Written for Hogwarts' Writing Club - Showtime: Wait For It: (object) a watch, the Roald Dahl Day Event: Blackberry sausage - Write about a family/couple picking blackberries and the Granger Danger Event: Slice of Life.

Word count: 976


Blackberries

"You know, by my watch it's been almost two hours since we've set out, and we're still nowhere near those fabulous blackberry bushes you've promised me," Pansy complains, pointing at said watch, her breathing chopped as she hops around another stone in their path. "Are you sure we aren't lost? You did say you hadn't come here in years, it's possible you didn't remember the path correctly, you know. You can admit, I'd still love you, and I wouldn't hold it against you."

Equally breathless, Hermione laughs. "Much, right?" she teases.

"Much," Pansy confirms shamelessly. She pauses to take a long swig from her water bottle, and Hermione pauses to admire the long line of her neck, only averting her eyes, cheeks flushing pink, when Pansy shoots her a pointed look.

"You do remember us being married, right?" she teases. "You're allowed to stare if you want to."

Hermione very maturely sticks out her tongue at her wife. "You know, I was going to tell you how long we still had to go, but now it seems like I've completely forgotten." She smiles widely, faking forgetfulness. "What a shame, am I right?"

"Hermione…" Pansy says, batting her eyelashes pleadingly. "Come on, it's been two hours. Can't you just tell me how much further?"

"Nope," Hermione replies brightly, popping the 'p', as she starts walking again. "I just told you, I so very unfortunately forgot. But just think—however long we'll walk to get there, we'll have to do it all over again on our way back! Isn't it amazing?"

Pansy groans, but follows. ""This is the last time I let you plan one of our dates—no, this is the last time you're allowed to plan one of our dates, period. 'Oh, Pansy, I know this great place from when I was a kid, we should go! It's a bit of a walk, but it's a great bonding experience, you'll see!'

"I'll give you 'bonding experiences'," Pansy grumbles, only narrowly avoiding twisting her ankle as she steps on an unsteady rock.

Hermione grabs her shoulder immediately to steady her, smiling fondly. "You didn't seem to complain half this much the last time I planned one of our dates," she points out. "In fact, if memory serves, you seemed to rather… enjoy it."

Pansy's cheeks darken at the memory. She licks her lips. "That was different," she replies, voice rough.

"How so?" Hermione huffs laughingly. "We're in a beautiful place, we're together, and we're exercising—I don't see much of a difference, really," she teases, nodding pensively.

Pansy scowls. "It just was," she mumbles, but Hermione can see that she isn't truly angry.

She sighs, hitching her backpack up her shoulders. "These blackberries of yours better be worth it, Hermione. They better be divine."

"They are, I swear," Hermione chuckles. "But we should keep going if we want to get there at some point."

"Fine, fine."

The truth is, they're really almost there. They can't see it yet, because their path has been uphill for a while now, but it will start going back down soon. Hermione wouldn't simply forget the way the trees looked as they started to bend together in shapes her eight-year-old self had once found terrifying, signaling that they were getting to a deeper yet sunnier part of the woods they'd been walking through for the past couple of hours.

She remembers how excited she'd been when her parents had brought her here for the first time—she, too, had complained most of the way there—and yesterday, waking up, she hadn't wanted anything more than to share that memory with her wife.

Pansy's low gasp, and the way her eyes widen in wonder, as she takes in a small sunlit clearing branching out, white birch trees caging it like a precious treasure. And there, on the other side of the clearing, straight into the sunlight's path, are the blackberry bushes Hermione remembers.

She smiles, slipping her hand into Pansy's and holding it tightly. "Worth it, huh?"

"It's not bad," Pansy replies, but her attempt at pretending that she's not impressed falls through when her eyes refuse to leave the sight before her.

Hermione snorts, but chooses not to reply, leading Pansy forward. Up close, the berries big and ripe, standing out easily to Hermione's eyes against the green foliage, and Hermione reaches to pick them carefully.

"Only get the ones well above ground," Hermione cautions. "Even if they're not the easiest one to get."

"Why?" Pansy frowns.

Smirking, Hermione explains, "Well, these aren't the blackberries you get in the supermarket—there isn't anyone here to clean them for us. We don't want to eat some foxes might have peed on, I read that they can give you this nasty illness." She shrugs a little, biting back laughter as Pansy starts eyeing the berries in suspicion. She pops one in her mouth anyway, savouring the sharp burst of flavor.

"Oh, relax," she laughs, shoving at Pansy's shoulder lightly. "I did this for years with my parents and never got sick, it's perfectly safe. Now come on," she says, picking another berry and pressing it against Pansy's lips, letting the juice stain them violet-red, "try one. They're delicious."

Though Pansy does narrow her eyes at Hermione, she does open her mouth, accepting the fruit and sucking Hermione's finger clean at the same time with a mischievous smirk.

"See?" Hermione replies, voice a little strangled. "They're great. Worth the trip, don't you think?"

Pansy smiles, pressing their bodies close together. Heart pounding in her chest, hermione finds herself closing her eyes as Pansy leans in closer.

The expected brush of lips doesn't quite come. Instead she gets a warm breath tickling against her cheek, and an arm snaking behind her before Pansy steps back, looking terribly smug as she pops a berry in her mouth. "Like I said, not bad."