An Angel's Knight
Pansy Parkinson.
17. 5 foot 10. Dark eyes. Raven hair. Libra. Likes poetry, romance novels, rain, and silver. Dislikes loud interruptions, first years, and Gryffindors.
Ronald Weasley.
18. 6 foot 9. Brown eyes. Red hair. Aries. Likes Quidditch, weekends, sunny days, and red. Dislikes boredom, Professor Snape, and Slytherins.
"Why didja want this information?" a sleepy voice asked, handing over the two sheets of paper, which held the personal information about one Ronald Weasley, and another Pansy Parkinson.
"It's a secret," a girl replied, carefully folding the paper, and putting them in her back pocket. "And you have to -swear- not to tell a soul once you realise what's happening..."
"I doubt I'm gonna find out what's happening," the sleepy one, a boy, asked.
"I don't doubt that the entire school will know by the end of December," the girl said, almost gleefully.
"Your crazy..." the boy shook his head, flopping down onto a comfy chair. "It's too early for this..."
"Don't be a spoil sport," the girl said, sitting on the arm of his chair. "Plotting evil plans is done best in the night... how did you get this information anyways?"
"You do -not- want to know..."
"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't of asked."
"Let me rephrase that... -I- don't want you to know."
"Awe... it can't be -that- embarassing!"
"It is..."
"Well... if it makes you feel any better, you only had to get information about Pansy, I already know all there is to know about Ron."
"What? Then what did I get his information for!"
"I dunno... why?"
"I'm going to bed..." the sleepy voice groaned, standing up slowly.
"G'night!" the girl said, standing up as well and hugging him tightly. Standing up on her tippi toes, she kissed his cheek. "And thanks alot..."
Before he had a chance to respond, she turned and ran up to her dormitory, leaving him to watch... after a few minutes, he walked up to his as well.
Pansy Parkinson woke up slowly that Saturday morning. With a little moan, she turned over in her sleep, only to spot an owl sitting on her bedside table. With a little squeal, she sat up, throwing her blankets off of her and took the letter from the owl. The owl hooted lightly, and waited.
"Wha's tha'?" A sleepy voice asked to her right, but she didn't look up. Millicent Bulstrode, her room mate and long time friend, knew -exactly- what the letter was... she just hadn't realised it yet.
Pansy sat there, taking deep breathes. She kept looking at the letter, sealed with a perfect little heart embedded in red wax. 'Pansy Parkinson' was written in elagant gold writting that was far to thin and loopy to be someone's normal writing, and put there for the extra flash.
"Pans?" Millicent asked again, pushing herself up. "Wha- oh! You've got another one!" Millicent was sitting on the end of Pansy's bed in almost a second.
"Shh..." Pansy said warningly, pressing a finger to her lips, though she couldn't help but grin. "You'll wake them up..." 'Them' being their other room mates. Pansy wasn't fond of them ever since Draco had made a public show of dumping her in the great hall. They goggled over him far too much for their own good...
But that didn't matter, because she had her Knight in shining armour..
"Well?" Millicent said in a hushed voice. "Open it already!"
With a splendid little smile, Pansy placed the letter infront of her, and moved to the side of the bed. She hung off it to look underneath it, and felt around for a particular shoe box...
"Aha!" she said in triumph, perhaps a tad bit louder then she had meant to. Sitting back up, she picked the letter up again, and put the shoe box in front of her instead. "Okay... here it goes..."
"Hurry up!" Millicent said impatiently. Pansy just smiled at her, and took a small note book from the box. Several dozen letters, all addressed in the same, falsly loopy gold writing, shone up at her dully. Flipping the note book open, she rested it on her knee. "Don't keep me waiting... hurry!"
Glancing up at Millicent again, Pansy finally opened it. She made sure not to tear the paper as she slowly took it out, as if it were made of delicate glass. Unfolding it, her heart leapt as she read each line.
'My Darling Angel,
I was dreaming about you in class today... I'm graced with little else but that at the very beginning of every week. I don't know how I'm going to explain it to the professors if I fail... I can't very well say 'I was dreaming about the girl I love more then anything in the world and forgot to do those things, sorry'.
It tortures me that we're not together... can we meet soon? Please?
All my love,
Knight'
"He wants to meet me!" Pansy giggled, feeling light headed. She passed the letter to Millicent, who read through it with a big grin, and fell backwards, hugging the note book to her chest.
"You know you can't see him yet!" Millicent almost yelled at her. They both went quiet when one of the girls snorted on Pansy's left, and fell off of her bed. Pansy giggled even more as she watched the girl just roll over and snore loudly, now on the ground.
"And why not?" she asked her friend, looking up at her with a happy expression rarely worn outside of that room.
"Because," Millicent almost hissed, determined not to be heard. "You need to finish you detective work to find out if he's suitable... and even -then- you have to make him wait... build up the passion, ya know?" Pansy pondered over Millicent's words for a few moments, then rolling onto her stomach so that she could read over her notes, she sighed.
"I can't believe I'm taking your advice..."
"So... your not going to meet him?"
"Oh, I am," Pansy cooed. "But I'm going to make him wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend."
"Oh, your evil," Millicent said with a smile. October had just past, and the next Hogsmeade weekend wasn't due until December. "Making him wait a little over a month -with- the knowledge of that he's going to meet you... better then telling him five minutes before hand!"
"I know," Pansy said pleasantly. "If all goes well, he'll be driven insanely desperate... now, where did we leave off?"
"Does it matter?" Millicent asked, digging into the pile of letters and reading them at random. "We always reread them all anyways, and you never have them in any particular order..."
"Your right... just read through them and tell me if you ever get something important," Pansy said, flipping through the note book. At the top of each page were headings like 'FAVOURITE COLOUR', 'FUTURE CAREER', 'HOUSE', etc. Under each heading, things were written, crossed out, circled and the such.
"I still say his favourite color is gold," Millicent muttered. "He writes everthing in that stupid gold ink..."
"I have it on here, as I also have red, brown, blue, and for some reason it says pink in your handwritting," Pansy drawled out, crossing out pink as she did.
"Oh, wait, I think brown is out," Millicent said, reading over a letter. "Yeah... difinitely out... 'I hate mud; absolutely loathe it more then you can loathe any ordinary inanimate, mussy object. I mean, sure, it has it's uses, but it's just -not- a nice colour to wear... I came back from Quidditch practice one time covered head to foot in it, because my captian made me go and get the quaffle that someone had thrown near the forest (if you want to know the truth, I slipped and fell face first into a mud puddle while I was walking back). I was drenched in it; ever since I've hated -everything- about it. It's texture. It's colour. -Everything-.' Cheery, isn't he?" Pansy giggled a little.
She crossed off brown, and flipped through the book. Coming to the Quidditch team section, which had a Chaser, both the Beaters, and the seeker crossed off.
"Do you think he's a Chaser or a Keeper?" Pansy asked almost dreamily
"I don't know..." Millicent said honestly. "But seriously, I think you have a Gryffindor on your hands."
"You know how I dispise Gryffindor," Pansy snapped, though she flipped to the house page next. "Besides... I'm almost possitive that he's a Ravenclaw. A Ravenclaw would know that I hate Gryffindor and therefore, to keep his identity secret, he used Gryffindor colours."
"Ahuh... admit it, you know that theres a pretty good chance that it's a Gryffindor," Miilicent said smuggly. "And don't say that your possitive, because I know that you haven't crossed Gryffidore."
"We only cross things off when we have the written proof," Pansy said smoothly. "He has not said anything that would say that he is in Ravenclaw, or that he is in Gryffindor."
"And yet it took you two seconds to decide that he wasn't in Slytherin."
"Slytherins do -not- send love letters to each other, or have you forgotten Milli?"
"Your sending love letters to someone; how do you know that someone else might be doing the same thing?"
"Have I acted the Slytherin part since Draco dumped me?"
"No..."
"Exactly," Pansy flipped another page. "Now, keep reading."
"Um... how about his corny joke to a bunch of first years?" Millicent asked, stretched out on the bed as well.
"Which was...?"
"'Hows the weather down there?'" Millicent rolled her eyes as Pansy squealed again. "So... you figure he's tall?"
"Either that or he's making fun of rotten first years!" Pansy said, absolutely gleeful. "They're such inconfi-"
"Pans," Millicent stopped her. "I'm as much of a cold hearted Slytherin as the next, but you havta admit, your stooping down to Draco's level when you speak of first years like that, and you -swore- not do ever do that again..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Pansy sighed. "I'm trying to break out of the habit. Hard... they're just so... so... idiotic!"
She crossed off the word 'Midgit' from a page, leaving 'tall' and 'average' still there. 'Average' was underlined.
"So..." Millicent said, picking up another letter. "How abou-"
"Shh," Pansy said quickly, pressing her finger to her lips again. Millicent waited, and sure enough, there came a low moan, and someone started to stir. There was a frantic movement of arms and legs as Millicent and Pansy worked as fast as they could to put everything back in the shoebox. Just as the girl who had fallen to the floor was peeking her head up over her bed, Millicent was hopping back into her's, and Pansy was pulling the cover's back over her face.
'Soon enough, my knight,' Pansy though pleasantly to herself, the owl having come to settle down on her pillow to rest. She stroked it, and smiled. 'Soon enough, we shall meet...'
Ronald Weasley was up an hour or so later, making his way down to breakfast. There was no quidditch match today, but he was nervous none the less. He settled down next to Ginny, who was bent over something.
"Morning," he muttered, causing her to jump. "What's up with you?"
"This came for you," she said cheerfully, passing it to him. "I was just trying to read through the envelope... they don't make them as thin as they used to."
"Hardy har har," Ron rolled his eyes. It was common for Ginny or his friends to get his letters before him, or some of them, as they usually came much earlier then he woke up... then he sometimes got them in the afternoon as well, where he could cherish them without prying eyes.
Ron studied the envelope carefully, more so to keep Ginny waiting then anything else. He looked over his name, written neatly in dark green ink. Then his gaze travelled to the little heart pressed into silver wax. It was amusing to him, because Ginny would never let him send a single letter without a wax seal almost identical to that, but in red wax.
"Open it already!" Ginny said impatiently, piling bacon on both of their plates. "I wanna know what it says!" She smiled, almost smuggly, but Ron ignored it, finally opening the letter. Each line he read made him smile just a little bit more.
'My Handsome Knight,
I can't help it you were dreaming about me! It's very flattering though. I hope you don't fail your class! Maybe I'll have to give you private lessons?
As for us meeting... soon love. We'll meet soon.
All my love,
Angel'
"Awe... how cute!" Ginny giggled. Ron blushed, and stuffed the letter into his pocket. "She wants to give you private lessons!"
"How do you know that?" Ron snapped, glaring at her.
"You were so immersed in the letter you didn't notice me standing behind you and reading over your shoulder," Ginny said easily, eating her bacon with her fingers. Ron's blush travelled from his ears to cover his entire face. "So... what are ya gonna write back?"
"I... um..." he ran his hands through his hair, trying to think. Ginny, shaking her head, pushed his plate forwards, and put a bottle of gold ink and a quill there as well.
"Come on, I'll help you," Ginny insisted. Ron gave her a weak smile, and bent over the paper. With much squabbling and talking, and several pieces of parchment, they finally finished a letter that Ginny deemed 'suitable' and that Ron was happy with. By then, more people were coming for breakfast.
"So, I'll just take this up after breakfast and send it?" Ron muttered, folding it up carefully and putting it into an envelope.
"No," Ginny practically snapped. She tipped some sausages onto their plates, and grabbed some toast. "I'll take it. I've got the seal up in my room; I'll even send it for you, so you don't have to worry about it. And don't give me that look! I already know what it says."
With a sigh, Ron complied, handing her the letter. He concentraited on his breakfast, and tried not to let the butterflies in his stumach get the better of him...
'Loving Angel,
How soon is soon? I'm dying to meet you! I spend restless nights dreaming about what your voice might sound like, or the exact hue of your eyes...
Tomorrow night? Quidditch pitch? Eight o'clock?
Forever yours,
Knight'
'My Knight,
No, not then. I'm sorry, but that is not exactly what I had in mind... could you wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend?
Love you,
Angel'
'My Angel,
Hogsmeade weekend? I'm going to go -crazy- in that ammount of time!! But I shall try not to go and seek you out for myself and wait patiently... patience never was one of my best attributes.
Theres an annoying little Ferret that I hate, that I have to see every single day, and always people are telling me not to beat him to a bloody pulp, because he's not worth it. Again, right now, he has annoyed me, and I'm making my friends very proud by not going at him... but that's just because I'm writting to you.
Your proving to be one of my stronger points in life.
Impatiently waiting,
Knight'
'Angel,
It's been a week, are you all right? Your not in the hospital wing, are you? Please tell me your not hurt or anything... I might know you only through mail, but I feel so close to you...
Please tell me your all right?
Worried,
Knight'
'Angel,
Its been another week... please tell me your okay! I'm worried. I miss your letters...
Restless,
Knight'
'My Knight,
Fear not, I am alright. Sorry I have not been able to write to you these past two weeks, but I have been really busy. Homework has been overwelming, and then I have to deal with my ex and his friends and the other girls in my dorm and a million other things.
I'm truly sorry. If it makes you feel any better, only three more weeks.
Asking forgiveness,
Angel'
Ron sighed in relief as he read the latest letter. He had been really worried when she didn't reply to his letters... but she was alright. She was perfectly fine...
He crossed off another day on the sheet of paper on his bed side table, and collasped into bed. A little moan came from the bed next to his, and someone sat up.
"Mornin'," Harry said sleepily.
"Morning," Ron replied, closing his eyes again.
"What time is it?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"About quarter past five... why?"
"Quarter past five?" Harry groaned, and fell back into his bed as well. "What are you doing up at this hour? And why did you let me wake up?"
"I got another letter," Ron said simply. Harry groaned again, but with a little work, dragged himself up out of his own bed and collasped yet again on the end of Ron's.
"Isn't it sort of e-e-early..?" he said with another yawn.
"Who cares?" Ron could of laughed. "I mean... I know she's alright, don't I?"
"You don't even know who she is," Harry said, looking at him. "I mean... remember the Yule ball? You wouldn't go out with Eloise Midgeon because of her acne, and complained that someone didn't have a centered nose... what if this girl is hideous?"
"Harry, someone this nice, and funny, and caring, could never be hideous," Ron said matter-of-factly.
"And if she is?" Harry half-glared at him, still tired.
"Well then, I'll regret having met her, won't I?" Ron laughed. After a minute or two, he became sober again, staring up at the ceiling. "But what to write her..."
Harry groaned, and reaching blindly for Ron's dresser, almost knocked off a half glass of water. When he opened the top drawer, it being a miracle that he didn't spill anything, it revealed parchment, two quills, and a bottle of gold ink.
"Well, start already," he muttered. "I guess I'll try and help you..."
It two several hours, and remarkably, only three pieces of parchment, until Ron was satisfied with the letter.
"Oh great... now it has to go through the Ginny test," Ron groaned, burying his head in his pillow.
"Ron," Harry sighed; he could of slapped him. "How dim are you? You can magick the seal so that you don't have to meet her."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "But I don't know how too. Hermione does though, but once again, she would read over it."
"I learned for you, don't worry," Harry laughed. He got off of Ron's bed, and moved to rummage through his trunk. Pulling out a red candle, he lit it, and then held it over the letter, letting the wax drip. Once the wax seal was enough, he pointed his wand at it, muttered a few words, and a neat imprint of a heart appeared. He blew out the candle and put it on Ron's bedside table, and started to get dressed.
"Come off, if we hurry, we can drop it off before breakfast," Harry stated. Ron nodded, and both of them dressed speedily, and then left their dormitory. They said a hasty 'hi' to Ginny, who was half-asleep on a chair, and left the common room.
It took them 10 minutes to get to the Owlry, and another 10 to find the right bird and coax him to come down from it's high roost. Both of them leaned against the glassless windows, watching the bird fly.
It was a few moments until Ron realised that Harry still had his wand, twirling in his hands, and was looking at the bird unblinkingly, muttereing under his breath.
"Harry?" Ron waved his hand infront of his face, and he looked up suddenly. "What are you doing?"
"Revising," he said quickly. "Come on, lets get to breakfast."
"So, what are we going to do?" a sleepy girl asked.
"You sure he left twenty minutes ago?" another replied, pacing infront of the fire.
"Possitive," said the first, surpressing a yawn. "I wouldn't be mistaken... why would I lie?"
"And Harry was with him?"
"Yes, yes... this doesn't ruin everything, does it?"
"No, it shouldn't," the girl shook her head, and sat down. "I mean, you taught Harry that incantation to put her name on the letter?"
"Y-yeah," the girl said with a yawn.
"Then it should be fine... as long as he didn't notice."
"Then why are you so worried?"
"Because he isn't as stupid as he looks, that's why."
"Well, you've managed to get most people to believe that Parkinson is recieving the letters and giving them to the real secret admirer... can't you just make him believe that too?"
"No... that's too risky. I mean... he wouldn't trust her, at all."
"Why are we doing this again?"
"Come on," the girl stood up, pulling the sleepy girl with her. "I'll explain it, -again-, over breakfast."
"You don't think I made him too worried, do you?" Pansy said aimlessly.
"Made who worried?" a girl to Pansy's left, by the name of Mandy, pipped up.
"No one, so keep your nose out of our buisness if you want to keep it!" Millicent snapped. "Come on Pansy, hurry up or else we won't get a seat."
Millicent dragged the daydreaming Pansy through the corridor, and into the Entrance Hall. Looking this way and that, she pushed her into the Great Hall, and towards the Slytherin Table.
"You've got to come back down to Earth, Pans," Millicent muttered, pulling her into a seat. "People keep staring at you..."
"Let them stare," Pansy muttered, giggling, as she tried to spread jam on her bacon. Millicent stopped her, and handed her some toast. "Only three more weeks!"
"Get a grip Pansy!" Millicent said forcefully. "Your acting like how you acted with Dra-" She was cut off by an abrupt glare.
"How many times -must- I tell you," Pansy said between bites of her toast. "-Never- say his -foul- name while I am daydreaming... it just completely ruins it."
"I'll plaster his name on your forehead if you don't get a grip," Millicent said seriously. "I mean... look at you! I still think he's a Gryffindor."
"Think who's a Gryffindor?" someone drawled. Pansy surpressed a shudder; she knew -exactly- who it was.
"The person who your secretly in love with," Pansy replied cooly. "You know, the girl that you were bragging about to Crabbe and Goyle... you said it loud enough that I'm surprised that your not single yet, 'Drakie'. Why don't you go continue having an affair on your girlfriend and stop stinking up my air with your presence?"
"You'll regret that, -Parkinson-," Malfoy hissed, moving along down the table. Pansy just spread jam on another piece of toast, and continued to eat it.
"You should of seen his face," Millicent chuckled. "He couldn't believe you said that!"
"I'm not his lap dog," Pansy said simply. "He'll have to get used to it... I dare say that I'm surprised he isn't already."
"Hmm... well, lets forget about him, because he only rates a 7 on the hotness scale," Millicent said, looking around the Great Hall. "And you only submit to 8's and higher."
"Woah, woah, woah... I'm spoken for, remember?" Pansy glared at her from the corner of her eye, but couldn't stop a smile from slipping onto her face.
"Not until December 10th," Millicent replied flatly. "Besides... admire them all now with an unbiased eye so that when the Gryffie shows up you'll be able to appreciate him."
"He's not in Gryffindor," Pansy hissed quietly.
"Whatever, they are who we're looking at today," Millicent hissed back. "I mean... we're not going to be Slytherin's forever, and givin the circumstances, theres a few of them I wouldn't mind meeting in a dark ally..."
"Like who, the famour Harry Potter?" rolling her eyes, Pansy feigned sickness.
"Yeah, like him," Millicent smirked when Pansy almost choked. "Or his friend, Weasley... I mean, you have to admit, Quidditch does them good."
"You make me sick Milli," Pansy gulped down a few sips of coffee. "Gods, I can't believe you actually said that."
"Look at them," Millicent said, forcing her to look up at the Gryffindor table. "For a split second forget that you hate him and that he's in Gryffindor, and see how hot he looks... rate him, truthfully, on the hotness scale of 1 to 10, -then- I'll let you bad mouth him. Oh, and rate Potter too."
With a sigh, Pansy looked over at them. She looked them up and down, squinting slightly to see if it made a difference.
"I can't," she said finally. "I would have to be closer."
"Then lets join the Slytherin team," Millicent smirked. "They'll be taunting them today; they have practice."
"And how do you know this?" Pansy said, looking at Millicent suspiciously.
"I rated them both eights a long time ago," Millicent said, winking.
"Okay... so now are you going to tell me?"
"Yes, yes, I'll tell you..."
"Morning!"
"Oh, hi... your early, you know that?"
"Yep! I um... wanted to ask you about to plan..."
"You know your blushing, right? How is it that every time you look at her your always beat red?"
"No reason..."
"Yeah, sure... anyways, now you have two people who wanna knokw about the plan... tell us or die."
"You don't have to be so rash."
"Yes, I do."
"Calm down... we're doing it for the inter-house relationships... or to try and help them. if someone sees two people from Slytherin and Gryfindor going out, they'll know that even though ost of the Slytherin's are skiving, no good liars that don't deserve to be spoken to, there are a few that are alright... you talked to her in the Library, remember?"
"Yeah... we sat at the same table because I had a book she needed, and she even pointed out a few things for my potions essay."
"See? She's alright... but have you heard her insult Malfoy? She hates him as much as we do! She doesn't let him get to her head, remains calm, and gets rid of him. She could teach a lot to Ron."
"So... we're doing this for a) the greater good, and b) to build Ron's character?"
"Yes."
"Okay... I think I understand..."
"Yeah... me too..."
"Excelent!"
On the down on the pitch, seven figures walked onto the grass. Pansy was sitting with Millicent, close enoug
h to the Slytherin team that they would look as if they were together, but far enough away that they couldn't hear their conversation.
An owl had come up to her in the hall, delivering the letter she now held in her hand. With the thought of writing a reply to her Knight, watching a bunch of Gryffindors couldn't be -so- bad... could it?
"Pansy, you have to -watch-," Millicent complained, as Pansy read through the letter for the fifth time. "I mean, you just completely missed the dive that he just did!"
"I really don't care Milli," Pansy said calmly. The Slytherin Team let out a particulary loud bout of insults, and she rubbed at her temples. "I'm going to have a migrain after this..."
"Hey, it's not so bad," Millicent shrugged. "And the sooner you rate them, the sooner you can insult them... okay? And rate them honestly! It's the rule." Pansy sighed, and putting the letter in her lap, looked up to see seven figures on brooms.
"Weren't they on the ground?" Pansy asked, searching for Weasley and Potter.
"You missed them kick off," Millicent answered. "They're still doing their warm ups... Weasley fumbled a little while back, but seems to be better now."
And indeed he did, for when the famous Harry Potter threw to him, he caught it almost effortlessly, and with a huge smile, tossed it to what must of been his little sister. With a sigh, Pansy screwed up her eyes and leaned back, looking at him.
"I guess his smile is alright," Pansy said slowly. It was one of those smiles that made your world melt to jello and everything seem light. "It would be much better if it weren't on his skiving head..."
"Pansy," Millicent said warningly. Pansy sighed, again, and continued to examine him. It took her half the practice, carefully weighing every detail, making odd comments now and then that Millicent would either laugh at or warn her. He was a really good Keeper though. A first he fumbled every now and then, but after he got warmed up, he didn't let anything through.
"I think I have come to my decision," Pansy said, leaning back in her seat.
"About time too," Millicent muttered. "Even the Team is running out of insults..." Pansy laughed for a moment, then started to look for Potter in the skies.
"Before the default points are taken off, I would say he's about a nine," Pansy said truthfully.
"Woah, woah, woah... a nine?" Millicent sat straight up in her chair, and look towards him. "Is there something about him I'm not seeing? I mean... I only rated him eight, and you... You rated him -nine-! I thought you would of rated him seven!"
"I kept on coming up with twos and threes," Pansy admitted. "And I knew that you wouldn't accept that, so I had to strain my eyes -really- hard and see everything else. Turns out he's a nine... now let me concentraight on Potter, alright?"
"Alright," Millicent smiled, and taking the letter, read through it herself. "You want me to jot down some ideas?"
"Sure," Pansy agreed. "I don't mind."
With the scribble of a quill in the background, not quiet blocking out the occasional loud insults from the Slytherin Team, Pansy could already feel a headache coming on. But, seeing as she had already disected Ron Weasley's looks and rated him nine, looking at Harry Potter in an unbiased light was easier. It only took her twenty minutes before she came to a decision.
"Seven," she said aloud. "Now lets go."
"Wait, seven?" Millicent looked up at her, smearing a few words in her shock. "You rated the sidekick nine, and the hero seven? Woah... you must really like side kicks... or did you deduct some default points?"
"No, I didn't," Pansy sighed. "He's just slightly too tall for his build, and his smile is more of the unconfidently confident kind. After deducting the points, which would be three because he's in Gryffindor, one because I don't like him, and another one because he's Harry Potter, be would be at a measly 2, making him entirely undatable."
"That still puts Weasley above him with 4," Millicent pointed out, handing her back her letter.
"Five," Pansy corrected. She read through the letter again, and then getting another piece of parchment, started to write out a letter slowly, taking in mind the ideas that Millicent had scribbled out.
"What?" Millicent blinked, looking at her blankly.
"Weasley has five after points are deducted," Pansy said simply. Millicent just gaped at her for the few minutes that it took Pansy to write out the letter, then stood up after her. "Shall we go mail a letter?" she said with a smile.
"Yeah, lets," Millicent laughed. "And let me forget about the confusing stuff you just said as well!!"
"Did you see the Slytherin girls?"
"No... should I of?"
"Prepair yourself for nightmares... one of them was -watching- you... scary, huh?"
"Sure thing Ron, very scary... I bet they were trying to decide the best way to cook me."
It was after the practice, and they were all in the change rooms, getting out of their sweaty clothes. Ron, who had witnissed one Pansy Parkinson stare at Harry intently for a long period of time, was grinning and teasing him about it.
"Now, why would pug-face do something like that?" Ron asked him. "I mean... I bet she -really-wants to get back at Draco and everything... maybe she's trying to seduce you?"
"I saw her looking at him, Ron," Ginny interrupted from across the room. "And I also saw her looking at you for half the practice... didn't you see her?"
"She was probably just thinking about insults," Ron laughed slightly, though he also tensed. "I mean, why would any -Slytherin- even think of me otherwize?"
"I dunno," Ginny said, sitting down on the bench. "I've spoken to her before, in the library... it wasn't very pleasant, because she kept on calling me 'Weasley' and 'Weasel' and what not, but it was civilized. And remember what the Sorting Hat said in your fifth year? Stand together, stand strong?"
"That was a load of-"
"Ron!" Ginny glared at him before he could finish. "Now -really-, what would mum think of that kind of language?" Ron went suddenly green.
And between laughter, moaning, and more laughter, they all made their way back to the castle.
'My Angel,
You had me so worried! Don't ever do that again, alright? Oh, I'm so glad your okay... and only three weeks until I meet you!
Waiting,
Knight'
'Knight,
I'm sorry again, my Knight. I'll have to make it up to you when we meet, won't I? But here is the question... do kisses mend broken hearts?
I think we should only send one letter a week to each other, to allow room for homework, and so that the weeks pass by more quickly... alright? That way, I can also play the part of the demonic angel and force you to wait.
Demonically Innocent,
Angel'
'Lovely Angel,
Yes, yes, that is the question, and here is the answer (according to my sister); A kiss has the power to heal anything, if it's the right one. I would of answered it myself, but I don't have the thinking capibility to find an answer for any question like that... Ah, but -here- is the question! How does a fool be romantic?
As for your letters proposal... truthfully, I hate the very idea of it. Your letters are what keeps me alive underneath those suffocating mounds of homework, but I shall find some shread of a hope to live with your letters at the end of the week, so I shall accept... send one every Friday, so that I may enjoy it with the weekend?
Innocently Demonic,
Knight'
'My Humourous Knight,
Ah, and an answer for your question shall be needed, should it not? A fool is the most romantic of all, for when he does something from his heart, no matter how cheesy and lame it may seem, it is right from the heart, and no where else. And here is another question for you to ponder over... How does a fool fall in love?
Yes, I shall send you a letter every Friday. Only fitting really. Two weeks tomorrow, love, and we meet. Excited?
Gleefully,
Angel'
'Angel,
Your answer made me think; it's getting -awfully- hard to think up of cheesy titles to put infront of 'angel', which is already becoming enough, and all of it's just... not me. No matter if I was being romantic or not, I am -stopping-, because It's getting hard to think up of new ones. And an answer for you... well, I simply read your letters, didn't I?
Question: What is a fool, on a scale of 1 to 10?
Excited,
Knight'
'Knight,
Well, if your stopping your cheesy titles, then I'm stopping mine. No way, no how am I doing something your not. And a fool can be anything, it just depends on which fool it is.
Question: Live to eat, or eat to live?
Waiting,
Angel'
'Angel,
Less then a week to go, eh? I can't wait... I've become jumpy, and all my friends are teasing me. So... in the risk of soundly overly lame... meet me at the shrieking shack at 10?
And you eat to live, because living to eat makes you too fat to move...
Now, for your question... Are you in love with the fool?
Foolishly,
Knight'
Pansy sat in her bed. It was Friday now, and still she couldn't think of a reply for the letter. She looked at her clock, and watched the seconds tick by. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours...
It was only so long until it would be past midnight.
"Write to him already," Millicent urged her, yawning. "It's only eleven thirty at night... I'm sure he's waiting up. Oi, I just thought of something, you haven't promised to tell me which Gryffie it is yet..."
"He's not going to be in Gryffindor," Pansy said stubbornly.
"A Ravenclaw would of worked out that your in Slytherin," Millicent pointed out. "So face it, it's most likely to be Gryffindor, since you already wormed out Hufflepuff and Slytherin..."
"It's Ravenclaw," Pansy repeated.
"Your just saying that because he'll hate you if he's in Gryffindor," Millicent said, looking up at her with a grin."You've been possitive that it's a Gryffindor since the begining," Pansy said, glaring at her. "I mean... it's almost as if you -know- who it is, except that you don't because he's in Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor."
Millicent only smiled.
"So... are you going to write to him?" she asked, sitting on the end of her bed.
"No," Pansy shook her head, her dark locks whipping her face. "I don't know what to say... he didn't ask if I loved him, he asked if I were -in love- with him..."
"And the difference is...?" Millicent blinked confusidly.
"I love you, Millicent, and you don't see me going all giggly everytime I think about you," Pansy pointed out. "Because I love you -as- -a- -friend-... being in love... it's the real thing. And I don't really know what that feels like..."
"So then your doing the right thing by not answering," Millicent smiled, and laid down. Pansy laid down beside her, and they both looked up at the ceiling. "So... what are you going to wear tomorrow?"
"I dunno," Pansy sighed. "I was thinking about wearing his heart on my sleave..."
"What!?" Millicent panicked slightly, and in her scramble to look at Pansy questionably, fell off the bed.
"I mean a red heart... you know how he always puts a red heart on his letters?"
"Oh..." Millicent clued in, and took a deep breathe. Then she went and opened Pansy's trunk. She started to rummage through it, throwing the odd thing across the room.
"What are you doing?" Pansy asked, sitting up again to look at her.
"Remember those necklaces that you bought for your and Draco?" Millicent reminded her. "Each one had a heart and a half, and when put together said 'I LOVE YOU'?"
"Yeah, I remember," Pansy nodded. "He gave his back to me when he broke up... why?"
"You have to admit, it's the perfect thing to do," Millicent said, finding the two necklaces and standing up. "Because it a), tarnishes Draco's name, and b) gives 'Knight' a token of your love, whether you love him or are in love with him... good idea?"
"Only slightly," Pansy muttered; she took the necklaces, and spread them out on her pillow. "I don't like the idea that Draco and I had the -exact- same ones..."
"So... we're changing them?" Millicent asked, sitting next to her. Pansy nodded. Five different transifuration spells later, and the necklaces where unrecogniseable. One was a single red heart, with a keyhole in the middle, and the other was a silver heart, with a small silver key dangling next to it on the chain.
"Perfect," Pansy smiled. She looked at the clock. "Oh no... it's already eleven..."
"Come on, lets hurry," said Millicent, standing up and dragging Pansy up with her. "Just send him the necklace, nothing else, okay?" Pansy nodded, and they set off.
Ron sat, wide awake in the common room. He refused to go to sleep, and just kept looking at the flames.
"Come on Ron!" Ginny argued, trying to tug him out of his seat. "You need to go to sleep... you've got a -date- tomorrow..."
"She sends me a letter every Friday," Ron said sadly. "I mean... what if it comes, and I'm not here to get it, so the owl takes it back and she thinks that I don't want to meet her anymore?"
"Your just being parinoid," Ginny sighed; she checked her watch. "Look, it's already quarter to tw-"
Tap, tap, tap.
Ron jumped up, and looked at all of the windows. Sure enough, there was the owl that came every friday with her letter, tapping on the window. He ran over to it, and threw open the windows, letting her in. The owl flew over and settled down on the chair that Ron was in before, and Ginny took the small package from it's talons.
"It's not addressed to anyone," Ginny muttered. "I mean... it could be for -anyone-... anyone at all..."
"Its from her, I know it," Ron said excitedly, and snatched the envelope from her. He tore it open, and slithered out a necklace... "What the..."
"Awe, how cute!" Ginny said, looking over his arm. "Well, if it really was from her, then I guess your supposed to wear it tomorrow... ooo... it even has a little key! How adorable!"
"Yeah, but where's the lock?" Ron asked miserably. He sat back down heavily, causing the owl to jump up. She hooted at him, and flew back out the still open window.
"She must have it," Ginny said reassuringly. "Come one... bed time now, okay?"
"Fine..." Ron sighed, but stood up. He hugged Ginny minutely, and trugged upstairs to his dorm. Ginny watched him go.
"I just hope the plan isn't ruined..."
"Stop fussing!"
"I can't help it, I'm nervous."
"Well, your going to have to help it... it's only nine o'clock!"
"But what if I'm not what he expects? What if-"
"What if nothing; your gorgeous, just remember that, okay?"
Pansy and Millicent sat in the Three Broomsticks, Pansy nervously fiddling with her necklace as she sipped at her butterbeer. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, with whisps down by her ears, framing her face, and just a touch of purple lip gloss on her lips.
"Oh my god," Millicent said suddenly. "I... I think I see him!"
"What!" Pansy almost spilled her butterbeer onto her pristine white blouse, and tried to turn around. "Where?"
"Don't look!" Millicent hissed, and Pansy calmed herself. Millicent continued to look over her shoulder. "Seriously... he's hot, oh, those people all around him are laughing, so he must be funny... and look, theres a silver chain on his neck! I can't believe we never considered him..."
Not being able to take it, Pansy turned, looking around. In the general direction that Millicent was looking, there was only one person with a silver chain on his neck. Draco Malfoy.
"Millicent, your insufferably," Pansy huffed, turning back to her friend, who just laughed.
"Your so edgy!" Millicent said between laughs. "Loosen up!"
Pansy rolled her eyes, and stood up. She pulled on her white, fur lined cloak, and smoothed out her black skirt.
"I'm going for a walk..." Pansy said sweetly. "I'll tell you how it goes, okay?" Millicent nodded, and Pansy left. As she walked down the snow filled streets, she pulled white ear muffs over her ears and white gloves onto her hands. At last, pulling her hood over her face, she deemed herself alright. She just hoped that 'Knight' would think so too...
She soon found herself at the shrieking shack, and sat down on the snowy ground. She waited, bitting her lip. She tried to finds things to occupy her time, but nothing came to her... it was all just... useless.
She found herself tracing over the boards on the shrieking shack with her eyes, and then counting them. She counted them again, before looking at some of the trees around her.
She still fiddled with her necklace.
Looking at the shack again, she tried to imagine what it used to be used for... surely it used to be grand, and had many lovely parties. She could easily imagine herself in an elegant ballgown, dancing with her knight... her handsome knight, who would-
"Angel?" her daydream stopped abruptly. "Is... is that you?"
Pansy closed her eyes, and took deep, calming breathes. She stood up, and looking at the ground, turned. Starting at his feet, she looked him over... old boots underneath dark jeans, held up by a worn belt. A thick, warm jacket over top of a maroon jumper, and a smile... a heart warming, care free smile that she had seen once before.
It was Ronald Weasley.
His Angel stood there before him, the hood to her white cloak up, hiding her face. He smiled at her, his heart beating wildly against his chest. As he looked her over, he couldn't help but chuckle as he fiddled with his necklace.
They should of named themselves 'Beauty and the Beast', or maybe the 'Princess and the Peddler', for her magnificent look made his hand-me-downs look like rags... which they were, but they served their perpose.
"Are you going to take your hood down?" he asked softly. She just stood there, seemingly looking at him.
"Its..." she muttered. "It's you..."
"Yeah, unbelieveable, huh?" he smiled all the more. "Don't get me wrong, I meant everything in my letters, but I had a lot of help from Hermione and my sister with writing them, so they're probably much more romantic then I am."
"Yes... yes, truly remarkable," she nodded minutely.
"So... am I going to be left in the dark forever, or are you going to reveal to me who you are?" Ron asked, chuckling slightly; she was nervous!
"I... I..." she seemed to panic, looking around. Her hood slipped slightly, and she brought a gloved had to put it back into place. "I... can't-"
"This way!" a familiar drawl cackled at the same time. "The stupid weasel is down here... ha, won't he be in for a surprise!"
"Someone's coming," Ron interrupted her. "Come on, I don't really want Malfoy making fun of you because of me..."
"I can deal with Draco," she said, surprising him. He looked at her strangly.
"Did you say Dr-" She raised a hand to silence him, and moved forwards.
"Your going to hate me what you figure out who I am," she said, almost sadly. "Makes me think that we should of just stuck to letters... but for now, lets at least get rid of him." Before Ron had time to let her words sink in, she had pulled him down for a kiss. He had barely enough time to respond when a short scream of surprise broke them apart.
Ron was equally surprised when he saw that her hood had fallen... and that it was Pansy Parkinson who had just kissed him.
"Pansy?" Draco said slowly. "What... what are you doing here?"
"I choose not to answer that," Pansy said calmly. "After all, anyone who cheats on his girlfriend, no matter how much of a whore she is, is just an asshole, and I don't waste my time on assholes... and once again, your contaminating my air, 'Drakie-poo', so leave before I choke and die."
"I hate you too, Parkinson," Draco said, glaring at her harshly. "But your with a -Weasley-. What are you trying to do, ruin the Slytherin reputaion completely!"
"I could say the same to you," Pansy pulled off one of her gloves, and examined her nails. Ron was just gapping at her. "'Great Cunning', oh yeah, cheating on your girlfriend is -very- cunning, Draco."
"Your still stuck on the same low blown insult, that's how pathetic you are, Parkinson!" Draco barked at her. Then something happened that no one expected, least of all Pansy. Ron put his arms around her waist and pulled her to his chest, resting his chin on her head.
"That's because it's the -only- thing she needs to say about you, Ferret," Ron sneered at him. "Breaking a girls heart should be an arrestable offence; your even scummier then I thought if you've done something like that." It was Malfoy's turn to gape, as he had, seemingly, forgotten he was there. "Come on Pansy..." he muttered, and pulled her along, away from them. They didn't follow.
Once out of their sight, Ron sat down with his back against a tree, and Pansy still in his arms. Pansy looked up at him confusidly, biting her lip again.
"Okay, lets get this straight," he said, and Pansy looked away. He gently forced her to look into his cinnamon eyes, and she was surprised that he wasn't glaring. "I hate Slytherins, I mean, I really hate them, and it'll take me awhile to get used to this... and I'm possitive that you hate Gryffindors, and it'll take you even longer to get used to it because I'm also a Weasley... but I be damned if I gonna let you get away after you so fabulously insulted Ferret Boy." Pansy smiled at him.
"And if I say that your not worth my time?" Pansy asked. He didn't grace her with an answer, and instead, pulled her into another kiss. This one lasted what felt like forever and a day, and when they finally pulled away from each other, Pansy's lip gloss was smudged over both of their lips, and their hair was botched up. Pansy took a few moments to regain her breathe, and looked over him very carefully. "Ten."
"What?" Ron gave her a confused look, and brushed a stray hair behind her ear.
"I rate you ten," Pansy giggled. He still looked confused. "Forget about it... come on, I'm going to freeze out here."
"I'm just going to war-"
"Don't even think about it mister," Pansy glared at him, and stood up. She started to smooth out her skirt and brush snow off of her cloak when she was pulled into another hug. "Didn't I just tell you not to think of it?"
"If I remember correctly, then yes," Ron agreed. "But lets face it, don't you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't take that seriously?"
"No, I don't," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "But I guess I'm going to have to learn, aren't I?"
"Yep."
"Don't expect me to get along with your friends though..."
"Of course not dear... and you'll find it completely normal if I bad mouth yours."
"Of course."
"Think they're getting along alright?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are... she rated him nine after all."
"What do you mean, she rated him nine?"
"Hotness scale of one to ten.""Oh... so -thats- why she was staring at him during the practice..."
"That's why she turned up to the practice."
"Oh, that's so funny... and he thought she was staring at Harry!"
"Oh, she was; she rated him too."
"She did -what-?""Don't freak out... it's perfectly normal. Besides, I wouldn't let her insult anyone until she had rated you two."
"Well...?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to tell us what she rated him?"
"Seven."
"And seven's pretty good, right?"
"Depends on who your thinking... our lil Pansy hasn't dated a seven since Draco dumped her."
"Well, that's a relief..."
"How did -my brother- get a nine, and he only got a seven?"
"Yeah, how did Ron get a nine and Harry only got a seven?"
"I think it has something to do with smiles... she has this big thing with smiles that she judges people with."
A door banged, and into the Three Broomsticks walked a brunette girl, her nose held high in the air. Half a minute later, the door banged again, and Malfoy walked in, nursing his cheek, which had a bright red hand print on it.
The table in the corner laughed, and they all raised their mugs, clunging them together. Millicent eyed all the people around her. Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, and Neville Longbottom, who was blushing every time he looked at Hermione.
"You know," Millicent said, sipping at her butterbeer. "You Gryffindors aren't so bad..."
"Of course weren't not," Ginny said, smiling.
"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "But seriously... who would of thought that we would be put to speaking terms why an 'evil plan' thought up in the dead of night?"
They all laughed, and once again, Neville blushed.
Owari