When tomorrow morning Hermione walked into the living room Pansy was looking quite different. Her skin was a brighter shade of porcelain against which a fresh coat of black nail-polish and makeup really stood out. "You look different." Hermione murmured groggily.
"Thanks, I found some of you mom's makeup, so I thought why not make myself look decent?"
"Did you cut you hair too?" Hermione noticed Pansy's neatly combed hair, now cut shorter to resemble her trademark bob cut of old. Now Pansy looked much more like her old self and it wasn't a bad thing, Hermione thought. She was quite pleasing to look at, Hermione had to admit. Hermione even snuck glances at Pansy wondering how she never noticed that before.
Then Hermione's attention turned back to the fridge. "Did I eat the whole watermelon yesterday?" She asked rummaging trough it.
"Yea…" Pansy lazily confirmed her suspicion.
"Hmm…" Hermione scratched her head trough her messy hair.
"Slow down or you'll get fat in no time." Pansy snuck up behind Hermione and whispered into her ear as she pinched her exposed waistline that stuck out between her pants and undershirt.
"Hey!" Hermione jumped back.
"Sorry." Pansy apologised realizing she crossed some sort of a line.
"It's fine… I just… don't quite understand you." Hermione admitted looking at Pansy from top to bottom. "I mean, you where all gloomy back at the inn, and now…"
"I guess it's because of what we went trough. I'm just glad to be alive right now, you know?" Pansy said.
"Likewise." Hermione nodded.
"Also I thought you where kind of mad at me after we quarrelled at the inn. Now I know that's not true because Rose told me what you did."
"Yea, I…" Hermione didn't know how to explain that, luckily she wouldn't have to because Pansy interrupted with another question right away.
"So what happened at the labour camp? How'd you manage to free everyone? You never told me the whole story."
"Right…" Hermione remembered. The images of Joseph dying and other horrors flashed trough her mind as she fiddled with the bandage around her arm that seemed to be coming loose.
Pansy noticed and pushed Hermione over to the couch. "Take a seat and I'll fix that for you, but first I'll make us a cup of coffee, ok? Then you can tell me everything."
"Alright…" Hermione agreed, though she wasn't too thrilled about recalling the event.
As Pansy re-wrapped the bandage around her arm, Hermione retold the story of the labour-camp raid. They talked for quite some time, later switching to more cheerful topics, like food which seem to be of the highest importance for Hermione right now. She of course also ate the brunt of the portion they cooked afterward.
Later that night Hermione laid back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling while clutching her belly with both hands. "I feel like throwing up now."
"I told you not to overdo it." Pansy scolded.
"How do you do it? You eat like a little bird." Hermione wondered.
Pansy smiled, she must have thought it was a compliment.
Over the following days Pansy and Hermione settled into a new routine, one consisting of plenty of rest, eating and sleeping. Other times Pansy spent watching old movies while Hermione read in the evenings under the lamplight.
Sometimes Pansy would bring her up a cup of tea, and she always looked like she had something to ask until one day she finally did. "What are you reading?"
Hermione looked up at Pansy, surprised by her question. "This is a comic book I liked as a kid… It's about a detective… of sorts." She said reluctantly, expecting some kind of a witty remark.
"Could I take a look at it after you're done?" Pansy asked.
"Sure." Hermione nodded. "I never figured this would interest you."
"If you like it, I want to know why." Pansy said closing the door behind her.
After a week passed Pansy and Hermione got even more relaxed around each other. They talked more, and even though these conversations where quite shallow that suited them just fine since they where both secretly on a mission to forget the past.
The past wouldn't just be forgotten in all cases. Hermione would still occasionally revisit the blurry landscapes of her battlefields and subsequently wake up with night terrors. Pansy would then rush to her side.
One night Hermione awoke with a bed-sheet wrapped around her leg. She also knocked over a nearby lamp which made a very loud noise.
Pansy was startled out of her sleep, but she quickly rushed over.
What battles was Hermione fighting in her sleep on this particular night? Pansy could only imagine. She combed trough Hermione's messy hair with her pointy black fingernails as she gave her a long compassionate glare.
"Sorry." Hermione said wiping the sweat of her forehead.
Pansy waved off the apology and sat on the bed in order to give Hermione a hug. Hermione tensed up at first, but than she wrapped her arms around Pansy. As Pansy eased into the embrace, she rested her head on Hermione's shoulder. By now it was unclear who was comforting who, but then again it didn't matter. Hermione could stay like this for hours with Pansy's scent filling her nostrils, but eventually Pansy broke away and went back to her own bed.
Hermione was now left wide awake and with a burning desire. "Pansy… I can't sleep." She confessed looking up at the dark, moonlit ceiling.
"Me neither, shell we play a game?" Pansy suggested.
"Sure, come up here!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
Pansy reached into the drawer and pulled out a deck of cards. Then they begun to play on Hermione's bed in a dark room with a single lamp illuminating the space between them.
Hermione would feel a jolt each time Pansy accidentally touched her hand. Then finally Hermione realized there was nothing accidental about it so she placed her hand over Pansy's and looked into her eyes. They moved closer until their noses where nearly touching, then Hermione tilled her head and kissed Pansy's lips.
Pansy was frozen still for a short moment, but then she pulled Hermione down atop herself. Her fingers went on the back of Hermione's neck which Pansy gently stroked as they continued kissing. It was as if all the barriers where torn down and just a simple attraction remained. It might have always been there, Hermione realized, only blindsided by the faults they saw in each other. Hermione gave it no more thought. Everything vanished from her mind except the feeling of Pansy's wet tongue sliding against her own.
After a passionate night Hermione awoke sometime during midday. She was relieved to see Pansy cuddled up next to her and resting her head on her shoulder. Hermione wrapped her arm around Pansy's neck and ran her fingers trough her black hair. "You awake?" She whispered quietly.
"Yea…" Pansy said lazily.
Hermione planted a kiss on Pansy's forehead while Pansy busied herself by running her fingers over Hermione's belly. Hermione still had somewhat visible abs built from all the work she did in that labour camp. The shape of her stomach must have really intrigued Pansy because she kept stroking it as they laid there slowly awaking in blissful silence. Then Pansy wetted her index finger, stuck it inside Hermione's belly button and twirled it around.
"Would you please stop fiddling with my belly button?" Hermione finally asked.
"Sorry, I had a feeling it was dirty."
"Shut up! It's not!" Hermione blushed.
"Well, it's not now." Pansy argued, smiling as she looked up at Hermione.
"You're weird, you know?" Hermione concluded planting another kiss on her forehead. For a moment it seemed like nothing could go wrong.