A Darker Nightmare by Nagini Riddle

Rated: 3rd-5th Years •
Summary: Her heavy despondent face stared morosely at the thick dust on the wooden floors. Just dust. Dust covering up the wear and tear of poverty. Dust proving the abandonment and desolation of happiness and love. Dust, dust, dust.

She herself was a mess. True, she was slightly more clean than her father or brother, but still, dirt stuck to her pale skin. Dirt covering up the wear and tear of poverty. Dirt proving the abandonment and desolation of happiness and love. Dirt, dirt, dirt.

Second entry written for the Boggart Challenge in the Great Hall.

Dark Side by Nagini Riddle

Rated: 1st-2nd Years •
Summary: Merope's deception is eating away at her, and runs its fateful course. The title of the poem is borrowed from Kelly Clarkson's song, "Dark Side."

To Fear the Flame by Acacia Carter

Rated: 3rd-5th Years •
Summary: Neville hadn't expected his boggart to ever change. Perhaps he should have done.

The Hawthorn Root by opti

Rated: 6th-7th Years •
Summary: The Hawthorn tree is the Celtic symbol of consequence, relationships, and contradiction. It's the symbol of juxtaposition, and also of balance. The beautiful blossoms of the tree are nestled deep within razor-sharp thorns. Despite the harshness of the opposites, it still manages to become reborn each year as the wondrous being of nature we see it as.

Marriage, like the Hawthorne, is rarely -- if ever -- simple. Sometimes the roots decay and the structure dies, and other times the harmony of the union of opposites is enough to keep it alive year after year. Ron and Hermione Weasley's marriage is one such sapling, but will their case be one among the beautiful boughs? Or will it lie dead and trodden upon, long forgotten by time?

This is opti from Hufflepuff House writing for the Great Hall Chaptered Challenge. Prompt: Bonded.

This Is It, Boy, This Is War by silverlining95

Rated: 6th-7th Years •
Summary: 'This is it, boys, this is war... what are we waiting for?
Why don't we break the rules already?'

*

As Michael Corner enters his seventh year at Hogwarts, he knows the world around him is changing, and not for the better. He also knows that when the time comes he will fight, but until then the most important thing is keeping himself and those who mean the most to him alive.

*

'Funny, isn't it, how for a Ravenclaw you're awfully fond of self-preservation.'
'I prefer to think of it as using my head rather than relying on a foolhardy sense of bravery.'

*

A companion piece to The Fire I Yearn For . It's not strictly necessary to read that first, though it may help you understand the events that unfold.

News to Report by Tatty

Rated: 3rd-5th Years •
Summary: Ginny let her temper get the better of her, and said something she shouldn't have to Romilda Vane, who works for Witch Weekly. It's going to be in the news, and now she has to admit it to Harry first - but its not a conversation she's looking forward to. Rated for the implied relationship between the characters, though both are over 18. Takes place 3 years after the DH battle, epilogue disregarded and Fred still alive.

The Art of Communication by MetamorphmagusLupin

Rated: 1st-2nd Years •
Summary: AU. Four years after Severus Snape's life changed very much for the better, he has a very interesting conversation with his daughter. One shot. A glimpse into my Severus and Zoe series. Zoe's mine, everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

Much More Than A Game by Hypatia

Rated: 6th-7th Years •
Summary:
“Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.”
-Dumbledore, HBP, ch 13

Dumbledore was rarely wrong, only once did Lord Voldemort desire a friend. It started out as only a game, but became so much more…

This is the story of how the teenaged Tom Riddle met a unique individual and slipped from cold indifference, to affection, to friendship, to romance. Discover how even Voldemort’s cold and callow heart was once broken beyond repair. This is for anyone curious about how an imperfect love warped and twisted a corrupt young man into the Dark Lord.

Introductions by MetamorphmagusLupin

Rated: 3rd-5th Years •
Summary: AU. The war is over and life continues on. But things are unlikely to be quiet and uncomplicated in the life of Severus Snape, for incredible changes often come about when one is least expecting them.

Life in Technicolor by Nagini Riddle

Rated: 1st-2nd Years •
Summary: He is trudging forward, heart beating, the truth of it all washing over him- neither can live, while the other survives...

Written for the Magic in Music challenge in the PA.