The dread balloon.

Late in the summer of 1996, the Second War had reached a stalemate. Albus Dumbledore, in an uncharacteristically diplomatic move, proposed a summit where peace talks could begin. He invited Lord Voldemort, naturally, who agreed to attend, provided he could bring along his trusty henchpeople Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Minister Cornelius Fudge also agreed to participate, bringing along his right-hand woman Dolores Umbridge, and his loyal assistant Percy Weasley.

Given that Muggles were at the crux of the conflict, Dumbledore thought they should have a voice in the peace process as well. So, with a flick of his wand, he summoned one of the Muggliest Muggles ever known: Vernon Dursley. Mr Dursley was terribly surprised to be honoured with this invitation, but at length he was subdued.

'How remarkable,' said Dumbledore. 'It seems that some of the most powerfully disliked people in our world are here. I must say, I do feel the odd man out!' He chuckled merrily. There was an uncomfortable silence. 'Well, now that we are here,' Dumbledore went on, 'may I propose a hot-air balloon ride so that we may converse in a more relaxed atmosphere? No wands, of course.'

The others were a bit reluctant at first, but not wanting to derail the peace process before it had begun, they agreed.

But almost as soon as they had embarked, something dreadful happened. A sudden storm blew the balloon off-course, far out over the sea. And even worse, they appeared to be losing altitude. At this rate, they would never make it back to land before they plunged into the icy water. They quickly threw their picnic lunch overboard, but it did no good -- they would have to drop more weight.

'Dear me, this is a most difficult state of affairs,' said Dumbledore, gazing around at his unlikely companions, who were beginning to look very nervous indeed.

[Poll #393371]

The fandom balloon poll idea comes from slowfox. chresimos helped with this one. ^_^

[EDIT: This round is closed. Proceed to round II!]

The dread balloon.

Late in the summer of 1996, the Second War had reached a stalemate. Albus Dumbledore, in an uncharacteristically diplomatic move, proposed a summit where peace talks could begin. He invited Lord Voldemort, naturally, who agreed to attend, provided he could bring along his trusty henchpeople Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Minister Cornelius Fudge also agreed to participate, bringing along his right-hand woman Dolores Umbridge, and his loyal assistant Percy Weasley.

Given that Muggles were at the crux of the conflict, Dumbledore thought they should have a voice in the peace process as well. So, with a flick of his wand, he summoned one of the Muggliest Muggles ever known: Vernon Dursley. Mr Dursley was terribly surprised to be honoured with this invitation, but at length he was subdued.

'How remarkable,' said Dumbledore. 'It seems that some of the most powerfully disliked people in our world are here. I must say, I do feel the odd man out!' He chuckled merrily. There was an uncomfortable silence. 'Well, now that we are here,' Dumbledore went on, 'may I propose a hot-air balloon ride so that we may converse in a more relaxed atmosphere? No wands, of course.'

The others were a bit reluctant at first, but not wanting to derail the peace process before it had begun, they agreed.

But almost as soon as they had embarked, something dreadful happened. A sudden storm blew the balloon off-course, far out over the sea. And even worse, they appeared to be losing altitude. At this rate, they would never make it back to land before they plunged into the icy water. They quickly threw their picnic lunch overboard, but it did no good -- they would have to drop more weight.

'Dear me, this is a most difficult state of affairs,' said Dumbledore, gazing around at his unlikely companions, who were beginning to look very nervous indeed.

[Poll #393371]

The fandom balloon poll idea comes from slowfox. chresimos helped with this one. ^_^

[EDIT: This round is closed. Proceed to round II!]