Grab Bag Writing Challenge - March 2017
- avail - break - charm - circumstance - discover - edge - fortune - happen - karma - leeway - odds - profit - shot - stumble - windfall -
by Gail Allen
"Luck always favours the prepared mind."
Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Have you become a fortune teller now?" she asked her friend, silently acknowledging that she was probably right.
"No," Fiona replied easily as she pushed herself down from the edge of the windowsill she'd been sitting on, letting the sun's rays warm her while she studied, "but isn't that just the odds?" she asked back. "If you prepare then you have a much better shot at getting a good grade than if you just expect to stumble across the right answer in the preparation room at the exam."
Sarah sighed. "I know," she said, "but I am starting to think I'll never make any headway with this book." She held the offending tome up with an exasperated expression.
Fiona sat down next to her. "Don't say that," she said, "you just need to break through the first bit, then it'll all start to make sense. Come, I'll help you." The afternoon progressed that way, with the two girls bent over the book, discovering the secrets behind sophisticated charms and incantations.
"Do you even think she's going to profit from that, Jones?" Harriet's voice cut through the pleasant afternoon air and Fiona grit her teeth. "They will have to give her a lot of leeway not to fail her outright you know. Under no circumstance would I be expending that kind of energy if I were you."
"Shut up, Flynn," Fiona said, hoping it didn't take the winds out of Sarah's sails. They'd been doing so well.
"Now I," Harriet didn't even seem to have heard what was being said, "I am of course going to glide right through," she announced.
Fiona hoped karma would get her, although that would be a strange windfall. As unpleasant as Harriet was, she was unfortunately also rather clever and would probably do well indeed.
Harriet moved on.
"Let's get back to work," Fiona said, but Sarah looked hopeless. "She's right though. It's to no avail."
"Don't say that!" Fiona insisted. "She's just a bully. Don't listen to her. You won't fail. I won't let that happen."
"Luck always favours the prepared mind."
Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Have you become a fortune teller now?" she asked her friend, silently acknowledging that she was probably right.
"No," Fiona replied easily as she pushed herself down from the edge of the windowsill she'd been sitting on, letting the sun's rays warm her while she studied, "but isn't that just the odds?" she asked back. "If you prepare then you have a much better shot at getting a good grade than if you just expect to stumble across the right answer in the preparation room at the exam."
Sarah sighed. "I know," she said, "but I am starting to think I'll never make any headway with this book." She held the offending tome up with an exasperated expression.
Fiona sat down next to her. "Don't say that," she said, "you just need to break through the first bit, then it'll all start to make sense. Come, I'll help you." The afternoon progressed that way, with the two girls bent over the book, discovering the secrets behind sophisticated charms and incantations.
"Do you even think she's going to profit from that, Jones?" Harriet's voice cut through the pleasant afternoon air and Fiona grit her teeth. "They will have to give her a lot of leeway not to fail her outright you know. Under no circumstance would I be expending that kind of energy if I were you."
"Shut up, Flynn," Fiona said, hoping it didn't take the winds out of Sarah's sails. They'd been doing so well.
"Now I," Harriet didn't even seem to have heard what was being said, "I am of course going to glide right through," she announced.
Fiona hoped karma would get her, although that would be a strange windfall. As unpleasant as Harriet was, she was unfortunately also rather clever and would probably do well indeed.
Harriet moved on.
"Let's get back to work," Fiona said, but Sarah looked hopeless. "She's right though. It's to no avail."
"Don't say that!" Fiona insisted. "She's just a bully. Don't listen to her. You won't fail. I won't let that happen."
by Maxim Trevelyan
"What have you done?" Gary’s shrill voice carried down the empty hallway. The young boy’s eyes could not be moved from the still form of Prof. Silver that was laying on the floor.
Maxim cocked his head, shrugging his shoulders. "It’s a reflex!" he exclaimed, a hint of panic lacing his voice. "If someone points their wand at me, I automatically shoot a stunner at them!" Maxim tried to defend himself.
"She was pointing a wand at you for at least ten minutes! You’ve got a serious problem, you do know that, right?" Gary glared at his companion and glanced back at the prone body. "We should do something about her. What if someone stumbles upon us and think we tried to harm her on purpose?" he hurriedly said, moving towards the body. Gary extended one of his legs, gently poking Silver on the hip. "What is going to happen to us? We will get our wands snapped, or worse, expelled!"
"I don’t think those two are mutually exclusive," Maxim murmured, thinking about different plans and their odds of successfully navigating them. He finally settled on one.
"Shut up. This is your fault anyway," Gary hissed, looking up and down the corridor. "We’re done for!" he complained.
"Oh, stop being a coward. Besides, there were extenuating circumstances," Maxim nodded, and moved slowly towards the body. "Come on, help me with her. Get her legs," he grunted as he tried to lift his load.
"What is your plan? You do know that you can’t talk us out of this one. Your charm," Gary snorted at the word, "…can only get us so far." Nevertheless, he followed his friend and grabbed Silver by the legs, thinking about their possible punishments. In the past, the pair had some leeway with the professors, but their goodwill was quickly running short.
Maxim edged the now-unlocked door with his foot and stepped inside. He hoped that they would not be discovered until they had completed the objectives Maxim assigned himself before all this mess began. However, due to this unfortunate predicament, the pair might have to abandon their endeavor.
"Oh my goodness," Maxim’s head snapped up at Gary’s groan. "Unbelievable! Not only had we broken into Slytherin’s private areas, you couldn’t be competent enough to break into the right one!" Maxim turned his head to a plaque Gary was pointing to; Quidditch.
"I have no idea why you’re complaining, this is even better!" Maxim exclaimed at their windfall. He tried to calm Gary down, but to no avail.
"No! You will stop with this foolishness! I've already accumulated enough bad karma for today," he pointed at Silver. "We will wake her up, beg on our knees for forgiveness, then accept our punishment!" Gary growled, stunning Maxim into silence. The blond boy had no defense against his friend’s tirade. He knew that his mischief went too far this time.
"But…Just a tiny prank?" Maxim tried, flinching away from Gary’s glare. "Just a small amount of itching powder into their Quidditch robes? They’re right there," he pointed at one that had number 66 emblazoned under the name Yaxley. "You know…Step one, acquire itching powder, step two, locate your target, step three, profit," Maxim whispered the last word and sighed at his friend, who did not relent. "Fiiiiiine! Let’s wake her up."
As he moved towards the professor, a hiss caught his attention. The boys looked at each other and slowly turned towards the door. A serpent’s body glistened in the soft light provided by the torches, as it rose up in the air to be on eye level with the Hufflepuffs.
"You sssshould not be here," a basilisk hissed angrily. "What isssss going on? Issss thissss new food play?" Thankfully, the basilisk was fortunately not a danger to students, as his eyes did not have the killing or petrification power. "Bassssil wants explanationsss."
"We’re really, really sorry Mr. Basil, we’ll get right out of your…erm, plume," Maxim quipped. Lady Fortune was definitely not on his side today.
Basilisk hissed again, his forked tongue licking his left eyeball. "You broke into Ssssslytherin’sss areasss. You are not allowed here. Accesssss denied," it finished and lunged at Maxim. Gary yelped and dodged the trashing animal, running out of the door, screaming for help.
"It’s munching on my leg!" Maxim screamed, and through his panic did not notice that the bite never broke his skin, but was merely holding him down until staff were able to arrive.
Luckily for the badger, Gary came with three Slytherin professors, who managed to separate the basilisk from the second year and revive Professor Silver.
"Too bad I never got the chance to execute my plan," Maxim muttered as the pair was escorted to their Head of House for punishment.
"What have you done?" Gary’s shrill voice carried down the empty hallway. The young boy’s eyes could not be moved from the still form of Prof. Silver that was laying on the floor.
Maxim cocked his head, shrugging his shoulders. "It’s a reflex!" he exclaimed, a hint of panic lacing his voice. "If someone points their wand at me, I automatically shoot a stunner at them!" Maxim tried to defend himself.
"She was pointing a wand at you for at least ten minutes! You’ve got a serious problem, you do know that, right?" Gary glared at his companion and glanced back at the prone body. "We should do something about her. What if someone stumbles upon us and think we tried to harm her on purpose?" he hurriedly said, moving towards the body. Gary extended one of his legs, gently poking Silver on the hip. "What is going to happen to us? We will get our wands snapped, or worse, expelled!"
"I don’t think those two are mutually exclusive," Maxim murmured, thinking about different plans and their odds of successfully navigating them. He finally settled on one.
"Shut up. This is your fault anyway," Gary hissed, looking up and down the corridor. "We’re done for!" he complained.
"Oh, stop being a coward. Besides, there were extenuating circumstances," Maxim nodded, and moved slowly towards the body. "Come on, help me with her. Get her legs," he grunted as he tried to lift his load.
"What is your plan? You do know that you can’t talk us out of this one. Your charm," Gary snorted at the word, "…can only get us so far." Nevertheless, he followed his friend and grabbed Silver by the legs, thinking about their possible punishments. In the past, the pair had some leeway with the professors, but their goodwill was quickly running short.
Maxim edged the now-unlocked door with his foot and stepped inside. He hoped that they would not be discovered until they had completed the objectives Maxim assigned himself before all this mess began. However, due to this unfortunate predicament, the pair might have to abandon their endeavor.
"Oh my goodness," Maxim’s head snapped up at Gary’s groan. "Unbelievable! Not only had we broken into Slytherin’s private areas, you couldn’t be competent enough to break into the right one!" Maxim turned his head to a plaque Gary was pointing to; Quidditch.
"I have no idea why you’re complaining, this is even better!" Maxim exclaimed at their windfall. He tried to calm Gary down, but to no avail.
"No! You will stop with this foolishness! I've already accumulated enough bad karma for today," he pointed at Silver. "We will wake her up, beg on our knees for forgiveness, then accept our punishment!" Gary growled, stunning Maxim into silence. The blond boy had no defense against his friend’s tirade. He knew that his mischief went too far this time.
"But…Just a tiny prank?" Maxim tried, flinching away from Gary’s glare. "Just a small amount of itching powder into their Quidditch robes? They’re right there," he pointed at one that had number 66 emblazoned under the name Yaxley. "You know…Step one, acquire itching powder, step two, locate your target, step three, profit," Maxim whispered the last word and sighed at his friend, who did not relent. "Fiiiiiine! Let’s wake her up."
As he moved towards the professor, a hiss caught his attention. The boys looked at each other and slowly turned towards the door. A serpent’s body glistened in the soft light provided by the torches, as it rose up in the air to be on eye level with the Hufflepuffs.
"You sssshould not be here," a basilisk hissed angrily. "What isssss going on? Issss thissss new food play?" Thankfully, the basilisk was fortunately not a danger to students, as his eyes did not have the killing or petrification power. "Bassssil wants explanationsss."
"We’re really, really sorry Mr. Basil, we’ll get right out of your…erm, plume," Maxim quipped. Lady Fortune was definitely not on his side today.
Basilisk hissed again, his forked tongue licking his left eyeball. "You broke into Ssssslytherin’sss areasss. You are not allowed here. Accesssss denied," it finished and lunged at Maxim. Gary yelped and dodged the trashing animal, running out of the door, screaming for help.
"It’s munching on my leg!" Maxim screamed, and through his panic did not notice that the bite never broke his skin, but was merely holding him down until staff were able to arrive.
Luckily for the badger, Gary came with three Slytherin professors, who managed to separate the basilisk from the second year and revive Professor Silver.
"Too bad I never got the chance to execute my plan," Maxim muttered as the pair was escorted to their Head of House for punishment.
by Sirius Fudge
Big Dipper was a baby giant, living in one of the last giant colonies in Britain. Situated in the middle of three mountains, the Ministry of Magic tried to contact the colony, to no avail. Big Dipper has always wondered what is beyond the mountains. His parents, Donny and Helena, had been very strict on the rule of staying in the colony. They insisted that he must not break the said rule. However, the charm of the surrounding environment has always fascinated Big Dipper, to the point that he had set up his sanctuary in an abandoned cave near the top of one of the mountains. He would look forward to the sunrise and sunset where it is brightest in the faraway lands. The brightness inspired him to search and look for signs that could describe what is out there.
Some circumstances are just lucky for him while some are not. He would see a column of smoke in the faraway lands. It made him wonder whether there are other giants in the area or are there other creatures that are worth being a friend. He is happiest when he discovers more and more on an area. Every sunset, on a location very far away, on the right of the tallest mountain in their colony, stars would fall on the earth and would twinkle every now and then. He remembered he stood at the very edge of the cliff at that time, just to gaze at the twinkling stars that fell on Earth. It would vanish at daytime and is almost present every nighttime. He wonders whether there are hidden fortunes in the area, since Big Dipper believed that stars are lucky and would bring great happiness to anyone near them.
Big Dipper would also wait for something new to happen. He was very careful to act on something new, as he believes in karma, where the stars would disappear if he would do something unpleasant. He has that small leeway of action where he would search for the stars at night but stay and follow colony rules, still. Of course, he would not want to cause heartbreak for his parents. But the odds had been unlucky lately for Big Dipper. The stars at his favorite location did not return one night. It disappeared and never return up to this day. He told his parents of the situation.
His parents scolded him, saying that he did not profit on the idea of stars falling from the sky. At that instance, a ray of light shot from the sky out of nowhere. A shooting star crashed just beyond the tallest mountain outside their colony. As excited as he is, his parents warned him not to go to the landing site. That night, he stumbled along the way. Breathless, he is at his most excited feeling, as if he is falling on the wind and riding on it, a windfall. He never returned to the colony. He is going to his star. He waited long for this.
Big Dipper was a baby giant, living in one of the last giant colonies in Britain. Situated in the middle of three mountains, the Ministry of Magic tried to contact the colony, to no avail. Big Dipper has always wondered what is beyond the mountains. His parents, Donny and Helena, had been very strict on the rule of staying in the colony. They insisted that he must not break the said rule. However, the charm of the surrounding environment has always fascinated Big Dipper, to the point that he had set up his sanctuary in an abandoned cave near the top of one of the mountains. He would look forward to the sunrise and sunset where it is brightest in the faraway lands. The brightness inspired him to search and look for signs that could describe what is out there.
Some circumstances are just lucky for him while some are not. He would see a column of smoke in the faraway lands. It made him wonder whether there are other giants in the area or are there other creatures that are worth being a friend. He is happiest when he discovers more and more on an area. Every sunset, on a location very far away, on the right of the tallest mountain in their colony, stars would fall on the earth and would twinkle every now and then. He remembered he stood at the very edge of the cliff at that time, just to gaze at the twinkling stars that fell on Earth. It would vanish at daytime and is almost present every nighttime. He wonders whether there are hidden fortunes in the area, since Big Dipper believed that stars are lucky and would bring great happiness to anyone near them.
Big Dipper would also wait for something new to happen. He was very careful to act on something new, as he believes in karma, where the stars would disappear if he would do something unpleasant. He has that small leeway of action where he would search for the stars at night but stay and follow colony rules, still. Of course, he would not want to cause heartbreak for his parents. But the odds had been unlucky lately for Big Dipper. The stars at his favorite location did not return one night. It disappeared and never return up to this day. He told his parents of the situation.
His parents scolded him, saying that he did not profit on the idea of stars falling from the sky. At that instance, a ray of light shot from the sky out of nowhere. A shooting star crashed just beyond the tallest mountain outside their colony. As excited as he is, his parents warned him not to go to the landing site. That night, he stumbled along the way. Breathless, he is at his most excited feeling, as if he is falling on the wind and riding on it, a windfall. He never returned to the colony. He is going to his star. He waited long for this.
by Will Lestrange
A favourite pastime in the Slytherin Dungeons is to magically charm and enchant Muggle gambling devices, such as dice, to run our own casino. After all, we have plenty of leeway in the dungeons to hang out and avail ourselves of the opportunities to entertain ourselves, even if they happen to be things Muggles might enjoy as well! People both inside and outside the house love to test their fortune as they roll their dice and try to see if they can beat the odds.
The other day, we discovered a Muggle game known as "craps," whose complicated rules turned out to not attract as many people as we'd like (which is a good thing, because the game contains an edge case which allows players to break even). But our best windfall was that one time a Muggle-born Slytherin, while visiting the US by sheer circumstance, stumbled upon a Midwestern dice game known as "Chuck-A-Luck." It's a fairly simple game: the player pays a Galleon, takes a shot by choosing a number from one to six and then rolls three six-sided dice. To win, all they need to do is match their chosen number on at least one of the three dice (which is enough to double their wager: they get their Galleon back and another Galleon as well); they get a bonus if karma smiles on them and two or three dice match their number. Matching two dice will triple their wager (so they'll get their Galleon back, joined by two others) and matching all three will give them their wager back, plus ten times what they put in.
Since the student not well versed in Arithmancy will think "Okay, match three dice with six chances? 3/6 is a half so I'm equally likely to win or lose, and all wins are at least as big as all losses" and therefore be very tempted to play. But if you run the numbers yourself, you'll see that although a player may get a lucky break, in the long run, the only person who will win a profit through the game is the bookmaker, which, of course, is me.
[Arithmancy exercise for the interested reader: To the nearest Knut, calculate the expected payoff to the player of a game of Chuck-a-Luck, as found in this story. Send the answer in a HOL message to wi937 for -1 beans per Knut in your answer.]
A favourite pastime in the Slytherin Dungeons is to magically charm and enchant Muggle gambling devices, such as dice, to run our own casino. After all, we have plenty of leeway in the dungeons to hang out and avail ourselves of the opportunities to entertain ourselves, even if they happen to be things Muggles might enjoy as well! People both inside and outside the house love to test their fortune as they roll their dice and try to see if they can beat the odds.
The other day, we discovered a Muggle game known as "craps," whose complicated rules turned out to not attract as many people as we'd like (which is a good thing, because the game contains an edge case which allows players to break even). But our best windfall was that one time a Muggle-born Slytherin, while visiting the US by sheer circumstance, stumbled upon a Midwestern dice game known as "Chuck-A-Luck." It's a fairly simple game: the player pays a Galleon, takes a shot by choosing a number from one to six and then rolls three six-sided dice. To win, all they need to do is match their chosen number on at least one of the three dice (which is enough to double their wager: they get their Galleon back and another Galleon as well); they get a bonus if karma smiles on them and two or three dice match their number. Matching two dice will triple their wager (so they'll get their Galleon back, joined by two others) and matching all three will give them their wager back, plus ten times what they put in.
Since the student not well versed in Arithmancy will think "Okay, match three dice with six chances? 3/6 is a half so I'm equally likely to win or lose, and all wins are at least as big as all losses" and therefore be very tempted to play. But if you run the numbers yourself, you'll see that although a player may get a lucky break, in the long run, the only person who will win a profit through the game is the bookmaker, which, of course, is me.
[Arithmancy exercise for the interested reader: To the nearest Knut, calculate the expected payoff to the player of a game of Chuck-a-Luck, as found in this story. Send the answer in a HOL message to wi937 for -1 beans per Knut in your answer.]