This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 1 March 2020.

This story was run through Grammarly. It was not beta read.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. Marvel belongs to Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.

Prompt: Incendio + Pansy Parkinson/Natasha Romanov

The years after Thanos snapped half the world's population into dust were anything but easy. Suicide rates, both self and assisted, had risen exponentially. During that time, Pansy secluded herself in a cabin to get away from all the anguish and torment that was inflicted upon her every single day.

Despite being of a different make-up than the rest of the world, the witches and wizards were counted just the same as if they were Muggles. Half their population blew away in a cloud of dust just like everyone else. Pansy lost everyone she considered family that day. Draco. Daphne. Theo. Blaise. Her parents. Everyone.

By that time, the magical community and the super community were affiliated, working together to rid the world of evil. That's how Pansy met Natasha. The two of them became fast friends, both of them feeling slightly like an outcast while everyone else mingled and worked effortlessly together. So when Thanos snapped his fingers and sent the world reeling, Pansy had taken off without telling anyone to get away from the pain.

Natasha had found her, though, just like she always did. It had taken a few months, but that assassin had found her nonetheless. Apparently, it didn't matter if she was hiding in her favourite cafe or a tiny, one-room cabin in the woods, the Black Widow held the skills to find her target. Pansy should have been furious, and she was at first, but in the end, she succumbed to Natasha and allowed her to stay.

"Pansy, you can't just disappear from the world," Natasha said, standing in front of the cabin. "Too many people have already done that."

Glowering at being found, Pansy held her wand steady. She didn't want to be found. She wanted to be left alone to wallow in her own self-pity. "There is nothing I can do, so why does it matter? Leave me alone, Natasha."

Sighing, Natasha held up her hands. "Lower your wand and let me inside. You're not the only one who lost someone that day. I thought we were friends?"

Pansy's hold on her wand faltered at that. Natasha was her friend, one of the few that she had left thanks to bloody Thanos. Did she really want to risk losing her? Growling in frustration, pansy lowered her wand and raked her free hand through her short, dark hair. "Damn it, Natasha, why do you always have to be the voice of reason?"

Smirking, Natasha lowered her hands and safely stepped toward the cabin door. "Steve would claim otherwise, but I appreciate you saying so." Gesturing at the open door, she asked, "May I come inside with you? You're not the only one who likes to get away from the rest of the world."

"Fine, have it your way," Pansy replied, turning her back and entering the cabin. Natasha followed behind her, walking not only into the cabin but unknowingly into her heart.

Over the next four years, Pansy and Natasha grew increasingly closer to one another. Natasha would coerce the dark-haired witch into returning to civilization for long periods, but whenever Pansy felt overwhelmed, they would return to the hidden cabin together. It was their secret escape; their way to avoid the crushing heartache the rest of the world was experiencing.

During that time, Pansy began seeing Natasha in a different light. Slowly, but surely, she knew her heart was falling for the former assassin. The woman known as the Black Widow was casting a web around her heart, and Pansy didn't even realize it until it was too late. Only, she had no way of knowing that at the time.

"Natasha," Pansy said quietly one night as they cuddled on the couch. They were at the cabin, a fire roaring in the hearth as they both relaxed in a way they couldn't when thrust into the outside world.

Natasha glanced up from the notebook she was writing in to reply. "Something wrong?"

Pansy knew that tomorrow, Natasha and the others were going to attempt to find the Infinity Stones. If this didn't go well, they would forever be stuck in this limbo of a life they were currently living. For some reason, Pansy was having a hard time shaking this feeling of anxiety since she awoke that morning. She thought that maybe it had to do with her unspoken feelings for Natasha, so she wanted to clear the air.

"I love you," she blurted, forgetting the entire speech she'd planned in her head. When Natasha's eyes went wide with shock, Pansy grabbed hold of her wrist so she wouldn't flee. Not that it would stop the fighter in Natasha, but she had to try.

Instead of trying to pull away, Natasha pulled Pansy closer. Her lips sought out the witch's and effectively ignited her entire being. They kissed for what felt like hours before Pansy discovered they both lay naked on the floor in front of the fire. As they made love, Natasha never did say those three words back to her, but she showed her exactly how she felt in many other ways. It was the human contact they both had been craving since this all began when the world they knew disappeared into dust.

Pansy's body felt like it was ablaze. It was as if someone had muttered an Incendio and caused her to come alive for the first time in her life. That's what it felt like to be loved by Natasha, to have her calloused hands move gently across your naked flesh. Her whispered affections in your ear, sending shivers down your spine. When Pansy was with Natasha, she was whole, and she was loved. Despite her earlier trepidation, Pansy thought that nothing would change the way she felt at that moment.

Staring at the cabin now, in the aftermath of the war, Pansy felt nothing but anguish. Her heart ached to the point where she could barely breathe. Natasha was gone, and to the best of her knowledge, there was no bringing her back. Damn Banner and his insipid theories about fixed points in time. Pansy wanted Natasha back. How was she supposed to live without the other half of her heart? The other half of her soul?

The cabin had been their refuge for the entirety of the Blip, but it no longer held any solace for Pansy. Natasha sacrificed her life for a chance to bring everyone else back, but Pansy was left alone. This would be the last time she came to this once special place. This cabin only made her heart ache with what could have been and would serve as a reminder of what was ripped from her life.

With everything that happened, it's not like Pansy needed a constant reminder of what she lost anyway. Pansy stared blankly at the cabin that once held such joy and love as she raised her wand. Taking a deep breath, she muttered the four syllables that would hopefully remove all the pain away. At the very least, it would turn the cabin into nothing but a memory… One she hoped to eventually forget.

"Incendio."

Before morning, there would be nothing left but the burnt memory of love once had.