Written for :
Quidditch Fanfiction League competition
Round 1
Team: Chudley Cannons
Beater 1 : Write about making a mountain out of a molehill
Optional prompts:
2. (Color) Cream
4. (Word) Insufferable
9. (Word) Expectations
Disclaimer: Neither the characters nor the places (or anything related to Harry Potter really) belongs to me. Unfortunately I was not the genius who came up with this idea, although I wish I were. Believe me.
Blame it on the rain
Fall was well-settled in the air and it was one of the most unusual warm days the country knew in weeks, and Pansy Parkinson had decided to make the most of it. She had heard from Timothy Morcott who heard from Theodore Nott who was told by Vincent Crabbe that Draco Malefoy was spending his day basking in the sun by the Lake. This was her chance, as she would not be able to ponce around him in the coming days, for she knew with a desperate certainty that her unusual sensitivity to the cold would bring her to hide behind thousands of layers of clothes and capes and scarves for the many months to come. Matching with a pure-blood bachelor would finally make her parents proud. Matching with Draco Malefoy… She could not help but smirk as she imagined all her friends staring at her with baffled eyes during her wedding day — of course, she didn't want to overthink this, but clearly there would be a wedding day! —, as she would be the one to settle down with the most eligible bachelor in the wizarding world. She will be part of the most mighty family, the Parkinson name will be sanctified among her people as is the Malefoy name, and she will finally have access to power and wealth. Her person will be esteemed, looked up to.
But she had to put at least a little effort to it.
Staring in the mirror, she straightened her hair with a single wand-wave (that is how good a witch she was), and accio-ed two blouses. She brought the looser shirt close to her pale face, and frowned at her own reflexion. She energetically shook her head — the cream-colored piece of clothing stressed out her livid complexion as her skin has had very little exposure to the sun lately. « The green one it is! » she decided.
Realizing that she had been prepping for a very long time and that the risk of missing Draco was growing higher, she rushed out of the dormitories and headed out of the Slytherin common room. The chilliness of the dungeons made her shiver, and she regretted for a moment not to have thrown something warmer over her shoulders than the light green shirt that she knew Draco would like. « Nonsense ! » she reminded herself as she finally reached the big wooden doors that separated her from her desired future.
Her heart started to pound in her chest as she scanned her surroundings, carefully searching for the loveliest and most adorable pale-haired boy she knew. His figure finally caught her eyes; the blond, almost white hair could not be misleading. She smiled, tenderized as she imagined the soft fabric through her fingers, and walked lightly towards what she knew was her future life companion.
The boy jumped as Pansy sat beside him, not as gracefully as she would have hoped, to be fair.
« Good morning, Draco », she greeted with enthusiasm.
« It's hardly morning. »
His voice was off, almost annoyed. But the Slytherin girl would not be so easily thrown off of her game.
« We haven't had the chance to catch up since the beginning of the school year, how were your holiday? » She tried to soften her voice as much as she could. Her mother always told her to act as discrete as possible around men, so they don't feel emasculated. « Make them think they are in control. This is how you meet men's expectations » she kept saying.
« They were not so bad. » A satisfied smile brightened the girl's pug-looking face. At least he wasn't giving her a silence treatment. This was going really well.
The moment Pansy parted her lips to pursue the interesting conversation she was having with the one she called The Prince of Slytherin, she received a drop of water on her forehead and froze instantly.
« It looks like it is going to rain », stated Draco disdainfully.
« No, this cannot be happening. » Fear was clearly noticeable in Pansy's voice, and she could dinstinctly see incomprehension in her future boyfriend's eyes.
The drops poured harder by the minute, and Pansy was frozen solid. She could not move a finger, although she knew that the best thing she could do at the moment is to hide underneath a tree, or better yet, find shelter inside the castle.
« Pansy, are you alright? » she heard his annoyed voice ask.
No, she was not alright. She was cold, she was angry to not have finished her conversation — she didn't even know what this perfect blond, wealthy, handsome, powerful wizard that she is planning to wed in the near future spent his summer doing, and she was dying to know, mind you — and, worst of all, her hair was starting to curl back under the influence of the pouring rain.
« Pansy? » She could feel the boy growing worried.
But she just could not move. She was not worth his name, after all. She wasn't even worth hers, if she wanted to be completely honest with herself! Nobody deserves someone this stupid, after all.
What girl on earth straightens her hair with magic and forgets to support it with an anti-humidity spell ?!
« Pansy! » Draco was screaming now. « Let's get inside, we are soaking wet! »
« I can't move, I am so cold » she breathed in despair. She couldn't see Draco roll his eyes to her oversensitivity. « You go, I wouldn't want you to get sick, or to see me like this ».
« Like what, exactly? »
Wait, he didn't notice any change in her appearance? Really?
« I look like Miss-Insufferable-Know-It-All, » she articulated each and every word, feelings of pain and anger fighting over in her voice.
Draco stood still for a second before bursting into laughter.
« And now you're mocking me. »
« Pansy, you are ridiculous. »
Tears invaded the poor girl's eyes. Was she really?
« You look exactly like yourself, I really can't see a difference now. » He stopped laughing after a while. « Now get up and let's get inside. » Pansy knew that his suddenly harsh voice was just a façade, as she could still see the amused smile lingering on his thin lips.
She rose slowly from the soaking grass, and together they walked hastily inside the castle, seeking shelter from the dark sky.
« By the way, Pansy, » started Draco suddenly. « Next time you wish to seduce me, do not waste time transfiguring yourself. »
And before Pansy could think of a word to mouth, the Slytherin boy was long gone.