August Writing Challenge

--

This is the rules post and a few opening challenges. Feel free to expand and add your own.

--

We're aiming to produce serious oneshots. These are the restrictions:
​

1.) No challenges for pairings.
2.) No comedies.
3.) No quote challenges.
4.) The Dresden Files can be included into this challenge in any form.
5.) No WTF stories. You know what I mean. (Harry deciding to hump his owl, etc.)
6.) The minimum is 2500 words. It can be bent, but not too far.
7.) Harry-centric stories are not required.

--

Challenge Format
​

--

Write a brief summary, as if you were describing your story on PatronusCharm. Keep it brief.

Elaborate below it on what you expect, and mention the genre, characters involved, and the mood. If you have any special requests, keep them relevant and reasonable. Don't be too demanding - remember, the contestants are writing One-Shots. If you demand too much, they'll be writing around your numerous requirements and not producing a quality story that actually flows and makes sense.
​

Here are three. They are full Dresden stories:

--


Harry Dresden never quite forgot the feeling of Red Court Venom....
​

Dresden's encounter with the Red Court's venom leaves him aching for more. The genre would be noir, and the ending should be mostly negative. Bianca's gone, so I'd imagine you'd have to choose some generic vampire or have Harry hunt Red Court vampires for reasons other than saving innocents.

--
​

"You will be mine, Harry. No man shall ever live a more pleasant existence." The Leanansidhe is a master of manipulation. Harry finds out the hard way as he slips into her gentle, loving hands...
​

The Leanansidhe makes it clear she wants Harry to be 'under her protection'. She promises him a life of ultimate safety, fulfillment, and pleasure, but Harry knows it has a cost of self-determination. The story would focus on Harry when he's finally forced to pay his debt. The ending can be either triumphant (Harry struggles against the overwhelming pleasures of belonging to the Leanansidhe's and gains his freedom once more), or tragic. (He doesn't and reflect upon this loss).

--


Harry had always trusted Bob explore in Mister's body. But he finds that letting Bob inhabit his body for a difficult spell is an entirely different matter. Bob doesn't want to leave.

Harry's always been a bit cautious with Bob (less so in recent books), but it isn't that much of a stretch to let Bon in for awhile to do some difficult spellwork. Bob abuses Harry's trust and perhaps his desperation in getting something done to get in Harry's body. But Harry finds that the spirit of a centuries old evil necromancer can't ignore the chance he's given at freedom. This can also turn out tragic or triumphant - perhaps Bob leaves on his own accord after some deed he completes as Harry.
​

 

I like this idea. Harry can't forcibly evict him, so he has to kill him. Mental battle and all that. Conservation of energy being what it is, Bob's power and knowledge stick around even after the intelligence keeping it together is defeated. Harry gets a boost to his air magic equivalent to what hellfire did with his fire magic, all the knowledge Bob had slowly gets digested, and (arguably most interesting) Harry becomes a horny bastard.

Not exactly a super!Harry story, as all of Bob's knowledge wouldn't be dumped into his conscious mind at once - it would take time to digest, be translated into human thought processes from that of an elemental being. That and Harry would become slightly easier to manipulate from the various femme fatales that are running around, would find himself somewhat alienated from Michael after he can't quite muster the willpower to turn down a certain offer his daughter made, and learning to automatically trust alien knowledge that materialises in your mind could turn out to be very, very bad.

Oh, and if this is before Dead Beat, Harry having native knowledge of the necromantic shenanigans going on lurking in the back of his brain could lead to him taking tentative steps down an unexplored area of magic. Not to mention the interesting implications of a Harry with prior experience of defeating and consuming mental invaders encountering Lasciel's shade...

This completely bypasses what was probably the original intent of the challenge - the mental battle with Bob - and skips straight to the fallout, and by it's very nature it flips the bird at the word limit... but hey. Inspiration struck.

 

Write it Tehan. Write it.

 

OK, I'm going to throw an idea out, hope something good comes out of it.

Harry Potter decided to pick his brain back up during HBP. He did not wait to take Felix Felicis until the last moment. How much impact will Harry Potter's Lucky Day have on the world?

This should preferably be a semi-serious, none-angsty happy tale. Love Potion plots are optional, but they are not intended as a focus. My only requirement is that Draco and Snape get what they rightfully deserve.

 

Harry first noticed it in his sixth year defense class, during a display of dueling lessons. Malfoy's questionable curse had no effect at all when he failed to block it. 'Great,' he thought. 'Something else to alienate me.' But it wasn't him this time.

This should be a post-discovery story. A living entity of some sort, be it an energy-based symbiotic life form, or a physical-world parasite, should have attached itself to Harry. The choice is yours. The majority of this piece should revolve around Harry and the entity's first interaction, from either perspective.

The most unique way, probably, would be to go from it's point of view.

 

Well, Tehan?

Are you going to seize upon the challenge or not?

 

Five years after Hogwarts and Voldemort's fall, Hermione vanishes. Years later, she shows up in Head Auror Harry's office with the case of a life time: there's a magic using robot on the loose.

Basically, Harry is hunting for a magic using robot (Hermione's brain child) that can pick up magical skills and spells from seeing or experiencing them. No pairing necessary. it's I Robot meets Harry Potter. Be creative!

 

No way I could do that as a oneshot. It's too fun, and would change too many things in too interesting a way. I'll throw it on my to-do pile as a multi-chapter if no-one else wants it.

However, I'll dig up my old farmer!Harry oneshot and polish it up for this.