A/N It's back! And now we get to know the reason behind Pansy. Slightly longer chapter I think, but I know people like that. Remember to review!
Chapter 20 - Purebloods
"I'm telling McGonagall," Hermione said after five minutes, stonily. She was still slumped against the wall, Draco sitting next to her. Theo and Blaise had left moments ago. "Hermione -" Draco tried.
"You're sticking up for her aren't you!" Hermione retorted angrily.
"She's my friend!" Draco argued defensively.
"She used an unforgivable. On me!" Hermione raged, turning to face him. She was still shaking slightly.
"Please Hermione. Just let me talk to her -"
"Talk?" Hermione choked through sadistic laughter. Draco didn't like it at all. "Talk to her?! She, a jealous, dumped girlfriend stood over me with her wand out! Casting the cruciatus curse of all curses!"
"You don't get it do you!" Draco argued, glaring at the girl, "Didn't you listen to her?! She isn't jealous, she's scared!"
"Scared?! She's a pureblood from a rich family like yours! Her parents are death eaters! What is there possibly to be scared off?!" But Hermione instantly regretted saying that. Draco however, had had enough and yelled, "You don't understand! You think being a pureblood is a walk in the park! I'll tell you what it is! It's a life of deception, lies and trying to impress your parents!" Hermione fell silent. She really didn't get it at all. "Are you okay?" Draco asked more softly. Hermione shrugged, not looking at him. "Let me sort things out but please don't get Pansy expelled," Draco pleaded, before standing up and walking in the direction of the grand staircase. Draco didn't look back at Hermione staring after him. He had to get this sorted.
.
Pansy wasn't in the common room, and Draco didn't want to chance going into the girls dorms if she wasn't in there. The Slytherin common room was a dark and dank, underground room, filled with black sofas. On one wall was a large, crackling fire under a carved mantelpiece, but it didn't give off much warmth. Apart from that, the room was lit by many green lamps hung from chains on the ceiling, creating dim shadows which bounced off the stone walls. Many Slytherins were lounging around, fully fed after lunch and not showing any signs at all that something was happening. But there was always something happening. Whether it be Voldemort, death eaters relationships or all three, there was always something going on.
He saw Blaise and Theo from the corner of his eye and strode over to them, grabbing them by the collars and leading them out of the crowd. "Hey! Man what you -" Blaise began but Draco had already shoved them both into the wall and rounded on them.
"How much do you know?" Draco hissed, getting straight to the point.
"What you -" Theo tried, but Draco didn't have time for this.
"I know you've wanted this for the whole year, you especially Theo. Ever since that bloody potions incident. You saw the fight in the grounds, you talked about there being no blood differences, you got me to dance with her, you notice everything about me but what else do you know?!" Draco hissed. Theo and Blaise looked at each other. Draco felt something drop in his stomach. "And you followed me just now," he concluded.
"Alright," Theo said after a long pause, "I - we know you really like her."
"I think I love her," he sighed under his breath. Blaise's eyes widened. Draco glared at the pair of them.
"Yeah, we know," Theo said, as if it were obvious. He received another glare.
"I'd like to know how it started," Blaise cut in after a while. Draco just looked at him and he shuffled back slightly.
"Another time," Draco stated, "But I need to find Pansy. And you can't ever tell anyone anything!"
"Ok," they both said, tonelessly.
"Pans is in her dorm," Theo stated after a while. Draco nodded and went to the girls' staircase. "He loooooooves her," Theo sang in an annoying voice. Draco flicked a hex behind him but missed and Theo and Blaise just laughed.
.
It's not like it was the first time he'd snuck into the girls' dorms, he'd been in Pansy's room loads of times. Once he'd climbed the stairs, he took the first right, and peered round a pillar to make sure the coast was clear, and opened the door to his right. He needn't have bothered looking; most if not all the girls found it a thrill if Draco was in their dorms. Letting himself into the seventh years' dorm, he found Pansy quite alone, sulking on the third bed along - her bed. It was between Daphne and Tracy's. He had never ever seen Pansy in tears and had no idea what to make of it. The door shut behind him and Pansy whipped around with her wand out. "The hell are you doing in here Draco?!" She snapped, wiping away her tears aggressively.
"Wanting to talk to you," Draco said in a very stern voice. He went over and sat in Tracy's bed, facing her.
"Out!" Pansy yelled.
"No!" Draco snapped annoyed, "I've never seen you act so darn right foolish! Really Pans?" Pansy looked away.
"You don't understand," she muttered.
"Then help me understand," Draco implored, reaching out to turn her face back towards him. Pansy looked to the floor, but didn't answer. Pansy sat, trying to work out how to put it and then, after five minutes of Draco patiently waiting, she looked up at him and spoke. "Our parents organised our marriage when we were infants." Draco nodded. "Well my mother gave me one goal in life. The only point in my life, and that was to make boys fall in love with me. She taught me how to flirt when I was nine, taught me everything a guy wants in a girl, told me how to do these things. Merlin she went on every holiday asking how many boys liked me and how far I'd got in seducing you. And every fucking holiday I came home and told her that we were friends until one year, you asked me out, and my mothers reaction was just amazing. She treated me as if I was an achievement. And then we broke up, and she was just so angry. It took me three whole months to tell her we weren't an item anymore. Three!" Pansy moaned, and Draco just felt pity.
"Your father?" He tried, but Pansy just laughed.
"Father didn't give a damn about my life. If he wasn't at work or drunk he was having sex with my mother or nowadays it's just a random girl he finds at a bar. Drives mother mad, but she wants me married to you because you're a Malfoy. That means money. When we broke up she said that I had to seduce you again. She said that if I don't marry you before I'm 19 then she will disown me. But that was a few years ago. This summer we started dating again, you and me were doing alright really. And after you'd gone home one night, mother came up to me and said 'You better still be with him by next summer. I want him to propose to you this August.' This coming August! And if you don't then she disowns me. I don't love you, I hate being a slut, but that's what I have to do and what I have to be! And then, when shopping for Halloween stuff, I notice the mudblood, and you'd have to be dead stupid to see she wasn't jealous because of Demelza flirting with you. And you, publicly saving her arse out on the grounds. And then, if you please, horrors confirmed when Blaise says he asked you to dance with her in Halloween! I then snap damn it, end our relationship because I'm sick of having to pretend to love you if you love someone else! What was I meant to do? Sit and watch you confirming my fate of getting disowned? No, I go and try to make the mudblood scared to like you. But you have to understand, I didn't want to." And then she burst into tears. Draco felt a horrible knot twisting his insides. She had done all of this out of fear. He got up and sat next to her, pulling one of his closest friends into a hug. He'd been her friend since they were infants and he'd never known. Pansy; deception, lies, cunning. Pureblood. What a stupid tag. There was nothing pure about purebloods, apart from so called blood traitors. What Pansy was living wasn't a life, it was what her mother wanted. What Draco was living was - well he didn't know anymore. Hermione was now the only stable part of his life. Hermione and Pansy, possibly Blaise and Theo. They were all in this together now' whether he liked it or not.
"I'm sorry Pansy, you shouldn't have to suffer like this," Draco murmured, not quite sure what to say.
"Don't be, you love her. Don't let me come in between that. What I saw just then was a guy who truly loved someone, it's just that someone wasn't me."
"What does it matter if you get disowned, I'll always be there for you you know."
"Yeah well," Pansy smiled flirtatiously, "Just don't tell anyone anything you've seen in the last fifteen minutes, and I won't tell a soul about you and the - and Granger." Draco smirked.
"Swear on my life," he smirked.
"Sorry for being a clingy slut, Draco, it honestly made me feel sick," she laughed. Draco joined in and soon the atmosphere changed to a very joyful one. "Now, out of my way, I'm going to do something I will be proud of," Pansy said very businesslike, and walked out the room.
Draco followed her and, to his surprise, he found she was going to the library. "Pansy where -"
"Shut up Draco, I don't have to pretend to you anymore, nor anyone who I don't have to." Trying to make sense of this, Draco simply followed her through the doors and stopped in his tracks. Pansy had walked straight up to Hermione Granger. Sensing someone approaching, Hermione's head shot up and upon realising who it was, she bolted out of her seat with her wand out. Then she spotted Draco. She looked absolutely horror struck. "Don't look like that, Granger," Pansy said in a very 'I think you're being stupid' kind of tone. Hermione's expression changed to pure confusion. "What?" The head girl asked, wand still raised.
"Look," Pansy said, sitting down in front of Hermione, to her greatest surprise. "Sit," she added, and Hermione cautiously sat. "I'm sorry," Pansy began, and Hermione had to stop herself from laughing.
"Sorry?" Hermione asked, laughing slightly, "Sorry?! You tortured me senseless and all you have to say is sorry?" And she got up to walk away. "Please?" Pansy moaned, and Hermione turned. "Just let me talk." And so Hermione retook her seat and let the unsettled Slytherin explain.
Pansy retold everything she'd told Draco, trying to be very civil about the whole thing even though she was staring at her conformation to get disowned. Hermione wrinkled her nose at the part where Pansy was talking about her father, more specifically the part about Pansy's father's sex life, but otherwise the head girl just looked sympathetically at the pureblood. "I'm sorry," Pansy finished, "I swear I didn't mean it, you just - you made me so angry. I mean you're a - a muggleborn." Not only Pansy, but Hermione and Draco were beyond surprised at this. Draco actually gawked at her. "Any reason why you're not calling me a mudblood, Parkinson?" Hermione tried after awhile.
"I - Look I'm trying to be nice. If Draco accepts you then I accept you and if Draco is defying pureblood frigging law, then hell I can defy my mother!" Pansy snapped. A smile broke across Hermione's face. "But I have to ask," Pansy continued in an undertone, "Have you two ever kissed?" Hermione looked sheepishly away. "Draco?!" Pansy yelled in shock and amusement, a huge grin on her face. "Quiet!" Madam Pince yelled. Draco walked over to the pair of them very sheepishly.
"Oh you bad boy Draco Malfoy," Pansy smirked. Hermione actually giggled. This was too overwhelming for Draco. The two girls were actually being nice to each other. "Yeah well..." Draco began but Pansy just cracked up laughing.
"I do want a full relationship explanation from the start of the year, but it would probably be like 20 chapters long so I'll wait, but seriously, one day." And with that, Pansy stood up and began walk out, brushing a pile of stacked papers as she went, laughing.
"Miss Parkinson!" Shrieked Madam Pince, who scooped down to pick up the papers, "10 points from Slytherin!" Pansy simply turned round and winked, before flicking her hair and walked out. Draco smirked and Hermione chuckled, but stopped when Madam Pince glared at her. "This day could not get any weirder," Draco muttered.
.
It turned out the day could get weirder. Hermione had told Draco that she would be nipping back to her Gryffindor dorms to look out some old stuff. "You're mental," Draco had told her, "There's no way your stuff will still be there." But Hermione just simply left. She saw Ginny on the grand staircase and called up to her, quickening her pace to catch up. She winced ever so slightly because she still ached from the cruciatus curse. "Hey Hermione!" Ginny beamed merrily, "You coming up to the tower?"
"Yeah, need to check my old dorm," Hermione replied, and together they made their way up the stairs. That was, until, Hermione stumbled and winced. Ginny looked at her and asked, "You alright?" Hermione nodded unconvincingly and Ginny, being the suspicious, smart witch she was, prodded Hermione in the shoulder. She flinched again. Ginny rounded on her and huffed, "You've been keeping secrets from me too much lately. When we get up into the dorms I want you to spill!" Hermione looked at her. Ginny looked at the head girl's neck. Eyes narrowing, she ripped back Hermione's collar and gasped. Hermione jerked back and blushed. Clearly, she hadn't managed to cover up all the hickeys with a blemishing charm and makeup. "Okay when we get up there, we will sit down, and talk," Ginny smirked, shocked.
.
"Fortitudo," Ginny sang to the Fat Lady, who sung open and let them in.
"Same password?" Hermione asked.
"Changes every week," Ginny explained, "Sometimes it goes back to the previous ones."
"Right," Hermione mused. Maybe she had fallen behind with head girl stuff a bit. They walked up the girls stairwell, Ginny almost skipping. Once Ginny was sat on her bed, she began with, "Who's the boy, why're you twitchy, what's the deal with Malfoy and what really got you in the hospital wing?" Hermione sat down opposite the giddy sixth year. The room was still the same, although some of the trunks at the end of each bed were different. Ginny had been in Hermione's dorm for as long as she could remember. She used to sleep between Hermione and Parvati, who slept next to Lavender. Now, there was a spare bed, which Hermione was now sat on.
Five minutes had past and Hermione was still shuffling around. "Alright!" Ginny finally spoke, exasperatedly. "Just tell me, are you dating Malfoy yet?" Hermione's jaw dropped, then she eyed the room to see if anyone else was listening, half expecting to see Lavender perched in the corner. No one else was in the room. "Okay," Hermione began, giving in to her best friend, "What I'm going to tell you you mustn't tell anyone, not even Neville or Luna and defiantly not Harry or Ron." Ginny pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key. Hermione began with the first night back at school, followed by potions, the Ron incident and then pretty much explained her entire life since the start of September.
Six minutes later, she'd reached the Halloween preparations, including how Pansy was furious because she'd apparently looked jealous because Demelza was flirting with Draco. After explaining the ball in detail, she told her about walking back from Gryffindor tower to find Draco still awake and the events that followed. 8 minutes after that she stopped. She'd just got to the bit where she'd ran into the bathroom that fateful Wednesday, seeing Draco in his state. And the, "So it was all a bit rushed, we were fighting and then I... He leaned in and..."
"OH MY GOD HERMIONE YOU DIDN'T!" Screamed Ginny gleefully, to which Hermione put her finger to her lips and said, "Shhhhhh. So I closed the erm - gap - and -"
"You kissed him!"
"Then I drew back after a bit and then he leaned in again and then it was all really rushed and awkward and then I noticed he was bleeding."
"Oh?"
"You must swear to never tell a soul about this part, I'm already sworn to secrecy," Hermione said sternly, about to spill all Draco's secrets to Ginny. But then - she found she couldn't. They weren't hers to spill, so she settled with the partial truth, "So he told me, after you ran into him, he remembered receiving a letter and he dashed to the gates to apparate home." Then she went on to explain how Lucius hated him, how Voldemort was there, to which Ginny squealed in terror, and the curse he'd used. And how, "The idiot apparated back here with a bloody hole in his chest the stupid ferret!" But she didn't say anything about Draco's other secrets, point of views, or death eater related stuff. She did however give a very detailed recount of her draining herself of energy and that's when Ginny cut in with, "You idiot." And then she explained the whole hospital wing affair ("I knew you never broke your wrist you liar,") and seeing her mum, to which her voice broke slightly, then lunch and the awkwardness that followed on from that.
Soon, she was on to explaining their little fight about the Ministry falling, and her going off to talk to Lupin, and McGonagall cutting in about "The fact that I needed to... Needed to wipe my parents... Their..." Ginny's jaw dropped again but this time out of horror.
"You didn't!" She cried. Hermione was crying and Ginny drew her into a hug. She talked about meeting up with Hagrid and then her meeting with McGonagall the next day. The fact that Dumbledore was still in his office in a painting. And then, a very emotional, detailed account on obliviating her parents memories yesterday. They were both in tears after that and it wasn't until ten minutes had passed when Hermione continued.
Finally, she reached the part where she told Draco about her parents, Draco talked to her about how "He doesn't think muggleborns deserve to die." She told her how Draco had apologised so much, and how he let her cry into him and how he asked her to call him by his name. Told her how Draco admitted that it was "Actually him I saw in my hallucination in the hospital wing, not my mum" to which Ginny said, "Wait, back up. Draco therefore actually asked you to forgive him?"
"I know, crazy right." And then, finally finally finally, the part where "He kissed me! It was sooo scary but then it was really enjoyable too. We went on like that forever and then he asked me out -"
"OH MY ACTUAL GODRIC FRIGGING MERLIN!" Ginny yelled, "HE ASKED YOU OUT?!" Hermione bursed out laughing and tried to shh her, but failed. "What did you say?!" Ginny demanded.
"I said he'd have to take me on a date and then I'd decide," Hermione smirked. Ginny squealed. "So then in the morning..." And Hermione carried on with her story, talking about the next couple of embarrassing kisses and absolutely everything that happened until, "And then he left the library... Oh... He knew - he was trying to warn me - I totally get it now."
"What?"
"Well, you can't tell anyone but once I'd left the library, Pansy had basically stalked me all the way down a few corridors without me knowing. She cornered me, we fought," Hermione the explained the fight, "And then she burst completely with jealousy and used the cruciatus curse on me -"
"She WHAT?! That BITCH!" Ginny yelled, with half a mind to go to McGonagall right now.
"Hey just wait till I've finished!" Hermione snapped, explaining how Draco turned up and jumped in front of the curse, all the talking and how Pansy explained how life wasn't fair, and then Draco sticking up for her. "Hey I'm not done!" Hermione snapped when Ginny looked like she was about to butt in. She then explained Draco leaving, she returning to the library, and him coming back with Pansy half an hour ish later. "You can't tell a soul about any of this either," Hermione warned, as she repeated everything Pansy had said.
"What so are you and the Slytherins like best buds now?" Ginny asked, putting on a fake annoyed voice. Hermione stomped on her foot and grinned, saying, "No, but Parkinson, I just kind of get her now. She's been living to impress and I honestly feel sorry for her." Ginny just shook her head. "She used the cruciatus curse on you," she muttered, "It's illegal."
"Ginny if we're going to talk about legality then that's for another day. I reckon half the stuff I've done with trouble 1 and 2 isn't legal."
"Yeah... Well..." Ginny mumbled, blushing.
"And you, petrifying a dozen or so kids in your first year -"
"Hey!" Ginny scowled angrily, stomping on Hermione's foot, who just laughed.
Soon they'd rounded up their conversation, Ginny swearing she "Won't tell a soul!" about anything that had just been said, and Hermione was on the floor. "What are you doing?" Ginny asked bewildered.
"Looking for the loose floorboard," she replied, finding it and yanking it up. "Knew it!" She smiled, taking out the collecting tin, clipboard and box of badges. "You still have them?!" Ginny gawped, astounded, "You have a pile of money next to my bed that I never knew about?" Hermione smirked to which Ginny replied, "Stop smirking or I swear I'll start to believe you're turning into a Malfoy!" Hermione scowled and playfully hit her, saying she'd see her at dinner. "Bye!" Ginny called.
"See you!" Hermione called, walking out with the S.P.E.W. stuff.
.
It had been an hour and fifteen minutes since she'd told Draco that she'd be 'nipping' back up to the tower, and she entered the common room looking slightly haphazard. Draco stared at her. "Ginny knows," she simply said, before dumping the contents in her room. So does Blaise and Theo!" Called back Draco.
"How much?" Hermione asked.
"Everything, you?"
"Everything. Literally everything."
"Even Pansy's pureblood issues?"
"Yep."
"My curse?"
"Yep."
"Great at keeping secrets you are."
"I know."
Draco snorted. "What was in the box?"
"S.P.E.W. Badges."
"Really? They were still there?"
"Yep. Under the looks floorboard."
"Of course they were," Draco sighed, shaking his head.
"Still have quite a few left though," she sighed.
"Wonder why. Who wouldn't want a badge saying Spew?"
"S.P.E.W," said Hermione hotly, "And if I'm ever to date you, you must be kind to all house elves."
"Of course," Draco smirked. Realising she wasn't joking, he said, "Oh come off it Hermione?! Oh alright I will, but only because it's you and I don't want Potter coming at me because I've killed his best mate due to stress overload." Hermione laughed at this.
"Should be going down to dinner now, see you later," Hermione smiled. Draco smirked and kissed her on the forehead before running out, grinning. Hermione still couldn't get over him kissing her and blushed, for the billionth time that year.
A/N in case I hadn't already made it clear for those of you who haven't read the books, S.P.E.W. was a group Hermione started in fourth year to help elf welfare. She went on a pretty major protest to try and get elves paid and freed etc. Anyway, see you all on Tuesday!