Notes: Written for AJ (nottheonlyfanaround) for the Pre-Round Challenge at The Houses Competition. WC = 690
Hermione had been shocked when she met Pansy Parkinson at age 11. Some people went their whole lives without meeting the names that were on their arms. But here she was in her first year at Hogwarts, and she'd already met her enemy.
At least, she thought Pansy was her enemy. She couldn't say for sure. After all, everybody knew that there was a name on each arm. One was the name of your soulmate, the other of your worst enemy. And there was no way to tell which was which.
But Pansy soon confirmed Hermione's suspicion that they were enemies. No way could anybody so cruel be her soulmate. "Stay away from me, mudblood" said the Slytherin in their first class together.
Hermione hadn't known what mudblood meant then. The look of confusion on her face had only made Pansy and the other Slytherins laugh harder. It was later, when she'd spoken to one of the older students, that she realized what a vile insult it was. She spent that night crying in the dark long after the other girls in her dorm had fallen asleep.
Things only got worse in their second year, after Hermione had beaten out Pansy for being at the top of the class. Hermione told herself Pansy's cruelty was only cause the other girl was jealous of her, but that didn't make being called mudblood any easier.
In their third year, the students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Pansy met Hermione outside of the Three Broomsticks and shoved the Gryffindor into a pile of snow. When Hermione got back to her feet, Pansy shoved her down again. "Learn to stay down" said the Slytherin.
In their fourth year, things took an interesting turn. That was the first year the students were allowed to attend a masked ball for Halloween. Hermione kissed a beautiful stranger whose face she never saw. She hoped it was her soulmate, the other name on her arm. But she later learned nobody by that name currently attended Hogwarts.
In their fifth year, Hermione joined the Order of the Phoenix. She became so consumed with the war against Voldemort and the Death Eaters that she had no time to spend on a childhood feud with Pansy. Instead, she brushed off the other girl's insults and pretended the words didn't hurt.
In their sixth year, Hermione learned Pansy's father was suspected of being a Death Eater. It made Hermione feel sorry for the other girl. While Hermione had no love for Death Eaters, she suspected that Pansy's life had probably been hard. Especially now that Voldemort was back and testing the loyalty of his followers.
In their seventh year, Pansy tried to sell Harry Potter and his friends out to Voldemort. Hermione's first instinct was to put a jinx on the Slytherin. But she reminded herself that Pansy had grown up with a Death Eater for a father and was probably even more terrified of Voldemort than Hermione was.
When she was 18, Hermione began an internship at the Ministry of Magic. She was shocked to discover Pansy was also there, working in the same department as her. Over the weeks, they slowly came to an understanding. They both decided they were over their childhood feud and had better things to worry about in the post-war world than who was pureblood and who was not. Part of this, Hermione suspected, was because Pansy was embarrassed of her actions as a teenager.
When they were 19, Hermione and Pansy went to the Three Broomsticks and got drunk. They woke up in Pansy's bed the next day. Both were hungover and embarrassed by what had occured. But it was then Hermione realized that perhaps Pansy wasn't her enemy. Maybe she'd been her soulmate all along.
Her suspicions were confirmed a few weeks later, when the two women began discussing their first kisses. Hermione mentioned the costume the masked stranger had worn at the fourth year ball, and it matched Pansy's outfit that evening to a tee. Afterwards, they laid together in Pansy's bed, both just enjoying the feeling of being with her soulmate.