Drabble Meme
Here is my Song drabble for ckdutchess: a Ron/Hermione based off the first line of "A Minute Without You." I tried to do something a little different than usual, and I hope my humor comes off in this fic. (I'm never good with humor.)
Title: The Night Had Been So Long
Author: Arielle (honestys_easy)
Sarah, enjoy! :-D
The previous night's sleep - one feared to be ravaged by nerves and anxiety over the students' upcoming Herbology exam - had been a fairly restful one, quite contrary to everyone's beliefs. The Great Hall hummed with the regular din of Hogwarts students mulling about, with different conversations occurring at every House table: the Ravenclaws charmed pieces of parchment to act as audible flash cards, and varying herbs were being identified across the table. The Hufflepuffs were intent on spreading the latest in Hogwarts gossip, which included Colin Creevey, Orla Quirke and some very incriminating photographs. The Slytherins, as per usual, were preoccupied with looking surly and taking bets on how many sausages Crabbe could fit into his mouth at one time. And the Gryffindors, with the exception of Neville Longbottom, who was looking rather strung out and agitated, and Harry Potter, who was too busy worrying about dying to fret about an Herbology exam, were sitting down to a very complacent breakfast indeed.
"Morning, mate," said Ron Weasley to Harry as he sat down beside his best friend. "Sorry I was a bit late; some first years managed to get themselves stuck underneath the staircase on the third floor. Honestly," he shook his head. "I don't remember us being that bloody small when we were first years. Or that stupid, either." Harry opened his mouth, about to mention the time he, Ron, Neville and Hermione ran down the wrong corridor and had an unfortunate meeting with a three-headed dog, but Ron cheerfully continued on with his breakfast and the obvious opportunity to dampen his spirit was lost.
Ron reached over the table to snatch a biscuit when he caught a glimpse of Neville's face, which was nearly hidden as Neville laid his head upon the Great Hall table. "Oi, Neville," he said with a mouthful of biscuit, "is something wrong? You don't look very good."
Neville raised his head slightly, and Ron and Harry were startled to see the puffy, dark bags underneath his eyes. His entire face looked sallow and groggy, and a sneer replaced his usually warm smile. "I didn't sleep last night," he said wearily. It was only then that Harry noticed Neville's mug was filled with a strong, black coffee instead of his normal Darjeeling tea.
Concerned, Ron asked, "Up studying all night? But I thought you did well with Herbology."
"No," Neville retorted, his voice taking on a cynical tone. "I do very well in Herbology. I reviewed well before last night, and I was completely ready to take the exam...so long as I had a good night's sleep." He took a sip of his coffee, and winced. "But I didn't, not a wink." Neville quickly became irritated, and sneered in Ron's direction. "And do you want to know why?"
He opened his mouth again, ready to reveal the cruel reason for his sudden insomnia, when a bushy-haired prefect sat herself down across from him. "Good morning, Neville!" said Hermione, apparently oblivious to Neville's apparent sleeplessness and grumpiness. "I do hope you're all prepared for the exam today." Grabbing an apple from the cornucopia on the table with one hand and procuring her wand with the other, Hermione made a quick tap on the apple's peel and it began unraveling itself effortlessly, readying itself for ingestion. "I tried to review as much as I could, but I fell to sleep before I even reached the magical properties of grape leaves!" She sighed heavily, and Harry rolled his eyes, knowing that Professor Sprout was hardly interested in the sixth year students knowing the properties of grape leaves. "At least I got a long night's sleep. It's always best to be rested before an exam!"
"Don't mention sleep in front of Neville," Harry mumbled into his scrambled eggs, but he hardly thought that Hermione heard him.
Ron, on the other hand, was in no mood to mumble, and his words came out violently clear to Hermione's ears. "What are you worrying about bloody grape leaves, Hermione?" he said, dismissing his friend's typical examination anxieties. "You know you're going to pass this with flying colors, there's no need for you to worry." He took a long draught of pumpkin juice, watching Hermione's happy mood quickly stew into anger. "I, on the other hand, could hope to get your grades only if I were servicing Sprout sexually."
Hermione bolted up out of her seat. "Ron!" she said, outraged. "How dare you say that! And about a teacher! That's most definitely not proper conversation for breakfast!"
"I'll say what I like!" Ron retorted, standing up as well. Harry definitely didn't like where this was going. "Who do you think you are, anyway? My mother?" "No," she spat back. "But perhaps I should owl her, and tell her exactly how you've been talking. I know you weren't raised like this, Ronald Weasley!"
"Don't you bring my mum into this!"
"ENOUGH!" The loud scream stopped Ron and Hermione's routine row in its tracks, and both parties took a shocked look in the direction of the shout. It came from directly across the table, out of the most unlikely of voices.
"Neville!" Hermione gasped, startled to see the usually calm Gryffindor brought to such frustration. "What are you -"
"I've had enough of you two!" Neville interrupted in a disgusted tone. "You're always fighting, always at each other's bloody necks!" He pounded his fist on the table, causing his mug of black coffee to stir precariously close to tipping. "Why don't you two just go off into a closet somewhere and shag! It'd sure save us a world of aggravation!"
Then, all seemed to go silent in the Great Hall. Hermione and Ron stopped their bickering and stared in complete shock. Hermione's mouth hung open in surprise, and Ron looked over at Neville as if he were about to vomit slugs again. Everything, even time itself, seemed to stand still, until the sound of a defeated sigh came from beside the three.
Placing his porridge spoon back into the bwl, Harry, stood from the table, his eyes not meeting anyone else's. "I think I'll be going now," he muttered, attempting to make a hasty exit from what appeared to be the start of World War Three.
Irritated and a bit desperate to bring someone else down with him with his certain doom, Neville started. "You have to back me up on this, Harry!" he said. "All the fighting, the rows, the sexual competition...it's all unresolved sexual tension! You, of all people, should realize this! You're their best friend!"
Harry held his hands up in resignation, and stepped slowly away from the table. "You got yourself into this, Neville," he said, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. "You get yourself out."
Neville turned his attentions back to Ron and Hermione, who were still shocked silent from his previous outburst. "But honestly now!" he cried. "You've got to be blind not to see what's going on between you two!" His tone once again turned cynical, and he spat the words out at Ron. "Or deaf, in some cases."
"Wh...wha..." Ron stuttered. "What do you mean?"
"Do you really want to know why I couldn't sleep last night?" Neville balled his hands into fists in frustration. "It was you. You kept me up all night, moaning in your sleep." He began to mock Ron's voice, closing his eyes as if dreaming. "'Oh, Hermione, Hermione....' All bloody night, with no end!" Neville threw up his hands, highly annoyed that no one had anything to say on this fairly obvious matter besides him. "The next time you plan on having a randy dream about Hermione, mate, do me a favor, and tell me beforehand. Then at least I can sleep in the library!"
Ron was completely dumbfounded. It took a few seconds for words to actually form in his mind, and reach his vocal chords. "I...I don't know what you're talking about, Neville," he said sheepishly. "Me and Hermione...well, that's just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"What?" Neville was taken off guard from this response. "But...but, it's all there! The fighting, the tension..."
"If having the most rows makes for a good couple, then Harry and Malfoy would be soulmates!" Hermione interjected, laughing off Neville's accusations. "You couldn't be more wrong about us. Why, if we were together...we'd probably kill each other!"
"And I would never," Ron said, not missing a beat, "dream about Hermione. If I were that loud, why...she would have burst in herself, lecturing me about how I was moaning her name incorrectly!"
Hermione supported this vehemently. "He's right, you know!" Hermione shook her head disapprovingly at Neville, who was shrinking back, obviously embarrassed at making this false accusation about his fellow Gryffindors. "Honestly, Neville, you shouldn't be saying such things about people. That's how rumors start. And there's honestly, nothing, going on between us."
Neville looked positively mortified from his outburst. "Oh, dear...I...I'm so sorry, Hermione...Ron. I should have never said..." Barely able to meet either of them in the eye, Neville snatched up his books and bolted out of the Great Hall towards the greenhouses, hoping not to have to see either of them the rest of the day.
Once Neville was clear out of sight, Ron's jocular mood changed. "'Unresolved sexual tension,' eh?" He looked over at Hermione. "I suppose that means we need to be quieter next time."
Hermione picked up her peeled apple and looked at Ron incredulously. "We have to be quieter?" She questioned. "From what I can remember, Neville didn't hear me last night." She took a large bite out of the apple and made her way twards the exit.
"Well, it wasn't my fault!" Ron called back, following her. "You never did that with your tongue before!"
Title: The Night Had Been So Long
Author: Arielle (honestys_easy)
Sarah, enjoy! :-D
The previous night's sleep - one feared to be ravaged by nerves and anxiety over the students' upcoming Herbology exam - had been a fairly restful one, quite contrary to everyone's beliefs. The Great Hall hummed with the regular din of Hogwarts students mulling about, with different conversations occurring at every House table: the Ravenclaws charmed pieces of parchment to act as audible flash cards, and varying herbs were being identified across the table. The Hufflepuffs were intent on spreading the latest in Hogwarts gossip, which included Colin Creevey, Orla Quirke and some very incriminating photographs. The Slytherins, as per usual, were preoccupied with looking surly and taking bets on how many sausages Crabbe could fit into his mouth at one time. And the Gryffindors, with the exception of Neville Longbottom, who was looking rather strung out and agitated, and Harry Potter, who was too busy worrying about dying to fret about an Herbology exam, were sitting down to a very complacent breakfast indeed.
"Morning, mate," said Ron Weasley to Harry as he sat down beside his best friend. "Sorry I was a bit late; some first years managed to get themselves stuck underneath the staircase on the third floor. Honestly," he shook his head. "I don't remember us being that bloody small when we were first years. Or that stupid, either." Harry opened his mouth, about to mention the time he, Ron, Neville and Hermione ran down the wrong corridor and had an unfortunate meeting with a three-headed dog, but Ron cheerfully continued on with his breakfast and the obvious opportunity to dampen his spirit was lost.
Ron reached over the table to snatch a biscuit when he caught a glimpse of Neville's face, which was nearly hidden as Neville laid his head upon the Great Hall table. "Oi, Neville," he said with a mouthful of biscuit, "is something wrong? You don't look very good."
Neville raised his head slightly, and Ron and Harry were startled to see the puffy, dark bags underneath his eyes. His entire face looked sallow and groggy, and a sneer replaced his usually warm smile. "I didn't sleep last night," he said wearily. It was only then that Harry noticed Neville's mug was filled with a strong, black coffee instead of his normal Darjeeling tea.
Concerned, Ron asked, "Up studying all night? But I thought you did well with Herbology."
"No," Neville retorted, his voice taking on a cynical tone. "I do very well in Herbology. I reviewed well before last night, and I was completely ready to take the exam...so long as I had a good night's sleep." He took a sip of his coffee, and winced. "But I didn't, not a wink." Neville quickly became irritated, and sneered in Ron's direction. "And do you want to know why?"
He opened his mouth again, ready to reveal the cruel reason for his sudden insomnia, when a bushy-haired prefect sat herself down across from him. "Good morning, Neville!" said Hermione, apparently oblivious to Neville's apparent sleeplessness and grumpiness. "I do hope you're all prepared for the exam today." Grabbing an apple from the cornucopia on the table with one hand and procuring her wand with the other, Hermione made a quick tap on the apple's peel and it began unraveling itself effortlessly, readying itself for ingestion. "I tried to review as much as I could, but I fell to sleep before I even reached the magical properties of grape leaves!" She sighed heavily, and Harry rolled his eyes, knowing that Professor Sprout was hardly interested in the sixth year students knowing the properties of grape leaves. "At least I got a long night's sleep. It's always best to be rested before an exam!"
"Don't mention sleep in front of Neville," Harry mumbled into his scrambled eggs, but he hardly thought that Hermione heard him.
Ron, on the other hand, was in no mood to mumble, and his words came out violently clear to Hermione's ears. "What are you worrying about bloody grape leaves, Hermione?" he said, dismissing his friend's typical examination anxieties. "You know you're going to pass this with flying colors, there's no need for you to worry." He took a long draught of pumpkin juice, watching Hermione's happy mood quickly stew into anger. "I, on the other hand, could hope to get your grades only if I were servicing Sprout sexually."
Hermione bolted up out of her seat. "Ron!" she said, outraged. "How dare you say that! And about a teacher! That's most definitely not proper conversation for breakfast!"
"I'll say what I like!" Ron retorted, standing up as well. Harry definitely didn't like where this was going. "Who do you think you are, anyway? My mother?" "No," she spat back. "But perhaps I should owl her, and tell her exactly how you've been talking. I know you weren't raised like this, Ronald Weasley!"
"Don't you bring my mum into this!"
"ENOUGH!" The loud scream stopped Ron and Hermione's routine row in its tracks, and both parties took a shocked look in the direction of the shout. It came from directly across the table, out of the most unlikely of voices.
"Neville!" Hermione gasped, startled to see the usually calm Gryffindor brought to such frustration. "What are you -"
"I've had enough of you two!" Neville interrupted in a disgusted tone. "You're always fighting, always at each other's bloody necks!" He pounded his fist on the table, causing his mug of black coffee to stir precariously close to tipping. "Why don't you two just go off into a closet somewhere and shag! It'd sure save us a world of aggravation!"
Then, all seemed to go silent in the Great Hall. Hermione and Ron stopped their bickering and stared in complete shock. Hermione's mouth hung open in surprise, and Ron looked over at Neville as if he were about to vomit slugs again. Everything, even time itself, seemed to stand still, until the sound of a defeated sigh came from beside the three.
Placing his porridge spoon back into the bwl, Harry, stood from the table, his eyes not meeting anyone else's. "I think I'll be going now," he muttered, attempting to make a hasty exit from what appeared to be the start of World War Three.
Irritated and a bit desperate to bring someone else down with him with his certain doom, Neville started. "You have to back me up on this, Harry!" he said. "All the fighting, the rows, the sexual competition...it's all unresolved sexual tension! You, of all people, should realize this! You're their best friend!"
Harry held his hands up in resignation, and stepped slowly away from the table. "You got yourself into this, Neville," he said, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. "You get yourself out."
Neville turned his attentions back to Ron and Hermione, who were still shocked silent from his previous outburst. "But honestly now!" he cried. "You've got to be blind not to see what's going on between you two!" His tone once again turned cynical, and he spat the words out at Ron. "Or deaf, in some cases."
"Wh...wha..." Ron stuttered. "What do you mean?"
"Do you really want to know why I couldn't sleep last night?" Neville balled his hands into fists in frustration. "It was you. You kept me up all night, moaning in your sleep." He began to mock Ron's voice, closing his eyes as if dreaming. "'Oh, Hermione, Hermione....' All bloody night, with no end!" Neville threw up his hands, highly annoyed that no one had anything to say on this fairly obvious matter besides him. "The next time you plan on having a randy dream about Hermione, mate, do me a favor, and tell me beforehand. Then at least I can sleep in the library!"
Ron was completely dumbfounded. It took a few seconds for words to actually form in his mind, and reach his vocal chords. "I...I don't know what you're talking about, Neville," he said sheepishly. "Me and Hermione...well, that's just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"What?" Neville was taken off guard from this response. "But...but, it's all there! The fighting, the tension..."
"If having the most rows makes for a good couple, then Harry and Malfoy would be soulmates!" Hermione interjected, laughing off Neville's accusations. "You couldn't be more wrong about us. Why, if we were together...we'd probably kill each other!"
"And I would never," Ron said, not missing a beat, "dream about Hermione. If I were that loud, why...she would have burst in herself, lecturing me about how I was moaning her name incorrectly!"
Hermione supported this vehemently. "He's right, you know!" Hermione shook her head disapprovingly at Neville, who was shrinking back, obviously embarrassed at making this false accusation about his fellow Gryffindors. "Honestly, Neville, you shouldn't be saying such things about people. That's how rumors start. And there's honestly, nothing, going on between us."
Neville looked positively mortified from his outburst. "Oh, dear...I...I'm so sorry, Hermione...Ron. I should have never said..." Barely able to meet either of them in the eye, Neville snatched up his books and bolted out of the Great Hall towards the greenhouses, hoping not to have to see either of them the rest of the day.
Once Neville was clear out of sight, Ron's jocular mood changed. "'Unresolved sexual tension,' eh?" He looked over at Hermione. "I suppose that means we need to be quieter next time."
Hermione picked up her peeled apple and looked at Ron incredulously. "We have to be quieter?" She questioned. "From what I can remember, Neville didn't hear me last night." She took a large bite out of the apple and made her way twards the exit.
"Well, it wasn't my fault!" Ron called back, following her. "You never did that with your tongue before!"