Although May 2, 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, as loyal fans, many of us have had less than a year to mourn the deaths of some of our favorite [most beloved?] characters in the Harry Potter series. In honor of these fallen heroes, our May contest is an invitation for you to write an eulogy* of up to 50 words about the HP character of your choice. You will not be limited solely to those who were killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, but can select any character who was killed at any point in the series.

*Eulogy (from www.dictionary.com)
1. a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, esp. a set oration in honor of a deceased person.
2. high praise or commendation.

Rules for Entrants:

1) Write an eulogy of up to 50 words about your favorite character in the Harry Potter series. You may write the eulogy in any form (e.g. poem, speech, prose, etc). You may submit entries for up to two characters.
2) There is a strict PG-13 rating for the epitaphs.
3) All work must be original.
4) All decisions by the judges are final.
5) Anyone over the age of 13 may enter the contest including staff members who are not involved in the judging process.
6) All submissions must be e-mailed to contests@the-leaky-cauldron.org by May 25, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. EDT with "Fallen Heroes" in the subject line of the e-mail. Please copy-paste the eulogy into the body of the e-mail and include a name to be used for authorship (real name or Leaky Lounge name).
7) Please refer to our FAQ if you are not sure of something.
8) If you have any questions not answered on the FAQ, or would like to discuss this Contest, please come to the Contest Corner forum of The Leaky Lounge.

I hope this is the appropriate place to ask, but I wanted to make sure I was understanding correctly before I submitted my entry.

"You may submit entries for up to two characters."

This means we have the option of submitting separate eulogies of up to fifty words each, for two characters, yes? Not that we have the option of eulogizing two characters in the same eulogy?

I've written two, but I don't want to submit them both if it'll disqualify me.

Thanks!

This is the perfect place to ask questions about our monthly contests when you need clarification.

Yes, you may submit two separate entries (one character per entry). Thanks for participating in our contest. Good luck!

This sounds like a great contest! I've been looking for a good way to pay homage to some of my favorite fallen characters -- and just in time for Memorial Day, too.

*wonders who FredFan is going to write about... oh, wait... Fred!*

Off to write!

Thanks so much!

What a great idea!
But I think I am missing something...how do we know the battle was on May 2?

Jo told us in the ITV documentary (and included in one of the preview clips for it that is in the galleries). There are also indications in the book, when in the early morning before the Gringotts raid there is a phrase along the lines of "Now it was May", which could be taken to mean it was 1st May. The Battle started the following midnight, so took place in the early hours of May 2nd.

I wanted to ask something. I didn't really understand what this "up to 50 words" means. Does it mean that it must be more than 50 words or less than 50 words? Because I write one which has more than 300 words so I wanted to cheak is it allowed? Oh also I wanted to ask, what should we write in this text? The life of the character or just the he was? I will be so happy if this will be answered because as you know by now I am not some english expert and I need a little help about this.

The "up to 50 words" means that the entry should not be longer than 50 words. In other words, 50 words is your maximum. If you've already submitted the entry, go ahead and resubmit it with the e-mail header "Fallen Heroes - Mistake." We'll not count the other entry you submitted.

As for the content in the entry, that's purely up to you! An eulogy is basically honoring the deceased. So you can write about an exciting time of their life (e.g. if Neville had died (thank goodness he didn't!) you could mention when he won points Gryffindor in PS/SS that enabled them to win the house cup!), about their overall life, about their personality, about their accomplishments, etc. What you write is up to you.

Hope that helps! If it doesn't, feel free to ask for clarification.

Well I have no idea what i will write with only 50 words. I can not express my feeling with so little no to say some Dobby's exciting time. I writ eone but it is really stupid sompared with the long one. But I will have to submit this one and think about some other character.

The best eulogy I have ever seen is only 39 words long.

"Thank you so much, Dobby, for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us. I hope you're happy now."
~ Luna Lovegood (J.K. Rowling, Deathly Hallows US Edition, page 480)

We get a whole elven words more than that, so i think we can do it. My first attempts were around three hundred words as well, but I cut them down quite a bit. I think it is one of the more challenging bits of the contest, but I like it

Thanks! I have never been good with that kind of stuff

When it says a character who died at any point in the series, does this also include those mentioned who died in the first war? Such as Harry's parents, the prewetts, etc... or only those who we saw die in the 7 years of Harry's Hogwarts experience and horcrux hunt?

And an Eulogy is typically not written in poem form, though an elegy is. Is there a preferred form for this contest or will we be marked down for using poetry since it is then technically not an eulogy?

You may use any character who died in the entire series including those who perished during the First War.

There is no preferred form for the Eulogy. We are simply looking for entries that best honor those who have fallen.

Good luck!

Thank you! This is a great contest!

I like this contest. I am just about to submit my Eulogy and I hope it is liked.

x-Kate-x

could you also say stuff like the house they were sorted into even if it was not mentioned in the series??
eg. kingslys could be in gryffindor or Dawlish in slytherin
????
i just want an idea of what im going to be writing about.

Thanks for asking, but you need to stick to the known canon when you write your eulogy.

Best of luck!

I have question: the contest rules said anyone over the thirteen may enter this contest if your thirteen can you enter this contest? Just though I'd ask!!

Let's rephrase that...13 and over!

YAY! I just submitted my Fallen Heroes Eulogy!!!!!!! It's about Fred Weasley!!!!! HUZZAH!! WOOT WOOT!

The winners have been picked!

We received a number of great entries and it was hard to pick, but the Contest Team would like to send a little reminder to everyone also. There were some really good entries that had to be eliminated because of simple errors (e.g. spelling a character's name wrong) and we'd like to remind everyone to please spell check and check for simple grammar errors before you submit your entries.

Congratulations to everyone who won and thanks to everyone who participated!


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First Place: Severus Snape - MistyH

He was light and dark.
Hate and love.
Pain and remedy.
In the end, he was noble without being kind,
loyal without being blameless.
He was a question with no easy answer.
An enigma, a riddle, a deep and complex man.
And most assuredly, a hero.

Second Place: Regulus Black - Fidelia

To The Dark Seeker

We spoke your name in whispers
A traitor's end
Ignoble, unsung
Time and other hands have uncovered your deeds
You instead saw Truth
And did not flinch nor turn away
You died for honor, for loyalty
And love
Let's pin your fallen star
Knowing you sought not Darkness
But Light

Third Place: Severus Snape - Dasani

Harry: He was the bravest man –
Hermione: – capable of great love –
Ron: – in great need of shampoo –
Neville: – perhaps a dose of sanity –
Luna: He had the most beautiful soul –
Ron: – if he had a soul –
Harry: – and we didn’t really know him. Did we?

Honorable Mention: Fred Weasley - Fngw417

In life he made us laugh, his death we had a cry, but like the cowboy who dies with his boots on, with a smile on his face did Fred Weasley die. Whether a canary cream or dung bomb you give, in our hearts Fred Weasley does live!

Honorable Mention: Dobby - Zuha Khan

Dobby,
I took away your chains and gave you hope.
I gave you freedom and generosity.
If only I had realized that it was you who had set me free.
You had given me hope and freedom and generosity.
Your final act will never be forgotten.
You're my savior.