Story [Harry Potter] Drabble Collection {update 19th February - Beyond the Veil / Sirius Black}

Notes: Just a bunch of Harry Potter character study drabbles. This first one revolves around Severus Snape and is set during Goblet of Fire.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.

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- One -
He Knew
{Severus Snape}
​

Severus knew. He knew the instant it happened. He knew from the burning sensation that enveloped his left forearm, beckoning him to return. He knew from the way the Dark Mark slithered about against his skin, the black ink deep and dark, a stark contrast to his pale flesh.

He was back. This time it wasn't in the form of a diary entry or a half-alive parasite living off unicorn blood and someone else's body. He was back properly, with a body and all the power that had made him so feared.

He was back. Severus knew he was screwed. Last time around he had lost so much, lost the one person he had cared about more than anything, the only person he had ever called a friend. This time he could end up losing the one person he swore to protect.

He was back. Severus wasn't delusional. He knew how Dumbledore's mind worked; there would be no escaping the war that was bound to come. He knew Dumbledore would expect him to spy again. He knew he wouldn't have a choice in the matter. He never really had. No one ever did when it came to Dumbledore. He gave you the illusion of choice, but you knew you couldn't say no. Severus wouldn't have a choice. Neither would Harry.

Severus knew. When Harry returned from the maze, clutching the cup and Diggory's body, Severus knew that while Cedric Diggory was the first casualty of Lord Voldemort's return to power, he wouldn't be the last. Severus knew that this time he wouldn't make it out alive.​

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I always appreciate your thoughts and concrit. ​

 

@Mira_Jade Thanks so much for the lovely comments! And I'm glad that it had the impact (the last line, particularly) that I wanted.
Here's another snippet!

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- Two -
A True Gryffindor
{Neville Longbottom}
​

Neville never thought he was brave. He never thought he belonged in Gryffindor. No, he was more suited to Hufflepuff. He was loyal and hardworking and had the strong sense of justice and fairness that Hufflepuffs valued. Yes, Hufflepuff would have been perfect for him.

The Sorting Hat disagreed, however. It said he had his parent's bravery; he just didn't know it yet. Neville knew it was wrong. He knew he wasn't brave; the hat didn't need to lie to make him feel better. He knew where he belonged and that was Hufflepuff. Neville argued with the hat for a good long while. In the end the hat was just too persistent and Neville relented. He was sorted into Gryffindor.

Neville thought the hat had made a massive mistake.

His gran said he belonged in Gryffindor. Neville knew she was wrong. She said he was brave every time he visited his parents. It wasn't until years later that Neville realised she was right.

When he did look back, years later, he realised that he had been brave all along. He'd been brave when he'd stood up to Harry, Ron and Hermione in first year. He'd been brave when he'd told Malfoy he was worth twelve of him. He'd been brave when he'd faced Boggart-Snape and he'd been brave every time he'd attended Potions and faced the real Snape. He'd been brave when he defied Umbridge in fifth year and joined Dumbledore's Army. He'd been brave when he'd fought at the Department of Mysteries. He'd been brave throughout seventh year, standing up to the Carrows and Snape. He'd been brave in the Battle of Hogwarts - not just through fighting, but having to watch his friends get killed around him.

He never realised any of this at the time though.

It wasn't until he pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat that he realised that, actually, he was a Gryffindor. It was almost like the hat was saying I told you so.
​

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Thoughts/concrit are much appreciated. ​

 

I liked how Neville seemed a painfully earnest young man and then grew into his role. He's like others who self-critique endlessly without realizing that people *or a personified hat!* can know him better than he knows himself. Good snippet. "His gran said he belonged in Gryffindor" Ha, grans are always right!

 

@pronker and Mira_Jade: Thank you both for your wonderful comments, I really enjoy reading them! And I hope you enjoy this next instalment.

* * * * *
- Three -
Misconceptions
{Remus Lupin}​

There were several misconceptions people had about werewolves. Remus knew this. While it bothered him that often what they were taught in class was far from from the reality, he had learned to live with it. Unfortunately, his friends didn't know about these misconceptions. They'd had the best intentions when they'd taken to reading every book they could possibly find on werewolves. What they didn't know was that the books - and their Defence Professor - weren't always entirely accurate.

There had been more than a few times that Remus had had to correct his friends on what they thought they knew about werewolves, but the one that stuck out in his mind - if only because the very notion seemed utterly ridiculous to Remus - was an incident that had occurred on his sixteenth birthday.

Remus had been in the common room unwrapping a present from Lily when said incident happened. One minute he'd been looking down at a lovely silver-tipped quill, the next he'd had it knocked out of his hand by Sirius. The quill had gone flying and it was, quite frankly, a miracle that nobody's eye had been taken out.

While Lily had glared daggers at Sirius Remus had remained calm, saying in a voice reminiscent of a teacher, "Sirius, what are you doing?"

Sirius looked baffled as he replied, "I was saving your life."

"You were saving my life," Remus repeated with the same teacher-like tone.

"Yes! The quill, it was silver." Sirius's head comically swung from side to side, his gaze alternating between the blank look of Remus and the daggers of Lily, and he dearly wished he had James or Peter to back him up.

"I can see that, Sirius, but what I don't see is how that poses a threat to my life."

Sirius looked at him as though he was an idiot. "You're, you know, allergic to silver." It came out almost as a whisper, and Sirius side-eyed Lily as he spoke.

Then it clicked with Remus and he almost burst out laughing. He thought Sirius would be the last person to be taken in by Muggle myths concerning the magical world, especially since he spent half his time wondering how Muggles could believe this about dragons or that about mermaids. "Sirius," Remus said, his amusement clearly written on his face, "I'm not allergic to silver."

"You're not?" Sirius's face fell slightly.

"No."

"Oh." Sirius flushed slightly as he realised they'd garnered a bit of an audience and he went to retrieve the quill from where it had landed across the room.

As Remus carried on opening his presents, he made a mental note to find an accurate book on werewolves for his friends to read.

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Hope you enjoyed!

 

Mira_Jade Thanks for the lovely comment! I'm so glad I got the voices right, as that was the thing I was most nervous about. I do enjoy writing Remus and Sirius though, so expect to see more of them in the future. The next drabble - which will focus on Regulus - should be posted within the next few days.

 

That first one was quite good, and even though I have only seen a few of the movies, and had no idea who Severus was, the co9ntinued emphasis was enough to identify who was back...and it wasn't Arnie.

I have no idea if Severus' perception of Dumbledore is at all correct, but it is an interesting perspective.
It is a cuddly name, but apparently not cuddly by nature.

A nice and emotive piece.

 

I've had this thread bookmarked for a while -- it was your Snape entry that caught my attention -- and I'm really glad I got to catch up with the rest too. Snape's perspective on Dumbledore rings so true to both characters in the books. Dumbledore is just devious, in his own way; he's a real puppet master.

It seems that we're interested in the same HP characters, because I was really happy to see Neville and Lupin showing up here. Great little piece of Neville introspection, and I like how you explained the time he spent being sorted. In a way, he was already showing that he could stand up for himself by standing up to the Sorting Hat.

Similarly, great piece of Remus/Sirius interaction in your latest entry. I can just picture them, Sirius believing that he knows things, and Lupin shaking his head in dismay

 

@Sith-I-5: I'm glad you liked it even though you're not hugely familiar with the characters. As for the perception of Dumbledore, I'm not a huge fan of his character, so perhaps that comes through a bit, but I think it's a pretty widely accepted thing amongst the fans that Dumbledore can be pretty manipulative and not as 'good' as he's presented.

@Chyntuck: Thanks for your comments, I'm glad you liked them! I've always been more interested in writing about characters who perhaps don't get explored as much in the books and others who I just find particularly interesting for one reason or another. Expect more Remus and Neville in the future, but for now I hope you enjoy this Regulus drabble.

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- Four -
Choices
{Regulus Black}
​

Throughout most of his life, Regulus had never had much of a choice in anything. As a child he had to wear what his mother bought for him. He had to eat whatever the house-elves put in front of him, regardless of whether he actually liked it or not. He had to associate with the people his father chose. He had to act exactly how his parents said he should. He didn't want to do any of those things, but he knew the consequences of ignoring his parents.

It didn't get much better when he started Hogwarts. His parents made it perfectly clear that any house other than Slytherin wasn't acceptable. He wasn't allowed to join Sirius in Gryffindor. He wasn't allowed to join Ravenclaw where the Hat said he should go. Slytherin was the only choice. It wasn't a choice at all. His father told him who to make friends with, who to avoid, who to impress. His mother told him what subjects to carry on to OWL level and then NEWT level. He didn't want to do what they said, but he knew he couldn't say no.

The only choice he got to make at Hogwarts was to join the Quidditch team. His parents disapproved. His father said it would distract him from more important things. His mother said he needed to focus on his education. He managed to convince them by saying there were a lot of 'important' people on the Quidditch team that he needed to keep on his side and that he needed a way to relieve stress after studying so hard. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't that important, but to Regulus it felt like a massive victory.

After he graduated, his father told him he was to join the Dark Lord. Like so many times before his father made it clear, without actually saying the words, that he didn't have a choice in the matter. He was to become a Death Eater. That was that. Once he joined, any vague notion of having a choice in anything anymore was stripped from him. He had to do as he was told, regardless of right or wrong, regardless of his wants and desires. He didn't want to do any of it, but he knew what would happen if he defied the Dark Lord.

Choice wasn't a word Regulus was allowed to have in his vocabulary.

Until one day it was. Until one day he'd had enough and said to hell with everyone else, he was going to do what he wanted for a change. So he made the biggest choice he would ever make. He betrayed the Dark Lord. He would pay for it with his life, but he would never regret doing what he did. For once he didn't feel trapped. For once he felt in control of his life. For once he felt free.​

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Comments, of course, are always appreciated. ​

 

Oh! These are fun! I especially love the Neville one and him pulling the sword out of the Sorting Hat as being a "I told you so" moment. The little snippets into the characters' minds are lovely--thank you for exploring characters that aren't written about as frequently, like Regulus. That last one is very powerful, particularly with the theme and idea of choice in Regulus' life.

Thank you for sharing these!

 

Liked the story about Remus and Sirius the most! (Yes, I'm pretty much interested in the Marouders age, even was a part of a few roleplays)

Keep writing!

 

Idrelle_Miocovani - Thank you for your comment, I'm so glad you liked them! The Neville one is one of my favourites, and I'm glad you found the Regulus one powerful, as that is what I was aiming for! I do like exploring the characters that aren't particularly prominent in the books or aren't written about as much by the fans, as I find I have a lot more to say about them and I think there can be a lot more creative freedom with those characters.

leia_organa1 - Thanks for your comment! I'm glad you liked the Remus and Sirius one, that one was definitely the most fun to write!

 

So it's been a while since I posted one of these, but I finally have another one to share with you all. This one is set during Order of the Phoenix just after Sirius falls through the veil and stems from the fact that when I first read OotP, I very firmly believed that Sirius wasn't dead and was going to come back in one of the later books. Anyway, I'm quite fond of this one, so I hope you all enjoy!

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- Five -
Beyond the Veil
{Sirius Black}

Sirius felt like he was floating. He tried to touch the floor with his toes, but there wasn't anything there. He stretched his arm out to touch the ceiling, but there was nothing above him either.

He was surrounded by nothing.

He was alone. In an eternal white expanse of nothingness.

Great.

Was he dead? He didn't know. He remembered duelling his psycho cousin, getting hit with a spell and then falling through whatever the hell that archway was. When he got out of this place (was it even a place?) Bellatrix was so dead.

He didn't think he was dead. He was still breathing, his limbs and senses were all working as usual and he was clearly capable of thinking. So, no, not dead.

He was in limbo then. Purgatory. Whatever the hell you wanted to call it because this was certainly not the land of the living.

Was he doomed to stay here for eternity? Alone with nothing but his thoughts forever? Maybe this was hell after all.

...

Sirius was bored.

Whoever, or whatever, had created this blasted place could have at least provided some form of entertainment. There were only so many times he could hum 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love' before he started to lose his marbles.

It was worse than Azkaban and that was saying something. At least in Azkaban there were things to look at and the occasional person to talk to. Okay, so it felt like all the happiness was being sucked out of him, but at least he had felt something. Here, he just felt empty.

He went back to humming. So what if it meant he lost his marbles? Insanity might make things more bearable. Bellatrix had certainly seemed content with being insane. Wait, was he comparing himself to Bellatrix of all people? Marbles definitely lost.

...

How long had passed since he'd fallen? Sirius didn't have any concept of time anymore. It felt like an age had passed, but for all Sirius knew, it might have only been minutes.

Surely someone would realise, sooner or later, where he was and come rescue him. Remus was smart, he'd figure out what the archway was and find a way to return him to the land of the living and the sane. He thought of Bellatrix. Okay, maybe not the land of the sane, but certainly the land of the living. Don't take too long though, Moony, Sirius thought, because I'd rather not join the list of Insane Members of the Black Family.

...

The silence was the worst part. The nothingness he could almost, sort of, deal with because he could just close his eyes and imagine whatever the hell he wanted to. The silence, however, was pure torture.

He wanted to scream.

In fact, screw it, there was no one else here, so why shouldn't he scream and shout all he wanted?

So he did.

...

Where was everyone? Sirius couldn't be the only person here, surely? When he'd been on the other side, he could hear voices coming from the veil, so where were they all? Were they stuck in perpetual loneliness and nothingness like he was? Had they not really been there at all?

...

Come on, Moony, where the hell are you? Use that big brain of yours and get me out of this damn place...

...

Sirius started to count. There was nothing else to do here, after all. So he decided to count the seconds, minutes, hours. At least then he'd have more of a concept of time.

...

He gave up after an hour. It only made everything worse. He'd rather not have a concept of time at all, at least then he could fool himself into thinking he hadn't been here as long as it seemed.

...

Sirius didn't know how long it had been - didn't really want to know truth be told - but after a while he came to the realisation that no one knew where he was. No one was coming for him. He was trapped. Two years of freedom and now he was back to being imprisoned with nothing but his traitorous mind to keep him company.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He did both.

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Comments are always appreciated.

 

Mira_Jade - Thanks for your comment! I'm glad the formatting gave the effect that I wanted it to - detached/surreal was definitely what I was aiming for. Look out for another drabble coming (hopefully) soon!

 

I'm back with another drabble! This one I wrote ages ago for one of the monthly prompts over on HEX. This one's a little different from the others in that it's in first person and is from the point of view of an unnamed OC. I will admit this isn't my favourite one, I have edited it since I first wrote it, but I still don't think it's my best work. Hope you all enjoy it anyway!

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- Six -
The Continuous Cycle
{Tom Riddle}
​

He intrigued me more than anything.

I was eight when I first came to Wool's Orphanage. He was ten. The first thing the other kids said to me when I arrived was to stay away from Tom Riddle. They said he was a freak, but no one told me exactly why that was.

I'd never been one for listening to what other people said, least of all other kids. In my experience other kids were liars and I didn't see anything to suggest that they were telling the truth when they said, "Riddle is a freak and does weird things."

I didn't listen to them and I began to watch him intently, searching for any sign of truth in the 'freak' comments. He didn't say much or interact with the other children, but neither did I and no one called me a freak for it.

It was five days before I noticed anything that could be classed as 'weird'. He was lying down on his stomach under a tree; at first I thought he was alone, but then I noticed the grass snake. Its head was eye level with Tom and it was hissing and Tom was hissing back. Like they were having a conversation. No, that couldn't be right, people didn't have conversations with snakes. What if they did... I shook the thought from my head. No. My mind was playing tricks on me, or Tom was just messing about. Yes, that was the most plausible explanation. The seed was planted, though, that maybe the others were right.

It was seven days before I spoke to him. I sat down at his table one lunch time and introduced myself. He looked blankly at me; his eyes were soulless and it was as if he was looking right through me. It was the first time I had ever truly felt unsettled. He asked me why I'd been staring at him. I didn't know. I still don't. There was something that had drawn me to him, like a moth to a flame, but I never figured out what it was.

It was ten days before I noticed the locket my mother had given me was missing. It was the only thing I had left of her and it was the only picture of my parents that I had. Somehow, I knew straight away where it was, so one lunch time I snuck into his room. I was scrabbling about under his bed when he caught me and it was the first time I'd ever seen any sort of emotion in his eyes. He was angry; I was terrified. So terrified, in fact, that I couldn't get up. My fear had pinned me to the floor. It didn't occur to me until much later that it wasn't my fear holding me down, it was him. I don't know how, he was stood nowhere near me, but it was definitely him. I watched, helpless, as he retrieved the locket from his wardrobe, dangled it tauntingly in front of me, and then put it back. He let me go.

I told no one of what happened in that room. I started to listen to what the other kids said. I stopped staring at him, stayed away from him altogether, pretended he didn't exist even.

Three months later we had a new arrival at the orphanage. His name was Billy. He didn't listen either. It was only after he found his rabbit hung from the rafters after a fight that he started to believe what the other kids said.

Two months after that, another new arrival. Another kid who wouldn't listen. The cycle continued.

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Thoughts?

 

You created a spooky Tom Riddle! Great story!

 

Eek! I'm not sure why I failed to review three stories in a row on your thread (probably because I'm a bit air-headed) but I'm going to catch up now.

Choices

I love how you built Regulus's personality in such contrast to Sirius here. What saved Sirius from the same fate as his brother was his rebellious streak and the fact that he chose to leave the family home rather than comply with his parents' demands. It was a particularly neat touch to have Regulus negotiating his participation in the Quidditch team so as to persuade his father that it was a worthwhile activity. And, of course, the most heartbreaking moment of all is the moment when he becomes free – because no one will ever really know, and he won't enjoy it for long.

Beyond the Veil

Like Mira said, that was intense! And at the same time, it was all very Sirius, with his usual impatience and his irreverent way with words. To be stuck alone in a nowhere place where no one can find him must have been indeed even more torture than his stint in Azkaban.

I'm curious to know what your fanon about the arch and more generally death in the Potterverse would be. There were some clues about it in Deathly Hallows with the Harry/Dumbledore scene in King's Cross, but yours was an interesting take on what happens before one "moves on".

The Continuous Cycle

I'm not sure why you wouldn't be particularly happy with what you wrote here, because I thought this story was excellent, on par with your other stories in this thread. Discovering Tom Riddle through the POV of a Muggle child was just supremely creepy, particularly that moment when Tom dangles the locket in front of the narrator, as if he is already affirming his supremacy. I also love how you connected this to the storyline we know with the mention of Billy's bunny at the end.

Please do keep posting, and I'll do my best to keep reviewing!

 

@Sara_Kenobi - Thanks for your comment, I'm glad you found Tom spooky.

@Chyntuck - Don't worry about it! I love reading your reviews, whenever they come!

Regulus is one of my absolute favourite characters to write about, I just think there's so much you can do with his character. (I have a bit of a thing for morally questionable characters with redemption arcs!) I think what's really tragic about his story is that no one - apart from Harry and co - ever really knew what he did and the sacrifice he made. He never really gets any credit for what he did. Then you have Sirius, who was cleared of all the charges against him after his death and is recognised for the good that he did.

Hmm, I've never really given too much thought to death in general in the Potterverse, though I have a lot of thoughts about the arch. I always imagined it to be some kind of limbo, somewhere that's in-between life and death and that it was possible for someone who had gone through the arch to come back. I actually always thought that Sirius was going to come back because, despite Bellatrix using Avada Kedavra in the film, in the book we don't actually know what spell hit Sirius and so he was probably alive when he fell through the arch. I think what intrigued me as well was the fact that Harry and Luna could hear voices coming from it and I always imagined them to be the voices of people who were trapped in this sort of limbo, rather than the voices of the dead.

As for death in general, it does seem that there is some sort of afterlife in the Potterverse, as shown through the ghosts and the fact that Harry could speak with his family using the Resurrection Stone. I think perhaps in that world, everyone has something similar to the King's Cross scene with Harry and Dumbledore. Except where Harry had the choice to go back or move on, most people would have the choice to become a ghost or move on. I hope all that makes sense! I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on the topic, as well!

I think it was because it was something I wrote quite quickly and I felt it was a bit rushed. That, and I think I'm better at writing in third person, rather than first. The more I read it back, though, the more it does grow on me. I'm glad you liked the reference to Billy's bunny!

I've got plenty more drabbles in the works, including ones focusing on Blaise, Lyall Lupin, another one for Regulus, and another for Remus.

 

Woo! I'm back with another drabble! I have no idea how long it'll be until the next one is posted, but since I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year it might be a while between posts. That being said, I do have some other drabbles half-written, so I might get something up some time in November. Who knows? Certainly not me! Anyway, hope you all enjoy this little Blaise-centric drabble!

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- Seven -
Everything Goes Away
{Blaise Zabini}​

Don't get too attached, because in the end it'll get taken away from you. That was the main lesson Blaise had learnt so far in life. It wasn't the easiest of lessons to learn, but he hadn't really had a choice.

He used to think his attachment issues stemmed from the fact that his father had left before he was born, but later he realised that it had nothing to do with the man he'd never met and everything to do with the woman who raised him.

As a child, he had loved his mother and had always believed she could do no wrong. He thought her husbands were idiots for leaving her, never realising that she was the one who got rid of them. It wasn't until he was a teenager that he realised what his mother was really like.

His mother wasn't a cold woman as such, but she did tend to get through husbands at a rate of one every couple of years. Some lasted a little longer, if she didn't get bored as quickly.

Learning what his mother was like wasn't easy. Her second husband - Blaise's first stepfather and the only man Blaise had ever seen as a father because he'd actually had a hand in raising him - lasted a whole eight years before Blaise's mother had divorced him. Blaise hadn't understood, he still didn't really, and he took his departure hard, throwing temper tantrums when his mother wouldn't let him see him, wouldn't even explain why he couldn't. He didn't just lose a father figure that day, he lost his best friend; his stepfather had a gorgeous golden retriever who Blaise had adored more than anything. The day he could no longer see his dog was the day he started to feel some bitterness towards his mother.

He didn't learn though, not from that. Not long after, he made friends with a Muggle boy in the nearby town; they became good friends and Blaise just started to think that he might have another best friend when the boy moved away. Stepfather number two came and went too quickly for Blaise to get attached, but stepfather number three stuck around for a few years. Blaise liked him, he was funny and he seemed to genuinely like Blaise, but when he eventually left too Blaise started to wonder if he was the reason why none of them stuck around.

Then stepfather number four came along and he was just the worst. Blaise's mother had bought him a cat two years previously, but number four was allergic to cats so they had to give him away. Two weeks after Blaise gave his cat up, number four left too. Blaise didn't speak to his mother for a whole week after that and that was when he resolved to never get attached to anything or anyone ever again.

It worked for a while, and he stopped caring about all the men his mother brought home and married. Then Hogwarts came along and he met Draco and Pansy. The three of them became firm friends but Blaise always tried to keep his distance from them. He didn't want to have to deal with the pain of losing them too. As hard as he tried though, it didn't work. He got attached, more than he ever had to anyone else. By the time fifth year came around, he allowed himself to believe that maybe he'd found someone who'd actually stick around.

Then sixth year started and Blaise knew it was happening again. His best friend was being taken away from him by a bunch of ideals Blaise wasn't sure Draco actually believed in. He'd been a fool to believe anything else would happen. In the end, everyone left or was taken from him, and surely it would only be a matter of time before he'd lose Pansy too.

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Comments are always appreciated!

 

Oops, double post.

 

Even more oops, triple post.