Weekly Drabble Challenge - A Thousand Words: Finding Myself - Results

[mugglemathdork]

“I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?” ~ Unknown

Your prompt this week is to write a drabble using ONE of the five pictures below AND integrate the quote above. You must integrate the picture into your drabble. I know the challenge is called a thousand words, but remember drabbles are no more than 500 words. So keep it within the limit. Please try to not go over the limit....even if it's one word.

Here are your picture choices:
Runaway Bride
Secret Kisses
Rainy Day
Train Station
Bookstore

The following form must be used when submitting your drabble responses to this post -

Name:
House:
Title:
Warnings:
Words:

Winners will be awarded 15, 10, and 5 points respectively.
All drabbles must be less than 500 words; All standard grammar rules, and MNFF submissions guidelines apply.
The challenge will be up for a week, and be closed exactly a week later (April 19th.)

MithrilQuill and I will be judging them and posting results a couple of days later.

All questions should be referred to the Question Corner #3 - Do not post questions here. Only drabbles!

New for the Weekly Challenges:Due to a major lack of quality drabbles being submitted to the weeklies, Gato Loco will require that some real thoughtful, original submissions be posted from this moment on or you'll end up like this woman here. That's your one and only warning! XD

Other than that...have fun!

~Gato Loco~

[Azhure]

Name: Azhure
House: Ravenclaw
Title: Coming Home
Warnings: Minor language warning, not even sure if I should bother mentioning it.
Words: 500

The picture I chose to use is Rainy Day.

“I can take care of myself!” exclaimed sixteen year old Sirius Black.

“Padfoot, come on. Stay with me,” replied James Potter.

“No, I won’t give my parents the satisfaction of me bunking with the first friend that offers. I left to prove that I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

“Didn’t you leave because of their pure-blood mania?”

“That too,” Sirius added as he stormed down the Potter’s hallway.

James followed him, “Oh come on, stay a couple of days, it won’t hurt. Plus, it’s pouring outside.”

“No,” Sirius snarled stubbornly as he opened the front door.

The rain splattered onto the concrete path as Sirius stepped outside.

“Don’t be an idiot, you’ll freeze!” called James. “Your parents won’t want you to end up dying from pneumonia!”

“You don’t know my parents; they don’t give a crap about me!”

“But you’re a Black. That has to amount to something!” Sirius didn’t reply. He was now halfway down the path.

“Wait, Padfoot!” called James from the doorway where he still stood. Sirius wheeled around irritably.

“I’m not staying!”

“Ok, but take this,” said James as he briefly disappeared from the doorway, reappearing holding a Muggle umbrella and coat. James opened the umbrella and stepped outside, heading towards his friend.

“Thanks,” muttered Sirius sheepishly as he took the items. James bolted back towards the house.

“Remember, you can always come back here.”

Sirius turned around and headed off down the street. He wandered to the main road, where he stopped. Where was he supposed to go?

Across the street there was a Muggle hotel. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do for one night. Making sure that there were no cars coming, Sirius walked onto the road. He didn’t notice someone heading towards him from the other side. Accidentally brushing against the man, he continued on towards the footpath.

Once he had reached the opposite path he heard someone calling his name. Sirius looked up and saw James’ father standing a few meters away.

“Mr. Potter?”

“Yes, my boy. What are you doing out here?”

“I-I was…” stuttered Sirius.

“Running away from home?”

“Yeah,” Sirius sighed.

“Why don’t you stay with us?”

“James already asked me.”

“You didn’t want to have to rely on your friend’s charity?”

“No.”

“Come on, don’t consider it a charity, consider it an offer.” Sirius looked up at Mr. Potter.

“I guess I could do that.”

“Good boy, now let’s go home before we both catch colds.”

Once back in the Potter home Sirius was greeted by his best friend’s laughter.

“I knew you would come back! You really don’t care about what your parents think.”

“Oh I do,” Sirius chuckled. “I will always be a Black, but I will make sure that my mother curses the day I was born.”

James patted his friend on the back. “Come on, dinner’s ready.”

“I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?” Sirius added as they all headed down towards the kitchen.

~~Azhure~~

[Weasleyboyfreak]

Name: Weasleyboyfreak (kayla)
House: Proud Puff!!!
Title: One Way Train to Anywhere
Warnings: none
Words: 500 on the dot!

I chose the train station photo!

He sat alone on platform 9 ¾, a warm summer breeze blowing his shaggy locks. His dark grey eyes seemed distant as he welcomed night fall with open arms. The darkness couldn’t come soon enough for Sirius Black. He welcomed anything that would hide him from the world; from his despicable blood line. Sirius couldn’t go home, not now, not ever. He was bound to be a vagabond for life.

Sirius had returned from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a few hours before, ending the most memorable semester yet. The shaggy-haired Gryffindor smiled to himself as he recalled the Marauder’s adventures in the Shrieking Shack and their brilliant pranks. Sirius and James Potter had even set a new school record for the most detentions served in a school year, McGonagall and Filch tired of seeing their faces. However, the past would remain forever, while the present pushed toward the future.

Sirius sighed. He sat on top of his trunk, trying to plan his next course of action. The sixteen-year-old refused to return to the Noble House of Black. He hated his family and all their ideals of purity and bloodlines. Sirius was the black sheep of the family, causing his every move to be scrutinized. He had decided that he would run his own life, making his own set of ideals to follow. He wouldn’t turn into the monster that his family was trying to create. Sirius would be his own person, for now and forever.

The boy closed his eyes, leaning his head against the brick wall behind him. Sirius could sit there for ages, just as long as he didn’t have to face his family.

“Pads?” a voice suddenly called from the end of the platform of the train station. “Is that you?”

Sirius opened his troubled eyes, looking into the face of James Potter. Surly his best mate would have known where to find him.

“Hey, Prongs-y,” Sirius greeted. James was always a nice break from the reality of his thoughts.

“What are you doing here, mate? Run away from home, have you?” the bespectacled boy looked at his best mate with a smirk.

“Something like that,” Sirius answered casually. “Here is better than the prison camp…”

“Pads,” James started, looking concerned now. “You cant stay here forever. What are you gonna do?”

“Dunno,” Sirius shrugged, looking away. “But I’m not going back.”

“Well why don’t you move in with me. You’ve already got your own room, and you know you’re more than welcome!” James suggested. “Then you would really be like a brother.”

Sirius looked up at James; he liked that idea.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive, mate!”

“I guess I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?” Sirius said, a smile on his face. James and Sirius laughed.

“I knew you still had it in ya, Pads.”

With that, the two boys stood up, heading off into the distance. Sirius looked at the future with an optimistic outlook now.

~Kayla

[butter_beer_drinker]

Name: butter_beer_drinker
House: Gryffindor
Title: Redefined
Warnings:None
Words: 487
Photo: Bookstore

This drabble will be the ending of a story I wrote for the Colors of the Spectrum Challenge. If you would like to read it first, it is called Hiding in the Dark.

excerpt: As my son snuggles into my lap, my silent companion, I can see that being distinct may not be as important as it once was. I am smart, and I am still young I have time to redefine myself once my children are older. I could open a bookstore, with a small teashop in the back. Yes, that is what I will do. I can feel my grayness lighten as a little bit of me peeks out. I smile as thoughts of what I can do with my shop flood through my mind. Something for me, something I want to do, something that will redefine me.

I stand just inside the doorway, a smile playing across my lips. The wonderful smell of old parchment mingles with the scent of the crisp new books. I look around at the shelves stacked with so much knowledge, so many imaginations, and a laugh escapes through my lips.

As I watch the dust dance in the sunbeams, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment brings happy tears to my eyes. I am no longer hiding from life inside my closet. The list, the plans, the dreams that I had frantically written down so many years ago while hiding in my closet, had not been forgotten. I learned later that night, as I lay in my husband’s arms, that I had finally stopped running away from myself. Who else was there better to be?

The grayness of my life took on a new meaning that night, it was no longer a drab color, bringing me down, it was the mixture of all the colors of my life, and that made me happy. I decided then to put my whole self into loving my family and raising my children. Now the last of my babies is leaving Hogwarts, and it is time for me.

This bookstore, with the small sitting area framed by the windows, is what I have seen in my dreams. There is an old pot bellied stove in one corner, a tea kettle already steaming, sits waiting on top of it. A collection of cups and saucers fills a glass-fronted cabinet next to the stove.

I move further into the shop and stop at the first shelf; children’s books are lined alphabetically on all six rows. A small table and chairs sits in front of it, waiting for an eager young reader. The click of my shoes against the hardwood floor is the only sound accompanying me right now, but soon I will be surrounded by the sounds of customers. My sister-in-law, Ginny, has promised to come this morning and help me finish organizing the rest of the books, she will be here soon.

I turn and as I stroll towards the door, I run my hands along the bookshelves. My father and Ron built every one of them, and that means more to me than they will ever know. I touch the cover of a book on top of the pile of philosophy books. The stacks are organized chaos, but it will be sorted out soon. A little sigh escapes me as I look over at the other shelves, those too need to be put in order, but I look forward to the work.

There is a light tap on the door and I turn to see Ginny and Molly standing on the other side of the glass. I am surprised, but happy to see my mother-in-law, she will help the work go by faster, the work we are going to do by hand and not magic.

[FaunaCaritas]

Name: FaunaCaritas
House: Ravenclaw
Title: Rainy Day Runaway
Warnings: A slight mention of substance abuse- hardly worth mentioning.
Words: 500

Photograph: Runaway Bride

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It is raining on my wedding day. How ironic. The weather has decided to reflect my mood.

Little beads of water are running down the windowpanes. I lay my hand on the cool glass and watch as condensation forms around it.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Hogwarts seems long ago and far away. Am I really only eighteen? Am I really getting married to a man I do not love? Is my Ted out there somewhere, drinking away my memory?

I pull my palm away from the glass and stare at my hand-print as it slowly faded. My identity is fading away, just like that ephemeral hand-print. If I marry Lucius today I will be swallowed up and lost. The Andromeda that loves to laugh and sing under the bright stars will be gone forever.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The rain slows to a gentle drizzle and then ceases. In an hour I will be married to him. I shake myself. I am doing the right thing; I am a dutiful daughter.

Ted’s words come back to me: “Who are you, 'Andy? Ask yourself, just this once, who are you and who do you want to be?” I was crying then. He was very kind, but very firm. When I said I wanted to be a credit to my name and to my family he hung his head and walked away.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It isn’t true. I want to be free. I want to marry Ted. I want to grow roses and get dirt on my hands. I want to take a Muggle cruise in the Caribbean. I want to go camping by a lake in summertime. I want to get a job and live on my own wages.

Who am I? Certainly no dutiful daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. I have defied them before. I can defy them again. They have warned me; if I leave now I can never come back. My name will be blasted out of the family tapestry forever.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I don’t care. I’ve finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be? Mrs. Lucius Malfoy? Miss Andromeda Black?

No. I like the ring of Mrs. Ted Tonks. I hope he will still take me.

If I slip out the back door no one will see me. I have to find my Ted. I have to ask him to forgive me. I have to learn a little humility and honesty. Old habits die hard, but I will have love on my side.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The country road is deserted. I can’t see the house. I hope he is home.

I turn up the drive and climb the front steps. There is a light burning inside. I knock nervously on the door and wait in the gathering dusk. There is the sound of hurrying footsteps. I gather my courage. The door opens and I look up into Ted’s dear face.

“I knew you would come.”

[theworldonlyknows]

Name: Theworldonlyknows
House: Slytherin
Title: Hidden Desire
Warnings: None
Words: 499

The church was magnificent. Nothing else could describe it. The flowers were heavenly white orchids, the most beautiful flower in existence. The choir sang with beauty, it was difficult to hold back tears.

Molly held the bouquet, only she saw it shaking. The tormenting smiles of her parents made her feel sick. The wedding march began and her father clasped her arm.

The ceremonial cloth lay on her father’s right arm and Molly’s wand was held in the other. The smiling face of her mother was heartbreaking. The music was drumming in Molly’s ears, every step down the aisle was a step further away from the one she loved. Her parents disapproved of Arthur from the beginning and as soon as they had the tiniest of arguments Molly was pushed into the sight of Edgar Bones.

Everything seemed to happen so fast. She was happily in love with Arthur two months ago and now, now she was half way down the aisle in a wedding dress. She shook her head slightly backing down tears; some of the things Arthur had said were malicious but surely she had said some things too.

As she reached the altar, her father took Edgar’s and her hands and wrapped the red ceremonial cloth around them. As both hands were covered her father used her wand to create a gold bond between them. A gold wisp of smoke wrapped itself around the cloth, joining both hands together.

Molly saw the snake of smoke clasp her hand to Edgar’s, if the two snakes were allowed to conjoin she would be bound to Edgar forever. Without thinking, Molly took back her hand and broke the connection between them. The look on her face was of anguish as she frantically looked round at her friends and family. Molly grabbed hold of her wild skirt and ran fast to the door.

She heard screams of protest behind her. She ignored them. She needed to get to Arthur. Clouds rolled angrily in the sky, the sun could barely be seen. Molly looked to her left and quickly saw the exit. Thoughts of Arthur clouded her mind; this was the time to be with loved ones. Nothing was more powerful than love.

~

Molly didn’t know how long she had been running for, nor did she care. She wanted to be in Arthur’s embrace. She stopped suddenly. She looked behind her the fog concealed her. She thought, Arthur, and in seconds she was standing in front of him, with a loud crack still echoing.

“Molly, what! How?” Arthur asked.

“It doesn’t matter Arthur. Oh Merlin it doesn’t matter.” She ran to Arthur and threw her arms around him. He gave a quick chuckle as he held her in his arms. She let tears of anguish and joy flood down her cheeks and she whispered into his ear whilst still struggling to hug every part of him, “I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?”

~NIk

[dragonchilde]

Name: Erin / dragonchilde
House: Ravenclaw
Title: Too Much to Hope
Warnings: DH spoilers, character death?
Words: 331

And I used the train station.

A train. Why was he anywhere near a train? Last he knew, he'd been in...and then Harry tried to...and the hand...

Oh, wait.

He was dead.

This was death, this...train station. He assumed that getting on the train meant he would move on to...what? The afterlife? And if he didn't, then what? Would he be a ghost then? Would he have hope of, perhaps, even regaining life?

No, that was too much to hope. That was the story of his life. It was too much to hope that the most popular people he knew would really, truly accept him; too much to hope that they would forgive or at least somewhat understand his stupid transgressions; too much to hope that his new master would spare him; too much to hope all his life that someone would actually see him as something.

But that was all gone. Life was all gone. There was just the train, and if he didn't come to terms with himself, it would leave without him and he'd be marooned on earth to trouble others with his own sins.

No. He needed this, the train and wherever it took him. There was a nobler purpose in it, going to face everyone he had ever wronged, actually looking them in the eyes, and suffering under their harrowing, incriminating collective gaze...and he'd still stand.

He had to.

He didn't deserve mercy, or pity, or anything. He was a despicable person, and was honestly surprised that he still had a soul left at all.

Swallowing hard, he grabbed the edge of the train as it started, weeping bitterly. "That's it. It's done," he whispered, if only to convince himself. "I'm on my way. I've finally--"

It's about bloody time, you traitorous coward.

"--stopped running from myself."

Maybe I should've kept going.

"And after all, what else is there better--"

--rather, what else is there left--

"--to be?"

[Phia Phoenix]

Name: Phia Phoenix
House: Ravenclaw!
Title: Drifting
Warnings: No real warnings, though I guess it is a little disturbing?
Word Count: I only had to cut down a couple hundred... But in the end, I made it 500.
Picture: Runaway Bride

The wind shudders around me, tendrils licking the icy tarmac of the road beside me and rebounding off the dead trees fringing my vision. The sky above me threatens to rain again.

But threaten as it may, there is nothing the weather can do to hinder me; no air has played with my veil; no precipitation spoilt the perfection of my hair. None ever will, and as far as I can remember, none ever has.

I still drift through the countryside. Most ghosts, I have surmised, settle to haunt a single place. But I cannot. Why?

I. Do. Not. Know.

I have no memory of my life. I don’t know why I wear a wedding costume. I have no idea what my own name is. No scrap of my life before this existence remains.

But what haunts me most is this – if I am wearing a wedding gown, a veil, make-up, then why have I no ring?

One thing I do know: I am running from something, and searching for another. Desperation long ago gave way to despair, and now I simply feel dead. A tasteless description? Maybe, yet so accurate. My emotions echo the mist caressing me: grey, impersonal, unfeeling. Dead.

Absorbed in my own thoughts, I hardly notice the man standing silent by the side of the road. As I move, unpausing, to pass him by he falls into step with me. Flawlessly his strides match mine – unspeaking, we continue on our now-shared way.

Detached though I am, this unexpected departure from the ordinary perplexes me. I glance briefly at him. He is taller than I by perhaps an inch, and strikingly handsome. He wears sheer black, and I’m sure any onlookers would find us an imposing pair, with our contrasting tones. I also notice that he is transparent – spectral, just like me.

For the first time in so many decades, I halt. He, too, breaks his pace and turns to face me. Had it the capacity, I am sure my heart would stop – the emotion on his face is an exact mirror of mine.

Hopelessness. Despondency. Suddenly, I know exactly what terrifies those who meet me, what despite my beauty makes me a monster among monsters.

Then he smiles. His lips flicker, moving in a way I would wager they haven’t in years; he is beautiful, and my eyes are captivated by his as he, in this barren, deserted place, lowers an opaque knee to the ebony road.

In his open hand there lies a single ring.

I know, now, what I was searching for. My heart, long laid dormant, is abruptly reanimated. Iciness is lost as warmth floods through me – his smile banishing the dark. I had thought that my lack of identity was the cause of my fear, but now I know that it was the product. Nobody is truly empty. And I know that that is what I was fleeing.

I’ve finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?

[mrsmcclnt]

Name: Mrsmcclnt
House: Slytherin
Title: Yes
Warnings: None
Words: 500
Picture: Runaway Bride

Ever since their conversation, she would have the same dream.

It took place on a dark winding road with her dressed in a stunning white gown. Her amazing beauty was only matched by her mounting depression, as she felt her essence being torn by the decision she should make.

On one end of the road there was a picturesque backdrop filled with rolling green hills. The sky was a vibrant blue and the street shimmered along its bejeweled path. She could see a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with a leprechaun beckoning for her to take it. It was a serene setting that she could imagine living out the rest of her days. It was a place that her heart called out to; a place that she longed for deep down in her soul.

The other end of the path was riddled cracks and potholes in this less then perfect venue. The horizon was marred with black clouds and thunder. A hint of danger mingled in the atmosphere. Something menacing loomed within the mist at the end of the path. But despite it’s hazardous appearance, she felt hopeful as she looked down the perilous road.

As always in the dream, she took off running into the mist. She felt compelled to run towards the danger, hoping to reach the point in the fog where she’d find what she’d been looking for. The long train of her dress along with her flowing veil made her look like an angel taking flight in the darkness. She would stumble along the hard road since there were various obstacles along the way. But her determination kept her moving, knowing she would reach that point soon.

“Severus!” she called out. She knew he was there for she could see his faint figure in the dark distance. “Severus!”

As always in the dream, she would only come so close. But there was a point where she couldn’t go any further. Yet, still, she fought desperately to reach him.

“Severus, please! We’ve been friends for too long! I still care for you! I always will!”

“But…” he’d say. And she knew what he meant by that. Her feelings for James had grown so much that it had become apparent to everyone…even to him.

“Severus, I still care! Please! You must believe me! Don’t go!” she pleaded. But he would move away from her, furthering the distance between them. She would still try and follow, pleading her case in his wake. But he would turn to her to give her a warning.

“Where I go now, Lily, you cannot follow.”

****

She arrived at the steps of his house, looking haggard and wet. James Potter wrapped his arms around her to console his ladylove.

“I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?”

“What?” He looked confused as she rambled on.

“I love you, James. I can’t deny it or hide it any longer.”

“So, you’ll marry me, Lily?”

“Yes.”

[coolh5000]

Name: coolh5000
House: Slytherin
Title: Acceptance
Warnings: Slash
Word Count: 500

Oh and just in case it's not obvious, the photo I used was the bookstore

Albus reached for another volume and sighed as he realised it was one he had already read. He wasn’t really surprised, there were very few books in the shop that he hadn’t.

Albus had always been known for his love of books. At Hogwarts he had gained a reputation as someone who was always in the library and it was his extensive reading that had helped him become so advanced with his magic.

He could never decide how to feel about his love of books. On one hand he knew he could always rely on them; a book couldn’t let him down or hurt him. But at the same time he never received anything back from them. Often he would pour all his time, energy and emotion into the book he was reading only to receive nothing in return.

He often wondered if books had replaced people in his life. Reading wasn’t a sociable activity and going to the library wasn’t an especially good way to meet people. He couldn’t pretend that he had never had friends because he had. Though it had taken a while he had eventually found his own group of friends at school on whom he had grown to depend. However, among these friends there had never been anyone who made him feel special, who made his heart race with excitement as it did when he was reading a particularly gripping book. There had never been anyone who he had longed be with all the time.

Until now.

He had found someone who gave him the same rush of feelings that he had only ever associated with reading. However, far from being happy about this, Albus was miserable. It was wrong; he wasn’t supposed to feel this way. He had waited so long to find someone who he could be with but now that he had all he wanted to do was run away and hide. He had lain awake arguing with himself about how he felt, telling himself it wasn’t real, that he was imagining things.

He had come to bookshop to escape from his thoughts. He hoped that by finding something to read he could squash his feelings and return to the old Albus, whose only care in life was what he was going to read next but it wasn’t working. He had been in the shop for an hour without finding anything that inspired him. He was bored.

He was beginning to realise that books weren’t enough anymore. He wanted him and he was sick of pretending that he didn’t. He had to accept that what he was feeling was real.

He left the bookshop and practically ran home. He finally understood that what he felt was simply part of who he was. Without warning his run suddenly slowed to a walk as realisation overcame him: I've finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be? I’m in love and there is nothing better in the world than that.