FICLET: Scandalous (Hermione/Katie)
Title: Scandalous
Pairing: Hermione/Katie
Prompt: slander
Rating: R (for language)
Word Count: 993
Summary: "I wish she could have just written something about me being a lez. At least that would have been true."
Author's Notes: Slightly OOC Hermione if you truly believe she doesn't have the mouth of a sailor when she gets upset. Set during GoF, though the timing might be a little off as I was too lazy to look up when during the year and where Hermione was when she fell prey to Rita Skeeter's yellow journalism.
Link to Prompt Table:Prompt Table
Katie was no stranger to denial. She was very good at it, probably better at it than anything else she excelled in. She had managed to deny the fact that her beloved dog Scruffles was dead for a full three days after she and her father buried him in the backyard. She denied being a big lezzer to both herself and the people around her from the time she was ten to when she was fourteen, despite the fact that she had successfully snogged six girls and shagged three during that four year period. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not deny the passage of time. She could not deny the everlasting ticking of the seconds, or how the years dug their fingers into faces and formed creases and wrinkles. So when she checked her watch, blinked, and checked it again, she could not do anything but admit Hermione was fifteen minutes late.
To her knowledge, Hermione was never late for anything. She was never even on time; usually, she was about ten minutes early, at least. When Katie reached their usual meeting spot (next to the third coat of armor down the hall to the left of the hall to the right of the Dining Hall) and hadn’t seen Hermione there, she thought perhaps the younger girl was trying out something different. But being fifteen minutes late was simply too different, too un-Hermione, so Katie began fidgeting nervously and wondering if their secret snog-n-shag sessions had come to an abrupt non-consensual end. Just as the thought entered her head, she heard rapid footsteps and turned.
Hermione’s eyes glared down into the floor stretching before her, and her right hand clutched what appeared to be the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. She reached Katie, looked her straight in the eye, and began waving the paper around madly.
“Can you believe this?” she nearly screeched. “Can you believe what that horrid...awful, terrible...bitch! What that terrible bitch wrote? It’s...it’s slander is what it is!”
Katie kissed her and felt Hermione’s tenseness melt away in an instant. She rested her weight against the older girl’s chest, pushing her back into the wall.
Katie drew her head back and smiled. “Hello, love,” she said. “Beautiful evening, isn’t it? Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
Hermione looked hurt. “Do you even know what I’m talking about?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it,” Katie replied, and then smirked. “You’re late, so it must be really awful.”
“Sorry.”
In a gesture of forgiveness, Katie allowed herself to take Hermione’s hand once they were walking across the grounds together. Winter had long ago begun to melt into spring, and the evenings were warm enough for a stroll without scarves or gloves. Katie enjoyed the feeling of Hermione’s hand in hers almost as much as she enjoyed the way Hermione’s face glowed with fury as she spat out profanities directed at Rita Skeeter.
“I mean, really,” Hermione said. “She interviewed Pansy Parkinson. Pansy! Parkinson! Can you believe it?”
“I can’t at all.”
“Of course you can’t! I can’t believe it either! It’s unbelievable!”
Katie fought back a giggle by coughing into the back of her free hand.
“D’you know what she said?” the younger girl continued. “She said I’m toying with Viktor and Harry, and that I make love potions to get boys to fall for me!”
Katie snorted. “Well, you are sort of toying with Viktor, aren’t you? You said yourself that you’re only doing it so that no one would think--”
“That isn’t the point!” Hermione cried. “I didn’t have to give Viktor a potion to get him to fall for me! And she…” Hermione stopped, and looked down at the ground, sniffling. “She called me ugly.”
Katie stopped walking abruptly and turned to Hermione, mouth agape. In the moonlight, her cheeks shone with fresh tears.
“I know I shouldn’t be upset,” she said hastily, and wiped her eyes with the heel of her left hand. “It’s Rita Skeeter after all, I know she’s nothing but a bottom-feeding fucking sorry fucking excuse for a fucking human being.”
Under any other circumstances, Hermione’s foul mouth would send Katie into a peal of astonished giggles, but the older girl only shook her head.
“You don’t need love potions to make people fall for you,” Katie confirmed. “You’re right. Viktor didn’t need one. I didn’t need one either. Rita Skeeter is absolutely horrid, and she’s absolutely wrong too. You’re beautiful, Hermione.”
A fresh wave of tears came, and Hermione pressed her mouth against hers. Katie tasted her tears, warm on her lips.
“It wasn’t all bad,” Hermione said after they parted, wiping her eyes again and smiling. “She said I was clever. I just hate that she got all her information from stupid fucking stupid bloody stupid stupid stupid Pansy Parkinson.”
Katie allowed herself to giggle this time, and said, “You shouldn’t be surprised. Pansy’s wanted you since your first year. She’s probably just jealous.”
Hermione made a face. “Stop it.”
“I’m serious,” she said, giggling again. “Haven’t you seen the way she looks at you?”
“I try not to make eye contact with her. I might turn to stone.”
“You should tell Rita Skeeter that. Fight slander with slander.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Hermione curtly informed her, and Katie rolled her eyes and took her hand again. Hermione sighed. “I wish she could have just written something about me being a lez. At least that would have been true.”
“I dunno,” the older girl said, kissing her temple. “I kind of like our secret romps. They’re so...scandalous.”
Hermione gave her a wicked grin, and Katie felt the skin under her collar grow hot.
“Well,” the brunette said slowly, tracing an index finger down the side of Katie’s neck. “Shall we go scandalize our usual spot in the woods then?”
Pairing: Hermione/Katie
Prompt: slander
Rating: R (for language)
Word Count: 993
Summary: "I wish she could have just written something about me being a lez. At least that would have been true."
Author's Notes: Slightly OOC Hermione if you truly believe she doesn't have the mouth of a sailor when she gets upset. Set during GoF, though the timing might be a little off as I was too lazy to look up when during the year and where Hermione was when she fell prey to Rita Skeeter's yellow journalism.
Link to Prompt Table:Prompt Table
Katie was no stranger to denial. She was very good at it, probably better at it than anything else she excelled in. She had managed to deny the fact that her beloved dog Scruffles was dead for a full three days after she and her father buried him in the backyard. She denied being a big lezzer to both herself and the people around her from the time she was ten to when she was fourteen, despite the fact that she had successfully snogged six girls and shagged three during that four year period. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not deny the passage of time. She could not deny the everlasting ticking of the seconds, or how the years dug their fingers into faces and formed creases and wrinkles. So when she checked her watch, blinked, and checked it again, she could not do anything but admit Hermione was fifteen minutes late.
To her knowledge, Hermione was never late for anything. She was never even on time; usually, she was about ten minutes early, at least. When Katie reached their usual meeting spot (next to the third coat of armor down the hall to the left of the hall to the right of the Dining Hall) and hadn’t seen Hermione there, she thought perhaps the younger girl was trying out something different. But being fifteen minutes late was simply too different, too un-Hermione, so Katie began fidgeting nervously and wondering if their secret snog-n-shag sessions had come to an abrupt non-consensual end. Just as the thought entered her head, she heard rapid footsteps and turned.
Hermione’s eyes glared down into the floor stretching before her, and her right hand clutched what appeared to be the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. She reached Katie, looked her straight in the eye, and began waving the paper around madly.
“Can you believe this?” she nearly screeched. “Can you believe what that horrid...awful, terrible...bitch! What that terrible bitch wrote? It’s...it’s slander is what it is!”
Katie kissed her and felt Hermione’s tenseness melt away in an instant. She rested her weight against the older girl’s chest, pushing her back into the wall.
Katie drew her head back and smiled. “Hello, love,” she said. “Beautiful evening, isn’t it? Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
Hermione looked hurt. “Do you even know what I’m talking about?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it,” Katie replied, and then smirked. “You’re late, so it must be really awful.”
“Sorry.”
In a gesture of forgiveness, Katie allowed herself to take Hermione’s hand once they were walking across the grounds together. Winter had long ago begun to melt into spring, and the evenings were warm enough for a stroll without scarves or gloves. Katie enjoyed the feeling of Hermione’s hand in hers almost as much as she enjoyed the way Hermione’s face glowed with fury as she spat out profanities directed at Rita Skeeter.
“I mean, really,” Hermione said. “She interviewed Pansy Parkinson. Pansy! Parkinson! Can you believe it?”
“I can’t at all.”
“Of course you can’t! I can’t believe it either! It’s unbelievable!”
Katie fought back a giggle by coughing into the back of her free hand.
“D’you know what she said?” the younger girl continued. “She said I’m toying with Viktor and Harry, and that I make love potions to get boys to fall for me!”
Katie snorted. “Well, you are sort of toying with Viktor, aren’t you? You said yourself that you’re only doing it so that no one would think--”
“That isn’t the point!” Hermione cried. “I didn’t have to give Viktor a potion to get him to fall for me! And she…” Hermione stopped, and looked down at the ground, sniffling. “She called me ugly.”
Katie stopped walking abruptly and turned to Hermione, mouth agape. In the moonlight, her cheeks shone with fresh tears.
“I know I shouldn’t be upset,” she said hastily, and wiped her eyes with the heel of her left hand. “It’s Rita Skeeter after all, I know she’s nothing but a bottom-feeding fucking sorry fucking excuse for a fucking human being.”
Under any other circumstances, Hermione’s foul mouth would send Katie into a peal of astonished giggles, but the older girl only shook her head.
“You don’t need love potions to make people fall for you,” Katie confirmed. “You’re right. Viktor didn’t need one. I didn’t need one either. Rita Skeeter is absolutely horrid, and she’s absolutely wrong too. You’re beautiful, Hermione.”
A fresh wave of tears came, and Hermione pressed her mouth against hers. Katie tasted her tears, warm on her lips.
“It wasn’t all bad,” Hermione said after they parted, wiping her eyes again and smiling. “She said I was clever. I just hate that she got all her information from stupid fucking stupid bloody stupid stupid stupid Pansy Parkinson.”
Katie allowed herself to giggle this time, and said, “You shouldn’t be surprised. Pansy’s wanted you since your first year. She’s probably just jealous.”
Hermione made a face. “Stop it.”
“I’m serious,” she said, giggling again. “Haven’t you seen the way she looks at you?”
“I try not to make eye contact with her. I might turn to stone.”
“You should tell Rita Skeeter that. Fight slander with slander.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Hermione curtly informed her, and Katie rolled her eyes and took her hand again. Hermione sighed. “I wish she could have just written something about me being a lez. At least that would have been true.”
“I dunno,” the older girl said, kissing her temple. “I kind of like our secret romps. They’re so...scandalous.”
Hermione gave her a wicked grin, and Katie felt the skin under her collar grow hot.
“Well,” the brunette said slowly, tracing an index finger down the side of Katie’s neck. “Shall we go scandalize our usual spot in the woods then?”