The Most Impossible Soulbond

The Last Day

The following days quickly passed by in a blur of lessons and tutoring. Pansy suddenly found herself adjusting to a pattern of sorts. It was weird, considering Harry Potter was now a daily part of her routine, but it happened and there was little she could do but bite her tongue and deal with this new facet of her life.

She had indeed helped him with his Potions homework and spent a few hours each day with him to teach him some basic etiquette. Considering the way he had reacted to her mother's methods, she did her best to refrain from uttering any of her usual snide remarks whenever he made mistakes, unknowingly or not. Judging by the glares he kept sending her way it became immediately apparent that he still heard them through their bond. Never in her wildest imaginations would she have thought that she'd reach a point in her life when she'd have to actually try and stop herself from actively thinking. Then again, stranger things had happened to her quite recently, like said soulbond's very existence.

Still, it could have been worse, she supposed. They had, most likely because of the frequent exposure to each other – may it be face to face or through the soulbond – reached a sort of common understanding at last. They were still far from being 'nice' to each other but the usual bite and snark were lacking in their recent dynamics, which was a good thing, as they had finally made it to the last day of their summer holidays.

Pansy lied wide awake in her bed that early morning, dressed in a pretty black nightgown with gorgeously worked lace trims. She wasn't quite ready to face the day yet, so she opted to read instead. A lady should also be allowed a bit of a lay-in every once in a while, no?

Plus, it was a fun little romance story she had been enjoying late into the night and now she wanted to know what would happen next. Would Gwendolyn succumb to rowdy Bartholomeus's advances or would she marry the nice man her family had chosen for her?

"I still think she'll run away with Barty," Harry muttered sleepily, his tired voice indicating that he had just woken up.

"Obviously. Even a troll would figure that out."

"Why are you still reading it then?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance. "Because the road to the obvious ending is still quite entertaining."

"Not sure I agree," he replied, interrupting her as she was trying to read the same sentence for the third time.

With an annoyed huff, she closed the book and got out of her bed, her mood and book ruined.

"It wasn't even a good book, so no loss there," Harry said, adding to her annoyance.

"Do you want to die?" Pansy growled at him.

"People tried and failed, so, be my guest."

Despite herself, a loud guffaw escaped her. One thing she had learned in those two weeks with Harry living in the manor was that he had a rather morbid sense of humour and she liked it. It made her laugh and it had helped them a lot in finding some common ground. Oh, they were still so very far away from getting along, let alone becoming friends, but it wasn't headache-inducing bickering anymore. It still happened and she doubted that it would ever go away, but it was still a step in a direction that helped her believe that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't die a miserable, bitter witch.

After finishing her morning routine and dressing up in a pretty, gently flowing lavender silk robe with an intricate boteh pattern, Pansy made her way to the kitchen, where Biffy had already prepared a small breakfast buffet. Filling her plate to complete a full Welsh breakfast, including Welsh bacon, Welsh sausages, the all-important Penclawdd cockle and laverbread, she sat down at the kitchen table and began eating. Her father was likely in his study and her mother had wanted to visit Uncle Humphrey in his shop in Knockturn Alley early in the morning. So, she could take her time and enjoy a quiet and relaxed breakfast. It would be the last time for a few months that she could do so. Hogwarts was waiting, after all. Slytherin House was waiting. The rest of the student body would be watching with bated breaths and eager eyes. Pansy could already imagine all the blatant stares and hushed whispers as fingers were pointed at her and before she could even take a bite, she had lost her appetite.