Title: Discrete
Disclaimer: Still do not own Harry Potter. And I don't even want to, not with the way fans get all rude with JKR sometimes. I'll stick to what I do, thanks.
Pairings: Former Pansy/Draco, future Pansy/Theo
Rating: T
Warnings: A lot of Pansy. And I mean a lot. This is pretty much an entire fic about her whinging. So don't say I didn't warn you.
Summary: In which Slytherins are terrible at communication, and not even in an angsty way. Alternatively, a story about Pansy finally getting over Draco.
Word Count: 2,842
Author's Note: This was written for the semi-finals of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Season 2.
Yes, I sank Pansy/Theo last round, but I feel like putting them back together this round. I'm neutral on the ship, so it can go either way for me.
This is kind of inspired by the Draco info JKR released recently, but this isn't told in his perspective at all.
Also, no, I did not misspell the title. I really do mean "separate and distinct" rather than "careful and circumspect in one's actions."
.x.x.
Discrete
But at least she knew the truth now.
This was the thought she kept repeating to herself as she read and reread the announcement tucked away in the society pages of the newspaper.
No, it wasn't front-page news, no matter what she felt about it. The front page was reserved for the likes of Potter and his ilk, the so-called heroes of the war. Even now, five years after the death of the Dark Lord, their faces continued to cling to the front page like fungi.
But they could all go drown in the Styx for all she cared. Nothing about them would ever be as important as the news of Draco Malfoy's engagement to Astoria Greengrass.
So this was the reason Draco hadn't sent her any post or firecalled her, even though she'd been back from her trip to Milan for a month already. She had assumed that he was just busy managing the Manor or doing whatever it was he did when Pansy wasn't there, but apparently he had been working on this.
She wanted to know so many things. How did his parents feel about the match? When and why had he even started a courtship with her? It couldn't have been a very long courtship, or else Pansy would have caught wind of it by now. Was this union for the sake of money, or was he actually in love?
Unconsciously, she gripped the paper harder at this last question, but she didn't allow herself to reflect too deeply on it. She was still reeling from the fact that this engagement existed in the first place. So this was the true reason Draco hadn't talked to her lately. This.
She waved her wand and sent her tea set back into the kitchen. Forget the tea; she needed a stiff drink.
.x.x.
"Blaise," she crooned, when his face appeared in the fire. "How are you, my sweet friend?"
He wasn't having any of it, though. "I know why you're firecalling, so don't give me any of that."
She gladly dropped the pretence; sweetness was too sticky for her complexion, anyway. "Did you know about Draco getting engaged? Or about him dating this tart in the first place?"
Blaise shrugged. "I don't really pay attention to other people's affairs. I have enough to deal with."
She huffed. "Don't lie to me; you watch everyone like a hawk. You must have gotten an inkling of this."
He seemed to ponder, cupping his chin in his hand, but she knew he was just pretending. Blaise liked to delay answering people as much as possible, just to irritate them, probably.
"Well…they did seem cosy at the opening of the War Orphanage or whatever Potter calls it."
"Some stupidly sentimental name like Dumbledore's Daycare, probably," she muttered reflexively. Blaise smiled, but he made no comment on this remark. "Anyway," she continued, "he attended that? He doesn't seem the type."
"He is the type to act out when he doesn't get the attention he wants," commented Blaise offhandedly.
She nearly opened her mouth to ask what that had to do with anything, but then she inhaled through her nose and thought about it instead.
Ah. Lucius and Narcissa probably weren't treating him as seriously as he would have liked. Draco did get sensitive about the whole adulthood thing.
"Did he achieve the desired effect, then? And what was Greengrass doing there?"
Blaise pretended to think some more, and Pansy tightened her grip on her wand. "Well…his parents definitely weren't pleased. I think they were more upset about his association with Greengrass, though. Apparently she's been more of a Muggle sympathiser these days. Word got out immediately when she and Draco were seen together there. I'm actually surprised you didn't hear about it."
"When was this opening?"
He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, and Pansy cleared her throat warningly. His lips twitched, and he said, "Now that I think about it, perhaps about a week after you left. Did you enjoy your trip, by the way? You never did tell me about it."
"It was lovely," she snapped, getting it out of the way. "Nothing you haven't already seen before. So no one thought fit to tell me that Draco had a new love interest?"
"Why, Pansy, I didn't think you still cared."
She refused to rise to the bait—it was already too obvious she cared; why give him more ammo? "So how long was this courtship? I've only been gone three months, for Salazar's sake."
Blaise shrugged and straightened up, obviously preparing to end the conversation. "What can I say? He works fast, especially when fuelled by his parents' dismay."
"Useless," Pansy spat at him, but there was no venom in it. "I don't know why I bother asking you anything."
Even after she shut off the Floo connection, his laughter could still be heard, and she pretended not to smile at the sound.
.x.x.
She stared at her beautiful barn owl, Aphrodite, as she sat in her most comfortable armchair and sipped her afternoon tea. The name was disgustingly twee, of course, but her father could be a sentimental sap at times, and he had always considered his daughter to be a goddess, saying that any man would be sure to fall under her spell.
She snorted at the thought. Fathers were so blind; she knew she wasn't anything of the sort. Sure, she had had some flirtations here and there, but they were nothing serious, and no one had ever declared their lifelong devotion to her.
Not that she would have welcomed such a vulgar and pathetic display, mind you, but it was rather disappointing that no one offered in the first place.
She glanced into her teacup at the wavering reflection on the surface. Her nose would always be the bane of her existence, she concluded. Draco used to make fun of it every time she tried to kiss him.
"Not tonight, Pansy. Between my aquiline nose and your pug nose, we'd probably violate some law of nature," he had drawled once before walking off to write his potions essay.
She gave him an Itching Hex on his unmentionables, of course, but that still didn't make her feel any better.
Why had she bothered, back then? He never gave her the sort of flattery she always wanted from him. Draco Malfoy just never gave anyone his full attention; he preferred to talk to a variety of people on different topics, and even then he only put in minimal conversational effort. The most attention he ever gave to one person was probably Potter, but that was childish spite more than anything else.
Perhaps she had enjoyed the challenge, back then. Maybe she thought she could have been an exception. Hah. She knew better now; she knew not to waste her energy on someone so hopeless.
She stared at Aphrodite again and sighed. Well, he used to be hopeless. Now she wasn't so sure. It had been better when she thought he'd stay a brooding single man forever, but this engagement proved he wasn't as heartless as she'd thought.
What did Astoria have that she didn't?
Aphrodite cocked her head, wary of Pansy's constant attention.
"I don't know if I need you yet," she said to her. "I'm contemplating, all right?"
Was there a way to send him a letter without sounding like a jilted lover?
She could feel a headache forming, so she set the tea down, leaving the room.
Perhaps a nap was in order.
.x.x.
There was a knock on the door.
She knew this, but she also knew that she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to. This sordid romance novel on her lap was much more important than whoever it was on the other side.
The knock persisted, ruling out any hope it was Draco, if she'd been foolish enough to have any such hope. He would never have persisted; he'd have just left and sent her an owl after a few knocks. Actually, he probably wouldn't have come to visit in the first place, anyway.
After five minutes, the person was still knocking, so she was sure it wasn't Blaise. He may have been her unofficial best friend, but even he had a busy schedule to keep.
It was a steady, relaxed knock. Firm, but in no particular hurry. It couldn't have been Millicent, because she would have been shouting profanity by now. Which would have been entertaining and would have made Pansy smile, but this steady knock was rather unnerving.
Taking a deep breath, she set the novel aside and moved towards the door, wand at the ready.
She was not expecting to see Theodore Nott on the other side.
"Theo? Aren't you supposed to be in Wales right now?"
He dismissed the hand he had apparently conjured for the knocking, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Pansy couldn't help but admire the handy spellwork, even as she tapped her foot and waited.
"I've been home for a week, Pansy. Didn't Blaise tell you?"
She gave him a pointed look and he smiled. "Right. I've been away long enough to forget he's an arse," he admitted.
"Why doesn't anyone ever owl me anymore?" she asked the ceiling. Without waiting for an answer, she turned away and walked back into her living room, gesturing at him to follow.
She didn't bother to turn around to check if he was following; the sound of him shutting the door behind him was enough for her.
.x.x.
Five delicate cakes later, and Pansy had finally finished venting.
Well, almost.
All right, so she hadn't finished at all.
"What I really don't get is why he couldn't have told me. Or at least come to see me. I've been back for a month, Theo."
"Well, you could have—"
"Gone to see him myself? Theo. Who's the one who's always done the chasing?"
"…you," he mumbled, before going back to his finger sandwich.
"Exactly. I'm not proud of my teenaged self, no, but I am adult enough to own up to it now. And ever since we left Hogwarts, I have still been the one that has had to firecall him every once in a while, and he always gives me such generic responses. You know what, Theo? I am tired. After that trip to Milan, I decided that I wasn't going to initiate it anymore. I was going to let him come to me."
"That's good," he responded, but she wasn't done yet.
"But what does he do? He gets engaged! Without telling me first! Without telling anyone first, apparently! That self-centred bastard!"
"Well, maybe he had a reason to not—"
"Oh, it's obvious what his reason was. He wanted to make sure it was a complete surprise to his parents, to create the ultimate shock and send them to their early graves. I know that. Any idiot knows that. But he didn't trust me, Theo? He didn't think I could keep it a secret?"
"He probably thought you would hunt Astoria down and interrogate her first," Theo responded with a little smile. She chose to ignore this.
"I hate him, Theo! I hate him, hate him, hate him!" She was dangerously close to stamping her foot, but she was thankfully able to keep that under control, at least. "First he's a complete arsehole to me back when I deigned to date him, then he convinces me that he's just unlovable, and now he shows up with some new girl on his arm, out of absolutely nowhere, and he expects us to accept her as his future wife?"
She panted after she said all this, now quieted by the shock she felt from realising she had just said all this out loud. To Theo, of all people. Quiet, mousy Theo who never asked for anything and rarely ventured an opinion unless absolutely sure everyone else felt the same.
She felt another headache coming on.
"Excuse me, Theo, I need to—"
He quickly caught her wrist before she could stand up. "What's wrong, Pansy?"
She stared at her wrist in surprise, but chose not to comment on it for now. "I just have a headache."
"Sit down," he said, tugging gently. "I have a potion on me that'll take care of that."
She pulled her hand away pretty easily, but she sat down regardless. He proffered a vial, and she took it, downing the contents without a second thought. The pain went away immediately.
"Have you left your house lately, Pansy?" he asked quietly, as she settled back into her armchair.
"Of course I have."
"When was the last time?"
She blinked. "I…last Wednesday. I went to order a new dress."
"Don't lie, Pansy. You're not very good at it."
She huffed and crossed her arms. "I don't get why it matters, anyway. What I do with my time is none of your business."
"Pansy, you're paler than I've ever seen. You can practically see every vein beneath your skin. Please get some sunlight."
"Fine, I'll open the curtains right now." She stood up, but he pressed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back into her seat.
"That's not enough. You need to go outside."
"Fine. I'll go outside right now, as soon as you let go." She really didn't want to deal with him right now, not after her embarrassingly petty display of emotion earlier. "Accio parasol!"
He caught the parasol for her. "Let me go with you."
"I'm not some invalid," she snapped, yanking the parasol out of his hand and wrenching herself away. "Why are you here, anyway?" It had just occurred to her that she had yet to ask him this, despite the fact that he'd been here for over an hour.
"I came to check in on you. And I'm glad I did; you don't look well at all."
"Then stop looking at me."
"No," he said firmly, continuing to look at her.
"I get it," she said finally, after staring back at him for a bit. "You saw the announcement in the paper, somehow knew I'd get pathetic like this, and now you've come to make sure I don't do something dramatic, is that it?"
"No, Pansy."
"Just admit it, Theo. I'm being ridiculous and overly emotional about a relationship that ended five years ago. Who even does that? You can just go ahead and admit that I'm pathetic and get it over with. Don't torture me like this."
"You're not pathetic, Pansy. None of us got what we wanted, after the war. It's okay to be upset. We're Slytherins; demanding what we want is what we do best."
She looked away and refused to say another word, so he continued, "You haven't been able to tell anyone how you've felt about him all these years, eh?"
She snorted at that. "Who was I supposed to tell, Theo? Blaise would just smile in silence, Millicent would probably bash his head in, and I haven't seen Daphne for a long time. Thank bloody hell for that, or else she'd have told that little sister of hers, and they'd all have had a good laugh about me."
"Maybe that's why these feelings are so intense, Pansy. Because you've never had the chance to vent."
"Oh for Salazar's sake. Are you seriously suggesting we talk about feelings now? What are we, Hufflepuffs?"
He smiled and shook his head. "We're human. We all need to vent at some point; even saintly Gryffindors do that, if Potter's any indication. Besides, if you don't want to talk about feelings, we could always burn Draco in effigy. That's always fun."
She smiled for the first time. "If I promise to go on a walk with you, can we make that effigy?"
"Absolutely," he said, and then he kissed her nose.
He quickly ran away before she could hex him, laughing in a way she'd never heard him laugh before.
Inexplicably, it made her want to dance.
.x.x.
Dear Draco,
I would like to congratulate you on your recent engagement.
Well, I would like to, but you're a right pain in the arse. Do you know how unpleasant it is to have to read a paper just to know if you're alive or not?
Nonetheless, I wish Astoria luck, at least. She'll need it if she's to deal with your mood swings and the way you close off when you feel the slightest bit offended. And don't get me started on your inability to wipe your mouth properly. I shudder just thinking about it, but that poor woman must live with it.
When you finally deign to come see me in person, let me know. Theo and I just might be able to squeeze you into our schedule sometime.
Regards,
Pansy
P.S. Do remember to give me a pretty wedding invitation, will you? I do so like collecting those. And don't flatter yourself that I sent this because I care. There was nothing else to do.