#scoruna

[camelliacats]

Counting Backwards (1-10/∞)

100-word drabbles for a range of ships. *Requests always welcome! Repeats allowed~*

Chapters 1-10: [FFN] [AO3] | →

Pairings/Characters: Tracey Davis/Charlie Weasley, Filius Flitwick/Narcissa Black, Lucius Malfoy/Tracey, Rolf Scamander/Fred Weasley, Susan Bones/Charlie, Charlie/Cormac McLaggen, Scorpius Malfoy/Luna Lovegood–Scamander, Dean Thomas/Angelina Johnson–Weasley, Rolf/Charlie, & Mulciber/Narcissa

Rating: K - light T

Words: 1,000 collectively

Additional info: romance, slash, cross gen, angst, Marauder era, Harry's era, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

Summary: Because, actually, destruction is the most beautiful thing of all… These are the countdowns until everything falls apart. | Various pairings, eras, ratings, etc. Includes het, slash, femslash, cross-gen, next-gen, but nothing too bad. Read it all or only what you like!

1: TraceyCharlie

                 He is a man in search of danger. She knew that from the beginning. That was why she thought it could work. The distance wouldn't count. His family wouldn't count. Her stereotype wouldn't count. Their conflicting schedules wouldn't count.

               But Charlie is also a man in search of happiness. Tracey knew that. She knew very well that his family made him happy, his dragons made him happy, and (sometimes) she could make him happy.

               But Charlie is also a man who can't stand permanence.

               Tracey knows that now, because all she's got left of the dragon tamer are dragon-hide gloves.

2: FiliusNarcissa

                 Filius knows he has to shatter the image of her from his mind. Unrequited love never did anyone any favors, just as it hasn't done for him.

               "Farewell, Professor Flitwick," beautiful Narcissa Black says. She is breathtaking today, the day of her graduation from Hogwarts. Her dress must be silk, her makeup is perfect, and there's not a single hair out of place. But, really, he loves her smile so much—it's the last pure thing of the poor girl, and he knows it'll be the first thing to go when she marries Malfoy.

               It's so hard to say goodbye….

3: LuciusTracey

                 It would've been easier if she had cried. Daphne cried. Narcissa used to cry. But Tracey? Tracey Davis never cried. Lucius wondered if she had ever done so before in her life.

               Of course, he also wondered if she'd ever felt much of anything at all. He could still picture her in his bed, dark brown ringlets staining his pale arm as he moved so as not to wake her up… But that was now just another memory to him. He'd broken it off.

               Lucius fathoms he might not have this time, had she just felt something, anything for him.

4: RolfFred

                 Doom. Rolf glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He couldn't focus long on it, otherwise he'd hit something for sure this time.

               Doom. Rolf tried not to chastise himself for how heavy his steps sounded coming downstairs to meet Luna before they went out for a bite. Every time his feet landed on the ground, he wished for the ground to swallow him whole.

               Doom. Rolf tuned out his regrets as he flirted back with Luna, though his heart wasn't in it.

               His heart was buried six feet belowground in Ottery St. Catchpole, where the marker read "Fred Weasley."

5: SusanCharlie

                 "That's totally faulty logic, Sue!"

               "Oh, is it? Charlie, I liked our life better when it was just two that sometimes intersected. Dragon Plains and Ministry life. But I don't want the standard Weasley life. It…it comes pre-planned, no changes necessary. I don't want to have a dozen kids. I'd like to have something like Hannah and Neville, at most."

               "Susan, don't you see that they're falling apart? I don't want us to be like your best mate and Neville…!"

               "Well, sorry, Charlie. But here's where the Bones line ends. There are enough redheaded children in the world already."

6: CharlieCormac

                 There's scoring and then there's scoring.

               Charlie thought time away from home would do him some good. Get those silly little Quidditch thoughts out of his head. He didn't need to influence anyone with that.

               And yet… That first-year kid, Cormac, must've been influenced. He'd only met Charlie once—but he'd never forgotten him.

               And yet… Charlie was determined not to further influence Cormac. Cormac was a pigheaded little git these days, but he was still impressionable.

               And yet… Charlie couldn't help letting his mind fill of balls and sticks and naughty sports when Cormac looked at him like that.

7: ScorpiusLuna

                 Rose had smiled from his right. She had smiled a lot during the dinner, so much that he had thought her ill.

               Lorcan had cracked jokes one right after the other. Scorpius' best mate hadn't changed in their three years out of school.

               Lysander had chuckled when Lorcan hadn't been looking. Scorpius' other best mate still couldn't stand to let his brother know he thought him funny.

               Rolf had started the dinner conversation and let the rest of them carry it.

               And Luna… Luna had sat to Scorpius' left, her smile bitter because Scorpius had turned up with his fiancée.

8: DeanAngelina

                 They had wanted a family portrait. "Done the Muggle way," George had insisted. He'd sounded alive again, despite Fred's absence.

               Dean had taken forever with it. George he'd gotten down fine on the canvas, even though Dean preferred to sketch over paint. The babies were challenging, because Dean had never drawn babies before, and he still found himself blushing whenever he tried to mix the right color for their skin, because he thought of literally mixing George and Angelina.

               But Angelina he couldn't get right. Funny how he did only when she kissed him goodbye, taking the picture with her.

9: RolfCharlie

                 They'd met by accident. Granted, Rolf should've known better, considering Charlie's red hair, freckles, and sparkling blue eyes… No! He couldn't think of those eyes anymore.

               "Um," Charlie said, coming up to him as Luna and Ginny chatted aside from the others. Luna and Rolf had been invited to Ginny and Harry's engagement party. Rolf wouldn't have been there otherwise.

               He swore it.

               "Let's keep Muggle London to ourselves, yeah?"

               Rolf hated how handsome Charlie looked as Charlie asked that. But Rolf nodded, because he cared maybe a little too much about those two nights that didn't matter to Charlie.

10: MulciberNarcissa

                 He wouldn't leave her alone, though she begged him. "I've moved on," Narcissa had declared. "I've a husband now," she had said. "I must start a family now," she had added.

               Mulciber rolled his eyes. He didn't appreciate the irony in thinking of her and what she'd said in this moment, with Moody's wand pointed at him.

               "His name's 'Draco,'" she'd told him. "'Draco Lucius Malfoy.'"

               As if it had to be beaten into his head that there was no dispute over paternity!

               "He's joining the ranks soon," she'd whispered.

               When Draco got the Mark, Mulciber finally let her go.

Remarks for—

Ch1: How sad, to begin with the end of Charlie and the little-known Tracey Davis of Slytherin…

Ch6: Whoops. They aren't together here… Charlie's just trying to put aside all slashy thoughts (not just of Cormac) in general, therefore possibly ending all relationships for himself. But Cormac's good temptation.

Ch9: Not a case of mistaken identity but one of unknown identity! :O Poor Rolf didn't see that as a one- or two-night stand…

Ch10: To clarify: Mulce was thinking of Cissy in the battle in bk5. But later in bk6 when Draco becomes a Death Eater, he gives up on her.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2021 note (regarding ch1): As with ynusly, revisiting this collection to edit in order to cross-post to AO3 and to tumblr I see as both a fun and unnerving task, in the event that any glaring error might cause a rewrite of any of these 100-word drabbles, *lol*. But this is also a fun reread, because breaking ships is a huge challenge for a writer such a me, someone who's a big fan of love. So yeah, lots of angst from this collection, but I think there were stories here where hope snuck in… ;) Read on to find out! Also: While the first 100 chapters of this are already complete, please feel free to request, even if it's a pairing you already see done in this collection; I only ask that you read my Req FAQ first (on my FFN profile or linked here if you're reading on AO3 or on tumblr). Thank you!

(regarding ch9): DAMN! I forgot about this idea, *lol*. This one…would be quite fun stretched into a longer fic. XD

(regarding ch10): Actually one of my fav drabbles. :3c

And if you want to support Counting Backwards, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

[camelliacats]

Reality is Quite Nice

Another oneshot inspired by a quote.

Fic: "Reality is Quite Nice" [FFN] [AO3]

Pairings/Characters: Scorpius Malfoy/Luna Lovegood–Scamander, Lorcan Scamander, Lysander Scamander, & Rolf Scamander

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,700

Additional info: romance, angst, cross gen, Next Gen era, 1st person POV

Summary: Now an adult, Scorpius catches up with his mates, the Scamander twins, and their parents. The Scamanders are all his friends...but he can't help the feeling something's amiss...

"You are incredible…my only one…I never thought love…could be passionate fun."—Unknown

                  If Luna were clinically insane, would anyone be able to tell?

                I can, which is why I'm the one by her side, not Rolf.

                Allow me to explain. Girls like Rose and Lily aren't for me. I'm far too levelheaded and poised for the likes of Rose's brainy and OCD ways and Lily's rash and sporadically berserk personality. I am best-suited for the…how should I say…er, zany type. I just didn't realize it until I was an adult.

                My friends, twins Lorcan and Lysander, had invited me over to dinner a few years after our having completed Hogwarts. Lorcan traveled with their parents as a training Healer, Lysander was Hagrid's assistant and apprentice for the Care of Magical Creatures class, and I was training to be an Auror with my best mate, Al. I hadn't seen the Scamander twins in a while, so it was nice to catch up.

                "Beware," Lorcan warned me as we entered their home. "Last I knew, both Mum and Dad were cooking. I hope you still have that stomach of steel, Scor."

                I frowned. "I'd hope so, too. Now that you're dating Roxanne, I have this horrible feeling she'll try to pull a prank on Sander or me just to see if George's new Wheeze works."

                Lorcan grinned. "Now, would I let that happen to you two…?"

                "Yes," Lysander and I spat in unison.

                Lorcan took our jackets, and we headed into the dining room. I took in the room in one glance and saw that nothing had changed—mismatched furniture, carpet too bright a violet, wallpaper mixed together in stripes and dots and patters and such. That made me smile. I'd seen a lot of my school friends' homes, and so much was different now that we were older. But the Scamanders were the Scamanders, and that was something that felt good because it was sturdy, reliable. As reliable as Rolf's warm handshake and Luna's sweet smile. Speak of the Nargles, they entered.

                Wait—was it just me, or did Luna's smile seem off?

                I chocked it up to a trick of the dining room's dim lighting as pleasantries were presented and we sat down and started the meal. It wasn't as disastrous as Lorc had led me to believe; in fact, it was quite delicious. We had a roast pheasant that we washed down with a butterbeer and firewhiskey concoction of Rolf's, and, for dessert, Luna presented us with a cake that—

                "—glows?" Lysander asked in astonishment. "Why's it glowing light blue, Mum?"

                Luna waved her younger son off as if it were nothing. "Oh, I just made friends with the faeries in the backyard. I admired their light shows, and they told me it was due to their faerie dust. I was delighted, and they allowed me some faerie dust, which I thought would be nice to brush on the cake."

                "Faerie dust?" he further exclaimed as Rolf gaped at her, Lorcan sighed and held his head, and I looked around the table, wondering what the problem was. Luckily, Sander felt his mother needed a recap, too. "Why do you think the faire folke are so happy all the time? Faerie dust is intoxicating. It makes them see the world in—in bizarre ways!"

                After his outburst, the house was abnormally quiet. I heard the chirp of the crickets outside and suddenly wished I were outside, as well. This was such an awkward moment.

                Rolf broke the quiet. "I…think I've had enough to eat," he said, dropping his eyes to the table as he stood. "Goodnight, boys. Good to see you again, Scorpius," he said to me with a forced smile.

                The twins shifted awkwardly in their seats before Lysander rose and went up to bed. Lorcan got up, too, but he followed behind his father. I lagged to help Luna clean up.

                In the kitchen, it was unusually quiet. Luna was smiling again, but…it still seemed off. I felt as though she were wearing a mask, which just wasn't meant for her. Luna was supposed to be vivacious and brilliant, not taciturn and housewife-ish.

                "Thank you," she said sweetly as I passed her the last dish. She waved her wand, and the cleaning supplies set about scrubbing the plates. The cake sat on the counter behind her, an uneasy reminder of the earlier awkwardness.

                "Luna…," I began hesitantly. She waved her wand to put away the table settings, but I gently took her wand out of her hand and held it at my side. It was a bit strange, and I'd never been so forward with the twins' parents. But I did know this family well, and I was comfortable enough to speak my mind in this house. "Are you all right?"

                The witch gave me a genuine smile this time, though it was small and slightly sad. "I'm afraid no one sees…eye to eye anymore with me."

                "What do you mean?"

                Luna sighed and swept her hair to one side. I caught a whiff of her shampoo—gardenias, which I thought instinctively—and watched her ageless face crease ever so slightly as she pouted. "I like the excitement of life," she said. "I know I see things differently than others. I refuse to believe Nargles and Blibbering Humdingers are make-believe."

                I frowned. "Luna…you're an adult."

                "Yes. You are one, as well."

                "There are… There are some things you just…know when you grow up."

                "Of course." She said it, but her eyes wavered, and I got the feeling she was pleading silently with me not to say any more.

                I looked away, my eyes refocusing on the cake. "Certain things don't—"

                "Luna." Rolf cut me off as he leaned against the kitchen doorframe. He straightened. "Can I have a word?" He turned and marched down the hallway. Luna glanced at me before following him.

                All the prior times I'd come here, I'd felt like family. Yet, tonight, I felt like an outsider. I was considering leaving without a word when someone else's words caught my ear. Knowing it would probably be considered eavesdropping, I took a cue from Lorcan and peeked around the doorway. I could glimpse them near the corner of the opposite end of the hallway.

                Rolf waved his arms up and down. "…could you? Lune, I fell in love with your antics when we were younger. But that was then—this is now. Physically, you've grown up. But mentally?" He pinched the bridge of his nose…which I was beginning to itch to hit.

                "Without imagination, we are nothing," she stated, her voice shaking. She stared into her husband's blue eyes.

                He searched her eyes before sighing. "Godric, Luna… I can't even get angry at you anymore… Wizarding naturalists—what was I thinking? I—I encouraged this kind of behavior!"

                Luna frowned. "Rolf, it's not a bad thing—" She tried to touch his arm, but—but the bastard swatted her hand away!

                "Luna… Luna, Luna, Luna!" He met her eyes again. "I can't get angry at you anymore, not while I spend all my energy being sad, and d-disappointed in you." He sighed again, and some of his scraggly red hair fell over his shoulder, having come free of the strip of dragon-hide leather he used to tie all of it back. What I noticed was that the free piece…was graying. "I need to get some air," Rolf said abruptly. He grabbed his cloak from nearby and put it on, then marched my way towards the door. I ducked, but he didn't see me. He took his broom from inside the door before heading out. After that, the house was fairly quiet.

                I exited the kitchen and walked into the living room, in shock and staring at the door. Rolf had just—just left. He never left! Where Luna was, erm, flighty, Rolf was a rock—her rock. They were— I paused in my thoughts, understanding. No wonder Luna was off tonight. This hadn't been the first argument like this.

                Luna entered the room behind me. "Well, Scorpius, it's been lovely seeing you again. May I get your jacket for you?"

                I fisted my hands, a muscle in my jaw twitching so my jaw was clenched. Suddenly, I turned on my heel. "Luna, are you hungry for dessert?"

                She stared at me. "Scorpius?"

                I grabbed her hand and tugged her behind me. We reentered the kitchen, and I strode right up to the cake and swiped some of the icing with my finger. I tasted a little bit of it  and— "This is delicious," I commented truthfully, surprised and turning back to her. "This has to be the best dessert I've ever tried."

                "Scor, I—what?" I'd never seen it before, but there was Luna's confused face.

                I got a little more on my thumb and drew her close to me. "Really," I mumbled with a small, encouraging smile. "Try it."

                Color dusted the apples of her cheeks, but the lovely blonde witch before me licked the icing from my thumb. Relief seemed to flood her being as she gave in and leaned into my light embrace.

                It…it was amazing to hold her. I felt as though I'd never felt such warmth before. Gently, we slid against the wall onto the floor so I was holding her partially curled-up form. Her breathing was even, steady, but I knew things weren't wholly right. "Hey…Lulu," I whispered tentatively. Never would I have thought I'd be giving her such an endearing nickname.

                "Hmm?"

                "Certain things…do exist." I stared at the glowing blue cake until she raised her head, her eyes shining; they almost glowed the same silvery-blue. "I shouldn't have tried to say otherwise." I licked the remaining icing from my fingers and grinned. "I think I can even see a Blibbering Humdinger dancing near the cake!"

                I fretted when tears started running down her cheeks, but Luna was smiling again. And this was the real smile, the Luna smile. "Scorpius, do you see eye to eye with me?"

                "Well, we are staring at each other," I quipped, and she timidly caught my chuckle in her mouth as soft lips touched mine. I tasted sugary icing, Luna, and faerie dust—and I knew that Rolf had given up on something that was one-of-a-kind.

:3 This is a very interesting oneshot… Scorpius didn't have to go back on his words; Luna didn't have to be so Luna; Rolf didn't have to act so deflated and walk away… So this is rather open-ended. Still, it kind of works as a oneshot.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note: Hmm. Another one where I like the potential, but I confess the pace is a tad too fast for my liking…hmm.