Tomorrow morning the doctor came in to bind Pansy's ankle. She also received a set of crutches on which she would have to relay on until her tendons properly healed.
Hermione however, didn't get much time to fully recoup. A week after the Death Eaters left she started working outside as agreed upon with Madame Rose. She worked with the construction crew on digging out the ditch for the fence. Copious amounts of dirt on her clothes and wiping sweat of her forehead was something she didn't miss, but there it was again. At least it was under different circumstances, she comforted herself while also unable to ignore how Parkinson always managed to dodge hard work. Just like back at school… she lamented ramming her shovel back in the dirt.
The other workers where quite focused and reserved. They spoke very little amongst themselves, which Hermione thought was odd, but she didn't give it too much thought. All she strived for each day was a bath, that delicious late supper Madame Rose cooked and finding something to read before retiring upstairs.
Today Hermione was flipping trough a stack of old Daily Prophets in Rose's room. "How do you still get these? The papers are still working at this time?" She asked.
"Now more then ever, but on the dark lord's behalf, you see. All they do is praise his leadership and such nonsense. It's still useful if you can read between the lines though." Rose explained.
"What's this?!" Hermione stood up spotting an article with a picture of a burning building. "Parkinson manor burned to the ground." She read the title aloud.
"Oh right, that's where I saw the name." Rose said knitting absent-mindedly. "That could be moths old though, check the date."
"It is." Hermione confirmed. "Still, I better take this to her."
"I sure hope her family is fine." Rose added, though it sounded more like something she had to say.
"Yea…" Hermione nodded before rushing upstairs and bursting trough the door. "I…" She froze for a second seeing Pansy half naked.
"Dammit! Can't you knock?!" Pansy jumped back startled and quickly covered herself up.
"Sorry…" Hermione muttered turning around to face the door.
"Ok, what was so urgent then?" Pansy asked after she'd put on a shirt.
"I found this among some old newspapers." Hermione tossed the copy of the Daily Prophet.
Pansy sat on her bed and started reading the article, shaking her head ever so often as she skimmed trough it. "This is such garbage, blame it on those non-existing rebels why don't you…"
"Who was it than?" Hermione asked leaning back on her bed across.
"Voldemort ordered it himself I'm sure."
"Of course…" Hermione snickered. "Why would he… I mean, wasn't your family with the dark lord?"
"Don't go there Granger." Pansy warned.
"Sure, I don't care anyway." Hermione said reaching under her bed to grab a book she intended to continue reading.
"Alright, yes, if you must know, they where Death Eaters. Not that I had a say in the matter or even cared before it all started."
"You can't use that excuse on me, I know you cared." Hermione sat on the edge of her bed facing Pansy. "I saw you pestering the Muggle-born on numerous occasions, myself included …"
"Give me a break, alright! I didn't know better! Besides, I had to vent somehow!"
"I guess that makes it ok then." Hermione said sarcastically.
"Of course not!" Pansy snapped desperately. "I'm sorry! Ok?! Is that what you wanted to hear!?"
"Not really."
"Well tough luck! My whole family's gone and you're accusing me of some minor bullshit from years ago!" Pansy cried out, now on the verge of tears.
"Ok, relax! And keep your damn voice down!" Hermione quietly warned her.
"Like hell I will! You wanted to know what happened, so I'll tell you what I think happened, 'cause I wasn't there when my house burned down! I was captured elsewhere, alright!? And I guess they took pity on me 'cause I wasn't killed on the spot!"
"Listen, you don't have to…" Hermione started.
"No! Now I want to! My father was a Death Eater, sure, and than he grew a conscience, wanted to take over… or some such shit! It's not like he ever told me what he's doing, but he pulled all of us down with him and probably ended up the same as your dumb friends who fought Voldemort!" Pansy spat out in one breath.
Hearing that, Hermione's blood boiled as well. "Dumb indeed! Fighting for fucking cowards like you, who probably hid away at the first sign of trouble!"
"Am I not supposed to look out for myself?! Is that a crime!?"
"Yes if you endanger everyone else in the process!"
"Just leave me alone!" Pansy threw the newspaper back into Hermione's face who managed to block it with her arm in the last moment. "Just leave!" Pansy repeated louder and more infuriated now that she missed the mark.
"Why should I?!" Hermione argued. "It's my room too! In fact it's more so mine because I actually do something for it!"
"Then I'll leave!" Pansy shot up stepping on her injured foot. "Fuck!" She yelled out in pain as her leg buckled. She threw her wooden crutches to the ground and feeling defeated jumped back in her bed to burry her face in the pillow. It started coming back to her now, all the things she kept down just to stay alive. The uncertainty and all the images that swarmed her mind when she gazed around the charred remains of her home. Her family was not the greatest and many times she wished them gone herself, but even now she couldn't deny that connection that shaped her to a large extent. All their ancestral ideologies she used to bully with and later secretly opposed, all that changed her, she realized. If anything can change me, what am I than? She thought sobbing very quietly into her pillow.
Hermione barely noticed at first. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but kept on reading. When Pansy's sobbing got quite loud though, she could no longer concentrate on anything else. She huffed and her nostrils flared. "Fine, you win! I'll take a walk!" She slammed the door shut.
Half way trough the hallway she was stopped by one of the workers who had a room just below them. "Hey, Hermione is it?"
"Yes."
"Could you keep it down up there?"
"Yes, of course." Hermione said going red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, that was just a one time thing… it's done, believe me." Hermione assured the man who looked like he was just woken up from an afternoon nap.
Hermione walked downstairs with a frown. Now Parkinson was making her look bad here and thus negating all the effort she put in so they could stay. She was capable of nothing other then destructive behaviour, Hermione concluded taking a seat on the lowest step of the inn's entrance.