[Fic] "The Granger Family Reunion" and "Gifts" -- Harry Potter

So, a while back I signed up to write a story for the hhr_serendipity thing (contest? challenge? ficathon? whatever), with the prompt "The Granger family reunion." The resulting story, One of Those Days, was actually my third attempt at writing to the prompt. These are my first two tries. The first just wasn't going much of anywhere -- I like it as a scene, but it has no conclusion, no plot, and no point. See for yourself:

( The Granger Family Reunion )

You see? It just stops. There wasn't any spark there to make me push onward, but if anyone else wants to do something with this as a beginning, be my guest!

The second try is a complete ficlet, but it has almost nothing to do with the original prompt. It's a monologue by Mrs. Granger:

( Gifts )

I rather like that one, actually. Despite the... the... the vaguely pedantic tone that always sneaks into my stories, particularly my monologues, when I'm not deliberately avoiding it. :-)

[Fic] "The Granger Family Reunion" and "Gifts" -- Harry Potter

So, a while back I signed up to write a story for the hhr_serendipity thing (contest? challenge? ficathon? whatever), with the prompt "The Granger family reunion." The resulting story, One of Those Days, was actually my third attempt at writing to the prompt. These are my first two tries. The first just wasn't going much of anywhere -- I like it as a scene, but it has no conclusion, no plot, and no point. See for yourself:

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The Granger Family Reunion
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Harry leaned against the wall by the Grangers' dining room window and looked into their back garden. Hermione was marshalling her relatives into setting up the tables, folding chairs, plates, utensils, and all the paraphernalia of a summer picnic. It was amusing, in a way, to watch her order her uncles, aunts, and cousins around with the blithe assumption that of course they'd do what she told them -- but the fact that she was right drained some of the humor.

He sipped his beer and sighed.

"She's something to watch, isn't she?"

Harry turned, startled, to see Mrs. Granger standing in the kitchen doorway, holding a mug of coffee. She looked a bit like an older version of Hermione, but her hair was straighter, sleeker, and darker, and her face was more long than round; she projected an air of severity unless she smiled. She wasn't smiling now. She looked pensive.

"She's inspiring," Harry agreed. In the corner of his eye, he watched the midday sun flash on Hermione's golden-brown hair, and grace her smile as she laughed at something her father said.

"You know, a lot of her confidence is an act," said Mrs. Granger. She walked over to stand beside Harry, watching her daughter. "She's not a natural extrovert, but she's a performer, and she plays her role to the hilt -- trying to hide her insecurities rather than ask for comfort, I suppose. You do realize this."

"Er, yeah?" said Harry. He'd always known Hermione was insecure about things -- nobody who wasn't would've panicked the way she used to about unimportant things like schoolwork -- and he supposed in retrospect that she wasn't half bad as an actress, but her confidence was based on her knowledge and skills, and there was no questioning those. She was the one who figured things out for him and Ron. Even when he argued with her, he was always half-convinced, in the back of his mind, that she was right and he was just letting himself in for trouble.

"What's she have to be insecure about? She's brilliant, she's pretty, she's always ready to help people, she's brave... She's Hermione."

Mrs. Granger laughed. "Oh, I do hope you say things like that to her -- well, you must -- you do her a world of good, Harry. She relaxes around you."

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You see? It just stops. There wasn't any spark there to make me push onward, but if anyone else wants to do something with this as a beginning, be my guest!

The second try is a complete ficlet, but it has almost nothing to do with the original prompt. It's a monologue by Mrs. Granger:

( Gifts )

I rather like that one, actually. Despite the... the... the vaguely pedantic tone that always sneaks into my stories, particularly my monologues, when I'm not deliberately avoiding it. :-)

[ETA: The slightly revised final version of "Gifts" is now up on AO3!]