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"I fear myself. The destruction I am capable of. It constantly rumbles in me. They feared the Chosen One, but they didn't fear me enough. By the time they realized the truly dangerous one, it was too late. Their castle was in ruins and so were all of their grand plans."
Y/N had been born to two Aurors who defied Voldemort despite the constant threat of death. Her parents feared nothing and probably for good reason; they were considered nearly untouchable due to their skill with magic. Her father had a brief foray into the Dark Arts due to studying at Durmstrang as a young wizard. Y/N's mother was an alchemist who apprenticed under Nicolas Flamel. Their daughter was born on the 29th of July, but not the child of prophecy being a girl and all.
As a toddler, Y/N's parents noticed their child displayed magic practically after birth. She just appeared in her crib with her mother never entering labor to bring Y/N into the world. Her parents had their suspicions about her potential far exceeding the average witch or wizard. But they brushed it off when their baby girl babbled at them and stretched her arms out at them like all babies do. Perhaps it was for the best; Y/N grew up normally without any pressure to be someone or to make a name for herself. She learned what she was curious about, did what she found fun, and had the time of her life growing up. When her Hogwarts letter came in the mail, she was completely and thoroughly confused that there was even a school of magic. She had grown up with rich experiences in the non-magic and magical world: in her mind the two already coexisted comfortably.
She was thoroughly jaded when she met the Sorting Hat; it was not half as interesting as the books that she read over summer were. Y/N didn't even recall the conversation the hat tried to have with her or how she ended up in Gryffindor. She simply was. The same could be said about befriending Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. It just happened.
However, she did remember the first time she argued with Pansy Parkinson; the girl had a way of getting on her nerves. It all started with a snarky comment directed to Neville Longbottom whose company she thoroughly adored. HarMionAld, her portmanteau for Harry & Hermione & Ronald, had a penchant for getting her into near death situations. Spending time with Neville was a glorious reprieve and it was sacred to her so insulting her dear friend was a dangerous game. Next thing she knew, she was all up in Pansy's face with her hands tightly gripping the girl's shirt. "Take. It. Back."
"Didn't take you to be one to side with a bumbling fool," Pansy spat back as Draco cackled and shoved Neville.
"Figured you to be a piece of work, Parkinson. Never expected you'd be such a nasty piece of work though," Y/N shot back with a disgusted expression. "I thought you'd be a bit more like your namesake. Shame."
Pansy scoffed as they parted as Draco hurriedly pulled her away from Y/N, just in time to see Professor Flitwick round the corner. That was the beginning of a whole six years of jabs at one another and glares sent across hallways. Honestly speaking, Pansy never really meant for it to get so out of hand. She grew up thinking that she was superior for being in Slytherin and for being part of the Sacred 28. All her life, she had been surrounded by likeminded people and even her friends were of a similar perspective. Neville Longbottom was a Blood Traitor and a bumbling fool. There was no reason, in her mind, that explained why she should not mock him for being incompetent and foolish. Pansy disliked Y/N for the way she always stood up for those being ridiculed. It was stupid.
Perhaps it was the fact that they stood on different sides, just like red starkly contrasted green and gold with silver. Everything that Y/N stood for was something Pansy had been raised to thoroughly despise and spit upon. They were constantly at one another's throats, yet in their 5th year Pansy's feelings began to shift.
She joined the Inquisitorial Squad under Umbridge because her friends and her dearest Draco did. The whole time she was in the squad, she kept telling herself that there was no way she didn't adore Draco with everything in her. But during a confrontation with Y/N prior to her detention with Umbridge, shook that belief to its core. Y/N had just finished classes and was trying to skip detention when Pansy caught her trying to sneak off somewhere. She couldn't care less where the Gryffindor was headed, but rules were rules and Y/N was supposed to go to detention. So why did it shake her to the core to see that Y/N had various lines on her hands and wrists that were clearly very red and inflamed. "What's that?"
"What's it to you?"
"I'll have you know that I can write you up for taking an attitude with me." Pansy shot back with a glare, "I'm sure being part of Potter's little rebellion would not help your situation."
"For your information, I am not part of any rebellion. I may not like the regime, but I care not for politics either. Furthermore, what importance does it have to me to topple such a fragile regime? I'd appreciate it if you didn't assume I was so boring as to only desire the destruction of one measly woman." Y/N's eyes almost seemed to glow as she replied to Pansy, arms crossed in defiance.
"Whatever. You're still going to detention and I'm going to ask Professor Umbridge if I can watch your punishment." Pansy said with a smirk. She was trying desperately to return to the regular Pansy who was sadistic and brash.
Y/N shrugged in response as Pansy dragged her to Umbridge's office. It was in the office and after being granted permission by Professor Umbridge to oversee Y/N's punishment, that Pansy got to see the five lines already on Y/N. They were written in Y/N's handwriting and deeper than Pansy expected. "I must not have a temper." "I must not behave in an unladylike manner." "I must not disrespect my superiors." "I must not waste other people's time." "I must not lie to protect the guilty."
"She's quite the troublemaker, my dear Pansy. What lines should we have her write today?"
"I- I'm not sure," Pansy stammered with a wild-eyed look. She had heard rumors of Umbridge's inhumane punishments, but never expected to see evidence of it. She was more surprised by the impassive expression on Y/N's face.
"I know! How about I have her write this: Pansy Parkinson owns me. I heard from Mister Malfoy that the two of you have always been at each other's throats. Not only that, I recall he said that she usually wins the disagreements. How would you like to see her taken down a peg?"
Taking her silence as agreement, Umbridge looked at Y/N and motioned at the quill. "Write. What are you waiting for?"
"Yes, professor Umbridge." Y/N replied with a disinterested expression as she began to write. It was a new spot that was stinging, she noticed. Right under her right collarbone, she could feel the letters forming on her skin. She wrote and wrote until the words were extremely deep and Pansy could see the blood dripping from the front of her shirt. Even then, Y/N remained completely impassive. In that moment, Pansy wondered if what she stood for was wrong. In the smallest corner of her naive mind, she wondered if she was actually doing the right thing.
"This isn't very interesting. Switch quills and write this: No will, but hers."
By the end of detention, Y/N had two new wounds from Umbridge's illegal quills and used a cleaning spell again. She left as though nothing had happened in detention and headed for the second floor girl's bathroom where Myrtle was. Pansy secretly followed her out to the bathroom and watched as Y/N applied gauze and ointment to her new wounds. But just when she thought she wasn't noticed, Myrtle screeched, "Y/NNNNNNN, you have someone peeping!"
"Shut up, Myrtle!" Pansy snarled, "Just do us all a favor and disappear."
The ghost burst into tears wailing as she flooded the bathroom as Y/N cursed. She made her way to the ghost to give her some soothing words as Myrtle wailed. After fifteen minutes of consolation, Myrtle was calm again but glaring at Pansy from her stall. "Good fucking going, Parkinson," Y/N snapped.
Pansy would have replied, but she was a bit preoccupied with staring at Y/N's shirtless figure which she deemed better than hers. But of course, she was only looking because she had to see what her competition looked like. Sometimes Draco mentioned how nice it would be to take Y/N down a peg and tame the feisty Gryffindor; a thought she took seriously. After all, he was the man Pansy loved most and desired to spend the rest of her life with so she had to be sure. There was no room for-
A sound of the door slamming startled Pansy and she realized that Y/N had left while she was wrapped up in her thoughts. She pushed them to the back of her mind, splashed some water on her face, and left as well.
The thoughts of Y/N's shirtless figure only returned again when they were bickering in their sixth year about a potion they were making together. Pansy and Y/N stood chest to chest vehemently disagreeing as they discussed the instructions getting increasingly heated. Then change struck Pansy and she felt her heart begin to race. Since when did Y/N get so close to her face... One wrong move and they would be locking lips. Why was that thought running through her head? What was she feeling? Why did she suddenly feel like she had to pull away? She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize Y/N had won their disagreement. That was the last memorable moment she had with Y/N before the girl disappeared from all knowledge for over a year.
There was no news of Y/N being with Potter's little band. No one knew what became of Y/N or her family. It was as though the entire family disappeared one day and left no trace of where they had gone or what they were up to. But as time passed, Pansy realized that she saw Y/N in Draco, hence her attraction to him. Like Y/N, Draco stood by his beliefs and would do almost anything to defend them. He never backed down from an argument and displayed an insane amount of inner strength. However, there were moments where he needed support and a reminder that what he was doing was right. There were moments of doubt and some vulnerability here and there. He was the Y/N who was on Pansy's side and agreed with her philosophies, for the most part. It also explained why she smelled what she thought was mainly Draco in the Amortentia; Y/N and Draco both had a granny smith and minty smell. They also both had a devilish grin that charmed those around them. Pansy's mind whirled at the realization that she had been clinging to Draco so desperately because he was the Y/N that her family could accept. He was a pureblooded Slytherin man who shared their ideals, but also had so many qualities that Pansy adored within the Gryffindor she often quarreled with. By the time Pansy realized her feelings, it was far too late. The war drew an even deeper divide that seemed impossible for them to overcome. Pansy could not say she sided with Y/N, nor could she say she was not guilty of suggesting to offer up Harry to Voldemort.
A naive part of her believed that giving up Harry would solve everything and somehow her threatening Harry would bring Y/N back to bicker with her. It hurt to realize that of all the wands drawn, none of them were Y/N's. They had always been adversaries and drew wands upon one another a good number of times, but it was the first time she was not called out by Y/N. It felt weird seeing that Y/N was nowhere in the crowd. Hermione was the one who noticed that Pansy seemed to be sweeping the crowd with her eyes. "She's not here."
Pansy's jaw clenched when she heard Granger's voice, "No one asked you." Pansy hated how Y/N wasn't there to tell her to not be so rude to Hermione. It felt wrong. She left the castle with the other Slytherins, losing her opportunity to meet Y/N again.
The girl she had helplessly fallen for returned as Harry began a standoff with Voldemort with a cruel expression. "I brought you a present, Tom Marvolo Riddle."
He found himself staring at his conspirators from other parts of the globe and their corpses alongside their associates. She looked fearless, as though there was nothing in this world that could strike fear in her anymore."Harry might be the one to end you, but I am the one to destroy your movement."
Pansy would hear about it secondhand from Draco who was clearly still horrified that the girl they used to bicker with was that powerful. "They were extremely powerful witches and wizards, Pansy. They were all dead as though it would be easy to even lay a hand on them."
She spent a few years working to make amends before she spotted Y/N again by chance. By then, her friendship with Draco was gone and she had finally started to move away from her beliefs from childhood. She was actually on relatively decent terms with Granger by the time she saw Y/N again and her heart practically exploded in her chest. Y/N looked older but had the same charm to her when Pansy spotted her at a class reunion at the Three Broomsticks. Pansy had to gather all of her courage to awkwardly approach Y/N and say hello. They exchanged some pleasantries before Pansy revealed her change in beliefs. They began to speak more after the reunion, her heart filling with hope that she and Y/N could have something in the future.
Indeed, gathering all of her courage to reconnect with her old enemy was worth it, she'd tell their kids. Pansy's arm rested snugly around Y/N's waist with a happy smile.