Birthday!gift: Sparks 4
Title: Sparks 4
Author: enchanted_jae
Characters: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Myrtle, Filch
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Suggestion
Word count: 1240
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This drabble/fic was written for fun, not for profit.
Author's note: Written as a birthday gift for jedipm, who asked for an update to "Sparks".
Summary: Dumbledore House takes on The Case of the Missing Mermaid.
Harry and Hermione were still arguing over The Case of the Missing Mermaid, as Harry had termed it, when the others had gone to bed.
"We need to concentrate on our studies this year," Hermione said, yet again. She couldn't seem to make Harry understand how important that was.
"I realize that, Hermione," sighed Harry, "but we also need to build some House unity, and this is something that we can all work on together." He could sense his friend was beginning to waver, and Harry pressed his advantage. "It would get Pansy out of her room."
Hermione threw her hands up in the air in defeat. "Fine," she huffed. "I can see that you are possessed of...of Dumbledore determination and are in no mood to listen to reason."
Harry laughed. "I think a quest is perfectly reasonable. Budge over," he instructed, plopping next to her on the sofa. "I'll tell you what I'm thinking, and you can tell me how illogical it is and how to make it better."
Hermione nodded, seemingly appeased by this.
"I want to send everyone out in pairs to search the castle and question other students and even the portraits," Harry began. "We may as well stick to roommates, so we can-"
"No."
"No?"
Hermione leaned forward eagerly. "I want you to pair Neville and Pansy together."
"Why?"
Hermione twirled a lock of hair around her finger before replying, "I think Pansy fancies Neville. She gets more animated in his presence."
Harry's brows furrowed as he thought about that. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright," Harry conceded. "Shall I pair Blaise and Greg, then?"
Hermione grimaced and said, "I believe you'll have to leave Ron and Greg together."
"You two aren't having problems, are you?" Harry demanded, concerned for his best friends and wondering how he had missed the signs.
"No, Harry," giggled Hermione. "However, since Ron saved Greg's life, he follows Ron around like a devoted lap dog. I think he would balk at the idea of not being able to protect Ron, should the need arise."
They shared a laugh over that until Hermione gathered her composure. "I suppose you'll need to team me up with Blaise."
"Will you be alright with that?" Harry asked her.
Hermione shrugged. "Blaise is a terrible flirt, but he's harmless enough," she responded. "Besides, he wouldn't dare risk having Ron and Greg angry at him."
Harry laughed at her assessment.
"Off to bed with you now," Hermione chided, rising to her feet and tugging Harry with her. "Rest, then quest."
~*~
Harry waited until the following evening, when the members of Dumbledore House had returned from dinner in the Great Hall, to outline his plan of action. For the most part, the others seemed excited by the prospect of a quest, and they asked thoughtful questions and made helpful suggestions. Each pair of students was assigned a particular area of the castle to begin searching, and they were all eager to get started.
Harry waited until the others had left before he turned to his partner. "Are you okay with this? You didn't have much to say."
Draco shrugged. "It's fine," he replied. "It was good to see that sparkle back in Pansy's eyes."
"Shall we go?" Harry suggested. When Draco nodded, Harry led the way out of their Common Room. The two of them began making their way to the Prefects' bath. Harry didn't realize how cautious he was being until Draco asked him if he was nervous. Harry shook his head and laughed. "I spent so much of my time as a Gryffindor sneaking around the castle after curfew, and some habits are hard to break," he explained. "It's rather refreshing to be able to stroll along the corridors freely now that we're of age."
They reached the Prefects' bath and took a quick peek inside. Discovering it empty, Harry and Draco entered the room. Harry found it oddly disturbing to see only colored glass where the flirtatious mermaid had once been. He stepped forward and reached up to touch the glass, but there were no flaws to it that he could detect.
A sudden giggle caused both boys to jump. "Ooh, and what are you two handsome lads doing here so late at night?"
"Myrtle!" Harry exclaimed, shoulders sagging with relief.
"Hello, Harry," tittered the ghostly girl, batting her eyelashes at him. "Are you here to take a bath?" she asked, sidling up next to him. Draco edged away nervously. "What about you, Draco?" Myrtle purred, flitting over to him. "It's been altogether too long since I've seen you in the altogether."
Draco's face reddened. "Have you no sense of decorum?" he snapped.
"Say, Myrtle," Harry interrupted, "do you know where the mermaid went?"
"You came to see her?" Myrtle demanded with a pout. "She's been gone for several days now, and good riddance, I say. Nobody comes to see poor Myrtle anymore."
Harry could tell the ghost was gearing up for a temper tantrum, and he wanted to escape before that happened. "We must be going now, Myrtle," he told her, plucking Draco's sleeve to tug him toward the door. "We'll, ah, we'll be back to see you again soon." Without waiting for an answer, he hauled Draco out of the bathroom.
Once they had reached the safety of the corridor, Draco asked, "You don't suppose Myrtle had anything to do with the mermaid's disappearance, do you?"
"I don't believe so," Harry answered, "but we can run it by the others and see what they think. Come on, we still have time to head down to the dungeons and question some of the portraits there."
They had made their way down two flights of stairs when Harry came to an abrupt halt on one of the landings. Mrs Norris sat there, large eyes gleaming at them. She growled softly in her throat.
"What are you two brats doing out after curfew?" Filch demanded from behind them.
Draco and Harry whirled to see the castle's caretaker bearing down on them from the floor above. Despite being startled by the man's appearance, Harry squared his shoulders and said, "As Eighth Years, Draco and I no longer have curfew, Mr Filch. Surely Headmistress McGonagall informed you of that, sir?"
Filch glowered at them from a few steps away. "Bah," he snarled. "In my day, no one got special privileges." Scooping up his cat, he stormed away, muttering, "Students now have no respect. There needs to be more punishment around here..."
His voice drifted away as he moved on, and Harry and Draco both released pent-up breaths and sagged against the wall. They looked at one another and grinned in relief.
"Curfew or not, old Filch still scares the piss out of me," Draco admitted.
Harry stood up straight. "Do you mean that's not sweat I feel running down my leg?" he quipped.
Draco's eyes widened before he burst into startled laughter. "Daft git," he chuckled, giving Harry a friendly shove.
Harry stumbled back a pace, bent nearly double with mirth. It was good to see Draco's eyes dancing with sparks of humor, and Harry mentally congratulated himself on the early success of their quest.
~tbc~
Sparks 5
Author: enchanted_jae
Characters: Harry, Hermione, Draco, Myrtle, Filch
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Suggestion
Word count: 1240
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This drabble/fic was written for fun, not for profit.
Author's note: Written as a birthday gift for jedipm, who asked for an update to "Sparks".
Summary: Dumbledore House takes on The Case of the Missing Mermaid.
Harry and Hermione were still arguing over The Case of the Missing Mermaid, as Harry had termed it, when the others had gone to bed.
"We need to concentrate on our studies this year," Hermione said, yet again. She couldn't seem to make Harry understand how important that was.
"I realize that, Hermione," sighed Harry, "but we also need to build some House unity, and this is something that we can all work on together." He could sense his friend was beginning to waver, and Harry pressed his advantage. "It would get Pansy out of her room."
Hermione threw her hands up in the air in defeat. "Fine," she huffed. "I can see that you are possessed of...of Dumbledore determination and are in no mood to listen to reason."
Harry laughed. "I think a quest is perfectly reasonable. Budge over," he instructed, plopping next to her on the sofa. "I'll tell you what I'm thinking, and you can tell me how illogical it is and how to make it better."
Hermione nodded, seemingly appeased by this.
"I want to send everyone out in pairs to search the castle and question other students and even the portraits," Harry began. "We may as well stick to roommates, so we can-"
"No."
"No?"
Hermione leaned forward eagerly. "I want you to pair Neville and Pansy together."
"Why?"
Hermione twirled a lock of hair around her finger before replying, "I think Pansy fancies Neville. She gets more animated in his presence."
Harry's brows furrowed as he thought about that. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright," Harry conceded. "Shall I pair Blaise and Greg, then?"
Hermione grimaced and said, "I believe you'll have to leave Ron and Greg together."
"You two aren't having problems, are you?" Harry demanded, concerned for his best friends and wondering how he had missed the signs.
"No, Harry," giggled Hermione. "However, since Ron saved Greg's life, he follows Ron around like a devoted lap dog. I think he would balk at the idea of not being able to protect Ron, should the need arise."
They shared a laugh over that until Hermione gathered her composure. "I suppose you'll need to team me up with Blaise."
"Will you be alright with that?" Harry asked her.
Hermione shrugged. "Blaise is a terrible flirt, but he's harmless enough," she responded. "Besides, he wouldn't dare risk having Ron and Greg angry at him."
Harry laughed at her assessment.
"Off to bed with you now," Hermione chided, rising to her feet and tugging Harry with her. "Rest, then quest."
~*~
Harry waited until the following evening, when the members of Dumbledore House had returned from dinner in the Great Hall, to outline his plan of action. For the most part, the others seemed excited by the prospect of a quest, and they asked thoughtful questions and made helpful suggestions. Each pair of students was assigned a particular area of the castle to begin searching, and they were all eager to get started.
Harry waited until the others had left before he turned to his partner. "Are you okay with this? You didn't have much to say."
Draco shrugged. "It's fine," he replied. "It was good to see that sparkle back in Pansy's eyes."
"Shall we go?" Harry suggested. When Draco nodded, Harry led the way out of their Common Room. The two of them began making their way to the Prefects' bath. Harry didn't realize how cautious he was being until Draco asked him if he was nervous. Harry shook his head and laughed. "I spent so much of my time as a Gryffindor sneaking around the castle after curfew, and some habits are hard to break," he explained. "It's rather refreshing to be able to stroll along the corridors freely now that we're of age."
They reached the Prefects' bath and took a quick peek inside. Discovering it empty, Harry and Draco entered the room. Harry found it oddly disturbing to see only colored glass where the flirtatious mermaid had once been. He stepped forward and reached up to touch the glass, but there were no flaws to it that he could detect.
A sudden giggle caused both boys to jump. "Ooh, and what are you two handsome lads doing here so late at night?"
"Myrtle!" Harry exclaimed, shoulders sagging with relief.
"Hello, Harry," tittered the ghostly girl, batting her eyelashes at him. "Are you here to take a bath?" she asked, sidling up next to him. Draco edged away nervously. "What about you, Draco?" Myrtle purred, flitting over to him. "It's been altogether too long since I've seen you in the altogether."
Draco's face reddened. "Have you no sense of decorum?" he snapped.
"Say, Myrtle," Harry interrupted, "do you know where the mermaid went?"
"You came to see her?" Myrtle demanded with a pout. "She's been gone for several days now, and good riddance, I say. Nobody comes to see poor Myrtle anymore."
Harry could tell the ghost was gearing up for a temper tantrum, and he wanted to escape before that happened. "We must be going now, Myrtle," he told her, plucking Draco's sleeve to tug him toward the door. "We'll, ah, we'll be back to see you again soon." Without waiting for an answer, he hauled Draco out of the bathroom.
Once they had reached the safety of the corridor, Draco asked, "You don't suppose Myrtle had anything to do with the mermaid's disappearance, do you?"
"I don't believe so," Harry answered, "but we can run it by the others and see what they think. Come on, we still have time to head down to the dungeons and question some of the portraits there."
They had made their way down two flights of stairs when Harry came to an abrupt halt on one of the landings. Mrs Norris sat there, large eyes gleaming at them. She growled softly in her throat.
"What are you two brats doing out after curfew?" Filch demanded from behind them.
Draco and Harry whirled to see the castle's caretaker bearing down on them from the floor above. Despite being startled by the man's appearance, Harry squared his shoulders and said, "As Eighth Years, Draco and I no longer have curfew, Mr Filch. Surely Headmistress McGonagall informed you of that, sir?"
Filch glowered at them from a few steps away. "Bah," he snarled. "In my day, no one got special privileges." Scooping up his cat, he stormed away, muttering, "Students now have no respect. There needs to be more punishment around here..."
His voice drifted away as he moved on, and Harry and Draco both released pent-up breaths and sagged against the wall. They looked at one another and grinned in relief.
"Curfew or not, old Filch still scares the piss out of me," Draco admitted.
Harry stood up straight. "Do you mean that's not sweat I feel running down my leg?" he quipped.
Draco's eyes widened before he burst into startled laughter. "Daft git," he chuckled, giving Harry a friendly shove.
Harry stumbled back a pace, bent nearly double with mirth. It was good to see Draco's eyes dancing with sparks of humor, and Harry mentally congratulated himself on the early success of their quest.
~tbc~
Sparks 5