Round 4 Challenge #6: Voting
Welcome to week 6 of voting for Round 4 of Dramione LDWS!!
A couple of things to remember when deciding which drabbles to vote for (most and least favorite):
Guidelines:
1. Which drabble best incorporates the prompt?
2. Is the drabble clever, different, fresh? Does it evoke an emotional response (good or bad)?
3. Does the drabble contain grammar, canon or spelling errors?
The “feedback” option.
As a voter, you have the option of leaving a brief statement about why you voted the way you did, for both most and least favorite. Your feedback will then be given to the drabble writer (if they want the feedback) ANONYMOUSLY.
Example: Most - #40: the ending was brilliant - OR - Least - #57: the ending fell flat
Now that all of that is done… We present the drabbles for week 6!!
RULES
[1] Choose your most favorite and least favorite drabbles. Favorites will receive +1 point per vote, and least favorites -1 point per vote. Each drabble’s MF and LF scores will be added together. Drabble with most points wins, drabbles with least TWO points are voted off.
[2] You may NOT vote for yourself.
Voting ends at 11:59pm, Friday, July 24, 2009.
PROMPT:
“I know I am but summer to your heart And not the full four seasons of the year.”
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay ~
1
Title: Enough
Author: little_dollface
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 499
“Granger, you’re rubbish at hiding,” Malfoy said, looking out the window at the night sky.
Panicked, Hermione pushed her back closer to the wall. How had he known she was there watching him? She’d been so careful not to make a sound. She waited for him to approach, but he never came. The corridor bloated with silence as the seconds ticked away.
Her resolve dwindling, she emerged from the shadows. He let out a hushed sigh and tilted his head to the floor. She could see the tension in his shoulders through the material of his robes, and without thinking, reached for him.
“Don’t touch me!” he snarled, grabbing her wrist.
Hermione jumped, startled that she’d unconsciously moved to touch him and strained desperately to get away. “You’re hurting me.” He gave her a hard stare, and when he tightened his grip, she spat, “Haven’t you hurt enough people already?”
He released her arm as if it were on fire, causing her to stumble. “Then get out of here. Go back to your little tower and shag Weasley or something.” He turned to face the darkness once more.
“No,” she said softly. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to say,” he replied, resting his shoulder against the frame of the window.
Hermione approached him again, more carefully this time. Pausing inches away, she sighed. “Please turn around. I need to know.”
Silently, he complied. She gestured hesitantly to his left arm. Keeping his eyes focused on anything but her, he nodded slowly, his jaw clenched. Her hands shook as she slid the fabric up, exposing his skin. In her mind, she knew what would be there, but to see it with her own eyes hurt more than she’d thought possible. She stood in stunned silence, her thumb making the tiniest of circles on his skin as she contemplated what to do.
He jerked his hand away. “I told you there’s nothing to say. Now leave!”
“I can help. You don’t have to do what he wants,” she said, trying to catch his eye. When he finally looked at her, she stifled a gasp. His skin was ashen and the circles under his eyes stood out harshly against his pale complexion. Without hesitation, she reached out to touch his cheek. “I want to help you,” she said, worry and comfort lacing her voice.
He removed her hand, and then startled her by cradling her face. Seconds passed like hours as he pressed his lips delicately to hers. When he broke the kiss, her heart seized and she ached for more.
Resting his forehead against hers, he spoke, “It’s not just you. There are other things, other people, I need to consider.”
Images of his mother floated through her mind. She started speak, to argue that she could help him find a way to protect her too, but he stopped her.
Pressing his thumb to her mouth and dragging it lightly across her lips, he whispered, “It’s not enough.”
2
Title: My Everything
Author: teenage_hustler
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Quite mushy… *blush*
Word Count: 464
“Draco?” Hermione called, entering her flat in eager anticipation. He had Owled her earlier at work, saying that he would be at her house when she got there, and for the past year and a half this meant a blissful and too-infrequent evening in his company.
When Draco didn’t answer her she immediately became concerned. He had never neglected to answer her initial call before, be it verbally or… otherwise.
“Draco?” she called again. Still no answer. Trying to ignore the oncoming wave of panic, she dumped her shoulder bag in the hallway and sprinted to the bedroom. She threw open the door and sighed with relief when she saw the tall, pale form of Draco Malfoy perched on the edge of her bed. But when he looked at her and she saw the tension in his eyes she took the sigh straight back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Draco closed his eyes and breathed in, looking as though he was willing himself to do something he didn’t want to do. Hermione sat next to him and he immediately shifted further away. The hurt in her eyes prompted him into speaking.
“This… this is wrong, Hermione,” he said quietly. “this… thing that we have… it’s over. I’m not doing it anymore.”
Hermione’s eyes widened in surprise. “I… you… what!?” She jumped off the bed in astonishment. “It’s not over! What do you mean it’s over? I don’t think it’s over at all-“
“You don’t love me!” Draco yelled over her. “I know you don’t love me!”
She gaped at him. “What are you-?“
“It was fine before,” Draco interrupted. “It was fine when we started. We were both in a bad place, and we were each other’s… release. But I’ve changed. How I feel… about you… it’s changed.”
Hermione gasped. “What?” she asked, for the fourth time running.
Draco looked over at her. She looked back at him. They stared at each other until Draco looked away.
“I can’t just be your release anymore. I want… more. I want to be your… your… your anger, your… your jealousy, your illness…” He looked over at her again. “Your comfort.” He stood up. “AND your release.”
He stepped closer to her, so she had to tilt her head to look up at him.
“I want to be your everything.”
He started to leave, but Hermione caught his arm.
“You love me?” she asked.
Draco swallowed, and looked at the ground before looking back up at her.
“Yes,” he said. “All right? Yes.”
Hermione, to his surprise, smiled at him. She loosened her grip on his arm and slid her hand down until she found his. As she slowly laced their fingers together he tentatively returned her smile.
“You already are my everything,” she told him.
3
Title: We’ll Always Have That Summer
Author: midnight_birth
Rating:PG-13.
Warnings: Minor angst.
Word Count: 495
Hermione didn’t want to ruin the perfect silence. She wanted to hold her breath, stop time, and stand this still with him forever. She knew it wasn’t the first time she felt this happy. There has been a lot of firsts in her life - her marriage, the birth of her children, the feeling of being promoted to the highest position one could climb. But none of those moments of happiness were like this one, filled with bittersweet, resignation, acceptant abandon.
She felt him staring and looked over. He glanced at his watch and then back up at her face again.
“Midnight,” he said quietly. “It’s over.”
She laughed to herself. “Just for the summer”, they agreed at the beginning of June when they found they couldn’t keep away from each other. With a deadline like that, knowing it wasn’t a fall from grace that was permanent, knowing they could go back to their unspoiled lives once the summer was over, they had an excuse, a justification.
They spent the night at their favourite spot on the hill - they had first kissed there, and the place held a lot of firsts since - staring at the stars in silence, waiting for the clock to count down their last day together.
“Scorpius is excited for his first day of school,” Draco said after a while. Hermione sighed. Brining up their respective families, the lives they put on hold and now had to go back to, brought them sharply both back to reality.
“Rose is too,” she said. She didn’t want it to end this formally, this sharply. She reached out and placed her hand over his and he startled. “Just a couple of more minutes of just us, ok?”
They stared at each other for a long time before he brought their lips together. It was rather tragic that the best summer of their lives had come to an end, doubtfully to be recreated, yet it didn’t feel like that to her, and she knew he felt the same way. They had agreed to this, she was prepared from the start, it was the only way it could happen and it was natural. She found herself unwilling to resist. They put both their lives on hold, just for the summer, bur neither of them was willing to break them completely to pursue what they had, and she knew it was moot to yearn for the future they could have had.
He lay her back on the grass and she allowed herself to forget everything else. It could still be just about the two of them for a few more hours until the sun came up and they went their separate ways. There would be a goodbye, some regret, a lot of sadness, but such a distinct happiness about the fact that it had been would overshadow all that. They would always remember it, treasure it, keep it close to their hearts, and they would always have their summer.
4
Title: Daybreak
Author: bookishwench
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: language, implied sexuality
Word Count: 499
Hermione could see the reddish light of the rising sun staining the ceiling, and she shut her eyes again, willing the darkness to return and knowing it was futile, childish. She was a grown woman. She’d known what she was doing, and no promises had been made because she hadn’t wanted to hear lies.
Beside her, Draco was beginning to stir. His usually perfect hair was ruffled, a patch of pale silver-white against the black silk pillowslip. For a moment he nestled more deeply into the feather mattress, a shadow of her own unwillingness to wake. But slowly, his lashes fluttered open, and he looked into her eyes. There was resignation there.
She glanced away to spare him the awkwardness of getting out of bed under her gaze, and she heard the sound of robes being pulled on, shoes tied. She screwed her eyes firmly shut as the rosy light mellowed to soft yellow while the sun climbed above the horizon. Without opening them, she could sense his presence standing beside her, and when she felt his fingers gently trace the shell of her ear, she steeled herself to look at him again.
“I have to go,” he said.
“I understand,” she said.
“Do you?” he asked, his expression sad. “I’m not sure I do.”
“We can’t be together,” she said as much to herself as to him. “The Ministry would never understand why I’m with you, and your parents would disown you. I never had any illusions that I could be everything to you.”
“Yes,” he said, looking out the window at the sea below. “Of course. It’s for the best.”
A moment passed, then Hermione blurted out, “I don’t regret it.”
His head turned towards her, the ghost of smile on his lips.
“You don’t?”
“No,” she said defiantly.
“Then neither do I,” he said sitting beside her and drawing her into his arms, resting his chin atop her head. “A man would have to be a fool to regret…”
He stopped short, saying nothing more. Gingerly, she broke the embrace, and he pushed an unruly curl behind her ear as he stood once more.
“I’d better leave now,” he said. “I…”
But he stopped himself again, shaking his head, and quickly left.
The moment the door clicked shut, Hermione twisted into a miserable ball, shuddering with the loss of him so close after finally having him. She felt utterly alone.
“Sod them.”
Apparently not quite alone. She sat bolt upright to find Draco standing not two feet from her.
“What?” she said.
“Sod them. Sod the Ministry, sod my parents, and sod the whole bloody world! For the first time in your life, you’re wrong. You are everything to me, and to hell with the rest of them,” he said fiercely.
Hermione was speechless.
“Unless you don’t feel the same?” he added, suddenly looking terrified.
She shot out of bed, launching herself into his arms, where she intended to stay for the rest of her life.
5
Title: Last Minutes of Paradise
Author: __vintagebomb
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 497
She determined that this had to be one of the most awkward moments of her life. The portkey was set to activate in five minutes, and she could do nothing but stare at her feet or the empty bottle of suntan oil while she felt his penetrating gaze. Her brows were furrowed, and she gnawed on her bottom lip.
She knew she should say some sort of goodbye, but what exactly was she supposed to say to someone she'd hated all their life but randomly shagged all month long on a tropical island? Should she even utter anything? It's not as if they were even in a - Merlin forbid - a relationship. They hated each other - or, at least, last time she checked they did.
Now... she wasn't so sure. She had to admit to herself that this had been the best month of her life. Despite the initial irritation upon finding Malfoy on holiday at the same island, she couldn't imagine what it would have been like if she hadn't stumbled upon him lounging on a hammock between two coconut trees.
She was so confused. What was supposed to happen when they got back to England? Was he going to turn back into a git? Was she supposed to act like nothing happened between them? The thought of going back to normal should be bringing her joy and definitely not twisting up her insides. What was wrong with her? Sure she was attracted to him, but it's not as if she liked him that way.
Well, maybe she did. But only a little. Except when he had always pulled her close just as they dozed off at night and buried his face in her hair. Or when she would wake up in the morning after he had rained kisses all over her face. She begrudgingly admitted that she liked him then more than just a little.
Hermione frowned. It's not like her feelings made a difference. She was convinced that she was going to end up as another one of his conquests. She felt her heart sink upon the realization that she wanted this to be more than a summer fling.
She checked the watch on her wrist. Two minutes until she would leave this all behind.
"I reckon I'll see you at work tomorrow?"
Hermione finally caught his gaze. "Sure," she weakly replied. She felt her throat tighten. She was right. They were going to resume as if nothing happened.
He lifted an eyebrow. "Should I pick you up afterwards at seven at your flat?"
"Why?" she asked puzzled.
"Did you really think we're going to end this here? Like it or not, you’re stuck with me far longer than summer, Granger."
Smirking, he picked up the empty bottle on the sand and closed the space between them. He felt a smile tug on her lips as his mouth crashed onto hers just before they both felt a familiar tug behind their navels.
6
Title: Easy Love
Author: nightfalltwen
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nothing explicit.
Word Count: 499
It's easiest to fall back in love with Draco in the summer months. Hermione maintains it has something to do with the extra vitamin D and ultraviolet light exposure. Winter hangs heavy on her mind and in her heart most years. In the fall she's cross with him and in the spring she is starting to see his good qualities again. The summer? The summer is the easiest.
They vanish from England, dipping their toes in the cultures of new lands. Testing the water and challenging themselves to learn. The papers speculate. Have they eloped? Secret love child? There was that spectacular story involving a Centaur and a Grecian urn, but no one could ever find hard evidence so the papers retracted it.
She feeds him kimchi in Seoul and chuckles when his face turns red. Their kisses burn in more ways than one.
They try their hand at Kabuki while tucked away in the Akaishi Mountains of Japan.
Hermione finds his facial expressions ticklishly hilarious. Draco says he'd rather see her out of her kimono than in.
It always ends the same way. They can only handle each other in small amounts. Two months is usually their limit. Which is why it's always summer. They end up fighting at the end. Angry for something. She's burnt the toast or he forgets to pick up his socks (there are no house elves in these parts). Something small and stupid closes off their hearts. I never want to see you again. This was a waste of my time. You're an awful person.
They never say: I hate you.
But like the leaves, it all goes brown and dies. Or goes dormant.
The winter is always cold. Cold hands, warm heart. Or cold heart and warm hands. Hermione can never remember. All she knows is she's cross with him. Wondering why she even bothered. They always say such hurtful things. But springtime comes and maybe he's not so bad. Maybe it's different now. Maybe she loves him.
Summer comes again and this time they travel to Africa. Maasai warriors sing to one another. In different ways Hermione and Draco sing between themselves. There is dancing. It becomes part of their pulsing heartbeats. They love it. They spend nights with the rhythm and learn a few different beats of their own along the way. Hermione wraps herself in colourful cloth and phrases, displaying them on her hips. Kangas have never been more attractive. Draco asks if she'll go topless. Hermione swats at him.
Then whispers that she will.
They love each other in the summertime. It's warm and delicious and easiest for them. They travel abroad to paint new canvasses of their lives. It's a cycle, an endless beginning, middle and end. Neither one of them seem to mind because even though it ends in the fall, it will always start again in the summer when their hearts are ready for each other.
When it’s the best time to fall in love.
7
Title: Their Time
Author: ayane_tsurugi
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 100
Their relationship existed most passionately in Summer.
Fall, Winter, and Spring, they were different people, lost in the depths of their work on opposite sides of the country. She was the Ministry’s most valuable Unspeakable; he was the new and attractive Potions Master for Hogwarts. Other than a too-brief two-week holiday for Christmas and a smattering of too-short owls, it was as though they weren’t together at all.
Summer, however, was their time. Time to want and love and be the together that they dreamed of the whole year round. He was hers, she was his, and they were happy.
ooo.OOOOOO.ooo
REMEMBER: Vote for the NUMBER of the drabble, NOT THE NAME. It just makes it easier on the mods!
Poll
A couple of things to remember when deciding which drabbles to vote for (most and least favorite):
Guidelines:
The “feedback” option.
As a voter, you have the option of leaving a brief statement about why you voted the way you did, for both most and least favorite. Your feedback will then be given to the drabble writer (if they want the feedback) ANONYMOUSLY.
Example: Most - #40: the ending was brilliant - OR - Least - #57: the ending fell flat
Now that all of that is done… We present the drabbles for week 6!!
RULES
[1] Choose your most favorite and least favorite drabbles. Favorites will receive +1 point per vote, and least favorites -1 point per vote. Each drabble’s MF and LF scores will be added together. Drabble with most points wins, drabbles with least TWO points are voted off.
[2] You may NOT vote for yourself.
Voting ends at 11:59pm, Friday, July 24, 2009.
PROMPT:
“I know I am but summer to your heart And not the full four seasons of the year.”
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay ~
1
Title: Enough
Author: little_dollface
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 499
“Granger, you’re rubbish at hiding,” Malfoy said, looking out the window at the night sky.
Panicked, Hermione pushed her back closer to the wall. How had he known she was there watching him? She’d been so careful not to make a sound. She waited for him to approach, but he never came. The corridor bloated with silence as the seconds ticked away.
Her resolve dwindling, she emerged from the shadows. He let out a hushed sigh and tilted his head to the floor. She could see the tension in his shoulders through the material of his robes, and without thinking, reached for him.
“Don’t touch me!” he snarled, grabbing her wrist.
Hermione jumped, startled that she’d unconsciously moved to touch him and strained desperately to get away. “You’re hurting me.” He gave her a hard stare, and when he tightened his grip, she spat, “Haven’t you hurt enough people already?”
He released her arm as if it were on fire, causing her to stumble. “Then get out of here. Go back to your little tower and shag Weasley or something.” He turned to face the darkness once more.
“No,” she said softly. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to say,” he replied, resting his shoulder against the frame of the window.
Hermione approached him again, more carefully this time. Pausing inches away, she sighed. “Please turn around. I need to know.”
Silently, he complied. She gestured hesitantly to his left arm. Keeping his eyes focused on anything but her, he nodded slowly, his jaw clenched. Her hands shook as she slid the fabric up, exposing his skin. In her mind, she knew what would be there, but to see it with her own eyes hurt more than she’d thought possible. She stood in stunned silence, her thumb making the tiniest of circles on his skin as she contemplated what to do.
He jerked his hand away. “I told you there’s nothing to say. Now leave!”
“I can help. You don’t have to do what he wants,” she said, trying to catch his eye. When he finally looked at her, she stifled a gasp. His skin was ashen and the circles under his eyes stood out harshly against his pale complexion. Without hesitation, she reached out to touch his cheek. “I want to help you,” she said, worry and comfort lacing her voice.
He removed her hand, and then startled her by cradling her face. Seconds passed like hours as he pressed his lips delicately to hers. When he broke the kiss, her heart seized and she ached for more.
Resting his forehead against hers, he spoke, “It’s not just you. There are other things, other people, I need to consider.”
Images of his mother floated through her mind. She started speak, to argue that she could help him find a way to protect her too, but he stopped her.
Pressing his thumb to her mouth and dragging it lightly across her lips, he whispered, “It’s not enough.”
2
Title: My Everything
Author: teenage_hustler
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Quite mushy… *blush*
Word Count: 464
“Draco?” Hermione called, entering her flat in eager anticipation. He had Owled her earlier at work, saying that he would be at her house when she got there, and for the past year and a half this meant a blissful and too-infrequent evening in his company.
When Draco didn’t answer her she immediately became concerned. He had never neglected to answer her initial call before, be it verbally or… otherwise.
“Draco?” she called again. Still no answer. Trying to ignore the oncoming wave of panic, she dumped her shoulder bag in the hallway and sprinted to the bedroom. She threw open the door and sighed with relief when she saw the tall, pale form of Draco Malfoy perched on the edge of her bed. But when he looked at her and she saw the tension in his eyes she took the sigh straight back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Draco closed his eyes and breathed in, looking as though he was willing himself to do something he didn’t want to do. Hermione sat next to him and he immediately shifted further away. The hurt in her eyes prompted him into speaking.
“This… this is wrong, Hermione,” he said quietly. “this… thing that we have… it’s over. I’m not doing it anymore.”
Hermione’s eyes widened in surprise. “I… you… what!?” She jumped off the bed in astonishment. “It’s not over! What do you mean it’s over? I don’t think it’s over at all-“
“You don’t love me!” Draco yelled over her. “I know you don’t love me!”
She gaped at him. “What are you-?“
“It was fine before,” Draco interrupted. “It was fine when we started. We were both in a bad place, and we were each other’s… release. But I’ve changed. How I feel… about you… it’s changed.”
Hermione gasped. “What?” she asked, for the fourth time running.
Draco looked over at her. She looked back at him. They stared at each other until Draco looked away.
“I can’t just be your release anymore. I want… more. I want to be your… your… your anger, your… your jealousy, your illness…” He looked over at her again. “Your comfort.” He stood up. “AND your release.”
He stepped closer to her, so she had to tilt her head to look up at him.
“I want to be your everything.”
He started to leave, but Hermione caught his arm.
“You love me?” she asked.
Draco swallowed, and looked at the ground before looking back up at her.
“Yes,” he said. “All right? Yes.”
Hermione, to his surprise, smiled at him. She loosened her grip on his arm and slid her hand down until she found his. As she slowly laced their fingers together he tentatively returned her smile.
“You already are my everything,” she told him.
3
Title: We’ll Always Have That Summer
Author: midnight_birth
Rating:PG-13.
Warnings: Minor angst.
Word Count: 495
Hermione didn’t want to ruin the perfect silence. She wanted to hold her breath, stop time, and stand this still with him forever. She knew it wasn’t the first time she felt this happy. There has been a lot of firsts in her life - her marriage, the birth of her children, the feeling of being promoted to the highest position one could climb. But none of those moments of happiness were like this one, filled with bittersweet, resignation, acceptant abandon.
She felt him staring and looked over. He glanced at his watch and then back up at her face again.
“Midnight,” he said quietly. “It’s over.”
She laughed to herself. “Just for the summer”, they agreed at the beginning of June when they found they couldn’t keep away from each other. With a deadline like that, knowing it wasn’t a fall from grace that was permanent, knowing they could go back to their unspoiled lives once the summer was over, they had an excuse, a justification.
They spent the night at their favourite spot on the hill - they had first kissed there, and the place held a lot of firsts since - staring at the stars in silence, waiting for the clock to count down their last day together.
“Scorpius is excited for his first day of school,” Draco said after a while. Hermione sighed. Brining up their respective families, the lives they put on hold and now had to go back to, brought them sharply both back to reality.
“Rose is too,” she said. She didn’t want it to end this formally, this sharply. She reached out and placed her hand over his and he startled. “Just a couple of more minutes of just us, ok?”
They stared at each other for a long time before he brought their lips together. It was rather tragic that the best summer of their lives had come to an end, doubtfully to be recreated, yet it didn’t feel like that to her, and she knew he felt the same way. They had agreed to this, she was prepared from the start, it was the only way it could happen and it was natural. She found herself unwilling to resist. They put both their lives on hold, just for the summer, bur neither of them was willing to break them completely to pursue what they had, and she knew it was moot to yearn for the future they could have had.
He lay her back on the grass and she allowed herself to forget everything else. It could still be just about the two of them for a few more hours until the sun came up and they went their separate ways. There would be a goodbye, some regret, a lot of sadness, but such a distinct happiness about the fact that it had been would overshadow all that. They would always remember it, treasure it, keep it close to their hearts, and they would always have their summer.
4
Title: Daybreak
Author: bookishwench
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: language, implied sexuality
Word Count: 499
Hermione could see the reddish light of the rising sun staining the ceiling, and she shut her eyes again, willing the darkness to return and knowing it was futile, childish. She was a grown woman. She’d known what she was doing, and no promises had been made because she hadn’t wanted to hear lies.
Beside her, Draco was beginning to stir. His usually perfect hair was ruffled, a patch of pale silver-white against the black silk pillowslip. For a moment he nestled more deeply into the feather mattress, a shadow of her own unwillingness to wake. But slowly, his lashes fluttered open, and he looked into her eyes. There was resignation there.
She glanced away to spare him the awkwardness of getting out of bed under her gaze, and she heard the sound of robes being pulled on, shoes tied. She screwed her eyes firmly shut as the rosy light mellowed to soft yellow while the sun climbed above the horizon. Without opening them, she could sense his presence standing beside her, and when she felt his fingers gently trace the shell of her ear, she steeled herself to look at him again.
“I have to go,” he said.
“I understand,” she said.
“Do you?” he asked, his expression sad. “I’m not sure I do.”
“We can’t be together,” she said as much to herself as to him. “The Ministry would never understand why I’m with you, and your parents would disown you. I never had any illusions that I could be everything to you.”
“Yes,” he said, looking out the window at the sea below. “Of course. It’s for the best.”
A moment passed, then Hermione blurted out, “I don’t regret it.”
His head turned towards her, the ghost of smile on his lips.
“You don’t?”
“No,” she said defiantly.
“Then neither do I,” he said sitting beside her and drawing her into his arms, resting his chin atop her head. “A man would have to be a fool to regret…”
He stopped short, saying nothing more. Gingerly, she broke the embrace, and he pushed an unruly curl behind her ear as he stood once more.
“I’d better leave now,” he said. “I…”
But he stopped himself again, shaking his head, and quickly left.
The moment the door clicked shut, Hermione twisted into a miserable ball, shuddering with the loss of him so close after finally having him. She felt utterly alone.
“Sod them.”
Apparently not quite alone. She sat bolt upright to find Draco standing not two feet from her.
“What?” she said.
“Sod them. Sod the Ministry, sod my parents, and sod the whole bloody world! For the first time in your life, you’re wrong. You are everything to me, and to hell with the rest of them,” he said fiercely.
Hermione was speechless.
“Unless you don’t feel the same?” he added, suddenly looking terrified.
She shot out of bed, launching herself into his arms, where she intended to stay for the rest of her life.
5
Title: Last Minutes of Paradise
Author: __vintagebomb
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 497
She determined that this had to be one of the most awkward moments of her life. The portkey was set to activate in five minutes, and she could do nothing but stare at her feet or the empty bottle of suntan oil while she felt his penetrating gaze. Her brows were furrowed, and she gnawed on her bottom lip.
She knew she should say some sort of goodbye, but what exactly was she supposed to say to someone she'd hated all their life but randomly shagged all month long on a tropical island? Should she even utter anything? It's not as if they were even in a - Merlin forbid - a relationship. They hated each other - or, at least, last time she checked they did.
Now... she wasn't so sure. She had to admit to herself that this had been the best month of her life. Despite the initial irritation upon finding Malfoy on holiday at the same island, she couldn't imagine what it would have been like if she hadn't stumbled upon him lounging on a hammock between two coconut trees.
She was so confused. What was supposed to happen when they got back to England? Was he going to turn back into a git? Was she supposed to act like nothing happened between them? The thought of going back to normal should be bringing her joy and definitely not twisting up her insides. What was wrong with her? Sure she was attracted to him, but it's not as if she liked him that way.
Well, maybe she did. But only a little. Except when he had always pulled her close just as they dozed off at night and buried his face in her hair. Or when she would wake up in the morning after he had rained kisses all over her face. She begrudgingly admitted that she liked him then more than just a little.
Hermione frowned. It's not like her feelings made a difference. She was convinced that she was going to end up as another one of his conquests. She felt her heart sink upon the realization that she wanted this to be more than a summer fling.
She checked the watch on her wrist. Two minutes until she would leave this all behind.
"I reckon I'll see you at work tomorrow?"
Hermione finally caught his gaze. "Sure," she weakly replied. She felt her throat tighten. She was right. They were going to resume as if nothing happened.
He lifted an eyebrow. "Should I pick you up afterwards at seven at your flat?"
"Why?" she asked puzzled.
"Did you really think we're going to end this here? Like it or not, you’re stuck with me far longer than summer, Granger."
Smirking, he picked up the empty bottle on the sand and closed the space between them. He felt a smile tug on her lips as his mouth crashed onto hers just before they both felt a familiar tug behind their navels.
6
Title: Easy Love
Author: nightfalltwen
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nothing explicit.
Word Count: 499
It's easiest to fall back in love with Draco in the summer months. Hermione maintains it has something to do with the extra vitamin D and ultraviolet light exposure. Winter hangs heavy on her mind and in her heart most years. In the fall she's cross with him and in the spring she is starting to see his good qualities again. The summer? The summer is the easiest.
They vanish from England, dipping their toes in the cultures of new lands. Testing the water and challenging themselves to learn. The papers speculate. Have they eloped? Secret love child? There was that spectacular story involving a Centaur and a Grecian urn, but no one could ever find hard evidence so the papers retracted it.
She feeds him kimchi in Seoul and chuckles when his face turns red. Their kisses burn in more ways than one.
They try their hand at Kabuki while tucked away in the Akaishi Mountains of Japan.
Hermione finds his facial expressions ticklishly hilarious. Draco says he'd rather see her out of her kimono than in.
It always ends the same way. They can only handle each other in small amounts. Two months is usually their limit. Which is why it's always summer. They end up fighting at the end. Angry for something. She's burnt the toast or he forgets to pick up his socks (there are no house elves in these parts). Something small and stupid closes off their hearts. I never want to see you again. This was a waste of my time. You're an awful person.
They never say: I hate you.
But like the leaves, it all goes brown and dies. Or goes dormant.
The winter is always cold. Cold hands, warm heart. Or cold heart and warm hands. Hermione can never remember. All she knows is she's cross with him. Wondering why she even bothered. They always say such hurtful things. But springtime comes and maybe he's not so bad. Maybe it's different now. Maybe she loves him.
Summer comes again and this time they travel to Africa. Maasai warriors sing to one another. In different ways Hermione and Draco sing between themselves. There is dancing. It becomes part of their pulsing heartbeats. They love it. They spend nights with the rhythm and learn a few different beats of their own along the way. Hermione wraps herself in colourful cloth and phrases, displaying them on her hips. Kangas have never been more attractive. Draco asks if she'll go topless. Hermione swats at him.
Then whispers that she will.
They love each other in the summertime. It's warm and delicious and easiest for them. They travel abroad to paint new canvasses of their lives. It's a cycle, an endless beginning, middle and end. Neither one of them seem to mind because even though it ends in the fall, it will always start again in the summer when their hearts are ready for each other.
When it’s the best time to fall in love.
7
Title: Their Time
Author: ayane_tsurugi
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 100
Their relationship existed most passionately in Summer.
Fall, Winter, and Spring, they were different people, lost in the depths of their work on opposite sides of the country. She was the Ministry’s most valuable Unspeakable; he was the new and attractive Potions Master for Hogwarts. Other than a too-brief two-week holiday for Christmas and a smattering of too-short owls, it was as though they weren’t together at all.
Summer, however, was their time. Time to want and love and be the together that they dreamed of the whole year round. He was hers, she was his, and they were happy.
ooo.OOOOOO.ooo
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