AN: Written for the Dueling Tournament using the prompts Draco/Pansy, rain, grass, fork, strings, purple, and crimson; and the If You Dare Challenge, Prompt #34 Public Opinion.
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Draco hadn't always loved Pansy.
He had thought she was
irritatingclingyattentionseeking
but he basked in her attention anyway.
He saw her in a new light after the Final Battle.
They had returned to Hogwarts to retake their seventh year
but now, they were
.T.R.A.I.T.O.R.S.
In the eyes of their classmates.
"But he's there! Potter's there. Someone grab him!"
Even their friends turned against them.
It was slowly wearing Draco down
but not Pansy.
She held her head up high,
-slathering her lips in crimson lipstick-
-sashaying her way through the halls-
+Just like she used to+
Draco was not coping well with the !hate!
"You don't belong here, Death Eater!"
Not being adored by his Slytherin cronies was a new experience for him
and he did not like it at all.
His parents still had total control over him
Manipulative as puppeteers, tugging at his strings
So he moved jerkily to right where they wanted him.
They were pressuring to him to get married soon
+Just like when they made him take the Dark Mark+
One day, he went for a walk in the rain.
He noticed how the heavy clouds gave the Black Lake a soft purple sheen
and he decided he quite liked it that way.
He was three quarters of the way around when he heard it.
…stifled sobbing…
Pansy was curled into a ball on the muddied grass
Her robes soaked through to the skin
The t,e'a,r's on her face indistinguishable from the r,a'i,n'd,r'o,p's falling from the sky.
He held her as she wept
And thought,
Maybe, she isn't as strong as she seems.
When she was finished, he kissed her.
He poured everything into that kiss
All the hope
All the fury
All the admiration
All the regret.
She kissed him back
And he didn't care that his mouth was coated in crimson
Or that the purple lake had darkened to black as the thunderstorm raged on,
Pummeling into the grass they sat upon.
After that day, they were
-in-it-together-
And public opinion didn't really matter to them any more.
His parents clearly approved when he took her to dine with them
"You know a girl's been brought up right when she knows how to handle all five dessert forks perfectly!"
They married straight after they left Hogwarts
And moved into a large mansion in Hampshire
All to themselves.
U
N
T
I
L
the patter of tiny feet
echoed around the spacious halls.
"Scorpius, be careful with that dessert fork! You know you aren't supposed to touch Grandma's cutlery!"
And from then on
They were happy.
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