The Way Things Almost Were | Harry Potter Drabbles

Line Without a Hook

author's note: it's been a hot minute, but i'm here. this fic was inspired by line without a hook by ricky montgomery, with each character using a different line from the song. enjoy! leave me requests if you'd like & i'll get to the eventually! 

"they're singing, she's a, she's a lady, and i am just a boy, singing she's a, she's a lady, and i am just a line without a hook." - line without a hook; ricky montgomery. 

Draco Malfoy - 'it's a curse and it's growing'

The way he trailed after her, unsure of himself, unsure of leaving everything the Slytherin common room had to offer him. For as dark and as damp as the dungeons were, they were home and he was comfortable. Standing here though, on the upper floors of Hogwarts, he was out of his element. Especially this late on a Sunday evening, "Would you just get back here?" He called to her and she stopped in her tracks but did not look towards him, "What?" She nearly snarled and his hand stopped momentarily from reaching out to her, "I-I can't explain." He muttered darkly and this time, it was the girl who whipped around, hot angry tears in her eyes, "Can't explain that you don't want to be seen with a Gryffindor? Is that it? Is that what this is about. Then just...just go then. Take your pride." She marched off again, but this time he caught her wrist, wheeling her around to face him, "I love you, okay? Happy?" He shouted at her, his words bouncing across the hallway, "I didn't want to admit it, but I do, I can't get enough of you, you make me absolutely insane." He sighed heavily, as if he were feeling the weight lift off his chest. "I love you, I have since 4th year." 

Cedric Diggory - 'oh baby, i am a wreck without you'

His breathing was ragged, shirt torn, his hair askew as Harry and him appeared at the edge of the Triwizard Tournament maze and she rushed down, ahead of the rest of the group wanting to crowd around them. His sobs ripped through his body the second she reached him, collapsing n the ground, "He's, he's back." He said, muffled against her shirt, "Voldemort's back." He whispered against her and she instinctively felt the need to draw him in tighter. Cho Chang stood back, letting her take over as his hands shook against her's. She had never seen him so scared, so terrified. "I'm here, Cedric, I'm right here." She pressed her chin against the top of his head, his head immediately falling into the crook of her neck as she hugged him tightly, "I love you," She whispered, carding her fingers through his hair as his crying began to subside. "You what?" He mumbled, standing straight as his shaking fingers brushed against the side of her cheek, "I love you." She whispered again and Cedric Diggory held her close, feeling more at ease than he had in the past year, despite the commotion around him. 

Fred Weasley - 'feels like explosions when you are around'

She arrived back at the Burrow that summer as she had the summer before, when there was something more sinister about the air around them and around every corner outside the house lurked an invisible ghoul, waiting to hex them into oblivion. But for Fred and her, there was nothing but where they had picked up from their countless letters and long walks around the garden. the shop had closed down months ago, boarded up, Diagon Alley was not safe. They were safe at the burrow, where few people could see where they lived and even fewer knew how to even reach them. "I love you." He spoke out loud as he fiddled with a contraption he was working on one night. She was taken aback, "I-I," She paused, looking at him, but he paid her no mind, "I love you." He practically shouted at the device and tossed it across the room, watching as the metal inside opened up and miniature fireworks cascaded out of it, spelling out that three word sentence. "I mean it, I do love you." She settled comfortably back into his arms, watching their personal display. 

George Weasley - 'because there is something and there is nothing'

They were somewhere in Mongolia this time, nearly three months in on their yearlong journey and trekking along the wilderness together, in search of one of the magical creatures native to the Asian country. "Have you thought about what I said when we go back?" George asked, cautiously holding her hand. She had been somewhat distant since the end of the war and he knew that nothing would change that. "It's so far away to think about, but tentatively, yes, I will. I would move in with you. If, of course, we don't cut things off after this trip." George stood back from her, watching as she moved forward, trying to gauge her answer, "You think we'll break up love?" She shrugged, "I mean, I don't want to, but it's nearly seven months in the future." He paused again, watching as she moved forward, "I love you, you know." And she smiled, watching as his lips twitched a fraction of an inch upwards, "Well, that's something. I love you too." She remarked, holding out her hand for him to take her's. And she would never let go.

Neville Longbottom - 'she's a, she's a lady, and i am just a line without a hook'

They were sitting by the Black Lake, basking in the early summer air as they enjoyed their picnic lunch that she had packed for the two of them. He skipped rocks along the shore and she laid back, looking at the clouds, "Oh, to never have this moment end." She mused, propping her hand under her head, turning to look at him, "It doesn't have to," He chuckled, another stone hitting the lake. "You're right," She thought for a moment before standing up, shaking herself slightly to wake herself before skipping towards the direction of the lake, in search of more flat rocks to throw. He knew he was hooked when she bent down, dark hair reflecting the sunlight, cheeks slightly pink from the coarse breeze, watching as she examined the stones with such intensity, as if her life depended on it. "Hey," He called to her, a few yards away, "I-I love you." He smiled, running a hand through his hair, but he barely had time as she tackled him back to the picnic blanket, "Took you long enough." She smiled down at him, "I love you too." 

Oliver Wood - 'i need you here to stay' 

Oliver grasped her shoulders roughly as she cried, it was the summer after graduation, and he was leaving for Puddlemere United. And they had decided, mutually, at the end of summer, to end what relationship they had formed. Until she didn't. Until night after night she begged him to reconsider, the way she curled up tighter and tighter against him when they fell asleep together. They knew the end was coming and neither wanted to admit it, "I love you." He whispered against her crying form, "I have always loved you, but Mo Chidre, you know why we're doing this." She cried harder, but his bags were packed, she was off to Hogwarts tomorrow and he was starting his job, "Oliver, please," She begged, one last time, as if it were not beneath her to ask and beg such fruitless questions, "I just...I need you in my life, I can't do this without you." He remained resolute, "I know, I know." But his jaw was strong, he was resolved to continue on without her. And so must she.