A/N Just a little oneshot I wrote today about Pansy and Draco's life together post-Hogwarts. Inspired by the song Foundations by Kate Nash (lyrics in the story). Takes place four years after The Battle of Hogwarts. Rated T for language.
Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter or the song Foundations.
Pansy often found herself on weeknights sitting in the confines of the Leaky Cauldron, with Draco at her side while he held court with the various Ministry employees they worked alongside in the Auror Department. Unfortunately, this "quick drink" they often indulged in after work hours often resulted in the pair of them drinking much more than they intended and arguing. Draco drank because it was sociable, apparently, while Pansy swallowed glass after glass of mead to alleviate the boredom she suffered listening to Draco's anecdotes. It was imperative Draco had told her sternly, that they forge as many friendships and reliable contacts within the Ministry as possible.
The thing was Draco often drank at home too. Never enough to get completely bladdered of course because that wouldn't do at all but enough for him to grow short tempered and sometimes, miserable.
Pansy and Draco strode hand in hand into the Leaky Cauldron one chilly autumn evening and joined their colleagues at the usual table they occupied and greeted them warmly. Draco departed to get drinks.
"Heard about the latest?" said a slim, shiny haired witch to Pansy's right as Draco ordered a Firewhisky for himself and Pansy's usual glass of mead at the bar "about the talking hippos they had in Experimental Charms?"
"No" said Pansy wearily. She was tired, her feet ached in their smart high heels and she wanted to go home to sleep. Draco had struck up a conversation at the bar with a wizard Pansy recognised from the Improper Use of Magic Office.
"Well, two of them broke out of the department" the woman continued "barged straight into Kingsley Shacklebolt's office and started wittering on about a load of nonsense. Of course, talking hippos or not, they're still hippos and our Minister of Magic was not pleased when he found his office torn apart and full of hippo dung. There's going to be a few awkward questions the people in Experimental Charms will have to answer" the woman concluded.
"There's been a few incidents like that" said Pansy, deciding to allow herself to be drawn into the conversation while Draco sucked up to the Ministry official "I remember one time a year or so ago, there was a lot of trouble in Experimental Charms when they were trying to replicate the effects of Dumbledore's old deluminator... half the Ministry ended up with no lights for at least a week until they had sorted it"
"I remember that" piped up a rangy looking wizard from across the table "I was working by wandlight and hardly able to get anything done"
Pansy had just started on another story detailing the many ineptitudes of the Experimental Charms Department when Draco reappeared at the table with their drinks.
"Thank you, darling" said Pansy quickly and distractedly and carried on her conversation. Draco was watching Pansy with a look of mild indignation. Pansy smirked to herself, knowing it was irritating Draco to watch her take on the role he usually adopted during these after work drinks.
Thursday night,
Everything's fine,
Except you've got that look in your eye
When I'm tellin' a story and you find it boring you're thinking of something to say.
"Come on now, Pansy" interrupted Draco "our colleagues don't want to hear you expounding on the trivialities that occur in Experimental Charms...it's tiresome." Draco turned to Pansy's audience "did you hear Mundungus Fletcher has been seen skulking around Diagon Alley? It's a job for the Magical Law Enforcement Squad really, but Potter asked me to –"
"Do you mind not interrupting me, darling?" said Pansy with as much forced courtesy as she could muster. She felt belittled and humiliated by Draco's patronisation.
You'll go along with it and then drop it
And you humiliate me in front of our friends
"But speaking of Experimental Charms, it just so happens –"
"Why don't you go and get yourself another drink, Draco?" Pansy cut across him "it's not like you for that glass to be empty for so long, hmm?"
Draco glared at her.
Then I'll use that voice that you find annoyin'
And say something like
"Yeah, intelligent input darlin', why don't you just have another beer then?"
"Pansy, you are embarrassing yourself" said Draco curtly while the Ministry workers looked at the couple, appearing quite uncomfortable.
"It's not me who's the borderline alcoholic, is it sweetheart?" said Pansy smoothly and Draco swore at her under his breath. The shiny haired witch looked quite shocked.
"My boyfriend is just in a bad temper because he has been forced to take orders from Potter all day" said Pansy "so you will excuse his rudeness"
Then you call me a bitch and everyone we're with will be embarrassed,
And I won't give a shit
"Yes, well..." said the wizard sitting across from Pansy "I had better be leaving, early start for me tomorrow what with all those reports I have to write. Good evening Draco, Miss Parkinson"
"I think I will take my leave also," said the shiny haired witch and she scuttled out of the pub after her companion.
"You see what your comments have done?" said Draco, turning angrily to Pansy "calling me an alcoholic...do you know how detrimental this could be to our jobs, Pansy? What must they think of us now, eh? Stupid cow, just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?"
Pansy had been aware for several weeks now that she and Draco's relationship had not been going very smoothly and she was more aware of it then than ever before when she looked into Draco's furious face. They had always quarrelled but Pansy had always put that down to the fact that they were both such strong characters but she felt anger well up inside her at the way Draco had embarrassed her. She was half tempted to end it all there and then but she knew she wouldn't. She cared for Draco too much and suddenly she felt angry at herself too.
"Then try - and I know it's difficult for you Draco, but try perhaps not to treat me like dirt in public?" Pansy retorted.
My fingertips are holding onto
The cracks in our foundation,
And I know that I should let go,
But I can't
And every time we fight I know it's not right,
Every time that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget but I can't
A few days after this incident, Draco and Pansy were enjoying a rare moment of peace between them as a couple. Pansy was snuggled up to Draco on the sofa and he had his arm around her while reading the Daily Prophet. Pansy was listening to the music station on the wireless and tapping her hand idly to the beat on the sofa's armrest. She could tell this was annoying her boyfriend because he kept giving her little irritated glances now and again. Well, Pansy thought, she had been here listening to music before he had decided to come into the living room with his paper, if it was distracting him he could go to the study.
"Must you listen to that racket?" Draco said at last, apparently unable to suppress his irritation any longer. "Take the wireless to the study"
"This is my living room as well as yours" Pansy replied haughtily "and I was here first"
Draco looked up from the newspaper "don't be such a child" he told her and turned the page. After a moment, Draco sighed wearily and stretched across Pansy to switch off the wireless.
"Hey!" Pansy complained "what do you think you're doing?"
"You can have it back on when I've finished reading" he said to her with his eyes back on the newspaper.
Pansy made a huffing noise and glanced at what Draco was reading. When she saw a recognisable face staring back at her from the page, she smiled to herself.
"Oh," she said lightly "isn't that Blaise Zabini?"
"What?" said Draco sharply "oh, yeah it is. He's been doing quite a lot of work on potions, meant to be getting an award soon"
"He was always so clever" said Pansy with as much dreaminess as she could put into her voice "and so terribly handsome...probably the most handsome boy in our whole year, when we were at Hogwarts" added Pansy wistfully "I've always regretted not saying yes when he asked me to the Yule Ball in fourth year...who knows what could have happened!"
Draco turned his eyes slowly from the newspaper to stare at Pansy, who was waiting patiently for his reaction.
You said I must eat so many lemons
'Cause I am so bitter
I said "I'd rather be with your friends mate
'Cause they are much fitter"
"Fuck off and find Zabini then" said Draco harshly into her face "if I'm not good enough for you" Draco shoved Pansy off of him and leapt to his feet, forcefully throwing the newspaper onto the carpet.
"Oh don't be such a twat" Pansy said to him calmly "as if I would do that"
Draco looked quite furious at her "are you trying to make things worse for us?" he shouted at her. Pansy glanced as surreptitiously at her wand on the table next to the sofa and this did not go unnoticed by Draco. "You think I'm going to attack you?" he said incredulously, angrily and with a hint of hurt.
"Well you have before!" was Pansy's reply. She and Draco had drawn wands on each other only once before, when Pansy had accused him of cheating on her.
Draco looked positively seething with rage and Pansy slunk back a little further on the sofa "you, if I recall," he began with an aggressive edge to his tone "drew your wand on me because you were paranoid I was sleeping with some other girl. What was I supposed to do, stand back and let you attack me?"
Yes it was childish
And you got aggressive,
And I must admit that I was a bit scared,
But it gives me thrills to wind you up.
Draco collapsed into an armchair by the fire with his head in his hands.
"This isn't working, is it?"
"No" Pansy conceded.
My fingertips are holding onto
The cracks in our foundation,
And I know that I should let go,
But I can't
And every time we fight I know it's not right,
Every time that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget but I can't
"But we shouldn't give up" Pansy told him earnestly "not yet, not after everything we've been through"
"Then stop being such a bitch" said Draco, grabbing his cloak from the hat stand and storming out of the front door. Pansy didn't attempt to follow.
It was past midnight by the time Pansy heard the lock click. She wasn't worried, Draco had stormed out of the house more times than she could count but she was a little concerned about what his mood would be like upon his return. She shouldn't have wound Draco up about Blaise, she knew this but still, she couldn't let him boss her around and decide where and when she should listen to her music. Pansy was not the type of woman to be ordered about by her boyfriend.
She knew he had been to the pub the moment he half-staggered into the living room. Pansy eyed him with her eyebrows raised and watched as he navigated his way around the coffee table only to trip on the corner of the rug and land on the floor. Pansy might have laughed if she wasn't so worried about their argument.
"Oh get up," she said, taking hold of his upper arm and trying to get him into the armchair "I'll get you some coffee, shall I?"
Draco didn't speak but looked suddenly quite ill and Pansy, who knew a moment too late what was about to happen, failed to jump out the way in time and yelped with disgust when a small fountain of vomit which smelled repulsively like Firewhisky, splattered onto her jumper.
Your face is pasty,
'Cause you've gone and got so wasted,
What a surprise,
Don't want to look at your face,
'Cause it's making me sick
You've gone and got sick on my trainers,
I only got these yesterday.
Oh my gosh, I cannot be bothered with this
"Draco!" Pansy cried
"Sorry" muttered Draco, peering drunkenly at the sick on Pansy's jumper. He staggered backwards onto the sofa and promptly fell asleep.
"Brilliant" Pansy muttered to herself. She pulled her jumper over her head and went to restock the fire but then, looking at her drunken boyfriend lying across the sofa, snoring, not giving a shit about her feelings, she decided against it. "You can get hypothermia for all I care" she said to him and went upstairs to bed.
Well I'll leave you there till the mornin'
And I purposely won't leave the heating on
And dear God I hope I'm not stuck with this one
Draco appeared at breakfast looking very worse for wear. Pansy was already in the kitchen, eating toast and when Draco seated himself at the table, clutching his head she slammed a glass of water and a potion down in front of him without a word.
"Thanks" said Draco. He uncorked the potion and downed it in one, wincing at its awful taste and then picked up the water and drank it. "Listen," he said to Pansy gently "I think we need to talk"
My fingertips are holding onto
The cracks in our foundation,
And I know that I should let go,
But I can't
And every time we fight I know it's not right,
Every time that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget but I can't
"I know" said Pansy quietly. She paused, steeling herself to speak "do you want to finish it?"
And every time we fight I know it's not right,
Every time that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget but I can't
And every time we fight I know it's not right,
Every time that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget but I can't
"Do you?" Draco replied.
"We can't go on like this" Pansy replied.
Draco looked at her closely "I don't want to leave you. I love you"
"I love you too"
"Then that's all we need," said Draco with a small smile "isn't it?"
Pansy nodded, unsure but determined. They had too much to lose to part now. "We'll have to work it all out then" she replied "try and stop arguing, be nicer to each other...we'll be okay, won't we?"
Draco left his chair and walked up to Pansy. Putting a hand to her cheek he said quietly "Of course. We always are"
"Yeah" Pansy agreed "we always are"
A/N I don't think this relationship did work out somehow. I imagine they broke up after a while and Draco ended up with Astoria, which is probably how this story would continue if I wrote more. Quite sad, but that's how I see this story.
Don't forget to review, people! :)