Prompt Seven - Drabbles and Voting!
Behind the cut are the entries for the sixth challenge of this round. Please for ONLY your favorite drabble in a comment to this entry with the number of the drabble and the title. Comments are screened.
Voting will be open until Saturday, April 4 at 11:59 PM EDT.
The challenge this week was to write a drabble of at least 250 words but no more than 500 words with a Spring theme - not necessarily the season itself, but the idea of cleaning out the old in preparation for the new. he joy that comes after grief has served its purpose. The drabble must make mention a sick or injured dragon.
This was your prompt:
As Spring approaches, the earth sheds the bonds of winter. Life begins to bloom again, and we celebrate the coming of the light.
It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
~Mark Twain
nolagal
Title: Single Buddies Unite
Rating: PG
Warnings: Harry/Ron
Word Count: 500
Author's Notes:
"Charlie! Thank Merlin you're here."
Charlie barely gathered his bearings before an arm was linked through his, tugging him toward the house.
"That bad?" Charlie asked, laughing.
Hermione groaned. "Worse. Percy brought a date so now she's trying to set me up with George even though Angelina is obviously here as his date. She's going on about spring and new beginnings."
"Just tell George to snog her in front of Mum. He'll do it and then she'll be back to picking on me."
Hermione laughed. "If it wouldn't crush Harry, I'd never come to another Weasley gathering."
"You say that every time."
"But it's true. They've been together three years and it's still 'I'm sorry. If you want to be with Ron…' as if Ron would leave him." Hermione sighed. "So what kept you so long? You were supposed to be here last night."
"Sick dragon. I thought we were going to lose her so I stayed up all night waiting on her fever to drop."
Hermione wrinkled her forehead. "Just how does one check a dragon's temperature?"
"Carefully," Charlie quipped. "Seriously, we stun them and check through their ears. It's quite the process."
"So is the dragon all right?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"She'll be fine, just an infection."
"Charlie, there you are. Did you not have time to clean up before coming?" His mum bustled into the kitchen.
Charlie groaned. "No, Mum, but I didn't think I looked that bad."
"Hermione dear, George is getting the fireworks ready. You should go help him."
"Angelina can assist him. I'll go find Harry and Ron though," Hermione said, running out of the kitchen into the yard.
Charlie watched her go, her frizzy hair bouncing behind her. Hermione was his "single buddy" at these gatherings. So whenever anyone started the "are you seeing anyone" questions, they could commiserate. Talking with her was always the highlight of these events. Thinking about Hermione, Charlie wasn't paying attention to his mother.
"… Clean up. Katie and Luna are coming by. They're both single, you know."
~~*~~
Freshly showered, Charlie strolled out into the garden where everyone was gathered to celebrate Victoire's birthday. Hermione was standing behind Harry and Ron, almost undetectable except for her hair. She was obviously hiding from someone, probably his mother.
"Charlie," Harry and Ron called out in eerie unison.
Charlie grinned and hugged them before turning to Hermione. "You know you're still visible?"
Harry and Ron laughed.
"She caught George and Angelina snogging so now she thinks we should date," Hermione said, blushing.
"Crazy," Charlie said unconvincingly. It didn't seem like a bad idea to him.
"Or not," Ron said.
"You already adore her," Harry added.
Hermione's blush deepened.
Charlie pulled her away, making Harry and Ron laugh. "What if it wasn't crazy?"
Hermione worried her lip. "Maybe…Yes."
She smiled brightly and his heart swelled with affection until Charlie couldn't resist kissing her. She responded, pressing back gently.
Pulling back, she smiled. "Well, now your Mum will leave us alone."
luvscharlie
Title: Hero Complex
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 498
Charlie left his tent early. The sky was still dark, the sun not yet awake, but he moved with a steady purpose. The injured Welsh Green baby needed him, and frankly, he guessed he needed to be needed by someone or something. He felt that he'd failed most people in the past year-except the dragons. For them, he had always been there.
He was just cresting the hill where the dragon's enclosure was located when he saw her, hands on her hips, red hair just catching the gleam of the now rising sun.
"What are you doing here?"
"Came to tell you what a thick-skulled nutter you are."
"You could have sent an owl for that."
Ginny stomped her foot. "What good would that do? Mum's been sending you owls for weeks now. You never respond. She's going spare worrying about you."
"Nobody needs to worry about me." Charlie shrugged in an attempt to brush off the guilt. Their mother had been through enough. She didn't need the added burden of worrying about him.
"Come home, Charlie." Ginny said, laying a hand upon his arm. "That's where you're needed now."
He whirled on her. "I was needed at that battle before Fred went down. That's where I was needed. Now, where I stay doesn't much matter."
"Oh, that's bloody brilliant. Another fucking man with another fucking hero complex. Just what this world needs."
"Whoa, when did you start talking like that?" Charlie clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"It's not as though anyone can blame me. Harry rushes off to save the world and leaves me behind. Now, you want to hide away from the world because you couldn't save Fred. Do you blame me because Fred died?"
"Of course not," Charlie replied. "That would be foolish."
"Really? Why? I was there fighting too. Perhaps I should have been where Fred was. Maybe Percy should have thrown himself in front of Fred. Maybe Harry should have come back sooner. We can maybe ourselves until this time next Tuesday, and it won't bring him back."
"It's not the same. You wouldn't understand."
Ginny let what bit of restraint she had been exercising go, unleashing her fury upon him. "Oh, of course I wouldn't understand. Poor, dim little Ginny never understands anything. Well, just let poor, dim little Ginny tell you what she does understand, big brother. She understands that right now your family needs you… at home. She understands that it's time to pick up the pieces and begin to put ourselves back together again. She understands that no one-except you-blames you for Fred's death. And most importantly, she understands that if we don't all start living again-living-not merely surviving-but really, truly living, then Fred died for nothing."
Charlie lifted his eyes to meet her gaze.
"I have a Portkey to bring you home. Will you come with me, Charlie?"
He responded with a simple nod of his head… but it was a start.
asnowyowl
Title: The Not-So-Subtle Art of Healing
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 489
Author's Notes: No dead!Charlie this week. Yay!
"What are you doing here?" Charlie blocked his cabin door so Draco couldn't just slip in.
"I need your help."
"You left me, remember? It’s been months. Why would I help you now?"
Draco’s eyes narrowed. "Because you'd never turn away a sick dragon."
Charlie sighed and stepped aside. "This better not be one of your manipulations, Draco. I won't let you use me again."
"Why? I think we used each other quite nicely. As long as I was warming your bed, nothing else mattered."
"We mattered. At least I thought we did. But all your father had to do was crook his finger and you scampered back to him."
"I would have lost my inheritance if I continued to disobey." The spring sun filtering through the window tinted Draco’s hair silver.
Charlie’s breath caught in his throat at the sight, his hands itched to stroke Draco’s hair, but he couldn’t allow himself that weakness. "And nothing's more important than money. I remember. Just leave the sick dragon with me. You can run back to the manor and… what's her name? Hysteria?"
"Astoria." Draco pulled his wand from his sleeve and closed his eyes. Several moments later he opened them and shook his head. "It's almost impossible to conjure."
"Conjure? What are you on about?"
"My Patronus. I can rarely summon him anymore." Draco stared at Charlie for several moments, his gaze warm and familiar, before closing his eyes again. He muttered, "Expecto Patronum.
Charlie expected Draco's Patronus, a Welsh Green, to erupt from his wand and spin through the air, as alive and exuberant as its owner. So he was surprised when spidery gray wisps were slow to take the shape of the Patronus. Once formed, the dragon dropped to the floor at Draco's feet.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It’s sick. The longer I’m away from you the worse it gets."
"It's not a real dragon, Draco. I can't fix a Patronus."
Draco sidled up to Charlie, pressing against him. "Heal its owner and you'll cure the dragon."
Charlie knew he should step back, but his body wouldn’t obey. The feel and scent of Draco overwhelmed him. "I can't heal you," he whispered.
"I'm sorry you think that." Draco wrapped his arms around Charlie's waist and let his head drop onto Charlie's shoulder. "But you have to. I told father I was coming here to be with you. There’s no going back."
"Why? You'll lose all your money."
"That’s why you have to take me back. I need a sugar-daddy."
Charlie snorted. “I’m too poor to be a sugar-daddy.”
“Oh, I think you’ll manage.”
And Charlie knew he would. They would.
As Charlie pulled Draco in for a kiss, the Welsh Green took flight, buzzing around the room, flipping through the air. And though he didn’t remember casting it, Charlie's own Patronus joined the other, a phoenix darting in and out of the path of the dragon.
Voting will be open until Saturday, April 4 at 11:59 PM EDT.
The challenge this week was to write a drabble of at least 250 words but no more than 500 words with a Spring theme - not necessarily the season itself, but the idea of cleaning out the old in preparation for the new. he joy that comes after grief has served its purpose. The drabble must make mention a sick or injured dragon.
This was your prompt:
As Spring approaches, the earth sheds the bonds of winter. Life begins to bloom again, and we celebrate the coming of the light.
It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
~Mark Twain
nolagal
Title: Single Buddies Unite
Rating: PG
Warnings: Harry/Ron
Word Count: 500
Author's Notes:
"Charlie! Thank Merlin you're here."
Charlie barely gathered his bearings before an arm was linked through his, tugging him toward the house.
"That bad?" Charlie asked, laughing.
Hermione groaned. "Worse. Percy brought a date so now she's trying to set me up with George even though Angelina is obviously here as his date. She's going on about spring and new beginnings."
"Just tell George to snog her in front of Mum. He'll do it and then she'll be back to picking on me."
Hermione laughed. "If it wouldn't crush Harry, I'd never come to another Weasley gathering."
"You say that every time."
"But it's true. They've been together three years and it's still 'I'm sorry. If you want to be with Ron…' as if Ron would leave him." Hermione sighed. "So what kept you so long? You were supposed to be here last night."
"Sick dragon. I thought we were going to lose her so I stayed up all night waiting on her fever to drop."
Hermione wrinkled her forehead. "Just how does one check a dragon's temperature?"
"Carefully," Charlie quipped. "Seriously, we stun them and check through their ears. It's quite the process."
"So is the dragon all right?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"She'll be fine, just an infection."
"Charlie, there you are. Did you not have time to clean up before coming?" His mum bustled into the kitchen.
Charlie groaned. "No, Mum, but I didn't think I looked that bad."
"Hermione dear, George is getting the fireworks ready. You should go help him."
"Angelina can assist him. I'll go find Harry and Ron though," Hermione said, running out of the kitchen into the yard.
Charlie watched her go, her frizzy hair bouncing behind her. Hermione was his "single buddy" at these gatherings. So whenever anyone started the "are you seeing anyone" questions, they could commiserate. Talking with her was always the highlight of these events. Thinking about Hermione, Charlie wasn't paying attention to his mother.
"… Clean up. Katie and Luna are coming by. They're both single, you know."
~~*~~
Freshly showered, Charlie strolled out into the garden where everyone was gathered to celebrate Victoire's birthday. Hermione was standing behind Harry and Ron, almost undetectable except for her hair. She was obviously hiding from someone, probably his mother.
"Charlie," Harry and Ron called out in eerie unison.
Charlie grinned and hugged them before turning to Hermione. "You know you're still visible?"
Harry and Ron laughed.
"She caught George and Angelina snogging so now she thinks we should date," Hermione said, blushing.
"Crazy," Charlie said unconvincingly. It didn't seem like a bad idea to him.
"Or not," Ron said.
"You already adore her," Harry added.
Hermione's blush deepened.
Charlie pulled her away, making Harry and Ron laugh. "What if it wasn't crazy?"
Hermione worried her lip. "Maybe…Yes."
She smiled brightly and his heart swelled with affection until Charlie couldn't resist kissing her. She responded, pressing back gently.
Pulling back, she smiled. "Well, now your Mum will leave us alone."
luvscharlie
Title: Hero Complex
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 498
Charlie left his tent early. The sky was still dark, the sun not yet awake, but he moved with a steady purpose. The injured Welsh Green baby needed him, and frankly, he guessed he needed to be needed by someone or something. He felt that he'd failed most people in the past year-except the dragons. For them, he had always been there.
He was just cresting the hill where the dragon's enclosure was located when he saw her, hands on her hips, red hair just catching the gleam of the now rising sun.
"What are you doing here?"
"Came to tell you what a thick-skulled nutter you are."
"You could have sent an owl for that."
Ginny stomped her foot. "What good would that do? Mum's been sending you owls for weeks now. You never respond. She's going spare worrying about you."
"Nobody needs to worry about me." Charlie shrugged in an attempt to brush off the guilt. Their mother had been through enough. She didn't need the added burden of worrying about him.
"Come home, Charlie." Ginny said, laying a hand upon his arm. "That's where you're needed now."
He whirled on her. "I was needed at that battle before Fred went down. That's where I was needed. Now, where I stay doesn't much matter."
"Oh, that's bloody brilliant. Another fucking man with another fucking hero complex. Just what this world needs."
"Whoa, when did you start talking like that?" Charlie clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"It's not as though anyone can blame me. Harry rushes off to save the world and leaves me behind. Now, you want to hide away from the world because you couldn't save Fred. Do you blame me because Fred died?"
"Of course not," Charlie replied. "That would be foolish."
"Really? Why? I was there fighting too. Perhaps I should have been where Fred was. Maybe Percy should have thrown himself in front of Fred. Maybe Harry should have come back sooner. We can maybe ourselves until this time next Tuesday, and it won't bring him back."
"It's not the same. You wouldn't understand."
Ginny let what bit of restraint she had been exercising go, unleashing her fury upon him. "Oh, of course I wouldn't understand. Poor, dim little Ginny never understands anything. Well, just let poor, dim little Ginny tell you what she does understand, big brother. She understands that right now your family needs you… at home. She understands that it's time to pick up the pieces and begin to put ourselves back together again. She understands that no one-except you-blames you for Fred's death. And most importantly, she understands that if we don't all start living again-living-not merely surviving-but really, truly living, then Fred died for nothing."
Charlie lifted his eyes to meet her gaze.
"I have a Portkey to bring you home. Will you come with me, Charlie?"
He responded with a simple nod of his head… but it was a start.
asnowyowl
Title: The Not-So-Subtle Art of Healing
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 489
Author's Notes: No dead!Charlie this week. Yay!
"What are you doing here?" Charlie blocked his cabin door so Draco couldn't just slip in.
"I need your help."
"You left me, remember? It’s been months. Why would I help you now?"
Draco’s eyes narrowed. "Because you'd never turn away a sick dragon."
Charlie sighed and stepped aside. "This better not be one of your manipulations, Draco. I won't let you use me again."
"Why? I think we used each other quite nicely. As long as I was warming your bed, nothing else mattered."
"We mattered. At least I thought we did. But all your father had to do was crook his finger and you scampered back to him."
"I would have lost my inheritance if I continued to disobey." The spring sun filtering through the window tinted Draco’s hair silver.
Charlie’s breath caught in his throat at the sight, his hands itched to stroke Draco’s hair, but he couldn’t allow himself that weakness. "And nothing's more important than money. I remember. Just leave the sick dragon with me. You can run back to the manor and… what's her name? Hysteria?"
"Astoria." Draco pulled his wand from his sleeve and closed his eyes. Several moments later he opened them and shook his head. "It's almost impossible to conjure."
"Conjure? What are you on about?"
"My Patronus. I can rarely summon him anymore." Draco stared at Charlie for several moments, his gaze warm and familiar, before closing his eyes again. He muttered, "Expecto Patronum.
Charlie expected Draco's Patronus, a Welsh Green, to erupt from his wand and spin through the air, as alive and exuberant as its owner. So he was surprised when spidery gray wisps were slow to take the shape of the Patronus. Once formed, the dragon dropped to the floor at Draco's feet.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It’s sick. The longer I’m away from you the worse it gets."
"It's not a real dragon, Draco. I can't fix a Patronus."
Draco sidled up to Charlie, pressing against him. "Heal its owner and you'll cure the dragon."
Charlie knew he should step back, but his body wouldn’t obey. The feel and scent of Draco overwhelmed him. "I can't heal you," he whispered.
"I'm sorry you think that." Draco wrapped his arms around Charlie's waist and let his head drop onto Charlie's shoulder. "But you have to. I told father I was coming here to be with you. There’s no going back."
"Why? You'll lose all your money."
"That’s why you have to take me back. I need a sugar-daddy."
Charlie snorted. “I’m too poor to be a sugar-daddy.”
“Oh, I think you’ll manage.”
And Charlie knew he would. They would.
As Charlie pulled Draco in for a kiss, the Welsh Green took flight, buzzing around the room, flipping through the air. And though he didn’t remember casting it, Charlie's own Patronus joined the other, a phoenix darting in and out of the path of the dragon.