Round 6, Challenge #4: The Best Sauce
Confused about which fork to use? Generally speaking, you start with the outermost one, and work your way in. Don’t forget to put your napkin in your lap … It’s time for the week 4 Feast of Love!
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Hunger is the best sauce in the world. ~Cervantes
1
Title: Potluck
Author: alexajohnson
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): Innuendo, implied Harry/Ron
Word Count: 404
It’s the first Saturday of April, which means it’s time for Harry and Ron’s monthly Potluck dinner. Draco hates Potluck dinners because he has to cook too.
And he’s pants at cooking.
To make matters worse, Hermione’s chicken had turned out perfectly, so now it looks as though he hadn’t even tried and just claiming a portion of the fruits of her labor for himself.
In his defense, he actually had attempted sauces for the chicken.
But they’d ended up being completely disgusting, and they’d run out of time for another attempt.
“Ron will be disappointed,” Hermione says as they walk up to their door. “He loves sauces.”
“How does he even have time to enjoy what he puts in his mouth? You blink and his entire plate is gone!”
She wiggles a suggestive eyebrow and knocks. “Oh, I’m sure he manages. Just ask Harry.”
“I did not need that mental image, Hermione.”
“After all this time, you’re still not used to them?”
“No, I am. I just don’t want to think about them in those positions.”
Harry picks this moment to answer the door, and Draco’s still scowling as Hermione explains, “We had a culinary disaster with the sauce, so unfortunately we just have the chicken.”
“That’s okay, Hermione,” Harry says as he takes the platter from her and brings it to the table. “Better the sauces than the chicken.”
Ron’s face falls. “But I love sauces.”
“Get over it, Weasley. If you wanted sauce that badly, you could’ve made it. Hunger is the best sauce in the world, anyway,” Draco says, and of course Hermione is the only one in the room whose eyebrow rises in recognition.
“You know Cervantes?”
“Why is it still hard for you to believe that I actually read?”
She smirks. “I’m not used to people understanding my references, so sometimes I forget that you’re actually knowledgeable.”
“Hey!”
“That’s not fair, Hermione!”
Ron and Harry express simultaneous outbursts of indignation, and Draco just grins at them. “Honestly, it’s really not that surprising.”
“Oh, piss off, Malfoy,” Ron grumbles, shuffling to the table. “I’m tired of talking about food anyway. Why do that when we can just eat it?”
“No wonder you’re not that bright, Weasley. With your stomach and dick doing all your thinking, there isn’t even any room left for your actual brain to participate!”
Even Hermione laughs when a piece of chicken flies into his face.
2
Title: Going in Blind
Author: ayane_tsurugi
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None.
Word Count: 404
Hermione stared into the bottom of her glass, turning it around and around in her hand so that the ice swished against the sides. She’d been sitting at this table for nearly an hour, and had made her way through two club sodas and a water before giving in to temptation and annoyance and allowing the waiter to talk her into a real drink, which was nearly empty already.
She would never forgive Ginny for talking her into this. Honestly, a blind date with a Quidditch player? She should have known she’d be stood up this way, and she promised herself that she’d get up and leave just as soon as her drink was gone.
Just as she made to finally stand, she allowed herself a sweeping glance of the restaurant that she was annoyed to find had filled almost entirely with couples. There was only one other table with a sole occupant, and her mouth dropped open to see that it was Draco Malfoy, his head resting in his palm and a pair of chopsticks in his other hand that he was clicking together again and again. There was a grouping of bowls laid out in front of him on the table, but they appeared untouched.
In a moment of boldness and insanity that she would later blame on the booze, she took the couple of steps toward Malfoy’s table, pulled out the other chair, and sat down. The clicking stopped, and he stared at her in the space between the chopsticks. “Granger?”
“Were you stood up too?” she asked.
He scoffed and the clicking began again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Granger. Malfoys don’t get stood up. I’m here alone by choice.”
She smirked. “Of course you are. But at least you ordered food before you started wondering if your date was invisible and no one told you, and I’m starving, so I’m going to stay if that’s fine with you.”
A moment passed in silence before he snorted in laughter. “I’m going to kill Blaise for this.”
She took a sip of her drink, taking his outburst as acquiescence. “I’m sure he and Ginny will enjoy themselves in the afterlife.” He raised an eyebrow. “So what exactly is this you’ve ordered?”
“Rice. Sauces.” He shrugged and nodded toward the kitchens. “The waiter suggested it.” When she looked back where he had nodded, the waiter sent them both a thumbs-up.
3
Title: Indian cuisine can be tricky!
Author: hathorx
Rating: PG
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 404
Hermione was ready to commit murder.
Why Parvati had ever chosen to make her sit next to Ron and his new girlfriend was beyond her, but it was slowly driving her nuts.
“Oh sweetie,” the blonde girl giggled. “You managed to get some sauce on your cheek.”
Hermione then watched, in horror, as she proceeded to lick Ron’s face.
They’d all been invited to the restaurant that evening to celebrate Parvati’s engagement to Dean and Harry and Ginny had pestered Hermione to go. Her friends, however, were nowhere seated near her and she had found herself isolated at one end of the table next to Ron and his girlfriend and across from Malfoy.
She had hoped to get to know Malfoy better that evening since he was friends with Harry and looked utterly gorgeous wearing a Muggle suit, but Ron’s girlfriend had made it nearly impossible, claiming all the attention for herself.
Hermione had only managed to exchange a few words with Malfoy concerning Indian cuisine. He’d seemed quite lost when they’d ordered and had barely touched the assortment of sauces lay out between them. It seemed he didn’t favour spicy food.
“I need some air,” Hermione finally mumbled and hastily stood up to her feet.
She accidentally knocked the table, however, causing it to jolt and the coriander sauce to tip over - right onto Draco’s lap.
More specifically, his crotch.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” Hermione exclaimed, feeling her face immediately flush red.
Malfoy calmly picked up the silver dish with one hand and returned it to the table.
Quickly picking up various napkins, Hermione’s hand headed straight for his crotch before she could stop herself.
Malfoy promptly jumped out of his seat.
“Granger, I’m fine,” he assured her, retrieving his wand from inside his jacket and casting a cleaning spell. “Magic, remember?”
Hermione flushed several shades darker and apologised once more. “I guess I haven’t been feeling too well this evening.”
Casting a sideways glance towards the couple, Malfoy smirked. “Don’t worry, I can see why,” he replied. “I wouldn’t mind getting out of here myself before I have to listen to that bimbo again. Fancy a drink?”
Hermione bit her lip to keep herself from laughing and in that moment knew that nothing could make her happier than escaping away with Malfoy.
Besides, she decided, the look on Ron’s face as they bid their goodbyes to the group was priceless.
4
Title:A Difference of Opinion
Author: vox_rowan
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Mild swearing
Word Count: 404 :P
“No.”
“No.”
“Merlin’s nutsack no-Granger what’s wrong with you? I know you’re a Muggle but you had seven years at Hogwarts for Nimue’s sake. Surely that trained your taste buds towards higher standards?”
I turned with folded arms and took several measured breaths. Draco Malfoy could lead to hyperventilation, sputtering, and lightheadedness. And Merlin help you if went beyond casual acquaintanceship.
“Malfoy, we have circled half of London looking for a place to eat. Thanks to your delicate sensibilities I suspect that I have dropped half a stone. You pick the place.”
“Hungry are you?” he replied, casually examining his nails.
“Yes,” I hissed, forgetting my breathing exercises for a moment, “Anything. I’ll eat anything. Just please, before I perish.”
He beamed at me, “Oh. Well then, if that’s the case...”
“Oh damn,” I muttered to myself. Gryffindor zip, Slytherin one.
Fifteen minutes later he squired me into a small restaurant that smelled of curry and hot.
“I just remembered this lovely little Indian restaurant that I read about the other week in that Muggle paper of yours. Very authentic. Only home style dishes.”
“Oh did you?” I replied, each word grinding from between my clenched teeth. I could already feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, and my poor tongue began to sting with remembered pain.
“Come on, Gryffindor, surely a few hot peppers couldn’t shake that brave heart of yours, eh? We can get you a nice, cooling lassi.” I think this was meant to comfort, but the glint in his beady, little gray eyes ruined the effect.
“I-I don’t really think so, Malfoy. Can’t we just have Italian or something?”
“Nonsense!” he replied brightly, steering me towards a table which was suspiciously already laden with food in small, silver bowls, “Starving aren’t you? About to drop another half stone? I wouldn’t want that happening. You always loose weight from my favorite parts.” He leered at me and then at the food.
“But it’s all so spicy,” I whimpered as we sat. I should have given him a good smack by now, but the pepper-saturated air had eroded my resolve.
“It’ll be fine. Hunger is the best sauce and besides, spice stimulates the senses and the appetite. Surprised you didn’t know that, Granger.” His eyes shifted from beady triumph to something entirely different.
Draco Malfoy can lead to spine tingles, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Take with precaution.
5
Title: Home Is Where The Sauce Is
Author: dracodew17
Rating: PG-13, for suggestiveness
Warning(s): EWE
Word Count: 404
Tired and world-weary, Draco Malfoy entered the small one-bedroom flat he shared with his wife for the first time in two weeks, letting the door click softly closed behind him. Before he could turn and hang up his cloak, he had a squealing Hermione Malfoy wrapped tightly around his middle.
“Oh, you’re home! I swear, Harry always seems to pick you for the longest missions.”
Laughing at her antics, he uncoiled her arms from his person and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling back, he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Maybe he thinks I’m the only one that can handle them.”
He watched her roll her eyes at that before she started tugging him in the direction of the kitchen. His eyes followed her as she fluttered around the space while he took a seat on one of the stools at the island.
“I know you must be starving. Tell me what you’d like and I’ll just whip something up. Perhaps lasagna with Bolognese sauce? Or maybe some Pad Thai with Nam Prik? Or, I know how much you love filet mignon with Bordelaise.”
Draco chuckled and he caught her hand as she walked by, drawing her into the circle of his arms. “Why the fixation on sauces all of a sudden?”
Hermione’s face turned bright red as she smiled shyly at her husband. “I just wanted to show you I’ve gotten better at making them ever since Molly gave me that new cookbook. We’ll never again have to worry about what happened when I tried to make Hollandaise sauce.”
He smirked at the memory. “I remember cleaning egg out of the carpet for nearly a week.”
“Anyway,” she started, clearly trying to change the subject, “a writer once said that hunger is the best sauce in the world.”
Draco nodded as if he was giving the matter serious thought. “What if I told you the only thing I was hungry for was my wife and her body decorated with chocolate sauce is what I needed to satisfy my appetite?”
She laughed in response. “I’d say, race you to the bedroom!” And she took off before he could speak another word, leaving a trail of clothes in her wake.
He got up to follow her, adding his own garments to the piles on the floor, and thought this was really the absolute best way to come home from a long assignment.
6
Title: Waiting
Author: bookishwench
Rating: PG
Warning(s): some disturbing imagery
Word Count: 404
A long time had passed since Draco last felt her skin under his fingertips, far longer than he had thought possible without going mad.
He knew she needed to disappear to fight the Dark Lord. If they were going to defeat Voldemort, they needed someone with more brains than just Potter and Weasley. When she told him, he didn’t try to dissuade her. He knew better. What he’d done instead was kiss her, hard and hungry, her heart beating in a rapid staccato against his own. He needed to remember, needed her to remember, what this felt like.
Then, just as suddenly as she was there, she was gone. The portkey pulled her away, leaving behind only dust motes swirling in empty space.
Silent months passed. Every day he both hoped for and dreaded hearing anything of her. And then, that horrible night, she was there, tantalizingly out of reach, only a few steps away, but his greatest desire had become his worst nightmare. When he saw sadistic Auntie Bella use Cruciatus on her, he felt like he was the one being tortured. The only way to enter the manor house was for a Malfoy to lower the guards, and by sheer willpower he’d managed it. Somehow, poor, loyal, doomed Dobby had come, his blood scarlet on the white marble floor. But Hermione was gone. If Dobby hadn’t saved her, Draco knew he was supposed to follow in Snape’s footsteps. He also knew he couldn’t watch his beloved murdered any more than Snape could have seen Voldemort kill Lily without throwing himself between them.
Now it was over. Voldemort’s carcass lay mouldering in the dungeons. He’d glimpsed her at the final duel, but that had been many hours ago, though it felt like years. Now, at last, he spotted her, standing at the other end of a broken corridor, her form silhouetted against the sunset through the crumbled stonework. As though she felt his gaze, she turned.
Time stood still for one heartbeat.
Then they were running at full tilt towards one another, colliding like magnet and steel. His hands traced the lines of her lips until she pressed them against his own, and it was as though the kiss of a year ago had never ended.
“It’s been a long time,” she said, resting her forehead against his.
“It has,” he said, pressing her closer, “but they say hunger is the best sauce.”
7
Title: Feminine Wiles
Author: openat_close
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None.
Word Count: 404
Draco gaped at the array of exotic foods that had been set down on the mosaic-topped table before them, the smell of curry, noodles, soup, and rich, creamy sauces wafting through the humid Thailand air. Hermione had been adamant that if she put up with a big, 'Malfoy-like' wedding (her term, not his), then she got to pick the honeymoon spot. Draco thought now that he should have just eloped with her and hidden away in Scotland or somewhere else that served much more familiar food.
As a general rule, Draco like to eat foods that he could pronounce the name of: bangers and mash, roast turkey with cranberry sauce; as such the feast before them was quite intimidating.
"Well, tuck in darling!" Hermione said, her enthusiasm for the strange cuisine boundless. As if showing him the way, she picked up her fork and began to pile Thai noodles, peanut satay chicken and green beef curry onto the plate set before her.
Turning to the plates, Draco's mouth dropped open in horror as he caught sight of something very suspicious, and he speared it on his fork and lifted it into Hermione's line of sight.
"What in Merlin's name is this, Hermione?"
Hermione swallowed her own mouthful before answering.
"It's jing reed," she said, rolling her eyes again at the blank expression on Draco's face. "It's cricket; it's a delicacy here. You should try it, darling."
"Oh I don't think so. Crickets should be left outside to chirp, not deep-fried."
Pouting, Hermione set her fork down on the side of her plate and crossed her arms.
"You promised that you would try everything," she said accusingly.
Not swayed, Draco shook his head.
"I know, but even my promises have limits. I won't eat a cricket, I refuse."
Trying a different tactic now, Hermione lowered her eyes and looked up at Draco through her eyelashes, her lips more pouty than before.
"I promise I'll make it worth your while when we get back to our hut?" She unfurled her arms and reached out across the table to caress his hands with her own. "Please, for me?"
Pouting himself now, Draco took a deep breath and closing his eyes, threw the cricket into his mouth and chewed quickly, trying to suppress the shudder of horror.
"Damn you and your feminine wiles," he muttered once the after taste of scaly legs and antennae had been washed away.
ooo
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As a voter, you have the option of leaving a brief statement about why you voted the way you did, for both most and least favorite. Your feedback will then be given to the drabble writer (if they want the feedback) ANONYMOUSLY.
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Please remember writers, that you may not vote for yourselves.
Here we go for week 7!
Choose your favorite and least favorite drabbles. Favorites will receive +1 point per vote, and least favorites -1 point per vote.
Voting ends at 11:59pm, Friday, March 12.
Hunger is the best sauce in the world. ~Cervantes
1
Title: Potluck
Author: alexajohnson
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): Innuendo, implied Harry/Ron
Word Count: 404
It’s the first Saturday of April, which means it’s time for Harry and Ron’s monthly Potluck dinner. Draco hates Potluck dinners because he has to cook too.
And he’s pants at cooking.
To make matters worse, Hermione’s chicken had turned out perfectly, so now it looks as though he hadn’t even tried and just claiming a portion of the fruits of her labor for himself.
In his defense, he actually had attempted sauces for the chicken.
But they’d ended up being completely disgusting, and they’d run out of time for another attempt.
“Ron will be disappointed,” Hermione says as they walk up to their door. “He loves sauces.”
“How does he even have time to enjoy what he puts in his mouth? You blink and his entire plate is gone!”
She wiggles a suggestive eyebrow and knocks. “Oh, I’m sure he manages. Just ask Harry.”
“I did not need that mental image, Hermione.”
“After all this time, you’re still not used to them?”
“No, I am. I just don’t want to think about them in those positions.”
Harry picks this moment to answer the door, and Draco’s still scowling as Hermione explains, “We had a culinary disaster with the sauce, so unfortunately we just have the chicken.”
“That’s okay, Hermione,” Harry says as he takes the platter from her and brings it to the table. “Better the sauces than the chicken.”
Ron’s face falls. “But I love sauces.”
“Get over it, Weasley. If you wanted sauce that badly, you could’ve made it. Hunger is the best sauce in the world, anyway,” Draco says, and of course Hermione is the only one in the room whose eyebrow rises in recognition.
“You know Cervantes?”
“Why is it still hard for you to believe that I actually read?”
She smirks. “I’m not used to people understanding my references, so sometimes I forget that you’re actually knowledgeable.”
“Hey!”
“That’s not fair, Hermione!”
Ron and Harry express simultaneous outbursts of indignation, and Draco just grins at them. “Honestly, it’s really not that surprising.”
“Oh, piss off, Malfoy,” Ron grumbles, shuffling to the table. “I’m tired of talking about food anyway. Why do that when we can just eat it?”
“No wonder you’re not that bright, Weasley. With your stomach and dick doing all your thinking, there isn’t even any room left for your actual brain to participate!”
Even Hermione laughs when a piece of chicken flies into his face.
2
Title: Going in Blind
Author: ayane_tsurugi
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None.
Word Count: 404
Hermione stared into the bottom of her glass, turning it around and around in her hand so that the ice swished against the sides. She’d been sitting at this table for nearly an hour, and had made her way through two club sodas and a water before giving in to temptation and annoyance and allowing the waiter to talk her into a real drink, which was nearly empty already.
She would never forgive Ginny for talking her into this. Honestly, a blind date with a Quidditch player? She should have known she’d be stood up this way, and she promised herself that she’d get up and leave just as soon as her drink was gone.
Just as she made to finally stand, she allowed herself a sweeping glance of the restaurant that she was annoyed to find had filled almost entirely with couples. There was only one other table with a sole occupant, and her mouth dropped open to see that it was Draco Malfoy, his head resting in his palm and a pair of chopsticks in his other hand that he was clicking together again and again. There was a grouping of bowls laid out in front of him on the table, but they appeared untouched.
In a moment of boldness and insanity that she would later blame on the booze, she took the couple of steps toward Malfoy’s table, pulled out the other chair, and sat down. The clicking stopped, and he stared at her in the space between the chopsticks. “Granger?”
“Were you stood up too?” she asked.
He scoffed and the clicking began again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Granger. Malfoys don’t get stood up. I’m here alone by choice.”
She smirked. “Of course you are. But at least you ordered food before you started wondering if your date was invisible and no one told you, and I’m starving, so I’m going to stay if that’s fine with you.”
A moment passed in silence before he snorted in laughter. “I’m going to kill Blaise for this.”
She took a sip of her drink, taking his outburst as acquiescence. “I’m sure he and Ginny will enjoy themselves in the afterlife.” He raised an eyebrow. “So what exactly is this you’ve ordered?”
“Rice. Sauces.” He shrugged and nodded toward the kitchens. “The waiter suggested it.” When she looked back where he had nodded, the waiter sent them both a thumbs-up.
3
Title: Indian cuisine can be tricky!
Author: hathorx
Rating: PG
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 404
Hermione was ready to commit murder.
Why Parvati had ever chosen to make her sit next to Ron and his new girlfriend was beyond her, but it was slowly driving her nuts.
“Oh sweetie,” the blonde girl giggled. “You managed to get some sauce on your cheek.”
Hermione then watched, in horror, as she proceeded to lick Ron’s face.
They’d all been invited to the restaurant that evening to celebrate Parvati’s engagement to Dean and Harry and Ginny had pestered Hermione to go. Her friends, however, were nowhere seated near her and she had found herself isolated at one end of the table next to Ron and his girlfriend and across from Malfoy.
She had hoped to get to know Malfoy better that evening since he was friends with Harry and looked utterly gorgeous wearing a Muggle suit, but Ron’s girlfriend had made it nearly impossible, claiming all the attention for herself.
Hermione had only managed to exchange a few words with Malfoy concerning Indian cuisine. He’d seemed quite lost when they’d ordered and had barely touched the assortment of sauces lay out between them. It seemed he didn’t favour spicy food.
“I need some air,” Hermione finally mumbled and hastily stood up to her feet.
She accidentally knocked the table, however, causing it to jolt and the coriander sauce to tip over - right onto Draco’s lap.
More specifically, his crotch.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” Hermione exclaimed, feeling her face immediately flush red.
Malfoy calmly picked up the silver dish with one hand and returned it to the table.
Quickly picking up various napkins, Hermione’s hand headed straight for his crotch before she could stop herself.
Malfoy promptly jumped out of his seat.
“Granger, I’m fine,” he assured her, retrieving his wand from inside his jacket and casting a cleaning spell. “Magic, remember?”
Hermione flushed several shades darker and apologised once more. “I guess I haven’t been feeling too well this evening.”
Casting a sideways glance towards the couple, Malfoy smirked. “Don’t worry, I can see why,” he replied. “I wouldn’t mind getting out of here myself before I have to listen to that bimbo again. Fancy a drink?”
Hermione bit her lip to keep herself from laughing and in that moment knew that nothing could make her happier than escaping away with Malfoy.
Besides, she decided, the look on Ron’s face as they bid their goodbyes to the group was priceless.
4
Title:A Difference of Opinion
Author: vox_rowan
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Mild swearing
Word Count: 404 :P
“No.”
“No.”
“Merlin’s nutsack no-Granger what’s wrong with you? I know you’re a Muggle but you had seven years at Hogwarts for Nimue’s sake. Surely that trained your taste buds towards higher standards?”
I turned with folded arms and took several measured breaths. Draco Malfoy could lead to hyperventilation, sputtering, and lightheadedness. And Merlin help you if went beyond casual acquaintanceship.
“Malfoy, we have circled half of London looking for a place to eat. Thanks to your delicate sensibilities I suspect that I have dropped half a stone. You pick the place.”
“Hungry are you?” he replied, casually examining his nails.
“Yes,” I hissed, forgetting my breathing exercises for a moment, “Anything. I’ll eat anything. Just please, before I perish.”
He beamed at me, “Oh. Well then, if that’s the case...”
“Oh damn,” I muttered to myself. Gryffindor zip, Slytherin one.
Fifteen minutes later he squired me into a small restaurant that smelled of curry and hot.
“I just remembered this lovely little Indian restaurant that I read about the other week in that Muggle paper of yours. Very authentic. Only home style dishes.”
“Oh did you?” I replied, each word grinding from between my clenched teeth. I could already feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, and my poor tongue began to sting with remembered pain.
“Come on, Gryffindor, surely a few hot peppers couldn’t shake that brave heart of yours, eh? We can get you a nice, cooling lassi.” I think this was meant to comfort, but the glint in his beady, little gray eyes ruined the effect.
“I-I don’t really think so, Malfoy. Can’t we just have Italian or something?”
“Nonsense!” he replied brightly, steering me towards a table which was suspiciously already laden with food in small, silver bowls, “Starving aren’t you? About to drop another half stone? I wouldn’t want that happening. You always loose weight from my favorite parts.” He leered at me and then at the food.
“But it’s all so spicy,” I whimpered as we sat. I should have given him a good smack by now, but the pepper-saturated air had eroded my resolve.
“It’ll be fine. Hunger is the best sauce and besides, spice stimulates the senses and the appetite. Surprised you didn’t know that, Granger.” His eyes shifted from beady triumph to something entirely different.
Draco Malfoy can lead to spine tingles, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Take with precaution.
5
Title: Home Is Where The Sauce Is
Author: dracodew17
Rating: PG-13, for suggestiveness
Warning(s): EWE
Word Count: 404
Tired and world-weary, Draco Malfoy entered the small one-bedroom flat he shared with his wife for the first time in two weeks, letting the door click softly closed behind him. Before he could turn and hang up his cloak, he had a squealing Hermione Malfoy wrapped tightly around his middle.
“Oh, you’re home! I swear, Harry always seems to pick you for the longest missions.”
Laughing at her antics, he uncoiled her arms from his person and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling back, he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Maybe he thinks I’m the only one that can handle them.”
He watched her roll her eyes at that before she started tugging him in the direction of the kitchen. His eyes followed her as she fluttered around the space while he took a seat on one of the stools at the island.
“I know you must be starving. Tell me what you’d like and I’ll just whip something up. Perhaps lasagna with Bolognese sauce? Or maybe some Pad Thai with Nam Prik? Or, I know how much you love filet mignon with Bordelaise.”
Draco chuckled and he caught her hand as she walked by, drawing her into the circle of his arms. “Why the fixation on sauces all of a sudden?”
Hermione’s face turned bright red as she smiled shyly at her husband. “I just wanted to show you I’ve gotten better at making them ever since Molly gave me that new cookbook. We’ll never again have to worry about what happened when I tried to make Hollandaise sauce.”
He smirked at the memory. “I remember cleaning egg out of the carpet for nearly a week.”
“Anyway,” she started, clearly trying to change the subject, “a writer once said that hunger is the best sauce in the world.”
Draco nodded as if he was giving the matter serious thought. “What if I told you the only thing I was hungry for was my wife and her body decorated with chocolate sauce is what I needed to satisfy my appetite?”
She laughed in response. “I’d say, race you to the bedroom!” And she took off before he could speak another word, leaving a trail of clothes in her wake.
He got up to follow her, adding his own garments to the piles on the floor, and thought this was really the absolute best way to come home from a long assignment.
6
Title: Waiting
Author: bookishwench
Rating: PG
Warning(s): some disturbing imagery
Word Count: 404
A long time had passed since Draco last felt her skin under his fingertips, far longer than he had thought possible without going mad.
He knew she needed to disappear to fight the Dark Lord. If they were going to defeat Voldemort, they needed someone with more brains than just Potter and Weasley. When she told him, he didn’t try to dissuade her. He knew better. What he’d done instead was kiss her, hard and hungry, her heart beating in a rapid staccato against his own. He needed to remember, needed her to remember, what this felt like.
Then, just as suddenly as she was there, she was gone. The portkey pulled her away, leaving behind only dust motes swirling in empty space.
Silent months passed. Every day he both hoped for and dreaded hearing anything of her. And then, that horrible night, she was there, tantalizingly out of reach, only a few steps away, but his greatest desire had become his worst nightmare. When he saw sadistic Auntie Bella use Cruciatus on her, he felt like he was the one being tortured. The only way to enter the manor house was for a Malfoy to lower the guards, and by sheer willpower he’d managed it. Somehow, poor, loyal, doomed Dobby had come, his blood scarlet on the white marble floor. But Hermione was gone. If Dobby hadn’t saved her, Draco knew he was supposed to follow in Snape’s footsteps. He also knew he couldn’t watch his beloved murdered any more than Snape could have seen Voldemort kill Lily without throwing himself between them.
Now it was over. Voldemort’s carcass lay mouldering in the dungeons. He’d glimpsed her at the final duel, but that had been many hours ago, though it felt like years. Now, at last, he spotted her, standing at the other end of a broken corridor, her form silhouetted against the sunset through the crumbled stonework. As though she felt his gaze, she turned.
Time stood still for one heartbeat.
Then they were running at full tilt towards one another, colliding like magnet and steel. His hands traced the lines of her lips until she pressed them against his own, and it was as though the kiss of a year ago had never ended.
“It’s been a long time,” she said, resting her forehead against his.
“It has,” he said, pressing her closer, “but they say hunger is the best sauce.”
7
Title: Feminine Wiles
Author: openat_close
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None.
Word Count: 404
Draco gaped at the array of exotic foods that had been set down on the mosaic-topped table before them, the smell of curry, noodles, soup, and rich, creamy sauces wafting through the humid Thailand air. Hermione had been adamant that if she put up with a big, 'Malfoy-like' wedding (her term, not his), then she got to pick the honeymoon spot. Draco thought now that he should have just eloped with her and hidden away in Scotland or somewhere else that served much more familiar food.
As a general rule, Draco like to eat foods that he could pronounce the name of: bangers and mash, roast turkey with cranberry sauce; as such the feast before them was quite intimidating.
"Well, tuck in darling!" Hermione said, her enthusiasm for the strange cuisine boundless. As if showing him the way, she picked up her fork and began to pile Thai noodles, peanut satay chicken and green beef curry onto the plate set before her.
Turning to the plates, Draco's mouth dropped open in horror as he caught sight of something very suspicious, and he speared it on his fork and lifted it into Hermione's line of sight.
"What in Merlin's name is this, Hermione?"
Hermione swallowed her own mouthful before answering.
"It's jing reed," she said, rolling her eyes again at the blank expression on Draco's face. "It's cricket; it's a delicacy here. You should try it, darling."
"Oh I don't think so. Crickets should be left outside to chirp, not deep-fried."
Pouting, Hermione set her fork down on the side of her plate and crossed her arms.
"You promised that you would try everything," she said accusingly.
Not swayed, Draco shook his head.
"I know, but even my promises have limits. I won't eat a cricket, I refuse."
Trying a different tactic now, Hermione lowered her eyes and looked up at Draco through her eyelashes, her lips more pouty than before.
"I promise I'll make it worth your while when we get back to our hut?" She unfurled her arms and reached out across the table to caress his hands with her own. "Please, for me?"
Pouting himself now, Draco took a deep breath and closing his eyes, threw the cricket into his mouth and chewed quickly, trying to suppress the shudder of horror.
"Damn you and your feminine wiles," he muttered once the after taste of scaly legs and antennae had been washed away.
ooo
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