Summary: Draco was to preoccupied to be fretting over the over-hyped Soul Link potion Professor Slughorn had them brew. Pansy trying to make him take it only sent him further over the edge.

Rated: T

Genre: General

Content Tag: Rejection

Elixir of Binding Souls

"Today I am going to teach you how to brew the Elixir of Binding Souls. It is a quite difficult concoction, but a very suitable one for my NEWT class, I believe," Professor Slughorn announced as he wrote on the blackboard.

Finishing the name of the potion, he underlined it and placed a hyphen below before turning to face the students before him. It didn't take much to pique their interest. The Soul Link potion had been a common topic of conversation among them the past year or so, but it definitely didn't interest Draco in the slightest, and he made sure to show it. The rare time he actually wanted to attend a class to keep his mind off everything and he got stuck with this nonsense of a potion.

"Now, what is this potion's other name?"

Hermione's hand went up in the air almost immediately, but Pansy nearly met her speed, surprising Draco, who stood right next to her. Professor Slughorn eyed Hermione before reluctantly turning to Pansy for the answer. Draco wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming at the surprising change of events.

"Yes, Miss Parkinson?"

"It's also called Anima Nexus."

Professor Slughorn nodded approvingly. "That is correct. Five points to Slytherin."

He turned to write the Latin name down, and Draco gave Pansy's arm a gentle nudge to get her attention. "Nice work."

"Thanks," she said, offering him a warm smile.

Draco almost recoiled from the cheerful reply and gesture, afraid she would get an unwanted idea from his small praise. It was the first time he had given her the time of day in over a week, though, so her gushing about it wasn't a surprise. It didn't make the potion any less rubbish, so if Pansy's acute attention to this lesson had her thinking that it would help her find that special someone, she was going to be utterly disappointed.

"Now," Professor Slughorn said, turning back to the class, "what does the Soul Link potion do?"

Pansy's hand shot up even faster this time, and Draco couldn't help but roll his eyes. Theo smirked in amusement at her enthusiasm, but Blaise at least appeared to share the same opinion as Draco. They hadn't seen Pansy so perky in this class since the first day when they were examining the Love Potion.

"Miss Parkinson?"

"It's an old potion brewed to help someone find their soulmate. Should the drinker appear to glow with a soft golden aura—temporarily, of course—then that means they are the brewer's destined soulmate."

Draco scoffed at the details, prompting Professor Slughorn to turn his attention to him. "Is there something you wish to add to Miss Parkinson's description, Mr. Malfoy?"

He froze in the unexpected spotlight, glancing around the room quickly before settling on the professor. He couldn't have attention drawn to himself, especially with how attentive Potter had been lately. "Other than that the concoction is complete rubbish, no."

"Ah, a common misconception of this brew, unfortunately. It is quite a finicky specimen, and is in the same family as—"

"Amortenia, Professor, sir," Pansy blurted, interrupting the portly man. "My apologies."

"Very good, Miss Parkinson. Twenty-five points to Slytherin. Now, it is often claimed that this potion is virtually ineffective, but it is quite rare to even find your soulmate even with the aid of a potion, so there has not been any definitive proof that such a complicated brew as the Soul Link potion does nothing…"

Draco tuned out the rest of the information and mulled over more important—and more dangerous—things that needed done. Finding his soulmate wouldn't change anything about his mission or even help relieve the pressure he was facing. In fact, it would probably make it all even worse, he couldn't afford to care about another person. The Soul Link potion was completely useless to him, as were most things in this class except the Polyjuice Potion. Perhaps he could use the Draught of Living Death in his plans as well. Putting someone in a death-like sleep is nearly killing someone, right?

He didn't even notice Pansy had curled her hand in his until she gave his arm a shake, causing him to meet her concerned brown eyes.

"We need to get to our stations now."

He gave a nod and pulled his hand from hers, following her over to the table where the cauldrons were. Flipping open his book to the potion, he couldn't help but groan. "I can't believe he is making us brew this nonsense."

"Why? It isn't like it hurts anything, or anyone," Pansy half-whispered, immediately diving into the complexities of the Soul Link's many steps.

Draco was on auto-pilot for the entire process, not really thinking much about Pansy's sudden eagerness and excitement about the assignment. Theo and Blaise seemed to have picked up on it, however, and he occasionally saw them exchange a few whispers before stifling a laugh. They were behaving like how Pansy did when around her female posse, and Draco wasn't going to bother humoring them and their teasing right now. He was starting to feel sick from how preoccupied he was with more troubling situations he faced. It might have been easier to shoulder this weight if he had someone to share it with, but that wasn't a luxury he could afford.

Despite his wandering attention, his nerves were on edge for the entire class. It didn't help that he nearly jumped when Professor Slughorn bellowed out his praise to Pansy having a near-perfect brew (second only to Potter's, of course), promptly followed by a squeal from her. He quickly packed away the remaining ingredients and book so he could get away from this class as soon as they were dismissed. He didn't care to hear the feedback to his own less-than-stellar teal brew before him.

Pansy just so happened to tail him.

"Professor Slughorn allowed me to keep some of my potion, Draco," she said excitedly, showing him the vial.

He barely glanced at the baby blue translucent potion before proceeding down the corridor. "That's great."

Draco wasn't expecting Pansy to cut him off. He looked at her with a raised brow, more annoyed than curious about her motive for doing this. "What?"

"Look, I know you haven't been yourself lately, and I don't really know why," she started, and he mentally prepared for the onslaught that followed. "It hurts a little that you won't confide in me about what has been going on but… I mean… could you at least humor me this one time for a change? I promise I'll quit asking you for anything if you do. Just… Please?"

It struck him then that she was wanting him to drink that dumb potion she held in her hand, as if it was supposed to help her prove to him that he could trust her with everything at the drop of a hat—if it actually worked. He should have known from the beginning, and now he was trapped.

"What do you expect will change if I do?" Draco snapped, his tone harsher than intended.

Pansy didn't seem to expect the hostility either, based on the step back she took. She swallowed hard, and Draco watched her with such intensity he hoped it would intimidate her enough to back down.

"Because love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves," she finally said, and Draco couldn't help but respond with a hollow laugh.

"Do yourself a favor and cancel your Witch Weekly subscription because it is making you sound utterly ridiculous," he said before brushing past her.

"Draco…"

"We're through."

He continued down the hall without a second glance, but his acute hearing could still pick up the stuttering hitch in Pansy's throat as she whispered something back to him.

"One day, you'll believe that I love you."

Originally Written For:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)

Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition

Monthly Challenges for All

Word Count: 1,309

Originally Written: August 2019