Children.
Pansy opened the door, her long, dark curly mass of hair falling in a flop over her face. She darted around the cramped flat with her eyes, dropping her small pink handbag on the wooden floor before walking into the kitchen.
She messily arranged her dripping wet hair into a ponytail, shedding her warm purple overcoat and draping it over a chair. The rain pelted the windows and with a shudder she pulled out her wand and quickly pulled all the curtains together. There, that was better.
"Ron?" she called out, walking out into the hallway, quickly pulling her boots off and placing them near the bathroom. She smiled, revealing a set of perfect white teeth, behind a pair of red, plump lips, carefully outlined with lip-liner. Socks covering her feet, red with white hearts, she walked slowly along the floorboards, the small bruise on her ankle a reminder what had happened the last time it had rained. Wet floors and socks didn't go together, she learnt.
"What?" called her husband, his voice hoarse from the remains of the flu he had caught four days ago still lingering around in his lungs.
She took a step towards their bedroom, manicured fingers tapping the cream wall, narrowly missing the edge of the painting. Pansy opened the door, her brown eyes twinkling softly in the darkness.
Her husband was spread out onto of their white sheets, red hair contrasting brightly with the colour. She walked over to the window and pulled its thick, green curtain closed, before settling down next to Ron.
Placing her head on his strong chest, Ron's muscly arms enveloped her immediately. A sigh escaped her mouth, as she listened to his heartbeat thump inside his chest, and the way he made little noises whenever she shifted around.
"What's up?" he asked, blue eyes filled with concern as he glanced down at her rain-soaked form, water dripping from her clothes.
Pansy shook her head, ponytail swishing. "Nothing," she answered, sighing. Shifting on the bed, she turned her head so she could watch the television as well, and try and clue together what was happening in East-Enders.
Ron shook his head, a hand reaching for the remote and switching the blaring television off. He sat up, dragging her along with him. "I know that face," he said, glancing into her eyes. "Something's happened. What, Pans?"
Pansy sniffled, dark eyes blinking to hold back the tears. "I went to see Doctor Edwards today," she explained, grabbing a soft red pillow and holding it close to her shaking chest.
They had been trying for a baby for ages now, Pansy recalled, ever since Ginny had announced that she was pregnant. Ron hadn't wanted to be outshone by his younger sister, so they had gone home and planned. Neither of them had thought that trying would be this hard.
It had been five years, and nothing. No life, not even a false start.
Ron gathered her into his arms. "And?" he prodded, Pansy nestling her head into the crook of his neck, her wet hair dripping water down onto his shirt.
Tears fell down her pale cheeks, black mascara blemishing her soft pale cheeks. "Nothing." she said, sobbing, "Nothing."
Ron smiled sadly, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "It is okay, Pans. It really doesn't matter."
She shook her head, pulling his arms off her. Pansy stood up off of the bed, tugging her shirt down "It does matter Ron," she argued, pacing around the bed. "You want children and I can't provide them. You'd be a great father, but I'm un-fertile." She gave a sad laugh. "Must be my punishment for all the bad deeds I've done huh?"
Ron shook his head, standing up and gathering her sobbing body into his arms. "Oh, Pansy," he whispered into her ear, "Whether you can have kids or not doesn't matter to me anymore. I just want you, Slytherin, pure-blood, beautiful and happy. You are everything to me, and everything I need to make me life complete."
Pansy sobbed, pressing her head into the crook of his neck. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, wetting the collar of his pressed white shirt. She pulled back, wiping at the smudges with her hand. "Sorry," Pansy muttered, wiping her eyes.
Ron looked down and saw the black marks she had left. He laughed, making her smile, although still tearfully. "It's okay."
He caressed her cheeks, wiping her tears away with a calloused finger. "I love you Pansy."
She smiled softly up at him. Ron. There was no doubt in her mind that this man was her soul mate. Why hadn't she seen it earlier? "I love you too, Mr. Weasley."
The rain pelted the window outside, thunder crashing once and a while. Ron looked at her. "How about we stay in tonight Pans?" he asked. "We'll have some of those leftovers Mum left last time she was over. You can have a bath, I run you one now." He smiled at her, their hands entwining in her lap.
Pansy sighed. "What ever did I do to deserve you?" she asked, placing a soft kiss on his cheek and entwining one of her small hands into his soft red hair.
"I dunno." Ron answered, shrugging. "Must have been all those good deeds," he teased, poking out his tongue.
She stuck her out as well, laughing, before taking his hand once more and padding into the kitchen.
As she banged around with the pots and took out the meatloaf that had been left for them, Ron watched her. His Pansy. He didn't care what anyone said, she was the most beautiful and intelligent woman he had ever met. It didn't matter if she could have children or not, not to him anyway. Kids were just a bonus, and Pansy was the full package already.
Pansy took a seat next to him, bringing him out of his thoughts. She smiled softly at him. "I'm going to go change. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
She took off down the hallway, sock-encased feet bouncing softly on the polished wood.
Pansy quickly stripped off her red sweater and jeans. She walked over to the dresser, rummaging through the top drawer until she found a pair of grey sweatpants and a red t-shirt that had once belonged to Ron. She dried her hair with her wand, watching at it fell in warm curls down her back, before going into the bathroom.
Stopping short, she leaned against the doorway, dark eyes welling up with tears. Blinking them back, she took in the open pregnancy test resting on the edge of the cabinet, instructions folded out, just as she had left it this morning. She shook her head softly, hands clutching the top to her needily. What did she do to deserve this?
She quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, dark eyes shining with defiance. If Merlin was going to flaunt her un-fertility at her, she would stand up and take it like a Parkinson. She would not back away, like a coward would, wouldn't start crying every time she saw a pregnant woman in the street, or a newborn baby cooing softly in its mother's arms.
Pansy picked up the packet and softly held it in her open hands. Another set of instructions fell out and softly fluttered to the floor. She sighed, pulling out the test, and placing it in her lap. It couldn't hurt to try, could it? After all nothing was going to come of it. She was sure of that.
Pansy sat down on the edge of the toilet, test in her hands. The soft click of the clock in the hallway filled her ears. Tears fell down her cheeks once more and she opened the lid and filled her mind with patience, and courage, to wait for the answer she already knew.
Minutes passed, minutes where all she could hear was the insults and comments, the sneers; all the women laughing at her as she watched her life pass by with no achievements or results, no children, no heirs.
"Poor dear, unfertile, did you hear? Not that she didn't deserve it!"
"Not worthy to be married to that boy. How upset he must be!"
"It's her fault, not fighting in that war. She brought it on herself."
Pansy shook her head harshly, blinking back tears, her curls falling into her face. The clock ticked. Tears fell. Hands clutched the top to her chest. And then, finally, it was time.
Tears falling, she stood up and pulled her sweat-pants up. She turned to the test; the small white object seemed to glittering in the harsh light. A shaking hand reached out for it, pulling it towards her. Shivering from the breeze, she turned it over.
Positive.
She grinned with joy for few seconds, happy, until her face fell and common sense took over. Surely it wasn't real. Surely it was a joke test, charmed to be positive no matter the witch, left by Fred or George to cheer her up after her latest doctor's visit. She checked the package. Home Pregnancy Test. It was real!
Flinging open the cabinet, she rummaged through it in search of another pregnancy test. Pansy threw the instructions on the floor, before closing her eyes, willing this one to turn out to be positive as well.
After a few minutes listening to Ron's cheerful humming that floated down the hall into the bathroom, she turned it over, blinking as she awaited the answer. Two lines appeared on the strip, and she flipped open the instructions, eyes scanning the page. Two lines, two lines meant….. Positive!
She held the test to her chest as she stood up, dark eyes shining with happiness. Everyone would be so happy for her. Mrs. Weasley would be ecstatic, Ginny would cry, as a result of her newest pregnancy and her now high-strung hormones, Draco would crush her to him and arrange a party, Ron... Ron………
Pansy ran out of the bathroom and into the hall, narrowly avoiding her boots. She clutched the test in her shaking hands. Doctor Edwards had been wrong. It hadn't been her fault, nor her many sins. Everyone had been wrong. She would be a mother; she would have a child, at last. Her only desire in the world had finally happened.
She skidded into the kitchen, meeting the blue eyes of Ron who was stirring the pot sitting on the stove slowly; his humming paused as he glanced at her, a beam lighting up her face. He took a glance at the test in her grasp, mouth silently mouthing the words he couldn't speak.
Pansy Parkinson would be the best mother her child could possibly have. And Ron would be a great father. She just knew it in her heart.
Silently, slowly, Pansy Mirabelle Weasley walked up to her husband, placed a small pale hand on his right forearm and calmly announced that she was pregnant.
And then he swung her around the kitchen, laughing with joy.
AN: In case you're wondering, Mirabellemeans "of wondrous beauty". I thought it suited Pansy.
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