Voting - Week 16!
Read the voting rules, please!
1. Please don’t vote for yourself or ask/coerce/blackmail others into voting for you.
2. If you submitted a drabble, you are required to vote.
3. Please vote for a Most and Second Favorite drabble. If you do not vote for both, your vote will not be counted. Comments are screened.
4. Vote for the NUMBER, not the name. For the ease of the mods, please!
5. Don’t forget the prompt: thestrals
IF YOU SUBMITTED A DRABBLE, DO NOT VOTE.
Feel free to comment about a given drabble; we’ll be sending out feedback from now on.
1. Author:
Title: Trustworthy
Word Count: 491
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Severus was standing in a clearing, watching the Thestrals. They had always fascinated him. He saw his first one at seventeen years old. At seventeen he had gained a lot of reasons to see Thestrals in quick succession. Thestrals were dark, and had a bad reputation. They were very clever. They were thin. They were misunderstood. They almost seemed an extension of him.
Severus was too deep in his mind to notice immediately the straggly dirty blond hair and misty eyes of Luna Lovegood. She seemed to float toward him, but the whisper of her feet on the forest floor let Severus know she was walking.
“Hello, Professor Snape,” Luna began. She had a small smile on her face, and appeared far removed from not just the circumstances but the present. She lived in an imaginary world of Crumple Horned Snorkacks, Dirigible Plums, Gurdyroots and Nargles. Not to mention...
“There's a Wrackspurt floating around here. Its tentacles may have reached into our minds already.” Luna began turning in circles, beating the air. She was wearing her school uniform, but the left sleeve of her robes, the left sleeve of her sweater and the left sleeve of her shirt were all missing.
“Errant nonsense,” Severus said quietly. “But Miss Lovegood is involved, so strange things are sure to be revealed.” His tone was lightly mocking. “Are we trying for a new fashion statement? Radish earrings are not enough?” Severus indicated the missing clothing parts with his hand.
“They were separated with a Severing Charm by Michael Corner.” Luna smiled vaguely. “It's all in good fun. I'll have to recover the pieces. You can see Thestrals. Me too. My Mum died with a charm that backfired, when I was nine. She was always one to press boundaries. You are too.” Luna heaved her rucksack off her back and onto the ground and out came what looked like the internal organs of several animals.
“They love delicacies,” Luna informed Severus as the three Thestrals on hand began gorging on the 'delicacies'. Severus was irritated and amused. Luna asked, “Who did you see die?”
“Those deaths that I could not prevent,” Severus said through gritted teeth. Why was he telling Lovegood? But she seemed to invite confidences. “With a few exceptions. There were those...”
“You could have prevented?”
“I believe so. But circumstances change, people change. I have a tricky role. More than that I cannot reveal, even to you.” Severus spoke in a low mutter. “You will find that Thestrals only associate with humans who are trustworthy.”
“I know that,” said Luna serenely. A Thestral was rubbing its bony head against Severus' side.
“Not a word to anyone. Your word.” Severus stated.
“You want to keep people misunderstanding you? All right. Watch out for the Nargles, they infest Oak trees.”
And Luna floated away with awkward grace.
2. Author:
Title: Making Friends
Word Count: 257
Rating: PG
Warnings: None, if you've read the books.
***
Whenever she had a free hour, Luna still liked to visit her old friends the Thestrals. Although many people admitted to seeing them these days, few were those seeking the kind winged creatures' company. Among them was one Severus Snape.
"Good afternoon, Professor," Luna called as she reached the clearing.
"Miss Lovegood, good afternoon," Severus responded in kind.
Luna busied herself for a moment with distributing treats to the creatures while Severus stood next to an old one that didn't seem to mind his presence.
Once she was done, Luna set her basket down to sit cross-legged on the ground.
Severus' hand stopped above the Thestral's neck, and he gave Luna a defeated smile.
"No better luck this week, then?" the blond girl deduced.
"Nothing of the kind."
"Maybe we could try together," she suggested.
Severus seemed doubtful, but Luna was already getting up again. Together, she and Severus walked to another Thestral, but they weren't ten feet from the creature that already it started flapping its wings nervously. Two more steps, and the Thestral, with a desperate whine, ran away into the safety of the woods.
Severus was shaking his head sadly.
Smiling bravely, Luna plunged her hand through his. "You'll get there in the end, Professor, I'm sure you will. You've made friends with one of them already. Sooner or later, the others will have to admit your presence is no threat to them."
When Severus gave no answer, Luna added thoughtfully, "I wonder, though, why Thestrals can't see ghosts when ghosts can see Thestrals?"
1. Please don’t vote for yourself or ask/coerce/blackmail others into voting for you.
2. If you submitted a drabble, you are required to vote.
3. Please vote for a Most and Second Favorite drabble. If you do not vote for both, your vote will not be counted. Comments are screened.
4. Vote for the NUMBER, not the name. For the ease of the mods, please!
5. Don’t forget the prompt: thestrals
IF YOU SUBMITTED A DRABBLE, DO NOT VOTE.
Feel free to comment about a given drabble; we’ll be sending out feedback from now on.
1. Author:
Title: Trustworthy
Word Count: 491
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Severus was standing in a clearing, watching the Thestrals. They had always fascinated him. He saw his first one at seventeen years old. At seventeen he had gained a lot of reasons to see Thestrals in quick succession. Thestrals were dark, and had a bad reputation. They were very clever. They were thin. They were misunderstood. They almost seemed an extension of him.
Severus was too deep in his mind to notice immediately the straggly dirty blond hair and misty eyes of Luna Lovegood. She seemed to float toward him, but the whisper of her feet on the forest floor let Severus know she was walking.
“Hello, Professor Snape,” Luna began. She had a small smile on her face, and appeared far removed from not just the circumstances but the present. She lived in an imaginary world of Crumple Horned Snorkacks, Dirigible Plums, Gurdyroots and Nargles. Not to mention...
“There's a Wrackspurt floating around here. Its tentacles may have reached into our minds already.” Luna began turning in circles, beating the air. She was wearing her school uniform, but the left sleeve of her robes, the left sleeve of her sweater and the left sleeve of her shirt were all missing.
“Errant nonsense,” Severus said quietly. “But Miss Lovegood is involved, so strange things are sure to be revealed.” His tone was lightly mocking. “Are we trying for a new fashion statement? Radish earrings are not enough?” Severus indicated the missing clothing parts with his hand.
“They were separated with a Severing Charm by Michael Corner.” Luna smiled vaguely. “It's all in good fun. I'll have to recover the pieces. You can see Thestrals. Me too. My Mum died with a charm that backfired, when I was nine. She was always one to press boundaries. You are too.” Luna heaved her rucksack off her back and onto the ground and out came what looked like the internal organs of several animals.
“They love delicacies,” Luna informed Severus as the three Thestrals on hand began gorging on the 'delicacies'. Severus was irritated and amused. Luna asked, “Who did you see die?”
“Those deaths that I could not prevent,” Severus said through gritted teeth. Why was he telling Lovegood? But she seemed to invite confidences. “With a few exceptions. There were those...”
“You could have prevented?”
“I believe so. But circumstances change, people change. I have a tricky role. More than that I cannot reveal, even to you.” Severus spoke in a low mutter. “You will find that Thestrals only associate with humans who are trustworthy.”
“I know that,” said Luna serenely. A Thestral was rubbing its bony head against Severus' side.
“Not a word to anyone. Your word.” Severus stated.
“You want to keep people misunderstanding you? All right. Watch out for the Nargles, they infest Oak trees.”
And Luna floated away with awkward grace.
2. Author:
Title: Making Friends
Word Count: 257
Rating: PG
Warnings: None, if you've read the books.
***
Whenever she had a free hour, Luna still liked to visit her old friends the Thestrals. Although many people admitted to seeing them these days, few were those seeking the kind winged creatures' company. Among them was one Severus Snape.
"Good afternoon, Professor," Luna called as she reached the clearing.
"Miss Lovegood, good afternoon," Severus responded in kind.
Luna busied herself for a moment with distributing treats to the creatures while Severus stood next to an old one that didn't seem to mind his presence.
Once she was done, Luna set her basket down to sit cross-legged on the ground.
Severus' hand stopped above the Thestral's neck, and he gave Luna a defeated smile.
"No better luck this week, then?" the blond girl deduced.
"Nothing of the kind."
"Maybe we could try together," she suggested.
Severus seemed doubtful, but Luna was already getting up again. Together, she and Severus walked to another Thestral, but they weren't ten feet from the creature that already it started flapping its wings nervously. Two more steps, and the Thestral, with a desperate whine, ran away into the safety of the woods.
Severus was shaking his head sadly.
Smiling bravely, Luna plunged her hand through his. "You'll get there in the end, Professor, I'm sure you will. You've made friends with one of them already. Sooner or later, the others will have to admit your presence is no threat to them."
When Severus gave no answer, Luna added thoughtfully, "I wonder, though, why Thestrals can't see ghosts when ghosts can see Thestrals?"