Harry thinks that Severus loves him for physical reasons alone. Prompt #1, "Doubt." Harry/Snape. Written also for the "Their Insecurities" challenge at snarry100.

Upgrade

As he heard the floorboard in the hall creak, Harry hastily slipped the fat volume under a cushion and grabbed up a copy of Which Broomstick instead, pretending to be engrossed in a comparison of the latest Nimbus and Firebolt models when Severus came in.

"How was your day?"

"Fair."

He never said more than that, never seemed to want to talk to Harry about what he was working on. Harry touched the spine of the hidden copy of Moste Potente Potions. Maybe someday he could get Severus to realize that he had a brain as well as a heart.


Even in primary school Harry was a little different. Prompt #2, "Magical." snegurochkalee gave me the suggestion that this could be pre-Hogwarts -- so a big mwah of thanks to her!

The First Clue

One of Dudley's favorite ways to lose Harry marks was to give him leaky biros. He had figured out how to twist them so that they looked fine, but after about ten minutes of writing, they began to smudge the pages.

Biting his lip, Harry pulled the fourth biro of the day out of his bag, hoping fervently that Dudley had not damaged this one. When the blotches started appearing, he nearly cried.

"Please, please, please," he whispered. "I haven't another with me." He kept on with his essay — he had to — and to his astonishment, the paper stayed clean.


Harry and Ron fulfil Hermione's final request. Prompt #3, "Tomorrow." Harry/Hermione/Ron. The title is from Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, line 19), Macbeth's soliloquy on the death of his wife.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

She had wanted no special ceremony for this. Ron would arrange a memorial service of some kind, to bring all their friends — those who were left — together once more, but Harry was the one taking care of her ashes.

"Choose a spot that overlooks the water, where there are daffodils." Her eyes had been bright with fever and pain, under hair cottony-white.

Harry had promised, had nearly caught bronchitis flying his broom to find the perfect place, and now he and Ron stood there together clasping the wooden box.

Ron's face reflected the same pain that Harry felt.

"Goodbye, Hermione."


Harry's scribblings might give him away. Prompt #4, "Blank." Implied Harry/Draco. mistressofrohan was kind enough to give me the bunny for this one!

Concealment

Meetings were held nightly, now, with reports on where attacks had come, which Death Eaters had been sighted (and, ideally, captured), who among the Order had been injured. Hermione always took notes, her quill slashing ink onto parchment, and Harry tried to do the same. He felt responsible, though Shacklebolt had assured him that he should concentrate on Voldemort. Tonight, though, he had been distracted, daydreaming, and when he realized what he had written over and over on the page, he quickly cast a spell to erase it. It would never do for anyone to learn that he wanted Malfoy.


In vino veritas. Prompt #5, "Destiny." Harry/Ron.

Stag Night

"You don' understan'." Harry squinted owlishly at Ron and took another gulp of Firewhiskey, then refilled his glass.

"Oi, leave some for us over here," Seamus protested, laughing, until Ron passed the bottle down to the far end of the table and returned his attention to Harry.

"What's not to understand? You and Ginny are getting married tomorrow; I'm happy for you."

"No." Green eyes locked on his own."'S destiny, y'know — s'posed to get the girl. M' reward. Doesn' matter if I wan' her."

"Don't you? She loves you." Ron forced himself to say it.

"But I love you."


Which sense better alleviates loss? Prompt #6, "Picture."

Sight and Sound

There's a Muggle saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. Every time I look at the photographs of my mum and dad, I wonder. Would I rather see them, smiling and waving at me, looking so young, so hopeful? Or would I give up one of those pictures to hear their voices, just once? Even if it were to say something ordinary, like "take out the rubbish bins," or "come to the table, your dinner's getting cold." Maybe it's just as well that I haven't the choice to make. It's better to focus on the one who killed them.


Some moments should be enjoyed slowly. Prompt #7, "Gentle." Harry/Draco. The title is from Thomas Moore, On the Death of Sheridan: "Whose wit in the combat, as gentle as bright/ Ne'er carried a heart-stain away on its blade." This drabble was inspired by a sketch by lillithium, which is in a locked post on her LiveJournal. The sketch can be seen at my website associated with this story.

As Gentle As Bright

Slim elegant fingers tugged at Harry's shirt, unbuttoning each button in a movement so tender it was like a kiss in itself.

"Here, Harry, let me," murmured Draco, and the clean white cotton fell open, sliding down Harry's shoulder.

He shivered pleasurably as Draco's hand smoothed across his back in a loving caress. Warm air from the open window echoed that touch, tangling Draco's fair hair, blowing the thin curtains around them as a cloudy veil.

Letting his fingers steal around Draco's waist, Harry leaned forward, his eyelids lowering as he waited for Draco's lips to brush against his own.


Harry wants to have his Gin and eat cock too. Prompt #8, "Wrong." Harry/Remus, implied Harry/Ginny and Remus/Tonks. Adult. The title is from a maxim by Publius Syrus, "We desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have."

Nothing So Much

(This story is too explicit to be posted here. It can be read at my website.)


What goes around, comes around, and love can't be limited. Prompt #9, "Circle." Ginny/Hermione, Hermione/Viktor, Harry/Hermione, Harry/Ron, Harry/Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny/Hermione. Adult but little explicitness, character death implied.

Three-Quarter Time

(This story was posted separately.)


Ron needs some help learning to cook. Prompt #10, "Breakfast." Can be read as Harry/Ron or not, as you choose.

How to Boil an Egg

"How do you like your eggs?"

"You sat by me for breakfast for how many years at Hogwarts and never noticed that I prefer them soft-boiled?"

"You always insist on cooking. I might think you don't trust me."

"Just because the last time you tried to cook you managed to burn water."

"We can't all have your advantages."

"Oh, and living in a closet all my childhood and cooking for the Dursleys was an advantage?"

"You know what I mean. Right, how long do I let them boil, then?"

"Three minutes or so."

"Oops."

"Just let me do it, Ron."