Drabble: Comfort Me with Apples
Squee! I need to shut up and stop being such a pessimist. Not only did I make it through (+5, 9 votes) to challenge #8 at dramione_ldws, I also won Mod's Choice for the week. Woot!
Title: Comfort Me with Apples
Rating and Word Count: PG, 400
Summary: Draco needs to let go of a lingering fear. (I hate writing summaries)
Notes: Title comes from the Song of Solomon. Written for dramione_ldws challenge #7 "400 words about fall" and 100quills table 50.1 prompt 048 Parents.
“What do you think?” Hermione laces her fingers through Draco's and hugs his arm, gently rubbing her cheek over the soft, gray wool covering his bicep.
“It's beautiful,” he says. They have Apparated to a leaf-covered hill top. In the shallow valley below, Draco can see gold-tipped trees heavy with fruit. “Are we in an orchard?”
“That's right. Mum, Dad, and I came apple picking here every autumn until I went to Hogwarts.”
“Oh.” The way her cheeks are pinking in the breeze momentarily distracts him. “Um, are they here yet?”
“Not yet.” She squeezes his hand. “Come on, let's go down.”
***
Under the tree she calls her favorite, they spread a thick blanket over yellowed grass and curl up together.
“This was the first place I did magic,” she tells him, touching the trunk reverently. “I was too little to climb the ladder, but I saw the most perfect apple high in this tree. Since I couldn't climb up to it, I made the tree bend down to me.” She accios an apple into her waiting hand and looks almost sheepish. “My parents were mystified, of course. It's not as if trees are supposed to do that.”
Draco knows just how the tree felt. He would bend the laws of nature to please her, too.
“Did they want someone else for you?” It almost kills him to ask. “Someone like Weasley?”
Hermione brings the apple to his mouth and watches him take a bite. “They want someone who makes me happy.” She kisses the tart juice from his lips. “You qualify.”
Cross-legged, he pulls her onto his lap, and she wraps arms and legs around him. His hands slip under her bulky jumper to rest on the warm skin of her back. He presses his face into the hollow of her shoulder and closes his eyes.
***
Cries of “Hermione?” and “Hermione, sweetheart!” pull them apart, and they see her parents, with a picnic hamper between them, climbing over the fence.
He lags behind as Hermione runs to greet them, not wanting to intrude, but when she turns back and holds out her hand to him, he takes his place by her side. He finds the solitaire she wears on her ring finger and traces the band with his fingertip for courage.
“Mum, Dad,” she says, her smile as beautiful as the October sky, “this is Draco.”
Title: Comfort Me with Apples
Rating and Word Count: PG, 400
Summary: Draco needs to let go of a lingering fear. (I hate writing summaries)
Notes: Title comes from the Song of Solomon. Written for dramione_ldws challenge #7 "400 words about fall" and 100quills table 50.1 prompt 048 Parents.
“What do you think?” Hermione laces her fingers through Draco's and hugs his arm, gently rubbing her cheek over the soft, gray wool covering his bicep.
“It's beautiful,” he says. They have Apparated to a leaf-covered hill top. In the shallow valley below, Draco can see gold-tipped trees heavy with fruit. “Are we in an orchard?”
“That's right. Mum, Dad, and I came apple picking here every autumn until I went to Hogwarts.”
“Oh.” The way her cheeks are pinking in the breeze momentarily distracts him. “Um, are they here yet?”
“Not yet.” She squeezes his hand. “Come on, let's go down.”
***
Under the tree she calls her favorite, they spread a thick blanket over yellowed grass and curl up together.
“This was the first place I did magic,” she tells him, touching the trunk reverently. “I was too little to climb the ladder, but I saw the most perfect apple high in this tree. Since I couldn't climb up to it, I made the tree bend down to me.” She accios an apple into her waiting hand and looks almost sheepish. “My parents were mystified, of course. It's not as if trees are supposed to do that.”
Draco knows just how the tree felt. He would bend the laws of nature to please her, too.
“Did they want someone else for you?” It almost kills him to ask. “Someone like Weasley?”
Hermione brings the apple to his mouth and watches him take a bite. “They want someone who makes me happy.” She kisses the tart juice from his lips. “You qualify.”
Cross-legged, he pulls her onto his lap, and she wraps arms and legs around him. His hands slip under her bulky jumper to rest on the warm skin of her back. He presses his face into the hollow of her shoulder and closes his eyes.
***
Cries of “Hermione?” and “Hermione, sweetheart!” pull them apart, and they see her parents, with a picnic hamper between them, climbing over the fence.
He lags behind as Hermione runs to greet them, not wanting to intrude, but when she turns back and holds out her hand to him, he takes his place by her side. He finds the solitaire she wears on her ring finger and traces the band with his fingertip for courage.
“Mum, Dad,” she says, her smile as beautiful as the October sky, “this is Draco.”