Chapter 6
Ginevra noted happily that she was the first one awake in Griffindor and quickly made her way out of the Common Room. The fewer times she had to confront Hermione or Harry in one day, the better. She slipped out of the portrait, coming face to face with a very tired looking Pansy Parkinson. After overcoming her shock at seeing Pansy standing -- fidgeting with her hands, no less -- outside the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginevra noticed that she had dark circles under her eyes and her hair looked less groomed than usual. "Are you looking for Ron?" Ginevra asked gently. Pansy nodded her head, wordlessly. "Okay, let me go get him. Wait right here." Pansy nodded again, still not meeting Ginevra's eyes.
Ginevra quickly turned around and went back into the Common Room. While she wasn't particularly excited about barging into the 7th year boys dormitory – not when she knew quite a few of them slept in the nude – Pansy's appearance was enough to make her grin and bear it. Sticking her head into the dormitory, eyes firmly closed, she said, "Ron! Get your arse out of bed this instant and come downstairs. There's someone waiting for you outside the portrait!" She waited outside the dormitory and, within a few moments, Ron came out, hair still damp from his shower.
"What's up, Gin?"
"Pansy's waiting for you ... she looks upset." Ginevra didn't see the concern that flashed in Ron's eyes because she immediately turned around and walked down the stairs. Ron followed moments later and the two walked out to meet Pansy. With a small, encouraging smile in Pansy's direction, Ginevra said goodbye to Ron and started for the Great Hall.
Ron said nothing for a moment, taking in Pansy's figure silently. She never met his eyes, just stared at the ground resolutely. Ron reached out to her before ever thinking, drawing her into the embrace of his arms. She sighed, tightening her fists in his shirt, and he quickly looked around to make sure they were alone. "Come on," he whispered softly. "I know a place where we can go for a bit. I'm sure Ginny won't mind." Pansy said nothing about this odd statement, only worrying Ron more. Cupping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her protectively to him and began walking slowly down the hallway.
Ron walked Pansy slowly towards the tapestry, still unsettled by her silence, and then moved it aside, pressing on the triangular brick as he'd seen Ginevra do. He ushered Pansy inside, and took his usual cramped seat next to her. The space was as small as he'd remembered, but at least they would have no unwanted visitors. "Alright, Pans, what's wrong?"
Hearing Draco and Blaise's nickname fall from his lips sent her into another fit of misery. "Ron," she whispered, her voice cracking from lack of use. "I don't know what to do... I screwed things up so bad... But maybe they were already like that, and I was just too blind to see it..."
Ron felt a bit ill at the uncharacteristic helplessness of her voice. This wasn't the Pansy he was used to; this was someone who was lost in themselves. "Oh, sweetheart," he said, the endearment falling from his lips naturally. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, knowing somehow that she wasn't ready to expose herself like this to him, even if she had come to Gryffindor to see him.
As he suspected, Pansy shook her head, and said in a small voice, "Can you just hold me for a minute?" Ron immediately drew her into his arms, ignoring the pain from the contortions this position required of his long legs. He stroked her hair, allowing her to turn her face into his chest. He'd actually never felt so helpless. It was a few minutes before he realized she was murmuring something, and he lowered his head to hear her better. "I can't be like you, Ron," she said softly. Ron reached a hand up to brush away the beginnings of tears from her eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Ron," she gestured helplessly. "I don't know if I can ever..."
"Pansy, look at me," Ron said firmly, turning her face up to his. "Now say what you need to say."
"I don't know if I can ever love you," she whispered, looking away in shame.
She was surprised to hear a low chuckle from Ron, and when she raised her face unbelievingly to his, she saw understanding there. "Oh, Pans," he whispered reverently. "When you are ready to love someone, anyone, you will," he said, starting to stroke her hair again. "Don't ever force yourself to love."
Pansy was overcome with emotion at his simple words, and she leaned her head forward until their foreheads touched. "Thank you, Ron," she said softly, looking into his eyes.
He smiled that small smile of his, brushing her lips carefully with his own. "Let's get out of here." He walked her back to Slytherin, where she allowed herself one last hug. "Pans," he whispered. She said nothing as he said his last words so softly she couldn't be sure she even heard him correctly. "When you do decide to open yourself to someone, I can only hope it will be me." Then he was gone, leaving behind a confused, troubled, but oddly content Pansy Parkinson.
… … …
"Hey, big brother –" Ginevra was about to tease him, but then she saw the sad, confused look on his face and thought better of it.
"Hullo, Gin." Without even looking at her, Ron slumped into his usual seat at the Gryffindor table. He did notice, however, that Hermione and Harry were absent from the table this morning, something he was quite pleased about. He started to scoop food onto his plate, trying his best not to follow through with the urge to send two particular men at the Slytherin table a heated glare.
Ginevra looked at Ron oddly, seeing his hand clench around his mug of pumpkin juice. "Did everything go alright with Pansy?"
"Depends on what you mean. Is Pansy all cheered up? Most definitely." Ron shoveled some eggs into his mouth, hoping it would be enough of an excuse for Ginevra not to ask him any more questions about Pansy.
Ginevra would not be so easily deterred, however. "Well, wasn't she crying?"
Ron stared at Ginevra. "You can be very persistent, even when it's clear I don't want to talk about it," he said, not unkindly.
"Ronald, I grew up in a house with six brothers who would rather soak family jewels in boiling oil than actually talk about something. How did you think I managed to stay in the 'know' after all these years, if not by persistence?" Ginevra smirked and returned to her breakfast, although Ron could tell she wasn't done interrogating him.
Ron sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to tell her at some point. "Alright," he said, lowering his voice. He told her briefly what had happened previously with Pansy, omitting Pansy's comment about not knowing if she could ever love. Ginny didn't need to know that.
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Pansy Parkinson?" Ginevra asked, disbelief evident on her face and in her tone.
"Don't be like that, Gin." Ron scowled at her. "You saw how messed up she was when she was outside the portrait. She is capable of having real, human emotions, despite what 3/4 of Hogwarts would like to think." Ginevra stared at her plate, and Ron immediately softened. Ginevra, of all people, would understand being misunderstood. "Oh, Gin, she just needs someone there to understand that her Slytherin persona is just that, a persona."
"I know, Ron..." She trailed off as the post came soaring in. Within moments, an unfamiliar owl landed between her and Ron, Daily Prophet clasped tightly in its beak. She paid it and watched it soar off, before turning to the paper.
Ginevra unfurled the paper, and saw a bold headline: Vampyre Caught! Looking at the article interestedly, she read a few lines, enough to know that while they had caught a genuine vampyre, it was not the one responsible for the recent attacks. Ginevra was about to pass the paper along to Ron – she didn't enjoy reading the Daily Prophet very much, as most of the things they reported were utter nonsense – but a strange picture caught her eye. It was down at the bottom of the front page and the man in the picture looked decidedly nervous. Which wasn't all that surprising; he was the vampyre they'd caught. His eyes were rolling wildly, and between snarls at his captors, Ginevra could see how he sniffed the air periodically. He didn't act like a normal human, now that she saw him by himself, and it was very familiar... A loud noise drew her attention to the Slytherin table, where Draco had thrown a piece of toast at Blaise, only to have pumpkin juice thrown back at him. Ginevra looked down at the picture. The man was pale. She looked up at the pale faces now engaged in an argument. Looking quickly back down at the paper, she could see the way his tongue darted out to touch his fangs ever so often, as if reassuring himself that they were there. She'd seen someone else do that... Draco had when she'd spoken about death! Then, suddenly, the memory came rushing back to her. Do you have any idea what we are! Ginevra gasped involuntarily. Standing quickly, she grabbed her bag. "I have to go to the Library," she muttered to a confused Ron, casting one final look over her shoulder at the two boys still quarreling at the Slytherin Table before striding out.
On the other side of the Great Hall, Draco was trying desperately to get Blaise to calm down and not cause a scene. There was already enough gossip surrounding the Slytherin Royalty; they didn't need an argument to add fuel to the fire. "Blaise, let's step outside and discuss this away from prying ears."
"Let's not, Draco! I don't care what any of these cheeky slags see or hear." Draco winced, noticing the glares Blaise got for his comment. "But I won't sit and do nothing while Pansy pouts because she made a bad decision!"
"And if you go in there talking like that, she's only going to get more angry with you. Now, let's continue this in our dormitory." Draco grabbed Blaise by the elbow, pushing his forefinger onto the pressure point on the inside of his elbow. Blaise hissed in pain and allowed Draco to drag him out of the Great Hall.
… … …
Pansy was lying on her bed, just thinking, when she heard a knock on her door. Knowing whom it was, and knowing that this confrontation was inevitable, she opened the door to admit an irritated looking Blaise, and a somewhat sheepish-looking Draco -- not that Draco ever looked very sheepish anyway.
"I suppose I ought to thank you for giving me the morning to cool off. But then, I suppose you did it more to save your own skins than actually in consideration of me," Pansy stated dryly. Despite the fact that she was in a considerably better mood and willing to reconcile, she still wasn't going to make this easy on them. They'd been way out of line and they knew it, or at least, she hoped they did.
Blaise scowled, and Draco winced at the practicality of her statement. "Oh, Pans," Draco started imploringly, hoping Blaise wouldn't say anything stupid that would only anger her more. "You know we didn't mean it-"
"Maybe you didn't mean it, because I sure as hell did! Every damn word!" Draco began to wonder what he had done to deserve Blaise. He must have been a serial killer in a past life.
Pansy sat up abruptly, glaring at Blaise. "Perhaps I'm missing something, because I really don't understand what the fuck your problem is!" Draco stepped toward her, only to receive a heated glare. "Shut up, you're next."
"You know, I don't know when you became such an a-" Draco hurriedly clapped his hand over Blaise's mouth, effectively cutting off whatever he had been about to say.
"An accepting person!" Draco finished brightly with an innocent smile. "He was wondering when you became so accepting."
"Is that right?" Pansy asked sardonically.
"Of course! Isn't that what you were about to say Blaise?" When Blaise looked at Draco oddly, he stomped on his foot hard, producing an unintelligible groan from Blaise. "See, exactly. An accepting person!"
Pansy pursed her lips, giving both men an exasperated stare. "Let's just all discuss this like adults. Firstly, I'm going to tell you that ... well, I'm not really sure where this is going with Ron. Right now, it's just about the fact that we enjoy each other's company. And while I'm sure its hard to comprehend the fact that a Slytherin like me has no ulterior motive, I promise you that it's true.
"Secondly, regardless of what you might think of Gryffindors, Ron is not a Potter worshipper like the rest of them, and I won't have you two terrorizing him as if he is."
"Ha!" Blaise scoffed. "Not a Potter worshipper! The boy is his bloody sidekick for Merlin's sake! If that's not Pothead worship, then I don't know what is!"
Pansy regarded Blaise coolly, shaking her head. "Maybe at one point, Blaise. But you, of all people, should understand how people change."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaise snapped.
Draco turned to face the full-length mirror behind him. It was odd – not having a reflection. He was glad though; if he had been able to see himself, he would have been disgusted by the look of distress in his eyes. The three of them were not supposed to fight each other; it had always been them against the world. And this quarrelling ... it was simply unnatural, he decided.
"Look, Pansy," Draco said, abruptly turning to face her. "This cannot go on. You know the risks we take, and will continue to take, even if they're not by choice. We can't argue like this, not when this is really none of our business." Here Blaise started to speak, but Draco looked at him pointedly. Pansy looked thoroughly surprised by Draco's impromptu speech, but, within moments, surprise melted into guarded happiness. "You know I didn't mean what I said, Pans. It's just that ... you know as well as we do how uncommon it is for Slytherins to actually care about people. It's unheard of."
"True as that may be, Draco, I'll be the first to admit that ... I do care about my family ..." Pansy trailed off, becoming suddenly interested in her fingernails.
Here Blaise looked at Pansy oddly. "What?" he asked confusedly. He knew, for a fact, that Pansy's only living blood relative was her father, and he was locked away in Azkaban for Death Eater Activity for the rest of his life. Blaise also knew that Pansy hated her father with every fiber of her being.
Pansy rolled her eyes, humiliation forgotten in the face of Blaise being so dense. "I meant you two wankers!"
Draco chuckled softly. "You know, only you would be able to give us such a compliment and insult our intelligence in one breath."
"It's a gift," Pansy replied with a grin.
Draco stilled her with one hand before she could say anything. "While I do acknowledge it's none of our business, we will have to see about Ron..."
"Make sure he's able to be trusted, being the noble Gryffinwhore he is," Blaise finished darkly.
Pansy sighed dramatically, but couldn't quite contain her smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less. Just make sure you don't ... damage him too much. I don't really fancy having a clinically insane boyfriend, after all."
Draco smirked. "Don't worry; we'll leave all the necessary ... bits intact."
Blaise shuddered visibly. "Oh, we won't we going anywhere near his 'bits' at all," he said, much to Pansy's amusement.
… … …
"Children, children, please. Can we refrain from acting like apes while we're at the table?" Draco and Blaise gave Pansy nearly identical annoyed looks, but stopped throwing chips at each other, content to mutter insults back and forth. "Honestly, you'd think you'd been raised by barbarians!" Pansy rolled her eyes at their immaturity, but couldn't help smiling a little.
Blaise and Draco were so busy quarreling; neither noticed a redhead slip into the room late, or an owl fly over to them until it screeched close to their faces. Draco plucked the owl out of the air and Blaise reached out to untie the little package that was attached to its leg. There was also a piece of parchment clutched in its beak. Draco tentatively took the parchment to open it, while Blaise picked up the package curiously. Please enjoy. One for each; you don't even have to share. Before Draco could puzzle out the meaning to the unsigned note, he saw Blaise hiss in disgust and fling the package away from him as if it were on fire. It fell on the table and two cloves of garlic rolled out.
A/N: Jess: Ah, the angst. This chapter actually was a bit more angsty than we intended, but it still played out nicely, in my opinion. I'm all alone this time! Pia has gone on vacation, so wouldn't it be nice to give her a nice already-gone-away gift and review? No? Ok, fine, be that way. I know the rating was supposed to go up this chapter, but we didn't think it was quite necessary yet. Bear in mind that it will eventually. Pia's heartfelt thank you's will be next chapter, I'm sure.
I'm on my own answering our lovely reviews today, so here we go:
Issalee – Oh, we could never poison Pansy! And thank you very much! Ciao!
Alexandria J. Malfoy – Ah, we just don't like Hermy or Harry. But hey, that's life. How can people not love Ron! I will agree that our story is different, but hopefully it's a good different!
BlueBerriRain – Thank you very much! And of course, it made sense, in an odd way… I hope you didn't hurt yourself on the feathers in this chapter, but let's not forget, once Draco comes around things won't be fluffy… They'll be burnt marshmallow-y… Or something like that…
The-Dark-Rose-of-Insanity – Ha, Pia makes you review, doesn't she? Thanks anyway, and yes, there is explaining to do. All in good time, though. And yes, it is a very helpful comment… all that shit can be better than 'UPDATE!' Now that's a useless comment. Draco will get his action, don't you worry!
Meadow B – Why thank you! And I love Pansy/Ron, but keep in mind that a good author could make almost any ship seem interesting, so stay open-minded!
storylover03 – Poor Pansy indeed! She gets her revenge! Thank you very much for reviewing!
Samantha Marie – Ah, another of Pia's forced reviews. Weren't you Fred last chapter? Well, thank you for reviewing, even if you despise it so!
