Song- Empires

Pansy took a deep, shaky breath as she approached the shop and pushed the door open, hiding one arm behind her back.

Bells jingled softly. A lady looked up, smiling.

"Welc- Oh my goodness." She curtsied. "Your-" she paused, unsure of the title to give the soon-to-be-princess.

"Persephone," Pansy said easily. "Just call me Persephone."

The lady nodded, reverent eyes still resting on her.

"I came to thank the lovely girl who gave me wildflowers," she said easily.

The lady's mouth fell open, before she softly called "Hermione!"

Hermione. What a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl.

The girl stepped out, and immediately curtsied upon seeing Pansy.

"Your..."

"Call me Persephone." 

Hermione smiled the most beautiful smile Pansy had ever seen. "Hello, Persephone."

"Hello, Hermione. I came to thank you for your generous gift, and I figured I should return the favor." Pansy held out a bouquet of carnations. Hermione's mouth fell open.

"My apologies for the choice of flower. I much prefer wildflowers, but these are the flowers that grow around the castle grounds."

Hermione stepped forward, taking the bouquet. Pansy ignored the shock of Hermione's fingers brushing hers as Hermione delicately smelled the bouquet.

"Thank you, Persephone."

"But of course. Walk with me? I'd like to talk."

Hermione stuttered before nodding, placing the flowers in a glass vase and walking out the door with Pansy.

"You're very beautiful, you know," Pansy said easily.

Hermione froze, staring at Pansy. "What?"

"You're beautiful. Your eyes, your hair, your smile. Beautiful."

"I'm... I'm not..." Hermione was stuttering and seemed unsure of what she was not.

Pansy smiled as she continued to walk.  "Not into girls?"

Hermione nodded silently, seeming very unsure of that fact.

Pansy smiled softly. "You sure?"

Hermione stopped walking, her eyes fixed on Pansy's. Slowly, as if in a trance, she shook her head.

Pansy looked at the ground, then up at Hermione again. "Would you like to test it?"

Hermione seemed frozen in place, but her eyes darted down to Pansy's lips and back up again. She nodded.

"Verbal consent is extremely important, darling," Pansy murmured.

Hermione took a moment before she whispered "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I want to test it."

"Does that mean I have your consent to kiss you?"

"Yes," Hermione said, almost breathless, a second before Pansy leaned forward to capture her lips.

It was everything her kiss with Draco wasn't. There was passion and sparks and a desire to kiss this beautiful girl forever, despite the fact that this was the first time they had ever spoken to each other.

It ended too quickly when Hermione pulled away, a terrified look on her face as she scanned their surroundings.

"No one saw us," Pansy murmured, now looking at the ground. Did Hermione regret it?

Hermione clenched her fists, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"You okay?" Pansy asked gently, lifting her chin to face her. Hermione flinched slightly at the touch, but didn't completely move away.

"This is wrong."

Pansy thought about it for a minute.

"What about it is wrong?"

Hermione looked utterly stunned at that, like she had never considered it before.

"What's wrong about it? The ability to kiss, to hug, to love whoever you want? Loving someone for their soul rather than their body?"

"I know. In theory, it shouldn't feel so wrong. But my whole life-"

"You've been told it's wrong," Pansy finished, nodding. "That it's wrong to love someone of the same gender."

"Disgusting, revolting, horrible," Hermione whispered. "Those are the words drilled into my head. Those are the words that ring around in my head every time I see a pretty girl, when I kissed you, right now."

"Maybe we should drown them out," Pansy laughed softly, winking. Hermione smiled weakly, but shook her head.

"I should go."

Pansy nodded, looking down at the ground. "See you tomorrow?"

A kiss was placed so quickly on her cheek, Pansy could almost swear it hadn't happened. "See you tomorrow!" was called out as Hermione rushed off.

Pansy rose a hand up to her cheek, a small smile crossing her face as she looked after the girl she had been slowly falling for ever since she saw her in a market four months ago.