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Pansy adjusts her scarf, fingers brushing over the green and silver stripes that mark her as a Slytherin. The breeze picks up, brushing against her exposed skin and making her shiver. She's always hated the cold, but she will endure it now because she knows she needs to make things right. A laugh sticks in her throat; she has never loved anyone the way she loves Padma, and it shows in the way she tries so hard to be better. Unfortunately, she never seems to do things quite right.

She finds Padma by the lake, staring out at the horizon. If Padma hears her approach, she shows no sign of it, keeping her gaze straight ahead.

"Padma?"

Her girlfriend glances back, brows raising. "Yes?"

Ah. She doesn't seem particularly happy to see Pansy. Clearing her throat, Pansy lifts the teddy (a cute polar bear wearing a black top hat, because she knows Padma likes silly little things, despite her serious Ravenclaw demeanor). "I really love you," Pansy says.

Padma sighs. "But nobody knows it."

Now Pansy understands. "Is that what this is about? You stopped talking to me because… I don't show you off?"

Her girlfriend huffs. "I never asked for you to show me off," she says, and Pansy wonders if she means for her tone to be so sharp. She's never seen Padma upset before, and she doesn't really know how to react.

"You never actually asked me for anything," Pansy says, holding the teddy bear out. "If you want… I don't know how to do relationships, okay? Especially…" She takes a deep breath. "Especially ones like this, because I can't just ask my mother what to do if my girlfriend stops talking to me. My parents wouldn't understand."

"Is that why you don't do anything with me?"

"I… What? No!" It's almost funny. Here Pansy has assumed she's just difficult to love, and Padma is distant because she's trying to find the solution to the great riddle that is Pansy. "I thought… Well, to be completely honest, I thought you were ashamed of me. You know my reputation."

"Being a Slytherin doesn't make you evil," Padma says, her expression softening. "I'm sorry if I made you think… Pansy, I love you."

"Then maybe it's time we let the world know it."

It's terrifying, really. Her parents would never approve, but maybe she doesn't care about that anymore. It's time to stop living her life based on what they would want. She's nearly seventeen; she is old enough to make her own decisions and be her own person.

Padma doesn't care about who she is. Why should it matter if someone else does?

She pulls her girlfriend close, kissing her hard. If someone sees, she doesn't mind. This is her life, their love. Nothing can shake that