More Than Expected
by EMPG22HoPe

Made it through the maze to find my one in a million
And now you're just a page torn from the story I'm living

Being reincarnated as the goddess of death is a curse.

This was her karma for her years of being a horrendous mortal. For as this kind of goddess, Pansy Parkinson shall never find love in a mortal. But if she does, that love cannot be, for mortals die, while gods live on for eternities.

At first, she was unbothered by it. Her heart was a cage of steel, iced in to never love, though mostly she does this in fear of hurting herself if she did love. But then she met the most beautiful girl.

She had bushy brown hair that was a mess all over, almond-shaped eyes that could stare right into your soul, and a voice that could make her knees go weak.

Hermione Granger had stolen her slumber from her abyss of immortality.

Before she became a goddess, she always found herself attracted to men. In fact, she had a backwards ideal back in her day, cringing at the sight of the same sexes falling in love. If she were still mortal, she'd still be the same.

But her immortal heart had other plans.

They met at a bookstore down Shaftsbury Avenue during one of her strolls in the mortal world. She found that Hermione enjoyed every book she could get her hands on. Her opinions were strong, a little close-minded, but justifiable at best. It was the way she talked so passionately about literature, and about life, that made Pansy's heart skip a beat.

She scolded her heart's traitorous beat after they had coffee and donuts at a nearby café. But she knew no reprimand could stop its drumming as she said goodbye to Hermione, hoping to all the gods that they would meet again.

Pansy thought it'd be best not to meet the mortal Hermione again. But her dreary underworld has made her isolated for far too long. Her heart ever so raced when she ascended back to the mortal world to meet with Hermione for dinner.

It has been a habit now, going to and from the mortal world, just to see this one mortal girl. The feeling was different, far more different than how she felt around men. There was a certain spark to falling for a woman like Hermione that has never been ignited the way she fell for men back then.

So many things led to another, and the next thing Pansy knew, their intimacy became everything and more. They would laugh between the sheets of Hermione's bed, let out sweet cries of pleasure, or simply talk about the world and their dreams.

The goddess of death realized that there was life outside her dreary underworld. That life, despite her eternal curse, she found, was beautiful—and for a moment, she almost felt human.

Her heart, caged and iced, was now free and thawed.

Until that day Hermione took up the next step in their relationship.

"Move in with me," Hermione beamed at her brightly, offering her the spare key of her apartment. "I know it's likely so soon. We've only been together for a year, but… well, Ron and Harry said that it makes more sense this time in our relationship."

Pansy reeled back, looking stoic. Her heart coward back into its cage and froze itself once more. It would not be fair to her, and it certainly would not be fair to Hermione.

This was her curse. Her love for Hermione cannot be, for she's a mortal, and mortals die, while gods live on for eternities.

It crushed her the way she shook her head, the way she pushed the key into the palm of Hermione's hand and closed her fist around it.

"I can't." Pansy said hoarsely, trying very hard not to draw tears. "You wouldn't understand, but we can't. We simply can't."

"Pansy—"

"No!" She snapped at her this time. It broke her heart to see the fear in Hermione's eyes. "I love you, but this… this is too much."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a word out, Pansy was already running out of the mortal girl's apartment.

Pansy sulked in her underworld for a month. The echo of her phone's ringing—calls from Hermione—against the walls of her dark palace felt like a knife to her heart. It's not like she didn't try to petition for a better solution. She had gone up to Olympus to appease the gods, because Olympians can turn mortals immortal if they wanted to.

But the condition of her karma, the eternity of it, overpowered any love she could possibly have for Hermione.

In the year she has known and loved the mortal girl, she learned one very important thing: compassion. Her mortal life had lacked much of it before her reincarnation. But with Hermione, learning compassion and giving it to others, felt like a weight that's been lifted off her. And so, she practiced it a month after she left.

Pansy was clad in a purple dress, nervously tapping her foot as she waited for Hermione to answer her door.

When the door swung open, she was surprised to find Hermione a mess. Her bushy brown hair, while wild on its own, was all so terribly misplaced. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright red from her sobbing. Her voice was all cracked and hoarse as she spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak with you." Pansy answered a little too harshly, though her voice wavered at the last word as she met Hermione's gaze.

Hermione sniffled. "Is this supposed to be an apology? If it is, it's not very good."

Pansy's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Please. At least give me the chance to explain."

The mortal girl examined her from head to toe before nodding her assent.

That day, Pansy explained everything. She explained it from the moment she died, then reincarnated into a goddess, then given her curse, the petition she made with the Olympians but was denied due to her karma. The moment she finished, she couldn't decipher the way Hermione looked.

She had always been perceptive, but close-minded. So when Hermione spoke, it came as a great shock to Pansy on what she heard.

"I love you," was the first thing Hermione said after the hour of Pansy's explanation. "I have never loved anyone more than I love you. Just because we can't be together forever, doesn't mean we have to stop."

"You don't understand," Pansy shook her head angrily. "You will die, and I'll have to see your soul cross the River Styx. I cannot have you, 'mione. You'll be a soul that will move on one day. And me? I'll just be stuck in that blasted palace, watching you but never be able to touch you in Elysium. I would rather we end this now, then live eternities loving you out of touch."

Hermione swallowed. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she inhaled sharply. "Then... Please take this hurt away from me, so that I can go on and have my life."

Pansy's caged and iced heart rattled.

Who was she to deny her love what she wants?

Removing the memory of mortals was not new to her. But there was a crippling, agonizing pain in her as she removed Hermione's memories. All their times together played like a movie as its misty images swirled out of her lover's head.

And upon retrieving the last memory, Hermione collapsed, and Pansy was gone.

Over the years, she watched as Hermione married that friend of hers, Ron. Pansy watched as they had children, watched as Hermione became Minister, watched as she withered of old age and died.

And when Hermione crossed the River Styx and took a good look at Pansy, there was no recognition to her as she met her judgment.

In the following years after Hermione's death, Pansy sought to find another—not to love physically, but simply to love emotionally—anything to keep her isolation of being immortal away. But none of them were much like Hermione. She realized that as she watched her former lover play happily in Elysium with her then recently passed husband, Ron.

There will never be anyone like Hermione, and that is perhaps, her greatest curse of all.

Prompt(s):

Fanfiction Writing Month: 1,397 words

Dragon Breeding Club: Peruvian Vipertooth - Marcus

Eastern Hogwarts FunFair: Penny Slot Machine - Pansy Parkinson, Hermione Granger, mythology!AU

Southern Hogwarts FunFair: Hedge Maze - Southern Corner - (item) key

Fanfiction Resolutions Challenge

30. Write a fic exploring a different sexuality

Insane House Challenge

663. Dialogue - "Please take this hurt away from me, so that I can go on and have my life."

365 Prompts Challenge

317. Title - More Than Expected

Writing Club

11. (character) Pansy Parkinson (Character Appreciation)

2. Elsa - Write about someone who feels isolated because of an ability or power (Disney Challenge: Characters)

Scarlett - (colour) purple, (object) dress, (dialogue) "Is this supposed to be an apology? If it is, it's not very good." (Book Club)

18. You have stolen my slumber (Lyric Alley)

2. House Slytherin: (AU) Mythology (Em's Emporium: Houses)

2. Mythology!AU (Count Your Buttons: AU)

[Summer] Seasonal Challenges

Book Lover's Day: Write about a bookworm (Days of the Year)

17. Rent - write about a slash couple (Shay's Musical Challenge)

Hermione Granger (Gryffindor Themed Prompts: Characters)

AN: The lore is probably confusing since Greek mythology doesn't have "karma" or "reincarnating into a god". I invented that particular lore for this story's sake, actually. Thank you so much for reading, and please review if you can/wish to. :')

EMPG22HoPe