The Moody Veela Chronicles
Chapter Four
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine as HP doesn't belong to me.
****
There were times when Pansy Parkinson wished she had been sorted into Hufflepuff— generally when she had been dealing with Slytherin wizards for too long. There were only two types of Slytherin males. Those who were entirely too clever for their own good and those who were not. Crabbe and Goyle clearly belonged in the latter category; a witch could feel her brain cells dying off when trapped in conversation with either of them.
At the opposite end of the spectrum were the rest of the wizards in her year. Draco, Theo, and Blaise were all disgustingly clever. And what was worse, they shared the same biting wit. It was enough to make any sane witch long for the relatively normal wizards who inhabited Hufflepuff.
Pansy grimaced, remembering the time she had voiced that thought in the presence of Draco and Theo. The two of them had promptly rushed her to the hospital wing in a mad panic, insisting that there was something wrong with her, which led to Madam Pomfrey keeping her there overnight for observation. It was just so very sad how her boys were all such drama queens.
But she had learned from her mistake and had watched her tongue most assiduously when around them ever since that incident. True she would occasionally play with the idea of marching over to wherever the Sorting Hat was stored and insisting on being resorted into Hufflepuff, like last month when the Slytherin Quidditch team had lost to Gryffindor. She never actually went through with that idea as that would have been unacceptable to her parents. It was painful just to think of what their reactions would be to that news. Pansy could almost hear her mother screeching about how she was doomed to a life of poverty for everyone knew that to marry well one had to marry a Slytherin.
Needless to say, Pansy had long given up any hope she had on prying her mum's value system out of the dark ages.
But thankfully she was usually able to deal with her boys. They weren't all that bad. Draco and Blaise were usually willing to help her with schoolwork—so long as she didn't mind the playful insults they'd toss her way—while Goyle was absolute tops when it came to fetching things for her.
Of course, there were times when her patience was tested, such as now. It didn't bode well when the wizards were this obnoxious this early. An uneasy feeling settled over her as Theo and Blaise continued to prattle on about some nonsense while Crabbe and Goyle stuffed their faces.
Crabbe reached over and speared a sausage off of her plate. Without pausing for breath, he crammed it into his mouth.
Pansy sighed. She didn't know why she even bothered with breakfast when Crabbe and Goyle took the seats across from her. The sight of them eating inevitably ruined her appetite. "Go ahead, help yourself," she said. She pushed her plate forward. "Not that I need to tell you that, it seems," she added under her breath.
That statement earned her the attention of the other males sitting nearby. "Don't tell me that you're on a diet again," drawled Blaise. "Darling, you must remember how miserable you were the last time. And you lost what? All of a pound?" He started to giggle, something that was very unattractive in a man.
Without blinking an eye, Pansy twirled her fork up and promptly stabbed the idiot sitting next to her. Alas Blaise somehow managed to dodge—his reaction time had improved ever since he had become a Chaser for Slytherin.
"Oh! Looks like someone is feeling grouchy today," said Theo.
Pansy closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. Then she turned to her friend and asked, "Do you have to be impossible at breakfast too, Theo?"
He gazed back innocently at her. "Excuse me?"
It was enough to make any witch scream. But years of having to deal with her boys had taught her that was exactly the reaction they were hoping for. "Don't try that act with me, Nott," she said in a no nonsense tone of voice. "I've known you since we were three. You can't pull one over on me. I know perfectly well that you know that I was referring to the fact that you were joining forces with Blaise to pick on me at breakfast." She spared a glare for Crabbe across the table. "And if I thought that he"—she waved a hand at Vince—"was capable of planning ahead, I would accuse him on being in on your scheme too."
"Whatever makes you say that?" Somehow Theo managed to look more innocent than ever.
Pansy simply glowered at him in response.
"I believe she was referring to your comment about her being grumpy this morning," Blaise interjected.
Theo rolled his eyes. "Merlin! Not everything is about you, Pansy. I was referring to Granger. She looks livid that Draco is practically glued to her side."
That earned him a bop on the head from Pansy, which landed with a gratifying thud. "You idiot! You should have said so right away!"
"My apologies. I thought that you were more observant than that." Theo rubbed his head and winced. "Everyone else seems to have noticed."
Pansy looked around and then bit her tongue so she wouldn't swear. Unfortunately it appeared as though that prat was right. Everyone else had noticed. The usual buzz of conversation had faded away, and all eyes were glued on Draco and Granger, who were standing side by side near the door. They were too far away for Pansy to hear what was being said, but it didn't look as though Granger was very happy with Draco.
Pansy groaned and banged her head against the table. "I knew I shouldn't have come to breakfast this morning," she muttered to herself. "This can't end well."
"Shouldn't you have more faith in your best friend?" Theo chided her mildly.
She lifted up her head to shoot him a glare of doom. "Unfortunately I know Draco." Which was true. She had known Theo ever since she was three, but she had known Draco for even longer than that. He had stayed for a couple weeks with her family after the first time You-Know-Who was defeated. Lucius Malfoy was occupied with staying out of Azkaban while Narcissa was simply beside herself given the straits her husband and her older sister were in. Neither of the Malfoys had been able to really take care of Draco during that difficult time, and so Pansy's mother had wound up volunteering to step in. And the rest, as they say, was history. She and Draco had been the closest of friends ever since.
That was despite the fact that one of her first memories was of him pulling the ribbons out of her hair. Even as a toddler, Draco was a prat.
He could be dreadfully annoying at times, but he had always watched out for her. Because of that, there had been a time that she had fancied herself half in love with him. It made Pansy blush to think of just how silly she had been in their first couple years of Hogwarts, the way she hung on to Draco all the time. Her mother had revealed to her shortly before she left for Hogwarts that Draco was part veela, and that had only fanned the flames of her imagination. One of Pansy's favorite pastimes back then was daydreaming how Draco would declare that she was the only one for him and how they would live happily ever after.
But that was thankfully in the past, and she had got wiser since then. Pansy knew Draco better than he knew himself. After she had got over her girlish fantasies of the perfect romance, it had been blindingly obvious to her that her best friend was obsessed with a certain Gryffindor witch. She snorted. One would have to be a bloody idiot to miss that, seeing how he ranted about her day and night.
Of course it was just like Draco to fixate upon a witch whose best friends were wizards. One didn't have to be a genius to figure out that was asking for trouble. Draco tended to be possessive in the first place, never having learned how to share. And for his destined witch to be in close proximity to the same two wizards day in and day out—it was a disaster waiting to happen. Pansy had lost count of how many times she had thrown herself at her friend, all but shrieking at him to grab his attention, so she could distract him before he acted upon his instincts. Because that wouldn't end well, not at all. Thankfully her antics had done the trick so far, even though her reputation had taken a hit.
Although it seems like all my hard work has been for naught, if the look on Granger's face is anything to go by, Pansy groused silently.
"So what do you think?" asked Theo. "Will they sit with us or with the Gryffindors?"
"Of course they're sitting with us," said Greg.
"Where else would Draco sit?" added Vince. "He always sits with us."
"My bad. I forgot the two of you lacked anything resembling an imagination," Theo drawled. He turned to look over at Pansy and Blaise, raising an eyebrow to indicate that he expected a more intelligent response from them.
"I think they'll eat with the Gryffindors," said Blaise. "Draco never did have much of a sense of self-preservation."
"And that's why I think they'll be here with us," Pansy said. "If Potty and the Weasel were there, then Draco would certainly head on over there. But as they're not…well sitting over here will only further irk Granger's temper and that's exactly the sort of stupid move Draco's likely to do."
"Interesting reasoning there," Theo said clinically. A glint appeared in his eyes. "Care to put any money on that proposition?"
Pansy leveled her best glare at him. "I'm not stupid, you know. I know that whichever way I bet, you have some trick up your sleeve to change the outcome to your liking."
"Indeed," agreed Blaise. "There is such a thing as being too clever for your own good, you know."
"It's funny that you should say that, seeing how you have the same problem and all," Pansy noted.
Blaise clutched his hands to his chest in mock despair. "Pansy! How could you? And here I thought that you—"
"Thanks ever so much for proving my point." She rolled her eyes, tired of his antics.
"And it looks like they are headed over here," Theo smoothly interrupted their argument. "You should've taken up that bet while you could."
Pansy sighed. "Again I'm not stupid. Merlin. Aren't you a little bit young to be suffering from hearing loss?" Blaise tittered at that verbal snipe, and her temper went further down the drain. It was going to be a long day.
Scratch that, she thought as Draco guided Granger to the seat next to her. It's not going to be just a long day. Breakfast itself will be a bloody eternity.
"Good morning, Pansy," Draco greeted her cheerfully. "You know Hermione, right?"
"I've seen her around here and there," she replied dryly. "You have my sympathies, Granger, for having to deal with him."
"Hey! I resent—"
"Resemble that remark," Theo interjected. "My, my. Where are your manners today, Draco?" He smiled charmingly at Granger from his perch across from her. "Well as it seems that since Draco has lost all sense of civility, I'll just have to introduce myself. I'm Theo, and I must say you look much more lovely in person close up than—"
He never got a chance to finish what he was going to say for Draco drew his wand and leveled it straight at his friend's head. "Mine," he all but growled.
Theo simply rolled his eyes. Despite herself, Pansy couldn't help but admire his grace in the face of certain death. "And I'm positive that Miss Granger loves this barbarian side of you. Do try to control yourself, Draco. You're giving all of us Slytherins a bad name."
A mad, deranged look covered Draco's face. Theo had pushed him too far. Granger had latched on to his arm and was whispering something in his ear, but Pansy could tell that he was still dangerously on edge. She knew him best after all. She uttered a deep sigh. It was far too early to see any of her mates wind up in the hospital wing, and that meant it was time for her to intervene.
"Stop that, Theo," she said flatly.
"But Pansy! I'm only trying to help Draco for otherwise he might lose—"
"Shut it right now." She leaned forward to glare at the wizard. "Otherwise I promise you that I'll destroy you." Those words were no an idle threat. She was a Slytherin after all, and she was the unofficial leader of all the Slytherin witches for a good reason.
She was absolutely ruthless when someone crossed her.
That combined with her killer instinct to know just where to strike to hurt someone the most made her a formidable opponent. She had proven just how dangerous she was within a month of arriving at Hogwarts. Daphne Greengrass had taken to comparing Pansy's face to that of a pug every chance she got, and after three weeks of such taunting, Pansy had had enough. She smirked as she remembered the revenge she had concocted. Daphne's hair still hadn't recovered.
And so Pansy's threat found her mark. Theo immediately went quiet. He was clever enough to realize that he didn't stand a chance against her, especially since Draco would side with her. He did always, but he would do so this time with a vengeance. Pansy knew that Theo knew he would be begging for mercy before lunch if he went up against the two of them. The threat to his mate subsided, Draco lowered his wand in favor of clutching Granger's hand possessively.
"You must care for him very much," a soft voice said from beside her. Pansy turned to see that Granger was looking thoughtfully at her. Pansy had a pretty good idea just what Granger was thinking about.
"I've known Draco before I could even walk," she said simply. "He's like the annoying, younger brother I've never had. Which is just as well, I suppose, for if I had one, I'm dead certain that the two of them would've joined forces to bother me incessantly."
"Imagine that," Granger said drolly. Pansy could tell Granger's thoughts had turned to Potty and the Weasel from the way Draco's eyes glowed silver alone.
Great, just great. Draco's going to be like this until the two of them finally mate. And something tells me Granger's the sort of witch who would insist on waiting in a normal relationship, much less one with a boy she's been at odds with for practically forever. I have no idea how I'm going to keep him out of trouble until then.
"What are you doing?" Pansy snapped to attention at Granger's screech. Draco had begun piling food upon Granger's plate, and she looked none too pleased at the gesture.
"You don't eat enough," he said in a gruff manner as he continued to add food to the Gryffindor's plate.
"Well I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite at the moment." Granger tossed her head snottily.
Pansy didn't like the insinuation Granger had made, that Slytherins weren't to be trusted. "Why? It's not like we're going to poison you," she told the other witch.
"You better not." Draco glowered at her. "If you do—"
Pansy also didn't care for her old friend threatening her. And after all I've done for that boy too! I suppose I can't hold it against him—it's not as though he can control himself when it comes to her, more's the pity. She rolled her eyes. She would just have to calm him down. "You know me better than that," she said simply. "I don't have to prove myself to you."
Instantly he deflated, all threat gone from his posture. "Yeah, yeah I do. And no, no you don't." He looked thoroughly embarrassed at her calm reprimand. Pansy smiled wanly at him. She always thought he was cute when flustered. It was too bad that she wasn't his mate. No one understood him the way she did. By all rights, he should have been hers.
But then Draco never did like to take the easy way out.
It was really just too bad.
****
Author's note: A shorter update than usual, but it's better than none I hope. The next chapter should be back up to the usual size. Thanks for reading!