Jae's Monthly Drabble Challenge #65; Birthday gift; Sparks 11
The first weekend of July is upon us, and it brings a new Monthly Drabble Challenge. This month, I've compiled a short list of words. You may use one, some or all of them:
spark, water, ghost, heat, breeze, magic
Feel free to write or draw any fandom, pairing, threesome, gen fic, etc. If you can combine this with other prompts to make your lives easier, by all means, do so.
Please post your entry in your own journal (unlocked!) or a community of your choice, and leave me a link in the comments below. You have until Sunday, July 17, at 11:00pm CST to submit an entry. At that time, I'll post links to the entries and draw a name from among the participants to receive a drabble from me. Below is my entry for July:
Title: Sparks 11
Author: enchanted_jae
Characters: Harry/Draco, Myrtle, students of Dumbledore House
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Suggestion
Word count: 1005
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This drabble/fic was written for fun, not for profit.
Written for:
♦ JMDC #65 - List of words: spark, water, ghost, heat, breeze, magic
♦ Belated birthday gift for mindedif, who requested a continuation of any series
Summary: Harry and Draco manage to draw Myrtle out and get the truth from her.
Harry and Draco broke apart quickly, startled by the voice that had intruded on their private moment. Draco sank deeper into the concealing water, while Harry sat up straighter and glared at the source of the interruption. "Myrtle," he said. "It's not polite to spy on people in the bath."
Rather than be abashed, Myrtle floated closer. "You weren't taking a bath," she taunted. "You were snogging, you naughty boys."
"And we were enjoying it, too, before you showed up," snapped Harry. Belatedly, he recalled that their mission had been to draw Myrtle out, not to scare her away. Harry felt Draco move away from his side and rise from the water.
Myrtle's translucent eyes were drawn to Draco's gleaming skin, and she cooed and fluttered her eyelashes.
Draco bent over, causing Myrtle to all but swoon, and when he rose and turned, it was with wand in hand. "Petrificus Phasmatis!" cried Draco. Pale light shot from his wand and engulfed Myrtle.
Upon discovering she was unable to move, Myrtle shrieked in rage.
Harry and Draco covered their ears and waited out the ghost girl's tantrum. Myrtle screamed and howled and wailed, until she finally subsided into tears. "Why are you picking on me?" she sobbed. "Did I not suffer enough in life?"
"We're not picking on you, Myrtle," Harry said, loudly enough to be heard over her lamentations. "We only want to talk to you."
Myrtle's crying subsided into a hiccup. "T-talk?" she gulped. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Draco had ducked back into the water, and he leaned toward the phantom girl. "We believe you can tell us what became of the mermaid," he said.
"Her again?!" screeched Myrtle. "Why do you only care about her?!"
"We would be just as concerned about you if you had disappeared," Harry assured her in a coaxing tone.
"R-really?" Myrtle asked.
Harry and Draco both nodded. "Please tell us what happened to her," said Draco.
Myrtle pouted at him until Draco leaned back and laid his arm casually across Harry's shoulders. Myrtle giggled and said, "Oh, very well."
~*~
"It's worse than we thought," Harry said gravely. His hair was still damp from the bath as he stood in front of the rest of Dumbledore House to tell them what he and Draco had learned from Moaning Myrtle. Seamus and Dean were seated at one end of the sofa, while Neville sat at the other end. Squashed between Dean and Neville was Pansy. Ron was seated in an armchair while Hermione perched on his knee and Greg hovered behind them. Blaise was sitting in one of the other chairs, and Draco was standing next to Harry.
A spark of awareness raised the fine hairs on Harry's body at the heat and proximity of Draco, but he pushed that aside to be dealt with later.
"What did you find out?" prompted Neville.
"During renovations," Harry began, "paintings and other objects were stored wherever there was space available. During that time, the Prefects' Bath had been drained, and it was deemed safe to store artwork in there until such time as it could be returned to its rightful place as repairs were made to Hogwarts. According to Myrtle, one of the paintings that was stored in the Prefects' Bath was of the Black Lake." Harry paused as he tried to explain what had happened.
Draco stepped up and continued for him. "Myrtle apparently goaded the mermaid into the painting. We have no idea how it was possible, and indeed, Myrtle herself wasn't too clear on the details. She simply said the last thing she saw was the mermaid's tail as it slapped the surface of the water."
"So she's in the painting of the Black Lake?" asked Dean.
"It's possible she's actually in the Black Lake," mused Hermione.
"How could that be?" Blaise asked her. "The mermaid isn't real. She's only two dimensional."
Greg shrugged his massive shoulders. "Magic," he said.
"What's our next step?" questioned Seamus.
Pansy reached for Neville's hand. "We must find that painting," she said.
~*~
It took two days of searching, but the painting of the Black Lake was finally discovered by Hermione and Blaise. They brought it back to the Common Room, where all ten members of their House sat and studied it.
Dean inspected the painting more closely than the others did. After studying it intently for several minutes, he shrugged and said, "It's a painting, like any other. It's magical, of course, which is evident by the ripples of water on the surface of the lake and the foliage on the shore waving in the breeze. There's nothing extraordinary about it, however."
Harry wasn't satisfied with Dean's pronouncement. "Is there a way to explore the painting in more depth?" he asked. Now that they were so close to solving the mystery of the mermaid's disappearance, he was anxious to leap into action.
"Harry, no," Hermione said firmly. "None of us is going to attempt to enter that painting." She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin out in that stubborn manner of hers.
"Perhaps we could convince one of the portraits to try it," said Pansy. "They are able to move from painting to painting."
"I think it's too dangerous," said Neville, giving a small shake of his head. "The mermaid entered this painting months ago and hasn't been seen since."
"Why not explore the Black Lake itself?" Draco suggested.
"That's a fantastic idea," said Harry, growing excited at the prospect. He was pleased to finally have something to do.
"How do you plan on exploring the lake?" snorted Blaise. "Some of us may be fair swimmers, but the lake is quite deep."
Harry turned to exchange a grin with Neville, and the two of them exclaimed, "Gillyweed!"
~tbc~
Sparks 12
spark, water, ghost, heat, breeze, magic
Feel free to write or draw any fandom, pairing, threesome, gen fic, etc. If you can combine this with other prompts to make your lives easier, by all means, do so.
Please post your entry in your own journal (unlocked!) or a community of your choice, and leave me a link in the comments below. You have until Sunday, July 17, at 11:00pm CST to submit an entry. At that time, I'll post links to the entries and draw a name from among the participants to receive a drabble from me. Below is my entry for July:
Title: Sparks 11
Author: enchanted_jae
Characters: Harry/Draco, Myrtle, students of Dumbledore House
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Suggestion
Word count: 1005
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This drabble/fic was written for fun, not for profit.
Written for:
♦ JMDC #65 - List of words: spark, water, ghost, heat, breeze, magic
♦ Belated birthday gift for mindedif, who requested a continuation of any series
Summary: Harry and Draco manage to draw Myrtle out and get the truth from her.
Harry and Draco broke apart quickly, startled by the voice that had intruded on their private moment. Draco sank deeper into the concealing water, while Harry sat up straighter and glared at the source of the interruption. "Myrtle," he said. "It's not polite to spy on people in the bath."
Rather than be abashed, Myrtle floated closer. "You weren't taking a bath," she taunted. "You were snogging, you naughty boys."
"And we were enjoying it, too, before you showed up," snapped Harry. Belatedly, he recalled that their mission had been to draw Myrtle out, not to scare her away. Harry felt Draco move away from his side and rise from the water.
Myrtle's translucent eyes were drawn to Draco's gleaming skin, and she cooed and fluttered her eyelashes.
Draco bent over, causing Myrtle to all but swoon, and when he rose and turned, it was with wand in hand. "Petrificus Phasmatis!" cried Draco. Pale light shot from his wand and engulfed Myrtle.
Upon discovering she was unable to move, Myrtle shrieked in rage.
Harry and Draco covered their ears and waited out the ghost girl's tantrum. Myrtle screamed and howled and wailed, until she finally subsided into tears. "Why are you picking on me?" she sobbed. "Did I not suffer enough in life?"
"We're not picking on you, Myrtle," Harry said, loudly enough to be heard over her lamentations. "We only want to talk to you."
Myrtle's crying subsided into a hiccup. "T-talk?" she gulped. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Draco had ducked back into the water, and he leaned toward the phantom girl. "We believe you can tell us what became of the mermaid," he said.
"Her again?!" screeched Myrtle. "Why do you only care about her?!"
"We would be just as concerned about you if you had disappeared," Harry assured her in a coaxing tone.
"R-really?" Myrtle asked.
Harry and Draco both nodded. "Please tell us what happened to her," said Draco.
Myrtle pouted at him until Draco leaned back and laid his arm casually across Harry's shoulders. Myrtle giggled and said, "Oh, very well."
~*~
"It's worse than we thought," Harry said gravely. His hair was still damp from the bath as he stood in front of the rest of Dumbledore House to tell them what he and Draco had learned from Moaning Myrtle. Seamus and Dean were seated at one end of the sofa, while Neville sat at the other end. Squashed between Dean and Neville was Pansy. Ron was seated in an armchair while Hermione perched on his knee and Greg hovered behind them. Blaise was sitting in one of the other chairs, and Draco was standing next to Harry.
A spark of awareness raised the fine hairs on Harry's body at the heat and proximity of Draco, but he pushed that aside to be dealt with later.
"What did you find out?" prompted Neville.
"During renovations," Harry began, "paintings and other objects were stored wherever there was space available. During that time, the Prefects' Bath had been drained, and it was deemed safe to store artwork in there until such time as it could be returned to its rightful place as repairs were made to Hogwarts. According to Myrtle, one of the paintings that was stored in the Prefects' Bath was of the Black Lake." Harry paused as he tried to explain what had happened.
Draco stepped up and continued for him. "Myrtle apparently goaded the mermaid into the painting. We have no idea how it was possible, and indeed, Myrtle herself wasn't too clear on the details. She simply said the last thing she saw was the mermaid's tail as it slapped the surface of the water."
"So she's in the painting of the Black Lake?" asked Dean.
"It's possible she's actually in the Black Lake," mused Hermione.
"How could that be?" Blaise asked her. "The mermaid isn't real. She's only two dimensional."
Greg shrugged his massive shoulders. "Magic," he said.
"What's our next step?" questioned Seamus.
Pansy reached for Neville's hand. "We must find that painting," she said.
~*~
It took two days of searching, but the painting of the Black Lake was finally discovered by Hermione and Blaise. They brought it back to the Common Room, where all ten members of their House sat and studied it.
Dean inspected the painting more closely than the others did. After studying it intently for several minutes, he shrugged and said, "It's a painting, like any other. It's magical, of course, which is evident by the ripples of water on the surface of the lake and the foliage on the shore waving in the breeze. There's nothing extraordinary about it, however."
Harry wasn't satisfied with Dean's pronouncement. "Is there a way to explore the painting in more depth?" he asked. Now that they were so close to solving the mystery of the mermaid's disappearance, he was anxious to leap into action.
"Harry, no," Hermione said firmly. "None of us is going to attempt to enter that painting." She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin out in that stubborn manner of hers.
"Perhaps we could convince one of the portraits to try it," said Pansy. "They are able to move from painting to painting."
"I think it's too dangerous," said Neville, giving a small shake of his head. "The mermaid entered this painting months ago and hasn't been seen since."
"Why not explore the Black Lake itself?" Draco suggested.
"That's a fantastic idea," said Harry, growing excited at the prospect. He was pleased to finally have something to do.
"How do you plan on exploring the lake?" snorted Blaise. "Some of us may be fair swimmers, but the lake is quite deep."
Harry turned to exchange a grin with Neville, and the two of them exclaimed, "Gillyweed!"
~tbc~
Sparks 12