Following all of the terms of the mission, to use your vivid imagination to write a short story inspired by the Harry Potter series and the following statement by J.K. Rowling:

The forest at Hogwarts is home to magical creatures like unicorns and centaurs. Because the Canadian editions are printed on Ancient-Forest Friendly paper, the Harry Potter books are helping to save magnificent forests in the Muggle world, forests that are home of magical animals such as Orangutans, Wolves and Bears. It's a good idea to respect ancient trees, especially if they have a temper like the Whomping Willow.

-- JK Rowling (Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

TERMS OF THE MISSION

Appropriately, this story must take place in the Forbidden Forest.
It must include at least one character from the five published Harry Potter books.
It must include at least one creature that is found either in the first five published Harry Potter books OR Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. For reference purposes, you may want to visit The Bestiary at the HP Lexicon.
The story must not contradict information in the first five published Harry Potter books.
The story may be no longer than 1,000 words. That's two rolls of parchment, with a little extra room for all the Hermiones out there.
The story must be acceptable for reading by any age group. The Sugar Quill will only post stories it feels are appropriate with regard to age of writer, content of material, etc.
You may submit a story in any of the following categories: Romance, Humor, Angst, General, and Drama.
This contest is open to everyone, providing you are 13 years of age or older (and just you remember what happened to the twins, when they tried to cross that age line!)
You may only enter the contest once.
All stories must reach us by August 8, 2003, 9 AM EST (Judging will take place throughout the month of August. Results will be posted no later than August 31, 2003). Stories may be sent to us anytime before August 8, 2003.

Winning stories will be chosen based on:

Quality of Writing
Creativity
Faithfulness to Canon (the first five published Harry Potter books)
What we like. Ha.

If you have questions about the terms of the mission, please ask them at the Sugar Quill Forum!

ABOUT JK ROWLING AND ANCIENT FORESTS

JK Rowling’s statement was inspired by the fact that her Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, printed the Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on ancient forest friendly paper. By printing the initial run on 100% post-consumer recycled, processed chlorine free paper, Raincoast Books and Harry Potter have saved:

29,640 trees (or a forest area equivalent to 1.4 times the size of a Quidditch World Cup stadium)
12,417,986 gallons of water (water to fill 31 Hogwarts lakes)
1,396,732 pounds of solid waste (equivalent mass to 155 Giant Squids)
20,248 BTUs of electricity (195 years of eckeltricity to power the average American home)
2,679,548 pounds of greenhouse gases (2.4 million miles traveled by a Flying Ford Anglia with average fuel efficiency)

The Canadian Harry Potter is the only edition internationally to be printed on paper that is free of ancient and endangered forests. It’s also the only edition that has a statement by JK Rowling in it. That’s good news for bio-diversity and the world’s forests!

Why is this important?

The world’s forests are being destroyed for paper, wood and construction materials. They need a little magic to help safeguard them. Wizards already use special protected forests to manufacture parchment, wands, and broomsticks.

Only 20% of the Earth’s original forest remains in large, relatively natural ecosystems known as frontier or ancient forests.
Seventy-six countries have already lost all their original forest cover.
Seventy-one percent of the world’s paper supply originates from biologically diverse and valuable forests rather than from tree farms.
40% of Canada’s ancient rainforests (trees up to 1400 years old) and 65% of Canada’s boreal forests are logged to produce paper.
Global paper consumption is projected to grow roughly 77% by 2020

PRIZES

Everyone is a winner at the Sugar Quill. All entries will be posted for review by the public on our website after the final decision has been made.

The top seven winners will receive the following prizes:

Order of Merlin First Class (3 winners)
- Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and an ancient forest friendly Firebolt (courtesy of Markets Initiative!)

Order of Merlin Second Class (2 winners)
- Sugar Quill T-shirt

Order of Merlin Third Class (2 winners)
- Sugar Quill Pen

~*~

Click here for the winners of the First Annual Sugar Quill Fan Fiction Tournament

Click here for the winners of the Second Annual Sugar Quill Fan Fiction Tournament

Click here to see who completed the Fifth Book Challenge

Click here to read entries for the Unexpected Task

The Sugar Quill was created by Zsenya and Arabella. For questions, please send us an Owl!