Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Dean Thomas/Pansy Parkinson; past Dean Thomas/Padma Patil; and past Draco Malfoy/Pansy Parkinson
Warnings: alternate universe; het; and mentions of character death
Prompts: (AU) Single Parent; (Character) Dean Thomas; (Character) Pansy Parkinson; (Word) Wasted; (Word) Spring; and (Word) Smile

Summary: A day at the park with his daughter led Dean Thomas to reuniting with an old schoolmate.

Bright Smiles

Watching as his daughter laughed and played with the other children, Dean Thomas felt himself relaxing, for what seemed like the first time in months. Ellie was having trouble adjusting to, well, everything. Her life had changed dramatically in the two years. It started when Padma Thomas was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The first six months, Dean and Ellie were forced to watch as bright and loving Padma slowly wasted away, losing weight rapidly along with her hair, but her love never faded.

After the death of her mother, Dean and Ellie were hunted by memories of her around the house. There wasn't a room untouched by memories of Padma – Dean could remember debating paint colors in most of the room, and there were the times when Padma and Ellie would run around the house together as they smiled and laughed. It took Dean four months of nightmares and countless nights of sleeping with his daughter before he decided it was time to move. Now, finally, after settling into their new house in Raven's Peak, things seemed to be falling into place.

Dean smiled as he watched Ellie playing with children her own age. Ellie was dark skinned with her mother's dark hair, dark eyes and dimples. She loved the color yellow, insisting on wearing it every single day. Today was no different with Ellie wearing a bright yellow headband.

He continued to watch Ellie for a few more minutes before his gaze dropped to his sketchbook. Fingering his pencil, Dean eyed his sketch. He had recently started drawing pictures for a children's book. This children's book was based on stories he told Ellie about the beautiful Princess Mira. Princess Mira was a fierce warrior witch that Dean had created, shortly after Padma's death.

A few minutes after he started drawing, Dean looked back up. Quickly finding his daughter, he watched as Ellie played with another little girl around her age. This girl had pale skin, short brown hair, and silver eyes. Dean watched the pair of girls for a moment. They were sitting in the sandbox.

As he was watching them, Ellie glanced over at them. She smiled before jumping to her feet, pulling her new friend with her. The pair of girls quickly ran across the park to Dean.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Ellie called as she came closer.

"Ellie, Ellie!" Dean responded with a smile. He sat his sketchbook aside, knowing his daughter would demand all of his attention.

"Daddy!" Ellie said, her tone slightly whiny. She pouted, slowing into a walk.

"Yes, Ellie?" Dean asked.

"Can Flora and her mummy come to lunch with us?" asked Ellie with a smile.

Caught off guard by her question, it took Dean a moment to respond. "That decides on Flora's mum."

"I'll ask her," Flora promised, offering a smile.

"But, daddy, can they come with us?" Ellie asked.

Dean sighed. "It's alright with me as long as it's alright with Flora's mum."

The answer cheered both girls up.

"Well, come on, daddy," Ellie urged, trying to get him to move faster.

Smiling fondly, Dean deliberately slowed his movements down, taking his time to gather his things and return everything to his bag.

"Daddy, faster!" demanded Ellie, childishly stomping her foot and pouting. She needed this to work out and fast.

Dean said nothing as he continued to gather his belongings. Everything was packed up within five minutes. When he shoulder his bag, he turned to face the two girls.

Ellie was beaming and Flora smiled. Flora led the way to her mother with a spring in her step with Ellie and Dean following a few steps behind them. The young girl led them across the park where she stopped in front of a woman seated on a bench.

At the sight of the dark haired woman, Dean frowned. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't place it. From her seated position, Dean couldn't determine her height. The woman had long dark brown hair pulled in a ponytail, and she had pale skin. She looked up from her book when Flora approached her, allow Dean a glimpse of her blue eyes.

"Mummy!" Flora greeted with a smile.

"Flora," the woman said with fondness in her tone. She smiled at her daughter.

"Mummy, can we go to lunch with Ellie and her daddy?" Flora asked with large and pleading eyes.

The woman frowned, glancing over at Dean and his daughter. Her eyes widened. "I don't know, sweetheart," she said. "We can't just invite ourselves along."

"It's alright, Mrs. Flora's mummy," Ellie said, walking up to her friend's side. "My daddy said it was alright, as long as you wanted to come."

"Really?" the woman said, something changing in her voice tone. She looked over at Dean.

Dean nodded, trying to figure out where he recognized her from.

The woman looked over at her daughter and Ellie, both of whom were staring at her with large, pleading eyes. With a sigh, the woman answered, "Yes, Flora."

Ellie and Flora cheered, celebrating their victory.

Dean smiled fondly as he watched the pair while Flora's mum returned her book to her purse and she stood up from the bench.

"Where are we headed?" the woman asked, smiling at Dean.

As he stared at her, Dean slowly started to recognize the woman. "Are you Pansy Malfoy?" he asked.

The woman's blue eyes widened.

Carefully, Dean watched the woman, studying her reactions.

"I was, and it's Parkinson, again," she confirmed. "And you're Dean Thomas."

"Do you know each other?" Flora asked, her silver eyes widened.

"We attended Hogwarts together," Dean explained, "and we were in the same year. Your mum was a Slytherin, and I was a Gryffindor."

"Wow!" Ellie said, excitement in her tone. "Can you tell us stories?"

"Maybe after lunch," Pansy said with a weak smile, "if we're still going."

Dean nodded. "There's a little cafe around the corner," he explained.

Pansy smiled.

The group of four exited the park before crossing the street. Ellie grabbed Flora's hand, eagerly pulling her new friend along with their parents following behind them.

"How have you been since...everything?" Dean asked, a little awkward.

A year after graduating from Hogwarts, Pansy had married Draco Malfoy. Within three years, their marriage fell apart and Draco divorced Pansy to marry another woman. While he didn't know most of the details, Dean felt sorry for her.

Pansy tensed a little, eyeing him with suspicion. "Flora's the only good thing to come of it," she answered, her voice a little cold.

Dean nodded. "She's seems like a sweet girl," he said.

At his words, Pansy relaxed a little.

"What about you?" she asked. "I heard you married Padma in 1999."

Dean's smile turned sad. "We had a great time together," he said, his tone a little bittersweet. "She gave me Ellie and six amazing years."

Pansy frowned. "Did something happen?"

Nodding, Dean explained, "Padma passed away from cancer, almost eighteen months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Pansy whispered.

Dean said nothing in response. He still had difficulty talking about her illness and her death, even months later.

"Daddy, can I have the fruit salad?" Ellie asked.

"As long as there aren't any mangos," Dean agreed.

"I know that, daddy," Ellie said, rolling her eyes.

Dean ruffled her hair. "It's important to remember," he said.

Ellie pouted, nodding.

"What's wrong with mangos?" Pansy asked.

"I'm all'gric," Ellie answered, having difficulty pronouncing the last word.

Pansy frowned, looking at Dean for clarification.

"She's allergic to latex," Dean explained, "which somehow makes her allergic to mangos and some other fruits."

"Like what?" Pansy asked with a frown.

"Avocados, papayas, tomatoes, soybeans, and coconuts," Dean listed, "that we know of."

"That sounds severe," Pansy said with sympathy.

"We're managing," Dean said with a shrug. "A lot of it is trail and error. If she eats something and has a reaction, then she's likely to be allergic."

Pansy nodded, uncertain how to respond.

They arrived to the cafe a moment later. Dean held the door open, allowing Ellie, Flora, and Pansy to enter in ahead of him. Although the case was called Sunnyside Cafe, it was more of a restaurant.

"Dean, Ellie!" greeted the teenage hostess with a smile at the sight of the regulars. "How are you today?"

"We're good," Ellie answered with a smile.

"How many today?" the hostess asked, noticing the group of four people.

"Four," Ellie replied, holding up four fingers.

The hostess smiled, grabbing two regular menus and two children's menus and some crayons. "Right this way, please." She led the group of four to a table next to a window. The table was set for four people with silverware and napkins.

Ellie and Flora quickly claimed two seats, leaving Dean and Pansy to sit across from them. After everyone was seated, the hostess passed out the menus and the crayons. The two children eagerly tore into their crayons and started coloring while Dean and Pansy looked over the menu. A moment later, the hostess stopped by with tray of water. She placed a glass in front of each of them.

"What do you recommend?" Pansy asked, glancing over at Dean.

"That depends," he replied, "on any dietary restrictions and food preferences."

Overall, lunch passed quickly. Ellie and Flora enjoyed their coloring while Dean and Pansy decided to talk, catching up with one another instead of sitting in awkward silence and ignoring each other. By the end of lunch, the two young girls declared themselves the very best of friends.

"I guess I'll be seeing you soon," Dean said after lunch as they walked out of the cafe.

"Tomorrow morning at the park," Pansy promised with a smile. "I'll bring tea."

This was written for the following: (1) Build Your Cube Challenge, (2) Can You Make It to the End Challenge, (3) Climb to the Top of Mount Potter Challenge, (4) Colors of the Rainbow Challenge, and (5) The FRIENDS Competition: The One With 472 Prompts from Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum.
(1) Build Your Cube – Yellow: (AU) Single Parent
(2) Can You Make It to the End – Round Four: Create two pairings (Dean Thomas/Pansy Parkinson) using the list of characters. Write a fic over 750 words for each.
(3) Climb to the Top of Mount Potter – Prompt: (Word) Wasted
(4) Colors of the Rainbow – Green, Prompt 3: (Word) Spring
(5) The FRIENDS Competition – Season Six, TOW Ross' Teeth: Write anything using the prompt "smile".

Words: ~1,700