Sorry for such the long wait everyone! I went on holiday over the weekend and put this on the back burner a bit. I spent the past two moonlight evenings writing this, seeing as i tend to write more remorseful and depressive when i stay up later. Please enjoy the next chapter of Starlight!
Starlight
Chapter One
Life in Paper
September, 1996
Slytherin Common Room
A group of student were sitting by the open fire in their common room,the moonlight shined upon the windows and gave only a slight outline to everyone seated in the room. A dark-skinned boy who was leaning up against the wall laughed loudly as he spoke.
"You kicked in Potter's nose?"
"That filthy shit was spying on us the whole time in the train car. I hope he enjoys that broken nose."
"That'll teach him!", A girl separate from the group shouted.
"Pansy, did the classes get posted?"
"They did, they're over on the bulletin board. Potions with the Gryffindors first thing tomorrow morning."
"God, we need to spend another fucking morning with the mudbloods and scum once again. I wish they had never accepted them in the first place. They don't deserve to walk these halls."
August 31st, 2000
King's Cross Station, London
Pansy's vision began to unblur as she walked with her sister onto the train platform. Vision's from the past had been haunting her every step of the way for the weekend leading up to today. Rose was to begin her first term at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry , now under the tenure of Minerva McGonagall, who took over after the events of 1998. Platform 9 3/4th was filled with wizarding families saying goodbye to their children. A boy ran by Pansy with his Owl cage in tow, his family a few steps behind, looking quite pleased with their sons enthusiasm. The Daily Prophet reported that the conditions at Hogwarts have since improved with the 'new management', and the hostile enviornment brought about by Serverus Snape and former Death Eaters had completely disapeared. Rose tugged at Pansy's hand, to which Pansy jerked her hand away, her mind snapping back into the present, and looked down at her.
'You'll write to me every week right?' Rose said brightly, her head tilting ever so slightly.
Pansy gave a slight smile and responded back
'Yes, I promise I will make sure I send you a letter each week. I'll be there every step of the way with you.'
She worried that, like herself 10 years ago and many young children before, that Rose would worry too much about the house she was sorted in. Pansy knew from a young age that she would be a Slytherin as her parents explained that her pure-blood status would bring her into the best house with her friends. But from what Pansy had read in the Daily Prophet, the sorting hat was now allowing First Years to have an input into what house they wanted to be sorted in to. It had been brought about after many years of sorting based off family history and blood status. The train began to give off steam and Pansy snapped back into reality. She leaned over and gave Rose a big hug, and helped her up onto the train. A few moments after that, the Hogwarts express began to pull away from the platform slowly. Pansy didnt see Rose hanging out any of the windows, but waved just in case she was looking out a window. As the final car in the train pulled away, a family standing only a few feet away from Pansy was begining to turn away, the middle aged looking female said "I do hope Damien is sorted into Hufflepuff. The older, stern looking man nodded and said "He will be. If all of his family was in Hufflepuff, he will too. Any house but Slytherin is still best." They strided away quickly and apperated from the platform. Pansy began to proceed back to the entrance way, her eyes darting around in case any of her former classmates were on the platform. She secretly hoped that she would see someone, but her stomach was telling her no. After reaching the entrance way, Pansy began to get herself ready to apperate back to the house. A boy bumped into her shoulder as he passed her by. Rasing her head, she was about to excuse herself when the boy spoke
"Pansy Parkinson? Is that you?"
Pansy, realizing who it was, spoke softly
"Arent you Dean Thomas?"
Dean nodded, and said back to her
"You recgonize me! Hey, no hard feelings about what happened back, well, you know. It's the past now, so I just want you to know a few people dont harbor any bad feelings toward you."
Pansy stood in place silently and didnt nod, not knowing how to respoond.
"I should get going, my family is probably wondering where i went off to. Swing by The Leaky Cauldron when you can! A few of the guys and girls from our year are having a get together on the third, if you could be there that'd be great!" He ran off quickly, disapearing behind a corner.
She stood frozen on the spot. No hard feelings? And it only took them two years to even tell her that? She didnt even want to think about it, let alone show up to the meeting. There was little to no interest in her heart to confide with former students, she had no friends, why should she trouble herself and give them the satisfaction of showing up? Shaking her head, she exited the train platform and apperated back to the house. Her mind once again drifted to the memories of her childhood.
May 8th, 1991
'Now, Pansy dear, when you go to Hogwarts, we want you to keep one thing in mind. There are going to be children the same age as you who are completely different from you. You may hear that their parents are 'Muggles'. You must keep in mind, that you are not to associate, or be seen with these children, understood?'
'Of course Mother'
September 2nd, 2000
Days had passed since Rose had left for Hogwarts. The countryside outside of Southhampton was quiet and calm. The trees were a light shade of amber and orange this time of year, the leaves had yet to fall, but the season was changing from summer like weather to the calmness of fall. Pansy stood beside her bedroom window and watched as a group of children played in the field across from her home. She knew the parents of the children, and always remembered during the summer one family would always talk about how they would take exotic vacations to far away lands. Romania, Italy, Japan. Rose had always asked if they could go to such places, but her parents refused to take her, resorting to a trip to London or Liverpool. Pansy never complained about where her parents took her, but she too wished they could get away from Britian and travel far away. It's not like they were poor, like some familes. She shut the blinds to her window and sulked over to a seat in the corner of the room. She had spent the past two years being shut in the house, only having the company of Rose, and occasional visits from estranged family members who were too afraid to speak of her parents. Pansy always remarked during these meetings that her parents were dead to her, and that they should never be brought up in the house ever again. Her aunt and uncle who lived across the channel in France had pleaded the case that Rose should be raised with a proper 'Mother and Father' figure, to which Pansy threw them out and told them to never step within 500 feet of this house. She was the only family that Rose truely had, and she wasnt going to give her up.
A letter had arrived through the post earlier in the morning from Rose, it layed upon Pansy's bed, lightly torn open at the seam.
Dear Pans,
I was sorted into Ravenclaw! The sorting hat said that i showed great amounts of knowledge building in my head, so he sorted me to them. There are 12 other new first years alongside me who were sorted into Ravenclaw, so I'm sure im going to make new friends.
By the time this reaches you, my first lessons should be in session. I will let you know how my first week goes!
Love, Rose
She had read over the letter a dozen times, she was just happy she wasnt sorted into a house she didnt like. Pansy had also taken to writing a letter of her own, not to Rose, but to someone she knew dearly.
Dear Draco
I dont know how I'm going to put this in writing form, but seeing as you wont answer to any of my other letters. I havent heard from you since, 'that' day. And truthfully I feel as if you dont want to hear from me.
If that is the case, whatever relationship you think we had is over. It probably has been over, but I dont want to continue waiting on someone who doesnt even bother to respond to any of my letters for the past two years. I do wish you the best in, whatever it is you will be doing.
She intently stared at the letter sitting infront of her, feather still in hand. She was fighting back tears the longer she looked at it. It was something she did not want to admit, but after all this time she needed to move on. She sealed the letter, and went down stairs to give it to the owl to send off to him. The owl took it in it's mail pouch, and flew off into the distance. Pansy watched as the Owl disapeared over the horizon of the forrest, and she sat on the top step of the porch. Draco, the boy of her dreams, never even once thought of mailing to Pansy during the time after the battle. All the months before that, her room during the summer was filled with letters from him, sometimes multiple letters in a week, and she had read them over and over to herself late at night. It was the only positive light she had in her already bleak future, but now that was simply fading into the night. She wiped her eyes, biting her bottom lip again as she fought back a tear. The past was now a moment in her life she had finally moved on from, and she was ready to start a new life, with out the boy she cherished.
July, 1992
Sitting in the dining room of her house, Pansy put forth a question to her parents.
"Mum! Dad! Is it okay if I have a friend from London visit for the weekend?"
"Who is it?"
"Draco Malfoy!"
"Oh yes Pansy, of course. His family is Pure-Blood, this will be great for the family line!"
"Shes only 13 dear, I doubt that is something we should be concerned about right now"
"The time will come Norman, she needs to be ready as soon as possible."
September, 1994
"You're such a pathetic piece of trash you filthy fucking mudblood! Go back to your home where you belong!"
Her voice echoed through the halls of hogwarts, a first year, barely 11 years old, began to sob loudly as she went running down the opposite end of the hallway.
Oh How I wished I could go back in time and kill my parents for turning me into the pureblood bigot I am today. Better yet, I should have just killed myself.