Entry tags:

free for all, opening games

OPENING GAMES FREE-FOR-ALL CHALLENGE No. 17 from Games Champion, nestinghedwig!
For today's installment, we bring you two lovely ficlets from Lin a/k/a nestinghedwig - a sure-fire way to chase away the couldn't-make-it-to-the-con blues!


Title: Balancing A Tripod
Author/Artist: nestinghedwig
Thing/Place/Action: Three-Legged Cat, Balcony, Reclining
Drabble/Drawble/Ficlet/Limerick?: Ficlet
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: Rated G, Animal Cruelty
Notes/Disclaimers/Betas: This story is based on characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including, but not limited to Scholastic Books and Warner Bros. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended; no monetary gain will be made from this story. Thanks to reddwarfer for the beta.
Word Count: 489


Severus Snape rapped on the thick oak door leading to Professor Potter's personal chambers. He bit back a curse as the door opened automatically; it had been left slightly ajar. Savior or not, the fool still had no sense of self-preservation.

"Potter?"

"Balcony," Harry's voice answered.

Severus closed the outer door with a deliberate thump, striding through the sitting room to the balcony doors. Harry was reclining on an ancient wicker chaise, hands cradling a tiny bundle.

The Potion Master identified the blanket wrapped bundle to be a newborn animal, eyes still shut. It gave a plaintive cry and he realized it was a kitten. Harry teased its tongue with an eyedropper filled with a thick milky liquid.

"Mrs. Norris had her litter yesterday." Harry gestured for Severus to sit in a matching wicker chair, eyedropper still in hand. He refilled it with more milk and tried to get the tiny feline to suckle. "Filch was jealous – wanted nothing to do with them. A Hufflepuff firstie saw him throw a bag of kittens into the lake and dove in after them. Hagrid rescued both the Hufflepuff and the kittens from grindylows."

Harry wiped the milk from the kitten's face once it stopped feeding. It hung limply in his hand.

"Mrs. Norris and her surviving kittens are staying with Minerva, Poppy is keeping the Hufflepuff overnight for observation, and I am attempting to get Tripod to eat."

Tripod? What an unusual name, Severus thought.

"And Filch?"

"Unpaid leave of absence. Minerva was angry enough to spit and it was all I could do to prevent Hagrid from chucking that miserable man into the middle of a nest of acromantulas."

Harry summoned a small box and set it on his lap. It contained a hot water bottle and soft toweling.

Severus indicated the little feline. "Is it the runt? Mrs. Norris rejected it?"

"No." Harry held out the kitten for Severus to take. For the first time, he could see bandages wrapped around the tiny body. "She was attacked by the grindylows. One of the others died."

Severus gently held the kitten while Harry prepared her nest, making sure the hot water bottle was covered completely with toweling.

"They bit off her leg?" he asked, and Harry nodded. "She's a three-legged cat."

"Minerva says if she survives the next few days, she'll be strong enough to return to her mum." Harry tucked the sleeping kitten into the box, covering her for warmth.

"Wouldn't it be more humane to let her go?" Severus asked softly. He could see his fellow professor growing attached to the injured furball.

"It would be cruel not to try. Animals adapt to missing limbs all the time. Tripod will adjust. She won't even realize she's lost a limb; this is all she'll ever know."

Harry's hand rested on the little lump, a pensive smile on his face.

"Tripod will be just fine," he stated.

And she was.

---

Title: All The Pretty Horses
Author/Artist: nestinghedwig
Thing/Place/Action: An Alcoholic Beverage, A Creaky Old House, Singing
Drabble/Drawble/Ficlet/Limerick?: Ficlet
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: Rated G
Notes/Disclaimers/Betas: This story is based on characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including, but not limited to Scholastic Books and Warner Bros. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended; no monetary gain will be made from this story. "All The Pretty Horses" is a traditional lullaby. Thanks to reddwarfer for the beta.
Word Count: 499


Severus flooed into the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place, an assortment of purchases secured in his hands. Banishing the inevitable soot, he set his bundles on the breakfast table. He picked up the book his unexpected housemate requested, and the latest potions journals.

Making his way into the foyer, Severus couldn't help but think of the irony of his current living arrangements. The mutt had to be rotating in his grave at the knowledge his godson freely offered Severus sanctuary after the war.

He passed the place Madam Black's portrait once hung and thought that no matter how many improvements Harry and Kreacher made to The Ancient House of Black, it still was and would always be a creaky old house.

He was about to call out when he heard a voice echo down the hallway.

"Hush-a-bye don't you cry,
Go to sleep-y, little baby."

Severus recognized Harry's smooth tenor. Why in Merlin's name was he singing a lullaby?

"When you wake you shall have
All the pretty little horses."

"Harry," Severus called out.

I'm glad you're back from Diagon early. Fix a nice stiff drink and join us in the parlor."

"Us?" thought Severus as he snagged three tumblers and a bottle of aged spirits.

"Blacks and bays, dapple grays,
Coach and six white horses."

Severus strode into the parlor and stopped abruptly. Harry was pacing the length of the room, rocking a turquoise haired baby in his arms. No wonder Harry was singing lullabies. Teddy Lupin was cranky, his chin covered in drool, gnawing on a pudgy little fist. Harry continued to rock his godson back and forth, rubbing his back gently to sooth him.

"I didn't know Teddy was visiting."

"He's not." Harry's face was drawn. "Visiting."

Severus set the tumblers and the bottle down and waited, but Harry remained silent.

"Where's Andromeda?"

"Gone."

"Gone?"

"Yes, gone. She showed up with Teddy and his trunk…said she's had enough…wants nothing to do with Teddy or me…blames us for Ted and Dora's deaths."

Teddy whimpered and Harry resumed the rocking motion. "He's teething and feels a little feverish. I read somewhere to rub their gums with rum to make them feel better."

"No!" Severus snapped. "Old Wife's tale. You never give anything alcoholic to a baby."

So much for his quiet evening, Severus seethed. Damn Andromeda.

And then Severus paused. He was the adult here and it was time he took control. Savior or not, Harry was still barely eighteen years old and way over his head with this unexpected situation.

"Where's Kreacher?"

"Upstairs. He's cleaning the nursery."

Severus rubbed his temples. "Get a clean towel; soak it in cold water. Let the baby suck on it; the cold will help the swelling. I'll go through the trunk to make sure we have what we need for Teddy tonight, and we'll worry about everything else tomorrow. Go!"

And as he headed up the narrow staircase, he heard Harry's voice again.

"Hush-a-bye don't you cry,
Go to sleep-y little baby."

Thank you, Lin!