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Lazily, Pansy doodled away at her desk, desperate for a reprieve from the droning voice of Professor Binns. Unsatisfied with the way the hippogriff looked on the paper before her, Pansy propped her temple against her fist and surveyed her surroundings. The view wasn’t exactly reassuring, nor was it hardly worth looking at to begin with. Eighth year of school after the Second War was actually rather depressing, especially for those in Slytherin. Last year had been their free ride, taking and doing as they wanted with no chance of getting into trouble for it. This year, however, was the complete opposite, with the added insult of people downright looking down at them. It was a weary kind of action, well matched by the beaten and weary contempt of those still proud enough to hold their heads up high in the Slytherin house.
Pansy couldn’t help notice that there weren’t many of her fellow housemates here this year able, or willing, to hold their heads up high. Most Slytherins hadn’t returned this year, barely any from her year, and at least half of what was normal for the other years. Truly, Slytherin had reached its lowest point in Hogwarts history since muggleborns had been allowed to attend the school. It was pathetic but sadly understandable, especially to her.
The din of the bell was a blessing and she wasted no time in stuffing her things into her bag and quickly exiting the room. Classes were over for the day and while most students disappeared into the library or outside, Pansy headed straight down to the dungeons. Socializing with her peers had dropped to the bottom of things that were important in her life. Even taunting the younger students had lost most of its appeal, which was downright depressing in all honesty.
The dungeons were darker and gloomier this year than any year prior, further displaying the low blow dealt to Slytherin. The common room was largely empty, which suited her perfectly. She dropped down into a seat in the corner of the room and retrieved her drawing pad from her schoolbag to make another attempt at that hippogriff. Drawing, she had found, filled her spare time, of which there was much of, well. She silently lost herself in her drawing and was surprised when something soft pressed against her arm.
"Daphne!" Pansy gasped, a little in shock of her sudden appearance.
The other teen had seated herself on the arm of the Pansy's chair and had been leaning over, watching her work. Apparently her arm had accidentally pressed into Pansy's without her being none the wiser, at least until Pansy's surprised outburst. She had the decency to appear somewhat apologetic for disturbing Pansy, but she otherwise only smiled coolly at her and ignored the incident.
"Your art's gotten better," she said, eyes on the paper.
"I'm rubbish. I can't even get a simple hippogriff correct. I've drawn the bloody thing nine times today with barely any improvement on the sodden creature. I should've drawn something of much more interest and nobility, like a snake, perhaps." Pansy sighed and made to close her book.
Daphne quickly stopped her, thrusting her hand in-between the open pages and snatching the whole thing away from the other girl. She began flipping through it, ignoring Pansy's attempts to snatch it back from her. Eventually she allowed the brunette to take back the book but slid partway down onto the one person cushion of the chair, squishing Pansy against the arm of the chair.
"Honestly, Greengrass? Have you nothing else better to do?" Pansy groaned, trying to shove her off.
"I'm certain I do, but you're far more fascinating than any of it."
"I'm sure," Pansy sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes.
Draco and Goyle walked by then, tossing a stiff greeting to the pair of them as they passed. The girls returned just as stiff a greeting; neither pairing saying anything. Immediately after the war, the Malfoys had renounced all association with the Dark Lord and had even paid to aid in the repairs of muggleborn homes destroyed during the Dark Lord's brief reign. Many of the pure-blood families turned their backs on them, but they were a crafty sort, well able to find a somewhat decent rank again in the pure-blood circle. One such way had been announced scantly a month ago.
When they had passed, Pansy looked at her friend and watched the blank expression on Daphne's face slowly give way to something that could almost be boredom, but Pansy knew better.
"I thought you'd have warmed up to Malfoy a bit better by now."
Daphne snorted. "You and he may have managed a friendship for years, but not everyone can take to someone like him so well."
"You don't have much of a choice."
"So I've heard."
Pansy bit the inside of her lip as Daphne shot her a look that clearly read annoyance. The topic of Daphne's and Draco's arranged marriage was not something Daphne enjoyed talking about in the least. Once that sort of agreement had been made between the families, there was little one could do to get out of it, barring death. Taking Daphne's hand with her free one, Pansy squeezed it and gave her a small smile.
"Don't worry, so long as I'm around, I'll keep Malfoy from bothering you too much," she promised.
"Thank you." Daphne squeezed her hand in return before sighing and removing herself from the seat. "You're far too critical of your talent, by the way. Your art is good, just have a bit more faith in yourself."
She took off with that and Pansy watched long, strawberry blonde hair bounce against Daphne's back until she was gone. Looking down at her drawing pad, she decided maybe one more try wouldn't hurt.
*
A month of school remained, graduation and her future outside of Hogwarts just in sight. Pansy grumbled, however, as she shifted through the shelves in the library, searching for books to aid her on an essay she had to write for Charms. Normally, she'd have her parents send her the books she needed to avoid having to heft through the dusty, decrepit books kept in stock at the school. As it was, things were different now for her family so that was not an option anymore. Pulling down a book from a top shelf entitled, 'Gurdy's Handy Handbook to Changing Apples to Oranges', Pansy flipped through to the Table of Contents, hoping the book could offer some help for her essay.
"That's a book better suited for Fourth Years," a voice said from over her shoulder.
Jumping forward and whirling around, book slammed shut and face barely able to contain a burning blush of embarrassment, Pansy scowled at the intruder. She was simultaneously surprised and overly annoyed by whom it was.
"No one asked you, Granger!" she hissed, just barely able to remember to keep her voice down. "Sod off."
Hermione tilted her chin upward slightly as if to snub her or show that she had just as much spine as Pansy.
"I plan to," she replied stiffly. "But if you're searching for a book for the final Charms essay, I think it best you seek this book."
She held up a book that had been clenched at her side - 'Herald Mongoose's Charming Charms'. Pansy sniffed at the title, replacing the book in her own hands with disinterest to what Hermione was offering her.
"Bugger off, Granger. I don't need your help."
"Quite. I'm sure you'll do well all on your own, Parkinson."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing more than exactly what I said."
After a small pause, Hermione smirked mildly. "You've changed, you know."
Pansy hoped the other girl had missed the flinch she felt twitch in her hand as she dropped it away from the bookshelves. "How so?"
Brown eyes studied her silently for a moment before Hermione shrugged. "Just making an observation."
"Yeah, well, we've all changed. War does that to people."
"Yes," she agreed - her tone sad suddenly. "It does."
With that, Hermione departed, but not before she set the book into an empty space on a nearby shelf. When she walked past Pansy, she did not walk a wide berth around her, instead opting to walk straight past her. Their sleeves brushed against each other in the process -- Pansy remained motionless until she heard the tap of Hermione's loafers fade away.
"Git," she finally mumbled to herself.
Holding her head high, Pansy walked the opposite way Hermione had went, grabbing the book left behind by the Gryffindor as she went.
*
It was two days before graduation when Daphne found Pansy seated beneath a tree several yards behind the greenhouses. With summer's official start but a few days away, the day was warm with a gentle breeze that caught Daphne's loose hair as she smoothed her skirt against her thighs and knelt beside her fellow housemate. Pansy had fallen asleep while reading a book, said book forgotten in her lap with a hand perched just to the side of it. Daphne's gaze followed the hand up to Pansy's chest, watching it rise and fall in slumber, before continuing up to a tilted back chin and slightly parted lips.
Daphne gently pressed the backs of her fingers against her friend's cheek, sliding them across the smooth skin delicately. For a long while now, especially after the war, Daphne had taken an interest in Pansy she didn't quite understand. Well, no. She did understand the interest, but she did not understand where it came from or why. Perhaps it was because aside from one other girl, they were the only two Eighth Year Slytherin girls that had returned to school after the war. Neither one of them were particularly close to the other girl and while Daphne and Pansy had had mostly been acquaintances before, this year they had become surprisingly close friends.
Perhaps it was their mutual connections to Malfoy that had driven them closer.
Pressing her lips tightly together at the thought of her future husband, Daphne slid her fingers carefully through the ends of Pansy's dark hair. She hadn't cut it since school had begun and it was nearly down to her shoulders. Daphne rather liked the idea of Pansy with long hair and was secretly pleased she hadn't cut it yet.
"Might I ask what you're doing?"
Daphne, not often startled, jumped at the sound of Pansy's voice. "Shite, I thought you were asleep."
"I was until a moment ago," Pansy replied, peeking an eye open. A smile curled at the corner of her mouth. "Can I help you with something?"
"Actually, yes, I came to proposition you with an idea."
Yawning and stretching, Pansy gave her a nod. "Oh?"
"There's some time before the..." Daphne bit the inside of her cheek, "wedding. I thought it'd be fun to go travel about for a little while before it."
Pansy shifted. "You know my family's circumstance at the moment..."
"I'm aware the war wrung your family's finances considerably. You haven't heard the rest of my idea yet though, Parkinson."
"Go on then."
"I have a small allowance I can take away from, plus some I've saved up over the past few years. It'll be enough to get you and I train tickets and some amenities."
Pansy pursed her lips in thought, considering the plan. It didn't sound too bad, she admitted, but what would they do if the money ran dry? The other girl only smiled.
"We're Slytherins," Daphne said, "astute and able to get our way no matter what the means."
"Well then I think the only other suitable question here is when do we leave?"
"At the end of July."
Pansy's eyebrows shot up at this. "Isn't the wedding at the end of July?"
"Yes."
Taking Daphne's hand, Pansy squeezed it with a solemn look. "Daph, I..."
Pansy smirked. "...think that's an excellent idea."
*
At first, Pansy had been half expecting Daphne to change her mind or tell her she was just kidding and it was all wedding day jitters. However, as the date of the wedding drew closer, Daphne made good on her promise of purchasing train tickets, sliding one to Pansy during a lunch meeting. Then they went shopping, buying necessities and new dresses, discussing where they would head first and where they would possibly end their trip. It began to feel more real after that.
Still, Pansy kept expecting a change of mind. Not that she would have been disappointed because there were some things more important to some pure-bloods than their own lives, and one of those things was sticking to traditions. Three days before the wedding, Daphne appeared at her door, a purse clutched in her hand and a smirk for days on her full lips. Needless to say, Pansy was honestly surprised.
"Ready to go?" Daphne asked.
"You're truly serious?"
Daphne opened the clasp on her purse and allowed Pansy to see within - it had been jinxed so that she could fit a whole wardrobe and undoubtedly, many other things, within. She briefly admired a satiny red dress before drawing her eyes back up to the blonde's. Pansy leaned against the door jamb and nodded.
"You seem sure."
"Obviously."
"And when they come looking for you?"
"They won't find me; us."
"It's stupid."
"Fully aware of the fact, Parkinson. Are you going to continue running your pretty mouth or are you going to get your shite so that we may catch our train on time?"
"'My pretty mouth'?" Pansy repeated. "Greengrass, sometimes I get the feeling you're flirting with me."
"As if. I hadn't thought you to be quite so full of yourself."
Narrowing her brows slightly, Pansy stepped forward, crowding Daphne on the doorstep. The other girl didn't bother to move away nor did she flinch when Pansy leaned her face into hers.
"Do you fancy me, Daph?"
"I'd fancy the chance to boot your arse for holding our excursion up."
Daphne then gripped Pansy's chin and pressed their lips together, unable to resist the temptation so clearly flaunted in front of her. It was warm and slightly sloppy, and when Daphne pulled away, she was relieved to find Pansy smiling.
"Be right back then," Pansy said and disappeared into the house.
Within an hour's time, they were standing on a muggle train platform, surveying the other passengers as they went about loading their possessions and biding goodbyes to loved ones. To stifle suspicious curiosities, Daphne had suggested Pansy bring along a suitcase. While a single one for two people seemed unusual, they doubted anyone would question it, and they didn't care if they did. Nothing of interest was packed within, only things that could easily be replaced if lost or forgotten - underwear, socks, normal muggle clothing.
"Train departing in five minutes!" boomed from speakers overhead.
"So we're really doing this?"
"Parkinson, you honestly seem shocked by this whole thing."
They boarded the train, showing their tickets to a steward that led them to their room. Setting the suitcase in a compartment beneath one of the two seats inside, Pansy waited until the man had left before finally answering.
"I'm aware that you hold no interest in Malfoy," she started, "but your family will take a blow in the pure-blood circle if you fail to keep your end of the bargain. I know your family isn't one of the most powerful pure-blood families, which is why a marriage between you and Malfoy, despite his family’s recent black mark, would still raise your family's status. Don't you care of that?"
Daphne studied her for a long time, before laughing, bitterly. The sound felt caustic to Pansy's ears and she bit back a grimace.
"Of course I worry about my family's status. I'm the oldest, aren't I? I was essentially cursed to bare the heirs of another pure-blood no matter whether I wanted to or not. I've had no illusions of living my own life since I was old enough to understand that. But..."
Trailing off, Daphne looked out the window where they could both see the other side of the train platform. People were beginning to gather on it, waiting for a train that would take them on holiday or home. Daphne placed her hand against the glass pane as a final call for boarding passengers could be heard from the platform they had entered upon.
"I thought it would be nice to escape my life for a little while, make my own decisions for once. Even if it's short lived, at least I'll have that memory of freedom to hold onto when the day is cold and my husband is away on business, my children are away at school until Christmas holiday, and my friends have all moved on with their own lives."
They felt a lurch as the train began to move. Daphne lowered her head but did not drop her hand from the window.
"I just want to know what it's like to be truly happy for once. Maybe I am experiencing wedding jitters and am running off because I'm naive and scared, but I know it'll be worth it. My family will forgive me in time - Greengrasses don't hold onto grudges as indefinitely as other pure-blood families. Perhaps we're too soft and that's why we're so low in the circle, but at least I can be confident that once the anger has subsided, they'll be happy to see me.
"I understand that the marriage arrangement was done to help their social standing and I hold no contempt against them for it. After all, we pure-bloods are slaves to tradition. Still, once I thought of taking this trip, I had no intentions of changing my mind, no matter what anyone said."
Pansy reached forward from her seat across from Daphne and placed a hand on the other girl's knee. This pulled the blonde's hand away from the window so she could place it over Pansy's.
"Rest assured, I will not try to change your mind then," Pansy said softly.
"Thank you."
*
From London, the train traveled to Brussels and onto Luxembourg, where they got off and explored the city for several hours before returning to the train. Near Rotterdam, the girls met several drunken businessmen in the dining car. They were laughing loudly and flirting with the female attendant and a group of middle-aged women in the booth across from them. As soon as Daphne and Pansy entered the car, their attention was drawn to them and Pansy gave them a salacious smile as they walked past to the booth beside the middle-aged women.
The women, as expected, shot them dirty looks before pretending as though they weren't there.
"I bet, with the right amount of allure, we could get dinner for free," Pansy whispered, throwing a look over her shoulder at the businessmen.
"Hmm... They do look mighty hungry for some entertainment. Perhaps you're right." Daphne smiled as the attendant came over and took their orders.
Pansy ordered a whiskey on the rocks and Daphne ordered a glass of champagne, shooting smiles at the businessmen as they did so. When the drinks arrived, Daphne took a sip of her drink and proclaimed how fantastic it tasted, passing the champagne flute over to Pansy. Their fingers lingered atop of each other purposely for a moment too long before Pansy allowed herself to take the flute and press it to her lips. She drank slow, catching the eye of one of the businessmen - a large, greasy looking man. As she pulled it away, she 'accidentally' spilled a bit over her chin and fingers.
"Oh you clumsy thing," Daphne tsked, leaning over the table, "this simply won't do."
As her tongue touched first Pansy's fingers, then her chin, they could both hear the men inhale sharply, apparently having not expected things to play out so favorably for them. Pansy played the role of the dubiously and happy girl surprisingly well as she giggled and moaned softly when the blonde's tongue lashed out briefly at her lips before she slipped back into her seat. To say it had been part of the show, while accurate, did not mean the response had been false. In fact, Pansy felt a stirring within her chest that made her blush lightly. She made sure to let the businessmen see it.
Clearly, it was working, if the way they were rearranging their ties was any indication.
On it went, through appetizers and the main entree. By the time dessert arrived before them -- a simple brownie for Pansy and a small parfait for Daphne -- the men had clearly over stayed their welcome in the dining car, but they continued to order drinks and food to avoid being thrown out. As for the girls themselves, there was a sort of wild look in their eyes that clearly spoke volumes of their intentions for each other. However, they kept all their actions carefully seductive and slow to draw out this game they'd begun to play for the businessmen. When the check arrived, Daphne reached for her purse and began to pretend to rifle through it.
"Oh dear," she said, distress crossing her face, "I've forgotten my money in our room. Pansy, dear, did you bring some with you so as to avoid the humiliation of running back to our room to fetch some?"
"Love, I thought you had the bill for dinner! I didn't even bring my purse! Oh, this is humiliating!"
It took less than thirty seconds for several of the businessmen to begin bickering over whom would get to pay their check. Finally, two men stepped forward, one being the greasy gentleman, and quickly paid off half of the check each.
"We simply cannot allow such beautiful gals to face any kind of humiliation," the other, a tall, bald man, said.
"Oh, no! We couldn't possibly accept!" Daphne protested.
"It's not a problem. People forget their money all the time," the greasy man said. "Just be more careful in the future."
"We most certainly will," Pansy confirmed with a nod and a smile. The man blushed.
After was all said and done, they returned to their room and broke out into wild laughter, collapsing side by side on one of the seats. And then they were kissing, hungry; bodies fighting to press the other into the seat. Eventually Daphne won and Pansy looked up at her with a dangerous smile on her lips.
"Shouldn't you remain chaste for your wedding night?" Pansy teased as the blonde slipped off her dress.
"I'm beginning to really think you want me to punch you, Parkinson."
"No." Pansy placed her hands on Daphne's hips. "I just like fucking with you."
"You're insufferable, I swear. I can see how you and Malfoy have been such good mates for so long."
"Would you prefer me to be quiet and demure instead?"
"Absolutely not! Then you'd have no redeeming qualities whatsoever!"
Pansy swatted the blonde's thigh and huffed when Daphne laughed it off and leaned down to kiss her. Between kisses and exploratory touches, Daphne suddenly broke away and sat back on her heels. She crossed her arms and looked away, shrugging off Pansy's touch when she reached out for her.
"Do you think we're moving too fast, Pansy?" she asked.
"Of all the times to ask such a question!"
"Bugger it up and just answer."
Pansy sighed and began to think about it. Less than a day ago, she surely hadn't imagined she'd find herself in such a position beneath the blonde, but she had never not thought of it. She wasn't blind to her friend's fancy of her and while she had mostly flirted about in a teasing manner, Pansy suspected that things would have eventually reached this point naturally had it not been for the unfortunate wedding coming up. Taking Daphne's hand, she kissed her knuckles.
"No, I think we're right on track."
Daphne was silent a moment. "Did you just make a train joke?"
"Possibly."
"It was in poor taste."
"You know I never do anything of poor taste."
"Git."
"Oo, yes. Talk dirty to me, Greengrass."
The tension in Daphne's shoulders disappeared as she resumed her previous position, giggling and sliding her hands up Pansy's sides and hooking her fingers in the spaghetti straps of her dress.
*
"Where are we today?"
Pansy looked up from the atlas in her hands and shrugged. "Denmark would be my best guess."
It had been four days since they'd begun their journey and truly, it felt more like four weeks. The cities and towns the train had briefly stopped in until now had been too small and quiet. They lacked excitement and at this point, they were seriously considering apparating straight to Paris or Milan or something. Eventually they would get there though, they knew. It would just take some time, which was more or less the whole point of their trip.
They spent lunch in the dining car, seducing a free meal out of another group of businessmen, then skipped dinner later that evening to fuck in their room. Apparently, once they had crossed the threshold of friends to lovers and gotten over the uncertainty of their actions, they took to the new aspect of their relationship with gusto. They left the shade open as the train sped through first countryside and then a small town before reemerging in the countryside again. Pansy was almost certain people could see Daphne spread open in her lap and Pansy's fingers deep within her.
Daphne feigned ignorance.
When they arrived in Copenhagen the next afternoon, they left the train and went for a much needed walk. They bought a small cake at a bakery and walked to a pier to watch boats on the water as they ate it. The air was chilly here despite it being summer but they barely acknowledged it, sitting close together and staring out onto the water.
"We really need to do something fun."
Daphne looked up from the crumbs she'd been dusting off her light jacket. "What do you suggest?"
"Let's go to a pub."
"I don't see how much fun one can have there."
"Depends on how you utilize your time there. Come."
Pansy grabbed the blonde's hand and they took off at a run to the nearest pub. Perhaps it wasn't the grandest of ideas, and they barely spoke the language, but they were able to make do. They got a bottle of Tequila and one of rum and settled into a booth. It wasn't long before the alcohol and the way they kept batting their eyes at every customer in the establishment led Daphne to lie on the bar. Pansy wasted no time in pouring liquor into her navel and lapping it out. It was hard to keep themselves from doing anything lewd enough to get them thrown in prison, but eventually they made it back to the train. They stripped down to their underwear in their room - lipstick and alcohol sticky on their bodies - and fell asleep curled up together on one of the seats, not bothering to pull out the bed.
*
In Berlin, they disembarked from the train altogether and rented a room at a hotel. They were running low on money. They had managed to save quite a bit thanks to their seductive free meals, but the truth was that if they planned to continue their journey on to Bulgaria before circling back west, they would need more money. That night, Pansy wore a black dress with four-inch high heels, while Daphne wore the red, satiny dress that had caught Pansy's eye over a week ago. Thanks to some careful owls, they were able to find out about several rich parties going on around the city, one in particular concerned a mix of very well to do wizards and muggles.
"Good thing every party needs some pretty ladies to help ease what could easily become a boring conundrum of rich men," Pansy laughed as they made their way past security.
"Well, at least one, you mean. I suppose as long as the other one has half-decent looking breasts... Oof!"
Daphne rubbed her side where Pansy's elbow had hit her.
The party was pretty boring, but once they jinxed the band into playing some actual danceable music, Daphne and Pansy wasted no time in hitting the floor and dancing the night away. It relaxed the men in the room greatly, especially when they corralled several of them into dancing along with them. When that didn't work, they ground against each other, sweat rolling down their backs as they lost themselves to the moment. Taking a break consisted of heavy kissing and touching in the bathroom together, smearing their lipsticks and having to retouch up before they left.
Flirting with the men in the room eventually netted them over a thousand, five hundred euro, two gold watches, and ten marriage proposals that they politely turned down. It had been better than expected and they retired to their hotel in the wee hours of the next morning with smiles.
*
They rested in Berlin for several days before taking another train, first heading to Krakow, and then going straight on to Sofia in Bulgaria. Here they went to see Viktor Krum play Quidditch, rooting for his team even though neither of them had much cared about the game beyond school pride. They avoided Viktor after the match though, just in case he knew about Daphne's runaway act and had to report them or something else paranoid along those lines.
Heading back west, they huddled together beneath a large comforter in a hotel in Belgrade, sipping away at hot chocolate. In Zagreb, they made out in front of a group of businessmen and got not only a free meal, but a bottle of champagne, along with a solid gold ring Pansy slipped off one of the men's fingers. Not that they had needed any extra money at the time, but it had been exciting getting away with it.
In Italy, they made a wish at the Fountain of Trevi and Pansy made Daphne scream her name from a hotel window in Pisa with a well placed jab of her fingers in the right spot.
By the time they made it to Paris, it had been close to a month since they had set off from home. Pansy sent owls home saying she was fine, just traveling, but she didn't stick to one place long enough to wait for replies. Not that the owls didn't find her. Usually when they stopped in the next town or city, there was an owl waiting for her - looking rather miffed.
"People are beginning to think you offed yourself, Daph," she said one day, passing the blonde the letter she'd been reading.
"I thought you told them I was with you?"
"No, I told them only that I had seen you, alive and well. If they knew we were together, they'd track us down in no time at all."
"Making sure to keep me all to yourself, is it?" Daphne smiled as she returned the letter after a quick glance at it.
"I've been trying to get rid of you since the Czech Republic, but I can't seem to pry you away from my..."
"Parkinson, I swear, if you finish that sentence, I will never go down on you again."
Pansy pouted.
*
Things were going wonderful up until they ran into Hermione Granger on a Parisian street corner. It was hard to tell which party was more surprised to see the other, but Hermione was scantily able to form a word for a full three minutes after their meeting. Pansy literally applauded her on the record of silence, to which she scowled, snapping out of her surprised stupor.
"They say you've offed yourself back in London," Hermione said to Daphne, purposely ignoring Pansy.
"So I've heard. What brings you to Paris... Granger, was it?"
"As if you don't know my name? I find it hard to believe, and extremely insulting since we were in many of the same classes for seven years."
"Ah, yes, I do recall a stuck-up know-it-all from Gryffindor. But surely you're not the same person?"
"The Malfoys have a ten-thousand pound reward for knowledge of your whereabouts, Greengrass, and I'm certain everyone will love to know who your accomplice has been."
Pansy clenched her jaw. "If you are really thinking about doing something so stupid, I'd be forced to oblivate you to keep you from doing so. I doubt you'd like that too much."
"There are many things I don't like."
"Likewise."
Hermione stepped past them and continued down the road, ignoring their protests.
"We best keep an eye on her," Pansy suggested.
Daphne nodded in agreement.
*
Hermione was in Paris on holiday with her parents. She stayed another three days before heading to Spain where she started a job tutoring young wizards in the theory of Charms. The former Slytherins had both rolled their eyes at this but continued to keep an eye on her. So far, she had either lost interest in ratting them out or had completely forgotten the incident. They suspected it to be the former but found it hard to relax as they had been enjoying up until now.
"This is ridiculous," Pansy sighed. "I'm just going to oblivate her memory so we can finish up our trip on a peaceful note."
"Based on the assumption she hasn't already owled someone about us, and various members of our families aren't in Paris and the surrounding countryside searching for us, I think we should just let it go. We're nearing the end of this holiday anyway so it's pointless to keep hiding."
Daphne set the cup of tea she'd been sipping down onto the table and smiled lightly at the brunette. "I've had more fun with you than I ever imagined possible. If things come to an end right now, I'd be okay with that," she added.
Blushing lightly, Pansy balled her hands into a fist.
"I don't want it to end until you and I are on a train that's pulling back into London under our own volition, not someone else's. I'll ruin that goody two-shoes git if she so much as thinks of destroying that for us!"
Pursing her lips, Daphne gave a noncommittal nod.
"Very well, I won't attempt to stop you, but if things can be avoided, I'd prefer you to do so at my bequest. As I said before, and mean full-heartedly, if things come to an end now, I'd be happy. But, if you were to do something reckless and got yourself hurt, then I'd be very mad at you. I'd hold onto that anger until the day I died, do you understand?"
Part of the fire went out of Pansy at those words, but she was determined - a true Slytherin no matter if she was no longer in school. Just as Daphne was, which was why she believed Daphne's every word just now.
With a kiss to Daphne's temple, Pansy forced a smile.
"Nothing major will change. I'll do as you request, but if I see an opening, then I plan to go for it. I'll see you tonight."
*
"They say children are spoiled rotten when coddled too much as babes. Not that I'm calling you spoiled, but calling you rotten is heavily implied."
Hermione looked up from her drink and sighed in exasperation.
"Have you been following me since Paris, Parkinson?"
"The better question is why do you keep showing up in my life at the most inconvenient times?"
Hermione was glad this was only her first drink or she would have said something either stupid or inappropriate. Instead, she paid for her drink and walked out of the pub with Pansy following closely at her heels. The sun was only now beginning to set as they walked down the street, heading to no particular destination. Something told Hermione that it would be best if they stuck to places where people could see them, just in case.
One does not easily trust someone that tried to hand one of your best friends over to the Dark Lord.
At the thought of the Dark Lord, Hermione rubbed her arm through the sleeve where a scarred word still marked her skin in ugly, jagged letters.
"Do you plan to answer my question?" she asked, glancing at Pansy.
"Do you plan to answer mine?"
"I've no idea what you're talking about."
"Do me the favor and spare me the coy and ignorant act. I'm so sick of seeing it from you lot."
"My lot? What lot would that be, Parkinson? Everyone that was victimized and tortured by the Dark Lord while YOUR lot got a free ride through that nightmare?"
"We suffered too!" Pansy protested, the tendrils of anger beginning to overtake her.
"Oh, I'm sure. Loss of social standing, not enough money to get shoes to match your new dress, not enough dead muggleborns -- which is the heartwrenching suffering you've had to endure?"
Hermione's voice was sharp as she spoke, jabbing vehemently at Pansy with each word. Scowling, Pansy resisted the urge to hit the other girl simply because there were too many witnesses in the vicinity and she had a feeling once she began hitting Hermione, she wouldn't want to stop. She did, however, grab Hermione's wrist and dragged her down an alleyway, away from prying eyes, despite the former Gryffindor's resistance. They entered a small, empty courtyard, where Pansy finally stopped and pushed Hermione against a brick wall.
"All I want to know is whether or not you've opened your disgusting mouth to anyone about seeing myself and Daphne," Pansy growled, digging her fingers into Hermione's wrist. "I assume you're civil and of enough intelligence to give me a simple yes or no answer."
Remaining silent, Hermione shoved Pansy with her other hand, wrenching herself free of Pansy's hold in the process.
"I don't give a dog's bollocks about you and your girlfriend's disappearing act from the wizarding world! Why should it matter to me who finds out?"
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"You couldn't fool a room full of blind people with that lie."
The first slap that rang out in the small enclosure was not dealt out by Pansy, but by Hermione herself. It stunned Pansy for only a moment before she returned it in kind, throwing her weight as well against Hermione's body and forcing her back against the wall. They exchanged several insults before Pansy, in a blind rage, dug her fingers into Hermione's hair and kissed her until they both fell still; the anger literally boiling itself right out of them with that simple action.
"W-what...?" Hermione began when her mouth was free.
"No. If you haven't figured it out by now, then just shut up, Granger, until you do."
Pansy leaned into her again, kissing her and making sharp nips to her lips until Hermione reciprocated in kind. When she slid her hand up Hermione's skirt, Pansy met no resistance from the other girl, only the press of fingers into her lower back where Hermione held her. She refused to be gentle about what they were doing, pressing her fingers straight away into Hermione, not caring that she wasn't wet enough to accept her fingers properly yet. The hiss that filled her ears and the shift of Hermione's legs to give her better access only drove her on.
Pressing sharp bites to Hermione's throat, she took and took, only grimacing when Hermione's hold on her was too strong. When walls clenched down around her fingers and Hermione cried out -- not her name, just a sharp exhale of air -- Pansy felt a sense of relief she had not realized she needed. Disengaging herself suddenly from Hermione, Pansy wiped her hand hastily on Hermione's shirt and looked away.
"I-I apologize."
Hermione remained silent, panting slightly still. After a moment, she composed herself and nodded as if she understood everything where Pansy understood nothing of what just happened.
"I haven't said anything to anyone about you or Greengrass, nor do I plan to. That day I... For some reason, it's always you. You test my patience on purpose, but I suppose I only reap what I sow. So, I apologize as well," Hermione said quietly.
"Oh."
Pansy began to leave unsure what else to say beyond her lame 'oh', but paused.
"I'll be back in London in two weeks," she said.
"I will too, give or take a week."
"See you, then, I suppose."
*
Daphne and Pansy headed to Lisbon the next day, performing a lap dance for each other in the back of a bar in a neighborhood just shy of the main tourist attractions. They raked in some much needed money there and ate out at the fanciest restaurant they could find in the city as a reward. When they visited the Madre de Deus Convent later that day, they kissed in the middle of the church and Daphne attempted to compare Pansy's art to the masterpieces around them.
At the end of the day, Pansy could not have felt more confused.
She lied awake beside Daphne that night, cursing Hermione's name to the high heavens. It didn't help that until her encounter with the bookworm, she had done her best not to put too much thought into her relationship with Daphne. After all, once they got back to London, it was obvious that Daphne was going to be swept away to forcibly marry Malfoy. Thinking of it now made Pansy's chest burn with jealousy and anger. Of all the people for her to end up in a somewhat meaningful relationship with and it has to be the one person that at the end of the day, will never be hers. It enraged her to no ends, especially when coupled with the conflicting feelings she had long felt toward Hermione.
Her heart was either an idiot or someone had decided to invest too much stock into making the saying, 'the heart knows best', a reality. Bloody fucking hell.
Throwing off her covers, Pansy slipped on a robe and went to the desk by the window. Turning on the desk lamp, she retrieved her drawing pad from within the depths of her enchanted purse and a pencil. For two hours she drew, until she fell asleep with her cheek pressed against a drawing of what was clearly the face of one Hermione Granger. In the morning, the page was wrinkled beyond salvation and the drawing had been mostly rubbed off by her face, much to her chagrin.
She nearly threw the entire book at Daphne when she asked if she had been attempting a new art technique.
*
"We'll be in London in a few hours."
"Yes."
Daphne bookmarked the book she'd been reading and dropped it into her purse, knowing they were about to have a talk that she was not looking forward to, but had been expecting. She could see Pansy wasn't too keen on bringing up the subject, but it was unavoidable.
"I don't want to go back yet. Ever, actually."
"Neither do I."
"Where do we stand after this?"
Daphne sighed and looked out the window, lightly biting the tip of her pinky finger in the process. There was no clear answer to that question - they both knew that.
"We'll still be friends, hopefully?" Daphne asked.
"Naturally."
"Pansy, I do have something I've yet to mention to you."
"Oh?"
There was a long pause before Daphne answered.
"The wedding... Already happened."
Pansy stared at her in confusion. "What on earth are you saying?"
"Astoria and I have been privately contacting each other for weeks. We've been trying to find a loophole for me to escape this debacle I was forced into, and we did it. We found one."
Pansy could only gape at the other girl.
"Astoria took my place. There's an old, mostly forgotten, rule that allows a sibling within two years of age to another to take their place in an arranged marriage. She's a year younger than I - a year and eight months younger, if one wanted to get technical."
"And she agreed to this, so easily?" Pansy finally managed to ask, anger touching the edges of her words. She wasn't sure why she felt angry.
The blonde glared at her, tears brimming in her eyes beneath down-turned eyebrows. "Of course not, you idiot! She's only just out of Hogwarts with a large and free future ahead of her. She could do anything she wanted with her life simply because she was born second, and still she chose to help her cowardly sister. Astoria gave up her freedom so I could have it. Do you have any idea how awful I feel about this?"
"Wait, no." Pansy held up a hand. "Firstly, when did this even happen? How long have you've led me to believe we should be on guard when we've been free?"
"Since Spain. I received an owl from her the night you went to confront Granger. She told me she had already made the announcement to take my place as Malfoy's future wife and they would be wed immediately. The next owl from her stated she was on her honeymoon with that git."
"Merlin, Daph, you could have told me this sooner. Why the hell did you keep this all mum?"
"I didn't want you to know what my cowardice had caused. At least not while we were still having so much fun. I'm so daft. I'm disgusted with myself to no ends."
Daphne's voice trembled, but she held her composure. Pansy was perhaps in worse shape, having already resigned herself to the fact that she was about to lose Daphne. Now that they seemed to have a chance after all, Pansy was beside herself with...
With grief and anger, neither of which she could understand or justify in that moment.
"I don't know what to say, Daphne."
"I don't deserve any words, I know that."
"No, I don't... It's just... This is all a mindfuck for me. I was so resigned to the fact that I was going to lose you and then this whole fiasco with Hermione, I just... This is confusing."
"Hermione?" Daphne perked her eyebrows up in surprise at the usage of the brunette's first name. "What do you mean?"
Pansy's face paled at her slip of tongue. She sunk further into her seat and stared at the floor in silence, unsure what to say because she was still unsure about everything.
"I see... So we've both been keeping secrets this trip, haven't we?"
"It seems, much as anything else in our lives, nothing good can ever work for long," Pansy sighed.
"Something like that."
*
October came with its expected chill and fallen leaves. Hermione hurried across a courtyard and ducked quickly into a university building, instantly warmed by the heat within. She headed up to the third floor and was relieved to find the classroom door opened. She'd been late twice in the past two weeks and the professor had given her hell for it. She was endlessly glad to be early today, not eager to have another tongue lashing this morning, or really, ever again if she could avoid it. Most of the other students were there already, but she made a beeline for the one familiar face in the crowd.
"G'morning," she greeted.
"G'morning," Pansy said with a small nod.
They passed the rest of the morning in relative silence, helped along by the teacher's class lecture. When the bell rang, Pansy sighed as she followed Hermione outside. She grimaced at the chill and leaned against Hermione slightly as they walked.
The last two months had been... unusual.
After they arrived in London, Pansy and Daphne had gone back to their respected lives. As expected, Daphne got a lot of flack for her disappearing act. However, within a week, her family acted though as almost nothing had happened. She attempted to owl Pansy, but the brunette had burned the letters without glancing at a word on them aside from Daphne's name. She knew it was silly to be angry with her, but it was a good defense for her confused feelings for both Daphne and Hermione. Clearly, the attraction to Hermione should never had been a thing that occurred, but it was always something that had existed in the back of her mind, for as long as she could remember. Most of her hate for the Gryffindor had stemmed from trying to push the attraction away.
Obviously, she had failed magnificently at accomplishing that.
Hermione returned to London five days after Pansy did. They drank coffee at a cafe two days later -- a tense silence between them. For nearly a week, they did the same thing until Hermione sighed, propped her chin in her hand and asked Pansy if she was going to kiss her already or continue to stare at her like she was afraid Hermione would abduct her and make her a muggle.
Pansy kissed her to shut her up, not that she didn't enjoy it.
They began taking classes at a university northwest of London shortly thereafter, although Pansy had little idea what she was aiming to be. Before then, she'd never given very good thought to what she would be once she escaped Hogwarts. She somewhat liked the idea of becoming a Professor and it happen to be that Hermione's school offered classes for teaching, so she enrolled in them.
"Parkinson?"
Pansy snapped out of her short trip down recent memory lane with a nearly audibly pop. She raised one eyebrow as she looked expectantly at Hermione.
"What?"
"This is really strange. Us, walking side by side, and not attempting to kill each other."
"You've no idea what I'm planning to do to you when you least expect it." Pansy smiled faintly.
"Maybe if you say that enough times I might actually begin to fear you, or consider that a sexual proposition."
Pansy laughed. "If I wanted you to fear me, I'd have done a much better job at tormenting you in school."
"You didn't torment me."
"I really should have stepped up my game then."
Hermione smiled but said nothing as they continued to walk. The silence would have been more enjoyable had it not worried the former Slytherin.
"Spit it out, Granger."
"I know your relationship is not quite the same with Daphne as it had been before, but I can't help wonder how much of that is because of your own prideful stubbornness?"
"I daresay you give my stubbornness too much credit."
"Rightly so," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. In a more serious voice, she added, "I think you should properly reconcile with her."
"We're on speaking terms now."
"Barely. I'm not blind, Parkinson, I know you still care very deeply for her. So why don't you tell her so?"
Pansy shrugged dismissively. Frowning now, Hermione stopped walking, causing the other girl to sigh loudly.
"Sometimes you remind me why I hated you so much for so long."
"You have your remarkably shining moments that make me feel the same. They're quite often, that."
"Do you hate me," a pause, "Hermione?"
"I'm still annoyed by all the insults you've spewed at me over the years, yes. Being so quick to give Harry over to the Dark Lord was possibly your worst offense, in my opinion. Ultimately, I have every reason in the world to hate you with my every fiber, but I don't."
"Why not? It's not because of that day in Spain?"
"No, though that was an interesting day." Hermione smirked at the memory. "But no, that isn't why. The reason I don't hate you is simple: There's no point in holding a grudge anymore. Before the war, I most definitely would have jinxed you the first opening I got, especially after the stunt you pulled in Spain. However, the war taught me to cherish things more because what's there today can be easily gone tomorrow. Even enemies."
"Are we still enemies then?" Pansy quirked an eyebrow.
"We are... friends, for lack of a better word. I don't hate you and I know you don't hate me, and even though we still have a lot of old resentments against each other to get past, I think it's possible to work past them. In time, of course."
"Do you think we could become more than friends, someday?"
Walking several steps past Pansy, Hermione turned and winked. "Depends on how badly you want me."
Quite a bit, Pansy silently admitted.
*
"I wasn't expecting to see you for some time still," Daphne said, stepping out of the way to allow her visitor entrance.
"You know me too well, Daph." Pansy walked past the blonde, shaking off the light November snow from her hair.
Without being invited to do so, Pansy seated herself in the first comfy chair she found in the living room. "But you're right. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't have come to see you for some time still, if at all."
Silent, Daphne sat across from the brunette, forcing herself to keep her head up. They had seen each only twice since they'd come home. Mostly, they owled each other brief messages, though it took a while for Pansy to actually return any of Daphne's.
"I heard you've gotten yourself shacked up with Granger."
Daphne didn't even try to hide the contempt in her voice.
"We're flatmates only. We split the rent and cooking duties, nothing more. It helps us save money for books and tuition. Heh, who'd have thought Granger and I would have to rely on each other to get through school?"
When Daphne didn't respond, Pansy sighed.
"Okay, so sometimes we shag, but we're not 'together'."
More silence.
"I miss you," Pansy finally settled on.
"Do you?"
"Don't be so blinkin' high and mighty right now. You lied to me. You've been lying to yourself since even before our trip. Why don't you shoulder on some responsibility in this?" She managed not to shout, but only barely.
"I'm tired of shouldering responsibility," Daphne sniffed. "I just want things to be as carefree as they were when you and I were traveling. I lied about being happy if it ended too soon. I lied about not wanting more than those moments we had together this summer. I've lied, for too long, about how much I fancy you. I'm weary of lying and responsibility, okay?"
Pansy was a little surprised by the tears rolling freely down the blonde's cheeks. She had never seen Daphne cry before - almost, but never actually do it. It didn't fit well in the image Daphne had always presented herself to be. She was aristocratic and refined, far more so than Pansy herself. Often, she imaged it came from the fact that since the Greengrasses were low on the social order, they tried to make up for it by appearing far more noble than they actually were. To watch her crack and crumble as she currently was, it didn't sit right in Pansy's stomach at all.
She imagined any attempts to soothe her would be met with resistance, so instead she reached into her purse and removed a piece of paper, sliding it across the coffee table separating them face up. It took a moment or two, but eventually Daphne looked down upon it, picking it up to verify that she was not merely seeing things. On the paper, Pansy had drawn a hippogriff -- perfectly, in Daphne's opinion -- and beneath it, Pansy had written: 'Thank you, and I love you.'
"Truly?" Daphne sniffled.
Moving in now, Pansy hugged the blonde and then kissed her lips, smiling as she pulled away.
"Absolutely."
"Does this mean...?"
"Hermione and I are at a crossroads we are attempting to get through, and where we stand today and where we will stand tomorrow are two different questions that neither of us can answer right now. I care for you deeply and I fancy her as well. It's all quite confusing, Daph, but I'd like to try to make both sides work out if I can." A pause. "If you don't mind?"
Daphne sighed, sniffled, and laughed a little at her situation. She realized it wasn't the end, not really a beginning either, but it was something. Something good can work if they allowed each other the time. They were young, and free, and time was well on their side.
"Take your time," she said, and slipped eagerly into a kiss with the only person that could send her heart aflutter.