![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
TITLE: At Quite a Risk
AUTHOR:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lar_laughs
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Padma Patil (Ravenclaw), Morag MacDougal(Ravenclaw)/Megan Jones(Hufflepuff)
PROMPT: 87 – Goldenrod at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
100_colours, 81 – Risk at 100_tales and 4. Practice makes perfect at 15pairings
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: 1141
SUMMARY: Morag can't seem to work up the nerve to talk to the girl she's had her eye on for the last year. Her best friend takes matters into her own hands.
WARNINGS: This story is the beginning of a relationship that is between two females. While there isn’t much to slash at this point, this would be considered femme slash. Do with that what you need to do.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of, nor do I make any money from the Harry Potter franchise. I merely dabble in the shadows of the world of JK Rowling created.
After having been led on a wild goose chase throughout the school, Morag was breathing heavily. The very fact that she’d exerted herself for what appeared to be no reason made her want to act very unpleasantly toward the Giggle Girls. It was only Padma’s own harsh frown that kept her from expressing her own unhappiness.
“I don’t get it. There’s no one here,” the Ravenclaw twin growled. “What was the big surprise you wanted us to see?"
“Wait,” Lavender giggled. “Just wait.”
“How did we let them talk us into this?” Morag pretended to wipe at a spot of dirt on her spotless cardigan as she whispered conspiratorially to her friend. “They giggle entirely too much for my comfort.”
“We could just leave,” Padma whispered back. “No one’s keeping-“
A door was flung open at the other end of the hallway, causing Morag to jump. Before she could react, the first footfall echoed off the stone walls. Dirty, sweating and very subdued, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team came walking toward them. It had never once occurred to Morag to keep track of where Lavender and Pavarti were taking them. If her quick calculations were correct, the entrance to the Hufflepuff den was a quick right and a left at the end of the hall. This was the closest entrance from the Quidditch pitch. She’d never once given any thought to where they might enter the building but she was glad that someone had.
Padma was watching her with a smirk. “I guess the Giggle Girls do have their uses. Here’s your chance. Should we leave you alone?”
“Don’t you dare.” She gripped her friend’s arm, using it more as an anchor to keep her from running away. “We’ll leave as we came in. Together or not at all.”
“Well, that’s to be seen. I refuse to be a third wheel because you’re too scared to say hello without being forced into it. I doubt you want Lavender around for this.” There was a whispered conversation that Morag didn’t catch a word of as she strained all her senses on the group coming toward her.
They were closer now, only a few feet away. Morag could feel her heart beating overtime. To keep from passing out, she began silently reciting the names the runes, putting them in order of their Latin spelling. Her field of vision narrowed so that she was only able to see four or five stones on the floor at her feet.
“Hi, Morag.”
Her panic cleared as she heard her name in the crystal clear tones of the only Hufflepuff Beater she knew the name of. She was able to lift her head but all other movement seemed impossible.
“Hi, Megan,” she replied back. Or it might have been just nonsense syllables. It was hard to tell for sure. She smiled – or tried to even though her lips felt numb. “Did you have a good practice?”
The other bedraggled members of the team filtered past, none of them caring that one of their rank had stopped to talk, although Morag noticed that Justin winked at Padma as he filed past. Megan waited for them all to walk on by before she shrugged. “It was okay. Sure would be nice if it would stop raining, though. I’m feeling waterlogged lately.”
“You look great. I mean-“ She tried not to blush as her brain frantically tried to catch up with her mouth. “Well, I mean, considering you’ve been on your broom for the last three hours in the rain and quite a considerable wind, you look… great.”
Megan grinned, her nose scrunching up just the slightest. “Thanks. You look great, too. That’s a great colour on you.”
“Thanks,” Morag echoed, fingering edges of the cardigan once again. “It’s Padma’s. She says it’s goldenrod.”
“Looks yellow.”
“That’s what I said.”
There was a strained silence as they both just stared at each other, stupid smiles mirrored on each face. Morag couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t a repetition of what she’d already said. Those were the only approved comments she could think to make that wouldn’t sound stupid or wildly inappropriate.
Padma, as always, saved the day. As she pulled her arm from Morag’s death grip, she began a one-sided conversation. “Megan probably has to get back to her room. Dinner is in an hour and she looks like she might need to get cleaned up. Why don’t we let her go, we may miss dinner, too. “ When no one else said anything to fill her pause, she kept talking. “Morag needs some help with Herbology assignment. Maybe you could help her, Megan?”
Megan scrunched her nose again. “Herbology isn’t really my thing. I’m a Hufflepuff. Not a gardener.”
“That’s too bad.” Padma began pushing a silent Morag down the hall. “The greenhouses are a nice place to meet people. They’re usually locked at night but Morag here, smart girl that she is, knows how to get through the wards. I guess she’ll just have to try her best alone. After dinner is usually when she goes down to work through the assignments. By herself. With no one else around.”
They were nearly at the end of the hall, both Megan and Morag still locked in a silent stare. While she’d done her share of staring at the Hufflepuff, she’d never been quite this close before. A smothered giggle from around the corner reminded her that they had spectators. She broke her eyes away to look over her shoulder but both Lavender and Parvati were well hidden. In this instance, she was willing to cut them some slack because of their good deed.
Megan hefted her broom back up to her shoulder just as Morage looked back aroun. “Maybe I’ll stop by. We could muddle through it together.”
The grin nearly split her face from side to side at the thought that the girl might show up. She knew for a fact that she didn’t need help with Herbology but she wasn’t going to let anything stop her from breaking into one of the greenhouses tonight. A shiver ran through her as she saw an answering grin on Megan’s face.
“Bye, Megan.”
“Bye, Morag.”
With a very undignified squeel, Morag jumped around and began running for anywhere that wasn’t here. The joy inside her warred with the fear and she needed to do something to get this out of her system. When she stopped, Padma was panting along behind her.
“I did it. I talked to her.”
“Sort of. You’ve still got to work on that part. But practice makes perfect.”
Morag hugged herself, biting her bottom lip with her teeth as she contemplated just what tonight might be like if she let go of some of her fear. “And I want to have a lot of practice.”
AUTHOR:
lar_laughsFANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Padma Patil (Ravenclaw), Morag MacDougal(Ravenclaw)/Megan Jones(Hufflepuff)
PROMPT: 87 – Goldenrod at
100_colours, 81 – Risk at 100_tales and 4. Practice makes perfect at 15pairingsRATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: 1141
SUMMARY: Morag can't seem to work up the nerve to talk to the girl she's had her eye on for the last year. Her best friend takes matters into her own hands.
WARNINGS: This story is the beginning of a relationship that is between two females. While there isn’t much to slash at this point, this would be considered femme slash. Do with that what you need to do.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of, nor do I make any money from the Harry Potter franchise. I merely dabble in the shadows of the world of JK Rowling created.
After having been led on a wild goose chase throughout the school, Morag was breathing heavily. The very fact that she’d exerted herself for what appeared to be no reason made her want to act very unpleasantly toward the Giggle Girls. It was only Padma’s own harsh frown that kept her from expressing her own unhappiness.
“I don’t get it. There’s no one here,” the Ravenclaw twin growled. “What was the big surprise you wanted us to see?"
“Wait,” Lavender giggled. “Just wait.”
“How did we let them talk us into this?” Morag pretended to wipe at a spot of dirt on her spotless cardigan as she whispered conspiratorially to her friend. “They giggle entirely too much for my comfort.”
“We could just leave,” Padma whispered back. “No one’s keeping-“
A door was flung open at the other end of the hallway, causing Morag to jump. Before she could react, the first footfall echoed off the stone walls. Dirty, sweating and very subdued, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team came walking toward them. It had never once occurred to Morag to keep track of where Lavender and Pavarti were taking them. If her quick calculations were correct, the entrance to the Hufflepuff den was a quick right and a left at the end of the hall. This was the closest entrance from the Quidditch pitch. She’d never once given any thought to where they might enter the building but she was glad that someone had.
Padma was watching her with a smirk. “I guess the Giggle Girls do have their uses. Here’s your chance. Should we leave you alone?”
“Don’t you dare.” She gripped her friend’s arm, using it more as an anchor to keep her from running away. “We’ll leave as we came in. Together or not at all.”
“Well, that’s to be seen. I refuse to be a third wheel because you’re too scared to say hello without being forced into it. I doubt you want Lavender around for this.” There was a whispered conversation that Morag didn’t catch a word of as she strained all her senses on the group coming toward her.
They were closer now, only a few feet away. Morag could feel her heart beating overtime. To keep from passing out, she began silently reciting the names the runes, putting them in order of their Latin spelling. Her field of vision narrowed so that she was only able to see four or five stones on the floor at her feet.
“Hi, Morag.”
Her panic cleared as she heard her name in the crystal clear tones of the only Hufflepuff Beater she knew the name of. She was able to lift her head but all other movement seemed impossible.
“Hi, Megan,” she replied back. Or it might have been just nonsense syllables. It was hard to tell for sure. She smiled – or tried to even though her lips felt numb. “Did you have a good practice?”
The other bedraggled members of the team filtered past, none of them caring that one of their rank had stopped to talk, although Morag noticed that Justin winked at Padma as he filed past. Megan waited for them all to walk on by before she shrugged. “It was okay. Sure would be nice if it would stop raining, though. I’m feeling waterlogged lately.”
“You look great. I mean-“ She tried not to blush as her brain frantically tried to catch up with her mouth. “Well, I mean, considering you’ve been on your broom for the last three hours in the rain and quite a considerable wind, you look… great.”
Megan grinned, her nose scrunching up just the slightest. “Thanks. You look great, too. That’s a great colour on you.”
“Thanks,” Morag echoed, fingering edges of the cardigan once again. “It’s Padma’s. She says it’s goldenrod.”
“Looks yellow.”
“That’s what I said.”
There was a strained silence as they both just stared at each other, stupid smiles mirrored on each face. Morag couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t a repetition of what she’d already said. Those were the only approved comments she could think to make that wouldn’t sound stupid or wildly inappropriate.
Padma, as always, saved the day. As she pulled her arm from Morag’s death grip, she began a one-sided conversation. “Megan probably has to get back to her room. Dinner is in an hour and she looks like she might need to get cleaned up. Why don’t we let her go, we may miss dinner, too. “ When no one else said anything to fill her pause, she kept talking. “Morag needs some help with Herbology assignment. Maybe you could help her, Megan?”
Megan scrunched her nose again. “Herbology isn’t really my thing. I’m a Hufflepuff. Not a gardener.”
“That’s too bad.” Padma began pushing a silent Morag down the hall. “The greenhouses are a nice place to meet people. They’re usually locked at night but Morag here, smart girl that she is, knows how to get through the wards. I guess she’ll just have to try her best alone. After dinner is usually when she goes down to work through the assignments. By herself. With no one else around.”
They were nearly at the end of the hall, both Megan and Morag still locked in a silent stare. While she’d done her share of staring at the Hufflepuff, she’d never been quite this close before. A smothered giggle from around the corner reminded her that they had spectators. She broke her eyes away to look over her shoulder but both Lavender and Parvati were well hidden. In this instance, she was willing to cut them some slack because of their good deed.
Megan hefted her broom back up to her shoulder just as Morage looked back aroun. “Maybe I’ll stop by. We could muddle through it together.”
The grin nearly split her face from side to side at the thought that the girl might show up. She knew for a fact that she didn’t need help with Herbology but she wasn’t going to let anything stop her from breaking into one of the greenhouses tonight. A shiver ran through her as she saw an answering grin on Megan’s face.
“Bye, Megan.”
“Bye, Morag.”
With a very undignified squeel, Morag jumped around and began running for anywhere that wasn’t here. The joy inside her warred with the fear and she needed to do something to get this out of her system. When she stopped, Padma was panting along behind her.
“I did it. I talked to her.”
“Sort of. You’ve still got to work on that part. But practice makes perfect.”
Morag hugged herself, biting her bottom lip with her teeth as she contemplated just what tonight might be like if she let go of some of her fear. “And I want to have a lot of practice.”
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 04:33 am (UTC)From:The interactions were great.I loved seeing Padma get some attention. Lovely lovely!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 04:53 am (UTC)From:I'm glad you liked it! Thanks so much for reading.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 04:55 am (UTC)From:And yes, that's my draw to the really minor characters too. :) I didn't think Susan Bones was used enough, so I enjoy using her too.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 05:03 am (UTC)From:Susan doesn't get good recognition! While it's great that she gets more than just a mere mention in the books to make sure there are enough faces in the background (or a line on a random, written class list), she's a plot point and nothing else in canon. But that leaves her wide open for some really good fic!
I love to play with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Everyone writes the Gryffindors and Slytherins so there need to be some dedicated Huff and Claw writers!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 05:15 am (UTC)From:I totally agree on Susan! And I'll admit I usually take characters like her up (in all works of fiction) because I get the most freedom, but at least people recognise the name.
And yes times ten on the Huff and Claw! I had a whole idea to write some of the books through some lesbian Huff/Claw eyes (Morag and Susan). I had the idea that Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws had the same sort of feud that Slytherin and Gryffindor had.
To me:
Gryffindor = courage, so they'll hate mere cunning (against Slytherin), but approve of acceptance and hard-working, down-to-earth people (so yay for Hufflepuff).
Slytherin = cunning, so they'll hate blind courage without ambition (against Gryffindor), but approve of using brilliance and intelligence to get ahead (so yay Ravenclaw).
Ravenclaw = intelligent and witty, so they'll hate thoughtless acceptance and heart over mind (against Hufflepuff), but approve the use of cool intellect in the name of ambition (so yay Slytherin).
Hufflepuff = happy, centred, loving people, so not big on judgement and the use of mind-judgements over emotional attachment (against Ravenclaw), but approve of bringing people into 'the Gang' and working as a team to 'do right' (so yay Gryffindor).
With mini!feuds of Ravenclaw against Gryffindor (for the blindly brave) and vice versa for thought-over-action and Hufflepuff against Slytherin (for so little acceptance and the desire for self above all else) and vice versa for not caring enough about ambition.
I've used all the wrong words 'cause I'm dead tired, but that's pretty much how I looked at it ('cause I saw the Gryffindor-Slytherin and Gryffindor-Hufflepuff interactions in the book and thought there must be more house rivalry than that). Obviously I think way too much about Harry Potter in my free time. :P
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 05:24 am (UTC)From:I've never gone so far as to graph it out like that (which is very pretty, BTW. I do love graphs!) but those are some of the same thoughts I've had.
Back in the day... when I first started writing fanfic... I wrote a lot of Megan Jones and was continually told I was writing an OC because she wasn't in the book. That sort of burned me from writing some of the lesser characters for awhile. Eventually, after having my writing fall between the cracks because everyone else was writing Hermione and Ron and Ginny (I don't like writing Harry... never have), I decided that I didn't care what people thought anymore. All of a sudden I look around and people are writing Megan Jones like she took part in the Battle at Hogwarts! It gave me joy to see her and to start writing these minor characters again!
So while I have no big plans for them, I just want to enjoy them again! *grins*
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 05:31 am (UTC)From:I've never had many people interested in my Morag stories, but thankfully I've always loved writing and reading the minor-character writing--even my own, laughter. They make me happy. I thinking I've written Harry ONCE and it was a gen just to get Poppy in a piece, being all maternal and nursey. I've never written from Ron and Ginny, and Hermione probably just once. I'm not very interested in main character POVs!
I looked at your profile and squeed over the additional shared fandoms (Firefly, Doctor Who, Buffy) so I've decided you're a fantabulous person. Mind if I friend you?
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 01:38 pm (UTC)From:You know... you should come play at
*grins* Poppy! Okay, so I must know... who do you ship Madam Hooch with? Cause I go back and forth between Poppy or Minerva. It depends on the story and the situation.
And I must admit that I am a Hermione fan. Mostly because while we see her in the books, I don't think Harry really "gets" her so there is still untapped potential there. Only thing I don't like is having to keep to the canon storyline. Not many shadows to play with. Hermione and Ron are the only canon pairing that I hold to. I guess everyone should pick at least one canon character to be fond of.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 05:18 pm (UTC)From:Ahhh Hooch! You're my hero. :P Hokay, well, Hooch is totally a favourite of mine--but as of yet I don't think I've shipped her with anyone but McGonagall. I actually treat McGonagall as a bit of a shipwench in my world! She's been with Trelawny, Sprout (long time ago), Poppy and Pince (librarian, I think that's her name). Although in my head Hooch has been around a fair bit too. In a small school with fewer queer women I would imagine everyone hooks up at least once.
I think I would do Hooch/Poppy 'cause Poppy seems to have a great sense of humour, like Hooch. But I'd try it with Pince too, probably. Oh and I may give it a shot with Rosemerta! I always love her in fic and I think she'd be about as evenly bisexual as anyone could be.
Laughter. I'm a Hermione fan too, I just get fed up with the lack of shadows. I started writing a McGonagall/Hooch piece about Hermione trying to become an animagus. I want to go find it again. That was some quality crack!fic. :P I ship Hermione/Ron. Even Harry/Ginny I don't mind so much, although I admit I'm juuuust dandy when people use Ginny for femmeslash, especially with Luna. :P I tend to like Luna in femmeslash (and I disregard the character sheet ending of her with a male naturalist), although I will also ship her with Neville when I'm not treating him like a shy gayboy.
This conversation has reminded me just how much I miss the Harry Potter fandom. :P There's so much more thought in it than the Grey's Anatomy fandom (duh, it's Grey's Anatomy :P).
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 02:34 am (UTC)From:I think that all good fandoms are made up of people who think through their story lines and make them better. Grey's Anatomy... there's not a lot of places to take other stories. Well, that's not completely true. But there's not a lot of gray areas in the canon. If you go gray, you might as well be writing an original story. You know?
Good fandoms have shadows. Harry Potter. Any Joss Whedon show. Smallville. Supernatural. Heroes (although that one isn't as shadowed as I wish it was). Any comic book.
Yeah, Rosmerta gets around quite a bit! I've seen her with nearly everyone... nearly. Hmmm... Hooch/Pince. I always forget about Pince. Why? I love libraries and put stories in the Hogwarts library all the time. Why no Pince? Interesting... some food for thought! *grins*
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 03:03 am (UTC)From:Grey's has its fair share of thought, but unfortunately the canon itself tends to ruin anything. :P We tend to enjoy writing out the scenes that are hinted at but not shown (the dates and the evenings, the wakeups, etc.). Some of us have complained about not being a 'main couple,' but I tend to prefer my ships not being main material--they're far less likely to be screwed around with!
I haven't touched Smallville or Heroes--my brother was always more into those. My good friend is obsessed with Sueprnatural but I never got into it. I'm not very picky about my shows (as far as just watching) but I'm incredibly picky about fandoms I join, because there's such a big investment into each one. I tend to stick around lurking for months reading fanfic and picking up on the fanon facts (inside jokes and whatever else) so that when I fully join I know what's going on.
Most people somehow seem to forget Pince, despite that they always tend to say they loved her in the books! And there's DEFINITELY ample shadow around her, which I'm drawn to! I love libraries, librarians, snark and a disciplinarian nature--all of which she is associated with! Makes me a very happy camper. Go for it! I dare you to write a Pince fic! :D Pince/Hooch if you'd like! I could even give you a prompt, provided I come up with one if you want it. :B
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 03:16 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 12:21 am (UTC)From:- Hooch thinks it's about time to get Pince out on a broom again, which she hasn't done since her school days.
- Firewhiskey drunken evening with the professors and many femmeslash hookups.
There are three. Grins. I love how I can think them up for other people but not for myself!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-16 02:08 am (UTC)From:But Thank You! I like those! Will have to start giving them some thought.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-01 10:31 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-10-02 02:05 am (UTC)From: