Tough Love//A Walk Around the Lake//Cherry-Flavored Tears//Late//Hogsmeade//Promise
Title: Tough Love
Words: 100
Challenge: Miss
House: Hufflepuff
Characters: Ron, Hermione, miscellaneous students.
Author Notes: Post-Hogwarts
“Miss Granger,” purred a surprisingly deep voice.
Hermione felt shivers go down her back. No one had called her that since Hogwarts. After graduation, she’d insisted on “Ms.,” thank you very much. All-purpose, no annoying insistence on marital status - utilitarian, without the pretense of “Madame.”
“Or should I say, Supreme Mugwump?”
“Honestly, Ron!”
“Well, Miss Granger, you have been very naughty and interrupted my class,” Ron said, lounging with a grin on the edge of his desk, “Five points from Gryffindor, I think.”
His Defense class tittered, and Hermione’s heart skipped a beat.
Why hadn’t she visited Hogwarts more often?
Title: A Walk Around the Lake
Words: 100
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: Ron, Hermione
Author Notes: Character death warning
“You’re so different.”
Ron laughed a throaty laugh that reminded Hermione of Sirius.
“I think teaching’s been good for me. Boosted my confidence a bit. At least it’s not anything one of my brothers has already done.”
“I don’t know,” Hermione teased, “I might miss the old Ron.”
“I don’t,” he laughed, “The old Ron couldn’t even tell a girl he fancied her.”
Hermione’s breath caught. But there was only an impish grin in response. An enigma.
Hermione loved puzzles. Normally.
“You’re terrible.”
“I’ve missed you.”
She swallowed, hard.
“Today is -”
“I know,” Ron sighed. “I miss him, too.”
Title: Cherry-Flavored Tears
Words: 100
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: Ron, Hermione
Author Notes: Again, character death warning.
“This is my home,” Harry had insisted so often. How could they guess that it would also be his final resting-place?
“It seems so wrong,” Hermione said vehemently, annoyed by the fragrant tears of the weeping cherry tree planted there, with a bronze plaque. Harry would hate it.
“I know,” Ron said, putting an arm around her shoulders. She felt a guilty thrill, which she quickly squashed. How callous could she be?
“I miss his stupid glasses.”
“His messy hair,” Hermione choked out, laughing, “And how shy he always was. I can’t believe we’ll never see him again.”
“We will.”
Title: Late
Words: 100
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: Ron, Hermione
Author Notes: Eh, you’ve been sufficiently warned ;-)
They spent the rest of the day reliving Harry stories.
“And - h-he was just…” Ron made an exaggerated expression of shock, and burst out laughing again.
“We really should have told him, first!” Hermione said, laughing so hard she was tearing, “I mean, a broom closet?!”
“When it could have been anything!” Ron said, still laughing, “A four-star hotel, if we’d just thought of it! We were so stupid.”
She gasped suddenly. “What time is it?”
“I dunno, why?”
“The Express - I’ve missed it!”
“No problem - just Apparate.”
“Ron!”
“Oh, right. Well, come on, I’ll walk you to Hogsmeade.”
Title: Hogsmeade
Words: About a squillion. This one doesn’t count - I just couldn’t stop. Hope it's still okay to post it here...
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: R/H
Author Notes: Wow, I’m drained. :lol: Let me know if it’s over the top, ok?
Hogsmeade was inviting, even in the darkness of evening. The windows of the Three Broomsticks were still glowing yellow, and it was enough to illuminate the whole street, bright reds, greens, and blues subdued to evening tones.
“This looks alright,” Ron said, looking around, “You won’t splinch yourself, will you?”
“No,” Hermione said, reassuringly, as though the idea was ridiculous, “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
They waited for the opportune moment. None came.
“I remember our first weekend here, without Harry.”
“Mm.”
“It’s funny…even after a few hours I missed him.”
She began to tear up again, and hated herself for it. She’d been fending off tears all day, and was sick of it by now. But she couldn’t stop speaking once she’d started, for some reason.
“And you said you did too, so we bought all that candy…”
“Well, you did,” Ron said, guilt in his voice, “I’d already spent all my money on myself. Not that I had a lot, or anything…”
“Oh, Ron!” Hermione said, reaching for him, “It was from both of us! He knew it was from you, too.”
Hermione couldn’t fathom why the armloads of candy they’d given Harry a decade ago were suddenly so important, but they were. It was vital that Ron understand this, that he had given Harry so much that couldn’t be measured in Galleons, that Harry knew that he loved him…
“We didn’t get along so well at the end,” Ron muttered into her hair.
“Only because you cared about him,” Hermione insisted, trying to be firm and convincing despite her sniffling, “Only because you tried to talk him out of it.”
“He did it for us,” Ron insisted, “And I yelled at him. I told him he was being stupid, that it was selfish of him to give up so easily. I just didn’t get it…it was the only way, he knew it…and he did it for us…‘That’s chess,’ he told me. I didn’t make the connection until after.”
The huskiness in his voice gave him away. Suddenly he wasn’t suave and mature and accomplished anymore, but awkward, gangly, and very lonely.
“I don’t like missing both of you,” Ron choked, quietly, “Stay. Why can’t you stay? They’ll understand at work.”
“Oh Ron, I - I can’t, it’s late, and…” she looked away. Why was this so difficult? “They’re expecting me tomorrow, and it’s far too late for them to -”
“That’s not why,” Ron said, accusatorily, and Hermione recognized the familiar signs of another big fight coming on, “It’s because of Harry. That’s why you never see me anymore, or return any of my owls. Because you think if you’re happy with your life, it’s like cheating on Harry.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Hermione shrieked, pushing herself out of Ron’s arms, “Harry and I were never anything but best friends, Ron, and you know it!”
“Still!” Ron said, angrily, his ears discernibly red, even in the dim light, “You think you have to be miserable forever, Hermione, but that’s not what he wanted! That’s not why he -”
“Stop it!” Hermione shrieked, covering her ears. She was furious that she sounded hysterical, rather than calm and forceful, the way she normally sounded. “How can you just - don’t you dare!”
“Harry wanted us to be happy, Hermione!”
“Well, maybe ‘being happy’ doesn’t involve you, Ron!” Hermione spat, reflexively.
The street was silent, Hermione knew that. The stillness was ringing in her ears - not even the stars twinkled in the cold sky. But she could have sworn that nonetheless, she heard a quiet “pop” like the snap of a guitar string.
“Fine,” Ron said, quietly, “If that’s true, then…that’s fine. I’ll stop owling.”
“Ron -”
“Take care of yourself, ‘Mione. Okay?”
His voice was funny, and she watched him turn, watched his back as he started walking back towards the castle.
“Ron!”
After what seemed like forever, he turned on a dime, and then suddenly he was there again, though she didn’t know how it had happened, and his mouth was on hers, so soft, and she couldn’t stop crying. Everything dull and gray and hard inside her felt like it had suddenly broken, and what was left was so tender, it was painful -
“Stop! Stop, please!”
“I can’t.”
“It hurts!”
“No!” Ron said, his voice shaking, as he gripped Hermione’s arms gently, his blue eyes desperate, “It doesn’t hurt, Hermione. This feels good. This is what feeling good feels like. You…You’ve just been so…”
And he took her in his arms again, as she soaked his jacket, tears rolling down his front.
“I never wanted to be happy again!” she choked.
“I know.”
“I’m s-so sorry! I can’t believe what I said to you…”
“Don’t be. You didn’t mean it. Even when you said it, I knew you didn’t mean it.”
“I’m stupid. I think I’m smart, but I’m so, so, stupid!” she bawled, snotting all over him.
“We’re all stupid,” Ron said, and they left it at that for a while.
After a while, Hermione tried to inobtrusively wipe off Ron’s jacket with her mitten, which elicited a watery laugh from Ron.
“Well, I couldn’t help it!” Hermione said, trying to wipe her nose as subtly as possible.
“I have Supreme Mugwump bogies all over me,” Ron grinned, “This must be some kind of bizarre baptismal ritual.”
Hermione laughed entirely too much, still wiping her face helplessly.
“Come on,” Ron chuckled, “You look a fright.”
They started walking back to the castle.
Title: Promise
Words: 100 (this one counts!)
Challenge: Miss
House: Hufflepuff
Characters: R/H
Author Notes: Somewhere between PG-13 and R.
It was painful, but not in the way Hermione had expected. It was good pain…the pain that comes from tenderness, and a full heart.
Ron was a perfect gentleman. Hermione suspected he’d done this before, but she wasn’t about to ask - besides, it didn’t matter. It was the first time he’d done it with her.
He smelled like Quidditch afterwards - sweat, fresh earth. She traced his freckles, scarred forearms, red hair.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered in her ear. They shivered together, in the cold room…or maybe it wasn’t the cold.
“I’ll never leave you again,” she promised.
Words: 100
Challenge: Miss
House: Hufflepuff
Characters: Ron, Hermione, miscellaneous students.
Author Notes: Post-Hogwarts
“Miss Granger,” purred a surprisingly deep voice.
Hermione felt shivers go down her back. No one had called her that since Hogwarts. After graduation, she’d insisted on “Ms.,” thank you very much. All-purpose, no annoying insistence on marital status - utilitarian, without the pretense of “Madame.”
“Or should I say, Supreme Mugwump?”
“Honestly, Ron!”
“Well, Miss Granger, you have been very naughty and interrupted my class,” Ron said, lounging with a grin on the edge of his desk, “Five points from Gryffindor, I think.”
His Defense class tittered, and Hermione’s heart skipped a beat.
Why hadn’t she visited Hogwarts more often?
Title: A Walk Around the Lake
Words: 100
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: Ron, Hermione
Author Notes: Character death warning
“You’re so different.”
Ron laughed a throaty laugh that reminded Hermione of Sirius.
“I think teaching’s been good for me. Boosted my confidence a bit. At least it’s not anything one of my brothers has already done.”
“I don’t know,” Hermione teased, “I might miss the old Ron.”
“I don’t,” he laughed, “The old Ron couldn’t even tell a girl he fancied her.”
Hermione’s breath caught. But there was only an impish grin in response. An enigma.
Hermione loved puzzles. Normally.
“You’re terrible.”
“I’ve missed you.”
She swallowed, hard.
“Today is -”
“I know,” Ron sighed. “I miss him, too.”
Title: Cherry-Flavored Tears
Words: 100
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: Ron, Hermione
Author Notes: Again, character death warning.
“This is my home,” Harry had insisted so often. How could they guess that it would also be his final resting-place?
“It seems so wrong,” Hermione said vehemently, annoyed by the fragrant tears of the weeping cherry tree planted there, with a bronze plaque. Harry would hate it.
“I know,” Ron said, putting an arm around her shoulders. She felt a guilty thrill, which she quickly squashed. How callous could she be?
“I miss his stupid glasses.”
“His messy hair,” Hermione choked out, laughing, “And how shy he always was. I can’t believe we’ll never see him again.”
“We will.”
Title: Late
Words: 100
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: Ron, Hermione
Author Notes: Eh, you’ve been sufficiently warned ;-)
They spent the rest of the day reliving Harry stories.
“And - h-he was just…” Ron made an exaggerated expression of shock, and burst out laughing again.
“We really should have told him, first!” Hermione said, laughing so hard she was tearing, “I mean, a broom closet?!”
“When it could have been anything!” Ron said, still laughing, “A four-star hotel, if we’d just thought of it! We were so stupid.”
She gasped suddenly. “What time is it?”
“I dunno, why?”
“The Express - I’ve missed it!”
“No problem - just Apparate.”
“Ron!”
“Oh, right. Well, come on, I’ll walk you to Hogsmeade.”
Title: Hogsmeade
Words: About a squillion. This one doesn’t count - I just couldn’t stop. Hope it's still okay to post it here...
House: Hufflepuff
Challenge: Miss
Characters: R/H
Author Notes: Wow, I’m drained. :lol: Let me know if it’s over the top, ok?
Hogsmeade was inviting, even in the darkness of evening. The windows of the Three Broomsticks were still glowing yellow, and it was enough to illuminate the whole street, bright reds, greens, and blues subdued to evening tones.
“This looks alright,” Ron said, looking around, “You won’t splinch yourself, will you?”
“No,” Hermione said, reassuringly, as though the idea was ridiculous, “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
They waited for the opportune moment. None came.
“I remember our first weekend here, without Harry.”
“Mm.”
“It’s funny…even after a few hours I missed him.”
She began to tear up again, and hated herself for it. She’d been fending off tears all day, and was sick of it by now. But she couldn’t stop speaking once she’d started, for some reason.
“And you said you did too, so we bought all that candy…”
“Well, you did,” Ron said, guilt in his voice, “I’d already spent all my money on myself. Not that I had a lot, or anything…”
“Oh, Ron!” Hermione said, reaching for him, “It was from both of us! He knew it was from you, too.”
Hermione couldn’t fathom why the armloads of candy they’d given Harry a decade ago were suddenly so important, but they were. It was vital that Ron understand this, that he had given Harry so much that couldn’t be measured in Galleons, that Harry knew that he loved him…
“We didn’t get along so well at the end,” Ron muttered into her hair.
“Only because you cared about him,” Hermione insisted, trying to be firm and convincing despite her sniffling, “Only because you tried to talk him out of it.”
“He did it for us,” Ron insisted, “And I yelled at him. I told him he was being stupid, that it was selfish of him to give up so easily. I just didn’t get it…it was the only way, he knew it…and he did it for us…‘That’s chess,’ he told me. I didn’t make the connection until after.”
The huskiness in his voice gave him away. Suddenly he wasn’t suave and mature and accomplished anymore, but awkward, gangly, and very lonely.
“I don’t like missing both of you,” Ron choked, quietly, “Stay. Why can’t you stay? They’ll understand at work.”
“Oh Ron, I - I can’t, it’s late, and…” she looked away. Why was this so difficult? “They’re expecting me tomorrow, and it’s far too late for them to -”
“That’s not why,” Ron said, accusatorily, and Hermione recognized the familiar signs of another big fight coming on, “It’s because of Harry. That’s why you never see me anymore, or return any of my owls. Because you think if you’re happy with your life, it’s like cheating on Harry.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Hermione shrieked, pushing herself out of Ron’s arms, “Harry and I were never anything but best friends, Ron, and you know it!”
“Still!” Ron said, angrily, his ears discernibly red, even in the dim light, “You think you have to be miserable forever, Hermione, but that’s not what he wanted! That’s not why he -”
“Stop it!” Hermione shrieked, covering her ears. She was furious that she sounded hysterical, rather than calm and forceful, the way she normally sounded. “How can you just - don’t you dare!”
“Harry wanted us to be happy, Hermione!”
“Well, maybe ‘being happy’ doesn’t involve you, Ron!” Hermione spat, reflexively.
The street was silent, Hermione knew that. The stillness was ringing in her ears - not even the stars twinkled in the cold sky. But she could have sworn that nonetheless, she heard a quiet “pop” like the snap of a guitar string.
“Fine,” Ron said, quietly, “If that’s true, then…that’s fine. I’ll stop owling.”
“Ron -”
“Take care of yourself, ‘Mione. Okay?”
His voice was funny, and she watched him turn, watched his back as he started walking back towards the castle.
“Ron!”
After what seemed like forever, he turned on a dime, and then suddenly he was there again, though she didn’t know how it had happened, and his mouth was on hers, so soft, and she couldn’t stop crying. Everything dull and gray and hard inside her felt like it had suddenly broken, and what was left was so tender, it was painful -
“Stop! Stop, please!”
“I can’t.”
“It hurts!”
“No!” Ron said, his voice shaking, as he gripped Hermione’s arms gently, his blue eyes desperate, “It doesn’t hurt, Hermione. This feels good. This is what feeling good feels like. You…You’ve just been so…”
And he took her in his arms again, as she soaked his jacket, tears rolling down his front.
“I never wanted to be happy again!” she choked.
“I know.”
“I’m s-so sorry! I can’t believe what I said to you…”
“Don’t be. You didn’t mean it. Even when you said it, I knew you didn’t mean it.”
“I’m stupid. I think I’m smart, but I’m so, so, stupid!” she bawled, snotting all over him.
“We’re all stupid,” Ron said, and they left it at that for a while.
After a while, Hermione tried to inobtrusively wipe off Ron’s jacket with her mitten, which elicited a watery laugh from Ron.
“Well, I couldn’t help it!” Hermione said, trying to wipe her nose as subtly as possible.
“I have Supreme Mugwump bogies all over me,” Ron grinned, “This must be some kind of bizarre baptismal ritual.”
Hermione laughed entirely too much, still wiping her face helplessly.
“Come on,” Ron chuckled, “You look a fright.”
They started walking back to the castle.
Title: Promise
Words: 100 (this one counts!)
Challenge: Miss
House: Hufflepuff
Characters: R/H
Author Notes: Somewhere between PG-13 and R.
It was painful, but not in the way Hermione had expected. It was good pain…the pain that comes from tenderness, and a full heart.
Ron was a perfect gentleman. Hermione suspected he’d done this before, but she wasn’t about to ask - besides, it didn’t matter. It was the first time he’d done it with her.
He smelled like Quidditch afterwards - sweat, fresh earth. She traced his freckles, scarred forearms, red hair.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered in her ear. They shivered together, in the cold room…or maybe it wasn’t the cold.
“I’ll never leave you again,” she promised.