A/N: This is an introduction chapter, very short and sweet, but it should set up the rest of this story for you. To clear up any confusion, in any fic I write, my Pansy is always Asian because that's already how I've seen her in my mind since I read HP as a kid. Now, this is your chapter summary:
A summer away from her friends and being stranded with her mother at their estate (under the guise of being "properly introduced to society" through a series of banquets, balls, and lunches) was bad enough without Iris Parkinson then poking her french manicured finger into her daughters' sex life. Luckily, Pansy is heading back to Hogwarts now, though little did she know that alone would bring its own troubles soon enough.
September 1st, 1996
She heard her mother's' voice - crisp and strict with a slight lisp that she typically controlled unless she was in a hurry - but honestly the words all blended together in a long stream of nonstop jabbering. Iris Parkinson was many things; concise she was not.
Among the list of things that she is however, including overbearing, pretentious, demeaning, authoritative, controlling, demanding, ostentatious-
"-and I know for a fact that Narcissa has been having regular brunches with- Pansy? Pansy ? Are you even listening-"
" Yes, " she answered her mother with a tired sigh, letting her head fall back momentarily before looking glancing back at the older woman's disapproving scowl. "The Malfoys have been in talks with the Greengrasses to betroth Draco and Astoria even though she's still fourteen and doesn't even having childbearing hips yet and her voice is shrill and-"
" And ," Iris interrupted as a house elf popped into the sitting room with a tea serving platter. Pansy, excited to finally have something other than the hem of her summer dress to busy her hands with greedily awaited to be served. "I always thought Narcissa and I shared the same hope for you and Draco to-"
"Mother-"
" Darling -"
"Don't say it-"
"Pansy, I-"
"Merlin's fucking-" Pansy stopped herself with a sip of tea before her mother could loudly object to her language. Her infatuation with Draco had ended years prior, and yet her mother seemed more obsessed than ever with the prospect of her only daughter marrying the sole Malfoy heir. Of course she was aware that her daughters' childish crush was over and it was not as if she had deluded herself into thinking the two teenagers were actually in love or anything. No, her mother's reasoning for pushing this relationship was quite a simple one, really.
Merging the families and escalating the Parkinson name. Iris had been but a simple and inconsequential member of the Suzuki family prior to marrying Pansy's late father - pure-blood, sure, but still the family was not old nor pure enough to be a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Therefore, she married up. A ancestor of the Parkinson family had been Minister of Magic, after all, and in the Wizarding World social status and surname went hand in hand. And like any good mother, Iris strove to ensure her daughter's life would exceed even past her own accomplishments.
And marrying a Malfoy, permanently joining their two families through a magical union, well that was just the epitome of social success, was it not? And when a twelve-year-old Pansy came back home from her first year at Hogwarts and proudly proclaimed that she would be the lucky girl to marry Draco Lucius Malfoy, Iris nearly burst into tears. And when a fourteen year old Pansy announced that her longest running crush had invited her to the Yule Ball, Iris immediately set the next stage for her plotting and scheming to have the pair betrothed, even while Narcissa was dragging her feet. And when a fifteen year old Pansy was named Prefect alongside Draco himself, her mother beamed with pride not due to her daughter's exemplary academic achievements, but because fate, it's real, you see. And when a sixteen year old Pansy told her mother that Draco Malfoy, well, he's old news and she no longer wished to become the future Lady Malfoy-
That had ruined everything.
"You're not taking this seriously, my love," Iris said disapprovingly after a short pause. It took every ounce of willpower, down to her very core, for Pansy not to roll her eyes right then and there. To control her own emotions, she merely reached forward and clasped her hands around her warm tea cup.
"Mother, I'm not a child anymore," she said slowly, as if explaining something to a particularly difficult child. She took a deep breath and another sip of tea before continuing, "Draco and I- we're just friends, you understand? It was fun while it lasted but we just don't feel that way about each other. Besides, Lady Malfoy was never warm on the idea-"
"Narcissa Malfoy is a pompous old bat," Iris cut in again, this time her eyes narrowing with discontent. "And even she wouldn't have been able to fight the true love blooming between you and Draco."
"We do love each other-"
"Pansy, tell me honestly," Iris reached forward and placed her hand over her daughter's, their eyes locking across the small table, a tense pause between mother and daughter, "have you had sex with Draco Malfoy?"
"Mother!"
"Pansy ," she said sternly as she picked up her own cup and saucer. "I don't mean to be crass-"
"Then don't be!"
"Don't interrupt," she responded swiftly after she blow lightly on her tea to cool it down. "But I know for a fact that the young Malfoy has a similar propensity as most young men. Rumor has it, he has spent this summer gallivanting around France, meeting young witches and-"
"I don't need to hear this, mother," she said in a low voice. Her mother may read her discomfort as jealousy upon hearing that her ex-boyfriend was enjoying the bodies of other women, and Pansy didn't bother to correct her. She and Draco made better friends than lovers and while they had shagged casually in the past - and perhaps will continue to in the future - she could not find it in her to care who he may or may not be spending time with while she was not around. In fact, the more he was sexually distracted, the better. Draco was much better company after an orgasm.
"But now ," Iris pressed forward, "Narcissa is vetting the Greengrasses, spending time with Carole and Astoria, all sorts of meals and dates together-"
"Oh the brunches, Merlin, no ," Pansy added sardonically, purposefully ignoring her mother's glare.
"And they'll be betrothed before you know it. The older girl has been promised to Flint for nearly her entire life, and now the family is trying to snag a real prize. Why don't you understand, Pansy? Your father would have been able to secure this betrothal, but I can't make this happen without your cooperation. We were- you were so close , darling."
Pansy looked down at Rorschach-esque tea leaves at the bottom of her empty tea cup. At best, Iris was autocratic, at worst she was neurotic but ultimately she was still her mother. She was the only person in the world who loved her unconditionally and, theoretically, everything she did was meant to be in Pansy's best interest. After her father died, Iris made it her life's mission to ensure her daughter had the easier, most worry free life a growing girl could hope for. Now, as a young woman preparing to embark on her own path, Pansy needed to face the fact that Iris needed her, as pathetic as it seemed.
Gods, if only she didn't act like such a bitch about it all.
"Mother, I-" Pansy started before the sound of a far off bell tore her from the moment. " Shite , mum, the train-"
Before Iris could properly chide her daughter on her language, Pansy leapt from her seat, sending the chair spinning backwards away from her, and dashed out of the sitting room. Of course, in true Iris Parkinson fashion, her mother had waited until the last day of the summer to complain about her daughter's lack of affection for Draco, but Pansy immediately pushed those thoughts from her mind as she ran into her room.
Honestly, there was nothing else in the world she wanted to think about less. She and Draco were in the past and her childhood crush had been just that - childish. If she had known that her mother would continue to obsess about it years after she was put that part of her life behind her, she wouldn't have stupidly mentioned Draco in the first place. They had known each other as children, but it was only after they were both sorted into Slytherin and spent most days together that she and Draco truly connected.
What a bloody mistake that was.
Draco was a cruel child and Pansy had desperately wanted to be liked. And just like that, their futures seemed irrevocably tied. Now, Pansy held no ill will for Draco - they were still friends, after all, one of the few each had - but the the romantic feelings (or obsession, more appropriately) were dead and gone. Her mother, unfortunately, had been to ask the question before. She and Draco had lost their virginities to each other after the Yule Ball, but after that anything resembling mutual romantic intentions were dead. Pansy, for one, was grateful. She was able to move on. And Draco is a sixteen year old boy. He didn't need to be told twice.
Wand in hand, she quickly shouted a handful of organization, packing, and cleaning spells and less than ten minutes later her trunks were prepared after a simple wingardium leviosa they followed her to the foyer where her mother was waiting. Gratefully, Iris said nothing more about her nonexistent future marriage and Pansy dropped her defenses slightly. This was a goodbye after all.
"Mother," she said in a small voice, part acknowledgement, part apology in one word.
"Darling," she replied as she reached forward, placing a delicate hand on her daughter's soft cheek. She let out a soft sigh and Pansy mimicked it instinctively and just as she reached up to put her hand over her mother's, Iris pulled back, reached for her wand and with a silent flick called a small-sized to fly over to them until it landed her open palm. "Potions for your complexion, sweetheart. I hate to admit it, but your father's' genes are just overpowering and those blackheads nearly have a personality of their own-"
" Mother !" the small, girlish voice was gone as Pansy flushed, her hand flying cover her nose as she glared at her mother.
"Drink one now, dear. And another every other day."
Iris' no-nonsense tone overpowered Pansy's offended expression and, still sneering at her mother's insensitivity, she reached towards the open case and selected a tiny vial of pale purple liquid. There were thirteen more left in two rows. Iris closed the case with a satisfied tiny as Pansy quickly downed the vial with a grimace. "I'll send you replenishments in a month. Every. Other. Day. Don't forget. The clerk at the shop told me this is the best facial potion on the market and I won't have you wasting my money-"
"Alright, I get it," she interrupted in a tired voice, her mother's scolds be damned. But to her surprise, Iris said nothing of her unladylike interruptions and she only continued to smile as she packed the case of potions into her trunk.
"Have a lovely school year, Pansy. Will I see you over the Christmas holiday?"
Pansy scowled and lugged her trunk behind her as she headed towards the fireplace that would take her to King's Cross Station. "I'll think about it. King's Cross Station !"
A large poof of green smoke later, and her only child was gone, and yet the smile on Iris' face remained as she thought about the purple potion secured carefully in Pansy's school trunk.
A/N:
Sneak peak to the next chapter:
"One thing is for sure," Pansy said with pursed lips, her voice immediately interrupting the chatter. "I won't be taking DADA this year. I barely got an Exceeds Expectations as it is, but Snape's requiring Outstanding to take the N.E.W.T-level course. I bought the bloody book and everything. What a fucking farce."
"You should have tried a bit harder, Parkinson," Draco provoked and Pansy restrained herself from digging her elbow into his side. Instead, she reached over his slouching body and snatched the bottle from his hand so she could take her own gulp.