Now that he's a Hogwarts professor, she couldn't be more proud. She's still a part of his life, but it's become a problem.
During my obligatory morning procrastination, I realized that I had neglected to repost my drabble from the 2011 hp_halloween fest.
Here it is:
Title: Bittersweet Pairing: Minerva McGonagall/Rolanda Hooch Rating: PG Word Count: 200 Summary: To Minerva McGonagall, the first Hallowe'en after the war is bittersweet.
Here's my drabble from this year's hp_halloween. My recipient, donnaimmaculata, listed Aberforth, Fleur, Bellatrix, Minerva, and/or Remus as her characters of choice, asked for either horror or drama as the genre, and offered "cats, haunted house, masks" as her prompts.
Well, of course I was going to write something with Minerva and flirted for a moment with the notion of a Minerva/Aberforth pairing. But then I thought, "come on, it's Halloween. And I'm being offered 'Bellatrix' and 'horror' as options. Why am I even thinking twice about what to write?"
So I came up with an over-the-top, Gothic scenario, gave Bella her mad head, and let her run with it.
Hope you enjoy it as much as she did.
(Many thanks to the excellent magnetic_pole for beta-reading.)
(Note -- It's official: pairing/characters make all the difference in terms of response. My drabble for last year, which featured Minerva/Septima Vector, got all of five comments at the comm. This year's mad Bella got 22. Of course, there could be other factors at work, too; last year's fest, iirc, was more subdued overall.)
Yesterday was hp_halloween's yearly posting of Halloween drabbles. There were nearly 60 entries, with a huge range of characters, pairings, and tones, from dark to fluffy, from gen to NC-17, from humor to heartbreak.
They came at just the right time: I was wiped out yesterday after having been at school from 7:30 am until nearly 9:00 p.m. So when I came home, I was fit for nothing but drabble-reading. I commented on every last one and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
(I got home so late that I didn't even get to hand out my Halloween candy. Now I am going to have to suffer through eating an entire bag of mini Almond Joys [though I will probably save myself from myself by taking them to school.])
Here's my own entry, written for dexstarr. I was pleased with the drabble when I sent it in to the fest, but when I read it after posting, I was less satisfied. It didn't flow as well as I'd hoped -- too abstract, I think; drabbles need to be more image-based. Still, it was fun to write, and I enjoyed characterizing Septima.
Title: Determination Pairing: Septima Vector/Minerva McGonagall Rating: PG-13 Warnings: age gap, hints of D/s and light bondage Summary: On Samhain night, it's not just the universe that is disordered. Notes: The prompt asked for "forbidden love, professors, cross-gen, femmeslash, D/s." Many thanks to my lovely beta, therealsnape. If the drabble is not perfect, it's not her fault!
I've had a successful weekend: 27 papers graded and 1200 snapelyholidays words written. Yes, I should have written more. But I didn't.
It's still Halloween for another 30 minutes (at least in my part of the world), so I thought I'd treat you to a couple of drabbles in honor of the day. (Or maybe it's actually a trick; you never know.)
I actually wrote them both for the one-day hp_halloween drabble fest; I thought a silly one and a serious one would make a be nice set of bookends.
But the trick was on me, because it turns out that we were allowed to submit only one drabble per person. So I submittted the serious one, and I was going to save the silly one until next year, when I remembered that last week's challenge for the snape100 drabble fest just happened to be. . . "Snape and Halloween."
What a treat! Now I could post both drabbles in different communities. So I did.
If you haven't had a chance to read any of the hp_halloween entries, nip on over there and enjoy yourself. They're all fun, but here are some of my favorites:
Title: With You Always Author:kellychambliss Characters: Minerva McGonagall Rating: G Summary: Minerva attends a Halloween Feast. Notes: Nimrod_9 wanted Halloween traditions, pumpkins, graveyards, loneliness. Many thanks to my excellent beta, tetleythesecond.
Oidhche Shamhna = Scottish Gaelic for the Celtic Samhain/New Year's festival.
Title: Aaaaahhhhh Author:kellychambliss Challenge: #357 -- Snape's Halloween Pairing: Snape/McGonagall Length: 100 x 2 Rating: NC-17. Ish. Warnings: Dialogue-only Summary: Ever wonder what the teachers did to celebrate Halloween after they settled the business of the troll in the dungeon? Notes: Written with much authorial snickering, lots of porn clichés, and no excuse. Many thanks to my excellent beta-reader tetleythesecond.
It was that adaptation that made me rush to the bookshop to get the book. And now that I thought of it again I checked streaming. It might be on Amazon. If so, it's official, I give up both working…
I'm usually skeptical of fiction that includes real people as characters; they're almost always present as a gimmick, not as meaningful parts of the story.
What an interesting list! I got the Lizzy Borden book on your rec years ago, it was very interesting, indeed. And I love the title of the Schuyler Sisters book. (Of course, my mental image is Bette…
hp_halloween fest. My recipient was my good friend 
iselima. She asked for "drabbles about cold, foggy, spooky nights. Romantic, angsty or melancholic."![[info]](/makepkg/implementing-https-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
