Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Term 13

Additional challenges listed below

Word Count – 560

Pansy stared at the white snowball in her mitten-covered hands. It felt familiar, but at the same time Pansy felt detached from it. It was as if she was holding it for the first time in her life.

"Are you alright, Pans?" Hermione asked.

There was the reason why everything felt so new. So different. Hermione Granger was the reason why Pansy Parkinson was discovering something new every day and even something as trivial as a snowball looked foreign.

"Yes," she replied, looking at the girl clad in winter clothes. "Yes, I am."

Pansy raised her hand and threw the ball as well as she could in Hermione's direction. The ball hit her in the shoulder and she looked appalled.

"How dare you?" she asked, bending forward to make her own snowball.

Pansy laughed. She did that a lot these days, after Hermione showed her how to, and not only at others. Pansy Parkinson laughed at herself as well. Something she had never thought could be possible. Hermione had found a way to get through to her.

At first, when they ran into each other back at Hogwarts and were forced to partner up, Pansy thought she was going to kill herself after the second week. Things started to change halfway through the term. Hermione and that redhead boyfriend of hers had decided they were better as friends, and Hermione started to party. Pansy almost choked on her own drink one night, when she saw Hermione Granger enter the Room of Requirement and actually have a good time.

Then, they became friends. Pansy was still a little reluctant to call that a friendship, but she eventually gave in. Until one day, at the Slytherin table during breakfast, Draco sighed, put his fork down, looked her dead in the eyes and told her that she was in love with the Muggleborn witch. Pansy wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. Realization dawned on her and she freaked out. She started avoiding Hermione and hiding from her. She spent all her time in the Slytherin common room, until Hermione walked in there one day demanding they talked. Suffice to say that they didn't do much talking that afternoon.

Now, two years later, they were still going strong. Hermione had found a way to look past Pansy's many past mistakes. She had forgiven her, but she hadn't forgotten. She found ways for Pansy to make up for what she did, and they had long conversations about politics. Pansy liked those conversations. They made her grow as a person. But the days Pansy really loved were days like these.

Hermione's snowball hit Pansy square in the face and she glared at the bushy-haired girl.

"Oh, it's war," Pansy declared.

As they both bent down to make the biggest pile of snowballs they could, Pansy looked at Hermione and smiled. She didn't think she deserved her, or the happiness that Hermione brought to her life, but in days like these, where Hermione was carefree and allowed her silly side to come out, Pansy saw that she was not the only happy one. Hermione liked being with her, and Merlin knew why. Pansy was never going to question it. Instead, she was going to continue having snowball fights with her girlfriend, in a Muggle neighbourhood and allow Hermione to teach her how to lead a happier life.

Insane House Challenge

#724 –Plot: A snowball fight

August Auction

Day 12/ Auction 2 – Pairing: HermionePansy