Ficlet: A Little Romance (Dramione G)
Apr. 29th, 2009 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bookishwenchThis would be the other final drabble I wrote for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
dramione_ldws, and I have a confession to make. I messed up.
The requirements for this one were we had to use a piece of dialogue from a movie and title the drabble with the name of that film, and the length had to be between 100 and 599 words. For some bizarre reason, I thought the top number was 499, so that was the total number of words in the drabble I submitted. I was kicking myself up one side and down the other when I realized the mistake I'd made when the drabbles went up for voting, especially since I liked the drabble a lot better with some of the bits in that I cut out.
Happily, I saved all my drafts, and here's the version that came in at 607 words. And for the record, A Little Romance is a really delightful movie that I don't think gets seen anywhere near enough for how sweet it is.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters are owned by J. K. Rowling, and no profit is made from this work fanfiction. Draco's final line is taken from the 1979 film "A Little Romance." No copyright infringement is intended.
Hermione loathed Venice by her third day there as a liason for the Ministry. Completely besotted couples were everywhere she looked. She’d never felt more alone.
On the fourth morning, she bought an espresso at a tiny restaurant. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the coffee’s strong aroma, but when she opened them, she wondered if the cup’s steam was clouding her vision. Across the square, she saw a glint of blond in the sunlight. She looked away quickly, but Draco Malfoy was headed right for her.
“Buongiorno,” he said, bowing sarcasticly before sitting across from her.
She sighed, but part of her felt relieved she was no longer sitting alone. Draco nodded at the waiter, who immediately brought him three biscotti and coffee as though he were a regular.
“I’ve been here for months working on Father’s remaining assets,” Draco said, answering her unasked question.
“Why can’t he arrange his own business?” she said, watching him add obscene amounts of sugar to his coffee.
“He died two years ago,” Draco said.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” she said, instantly mortified. “I didn’t know.”
“No reason you should. Mother kept it out of the papers,” Draco said.
Hermione felt horribly awkward. She hadn’t seen him in years, and this sudden reunion was strange.
“Have you been in Venice long?” he asked.
“Why do you care?” she asked, then grimaced. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just… well, why do you?”
Draco paused, cup suspended, thinking over his answer.
“Would it be odd to say I think I’ve missed you though I didn’t realize it until now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, “but I know what you mean.”
Somehow they had come to an understanding. Every morning they sat at the same table, and after three weeks Hermione realized her breakfasts with Draco were the center of her day. But that was about to change. Her job for the Ministry was complete, and she had no reason to remain in Venice. She waited to tell him, intent on not spoiling the time they had left.
“When?” he asked.
“Tomorrow,” she said, looking away.
She had no reason to think these mornings meant anything more to him than a way to pass time, but Hermione recognized from prior experience the feeling of her heart breaking. When she hazarded a look at him again, his expression was troubled, but he quickly replaced it with a smile.
“Then we’ll spend your last day here together,” he said.
She’d planned to finish packing, but when he took her hand and guided her to her feet, every other possibility vanished. They explored the city, making it their own as they learned the passages along the canals and fed the pigeons in St. Mark’s Square. When the shadows began to lengthen, Hermione found it harder to smile, but Draco had one last flash of inspiration.
“Have you taken a gondola ride yet?” he asked.
“I haven’t had time,” she said.
“We’ll fix that,” he said, weaving through the crowds and to a vacant boat.
Their gondolier grinned knowingly while the boat glided gracefully through the canals. The sky turned deep apricot and rose as they approached an ornate bridge. Hermione turned her gaze back to Draco and found him looking at her almost nervously.
“There is an old Venetian legend that says if two lovers kiss in a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset when the bells of the Campanile toll, they will love each other forever,” he said.
At that moment carillons all over the city began to peal joyously, and when their lips touched, Hermione knew the legend was true.
dramione_ldws, and I have a confession to make. I messed up. The requirements for this one were we had to use a piece of dialogue from a movie and title the drabble with the name of that film, and the length had to be between 100 and 599 words. For some bizarre reason, I thought the top number was 499, so that was the total number of words in the drabble I submitted. I was kicking myself up one side and down the other when I realized the mistake I'd made when the drabbles went up for voting, especially since I liked the drabble a lot better with some of the bits in that I cut out.
Happily, I saved all my drafts, and here's the version that came in at 607 words. And for the record, A Little Romance is a really delightful movie that I don't think gets seen anywhere near enough for how sweet it is.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters are owned by J. K. Rowling, and no profit is made from this work fanfiction. Draco's final line is taken from the 1979 film "A Little Romance." No copyright infringement is intended.
Hermione loathed Venice by her third day there as a liason for the Ministry. Completely besotted couples were everywhere she looked. She’d never felt more alone.
On the fourth morning, she bought an espresso at a tiny restaurant. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the coffee’s strong aroma, but when she opened them, she wondered if the cup’s steam was clouding her vision. Across the square, she saw a glint of blond in the sunlight. She looked away quickly, but Draco Malfoy was headed right for her.
“Buongiorno,” he said, bowing sarcasticly before sitting across from her.
She sighed, but part of her felt relieved she was no longer sitting alone. Draco nodded at the waiter, who immediately brought him three biscotti and coffee as though he were a regular.
“I’ve been here for months working on Father’s remaining assets,” Draco said, answering her unasked question.
“Why can’t he arrange his own business?” she said, watching him add obscene amounts of sugar to his coffee.
“He died two years ago,” Draco said.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” she said, instantly mortified. “I didn’t know.”
“No reason you should. Mother kept it out of the papers,” Draco said.
Hermione felt horribly awkward. She hadn’t seen him in years, and this sudden reunion was strange.
“Have you been in Venice long?” he asked.
“Why do you care?” she asked, then grimaced. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just… well, why do you?”
Draco paused, cup suspended, thinking over his answer.
“Would it be odd to say I think I’ve missed you though I didn’t realize it until now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, “but I know what you mean.”
Somehow they had come to an understanding. Every morning they sat at the same table, and after three weeks Hermione realized her breakfasts with Draco were the center of her day. But that was about to change. Her job for the Ministry was complete, and she had no reason to remain in Venice. She waited to tell him, intent on not spoiling the time they had left.
“When?” he asked.
“Tomorrow,” she said, looking away.
She had no reason to think these mornings meant anything more to him than a way to pass time, but Hermione recognized from prior experience the feeling of her heart breaking. When she hazarded a look at him again, his expression was troubled, but he quickly replaced it with a smile.
“Then we’ll spend your last day here together,” he said.
She’d planned to finish packing, but when he took her hand and guided her to her feet, every other possibility vanished. They explored the city, making it their own as they learned the passages along the canals and fed the pigeons in St. Mark’s Square. When the shadows began to lengthen, Hermione found it harder to smile, but Draco had one last flash of inspiration.
“Have you taken a gondola ride yet?” he asked.
“I haven’t had time,” she said.
“We’ll fix that,” he said, weaving through the crowds and to a vacant boat.
Their gondolier grinned knowingly while the boat glided gracefully through the canals. The sky turned deep apricot and rose as they approached an ornate bridge. Hermione turned her gaze back to Draco and found him looking at her almost nervously.
“There is an old Venetian legend that says if two lovers kiss in a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset when the bells of the Campanile toll, they will love each other forever,” he said.
At that moment carillons all over the city began to peal joyously, and when their lips touched, Hermione knew the legend was true.
