ROUND EIGHT, CHALLENGE FOUR VOTING POLL

May 19, 2011 08:34

It’s time for week four's Words of Love!

Welcome all to the celebration of Dramione's Tenth Anniversary.

A couple of things to remember when deciding which drabbles to vote for (most and least favorite):

Guidelines:
  1. Which drabble best incorporates the prompt?
  2. Is the drabble clever, different, fresh? Does it evoke an emotional response (good or bad)?
  3. Does the drabble contain grammar, canon or spelling errors?

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.

Example: Most - #40: the ending was brilliant - OR - Least - #57: the ending fell flat

Please remember writers, that you may not vote for yourselves.

Here we go for week four!

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, May 20th.



Words: Respect and Satisfy
Definitions: From another character’s POV (Not Draco, not Hermione)
Related Forms: 100-499 words

1

Title: The Perfect Plan
Author: pagan_toon76
Rating: MT
Warning(s): One swear word
Word Count: 381

When I first suspected something was up, I swore to myself I’d pay more attention to them: their interactions at work or whenever we’d all meet up for dinner or for drinks.

My suspicions proved true.

I caught them stealing a fervent kiss in the lane right behind The Leaky; his pale hands gripping her messy curls as she clung to him tightly.

Then there was that time when I cracked opened the door to Malfoy’s office and spied her bouncing on his lap; her face flushed and his head thrown back in ecstasy. I continued watching until she moaned and leaned over to kiss him.

I lost all respect for her then. I was furious, and wanted nothing more than to run into the room and pull her off and away from him.

It was after I saw her leaving his apartment one morning that I knew - knew - that there was more to it than just a little fling. A sexual escapade. He had never let a woman stay over at this apartment. Until her.

I needed to put an end to this, once and for all.

"Hermione," I growled as I walked up to her. It was time to confront her and her betrayal.

"Oh," she replied. She looked surprised. She should be - the two-timing, two-faced Janus.

"I know what's going on between you and Malfoy," I bit out.

"Yes, well, its to be expected," she replied as she stood up from behind her desk and waved her wand to close the door behind me. "I know it was never part of the plan, but, well, I've grown to like him. And he makes me happy. I make him happy."

I almost screamed but bit the inside of my cheek. "How dare you?"

"How dare I?” The woman had the gall to look affronted. “You broke up with him. You said you wanted someone better. You said he kept calling, wanting to get back together and you asked me to keep him away from you. You said he didn't suit you, that you wanted your freedom. Well, you're right. I suit him better.”

“You bitch,” I raged.

“No, Ginny, that's you," she replied. “He's happy now. With me. You ought to be satisfied, your plan worked perfectly.”

2

Title: Post-Teenage Rebellion
Author: eevilalice
Rating: G
Warning(s): None
Word Count: 413

Draco has always been an obedient son. Yet, he’s never quite been able to satisfy my expectations, with all his failures, coming in second to Potter in Quidditch (among other things), and Miss Granger, a Muggleborn, in academics.

But there’s something else-not so much what he’s tried and been unable to achieve as what he’s never attempted in the first place, and that is to challenge me.

What teenage boy does not rebel against his parents, his father in particular? Can he even become a man without doing so? I think not.

I never told Draco this, but his grandfather, Abraxas, did not initially approve of Narcissa. Too many blood traitors in the Black family, he said. He had another girl in mind for me, some high-ranking diplomat’s daughter at Beauxbatons. But I was set on my ice princess and put my foot down, all the while showing him what I was made of, rising through the Death Eater ranks. On his deathbed, you can be sure my father said he was proud.

So when, at dinner one night, Draco announces that he has asked out Miss Granger, and she has said yes, my feelings on the matter are more complicated than one would guess.

“Do you think that’s wise, Draco?” I ask.

“I don’t care,” he says firmly, staring down at his plate.

I consider my words carefully, glance at Narcissa, silent beside me, one elegant eyebrow arched. “Very strategic thinking, son. Romancing a war hero and Ministry fixture such as Miss Granger. It could go a long way toward redeeming the Malfoy name.”

“That’s not what this is about!” he shouts, slamming a fist on the table and rising from his chair abruptly. “She reached out to me after the war! She wrote me letters. We’ve been having lunch, and she makes me feel like I could be…” he trails off, thankfully. Malfoys do not stomach sentimentality well.

His defiance impresses me, even if I can’t help but find his choice galling. A small smile plays upon Narcissa’s lips; she’s always been able to read me so well.

A month later, we’re invited to dinner to officially meet Miss Granger as his girlfriend, the very definition of an awkward affair. Afterwards, putting on Narcissa’s coat, I see them framed in the doorway, Draco’s hands cupping her cheeks as they kiss.

I may not like it, I may not like her, ever, but at least I can finally respect my son.

3

Title: Father's Prerogative
Author: bookishwench
Rating: PG
Warning(s): none
Word Count: 499

If you have a daughter, no boy she dates will ever satisfy you. All fathers feel that way, but with Hermione it was worse somehow, not just because she was our only daughter but because she’d been taken away from us before when she was eleven. You really have no idea what it’s like to have an owl come swooping through your kitchen window one lovely summer day only to find out your daughter isn’t just the precocious little girl you thought, but someone who belongs in a different world you’ll never be able to inhabit. I can still see her pirouetting around the room, crying delightedly, “I knew it wasn’t all my imagination!”

Me, I just felt like crying. The world been turned completely upside down with fairy tales as facts, and our daughter was destined for Neverland while Susan and I were stuck looking out the nursery window, watching her pirate ship float away without us. We tried to talk her out of it, but I realized we were trying to hold her back more for us than for her. So she went to Hogwarts, and we stayed in London and wondered if our Hermione would ever really come home again.

She did, of course, but she wasn’t just ours anymore: she was theirs. Granted, we were proud of her; we just never understood what exactly we were proud of.

The first boy she brought around the house caused a panic. When she phoned that she wanted to bring him round for dinner, Susan and I were nervous. She’d never wanted us to meet a boyfriend before. Even more, he was one of them, and our last hope of her rejoining the normal world disappeared.

Absolutely everything about him felt totally wrong for her. When he looked at her, he didn’t seem to see her. It was almost like he felt he was settling for her, or worse, doing her a favor being with her. Then there was how he treated Susan. At one point he actually motioned her to fill his glass with water from a pitcher right next to him. I hadn’t raised my daughter to be some boy’s maid. Maybe Hermione realized it too, because she never brought him round again.

The second one, though, was an improvement. While he was still one of them and spent too much time staring quizzically at things like the remote control or the microwave, the way he looked at her, a mix of love and respect, made me… well, not like him. It’s principle. But I couldn’t automatically hate him when he obviously adored her.

“So, Draco,” I asked as I casually cut into the shepherd’s pie, “how long have you been shagging my daughter?”

He gagged so hard on his bread that Hermione had to perform the Heimlich maneuver, mussing that white-blond head of his.

You can’t blame a father for wanting a little revenge on the robber who’s stolen his daughter’s heart away, can you?

4

Title: His Mistakes
Author: mihnn
Rating: R for imagery
Warning(s): None
Word Count: 496

Harry Potter wasn't known for being the most observant, but some things he couldn't help but notice.

He noticed when Hermione would huff at him in annoyance, when Ron would whine that he was working too hard and when Draco-bloody-Malfoy was transferred to his department with that annoying smirk, his annoying hair and his annoying...self. Hermione didn't take it well either, if the yelling matches were any indication.

Every time he passed her office, Harry would wince when he heard the familiar voice of the blond state curtly that he deserved to be treated with respect followed shortly by Hermione's haughty tone that he had to earn it first. And that worked fine with Harry. Hermione and Malfoy at each other's throats was a welcome, albeit annoying sound to hear every morning and most of the afternoon. It made him thank his lucky stars that the prat had to answer to her and not to him. There was even a betting pool to decide how long Malfoy would stay without asking for a transfer.

The first two weeks went as expected. Hermione would order him to do something, and Malfoy, being the know-it-all 'Prat of the Century' would then do the very thing she would demand him not to do, which caused her problems but left him sitting pretty and ultimately the whole thing always worked out. Harry stayed silent as Hermione talked his ear off about Malfoy's lack of respect for the hierarchy.

The next two weeks went worse. Hermione would give him near impossible tasks just to spite him and Malfoy would do them all while not following the proper procedure. Naturally, Hermione found out and Harry had to endure listening to a list of one hundred reasons as to why she didn't like him.

The two weeks after was complete torture. The fights were louder, the insults more creative, and Harry found it difficult to hire anyone who was willing to stay long enough and endure the back and forth that was going on between them. But still Harry stayed silent as Hermione spoke splendidly of the various undetectable methods of murder she had designed just for Malfoy.

The final straw came the week after, when Harry just couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't.

Storming into Malfoy's office he demanded that the git do everything in his power to satisfy her and stop her from talking to him about how disappointed she was.

It was later, when he had walked into Hermione's office without knocking and suffered a mild stroke at the image of his best mate being violated by a git -on her desk, no less -that Harry finally admitted defeat. The image of Malfoy's pale bum didn't help matters either.

Obviously, he should have been more specific.

As Harry closed the door on their stunned faces, he decided that he had made one other mistake. He should have hexed Malfoy that first day he saw the git eyeing Hermione's arse.

5

Title: Winning Colors
Author: mister_otter
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Postwar, AU
Word Count: 400

Pansy paced across the lingerie shop, the click of her stiletto heels barely audible above the din taking place outside the changing room.

Inside, Hermione Granger stood nearly naked as her friends argued over her underwear. She and Draco had finally decided to act on their mutual attraction. The undergarments Hermione would wear that evening had been a topic of discussion among Pansy and the other girls for several days, culminating in a shopping expedition to find the perfect pair.

“I think you need black,” Ginny was saying. “Simple, classic, and elegant. You want Malfoy to respect you, Hermione-for being true to yourself.”

”No, she doesn’t,” Lavender argued. “She needs emerald green. He’ll respect her more for wearing his House colors.”

“I like the shimmery, silver ones,” Luna broke in. “Moon colors are sensuous, mysterious…”

Pansy stalked over to the garment rack and pulled out a matching bra-and-knickers set. It was a revealing, red confection designed purely to seduce.

Elbowing her way past the others, she tugged open the changing room door and thrust her choice at Hermione. “This one.”

Protests erupted from Ginny, Luna, and Lavender.

Hermione merely stared at the items in Pansy’s hand. “Pansy, I don’t think… this just isn’t…”

”Don’t you trust my judgment?” Pansy purred.

“I...”

“You want to show Draco that you can satisfy him. And keep him satisfied.”

“But... ”

“Excuse us for a moment.“ Pansy closed the door in the other girls’ faces, then reached out and wrapped one violet-nailed hand around Hermione’s wrist.

“Confession time, Granger. What’s got you acting like a cat on a hot stove over my suggestion?”

”Look, Pansy.” Hermione seemed slightly embarrassed. “I don’t mean to be blunt but… at one time, you wanted Draco for yourself. Quite badly. Why should I trust your judgment on something as intimate as my lingerie for tonight?”

“Think about it, Hermione.” Pansy delicately arched one eyebrow. “I’m not with Malfoy, am I? I’m married to Harry Potter.” Her voice softened. “I’m the only one here who understands what you and Draco are feeling-the heat that ignites when Slytherin and Gryffindor collide.”

Ten minutes later, a smiling Hermione strode out of the shop, swinging a shopping bag with a froth of red lace peeking from the top.

Pansy stood with arms folded, watching her friend go. She gave a smug, satisfied nod.

Tonight, it was Hermione’s turn to win.

ooo

REMEMBER: Vote for the NUMBER of the drabble, NOT THE NAME. It just makes it easier on the mods!

Please leave both a MOST favorite and a LEAST favorite vote. We must have both in order for your votes to count.

Poll Round 8 Challenge #3

For readers, supporters, lovers of everything dramione -

Copy & Paste from the Box

http://dramione-ldws.livejournal.com/88071.html" target="_blank">http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q243/pokeystar/comms/Pimpingbanner.png">

Come Celebrate Dramione's Tenth Anniversary
Click the Invite to Read & Vote!
This Week: Respect and Satisfy
Voting ends 11:59 EST (GMT -4) Friday, May 20th


To Get this Pretty for your Journal - Spread the Drabble Love!




Come Celebrate Dramione's Tenth Anniversary
Click the Invite to Read & Vote!
This Week: Respect and Satisfy
Voting ends 11:59 EST (GMT -4) Friday, May 20th

Please spread the word and thanks for dropping by!

round 8, voting

Previous post Next post
Up