Round 1 Challenge 8 Drabbles and Voting
Behind the cut are the drabbles for the finale. Please vote for your FAVOURITE drabble in a comment to this entry (will be screened). Voting is closed!
This week’s challenge was a Prompt-A-Thon. At least three of the following five prompts had to be used in the drabble: Mr.Ollivander, Hogwarts A History, Amortentia, Kneazle and Sorting Hat
1
Title: Follow the Signs
Author: hotarus_sister
Rating: PG
Word Count: 712
A/N(optional): none
"I can't believe you broke my wand," Hermione grumbled, carefully stepping over an exposed root.
"Oi! I broke mine too!" Fred shot back, gripping her elbow to steady her as she stumbled.
"That just makes it worse. I'm gonna have to learn how to do wandless Apparation if I keep agreeing to go places with you."
"Will you?” he asked, glancing at her quickly. “Keep going with me, that is."
She sighed. "Maybe. If we survive and make it back."
"Aw, we'll be fine."
"We're just lucky we have Crookshanks." She paused to lean against a tree, the aforementioned feline retreating to rub against her ankles.
"Remind me why we're following the cat again?"
"Because kneazles have been known to guide their owners home, and he's half kneazle."
"So if we're lucky, he'll lead us halfway home." Fred knelt to pet the cat, smiling as Crookshanks scratched his ears against his knuckles.
"They're also supposed to be excellent judges of character."
Crookshanks began to purr lightly.
"Going by that as a baseline, he'll be an excellent navigator." Fred gloated. Hermione couldn't fight back her smile.
"We should keep moving," she told him with a groan, pushing away from the tree.
They traveled through the woods slowly, their progress hindered by the dense underbrush and the gnarled roots that seemed to rise up to trip them. Gradually the sun began to set on the horizon.
"We should stop," Hermione finally admitted as she clambered up an incline in the dark.
"Is that safe?" Fred questioned, grabbing her hand to hoist her up.
She frowned with concern. "Crookshanks will protect us."
Fred snickered, surprised by her ability to keep a straight face after making such a comment. "Are kneazles known to do that as well?"
"No," she admitted. "Just trying to make things look more positive."
"We'll be fine." He settled at the base of a large tree and beckoned her over. When she was close enough, he pulled her down to rest against him.
"What are you doing?" she protested, pulling away.
"It's gonna get cold," he reminded her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her flush against his chest. Once she relaxed against him, he patted her leg, calling Crookshanks over to rest on her lap. "That should keep you warm."
"And what about you?"
He nuzzled his face against her neck playfully, tugging at her hair. "Your soft mane will make a fine blanket."
Hermione snorted. "It's hardly soft."
"I think it is." He rest his cheek on the crown of her head. "Smells good too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Reminds me of this potion I saw once."
"How flattering."
"No, it was a nice potion. Can't remember what it was, but it was kind of pretty and shiny."
"Shiny? Do you remember anything else?"
"Uh... Yeah! The steam was like spirals. I'd never seen that before."
Hermione jerked back, staring at him coolly. "Are you having me on?"
"What?"
"You can't tell me that I remind you of Amortentia."
He shrugged. "I guess so. What is it?"
"It's a love potion, Fred."
Fred looked scandalized. "Hermione! I never knew! Honestly, soaking your hair in love potion? You should gave told me you were desperate for some lovin’."
"No." She shook her head in frustration. "It's not like that. Amortentia is the most powerful love potion, and its smell is unique to each person. It smells like..." She faltered, staring down at Crookshanks. "Like the person you're in love with."
"Oh." He shifted awkwardly.
Silence.
"Yeah."
They both ignored each other pointedly before Hermione's curiosity got the best of her.
"May I ask you something?"
"Suppose so."
"When did you see, or rather smell, Amortentia?"
He smiled awkwardly. "Right after George and I left Hogwarts, we visited a potions master in Wales."
"But, that was three years ago."
"Mmhmm."
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
Fred shrugged. "Didn't think you'd be interested."
She smiled gently. "I wish you would have told me. You wasted a lot of time."
He smiled back. "Looks that way. So, what do we do now? Have a kip when we get back, then go out somewhere?"
"Of course."
Fred grinned. "Where'd you have in mind?"
"Ollivander’s," she said with a smirk. "You owe me a new wand."
2
Title: Gone
Author: drcjsnider
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 685
A/N(optional): none
Hermione was awash with conflicting emotions as she crawled into bed for the evening. When she’d taken her son to Diagon Alley to purchase his first school supplies, she’d been almost as excited as him. They’d bought new robes, selected an owl, and picked up all the school books he’d need for the year. Although he’d protested when she’d slipped a copy of Hogwarts: A History into his bag, he’d stopped complaining after seeing his parents’ names in the chapter on the Battle of Hogwarts.
They hadn’t been able to return home without a stop at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, where to Hermione’s horror, George had insisted on giving his nephew a bag full of products destined to land the lad in detention. Now in addition to worrying that her son might not make friends or do well in his classes, Hermione would have to worry about him getting expelled from the only school of magic in Britain.
With a soft sigh she cuddled deeper into the blankets on her bed. Freddie’s enthusiasm about leaving for Hogwarts had finally given way to anxiety as Hermione had kissed him good-night. “What if I don’t get sorted into Gryffindor, Mum?” he asked.
“Then the Sorting Hat will put you into a House better suited to your temperament.”
“What makes you think my temperament isn’t suited to Gryffindor?” he demanded, sounding partly frustrated and partly scared.
She had smiled in response. “Keep that attitude and you’ll end up in Slytherin.”
“Mum! Don’t even joke about it,” he’d exclaimed in horror. “Do you… do you think Dad would be disappointed if I don’t end up in Gryffindor?”
“Never,” Hermione had told him truthfully. “Your father would see whichever House you got sorted into as an opportunity to prank an entire new variety of wizards.”
Freddie had settled down at that thought and soon after fallen asleep. Hermione wished she could do the same. She was having second thoughts about not purchasing her son a wand. Although Mr. Ollivander’s wand shop had been closed for over a decade, she could have easily gone to Braintree’s, the new wand maker in London, and gotten a wand particularly well suited to her son. Freddie had insisted, however, that he wanted to take his Dad’s wand to Hogwarts.
Hermione shivered at the memory of how she’d ended up with the wand. Molly had wanted to bury it with Fred; she had demanded that Arthur snap it two and place it in the casket. It was George who had stopped her - George who had informed his entire family that the wand should go to his twin’s child. Hermione had collapsed at his words. She and Fred had vowed not to tell anyone about the pregnancy until after the Battle of Hogwarts. They wanted to have time to explain to everyone how they’d managed to fall in love in the midst of a war. Their plans, however, had been demolished and Hermione had been left alone. Somehow George had known and he had taken the burden of informing his family from her shoulders, allowing her to grieve freely for the first time since Fred’s death.
It had been a dozen years since Fred’s passing, but Hermione still felt the loss deeply - she still recalled the touch of his hands and the feel of lips on her body. Hermione had poured her love for Fred into their son and was now worried that emptiness might consume her once the boy went to school.
As Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a sensation of tranquility swept over her. It was the same sensation that she had experienced numerous times since Fred’s death. She liked to pretend that the calm was Fred’s spirit trying to assure her that everything would work out. She knew this idea was crazy. Obviously if Fred’s spirit did visit, it would be rowdy and amusing, rather than peaceful. Nevertheless, the serenity she felt during these times always convinced her that in her next adventure, Fred would be by her side.
And with that comforting thought, Hermione drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Voting will end Saturday (22. November) at 11.59pm (EDT, New York). Our two finalists, (hotarus_sister and drcjsnider) are, of course, exempt from voting.