The Game - Pansmione

Chapter Ten

On the morning of Hogsmeade weekend, Hermione ran around her room in great panic. She grabbed her bag, looked at her outfit. The skirt and oversized-black sweatshirt paired with her gryffindor tie made her look cute. She had even gone the extra mile and adorned her lips with lipgloss and borrowed some mascara from Ginny.

Her body buzzed as she made her way out of the door and into the common room, spotting Harry. Ron still wasn't speaking to her and Harry had tried to stand up to him which had ended up in the redhead ignoring both of them.

"So, where are we going first?" Harry asked as he grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her closer into a hug, arms around her waist.

"Fred and George's joke shop?" Asked Hermione and then dimmed on the bittersweet look Ginny offered up to them. "Uhm. We can go somewhere else if you'd like."

Ginny nodded. "I think Harry and I want to go. But you should go get some things for your date. Don't want to show up empty-handed, you know?"

Hermione shook her head. "It's not a date."

"It's in a romantic place, you're going to confess your feelings, and she most likely will end up kissing you by the end. Is that not a date?"

She bit back a retort.

The bell on the door jingled as Pansy sat there with her hands sweating. It was half past three. Maybe Hermione had done this as a huge joke and there she was the idiot that had listened—

"Pansy?" Came a familiar voice, the shadow standing over her.

Parkinson's eyes widened in surprise. "You came."

"Of course I did?" Chuckled the girl. "Why would I not?"

Pansy decided not to let her doubts show as she called over madam puddifoot and asked for two butter beers. Hermione looked at her nervously. "I got you something."

She stayed silent as the gryffindor reached around in her pack and produced a small bouquet of silver and white flowers. It looked almost like..moonlight. "Woah, Hermione those are beautiful." She pushed them over the table toward her. "How much did these even..cost?"

Hermione smiled. "That's for me to know and you to ponder upon. A gift has no price if it makes you smile."

Pansy's beating heart quickened it's space. "Why are you really here?"

The brunette's expression changed into something she couldn't decipher. "I..want to talk to you about what happened."

Pansy tried very hard to stay still as her body stiffended. "What is there to talk about?"

"Listen. I spoke with Malfoy and he told me to just speak what I want to say, let the conversation go where it needs to go. So here goes nothing." She breathed in deeply. "I don't care what some stupid potion has to say, Pansy. I don't want to know because it's clear to me that the past few weeks of friendship we've had..there's something here. Something more than just..friendship."

"What are you saying?" She whispered, afraid that if she spoke louder she might break the spell.

"I like you, Pansy and I don't need any form of magic to tell me that."

"But..aren't you worried? What would people say? I'm a death eater, Hermione."

"No." Her eyes gleamed with something she couldn't place. "You are Pansy Parkinson to me, none of that other nonsense. There's no right or wrong in a war. You did what you had to do."

Pany's eyes watered as she dropped her face into her hands, smiling wide. "Really?"

She felt the booth's cushion sink under Hermione's weight as she slowly pried her hands away from her face. She searched her eyes. "Really." And when she had finally calmed down a bit, the brunette leaned in and grazed her lips against her's.

The slytherin felt like she cold conquer anything.