Mix 'n' Match
Title: Mix 'n' Match
Summary: 20 drabbles for Round #1 at fics20in20
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: (in order) George, Katie & Oliver, Hedwig, Hermione/Harry, Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Teddy/James Sirius & Harry, Molly/Arthur, Sirius & Peter, Draco & Scorpius, Sirius/Remus, Crookshanks & Hermione, Percy & Oliver, Luna & Harry, Severus/Hermione, Albus Severus/Scorpius (& Minerva, Neville, Irma)
Genre: Angst, Humour, Romance, Gen
Rating/Warnings: G to PG-13 (warnings are mainly for language)
Word Count: 3,692 in total (~100-250 words per drabble)
Author's Notes: gosh they are really a menagerie of drabbles~
Ten Given Prompts
1. Mirror: George Weasley, Post-DH, G, angst
"Georgie boy, Lee's got something in the loo that he wants to show us! C'mere, quick, before old Minny grabs ya!"
No one noticed him slipping away from the crowd, ghosting his way almost automatically from the Great Hall to the nearest bathroom. The doors opened with a tiny creak and he walked in quietly, not wanting to disturb the dust. A fanciful thought.
"There you are! C'mon; Lee's got the lid open already!"
His eyes trailed upwards from the floor to the surrounding walls, which were streaked with grey and red. Then the voices both faded and resounded simultaneously and George found himself crying as he faced himself in the mirror, his own reflection reminding him of what he had lost forever. That he'd become nothing but half of a whole.
"I miss you already, you know," he told the redheaded boy in the mirror, and he swore, he swore he saw that boy grin that freckled grin he knew so well but couldn't ever replicate…
…and then his wand was in his hand and George exploded.
He walked away with a tear on his grimace, a sliver of silver in his hand.
2. Minor: Oliver Wood & Katie Bell, G, humour
"That's cheating, you… you… you…"
It wasn't. It totally wasn't. Granted, it was unorthodox, but as far as I knew, Oliver Wood, the Captain From Hell And Beyond, had never mentioned this move during his Cheating Class Of Doom.
It was still debated among us whether he'd meant that cheating equated to doom, or that he was subconsciously predicting the effects of his class in general.
"What, Oliver, what? It's a fair move and you know it!"
"No, no no no, it is not a fair move and you jolly well know it, Bell!"
Now, who had been talking about "using all your resources to win the damned bloody game"? Right, dear ol' Captain my Captain.
"You only say that because you don't dare to touch me! Sore loser!"
His face turned crimson then and I was tempted to stop my antics right there and then before I remembered that, oh yes, it was four in the bloody freezing morning.
Dictator.
"You... You're a girl, first of all! And a minor at that!" he shrieked, clutching his hair.
It'd been the moment I'd waited for, hovering in front of him and his hoops. With a smirk, I whipped the Quaffle out from inside my robes (where it had nestled close to my chest) and launched it past him.
3. Mimic: Hedwig, G, humour, gen
The snowy owl flew into the Great Hall, looking for her boy, the one with the impossible mop of dark hair and strange scratching on the forehead. He was nowhere to be found. Hedwig let out an angry hoot, swooping down to grab a piece of toast from a white-haired boy, who had the audacity to fling a goblet at her.
Idiot chick.
She continued her proud flight and spotted her boy's friend. The girl with the nest on her head. Slightly cheered up by the buttery toast, Hedwig hooted softly and landed on the knotted hair, ignoring the girl's gasp of pain and surprise. A moment later, Hedwig wished she hadn't done so, because her world spun around and she couldn't let go of the darned hair… and the girl wouldn't stop squawking. How like an unruly chicken.
As the world stilled around her, Hedwig directed an admonishing hoot to the girl and was very surprised to hear an answering call. Her head spun around, eyes suspiciously looking at the dark surroundings (when had it become night?) and she saw another snowy owl. This frankly bewildered her, because as far as she knew, she was unique of all the owls in Hogwarts.
She tilted her head to the left. The other owl did the same. A surprised hoot left both their beaks simultaneously. And then as both pairs of eyes narrowed, she was the only one who hooted angrily, "Oh, not you again!"
4. Minute: Harry Potter/Hermione Granger, AU, G, romance
It was months after the Battle and the War. Hermione was content in her studies (as she always had been), digging her determined fingers into books and exams and generally acing all of them. But her personal life had admittedly gone to shite, as Ron and her had discovered that they'd emerged as different people after the trekking and the fighting.
To be absolutely honest, Hermione was perfectly fine with that. (Ron was still quite upset, but then Hermione had successfully avoided all that drama by re-entering Hogwarts for her eighth year.)
What she wasn't fine with was Harry.
It might have been the fact that he'd offered to continue his education at Hogwarts with her despite his pending job offers at the Ministry.
It also might have to do with him asking her out for a dinner that suspiciously did not include Ron.
It was most definitely had something to do with his last visit to Hogwarts to visit her. Without Ron. Again.
"There's something there," he'd said. "Something that I can't forget, 'Mione. I feel terrible because, y'know, Ron... but I can't shake it off."
Thing was, Hermione knew the answer (as she always did).
That one moment. That one minute, sixty seconds, in the tent alone with Harry months ago.
That one glance.
That one dance.
Oh, they'd shrugged it off as a moment of cheering up. Yet, what if... what if that moment meant something?
Her mind had no answer for that.
5. Middle: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, AU, PG (swearing), romance
Look. He never wanted to be caught in the fucking middle. He wanted everything to be smooth. Hence the midnight meetings with Ginny. The letters to Hermione. The bloke sessions with Ron (which always ended up with both of them drunk and senseless). And yet here he was, sitting out in the porch, drinking Firewhiskey and sulking like a teenager because Ron had issues with Harry being in a relationship with "the little ferret". Even Hermione's icy logical remarks and Ginny's fiery scoldings weren't enough to knock sense into Ron that they were all grown up now and that Ron should just take a chill pill. Harry was quite sure that being The Boy Who Lived, the Saviour, the Golden Boy didn't involve him being a fucking screw-up when it came to relationships.
"I'm sorry," a quiet voice said from behind him. Harry turned around and gave a tired smile.
"Nah, not your fault." He downed another gulp of the liquor as Draco sat down next to him. "It's tough to shake off the experiences that we've been through. Remember the first time we met after everything?"
The man snorted. "As if I could forget. I still have that burn mark on my robes, you idiot."
"Yeah, well. You were an arrogant prick then. Smirking and strutting about."
"Learned that from Dad's peacocks, I did."
They smiled at each other then, ignoring the shouts and yells from the cottage behind.
6. Horror: Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, G, romance, humour
Ronald Weasley had copious amounts of bravery and confidence in his system (as quoted from his most recent Auror assessment).
This mission horrified and terrified him more than any Auror mission could, however. He was literally shaking in his new dragonhide boots.
"I... I..."
"Spit it out, Ronald. I need to read up on the Wizarding Constitution again for this idiot conference by tonight and I know it by heart but that moron of a secretary doesn't and she'll quiz me while being absolutely ignorant about it and if I mess it up she will give me that little smirk of hers and I just cannot deal with that. I swear, Ron, if that happens, I will hex her and you can visit me in Azkaban."
Hermione flew around the apartment then, looking for the book that she was holding in her arms and swearing under her breath.
Ron inhaled deeply and thought of the Chudley Cannons' motto.
She squeaked when his arm caught her as she was rushing past him again.
"'Mione, listen to me. First, you're holding the Constitution under your arm. Second, you know all that by heart and you'll do fine in that conference thing tomorrow. Third, this is the ring that I'm going to marry you with and I'm going to put it on your finger right now pleasedonothexme..."
His new fiancee blinked, smiled and pecked him on the mouth in quick succession before escaping to the study.
Ron considered this mission a success.
7. Humour: Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter & Harry Potter, PG-13 (swearing + adult themes), humour, romance
"You have a warped sense of humour," James said, shaking his head of unruly hair.
"Yeah well, watch and learn." Teddy Lupin smirked his charming smirk as he nudged the Extendable Ear Redux (courtesy of George Weasley) closer to Harry's head. Teddy was fucking thirty and he was fucking drunk. Which meant that he didn't give a solid flying fuck that he was teaching James Sirius Potter all the wrong things, as Ginny would say.
"I'm not doing this. This is too risky, Teddy. Why can't we just have a normal conversation about our relationship with Dad?" James hopped from one foot to the other, spilling the precious Firewhiskey in his hands.
Teddy ignored him. "Listen, Harry," he said into his end of the ear, snickering as Harry jerked awake. "This is Teddy Lupin. I'm currently thirty and pissed all drunk. Also, I'm shagging your son."
Harry shrieked.
8. Hurt/Comfort: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, G, angst
At the end of the day, it came down to sorrow. It came down to catharsis.
Which was why when Molly started to throw things around, Arthur didn't stop her. He didn't say anything even when she stopped crashing objects to the ground and just sat there with Fred's picture in her hands, crying over his moving happy photograph.
Arthur simply picked up the pieces and cast Reparos until his wrists were sore from flicking his wand so much.
He simply sat down next to his wife and held her gently in his arms, tears streaming down his face until the two of them ran out of tears to cry.
9. Historical: Sirius Black & Peter Pettigrew, PG (swearing), gen
Sirius hurried along his way down the dark alleyway, his secret churning in his head and heart. He felt sure that it was the right move, that it was the right thing to do… but there was a bit of him that doubted the consequences.
He stubbornly told that part of him to go fuck itself.
"You're late, Sirius." A nervous giggle escaped the silhouette by the wall.
"Yeah, well, it was raining, Peter. And I can't exactly dry out my fur in my usual way without being spotted." Sirius whispered back, plastering himself on the other side of the alley. "Besides, it won't take long."
"Quickly, then. What's the urgency? Has Dumbledore found the spy?"
"Oh do stop squeaking like that. You'll attract attention!" Sirius snarled and took out the important piece of parchment from his pocket. "Here. Voldemort is quite likely onto me by now. Read this. Hurry."
Another squeak as he thrust the paper towards Peter (honestly, Sirius wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up) and then the man nodded.
The parchment burst into flames.
"Goodbye, Peter. And remember, don't tell anyone."
Sirius didn't wait for a response.
10. Heroic: Draco Malfoy & Scorpius Malfoy, G, humour
Draco let out a frustrated sigh as the damned thing refused to budge from its place. It'd been stuck there, out of reach, for half the day, the bugger. It was impossible to move it, even with his best use of Wingardium Leviosa.
"I can't do it," he said, disgusted with himself. "This mission has to be aborted."
One look at his audience and Draco sucked in a huge breath of air and determination.
"Oh, all right. One more try."
Several expletives threatened to spill out of his willing mouth, but Draco kept his temper graciously in check as he cast one more Levitating Charm…
…and watched as the object floated down from the top of the tree.
"There you go, Scorpius," Draco said with mock formality, presenting the teddy bear to his son. "Mission accomplished."
As the boy squealed in happiness (so loudly that Astoria peeked out of the window in alarm), Draco felt like a true hero.
Five Food Prompts
11. Chocolate Melts on Skin: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, PG (hint of adult themes), romance
"I hate chocolate," Sirius whined, the packet of Honeydukes' best in his hands.
"How the hell can someone hate chocolate?" Remus said, irritated. "I spent hours scouring Hogsmeade for that one bar of chocolate, Sirius. You said that you wanted something sweet that smells good. You got that right in your paws now."
"I meant something like jellybeans. Or liquorice."
"And not even a thank you. You bloody idiot."
"Chocolate is so... mundane, Moony. You can't do anything with it!"
"Mundane? It's useful! It's healthy in the right amounts and you can even cure those feelings of depression after a Dementor attack... It's not mundane at all!"
"Yeah but for your boyfriend on Valentine's Day? That's just not right, Moony. It's so normal."
"I'll show you how chocolate can be just wonderful in a relationship, Padfoot. You'll see. I'll need to melt it first."
12. Crookshanks Want Food: Crookshanks & Hermione Granger, G, gen
Crookshanks nosed his way into the room, meowing impatiently at his owner to wake up. He debated whether or not to jump onto her bed. He decided not to, since the last time he did so, she'd cruelly booted him from the room and all access to that posh food she'd bought him.
Ooooh that food.
Better than rats. Much, much better than rats. Especially since rats gave his stomach hell with their dirt and germs. And their whiskers.
He meowed again, scratching at the bed post.
Finally, she yawned and her hand came down to stroke Crookshanks on the head.
"You do look like Garfield, you know?"
Crookshanks had no idea what she meant. His eyes were all focused on that bowl of food that was on its way to his growling tummy.
13. Cheesecake Obsession: Percy Weasley & Oliver Wood, G, gen
"I need some help," panted Percy as he burst into the Gryffindor common room. "I need some help. Anyone?"
"What's the matter?" Oliver Wood looked up from his Quidditch plays impatiently. He was the only one in the common room, which was... quite an annoyance at this moment since he'd planned to go through his plays at four in the morning while everyone else was asleep and hence unlikely to sneer at his diligent ways. Especially that Katie Bell.
"Someone's under an obsession spell. Fifth year. I caught her in the kitchens stuffing herself with cheesecake."
Oliver stared at Percy. He was quite sure that the Prefect had now gone completely bonkers. "Are you serious?"
"I think it's a prank, but I need help to carry her to the Infirmary, right now."
"Why? What'd you do to her?"
"Uhm, well. I was a tad over zealous in my duty, I think. I Stunned her."
Oliver stood up and saw a girl's unconscious body outside the portrait hole. He sighed. The plays would have to wait.
14. Crumpled Cookies: Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter, G, gen
Luna Lovegood was a good woman at heart, Harry reminded himself. She was brave, kind, intelligent and sweet. A good person.
But her cookies looked... strange.
"What, uhm... Luna, what are they?" he asked weakly, holding up one that looked somewhat like a cross between a brain and a mouse.
"Harry, how could you not recognise that? It's a Crumple Horned Snorkack. I finally found one on a trail in South America last month, made a sketch and I thought it'd be an interesting design for my cookies. I think they look rather delicious, don't they?"
Harry smiled nervously and bit into the cookie. It tasted surprisingly good and he told Luna so.
"Oh, thank you! So, do you think that Ginny would pick me as one of her caterers for your wedding?"
15. Cravings: Severus Snape/Hermione Granger, AU, G, gen
"Turnips?" his acerbic tone went unnoticed by his wife, who nodded her head. "You're being ridiculous, aren't you?"
He took a step back when she narrowed her eyes. "No, Severus. I am not being ridiculous and I resent that accusation. I. Want. Turnips."
"You do know that you sound like..."
"What?"
He swallowed. Brilliant Potions Master, he was, and a fairly excellent fighting wizard as well, but even he wouldn't want to make his heavily pregnant wife angry.
"Well, it kind of sounds like Rapunzel, that's all."
She inhaled. Severus took another step backwards. "I am bloated. I am hungry. I crave turnips. I have no idea why. I hate turnips. But I want and I need them. Please."
"Right. I'll get to it."
He rushed off gladly.
In retrospect, it wasn't that she was pregnant or that she was angry with him that made him run. It was that she was a heavily pregnant, angry Hermione bloody Granger that did.
Author's Choice: Albus Severus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy (a Slytherin/Ravenclaw tale)
16. Strange
It was a strange day when a son of Malfoy was sorted into Ravenclaw. To her credit, Minerva just raised her eyebrows higher than usual and nodded genially to the blond boy, who crept down from the stool, nervously heading to the Ravenclaw table.
When Albus Severus Potter was sorted into Slytherin however, the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry decided that she would have a good talk with the damned Sorting Hat, cranky attitude or no. It wasn't that she didn't trust its judgement (Merlin knew that she was glad that Harry Potter was sent to Gryffindor instead of Slytherin) but she needed to know. As Headmistress as well as an old alumnus of the House of Ravenclaw.
She didn't give a damn about curiosity killing the cat, so to speak.
17. Meetings
When Albus Severus and Scorpius Malfoy first met, the other students waited for bated breath to see if anything explosive was going to happen. They'd heard of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. They knew about the infamous rivalry between those two.
The students and Professor Longbottom were frankly quite disappointed.
Albus and Scorpius were designated partners in their first Herbology assignment, which was to maintain and track the progress of a baby Mandrake. (Neville tried very hard to convince his own enchanted parchment to change its mind but it was adamant and even threatened to spontaneously combust if he continued to pester it with trivial requests.) The boys merely exchanged greetings during that first encounter with each other and got on with their work.
But then again, the students and the Professor didn't have to know that they'd met before.
18. Similarities
"Hi, I'm Albus Severus. Potter, I mean," Albus said cheerfully, holding his hand out.
Scorpius looked up from his book, swallowing anxiously. "Scorpius Malfoy. You got my note?"
"Yeah, I think it's a good idea of yours, to meet first. Everyone's on tenterhooks right now, for some reason. They think that we're our dads and that we'll turn Hogwarts upside-down in a new generation of inter-house hate." Albus snorted rather loudly, which made Scorpius smile and flinch at the same time. (Pince was on the prowl as usual. Scorpius had seen what she could do to students who disrupted the silence of the library.)
"I hate it when people do that," he said, glancing over at Albus. "I'm not my dad. I mean, I'm like him in some ways, but not in others. It's unfair that everyone else doesn't understand that."
Albus nodded fervently. "I know! It's nice that we're on the same frequency." A smirk appeared on the Potter boy's face. "I think we'll be just fine. We might even become good friends. Bet that will mess with their heads quite a bit."
The two boys chuckled until Madam Pince swooped down on the both of them and ordered them to get out of her library.
19. Walls
Good friends? Yeah, they were good friends all right. And then some.
Albus and Scorpius weren't too surprised when they found themselves snogging on the fifth floor after Christmas dinner in the Great Hall. In fact, after it had happened, Scorpius said out loud, "Why haven't we done this before?" before letting out a goofy smile and allowing Albus to press him against the stone walls again.
"Seven years I've known you, and I've never known that you could kiss so well," Albus mused one lazy afternoon, leaning against Scorpius' back, staring out of the window. "Of course, I knew all along that I was a good kisser, but Merlin you do snog well."
"Thanks for the compliment." Scorpius chuckled as he tried to refocus and continue his reading. "Do try to keep your loud mouth shut about us when we're in public though. I'd hate to see my dad's reaction when people start reporting to him about us."
"I don't know why you're so fussed about that. They'd be happy for us, really. Finally, the chapter of the previous generation's shite closed. Really, Scorp, you're a coward sometimes. If we keep this quiet like your bossy self keeps nagging me to, we'd create even more shite and-"
20. Notes (warning for language)
Albus knew that he'd utterly fucked things up when Scorpius' face turned stony and the boy walked away, back straight. Thing was, Albus had no idea what the hell to do or say to make things better, since in retrospect his words had been unusually harsh and unthinking.
He managed to track down Scorpius in the library. Who knew.
"I... I didn't mean all that crap I said," Albus whispered, nudging closer to the Ravenclaw, who was obstinately staring at his Potions homework. "I was a prick, Scorpius, and I'm sorry. I am."
It hurt when he got up and walked away.
Albus really hated that sight.
He tried again during breakfast, not caring as the other students began staring at him as he sat down next to the Malfoy boy.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Scorpius hissed frantically, and Albus suppressed a smile because fuck yes there was communication again.
"I'm trying to apologise. As mature people do, love." He heard gasps all around and smirked as he saw Scorpius' face turn red.
"Don't call me that. And okay, apology accepted. Go away."
"Don't be insincere, love." Albus pouted, snatching the goblet of juice away. "I did make a good effort at saying sorry, didn't I?"
Scorpius sighed and nodded. "Okay. Fine. Thank you for your apology, you prick."
Albus grinned and moved along, his mouth curving upwards even more when he read the note that had surreptitiously changed hands.
'Library. Restricted Section. Nine. Don't be late.'
FIN
Summary: 20 drabbles for Round #1 at fics20in20
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: (in order) George, Katie & Oliver, Hedwig, Hermione/Harry, Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Teddy/James Sirius & Harry, Molly/Arthur, Sirius & Peter, Draco & Scorpius, Sirius/Remus, Crookshanks & Hermione, Percy & Oliver, Luna & Harry, Severus/Hermione, Albus Severus/Scorpius (& Minerva, Neville, Irma)
Genre: Angst, Humour, Romance, Gen
Rating/Warnings: G to PG-13 (warnings are mainly for language)
Word Count: 3,692 in total (~100-250 words per drabble)
Author's Notes: gosh they are really a menagerie of drabbles~
Ten Given Prompts
1. Mirror: George Weasley, Post-DH, G, angst
"Georgie boy, Lee's got something in the loo that he wants to show us! C'mere, quick, before old Minny grabs ya!"
No one noticed him slipping away from the crowd, ghosting his way almost automatically from the Great Hall to the nearest bathroom. The doors opened with a tiny creak and he walked in quietly, not wanting to disturb the dust. A fanciful thought.
"There you are! C'mon; Lee's got the lid open already!"
His eyes trailed upwards from the floor to the surrounding walls, which were streaked with grey and red. Then the voices both faded and resounded simultaneously and George found himself crying as he faced himself in the mirror, his own reflection reminding him of what he had lost forever. That he'd become nothing but half of a whole.
"I miss you already, you know," he told the redheaded boy in the mirror, and he swore, he swore he saw that boy grin that freckled grin he knew so well but couldn't ever replicate…
…and then his wand was in his hand and George exploded.
He walked away with a tear on his grimace, a sliver of silver in his hand.
2. Minor: Oliver Wood & Katie Bell, G, humour
"That's cheating, you… you… you…"
It wasn't. It totally wasn't. Granted, it was unorthodox, but as far as I knew, Oliver Wood, the Captain From Hell And Beyond, had never mentioned this move during his Cheating Class Of Doom.
It was still debated among us whether he'd meant that cheating equated to doom, or that he was subconsciously predicting the effects of his class in general.
"What, Oliver, what? It's a fair move and you know it!"
"No, no no no, it is not a fair move and you jolly well know it, Bell!"
Now, who had been talking about "using all your resources to win the damned bloody game"? Right, dear ol' Captain my Captain.
"You only say that because you don't dare to touch me! Sore loser!"
His face turned crimson then and I was tempted to stop my antics right there and then before I remembered that, oh yes, it was four in the bloody freezing morning.
Dictator.
"You... You're a girl, first of all! And a minor at that!" he shrieked, clutching his hair.
It'd been the moment I'd waited for, hovering in front of him and his hoops. With a smirk, I whipped the Quaffle out from inside my robes (where it had nestled close to my chest) and launched it past him.
3. Mimic: Hedwig, G, humour, gen
The snowy owl flew into the Great Hall, looking for her boy, the one with the impossible mop of dark hair and strange scratching on the forehead. He was nowhere to be found. Hedwig let out an angry hoot, swooping down to grab a piece of toast from a white-haired boy, who had the audacity to fling a goblet at her.
Idiot chick.
She continued her proud flight and spotted her boy's friend. The girl with the nest on her head. Slightly cheered up by the buttery toast, Hedwig hooted softly and landed on the knotted hair, ignoring the girl's gasp of pain and surprise. A moment later, Hedwig wished she hadn't done so, because her world spun around and she couldn't let go of the darned hair… and the girl wouldn't stop squawking. How like an unruly chicken.
As the world stilled around her, Hedwig directed an admonishing hoot to the girl and was very surprised to hear an answering call. Her head spun around, eyes suspiciously looking at the dark surroundings (when had it become night?) and she saw another snowy owl. This frankly bewildered her, because as far as she knew, she was unique of all the owls in Hogwarts.
She tilted her head to the left. The other owl did the same. A surprised hoot left both their beaks simultaneously. And then as both pairs of eyes narrowed, she was the only one who hooted angrily, "Oh, not you again!"
4. Minute: Harry Potter/Hermione Granger, AU, G, romance
It was months after the Battle and the War. Hermione was content in her studies (as she always had been), digging her determined fingers into books and exams and generally acing all of them. But her personal life had admittedly gone to shite, as Ron and her had discovered that they'd emerged as different people after the trekking and the fighting.
To be absolutely honest, Hermione was perfectly fine with that. (Ron was still quite upset, but then Hermione had successfully avoided all that drama by re-entering Hogwarts for her eighth year.)
What she wasn't fine with was Harry.
It might have been the fact that he'd offered to continue his education at Hogwarts with her despite his pending job offers at the Ministry.
It also might have to do with him asking her out for a dinner that suspiciously did not include Ron.
It was most definitely had something to do with his last visit to Hogwarts to visit her. Without Ron. Again.
"There's something there," he'd said. "Something that I can't forget, 'Mione. I feel terrible because, y'know, Ron... but I can't shake it off."
Thing was, Hermione knew the answer (as she always did).
That one moment. That one minute, sixty seconds, in the tent alone with Harry months ago.
That one glance.
That one dance.
Oh, they'd shrugged it off as a moment of cheering up. Yet, what if... what if that moment meant something?
Her mind had no answer for that.
5. Middle: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, AU, PG (swearing), romance
Look. He never wanted to be caught in the fucking middle. He wanted everything to be smooth. Hence the midnight meetings with Ginny. The letters to Hermione. The bloke sessions with Ron (which always ended up with both of them drunk and senseless). And yet here he was, sitting out in the porch, drinking Firewhiskey and sulking like a teenager because Ron had issues with Harry being in a relationship with "the little ferret". Even Hermione's icy logical remarks and Ginny's fiery scoldings weren't enough to knock sense into Ron that they were all grown up now and that Ron should just take a chill pill. Harry was quite sure that being The Boy Who Lived, the Saviour, the Golden Boy didn't involve him being a fucking screw-up when it came to relationships.
"I'm sorry," a quiet voice said from behind him. Harry turned around and gave a tired smile.
"Nah, not your fault." He downed another gulp of the liquor as Draco sat down next to him. "It's tough to shake off the experiences that we've been through. Remember the first time we met after everything?"
The man snorted. "As if I could forget. I still have that burn mark on my robes, you idiot."
"Yeah, well. You were an arrogant prick then. Smirking and strutting about."
"Learned that from Dad's peacocks, I did."
They smiled at each other then, ignoring the shouts and yells from the cottage behind.
6. Horror: Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, G, romance, humour
Ronald Weasley had copious amounts of bravery and confidence in his system (as quoted from his most recent Auror assessment).
This mission horrified and terrified him more than any Auror mission could, however. He was literally shaking in his new dragonhide boots.
"I... I..."
"Spit it out, Ronald. I need to read up on the Wizarding Constitution again for this idiot conference by tonight and I know it by heart but that moron of a secretary doesn't and she'll quiz me while being absolutely ignorant about it and if I mess it up she will give me that little smirk of hers and I just cannot deal with that. I swear, Ron, if that happens, I will hex her and you can visit me in Azkaban."
Hermione flew around the apartment then, looking for the book that she was holding in her arms and swearing under her breath.
Ron inhaled deeply and thought of the Chudley Cannons' motto.
She squeaked when his arm caught her as she was rushing past him again.
"'Mione, listen to me. First, you're holding the Constitution under your arm. Second, you know all that by heart and you'll do fine in that conference thing tomorrow. Third, this is the ring that I'm going to marry you with and I'm going to put it on your finger right now pleasedonothexme..."
His new fiancee blinked, smiled and pecked him on the mouth in quick succession before escaping to the study.
Ron considered this mission a success.
7. Humour: Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter & Harry Potter, PG-13 (swearing + adult themes), humour, romance
"You have a warped sense of humour," James said, shaking his head of unruly hair.
"Yeah well, watch and learn." Teddy Lupin smirked his charming smirk as he nudged the Extendable Ear Redux (courtesy of George Weasley) closer to Harry's head. Teddy was fucking thirty and he was fucking drunk. Which meant that he didn't give a solid flying fuck that he was teaching James Sirius Potter all the wrong things, as Ginny would say.
"I'm not doing this. This is too risky, Teddy. Why can't we just have a normal conversation about our relationship with Dad?" James hopped from one foot to the other, spilling the precious Firewhiskey in his hands.
Teddy ignored him. "Listen, Harry," he said into his end of the ear, snickering as Harry jerked awake. "This is Teddy Lupin. I'm currently thirty and pissed all drunk. Also, I'm shagging your son."
Harry shrieked.
8. Hurt/Comfort: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, G, angst
At the end of the day, it came down to sorrow. It came down to catharsis.
Which was why when Molly started to throw things around, Arthur didn't stop her. He didn't say anything even when she stopped crashing objects to the ground and just sat there with Fred's picture in her hands, crying over his moving happy photograph.
Arthur simply picked up the pieces and cast Reparos until his wrists were sore from flicking his wand so much.
He simply sat down next to his wife and held her gently in his arms, tears streaming down his face until the two of them ran out of tears to cry.
9. Historical: Sirius Black & Peter Pettigrew, PG (swearing), gen
Sirius hurried along his way down the dark alleyway, his secret churning in his head and heart. He felt sure that it was the right move, that it was the right thing to do… but there was a bit of him that doubted the consequences.
He stubbornly told that part of him to go fuck itself.
"You're late, Sirius." A nervous giggle escaped the silhouette by the wall.
"Yeah, well, it was raining, Peter. And I can't exactly dry out my fur in my usual way without being spotted." Sirius whispered back, plastering himself on the other side of the alley. "Besides, it won't take long."
"Quickly, then. What's the urgency? Has Dumbledore found the spy?"
"Oh do stop squeaking like that. You'll attract attention!" Sirius snarled and took out the important piece of parchment from his pocket. "Here. Voldemort is quite likely onto me by now. Read this. Hurry."
Another squeak as he thrust the paper towards Peter (honestly, Sirius wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up) and then the man nodded.
The parchment burst into flames.
"Goodbye, Peter. And remember, don't tell anyone."
Sirius didn't wait for a response.
10. Heroic: Draco Malfoy & Scorpius Malfoy, G, humour
Draco let out a frustrated sigh as the damned thing refused to budge from its place. It'd been stuck there, out of reach, for half the day, the bugger. It was impossible to move it, even with his best use of Wingardium Leviosa.
"I can't do it," he said, disgusted with himself. "This mission has to be aborted."
One look at his audience and Draco sucked in a huge breath of air and determination.
"Oh, all right. One more try."
Several expletives threatened to spill out of his willing mouth, but Draco kept his temper graciously in check as he cast one more Levitating Charm…
…and watched as the object floated down from the top of the tree.
"There you go, Scorpius," Draco said with mock formality, presenting the teddy bear to his son. "Mission accomplished."
As the boy squealed in happiness (so loudly that Astoria peeked out of the window in alarm), Draco felt like a true hero.
Five Food Prompts
11. Chocolate Melts on Skin: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, PG (hint of adult themes), romance
"I hate chocolate," Sirius whined, the packet of Honeydukes' best in his hands.
"How the hell can someone hate chocolate?" Remus said, irritated. "I spent hours scouring Hogsmeade for that one bar of chocolate, Sirius. You said that you wanted something sweet that smells good. You got that right in your paws now."
"I meant something like jellybeans. Or liquorice."
"And not even a thank you. You bloody idiot."
"Chocolate is so... mundane, Moony. You can't do anything with it!"
"Mundane? It's useful! It's healthy in the right amounts and you can even cure those feelings of depression after a Dementor attack... It's not mundane at all!"
"Yeah but for your boyfriend on Valentine's Day? That's just not right, Moony. It's so normal."
"I'll show you how chocolate can be just wonderful in a relationship, Padfoot. You'll see. I'll need to melt it first."
12. Crookshanks Want Food: Crookshanks & Hermione Granger, G, gen
Crookshanks nosed his way into the room, meowing impatiently at his owner to wake up. He debated whether or not to jump onto her bed. He decided not to, since the last time he did so, she'd cruelly booted him from the room and all access to that posh food she'd bought him.
Ooooh that food.
Better than rats. Much, much better than rats. Especially since rats gave his stomach hell with their dirt and germs. And their whiskers.
He meowed again, scratching at the bed post.
Finally, she yawned and her hand came down to stroke Crookshanks on the head.
"You do look like Garfield, you know?"
Crookshanks had no idea what she meant. His eyes were all focused on that bowl of food that was on its way to his growling tummy.
13. Cheesecake Obsession: Percy Weasley & Oliver Wood, G, gen
"I need some help," panted Percy as he burst into the Gryffindor common room. "I need some help. Anyone?"
"What's the matter?" Oliver Wood looked up from his Quidditch plays impatiently. He was the only one in the common room, which was... quite an annoyance at this moment since he'd planned to go through his plays at four in the morning while everyone else was asleep and hence unlikely to sneer at his diligent ways. Especially that Katie Bell.
"Someone's under an obsession spell. Fifth year. I caught her in the kitchens stuffing herself with cheesecake."
Oliver stared at Percy. He was quite sure that the Prefect had now gone completely bonkers. "Are you serious?"
"I think it's a prank, but I need help to carry her to the Infirmary, right now."
"Why? What'd you do to her?"
"Uhm, well. I was a tad over zealous in my duty, I think. I Stunned her."
Oliver stood up and saw a girl's unconscious body outside the portrait hole. He sighed. The plays would have to wait.
14. Crumpled Cookies: Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter, G, gen
Luna Lovegood was a good woman at heart, Harry reminded himself. She was brave, kind, intelligent and sweet. A good person.
But her cookies looked... strange.
"What, uhm... Luna, what are they?" he asked weakly, holding up one that looked somewhat like a cross between a brain and a mouse.
"Harry, how could you not recognise that? It's a Crumple Horned Snorkack. I finally found one on a trail in South America last month, made a sketch and I thought it'd be an interesting design for my cookies. I think they look rather delicious, don't they?"
Harry smiled nervously and bit into the cookie. It tasted surprisingly good and he told Luna so.
"Oh, thank you! So, do you think that Ginny would pick me as one of her caterers for your wedding?"
15. Cravings: Severus Snape/Hermione Granger, AU, G, gen
"Turnips?" his acerbic tone went unnoticed by his wife, who nodded her head. "You're being ridiculous, aren't you?"
He took a step back when she narrowed her eyes. "No, Severus. I am not being ridiculous and I resent that accusation. I. Want. Turnips."
"You do know that you sound like..."
"What?"
He swallowed. Brilliant Potions Master, he was, and a fairly excellent fighting wizard as well, but even he wouldn't want to make his heavily pregnant wife angry.
"Well, it kind of sounds like Rapunzel, that's all."
She inhaled. Severus took another step backwards. "I am bloated. I am hungry. I crave turnips. I have no idea why. I hate turnips. But I want and I need them. Please."
"Right. I'll get to it."
He rushed off gladly.
In retrospect, it wasn't that she was pregnant or that she was angry with him that made him run. It was that she was a heavily pregnant, angry Hermione bloody Granger that did.
Author's Choice: Albus Severus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy (a Slytherin/Ravenclaw tale)
16. Strange
It was a strange day when a son of Malfoy was sorted into Ravenclaw. To her credit, Minerva just raised her eyebrows higher than usual and nodded genially to the blond boy, who crept down from the stool, nervously heading to the Ravenclaw table.
When Albus Severus Potter was sorted into Slytherin however, the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry decided that she would have a good talk with the damned Sorting Hat, cranky attitude or no. It wasn't that she didn't trust its judgement (Merlin knew that she was glad that Harry Potter was sent to Gryffindor instead of Slytherin) but she needed to know. As Headmistress as well as an old alumnus of the House of Ravenclaw.
She didn't give a damn about curiosity killing the cat, so to speak.
17. Meetings
When Albus Severus and Scorpius Malfoy first met, the other students waited for bated breath to see if anything explosive was going to happen. They'd heard of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. They knew about the infamous rivalry between those two.
The students and Professor Longbottom were frankly quite disappointed.
Albus and Scorpius were designated partners in their first Herbology assignment, which was to maintain and track the progress of a baby Mandrake. (Neville tried very hard to convince his own enchanted parchment to change its mind but it was adamant and even threatened to spontaneously combust if he continued to pester it with trivial requests.) The boys merely exchanged greetings during that first encounter with each other and got on with their work.
But then again, the students and the Professor didn't have to know that they'd met before.
18. Similarities
"Hi, I'm Albus Severus. Potter, I mean," Albus said cheerfully, holding his hand out.
Scorpius looked up from his book, swallowing anxiously. "Scorpius Malfoy. You got my note?"
"Yeah, I think it's a good idea of yours, to meet first. Everyone's on tenterhooks right now, for some reason. They think that we're our dads and that we'll turn Hogwarts upside-down in a new generation of inter-house hate." Albus snorted rather loudly, which made Scorpius smile and flinch at the same time. (Pince was on the prowl as usual. Scorpius had seen what she could do to students who disrupted the silence of the library.)
"I hate it when people do that," he said, glancing over at Albus. "I'm not my dad. I mean, I'm like him in some ways, but not in others. It's unfair that everyone else doesn't understand that."
Albus nodded fervently. "I know! It's nice that we're on the same frequency." A smirk appeared on the Potter boy's face. "I think we'll be just fine. We might even become good friends. Bet that will mess with their heads quite a bit."
The two boys chuckled until Madam Pince swooped down on the both of them and ordered them to get out of her library.
19. Walls
Good friends? Yeah, they were good friends all right. And then some.
Albus and Scorpius weren't too surprised when they found themselves snogging on the fifth floor after Christmas dinner in the Great Hall. In fact, after it had happened, Scorpius said out loud, "Why haven't we done this before?" before letting out a goofy smile and allowing Albus to press him against the stone walls again.
"Seven years I've known you, and I've never known that you could kiss so well," Albus mused one lazy afternoon, leaning against Scorpius' back, staring out of the window. "Of course, I knew all along that I was a good kisser, but Merlin you do snog well."
"Thanks for the compliment." Scorpius chuckled as he tried to refocus and continue his reading. "Do try to keep your loud mouth shut about us when we're in public though. I'd hate to see my dad's reaction when people start reporting to him about us."
"I don't know why you're so fussed about that. They'd be happy for us, really. Finally, the chapter of the previous generation's shite closed. Really, Scorp, you're a coward sometimes. If we keep this quiet like your bossy self keeps nagging me to, we'd create even more shite and-"
20. Notes (warning for language)
Albus knew that he'd utterly fucked things up when Scorpius' face turned stony and the boy walked away, back straight. Thing was, Albus had no idea what the hell to do or say to make things better, since in retrospect his words had been unusually harsh and unthinking.
He managed to track down Scorpius in the library. Who knew.
"I... I didn't mean all that crap I said," Albus whispered, nudging closer to the Ravenclaw, who was obstinately staring at his Potions homework. "I was a prick, Scorpius, and I'm sorry. I am."
It hurt when he got up and walked away.
Albus really hated that sight.
He tried again during breakfast, not caring as the other students began staring at him as he sat down next to the Malfoy boy.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Scorpius hissed frantically, and Albus suppressed a smile because fuck yes there was communication again.
"I'm trying to apologise. As mature people do, love." He heard gasps all around and smirked as he saw Scorpius' face turn red.
"Don't call me that. And okay, apology accepted. Go away."
"Don't be insincere, love." Albus pouted, snatching the goblet of juice away. "I did make a good effort at saying sorry, didn't I?"
Scorpius sighed and nodded. "Okay. Fine. Thank you for your apology, you prick."
Albus grinned and moved along, his mouth curving upwards even more when he read the note that had surreptitiously changed hands.
'Library. Restricted Section. Nine. Don't be late.'
FIN