Drabble-topia
So, I'm participating in Round 2 over at dramione_ldws and I've made it past the first round (phew!) Between challenge one and two, I've built up a few drabbles that I chose not to submit in favor of ones that (I'm hoping) turned out better. Still, it's a shame to let any writing go to waste. So, I give you four drabbles that didn't make the cut!
ETA: Sorry! I though the rules only forbid posting of submitted drabbles! Clearly, I misinterpreted (: I will repost once the challenge is over!
ETA2: Re-Posted!!
Lies # 1
“Just say it.”
“I won’t.”
“Draco, please,” it was less than a whisper, he hardly would have heard it if his whole world hadn’t been hanging on her every breath.
“I can’t.” He wished he could conceal the fact that he was being ripped apart. “Hermione, you can’t ask me to say that.”
“Then come with me.” The stubborn determination in her voice was familiar, the words were familiar. His answer was wrote.
“I can’t do that either, you know that.”
“But why?” A tear trickled past her defences and she angrily scrubbed it away. “You can’t believe in what you’re fighting for. I know you can’t!”
“Well I can’t believe in your cause either!” He lost his temper, angry not so much at her, but at fate, and at war, and at falling in love in the first place.
A silence lay between them that might as well have been a thousand miles.
“I’m sorry.” She said finally, “But you are choosing to fight for something that I hate with everything that I am, that goes against everything I believe in. I can’t miss you, I won’t. So I need you to lie to me.” The look in her eyes made him wonder if she would even hesitate if they ever met in battle.
“Hermione…” his voice cracked under the pressure of generations of family loyalty and honour pressing down on him.
“You have to.”
He knew it. And he spoke.
“I don’t love you.”
And it was done.
Lies #2
Harry was holding a piece of parchment, and Hermione as more afraid than she could ever recall having been before.
“What the FUCK is going on Hermione.” He didn’t yell, that would have been easier. His voice was cold. Sharp.
“Harry, please, you have to listen to me. I don’t know who sent it. I don’t know what this is all about.” She wished that her voice wasn’t shaking so much, but her whole life was about to fall down around her, and she couldn’t help it.
“Why would anyone send me a letter telling me that you were cheating? Who could possibly gain anything by that?” He glared at her, arms folded.
“I don’t know who would want to hurt you like that, but you have to believe me, I am not cheating on you. I would never do that.” She sat on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees.
“How can I know that you’re telling the truth?” His voice lost a little of its edge,
“I don’t know Harry, I don’t know what I can do to prove it to you. But you have to know that I would never do anything to ruin what we have.”
Harry let out a breath, “I know, I’m sorry.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “It just…drives me a little crazy to think of you with another man”
Hermione smiled weakly and resolved for the thousandth time to end things with Draco…but she knew it wouldn’t stick.
Lies #3
“Will you please keep your sodding distance Malfoy,” Hermione bit out through clenched teeth, focusing on grinding the aptly named stone root.
“That’s not what you said last night, Granger,” Draco said in a low voice, close enough for Hermione to feel his breath against her ear. A thrill shot up her spine.
“I was drunk,” she said firmly, “It meant nothing.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince.
“Didn’t feel like nothing to me,” said Draco with a grin that made Hermione want to melt. “Who knew that beneath that bushy hair you were such a good snog.”
Hermione was surprised to hear what probably passed for a compliment from Malfoy, but resolutely kept her eyes on her work.
“Who knew that you were so lousy.” She was lying through her teeth.
Unfortunately, Draco knew it. “Lousy, hey?” He leaned in behind her. “Good enough to make you scream Granger, which is what landed us in detention, if you’ll remember.”
Merlin help her, she did remember. It was making her flush just thinking about it. She put down the mortar and pestle. “I hate you.” She said, turning around on her stool to push him away.
The look in his eyes stopped her, hands against his chest. His eyes were heavy lidded and smoldering, looking at her in a way that was positively indecent. Resistance was futile.
Several minutes later, they came up for air.
“I thought you hated me,” Draco sounded amused.
“I guess I lied.”
Title: Speechless
Rating: PG
Warning: mild suggestion of snogging
Word Count: 498
There was ink on her face.
Draco stared at her from where he stood, hid really, in the stacks. He had thought that, at this hour, the library was sure to be empty. Contrary to popular belief, it was often quite difficult to find “private time” with a girl when one was living in shared quarters. He was glad that he had chosen to check first.
To tell the truth, he was a little bit relieved when Granger had slouched into the library, bending under the weight of her bag, and almost collapsed into a chair. “Private time” with Pansy had become somewhat distasteful. Not entirely, of course, because she was still a very pretty and very willing sort of girl, and he was 17, but Draco had begun to forget why he put up with her.
The downside, of course, is that now he was trapped in the library with Granger and was probably not going to get out with out some sort of confrontation. He loathed how hot blooded she was, mostly because it meant she often had the last word.
So here he was, hiding behind the stacks, desperately trying to come up with some sort of cutting remarks that would leave her speechless long enough for him to make a hasty retreat.
“Been snogging your books again, have you?”
No, that didn’t make any sense at all.
“Don’t you ever bathe, or do you enjoy your face being as dirty as your blood?”
That was no good either, as he would probably end up being punched in the face again. As much as he detested Granger, he had to admit that she had a decent right hook.
“Your glorious leader doesn’t even give you time for a shower anymore? Poor management skills, I’d say.”
Well that wasn’t bad, plus it included an insult directed at Potter. Straightening his robe ever so slightly, he swept out from behind the stacks towards Granger’s table.
She looked up sharply at the sound of footsteps. He stopped directly in front of her, arms folded, a carefully crafted smirk on his face. At this range, he could see that whatever the wonder team was up to, it was indeed taking up far too much of Granger’s time. She looked tired. Her normally bright eyes were dim and listless, her complexion sallow and tired. She looked a right mess.
Draco suddenly found that all of his carefully crafted insults had deserted him. Without thinking, reached out, gently placed the tip of his wand against her cheek and whispered “tergeo.”
There was an uncomfortable silence as both wondered for a moment if perhaps hell had frozen over. Finally, Draco nodded, turned on his heel, and walked out of the library, leaving Hermione looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face, one hand touching her cheek.
Draco wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened.
All he knew was that Hermione Granger had, for once in her life, been rendered speechless.
ETA: Sorry! I though the rules only forbid posting of submitted drabbles! Clearly, I misinterpreted (: I will repost once the challenge is over!
ETA2: Re-Posted!!
Lies # 1
“Just say it.”
“I won’t.”
“Draco, please,” it was less than a whisper, he hardly would have heard it if his whole world hadn’t been hanging on her every breath.
“I can’t.” He wished he could conceal the fact that he was being ripped apart. “Hermione, you can’t ask me to say that.”
“Then come with me.” The stubborn determination in her voice was familiar, the words were familiar. His answer was wrote.
“I can’t do that either, you know that.”
“But why?” A tear trickled past her defences and she angrily scrubbed it away. “You can’t believe in what you’re fighting for. I know you can’t!”
“Well I can’t believe in your cause either!” He lost his temper, angry not so much at her, but at fate, and at war, and at falling in love in the first place.
A silence lay between them that might as well have been a thousand miles.
“I’m sorry.” She said finally, “But you are choosing to fight for something that I hate with everything that I am, that goes against everything I believe in. I can’t miss you, I won’t. So I need you to lie to me.” The look in her eyes made him wonder if she would even hesitate if they ever met in battle.
“Hermione…” his voice cracked under the pressure of generations of family loyalty and honour pressing down on him.
“You have to.”
He knew it. And he spoke.
“I don’t love you.”
And it was done.
Lies #2
Harry was holding a piece of parchment, and Hermione as more afraid than she could ever recall having been before.
“What the FUCK is going on Hermione.” He didn’t yell, that would have been easier. His voice was cold. Sharp.
“Harry, please, you have to listen to me. I don’t know who sent it. I don’t know what this is all about.” She wished that her voice wasn’t shaking so much, but her whole life was about to fall down around her, and she couldn’t help it.
“Why would anyone send me a letter telling me that you were cheating? Who could possibly gain anything by that?” He glared at her, arms folded.
“I don’t know who would want to hurt you like that, but you have to believe me, I am not cheating on you. I would never do that.” She sat on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees.
“How can I know that you’re telling the truth?” His voice lost a little of its edge,
“I don’t know Harry, I don’t know what I can do to prove it to you. But you have to know that I would never do anything to ruin what we have.”
Harry let out a breath, “I know, I’m sorry.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “It just…drives me a little crazy to think of you with another man”
Hermione smiled weakly and resolved for the thousandth time to end things with Draco…but she knew it wouldn’t stick.
Lies #3
“Will you please keep your sodding distance Malfoy,” Hermione bit out through clenched teeth, focusing on grinding the aptly named stone root.
“That’s not what you said last night, Granger,” Draco said in a low voice, close enough for Hermione to feel his breath against her ear. A thrill shot up her spine.
“I was drunk,” she said firmly, “It meant nothing.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince.
“Didn’t feel like nothing to me,” said Draco with a grin that made Hermione want to melt. “Who knew that beneath that bushy hair you were such a good snog.”
Hermione was surprised to hear what probably passed for a compliment from Malfoy, but resolutely kept her eyes on her work.
“Who knew that you were so lousy.” She was lying through her teeth.
Unfortunately, Draco knew it. “Lousy, hey?” He leaned in behind her. “Good enough to make you scream Granger, which is what landed us in detention, if you’ll remember.”
Merlin help her, she did remember. It was making her flush just thinking about it. She put down the mortar and pestle. “I hate you.” She said, turning around on her stool to push him away.
The look in his eyes stopped her, hands against his chest. His eyes were heavy lidded and smoldering, looking at her in a way that was positively indecent. Resistance was futile.
Several minutes later, they came up for air.
“I thought you hated me,” Draco sounded amused.
“I guess I lied.”
Title: Speechless
Rating: PG
Warning: mild suggestion of snogging
Word Count: 498
There was ink on her face.
Draco stared at her from where he stood, hid really, in the stacks. He had thought that, at this hour, the library was sure to be empty. Contrary to popular belief, it was often quite difficult to find “private time” with a girl when one was living in shared quarters. He was glad that he had chosen to check first.
To tell the truth, he was a little bit relieved when Granger had slouched into the library, bending under the weight of her bag, and almost collapsed into a chair. “Private time” with Pansy had become somewhat distasteful. Not entirely, of course, because she was still a very pretty and very willing sort of girl, and he was 17, but Draco had begun to forget why he put up with her.
The downside, of course, is that now he was trapped in the library with Granger and was probably not going to get out with out some sort of confrontation. He loathed how hot blooded she was, mostly because it meant she often had the last word.
So here he was, hiding behind the stacks, desperately trying to come up with some sort of cutting remarks that would leave her speechless long enough for him to make a hasty retreat.
“Been snogging your books again, have you?”
No, that didn’t make any sense at all.
“Don’t you ever bathe, or do you enjoy your face being as dirty as your blood?”
That was no good either, as he would probably end up being punched in the face again. As much as he detested Granger, he had to admit that she had a decent right hook.
“Your glorious leader doesn’t even give you time for a shower anymore? Poor management skills, I’d say.”
Well that wasn’t bad, plus it included an insult directed at Potter. Straightening his robe ever so slightly, he swept out from behind the stacks towards Granger’s table.
She looked up sharply at the sound of footsteps. He stopped directly in front of her, arms folded, a carefully crafted smirk on his face. At this range, he could see that whatever the wonder team was up to, it was indeed taking up far too much of Granger’s time. She looked tired. Her normally bright eyes were dim and listless, her complexion sallow and tired. She looked a right mess.
Draco suddenly found that all of his carefully crafted insults had deserted him. Without thinking, reached out, gently placed the tip of his wand against her cheek and whispered “tergeo.”
There was an uncomfortable silence as both wondered for a moment if perhaps hell had frozen over. Finally, Draco nodded, turned on his heel, and walked out of the library, leaving Hermione looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face, one hand touching her cheek.
Draco wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened.
All he knew was that Hermione Granger had, for once in her life, been rendered speechless.