Voting! Week Nine
VOTING CLOSED
Please read the voting rules:
1. Do not vote for yourself and do not ask others to vote for you.
2. If you entered the challenge, you are REQUIRED to vote.
3. Vote for a MOST and LEAST favorite drabble. Votes for just Most Favorite will NOT be counted!
4. Please vote for the NUMBER of the drabble, not the name of it. Just makes it easier :)
5. Please remember the prompt when voting: The stars and drabble must be 250 words exactly
6. Voting will close Wednesday at 11:59pm EST
Results will be posted Thursday. Have fun!
1.
Author: deathlydragon
Title: A Slice of Heaven
Words: 250
Rating: PG
Lucy wasn’t quite sure if she was doing something wrong, but every step closer to him made her heart beat faster and that felt always wrong. Of course, she wouldn’t do such a stupid thing like kissing or hugging him; it was already hard enough not to give into this chemistry.
She wouldn’t tell him, no matter how strong the emotion.
But she wouldn’t be sad, if he finally noticed…
“Happy Birthday, Fred,” she said and held out her present, smiling.
“Thanks, Lucy!” Fred turned away from James, who grinned, and somehow Lucy wished he would leave them alone, even though just for a moment. “What is it?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Open it.” She chewed on her bottom lip as Fred chuckled and unwrapped the present, staring fascinated at the crystal ball in which countless of small, bright dots were floating around, forming one constellation after another.
“You can… use it for Astronomy,” Lucy said, as Fred remained silent. “Or throw it at James.” She scowled at James, who rolled his eyes quite obviously for anyone but Fred.
“No! It’s great!” Fred blurted out, bending closer and pressing a soft kiss against Lucy’s cheek. “Just needed a moment to figure it out.” He wrapped his free arm around Lucy’s waist and pulled her against his chest, hugging her tightly. “I always wanted to have a slice of heaven.”
And Lucy would give him all the stars in the sky if he just realised how much she cared for him…
2.
Author: hondagirll
Title: Pinky Swear
Words: 250
Rating: PG
Warning: Character Death
- - -
“Please don’t leave.”
A fat tear rolled down ten year old Lucy’s dimpled face. Her cousin Fred sighed. “Look Luce, it won’t be forever. It’ll be Christmas ‘fore you know it.”
“But you’ll be gone for ages!”
Fred grinned. “Hey, remember what I told you, about the stars?”
“That we look at the same ones?”
“Exactly.” Fred put his arm around her. “So whenever you get sad, look up at the stars. I’ll be watching the same ones.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
- - -
“Do you have to go away?” Lucy asked as Fred packed. “Wouldn’t you rather stay here?”
“In England?” Fred shook his head. “No. I need to go someplace different.”
Lucy pouted. “But I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too. But it won’t be that bad. We’ll be looking at the same stars.”
A ghost of a smile filtered across Lucy’s lips. “Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
- - -
The line was thick with static. “Fred! I’m engaged!”
“Engaged?” Even with oceans between them, the happiness in Fred’s voice was unmistakable. “Congratulations Luce!”
“The wedding’s in October. Promise you’ll come!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. And hey, I’ll be watching the night sky tonight.”
Lucy clutched the phone tighter. “Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
- - -
The ground was cold beneath Lucy’s feet. She reached out gently to touch the tombstone, choking back a sob at the realness of it all.
“Oh Freddie.” Heart broken, Lucy raised her tear streaked face to the sky. “I’ll watch the stars every night until I see you again. Pinky swear.”
3.
Author: megans_writing
Title: New-Found Friendship
Words: 250
Rating: PG
The Weasleys didn't celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, but it was a great excuse to launch fireworks. Lucy lay on a blanket, watching the display, her cousin Fred was next to her.
"Shame, really." She announced.
Fred replied, "What?"
"With all the fireworks we can’t see the stars. Do you think Molly is watching fireworks at Hogwarts?"
"What's wrong with you? You're not usually talkative."
Lucy sighed. "Molly and I used to always watch the stars at night. We'd play games like who could spot the most constellations, or we'd make up our own. I've been lonely since she left for school."
Fred burst into laughter. "Who knew you'd be such a sob story!"
Lucy's vision blurred with tears. "This is why I never talk to anyone except for Molly! You," She stuck her finger in Fred's face, "are a blinkered beast!" With that, she stormed off into the Burrow.
"Luce! I didn't mean it!" Fred grabbed her arm roughly and spun her around. "Lucy, listen to me. I… I'm not good at... I'm only a boy, aren't I? I suck at comforting anyone, especially girls. Now I've spilled my guts out. You can make fun of me if you want."
Lucy smiled. "No, I'm rubbish at expressing my feelings too. That's why I don't talk. We aren't too different, are we?"
"Can we play that constellation game sometime?" Fred asked sheepishly.
"Of course." She chuckled.
The two of them walked back to their family and enjoyed their newly founded friendship.
4.
Author: greenschist
Title: In the Healing Dark
Words: 250
Rating: G
"Fred?" Lucy leaned out the window and called her cousin's name into the night.
"Yeah."
She crawled past the faded orange curtains. All the cousins knew the best way onto the Burrow's roof was through Uncle Ron's old bedroom. Until their grandmother caught them, they would continue to use the roof as their secret meeting spot.
The shingles were gritty under Lucy's feet as she climbed carefully toward Fred's perch between two chimneys. He shifted to make room, and they gazed at the stars together.
Lucy broke the silence first. "I thought it was a funny prank."
"Well, you're the only one who did." Fred slouched until he lay against the steeply pitched roof.
"Maybe it's hard to laugh when you're turning blue."
"Or maybe I'm not funny like my dad is. Or like Uncle Fred was." In the starlight, Lucy could see him scowling.
"Who says you have to be like Uncle Fred or your dad?" She inched down until they were side by side again, primly pulling her nightgown over her knees. "Anyway, my dad hardly ever talks about Uncle Fred being funny, but he does say he was brave and good. You're brave and good, too, aren't you?"
She rested her head on Fred's shoulder.
"I bet Uncle Fred would've laughed to see Aunt Hermione colored like a blueberry." And under her cheek, she felt Fred relax.
As a falling star streaked across the heavens, Lucy couldn't help but believe their uncle was grinning down at them.
5.
Author: open_atclose
Title: All for Believing
Words: 250
Rating: G
“Do you ever think what’s up there?”
Lucy Weasley turned her head to look at her cousin Fred, lying on his back beside her, his arms under his head, and followed his gaze to the dark cobalt sky, which was dotted with bright silver stars. She turned her head again to stare at her cousin, who should definitely know what was up there by now.
“Stars,” she answered promptly, a little bemused but not about to admit that.
“I know they’re stars,” Fred answered, thinking of how silly girls can be. “But don’t you sometimes wonder if there really are fairies burning among the stars, like Aunt Ginny says?”
The boy burns red at his question, and Lucy can tell he’s embarrassed by his indirect admission that he’d put so much thought into this. Lucy, who is never cruel on purpose, doesn’t laugh as Fred thought.
“I don’t know,” she whispered, looking up at the stars again. “I like to believe Uncle Harry’s theory, actually.”
“Uncle Harry thinks about stars, too?” Fred asked, and Lucy could see his expression brightening despite the dim, moon-lit room.
“Yep. Uncle Harry says that all the people we’ve loved and lost live among the stars, watching over us, making sure we’re always safe.”
Fred was silent for a moment, his head gently cocked to one side as he studied the spangled heavens above them, before he nodded, once.
“I always knew Uncle Harry was a smart man.”
6.
Author: bealen
Title: A Different Kind Of Nickname
Words: 250
Rating: G
Author's Note: The names of stars mentioned below were found in Wikipedia.
As Fred was out walking through the Hogwarts grounds late one September evening he was surprised to see Lucy lying down in the grass, her eyes focused on the sky.
“Lucy?”
She shifted her position and sat up to look at him. Even in the dark he could see the wet shiny patches of skin.
“Fred, how are you?”
Undeterred by her attempt at pleasantries he sat beside her and cut to the chase.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Really. I’m fine”
“Who are you trying to convince? Why the sudden interest in stargazing, you looking for trouble Luce?”
“If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone?”
“Eh yeah sure…”
“I hate my name. I’m not even named after someone, though that would annoy me as well. Oh sorry Fred! I didn’t mean to…”
“No, go ahead, I know what you mean.”
“I just wish I was named after a star like Asterope or Capella. Something unique.”
Fred wanted to make her feel better, he always had a soft spot for his shy younger cousin who had always surprisingly laughed the loudest at his and James‘s pranks. Then he thanked Merlin for the only star he remember from Astronomy class .
“I’ll call you Lucida Anseris. It’ll be our secret. We can pretend that’s your real name.”
Lucy threw herself at Fred and hugged him so tight she began to cut off his air supply As she leant back she whispered “You always were my favourite cousin.”
7.
Author: literaryspell
Title: Like a Diamond
Words: 250
Rating: G
Lucy Weasley didn’t tell anyone, not even Uncle George, but she had designated a star to Uncle Fred.
She hadn’t known him, but her aunt and uncles all talked about how the twins had gotten into so much trouble. How they were so clever and so funny.
Personally, Lucy thought Uncle George couldn’t have been as funny and clever as they said. Why, he wasn’t funny at all. He was rather quiet, meek, even. Not something normally ascribed to a Weasley, excepting her own father.
But Fred… he must have been the best! She bet he’d been brilliant, wicked, and witty. All the things her father was not. Well, maybe brilliant, but a different kind.
Lucy wasn’t really any of those things either.
She got comfortable on the lawn, leaning back on her elbows and gazing into the sky. His star wasn’t out yet, but the evening was young, the sky still cerulean around the edges.
When it turned navy, that’s when Fred would appear.
She wondered if Uncle George missed his twin. If that’s why he was so different from the way everyone described him, as if he were still all those things and no one had noticed that he wasn’t.
She wondered if everyone was on pause from the moment Uncle Fred had died, and that was why no one seemed to realize that Uncle George was different.
But Lucy noticed. And she told Uncle Fred.
But Uncle Fred only twinkled knowingly, and Lucy never got an answer.
x x x XXX x x x
Poll Next Gen Drabbles Week Nine
Please read the voting rules:
1. Do not vote for yourself and do not ask others to vote for you.
2. If you entered the challenge, you are REQUIRED to vote.
3. Vote for a MOST and LEAST favorite drabble. Votes for just Most Favorite will NOT be counted!
4. Please vote for the NUMBER of the drabble, not the name of it. Just makes it easier :)
5. Please remember the prompt when voting: The stars and drabble must be 250 words exactly
6. Voting will close Wednesday at 11:59pm EST
Results will be posted Thursday. Have fun!
1.
Author: deathlydragon
Title: A Slice of Heaven
Words: 250
Rating: PG
Lucy wasn’t quite sure if she was doing something wrong, but every step closer to him made her heart beat faster and that felt always wrong. Of course, she wouldn’t do such a stupid thing like kissing or hugging him; it was already hard enough not to give into this chemistry.
She wouldn’t tell him, no matter how strong the emotion.
But she wouldn’t be sad, if he finally noticed…
“Happy Birthday, Fred,” she said and held out her present, smiling.
“Thanks, Lucy!” Fred turned away from James, who grinned, and somehow Lucy wished he would leave them alone, even though just for a moment. “What is it?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Open it.” She chewed on her bottom lip as Fred chuckled and unwrapped the present, staring fascinated at the crystal ball in which countless of small, bright dots were floating around, forming one constellation after another.
“You can… use it for Astronomy,” Lucy said, as Fred remained silent. “Or throw it at James.” She scowled at James, who rolled his eyes quite obviously for anyone but Fred.
“No! It’s great!” Fred blurted out, bending closer and pressing a soft kiss against Lucy’s cheek. “Just needed a moment to figure it out.” He wrapped his free arm around Lucy’s waist and pulled her against his chest, hugging her tightly. “I always wanted to have a slice of heaven.”
And Lucy would give him all the stars in the sky if he just realised how much she cared for him…
2.
Author: hondagirll
Title: Pinky Swear
Words: 250
Rating: PG
Warning: Character Death
- - -
“Please don’t leave.”
A fat tear rolled down ten year old Lucy’s dimpled face. Her cousin Fred sighed. “Look Luce, it won’t be forever. It’ll be Christmas ‘fore you know it.”
“But you’ll be gone for ages!”
Fred grinned. “Hey, remember what I told you, about the stars?”
“That we look at the same ones?”
“Exactly.” Fred put his arm around her. “So whenever you get sad, look up at the stars. I’ll be watching the same ones.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
- - -
“Do you have to go away?” Lucy asked as Fred packed. “Wouldn’t you rather stay here?”
“In England?” Fred shook his head. “No. I need to go someplace different.”
Lucy pouted. “But I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too. But it won’t be that bad. We’ll be looking at the same stars.”
A ghost of a smile filtered across Lucy’s lips. “Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
- - -
The line was thick with static. “Fred! I’m engaged!”
“Engaged?” Even with oceans between them, the happiness in Fred’s voice was unmistakable. “Congratulations Luce!”
“The wedding’s in October. Promise you’ll come!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. And hey, I’ll be watching the night sky tonight.”
Lucy clutched the phone tighter. “Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
- - -
The ground was cold beneath Lucy’s feet. She reached out gently to touch the tombstone, choking back a sob at the realness of it all.
“Oh Freddie.” Heart broken, Lucy raised her tear streaked face to the sky. “I’ll watch the stars every night until I see you again. Pinky swear.”
3.
Author: megans_writing
Title: New-Found Friendship
Words: 250
Rating: PG
The Weasleys didn't celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, but it was a great excuse to launch fireworks. Lucy lay on a blanket, watching the display, her cousin Fred was next to her.
"Shame, really." She announced.
Fred replied, "What?"
"With all the fireworks we can’t see the stars. Do you think Molly is watching fireworks at Hogwarts?"
"What's wrong with you? You're not usually talkative."
Lucy sighed. "Molly and I used to always watch the stars at night. We'd play games like who could spot the most constellations, or we'd make up our own. I've been lonely since she left for school."
Fred burst into laughter. "Who knew you'd be such a sob story!"
Lucy's vision blurred with tears. "This is why I never talk to anyone except for Molly! You," She stuck her finger in Fred's face, "are a blinkered beast!" With that, she stormed off into the Burrow.
"Luce! I didn't mean it!" Fred grabbed her arm roughly and spun her around. "Lucy, listen to me. I… I'm not good at... I'm only a boy, aren't I? I suck at comforting anyone, especially girls. Now I've spilled my guts out. You can make fun of me if you want."
Lucy smiled. "No, I'm rubbish at expressing my feelings too. That's why I don't talk. We aren't too different, are we?"
"Can we play that constellation game sometime?" Fred asked sheepishly.
"Of course." She chuckled.
The two of them walked back to their family and enjoyed their newly founded friendship.
4.
Author: greenschist
Title: In the Healing Dark
Words: 250
Rating: G
"Fred?" Lucy leaned out the window and called her cousin's name into the night.
"Yeah."
She crawled past the faded orange curtains. All the cousins knew the best way onto the Burrow's roof was through Uncle Ron's old bedroom. Until their grandmother caught them, they would continue to use the roof as their secret meeting spot.
The shingles were gritty under Lucy's feet as she climbed carefully toward Fred's perch between two chimneys. He shifted to make room, and they gazed at the stars together.
Lucy broke the silence first. "I thought it was a funny prank."
"Well, you're the only one who did." Fred slouched until he lay against the steeply pitched roof.
"Maybe it's hard to laugh when you're turning blue."
"Or maybe I'm not funny like my dad is. Or like Uncle Fred was." In the starlight, Lucy could see him scowling.
"Who says you have to be like Uncle Fred or your dad?" She inched down until they were side by side again, primly pulling her nightgown over her knees. "Anyway, my dad hardly ever talks about Uncle Fred being funny, but he does say he was brave and good. You're brave and good, too, aren't you?"
She rested her head on Fred's shoulder.
"I bet Uncle Fred would've laughed to see Aunt Hermione colored like a blueberry." And under her cheek, she felt Fred relax.
As a falling star streaked across the heavens, Lucy couldn't help but believe their uncle was grinning down at them.
5.
Author: open_atclose
Title: All for Believing
Words: 250
Rating: G
“Do you ever think what’s up there?”
Lucy Weasley turned her head to look at her cousin Fred, lying on his back beside her, his arms under his head, and followed his gaze to the dark cobalt sky, which was dotted with bright silver stars. She turned her head again to stare at her cousin, who should definitely know what was up there by now.
“Stars,” she answered promptly, a little bemused but not about to admit that.
“I know they’re stars,” Fred answered, thinking of how silly girls can be. “But don’t you sometimes wonder if there really are fairies burning among the stars, like Aunt Ginny says?”
The boy burns red at his question, and Lucy can tell he’s embarrassed by his indirect admission that he’d put so much thought into this. Lucy, who is never cruel on purpose, doesn’t laugh as Fred thought.
“I don’t know,” she whispered, looking up at the stars again. “I like to believe Uncle Harry’s theory, actually.”
“Uncle Harry thinks about stars, too?” Fred asked, and Lucy could see his expression brightening despite the dim, moon-lit room.
“Yep. Uncle Harry says that all the people we’ve loved and lost live among the stars, watching over us, making sure we’re always safe.”
Fred was silent for a moment, his head gently cocked to one side as he studied the spangled heavens above them, before he nodded, once.
“I always knew Uncle Harry was a smart man.”
6.
Author: bealen
Title: A Different Kind Of Nickname
Words: 250
Rating: G
Author's Note: The names of stars mentioned below were found in Wikipedia.
As Fred was out walking through the Hogwarts grounds late one September evening he was surprised to see Lucy lying down in the grass, her eyes focused on the sky.
“Lucy?”
She shifted her position and sat up to look at him. Even in the dark he could see the wet shiny patches of skin.
“Fred, how are you?”
Undeterred by her attempt at pleasantries he sat beside her and cut to the chase.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Really. I’m fine”
“Who are you trying to convince? Why the sudden interest in stargazing, you looking for trouble Luce?”
“If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone?”
“Eh yeah sure…”
“I hate my name. I’m not even named after someone, though that would annoy me as well. Oh sorry Fred! I didn’t mean to…”
“No, go ahead, I know what you mean.”
“I just wish I was named after a star like Asterope or Capella. Something unique.”
Fred wanted to make her feel better, he always had a soft spot for his shy younger cousin who had always surprisingly laughed the loudest at his and James‘s pranks. Then he thanked Merlin for the only star he remember from Astronomy class .
“I’ll call you Lucida Anseris. It’ll be our secret. We can pretend that’s your real name.”
Lucy threw herself at Fred and hugged him so tight she began to cut off his air supply As she leant back she whispered “You always were my favourite cousin.”
7.
Author: literaryspell
Title: Like a Diamond
Words: 250
Rating: G
Lucy Weasley didn’t tell anyone, not even Uncle George, but she had designated a star to Uncle Fred.
She hadn’t known him, but her aunt and uncles all talked about how the twins had gotten into so much trouble. How they were so clever and so funny.
Personally, Lucy thought Uncle George couldn’t have been as funny and clever as they said. Why, he wasn’t funny at all. He was rather quiet, meek, even. Not something normally ascribed to a Weasley, excepting her own father.
But Fred… he must have been the best! She bet he’d been brilliant, wicked, and witty. All the things her father was not. Well, maybe brilliant, but a different kind.
Lucy wasn’t really any of those things either.
She got comfortable on the lawn, leaning back on her elbows and gazing into the sky. His star wasn’t out yet, but the evening was young, the sky still cerulean around the edges.
When it turned navy, that’s when Fred would appear.
She wondered if Uncle George missed his twin. If that’s why he was so different from the way everyone described him, as if he were still all those things and no one had noticed that he wasn’t.
She wondered if everyone was on pause from the moment Uncle Fred had died, and that was why no one seemed to realize that Uncle George was different.
But Lucy noticed. And she told Uncle Fred.
But Uncle Fred only twinkled knowingly, and Lucy never got an answer.
x x x XXX x x x
Poll Next Gen Drabbles Week Nine