Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count - 1073
Pairing - PansyRose
Not Tonight
The bar was dark and gloomy, but it matched her mood so she took a seat at the bar anyway. If only her old friends could see her now. Not that they'd care, she mused. None of them wanted anything to do with her.
She ordered a vodka and lemonade from the barman, disappointed that she could burn away her self pity with firewhiskey.
That was the price for anonymity. Many of the bars in the Wizarding World wouldn't allow her entrance though, and the few that did… well. Even she wasn't so desperate for company that she'd associate with the degenerates in those places.
She finished her drink in minutes and called for another one, blinking when instead of the nondescript barman who'd served her first was suddenly replaced by a young woman.
She seemed out of place in the bar, her vibrant red hair the brightest thing in the place. Warm brown eyes looked back at Pansy, and she wondered if she was imagining the little bit of sympathy in them as the barmaid nodded when Pansy told her what she wanted.
The drink was exchanged for money, and the barmaid moved to the opposite end of the bar, picking up glasses as she went. Pansy watched her, entranced by her every move. She was pure grace, each movement fluid.
It was beautiful to watch.
She smiled at the customers when they approached her, talking quietly to those she seemingly knew well, making drinks quickly and competently.
Pansy wanted.
She ordered two more drinks, the second mostly because she wanted the barmaid to return to her more than any desire for another drink.
"You don't recognise me, do you?"
Pansy blinked. Surely she'd remember such a vision if she'd seen her before?
"Um, no. I'm sorry, I don't."
The barmaid nodded. "I'm Rose Weasley. Ron and Hermione Weasley are my parents."
Heart sinking, Pansy pushed her stool back and stood up, intending to leave her drink and just get the hell out of the bar. She felt so stupid. Here she was, fantasising about how good the young woman would look spread out on Pansy's bed sheets, only for it to turn out that she was Harry fucking Potter's neice.
"Wait!" Rose called, before Pansy could leave. "You don't have to go. I… I'd like it if you stayed. It'd be nice to talk to someone from… that world."
Pansy paused, frowning. "You don't speak to your family?"
Rose nodded. "I do, of course I do, but they feel bad speaking about," she lowered her tone, "magic in front of me. I'm a squib, they think it will make me jealous or… something."
Pansy frowned and slowly sat back down. Now that she thought of it, she remembered years ago seeing something about the Weasley's having a squib child, but she'd ignored it.
"I suppose it's understandable to believe you would be… jealous?" she suggested, hesitantly.
Honestly, in Pansy's experience, squibs were sent off to the Muggle world as soon as it was proven that they didn't have magic. Pure Blood culture, she supposed, was different to the 'New Age' witches and wizards.
Rose shrugged elegantly. "Perhaps, though it does make for some rather awkward encounters when I speak to them."
Pansy was about to say that she could imagine, but she really couldn't. She didn't speak to many people at all, but certainly not squibs. She'd already lost most of the respect her name had once garnered her, she could only imagine the rumours should she been seen out with squibs on top of that.
Just the thought of the look on her mother's face was enough to make Pansy chuckle. When Rose quirked an eyebrow at her in question, Pansy just shook her head.
"Nothing, just a passing thought. I'm quite surprised you didn't demand I leave, given you clearly know who I am."
Rose rolled her eyes. "It's not for me to judge you for a mistake you made when you were seventeen. That's one thing I'm glad I avoided—that world is so very judgemental."
Pansy nodded, because she couldn't deny the truth of that particular matter. After all, that one mistake had followed her through her life since.
They spoke for the next hour, only interrupted when Rose moved down the bar to serve another customer. Each time, she came straight back, leaning on the treated wood as she engaged with Pansy completely.
"I admire your resilience," Rose said, when Pansy explained briefly about how it was hard to find a job when your face and name had been plastered across the Daily Prophet as a war criminal. "A lot of people would have given up long ago if they were treated so badly by so many."
Pansy shrugged. "What is there left to do but keep on going?"
…
She ended up remaining in the bar until last orders, and even beyond that, as the few other customers stumbled through the double doors, unsteady on their legs as the alcohol they'd consumed took effect.
Pansy had to cover a giggle when a particularly drunk man lost a battle with spacial awareness and fell over a chair.
"I know a diner close by, if you…" Rose trailed off, a charming blush colouring her cheeks. "If you wanted to get something to eat?"
Pansy smiled at the younger woman. "I'd like that."
"Or… or you could come back to mine. For coffee. Is that a thing in the wizarding world? When coffee means—"
"It's a… yes. I understand what you're asking for," Pansy confirmed. "And I think, for tonight, we should perhaps stick to the diner."
The hope in Roses' eyes seemed to dull, and Pansy reached out to put a gentle hand beneath her chin, raising her head until their eyes met.
"I'm not saying no to… coffee. I'm saying not tonight."
"Oh. Really?"
Pansy nodded. Really.
She knew that she was probably making a mistake. Rose was years her junior, beautiful and vibrant and full of life, but Pansy wanted. She ached for the young woman, and though part of her thought that it would be best to just take her home and give her what she was asking for, Pansy wanted to stretch it out a little.
Just this once, she wanted to be a little bit selfish and hold on to something that she wanted. Even if it was only for a little while.
Written for;
Ship 'til you drop - PansyRose
Rubik's Cube - Blue - Resilience