Word Crawl: Chamber of Secrets

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets Word Crawl!

Don’t know what a crawl is? No problem! It's esentially a writing board game: you write from one instruction to the next to create a story of 300 words or more and it can be about absolutely anything (you don’t have to stick to the Harry Potter theme in any way).
If you’d like to share your story, you’ll earn 20 beans and it will count towards your chance of earning one of our shiny quill and ink awards. You can post it below or if you’re uncomfortable sharing publically but would still like it to count, you can email it to us at hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without spaces) with the subject line Crawl-Theme-HOL Name. There is no deadline, though if you want to scoop that award, we’ll need it by the end of that particular school year.

Ready? Then off we go!

You sneak into the girl’s bathroom and say hi to Myrtle (bonus if you can get her through the nose with your writing implement…only kidding!). She just won’t let you go until you’ve told her what you’re up to.
*Write down a title for your story*

Now, time to open the way down to the chamber…garbled hissing at the ready!
*Write 25 words while you make a questionable stab at Parseltongue and open the sink*

You slither down the noxious pipe into the bowels of the school
*Write 50 words as quickly as you can while you slide*

Ahg! In a completely shock twist, your charismatically obnoxious and ever smiling narcissist of a teacher turns out to be a dangerous fraud
*Write another 50 words while you deal with him* (Bonus if your character is having memory trouble of their own)

You continue along the passage but are brought up short first by the basilisk’s shedding problem and then by a very inconsiderate rock fall
*write 75 words while you deal with these minor issues*

After another demonstration of your snaky vocal talents, you find yourself in the chamber
*Take a breather, then write 10 words while you look around and rush to the aid of your friend’s comatose sister*

What’s this? A remnant of your mortal enemy’s soul and good-looking teenage jerkishness would like to gloat at you for a while?
*write 40 words while you verbally spar with Tom Riddle* (Bonus if there’s a lot of dialogue going on in your story)

The basilisk has appeared which can mean only one thing: the final showdown
*write another 50 words while you battle the horrible snake*

Oh no! Despite your best endeavours, you find yourself rapidly losing your grip on life. Just as you are accepting your demise, your friendly neighbourhood phoenix steps in to save the day
*With Fawkes’ help, finish off your story and the diary with a truly killer line*

Celebrate your victory with an inspired act of magnanimity
*Share your story with us!* (I mean, you can throw socks at me instead if you’d like but I’m not sure I’d manage Dobby’s level of gratitude)

[Meredith Malkins]

I doubled the word count for my own comfort, longer is easier better!

The Life and Times of an Unusual Animagus
When I found out that Animagus training was offered as a class, I immediately signed up. First, it's an amazing piece of ancient magic, why wouldn't I jump at the chance to study it by doing it? Secondly, it's a step of deep personal development. Also, turning into an animal at will is cool.
I had no problems for the entire class. I kept the mandrake leaf under my tongue for the right amount of time, and brewed the potion to perfection. At last, it was time to change for the first time, and I impatiently listened to the warnings and calming words of "whatever it is, is fine". It itched, but I kept calm, and fully transformed. The first thing I noticed was that I was taller than I expected. Before I could inspect myself, I heard screaming, and felt an extreme pain across the back of my head as the world went black.
When I woke, it took me a few seconds to remember my name, then a few more to figure out where I was, to remember the class. There was no-one else in the room, and I was still in my animagus form. I assumed by the book lying by the wall that I had been hit with it. Had I only partly transformed? That would explain the screaming I had heard, but not the book. I felt alright, as much as someone with a newly-different anatomy can anyway. I couldn't go by feel, I needed to see what I was and how to fix it.
I turned myself clumsily to the mirror beside me, and almost fainted again, even though I couldn't see all of myself I didn't need to. My transformation had gone perfectly, that wasn't the problem. I'd been open minded about my potential form but I hadn't expected this. Because I was a spider, and worse, I was definitely an acromantula. That would explain the book. This form didn't make sense to me, as a magical creature it's a rare form, and while I don't hate spiders I don't have any connection with them either. I transformed back, checked I wasn't stuck with extra legs, and went to find the professor. I found the entire class at the end of the hall, cowering and whispering. They jumped at my approach, and a few ran away. No-one would talk to me. While I could understand their fright, it was a bit silly. I'm not dangerous.
I ignored my classmates and looked at the professor trying to keep order, who gently took me back into the classroom to talk.
"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. "That was quite a blow."
"Yeah, it knocked me out for a bit, but I'm fine", I replied, rubbing my sore head.
"How are you feeling about your form?"
"Everyone else was scared", I tried, cautiously.
"Yes, it's going to take a while to calm them down, but the panic is unnecessary. How do YOU feel about it?"
I paused, considering. "I wasn't expecting a man-eating spider, but with my luck, I should've known."
She smiles. "On the bright side, you can talk in both forms. Besides, magical forms are very rare and belong only to special people."
"Maybe I have a special destiny making millions of galleons from my poison? I'll never need a job again."
We both laugh. The professor excuses herself to go calm the other students, and bids me to go to the hospital wing for my head. I have to stay there overnight, and the next day the rumour has spread. It doesn't matter though. It was hard to find out who I was in front of everyone, but it doesn't matter what they think.
I don't hear them talking anymore, anyway. *burp*

[Aurelia West]

Below the Gardens

There was a time where, beneath the gardens of old, those renowned for their beauty and placidness, a community existed that threatened the above world. One of the multiple persons who lived in these underground catacombs had always wanted to escape to the outside world. Their name was Dira and the only stories they had heard of the world above were thought to be myths by the rest of the culture. Dira was unsure whether it even existed at the time they set out to find it. Accompanying them was their friend, Alena, who wanted to verify and document anything that the two of them found above the ceiling.

For those who had never seen the dawn of a new day, nor the way the sky formed different colors as time passed, seeing the blue abyss above upon exiting the earth was a completely new phenomenon. Alena jotted down everything as far as she could see into a thick notebook she carried at her side. Dira stood and watched the living creatures they had never seen before move across the land in awe.

Upon their return, the two were hailed as heroes, adventurers, and explorers. The entire population wanted to see the land that Dira and Alena had seen, and after even just a peek of the sky above, immediately wanted to extend their stay there. The land became overflowing with a new community that had once only existed beneath the surface of the land and the people of said community were overcome with joy.

The joy did not last. A plethora of other communities also found solace in the gardens, and upon realizing the land they considered themselves overlord to was no longer their own, they were not pleased. The queen of a large group of above-ground people approached Dira one day, questions and concerns bubbling at her lips. She asked where Dira’s people came from and whether they had elsewhere they could go. Dira answered that they did not, for they came up from the surface but had no desire to return there.

The two cultures decided to attempt to live in harmony with one another, and tried their hardest to ensure that all people of both cultures were provided for. This turned out to be a difficult task when it was revealed that they had very different methods of organizing themselves and different things that they held dear. Dira found their very views on a fulfilling life being challenged by an above-ground human named Irin who questioned Dira’s culture in a way they had never thought about before. The facts were no longer facts so much as they were opinions, and both Dira and Irin had to decipher what would eventually become the new norm.

[Bull J. Johnson]

Fluffy's Adventures: Part 1 (The Beginning)

"Whoops," said the fat man in an orange-yellow jacket as he tumbled down the stairs nearly hitting his dog Fluffy that was coming up the stairs with the fat man.

As the man got up, he turned to his dog and petted him saying, “I’m sorry Fluffy I didn’t mean to fall on top of you, are you ok my little friend?”

The dog looked around for a second to see who the man was talking to and saw that no one was around. So, he realized that the man was talking to him and the dog started to lick the man in his face trying to tell the man that it was ok, but for some reason the dog could not remember who this strange man was or even if his name was Fluffy.

What had happened was that the man had knocked the dog so hard when they fell down the stairs that the poor dog had suffered amnesia and now the dog could not remember things. However, the man did not notice this and went back to climbing the stairs up to his bedroom.


The next day the man noticed the his dog was acting a bit strange. For instance, he did not know how to maneuver around the house, like he did the day prier. So the man took his dog Fluffy to the vet.

The vet looked over the dog and then said to the man, “Your dog is experiencing amnesia. This is completely normal reaction and your dog should be ok in a few days. If the condition doesn’t resolve itself just come back. I’ll even schedule you an appointment for a follow up just to make sure everything is ok.” The doctor than lead the man back to the registration center and got him an appointment for a follow up.


(That a bonus picture of the dog I used in my stort story.)