Pansy Parkinson, the Forgotten Friend
Chapter 1: How I Learned to Hate Harry Potter
It was a nervous girl that found herself alone in the platform for the Hogwarts Express.
She was a bit short for her age, pale, with long, black hair and a small button nose. Her name was Pansy Parkinson, and she hated her nose.
It was her first year, and Pansy's parents had dropped her off, but quickly had to leave on business.
As it usually was.
Business was important, moreso than her birthdays, recitals, and now, first time boarding a train to a new school.
With a resigned sigh, she climbed aboard and found a compartment near the front of the train.
And then another closer to the middle when some older students claimed it was their traditional compartment, and she wasn't in the mood to see what a more educated student could get away with.
After the train began moving, a small knock drew her attention to the door, her eyes growing wide.
She really hoped it wasn't another older student asking her to move.
With a small sense of dread, she opened the door, and saw a scrawny boy with messy black hair and a pair of glasses that seemed much too large for his face.
"Hi?" She said with uncertainty.
"Um… hi. Do you mind if I sit here? A lot of other compartments are full." The boy said.
His much too baggy and ratty clothes made her want to send him away, possibly a Muggleborn, but this was her first chance at making an actual friend and not an arranged play date.
"Sure." She said, smiling in what she hoped was a happy manner.
The boy gave her a grateful smile and he settled his stuff.
"So, the train has been moving for a while, why are you just now finding a spot to sit?" Pansy asked.
The big sighed. He had sat with his friend, Ron, but being his first year, his older siblings had sat with him, making the compartment cramped, and not a little noisy.
Then apparently some pompous git had tried to talk to him about "The right kinds of people" before leaving angrily.
After all of that, he needed some quiet time, and the rowdy red-haired family was unlikely to give him any of that.
"I'm sorry." The girl said, frowning.
The pompous git had sounded like Draco Malfoy, a boy her family had been trying to set her up with rather unsuccessfully. But why would someone as snooty as Malfoy want this boy around?
Maybe she should start there? But how?
"Err… not to be rude, but… what's your name?" The boy asked.
Ah. That works.
"Parkinson. Pansy Parkinson." She said, smiling.
"Potter." The boy said, copying her manner of speaking. "Harry Potter."
Pansy gaped.
This was Harry Potter?
Half a pound of bones in twice his body weight in clothes?!
Harry looked a bit uncomfortable, clearly she had been quiet too long.
"You're uh… not one of those weird Potter nutters, are you?" He asked.
Pansy blinked.
"A what?" She asked, confused.
"Apparently, I have a fanclub." He grimaced with clear disdain.
Pansy frowned.
"How are you just now becoming aware of that?" She asked.
"Well…" the Boy began, looking embarrassed, "I only recently found out I was a wizard."
Pansy blinked.
And then again.
And once more, just to make sure she heard right.
"You didn't know? How?" She asked, unable to hide her curiosity.
With a small sigh, the boy explained that his relatives- spoken about with a surprising amount of venom- did not like magic. He all but directly explained that they mistreated him, but he was excited about learning magic.
Harry got quiet, embarrassed by talking about his life, so Pansy took charge and spoke about her own rather negligent parents, hoping she could cheer the boy up.
He apologized at the right times and was sympathetic, and for the first time, Pansy felt genuine kinship towards someone else.
"Pansy?" Harry asked, looking nervous.
"Yes, Harry?" She asked.
"Are we… can we be friends?" The boy asked, looking very frightened.
"Of course!" She beamed, somehow smiling wider as Harry grinned back.
Somehow, she knew this would be an important friendship.
PPtFF
As they left the train, Pansy and the rest of the students were greeted by the single largest man she had ever seen, calling all First Years to him. Judging by the quick interaction, Harry knew this walking mountain, and it helped her find the courage to smile nervously at him, the man mountain beaming at them both.
Before too long, all the new students gathered and were lead to boats, which Hagrid (according to Harry), stated four to a boat was capacity. Harry climbed along in and helped her sit next to him, nervous about how much the little boat tipped over.
After the boats began moving, the legendary Hogwarts castle came to view, and Pansy unwittingly added her own gasp to the chorus around her.
How could she not?
The view was magnificent, with the moonlit silhouette of the brightly lit castle in the dark, she understood immediately why her parents refused to describe their old school.
Words wouldn't have done it justice.
Harry turned and gave her a bright grin she immediately returned and looked back at the castle that loomed ahead.
Eventually, the boat ride ended and they were lead to a staircase that ended before a door that even Hagrid seemed far too small for. The doors opened and a woman walked out.
"Any trouble, Hagrid?" Came a rather severe voice from a rather cross looking woman who wore dark green robes.
"One o' the boys fell into the lake, but the giant squid had no problem helping him up, Professor McGonagall. " Hagrid said, sounding much more pleased about this than he should.
Professor McGonagall looked at a red haired boy, before quickly pulling her wand out, and everyone watched in awe as the wet boy dried up before their eyes.
She quickly explained that they would be sorted and what the Houses would be, before advising she would be back momentarily to bring them in.
Murmuring began, with people wondering what the sorting would be, theories ranging from the red haired boy talking about wrestling a troll (as if), to some girl who looked like she was having a bad hair life wonder if it was a test, something she looked oddly excited about.
Despite her nerves, she had Harry next to her, who stood just close enough that his pinky wrapped in hers went unnoticed.
Thankfully, just a pinky, she would die of embarrassment if they actually held hands.
"Huh. After the train, I figured you a lost cause, Potter." Came a voice she knew too well.
Pansy turned to see Draco Malfoy smirking at Potter while trying to sneer at the red haired boy.
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Potter said, frowning.
"Your company. Not as high class as myself, but Parkinson is definitely an improvement over a Weasley." Malfoy said indignantly a haunty tone. "Maybe we can show you the right kinds of people after all."
Harry's look of mistrust to her hurt, but him subtly moving his hand away hurt so much more than she could explain.
Before anyone could say anything else, Professor McGonagall returned and walked them into what was called the Great Hall, which certainly lived up to its name.
She should have been drinking in the sights, the hundreds of candles burning brightly and suspended in the air, the long tables for the students, the beautiful banners for each House hanging above the tables themselves.
Instead, she was trying to swallow back her heart, wondering if Malfoy had just cost her her new friend.
She had almost missed the instructions on how they would be called and had to pretend to know why an old, ratty hat was singing to them, but sighed internally.
Harry had ended up a ways behind her and she felt alone despite the many people around her. The professor began calling names, and the sorting began. She waited, both nervous for her own sorting, and dreading being in everyone's attention.
"Parkinson, Pansy!" McGonagall had called after a moment.
With a deep breath, Pansy walked to the stool, sitting down before the old hat was placed on her head.
Hmmm… interesting.
"Wha-what? Who's there?" Pansy asked, looking around in confusion.
Just me, dear. Don't mind me, just seeing what we have.
"Are you the hat?"
Of course, what else would I be?
That was a good question, and not one she had an answer to.
Let's see… not exactly the bravest girl, but loyal. Smart, but not exactly a strong focus for yourself.
"As long as you're not calling me dim, we're fine." She sniffed, slightly offended.
It seemed the hat chuckled at that.
Witty, very clever. But so nervous about a boy you don't know. I find myself wondering between Slytherin and Hufflepuff.
The girl bristled, definitely insulted at the suggestion of being a Hufflepuff. The hat seemed to find this amusing.
Not a 'Puff, eh? Then it better be…
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat called.
She felt the hat being taken off and walked to the Slytherin seats to their cheering, but the rather subdued rreaction from the rest of the school.
As she sat, she heard the next name.
"Harry Potter!"
The entire Great Hall came alive with people looking around.
"Harry Potter?"
"THE Harry Potter?"
Pansy ignored the murmuring and watched her friend.
As he sat down, he made eye contact with her for a brief moment before looking away, and Pansy felt her heart sink somehow lower.
She knew at this moment that he would not be a Slytherin with her.
She watched, dread building as the sorting went on for several long minutes. He seemed to be saying something, but she couldn't make out any sound and was too far to read his lips. After another minute or two, the hat finally opened up, and called out.
"Gryffindor!"
PPtFF
Over the next two months, she saw Harry alone a grand total of twice.
The first time, he apologized, stating he was trying to make friends with his Housemates and learn his way around the castle.
She wanted to believe him, after all, the castle was massive, the staircases moved themselves, and some genius decided that the classes were randomly spread out across the ten floors up, and three dungeon levels.
Maybe he was just looking for his classes? She certainly hadn't figured out the routes enough to venture without her classmates.
Despite her reservations, she accepted his apologies and tried talking to the boy, despite the overwhelming awkwardness to their chat.
The second time they met, he asked her if she was evil, since she was sorted to Slytherin.
Apparently, the bad reputation of Slytherin had not been lost on Harry, but a lot of it stemmed from Malfoy's attitude through the first months, including the Remembrall that Longbottom had dropped.
She found herself speechless, like they weren't friends, why was she being painted with the same brush as Malfoy? Unless...
"I thought we were friends, and you seemed nice enough." Pansy said, sadness unlining her tone.
Harry frowned.
"Harry, the school isn't made up of the brave, loyal, smart, and evil. I'm eleven. What evil plan am I gonna have? How to get more sweets throughout the day?"
Harry looked embarrassed, but before he could say anything else, Weasley, of all people came by and ruined everything.
"Hey, Harry, I was just- hey! What do you want, you bloody snake?" Ron said, glaring at Pansy.
Pansy sneered at Ron, but instead of saying anything, looked to Harry, who seemed to be trying desperately to blend into the air.
It took Pansy a bit longer than she was willing to admit that she was waiting for Harry to defend her, but realized that no help would come from the boy.
They were supposed to be friends.
He was supposed to be her first real friend.
It hurt, she wasn't gonna lie.
The first time she made a friend, an actual, proper friend, and it gets ruined by things out of her control. Fighting back the tears that threatened to spill, she turned her glare at Harry, who seemed stunned.
"Absolutely nothing, Weasley. I guess I'm doing nothing but expecting more from the House of the Brave." She said, failing to hold back a couple of tears before she turned and walked away.
Weasley had reacted like she had talked about him, but Harry's stunned look told her he had understood what she meant.
As she reached the Common Room in the dungeons, her attempts to hold back the tide finally failed, sobbing quietly as she entered.
A few of the older students immediately turned their attention to help, knowing full well the school wasn't always the best place for a lone Slytherin.
Malfoy and his group had been watching and approached, hearing her not outright say why she was crying, but she managed to explain it had to do with Potter.
"That prick! First he chooses those… Weasels over any real friends, then he hurts one of ours? He'll pay!" Malfoy declared, the crying girl leading to a lot of Slytherins agreeing with the younger boy.
Potter crossed Slytherin, after all, and they weren't evil, but they took care of their own.
Loyalty, after all, was something Slytherins did better than Hufflepuff.
PPtFF
Despite not being a follower of the boy, or even particularly fond of him, Pansy found herself led along by Malfoy.
He seemed determined to make Harry's, no, Potter's life hell, which should have made her feel glad, but it was an empty victory.
As her and the Slytherins walked the halls as a group, she'd see students from the other Houses intermingle, getting into all sorts of fun.
The Slytherins weren't boring, but they had an image to maintain, or so said Professor Snape.
If Harry was still her friend, would she be mingling like everyone else? She wasn't sure, but she knew now she'd not find out.
Despite constantly seeing her around, Harry never made an attempt to apologize to her, nor did he ever make an attempt to actually speak to her.
It solidified her thoughts on the matter, and she vowed that Harry Potter would see what an amazing friend he cost himself.
PPtFF
The school years passed, each giving Pansy reason to grow more and more angry at the Gryffindor's Golden Boy.
It seemed like nothing she did helped her be noticed, almost like he didn't care.
After First Year, despite the effort from her House, she watched the Headmaster basically give Potter the House Cup for the vaguest of reasons, even giving points to his cronies, putting all the effort they had put in to shame.
Harry hadn't even noticed her coming in the top five students for their class, even coming right behind him in Defense.
Second Year, there was the whole petrification thing, and Potter being a Parseltongue.
That's right, that same idiot who accused her of being evil for being a Slytherin talked to bloody snakes, the gall!
And with as much as he complained about Lockhart being a poncey fraud, you would think Harry would notice the one girl complaining about how much Lockhart sucked almost as much as he did, but no.
Still nothing.
Third Year, the Death Eater Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban, and what happened? The whole school had to deal with those terrifying Dementors everywhere, along with a psychotic mass murderer on the prowl.
And then what happened? Their surprisingly competent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor ends up being a bloody werewolf that apparently almost mauled some students.
And what did Potter do? Faint at Dementors and thank his friends for visiting him in the Hospital Wing after his Quidditch accident. And completely ignored her when she went to visit him, like she was invisible to him.
Which lead to this year, or more importantly, Halloween. With three schools competing for glory in a tournament, Potter couldn't keep his glory hogging tendencies away and somehow entered himself in as a fourth Champion for the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Prick.
Now, of all times, when his name comes out of the stupid fiery cup, for the first time since their argument in first year, his eyes met hers.
And she hated herself when her heart skipped a beat.
She hated herself when she saw in his eyes the panic and fear that told her he didn't put his own name in.
She hated that she understood all of that from just a look from a boy, who for all intents, was a stranger to her, and that he knew she understood.
She watched as the panic-stricken boy walk to the same side door the prior champions had entered.
For the first time, she had his attention.
And she had no idea what to do.
A/N:
Welcome to a new story, everyone. This story will be strictly through Pansy's POV, and will only run through the 4th year, I have no plans for the story to run to 5th year. Let me know what you think!