Monday morning dawned bright and early for Pansy Parkinson. The weekend seemed like a fleeting cloud to her. She and Percy had spent the past two days getting to know each other. On Saturday evening, he took her to a play in a village near Cumbria that was sponsored by the Ministry. It was a community theater production of The Fountain of Fair Fortune done by little schoolchildren. They had a splendid time talking about the adorable performers over dinner after the play had ended. On Sunday afternoon she took him on a picnic at one of her favorite parks growing up. They spent a magical afternoon watching red-cheeked children throwing little pieces of bread to feed the ducks.
They did not go any further than an embrace or a peck on the cheek. It felt Pansy a little frustrated, she was used to dating men who were more forward. But then, it was part of Percy's charm—slow and steady always won the race, after all. All the more odd was that Percy Weasley seemed much more comfortable around her the further they were from the reach of the Ministry. He had already put his arm around her shoulder once, and seemed to smile widely more often. Pansy almost swooned every time he gave her one of those rare smiles. While she, as a party planner, threw smiles like Knuts, Percy the Ministry official was the opposite. Which was why as a companion she learned to cherish the smiles he gave her.
Lounging in her bed, she cautiously received her Monday's copy of the Daily Prophet from the owl that had flown into her window. After giving the owl a treat and a galleon, she sighed as she flipped through the pages of the Prophet. Lazily, she turned one page to another until something caught her eye—Rita Skeeter's weekly gossip column. As usual it was filled with snippets of scandalous observations of the rich and famous. Until one paragraph left Pansy stunned
Weasley brothers brawl at The Bronze Knut. On Friday night, Auror Ronald Weasley (accompanied by close friend Harry Potter and fiancé Hermione Granger) exchanged loud, angry words with his brother Ministry Official Percy Weasley, who was accompanied by socialite and party planner Pansy Parkinson. This is not the first time Mr. Weasley and Ms Parkinson have been sighted together, as my sources tell me they had a rather intimate dinner last Wednesday night. Is Arthur Weasley's last single son thinking of settling down with the fabulous Ms. Parkinson? I'll be the first to know.
Pansy closed her eyes and massaged her temples. For all that Rita Skeeter had helped her in launching her career, she had never wanted to throttle another woman more than ever before. This could very well ruin the fragile budding romance she and Percy were beginning to share. Percy, for all his acumen in politics, finances and business, was still a shy person who was uncomfortable in the limelight. She would have to speak to him about it soon. She knew they couldn't be paranoid of Rita Skeeter's presence for every action they took, so it should be clear to both of them what this relationship really was.
Pansy hated the talk.
Sighing, she hauled herself out of bed and into the showers. Thinking about the parties she had set for the week. Much to her dismay, she could not seem to focus, not when Percy Weasley was clouding her mind. She dressed and apparated to her office, willing herself to go on business-mode. She had clients to meet and wishes to grant—and she could not do it if she were not one-hundred-percent fully committed. Pansy sat at her desk as she prepared to eat a quick breakfast of toast and marmalade. She could hear Harriet filing the papers needed to start the day's work.
After eating, she set herself to work. She grabbed the parchment containing a layout of the seating plan for this Tuesday's tea party—a mixer for current and prospective employees of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She had began working on the seating charts when Harriet knocked on her door.
"A Mr. Weasley is here to see you." Harriet said. Pansy frowned; she was not expecting Percy at all. She sighed and motioned for Harriet to lead him in. She saw a flash of red hair and smiled, but was surprised when it was Ronald Weasley who entered. Ron smiled apologetically at her. She stood up and motioned for him to sit down.
"Good morning Pan…Parkinson…" Ron awkwardly started.
"Ron, is it alright if I call you that? You can call me Pansy." She offered. Ron nodded, mumbling under his breath.
"Right. Pansy, I came here to apologize about my behavior last Friday night. It was very rude of me. I had too much Firewhisky and well, let's be honest, the sight of you with my brother just startled me." Ron started. Pansy nodded understandingly.
"It's alright, really. We had a good laugh about it afterwards. Did Granger put you up to this?" Pansy humorously asked. She knew the youngest Weasley son would never go near her on his own volition.
"Partly, yes. But I really do want to apologize. I was a complete prick. Whatever…erm…business you have with my brother stays between you two." Ron said.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Pansy serenely said. There was an awkward silence as Ron dared to ask what he wanted to know ever since he saw them dining together.
"Are you two…erm…going out?" Ron asked, Pansy blushed.
"Ron, can I speak frankly? We may not be friends, but we're a lot better at dealing with each other now than we were at Hogwarts. God, we were awful." Pansy started, chuckling at the memories. Ron snorted, remembering the things they used to say to each other. It all seemed too trivial now that they have been faced by problems of the real world. It occurred to them how much sheltered they were by Hogwarts before the war.
"I don't know where this relationship with your brother is going. Truth be told I never saw him as someone I could date back when we were in Hogwarts. But make no mistake, we…erm…do enjoy each other's company." Pansy softly said. It was completely honest, and it was the best she could do.
"Well, like I said, it's none of my business. Harry, Hermione and I fully respect both of your rights to…well…go out. The twins won't be so forgiving, but they'll eventually warm up." Ron said. "The twins and Percy have a…erm…special kind of sibling rivalry. They'll probably make it hell for both of you." Ron continued, laughing at the possibility of the twins finding out that Percy had a, well, love life.
"Well, Rita Skeeter wrote about us in her column today at the Prophet so I should be expecting their knocks on my door too." Pansy joked. Ron rolled his eyes.
"That woman is insufferable." Ron said, shaking his head.
"Thank you for dropping by, Ronald. It means a lot that we don't have any animosity between us anymore." Pansy said.
"Like I said, we were all children then. I should take my leave. I'll see you around, Pansy." Ron said. With one final handshake, Ron departed, leaving Pansy stunned in her seat at the conversation she had just had with her former enemy at Hogwarts.
The twins won't be so forgiving, Ron's voice rang in her mind and suddenly she reached for her notes on Sheila Wood's party for her husband. Three words came to her mind: Weasleys Wizard Wheezes.
She might have to deal with more of the Weasley clan sooner than she expected.
