Wowie!!!
I feel really giddy right now!! My drabble, Semantics, won first place over at sortinghatdrabs!!! I'm so honored and thank you all that voted and participated!! I had fun!!
~Snuggle
Title: Semantics
Words:700
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Prompt: All is fair in love and war.
It was likely that tomorrow was going to be the end of Draco's life and from where he was standing, the odds weren't in his favor. It was strange knowing that he had defied his master, his family, his bloodline all for the sake of things going back to normal, but Draco couldn't be bothered with it tonight. Not when it could be the last night of his life.
"Malfoy?" a small voice from behind him called. When he didn't turn around, he felt the person sit down beside him. They sat in silence for a few minutes before a sigh escaped the visitor's lips. "I know you're scared-"
"I'm not scared," he hissed in reply. They lapsed back into silence, but Draco couldn't help but peek over at his visitor. Granger sat next to him with her knees pressed up against her chest.
She took a deep breath then and continued. "Well, I'm scared."
He leered over at her. "And you call yourself a Gryffindor."
"You can have courage and be scared at the same time," she replied in a whisper. "It's finding a balance between the two that makes one brave. One would be foolish to go headstrong into a battle and not feel fear."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Would you stop with the semantics already. It's bloody annoying."
Silence surrounded them once again for a time before Granger replied, "We're going to win tomorrow, Malfoy. Harry will beat him." She was resting her cheek on her knee now, while staring over at him. "With all the information you've passed on to us, how can you doubt-"
"Granger! Stop. Talking."
"But-"
"You want to know how I can doubt it? Because life is never one hundred percent certain," he ranted as he stood up and started to pace. "You can plan everything down to the last detail, but that doesn't mean that it's going to happen that way. Things can go wrong. Things will go wrong. I could die tomorrow. ...You could die tomorrow. And no amount of planning can change the odds of that."
Granger nodded in agreement. "You're right. Any of us could die tomorrow, but we shouldn't give up hope. We will win tomorrow and if there are casualties, then they won't be in vain."
Draco sneered at her. "How can you talk about it so casually when it could be your own life? I'm sorry, Granger, but I'm not sold on the whole "dying for the cause" thing. I like living. I don't want to die. There was a reason I was sorted into Slytherin. If my life is on the line, I won't hesitate to get myself out of danger. I won't stick around to die for someone."
"No one's asking you to," she said with a frown. "You don't have to be a hero, Malfoy. You just have be there and help us win. I know you're Slytherin enough for that."
He paused. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm referring to ambition. It's one of Slytherin's traits and you're chalk full of it, Malfoy. What else could drive you to defy everything that you once believed just to see the end of this war? You are-"
"A traitor," he interrupted. "I am and always will be a traitor. My parents don't even know what I've done, but they will tomorrow."
"I know this is hard-"
"Hard?" he shouted. "You don't know what you're talking about! You've never had to betray anyone in your life! Your path has always been set for you and you've never had to venture from it, but my life isn't so black and white! I might have to go against my parents tomorrow and I might lose my life, but hard wouldn't be the word I would use to describe it. Unfair would be a better term."
She was quiet as she contemplated her next words. "It never really is when it comes to war and love."
His shoulders sagged. "Back to semantics again, are we?" He returned to his seat and sighed.
Granger just smiled and Draco prayed to Merlin that even if everything didn't go to plan tomorrow, that somehow she and him would survive.
~Snuggle
Title: Semantics
Words:700
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Prompt: All is fair in love and war.
It was likely that tomorrow was going to be the end of Draco's life and from where he was standing, the odds weren't in his favor. It was strange knowing that he had defied his master, his family, his bloodline all for the sake of things going back to normal, but Draco couldn't be bothered with it tonight. Not when it could be the last night of his life.
"Malfoy?" a small voice from behind him called. When he didn't turn around, he felt the person sit down beside him. They sat in silence for a few minutes before a sigh escaped the visitor's lips. "I know you're scared-"
"I'm not scared," he hissed in reply. They lapsed back into silence, but Draco couldn't help but peek over at his visitor. Granger sat next to him with her knees pressed up against her chest.
She took a deep breath then and continued. "Well, I'm scared."
He leered over at her. "And you call yourself a Gryffindor."
"You can have courage and be scared at the same time," she replied in a whisper. "It's finding a balance between the two that makes one brave. One would be foolish to go headstrong into a battle and not feel fear."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Would you stop with the semantics already. It's bloody annoying."
Silence surrounded them once again for a time before Granger replied, "We're going to win tomorrow, Malfoy. Harry will beat him." She was resting her cheek on her knee now, while staring over at him. "With all the information you've passed on to us, how can you doubt-"
"Granger! Stop. Talking."
"But-"
"You want to know how I can doubt it? Because life is never one hundred percent certain," he ranted as he stood up and started to pace. "You can plan everything down to the last detail, but that doesn't mean that it's going to happen that way. Things can go wrong. Things will go wrong. I could die tomorrow. ...You could die tomorrow. And no amount of planning can change the odds of that."
Granger nodded in agreement. "You're right. Any of us could die tomorrow, but we shouldn't give up hope. We will win tomorrow and if there are casualties, then they won't be in vain."
Draco sneered at her. "How can you talk about it so casually when it could be your own life? I'm sorry, Granger, but I'm not sold on the whole "dying for the cause" thing. I like living. I don't want to die. There was a reason I was sorted into Slytherin. If my life is on the line, I won't hesitate to get myself out of danger. I won't stick around to die for someone."
"No one's asking you to," she said with a frown. "You don't have to be a hero, Malfoy. You just have be there and help us win. I know you're Slytherin enough for that."
He paused. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm referring to ambition. It's one of Slytherin's traits and you're chalk full of it, Malfoy. What else could drive you to defy everything that you once believed just to see the end of this war? You are-"
"A traitor," he interrupted. "I am and always will be a traitor. My parents don't even know what I've done, but they will tomorrow."
"I know this is hard-"
"Hard?" he shouted. "You don't know what you're talking about! You've never had to betray anyone in your life! Your path has always been set for you and you've never had to venture from it, but my life isn't so black and white! I might have to go against my parents tomorrow and I might lose my life, but hard wouldn't be the word I would use to describe it. Unfair would be a better term."
She was quiet as she contemplated her next words. "It never really is when it comes to war and love."
His shoulders sagged. "Back to semantics again, are we?" He returned to his seat and sighed.
Granger just smiled and Draco prayed to Merlin that even if everything didn't go to plan tomorrow, that somehow she and him would survive.