Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.
-The Sorting Hat, The philosopher's stone
Pansy Parkinson was many things, a manipulative liar at times, a horrendous Slytherin cow with no emotions for anyone other than herself and her vanity, who cared little for tedious things such as friendship and pure souls, however like any girl of her age she did indulge herself into small minute feelings, she allowed herself to hopelessly crush on Draco Malfoy, she occasionally fantasised about the moment when Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy would open their arms and allow her into their home as the future Mrs Malfoy, she couldn't deny the idea itself appealed to her but as a whole her life consisted of three things, Money, Purity and Draco Malfoy, with her obsession and her high blood status she had little time for anything outside of those three things.
Pansy sat tiredly in her seat on the end of the plush sofa –closest to the fireplace, glancing aimlessly between her 'gang' of what she could loosely call friends, because in Slytherin house it was very different to determinate the difference between Allies and people who genuinely found your company enjoyable.
"Maybe she'd be attractive if she had decent teeth and managed to get hold of some tweezers so then she'd at least have two eyebrows instead of one." Daphne droned on, running a hand through her light hair once more, her blue eyes glancing around the emerald walls of the Slytherin Common room.
Daphne was everything Pansy wasn't, she was almost effortlessly beautiful –almost because sometime during second and fourth year she had a massive acne break out which required her to get a special cream, she had long blonde hair that trailed down past her shoulder blade and cool blue eyes, and a small aristocratic nose –unlike Pansy's unflattering pug one (which no matter how many times people had told her she'd grown into still made her feel self-conscious), and of course Daphne was taller with long spidery legs, perhaps it was her lack of brain cells that stopped her from being the leader of their little group.
"And those pigtails, I mean maybe in first year you could have called it cute, but we're six years now and it's downright pathetic." Tracey chipped in adding to the fuel, the corners of her lips tugging upwards in a cruel smirk.
"Exactly besides I don't even want to think of the filth she's touched, I mean he could practically taste the mud on her lips! I'm sure of it." Daphne spat shaking her head furiously, as though the idea itself sent shivers down her spine.
"Imagine, lowering your standards like that, to some common Hufflepuff tart…it's disgusting, don't you agree Pans?" Rebecca Knott asked turning all attention to the brunette, Rebecca was like her brother stringy and maybe a little "rabbitty" to some but unlike Theodore, Rebecca did feel compelled to join in with gangs like Pansy, perhaps it was because she'd have felt helpless to verbal attacks without having the threat of her 'friends'.
Pansy paused pursing her lips as she took in the group she knew what they were expecting a brutal description as to why their current target the ironically named 'Scarlett' was an embarrassment to be seen with, and not feeling the need to disappoint them Pansy leant forward a half-hearted insult at the tip of her tongue, "The amount of dirt she's been rolling around in, it's a surprise he hasn't caught something yet."
Daphne seemed pleased an continued her brutal lashing of the girl as Pansy leant back in her seat, her eyes gazing towards the ebony clock that hung above the fireplace she sighed as the hands turned slowly time ticking away, she remembered former years when Draco would perhaps join her –sitting closer to Daphne of course but still he was funny enough that she could ignore the curious looks he'd send her 'ally' and the small whispers shared between them, that was back when she had that awful short hair and after Daphne returned from her holiday in Spain having spent the summer growing a chest.
A small coughing sound was made from Pansy's left and she turned her head towards Millicent Bulstrode, a dark haired girl with a heavy, jutting jaw and a large square jaw, she had stopped growing some time during their fourth year which meant that over those two years the other girls seemed a little closer to her height, but Pansy took comfort in the fact that with girls like Millicent and Rebecca she was at least the third or occasionally second prettiest in their gang.
"Something caught in your throat Bulstrode?" She asked feigning concern, the girl was at least interesting enough to fill the boredom, no doubt she'd bring up something about the chicken or some other form of food, but it was better than listening to Daphne and Tracey complain about their latest escapades, because honestly although Pansy would rather cut off her left arm and feed it to a Mudblood than admit it, both girls had gone further than she had ever been with a boy.
There was however a short time during their fourth year, the night before the yule ball when Draco had held her hand as he smuggled her up towards the clock tower with him, they had watched the pieces mould together every part needing the other in order to work properly, and whilst standing there in silence for what felt like years, he had turned to her sudden and quick and kissed her, it wasn't what she had imagined, it wasn't soft and tender, nor was it hungry and needy, it was firm and cold, but she managed to let herself fall into it, she struggled a bit when he had forced his tongue into her mouth, it poked at the insides of her cheeks like a trapped bat, and for a long moment she stood frozen as to what to do with her own.
She winced at the memory, because that was the first and last proper kiss they had shared since the yule ball when Granger decided to invest in hair gel and turned up looking stunning, it was a tragic night to say the least, she had been forced to wear the worst dress imaginable and Draco was the same, they twirled around together looking like that had returned from a recent funeral, the only good part of the night Draco had said was the fact that Potter was equally as miserable.
"Yeah actually, I think I had too much of that weird rice today at dinner, because my throat feels like it's on fire." Millicent coughed again this time gripping her throat with her large hands as if to emphasise her pain as though Pansy genuinely cared, but the brunette nodded her head before turning back to the clock, she let out a shaky breath, nine o'clock had rolled around and the only reason she was still down in the common room was because they were all expecting important information from Draco.
"My bet is their not coming," Rebecca stated again for the third time as nine o'clock turned to nine fifth-teen, but everyone else rolled their eyes, Pansy stretched her legs out in front of her, her hands gripping tighter to the arms of the chair as footsteps began coming from the boys dormitories, she rolled her shoulders before sitting up a little straighter, perhaps today Draco would take more notice of her, she had grown her hair longer and put in Sculpting Gel –her new best friend, which Draco also coincidentally happened to use as well, maybe she had grown into her nose a little bit.
Blaise Zabini was the first to stroll into the room, his expression purposely monotone and his eye staring boredly at the girls before he stepped towards the fireplace leaning back against it, he frowned for a moment as though perhaps something had interested him before his expression returned to its normal bored state.
From the corner of her eye Pansy could see Tracey quirking an eyebrow, "Did I just see what I thought I saw? Was something interesting enough for Blaise Zabini to frown?" She said with a smirk as she brushed her straight auburn locks away from her face before looking at Blaise who merely rolled his eyes at her.
"Why don't you alert the media Davis?" Pansy said with a sigh that caused the corners of Blaise's to turn up in amusement before falling again; Tracey however met her with a small glare before slumping in her seat.
It was at this moment that Draco chose to saunter into the room, Pansy felt her heart skip a beat as she glanced him over, his platinum hair was sleeked back and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, he smirked coolly before making his way into the centre of the room Crabbe and Goyle trailing close behind him, they smiled widely towards Daphne who sneered in return.
"I'm sure any of you with half a brain is aware of the recent events concerning the return of, The Dark Lord." Draco began his light grey eyes shifting between them before pausing for what Pansy perceived to be a century on her but was in reality only a few seconds longer than it was the others.
"Of course we have." Rebecca replied leaning in a little more, if there was one thing about the Knotts that Pansy disliked it was the clear fact that they were willing to kiss as much arse as possible if it meant they'd get to the top, Theodore seemed a little more tolerable but even he on occasion would feel inclined to laugh along with jokes that in no way involved him.
"Yes well, I'm sure by now you've realised how close we are to graduation, how close in fact we are to one day joining our parents in their struggle to rid this school and more importantly the wizarding community of the Mudblood filth." Draco spat his lips pulling into a sneer as he said the word Mudblood, what had often frustrated Pansy about his obsession with 'the Golden Trio' was that it meant that he also had an obsession with a particular muggleborn who recently had always seemed to be besting Pansy in almost every aspect, no matter what it was Pansy did Hermione Granger felt the need to do better.
"You're preaching to the choir Draco." Daphne spoke up, a smile playing on her lips as she brushed back a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, Pansy resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the girl, it had become blatantly obvious to even her what Daphne's intentions for this year were, and although she knew her chances were slim Pansy refused to let the blonde bimbo out do her, this year she was determined to make Draco Malfoy her's.
Draco shot her an amused smirk before continuing, "This is a big year for those of you whose parents have yet to be granted admission into the inner circle."
Pansy, Millicent, Daphne and Crabbe straightened a little at this, Blaise however seemed a little more impassive like usual but she could tell by the way his eyes darted towards Draco that even he cared about what would be said next, because whatever it was would no doubt change all of their lives, for one they'd be more appealing choices for marriage, two they would have more control over the goings on during their time outside of Hogwarts and three, it would mean they'd be on the front line when the war no doubt kicked off; the idea made Pansy's stomach flip in what she chose to think was excitement.
Draco paused no doubt to bask in the sudden shift of attention on him before continuing, " The dark lord has assigned a special mission involving what I believe to be all of your parents, unfortunately my father has not shared the contents of that mission with me only the desired results for you, those who are successful will be promoted," he paused for dramatic affect causing Pansy to lean forward in her seat her eyes trained soley on him as his lips moved, "So I suggest you all be on your best behaviour as those whose parents do get considered for the promotion will have to have children who aren't complete disgraces to the cause.
Crabbe and Millicent's shoulders slumped at this and Pansy couldn't help the way her lips twitched upwards at the prospect, perhaps with her family becoming richer and admittedly more purer she would finally have a decent chance at becoming the future Mrs Malfoy, and her dreams would become a reality.
"Is that all then?" Tracey asked raising an eyebrow at Draco of course she had nothing to worry about last year her stupid mother had somehow managed to get into the Dark Lord's good graces and was allowed admission to the circle, and suddenly Tracey thought it gave her some sort of leverage over Pansy and Daphne, who combined put her back in her place.
"If I were you Davis, I wouldn't be that careless about who gets this promotion, the circle seems to be getting a bit too full according to father." At this Tracey frowned before looking towards Pansy who only rolled her eyes in acknowledgement, again she had her focus completely on Draco, she paused unsure what to do, she should probably say something so he wouldn't think her a complete dunce, but when she opened her mouth to say something no words seemed to come out it was as though he had left her completely mute.
"Pansy are you alright you seem to be having a fit or something? You didn't eat that rice did you?" Millicent asked her thick brows knitting together, as she patted –more like slammed, Pansy in the back causing the girl to yelp she turned her head sharply to look at the larger girl.
"Bulstrode if you can't tell I was in shock! You stupid troll." Pansy snapped, her anger fiercer than her embarrassment, she wanted to cringe at how pathetic she must be coming across to Draco and of course she could only have Bulstrode to blame for that.
Millicent blinked repeatedly before looking down at her lap, her head bowed in silent shame.
"You tell her Pansy." Rebecca added in, Pansy felt her hands ball into tight fists at the girls voice but forced herself to look back at Draco who was staring blankly at the wall ahead of him, before looking at them all again.
"If your quite finished," he said his usual nonchalant tone breaking through as he addressed them, "This year is going to be one of the biggest years of your Hogwarts lives and I hope you are all aware of that, starting tomorrow you should all be on your best behaviour."
"I don't believe this," Daphne hissed.
They were sitting in Herbology waiting to be paired off into partners for their upcoming project that would be continued for the rest of the year, Daphne had unfortunately been placed with Longbottom, "Who knows maybe some good will come out of this and if you don't do well he'll eat the plant." Pansy whispered in reply, causing snickering to come from the few surrounding Slytherins.
Daphne rolled her eyes and huffed as she ran her eyes over her partner, "I suppose it could be worse, with clothes like that I forget Sidebottom's a pureblood, or half-blood I honestly don't even know." She said her face twisting in disgust.
Pansy smirked to herself, enjoying watching the blonde in distress.
"Luna Lovegood and…Draco Malfoy!"
On her other side, Draco groaned loudly, "At least your partner isn't deranged," he grumbled to Daphne his gaze drifting towards the somewhat ditzier blonde who smiled cheerfully at him, her cheery earrings swinging to match her enthusiasm.
Pansy wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or jealous at the fact that even Lovegood seemed to have it better than her being paired up with Draco or relieved at the fact that Draco was being paired up with Lovegood.
"At least you're not paired with Potter again," Pansy replied looking towards the scar headed boy, secretly she had been feeling a little disappointed at that fact, she loved the way Draco's eyes would fill with determination and steely ambition as he tried to best Potter, ultimately he'd usually fail but Pansy would allow herself to get lost in the look on his face, it was intriguing to say the least, and she had wondered if that was her expression whenever she fought for dominance over her circle of friends.
She highly doubted it.
"Hopefully all this integration of houses shit will stop soon. I don't see how this does anyone any good." Daphne frowned looking back towards Longbottom who shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze, his face reddening and he tugged at the collar of his shirt.
"Dumbledore probably thinks that if we're forced together enough they'll be a good influence on us, I tell you, count the amount of purebloods in this class you probably won't even need both hands." Draco replied quietly as he surveyed the class his expression cold.
"Will you two shut up, I haven't heard my name yet." Pansy whispered having already become familiar with everyone's views on the other houses, blood statuses, and of course Dumbledore, who was an everlasting topic in not only her school life but her home life as well.
'The idiot.' He father would say, 'The moron.' Her mother would reply, 'The muggle loving blood traitor.' She'd been trained to reply with.
"Pansy Parkinson and…Harry Potter."
She felt Draco stiffen behind her and she blinked looking towards Harry, during all their years at school they had shared many classes with one another but this had been the first time they'd been paired with one another, the golden boy had been with Daphne at least twice, Draco several times and Knott once, but never Pansy.
As she glanced back at Draco seeing his jaw tense and the determination return in his eyes, she couldn't help but smirk to herself, it seemed as though Pansy had found the key to Draco's attention, no doubt he'd be spending more time with her in order to scare off Potter and inadvertently he'd begin realising that he genuinely had feelings for the young brunette, it caused her to smile a little.
"Seems like Parkinson's drawn the short straw." Daphne smirked running a hand through her blonde locks.
"Anything's better than Sidebottom and Loony Lovegood." Pansy hissed in reply, she straightened her shoulders watching Potter from across the room, his friends were currently snickering at him and giving Pansy pointed looks, again her hand instinctively twitched to cover her nose, but she knew from being on the other end that showing insecurities led to more of them being exposed, held Potter's gaze coolly, feeling her ears heat up, because someone of her aristocracy didn't blush because a half-blood –and the scum he associated with, were looking at her.
It simply wasn't done.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
A/N: This story takes place during the 'Halfblood Prince'