AN: Characters are not mine, as I'm sure you know.
"And just how are we supposed to know we can trust you? You might be a Death Eater spy!"
Pansy Parkinson pulled the sleeves of her robe up to display her forearms.
"I don't have the Dark Mark, as you can see. Do you think I'd be risking my life running away from my family if this wasn't what I wanted?"
"That's what you say! We don't know that!"
"Both of you shut up!" Hermione sounded tired. "Ron, you're in no fit state to judge anyone's suitability – you need to calm down. Pansy, come in and we'll talk."
Heaving a heavy bag to her shoulder, Pansy followed Hermione into 12 Grimmauld Place. The portrait had been woken up by the shouting match, and was currently screaming insults at Hermione. When Pansy walked in, however, she stopped.
"Now then, you're a pureblood. But which family?" Her eyes raked over Pansy's dark hair, pug nose and slender frame.
"I'm Pansy Parkinson, ma'am."
"It's nice to see some manners again. I can tell you've been properly brought up, unlike the riff-raff here."
Apparently calm once more, the curtain closed over the portrait.
"If you can do that, you're welcome to stay! How on earth did you know what to do?"
"Most wizarding families have an awkward portrait of a relative somewhere in the house. It's a case of being pureblood and polite – it calms them down." She smiled apologetically, and shrugged. "That's one of the Blacks, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then she'd automatically hate mud… sorry, muggleborns, half-bloods and blood traitors. She won't have realised yet that I'm betraying my family."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you some questions about that."
"Don't worry, it's fine. I expect you want me to drink Veritaserum as well?"
Seeing the other girl's nod, Pansy dropped her bag on the floor.
"Well, let's get on with it then."
Downing the drink containing the Veritaserum in one gulp, Pansy prepared herself for the questioning, which was bound to be unpleasant.
"What is your name?"
This one was easy. "Pansy Parkinson."
"Which house were you in at Hogwarts?"
Another introductory question to ensure the potion was working. "Slytherin."
"Did you run away from home in order to come here?"
"Yes."
"How did you find us?"
"My father has been trying to find the location of the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for several years now. He let it slip one evening, and I heard."
"Did he pass the information on to Voldemort?"
"I obliviated him before he could do so."
"Why do you wish to join the Order of the Phoenix?"
"In order to escape the life planned out for me by my family, and to prove I am not a worthless girl, as they so often told me."
"Are you, or have you ever been, a follower of Voldemort?"
"No."
The fifteen minutes were up, and the two girls sat quietly for a while. Eventually, Hermione spoke.
"What did your family have planned for you?"
Pansy laughed, but it was hollow.
"Marry a rich pureblood, be a trophy wife, pop out a couple of kids, generally do what I'm told."
"I'd hate that."
"That's why I left – I don't like it any more than you do."
"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Pansy."
She smiled, and this time it was real.
"Thank you."
"Let's find you a room."
They walked upstairs, and Hermione indicated one of the bedrooms. Pansy dragged her belongings through the door, and began to unpack. The room wasn't large, but it was light and airy, and made a change from the Slytherin colours she was usually surrounded with. Despite the Weasley boy (what was his name again? Maybe Hermione could tell her) being somewhat hostile, she felt safe here. It didn't take long to unpack, as she hadn't brought much. Most of the weight was made up with books that she couldn't bear to leave behind, and a few clothes.
"Dinner!" Someone downstairs was shouting, and Pansy's stomach grumbled in response. Hurrying down to the kitchen, she was astonished to find so many people crowded round the table. When she walked in, they all looked up and stared at her. Although she couldn't hear the whispers circulating, she knew the kinds of comments they'd be making. Even Mrs Weasley, who she'd heard was welcoming to everyone, looked at her suspiciously. Hermione gestured to a chair, which Pansy gratefully sat in. She'd never felt so uncomfortable before. When Professor Snape walked in, raised one eyebrow and greeted her with a curt "Good evening, Miss Parkinson", she could have hugged him. He was the only one, apart from Hermione, who was acting even vaguely normal. Eventually, Pansy had had enough of the furtive glances and whispering. She stood up.
"Now listen, all of you, because I'm only going to say this once. I'm here because I want to be, not because Voldemort sent me to spy. Hermione Granger interviewed me under Veritaserum, and was happy enough with my answers to admit me to the Order of the Phoenix. If this is how you treat your allies, then it's no wonder this war has dragged on for so long. You're far more powerful than the Death Eaters, but you don't seem to have done anything with that power. You should have won by now!"
There was stunned silence for an entire minute. Pansy stood there, glaring defiantly at the entire Order of the Phoenix. The first to react was Mrs Weasley, who enveloped the Slytherin girl in a hug, and welcomed her warmly.
"Pansy, is it? Call me Molly, please. And do sit down and have some dinner."
Pansy did so, after hugging the older woman back. That was the Molly Weasley she'd heard about. The whispers had stopped, for now, but not the glares. Never mind, it was a start.
The next confrontation came when it was time for a meeting of the Order. Pansy saw no reason not to attend – Hermione had told her she was now a member, but some people had other ideas. She couldn't tell the Weasley twins apart, and she didn't know the names of the others, but they formed a barrier in the doorway, stopping her from entering. No matter how much she argued, they weren't moving. Until Harry Potter appeared.
"You going to let her in? Hermione interrogated her, and said she was a member."
Reluctantly, they moved out of the way.
"Thanks. But why did you help me?"
"Hermione trusts you. And I trust her. Besides, they were in my way too."
So he didn't trust her. Not yet. But that was better than outright hatred.
…………………
At the end of the meeting, Pansy remained in her chair, feeling rather shellshocked. (Or, at least, she would if she knew what the word meant.) Of all the tasks the Order could have given her, it had to be this one. Still, she wouldn't be alone, because Harry Potter had insisted it was his right to be involved. He didn't have to mention the fact that she was a Slytherin; everyone was already thinking it. She didn't blame them really, after all, she wouldn't trust a Slytherin, and she was one!
She and Potter had to infiltrate a group of Death Eaters, their own classmates as it happened, find out whatever information they could, and then destroy them. There were only five members of the "junior Death Eater" group they were aiming for, but it was dangerous. The main problem was finding suitable disguises – their targets were Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass, and every single one of them knew her. As for Harry, who didn't recognise him?
………………….
Pansy pondered the disguises for a week, before asking Hermione for help. After all, she might know some muggle methods that magic wouldn't be able to detect.
"Ever heard of hair dye?"
"No, what's that?" Pansy clutched at her short, dark hair – she didn't want to lose it, and that sounded scary.
"It's to change the colour, that's all."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Pansy lowered her hands.
"You'll need a replica Dark Mark… hmm. I'll think about that one. And perhaps some coloured contact lenses to change your eye colour."
I'm not going to ask about those, Granger. Just tell me that he has to do all of this as well."
Hermione laughed. "Of course he does."
It took a great deal of persuasion to get both Harry and Pansy to a muggle hair salon. Harry wasn't keen on changing his hair colour, and Pansy didn't trust the muggles to do it properly. However, they eventually made it. Hermione explained to the stylist what to do, as she was the one who had made the final choice.
Three hours later, Pansy's hair was golden blonde, and chopped even shorter, while Harry's was a chestnut colour. Hermione had spent the entire time drawing on a scrap of paper she found, and now had an image resembling the Dark Mark.
"Have a look at this, Pansy." She passed it to the Slytherin girl, who shuddered.
"I hate the thought of having that on my arm. Make sure it's something that we can get off afterwards."
"You'll have it for about a week, then it'll wash off."
"How are you going to do that?"
"Temporary tattoos."
"What's a… No, that's fine."
……………….
The next morning, they were ready. All they needed was the location, and Professor Snape was going to tell them that when he arrived. They even had the hooded robes that all Death Eaters wore.
"Potter, if you don't hide that goddamned scar of yours, then you might as well not go in disguise at all!"
Harry blushed. He'd completely forgotten his scar, and so had everyone else, it seemed. At least Snape had spotted it before they left. He looked round to see if anyone had any ideas. Pansy was rummaging in a drawer, pulled out a small tub, and dabbed the contents on his forehead. It hissed and stung, but when he looked in the mirror, his scar was nowhere to be seen.
"What was that stuff?"
She passed it to him, and he read the label.
"Magical concealer. Well, it works."
Finally ready, Snape told them where to apparate.
"Now, remember your cover story. You're twins from Australia, if anybody asks. And whatever you do, don't give them a name."
They nodded, then apparated away.
…………………
They reappeared in a forest near Hogsmeade, and immediately knew where to go by listening to the Death Eaters' voices. It looked as though the group had captured some muggles to play with. It was a sickening sight that reminded Harry of the Quidditch World Cup. These three muggles were no older than sixteen, all female, and hanging upside down in the air. Pansy had to stop him from rushing in and saving them.
"You're being a Death Eater now – don't do anything to help yet. Follow me."
Pansy strolled casually up to the group, displaying her Dark Mark. Harry followed, doing the same. No questions were asked at that point.
After a while, they grew tired of playing with the muggles, and tied them to a tree before sitting down in a circle. Harry and Pansy found it disappointing that very little was said about Voldemort, though they were relieved by the group's lack of interest in them. The one thing they did hear was that Lucius Malfoy was determined to kill his wife and son for not supporting him and the Death Eaters.
While Pansy and Harry whispered to each other, the five Death Eaters drew their wands and surrounded them.
"Spies!"
"Did you think we hadn't realised?"
They seemed to be targeting Harry. Pansy took advantage of this, and punched Millicent hard on the nose. This gave her enough time to stand up and pull out her wand, before disarming and stunning the girl. Turning her attention back to the others, she saw Blaise about to curse Harry.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" She'd never put so much anger behind a spell before, and the results were immediate. Blaise dropped down dead, and the other three, not having experienced the loss of an ally before, weren't sure what to do. This meant that Harry and Pansy had plenty of time to cast the killing curse on them all.
Afterwards, they sat in the clearing for a while, trying not to think about what they'd just done. Even though they were Death Eaters, it still felt so wrong. Especially because they'd known each other from school.
"Pansy?" She looked up, surprised. Hardly anyone called her by her first name any more. "Thank you."
"I could hardly go back without you, could I? They'd all think I'd done it."
"What are we going to do about…" he waved one hand in the direction of the bodies, "those?"
"What do the Order normally do?"
"Um, this is the first time we've actually killed people."
"I see."
The shouts from the three muggles caught their attention, and they quickly untied the ropes. Without even stopping to say thank you, they ran off.
"We'd better get back to headquarters. Maybe they'll do something about… you know."
When they arrived back, Snape was waiting to hear their report.
"All five are dead, but we didn't find out much. Just that Lucius Malfoy is looking for Narcissa and Draco. Thinks they've betrayed him."
"I see."
There was an uncomfortable pause. Harry looked around, but there was no sign of the Weasleys.
"Your friends have gone back home, along with Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood. They left you a message."
Snape handed him a roll of parchment. Unrolling it, he found a note from Hermione.
"Harry,
We've all gone to the Burrow for a few days. Mrs Weasley says you're welcome to join us when you get back.
Love Hermione."
Pansy read the note over his shoulder.
"Is she your girlfriend, then?"
"Who, Hermione? No. I don't have one."
She seemed to look relieved at that statement, or maybe it was just his imagination.
"Get changed, and then we'll go to the Burrow."
"They only invited you." She resisted the urge to take a step back – Harry was really very close now. How had he managed that? Tilting her head upwards, he pressed a kiss to her mouth.
"I know this is hardly a suitable time to be asking, but will you be my girlfriend, Pansy?"
She nodded, breathless and unable to speak.
"Better get out of that disguise – you're definitely coming with me."
It didn't take long for them to get ready. They travelled to the Burrow by floo, and Mrs Weasley welcomed them both. However, the reaction from most of the other Weasleys wasn't so favourable.
"Shut up!" Mrs Weasley managed to be heard over them all. "Now, Harry, Pansy, Hermione and Luna, could you excuse us for a few minutes."
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, gulped, and all four of them dashed into the relative safety of the kitchen. Molly was scary when she was angry.
"Pansy Parkinson is a guest in this house, and you will all be polite! I don't care what you think – I will not have you insulting anybody under this roof, do I make myself clear?"
"But mum, she's a…"
"Ronald, I have heard enough! You will go to your room and stay there, you hear me? Go!"
Ron trudged slowly up the stairs. Hermione sighed.
"Guess I better go talk to him."
"I'll go, if you want."
"Thanks, Luna." Hermione didn't mind admitting that she really didn't want to listen to Ron right now.
Thanks to Mrs Weasley's outburst, dinner was a subdued affair.
"Will the two of you be staying here with us?"
"If that's ok, Mr Weasley. We'd only have Snape for company if we went back to Grimmauld Place."
"OK, Harry, you're with Ron, as usual. Pansy, I'm afraid you'll have to share with Ginny and Hermione."
"That will be fine, Mrs Weasley."
…………………
"How was it, Pansy?"
"It wasn't pleasant, if that's what you're asking, and we didn't get much information. I don't really want to talk about it."
"OK."
…………………
Much to Ron's disgust, Harry and Pansy grew closer as a result of their Order mission. He still found it difficult to accept a Slytherin as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, although everyone else did, over time.
AN: If you've managed to get through this monster of a one-shot, then leave a review!