Four people stood on a bluff above the ocean. It was a freezing day, the sky overhead heavy and foreboding. Hermione stood close to Severus, his taller frame breaking the wind. Ginny stood to one side, her loose red hair flying in every direction. Draco stood to the other side of the couple, holding on to the wooden post in front of him. Nobody was quite sure who had invited him to this little ceremony – nor, even, who had decided that there would be a ceremony.
The dust of the Paradise Pearls was contained in a small jar. So much pain, all locked up in such small objects, Hermione thought to herself as she turned to listen to Severus' voice.
"Pearls, you have served your time here on land. Take your manipulations back to the waters from which you came." Severus took the jar from her, unlidded it and flung the dirty grey dust expertly before him. The wind gave a violent gust and carried the powder far over the ocean.
"Magic, move as you will," Severus said loudly. The other three echoed his words. Then the ceremony was over. The four cold people turned to face the land again and began the walk back down to the trees.
"Well, that's one problem finished with," Ginny muttered just loud enough for Snape to hear. He met her eyes, let her know that he had heard. Draco stumbled, and Hermione grabbed his arm to steady him. They shuffled together until they hit the shelter of the trees. Draco sat heavily on an overturned tree. His face was tinged blue and he simply wrapped his arms around himself. He didn't shiver.
Ginny looked at him, took in his appearance. "Let's go home," she said to Snape. "He's almost frozen, and Merlin knows I'm not much better."
"I'll take him with me," Snape said. Draco looked up and nodded. Severus pulled him to his feet, held his forearms tightly and turned sharply. With a loud pop, they were gone.
"Guess we'd better go as well," Hermione suggested. She stepped forward and grabbed Ginny's arm as the woman was about to fall over.
"Get me home, Hermione," Ginny whispered. So Hermione did.
They returned to the small meeting room with the comfortable chairs. Draco was slumped in one, an empty glass beside him. Severus was standing by the fire which was doing an admirable job of keeping the chill out of the room. Hermione guided Ginny down to a chair, then sat also. Severus put a glass in Ginny's hand, and the woman drank it in one long swallow.
They had left food on a table here, to eat when they returned. Hermione began to spoon the soup into bowls. She exchanged a worried look with Severus as she handed one to him.
"Perhaps you should go and speak with Pansy," Severus suggested. Hermione finished her mouthful of soup.
"Someone has to do something," she replied. After another mouthful, she added, "I'll go."
Severus sat down beside her, took a piece of bread from the table. "After lunch," he added. Hermione gave him a warm smile.
"Of course."
The afternoon was as cold as the morning. Hermione decided that she would move to the Mediterranean as soon as was humanly possible. Then she knocked on Pansy's door.
The woman who opened the door could only have been Pansy Parkinson. Her long black hair was loose today, and she seemed almost unsurprised to see Hermione on her doorstep.
"Merlin, woman, what are you doing here?" She said. Perhaps that tinge of surprise that Hermione could detect was as close to shock as the woman's expression came.
"Thought I'd come and ask you how you're progressing with my… With Ron," she amended.
"Oh," Pansy exhaled. "Well, come in, come in, you're letting the cold in." She led Hermione down a long hallway, eventually coming to a halt in a small sitting room.
Pansy called a house elf, asked for afternoon tea, then waved at Hermione to sit. "Things with Ron are going swimmingly. Currently, he is off arguing with his mother about where the wedding will be held."
"He's staying here?" Hermione asked. Perhaps her voice was too shrill, for Pansy gave her a strange look.
"No. There will be plenty of time for him to make himself comfortable here after we are married. Will you, Snape, Draco and Ginny come to the ceremony? It will be held in the garden on Sunday."
"Whose garden?" Hermione asked, stalling while she processed her answer.
"Ah, well, that is what the arguing is about. But, after Ron has finished trying to convince his mother, I will tell her that it will be held here."
"Ah," Hermione replied.
Pansy spoke again before Hermione could try to find a way to escape seeing her ex-husband. "Hermione, I know what he did to you."
And, somehow, Hermione could find nothing at all to say. The tea arrived, and Pansy poured for them.
"I know what he did to you, and, believe me, I will never let him forget." There was a hard gleam in the other woman's black eyes. "I'd really appreciate having you at the ceremony. To remind him. And Snape, Draco and you to sit on my side of the garden. Ron has family to sit on his side. Mine will seem… rather empty."
Hermione was mildly appalled at the woman's nastiness. But, somewhere inside her, a little vengeful voice did an undignified dance that made her feel fiercely happy. "I would be honoured to sit on your side of the garden," she heard herself replying to Pansy. The dark haired woman gave her a small smirk.
"How is Ginny faring, by the way?" Pansy asked her.
"Ah," Hermione replied. "Actually, not very well. We… Oh, I don't even know how to explain what we did this morning. But we were outside, and it was very cold. And, by the time Severus and I got Draco and Ginny back inside, they were both like limp rags. Even Severus' potion didn't perk them up. I'm worried."
Pansy turned to look out the window. Hermione wondered if this was a Slytherin way of saying, 'I want to think about this'. She sipped her tea.
Pansy reached under her neckline, drew out a necklace with a ring threaded onto it. It didn't take Hermione very long to deduce that this was the ring which was causing all the trouble. It looked heavy, etched with ivy leaves and sparkling with emeralds. Pansy sighed.
"I suppose that Ginny has kept her side of the bargain. She offered up her own brother, in fact. So, here." Pansy yanked the chain, broke the clasp and handed the whole thing over to Hermione.
Hermione was startled by how cold the ring felt. It had been sitting against Pansy's skin, but felt as icy as the wind had been this morning. "Thankyou," she said.
Pansy nodded, drank her tea. After a moment, she said, "Tell Snape to add some cayenne pepper to his potion."
"Why?" Hermione asked, taking another sip of her tea. It really was quite nice tea.
Pansy smiled. "It was one of my mother's secrets. Some cayenne pepper pushes at the passions, brings up a sweat. It might help a little. And I'm asking you to tell him, because if I told him to, he'd just say no." She gave a small laugh. "And I like to get my way."
Hermione shook her head at the other woman. But, strangely, she discovered that, instead of the enmity that she had once felt for her, this Pansy Parkinson was someone that she could like. "I'll get him to do it," she replied. And the smile she gave the dark haired woman was genuine and warm.