Year/ position: 6th Year Hufflepuff
Category: Short
Prompt(s): Pansy/Astoria
Title: The Hogwarts Heralds
Wordcount: 1942
Beta(s): Rose, Aya, Pix
A/N: Warnings: homosexuality, OOC behavior, non-canon storyline, Slytherin!Hermione, Gryffindor!Astoria, Hufflepuff!Pansy, Astoria and Pansy are the same age, even though it isn't canon, Pansy & Astoria & Hermione & Luna friendship, Pansy and Astoria aren't Muggleborn haters, Pansy and Astoria hate Draco and his goons,
When the Parkinsons and the Greengrasses found out they were having babies they were ecstatic. Naturally, they told their friends. Having found out that they were going to have children at the same time, they figured that they would have a Greengrass boy, and a Parkinson girl, and betrothed them before they were even brought into existence.
Making sure to set it in stone, the two families underwent the ceremony for an Unbreakable Vow. And so there was no way for it to be undone. However, the two families had been quick to jump to assumptions, and hadn't thought of all the possible outcomes. When the women gave birth, they found that they'd had two girls. The lovely Pansy Parkinson and the adorable Astoria Greengrass. As they grew, so did their beauty, and they became playmates. At the young age of two, Pansy gave Astoria the nickname "Storibook", and it stuck to her like glue.
They grew older and their friendship progressed. One would not make a decision without the input of the other, and so most of their decisions were made together. This pleased their parents because they would need to know how to work together on projects and decisions when they were married. However, they were never told that they were betrothed. In fact, marriage wasn't brought up that often in the households, for fear of the two girls finding out before they came of age. Before they seemed to know it, Pansy and Astoria had gotten their letters, and everything seemed to fit perfectly into place. They both were accepted to Hogwarts, and couldn't bear to not be by each other's side at all times. They were very dependant of each other, and were quite intelligent, despite how they acted.
Pansy Parkinson sat on the boat with her best friend Astoria Greengrass as they got ready to enter the Hogwarts castle for the very first time and get sorted into their Houses. On the train they'd met some particular Pureblood boys they despised, but for status' sake, they pretended to be unintelligent, pretty girls and act all doting towards them. The boys were Draco Malfoy and his goons.
"What do you think it'd be like if we had to marry them?" Astoria asked Pansy thoughtfully.
"I think it would be disgusting...it just...it's so gross, being with a boy that is," Pansy replied.
She hated the idea of being with a boy. It just seemed so disgusting. She shuddered at the thought of kissing one of them, and wondered if something might be wrong with her. All the other girls her age, except for Astoria, were head over heels for boys, dreaming of kissing and marriage, and kids. But Pansy just couldn't. It was too repulsive.
"I agree wholeheartedly, I'd much rather marry you. Would you rather marry me?" Astoria asked, tilting her head to the side in inquiry.
Pansy turned a shade of pink, though she didn't know why.
"Of course I would, 'Storia, you know that. I love you more than anything else in this world," she replied.
That made Astoria smile, and Pansy's heart fluttered at the sight of what she loved most: seeing her best friend happy. As their boats arrived, Pansy stepped out of their shared boat and offered her hand to Astoria as she'd seen done in every storybook prince had done. Once Astoria stepped out she curtseyed and took Pansy's hand. They kept their hands clasped tightly as they walked together into the castle. It seemed like if they let go, they'd be separated for life. As they entered the castle, they saw a woman who explained the sorting process to them. One boy's toad had gotten loose, and he had finally found it again.
"I really hope I get Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw." Pansy whispered to Astoria, who nodded in agreement.
Even though they were raised with high level Pureblood customs, Pansy and Astoria were just nice people, all the hatred they were raised by seemed to fall off their backs and they remained sweet little dumplings. Names were called to step up to the Sorting Hat, and Pansy heard the name Hermione Granger get called. She remembered the girl from the train, and they'd talked for a while, sharing intellect, and kind smiles. Pansy knew that this girl wasn't a Pureblood, Granger wasn't that type of name, she must've been a Muggleborn or a Half-blood. But Pansy didn't care, and neither did Astoria, they only cared that she was kind, and that she didn't think they needed to act a certain way because of their class, she had a kind heart.
Pansy thought that Hermione would get into Ravenclaw for sure, but she got Slytherin instead. Sure, life would be hard for her there, but Pansy knew she'd get through it. Because Hermione was a strong willed person, she would persevere. Pansy hoped that she could help her friend in anyway possible.
To her left she saw Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter looking shocked as ever, seeing where the Muggleborn girl got put. When it was their turn they got sorted into Gryffindor, and it seemed just right, all the Weasleys were there, and Harry Potter was, well, a Potter, there was no way he'd get put in any other house but Gryffindor.
"Greengrass, Astoria," was said in a shrill voice, snapping Pansy out of her thoughts.
Feeling her friend's hand start to slip out of her own, she gave it one last squeeze for good luck. It seemed like forever to Pansy, Hermione's had taken a long time, but she didn't think it happened all the time.
"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted. Astoria took the hat off her head, and in a daze of sorts headed to find a seat at the table, where the Gryffindor members patted her on the back and welcomed her to the house. Pansy saw a few more people get called up, but she was being thrown into a panic. Another girl was called, Luna Lovegood, a simple girl that Pansy admired, and she'd also met on the train. They'd chatted about how they would love to form a committee and make the school a better place, but that'd never happen, not in reality anyway. Luna was sent to Ravenclaw and Pansy awaited her turn, torn on which house she wanted to be put in.
"Parkinson, Pansy," was called and Pansy couldn't be more dismayed.
She hadn't made up her mind yet, she didn't know which friend she wanted to be with, or rather, she wanted to be with them all. She felt the hat pushing through her mind, trying to find any slices of information that may help decipher which house it should put her in.
It shouldn't take this long, Pansy thought.
It normally doesn't, came the reply in her mind.
Looking to her left she saw a teacher check the time and write something down on a piece of paper.
Ah ha!
Came a sudden thought in her head, which was in fact, the Sorting Hat having figured out what house to put her in.
"Hufflepuff!" it shouted, and at that moment Pansy felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
She wouldn't be with any of her friends. Walking to the Hufflepuff table, she sat down in a slight daze as the members of her house welcomed her. Pansy turned and caught Astoria's eye. The girls shared a look, and Pansy wondered if she'd get to see the love of her life again. Something about the separation made her realize how much Astoria truly meant to her.
Once she was situated in her common room, she felt a sort of pull towards one of the bricks near her bedside table. Reaching out, she touched it and found herself in a well-lit corridor. As she walked down it, the hall opened up into a large room, a long table lined with chairs stretched down it's center. On one side, a smaller room had four beds placed inside, lining one wall. Wandering closer to what seemed like the main room, she saw three other figures seemingly walking down three other corridors that branched off from the large common room of sorts.
Upon further inspection, and walking she found herself in a clearing, with roots of a tree sticking out, having been used as a chandelier. This room, a stem off of the room with the beds, was like an indoor field, but underground. There were gardens, and looking around, even more rooms could be seen. One room contained a pantry of sorts, where food could be stored, but that would have to be looked into later. In the corner, what looked like a spiral staircase lead upwards to a mysterious destination. Off of the field room was another room, but it was somewhat darker with glowing mushrooms around it, and a fireplace for warmth. It seemed like that room was the library, and no restricted section could be seen from Pansy's vantage point. It was almost a sanctuary, there was a room with endangered animals that were being protected, well, each got their own rooms because predators and prey don't mix very well. Pansy was, to say the least, in awe. Turning her focus to the corridors, the figures were nearing her, but she still couldn't make out who they were. She made her way to the corridor that branched off of the main room. The corridor opposite to the one she came out of. As she got closer she saw that the figure was….Astoria. Pansy sprinted towards her friend. Falling into a tangled embrace, Pansy pulling away first, the girls looked at each other in almost disbelief. Holding Astoria's face in her hands Pansy looked down at her friend.
"How'd you get here?" Pansy asked.
Astoria shrugged, and looking around the two girls saw Hermione and Luna looking around, having wandered out of their own corridors. And it was on that day that they formed the Hogwarts Heralds, and helped stop bullying and crimes in their school.
Hermione ended up teaching Slytherin first years how to be compassionate, which in turn helped them teach the other new first years and made Slytherin a pretty decent house, Astoria helped the Gryffindor kids become more humble, Luna helped show the Ravenclaw children that you didn't have to act snobby all the time to be smart, and Pansy helped the Hufflepuff children know that it's fine to stand up for yourself.
Astoria and Pansy had begun officially dating in their fifth year, and they still hadn't told their parents, with the war and everything they figured it wasn't the right time. But they were eighteen now, they were of age now, they would likely get suitors and leave each other behind forever. What made Pansy squirm in her seat the most as she sat in the Greengrass Manor, was the fact that this wasn't one of her visits. No, she'd been summoned there. Something important was happening and Astoria could feel it too, because she tightened her grip on Pansy's hand.
"You may be wondering why we've called you, and we'll let you know that it's about betrothal," Astoria's mother had finally said.
Both girls pursed their lips, awaiting the inevitable bad news.
"When you both were younger….we thought that you wouldn't both be girls. We presumed that Astoria would've been born male. We made the Unbreakable Vow to have you both betrothed, to each other," she finished, looking at them both expectantly.
Astoria relaxed and leaned into Pansy, as Pansy did the same to Astoria.
"That sounds perfect," they both said in unison.