Bitten By The Holiday Bug

December's short story challenge was to describe a bite from a holiday bug. Without further ado, on with the stories! (each person who submitted will receive 5 points per submission though no more than 2 submission per category)

Short Story Challenge, by Sindor Aloyarc

I once got bitten by the Christmas Bug. I think it was trying to bite the person next to me, who was totally out of the Christmas Spirit. But it got me instead. That bite didn't really hurt, anyway, so I didn't really mind that. It felt like a little... bite of Christmas? The bug, for those who haven’t seen one before, looked amazingly like a fresh water leaping picklesnout from Asia. And in case you haven’t seen that before, it looks a lot like a beetle with bright scarlet wings and random green markings on it. Anyway. I decided that it probably would have very little affect on me, since I was already in the Christmas mood. However, not only did it change my entire arm to stripes of red and green, my Christmas spirit was doubled! Minutes after being bitten I was dressed up as one of Santa's House elves! Belles on my slippers (yes, slippers) and all. I was singing the usual wizarding Christmas carols, and giving people little presents. The bug bite wore off after a few hours. But now I'll always remember the time I got bitten by a Holiday Bug.

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The Holiday Bug by Lily Peters

Lily Peters woke up on the first of December in the HOL Gryffindor dormitory and slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to disturb her sleeping roommate, Tiffany. She slipped into her dark blue bathrobe and sat on the velvet burgundy window seat that overlooked the Quidditch pitch and the smudge of trees that was the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The sky outside was gray and cloudy, betraying a sign of coming snow. Winter was here, and with winter came Christmas!

Lily’s thoughts were broken by a sudden, high-pitched rendition of Jingle Bells coming from just outside the door to their room. What was all this racket about?

Wha-? came Tiffany’s sleepy voice from under the comforters. Somebody’s singing Lily got up and pulled open the door to find another first year girl singing so loudly it could wake the whole corridor up.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, the girl was singing, but Lily didn’t find it amusing at this hour of the morning. Even when she pleaded the girl to hush, she only sang everything she said to the Jingle Bells tune.

I don’t know, I don’t know, I just have this bug, the girl sang. By now, Lily was more than a little irked at her caroling.

What bug? Lily asked curiously, momentarily forgetting the reason she was so irked. Was there some type of virus going around that she wasn’t aware of? The girl stopped singing and blinked her huge brown eyes back at Lily as if she was the most clueless person in the castle.

Haven’t you heard? she whispered loudly. There’s some type of insanity illness going around in Gryffindor. I caught it from my roommate, and to my knowledge There’s no cure. I’d be wary if I were you. It makes you hyper about the coming holidays, you sing carols all day, and you become obsessed with socks and squirrels.

Oh, really? Lily asked with skepticism in her voice. I’m already excited about the holiday season as it is, not that I’m trying to be rude or anything, she said. I might as well get up anyway. The other girl scampered off to the left and went back to her dorm, while Lily went to the left and down the stairs to the common room.

A surprise greeted her when she entered the common room, which was decked out in coils of holly, real colored fairies sitting in its branches. It was then she noticed a stuffed squirrel sitting on the end of the mantel. Hey, she said a bit loudly to attract her fellow housemates attention. What’s with the squirrel?

I just put it up there because it looks cute, I’ve become obsessed with squirrels of late, piped up Lily’s other friend, Ilona Litterl. Lily blinked; could this be a mere symptom of the insanity illness the girl had mentioned? No, it wasn’t really insanity, just a case of holiday cheer, which was probably a good thing. Why not go along with it and catch this illness that was actually beneficial to everyone? Lily thought to herself.

For the rest of the day, Lily felt like she was carrying a bottle of unquenchable happiness inside her as she decorated hers and Tiffany’s dorm room. Maybe getting bit by the holiday bug wasn’t so bad after all.

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Medical Advisory for the Magical Community, by Alecia Amethysta

Today, a spokes-healer from St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries released some important information to the magical community. It appears a holiday bug has been infecting members of the wizarding population. The holiday bug is described as an insect, small and round in size, reaching the dimensions of a fingernail, and very bright in color. The bug infects individuals by biting.

Symptoms of infection include inattentiveness to work or school related activities, a desire to frolic outdoors regardless of weather conditions, and a general carefree feeling. A simple freezing charm will effectively prevent the bug from gnawing on individuals. However, if you have been infected and wish to be cured immediately, healers suggest that you schedule an appointment at St. Mungos Hospital.

However, if left untreated the effects of the infection with eventually wear off in two to three months time. Questions and concerns about dealing with Holiday Bug Bites can be directed to Trainee Healer Pye at Creature-Induced Injuries on the first floor of St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

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Visit from the Holiday Bug by Marie Thenes

How does one describe a bite from the holiday bug? Let me think back and try to remember.

It was only a few weeks ago but it feels like its been years back when I was last bitten. To be bitten is to be lucky indeed as they are very rare these bugs. Especially as you get older.

It was a bright sunny morning, one of the first days of summer. I woke to find my headache from the day before, gone and in its place was a sense of content and happiness at what lay ahead.

I couldn’t help but wonder what had come over me. I don’t usually look forward to waking up to a long day ahead of school or work, not like this anyway.

Blinking back sleep, I looked around my room bathed in bright sunshine, trying to remember when I last felt like this. Warm, happy, bursting with an urge to greet the day.

It suddenly dawned on me that I was a recipient of a certain bite. One which I look forward to getting as much as I look forward to finding a good book to read. Heart leaping, I quickly scanned my arms, hands, legs and feet where the small painless pinpricks can usually be found.

I finally located the two minuscule pricks on my right foot. No doubt about it, here was the cause of my symptoms. I had been visited and bitten by the holiday bug!