A/N: Is it peculiar that I've been working on this particular story line for over 4 years? I reread the stories, and the writing style from one chapter to the next changed as I changed. Perhaps that makes it hard to read. I'm not altogether certain. I just know that somehow I always manage to come back to this story, in the same way Hermione and Pansy always come back to each other. Some reviewers have wondered if they're going to get back together in the end. To be perfectly honest, I'm not certain. It depends upon how I feel at the end. So there's no certainty here. If you're looking for a story in which it's certain that the initial pairing end up together, this may or may not be for you. But if you, like me, want to stick around and see what happens, I'll welcome your company. As I've grown, my need for approval has diminished, so while reviews are nice, I'll no longer hold chapters for hostage for reviews. I can only hope this chapter is enjoyable. Peace.

-CatJetRat

Chapter 4

The Oh-So Fated Meeting

Pansy

"You know, it would have been nice if you'd bothered to ask my opinion about whether or not we go to tea today with some friend of yours from high school," Hannah said crossly. "I might have had plans."

"Did you?" I asked, lacing up my shoes.

"I—well—that's not the point!" Hannah sputtered.

"Look, if you don't want to come, that's fine," I said, standing up. "I'll just go visit with my really hot, lesbian friend and her presumably equally attractive girlfriend by myself."

Hannah glowered. "You're evil."

I smirked. "I know."

"Fine, fine, just let me put on my shirt."

"That's not necessary."

She rolled her eyes and pulled on a pink blouse. "Let's go, nympho."

Hermione

I yawned into my cup of tea, and drained it. Ginny eyed me in amusement. "Maybe you should lay off the caffeine. It's totally messing up your sleep schedule."

"Filthy lies," I said, refilling my cup from the blue teapot.

"You woke up at two today. We barely made it here."

I shrugged, settling comfortably into the soft armchairs the cute tea place provided. Around us, people laughed and worked on their computers and studied. It was all very cozy, as were most things in England. "Well, seeing as how they're not here yet, I'd say my timing was perfect."

Ginny laughed. "You and your logic," she said affectionately. "Look, there they are!"

I looked up and saw two blonde women stumble in through the doors, giggling at each other. I smiled to see their love. Then the woman with the slightly darker blonde hair tossed it out of her face, and looked at us. Her eyes met mine. My smile froze.

Oh, shit.

Pansy

Hannah and I bickered playfully on the way to the tea place. By the time we went through the doors, we were snickering like schoolgirls. I tossed my hair out of my face, and looked for Ginny's table. I spotted her red hair, and my gaze slid to the woman sitting beside her with slightly bushy brown hair. She was smiling. I froze in place, just as she did.

"Hermione," I breathed. Hannah looked at me curiously, then turned to look at the table. Her body stiffened next to mine, her hand slipping out of mine. For a moment, we all just stood there, staring at each other.

"Pansy!" Ginny's voice shattered through my reverie. I blinked and looked at her. She seemed completely oblivious to what was happening. "We're over here!"

Slowly, hardly daring to believe what was happening, I moved towards the table. Hannah followed me after a brief pause. We both sat in chairs across from them.

"Pansy, this is Hermione Lopez," Ginny said, still blissfully unaware. "I'm Ginny Weasley," she added, holding out her hand to Hannah, who took it awkwardly. "Hannah Abbot."

Hermione and I sat staring at each other, her mouth open slightly. She looked good. Really good. Far better than when she'd left me five years ago. I could see the faint scars on her arms, but that was all they were. Scars. No fresh marks. She seemed hale and healthy. When this information made its way to my shell shocked brain, I could feel an emotion curling itself in my stomach, filling my entire body with heat. I was angry. I was past angry. I was furious beyond all reason.

"Hermione 'Lopez', is it?" I said coldly. "What, Granger, did you think by leaving your name behind, you could also leave the past behind you? Hakuna Matata, as it were?"

She shut her mouth and turned her chin up firmly. "You'd know all about leaving the past behind you, wouldn't you?" she replied, voice equally icy. "Share a few moments with the poor abused girl and toss all that aside the second your reputation gets challenged?"

"You started it," I retorted, feeling a blush spread down my neck as I realized how childish that sounded.

"Right, of course, because I was thinking clearly and not at all in need of compassion and understanding."

"And of course as a completely reasonable seventeen year old girl, I was in the place to give it!" I glared at her for a moment, breathing harshly. "So you just thought you'd abandon everyone, did you? Just so you know, I was the one of the only witnesses they had in the case against your parents and the church. The other witnesses were too scared to talk. They might go free completely and be able to continue raping children, thanks to you."

Hermione's face went white. "How the hell is that my fault? I didn't even know there was a court case."

"Because you made it impossible to find you!" I snarled, fingers gripping the tablecloth tightly. "You didn't have a cell phone, you didn't tell anyone where you were going, you sold Harry's car for a new one…we did everything we could to find you, but you were gone, despite everything I did to help you."

"Sorry, but your pussy wasn't some magic balm for my soul to make me stay in a town that held nothing but misery for me." Hermione sneered

Before I knew what was happening, I stood up and slapped her as hard as I could. The entire teashop fell deadly quiet. She tossed her hair back and glared at me.

"Fuck you, you ungrateful cunt." I hissed, angrier than I had ever been in my life. I had never used that word before, but now it felt appropriate. "I helped you. I was there for you. And then you just left. For all I knew, you were dead. You could have at least called."

She stood up as well. "You have no idea what I was going through at the time. I'm sorry I hurt your god damn feelings."

"Don't you dare presume to know how I feel!" I said, my voice getting louder and louder. "We had two days together. You don't know me at all."

"I know that you're pissed as hell," Hermione crossed her arms and smirked. "And I know that you're holding my blood in your pocket still."

My face flushed in mortification as I grabbed at the heart shaped necklace, the outline of which was clearly visible through my pants pocket. How she had noticed and Hannah never had was beyond me. I shot a quick glance at her. Her face was stony. I felt guilt curl my insides. She got to her feet.

"Clearly you two have some issues to work out," she said flatly. She looked at me. "Don't bother calling until you're ready to burn that necklace with me." She swept out of the teashop. I stared after her, torn.

Hermione

Despite my bravado, my blood was pounding in my ears. Everything Pansy said to me was true. And I hated it. So, much like Pansy had when we were children, I employed the defense mechanism of cruelty.

It appeared to have worked. My face stung from her slap almost with triumph. Clearly she cared just as much as I did, but damned if I was going to let her see it. I wasn't a weak little girl anymore, and I wasn't going to let her use my feelings against me like last time.

"Are you going to chase after your hurt little girlfriend?" I asked condescendingly.

She turned back to me, eyes blazing. I recoiled slightly, then straightened, hoping she hadn't noticed. She had.

"Oh, now I scare you?" she sneered. "After all that?"

"Hardly," I snapped. "Come on, Ginny, let's go."

Ginny had been completely silent through the entire exchange. When I turned to her, her eyes were filled with betrayal. "Hermione Granger?" she said in disbelief. "Why on earth didn't you tell me?"

My heart softened. "I thought it didn't matter anymore. I didn't want your opinion of me colored."

"So it's perfectly fine for you to know who I am, but me knowing who you really are is completely unacceptable?" Ginny grabbed her jacket, standing up. "You know what, Hermione? I'm going to follow Hannah's approach. Call me when this drama fest is over and maybe we'll try to move past you lying to me."

"I never lied!" I called as she hurried away. "Shit."

I looked back to Pansy, who was standing there looking as if she'd rather be in a mud pit. She turned her face to meet mine, and for a minute, we just looked at each other some more, neither animosity nor forgiveness left in either of us.

"Um… I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave." A tiny brunette in an apron had walked up to us, looking a little scared.

"Fine," we said simultaneously, and we took another second to glare at the other for speaking.

"Thanks," she said in relief.

We left the teashop, and stood side by side for a minute, neither of us knowing what to say. As both of our girlfriends had already done the melodramatic exit, for some reason it felt strange to do it with each other.

"Right. Er. This was fun," I mumbled.

She let out a harsh laugh. I resisted as much as I could, but it bubbled up and hysterical laughter spilled out of me as well. We both stood there laughing until we were bent over and tears poured down our cheeks, though if I were asked, I wouldn't be able to say what kind of tears they were.

"You know," she said as she tried to get her laughter under control, "I really fucking hate you."

"Feeling's mutual," I snickered. We both flopped down in the middle of the sidewalk, eyeing each other as our laughter faded.

"You know, maybe we should go back to my place and try to have this conversation without the screaming," Pansy said idly.

I laughed again. "Fair enough."

We got up, and she led me to her car. With an odd feeling of déjà vu, I got in as she held the door open for me. She went to her side, got in, and shut the door. We sat there for a moment.

"Here we are again," she said.

"Yes. Here we are." I looked back at her, just as she turned to me. The air between us crackled.

Pansy

Why on earth I had suggested we go back to my place was beyond me. But as we sat in the car, staring at each other, I knew I had put myself in the worst possible position. The air was charged. I could see the hand mark on her face where I had slapped her, and for some reason, that made my body feel pooled with heat, different from the anger I had felt before. Her lips were bright pink, her cheeks flushed. I reached out and gripped her chin. She stayed completely still. I brought up my other hand and smacked her across the face for the second time. Her head jerked down, and she took deep breaths, doing nothing to retaliate. I slid my hand from her chin to her hair, and pulled it so her face was facing mine.

"God," I breathed. "Why did you have to be such a stupid bitch? We could have gotten through it together."

Her eyes glittered with tears. "No, we couldn't have. I was too broken. You were too young. I needed my mother."

I released her. "You're right," I said, swallowing. "Of course you're right." I turned away from her and started the car. She stayed still and silent as we drove to my apartment. We pulled into my parking space. I got out of the car, went around, and opened her door, pulling her out by the arm. My fingers were wrapped around her arm in a bruising grip. I unlocked my door and pushed her in ahead of me. She kept her face down, letting her hair cover it, and leaned against the far wall. I moved towards her swiftly, grabbing her by the neck and forcing her to look up at me. I pressed her body against the wall with mine, effectively trapping her. I wanted to punish her, make her pay for the pain she had caused me. She stared up at me as if she wanted me to punish her. I squeezed her neck for a moment, then stepped away.

"Take off your clothes." My voice was not my own, surely. That voice must belong to someone else. She complied with shaking limbs. After she had slid her white panties down her legs, I grabbed her hair and pushed her to the floor. "Get on all fours," I snarled. She obeyed, tears started to form in her eyes. "Stay." I went into the bedroom, took off my shoes, socks, and underwear, before opening my drawer and pulling out my favorite strap on. It was one of my largest, black and nine inches long with a four inch girth. I put it on under my dress, refusing to contemplate what I was about to do. I grabbed a bottle of lubricant, and spread a little over it. I went back into the living room. She was still on all fours on my floor.

"Nice to see you stayed around this time," I remarked bitterly. She closed her eyes.

I positioned myself behind her, and, without any kind of preparation whatsoever, began to push it into her asshole. She cried out and tried to pull away, but I grabbed her arms and held her up, continuing to push into her mercilessly. "Pansy, don't," she whimpered.

"Please," I scoffed into her hair. "As if you really want that. Fine, tell me to stop, and I will."

She stayed silent.

"That's what I thought." I pushed the rest of my length into her. She started crying uncontrollably. I pulled out a little bit, and shoved back in. She whimpered.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I don't care," I replied, and started fucking her in earnest. She continued weeping, and as I went on, I could feel tears falling down my face as well. The slapping of her ass against my clit, and the sound of her sobs were intoxicating. I slid in and out of her as fast as I could, relishing the feel of her shaking body against mine. This was farther than we'd ever gone when we were children, exchanging tentative kisses in a car as we discovered each other and our love for each other. Then again, this was different. There were no kisses, no love. Simply her body, and mine. Me, inflicting wounds, emotional and physical, that I hoped would last forever, and her, accepting it, and longing for more, to be punished. It was so, so terrible, in the most wonderful way possible. We were together again, in whatever way we could be, and needed each other so desperately, but hated each other for so many reasons. I rested my head against her back as I continued to pound into her, all thoughts of Hannah and fidelity long gone, as I realized this was all I had wanted for so long.

Hermione

The tears pouring down my face were so wonderful, and welcome. I could feel her breasts pressing into my back as she forced her way into my body. I couldn't have said whether I consented to it or not, only that it was happening, and whether I enjoyed it or not was up for debate. I only knew that I needed it, as surely as she did. I needed her violently invading my ass, stretching the skin as tight as it would go, perhaps breaking it. I needed her as much as she needed me.

She wrapped the arm that wasn't holding mine around my front, and slammed into me again and again. A moment later, I could feel her entire body shudder with orgasm. She stayed there for a minute, breathing hard and holding me. But then the moment ended and she shoved me away. Her strap on pulled out of me as I went, blood and who knew what else covering it. She unhooked it and tossed it across the room, as if trying to get it as far away from her as she could. She sat down on her hardwood floor heavily, and leaned her back against her blue couch. I stared at her from my collapsed position on the floor. She looked at me, and I looked back. There was no guilt in her expression, as one might expect from someone who just cheated on her spouse and had anal sex with a dubiously consensual partner. No. There was simply pure relief on her face.

"You're alive," she whispered in wonder. "Jesus fucking Christ, you're really alive." Tears were streaking down her face, but whether she was aware of them or not was uncertain.

"I really am," I said softly, and crawled my way over to her. She reached out and gripped my hair again, shaking me slightly.

"God. You cunt. My god." She shook her head, and pulled my body between her legs, laying my face between her breasts.

We lay there, on her floor, both of us crying into each other, girlfriends forgotten, as if no time had passed at all.

We were together again.

A/N: That was longer than I intended. Ah, well. These things happen. I'm sorry if I freaked any of you out. I debated putting in warnings, but ultimately decided that they would give too much away. I dearly hope this won't get removed. That would sort of suck. Let me know what you think, yeah? Adios.

-CatJetRat