The Lion and the Snake
"I'm almost positive that girl is a Death Eater." Ron scowled as he glared at Pansy Parkinson from across the classroom. He was seated next to Hermione and Harry as always. Hermione lifted her head from the dusty text book she had been closely reading while Harry stared at Draco Malfoy. It was just like any other day, tension slowly rising between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses. Hermione sighed and replied, "Ron, they're nothing but harmless, arrogant, vicious people. None of them is actually involved with Voldemort. We're only fourth years. Not even He would recruit children."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Harry said, still glaring at the frowning blonde boy seated in the back of the classroom.
Pansy shifted in her seat and looked over at the Gryffindors, only to see the Golden Trio staring back at her. She glared back, her olive green eyes turning a shade darker as they fell on the young heroine seated between the two boys.
Pansy Parkinson had always felt hostility towards Hermione Granger. Something about the girl made her temperature rise. Ever since they first met in the dining hall on their first year, she had felt odd around the other girl. The only name Pansy could find for these intense feelings was loathing. It filled her up every time she caught a glimpse of the know-it-all. It boiled up inside of her and her mind overflowed with rage, jealousy, and hatred. She could feel her skin tingle and her stomach drop. Her heart would quicken its pace and she would always find something sinister to say to the mudblood. No matter how cheerful Hermione would be before an encounter with Pansy Parkinson, she'd always leave with tears in her eyes or fists clenched in anger, Pansy watching her storm off while her lips began to form her trade-mark smirk.
Hermione could feel Pansy's eyes on her, as if they were searching for any sign of weakness. All she could do was return the stare and let the blood turn her cheeks a light red. She had never understood why the dark-haired girl hated her so. Perhaps it was because she hung around Malfoy so much. Perhaps it was because she was a Slytherin and Hermione a Gryffindor. But it had to be more than that.
Suddenly, class was over, putting an abrupt end to the staring contest that had begun to take place between the two tables. It was time for lunch, and the students filed out of the musty room. Pansy rudely pushed past Hermione and laughed when the girl dropped her load of books. Ron and Harry kindly bent down to pick them up as the young witch shot an ugly look at Parkinson. Hermione was in no mood for the Pansy's bullying.
As lunch was coming to an end and Hermione was about to get up from her seat to get some more pumpkin juice, she turned around and was met by the icy green eyes of Pansy Parkinson. Attempting to avoid confrontation, she tried to move around the girl. But as Hermione stepped to her left, Pansy stepped to her right, blocking the other from getting past her.
"Hello, Granger." Pansy said in a menacing voice. Her eyes fixed on Hermione's.
"What do you want, Parkinson?"
"Why all the hostility, Granger? Can't I just have a friendly conversation?" Pansy had suddenly felt the urge to bully the Gryffindor into submission and a crowd had gathered around the two, hoping to see a fight.
"Just let me go, Pansy. I'm not in the mood for your games."
"Who said it was a game? And even if it was, my parents always told me to never play with mudbloods." At this, Hermione felt her heart hammer in her chest. No matter how many times Pansy Parkinson had called her that, it always stung. It always struck a nerve deep within her and made the poor girl want to run to her bedroom and cry into a pillow. But she couldn't back down. She couldn't look weak in front of the other girl.
"What's wrong Granger? Don't enjoy being called a mudblood? Well, it's what you are. You can't run from that. It's such a shame that you've worked so hard at being a good little witch. Always having the right answers in class, always busy studying in that ancient library. But you'll never be as good as the purebloods. Real witches don't associate themselves with muggles." Pansy began to circle the other girl like a panther ready to pounce on its prey. She sized her up, checking every inch of the bushy-haired Gryffindor for the slightest sign of weakness. Disappointed that Hermione refused to react, she continued.
"You know, it's no wonder you always hang around boys. Other girls don't like being around filthy sluts." She spat out the last word. It was her last chance at truly hurting the girl.
Pansy began to laugh. She enjoyed mocking Hermione Granger more than anything else. To some, that may seem pathetic. But to her, it truly was a game. One that she made sure to indulge in every day. Pansy was constantly perfecting and working on her insults like a cat sharpening its claws for the next hunt. However, today was different. Hermione had clearly woken up in a much darker mood than usual. And Pansy Parkinson was far too busy laughing to notice the sharp right hook that sunk deeply into her left jaw.
The force knocked her down and she could feel the blood fill her mouth as she glared angrily at the mad girl standing above her. Her fellow Slytherins helped her up as she looked so intently at Hermione that she could almost feel her eyes piercing the other girl like daggers.
Pansy spat the large amount of blood that had pooled in her mouth onto Hermione's face and before you could say "Avada Kedavra", Hermione was on top of the other witch, straddling Pansy's waist as she hit her repeatedly. Mustering all of her strength, Pansy flipped Hermione over and returned the punches. By then, the entire school was hollering and screaming.
"Fight, Fight, Fight..." they chanted as Ron, Harry, and Draco watched in horror as their best friends fought like angry muggles in the middle of the dining hall. The girl's wands had been thrown aside. This wasn't something that could be fought with magic. They wanted to feel themselves hurting the other.
Professor McGonagall was at the scene in seconds, pulling the two young witches off of each other. Even as she held both of their collars in her hands and tried desperately to keep them at arms length away from the other, they still threw punches and clawed at the air. The old woman practically dragged them into her office kicking and screaming. Forcing the girls into chairs seated in front of the woman's desk, she began to yell.
"What in the world has gotten into you?! Ms. Parkinson, I am not surprised to see that your constant tormenting of the other girls has resulted in something like this. But Ms. Granger, I surely would never have expected something like this from you. I always considered you to be one of the brightest students at this school." Hermione wiped the blood from her nose and stared at the floor. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with the professor.
McGonagall handed a tissue to the shamed witch so that she could wipe the blood and tears from her face. Returning to Pansy she said, "I will not have such savage, un-ladylike behavior in this school. Both of you shall be placed in In-School Suspension. You will spend every day for two weeks together. I'll be damned if you two cause a scene like the one you just made today. You both shall work out your differences or be expelled." Hermione gasped and Pansy began to feel ill at the thought of spending so much time with the know-it-all mudblood. Already feeling the bruises form on her face, Pansy suddenly took notice of the pain inflicted by the other girl and winced.
"Ms. Parkinson, after you go directly to the nurse's office, you'll return here to begin your punishment. Ms. Granger, go collect your books and come back here immediately."
Pansy quickly stormed out of Professor McGonagall's office. She had no idea how she was going to make it through two weeks of Hermione Granger.
The first day of their punishment was the longest. McGonagall had placed them both in the Room of Requirement where they would be under the supervision of one of the Hogwarts ghosts so that the professor could still teach her classes. The air inside of the room was quiet and the tension could be cut with a knife. The girl's meals would be served to them in the room and all of their homework and studying would take place there. Two desks had been set up facing each other with about five feet of space in between them. All Pansy Parkinson could do was glare at the witch who had caused her to be in this situation.
"Look at what you've done." She sneered.
"Look at what I've done?! You started this, Parkinson."
"You hit me first, filthy mudblood!" As Pansy yelled, the words echoed off the stone walls, forcing Hermione to hear the last one more than once.
Hermione tried to calm herself. She couldn't get into another fight with Pansy or there was no telling what McGonagall would do. She looked across from her at the smug, dark-haired girl. It seemed like no matter how much Hermione tried to ignore that evil Slytherin princess, she always seemed to care about what the girl said. Something about her made her want to scream. Every move the pale girl made sent shivers down Hermione's spine. Every time Pansy would curl that devilish, blood red mouth to form a smirk or a frown, Hermione would feel her heart race. And whenever Pansy would try to stare her down with those murky green eyes, so full of hatred and loathing, she couldn't help but notice something else; a hint of sadness, loneliness. No matter how much the arrogant witch tried to hide it, Hermione knew that Pansy Parkinson wasn't the strong, mean witch she tried to be. And that was why Hermione Granger cared about what Pansy had to say. That was why her cruel remarks truly hurt the girl.
"What the hell are you staring at, Granger? I'm not sitting here to amuse your silly fantasies." Hermione jumped at the sound of Pansy's voice. She had lost herself into some sort of trance, distracted by those sparkling eyes.
"Shhh!" The Hogwarts ghost hissed as it passed by the girls. Pansy scowled at the insufferable creature and returned to doodling pictures in her notebook. As she finished drawing the rope that hung Professor McGonagall over a pool of angry crocodiles, she suddenly felt the urge to look up and see what Hermione was doing. She raised her eyes to see the girl intently reading from a book. Unsurprised, she began to look the Gryffindor nerd up and down, studying her face. Pansy had never really considered Hermione to be a pretty girl. But in the eerie glow of the candlelight, she noticed how perfect the features of the girl's face were. Every so often, Hermione would sigh and tuck a piece of soft, curly brown hair behind her ear. Pansy could feel her heart quicken its pace. Pansy began to notice how incredibly adorable the heroine looked as she would frown, furrow her brow, and look more closely at the text. Hermione's fingers would run slowly over a page and Pansy couldn't help but wonder how those hands would feel like in her own.
Snap out of it, Parkinson!, she thought to herself. There was no way Pansy Parkinson could have a crush on the mudblood. Everything about her was wrong, but Pansy couldn't help how beautiful she thought the Gryffindor was.
"Now look who's staring." Pansy quickly lowered her eyes and focused more intently on the enormous pile of homework in front of her.