Welcome to the 2025 Q1 Short Story Competition!

Topic(s):
Ron Weasley, the match-maker
-OR/AND-

A Magical Children's Tale (ie: Deathly Hallows)

Word count: 2.5k max (no minimum)
​

Last competition had a fantastic turnout and I'm ready for more. This time I picked four prompts from the prompt thread, as it's been awhile since we've used them. If you have no interest in even wanting to write, don't vote.

Deadline: March 15th at 11:59PM Eastern time.​

Voting: March 16th-March 30th ​

Send your stories to @Lindsey once you're done. Authors will be kept anonymous between the two of us, and I will not know who you are until after the competition has ended. Feel free to claim credit for your story if you want it but we'll keep it confidential otherwise.

Feel free to use beta-readers but don't put your competition entry in WbA until after voting has ended. If you figure out who one of the entrants is then don't tell everyone else.

Voting Rules

• Read and review all entries, leaving at least 200 words of useful feedback.
  • Put the bulk of your review into a spoiler tag.
• After you have read and reviewed ALL entries, post in this thread with your top three stories ranked.
  • Please link to your reviews when you do this.

A guide on "how to review" in general is available here. We'd prefer that you not bias yourself by reading other reviews before making your own, but that choice is yours.

One of the rewards for authors participating in this competition is the feedback, critique, and overall useful commentary on their work. Don't dial it in. If you don't know how to leave useful feedback then comment on the plot, pacing, characters, prompt usage, and anything else that comes to mind. You'll find that 200 words flies by.

If you rank a story as #1 it will get 3 points, #2 will get 2 points, and #3 will get 1 point. Highest score wins. There will always be a winner. There may or may not be a runner up, depending on the number of entries and how close they are.

Got an idea for a future prompt? Put it in this thread!

 

We will try something a little different sometime and have two separate prompts to pick from.

The winners are:

Ron Weasley, the match-maker
-OR/AND-
A Magical Children's Tale (ie: Deathly Hallows)
​

To help inspire ideas, here are some from chat GPT. You are welcome to use any of them.

Ron Weasley, the match-maker

1. Love Potion No. 9¾ (Lighthearted Comedy)
Ron starts a matchmaking business using his knowledge of love potions from Fred and George’s stockpile. He swears he only uses them to “nudge” people in the right direction, but things spiral hilariously out of control when two potions mix and create an outbreak of misplaced infatuations across Diagon Alley. Hermione finds out and forces Ron to clean up the mess while navigating love-struck witches and wizards, including a goblin who’s fallen for a dragon tamer.

2. The House-Elf Love Pact (Whimsical Adventure)
While visiting Hogwarts, Ron overhears two house-elves wishing they could find companions outside the castle. Feeling guilty about the limited lives of house-elves, he secretly starts arranging meetings between free elves and those still serving wizards. But when Ron’s matchmaking causes tension between rival elf families, he must delve into their ancient traditions and play peacemaker at a chaotic elf wedding in the kitchens.

3. A Dragon’s Heart (Romantic Drama)
Charlie Weasley has never settled down, much to his family’s exasperation. Ron takes it upon himself to find his older brother the perfect match, enlisting the help of Luna Lovegood. Together, they pair Charlie with a magizoologist who shares his passion for dragons. But as Ron meddles deeper, he uncovers the real reason Charlie avoids relationships: a tragic loss he’s never shared. Ron’s attempts to fix things risk driving his brother further away.

4. The Auror’s Secret (Mystery with a Romantic Twist)
Ron, now an Auror, accidentally uncovers a clandestine relationship between two Ministry officials while investigating a missing magical artifact. Intrigued, he starts playing matchmaker with other coworkers, creating a network of secret office romances. But Ron’s meddling inadvertently exposes a hidden spy within the Ministry who’s been using these relationships to gather intel for dark forces. Ron must undo the chaos he’s caused while protecting those he’s tried to help.

5. Ron’s Quidditch Dating Service (Sports Comedy)
When Ginny suggests Ron help her single teammates find love, he starts organizing Quidditch-themed speed dating events. However, things go hilariously wrong when Ron pairs the wrong players together, leading to disastrous misunderstandings both on and off the field. Ginny warns Ron to fix the drama before it ruins her team’s chemistry, forcing him to become an awkward mediator during matches and parties.

6. The Ghostly Bride (Dark and Emotional)
Ron tries to help George move on from his grief by matching him with a shopkeeper in Hogsmeade. But George’s lingering connection to Fred’s spirit causes magical mishaps during dates, leading Ron to suspect that Fred’s ghost doesn’t approve. Determined to help his brother find happiness, Ron seeks out a spirit medium, uncovering an unexpected revelation: Fred isn’t blocking George’s love life—he’s trying to warn Ron about his own.

7. The Matchmaker’s Curse (Fantasy/Adventure)
An old hag curses Ron after he unwittingly ruins a long-standing magical marriage contract while trying to help a friend escape an arranged match. The curse forces him to play matchmaker for strangers across Britain to restore balance to the magical families affected. With Hermione rolling her eyes but reluctantly assisting, Ron travels the countryside, learning about magical lineages, cursed bloodlines, and the true power of love—and humor—along the way.


A Magical Children's Tale (ie: Deathly Hallows)
1. The Three Brothers of Ygris Moor
An old folktale warns of three brothers cursed for trying to summon a thunder god. Their statues stand in Ygris Moor, petrified mid-scream. Eileen Bramble, a Ministry archivist, discovers the tale was propaganda created by an ancient family to protect a treasure hidden beneath the moor. She uncovers that the brothers weren’t cursed—they’re still alive, frozen in time. As the enchantments weaken, the brothers begin waking, and their return might unearth a long-buried conflict.

2. The Tale of the Thistlekin (Lighthearted)
A children’s story about mischievous Thistlekin—tiny magical creatures that grant good luck in exchange for shoes—captures the imagination of Luna Lovegood’s son, Lorcan Scamander. When he follows clues to their “hidden kingdom,” he discovers the Thistlekin are real but not quite what the stories claim. They don’t grant luck—they steal it from others, redistributing it as pranks. Lorcan must convince them to return the stolen luck before it causes chaos in Diagon Alley.

3. The Whispering Grove (Dark)
A chilling legend warns of a cursed forest where travelers vanish, lured by voices whispering their greatest desires. Ginny Weasley’s brother-in-law, Charlie, investigates after a dragon handler disappears. He learns the voices come from enchanted trees that were once wizards who tried to cheat death. They offer Charlie a grim deal: feed them a willing victim, and they will release the dragon handler—or risk becoming one of them.

4. The Laughing Chalice (Mystery/Intrigue)
A magical pub in Knockturn Alley displays a relic called the Laughing Chalice, said to reveal anyone’s deepest secret when they drink from it. Draco Malfoy investigates after his son, Scorpius, drinks from the chalice and begins dreaming of a hidden, enchanted castle. The “secrets” it reveals turn out to be fragmented visions of memories the chalice has absorbed over centuries. Unraveling its history takes Draco into a web of forgotten betrayals and ancient power plays.

5. The Tale of Lady Marrow (Haunting and Poignant)
A ghost story tells of Lady Marrow, a witch who sold her bones for immortality and haunts children who stray too far from home. Dennis Creevey, working as a photographer for The Daily Prophet, stumbles upon her legend while covering a magical artifact exhibition. He discovers Lady Marrow was real, but her haunting is a plea for justice: her bones were stolen to create dark artifacts, and she haunts those connected to the theft.

6. The Gilded Cage (Lighthearted Adventure)
An ancient tale speaks of a bird-shaped locket that grants whoever wears it “freedom of the skies.” When a young Auror named Farrah Aziz investigates a series of thefts in a wizarding market, she finds the thieves were after the Gilded Cage. Farrah steals it back, only to discover its magic turns the wearer into an actual bird. Trapped in bird form, she must navigate the magical city’s rooftops, solve the thefts, and reclaim her human shape.

7. The Black Lake’s Secret (Dark/Tragic)
A Hogwarts ghost tells students about a lost city beneath the Black Lake, destroyed by a jealous mermaid queen. Neville Longbottom, now a professor, investigates strange disturbances in the lake and uncovers the truth: the city’s destruction wasn’t caused by the mermaid queen but by an ancient Hogwarts Headmaster, who sank the city to protect the school. Neville must decide whether to reveal the truth, knowing it will destroy the legacy of Hogwarts’ founder.

8. The Hollow Hearthstone (Dark/Thriller)
An old Celtic tale tells of the Hollow Hearthstone, a magical relic that can bring a loved one back from the dead for one hour. A grieving parent, Penelope Clearwater, finds the stone and resurrects her son. But she discovers the tale omitted a key detail: the dead brought back this way hunger for life and will do anything to stay. Penelope must face the horrifying truth of her choice while protecting the world from her son's new nature.

9. The Dreamer’s Compass (Light Adventure)
A bedtime story tells of a magical compass that points to the heart’s greatest desire. Newt Scamander’s granddaughter, Lily Scamander, stumbles upon it during an expedition. Instead of desires, it points to forgotten magical creatures in need of help. She realizes the compass was an enchanted relic used by an ancient magical protector to preserve endangered species and sets out to finish its mission.

10. The Nightcloak Legend (Mysterious/Thrilling)
A myth from Eastern Europe tells of the Nightcloak, a garment woven from shadows that lets its wearer pass unseen and unscathed through any battle. Viktor Krum, now a retired Quidditch player, hears whispers that the cloak is real and hidden in Durmstrang. Investigating, he discovers it wasn’t a tool of peace but a weapon of betrayal, used by an infamous headmaster to assassinate rivals. As Krum searches for the cloak, he realizes others are hunting it too, for far darker purposes.