Disclaimer: As usual, all I own is this fanfic, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!
Warning: Intoxicated moments in this chapter. If it bothers you, don't read!
Chapter 20: The Last Of Pansy Parkinson
Back at the ministry, some aurors strolled by Sirius' holding cell and informed him that his trial would be starting soon. With a happy grin, Sirius willingly held his hands out as he was placed in magic suppression shackles and escorted to courtroom three. Sirius grinned more to see Andi there, sitting next to her daughter in the visitors section. He immediately knew that the trial was meant to surprise Harry, judging by Andi's smirk on her face. As soon as he was secured in the defendant's chair, Sirius granted permission to be given Veritaserum. Then once the potions effects kicked in, Sirius explained how he wasn't the Potters' secret keeper, and that Peter was. Sirius even went on to explain that he went to confront him, only for Peter to frame him by causing the explosion that killed the twelve muggles, and then transforming into his rat animagus to flee. Sirius also admitted to being an unregistered animagus himself and explained how he and James felt that being unregistered would've been a huge advantage in spying on the death eaters. The members of the Wizengamot got up and reported to a meeting room, then they came back after a few minutes to reveal their decision, just as Sirius was given the antidote to Veritaserum.
"We find the defendant innocent!" Amelia announced.
"Sirius, you are hereby cleared of all charges and will be given one-point-two million galleons in compensation," Minister Cornelius Fudge told him, then warning him, "However, you have seven days to register as an animagus. If you don't, then we'll have no choice but to have you arrested again."
"How about if I have you keep two-hundred thousand galleons and I get registered after my trial is over?" Sirius offered.
"You've got yourself a deal, Sirius." said Cornelius.
He banged his gavel to signal the end of the trial. Once Sirius was freed from the shackles, he walked up to Andi and Dora, both whom greeted him with a hug (and Sirius returning them). Then they left the courtroom and over to the animagus registration room. After Sirius got himself registered as an animagus, he and Andi returned to Hogwarts. The two planned to wait until tomorrow morning to surprise Harry. Meanwhile, Harry and his friends continued dancing in the Great Hall. Alot of girls continued staring at Tracey in jealousy for being Harry's date, but otherwise let it be. Harry even got a chance to dance with Fleur, Daphne, Tori, Luna, Demelza and Susan to promote fairness. Ron and Hermione were staring at Tracey in a mixture of shock and amazement.
'Wow, I'm impressed how Harry and Tracey pulled their stunt off!' thought Hermione.
'Is it me or did Harry keep his Slytherin traits hidden?' thought Ron in bewilderment.
Hermione got up to leave due to the guilt she was feeling of having turned her back on Harry. She could feel tears welling up in her chocolate-brown eyes as the guilt worsened. Hermione found an empty classroom and walked in, making sure to lock the door and cast privacy wards on the door. Then she sat down on a desk, put her head down into her arms and began crying.
'I really screwed up!' thought Hermione in despair. 'Harry needed as much support as possible and I was ungrateful to him. When he and I went to rescue Sirius, it did feel rather nice to have my arms wrapped around Harry's waist. But I was foolish to throw the opportunity of being his girlfriend away, and now Tracey has that potential. Why did I do this to myself?'
However, there were some approaching problems far worse than Hermione's situation. Pansy eyeing Harry with extreme lust (which had been going on since she tried to bribe him with a kiss on the lips during the first potions lesson taught by Professor Tonks). In an attempt to ensure that her plan would work, Pansy checked on Harry (who was dancing with Fleur at the moment) with a lustful grin and headed for a nearby empty corridor. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Pansy brought out two twelve-ounce bottles of red currant rum and (after kicking her high heels off) started drinking the alcoholic beverage. Once she finished off both bottles, the now-drunk Slytherin girl began waddling her way back to the Great Hall. It took some time due to being drunk, but somehow, Pansy managed to make it back. As she approached Harry still dancing with Fleur, Pansy threw her drunken self in between the two, much to their bewilderment of everyone in the Great Hall.
"I fink I'll juff… hic... dancth wiff Pother meow!" Pansy informed Fleur. Then the drunk girl grabbed Harry's arms and tried to dance with him in the state she was in (with a belch). "Hey Hawwy, I'th beed… hic... wanning to do thith thince that kith… hic... I offerth you that pothins lethon with Protheffor Donks."
"Alright Parkinson," Harry replied in a serious tone of voice, trying to free himself from Pansy's clutches. "What did you do to yourself?"
"Come now, Hawwy!" Pansy continued her drunken explanation. "I'th peen twying… hic... to get on yo good-ith thide."
"She's drunk!" Luna blurted out in shock, with everyone else in the Great Hall gasping with realization.
"You bed yo arth I um!" Pansy replied as she turned her attention to Luna. "It thook knee thince firth year to… hic... weelize dat I love Hawwy for da wongeth thime… hic… an I neffa thelf so gwead… hic…"
It didn't take long before Pansy threw up in plain view of everyone in the Great Hall. The teachers and staff shook their heads in disgust while the students were snickering. Pansy was continuing to exacerbate the ordeal in her drunken state by stumbling onto Luna. As the drunk girl tried to pull herself up, she vomited again. This time, it was all over Luna's dress robes. Luna looked as though she wanted to cry, feeling humiliated to have Pansy throw up all over her in front of many people. As soon as Pansy backed away, Harry quickly pulled his wand out and cast a charm to get rid of the vomit stains on Luna's dress robes, as though they never got barfed on. Still, Luna's eyes were welling up with tears despite trying her best not to cry. Blaise quickly led Luna out of the Great Hall and over to an empty classroom.
"Hawwy ith muth… hic... bedder van Malthoy!" Pansy replied, still intoxicated. "I theel dat I thouldth wet him mow… hic… how mudth he meanth to be. Baybe I can-ith… hic… debonstwate id foe hib."
Pansy began stripping down to her bra and panties in front of countless people, causing the teachers to shake their heads in exasperation. As soon she was down to her bra and panties, Pansy tossed her dress robes right in front of Harry's feet and started dancing very crudely. Pansy was even cheering as if she was watching her favourite sports team. Harry and his friends backed away as Pansy became more and more unruly. She staggered over to the punch bowls, picked one up and poured the entire thing all over herself before continuing her crude and unruly dancing for Harry. Since she was still intoxicated, Pansy didn't realize that the punch was charmed to be ice-cold (as if the beverages had ice in them). Due to the fact that she still had rum in her system, it was causing her body to lose heat and making her shiver. It didn't take very long for Pansy to go into hypothermia and having alcohol in her system made it worse (her shivering becoming more violent made it clear). As the cold overtook her body, Pansy felt her insides turning stiff as ice. She eventually collapsed and fell backwards, not moving any part of her body.
"Is she…?!" Tori began asking, too shocked to finish the question.
"It seems to be!" Neville answered, knowing what Tori's question was.
The teachers approached Pansy's body to check for any vital signs of life. When they realized that Pansy was dead, Professor Dumbledore sent a patronus to the mediwizards of St. Mungo's to inform them what had happened. Professor McGonagall announced that the rest of the Yule Ball would be cancelled due to the circumstances, so the students headed back to either the common rooms, the Beauxbatons carriage or the Durmstrang ship. Some of the students decided to go to an empty classroom to continue the Yule Ball. Harry, Neville, Tracy and Tori headed back to Harry's private quarters to continue the rest of their Yule Ball by themselves. The mediwizards arrived at the castle and over to the Great Hall, where they put Pansy's dead body on a conjured stretcher and covering it with a white sheet to give the dead some respect. The teachers went to investigate where Pansy was when she got drunk. As the mediwizards carried the stretcher with Pansy's body on it away to the wizarding medical examiners, the teachers and staff found the corridor Pansy was in while drinking the rum (indicated by her high heels and the two empty rum bottles nearby).
"How did Miss Parkinson smuggle all this rum in here?!" asked Professor McGonagall in bewilderment.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Minerva," said Albus. "We'll never be able to figure it out, since Miss Parkinson passed away."
"But she got herself into that situation," said Professor Sprout matter-of-factly. "Plus, her behaviour would have resulted in her expulsion. Not just for smuggling contraband into the castle somehow, but also for disorderly conduct and indecent exposure."
The teachers and staff returned to the Great Hall to clean up the mess Pansy created, and get the Great Hall back to it's proper set up. Albus called for one of the school house elves to get Pansy's stuff over to his office so he can figure out what to do with it when he had the time. Back in his private quarters, Harry and Neville continued dancing with their dates while taking turns switching dance partners. During one moment where Harry and Tracey were dancing, she lost her balance and Harry tried to help her back onto her feet. In the process, Harry lost his balance and fell backwards onto the couch, accidentally pulling Tracey with him. That also cause Harry and Tracey to inadvertently kiss each other on the lips, much to Neville and Tori's excitement. Harry and Tracey widened their eyes in shock to see that they kissed each other, resulting in the two pulling themselves away as they felt their cheeks radiating heat. Their cheeks were also red in embarrassment as they smiled sheepishly.
"I'm so sorry, Trace!" Harry quickly apologized. "It was an accident."
"I'm sorry too, Harry!" Tracey apologized, her voice in high-pitch. "But for some odd reason, it felt good."
"Yeah, it did." Harry admitted. Then he asked, "What does that mean?"
"Harry, that means that you and Tracey are meant for each other," Neville told his godbrother. "If you really wanna find out, you and Tracey should kiss each other again."
"Go for it, Harry," said Tori in an encouraging voice. "If you don't, you'll never truly find out for yourself."
Knowing they were right, Harry pulled Tracey back towards him and kissed her on the lips again. Tracey felt her heart melting as they kissed again, this time it lasted longer and felt like a real one. Neville and Tori were grinning happily to see Harry and Tracey finally figuring out their feelings for each other. As they continued kissing, Harry and Tracey felt their hearts beating faster than usual, they also lost some sensation in their arms and legs due to the excitement. When they finished kissing, Harry and Tracey collapsed on the couch but still felt like they were in their own world.
"Don't tell Daph about this, Tori!" Tracey mock-warned her while grinning.
"She's gonna find out sooner or later, Trace," said Tori in a matter-of-fact voice, also grinning. "She and Adrian might be doing the same thing. Heck, Terence and Susan could be as well."
"Then I'll tell her when I get the chance," stated Tracey. "But that kiss got tiring for me and Harry."
Harry and Tracey still felt their heads spinning from the kiss. Meanwhile, Ron returned to Gryffindor Tower after trying to find Hermione without success. While there wasn't any indication that Ginny returned, Ron didn't care since he was already getting tired of his sister's tantrums. At the same time, he couldn't figure out what Pansy's motives were and why she would drink two bottles of the alcoholic beverage, since her vomiting implied it. Like most of the student body, Ron didn't feel any sympathy for Pansy since she got herself into the situation that led to her untimely death. Just as Ron sat down on the couch, Hermione entered the common room. Her eyes were red, which told Ron that she had been crying.
"You okay, Hermione?" asked Ron.
Hermione shook her head as she sat down next to Ron, then she replied in a still-upset voice, "No, watching Harry dancing with Tracey in particular made me feel even more guilty for abandoning him in his time of need. When we rescued Sirius, it felt good to have my arms wrapped around his waist. The potential to be his girlfriend is now lost forever."
"Yeah, and I've lost my best mate. Now Neville has that position," said Ron with guilt in his voice. "While I have no interest in dating anyone, it's probably a good thing you and Harry aren't a couple because Ginny would go ballistic. She's far too determined to be the future Lady Potter to ever accept reality. Ginny may even try to take Davis out for 'stealing her Harry' away, as she would put it."
"If Ginny doesn't quit while she's still ahead, then she may end up in a similar situation Malfoy found himself in," said Hermione. "It'll embarrass your dad especially, since he works for the ministry."
"And I did that a couple years ago for taking the car and talking Harry into it," said Ron. "I should've been grateful to Harry for not selling me out."
Then Ron told Hermione what all happened in the Great Hall after she left. Hermione shook her head in disgust at how foolish Pansy was to pull the stunt with the rum, especially since it cost her her life. Fred, George, Lee and Demelza returned several minutes later to get ready for bed, since it was already late. Back in his private quarters, Harry and Neville got ready for bed after Winky and Piper escorted Tracey and Tori respectively back to the Slytherin common room. Once Harry climbed into bed, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Harry had yet to find out that Sirius was in the castle, in Professor Tonks' quarters. As part of their plan, Sirius was going to wait until breakfast tomorrow before surprising Harry and informing him of how the trial went.
To be continued!
Author's note (2/27/20): I changed the amount of rum that Pansy had to two 12 oz. bottles, since it would've killed her long before reaching eight, pointed out by the user 'Jake Crepeau.' I apologize for any inconvenience.
