Disclaimer: all HP related characters belong to JKR. All words belong to SLR.

I Promise

The utterly dull company of her bickering parents was giving her a headache, so Pansy excused herself and retired to her room. She laid down on her bed, relishing in the velvety texture of her green comforter. After a few moments of simply relaxing, she reached under her bed and pulled out a box. After resituating herself, she opened the box and started pulling out the contents, one by one. The first thing she pulled out was a picture of her and Draco at King's Cross, on the day of their first trip to Hogwarts. They were both so young and still remotely innocent. They had never truly been innocent. She couldn't remember a time when she and Draco weren't getting in trouble somehow or causing some kind of mischief. The two small figures with anxious eyes and huge smiles waved up at her. Her mind raced through the whole trip, on which they had met Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, Blaise, and Theodore. And, although they had each made their own friends, she and Draco were always the other's best. She smiled back down at the children and placed the photo to the side.

The next item she pulled out was a picture of her and Draco at the Yule Ball and the corsage he had given her. They had aged considerably, but the faces of those eager children could still be found, if you looked hard enough. They were impeccable. Her dress robes were a light pink color that set off her ivory complexion and ebony locks beautifully. Draco's robes were black, but they were anything but ordinary. The effect they had on him was unbelievable. She had known he was attractive, but his dress robes made him look so dignified and distinguished. In the picture, her arm was draped through his, but they didn't look exactly pleased. They had just found out that Potter was going to open the ball with a dance. She remembered his very words, "Bloody Potter and his bloody attention-seeking self." She laughed at the memory. Despite Potter's "attention-seeking self", they had a wonderful night. They danced and laughed until their feet and stomachs ached. And they had shared their first kiss that night, under the mistletoe. She sighed, and placed the items with the first picture.

Then, she extracted an envelope full of papers. She emptied the envelope, and looked at the notes. There were hundreds of the small slips of parchment. Some of them were notes they had passed in class, but most were notes he had left for her in surprise places, like in her History of Magic text. She read through them, tenderly. There was a variety of words sprawled across the pages in Draco's hurried, slanted writing. Some said things like 'Meet me in the Charms classroom at eight.' and others said things like 'Good luck on your Potions test.' But her favorite was one she had gotten in sixth year. She had been receiving more notes than normal that year because Draco was never around, so he had taken to leaving her notes instead. It was one night in March that she had entered her dorm and gone to lay down on her bed, when she found a single rose with a note attached already occupying her spot. She picked it up and read the note. 'I love you.' was all that was scrawled across the parchment, but it meant the world to her. She picked that note out of the pile and fingered it lovingly. Of course, it wasn't long after that Draco left. She never got to hear those words out loud. She put the slips of paper back in the envelope and set it aside.

The last thing she pulled out was a ring. It was the promise ring Draco had given her the night he left. He had taken her aside and told her about his plans. He told her that he didn't want to do it, but he had to. He had no choice. He pulled out the ring, and told her he wanted her to have it. It wasn't much, but it would have to do until he could come back and buy her a real engagement ring. He slid the ring on her finger, kissed her good-bye, and headed for the door. A single tear slid down her pale cheek as, with one final look back, he was out the door and gone. She hadn't seen or heard from him since, and it had been weeks. She had to admit, she missed him terribly. She couldn't even wear his ring, it hurt too much. But every night she would pull out her box of memories, and lose herself in their past. She slipped off the ring she had unconsciously placed on her finger and placed everything back in the box. With one last look, she placed the box back into its home, and laid back on her bed to, once again, cry herself to sleep. Until she heard a knock on her window. She sat up, grabbed her wand, and went over to the window. She peered out, but couldn't see anything. So she cautiously lifted the latch and opened the casement. There was still nothing there as she leaned out the window, until a hand came up and covered her mouth. It was lucky that it did because she had burst out screaming. And then the body attached to the hand covering her mouth appeared. It was Draco. All of her screams died in her throat and she was struck dumb. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be gone. He climbed in the window, still covering her mouth.

"I'm going to move my hand, but you have to promise me you won't scream," he said. She nodded her head, and he detached his hand from her lips. She looked at him in utter disbelief.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be gone. What if they catch you? Do you know what will happen to you? Do you know what will happen to me? Aiding a murderer. Oh, god. They'll send me to Azkaban. I can't go there. You have to leave," she was slowly backing away as all of these thoughts came tumbling out of her mouth.

"Pansy, listen," he started, as the reached out to touch her.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted. His expression changed from pleading to wounded, and she softened her voice. "Please. I can't. I'll get caught up in not having to miss you because you're here. And I won't make you go. But you have to. I can't get caught with you."

"Please just listen. I didn't do it. I couldn't kill him. You know I never wanted to. It was Snape. The whole time, I kept thinking of you, and how disappointed in me you would be if I actually took someone's life. And I couldn't do it. But Snape had made an Unbreakable Vow to my mom that he would do it if I didn't, so he did."

"Oh Draco" Pansy breathed. Relief was etched all across her face. "Then everything will be okay. You can come back, and we can go on with our lives and forget this ever happened. We'll never have to think about it again."

"It's not that simple, Pansy. I'm still wanted," Draco explained, as his face took on another pained look.

"I don't understand. Why do they want you? You didn't do anything."

"It's complicated. There was the whole fight at the school, with the Death Eaters. I was the one that let them in," he said.

"Oh."

"I can't stay. But I wanted to tell you good-bye before I leave. And that I'm sorry. I wish things hadn't turned out this way. If I could go back, I would change it all. You deserve more than this. But I love you," said Draco, as he took her hands in his.

"I love you, too."

"Then wait for me. I don't know when or how, but I will come back for you some day. And then we will start our lives together, and you won't have a care in the world. I'll take care of you, and you'll have the life you deserve. Wait. Where's your ring?" he asked, looking at her bare hand.

"Oh. It's in a box. I couldn't bear to wear it everyday. I thought you were gone, and you were never coming back to me. It hurt so much. Here, I'll get it." She went over to her bed, pulled out the box, and extracted the ring from it.

"It's still not much, but I want you to wear it all the time. This time it will come with a real promise. I, Draco Malfoy, promise that I will, one day, come back for you, Pansy Parkinson, and marry you," he promised as he slipped the ring back on her finger. Then, he grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. And, before she could even open her eyes, he was gone. She had to check her hand for the ring to make sure she hadn't dreamed the whole thing. She closed and locked the window and laid back down in her bed. With one last lingering look at her ring, she fell asleep, finally peaceful, with the hope of Draco's promise still hanging in the air.

A/N: #3. hm. this is probably my least favorite. but i'm still practicing. it is only #3 after all. d/p is so lovely. it can go so many ways. i like the idea of her promising herself to him. waiting for her true love. how romantic. i think i already have an idea for my next fic. wish me luck.