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Chapter 1. Tundra

The first feeble rays of sunlight were just starting to appear on the horizon. Papa raised himself slowly and stood in the center of what was left of our nest. He stretched his powerful wings and ruffled his majestic, white feathers. Settling himself back down into a seated position, we all drew in closer to the warmth of his body. The dreaded time was approaching, but it had not yet arrived. For a few precious moments, we all still had each other.

When we were young hatchlings, Mama would tell us stories while Papa was away from the tundra nest, hunting for lemmings. She explained to us that we were in the middle of the Time of Lasting Light, a time when the Arctic never gets truly dark. But she also told us about the Great Cold Darkness which overtakes the land every year. Snow would cover the ground in a thick blanket. The only sound would be the howling wind, and there would be only the dimmest of light, even at midday. How strange it seemed! So impossible, so distant. As we listened to her stories, the earth around us was warm, and blooming flowers dotted the tundra with color. We could not imagine a world other than the one that surrounded us, filled with sunlight, sounds and smells. It was a very happy time.

This story is one of the winners of the Harry Potter Fan Fiction Contest. Congratulations!

The snow fell in a storm of white all around the festive old town. In the backyard of a house far into the country the snow changed colors as it fell. Children ran through the snow playing with their toy broomsticks hovering slightly above the snow. Adults watched the kids through the windows laughing at their merriment. A few older kids and teens whizz around through the snow on actual brooms. A young boy around the age of eleven touched back to the ground and ran for the door to the house.

“Dad, James tried to push me off of my broom!” Al screamed “Did not! You just slipped!” James yelled back. Ginny sighed in exasperation as she grabbed her coat off of the rack and went outside to comfort her youngest son. “James don't push your brother. Al your father is helping your sister with her card tower, so he can't help now.” Hermione called out the door of the burrow “Come inside kids. It's time for dinner.” A stampede of children dismounted their brooms and ran for the door “Don't forget to wash your hands!” Ginny called after her oldest son.

This story is one of the winners of the Harry Potter Fan Fiction Contest. Congratulations!

“MREOW!!” the kitten yowled, “MREOW!!”

Mundungus Fletcher walked quickly through the streets of Diagon Alley, holding a bag full of ginger Persian cats. He tried to look unconcerned and casual, but his glances back and forth, quick steps and ducked head showed that he had just stolen. Inside the bag, six kittens and a mother squirmed and wiggled. Five kittens had ginger and white stripes, pug-like faces and bright blue eyes. But the sixth kitten was obviously the leader. He was larger than all of the others, but where his brothers and sisters had slightly flat features, his face looked like it had been smashed with a frying pan. There were mats in his soft long fur, and he switched his long tail from side to side as he climbed to the top of the bag.

All of sudden, the kitten and his brothers and sisters were dumped out onto the counter of Magical Menagerie. The store was stuffed with cages. It had a musty smell and it was dingy and loud with meowing cats and kittens, skittering rats and the low croaks of frogs.

“Here they are, only ten Galleons each” Mundungus said.

“Ten Galleons!” said the witch at the counter. “You're Mad!”

“They're champion bloodline kittens Ma'am, the price I'm offerin' is very cheap!”

This story is one of the winners of the Harry Potter Fan Fiction Contest. Congratulations!

She was beautiful. Harry watched as Ginny sat down at the base of the apple tree in the backyard of the Burrow. He wanted to kick himself for not noticing her for all those years. If he hadn't been so blind, they would have had years together. Years of running his fingers through her hair, years of kissing in the common room, years of clandestine meetings—like this one. He walked up and sat beside her. “Hey Gin.”

Ginny turned and smiled wistfully. Harry. Kind, wonderful Harry, who was pushing her away for her own protection. Sweet, stubborn Harry, who refused to believe that she was already a prime target in the war. Strong, brave Harry, who had taught her not to be afraid of the man who had once possessed her, to say Voldemort's name. He was everything to her. “Hi Harry.”

Harry's breath caught in his throat at the sound of her whispered voice. His heart ached at the thought of leaving her behind. He wanted to just forget the war that raged outside of the walls of the Burrow, to leave it for someone else to deal with. But he couldn't, no matter how badly he wanted to. The wizarding world was depending on him to protect them, and he couldn't forsake them for his own selfish desires.