"Let's get down to business, " said Lily cheerfully, "Hugo, why don't you go next?"
Hugo turned over his picture to reveal a drawing of a storm. There were several super bright strikes of purple lightning emanating from the sky, which was dark and gray and filled with clouds. Rain was pouring from those clouds.
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily looked at Hugo's drawing with awestruck looks on their faces.
Samantha. who had a strong fear of lightning and hated storms, actually screamed and everybody else turned to look at her.
"Sorry, " said Samantha quickly, "I didn't mean to scream, but I have a great fear of lightning. I grew up in Arizona amidst summer monsoon storms. The thought of being outside during lightning always terrified me. "
"And it should, " said Lily clearly, "Lightning is very dangerous."
"For a split second, I actually thought that there was a storm and that we had lightning in the area," explained Samantha, who had now calmed down.
"That's the best compliment I could be given, " said Hugo contently, "It means my work came across as authentic."
"I told you you could do it!" said Lily proudly.
"Lily did me a big favor here, " revealed Hugo, "I originally had a hard time coming up with an idea that I wanted to use for the Hogwarts Drawing Competition. I asked Lily if she choose an idea for me. She did me a big favor by refusing this request."
"The Hogwarts Drawing Competition is supposed to be about expressing one's self, " said Lily fiercely, "It would have been disingenuous for me to have chosen Hugo's idea for him even at his request. Besides, I KNEW Hugo would come up with an idea that he could make an elite drawing from!"
"Lily's confidence in me meant everything to me, " said Hugo radiantly, "I informed her later that same day that I was going to do a storm picture and her response was to tell me that she was sure I could make a storm drawing realistic enough to scare the wits out people who fear storms."
"I was right, " grinned Lily.
"I admire the realism Hugo put into his drawing, " acknowledged Samantha, "But, and this goes for all of you, I'm going to ask you not to tease, rib, or raze me about my initial reaction to Hugo's picture."
"We won't, " promised Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Ainsley, and Lily.
"Oh, thank you, " said a relived sounding Samantha, "I know that teasing, ribbing, and razing can sometimes be a thing in our circle. But my fear of storms and lightning is one of those things that I don't find funny and don't want to be made light of."
"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't respect that?" said Lily fiercely, "If you don't to be teased, ribbed, or razed about your initial reaction to Hugo's drawing, then we won't tease, rib, or raze you about it. It's that simple."
"Thanks, " said Samantha gratefully.
"You know, " said Hugo thoughtfully, "No one would ever want to be caught outside during lightning in real life. But it offers the potential for some pretty spectacular artwork."
"You've just proven that " said Lily admiringly.
"it's legitimately one of the most realistic entries anyone in our group has done, " piped up Gordon.
It is just so authentic, " said Stephanie fondly, "There's no other word for it."
"Yes, " agreed Devon, "Hugo's comment that Samantha's scream was the best compliment he could have been given summed it up perfectly."
"Thanks, everyone, and especially thanks to Lily for believing in me, " finished Hugo.
"Pamela, why don't you go next?" suggested Lily.
Pamela slowly and quietly flipped over her picture and it turned out to be a simple but beautiful drawing of a full moon.
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all looked at Pamela's drawing with a feeling of peaceful happiness.
"I know there isn't as much to my drawing as there is to some of the others, but to be blunt about it, I just wanted to draw a full moon. It's what I wanted to draw, " said Pamela quietly.
"It's beautiful, Pamela, " said Lily approvingly, "Sometimes there is beauty in simplicity."
"I think the mixture of the types of drawings our circle made is wonderful, " said Stephanie warmly, "As someone who loves drawing, I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the different types of pictures we've seen here."
"That's why I asked what everyone's was beforehand, " said Lily clearly, "I wanted to avoid duplicates."
"The thing is, " said Pamela crisply, "My full moon isn't meant to represent anything. It's literally just what I felt like doing."
"If you are satisfied with your own work, then that is the true prize, " said Lily kindly, " How about Rose goes next, "
Rose's drawing turned out to be a take on the old phrase "It's raining cats and dogs."
Rose's drawing featured several different breeds of cats and dogs. The cat breeds featured in Rose's drawing included Persian, Siamese, Bengal, and Domestic Shorthair. The dog breeds included Black Labs, Golden Retrievers, and Poodles. They all seemed to be falling from the sky.
"It's raining cats and dogs!" chroused Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily.
"Yep, " grinned Rose, "That's the theme I was basing my drawing on. I chose seven total breeds of animal because seven is the most powerfully magical number."
"Cool!" said Ainsley happily, "Nice way of combining two thoughts and making a fantastic drawing out of it."
"It's one of the wilder feeling entries we have, which is exactly what I love about it, " said James briskly.
"And it's so neat, " observed Stephanie, "The hairs, ears, eyes, whiskers, etc. are all exactly where they should be."
"I don't mean this boastfully, " said Rose, "But I put a lot of time and effort into making this drawing, "
"It shows, " said Lily proudly, "And if I may say so, you did one of the hardest drawings of anyone in our circle. You didn't have the benefit of knowing things went in a specific place or went in a specific order. It was an abstract decision for you where to place each animal in your picture."
"That's a great point, Lily, and absolutely true, " agreed Stephanie, "It makes Rose's work all the more impressive."
"I figured one person in our group would use an animal theme, " said Ainsley fondly.
"Rose's work is certainly superior to mine-" began Pamela.
"Your work is just as good as hers, " said Lily sharply, "You just did different kinds of drawings. You both did fantastic work and you both can be enormously proud of the work you did on your drawings. "
Pamela quietly smiled and nodded at Lily.
"How did you choose the breeds of animals you used, Rose?" asked Albus curiously.
"I just used the breeds that came into my mind first, " answered Rose, "There was no need to be fussy about which specific breeds I used so long as I got a good variety."
"One thing we haven't seen yet is a Quidditch themed drawing, " said Lily proddingly.
Taking the hint, Stephanie showed them her drawing.
To everyone's surprise, it wasn't an in progress match, but a match that had just ended.
Hoops could be seen on either side of Stephanie's drawing and there were players scattered about on their brooms in both scarlet and gold robes and green and silver robes.
In the middle of the picture was a small girl in red and gold robes wearing hot pink flip flops and carrying a golden snitch in her mouth.
"That's from my first Quidditch match!" said Lily excitedly.
"I wanted to do a Quidditch themed drawing without making it too crowed or busy, " explained Stephanie, "Portraying Lily with the snitch still in her mouth as her first match ended was a perfect way to showcase Quidditch using an actual event while still keeping the drawing clean and focused. I know you are a midget, Lily,, so I made sure to depict you as the midget that you are."
Privately, Lily HATED being called "midget". She had long since accepted that she would always be small and short, but it stung her to be called "midget". Unfortunately for Lily, Samantha, Courtney, and Stephanie were all fond of calling Lily "midget" and Lily was too decent a person and friend to complain about it. Still, Lily felt her insides squeam every time every time she got called "midget", usually by the Saver sisters.
Those people who had been present, be it as teammates or spectators, for Lily's first Quidditch match found themselves fondly reminiscing back on that glorious day.
"I'll never forget how Lily caught that snitch, " said James fondly, "Being a Quidditch junkie who had the opportunity call my beloved sister's very first match, well, it couldn't have turned out any better."
"The fact that I won my very first match in the same way dad won his very first match is still so special, " said Lily emotionally, "In that moment, I literally lived out, "Like father like daughter,"
"We still have that snitch in our trophy room at Potter Manor, " said James proudly, "It's hanging right next to dad's."
"That day wasn't all good though, " remembered Rachel, "It was 26 degrees below 0 with a wind chill of 58 below 0. I still can't believe that Lily actually wore flip flops in that weather."
"Like I told you that day, " Lily reminded Rachel, "I never wear any footwear other than flip flops or slippers because I just don't like wearing socks or shoes. it is simply my personal preference."
Rachel shook her head, still having a hard time processing what she had seen on that day.
"I don't think my drawing of you is as good as Gordon's, " Stephanie told Lily honestly.
I'm very satisfied with how you've depicted me, Stephanie, " said Lily encouragingly, "I do think Gordon's is better, but, in fairness to you, to use me the way you needed to for your drawing, I had to be in my Quidditch robes. Gordon had the advantage of drawing me with my standard clothes. That said, if I really needed or wanted myself drawn for any reason, I would be comfortable entrusting either of you to do so from what I see on both of your drawings."
Both Stephanie and Gordon felt unexplainable feelings of happiness and satisfaction at those words.
Stephanie went on, "I wanted to get everything right, but getting Lily right was paramount. I know there are probably some inconsistencies with the actual match day in terms of where all the players were positioned on the pitch in that moment, but I knew I had to get that snapshot of Lily right for this to work so I focused on it.:
"It's wonderful, " cooed Lily, "I couldn't have asked for a truer snapshot of that moment. But I think the last Saver should reveal her picture now."
Samantha eagerly turned her picture over to display a drawing with a distinct flavor of Arizona.
Several saguaro cactuses adorned Samantha's drawing from left to right. A small Arizona state flag could be seen in the lower right hand corner while the Arizona Cardinals team logo appeared in the lower left hand corner. Birds were prevalent in a bright sunny sky that gave off an aura of hot weather with Camelback Mountain visible in the background.
"This is an Arizona themed drawing, " said Samantha proudly, "You know how proud I am of my Arizona heritage. "
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Ainsley, and Lily all nodded.
"So, " went on Samantha, "The saguaro cactus is one of the most commonly found plants in Arizona. Camelback Mountain is a famous mountain in Phoenix. Birds are common in Arizona. Arizona sees extremely hot summers. The flag in the bottom right hand corner is the state flag of Arizona. As for the Cardinals logo, you all know how much I love my NFL team."
"This is almost certainly going to be the most uniquely personal entry in the Hogwarts Drawing Competition, " said Lily glowingly, "I'm so proud of you Samantha. I love how proud you are of where you came from."
"I'm an Arizona girl through and through, " said Samantha, puffing out her chest, "I may spend much of my time at Hogwarts now and happily so at that, but you can never take the Arizona out of Samantha Saver. "
"After the Savers adopted me, I really came to see just how strong Samantha's Arizona roots really are, " smiled Stephanie.
"Ditto, " added Courtney, "Samantha loves her homeland and isn't afraid to show it."
"This drawing is the pinnacle of using the Hogwarts Drawing Competition for personal expression, " said Lily warmly, "It's a lovely picture with a lovely meaning behind it."
"Thanks, Lily, " said Samantha in a satisfied voice, "I knew I could pull it off."
Lily now reached under her seat and picked up a furled red something.
Lily handed this furled up red something to Samantha and told her, "I ordered this for you recently because I know it's something you'll love to have."
Samantha quickly and eagerly unfurled the red thing, which was revealed to be a replica red Arizona Cardinals jersey with the number 1 and the name Murray.
"A KYLER MURRAY JERSEY!" shouted Samantha.
Samantha pulled on the replica Kyler Murray jersey and said, "This is awesome. I really hope the Cardinals win a Super Bowl in the Kyler Murray era. Kyler Murray will be the face of the franchise for years to come. Having my own Kyler Murray jersey makes me so happy! Thanks a lot, Lily."
"I'm glad you like it so much, " piped up Lily in a satisfied voice. Seeing the look Samantha had on her face when she received the Kyler Murray jersey and seeing how happy it made her when she put it on totally made Lily's day and both Lily and Samantha now had their insides glowing.
"That was awesome, " beamed Lily, "But there are three more of us to go!"
"Well, " grinned Lily, "Three to go. Albus, you can go next."
Albus turned over his picture to reveal a quadrant style drawing. The upper left hand quadrant featured lots of earthy green stuff on a green background. The upper right hand quadrant depicted trees that were clearly being swayed by wind on a gray background. The lower left hand quadrant showcased a vivid yellow flame on a yellow background. The lower right hand corner had flowing blue water on a blue background.
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all looked at Albus's picture and were notching the quadrants. This was definitely a different way of doing things. At first, they were all focused on the quadrant aspect of Albus's drawing and failed to see that Albus had used an obvious theme. It was Lily who first picked up on theme Albus had used.
"The four elements!" realized Lily. "Earth, wind, fire and water!"
"Yes, " said Albus proudly, "I figured my quadrant environment would make my drawing unique as I doubt many people would think to do something like that. The four elements were a natural fit for a quadrant drawing."
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily now took a closer look at Albus's drawing.
"The best part of Albus's drawing is the fire, " said James warmly, "You can feel heat and hear crackling when you look at the fire in Albus's picture."
"He did a fantastic job on the earth too, " said Hugo fondly, "The preciseness of the shades of green is breathtaking!"
"And the water is a perfect tent of blue, " added Devon admiringly, "Albus has created a fantastic drawing here."
"The way Albus portrayed the wind is brilliant too, " said Stephanie glowingly, "To portray trees as clearly swaying in wind is not an easy thing to accomplish."
"The different and fitting background colors are a nice touch too, " added Ainsley cheerfully.
"Albus has manufactured a splendid drawing here, " said Lily happily, "I agree with Ainsley too. Those awesome and fitting background colors add a lot."
"You know, " piped up Gordon, "Albus's drawing feels just as realistic as Hugo's. It feels like the fire could burn, the wind could blow, the water could wet you and so forth."
"It's nice to see my work appreciated, " smiled Albus, "I look forward to its eventual display."
"In the meantime, " prodded Lily, "Let's see what James came up with."
James flipped his picture over in a nanosecond and Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily found themselves staring at by far the most striking drawing they had seen yet.
In fact, all of them, including James himself, gasped and trembled a bit in their chairs.
Like Albus, James split his drawing into sections. But instead of four sections, James used ten sections, each of them depicting a different dragon.
"I wanted to do something bold, " said James proudly, puffing out his chest, "Dragons, with their size, striking appearance, ability to breathe fire, and their aggression, are amongst the boldest of magical creatures and I thought using dragons was a brilliant idea for a drawing competition."
"This drawing feels EXACTLY like something James would draw!" said Lily brightly.
Pointing to the upper left hand corner of James's drawing, Rose cooed, "Oh, that Antipodean Opaleye is so cute!"
"There's no question that the Antipodean Opaleye with the pearly shimmer to its scales is the prettiest dragon, " added Pamela breathlessly.
"The Antipodean Opaleye is one the least aggressive dragons as long as it isn't hungry, " explained Ainsley.
Now indicating the dragon next to the Antipodean Opaleye, Stephanie called out, "I LOVE James's portrayal of that Chinse Fireball. The red skin with golden spikes feels very Gryffindorish to me."
"The Chinese Fireball was my favorite dragon to draw, " said James in a bold voice, "The vibrant red skin, the flames shooting out in balls from its nostrils. I thoroughly enjoyed drawing that dragon."
"That's the dragon Victor Krum faced in the First Task in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, " said Samantha excitedly.
"It is, " said Lily matter of factly, "Victor lives in his native Bulgaria now, though he occasionally writes to, Hermione, mom, and dad. "
Everyone's eyes seemed to drift pass the third dragon from the left on the top row of James's drawing, a Common Welsh Green that none of them found that exciting or saw any reason to comment on. Instead, it was the fourth dragon from the left that caught the attention of Albus and Lily.
"THE HUNGARIAN HORNTAIL!" shouted out Albus and Lily together.
"Indeed, " said James with a grin, "The dragon dad faced in the First Task. I put the most effort into that one. Dad would never forgive me if I portrayed that dragon incorrectly."
"Hungarian Horntails are extremely dangerous, " said Fred bluntly, "They use their horns violently and shoot flame up to fifty feet."
"Charlie and even Hagrid always said that dad got the worst dragon in the First Task, " said Lily in an awestruck voice, "That makes me even prouder of dad for beating it."
The rightmost dragon on the top row caught Albus's and Lily's attention too.
"That's a Norwegian Ridgeback, " recognized Lily, "Oh, James, you'll have to show this picture to Hagrid, "
"Oh, I will!" grinned James,
"The Norwegian Ridgeback is similar to the Hungarian Horntail, but it is less aggressive and less vicious, " said Ainsley knowledgably.
As Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all turned their eyes to the bottom row of dragons on James's drawing, they all felt scared and uneasy as they looked at the copper colored scales, short horns, and venomous fangs.
"T-That's a Peruvian Vipertooth, " shuddered Hugo, "The most dangerous kind of dragon known to exist. "
"Peruvian Vipertooths have a particular taste for humans as food, " said Devon with an obvious chill to his voice.
"In fact, " interjected Ainsley, "In the nineteenth century, the International Confederation of Wizards sent in an extermination team to reduce Vipertooth numbers because of how dangerous it is and how fast it was breeding."
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all shivered.
Once they regained their composure, Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily turned their attention to the dragon next to the Peruvian Vipertooth. This dragon was exceptionally large with dark green scales and glittering gild horns."
"So, " recognized Roxanne, "The Romanian Longhorn."
"Yes, " said James matter of factly, "Romanian Longhorns are amongst the largest dragons in existence. "
"At one time, " Ainsley informed them, "Romanian Longhorns were endangered; Their horns are prized for use in potion making and so they were once frequently hunted. Most remaining Romanian Longhorns have since been moved to a dragon reservation not allowed to people. "
In the middle of the bottom row of James's drawing was a Herodian Black dragon.
Like the Common Welsh Green, the group wasn't that interested in this particular dragon, especially compared with the others, though Courtney did point to its eyes and squeal, "Those purple eyes are stunning."
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily quickly now laid their eyes on the fourth dragon from the left on the bottom row of James's drawing. James himself, Albus, and Lily all felt a sad pang as they saw this dragon
Looking sadly at the silvery blue dragon spitting its blue flame, Lily said solemnly, "That is a Swedish Short Snout. Because this is the dragon that Cedric faced in the First Task and because of Cedric's ultimate fate, I don't want to talk about this dragon too much."
"Me neither, " added Albus quickly.
"I don't either, " said James uncomfortably, "Though it's worth noting that the blue flame is powerful enough to turn bone to ash. Let's move on though."
The Dragon in the very right hand corner was instantly recognizable to Albus, Hugo, Rose, and Lily.
It was by far the biggest and strongest dragon on the drawing and had metallic gray scales made of steel.
"The Ukrainian Ironbelly, " recognized Hugo, "The type of Dragon Harry, mom, and dad escaped Gringotts on during the horcrux hunt!"
"That's so cool and so amazing that dad, Ron, and Hermione once escaped from Gringotts on one of the most dangerous dragons known to exist!" said James in an awestruck voice.
"What's life without a little dragons, " smirked Lily, "But I'm ready to reveal my drawing at last."
Lily felt her eyes water as she slowly flipped over her drawing.
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all felt touched at what Lily was revealed to have drawn.
Lily had crafted a stunningly perfect drawing of Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily, all naked in the picture, with absolutely no imperfections.
Everything from the hair, to the eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, to the belly buttons, to the fingers, to the very toes was a 100% accurate depiction of each individual.
Everyone present felt his or her eyes water and his or her insides glow.
To see how much effort and detail Lily had put into drawing them all meant more to them all then any of them could express.
"I don't expect my drawing to medal, " said Lily matter of factly before continuing in a very warm voice, "But I've said from the get-go that the Hogwarts Drawing Competition was first and foremost an opportunity to express ourselves. This provided me with a perfect opportunity for me to express to you all how much you all mean to me by drawing a picture that featured all eighteen of us together."
The others looked on, all feeling too emotional to speak. Lily understood and went on, "That's not all. I will be turning this picture in tomorrow of course and I'm eager to see our friendship showcased to all of Hogwarts when this picture gets displayed. And that's not all."
Next nanosecond, Lily bent down again and once again retrieved something. This something turned out to be thirty six copies of the drawing of Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily that Lily had produced for the Hogwarts Drawing Competition. Lily kept two for herself and passed on two each to Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, and Ainsley.
"I was thinking, " said Lily in a quiet and reflective voice, "That we could each have two pictures of our group to keep, one each to hang in our rooms at Hogwarts and one each to hang in our rooms at home."
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, and Ainsley all nodded quietly at Lily, making it clear to Lily that they all agreed to hang the picture of their group in their rooms both at school and at home. They were still too overcome with emotion to actually talk.
They all looked at the pictures for several minutes and several nanoseconds. The more they looked at them, the more they seemed to mean.
Lily fully appreciated how emotional everyone was to receive these pictures from her and understood that no talking would occur for a while.
After ten minutes and ten nanoseconds had passed, Lily broke the silence, "I'm delighted to see how much this means to you all. Would you all being open to calling our group the Circle of Eighteen, at least when we're all together like this?"
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all nodded.
"So, " said Lily, "We've all seen each other's drawings now and are ready turn them in tomorrow. Good luck to you all but remember that the Circle of Eighteen is in this together. If any of us medals, we all win."
Devon, James, Hugo. Albus, Miles, Todd, Gary, Fred, Gordon, Pamela, Rose, Roxanne, Rachel, Courtney, Stephanie, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily all nodded.
Now it was just a matter of turning in their drawings and finding if any of them was fortunate enough to medal.
Everybody submitted their entries that next day and everybody eagerly looked forward to the announcement of the medalists later that same week.
Welcome to 2021 everyone! Stay safe. I hope you're all doing well. Have a great year everyone. May you all stay happy and healthy. Next reveal the medalist bronze.