Chapter 35

                                    

                                          
Pansy was already waiting for Ron by the time he reached their potion's room. She didn't bother to say hello, merely waited for the door to close behind him before launching herself at him and pinning him against the wall. He was about to protest at this rough behavior - he thought they had been getting along! - when her lips met his, at which point he decided there was nothing to complain about. 
                          
"Um, hi," he said once the intensity of their kissing had subsided some and he was able to pull away.
                          
"Sorry," Pansy said. She dropped back down off of her tiptoes. "I don't like being sad, and I figured this would cheer me up, which it did." 
                          
"You're sad?" Ron asked. She looked at him like she thought he had no brain cells. 
                          
"Are you not?"
                          
"I mean, yes, but I guess I didn't expect-" Anger flashed in her eyes. 
                          
"-My family aren't supporters of him and I'm my own person either way. Those were innocent people. It's - Killing innocent Muggles is barbaric."
                          
"Oh, I just-"
                          
"-Figured because I was in Slytherin that I shared some of my housemates views on Muggles?"
                          
"Uh, yes," Ron said. He hung his head in shame. "Sorry."
                          
"Well I don't. Do you know how fucking hard it is to be in Slytherin?" she asked. He looked up again. Her tone was bitter.
                          
"Um." He didn't. 
                          
"Everyone expects you to act a certain way and most of the school dislikes you just for the house you were sorted into."
                          
"In all fairness, the reason I didn't like you was because you were always so mean to us." Pansy scrunched up her face.
                          
"That was peer pressure," she said. 
                          
"Sorry, what?"
                          
"All the other Slytherins were mean to you lot, so I went along with it to fit in." Ron blinked at her. "I'm sorry. Kids are dumb; teenagers more so." 
                          
"Well, then I'm sorry for assuming things about you," he said. He leaned down and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him. 
                          
"I'm sorry for caring what people think," she said when they broke apart again. "Or I would have probably done this a week ago." 
                          
"We're just apologizing for everything now, aren't we?" he asked. An amused grin crossed her face briefly. He kissed her gently on the nose. 
                          
"Come on," she said, taking him by the hand. "Let's add the next ingredients and then spend the rest of the day cheering each other up." Ron nodded. He liked that idea. He liked that idea a lot. 
                          
...
                          
"Are you okay?" Blaise asked. Hermione was staring at a knot on one of the wooden tables and had been doing so for the past few minutes. 
                          
"What's that?" She shook her head, bringing her attention back to the room and the task at hand. 
                          
"I asked if you were alright." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 
                          
"I'm fine," she said. 
                          
"From my experience," Blaise said. "Anytime someone says they're fine, they're actually not." She looked at him and gave him a small, grateful smile. 
                          
"You're right," she said. "I'm not fine. I feel a miserable combination of sad and powerless." 
                          
"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked but she shook her head.