Welcome to the HPFT bulletin, where you can find all of our major monthly announcements and information about upcoming events! With our FROGS awards and secret cupid events being officially over, we've got some fun in store for you this March!

If you're new, first and foremost: welcome to HPFT! It's awesome to have you with us.   HPFanficTalk has both a forum/archive - the forum is Harry Potter-themed (including a year-long house cup), but we talk about other fandoms, too, and the archive is multi-fandom/OF.   We have a strong culture of support for other writers and feedback here, including a story help section, challenges, and reviewing events, so if you're a writer, you've come to the right place. A quick rundown to help you get started here on the forums: please post in the 'Welcome to HPFT' topic +here to say that you've read over the rules and understand them. You can specify your house in that post or in our sorting ceremony +here - once you do, we'll sort you into the right group so you can see your common room. You're welcome to post in your common room and/or in our introductions forum +here to introduce yourself if you'd like, and you may also find our +FAQs helpful.

Enjoy your stay!

Hufflepuff: 3214.5
Ravenclaw: 2075
Gryffindor: 1816.5
Slytherin: 1565

We've finished our latest round of CA status checks on the archive, and will be bumping authors shortly; if you haven't been given CA status, you may find +this blog post helpful. In addition, we're discussing making some changes to the archive rules; please give your input +here!

We'll be running our Fic Feud writing event throughout March and the first half of April! This competition will require you to work with a partner to fit certain elements of a story together in creative ways - and give you the chance to sabotage another team. You can find more information and sign up for it +here!

Our second annual FROGS awards have concluded! We want to thank everyone who was a part of it - you all make this site the wonderful and talented community that it is. It was so hard to choose winners, because our archive is full of amazing stories and wonderful reviewers.

You can check out our announcement of the winners +here; the top three in each category (top four when there was a tie for third place) got their own personalized chocolate frog card, and there's also a finalist card for those who made it through to the voting round but didn't place. Stories that placed that haven't already been featured on the archive will be featured stories at some point in the next year, and points have been added to our House Cup totals.

Thanks again, everyone!

Over the course of February, we ran a secret cupid gift exchange. Reviews and questions were left, graphics were gifted, and we all had a lot of fun with it! Our 26 participants were all incredibly generous and spread some Valentine's Day cheer. You can check out the topic revealing who everyone's secret cupid was  +here!

A few cupids in particular stood out, and we'd like to gift them some graphic awards.

 

Thank you so much, @TidalDragon, @just.a.willow.tree, @Felpata_Lupin, @MuggleMaybe, and @Rumpelstiltskin!

In addition, there were two members whose creativity in the gifts they left deserve special recognition. @WriteYourHeartOut created a scavenger hunt for the cupid she was given, and @Ignatia made several different graphic gifts, including a full calendar and a game!

And finally, for everyone else who participated, here's a little graphic for you as well.

Our first Head Student this month is a brilliant artist, a great writer, and an all-around wonderful member of the site who we're psyched to see dropping in more often!   She left a number of gifts as a secret cupid, was active in her common room, and has recently started a challenge! Congratulations to...

@beyond the rain!

Our second Head Student also spread a lot of joy around as a secret cupid, and she's been a very active reviewer in general lately! Her challenge is just finishing up, she's entered other challenges lately, and has recently taken on more responsibility in her common room by joining the newsletter team. Congratulations to...

@Felpata_Lupin!

Congratulations again to you both. Please PM me with whichever of your stories you'd like us to feature!

For this month’s OoM, we’ve chosen another one of our wonderful admins. Please join me in congratulating… @abhorsen.!

As many of you know, Branwen’s dedication to this site is astounding.  Not only is she an active admin on the forums, but she also helps out with the archive, too. She is just one of Ravenclaw’s fearless leaders, known not just for her stunning graphic awards (did you guys see those beauties from the FROGS this year?), but also for her kindness, patience, and general awesomeness.  She’s always around if you have a question or concern, and you see her consistently uploading new stories and leaving thoughtful reviews for other members, too.  We Prefects are fairly certain that she’s a superhuman, and HPFT wouldn’t be the same without her.

Thank you, Branwen, for everything you do for us, and congratulations!

March's SotM was a tie between two wonderful and well-deserving stories! A huge congratulations to both @dreamgazer220 and @just.a.willow.tree for winning March's SotM!

 

 

“Get some sleep.  Insomnia isn’t romantic.” 

After a terrifying night in July, 1994, her life is changed forever.  While Hogwarts hosts the TriWizard Tournament, Catherine Lawrence isolates herself into sleepless nights while she struggles to come to terms with her new reality. As she attempts to decipher if the voices and the ghosts haunting her are real or imaginary, Catherine fails to notice those who reach out.  But Fred Weasley could be the one person to shed light into her fortress - if she can learn to let him in.

banner by Enigma @ TDA

 

Four lives Astoria saved. And then the fifth.

banner by choobacca @ TDA

Every month, HPFT runs Fic Night, where a staff member reads a nominated fic from one of our members.   You can check out February's Fic Night here if you haven't seen it yet - @TidalDragon reads @Pixileanin's That Post is a Keeper!

This month, we're featuring the stories of the month, the fic night story, four stories from our FROGS top threes, and a staff/prefect pick!

Congratulations @abhorsen., @BlackPixie, @Crimson Quill, @dreamgazer220, @just.a.willow.tree, @Pixileanin, @Stella Blue, and @wandlessmagic!

March 1 - The Pettigrew Awareness Challenge by @Felpata_Lupin

March 1 - The Fairy Tale Challenge by @nott theodore

March 2 - The Say Goodbye Challenge by @dreamgazer220

March 2 - The Domesticity Challenge by @forever_dreaming

May 1 - The Rule of Three Challenge by @beyond the rain

May 7 - The Soulmate AU and Random Prompt Challenge by @MadiMalfoy

July 31 - Auror's Tale Story Challenge Season 4 by @StarFeather

And finally, we want to wish a very happy birthday to all of HPFT's March babies. Feel free to stop by their profiles/APs/writing journals on their special day!

3 - @bizinhavieira

4 - @Pen2Paper

4 - @TheGoldenKneazle

6 - @MadiMalfoy

11 - @Alexis Black

14 - @Elena

14 - @Lady Asphodel

16 - @Tecla Sunrise

18 - @mymischiefmanaged

24 - @dreamgazer220

25 - @beyond the rain

25 - @Nix

29 - @stefanie.sycamore

 

order of merlin write-up by @dreamgazer220 and award by @RoxiMalfoy; header, other awards, and the rest of the bulletin write-up by @abhorsen.. Please remember to rehost & credit if you'd like to save your awards!