These mini stories were originally written for the livejournal community hp100, which is now sadly defunct. The challenge was to take a prompt and create a vivid, well-characterized scene in 100 words or less. They were written pre-Deathly Hallows.

Signature

Title: Signature
Word Count: 100
Characters/Pairings: Tom Riddle, Moaning Myrtle
Author's Notes: (Challenge: Performance)

Terror is an art, murder a performance.

Tom pondered his first kill for a long time after he opened the Chamber. It was his signature, it should mean something. He'd choose a Mudblood, there was no question about that. But which? Which one would show them what the Heir of Slytherin was capable of?

His breath curled in the dark, cold air. He kept imagining one particular girl – a dumpy, unremarkable kid. That Hufflepuff, Myrtle. The one who didn't fit in.

At first he dismissed the idea. Why kill her? She was meaningless – random even. Then he smiled.

"Why not?"

Power

Title: Power
Word Count: 100
Characters/Pairings: Neville Longbottom
Author's Notes: (Challenge: Performance)

There's a certain comfort in failure, if you can bear the humiliation and laugh off the jokes of your classmates. If you can keep yourself from thinking about how you'll never be able to follow in your parents' footsteps.

They were heroes, after all.

Yes, there's a certain comfort in mediocrity. In the sleepless nights after Professor Moody showed them the Cruciatus Curse, Neville had stared up into the darkness, and assured himself he'd never be able to perform a spell like that.

But after Cedric, he understood the difference between cruelty and power. After Cedric, he wanted to excel.

Typecast

Title: Typecast
Word Count: 100
Characters/Pairings: Draco Malfoy
Author's Notes: (Challenge: Performance)

Draco Malfoy was used to landing the starring role. He'd played the prince at the Wizard's Pageant every year since he was five. Perhaps it was because he learned his lines with ease. Perhaps it was his clear, strong voice, or his startlingly blond hair and thick-lashed eyes. Perhaps – he didn't like to think about it – it was his father's influence. Whatever the reason, everyone always told him that he'd played his part perfectly.

Then, he met Harry Potter. That's when he discovered that in real life, he'd never be the hero.

He'd have to learn to be the villain.

Prototype

Title: Prototype
Word Count: 100
Characters/Pairings: Draco Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange
Author's Notes: Answering my own question about Draco.

Aunt Bella looked surprised when he asked her to sit down and pull up her sleeve.

His gray eyes flitted back and forth and his quill twitched between his fingers. He'd always had a steady hand and an eye for detail. It would serve his purpose, even if it wasn't real. When he finished and rolled his own sleeve down, he thought his aunt gave him a look of respect.

The next night, he watched the ink run down his arm like streaks of black blood. What will it be like, he wondered, when I can never wash it away?

Patterns

Title: Patterns
Word Count: 98
Characters/Pairings: Neville/Luna

The sound of water drew her to the edge of the lake. In the shadows, a boy was trying to skip stones across the water. One after another, the stones sank, concentric rings spreading outward and splashing against the shore.

A stick cracked underfoot. He turned, his face set somberly. She crouched beside him, muddying her hems.

"Do you ever feel like they're underestimating you?"

"Sometimes," she replied, handing him a flat, round stone.

He nodded, and flicked his wrist. The stone danced across the reflected evening sky, then finally sank, a trail of ripples spreading out in its wake.