Work Text:
Taking a step back, she cocked her head to the side to ensure the framed quote was level.
Hearing the front door open and heels clicking towards her against their wooden floor, she smiled before turning around.
As the newcomer sashayed into the living room, her eyes trace the vision of feminine beauty that is her partner. She watched the precisely straightened hair moving opposite her slight hip sway; demure silk top tucked perfectly into her unwrinkled, curve-hugging pencil skirt. Her transparent stockings barely protected her long milky white legs, and her feet were encased in her black Christian Louboutin Just Nodo 85 pumps. Biting her lip, Hermione turned back around, knowing getting caught staring will do them no good with the limited time they had.
“You’re home early,” Pansy murmured, hugging her from behind. She shivered as Pansy’s delicate fingers found purchase on the sliver of skin exposed between her high-rise skirt and thin crop-top.
“So are you, babe.” Hermione ran her fingertips around Pansy’s exposed wrists.
“Wanted to get the last of our things unpacked for tonight’s ‘shin-dig’. Look,” Hermione manipulated Pansy’s hands to frame the latest addition to their living room wall. “Does it look level to you?”
“‘Shin-dig’, what are you, American?” With more vulnerability, she continued, “Is this a new acquisition, curls?”
Hermione stared a moment longer at the quote that had inspired her to take control of her life and pursue Pansy when they reconnected unexpectedly two years prior.
“I’ve had it for three years in my closet,” biting her lip, she finally turned in Pansy’s loose hold.
“It was a gift from Luna after I left Cormac and finally came out to her.” Seeing Pansy’s clouded expression, she continued, “I know you’re not out yet. It’s nothing more than my reminder to take ownership of myself. It helped me so much. I had hoped you would be okay with it in a more central place in our house.”
Pansy nodded her head slowly and eyed the quote a moment longer before looking down at Hermione with softer eyes, “I can deny you very little, curls, even if it does spell,” she sighed, closing her eyes, “a bit too close to home.”
Lifting on tiptoes, Hermione rested her forehead against Pansy’s, wrapping herself in the moment’s intimacy before placing a soft kiss against her lips. As the doorbell rang, she sent Pansy off to their room, knowing she would never wear a work outfit to a social event, even if it were a simple house-warming party.
Hermione leaned against the doorframe of their living room, having just sent Ginny home. She watched Pansy delicately sip from her wine glass; napkin followed soon after to pat away any excess drops and smiled softly at the ingrained etiquette.
She knew Pansy’s perfectionist behavior was branded into her as deeply as her Pureblood etiquette. Her lips twitched upwards as images of Pansy stealing her nightshirts, eating right out of the ice cream carton, and running her fingers through Pansy’s naturally wavy hair flitted through her mind.
“There you are, darling,” Pansy murmured before greeting her with a greedy kiss, nipping her lower lip before pulling away. Hermione wordlessly asked for her feet.
With a groan, Pansy disregarded her proper posture, flinging her long, bare legs over Hermione’s lap as her party skirt wrinkled in the process. “She treats me so well, this roommate of mine.” Pansy finished sarcastically.
Hermione carefully unwrapped the gold clasps from her ankles as she removed her glittering heels, letting them clatter to the floor unceremoniously to fill the silence.
“I thought you were going to keep that in your closet forever, Mia.” Luna inquired. Hermione caught the challenge in Luna’s gaze when she finally dared to look up. She watched Pansy’s fidgeting fingers before looking Luna back at the couple before them, “We just put it up today. Thought it was time to allow others to see its value just as I have in private.”
Hermione forced Pansy’s feet to stay on her lap as the conversation shifted to less loaded topics. However, for the rest of the night, she watched Pansy glance back at the quote various times, a deep furrow to her brow as she worried her typically immaculately painted lips.
“Do you think I am a coward?” Pansy demanded, freezing Hermione in her place.
“No,” Hermione answered firmly as she watched an array of emotions pass over Pansy’s make-up free face.
“How can I- how can I be worthy of you, of this life, when I cannot even admit to the world what I am, what we are together?” she wilted slightly.
“You are it for me, babe,” Hermione insisted, moving to stand in front of her.
Seeing Pansy’s distraught face, she placed her hand along Pansy’s slim neck, thumb tracing lightly over her pulse point, “I had two horrible experiences with men, as you know. Ron expected everything from me without acknowledging my agency, value, and pushing me to have sexual experiences with him that left me feeling dirty and unloved. Then I was with Cormac, who expected me to be entirely submissive. I did it, thinking that if I conceded to his desires, my own would align with the heteronormative expectations society had of me.
I allowed myself to endure those men for far too long simply because I was terrified to admit what I really wanted. There I was, Hermione Granger, the only female of the Golden Trio who just helped win a massive war where I demanded equal rights as a muggle-born, unable to freely accept she was a lesbian in this very traditional society. Even now, I am still quiet about my inclinations no matter how comfortable I am talking about it when asked. Does that make me a coward, then? No, you’re not a coward. You have lived your whole life pushed to be perfect, provided with all the tools to achieve it, and under the very rigid mindset on the value, perfection has to you and your family. Going against those expectations is not easy, but I think we both have to dare to be ourselves in this all-consuming world of judgment.”
Ghosting her hand up to Pansy’s tear-streaked cheeks, she continued, “I think we are doing that, don’t you? In our own way. You know you are perfect to me like this. Hair damp, large lounge shirt down to your knees, feet flat on the ground, and raw emotions on your clear face. There is power here, too, Parks. A power that you can learn to embrace just like the power you found in perfection.” Hermione murmured, bringing Pansy’s face closer to her own, lips brushing softly against her quivering ones before pulling the rest of her body into a tight embrace.
Feeling Pansy’s trembling shoulders, Hermione ran her palms up and down the ladder of her ribs until she felt her take in a deep breath. “Yo-you know I try and appear perfect to hide how lacking I feel. I love looking nice, but not to the extreme I take it sometimes. I have always appreciated that you found perfection in me regardless of my makeup or outfit choices.”
Kissing Hermione’s neck, she continued, “I saw the judgement towards Luna and Gemma, tonight. They will never accept us. Even the Boy Who Lived is taken to task for coming out with Theodore. What if,” she wiped her tears against Hermione’s shoulder, “what if coming out ruins us? If I cannot withstand another media attack? What if I buckle under the pressure and hurt you too?”
Hermione nodded before kissing the side of Pansy’s head, pulling back to force Pansy to look her in the eyes. “Harry and Theo were ready to move public, that to them was the next step, and they were prepared for the worst. This has only made them stronger. Being who they are has made their relationship richer. For us, the next step is living with each other, no matter the pretense we create around it.”
“Parks, I have stood out my whole life, I just never learned to own it. It took me suffering to shroud myself in the courage needed to feel powerful rather than the victim or the bookworm. You owned your power as a business owner and independent woman when you rejected Pucey’s marriage contract and endured the media backlash he incited. You stood out with your fashion line and are making waves in both muggle and magical fashion. This is just one more hurdle, accepting, and owning who we are, and you are not alone in this journey. Not again.”
With a final kiss, they drifted to sleep wrapped up in each other.
Hermione landed in the Malfoy gardens with a pop, moving quickly to greet the hosts before searching for her friends.
“Hermione! Did you leave my powder room a complete mess?” Theo asked as he kissed her on either cheek before passing her around to the rest of the group. If she held Pansy a little tighter or allowed her lips to linger along her cheek a moment longer, who was keeping track?
Grabbing a glass off a floating tray, she tried to hide her jealousy with bubbly as everyone, but she and Pansy were holding each other. She glanced at Pansy, startled she was already watching her, and tried to erase her sadness in light of her partner's true beauty. They had not seen each other since early that morning as Pansy was dressing Astoria for the event and she truly made black at a Summer Solstice Gala look appropriate.
She gripped her glass tighter to keep herself in place as she eyed Pansy’s sheer black torso, two strips of velvet and satin covering her exquisite mounds and convening on her hips, the skirt flowy and light around her legs. Her makeup was light, lips red as sin, but eyes wide and bare and her hair was wavy, a new in-between Pansy had been working on loving since their conversation a few weeks back.
The event was called to attention as Narcissa directed everyone’s attention to her son. As Draco waxed poetry about the solstice next to her, she watched the large gathering shift its gaze between the host and the various same-sex pairings surrounding her. It was as if they had never seen two men wrapped around each other or two women leaning into the other. She refused to fidget as she internally imagined her and Pansy holding each other in front of everyone, could imagine the feel of the sheer tulle under finger light touches.
She was thrust out of her self-conscious musings when she felt Pansy’s presence coming closer. The fluttering of Pansy’s velvet skirt gliding against the back of Hermione’s own simple floor-length silk gown. Taking a deep breath, Hermione pretended to readjust her thin black dress strap with her left hand. She flexed her fingers around her shoulder, reminding herself she could not grab Pansy or her hand, and that was okay.
With a final breath, she dropped her hand back to her side and froze when she felt familiar fingers wrap around her wrist. Hermione slowly darted her gaze to the curious onlookers as Pansy glided her fingers down until their palms touched. Hermione didn’t even try to dim her beaming smile as Pansy held her hand, body moving closer to join in the intimacy their friends were exhibiting.
“Owning who we are is Power. Yes. We’ve got to Dare to stand out,” Pansy whispered, “and if I cannot dare with you, then I have no business playing with power .”
Hermione stood center stage in a sea of the wizarding world's most elite and judgmental members, glowing with the power of being who they were, ready to stand out and see what this next step in their relationship meant for them, with their hands intertwined for all to see.
Chosen Quote and Image thanks to Charlie9646:
