Disclaimer: Do Not Own.

Author's Notes: Thanks to sassysharay, .Luv and rachelg1630 for reviewing Chapter 8. It really means a lot that you are enjoying the Ron/Pansy storyline. I must admit I was worried Pansy might be a bit too out of character but I think she and Ron would actually make a pretty dynamic duo if given the chance. Anyway, thank you for your excellent reviews! Now without any more delay, here's chapter 9. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

MISS PARKINSON-HOGWARTS

Pansy leaned against the cold stone of the castle. She sat for some time looking herself over. It wasn't every day one had a chance to look over their older self and see how the future was going to age them. Pansy noticed as she spoke the lines around her mouth became more prominent. Smile lines. Had she been smiling? Did that mean she was happy, happy as one of the heroes? She should use that term more loosely, she realized.

Following the lines of her mouth, she found her nose and followed the trail up to her dark eyes. They seemed bright, and very serious. What could possibly be so important in this time? The biggest event she had seen thus far was a wedding, big to do. She thought sarcastically.

There was something though, something wrong with her appearance that she couldn't quite put her finger on…then it hit her. Her hair was long. The color seemed the same, although she must have to dye it by now, but the length was very puzzling. She hated long hair, and no amount of time would change that, she was sure.

"Why do you have long hair?" She interrupted forcefully. Pansy was taken aback.

"Seriously, that's all you got from everything I've said?" She questioned. The younger nodded.

"Truthfully, I haven't been listening, I assume you're here to tell me all about my future and honestly, I don't want to know." Her older self looked dumbfounded. "I have watched this place tear apart Draco and his future wife, and I will not let it destroy me too. You can keep your knowledge to yourself…our future self that is. I have no use for it."

"Are you that scared?" Pansy narrowed her eyes at her older self.

"Scared? Of course I'm scared! Haven't you been paying attention to this warped time line? Look at Draco, his worst nightmare has come true. He's married to a mudblood. And if that isn't enough, look at poor, pathetic, Weasley and his obligation to marry whatever bimbo he stumbles upon now that Granger has ripped his heart out. Obviously the only person in this entire place who has anything he'd ever dreamed of is Harry bloody Potter."

Pansy nodded slowly, this was going to be harder than she thought. "I see your point, but if you would just listen…"

"Apparently, I am deaf with old age…" The older Pansy frowned, getting to her feet.

"Fine, don't listen to me then." With that, the eldest Pansy turned and began walking down the corridor.

"Now where are you going?" Pansy asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She rose to her feet just as her older self stopped and turned back to her.

"To find Weasley, I'm sure he'd love to hear what I have to say." Pansy frowned.

"What do you mean? What do you have to tell him?" Pansy shouted perplexed.

The eldest took a step back towards herself. "Well I was going to explain some crucial information to you but you don't want anything to do with it so what choice do I have but to find someone who will take hold of their fate instead of running from it." She stated pointedly. Pansy frowned, crossing her arms.

"And you think Weasley is the right choice?" Pansy asked dumbfounded.

"Think about it, despite all the information he has received regarding Draco and Granger, he has managed to stay focused…" The older Pansy began.

"Because of me!" The younger pointed out heatedly. "I was the one to point out Granger was just now getting married to Draco, and his sister had said he had a wife. He never would have connected the two without me." The older Pansy held back a knowing smile.

"Fine, clearly you are the correct choice. Does this mean you'll listen now? To everything I have to say?" The older version of Pansy began patiently.

Pansy sighed. "Fine, but answer me this, why is it so important that one of us get this information?"

"Simple, you will be the only one who remembers any of it."

MR. WEASLEY-QUIDDITCH PITCH

Ron zoomed past the goal posts in a speeding frenzy. Ducking and diving as fast as he could, he barrel rolled through one of the hoops and smiled as he flew back around. He thought back to the brief conversation with his older self, regarding his success in quidditch, he decided to get in a bit of practicing before bed. It was difficult to practice without a quaffle or someone like Harry to rough him up a little, but he had to admit, his skill could be somewhat shy at times, so there were fewer mistakes without anyone around. Ron had broken into the cupboard where the teams keep their spare brooms and had happened upon a firebolt. He was sure in this time that the broom was old news but he was more than happy to give it a try.

Ron decided he'd practiced maneuvering enough and headed straight for speed. Flying around the pitch a few times to warm up, he rose higher and higher into the air and above the stands, oblivious to the girl sitting in the seats watching his every move. Once he'd reached the full height he shot back towards the ground, pulling up only as he reached even height with the goal posts. Shooting off in their direction he flipped his broom over in the process and once again dove through the center ring and back towards the sky.

Hermione had been to her fair share of practices and try outs, supporting her two, male, Quidditch player, best friends. Ron was still her best friend and she had to make this right. Ron seemed to have spotted her, coming in slowly, he stopped just out of her reach. Hermione stood in the stands leaning against the railing, her hands chilled to the bar that kept her safe. Ron floated in front of her and for a moment they had nothing to say.

"It's never been easy for us, to settle a disagreement, has it?" She questioned. Ron glided closer, over the bar, until he landed with a soft touch to the solid bleacher. Hermione sat down while Ron leaned the broom against a bench and sat down next to her.

"Afraid I'm too pig headed to make it easy on you." He smiled lightly. Hermione smiled too.

"I am sorry you know. About…well, everything." She sighed lightly, looking towards the pitch, somewhat ashamed.

"You shouldn't be." Ron took her hand in his. After a moment he finally spoke. "I've always loved you, and I always will." Ron murmured softly. Hermione waited for him to continue, knowing this couldn't possibly be the end. "But I honestly don't know if that's enough." Tears ran down her soft cheeks as she stared into his shattered gaze. Leaning in, she took his face in her hands and kissed his lips passionately. Ron wrapped his arms around her waist and breathed in her scent as he kissed her back.

MR. MALFOY-HOGWARTS

The front doors to Hogwarts opened with a gust of night air. In stumbled Draco who immediately took a nose dive and hit the floor as Ron and Harry shut the large oak doors behind them. "Harry, this is going to take us all night to get him up to his room." Ron complained. Harry shook his head.

"We're almost there, and you're just upset because he called you a few names…" Harry began. Ron scowled.

"A few? Harry, he went from singing Weasley is our King, to shouting that I'm cheating on my taxes to that poor woman down in Hogsmeade, and spanned through another dozen names before calling me Ginny. You do realize he thinks I'm your wife, right?" Harry laughed lightly.

"Come on Ron, he's just having a rough time, I'm sure that woman didn't take too much he was saying to heart, and neither should you."

Ron nodded. "Let's just get him upstairs." He growled. Harry nodded and they each took one of Draco's arms to lift him off the floor.

Making it slowly to Draco's room they opened the door and Ron hit the light switch. Dragging Draco over to his bed they threw his upper body as close to the top of the bed as possible. "Thanks, sss-serioussss-ly, but I'm not ready fer bed." Draco mumbled, still unmoving on the bed.

"Trust me Draco, you are." Harry smiled. He and Ron left the room after shutting off the lights.

"Well, I've got to get home, the wife's going to be worried sick about me." Both men made their way to the headmaster's office to floo home.

"Thanks for your help Ron, with everything. I'll be sure to come by again tomorrow. We've got to do a little research before Draco and Hermione come back from their honeymoon." Ron nodded in agreement. They had reached Harry's office and entered.

"See you tomorrow then Harry." With that Ron made his way to the fireplace, and disappeared. Harry followed shortly after.

MISS PARKINSON-HOGWARTS

Pansy headed for the front door. She needed some fresh air after the ludicrous conversation she had with her future self. She felt like she couldn't breathe, like there was a weight on her chest. Bursting through the front doors, she gulped in as much air as she could manage. After a moment she sat down on the front steps and watched the sun set slowly on the horizon. Her eyes traveled the grounds, from the lake to the willow, everything glistening with sunlight. Her eyes caught sight of some red hair shooting around the Quidditch pitch. Getting to her feet, she made her way to the stands.

MISS GRANGER AND MR. WEASLEY-QUIDDITCH PITCH

Ron couldn't believe he was kissing her again. He knew it was wrong but somehow it felt so right at that moment. Her soft lips and warm body, like everything he'd ever dreamed of. Twice now he'd been locked in her embrace, craving more but knowing it was only a matter of time before Malfoy was hooked to these lips. At the thought of Malfoy, Ron broke the kiss abruptly. He shut his eyes trying to remove the image from his mind.

"Ron? Are you okay?" Hermione asked concerned.

"Yea, yea I'm fine." Ron mumbled, trying to pull himself together.

"Ron, please…" Hermione began. Ron finally opened his eyes to look upon Hermione's rosy face. Her nose was pink from the cold but he was pretty sure he was the cause of the blush on her cheeks.

"Does any part of you…love Malfoy?" He asked seriously. Hermione looked utterly surprised by his question.

"No. No part, not anything, I feel nothing for him but complete and utter loathing." Hermione practically begged. Ron sighed and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Hermione watched his eyes travel the ground, nervous and clearly distracted by their situation. "This is what I was talking about." She finally spoke but her voice seemed not her own. It was a mixture of anger and of all hope lost. "You will never look at me the same way again. I spent years waiting for you to catch a clue so that we could finally be together and now, now I waited too long. It's over." With that she turned and left the stands, leaving Ron looking after her. He didn't make a move to follow her; he didn't even consider it. As always, Hermione Granger was right.

MR. WEASLEY-HOME

Ron arrived home with a thud. Pansy looked up at him as he entered the living room.

"What took you so long?" Pansy questioned, leaning back on the sofa. Ron sighed, relieved to see his wife.

"Harry and I had to go pick up Draco at the bar again." Pansy looked utterly perplexed but before she could ask Ron explained. "Younger Draco that is, he figured out he was old enough to drink in this time, I mean, who's going to card Draco Malfoy?" Ron sat on the nearest chair and began removing his shoes.

"You're kidding, brilliant." Pansy nodded, quite impressed by his thinking.

Ron removed his left shoe finally, leaning back in the chair with a sigh. He turned to Pansy, "So, how did it go with you? I take it you found your youth?" Pansy raised an eyebrow.

"Watch it. But yes, I did. Everything is right on schedule." Pansy grinned. Ron stood from his seat and made his way over to his wife before leaning over her, one hand on each side of her face.

"Since that's all taken care of…" He whispered before kissing her intensely. Lifting her off of the couch, Pansy laughed outright as he ran with her to their bedroom.

MISS GRANGER-HOGWARTS

Hermione walked briskly through the castle to her room. She kept her head held high and never stopped until she reached her doorway. Upon opening the door she made sure that no one was around before bursting into uncontrollable sobs. She threw herself on her bed with a tissue box and cried herself to sleep.

Hermione awoke to a strange sound. It was a small thud outside her door and she thought for sure someone was trying to break in. She listened intently and realized it wasn't her room, but Malfoy's. Slowly rising from her bed, she crept to her door and listened intently. She heard a few grunts before Malfoy spoke in a slurred tone.

"Thanks, sss-serioussssly, but I'm not ready fer bed." Hermione was perplexed, was he drunk?

"Trust me Draco, you are." Harry spoke. Hermione put a hand to her mouth to silence herself. Had Harry gotten Malfoy drunk? What on earth was he thinking? She thought, appalled.

"Well, I've got to get home, the wife's going to be worried sick about me." Hermione's stomach lurched at the sound of Ron's voice. She particularly felt ill at the word, wife. Ron was marrying someone else. Hermione slid down the door and began to cry once again.

"What a nightmare." She sobbed softly as she heard Ron and Harry's retreating footsteps.

Hermione's sobs were interrupted by a thud against her door. Crawling backwards slightly, she stood and wiped away her tears as best she could. Opening the door, she was unable to stop it from swinging open at the weight of Malfoy leaning his head against it. He fell into the room, barely missing her as she stepped aside.

"Malfoy! What are you doing?" She yelled, completely fed up with today's events.

"Granger, I…" Draco stood and tried to steady himself.

"Malfoy, you're drunk, go lay down!" She pointed back to the hallway but instead Draco stumbled to her bed and sat down on the edge. Leaning back he moaned happily.

"Yer sheetsss are so warm." He grinned, wrapping himself in them.

Hermione stood in her doorway watching Draco snuggle deeper into her bed, all the while he was smiling and laughing. She gave up trying to move him, after all, this was definitely an improvement on his usual personality. She shut her door. Draco heard the door shut and looked over some of the sheets until his eyes settled on Hermione. His expression became serious as he remembered why he had come to her room in the first place.

"Do you love Weas-el-ly?" Hermione sat on the edge of the bed and Draco sat up to face her.

"Yes." Draco nodded, unsurprised.

"What 'bout me?" He continued, in all seriousness. Hermione furrowed her brow.

"What about you Malfoy?" Hermione sneered, most uncharacteristically. "Huh? What about you? Have you not been witness to the same world I have?" Draco frowned. Hermione's anger was getting the better of her. "No, no, why do you think you're so drunk right now?" Draco continued to stare at her with a sobering expression. Tears began to pour down her face but she couldn't stop them and she didn't bother to wipe them away. "I'll help you out with this one, it's because you can't stand the thought of us together; like Ron can't stand to look at me without picturing my…" She choked out breathlessly. "My wedding day..." She forced the words from her throat but couldn't continue, not that she needed to. Silence fell between them. They stared at one another for a moment before Hermione finally whispered. "Tell me I'm wrong." She practically begged in a strained voice, barely able to look at him.

Draco took her hands in his and Hermione was shocked by his action. "Yer never wrong." Draco said softly before leaning in and kissing her smoothly on the lips. His breath tasted of alcohol but she couldn't help compare it to the kiss she had recently shared with Ron. Ron had more passion in his kisses, like they had been building for years, whereas Malfoy's kiss was soft but deep in an entirely new way. She realized quickly that she was kissing him back and that they had yet to separate themselves from each other. This reality frightened her the most as she finally pulled away, breathless and red in the face.

Draco's expression was a mystery to her. It's as if nothing had happened. As though the kiss was all in her mind. Was she going mad?

"Except…" He began softly, interrupting her thoughts. "Except when it's me." She was dumbfounded by his words but had little time to figure them out before Draco crawled from her bed and made his way to her door. He stumbled once or twice, but nothing compared to the disaster that he was when he entered. Shutting the door behind him, Hermione was left alone.

MR. WEASLEY-QUIDDITCH PITCH

"Why didn't you follow her?" Ron jumped at the sound of her voice. Looking around he saw Pansy leaning against a railing, casually. He had been sitting alone for some time so he was surprised Pansy had been around for the display between he and Hermione. Ron sighed.

"Guess I'm over her." He answered coarsely. Pansy pushed away from the railing and walked over to sit by him.

"Not likely." She replied in a similar manner.

"What do you care anyway, Parkinson?" Ron turned to her angrily, he noticed how pale she seemed but ignored it.

"Believe it or not Weasley, but despite your best efforts, I am your friend and I do…care." Pansy tried to shrug off the last part but Ron set aside his bitterness and saw that it was truly difficult for her to come out and say something so heartfelt. "So, quit your bitchin'." She added. Ron nodded with a slight smile.

"Sorry. I've just been thinking a lot about what you said and what I've seen and I can't get over Malfoy and Hermione, so why go after her? She'll never love me like that, not anymore anyway." Pansy nodded in agreement, she now knew first hand what it was like to process news from herself. She shook her head confused, what was he talking about?

"What did I say again?" She asked somewhat perplexed.

"Well, you pointed out that I'm married already." Pansy nodded with a sigh. Of course.

"Yea, guess you beat Granger to the punch line…" She began. Ron frowned and shook his head.

"No, actually, I was thinking more that there is someone out there who actually fell for…me." Pansy watched him curiously. "And not only that, but I must really be taken by her too, I mean, to forget Hermione..." Ron explained.

"I don't know if there is such a girl." Pansy said realistically. Ron shook his head.

"There must be, I mean, look at it this way, already I'm taken with just the idea of her." Ron shrugged as he gathered up his firebolt. Pansy nodded, quite amazed by this newfound information.

"I see now why she would have picked you." Pansy said, knowingly.

"Wait, what?" Ron asked. Pansy realized she had spoken out loud and shook her head.

"Nothing." Ron shook his head and took her arm gently.

"Oh no, don't give me that, who chose me for what?" Pansy sighed and sat back down, taking Ron with her.

"I spoke to myself a little while ago…my older self, don't go calling me crazy." She said, pointedly. Ron smiled; it reminded him of the conversation his older self had had with Pansy earlier that day. Ron nodded so she knew she could continue without any interruptions. "She wanted to tell me things, about this time and I didn't want to listen…"

"With good reason." Ron interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest. Pansy smiled.

"Exactly! So I wasn't really paying attention and she told me she was going to go find you. She said it had to be one of us, and I couldn't understand why you were the second choice, but now I get it." Pansy explained. Ron stared at her a moment.

"Well, why? 'Cause we're the only two people who still know nothing about what's going on in our own lives? What?" Pansy shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Because you're stronger than you look, Weasley." Ron smiled.

Author's Notes: My apologies again for the long wait. I hope you like this installment and hopefully with any luck I will post another chapter shortly. The story is coming to a close believe it or not so if anyone has any predictions or thoughts they'd like to share, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again for reading! R&R!