Round 2 Challenge 3: Tie-breaker
We've got a unique situation this week: Ties for both MOST and LEAST favorite!
We are running a 24 hour poll to determine the top and bottom spots, so get the word out! QUICK!
Drabbles up for MOST FAVORITE:
8
Title: Life's Ironies
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied mature situations
Word Count: 400
They stared at each other for three long seconds.
"Malfoy," she said with a curt nod, trying desperately to show no emotions, just as he was.
"Grang-Weasley," he replied calmly. "What are you doing here?"
Her heart was pounding in her chest. His presence was the last think she'd expected when she'd received the urgent letter from the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"Got a letter from the Headmaster," she finally answered.
"Me too," he admitted, and then sat to wait.
"Look, Draco, I'm sorry for leaving like that. Ron-"
"I understand," Draco interrupted her. "I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Do you want to stop?" she asked, softly, vulnerable.
"No," he finally admitted after a long pause.
The Headmaster finally came in, halting any more discussion.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you here, so I'll get right to it. Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley were discovered early this morning in the most inappropriate situation."
Hermione groaned, covering her face with her hand. Couldn't her daughter have chosen someone other than her lover's son?
Draco smirked at her.
"Isn't life ironic?" he asked.
Both of them ignored the confused expression on the Headmaster's face at their most unusual reactions.
"They're both seventeen," Draco finally addressed the Headmaster. "Both are of legal consenting age."
"And both are students of this school!" the Headmaster responded incredulously. "Such indiscretions will not be tolerated!"
"Headmaster," Hermione said diplomatically. "They have one month until their NEWTS. Surely you can understand that they probably turned to each other for a little bit of stress release. While we do not encourage such behavior, they are adults, and free to make that decision."
Between the two of them, they were able to talk the Headmaster into letting them be responsible for any punishment. They left the office together, walking next to one another, a respectable distance between them.
They Apparated separately, though they arrived at the same place, their place. Without talking, Hermione moved to the kitchen and set about making tea. When it was ready, she set a cup in front of Draco and sat with him at the table.
"Scorpius and Rose," she said, shaking her head. "This changes everything."
Draco shook his head, disagreeing. "It changes nothing. If anything, it will make it easier for us."
"Draco," Hermione said softly. "I'm leaving Ron."
Three seconds of silence followed her announcement.
"That changes everything."
11
Title: We Didn’t Know Anything Back Then
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 496
“Hermione Granger, you’re not hiding are you? That’s very un-Gryffindor of you,” he said teasingly over her shoulder.
If she was surprised to hear his voice again after all these years, she didn’t show it. She didn’t even turn around.
It was as if she was expecting him.
She sighed sadly. “This is the stupidest idea the Ministry has ever had. Nobody wants to be here. Not yet.”
In all of its brilliance, the Ministry decided that the seventh annual celebration of the end of the war should be held at Hogwarts. Bad move. Too many people had died here. It was still too soon.
Draco stepped in behind her to peer through the window she stood in front of.
It looked like a snapshot from someone else’s life. The people moving within were not real, just shuffling characters that resembled his memories. At the front of the Great Hall, the head table was like a roll call.
Potter. Present.
Weasley. Present.
Longbottom. Not present.
McGonagall. Present.
Snape. Not Present.
An empty chair waited between the two heroes.
Draco looked down at the wild curly head in front of him and thanked God some things hadn’t changed.
“Are you going in?” he asked.
“No. I don’t think so,” she said, finally turning to look up at him.
Draco’s heart leapt. “Would you like to walk down to the lake?”
-----
They were quiet then, walking side by side like old friends. Draco had waited for this moment for a long time. Now it was here and he didn’t know how to begin.
“Do you miss France?” she said at last.
“Yes,” and after a moment he turned his head to look at her. “But there’s something I need here.”
Her eyes locked with his and he thought that she understood him.
-----
For a while the only sound was the wind moving through the trees.
“I wrote to you once.”
“Twice,” she said.
“Yes. Twice.”
The first had been an apology. The second had been so much more.
-----
They stopped at the edge of the water, watching the sun set the lake on fire.
“I think about you,” he confessed at last.
And for a long time after they said nothing.
-----
When the sun began to disappear behind the trees, Draco spoke again.
“We didn’t know anything back then, did we?”
“We’ve wasted a lot of time.” She stopped and looked up, pinning him with her eyes. Draco’s breath caught in his throat.
A gust of wind blew her curls across her face. Draco reached out to tuck the strands behind her ear, dragging his fingers over her soft cheek and then around the shell of her ear. His heart pounded in his chest and her eyes were undoing him.
“I always hated your hair.” His hand stayed by her face, pulling on a wayward curl. “It’s soft.”
“Draco…” her voice was low and her face titled into his hand.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
Drabbles up for LEAST favorite:
2
Title: Between Death & Lies
Ratings: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 350
spring: the first or early stage or period of life, youth
Hermione Granger remembers the first book she ever memorized cover to cover. She remembers her first cry, her first touch, her first walk. It is impossible for her to remember birth, but somewhere inside she knows she does. In the spring of her life, she finds herself at a bustling train station on a rainy day searching for an impossible train. She learns at the age of eleven that nothing is impossible.
summer: of friendship that lasts only in times of prosperity
Draco Malfoy cannot remember a time when he hadn’t had friends. Everyone around him understood the importance of his friendship, but he’s never trusted anyone until Granger. Draco saves her life the day after they officially become Unspeakables. It is an incident in the Forbidden Forest that changes everything. They forge their reports while he teaches her how to lie properly. Hermione becomes a best friend sometime between almost dying and becoming a liar.
fall: decline, decay
Hermione Granger returns to Hogwarts only once years after the Forbidden Forest incident. It is a cold and rainy afternoon and she scowls as mud sloshes over her shoes. It is not the first funeral she has attended but this one is more important than the dozens before it. Hermione vows she’ll never return to Hogwarts as the coffin is lowered. She tries not to cry as she walks away from the ghost of Draco Malfoy.
winter: to maintain through a period of trial
Draco Malfoy pushes breath into her with panic as blood blooms across his fingertips. He wraps bandages around her arm and cleans the glass off the floor. It takes two hours and thirteen minutes for her heart rate to normalize. They sit in silence for the next four hours. He finds himself listening to her shaky breaths-inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. The next morning she cries and cries until he presses his lips to hers. When she finally leaves their cottage behind, he whispers goodbye and she finds herself alone in a sea of white snow.
6
Title: Tomorrow
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Mentions of abuse
Word count: 499
Tomorrow.
The word echoed in her mind when he walked away. Tomorrow would mark the end of the vicious abuse cycle that she’d been trapped in for months. Tomorrow would be the beginning of her new life. Tomorrow would-the front door slammed. Hermione leaned against the wall. Tomorrow would be the end of slammed doors and shattered dreams.
Relief spilled from her frayed nerves.
Trembling and bleeding, Hermione took a deep breath. She couldn’t stay. Realization would soon strike and he would return to play the role of the manipulative and apologetic abuser. She’d been fooled too many times already.
Never again.
Hermione stumbled into the dark bathroom.
Darkness had become a friend of hers; its blanket shielded her from the hideous creature that emerged as soon as the lights were turned on. Reality. When Michael had started hitting her, she remembered wanting to be encased in darkness forever. Life was easier that way, but not anymore. She turned on the light and its glow greeted her battered reflection in a kind of mocking glare.
She looked horrible: a bloody lip, swollen face, black eye, and numerous bruises. Numbly, she grabbed a wet washcloth and patted her tender lip. She could’ve healed herself magically, but her wand had been snapped to trap her inside of their warded home until he returned; a move Hermione had anticipated.
Her escape plan had been simple. Harry was supposed to come and help, but not anymore. That plan had backfired. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Hermione pulled the gold necklace out of her torn shirt and wrapped her hand around the emerald pendant.
Immediately, the Portkey activated.
Hermione stumbled upon landing, but didn’t fall. It was dark, but she didn’t have to see to know where she had landed. She was just inside the gates of her refuge. Hogwarts. And he was waiting for her, as always.
“You weren’t supposed to come until tomorrow.”
Hermione squared her shoulders and faced the Potions professor. “He found the divorce papers.”
When Draco Malfoy took in the sight of the battered witch, a familiar feeling of rage and pain swept through him. And when he hugged her, he promised, “I’ll murder Corner.”
“I’m fine. I-”
“Don’t leave.” He implored for the millionth time. “Stay,” the word hung in the air for a moment. “Stay with me.”
Hermione’s busted lip quivered. Stay?
She never asked herself what she’d done to deserve Michael’s cruelty. She never pitied herself and refused to accept it from others. Was this pity? Did Draco-no, he didn’t pity her. And tears filled her eyes. She had never cried before. Should she have? No. Michael wasn’t diminishing her self-worth when he assaulted her; he was fighting for his own. That truth had gotten her through the toughest of times-and so had Draco.
“Stay.”
“Okay.”
Draco gently started to pull away.
She clung to him. “Don’t.”
“You need-”
“For now, let’s stay.”
“But-”
“Everything can wait until tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
ooo
Remember:
Your voting options for MOST FAVORITE are 8 and 11.
Your voting options for LEAST FAVORITE are 2 and 6.
Please leave just the number in your vote.
Poll
We are running a 24 hour poll to determine the top and bottom spots, so get the word out! QUICK!
Drabbles up for MOST FAVORITE:
8
Title: Life's Ironies
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied mature situations
Word Count: 400
They stared at each other for three long seconds.
"Malfoy," she said with a curt nod, trying desperately to show no emotions, just as he was.
"Grang-Weasley," he replied calmly. "What are you doing here?"
Her heart was pounding in her chest. His presence was the last think she'd expected when she'd received the urgent letter from the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"Got a letter from the Headmaster," she finally answered.
"Me too," he admitted, and then sat to wait.
"Look, Draco, I'm sorry for leaving like that. Ron-"
"I understand," Draco interrupted her. "I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Do you want to stop?" she asked, softly, vulnerable.
"No," he finally admitted after a long pause.
The Headmaster finally came in, halting any more discussion.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you here, so I'll get right to it. Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley were discovered early this morning in the most inappropriate situation."
Hermione groaned, covering her face with her hand. Couldn't her daughter have chosen someone other than her lover's son?
Draco smirked at her.
"Isn't life ironic?" he asked.
Both of them ignored the confused expression on the Headmaster's face at their most unusual reactions.
"They're both seventeen," Draco finally addressed the Headmaster. "Both are of legal consenting age."
"And both are students of this school!" the Headmaster responded incredulously. "Such indiscretions will not be tolerated!"
"Headmaster," Hermione said diplomatically. "They have one month until their NEWTS. Surely you can understand that they probably turned to each other for a little bit of stress release. While we do not encourage such behavior, they are adults, and free to make that decision."
Between the two of them, they were able to talk the Headmaster into letting them be responsible for any punishment. They left the office together, walking next to one another, a respectable distance between them.
They Apparated separately, though they arrived at the same place, their place. Without talking, Hermione moved to the kitchen and set about making tea. When it was ready, she set a cup in front of Draco and sat with him at the table.
"Scorpius and Rose," she said, shaking her head. "This changes everything."
Draco shook his head, disagreeing. "It changes nothing. If anything, it will make it easier for us."
"Draco," Hermione said softly. "I'm leaving Ron."
Three seconds of silence followed her announcement.
"That changes everything."
11
Title: We Didn’t Know Anything Back Then
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 496
“Hermione Granger, you’re not hiding are you? That’s very un-Gryffindor of you,” he said teasingly over her shoulder.
If she was surprised to hear his voice again after all these years, she didn’t show it. She didn’t even turn around.
It was as if she was expecting him.
She sighed sadly. “This is the stupidest idea the Ministry has ever had. Nobody wants to be here. Not yet.”
In all of its brilliance, the Ministry decided that the seventh annual celebration of the end of the war should be held at Hogwarts. Bad move. Too many people had died here. It was still too soon.
Draco stepped in behind her to peer through the window she stood in front of.
It looked like a snapshot from someone else’s life. The people moving within were not real, just shuffling characters that resembled his memories. At the front of the Great Hall, the head table was like a roll call.
Potter. Present.
Weasley. Present.
Longbottom. Not present.
McGonagall. Present.
Snape. Not Present.
An empty chair waited between the two heroes.
Draco looked down at the wild curly head in front of him and thanked God some things hadn’t changed.
“Are you going in?” he asked.
“No. I don’t think so,” she said, finally turning to look up at him.
Draco’s heart leapt. “Would you like to walk down to the lake?”
-----
They were quiet then, walking side by side like old friends. Draco had waited for this moment for a long time. Now it was here and he didn’t know how to begin.
“Do you miss France?” she said at last.
“Yes,” and after a moment he turned his head to look at her. “But there’s something I need here.”
Her eyes locked with his and he thought that she understood him.
-----
For a while the only sound was the wind moving through the trees.
“I wrote to you once.”
“Twice,” she said.
“Yes. Twice.”
The first had been an apology. The second had been so much more.
-----
They stopped at the edge of the water, watching the sun set the lake on fire.
“I think about you,” he confessed at last.
And for a long time after they said nothing.
-----
When the sun began to disappear behind the trees, Draco spoke again.
“We didn’t know anything back then, did we?”
“We’ve wasted a lot of time.” She stopped and looked up, pinning him with her eyes. Draco’s breath caught in his throat.
A gust of wind blew her curls across her face. Draco reached out to tuck the strands behind her ear, dragging his fingers over her soft cheek and then around the shell of her ear. His heart pounded in his chest and her eyes were undoing him.
“I always hated your hair.” His hand stayed by her face, pulling on a wayward curl. “It’s soft.”
“Draco…” her voice was low and her face titled into his hand.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
Drabbles up for LEAST favorite:
2
Title: Between Death & Lies
Ratings: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 350
spring: the first or early stage or period of life, youth
Hermione Granger remembers the first book she ever memorized cover to cover. She remembers her first cry, her first touch, her first walk. It is impossible for her to remember birth, but somewhere inside she knows she does. In the spring of her life, she finds herself at a bustling train station on a rainy day searching for an impossible train. She learns at the age of eleven that nothing is impossible.
summer: of friendship that lasts only in times of prosperity
Draco Malfoy cannot remember a time when he hadn’t had friends. Everyone around him understood the importance of his friendship, but he’s never trusted anyone until Granger. Draco saves her life the day after they officially become Unspeakables. It is an incident in the Forbidden Forest that changes everything. They forge their reports while he teaches her how to lie properly. Hermione becomes a best friend sometime between almost dying and becoming a liar.
fall: decline, decay
Hermione Granger returns to Hogwarts only once years after the Forbidden Forest incident. It is a cold and rainy afternoon and she scowls as mud sloshes over her shoes. It is not the first funeral she has attended but this one is more important than the dozens before it. Hermione vows she’ll never return to Hogwarts as the coffin is lowered. She tries not to cry as she walks away from the ghost of Draco Malfoy.
winter: to maintain through a period of trial
Draco Malfoy pushes breath into her with panic as blood blooms across his fingertips. He wraps bandages around her arm and cleans the glass off the floor. It takes two hours and thirteen minutes for her heart rate to normalize. They sit in silence for the next four hours. He finds himself listening to her shaky breaths-inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. The next morning she cries and cries until he presses his lips to hers. When she finally leaves their cottage behind, he whispers goodbye and she finds herself alone in a sea of white snow.
6
Title: Tomorrow
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Mentions of abuse
Word count: 499
Tomorrow.
The word echoed in her mind when he walked away. Tomorrow would mark the end of the vicious abuse cycle that she’d been trapped in for months. Tomorrow would be the beginning of her new life. Tomorrow would-the front door slammed. Hermione leaned against the wall. Tomorrow would be the end of slammed doors and shattered dreams.
Relief spilled from her frayed nerves.
Trembling and bleeding, Hermione took a deep breath. She couldn’t stay. Realization would soon strike and he would return to play the role of the manipulative and apologetic abuser. She’d been fooled too many times already.
Never again.
Hermione stumbled into the dark bathroom.
Darkness had become a friend of hers; its blanket shielded her from the hideous creature that emerged as soon as the lights were turned on. Reality. When Michael had started hitting her, she remembered wanting to be encased in darkness forever. Life was easier that way, but not anymore. She turned on the light and its glow greeted her battered reflection in a kind of mocking glare.
She looked horrible: a bloody lip, swollen face, black eye, and numerous bruises. Numbly, she grabbed a wet washcloth and patted her tender lip. She could’ve healed herself magically, but her wand had been snapped to trap her inside of their warded home until he returned; a move Hermione had anticipated.
Her escape plan had been simple. Harry was supposed to come and help, but not anymore. That plan had backfired. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Hermione pulled the gold necklace out of her torn shirt and wrapped her hand around the emerald pendant.
Immediately, the Portkey activated.
Hermione stumbled upon landing, but didn’t fall. It was dark, but she didn’t have to see to know where she had landed. She was just inside the gates of her refuge. Hogwarts. And he was waiting for her, as always.
“You weren’t supposed to come until tomorrow.”
Hermione squared her shoulders and faced the Potions professor. “He found the divorce papers.”
When Draco Malfoy took in the sight of the battered witch, a familiar feeling of rage and pain swept through him. And when he hugged her, he promised, “I’ll murder Corner.”
“I’m fine. I-”
“Don’t leave.” He implored for the millionth time. “Stay,” the word hung in the air for a moment. “Stay with me.”
Hermione’s busted lip quivered. Stay?
She never asked herself what she’d done to deserve Michael’s cruelty. She never pitied herself and refused to accept it from others. Was this pity? Did Draco-no, he didn’t pity her. And tears filled her eyes. She had never cried before. Should she have? No. Michael wasn’t diminishing her self-worth when he assaulted her; he was fighting for his own. That truth had gotten her through the toughest of times-and so had Draco.
“Stay.”
“Okay.”
Draco gently started to pull away.
She clung to him. “Don’t.”
“You need-”
“For now, let’s stay.”
“But-”
“Everything can wait until tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
ooo
Remember:
Your voting options for MOST FAVORITE are 8 and 11.
Your voting options for LEAST FAVORITE are 2 and 6.
Please leave just the number in your vote.
Poll