Random Drabbles [lover100 general table]
lover100 | general table | prompt #1 - beginnings
It comes on slowly.
At first, Harry's nothing more than a scrawny eleven-year-old that Delphi wants to be friends with. Sure, he's a celebrity and his friendship will come with perks, but honestly, it's more about showing up Draco than anything else.
But then he's her friend, and he needs someone to rescue him from the siren song of the Mirror, and he's more interested in solving mysteries than schoolwork, and he's brave enough to go save the Stone alone.
And then Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived himself, is speaking Parseltongue, and Delphi finally realizes she's head over heels.
lover100 | general table | prompt #2 - middles
Though the hospital bed gets in the way, it can't stop their celebration. All five fall into a group hug that Delphi doesn't even see coming until it's already there: Ron and Hermione on one bedside, their arms tangling around Harry and one another while Delphi and Neville do the exact same thing on the other side of the bed.
And Harry sits in the middle of it all, one hand tangled in the frizz of Hermione's hair and the other clapped on Neville's shoulder, while Delphi wonders if he's ever gotten this much affection before in his entire life.
lover100 | general table | prompt #3 - ends | In retrospect, Delphi thinks she might be able to attribute her thing for dueling--for duelists--to that first book that Quirrell gave her. ...which is not the most comforting thought.
Delphi read the final page of The Art of Dueling, snapped it shut, and set it face-down in her lap.
It had been a surprisingly good read, all things considered. She hadn't expected to be particularly interested in it, truth be told; she'd never found dueling to be especially intriguing. Dueling had always struck her as rather mercenary and thuggish, and her interests had always been more in line with the mysterious and the clandestine aspects of magic. She wanted to know about seers and unspeakables and the Department of Mysteries; aurors and competitive duelists and their ilk were dreadfully dull by comparison.
But... The Art of Dueling didn't have more than a few words about Aurors. Competitive dueling did get more than enough attention, but in between all the information about dueling etiquette, the history of formalized and illegal dueling rings and championships, and the ever-growing lists of off-limits spells, there was a wealth of truly fascinating knowledge. There was information about Dark Lords, more than a few of which -- Voldemort included -- were accomplished duelists who could take down an entire team of Aurors with only a few spells. There was information about Merlin, whose deeds were so mythic and unbelievable that if they weren't for the most part verifiable, they all would've been chocked up to a children's bedtime story.
Near the end of the book, Professor Dumbledore's famed duel with Grindelwald got its own entire chapter, and some of the spells it claimed that they'd used were nearly as shocking as anything Merlin had done. Delphi could only imagine that witnessing such immensely powerful, creative, and deadly magic must have been as exhilarating as it was terrifying--and she could only dream of what it would feel like to harness such powers for herself.
Dueling, it seemed, could also be an expression of immense power, magical finesse, and unbridled inspiration. A duelist -- a true duelist, not just someone who played at the craft during tournaments -- needed speed and skill and accuracy; they needed to know how to use the Dark Arts and all manner of cruel magic, and they needed to know when to use those skills. They needed a powerful wand, nerves of steel, a quick mind, and raw talent. Delphi very much hoped she had those inside her, too.
The Art of Dueling might have reached its ending, but Delphi's path had only just begun.
lover100 | general table | prompt #4 - firsts | Delphi's first real crush had been on a fictional character, and there's probably nothing terribly unusual about that. It's the who of it, though, that reflects rather poorly on her.
Note: This is very heavily inspired by my own first crush on a fictional character. If anyone can figure out who it was and/or what story they're from, I'll be very amused. Feel free to guess.
Delphi fell in love for the first time at seven years old.
Not really, of course, but that's what it had felt like when it happened. She'd had crushes before -- she'd pecked Draco not quite on the lips when she was five and cackled as he'd gone sprinting away with a shriek of utter terror -- she'd caught a glimpse of Blaise Zabini when she was six and thought his dark skin strikingly attractive -- there was even that antique portrait she'd been obsessed with as a child, and in retrospect, she had no doubt it'd been because the portrait's subject had been a very handsome man indeed.
But she'd read Darkseed when she was seven, and with her preadolescent understanding of affection, she'd been sure that she'd fallen head over heels in love.
It had been a silly little story, not the kind of thing she'd be interested in reading by the time her Hogwarts years had rolled around. It was the tale of a group of teenage witches and wizards fighting against the attempted uprising of an adolescent Dark Lord styling himself the Emperor. And the Emperor had been a smirking dark-haired genius, brimming with competence and arrogance and flair, and Delphi had wished more than anything in the world that he was real.
She would've helped him, she'd thought at the time. If she'd been one of the Chosen, as the heroes had been called, she would've been on his side.
Now, with two encounters with the actual Dark Lord already under her belt -- including one in which he'd been a handsome, smirking, dark-haired teenage genius himself -- she's repulsed by the thought that there had ever been something inside her that had been drawn to someone like that.
And she's terrified to think it might still be there somewhere.
lover100 | general table | prompt #5 - friends
Delphi doesn't know what to do with her feelings. She's never had to deal with this before; she's never even considered it. Is it normal for people to have crushes on their friends? She's always thought of crushes as something to get on strangers or acquaintances. Friends are friends, meant for hanging out and playing chess and stuff. Crushes are entirely different, meant for daydreaming and doodling and maybe holding hands if you're brave enough.
But a crush on a friend? That's just dangerous.
...what will happen to their friendship if Delphi likes Harry, but he doesn't like her back?
lover100 | general table | prompt #6 - hours
12am
Delphi sleeps like the dead.
1am
Delphi rolls over on her transfigured mattress. The sheets she transfigured out of parchment are still scratchy against her skin.
2am
A little hiss near her ear wakes Delphi for a heartbeat. She drifts back off almost immediately after she recognizes Boros.
3am
The witching hour comes and goes, and a castle's worth of witches sleeps.
4am
Delphi is startled awake by her own dream. For a few seconds afterward, she still imagines she can hear the crow of a rooster.
5am
Boros slithers quickly away with an angry hiss after Delphi nearly squashes him in her sleep.
6am
Delphi hears Filch's voice on the other side of the classroom door. He leaves, but she can't fall back asleep.
7am
Delphi finally drags herself out of bed.
8am
Harry smiles at her when Delphi sits down beside him at the Gryffindor table. Even though Ron barely affords her a glance, too busy staring down in despair at his half-finished Transfiguration homework, and Hermione is too busy lecturing Ron to say hello, Delphi's satisfied.
9am
Herbology is a lonely lesson. Delphi has no friends in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Only Lilly Moon even bothers to be polite.
10am
Delphi meets Hermione in the library during their shared free period. The boys are here today, too, doing the occasional bit of homework in between bickering about which Quidditch players are the best.
11am
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk with Delphi to Transfiguration. Ron's essay is still an inch too short, but time's up. McGonagall will probably give him detention if she seems him working on it in the classroom.
12pm
The Gryffindors head off to Charms. Delphi rushes back to her abandoned classroom; she's only got the next hour to work on her spell.
1pm
Delphi returns to the Gryffindor table for lunch. Seamus and Dean seem to be ignoring Neville today, and he sits down beside Hermione. Ron gives him a funny look, and he doesn't quite interject himself into the group, but his presence is felt nevertheless.
2pm
Delphi and her friends spend their free period in the library, talking in hushed voices about Snape, Quirrell, and the Philosopher's Stone.
3pm
When their speculation runs dry, their attention turns toward what they would do if the Philosopher's Stone was theirs. Ron would create riches; Hermione would use it as a starting point to study alchemy; Delphi would begin brewing the Elixir of Life. Harry's the only one to suggest that they give it back to Dumbledore.
4pm
Defense Against the Dark Arts is always such a strange experience. Quirrell is an entirely different person during class; Delphi much prefers the man he is after hours.
5pm
The Hogwarts house elves prove their prowess every supper, and tonight it's the most delicious lamb that Delphi's ever tasted. As they eat and the conversation momentarily lulls, Neville actually works up the nerve to contribute. It's a surprise, for sure, but not a wholly unwelcome one.
6pm
Quirrell looks at Delphi with a kind of pride that she's only ever seen on Lucius's face before, and she loves every second of it.
7pm
Delphi races to finish her homework so she can get back to work on her spell.
8pm
Delphi accidentally lights her bedspread on fire. She's not sure how she managed it, since her wand was pointed at her book.
9pm
Working on her spell is getting her nowhere tonight, so Delphi gives up for now. Instead, she lies in bed, wondering what Harry, Ron, and Hermione are doing in the Gryffindor common room.
10pm
Delphi settles under the covers in an empty room. She's used to it--she's always had her own bedroom before, and she certainly doesn't miss sharing with Pansy Parkinson--but she envies Ron and Harry for getting to sleep so close to each other. They can whisper to each other in the dark of night, reassure one another with their presence if one of them has a nightmare, even crawl into bed with each other and snuggle... unless boys don't do that? Delphi's not sure, but she thinks that she might, if it were her.
11pm
Delphi finally falls asleep.