Team: Falmouth Falcons
Main Prompt: Hotel
Option Prompts:
Quote: "We're disorganized mourners"
Word: Collateral
AU: Fairy Tale
Word Count: 2864
Hotel Aurora
1
Hermione Granger had never really been one to believe in fairy tales. Princes, wizards, magic, true love— they were all children's follies as far as she was concerned.
Besides, she was far too busy to entertain the idea of happily-ever-after with all the work there was to be done. Hermione managed her parents' business, a grand establishment in which people from all over the world came to stay during their travels.
Hotel Aurora had begun as a small inn, but over the years had grown into something of a castle compared to the rest of the town. And if it were a castle, Hermione had truly become its princess.
Guests and employees alike adored her; her brilliance and kindness were unparalleled, and stories of this grand hotel and its hard working manager spread not just throughout town but around the world.
When word of such a place reached the ears of Draco Malfoy, he wasted no time in booking a stay.
"What do you mean you're going on holiday?" his friend demanded the day he prepared to leave.
Draco rolled his eyes, throwing some clothes into his trunk. "Look, I'll make it back in time for the opening, alright?"
Theodore Nott narrowed his eyes from where he lay stretched across Draco's bed. "Will you? Because that's in a week, you know."
"I know, I know," Draco waved a hand. "I told you, we're opening the restaurant together, didn't I? I'll be back in time."
Theo scowled. "Why the sudden urge to go anyway?"
Draco shrugged as he finished packing. "I just… feel like it's something I ought to do. Get away from home for a while, that is."
"A while meaning less than a week?"
"Relax, Theo," Draco snorted. "I'll be back in time. I'm funding half the place, so I'm not going to bail on it, am I?"
"I don't know," Theo stated dubiously. "Are you?"
"No!" Draco snapped as he closed his trunk. "Just bloody wish me well on my travels and shut up, would you?"
Theo huffed. "Fine, fine. I'll see you when you get back, mate."
Draco nodded at his friend, hauled his trunk off the bed, and headed for the door.
2
Draco marveled at the size of the hotel— it had to be the largest building in town. While there were maybe only five or six stories, the building was long and intricately designed.
As he stepped inside, he was taken aback at how open it was. High ceilings and walkways surrounding the tall, open space made the place feel huge.
And then he saw her.
Hermione Granger stood just across the lobby, speaking to an older couple with a warm smile. It was her warmth that first caught his attention. Everything about her, from her long, plaited hair to her gentle expressions, drew him in. While he vaguely recognized her from pictures of the hotel, seeing her in person was something different altogether.
His feet carried him across the room almost of their own accord, and he found himself approaching the beautiful woman before he could stop himself.
As he reached her, the older couple bid her farewell. He cleared his throat. "Miss Granger?"
She turned toward him, her warm smile almost disorienting. "Hello," she greeted softly.
He took a quick, steadying breath before holding out a hand. "I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy."
3
An hour into conversing with Draco Malfoy, Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe she'd had it all wrong. Maybe fairy tales weren't such rubbish, and maybe love wasn't absolute madness.
Or maybe it was. The enveloping presence of Draco Malfoy was intoxicating enough to drive her something close to mad, after all, though she wasn't complaining.
After he checked in, the two went for a stroll through the gardens outside. The hotel sported a massive garden, full of brightly coloured azaleas, daffodils, roses, and hydrangeas that decorated the grounds and surrounded eloquent fountains.
Walking beside Draco, trading stories and wit, Hermione couldn't help but think this was all so familiar. She was certain she'd felt something like this before— once upon a dream, perhaps.
Their first kiss occurred only two days into his trip.
A fairy tale indeed.
4
"Theo," the dark haired man read slowly, "I hope this letter finds you well. I'm terribly sorry for this, mate, but I won't be back in time for the restaurant's opening. I know, I said I would, and I truly am sorry. It turns out I likely won't be coming back at all. It's Hermione, see. Blah, blah, something about radiance, yadda yadda, and— oh wow, she's smart, too? What a find, Draco, that simply never happens," Theo commentated sardonically before crumpling up the letter in his hand and tossing it aside.
He stood alone in his bedroom, glaring at nothing.
I suppose I'm meant to fund and run the place myself, he thought angrily.
If there was one thing Theodore Nott despised, it was being abandoned.
"Fine," he growled to himself. "If he has no intention of coming home, I'll make his extended stay hell."
Theo strode to his desk, yanking off the chain he wore around his neck. At the end hung a small key, which he used to unlock the top drawer. He tugged it open and gently picked up something he hadn't used in years.
To the unknowing, it was simply a peculiarly carved piece of wood.
To Theo, it was twelve inches of elm, a dragon heartstring at its core, with power almost entirely unknown to mankind.
And he had every intention of utilizing it to its fullest potential.
5
Draco walked down the hallway with his hands in his pockets, feeling lighter than he could ever remember feeling before. Maybe it hadn't been long, and maybe it was insane to think as much, but he was certain that he was in love.
He and Hermione had spent every minute of his trip together— on walks, dancing in the ballroom, sharing meals. He'd only been at Hotel Aurora for a week and a half, but Hermione's warmth made it feel like home.
On the twelfth day of his stay, he made his way up to Hermione's room to meet her for lunch.
Draco knocked on the door. After thirty seconds of waiting, he tried again. "Hermione?" he called.
No answer.
Something wasn't right. Dread built in Draco's stomach as he knocked again, the harrowing feeling that something was wrong continuing to expand. Still, no one answered. Finally, losing his patience, Draco pulled out the spare key Hermione had slipped him a couple days prior and let himself inside.
The living room of her suite was always tidy, but there were some clear signs that Hermione hadn't left. Namely, her bag sat on the coffee table, and the room was lit up.
Draco swallowed and continued on to the bedroom, hurrying through the open doorway before skidding to a stop.
Hermione was sprawled across the bed, sideways and unmoving.
"Hermione!" Draco yelled, running to her. He shook her frantically. "Love, please wake up."
But she wouldn't. And just as Draco began to realize this, he noticed a piece of parchment folded neatly beside her.
With a shaking hand, he unfolded it.
Draco,
Did I not mention the whole "wizard" thing before?
Must have slipped my mind.
Anyway, she won't wake up. Not from this spell.
Maybe I'll name a dish after her at our restaurant. Sorry, my restaurant.
Take care.
-Theo
Draco gaped at the words in horror. Theo was— a wizard? He'd, what, cursed Hermione? Over a bloody restaurant?
Draco stood from the bed and began to pace in a panic. There had to be something he could do. There had to be some way to break this, to wake her up.
But Hermione wouldn't move.
6
With no way to wake her up, Hermione was mourned. The funeral service was held at Hotel Aurora— it seemed fitting, considering she'd been such a big part of the place.
The turnout was massive, and it brought Draco some mild comfort to know that so many people loved this woman so much.
But still, his grief was almost incapacitating, and he was barely aware of something as meaningless as time when the woman he'd so quickly fallen in love with was just as quickly taken away.
It was because of this that he took no notice when people began to leave. He'd found his way up to Hermione's room, where the woman still lay immobile.
A voice cleared behind him, making him jump.
"Who— who are you?" Draco questioned the new arrival.
A dark-haired woman stood in the doorway, watching him curiously. "I'm Pansy," she informed him. "An old colleague of Theo's."
A colleague? Draco wondered if that meant… "Are you… I mean are you like him? A wizard?" he ventured desperately.
"A witch, but same thing," she shrugged, nonplussed. "He mentioned to me what he'd done to this one, and I thought I'd come check it out."
"Fix her," Draco begged. "Please, you have to fix her."
She snorted. "I don't have to do anything." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "I do like Hermione, though. She's been running this place for a while, and she does a good job at it."
"So you'll help?" Draco's eyes widened hopefully.
She exhaled slowly. "Look, I can help you. But you should know that magic like this is… tricky. Theo's always had a taste for the nastiest of curses."
"I don't care what it takes," Draco insisted, glancing back at the sleeping woman and then to Pansy once more. "Please."
Pansy leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. "Oh? So if the cost was… say… another person to take her place? You'd still want me to wake her?"
Draco paused. "Another… another person?"
"Consider them collateral," Pansy shrugged.
Draco didn't hesitate again. "Yes. Yes. Surely we can find someone who wouldn't be so missed, but it's like you said. Hermione runs this place so well. Everyone loves her. We could find someone with nobody to miss them. Someone as… collateral, as you put it."
Pansy fixed him with a stern look. "You're sure about this? Once I do this, there's no going back. It's a life for a life, and by midnight, whichever cursed person is 'asleep' will die."
Die. The word sent a chill down Draco's spine. "I'm sure," he breathed. "Please."
"Very well," Pansy shrugged. "Find me someone to use before midnight, and I'll reverse the spell."
Draco nodded quickly. "I— okay, I will. Thank you."
He ran to the front door, as Pansy watched with a scornful expression.
7
Luna Lovegood had known Hermione since she was young, from back when they attended school together. In her adulthood, she'd taken to tending the gardens of the hotel, always having preferred plants to people.
It was late afternoon, and she walked through the gardens with her watering can, pouring life into each bed of flowers.
She recognized Draco as he entered the gardens, of course, having seen him with Hermione all week. They were a beautiful couple, though she'd never really had a proper chat with him.
Luna had never been very popular— not that she minded. She had a few close friends, and she had her flowers. She didn't want or need anything more.
This wasn't to say that she was unfriendly, however. In fact, it was the contrary. As Draco strode down the path toward her she paused her watering duties to smile at him kindly and wave.
But as he got closer, she realized his expression was hard, his eyes cold and fierce. Her instincts screamed at her to run as he approached with unmistakable determination, but her friendliness was her downfall.
I'm sure I'm just being paranoid, she told herself, and kept her smile intact as she called out, "Draco, hi!"
"Luna," he greeted gruffly.
It wasn't until he was about three steps away that she noticed the rock he held in his hand, but by then it was too late.
Draco closed the distance, raised his arm, and swung.
The last thing Luna was conscious of was her watering can spilling across the pavement.
8
They stood in the middle of the garden, flowers spread around them both in the beds and along the pathway. It might have been silly to bring more flowers along, but they saw no better way to honour their friend.
Hannah Abbott held a watering can, from which a bouquet of chrysanthemums and peonies protruded.
Beside her, Dean Thomas held a basket of smooth stones, each one with different items and words painted across them that Luna had held dear— a ladybird, the moon, the sun, her friends' names.
Seamus Finnegan was also in attendance. He hadn't known what gift to bring his long-time friend at first, but he'd managed to find a painting of Hotel Aurora that he knew Luna would've appreciated.
Standing before them all, his back to one of the large fountains, was Neville Longbottom. He held nothing— his gift would be his words.
He sighed heavily. "It's funny," he began, though clearly no humour would be found in what he had to say. "Luna's spent as much time at this hotel as Hermione Granger. And yet, when people thought Hermione had died, they gathered by the dozen. We were there, we saw them fill an entire reception hall. And here we are, the only ones to grieve Luna Lovegood."
Hannah smiled at him encouragingly, through watery eyes. Dean stared at the ground, while Seamus looked at the painting he'd brought along.
"It's sad, really," Neville went on. "It's sad that while some people might have thousands to grieve them, others have no one. Sometimes I wish that we could allocate some specified number of people to grieve everyone who ever dies, just to make it more fair. But death isn't fair, is it? There's nothing fair about someone like Luna Lovegood dying with only the four of us to miss her."
Neville took a shaky breath, his eyes stinging. "But we're still here. As a species we may be disorganized mourners, but we as friends are here, and we're here for Luna. For the friend who's been there for us all from the beginning. Maybe we don't know what happened, or why she's now gone, but we remember her. And it's our job to keep remembering her, to honour her forever, like she would have for us."
Then, one by one, they left their gifts scattered among the flowerbeds for their fallen friend.
9
Hermione couldn't believe how quickly things had happened. She'd fallen in love, nearly died, and fully recovered in less than two weeks. It wasn't logical, or natural, or anything she was used to.
But she was so happy.
"Tell me again," she requested, leaning against Draco as they sat in her living room.
He chuckled softly against her. "Tell you what?"
"Tell me what happened," she clarified. "There was so much happening, so many people swarming me, I could barely understand you over them all."
"A lot of people love you," he pointed out. "That's a good thing you know."
She smiled, intertwining her hand with his. "I'm very lucky. Everyone here is so nice. But tell me again, why all the fuss? I was only out, what, a day or two?"
"It was a day," Draco admitted. "But you didn't look to be breathing. And no one really knew how to wake you."
"A funeral still seems excessive," she rolled her eyes.
He grinned sheepishly. "Maybe. Still, it must be nice to know how many people would mourn you if you were gone."
She nestled further into his arms. "It is nice. And so many people have come to visit me, since. Harry and Ron sent me a mountain of sweets. Ginny cried!"
He snorted. "I saw."
"Don't make fun," Hermione playfully swatted the back of her hand against him. Her smile slowly faded. "I haven't seen Luna, still. I feel like she would've stopped by at some point."
Some part of her felt Draco stiffen, but she was sure she was imagining things. "I'm sure she'll be by later," Draco assured her. "Give her time."
"Yeah," Hermione sighed. "You're right. I'm just happy you're here."
"I'm just happy you're okay," Draco hugged her.
And she was.
She simply didn't know the price it'd cost for her to be okay.
10
"Hermione's alive, you know," Pansy informed Theo as she strode into his home office.
He'd been writing at his desk, quill still in hand as he looked up at her with a bored expression. "I'm aware."
"Draco paid for it," Pansy went on, coming to sit on her friend's desk. He frowned at her but said nothing. "Collateral received."
"I'm aware of that too," Theo responded with a satisfied smirk. "Luna Lovegood, if I've heard right."
"You have," Pansy narrowed her eyes. "You're not mad?"
Theo's grin widened. "Why would I be? Imagine dear Hermione's reaction when she finds out that Draco sacrificed one of her friends to wake her up."
Pansy raised her eyebrows. "Devious."
Theo twirled his quill around his fingers. "Aren't I? Anyway, are you hungry? I opened a restaurant the other day."