"Voice" is in honor of my choir, sort of. I wanted something with music since we went to competition in March and got straight 1's.
It has come to my attention that many of you aren't reviewing. I have over 2000 hits for these drabbles, but I have only had one consistent reviewer, 'you go girl'. Please reivew. It only takes a second or two, and it makes me happy and more likely to produce more drabbles.
Alright. 'Grave' and 'Anyone Else' actually go together, if you can believe that. Just don't break down into tears on me, okay? Becuase I almost did, writing part of one of those.
Alright, hello everyone! 'Nobody' and 'Empty' are unrelated in everything but theme. The theme? War.
I was asked to do two drabbles on war by my friend. Neither of them are really war "battle" driven; more the effects of war.
I would like to explain about 'Flamingos'. My youth group did a fundraiser where we go and 'flock' people's yards with pink plastic flamingos. People paid us to go and flock other people's yards. Well, it was such a fun event, that I wanted to write something about it. So...there we go.
Alright, enjoy everyone!
~Aubrey
EDIT MAY 2011: Merged Drabbles 11-20. Enjoy!
Title: Voice
Rating: K
Word Count: 120
Characters: Lily Evans, James Potter (mentions of Sirius and Remus)
Time Period: Christmas of their Seventh Year (probably just after they got together)
Summary: It still surprises him that she can surprise him, especially with something he thinks he already ought to know about her.
Her voice was like that of an angel, soaring in her perfect soprano above the rest of the carolers. He had never known she could sing like that, and he watched, mesmerized, as her voice carried her to the high note effortlessly and back down again. Add that to the list of things he had never known about Lily Evans. Man, did she have a voice!
James shook his head and joined in, his softer tenor mixing with the rest of the people singing. Suddenly, he was very glad he had been roped into this with Sirius (who, of course, was belting his heart out near the front) and Remus (sulking near the back). It had been a very…enlightening experience.
Title: Picture
Rating: K
Word Count: 125
Characters: The Marauders
Time Period: Whenever you want it to be
Summary: There is a picture of four teenage boys glued to the wall in a dark house. Four happy, clueless boys.
There is a picture on a wall in a dark house that shows four teenage boys. They are smiling broadly at the camera, waving and looking on top of the world. One has shaggy dark hair, another messy black hair and glasses, still another blonde and scarred, and the last is smaller and timid-looking. They have no clue.
They know nothing about what is to come; about how one will betray the rest, causing the death of one of them and his wife, and causing another to be chucked into the worst prison imaginable for years, and still leaving the other on his own, scared and alone in a world that hates his kind. They have no clue. They are just four smiling, clueless boys.
Title: Afraid
Rating: K
Word Count: 115
Characters: Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley
Time Period: Spoilers for 6th Year! - After Dumbledore's Funeral
Summary: He is afraid. Afraid to touch her, afraid to hold her, and sometimes even afraid to look at her. Because he knows that if he does, she's only going to be in danger.
He watches her as she works; her face is frowning in concentration, a quill tapping softly against her leg. Her long crimson hair hangs slightly in front of her face, and he longs to brush it away, to see her chocolate eyes staring back at him.
But he knows he can't. Doing so would only put her in danger; doing so would mean breaking down and giving in; doing so would mean that anyone could come in and take her to get to him, knowing he would come and get her without regard for his own life. And that, my friends, is the reason Harry watches Ginny Weasley, but does not act. He is afraid.
Title: Accident
Rating: K
Word Count: 100
Characters: Hermione Granger-Weasley and Ron Weasley
Time Period: After they get married, before DH Epilogue
Summary: An almost accident in a car has our favorite couple arguing…again.
"Ronald! Watch where you're going!"
He smiled sheepishly, reminding himself again to look in the rearview mirror before backing out of a parking space. He had just narrowly missed a dark lorry speeding down the road. Hermione, who was sitting next to him, was literally shaking in her seat.
"Don't you have faith in me, Hermione?"
She stopped gripping the seat for dear life. Flipping her bushy brown hair out of her face, she shot him her best 'Please-tell-me-you're-kidding-me' look. Maybe letting Ron drive wasn't such a good idea.
"I may love you, Ron, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid!"
Title: Grave
Rating: Low T
Word Count: 115
Characters: Alicia Spinnet, Fred Weasley (mentioned)
Time Period: Post Final Battle (DH Spoilers)
Summary: The fact that he died a hero cannot console Alicia as she weeps on her fiancée's grave.
The fact that her fiancée is a hero does nothing to console Alicia Spinnet as she stares listlessly at the grave in front of her. The fact that he died defending Hogwarts does not negate the fact that she'll never get to wear her wedding dress. She'll never get to walk down the isle in a haze of bliss and she'll never kiss him as his wife. She'll never again get to see his eyes sparkling with mischief as he and his brother plot and plan.
The simple fact that Fred Weasley is now dead is enough to make her break down crying in front of the marble tombstone, sobbing her heart out in sorrow.
Title: Anyone Else
Rating: Low T
Word Count: 100
Characters: Angelina Johnson, George Weasley, Alicia Spinnet
Time Period: Post Final Battle (DH Spoilers)
Summary: Angelina knows she should be feeling awful, but all she can think about is the relief that it wasn't him.
Angelina Johnson wipes her eyes as she watches her best friend weep in sorrow. Her heart clenches in pity, knowing that Alicia will never marry her beloved. Angelina, though feeling wretched as she thinks it, feels relief that it wasn't George. Anyone but George.
The aforementioned man comes up behind her and leans on her, watching in silence as his future sister-in-law weeps on his brother's grave. She looks at him; his eyes glistening with tears and huge shadows under his eyes. Angelina hugs him and looks down at the ring sparkling on her left ring finger.
Anyone but George.
Title: Nobody
Rating: K+
Word Count: 160
Characters: Lisa Turpin
Time Period: Pre- and Post-Final Battle (DH Spoilers)
Summary: As far as anyone knows, she's nobody. Just another name, just another face. But Lisa Turpin doesn't regret dying for the light, fighting for what she knows was right.
She's just a nobody; a name on the page, one face among hundreds. But even though only a few are even aware of her existence, she feels a certain feeling of courage come about her as she prepares to fight. All her life, she has been the quiet one; the good little girl who always did her work and never caused trouble. And of course she is smart. She's brilliant.
But no one ever knew. And no one ever would.
She was Lisa Turpin, just one girl among hundreds, just one more name on the granite memorial wall. She was nobody, but she made a difference. She was there, and no one will ever know. Few mourn her, few people even knew about her, but she was there. She saw the war, and she fought in the battle, dying for what she believed in. She was Lisa Turpin; solid proof that even if you're a nobody, you can still fight.
Title: Empty
Rating: K+
Word Count: 225
Characters: None, really. The Potters are mentioned.
Time Period: Anytime after Halloween, 1981
Summary: There once was a house that stood on Cherry Street. Now, all that remains is rubble, and the hint of something that once was.
The house was once beautiful. It once was a quaint two-story home, with orchids and ivy growing in carefully tended flowerbeds. It once had lilac curtains that fluttered gently in the breeze when the windows were open. It once had a large, open-air living room that opened up into the back yard. It once had a nursery, painted blue and decorated with love. It once held a man, his wife, and their child, a happy baby boy. It once was filled with laughter and a sense of homeliness.
Now, the house is empty. The roof has caved in and the flowerbeds have gone wild. The once lilac curtains are now ripped and torn and brown with age, hanging limply in the broken windows. The living room is filled with dust, dirt, and mold. The nursery has been blown apart, and the blue of the walls can not be seen now. Now, the house is empty. Laughter no longer rings through the house, and it seems lonely. The dilapidated house stands at the end of a road, with a sign documenting what happened there. It stands as a reminder of what people can lose in war.
The house is empty, and the bright laughter of children no longer rings through the hallways. It is just there, resting sadly against a horizon of grey clouds and fog.
Title: Flamingos
Warnings: None
Rating: K
Word Count: 200
Characters: The Marauders (James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, for those few who don't know)
Time Period: Anytime during the Marauder's school years, probably 6th or 7th Year.
Summary: Attempting to play a prank, James transfigures the silverware into a certain type of pink bird.
A soft snicker echoed down the deserted hallway as footsteps approached the door.
"Padfoot! Shut up or you're going to get us caught!" whispered a furious voice. Out of nowhere, four boys appeared, one of them holding a silvery cloak in his hands as another pulled open the doors to the Great Hall.
The four boys crept into the hall, murmuring to each other under their breaths.
"Alright!" James said. "Go! Padfoot, Hang the sign and the streamers. Moony, charm the tables. Wormtail, stand guard and make sure none of the teachers come to find out what we're doing."
As the boys hurried to do their jobs, Sirius looked back at James. "What are you going to do, then? Stand there and look pretty?"
James sent a mock offended look Sirius' way, and then shook his head. "Nah, I'm roguishly handsome without trying. I've got the animals, remember?"
And, with a giant grin on his face, James waved his wand and muttered, "Phoenicopteris!"
At once, squawking filled the Great Hall as the platters and silverware disappeared and bright pink birds took their places.
"Prongs! You weren't supposed to transfigure them yet! And what where you thinking? I mean, flamingos! Really?"
Title: Knowing
Warnings: Mentioned Character Death
Rating: K+
Word Count: 100
Characters: Sirius Black, James and Lily Potter (mentioned)
Time Period: Immediately after Potters' deaths (Halloween, 1981)
Summary: Sirius looks upon his dead friends, his dead brother, and he knows.
The minute he had seen their bodies, he knew. The minute he had seen James' lifeless eyes staring at the caved-in ceiling, his arm outstretched and Lily's crumpled form still with her arms flung wide as if to protect the cradle behind her, he knew.
There was no contemplation, no second guesses. There was no double-taking, or waiting to know for sure if he was right. There was no running to the others, pleading his innocence. There was no weeping over their bodies, not yet. There was only Sirius Black, and he was out for the blood of a traitor.
