Chapter Text
Silence. The room was almost completely dark, but for a few feeble rays of sunlight, passing through the apparently-not-as-tightly-closed-as-Pansy-had-thought curtains.
Pansy had woken up early from a terrible dream she couldn’t remember. She was sure she had seen it before. Every couple of nights she would jump awake, covered in sweat and a feeling of cold dread that made her hairs stand on end.
She had been lying on her bed awake for almost an hour. She didn’t want to get up. Everything was so calm, so peaceful there, yet there was a storm raging inside her.
Every emotion tangled into a huge dark cloud in her head. Anger, sadness, grief, remorse... Everything was over and nothing was. Those looks and whispers would never stop, she knew it. Well, I deserve them, don’t I?
She shook her head. She had to stop thinking like that. She had been given a second chance. She had to stop living in the past and start proving she’d deserved it.
She got out of bed and started getting dressed. Her trunk was still tidy, she had only been back at Hogwarts for a couple weeks. As she was leaving she saw her bed sheets move slightly and smiled faintly.
She sat down at the Slytherin table and started adding food to her plate. A couple of sausages, fried eggs. She ate without taking. This was how things were these days, she never really talked with her friends anymore, especially Draco ...
Professor McGonagall stood up to make an announcement. She cleared her throat and the Great Hall went quiet.
“Good morning students, I am happy to announce that the seven and eighth year students will be going on a school trip to Greece as part of their History of Magic and Muggle studies classes (the latter was now mandatory). Letters have been sent to inform your parents. The first trip for the eighth years will take place between the first and the fifteenth of October and the second for ...”
Pansy turned to Draco, who looked uninterested.
“What do you think?” she whispered.
“Whatever,” he replied.
“Why aren’t you excited? It’s a school trip!”
“Pansy, no one here likes us. We are the 'villains', remember? Do you think anything is going to change when we go to Greece?”
“...Professor Smith and Professor Richards will accompany you...”
Morgan Smith, the defence against the dark arts teacher, was a beautiful woman. Her skin was dark and perfect and she had freckles. Her hair, curly and gingery-brown, was usually tucked in a high bun. She was very young – no older than twenty seven – and was enthusiastic and kind to her students. The trip was probably her idea. Thank Merlin she’s going in Bing's place!
Professor Emily Richards was also young. She was a muggle-born witch from Scotland who had been imprisoned for the last two months of the war and was now teaching Muggle studies. Her hair was about at the length of her shoulders and her eyes were a deep piercing green. She was always calm and patient. She wasn’t in any way strict, but she always seemed reserved maybe even distant, or perhaps it was just Pansy who thought so by comparing her to Professor Smith.
McGonagall’s speech was over. Chatter had flooded the Great Hall, some students sounded excited, others jealous.
Pansy remained quiet. She was feeling hopeless again and somehow betrayed. She had felt exited for a moment, like things would be great, they would leave Hogwarts behind and everything with it, but Draco had spoken and brought reality crashing down on her.
He was right.
Two long weeks had passed but they were finally going to leave tomorrow. Pansy had packed her things two days ago. She had reconsidered, well kind of. She kept telling herself that this trip would be good for her even if people’s attitude towards her didn’t change. She would be seeing new places, breaking the routine, it would be refreshing.
It was quite late. She had left her dormitory an hour ago to take a walk. The anticipation was killing her. Tomorrow at this time they would be at Greece. Pansy was a bit nervous about that.
She had been out for a while and was returning to the eighth-year dorm. She turned a corner and that’s when she saw a figure at the other end of the corridor, a girl with bushy brown hair and hazel eyes turning something golden, that was glittering in the trembling light, in her fingers. She was Hermione Granger.
The two girls made eye contact for a moment and then looked away quickly. Pansy felt a wave of guilt sweeping through her. But why? She hadn’t done anything to hurt her. They continued walking towards each other looking at the floor.
When they passed each other something leapt from Pansy’s pocket on the floor and climbed a surprised Granger’s leg. The small creature grabbed what the girl was holding, jumped on the floor and ran through the half open potions classroom door. The girls looked at each other in bewilderment and followed it.
Once they were in they were met with the sight of a slightly annoyed Professor Slughorn suspending the tiny niffler in mid air.
“To whom does this little troublemaker belong?” he asked.
For a moment neither of the girls spoke. Pansy was not one of Slughorn’s favourites, if she told him the niffler was hers he wouldn’t let her keep her little friend.
The other girl seemed to think so as well because a second later she said “He’s mine Professor, an extra project Hagrid needed help with. I’m sorry for the mess. He slipped through my fingers, Pansy was helping me catch him.” She lied so naturally.
“Well that’s all right my dear,” smiled Slughorn giving her the niffler “but you should go to bed, it is getting quite late.”
Without another word the girls left and closed the door behind them. Granger handed Pansy the little creature after retrieving the galleon.
“What’s his name?” she asked.
“Cinnamon. Cin for short.” Pansy replied petting the ginger little fluff ball with the white patch on its head. “I found him a couple days before school started.” She hesitated for a moment “Thanks… for that.”
The girl smiled and walked away.
Pansy felt her stomach tighten. She didn’t like Granger, she never had. Not because she was a mudblood (though she had to admit that had been a quite significant reason at first), no that wasn’t why. It was because she was an insufferable know-it-all who didn’t seem to like doing anything apart from reading and correcting people. Now she was little Miss Perfect the war hero.
Pansy snapped out of the trance-like state she had been in and took her gaze from where the other girl had disappeared behind a corner. She looked at the small creature in the palm of her hand.
“Look at what you’ve done,” she said and the niffler tilted its little head to the right.
Pansy smiled. She put Cin in her pocket and headed for the dorm.