"the tea drabble 2" by gingerbred
Sometime post Battle of Hogwarts. Severus and Hermione get closer over a mug of tea. A short ginger!Drabble.
Originally Published: 2019-06-23 on LJ / DW
The Drabble to a flocked entry in toblass's journal from 2019-05-28
Words: 1250, complete, but there are related one shots
Prompt: Toblass and I were chatting Lego, as we do, and doll that she is, she made me the lovely pic below with the following prompt: "Miss Granger...while I do appreciate your Transfiguration skills, I fail to see how pink is any improvement. Kindly return this ghastly mug to its proper state."
Then we got to talking about her drawing of Severus and Hermione ('Tea and Toast' on AO3), and the second pic was the result. (I made a slight mod of her work.) This sort-of-longish-Drabble / short-ginger!Drabble is for her. ❤️
This picks up from 'the tea drabble 1' ( LJ / DW).
It's followed by 'the tea drabble 3' ( LJ / DW).
Characters: Severus, Hermione, Unikitty (don't ask)
It's just his luck, then, that they get their wands and words crossed and what she does next takes him even more by surprise.
[After a brief interlude...]
"When you mentioned deflowering, this wasn't quite what I thought you had in mind." Severus grumbles under his breath as he stares at his teacup, now mug shaped and rendered a most unholy fuchsia.
More loudly, he addresses the supremely self-satisfied witch, "While I have the utmost respect for your Transfiguration capabilities..."
"The 'utmost'?" Hermione smirks.
"Fine. I find them passable, but it seemed injudicious to phrase it as such..." he allows. Hermione simply laughs, cheerily optimistic as to why it might be 'injudicious', and Severus has to wonder just when she ceased to be the least bit intimidated by him. But upon reflection, that's preferable, surely? It's merely... unaccustomed.
It will take some getting used to.
He suspects the warmth of her smile will likely help facilitate that, much like the pleasant sound of her laugh... (He most emphatically eschews the word 'tinkle' - in this as in other contexts, in which he prefers 'slash', 'ring' or 'tintinnabulate', depending.) Already, he finds himself not particularly minding the longer she stands there. No, her ease around him is not something he'd need to grow accustomed to, it's something he wishes to become used to. And more to the point, he'd rather like to have the opportunity to do so.
"Without wishing to denigrate your... passable Transfiguration talents," he drawls and once again Hermione simply laughs that light, clear ringing... Hmm. Not tinkling, no. That uninhibited, thoroughly uncowed laugh of hers, which he's coming to enjoy more and more...
... and he nearly loses the thread.
He scowls. It lacks all conviction, completely ruining the effect, and she grins a bit wildly at the sight. "I fail to see how pink is any improvement. Kindly return this ghastly mug to its proper state."
Unikitty, another hybrid creature of Hagrid's (doubtless in violation of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, but then that's nothing new) had escaped from Hagrid's pens days ago. The inhabitants of the castle are well aware. This, too, is nothing new. Creature on the loose? It must be Tuesday.
Said creature chooses this moment to stroll past and not so respectfully or helpfully, proceeds to suggest Hermione simply add flowers to the thrice damned thing, which she, so obligingly, does.
Females.
Severus stares at his hot pink and now flowered mug with even more dissatisfaction. "Hardly what I'd call an improvement." The flowers were conceivably the one aspect of his teacup he'd have readily been willing to do without. It's surpassed 'ghastly' and gone straight for 'abomination'.
Hermione follows with a flick and a swish that returns his saucer. As it doesn't even fit properly under the mug, it earns her 'the raised brow', particularly when he has to hasten to pluck it out of the air to keep it from crashing to the ground. Smirking, she Transfigures the mug back into its original teacup form. The colour, most stubbornly, persists. "The fuchsia, Miss Granger. The fuchsia." Which not-so-coincidentally are precisely the flowers she'd magicked onto his cup. The colour had served as inspiration.
"Funny you should mention them. At the risk of being obvious, I was going suggest 'deflowering' again, Severus," her emphasis is heavy, and his stomach seems to drop at the sound. It's even more pleasant than her laugh, and he half suspects he's eager for her to repeat it. "Except my point seems to have escaped you the last time. Utterly."
He has to swallow before he's able to speak. It proves unusually difficult. "I don't believe that it had, there were simply some reservations in need of... addressing. And when you referred to my 'hang ups', Hermione, I also in no way envisioned I'd soon be stood here with a hook in my head."
"It's more of a bail," she corrects with an impudent grin. He mumbles something she decides sounds like 'sufferable know-it-all' and she gives him an encouraging smile. "How nice to think we might be in agreement."
"Any chance I could persuade you to do something about it?" He asks with a sigh as he runs a hand over his head.
"Why, Severus... Nothing would please me more than to free you of your hang ups." He blinks, surprised by her sudden proximity. "Except possibly deflowering you," she amends with a breathy chuckle in his ear as she addresses the problem.
"There," she says as the silver bail disappears. "That's one thing off your mind."
They stand there in silence for a moment and then she appears to make a decision. With a last flick of her wand, a bit tentatively she Transfigures his cup once more. Even Severus can sense it's a test. Looking from his hot pink mug, now emblazoned rather provocatively with the word 'Git', to her hopeful smile, he passes with flying colours as he tells her, "I think you've grown entirely too cheeky, but I believe I have just the thing for it," and carefully takes her hand. "Just by chance, it so happens that I have a matching mug for you back at mine." Her smile grows impossibly wide at 'mine', and possibly hungry, if Severus had to put a name to it.
"In Slytherin green," he drawls, endeavouring not to allow the effect her smile is having on him to become audible. "Naturally it proclaims 'Swot'."
She laughs. "In sparkling silver lettering, I presume? All shiny and..." Her fingers flutter briefly, miming a shower of fireworks sparks.
Silver, yes, sparkling... not so much. It had been a gift from Draco after Potter had dragged him round some Muggle tourist attractions. The Malfoy heir had been completely enthralled with the breadth and variety of gift personalisation available to Muggles as souvenirs. Potter had reliably assured Severus he could count himself lucky he wasn't stood there with dozens of personalised pants instead. Severus had shuddered at thought, both because it was far too believable an assertion, and that Potter - against all odds - should somehow have become a good influence.
"Anything else and I'll be sorely disappointed..." Hermione bats her eyes playfully, having no idea whatsoever that this isn't meant to be a transparent wizard's ruse and the mug isn't something he plans to Transfigure on the spot.
"I'll see what I can do..." Severus sounds a little uncertain. There must be a Spell for that, surely... But Hermione's back to nibbling her lip, rather hoping she'll come to see rather a lot of just 'what' he can do, and given the warmth of her gaze, any remaining doubts of his are fleeting.
"Would you care to discuss a... suitable arrangement for access to the aforementioned mug back in quarters?"
"Oh, would I ever! I'd be delighted!" Her smile never wavers as she begins tugging him towards the dungeons, as if he couldn't find the way on his own. But then with the slightly dazed way he feels just at the moment, perhaps he couldn't.
Still trailing the pink mug in hand, there's no more hesitation left in him as he follows most willingly behind her. Quite tamely, in fact, as the portraits later agree.
This continues in 'the tea drabble 3' ( LJ / DW).
Things you may have missed and that just might enrich your lives...
(I'm a simple creature, there's little point in denying it. *nods* 😉) Thanks to mywitch and toblass, respectively, for the links.
Originally Published: 2019-06-23 on LJ / DW
The Drabble to a flocked entry in toblass's journal from 2019-05-28
Words: 1250, complete, but there are related one shots
Prompt: Toblass and I were chatting Lego, as we do, and doll that she is, she made me the lovely pic below with the following prompt: "Miss Granger...while I do appreciate your Transfiguration skills, I fail to see how pink is any improvement. Kindly return this ghastly mug to its proper state."
Then we got to talking about her drawing of Severus and Hermione ('Tea and Toast' on AO3), and the second pic was the result. (I made a slight mod of her work.) This sort-of-longish-Drabble / short-ginger!Drabble is for her. ❤️
This picks up from 'the tea drabble 1' ( LJ / DW).
It's followed by 'the tea drabble 3' ( LJ / DW).
Characters: Severus, Hermione, Unikitty (don't ask)
It's just his luck, then, that they get their wands and words crossed and what she does next takes him even more by surprise.
[After a brief interlude...]
"When you mentioned deflowering, this wasn't quite what I thought you had in mind." Severus grumbles under his breath as he stares at his teacup, now mug shaped and rendered a most unholy fuchsia.
More loudly, he addresses the supremely self-satisfied witch, "While I have the utmost respect for your Transfiguration capabilities..."
"The 'utmost'?" Hermione smirks.
"Fine. I find them passable, but it seemed injudicious to phrase it as such..." he allows. Hermione simply laughs, cheerily optimistic as to why it might be 'injudicious', and Severus has to wonder just when she ceased to be the least bit intimidated by him. But upon reflection, that's preferable, surely? It's merely... unaccustomed.
It will take some getting used to.
He suspects the warmth of her smile will likely help facilitate that, much like the pleasant sound of her laugh... (He most emphatically eschews the word 'tinkle' - in this as in other contexts, in which he prefers 'slash', 'ring' or 'tintinnabulate', depending.) Already, he finds himself not particularly minding the longer she stands there. No, her ease around him is not something he'd need to grow accustomed to, it's something he wishes to become used to. And more to the point, he'd rather like to have the opportunity to do so.
"Without wishing to denigrate your... passable Transfiguration talents," he drawls and once again Hermione simply laughs that light, clear ringing... Hmm. Not tinkling, no. That uninhibited, thoroughly uncowed laugh of hers, which he's coming to enjoy more and more...
... and he nearly loses the thread.
He scowls. It lacks all conviction, completely ruining the effect, and she grins a bit wildly at the sight. "I fail to see how pink is any improvement. Kindly return this ghastly mug to its proper state."
Unikitty, another hybrid creature of Hagrid's (doubtless in violation of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, but then that's nothing new) had escaped from Hagrid's pens days ago. The inhabitants of the castle are well aware. This, too, is nothing new. Creature on the loose? It must be Tuesday.
Said creature chooses this moment to stroll past and not so respectfully or helpfully, proceeds to suggest Hermione simply add flowers to the thrice damned thing, which she, so obligingly, does.
Females.
Severus stares at his hot pink and now flowered mug with even more dissatisfaction. "Hardly what I'd call an improvement." The flowers were conceivably the one aspect of his teacup he'd have readily been willing to do without. It's surpassed 'ghastly' and gone straight for 'abomination'.
Hermione follows with a flick and a swish that returns his saucer. As it doesn't even fit properly under the mug, it earns her 'the raised brow', particularly when he has to hasten to pluck it out of the air to keep it from crashing to the ground. Smirking, she Transfigures the mug back into its original teacup form. The colour, most stubbornly, persists. "The fuchsia, Miss Granger. The fuchsia." Which not-so-coincidentally are precisely the flowers she'd magicked onto his cup. The colour had served as inspiration.
"Funny you should mention them. At the risk of being obvious, I was going suggest 'deflowering' again, Severus," her emphasis is heavy, and his stomach seems to drop at the sound. It's even more pleasant than her laugh, and he half suspects he's eager for her to repeat it. "Except my point seems to have escaped you the last time. Utterly."
He has to swallow before he's able to speak. It proves unusually difficult. "I don't believe that it had, there were simply some reservations in need of... addressing. And when you referred to my 'hang ups', Hermione, I also in no way envisioned I'd soon be stood here with a hook in my head."
"It's more of a bail," she corrects with an impudent grin. He mumbles something she decides sounds like 'sufferable know-it-all' and she gives him an encouraging smile. "How nice to think we might be in agreement."
"Any chance I could persuade you to do something about it?" He asks with a sigh as he runs a hand over his head.
"Why, Severus... Nothing would please me more than to free you of your hang ups." He blinks, surprised by her sudden proximity. "Except possibly deflowering you," she amends with a breathy chuckle in his ear as she addresses the problem.
"There," she says as the silver bail disappears. "That's one thing off your mind."
They stand there in silence for a moment and then she appears to make a decision. With a last flick of her wand, a bit tentatively she Transfigures his cup once more. Even Severus can sense it's a test. Looking from his hot pink mug, now emblazoned rather provocatively with the word 'Git', to her hopeful smile, he passes with flying colours as he tells her, "I think you've grown entirely too cheeky, but I believe I have just the thing for it," and carefully takes her hand. "Just by chance, it so happens that I have a matching mug for you back at mine." Her smile grows impossibly wide at 'mine', and possibly hungry, if Severus had to put a name to it.
"In Slytherin green," he drawls, endeavouring not to allow the effect her smile is having on him to become audible. "Naturally it proclaims 'Swot'."
She laughs. "In sparkling silver lettering, I presume? All shiny and..." Her fingers flutter briefly, miming a shower of fireworks sparks.
Silver, yes, sparkling... not so much. It had been a gift from Draco after Potter had dragged him round some Muggle tourist attractions. The Malfoy heir had been completely enthralled with the breadth and variety of gift personalisation available to Muggles as souvenirs. Potter had reliably assured Severus he could count himself lucky he wasn't stood there with dozens of personalised pants instead. Severus had shuddered at thought, both because it was far too believable an assertion, and that Potter - against all odds - should somehow have become a good influence.
"Anything else and I'll be sorely disappointed..." Hermione bats her eyes playfully, having no idea whatsoever that this isn't meant to be a transparent wizard's ruse and the mug isn't something he plans to Transfigure on the spot.
"I'll see what I can do..." Severus sounds a little uncertain. There must be a Spell for that, surely... But Hermione's back to nibbling her lip, rather hoping she'll come to see rather a lot of just 'what' he can do, and given the warmth of her gaze, any remaining doubts of his are fleeting.
"Would you care to discuss a... suitable arrangement for access to the aforementioned mug back in quarters?"
"Oh, would I ever! I'd be delighted!" Her smile never wavers as she begins tugging him towards the dungeons, as if he couldn't find the way on his own. But then with the slightly dazed way he feels just at the moment, perhaps he couldn't.
Still trailing the pink mug in hand, there's no more hesitation left in him as he follows most willingly behind her. Quite tamely, in fact, as the portraits later agree.
This continues in 'the tea drabble 3' ( LJ / DW).
Things you may have missed and that just might enrich your lives...
Click to view(I'm a simple creature, there's little point in denying it. *nods* 😉) Thanks to mywitch and toblass, respectively, for the links.