Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

50 Most Popular Challenges
Summary: Write a Christmas fic! This will archive Christmas stories galore, all the stories throughout the years at P&S.
Summary: Halloween is like THE Harry Potter holiday! Please consider trying to write and share a Snape and Harry Gen Halloween story on one of the groups the week of Halloween. It doesn't have to be long or amazing, a little story or one-shot would be great.

This challenge will list all of the Halloween stories throughout the years.
Summary: Write a short story or one-shot where Harry throws a snowball at Professor Snape's head!

Options: It can be intentional or an accident, taking place inside or out. The story can take place during any year or book.
Summary: The ULTIMATE Fic challenge... like a mini fic-fest for those of us craving one at the moment.

Write five one shots (each AT LEAST 2,500 words or more), and submit separately. No super short fics. New fics only... none written before date this challenge is posted (12/19/2011).

Choose five of the following categorizes/prompts to write on (or choose multiple for each fic):

1) Your choice
2) Mourning
3) Seeing the sunrise
4) Up at all hours of the night
5) Discovering the truth about Harry (or Snape)
6) Revolving around one of the four seasons (spring, summer, fall, or winter)
7) Unlikely allies
8) Strange connections
9) Magical beings (creatures... vampires, werewolves, etc etc)
10) Severus sees Harry break down in one fashion or another (exploding or crying or something)
11) Write about a holiday of choice
12) Write based off of a sentence found at the HP Idea Generator: http://hpideagen.blogspot.com/
13) Write based off of a song of your choice
14) A fic where Harry blows up at Snape and or confesses to him some very private things
15) Angst to the max
16) Fluff to the max
17) Sorrow to the max
18) Someone is having a panic attack
19) Someone is having a heart attack
20) Severus cries
Summary: Your goal is to write a story of any length with any characters including Harry and Severus that responds to 2 or more challenges at the same time.

Bonus if you use 3 challenges in your story. Super bonus if you can use 4 or more.

Be sure to list all of your challenges in your story!

This challenge is meant to get people using up some of those challenges!

Be sure to go all the way back in the archives of challenges to get some good ideas!
Summary: Send Harry to another school... any other school, Muggle or magic. It's your choice and it doesn't have to be a central part of the story, but it would be nice to see Harry at other places now and again.
Summary: During breakfast Hedwig delivers mail to Snape, much to Harry's confusion. Why is his owl delivering mail to Snape of all people?
Summary: Harry is being abused by any teacher of Hogwarts and rescued by Snape. It could be Umbridge or Lockhart or any other likely candidates.
Summary: Write a fic in which Severus Snape actually accepts Dumbledore's offer of a lemon drop. You can use any reason you wish, but he must actually put it in his mouth. Have fun! :-)
Summary: Write a story which begins with the line, "He was about to be kissed".
Summary: Harry gets up one morning and begins to make breakfast. Hearing a noise at the door he cautiously goes to investigate - to find a battered Snape collapsed on the doorstep. What happened to Snape, why is he in Harry's neighborhood, and what in Merlin's name is Harry going to do with him?
Summary: In an effort to make them get along, Dumbledore locks Snape and Harry in a classroom for 72 hours. What do these two talk and/or think about during these three days and three nights? Make some mention of Harry's nightmares and/or the Dursleys.
Summary: Little Harry Potter is very sick at 4 Privet Drive. Snape comes to take care of him before his memory is erased.
Summary: Snape comes across Harry in the Hogwart's kitchens. Harry is making something. There must be House Elves involved in this story (either a big or small involvement). The story can be set either during Harry's Hogwarts years or before that. If you put the story in pre-Hogwarts time do explain why Harry ended up cooking something in the kitchens. And what will happen between the two of them during and after this exchange?
Summary: It's after the war, and due to various circumstances it is impossible to prove that Snape was not a loyal Death Eater. To keep him safe he is enrolled at Hogwarts as a student in Harry's year. This can take place during any of the books or be completely AU.
Summary: Harry is a magical creature of some sort you can choose. He is from the royal line of those creatures and will inherit the throne at some point. Harry can find out anytime you want. Harry and Severus's relationship must be good (ie brothers, father/son, Snape's his guardian or mentor)

Bonus
-If it's slash with an unusual pairing (ie Neville/Harry, Nott/Harry, Percy/Harry)
-If Harry is the dominant in the relationships
Summary: Harry has to battle for the attention and love of his father with a real brother. The details are all up to you.

Some things you might want to consider:
Does Severus acknowledge Harry and his brother? Just one or just the other?
Are they half or whole brothers?
Do Harry and his brother get along?
Is Harry adopted and his brother is Snape's real son, or is it the other way around?
Is Snape all lovey dovey on them, or harsh and unkind?
Is Harry's brother someone we already know, or someone completely new?
Has Harry always known about Severus and his brother, or is this a new revelation?
Does Harry live with Snape? Does his brother?
How do Harry and his friends handle all of this?

Bonus: There is rivalry between Harry and his brother.

I do not want this story to be about Harry being adopted, and another adopted brother of Snape's. One or both of them must be Snape's real children. This can be at Hogwarts, or during the summer, both or neither. You decide.
Summary: http://www.generatorland.com/usergenerator.aspx?id=28477 Use the idea generator there to formulate a story. It can be a one shot or longer! Be sure to write which idea sentence you chose in an author's note!
Summary: Sharpen those lightning bolts, because this one is for all of you havoc wreakers out there! A natural disaster takes place at Hogwarts. Is it a flood? A forest fire? A really bad storm? Does one of the mountains turn out to be a volcano, of all things? What are the repercussions? How is it dealt with? Most importantly, how do Snape and Harry fit into all of this?

Guidelines: None. The story can be *any category* you want. Make it as long or as short as you would like. Be creative, have fun, and most of all, create an epic, wild, crazy disaster!

Cyber high fives for:
- Snape saving Harry's life, or vice versa.
- One of the Hogwarts houses becoming stranded somewhere and having to be rescued.
- Someone having a phobia that involves the disaster, but is able to overcome it.
- The patients in the hospital wing needing to be rescued

Good luck, and have fun!

Summary: Everyone has secrets. Snape finds out one (or more) of Harry's (can be abuse - related, but doesn't have to be) and his opinion of Harry changes.
Summary: Either Harry or Severus gets stuck in a "grounding spell" or "child containment" spell. What exactly that means, how they got there, how the other one fits in, and how long it lasts is up to you, but it should last at least a couple days - enough time for some good laughs and fun!


Some ideas on the spell itself (you may use other ideas if you think of them, or variations):
-on a magical leash/harness (like you see little kids on sometimes), and can't walk anywhere without someone holding the leash
-stuck within 20 feet of someone at all times - perhaps it must be someone they know/not a stranger, or perhaps the someone can be switched somehow, but it should not just be one person always. Maybe it's two designated people?
-has to be touching someone to walk, otherwise legs are stuck together like a leg locker curse
-can't open any doors or cabinets, etc, can't pick up any object not directly given to them recently, can't turn anything on


Some ideas on how it got there (again, you may use others):
-Malfoy and Harry dueling - could hit Harry or rebound onto Snape
-the Dark Lord discovers Snape is a spy and puts it on him as part of his torture/to contain him during torture, but then he is rescued. Perhaps it is permanent or lasts indefinitely in this case


Some other thoughts:
-perhaps put in an "except in emergencies" clause - could be reasonable that such a spell would allow the kid to run if the house were on fire, for example. Does the emergencies clause allow them to defend themselves/duel?


For the most part, take this as you will! The point is to see some funny moments, probably some humiliation. Have fun!
Summary: Severus is in big trouble. He doesn't have any kids, but he's supposed to be bringing his son to Christmas to meet his family, who he's been estranged from for twelve or thirteen (or more) years. Harry ends up being that pretend son.

Things to think about/ideas:
- Why does Severus need to bring a child to this family get together? Had he lied previously and said he'd had a child? Or was he maybe just embarrassed to be showing up after all these years with no family to call his own?
- How does Severus get Harry to agree to this given their previous animosity? Does he blackmail him into it? Is it some sort of deal for Harry to get out of trouble or many detentions? Does Harry go because he's got nowhere else to go for Christmas? Some other reason?
- What happens over Christmas? Does it go smoothly, or is it a fiasco? Do they come out of this experience not having different feelings about each other, or do they learn to respect each other? Does Snape find out about Harry's home situation during all of this? Does Harry begin to wish that this pretend family was his real family? Lots of things to think about!
- Is Harry a good actor? A bad actor? Does this annoy Severus or is he relieved?
Summary: The Headmaster wants to try string walkie talkies (The imaginary kind made up from cups and a bit of string). Severus and Harry are the only people around to help test them out.
Summary: At the end of HBP Harry and Snape parted on a particularly bad note. What do you think their next meeting will be like?
Summary: It is a little known fact that Parselmouths are sensitive to certain kinds of music...
Summary: Hogwarts has been under siege for some time. The supplies are dwindling, food is running low and most of the potions have been spent... Harry is injured and Snape is the only one able to help at the moment. There are no potions left, and no correct ingredients to make any so they’ll have to bind it Muggle Style.
Summary: Snape teaches Harry a lesson, using any of Aesop's Fables as the moral. The fable from which the moral comes must be sighted in the author's notes. It must involve Snape telling Harry the fable and what he expects Harry to learn from it. Can be a oneshort of a part of a larger story. Any other characters may be used in the story as well as long as Snape is the one telling the story and Harry learns something from it.
Summary: Summer before fourth year, Harry is locked in his room at the Dursleys', forced to live as a house elf, brutally beaten, and starved. Hedwig is tossed onto a bonfire with Harry's other belongings, but she manages to barely escape! Hedwig is badly injured, and so burnt that she can't be recognized as a snowy owl. What will she do? Where does she go for help? Can Harry be saved in time?
Summary: In some way shape or form Tobias Snape is made Guardian of Harry Potter. He can either be abusive or loving or somewhere in between. If he is abusive Severus must rescue him. Tobias Snape is Severus Snape's father, as we all know. The books imply that he was abusive, but nothing definite is ever stated. Because we know so little about his character he can be portrayed any way the author likes.
Summary: This is AU, of course. What if Harry had red hair instead of dark messy hair? And/or was a girl? If Harry had resembled his mother, how would Snape have responded to Harry? Imagine Snape's reaction on seeing a version of Lily in miniature. How would this have affected the HP storyline?
Summary: Only one condition: have a scenario where Snape begins his menacing trek to any location, only to feel a tug from behind. His robes aren't billowing behind him. A baby is sitting on them. Harry Potter.

Need some visual inspiration? http://lilette.deviantart.com/art/Tug-128317126

Feel free to make a one shot to a child fic you've created if you've already done so. :) No other limitations!
Summary: The Dr. Seuss Challenge

If you've good solid instincts for rhythm and rhyme,
MS Office, a modem, and plenty of time,
Here's a challenge that's easy! The rules are quite loose.
Simply tell us a story . . . just like Dr. Seuss.

Hey, it's fanfic; the setting and players we've got.
Choose an angle and scare up a bunny for plot.
Are they Comrades, or Brothers? Friends having a chat?
(Just make sure there's no slash . . . and no mpreg, at that).

See, the sky is the limit! It's all up to you!
Could be Father, Apprentice, and Enemy, too!
But while challenges offer a framework or shell,
It's for you to decide just which story to tell.

Summary: It's summer time between 6th and 7th year or Harry's 5th and 6th year and Harry is getting wailed on by his cousin Dudley. After a couple of weeks a VERY angry Snape shows up and hauls Harry off to Hogwarts, where Harry is accused of getting a fourth (or 5th) year Ravenclaw girl pregnant. He is shown the front page of the daily prophet with a 3 inch bold headline reading: "HARRY POTTER GOT ME PREGNANT." Now of course Harry had nothing to do with the pregnancy, and has never had any sexual relations of any kind as of yet. The article also has a picture of a bruised beat up looking Harry, and claims that the girl's dad beat him up when he found out Harry was the father (also not true). How will Harry handle this? How will he convince his professors and the Order that he is not the father? Or will he claim that he is the father just so he can leave the Dursley's? Will he save the girl he's never even met from embarrassment and collaborate her story and take care of her? How will he act towards her when school starts and she's walking around the halls pregnant and everybody is staring at her and Harry?

Snape must somehow be involved in all of this throughout either as Harry's mentor, tormentor, or friend (or in some other way?). It's all up to you!

Bonus: if it's more than 6 chapters and goes until the birth of the Baby (whether or not Harry has anything to do with it). Figure on the baby being born around January.
Summary: Snape gives Harry a bath. Bonus points if Harry is injured/impaired and therefor cannot do it himself.
Summary: The blood quill Madame Umbridge makes Harry use night after night for detention ends up giving him an infection in his hand. How does Snape find out about it?
Summary: What if Hagrid wasn't the first person to arrive at the Potters' house on that fatal Halloween? What if Snape got there first? Severus finds Lily and James dead, Voldemort dead... and one small baby boy alone in the wreckage of the house. What does he do?
Summary: I was looking at the various categories, and to my surprise, there are no stories under 'Crossover'!

So, this challenge is straightforward enough: write a crossover between HP and another fandom in which Harry and Snape feature as main characters.

Summary: Write a story (doesn't matter how long or short) where Harry's first child is born and severus is Harry's father, and the child's grandfather in some capacity. Snape can be Harry's father biologically, adopted, mentor ETc make it fun, it can be comedic, dramatic, fluffy...whatever MUSTs: Snape is harry's father in some capacity Sev's reaction to becoming a grandfather I.E: holding the baby for the first time. someone calls him grampy :)
Summary: In year 5 or 6, Harry finds out his mum and dad were not Lily and James Potter. In fact, he discovers he has two dads and his “mum” is none other than Severus Snape! How Harry’s finds out is up to you, it could be through Creature Inheritance, Medical Need/Accident, Potion Accident/Assignment etc.

Rules of the challenge:
  • Obviously this will be MPREG (male pregnancy)
  • Severus Snape must be Harry’s “Mum”
  • Harry can be the product of a loving relationship or of Non-Con (rape)
  • Harry’s other dad, can be either Lucius Malfoy, Tom Riddle Jr. /Lord Voldemort, or Regulus Black
  • Harry must have been taken/kidnapped from Snape; Snape loved and wanted Harry (even if he was conceived in rape)
  • Harry suffered abuse at the Dursleys and Severus (and other Father if involved in plot) helps his son to heal.

Summary: Write a tale in which Snape, Lupin, Harry, and Draco come to be a family in some way. Obviously, some responses to this challenge will be slash (however, this is not necessary).

Suggestions:

~For some reason, Snape, Lupin, Harry, and Draco have to pose as a family. Likely none of them are entirely pleased about this. (Think: We're the Millers)
~Snape and Lupin team together platonically to look after the boys in some way
~Snape, Lupin, Harry, and Draco all find themselves in a situation where they are siblings in some capacity
~Molly Weasley/another Order member/Hogwarts staff has decided that Snape has been alone quite long enough and knows the perfect person for him. (Alternatively, he/she/they have tired of seeing Lupin alone, so forth, yada)
~Harry and Draco decide to team up to unite their parent figures/mentors/guardians/favorite professors (Think: The Parent Trap)
~Harry and/or Draco finds himself in charge of two de-aged professors; the other insists on helping for whatever reason
~Any other scenario you can think of (I could go on for some while, so it's really best I stop, now...)

Note: Not everyone need be an official part of the immediate family to satisfy this challenge

Summary: Snape and Harry goes traveling abroad to other countries, experiencing other wizarding cultures.

They could just go to one other country, or several.

The reason for their leaving the UK could be anything; perhaps it is to escape the hype around Harry being the boy who lived? Or perhaps Snape is being threathened because of his background as a Death Eater? Or perhaps it is for educational purposes?

Bonus points if including minority cultures.
Summary: I want to read a non-slash werewolf story in which Harry is bitten and is a werewolf but nobody knows. He's hiding it (at least for the first third or even half of the story). All other details up to you!

Questions you may want to answer:
- Who bit Harry? Remus? Greyback? Someone else? Was it an accident or on purpose?
- How old is Harry? Just starting Hogwarts or is he a few years into it? I don't really want to see a post Hogwarts story.
- Who ends up finding out and how? Severus? Does he help Harry or report him right away? It'd be cool if it was kept a semi-secret for as long as possible.
- How is Harry handling this on his own? What are the logistics of hiding it and how do things happen on the full moon since no one else knows?
- I'd like to see it be at least a very long one-shot or multi-chapter fic, not a drabble or series of drabbles.
Summary: Create a non-traditional fanwork that fits the theme of this site!
Examples:
  • epistolary (letter/journal-entry-based fic)
  • poetry
  • audio script
  • podfic (audio-narrated fanwork)
  • filk (fan song, both to the tune of existing music and with original tune)
  • fanvideo
  • playlist
  • comic/manga
  • bookbinding
  • cross stitch/embroidery
  • sculptures
  • pottery
  • and many others...

For the closer-to-comprehensive list see this website: https://unconventionalfanworkex.dreamwidth.org/14316.html
Summary: In Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets, a Basilisk was slain but the fate of its carcass was left to the imagination. Your challenge is to write a short story in which Snape and Harry find themselves checking on it. The when, how, and why is your prerogative.
Summary: Harry decides to go after Snape for revenge before Voldemort, alone. But Snape's not that easy to catch and often turns the tables before slipping away each time. A different Snape mentors Harry fic.
Summary: If Snape and Harry had had a chat after one of Harry's "remedial potions" lessons what would they have talked about? What would have happened?
Summary: Harry's owl is poisoned, and the first person he runs into while looking for help is Snape.
Summary: While at school, Snape is taken away by the Wizarding police (Aurors). Harry is the only one who can prove his innocence, and save him from either Azkaban, or a Dementor's Kiss.
Summary: GOF Book. Moody isn't out that night Harry sneaks under his invisibilty cloak, gets his foot stuck in the missing step and drops his Golden Egg, but Snape still is. (Chapter 25, around page 470, Scholastic paperback.)
Summary: 6th year: A time for NEWT preparations, friends, romance, life altering decisions... and re-inoculations. Guess who is helping out in the infirmary when Harry comes in to get his?


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