dramione_ldws round-up
Round 5 at dramione_ldws has come to a close, and I'm the winner! This round was done in "rumble" format where we competed for points instead of facing eliminations every week. My final tally: 76 points earned over 8 weeks.
Title: Runaway Bride
Word Count and Rating: 499, PG
Summary: When she ran away, she never thought he'd follow.
Warning: Previous Ron/Hermione
Notes: Challenge location: Mumbai, India. Also for 100quills prompt 005: Destiny and my MI liquids table, prompt 03: Tears.
Hermione stood at the water's edge watching a camera crew maneuver through the water. Under the shadow of the Gateway to India, actors spiraled around the deck of a boat in an elaborate dance while a brightly clad actress swooned at the bow. No doubt heroine would find hero, love would follow swift and true, and their wedding would be celebrated with flowers, music, and yet more dancing.
If only real life could be so easy.
Hermione braced her feet when jostled by the crowd. Being jostled was a fact of life in Mumbai. She had never been in such a crowded place, nor ever been so alone in a crowd.
After a particularly hard bump, as if someone had nudged her with his knee, Hermione turned to glare but then gaped in astonishment.
"When you decide to run away," Draco held her tightly, as if afraid she would bolt again, "you don't mess around, do you?"
"You followed me to India?" Hermione's eyes blurred with tears at the sight of him. "How did you find me?"
"You weren't hard to track after I figured out you were traveling like a Muggle. A weeping woman in a wedding dress running through Heathrow attracts plenty of attention." He brushed his thumb across her cheek, catching her tears. "Why, Hermione?"
"I left my wand at the Burrow when I ran away," she said, miserable. "I just…once I decided to leave, I couldn't stay there another minute, not even to get my wand."
"That's not what I meant, but here." Hiding his hands between their bodies, Draco pulled her wand from his sleeve without letting the surrounding Muggles see.
She clutched it against her chest. "How…?"
"Potter gave it to me when I told him I was coming after you."
She froze. "Did Harry say anything?"
"Not much." He rubbed her arms in soothing circles. "Just that it'll be okay. He says he wants to see you, but Weasley needs him right now."
Fresh tears burned her eyes. "Ron must hate me. They all must hate me, but Ron must be so hurt."
"Well, I don't care about Weasley, I only care about you, and I need to know, Hermione." He gave her a small shake. "Why would you run away from him and not run to me?"
"I didn't know if you loved me. Our relationship was over," she whispered. "I never thought you'd look for me."
He released her and stood with his hands on his hips.
"Hermione, I spent your wedding day drinking myself into a stupor because you wanted to marry that idiot, I spent over 1000 galleons in bribes to find your hotel, and I have searched a city of 20 million people to hold you in my arms again. Fate brought you back into my life, and wherever you go, I'll follow. Of course, I love you! I love you more than any-"
She threw her arms around him and silenced him with a kiss.
Title: Curse of the Medicis
Word Count and Rating: 499, PG
Summary: Much to Draco's dismay, Hermione's "adventure thing" makes it hard to have a relaxing holiday.
Notes: Challenge location: Florence, Italy. Also for my MI Unthemed table #5, prompt 03: Fall.
Draco dragged Hermione through a puddle and shone the light from his wand up one tunnel and then another. "Which way do we go, Hermione?" Ignoring how his arm ached from bearing most of her weight, he gently palmed her cheek and jiggled her head from side to side until she opened her eyes and looked around blearily.
The catacomb's rough-hewn walls glistened with moisture, and the air was heavy with mold and the lingering odor of bodies long since rotted. Ahead of them, a large rat bared his crooked, yellow teeth before turning and sauntering through a fissure in the stone.
"You take me to the nicest places." Her voice was weak, and her head lolled against his shoulder.
"Don't blame me for this." He kissed her forehead and was frightened by how cold and clammy she felt. "If I had my way, we'd be sipping Chianti while watching the sunset over the Basilica of Santa Croce or shopping on the Via de'Tornabuoni. You're the one who wanted to go deep under il Duomo into wizard catacombs in search of Medici's amulet. Why can't you just stick to the guidebook like any other tourist?"
"Well, since the amulet was cursed and I'm probably dying, trust me when I say I'm very sorry we're here." Her mouth twisted and her legs buckled in reaction to a sudden pain.
He caught her close. "You're not dying," he said harshly. He concentrated on the local magical hospital and turned them both on the spot only to open his eyes and see another rat watching them from the shadows.
"I'm in no shape for dancing, dear," Hermione's voice was a frail thread.
"I'm trying to Apparate us out of here!"
"I know, but you know the catacombs are warded against Apparition." She touched his face with her chilled hand. "Don't worry. If we turn left here, we'll reach the exit within a few minutes. I still have time, I still have time." Her voice trailed away.
Draco pulled her arm over his shoulder and turned up the left tunnel, stomping his foot to frighten off the closest rat. "During our next holiday, you're not touching anything more dangerous than a book or a strong drink. Understand, Hermione?"
She said nothing but slumped in his arms instead, and Draco instinctively dropped his wand in order to keep her from falling. It fell with a clatter, his Lumos guttering out, and he stepped on it to keep it from rolling away. In the darkness, his hands searched Hermione until he found a weak pulse, and he closed his eyes in relief.
When he opened them, he saw a dim glow farther down the tunnel. The exit, right where Hermione said it would be. Carefully, he reached down and grabbed his wand before swinging Hermione up into his arms. "Just hold on a few more minutes," he whispered. Hermione's breath was soft and fast against his neck, and Draco started grimly toward the distant light.
Title: To Catch a Thief
Word Count and Rating: 497, PG
Summary: When you're in Magical Law Enforcement, it's a little inconvienient to have a boyfriend who is a criminal.
Notes: Challenge location: Lyon, France. Also for my MI Crimes table, prompt 07: Theft.
Hermione allowed herself one moment to read Draco's name on her case file and feel all the sadness and fear that filled her heart. When she was done, she lifted her chin and marched into the interrogation room on loan to the British Aurors by Arrondissement Two-and-a-Quarter, the magical borough of Lyon.
At the scarred table, Draco sat examining his nails as if he hadn't a care in the world. Dressed in black from head to foot, his blond hair appeared exceptionally pale, and his grey eyes dominated his sharp-featured face. At her entrance, he smiled the same easy grin that once made her heart beat faster.
But not anymore, she told herself firmly, ignoring the trip of her pulse.
"Hermione." Draco half-stood as she approached the table and pulled out her chair. "You're beautiful, as always."
Keeping her eyes focused on her dossier, she sat and opened the file. "Shall we begin, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Why so formal? You haven't called me Malfoy since we started dating."
Hermione looked up, unable to believe his nerve. "Well, we're not dating anymore, and since you've been arrested and I'm here as a representative of Magical Law Enforcement, formality seems appropriate."
Her words failed to cause even a ripple in his calm exterior. "Not 'arrested,' questioned. It's an important distinction." He reached across the table and touched her hand before she could pull it back. "How have you been?"
"That's irrelevant." She cleared her throat and picked up her paperwork again. "Now, tell me how you came to be holding the invisibility cloak when the Aurors found you."
"Oh, is that what it was?" He sat back, an expression of polite disinterest firmly fixed to his face.
Hermione glared. "As you are well aware, it was a cloak woven from the finest invisible silk, created by a Lyonnaise wizard to hide his Muggle wife from the Christian persecutions of Emperor Septimus Severus."
"Sounds valuable." Draco laced his hands behind his head.
"It's a priceless French national treasure. How did you get your hands on it?"
"I found it. Lucky me," he yawned.
Hermione slapped the tabletop. "'Luck' doesn't enable wizards to find invisible silk in the Bartholdi Fountain."
"Then perhaps it was instinct." He shrugged. "As a Malfoy, I'm drawn to expensive things like a Niffler to shiny objects." When Hermione rolled her eyes, he smiled again. "Why did we ever break up, anyway?"
"The fact that I chose law as my career and you became an international criminal might have had something to do with it," she snapped.
"Nonsense." He dropped his hands to his lap. "I was just a tourist out for a stroll."
"Dressed like a cat burglar?" Hermione waved at his inky ensemble.
"Black is slimming," he said promptly.
Fed up, Hermione stood. "I'm escorting you back to England."
"Lovely. Time enough to finally discuss our relationship." The determined light in his eyes made her swallow hard.
She feared it would be a long trip home.
Title: Two Truths and a Lie
Word Count and Rating: PG-13, 375
Summary: Just a romantic getaway with the man of Hermione's dreams.
Warnings: Hermione/Ron
Notes: Prompt "There's no place like home." Also for my MI Unthemed table #5, prompt 07: Bed.
Hermione stopped kissing Draco long enough to pant, "This city has many fine restaurants."
"Room service," he muttered, giving her throat his attention.
"There are also museums." She gasped and twisted her head against the pillow when he found the sensitive spot behind her ear.
"Going would mean getting dressed, right?" Draco tossed the sheet off the end of the bed. "I'm opposed to that plan."
Unselfconscious, Hermione stretched, enjoying his gaze on her body. She cupped his face and drew him down. "Aren't you interested in historic architecture?" She laughed when he snorted against her breast. "Awe-inspiring scenery?" He laid a trail of kisses down her body and she quivered beneath him.
"The view from here is great, thanks." He crossed his hands over her stomach and rested his chin there. "I love you, you know."
"I know." Suddenly overcome, Hermione touched his face. "I thought we'd never have this again. Being with you again is indescribable." She traced his lips with her fingertips. "It's like coming home."
"Well, then." Draco smiled. "Welcome home, Hermione." He kissed her belly again, tongue tracing patterns on her skin, lower, lower, low-
Ron and George's laughter hit Hermione like ice water.
"What? Where?" She looked around wildly until Ron put a steadying hand on her leg.
"Merlin!" George pressed his hands against his eyes. "A man should not know what his sister-in-law's sex face looks like. I'm off to bleach my eyeballs." George dodged the apron Ron, still laughing, threw at his head and disappeared into the store's backroom.
"It wasn't real?" Hermione whispered, looking down at the empty box and torn red wrapper with the WWW logo in her lap. Memories flooded her with sudden clarity: a new product…a Holiday in a Box…a "Romantic Getaway with the Wizard of your Dreams." She crushed the packaging in her fists and blinked hard to clear tears from her eyes.
Ron picked Hermione up off the counter and set her on her feet. "Was it realistic?"
Hermione pressed her lips together and nodded.
"Romantic?"
She nodded again.
"Where did we go?" He chuckled. "I mean, assuming I'm the man of your dreams, of course."
Hermione hugged him and hid her face against his collar. "Who else would it be?"
I just realized this banner also says "To Catch a Thief." It's meant for this drabble, really.
Title: Runaway Bride
Word Count and Rating: 499, PG
Summary: When she ran away, she never thought he'd follow.
Warning: Previous Ron/Hermione
Notes: Challenge location: Mumbai, India. Also for 100quills prompt 005: Destiny and my MI liquids table, prompt 03: Tears.
Hermione stood at the water's edge watching a camera crew maneuver through the water. Under the shadow of the Gateway to India, actors spiraled around the deck of a boat in an elaborate dance while a brightly clad actress swooned at the bow. No doubt heroine would find hero, love would follow swift and true, and their wedding would be celebrated with flowers, music, and yet more dancing.
If only real life could be so easy.
Hermione braced her feet when jostled by the crowd. Being jostled was a fact of life in Mumbai. She had never been in such a crowded place, nor ever been so alone in a crowd.
After a particularly hard bump, as if someone had nudged her with his knee, Hermione turned to glare but then gaped in astonishment.
"When you decide to run away," Draco held her tightly, as if afraid she would bolt again, "you don't mess around, do you?"
"You followed me to India?" Hermione's eyes blurred with tears at the sight of him. "How did you find me?"
"You weren't hard to track after I figured out you were traveling like a Muggle. A weeping woman in a wedding dress running through Heathrow attracts plenty of attention." He brushed his thumb across her cheek, catching her tears. "Why, Hermione?"
"I left my wand at the Burrow when I ran away," she said, miserable. "I just…once I decided to leave, I couldn't stay there another minute, not even to get my wand."
"That's not what I meant, but here." Hiding his hands between their bodies, Draco pulled her wand from his sleeve without letting the surrounding Muggles see.
She clutched it against her chest. "How…?"
"Potter gave it to me when I told him I was coming after you."
She froze. "Did Harry say anything?"
"Not much." He rubbed her arms in soothing circles. "Just that it'll be okay. He says he wants to see you, but Weasley needs him right now."
Fresh tears burned her eyes. "Ron must hate me. They all must hate me, but Ron must be so hurt."
"Well, I don't care about Weasley, I only care about you, and I need to know, Hermione." He gave her a small shake. "Why would you run away from him and not run to me?"
"I didn't know if you loved me. Our relationship was over," she whispered. "I never thought you'd look for me."
He released her and stood with his hands on his hips.
"Hermione, I spent your wedding day drinking myself into a stupor because you wanted to marry that idiot, I spent over 1000 galleons in bribes to find your hotel, and I have searched a city of 20 million people to hold you in my arms again. Fate brought you back into my life, and wherever you go, I'll follow. Of course, I love you! I love you more than any-"
She threw her arms around him and silenced him with a kiss.
Title: Curse of the Medicis
Word Count and Rating: 499, PG
Summary: Much to Draco's dismay, Hermione's "adventure thing" makes it hard to have a relaxing holiday.
Notes: Challenge location: Florence, Italy. Also for my MI Unthemed table #5, prompt 03: Fall.
Draco dragged Hermione through a puddle and shone the light from his wand up one tunnel and then another. "Which way do we go, Hermione?" Ignoring how his arm ached from bearing most of her weight, he gently palmed her cheek and jiggled her head from side to side until she opened her eyes and looked around blearily.
The catacomb's rough-hewn walls glistened with moisture, and the air was heavy with mold and the lingering odor of bodies long since rotted. Ahead of them, a large rat bared his crooked, yellow teeth before turning and sauntering through a fissure in the stone.
"You take me to the nicest places." Her voice was weak, and her head lolled against his shoulder.
"Don't blame me for this." He kissed her forehead and was frightened by how cold and clammy she felt. "If I had my way, we'd be sipping Chianti while watching the sunset over the Basilica of Santa Croce or shopping on the Via de'Tornabuoni. You're the one who wanted to go deep under il Duomo into wizard catacombs in search of Medici's amulet. Why can't you just stick to the guidebook like any other tourist?"
"Well, since the amulet was cursed and I'm probably dying, trust me when I say I'm very sorry we're here." Her mouth twisted and her legs buckled in reaction to a sudden pain.
He caught her close. "You're not dying," he said harshly. He concentrated on the local magical hospital and turned them both on the spot only to open his eyes and see another rat watching them from the shadows.
"I'm in no shape for dancing, dear," Hermione's voice was a frail thread.
"I'm trying to Apparate us out of here!"
"I know, but you know the catacombs are warded against Apparition." She touched his face with her chilled hand. "Don't worry. If we turn left here, we'll reach the exit within a few minutes. I still have time, I still have time." Her voice trailed away.
Draco pulled her arm over his shoulder and turned up the left tunnel, stomping his foot to frighten off the closest rat. "During our next holiday, you're not touching anything more dangerous than a book or a strong drink. Understand, Hermione?"
She said nothing but slumped in his arms instead, and Draco instinctively dropped his wand in order to keep her from falling. It fell with a clatter, his Lumos guttering out, and he stepped on it to keep it from rolling away. In the darkness, his hands searched Hermione until he found a weak pulse, and he closed his eyes in relief.
When he opened them, he saw a dim glow farther down the tunnel. The exit, right where Hermione said it would be. Carefully, he reached down and grabbed his wand before swinging Hermione up into his arms. "Just hold on a few more minutes," he whispered. Hermione's breath was soft and fast against his neck, and Draco started grimly toward the distant light.
Title: To Catch a Thief
Word Count and Rating: 497, PG
Summary: When you're in Magical Law Enforcement, it's a little inconvienient to have a boyfriend who is a criminal.
Notes: Challenge location: Lyon, France. Also for my MI Crimes table, prompt 07: Theft.
Hermione allowed herself one moment to read Draco's name on her case file and feel all the sadness and fear that filled her heart. When she was done, she lifted her chin and marched into the interrogation room on loan to the British Aurors by Arrondissement Two-and-a-Quarter, the magical borough of Lyon.
At the scarred table, Draco sat examining his nails as if he hadn't a care in the world. Dressed in black from head to foot, his blond hair appeared exceptionally pale, and his grey eyes dominated his sharp-featured face. At her entrance, he smiled the same easy grin that once made her heart beat faster.
But not anymore, she told herself firmly, ignoring the trip of her pulse.
"Hermione." Draco half-stood as she approached the table and pulled out her chair. "You're beautiful, as always."
Keeping her eyes focused on her dossier, she sat and opened the file. "Shall we begin, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Why so formal? You haven't called me Malfoy since we started dating."
Hermione looked up, unable to believe his nerve. "Well, we're not dating anymore, and since you've been arrested and I'm here as a representative of Magical Law Enforcement, formality seems appropriate."
Her words failed to cause even a ripple in his calm exterior. "Not 'arrested,' questioned. It's an important distinction." He reached across the table and touched her hand before she could pull it back. "How have you been?"
"That's irrelevant." She cleared her throat and picked up her paperwork again. "Now, tell me how you came to be holding the invisibility cloak when the Aurors found you."
"Oh, is that what it was?" He sat back, an expression of polite disinterest firmly fixed to his face.
Hermione glared. "As you are well aware, it was a cloak woven from the finest invisible silk, created by a Lyonnaise wizard to hide his Muggle wife from the Christian persecutions of Emperor Septimus Severus."
"Sounds valuable." Draco laced his hands behind his head.
"It's a priceless French national treasure. How did you get your hands on it?"
"I found it. Lucky me," he yawned.
Hermione slapped the tabletop. "'Luck' doesn't enable wizards to find invisible silk in the Bartholdi Fountain."
"Then perhaps it was instinct." He shrugged. "As a Malfoy, I'm drawn to expensive things like a Niffler to shiny objects." When Hermione rolled her eyes, he smiled again. "Why did we ever break up, anyway?"
"The fact that I chose law as my career and you became an international criminal might have had something to do with it," she snapped.
"Nonsense." He dropped his hands to his lap. "I was just a tourist out for a stroll."
"Dressed like a cat burglar?" Hermione waved at his inky ensemble.
"Black is slimming," he said promptly.
Fed up, Hermione stood. "I'm escorting you back to England."
"Lovely. Time enough to finally discuss our relationship." The determined light in his eyes made her swallow hard.
She feared it would be a long trip home.
Title: Two Truths and a Lie
Word Count and Rating: PG-13, 375
Summary: Just a romantic getaway with the man of Hermione's dreams.
Warnings: Hermione/Ron
Notes: Prompt "There's no place like home." Also for my MI Unthemed table #5, prompt 07: Bed.
Hermione stopped kissing Draco long enough to pant, "This city has many fine restaurants."
"Room service," he muttered, giving her throat his attention.
"There are also museums." She gasped and twisted her head against the pillow when he found the sensitive spot behind her ear.
"Going would mean getting dressed, right?" Draco tossed the sheet off the end of the bed. "I'm opposed to that plan."
Unselfconscious, Hermione stretched, enjoying his gaze on her body. She cupped his face and drew him down. "Aren't you interested in historic architecture?" She laughed when he snorted against her breast. "Awe-inspiring scenery?" He laid a trail of kisses down her body and she quivered beneath him.
"The view from here is great, thanks." He crossed his hands over her stomach and rested his chin there. "I love you, you know."
"I know." Suddenly overcome, Hermione touched his face. "I thought we'd never have this again. Being with you again is indescribable." She traced his lips with her fingertips. "It's like coming home."
"Well, then." Draco smiled. "Welcome home, Hermione." He kissed her belly again, tongue tracing patterns on her skin, lower, lower, low-
Ron and George's laughter hit Hermione like ice water.
"What? Where?" She looked around wildly until Ron put a steadying hand on her leg.
"Merlin!" George pressed his hands against his eyes. "A man should not know what his sister-in-law's sex face looks like. I'm off to bleach my eyeballs." George dodged the apron Ron, still laughing, threw at his head and disappeared into the store's backroom.
"It wasn't real?" Hermione whispered, looking down at the empty box and torn red wrapper with the WWW logo in her lap. Memories flooded her with sudden clarity: a new product…a Holiday in a Box…a "Romantic Getaway with the Wizard of your Dreams." She crushed the packaging in her fists and blinked hard to clear tears from her eyes.
Ron picked Hermione up off the counter and set her on her feet. "Was it realistic?"
Hermione pressed her lips together and nodded.
"Romantic?"
She nodded again.
"Where did we go?" He chuckled. "I mean, assuming I'm the man of your dreams, of course."
Hermione hugged him and hid her face against his collar. "Who else would it be?"
I just realized this banner also says "To Catch a Thief." It's meant for this drabble, really.