Community Profile

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Anaïs Nin

hp_friendship is a prompt-based ficathon that celebrates one of the big themes of the Harry Potter series: friendship. We would like to showcase friendship between Harry Potter characters in all its many facets. What do friends do for friends, and what do they do to them? You tell us!

What do we mean by friendship fic?
For the purpose of this fest, we're looking for fic that focuses on friendship in all possible ways. Friendships that are just beginning or that have withered on the vine, friendships that weather all storms or break over matters big or small, friendships that span class, race, gender, or generations, that are fraught with problems or provide a rock in the surf. We'd love to see unlikely friends, friends who betray their friends or who save them from betrayal, friends who survive adventures together or find themselves faced with problems that they wouldn't even have if it weren't for the other.

Characters of all ages, body shapes, classes, ethnic backgrounds, and genders are welcome!

What do we not mean by friendship fic?, or: The Harry Met Sally Clause
In a nutshell: for the purpose of this fest, pairing fic is not friendship fic.
By "friends" we mean people who have formed an attachment to each other that may be emotional, affectional, or simply interest-based but is not one of lovers. Fics about friends who turn into lovers also do not fall within the scope of this fest.

But ... where is the boundary between friends and lovers?
Of course boundaries between friendship and romance may be fluent. There is such a thing as "romantic friendship" between friends who don't see themselves as lovers, and nothing is to be said against a bit of spark if your muse takes you there. We trust your own discretion to keep the relationship one of friends, though, and not to slip in pairing fic through the back door. If the way the characters are written suggests a pairing, we may ask you to publish your fic somwehere else. If in doubt, don't hesitate to ask a mod!

Can they have sex?
Yes, friends can have sex. But again, the sex should not ring in a relationship of lovers, and the focus of the fic should be on the friendship. Does a friendship break up because two characters have sex with each other? Is casual sex part of your characters' friendship culture? Fine! But if you want the story to focus on the sex, your fic will be better suited for a pairing-oriented fest.

What if one of them is in a relationship? Would that make it a pairing-fic?
No, not within the definition of this fest. We encourage fic populated with realistic characters, and realistic characters can have relationships. A relationship of one friend may also become an issue in a friendship. All of this is welcome -- so long as you keep the focus on the ... but you know the drill.

Prompting and prompt claiming:

Each prompter may submit up to five prompts.

Prompting is anonymous. Comments to the prompting post will be screened. Once a prompt is claimed, the prompter will be revealed to the author who claimed it.

Note: This is not a gift exchange! The author can peruse the prompter's journal to learn more about her likes and dislikes but is in no way obligated to do so. The only binding rule is not to include the dislikes stated in the prompting form.

Submissions:

Stories must be at least 1,500 words. There's no upper limit as to length.

All stories must be spell-checked and beta-read. The mods reserve the right to return any fic for revision.

Stories should be submitted as Word documents. Please include HTML tags if your story needs special formatting (bolds, italics, etc.).

Header information will be posted at a later date.

Stories must be complete and can't be part of a series/WIP.

Stories will be posted anonymously to the community. Please do not post them elsewhere before the authors' names have been revealed.

Timeline:

Prompting begins - Sunday, March 18
Prompting ends - Saturday, March 31
Claiming begins - Sunday, April 1
Claiming ends - Saturday, April 14
Submissions due - Saturday, June 16
Posting starts - Sunday, July 1