pauraque_bk (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pauraque_bk) wrote2004-12-08 10:13 pm
pauraque_bk) wrote2004-12-08 10:13 pm
The dread balloon, conclusion.
Round I: Dolores Umbridge
Round II:Vernon Dursley
Round III:Cornelius Fudge
Round IV:Bellatrix Lestrange
Round V:Albus Dumbledore
Round VI:Lord Voldemort
Round VII:Peter Pettigrew
And so there were two.
The sun had fallen to dusk on the horizon before them. The clouds were a brilliant red, which might have been lovely if the situation were not so dire. Percy was sure he could see land ahead, but at the rate they were falling, they would never make it. Wormtail was crouched on the basket wall, whiskers twitching.
There was only one thing to do.
'Sca-- I mean-- Peter. Come back a minute.'
The rat hesitated, but jumped to the floor, and out of the shadows again came the fat little man who had saved Percy's life.
'It's... ironic, you know,' said Pettigrew anxiously, casting a mournful gaze out at the sea. 'First time I ever got left out of anything... for not being heavy enough.'
Percy didn't know how to answer that. Instead, he pulled a straw from the wicker of the basket-side, and broke it into two pieces, one long, one short. He put his hand behind his back for a moment, and then offered the straws to Pettigrew in his fist.
'It's the only fair way,' he said.
Pettigrew hesitated for what seemed like a minute or more. Then, at last, he closed his eyes and pulled a straw.
The short straw.
Pettigrew swallowed hard, but whatever misgivings he might have had, he seemed to have already resolved them in his mind. With a final, watery-eyed glance at his old master, he transformed, clawed up the wall, and jumped into the sea.
What happened then seemed quite improbable -- perhaps the most improbable thing to happen in a day full of notable improbabilities.
The balloon began to rise.
Percy had a long, quiet evening alone to consider how he would explain himself when he returned to land.
Fin.
I hope you all had fun; I certainly did! Now, I've got one last post-game poll for you all. (Check all that apply.)
[Poll #400096]
Round II:
Round III:
Round IV:
Round V:
Round VI:
Round VII:
And so there were two.
The sun had fallen to dusk on the horizon before them. The clouds were a brilliant red, which might have been lovely if the situation were not so dire. Percy was sure he could see land ahead, but at the rate they were falling, they would never make it. Wormtail was crouched on the basket wall, whiskers twitching.
There was only one thing to do.
'Sca-- I mean-- Peter. Come back a minute.'
The rat hesitated, but jumped to the floor, and out of the shadows again came the fat little man who had saved Percy's life.
'It's... ironic, you know,' said Pettigrew anxiously, casting a mournful gaze out at the sea. 'First time I ever got left out of anything... for not being heavy enough.'
Percy didn't know how to answer that. Instead, he pulled a straw from the wicker of the basket-side, and broke it into two pieces, one long, one short. He put his hand behind his back for a moment, and then offered the straws to Pettigrew in his fist.
'It's the only fair way,' he said.
Pettigrew hesitated for what seemed like a minute or more. Then, at last, he closed his eyes and pulled a straw.
The short straw.
Pettigrew swallowed hard, but whatever misgivings he might have had, he seemed to have already resolved them in his mind. With a final, watery-eyed glance at his old master, he transformed, clawed up the wall, and jumped into the sea.
What happened then seemed quite improbable -- perhaps the most improbable thing to happen in a day full of notable improbabilities.
The balloon began to rise.
Percy had a long, quiet evening alone to consider how he would explain himself when he returned to land.
Fin.
I hope you all had fun; I certainly did! Now, I've got one last post-game poll for you all. (Check all that apply.)
[Poll #400096]
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PETER!
*sob*
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As for the explanation of my "other" . . . I confess, dirty and low-down as I am, that my vote was in part influenced by others' votes. I primarily voted based on pre-existing opinions of which characters I most wanted to die, but if I saw that my vote would be more useful against a slightly-less-disliked character, I didn't want to waste it. :-)
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(P.S. I'm certain rats can swim and that Peter could make it to land even if the balloon couldn't! :)
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I chose 'other', because while I based most of my choices on weight, it would be lying to say I was completely unbiased as far as personal likes/dislikes go.
It's a pity that Percy survived, because ultimately, Peter is the lightest - change into a rat and he's got it made.
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Awwh!
That was beautiful.
I just wanted to snuggle them both. (and then pounce Percy rather more agressively, cuz, rowr)
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I voted both 'weight' and 'other' - the latter because I was trying to follow the logic of the situation as your ficlets set it up. Just proves again that I don't play games very well. *geek and resigned to it*
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We now know that Dumbledore is fallible and vulnerable. It's hard to imagine a more climactic ending for the series than the death of Dumbledore at the hands of Voldemort. Therefore, Dumbledore will probably die in #7.
That establishes a diagonal, like counters in Connect-4, of climactic deaths. Cedric – Sirius – X – Dumbledore. A steady, multi-book crescendo of rising tension. But who is "X"?
Somebody close to Harry. Closer than Sirius; Harry adored Sirius but never really got to know him. Somebody we, the readers, know quite well, too. Not Ron or Hermione, because that would probably be too dark for a children's series, and certainly too climactic to go in the second-last book. Not Lupin or MacGonagall, because Harry never got close to them either. (I'm not ruling out the possibility of other deaths, but they won't be the big shocking tragic deaths.)
That leaves Hagrid, Neville Longbottom, or a Weasley. (Not Bill or Charlie; again, we don't know them well enough.)
So out of Hagrid, Neville, Arthur, Molly, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny, who's most likely to go? Fred and George are the comic relief; we need them. Molly and Arthur are better suited in the rôles of mourners than mourned. Ginny hasn't really had a character arc — we hardly saw her in PoA and GoF.
That puts us down to three (assuming I'm correct so far): Hagrid, Neville, and Percy. Any of the three is a real possibility. My money's on Percy because of his falling-out with his parents. For one thing, it would turn Molly's Boggart-inspired fretting in OotP, not to mention her response to the aftermath of the World Cup in GoF, into a foreshadowing. For another, I'm having real trouble second-guessing how Percy and Umbridge will respond to the revelation that the Ministry they were so hell-bent on protecting from Dumbledore's wiles was in the wrong all along. Remember the letter Percy sent Ron? "I will be ready to accept their apology in the fullness of time" (not an exact quote, but it was words to that effect). Now he's going to have to apologize to them. I don't think that will come easy. I think it's going to be a major plot element in HBP. And I can't see it ending with tea and cakes all round, so to speak.
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Not that I like any of the Death Eaters, but at least they didn't write to Ron!
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This earned Percy a teensy-weensy bit of redemption in my eyes. Peter also reminds me of that fable of the mouse and the lion.
"You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor; now you know that it is possible for even a mouse to help a lion."
This segment's writing was the best yet. Thanks so much for doing this!
*conjures up a happy reunion when Peter manages to paddle his way to shore and meets up with Percy.*
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I'm going to miss the Dread Balloon.
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I am a huge weirdo obviously, because I based my votes on amount of good done to the WW by the survivor. Which is why I kept voting for Voldemort, even though I like him and Peter the best, probably. Because if a bunch of people are stuck on a balloon and only one can survive, then that one should be the best one. The evil ones are all obviously cut out (except for Peter, for whom I have a soft spot...woe! am weak!), Fudge isn't much use, and Vernon (though somewhat more innocent) isn't much use either. Dumbledore is more useful than Percy, but he's old(lived a good life! etc!) and stuff and bound to die tragically in the next book or so anyway(plus, he's annoying).
But in actual fact I often waited to see which way them winds were blowing and then voted for some random because the outcome wasn't really in question.
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I'll bet that Pettigrew lived, too. As he was falling, a passing sea gull spotted him and thought, 'Cool! A tasty rat treat!' The sea gull swooped over and caught Wormtail with his beak, and flew over to a nearby island to land so that it could devour the rat in peace. Pettigrew transformed back into a man before the gull could deliver the fatal bite. When last seen, Peter Pettigrew was roasting that sea gull over a tiny fire on the beach. Yay for the rat!
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I'm sorry I read this at work.
I can't stop crying.
Peter, you are a candle in the darkness. Blowing in the wind. I hear your name on it (the wind)...
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He'll get out of it. I'm sure he will. :) Go Percy! :D
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That was a noble ending, though I'd have liked to see a little more reference to the 11 (?) years Percy and Scabbers spent together. Still, it's been an entertaining ride - thank you for hosting it, and for writing it so well.
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