Prompt: She liked filing her nails into points; it made her feel dangerous.
Neither of the girls could remember who started it, but it quickly became a Saturday morning ritual: they'd wake up, get dressed and go to breakfast before racing one another back to the second-year dorms. (Hermione threw up once – it was her first and only win – and Ginny took great pleasure in reminding her of it on an almost daily basis.)
Together, with a pot of peppermint tea, and the Weird Sisters playing in the background, they'd relax for an hour, easily trading jokes and stories. All the while, the pair sat with the nail files Hermione's parents had packed that September, whittling themselves immaculate claws. Once, Ginny had called them talons; Hermione had informed her that as Gryffindors they were obliged to refer to them only as claws. The Weasley sister simply rolled her eyes good-naturedly and moved the conversation onto "that time you vommed all over the Fat Lady."
Hermione liked filing her nails into points; it made her feel dangerous. She suspected much the same for her friend: between her own paralysation and Ginny's possession, it didn't take much nowadays to set either one of them off. It was an irrational fear, and they both hated it. The claws let them pretend they were safe.
"You know," Hermione said, admiring her efforts, "I could probably gouge someone's eye out with these."
"Probably," snorted Ginny, a grin on her face. "If you were fast enough."
Hermione just smiled and shook her head. The redhead quietened and grew serious, glancing up at her friend. "I wish you didn't have to."
"Me too, Gin. Me too."
A/N: It looks like it's gonna be one story a month! I've just started my teaching programme again, so this is probably a good lower upload limit to set. This prompt just jumped off the page at me and I had to write it, which was such a lovely feeling. Hope you like it – if you do, please leave one word in the review box to tell me what you think! - Pan x