PREPARED FOR ANYTHING
I was entranced. Every time I stared into those bright green eyes of hers I felt as if I was falling in love all over again. When in public, she would put up her stony persona never letting the enemy see her fear, but if you knew her as well as I did, you would know that her eyes always deceived her. She gave me a short smile before dropping her eyes back to her parchment.
Her dark hair fell sweetly around her face. She finally decided to let it grow longer than her old short bob. It now hung at her shoulders instead of framing her face and curling around her chin; probably a result of all the teasing she had gotten over the years. I wanted to reach out and stroke it, to run my hands through it just one more time…but down in my heart, I knew the time wasn't right. It would be more appropriate later on.
I took to staring at her small, doll-like hand holding her quill. She was so pale. I remembered a story my mother told me when I was little. It was about a girl who's hair was as black as ebony, her lips were as red as a rose and her skin was white as snow; at this moment, Pansy reminded me of that girl. At night when the moonlight shone on her delicate skin, it emitted a glow that was only capable of a fairy. And that's what she was; my fairy.
I longed for her kiss one last time. I would snake my arms around her waist and hold her tightly against my chest. She would wrap her arms longingly around my neck as she stood on tiptoe to meet my lips. She was a fair bit smaller than me but I didn't care. I towered a good six inches over her but neither of us cared. The fact that she was smaller than me only made me more protective of her…not that she needed my protection. She was quite capable of shooting a hex at anyone who crossed her path, not to mention that her glares could kill.
Eventually, I'd have to tell her. Tell her that tonight my very well be the last time we would ever see each other. I had a future all planned out for us before I was given the burden of the task I was about to complete. I would purpose to her on Graduation night. We would soon after be married and have an heir. Living in my manor, we would be the perfect family. All of this was obtainable until my father interfered. He had it planned out since my birth that I would become a death eater and follow in his footsteps of serving Voldemort. At first I thought it would be fun, but when I found out that killing was involved I became hesitant. Not wanting to let my father down I made a promise to myself that no matter what it took, no matter what I had to do, I would be the perfect son; even if it included innocents dying before my own hand.
This was it. I had to tell her. Knowing that she would think I was never coming back, I made myself another promise…that one day, I would come back and she would become my wife. Time is running out for me, so I guess I should make the best of it.
"Pansy," I said drawing her attention to me.
"What is it Draco?" She asked as she set her quill down and cleared away her stuff. When I wanted her attention, she gave it to me fully.
"I need to tell you something." I said shortly as I propped up a pillow beside hers and cuddled in close. I looked around swiftly before locking the door with my wand. If she was going to do what I thought she was going to do, I'd rather not let anyone see her in such a state. "Look Pansy…" I began but I couldn't bring myself to continue.
"Come on Draco, you know you can tell me anything." She said soothingly as she took my hands in hers. Her touch was so warm, so soft…so inviting.
"I know, but I'm afraid that by telling you this, I'll only be hurting you. And I never want to hurt you, the one I love…" I knew I was right. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her but I had no other choice.
"Just tell me," She said calmly, "I know you'd never try to hurt me on purpose."
"Pansy, it's tomorrow." I blurted out. I saw a confused look cross her face.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Tomorrow night, my task will be fulfilled." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "Tomorrow night, I'm going to kill Dumbledore." It was about to happen…I could tell. Her eyes began to well up and get red. She began shaking uncontrollably and tensed her grip on my hands.
"No…" She whispered in a voice barely audible. "No. That means that…" She trailed off letting me finish her sentence.
"I'll have to leave. Pansy, there's no other way. I've tried twice to kill the old coot and both attempts failed. The only way to bring him down is face to face. I've already figured out a way of getting the other death eaters into the castle. I don't want to do this…you know that." She shook her head silently in agreement. "But he will kill me if I don't. After I'm dead, he'll go after my mother and father…my entire family will be in danger, and I'm afraid that he'll come after you as well."
"I don't understand…" She murmured. "If you leave tomorrow you'll be gone forever. I'll never see you again. I just don't think I could live without you…" I raised my hand to her cheek and brushed away a silent tear that fell from her eye.
"I know. But I won't be gone forever. I'll come back for you, I promise." I slowly dropped my hand from her face and reached inside my cloak pocket. I pulled a small black box into view and placed it in her hands. Sobbing, she accepted it.
"What's this?" She asked as she opened the miniature case. A small, silver ring, holding a ruby shaped like a heart gleamed back at her. I heard her emit a small gasp at the sight of it. I removed it from its resting place and slid it onto her ring finger.
"Think of it as two things." I began as I lifted her chin to meet my face. "First as a promise ring. By giving you this, I promise that I'll return to you and stay by your side for all eternity. Second, as an engagement ring. When I come back, we will get married and have a child. We'll live in my manor and do everything we've always wanted to. Of course, that is…if you'll still accept me when I return."
"Oh Draco," she sighed as she locked her gaze with mine. "Of course I'll accept you. I want nothing more than to be yours forever. And if you'll let me, I'll leave with you." She said the one thing I had feared most. She wanted to come with me. I knew that it would be dangerous and that the battlefield is no place for a lady of her status, but on the other hand, she wanted to come. We could be together instead of getting separated by the war. The thing about Pansy was that when she got an idea in her mind, it was hard to convince her to ignore it.
"Pansy," I started choosing my words carefully. "I'm not so sure that is the best idea. I really don't want you to be in the middle of this war and after the crime I'll be committing tomorrow night, I may be on the run from the Ministry and the guards of Azkaban for a long time. I'm just not sure that with me is the best place for you at the current time." I let out a sigh before looking dropping my gaze for a moment. I knew she was going to retaliate but what could I do? Just like 'Malfoy's get what they want', Parkinson's unfortunately do too.
"But Draco, why spend time apart when I could just go with you? I know that the war will be horrible, and sure, I'm no Granger when it comes to magic but I could surely fend for myself. As for running from the Ministry, it will just be like old times; running from our parents after we did something wrong. We always found a way to escape all punishment, why can't we do the same this time? Draco, please…just don't leave me." How could I respond to that? She just made it clear that she wanted to go with me no matter how dangerous it was. My voice had halted in my throat so I could voice no response. So I did the only thing my body would let me do…I placed one hand behind her head and slid the other around her waist before closing the gap between us. I felt her tears hitting my face but ignored them. I knew these were tears of happiness, and those type were nothing to be worried about. I put all of the love I had for her into that kiss. I could feel her moan against my lips as she tightened her arms around my neck and pulled me on top of her. I pulled away slightly and brushed my lips against her ear…
"Meet me at the school gates tomorrow at midnight. Make sure you aren't seen and be prepared for anything." I whispered before moving back into the kiss.
As we lay in my bed that night I clutched her tightly to me. I wouldn't be leaving her after all but I still felt as though if I didn't hold onto her, I would lose her. I let my face fall gently to her hair, breathing in its familiar scent. I raised one of my hands and pushed a couple of strands out of her face. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, that pale glow hitting my skin as I touched her. My mind eventually wandered to what I had told her earlier. My statement had been nothing but the truth. I did love her and I would be waiting for her at the school gates at midnight. But most of all, both of us had to be prepared for anything.
A/N: Wow two one-shots in one day! I enjoyed writing THE OTHER WITCH a little more but i suppose that's because it's a little more fun. I have the habit of adding immaturity to my writing but that's just who I am. Truthfully, I enjoy writing little one-shots about Draco and Pansy with simple stuff like boxer humor or 'I never knew you cared' sarcasm. I try putting a little bit of myself into each of the caracters, unfortunatly, this fics holds many traits I'm not so proud of.I have placed my silent crying and stubborness into Pansy, while placing the longing and fear of hurting someoneIcare about into Draco. This one, being more serious, I only found it fit to write from Draco's point of veiw. If I could split my personalit in two, Draco would be the stony faced comedian who jokes at everything but at the same time, tries to remain composure while Pansy would be my immaturity and naivety for thinking everything has a happy ending. Anyways, I did enjoy writing this fic, although I fear it's not my best work and can do better. Hopefully, the next one-shot I write will have a more playful edge but at the same time, pertain to the characters ambitions. Until next time...Aspen