Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Bitter
By Silver Sailor Ganymede

Theirs was a friendship that none would have predicted, but then again neither of them was truly known in Hogwarts. It was uncommon enough for Slytherins to make friends with people from any of the other Houses, but for the reigning 'queen' of Slytherin, Pansy Parkinson, to have formed a friendship with a Ravenclaw was almost unbelievable: when others heard that this Ravenclaw was none other than Luna 'Loony' Lovegood they scoffed and dismissed it as rumour when it was a fact.

No one knew exactly how the bitter Pansy Parkinson and the surreal, spacey Luna Lovegood had become friends; indeed it is debatable whether the two themselves even really knew. The only thing that mattered was that they were friends; Slytherin house sometimes became too much for Pansy, no matter how much she pretended that everything was fine; even the grandest façade would eventually be weathered away. Pansy needed to vent her feelings to someone occasionally and she knew that no one else in Slytherin could really be trusted. Luckily for her the younger Ravenclaw was quite happy to just sit and listen to her problems: even when most would think that Luna was away in her own world, Pansy could tell that she was listening; Pansy had realised quite quickly that her expression changed ever so slightly when she listened. Perhaps it was that ability to observe even the smallest thing that had led to her placement in Slytherin.

Most of the time Pansy would talk and Luna would listen; Luna didn't seem to want to talk much: she either seemed to be listening or too wrapped up in her own thoughts to say anything at all. Sometimes though they would just sit together for long peroids of time, never a word passing between them.

So far that day had been one of the silent times, the Slytherin and the Ravenclaw simply sitting in the shade of the willow by the lake and enjoying each other's company. Pansy's eyes drifted over to the lake that seemed to stretch out endlessly before them, the sunlight illuminating the lake and making the vast expanse of water seem to be liquidated diamonds. She noted that the blue-grey of the water was strangely similar to Luna's eyes. Such a strange shade they were, so pale at times it was almost as though the iris had disappeared, and so orb-like and staring but at the same time seemingly unseeing. It was then that Pansy's thoughts were broken as the Ravenclaw broke their silence and decided to speak.

"Why are you so bitter, Pansy?" the question caught the Slytherin off guard.

"Wouldn't you be if you were living a life that someone else had set down for you," she spat, the words coming out more harshly than she had intended; it wasn't Luna's fault after all.

"Maybe, but still…" Luna was quiet for a moment then she spoke again. "Bitterness will only wilt whatever roses you have planted."

Pansy shook her head; there was no point in even attempting to understand her friend's abstract logic.

There was silence again for a while, then Pansy was startled; Luna had moved and was now sitting directly in front of her. She fixed her almost colourless eyes on Pansy's own hazel ones and smiled slightly, then Pansy nearly jumped as the Ravenclaw's lips lightly brushed her own and parted them with one deft movement. Pansy was still in a state of shock when Luna's tongue entered her mouth, then withdrew as quickly as if nothing had happened.

"What did you do that for?" Pansy asked, shocked and yet not enitrely surprised by what Luna had done; she had come to expect about anything from the enigmatic Ravenclaw.

Luna smilpy smiled in reply, "I just wanted to see if Slytherins taste as bitter as they act. I guess I was wrong."

The two leant back against the willow tree as if nothing had happened – indeed it did not bother either of them at all. There was silence again until Luna spoke, a strange smile appearing on her face.

"If bitterness if only a façade and not a truth then I suppose the Sorting Hat was right; perhaps I would have done better in Slytherin after all."