DISCLAIMER. I own nothing besides this particular plot. Characters/Setting/All the actually good stuff is [c] Rowling. We all know that. If it were mine i wouldn't be here.
PLOT. A Pansy/Draco/Hermione love triangle. Hermione is on a mission, to impersonate a student deatheater named "Claire Ller" and get information for the Order of the Phoenix, but when Draco Malfoy falls for her, does she blow her cover to prove a point she's been trying to prove since she met him? To get revenge on "Claire" for stealing her boyfriend, Pansy plots to ruin her life. How long can Hermione/Claire go without cracking under the pressure?
AUTHOR'S NOTES. If this looks at all familiar- it's supposed to. This was formerly 'Fragile Heart'. I've edited it/improved it/altered it slightly, and i'm re-posting it as of right now. I have chapters one through seven typed up, and obviously this one has been edited already, as it is up here. R&R's are the equivalent of love, and so is constructive criticism. If you've got any questions/suggestions, feel free to email me at .
Chapter One- "Oh please, call me Daisy.."
P.,
I hope that bloody owl brings this to you in time, he'll be lynched otherwise..
Whatever. Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't seen you all this week- father had some important business to tend to, and we had to leave for Paris immediately. I'm sending you this, hoping it will get to you before I see you on the train. I managed to get out a bit while all this last-minute planning was going on. As soon as I laid eyes on it, I thought of you.
With all my love,
D.
With a squeal of delight, Pansy Parkinson tossed Draco's note on the floor and ushered his owl out the window, not at all considering writing a thank you note or some sort of response. She hardly noticed his owl's disgruntled expression as she stuck her arm out to it, it leapt, and she all but flung it away. She watched it as it flew into the night, until its pitch-black bodice blended into the sky. Clutched tightly in her right hand was a palm-sized package, wrapped in silver paper, topped off with a sparkling emerald bow. Pansy held it next to her ear and shook it violently, but to her dismay, it made no noise. Her bedroom was deafeningly silent; The tick-tock of the clock in the hallway was to no avail, but she did her best to ignore it, despite it's rhythmic, pulsating beats. She ran a pallid hand through her hair as she ripped the paper off of her gift and carelessly allowed it to clutter the floor. A black velvet box now sat in her palm. Carefully, she flipped open the box, revealing a silver ring, the front of it sporting two intertwining serpent heads. Pansy sat, astonished, and slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, and the emerald eyes of the serpents glinted up at her mischievously, reflecting light from a candle on her bedside.
"Oh!"
She turned to face a photo on her nightstand, a framed picture of her and Draco on the last day of school of their fourth year. They looked so…happy. Pansy almost couldn't think of the right word to describe the picture- Draco's arm wrapped loosely around her shoulder, Pansy smirking wildly at whomever volunteered to take their picture. But- this had been the first time she had noticed this, as a matter of fact- he appeared…distracted, the picture-Draco's eyes shifting to the left every few minutes, glancing at something beyond the photo frame that the real-Pansy couldn't see. At this realization, the raven haired Slytherin couldn't help but scowl, but it faded almost instantly as picture-Draco looked back through the frame at her, his newly acquired smirk matching picture-Pansy's perfectly. And then everything was fine- the picture-Pansy winked at her, and the real Pansy winked back. Grinning, she stood, poking her head out her bedroom door and into the hallway. She eyed the tick-ticking clock at the far end of the hallway and sighed-it was but only seven o'clock in the evening. Despite this, she was exhausted, all too willing to venture off to bed. Although, one thing was stopping her: the absence of her mother. Admittedly, she knew precisely where she was: out mingling with her death eater friends, the other wives and families associated with the Dark Lord, although not worthy of meeting him quite as often as Draco and his father were.
"Stupid, disgusting people-" the words escaped her lips before she could stop them, and she flung the box to the floor.
After turning down the offer of handing herself over to the Dark Lord, as Draco was decidedly about to do; after declining his personal request to join him and his mask wearing, branded goons; after basically ignoring her mothers many, frequent lectures about her being 'a bloody pain in the arse' about such a simple decision; she became a bit of a…trouble child to the two-person Parkinson family. In reality- she was scared. She had lost her father in this mess, as much as she was vehemently unwilling to talk about it, and she wasn't ready to suffer the same fate- she wasn't ready to watch Draco suffer the same fate. Pansy imagined, for a moment, herself with Draco Malfoy a mere five years from now- in love, married, even with a child or two on the way. It was precisely how her mother had been, until her father, closely associated with Voldemort, was slaughtered. Shuddering, she wiped the image of Draco, dead, from her mind, her eyes now glancing out the window out of which the massive black gift-carrier had been thrown. Admittedly, she wasn't ready for much of anything- or was it that she wasn't sure? There was a great difference- but that wasn't it, she concluded, fingering the little snakes glinting up at her, eyes still gazing into the night sky. She knew where she was placing her loyalty, and it certainly wasn't with any sort of goody-goody Gryffindor, that was for sure. As if she needed the reassurance, Pansy nodded to herself several times. She knew what she wanted- she wanted Draco, alive, by her side. And if Lord Voldemort was going to put that vision in danger, she wasn't about to comply to his desires willingly.
She remembered the first time she had been asked, one smoldering summer afternoon after their third year, to allow the dark mark to grace her arm and devote herself to the Dark Lord. She, along with her mother and several other esteemed pure-blooded families, had been invited to the Malfoy Manor for a sort of get-together that occurred once every couple of months. Pansy remembered vividly- Lucius Malfoy pulling the eldest children (Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne, Millicent, Blaise, Marcus, etc.) off to the side and discussing such business with them. The boys' expressions- Crabbe and Goyle especially, not thinking much of the complications, the life-altering decisions- were that of pure delight. They were finally going to be allowed a seat at the adult table. And the other girls', to Pansy's dismay, were hesitant but still willing- at such a young age, Lucius Malfoy towering over them was a threatening sight. But, she had noticed that day, Draco's expression was mixed, mostly as if he wasn't concerned, as if he was just listening. Once the others had flitted away from the Malfoy father and son, Lucius turned to Pansy, his expression softening- he must have noticed her anxiety, her confusion.
"And you, miss Parkinson," the man cooed, patting her on the head, "you'll be fine, now won't-"
"I-I don't think I'm ready." She had muttered, suddenly finding her black shoes quite interesting. "I don't think I'm ready at all."
Because of this, she hadn't seen Lucius' sneer- it had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, and he regained his composure.
"Very well, Pansy," he replied curtly, glancing at Draco apprehensively, "You'll be ready eventually. Do take your time. And when you are you'll come to me right away. Perhaps you'll be ready next summer."
A cold, chilling hand had clasped her elbow as Lucius dragged her and Draco from the hallway and back into the crowd; Lucius himself merged into the crowd, his expression again cool, calm, and collected. From her stance next to Draco, Pansy glowered in the elder Malfoy's direction. She turned to Draco, only to find him staring at her questioningly.
"And what're your plans, then, Draco?" she cooed, reaching out for his arm, "Are you going to go willingly? It's a lot to consider."
Draco's expression hardened, although he did allow Pansy to cling to him desperately- he liked that in a girl. He liked the feeling that he was needed.
"My father's got his own plans for me, Parkinson."
That very same day, she had discovered that she was promptly disowned by her mothers parents, sisters, and whoever else was too afraid to speak up, until she complied.
So basically, she was a nobody. Invisible in her mothers eyes. The only person who embraced her for who she was, for the fact that she wanted to live her life the way she wanted it, not the way the Dark Lord wanted it, was Draco Malfoy, along with her other friends at Hogwarts. If you could call them friends, that is. Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, and many others had begun befriending Pansy as soon as the word of her and Draco's relationship got around. She was a…celebrity of sorts. And undeniably, she loved it.
She loved the stares, the whispers as they passed, the…infamy, really. It was far better than the treatment she had gotten her first and second year. Part of her- that small, gullible part of her conscience- figured maybe it was because she was young, insecure, and vaguely confused. But in reality? She was still confused- the incident last summer at the Malfoy Manor had proved that, like a smack to the face. The only thing that had changed, really, was the fact that now she'd had Malfoy to snog, to boast about. Until that had happened, none of the other Slytherins took a liking to her; she was always in the background. And now? She was in the forefront of everything worthy of discussion, if only because of that blond haired boy whose ring she was wearing on her finger.
But, she supposed, as long as they were her friends now, as long as Draco Malfoy was still around, arm available for her own occupation, everything would be alright. Sighing, rose from her spot and shut the door all the way, locking it manually. She was still eyeing the ring two hours later, as she lay on her bed. Pansy yawned and rolled onto her side. The Slytherin had been silent the whole time, other than the usual sighing and yawning.
Moments later, a loud 'crack' penetrated the air, and the sound of hysterical, high-pitched laughter floated up the stairs and through her walls. A second person apparated into the room, and Pansy stood, her feet silent as she padded over to the door, face twisted into a mixed look of confusion and interest. She fumbled with the lock, but eventually creaked the door open, only enough to turn her head sideways and press her ear against the crack.
"Oh, Delagus, maybe we could do this at another time, after she's in school.." Daisy Parkinson's voice was slurred quite a bit; She had obviously had one too many drinks, wherever she had ventured off to.
"But of course, Ms Parkinson,.." Delagus' words also gave away the amount of alcohol consumed that evening.
"Oh, please call me Daisy."
"Alright- until next time, Daisy."
The proceeding crack signified his leave, and the teens hands shook with rage as she heard her mother half-stumble up the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut.
All was stiflingly silent yet again, as if she had never come home at all. Pansy was relieved of this, and made her way back into bed, snuggling under the blanket that covered her. Once again, her eyes settled on her bedside photo. A smile graced her features as she watched her and Draco's movement, his kiss to her cheek, her hands running through his platinum blond hair. That was all she needed for her to forget her mother, to forget Delagus, to put her in a happy place.
"He's the only one.." Pansy muttered. Her eyes slowly closed, and within moments, her breathing became steady.
AUTHOR'S NOTE. Chapter two, Boys Will Be Boys, will be up later today. Read&Review, por favor!
A Pansy/Draco/Hermione love triangle. Hermione is on a mission, to impersonate a student deatheater named "Claire Ller" and get information for the Order of the Phoenix, but when Draco Malfoy falls for her, does she blow her cover to prove a point she's been trying to prove since she met him? To get revenge on "Claire" for stealing her boyfriend, Pansy plots to ruin her life. How long can Hermione/Claire go without cracking under the pressure?
