We write the fics...

Okay, so this comm hadn't been touched in ages, but I'm posting now simply because there was some fun stuff posted back in the day, and I'd hate to see it disappear. Also, it might perk up again one day, so we might as well keep it alive against that possibility. I still maintain that the concept was good- in fact, I've seen it working elsewhere, so there's no reason to think it couldn't revive one day.

*shrugs* At any rate, I don't think LJ should summarily kill this comm. Anyone else still interested?

*pokes community*

oi, let's continue this, all right?

*

'Er... absolutely nothing!' Sirius exclaimed, belatedly pushing the shovel behind his back. Tonks glared at him, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a stare that would have made most grown men quail.

Of course, most grown men didn't include the men of the House of Black, and particularly, Sirius of the House of Black. He was equally apt at this sort of game, having used it often to bully Regulus into leaving him alone, and now he shot Tonks an icy stare that actually made Slatero Qurrel shiver and slink off into the bushes.

'Nothing.'

'Nothing,' Sirius replied firmly.

'Nothing.'

'Nothing.'

'Nothing?'

Sirius rolled his eyes.

Tonks smirked.

Sirius blinked.

'Made you look away first!'

'Whatever.'

'So, cousin, tell me what you've been doing in the park all this time. I presume that you didn't come all this way just to hear Stuttero Quirrel profess his undying love for me, now, did you?'

Sirius scowled. 'If you must know, cousin, I am here on business.' He sniffed disdainfully and turned his back to Tonks. 'Very important business. More important than the little lovers' spat you just had.'

'That was not-- WE ARE NOT LOVERS!'

'From where I was standing, it didn't sound like-- oof!'

Tonks had tackled Sirius, catching him by surprise. He stumbled forward, but of course, a fourteen year old girl was no match for a fully grown wizard. Especially one like Sirius. He whipped around, swinging the shovel with him, and Tonks had to duck out of the way to avoid getting hit and more likely, knocked out.

'Oi, watch it!'

'Sorry.' Sirius paused. 'Er... why are we arguing, remind me again?'

'Because--'

'Oh, yes. That duck-footed, scaredy-cat lover of yours--'

'HE IS NOT MY LOVER! DAMMIT SIRIUS, I--'

Footsteps sounded through the park. Tonks raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who shrugged and looked around. Suddenly, he tensed, and grabbing Tonks by the sleeve of her robe, he dragged her to the thicket he had originally been hiding in and pushed her down.

'Trust Filch of all people to come here on his days off,' he muttered, peering through the branches, not paying attention to Tonks, or to the fact that she had inadvertently fallen down a frshly-dug hole.

*

Erk! All right...

Character: Stubby Boardman
Object: Spellotape



-Kiks

This is the answer to kikei  ’s challenge for an "alternate chain"

Three months had passed since Sirius’ tragic death, and nobody had been able to bring themselves to empty his bedroom. In fact, most of the members of the Order were still uncomfortable with the fact that the headquarters were located in the deceased’s very house. Some had suggested that they found another place for their meetings, but everyone knew how hard it had been, the year before, to find such a safe location, and thus, eventually, everyone had agreed to stay.

 

Tonks, to whom Sirius had bequeathed the house in his will, now stood in her late cousin’s bedroom, resolved to finally tidy up the room. “Life goes on,” she had said to Lupin before heading for Sirius’ bedroom. And it was true. Now wasn’t the time to keep tossing bitter memories. Not when You-Know-Who had returned, not when he had started to kill innocent Muggle-borns. Grieving was normal, but now they had to regain their self-control. “Sirius would have been the first one to say this,” she thought as she pushed the creaking door closed.

 

Slowly, Tonks made her way to the bed and sat there, deep in thoughts, contemplating the room. It was hard to think that Sirius would never come back there.  Suddenly, her gaze fell upon an object beneath the desk. She held out her arm to catch it, and smiled. It was a shovel, apparently very common, but Tonks recognized it. The last time she had seen it, she had been in her fourth year at Hogwarts...

 

She was walking in the park, trying to forget about what had just happened. All she wanted to do was to clear her mind. “It.has.not.happened. It.has.not.happened. It.has.not.happened.” she kept repeating under her breath, playing nervously with the Bohemian necklace that her father had brought to her from one of his “business trips” as he called them.

 

“N-N-Nymphadora! W-wait!” called Slatero Quirrell, causing her to start and to break the chain of her necklace.

 

So he had followed her…

 

She took a deep breath. “Look, Slatero, I…I am sorry. I didn’t mean to… I don’t want you to believe that… Ok, I kissed you, but it should never have happened. Never. I’m...”

 

“But N- Nymphadora…I… I l-l-l-l-love you!” he replied, stammering even more than usual.

 

They heard a noise coming from the bushes that bordered the path, then a voice Tonks recognized at once exclaimed: “You do?”, and Sirius came out of the bushes, holding something in his hands.

 

“Sirius! What are you doing here??” asked Tonks, now desperate. If her cousin had overheard that – and it was obvious that he had- , her reputation was lost.

 

Sirius grinned : “So, my dear cousin, you are dating this boy?”

 

Tonks paled. “I’m not,” she answered firmly. “I AM NOT!” she repeated when she saw the grin on Sirius’ face broaden. That’s when she saw what  he was holding. She frowned and asked : “Tell me Sirius, what exactly are you doing in the park, hiding behind bushes,  with a shovel in your hands?”

 

And this time it was Sirius’ turn to pale.

 

 

And here is my challenge for the next scene :

Character: Filch

Object: (Er... animal, rather): Duck

Your turn!

Okay, I'm thinking that, considering people might want another fic to use as a chainfic (since some people say they're not comfortable with Remus or the current fic isn't really them, etc etc), I'm inviting anyone who is willing to submit the beginning to a new fic. This time, though, I'll make it different... we'll have a challenge for each part, if that makes any sense. The writer of each scene will name a character and an object, and those two MUST be present in the next scene, even if it's just in passing. For example, if I say Character: Draco Malfoy and Object: Coat Hanger then the next scene must include Draco, and something about a coat hanger (and he's not necessarily using it to keep a coat in his closet *cough*). It'll probably result in temporary insanity, but I'm sure people will at least get a chance to write characters they feel comfortable with.

So, I'll begin with the first 'challenge':
Character: Sirius Black
Object: shovel

edit: yes, someone can nominate the same character twice in a row, but try to keep the objects from repeating themselves, won't you?

Okay, so I can't help but notice that no one has posted in a long time. And since I hate to see this community dead in the water before we've even hit 20 posts, let me pose a couple of questions:

1- Is the lack of posting due to lack of time (I know that college and university schedules can be a bear!) or lack of interest in the current chainfic?

(My thoughts on that are, if it is just a case of a story that no one is terribly interested in, we can easily pick up another one. Or even have several going at once, and just put the title in the subject line.)

2- Can anyone think of others who ought to be invited to the community? My own friends list is kinda short, and I know that there are TONS of good writers with LJs. And the whole strength of this community is the contribution of many writers; the more people involved, the more likely we are to have some good, interesting fics in motion. Which would be terribly fun for everyone, I really am convinced

3- ANY suggestions that could help get this community moving again would be greatly appreciated. Everyone seemed to like the idea originally, and I'd really love to see some posting here again. But if I'm the only one interested, please let me know, and I'll let it die in peace.

And that's it for me, for now. Please comment! If only so that I know someone is still out there...

*pokes chainfic*

-=*=-

Remus barely had time to consider the figure that had suddenly appeared in the room behind him before he was forced to cover his ears to try and block out the horrible sound of the woman screeching.

‘HALFBREEDS! MUTATIONS! HOW DARE YOU BESMIRCH THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!’

He stumbled backwards out of the room, knocking heavily into Snape, his eyes still on the apparition- for he assumed it could only be an apparition- of old Mrs. Black screaming at him. She looked even more fearsome than her portrait, for now she raised her hands and clawed at the air in front of her as she approached Remus. Small specks of saliva flew from her mouth and spattered him. The skin on her face was sagging and wrinkled, dotted with liverspots and the sleeves of her old, moth-eaten dress fell back to reveal bony and scarred arms.

Remus flinched slightly as she screamed again and he felt the disgusting drops of spittle shower his face. Trying his best to wipe his face with the sleeve of his robes while keeping his hands clamped firmly over his ears, he backed out of the room, never taking his eyes off Mrs. Black for one second.

‘GET OOOOOOOOOUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! YOU ARE DEFILING THE MOST ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE OF BLA -aaaAAAAAH!!!‘

The scream was cut off as she tripped over the hem of the dress. Stumbling forwards, she windmilled her arms, trying to keep her balance, only to trip again, her feet getting tangled up in themselves and in the material.

Remus lowered his hands, raising an eyebrow in amusement. As ‘Mrs. Black’ fell, he darted forwards to catch her, ignoring the snickers coming from the Weasley twins and the impatient tutting from Snape. He looked into her face as he pulled her upright, a trace of a smirk on his lips, and he leant in so that he could whisper into her ear.

‘Quite convincing, Nymphadora… but you’re going to have to work on your motor skills, I’m afraid,’ he murmured before moving away and walking out of the room, the expression on his face settling back into its familiar mask of indifference.

-=*=-

come on people, write something!

"I had nothing to do with this!" Remus shoved the note back at Snape, who recoiled with a look of revulsion.

"Who else could have done it?" the Potions Master snarled. "You had access to my lab, which you had already used once without my permission, and you obviously had," his eyes fixed on the scrap of parchment on the floor, "the motivation."

Remus snorted loudly. "I most certainly do not have any such motivation. I do, however, have two meddlesome little berks in mind who have been setting me up all day..."

Snape's eyes narrowed sharply. "The Weasleys."

****************************************************

"No good," said George. "He's talking his way out of it."

"Plus he's turning Snape on us," Fred pointed out.

"Why doesn't Tonks get her share of the blame?" George muttered, and Tonks elbowed him in the ribs.

"I think some diversionary tactics are in order, don't you?" she asked them, winking cheekily before disappearing with a 'crack'. The twins looked at each other for a moment, and then George shrugged.

"Ought to be amusing, at least," he commented, and Fred grinned.

"Budge up, then. I want a good view, too."

******************************************************

Snape hardly looked mollified, but the explanation seemed to make some sense to him. And while Remus wasn't planning on telling Snape that Tonks was involved in the plot as well (for he detected her hand in this as well), she had definitely gone on his list for revenge right alongside the Weasley terrors. He continued to mutter placating things to Snape, all the while wishing that the man would go away so that he could scheme in peace; he owed Tonks and the Weasleys a prank that would live as an inspiration to pranksters for generations.

A sound from the room behind him disturbed his train of thought, and Remus turned, expecting that Kreacher had somehow found his way in there. But he could only stare in shock at what was before him, hearing Snape's gasp from behind, as the door swung open and he could see clearly into the room beyond.

********************************************************

Okay, so what is that crazy Metamorphmagus up to now? Will Fred and George be content to sit the sidelines on this one, or will they need to get involved? Just who or what is in Remus' room?? C'mon, write a little something, wontcha? ::grins::

Well. I thought I'd continue. Warning, this is REALLY bad poetry.

*

‘… and through thy greasy locks
I yearn for my fingers to run,
I wish to shelter your porcelain skin
From the harsh light of the sun.

Let us away! Where we be anon,
And where you will sit for hours
In front of me, and with mine eyes,
Thy form I shall greedily devour.

I have seen those who dare
To cast upon you their lustful gaze,
Alas! For me, those are moments lost
In a reckless, jealous haze.

Without you, I am incomplete,
But your touch sets me to a-mend.
One small word from your slim, clear lips
And to the heavens I ascend.

Do not be upset at my absence, love,
For grease of no amount,
Could ever wipe away the stains
Of your tears on my account.

Take my hand, my dearest Sev,
Come now, your touch, do not deny,
Just one look from your smouldering eyes,
O! Methinks that I should die!’

*

-Kiks

Thanks to thunderemerald, we have an icon! Woot! Tis shiny!

With a nod to thunderemerald's fic No Big Deal- which must be read, if you haven't read it already. (Be nice and review, too!)
**************************************************

"This is just a twist on something Sirius pulled on him once," Tonks explained to Fred as George was carefully writing out a note on a slip of parchment. "But the potion is all my idea, and when we put the two of them together..."

Fred grinned. "It's brilliant. We really have been looking at this from much too simple a standpoint."

George grunted in agreement, not looking up from his work. "Comes from dealing with school-age clientele," he said. "Done. Tonks, take a look and let me know what you think."

She dropped down beside him at the table, studying the paper. "It'll pass, I think. He won't be looking for a trick." She quivered with contained laughter as she passed it to Fred. "You've already got the formula for the potion, right?"

"I've had it memorized since second year," scoffed Fred, snatching the note. "Just don't forget to let me know if anyone is coming." With a nod at his fellow conspirators, he hurried off for Snape's lab.

****************************************************

Just before dinner, the bomb exploded.

They heard Snape shrieking before they saw him, mad-eyed, pelting up the stairs toward Remus' room. The twins and Tonks, who had been playing Wizard Chess while they waited for the event, abandoned the game and hurried after the aggravated Potions Master at a safe distance. The three of them lurked on the steps, trying to stifle the painful gasps of laughter threatening to burst from them, as Snape pounded on Remus' door and demanded an explanation.

"What the hell is this, Lupin?" he screamed, all composure gone as he brandished a note at the door. "I told you to stay out of my lab, and I find this? How dare you insinuate such things?"

Remus opened his door just a crack, and frowned at the other wizard. "I've been in here all day; what are you going on about?"

"Love potions! Aphrodisiacs! On my personal items! And THIS! Deny that it's your writing!" He shoved the scrap of parchment at Remus, who accepted it with curiosity that quickly changed to shock as he read.

" 'O Sev, my love, your skin's so pale
Like purest alabaster white
I must confess, I dream so oft
of buggering you all night...' "