warning: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money.


The Aftermath

"Pansy are you there?"

Hearing Ron's voice come through her Floo at two in the afternoon while she was at work at the Ministry caused her to drop what she was doing and rush over, especially since she thought he was on patrol today for the Auror's. With him being a freshly minted Auror, they hardly saw each other during the work days anymore.

"What's the matter?" she asked, trying to sound calm and collected when she was feeling anything but.

"Do you think you could come home for the rest of the afternoon?"

Looking at his face in the Floo like he had lost his mind, she gave a shake of her head before saying, "It's two in the afternoon Ron. Aren't you suppose to be on patrol?"

"Yes, and that's why I'm at the flat, so can you come home now?"

"Ron, why does your patrol...you didn't get hurt did you?"

"No," he sighed, exasperated. Giving her a firm look, he continued, "Look, I need you to come home. I don't want to explain over a Floo connection."

"Ron..."

"Fine, it's Tracey," he said cutting her off. "Will you come home now?"

Standing up, though she felt weak in the knees, she responded, "Let me just tell Hermione I need to pop out for a bit."

"Please just hurry."

Hearing the desperation in his voice, she took off for Hermione's office, praying that Hermione had gotten over the bad blood that had resulted from her break up with Ron and his ensuing relationship with Pansy. She had never understood where the bad blood had come from as Hermione had left Ron six months before they had gotten together; however, a little over two years later she was still walking on eggshells with Ron's ex. Pansy knew she needed to get home quickly and an ensuing argument with Hermione wasn't going to get her home any quicker.

Seeing Hermione at her desk, Pansy politely knocked on the door and gently asked, "Hermione, could you cover for me for a bit, I need to step out for an emergency?"

Hermione looked up from her pile of paperwork. Pansy fought the urge to squirm under Hermione's careful study before she finally asked, "Is everything okay?"

"No," Pansy replied quickly. "I don't have any specifics but I just need to go."

Pansy held her breath as Hermione's face softened before returning to her paperwork and dismissing Pansy with, "I'll just see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Hermione," Pansy responded before running back to her office to grab her things and head to the public apparition point.

Arriving to the flat she shared with Ron, she didn't know what to expect when she opened the door but Ginny using the Floo in their living room and Ron carrying a crying Tracey back to what she assumed was their bedroom - wasn't it. She nodded in reply when he gestured for her to follow him with his head.

Dropping her purse by the door as she closed it, she did as he silently asked as he carried Tracey back to their bedroom and put her on the bed. Pansy had never seen Tracey so utterly destroyed before as the young woman rolled over and pulled the closest pillows to her, burying her face in them.

Pansy mouthed, "What is going on?"

Ron stepped back over to her, and whispered in her ear, "I don't know. Harry and I found her bawling in the middle of Trafalgar Square during patrol. She wouldn't tell us what was the matter, so we brought her back here. Only to find out that George was doing a number at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry's out with Percy and Neville right now trying to track him down."

"What do you want me to do?" she whispered, her hand moving up to caress his jawline.

"See if you can find out what happened? I'm going to go help the others with George. Ginny will stay here. Let me know if you figure out anything."

"Okay," she whispered before standing on her toes to gently kiss his lips. "Go find him."

After he left the room, Pansy toed off her heels and crawled into bed on her side so she could face Tracey. Gently, she reached her hand up and brushed Tracey's golden brown hair out of her face and whispered, "Tracey what happened?"

She really didn't expect an answer that easily but she hadn't expected Tracey's cries to become wails. In response, Pansy made shushing noises with her mouth as she continued to stroke Tracey's hair trying to calm her. She waited several minutes until Tracey's wails had subsided again before she repeated her question.

This time she had more success as she barely made out, "he found a flat" in between Tracey's gasps and cries. Now she was really confused, George and Tracey had basically been living together for two years since she turned out to be the one person who seemed to get through the impenetrable shell George had built up around himself. Pansy had tried to talk to Tracey multiple times about the status of her relationship with George but Tracey kept swearing that it was nothing serious, only casual - though there wasn't a single member of the Weasley clan that had believed that in well over a year.

Softly Pansy pressed, "What do you mean he found a flat?"

"Daphne...said...he...took the...flat...above the...shop."

Making sure she just heard her best friend right, "This is about the flat above the shop?"

"You knew about it? I thought you were my best friend," Tracey screeched before pushing her face into the pillow. Pansy tried to touch her but Tracey just pushed her off until finally she lifted her head and screamed, "How could you? How could you not tell me?"

"Tracey, please listen..." Pansy started as gently and calmly as possible but evidently Tracey was too far gone in her misery to even try to start listening to Pansy because she just started to yell, "Get out. Just get out. Leave me alone."

Sighing, Pansy pulled herself out of the bed and saw Ginny standing in the doorway. She watched Ginny walk back down towards the front of the flat before following herself after exiting the room and closing the door.

She hadn't even stepped into the living room when Ginny quietly asked, "How are we suppose to explain to her that that flat was his and Fred's, if he's never told her?"