Part Three. Chapter Twenty-eight.

AN: I've lulled you into a false sense of calm. Now watch me tear it to shreds.


Pansy. Armistice of the Battle of Hogwarts.


"Where's Harry?" Pansy jerked away from where she had started to doze off, propped against a bench, leaning against Charlie's legs.

She looked up at Hermione, feeling dread fill her stomach as she realized he wasn't back yet.

"He chucked off a while back," Pansy murmured.

"Did he say where he was going?" Hermione pressed from where she sitting on the ground beside Draco. The curly haired girl had been shooting Molly embarrassed and guilty looks for the past hour. Pansy realized that it must have been awkward to be sitting with your new…whatever… right beside your dead former boyfriend's mother.

"I didn't ask," Pansy replied, and was greeted with an uncomfortable silence.

"What do you mean? You didn't think to ask him where he was going? Make sure he wasn't trying to hand himself over?" Hermione cried out, her hands flinging in exasperation as she got to her feet.

"I didn't know I was supposed to," Pansy sat up, shrugging her shoulders.

"Do you not realize how serious this is?" Bill questioned her, a look of disappointment on his face. Pansy shrunk back as if she had been slapped. Her mentor being disappointed in her was not something she could fathom.

"Pansy," Hermione snapped as if talking to an unruly, naughty child, "do you realize that if Harry hands himself over, then we basically have a death sentence slapped over our heads as well?"

"I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT I WAS IN CHARGE OF HIM," Pansy shouted and stood up, her face turning red with irritation. "No one informed me that I was Potter's mum! No, Harry was standing by me, he got his typical hero do-gooder look on his face and marched off, and I didn't think anything of it because I was not informed that I get to dictate how he handles his issues!"

"Pansy, do you realize that normal people, good friends, they look out for others, right?" Hermione sneered and Draco and Pansy's mouths fell open in shock.

"Y-your saying I-I'm not a good friend? What?" Pansy sputtered, feeling the familiar clench of anger in her stomach. Her tongue felt heavy and a metallic taste filled her mouth, she began resisting the urge to spew back words that could not be taken back.

"You aren't acting like one," Charlie said quietly. Pansy jumped back from him, her eyes burning with tears of rage and pain.

"You're taking her side?" She gasped.

"Why wouldn't I? She's right and you're-," Pansy cut him off.

"I'm Pansy Parkinson, the evil selfish Death Eater who only cares about herself," she finished for him. Horror sinking in, she realized she had ruined everything once again. "Guess I'm not reformed, huh, Charlie? Guess I'm not the girl you thought I was?"

"Pans, no one thinks that," Draco said and held out an arm as if to comfort her, but she shrank back from him. "Right? We'll figure it out, Pansy didn't mean any harm."

Hermione and the others were silent.

"They do mean it, Draco, you should get it through your head. We'll never be good enough for them, we're not nice enough for any of them," Pansy growled, tears streaming down her face, but she was too hurt to be ashamed, "The sooner you realize that people like them can't love people like us, the better off you'll be."

"Pans—"

"Just shut up," She snapped at Draco, shot one last glance at Charlie, who looked as if someone had killed his puppy, and she turned on her heel and left the Great Hall.

"Pansy wait! I didn't mean it!" Charlie called after her, but she ignored him.

Hermione began sobbing as the doors slammed behind Pansy, and she dropped to the bench beside Fleur, who wouldn't look at her.

Charlie cussed and punched the table out of anger

"W-why would you say that stuff to her?" Draco looked down at her, his face torn between sadness and anger. "She's done so much for us, for all of you, she made a mistake."

"We can't afford mistakes!" Hermione cried.

"Well that is really sad," Draco replied coldly. "You know who else always says there is never any room for mistakes? Voldemort." Draco watched Hermione flinch at the comparison. "If this is how the "light" side treats friends, loyal friends, then I don't think I want to be a part of it either."

"So you're leaving, too, mate?" Charlie spoke finally, his eyes empty, he looked utterly wounded.

"Yeah, I'm going to find Pansy and be a friend to her," Draco narrowed his eyes, "Guess you don't really love her after all."

Charlie's hands balled into fists, and he stood up.

"Don't you even dare—"

"She can make a patronus you know," Draco called over his shoulder as he walked away, "didn't they always used to tell you that dark-hearted, selfish people could never make one?"

"How did you do it?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned briefly to see Narcissa Malfoy standing in the doorway, watching her.

She had found an empty classroom on the third floor of the east side of the castle and had been sitting there for several moments.

"Do what? Survive?" Pansy quipped, turning back to continue staring at the exploding sky outside the window, her hair swinging around her shoulders.

"Watch your tone," Narcissa snapped angrily. Pansy didn't respond, but she noted that Narcissa did not move from the doorway either.

"How did I do what?" Pansy asked grudgingly after many moments of uncomfortable silence. She cursed the mother of her best friend for refusing to be forthcoming purely because she knew Pansy would cave in out of curiosity.

"How did you get those—people, to forgive you?" The woman asked quietly, no airs of self-importance or disdain in her voice.

"Woman to woman?" Pansy asked and Narcissa responded with an "mhm."

"I'm not quite sure how I managed. I was always waiting for them to realize that I was still a snake lying underneath a flower and tell me to go to hell." She chuckled darkly at the thought. "but I don't have to wait any more, I just fucked everything up for myself."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"Do you ever think our mothers have ruined us?" Narcissa asked, and to Pansy's surprise, came and sat beside her.

It was disconcerting to see the elegant and refined woman folding herself down ungracefully onto the stone floor of a burning school, her tone casual as if discussing the weather.

"Isn't that an interesting idea," Pansy said and they both laughed, though their wasn't any humor in their eyes. "Do you think that's my problem?" Pansy asked the woman who had often served as a confident to her as a young girl.

"Besides being a spoiled little bitch?" Narcissa smirked, but she touched her knee in affection, "I think you are a product of being raised by house elves and being ignored by selfish parents."

"I sometimes think 'I could have turned out worse", Pansy admitted and gave a real laugh.

"On the contrary, I am often raked with the troubling guilt that I could have been better," Narcissa said, and they were both plunged into thoughtful silence once more at that.

Pansy wasn't sure what this conversation was, simply because as long as she had known Narcissa Malfoy, she had been very aware that nothing came without a price.

No lesson had ever been free.

"Draco is sorry that he had to betray you," she offered to the woman, who simply nodded. Apparently she knew that already.

"I fancy the way you found a way to wipe your slate clean," Narcissa told her, "you and Draco both." She gave Pansy a smile at that.

"I have begun to realize the errors of my ways entirely too late, but I am saved by the thought that you and Draco started over, at least for a short while."

"We didn't start over," Pansy countered, "We had to change everyone's minds about ourselves as we were. We just realized we wanted to do what was right, not what was easy."

"Being good and doing what is right is never easy, not for us," Narcissa agreed.

"I struggle everyday to be worthy of all of them."

"Ah, but isn't it nice to feel worthy of something?" Narcissa looked almost sad, "it's been a very long time since I have felt worthy."

"Be careful, you're showing a lot of weakness tonight."

"We are all going to die anyway," Narcissa retorted.

"I messed up tonight," Pansy admitted and she felt tears sting her eyes. "They all hate me."

"It can't have been that bad, you didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"I think I let Harry hand himself over to Voldemort." Pansy sighed, ignoring the slight jab the woman made.

"I didn't realize it was your duty to make Potter's decisions," Narcissa chuckled. Her lipstick was smudged on the corner of her mouth. Pansy rather enjoyed seeing the imperfection.

"A real friend wouldn't allow their friend to walk into certain danger," she said quietly.

"Perhaps, but a real friend would understand that sometimes sacrifices have to be made and there isn't always another option to be had."

Pansy was silent once more at that. Her knees pulled to her chest, her chin resting on them as she contemplated Narcissa's words.

"We're going to die tonight, aren't we?" She asked the older woman, and when she turned to look at her, she noticed the look of utter exhaustion etched on the socialites face.

"Probably," Narcissa gave her a grim smile and stood up, holding out her elegant slender hand to Pansy. Pansy scrunched her eyebrows but allowed herself to be hauled to her feet, "but perhaps we can make some things right."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to the Forbidden Forest, and I believe you have a wrong to right."

Pansy had to jog to keep up with Narcissa's long strides as they made their way toward the gaping hole where the entrance hall used to be.

"I don't understand what we are doing," she said with gasping breaths, her tired muscles straining.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to make amends somehow, which means I'm going to try and get to Potter before The Dark Lord does; and you, you need to make yourself something of a hero and help your friends, despite their current opinions of you at the moment."

"Do you honestly think that will work?" Pansy huffed.

"What is that quote on the tapestry in the Slytherin common room? Hanging between the two tallest book shelves?" The older woman arched her eyebrow, waiting for the younger one to respond.

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends," Pansy muttered.

"Exactly, so quit feeling sorry for yourself and do something good," Narcissa ordered. They had reached the entrance of the school and they stood, looking over each other awkwardly.

"You're a decent girl, Pansy," Narcissa said finally. "You are not quite as intolerable as people make you out to be."

"It sounds like there might be a compliment in there somewhere," Pansy grumbled sarcastically.

"Your mother does not deserve you."

Pansy felt uncomfortable with those words, they didn't appear affectionate, but coming from Narcissa, it was a high praise.

"Uh—maybe I don't deserve her?"

"For once in your life, Pansy Parkinson, have a little faith in yourself," Narcissa swatted at her and clucked her tongue, but she did smooth Pansy's hair and gave her a tight motherly smile. Narcissa gave her one last knowing look before disappearing into the darkness of the grounds and Pansy gathered her wand.

She had a snake to find.


AN: This was the first chapter I ever wrote for Dark Places. I've had it ready and waiting for a very long time.

The end is nigh...