The House Competition
House: Hufflepuff
Class: Potions
Category: Drabble
Prompt: (romantic pairing) Fred Weasley/Hermione Granger
Word Count: 998
Warnings: Fred Lives and Marries Hermione!AU, Canon Divergence, a slight bit out of character too.
I hope you all enjoy Fairytales with Fred.
"Once upon a time, in a small kingdom called Hogwartsia," the voice of the love of Hermione's life drifted through from the slightly open door of their children's bedroom.
"Hogwartsia isn't a real kingdom, Daddy," their oldest child, a daughter named Lillianna cried out. "It's just a made-up one."
"Are you sure?" her father asked, the laughter evident in his voice.
"It must be real," their middle child answered. Rose was more likely to believe what her father said even if it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. She was a daddy's girl and that was one thing Hermione loved best.
"Ask Mummy then," said George, their soon-to-be second youngest child. They'd named him after his uncle George which sometimes made it confusing during family get-togethers.
"Your Mummy's taking a rest now," Fred said, sounding deep in thought. "But trust me, Hogwartsia is both a real and not-real place."
"How can it be real and not-real?" Lillianna asked, sounding intrigued. She, like her mother, had a knack for trying to understand everything there was to understand.
"Maybe if you let Daddy get back to the story, he'll explain," Rose said, sounding like she'd started to get out of bed to start a fight with her twin sister.
"Oi! None of that now, or I won't finish the story and you'll all go to bed without one."
That stopped the fight before it even began. The sound of a person settling in a chair sounded and Hermione realized she hadn't noticed when Fred had gotten up to intervene in the fight. But obviously, he had.
"Now, where was I?" Fred asked, sounding like he was once more deep in thought. "Oh! Yes. Once upon a time—"
The Kingdom of Hogwartsia had been a lovely place for all of its people. No one was ever cross with each other. They even shared their toys which the citizens were taught was a proper thing to do. Everything was right in the small kingdom until one day something horrible happened.
You see, the king and queen had recently had a young daughter. A more beautiful child couldn't be found in any other kingdom. She was wise, kind, and beautiful. But some didn't see the young princess as this. They saw her as an aversion. Something to be reviled instead of adored.
The young princess' name was Hermia. She was the most beautiful child that anyone had ever seen in their entire lives. Her hair was a soft chestnut brown and had grown bushy and soft as she grew. Her eyes always showed kindness, even to those most wouldn't think deserved it. But no one ever knew that that kindness would lead her to danger, which it did. On her seventeenth name day.
The day had begun like normal. She'd been dressed by her maidservant and eaten breakfast in the Great Hall. But upon exiting the Great Hall, things started to go downhill. You see, there was an evil Lord. As evil as one can get. This evil Lord's name was Boltomir.
He hated everyone different from him, which everyone in the kingdom knew wasn't a nice thing. Hating someone was a horrible crime, especially the way Boltomir did. Nonetheless, he hated the princess and was willing to do whatever it took to get her out of the way.
But no one knew that his plan would be as wicked as it turned out to be. You see, he had a loyal servant. An evil sorceress called Beatrice. Beatrice was rather good at potion making you see. She knew what her lord wanted and she knew she could deliver it.
Which is why she had shown up to the palace on this particular day and "accidentally" bumped into the princess. The basket she had been carrying fell to the floor sending pears spilling from it in every direction. Beatrice pretended to feign fear and started groveling all about to gather her wares.
Hermia, however, being the kind soul that she was, helped the woman. Had she known what was going to happen, no one knows whether she'd have done anything different or not. Knowing Hermia, she wouldn't have.
"You don't have to apologize," Hermia said, smiling and helping the woman to her feet. "Accidents happen and no one was hurt."
"Are you sure, My Lady?" Beatrice said, not looking as was proper when dealing with royalty.
"I'm sure," Hermia said, smiling as she looked at the juicy fruit in the basket. "Did you grow these?"
"Yes, fresh from my orchard."
"They look delicious. Would you mind if I bought one off of you?"
"Take your pick, my dear," Beatrice said, knowing that she'd put Draught of the Dead on every pear in the basket. "Consider it a gift for your kindness, my dear."
"Thank you," Hermia said, as she picked up a bright, juicy green pear. The brightest and juiciest of the bunch, they say.
No one around them noticed Beatrice's watchful eye as Hermia inspected the fruit in her hand. The older woman looked on edge as though she were excitedly waiting for something to happen.
"Why don't you take a bite?" Beatrice asked, trying not to sound impatient.
Hermia must not have noticed the impatience that was being directed at her because she took a great, big bite out of the pear.
A sudden strangeness passed over Hermia and she fell into a swoon.
"I think that's where we will leave it for tonight," Fred said, grinning at the protestations of his children. "Anticipation makes the story even better." He backed out of the children's room to the sounds of arguing.
"Do you think that was fair?" Hermione asked, folding her arms over her belly.
"Now they have something to look forward to tomorrow night, my dear Hermia," Fred said, pulling his wife into a kiss.
"And until then, no one is going to live happily ever after," she said, leading Fred toward the bed and a new day.
Also written for Monthly Challenges for All:
Link Maker: Anchor Link, 998 words
I hope you all enjoyed Fairytales with Fred as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know if I should continue this story or not.