CHAPTER 16
OBLIVIOUS to her coworker's abduction and the immense danger that Verity was now in, to say nothing of George and the rest of the Weasley family, particularly Mrs. Weasley, Pansy was back in her flat.
Her flat thankfully had now several protective enchantments set around it by a couple of Ministry officials who'd inspected her apartment following Dolohov breaking in.
She could have completed her work back at the Burrow, but as she wanted it to be a surprise and away from George, who she was sure would be compelled to snoop, she worked here in the privacy of her loft.
Pansy curiously turned towards Ginny and Hermione, both witches having popped by for a visit upon learning from Ron, who couldn't keep his fat mouth shut, that George and Pansy were now officially dating.
"Do you think he'll love it?" The words were ripped from Pansy's lips before she could stop herself as she clutched her wand in hand, stepping back to scrutinize her work.
The sound of trepidation in Pansy Parkinson's voice surprised both Ginny and Hermione, who'd been curious as to what she was working on and had stopped by the loft above the shop to look at the subject's likeness now painted on her canvas. It had just one final touch she needed to make, and that, she wanted to wait before George saw it.
"I—I think he will, it's incredible, Pansy, I...I had no idea you were this talented, really, but Merlin, George wasn't bloody kidding when he said you don't listen," came Ginny's voice, though there was a faint warbling note in the young redheaded witch's tone that suggested as though she was fighting the urge to cry.
Alarmed, Pansy looked up and the moment her eyes snapped to George's sister, she started laughing. Though she sniffed once or twice and wiped away at a stray tear gathering at the edge of her eyelids.
Pansy's glossy gaze gave an unfocused sweep of Ginny Weasley's face before her attention returned to what was perhaps her greatest masterpiece yet.
"I'm not exactly the best conversationalist while I'm painting, alright?" Pansy huffed as she shrugged her shoulders, chewing on her lip as she swiped a lock of her newly shorn dark hair out of her eyes. "I sort of…I dunno, lose myself in my work when I'm in the moment and I can't think about anything else then."
Ginny exchanged a soft smile with Hermione that quickly transformed into a smirk.
"Well then, excuse us for bothering you." Even without looking at Ron's younger sister, Pansy could hear the smile in her voice.
She was grateful the girls' attitude towards her was shifting, though just the faint hint of snark in the only Weasley girl in the family aside from Mrs. Weasley herself, Pansy rolled her eyes and set down her brush.
"Excuse me, I guess, for being anti-social." Wincing at the shortness in her tone, she shook her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and tried again. "I'm sorry," she apologized, her face twisting into a pained grimace. "I sound like a broody fucking teenager, don't' I?" She laughed, wondering why Hermione flinched at the curse word that was ripped from her lips as though it were nothing. "What?" she asked, noticing how Granger furrowed her brows in a frown. "It's just a word, Granger, not like it means anything."
Hermione made an odd noise of dissent through her nose, but the petite brunette witch quietly nodded her head, keeping her eyes fixed on Pansy's gift to George whenever she saw her new boyfriend next and sighed.
"You look like I do whenever I work," Hermione commented after a long pause to collect her thoughts, and Pansy guessed that was meant to be a compliment. "It's like…your brain is moving too fast, and you can hardly keep up with it and if you stop focusing then…you'll lose the momentum entirely."
Pansy nodded, pleased with Hermione's assessment. Granger's words suggested there was a familiarity in her words, that she was no stranger to such mood swings and intense periods of concentration, like Pansy tended to get whenever she sat down to paint.
"Something like that, yeah," she agreed, nonplussed.
For a moment, Hermione hesitated, a smile tugging the edges of her lips upward as her eyes seemed to grow sad.
"It's been a while since we've all smiled. We could do with more of that these days, now that the war is over and won. Voldemort's gone. It's time people smiled again. I think…George is going to like your present, it's going to be perfect hanging up in the shop in that spot you showed me and Ginny, and…" she paused, suddenly hesitant and looking so unsure of herself. "I'm sorry that Ginny and I…all of us, misjudged you," she said shyly. "George is…well, he's…better with you. You're good for him, Pansy."
Torn somewhere between elation and suspicion, Pansy let out a nervous chuckle, though she hoped Granger was right, though the former know-it-all Gryffindor was hardly ever wrong, as loathed as Pansy was to admit it.
That she was good for George, that he needed her around. She was hoping for a good time to present her present and hoped that the wizard would like it. After everything that George had done for him, she wanted this. Wanted to please him, wanted a future with him.
"I don't think I've ever met anyone like your brother before, Ginny."
What she was about to confess to the two witches a little bit younger than her made her nervous, and her voice started to tremble under the weight of it.
"I know, there aren't many guys our age like him, but…since he helped me, pulled me out of the rubble that night, it's like…something's been…I dunno, pulling me towards him. And it scares the Merlin-damned shit out of me because I think I can feel myself falling for him every time I'm around him. I know it's stupid, and you'll think I'm nutters for thinking this, but…I think he's one of the best guys I've ever been with. Draco seems like a ghost of the past these days. I think I might…be beginning to love him and I have no fucking clue how to handle that or what I would even say to him, you guys. It's only been a few days..."
The sound of someone coming up the stairwell that led to the second floor had Pansy's heart racing in her chest.
She instinctively looked towards the front door of her flat, expecting George to burst through the door at any given moment. Her heart was pounding, and she had no idea why. Elation? Worry? Fear, even?
She didn't know. Though before she could ponder it further, her attention was pulled back towards her flat's guests.
"Wait. Did you just say you think you're in love with him?" Ginny's incredulous voice rent through the air. Pansy was too distracted at staring at the door to listen, but it sounded like Ginny was trying hard not to laugh.
"Yes," Pansy answered in a voice that Hermione and Ginny could only later describe as a low growl as she answered George's sister through clenched jaw and teeth.
When she summoned enough courage to look towards George's sister, Ginny's face seemed almost sympathetic.
"Does he know yet?" Ginny asked, merely curious, a strangely placid expression resting on her features.
Pansy shook her head. "N-no," she stammered, speaking to the girls through a mouth that had suddenly gone bone dry. "I…I'm not so great at feelings if you haven't figured it out," she cringed as the words left her mouth. She realized she sounded cold and impersonal and looked towards her finished masterpiece. "I hoped to use this to tell him. I don't do this kind of thing for just anybody, you know, Weasley, Granger, I'll have you know that right now," she huffed in indignation.
For a moment, she heard the familiar tones of her former haughty tone she would use around girls she didn't like seeping its way to the surface of her voice. She felt her hackles rising in defense of herself.
She tried to force herself to think of something, anything, except who might be coming up the stairs. Throwing caution to the wind, she placed her final enchantment on the work in front of her, just in case…
She might not get a better time to let her work speak for her, though before it could say anything, she hastily covered the canvas with the cloth she'd been using to keep it protected, just as the question fell from her lips before she could stop it.
"D'you…either one of you think he could…he could…" But she couldn't even bring herself to say it.
Her heart was beating in her temples, and her body started to ache from the speed at which the blood was now coursing through her veins.
Everything felt heavy. For an eternity, the three witches stared at one another, Ginny, and Hermione's faces both going blank as they thought through Pansy's question thoroughly. Watching their hesitation as they exchanged a look made her heart sink slowly into her toes, where she knew and would step on it later.
"I think now's your chance," Ginny commented coyly. Without another word, she darted forward and grabbed Hermione by the arm, the pair of them Disapparating, just as George opened the front door to Pansy's flat.
George was one of few who had been permitted to come through the protective enchantments along with those in her new circle of acquaintances that Pansy trusted.
George walked in just in time for him to be able to see his little sister and his brother's girlfriend vanish.
For a moment, he looked troubled, as though he was debating whether to turn around and disappear back down to the shop or to stay, having come to check on her and bring her a little gift of his own.
Though George had no idea what Pansy was about to give him, or would, the moment that it was ready.
"Is everything…alright?" he asked, hesitantly.
She heard him sniff as he scratched at the stubble that was growing near his jawline though before she could say anything, there was a flash of movement that caught her eye as George softly moved his other hand from behind him and handed over a bouquet of wildflowers.
He looked to have picked them in the meadows that existed near the Burrow's property line, she thought she recognized a few of the flowers by their vibrant colors. She stared at the unruly mess the stems had been cut with his hastily performed Severing Charm.
The bouquet's scent was so distinct it took her back to happier thoughts and rooftop gardens, memories of her time spent in Hogwarts when she was happier. Her lips parted in disbelief.
Of the many things George Weasley could do to impress the likes of her, handing her over such beautiful flowers would have never been the one thing Pansy would have guessed.
George awkwardly tried to pluck off the weed leaves and roots that were hanging precariously off the edge, leaving them littered all over her loft's hardwood floor.
Again, the tall wizard practically shoved them at her chest, but Pansy was too dumbstruck to even lift a finger.
George sighed heavily and pulled the flowers back with an irate mumble, "You don't like them. Or…I came at a bad time…if that's the case, then I should go…" He made to turn away, though Pansy's arm quickly shot out and her hand wound around the wizard's bicep, stopping him from leaving her alone.
"No! I—I'll have them….!" Pansy quickly protested, jutting out her fingers to take the bouquet from her new boyfriend. She almost let herself shiver at just thinking the word. George's dark eyes widened, and he quickly looked away as he released it, a light pink blush speckling along his cheeks.
The thrill she had been feeling began to make her fingers tremble and as she took the bouquet and held it close to her chest, a faint blush stung gently on her cheeks, warming her.
"Thank you, George," she said in her faint girlish spirit she'd always had whenever Draco would do something to impress her, though somehow, this felt much more intimate. Special. Draco had never been the type to hand over flowers to her. "They're beautiful," she said shyly, lifting her gaze to his, just in time to see George wet his lips and awkwardly clear his throat.
The uneasiness he was feeling made his dark eyes sparkle. Even with the stubble now getting prickly along his jawline as he would need to shave soon, he was handsome, hardened by the death of his brother and losing his ear, though recovering fully. She liked to hope in some small way, she was helping with that.
She watched shyly as he leaned forward and planted a small featherlight but affectionate kiss on her lips. She was all too eager to welcome them and returned his kiss. She melted against the wall of George's chest, surrendering to the wizard's soft passionate kiss, thinking that each time they kissed, they only got better.
Almost possessively, she slid her hand up to his arm and over his shoulder, pulling him closer to her.
As the force of George's ardor intensified along with Pansy's more than willing form, a sharp quick knocking sound resonated against the closed front door to her flat. The urgent sound was a startling reminder of the world outside around them and shattered the passionate dream the new couple had known for that one precious moment. Unwillingly, they parted from their embrace, a heavy frustration now settling into the space between them.
George, in agitation, rested his forehead against Pansy's, tiredly closing his eyes at the bitter reality of the intrusion. His new girlfriend made no move to distance herself from him, but instead, she lowered her head into his embrace.
George planted a gentle kiss into her hair as she caught her breath. Both of them stared at one another, their eyes having a conversation all of their own. There was no need for their words.
Neither of them had wanted the moment just now to end. However, now that their time alone had been interrupted, there was nothing left but to see who was wanting to see Pansy.
"I guess I should see who that is, George," Pansy whispered in a voice that was low and hoarse, that only he could hear it.
George grunted and nodded by way of response, begrudgingly loosened his hold upon her.
Pansy took a moment to collect herself and then shakily stepped away from the wizard.
Her fingers that he held onto tightly were the last part of herself she gingerly removed from George's grasp. George was left to stare longingly in the witch's direction, silently fuming that his five minutes alone with Pan were up now, as he'd have to return down to the shop, as he'd left Ron and Charlie to handle things while Verity took an early lunch. He watched silently as Pansy crossed the floor and turned the knob to open the door.
On the other side, the person hovering over the threshold was not admittedly who either one of them expected to see. Draco Malfoy stood there, completely oblivious to the romantic moment his unexpected arrival had just halted. His cheeks were flushed, and the former Slytherin's expression was furious, his grey eyes flashing dangerously. Draco reddened and his frown intensified at the realization of what he had just interrupted before his arrival.
"Pan…" he grunted in a voice that sounded breathless, like he'd run from one end of Diagon Alley, up the stairs to her flat. "I..er..didn't know he'd be here, Charlie Weasley said I"d find you up here," he spat, his tone dripping contempt, his nose crinkling in disgust as he looked towards George, whose expression he was sure betrayed his ire.
"Draco?" Pansy whispered, sounding shocked and she looked it too, exchanging a worried look with George, who recovered from his temporary state of paralysis and strode forward, his strides purposeful and angry at Draco's intrusion into her life.
Never before had another wizard's name sounded like a curse.
What made it even worse was how Draco's name sounded coming from her. She spoke his name with such a horrible antagonizing hurt that George felt his blood curdle in his veins and he curled his hands around the handle of his wand that rested in his wand's holster that he wore fastened around his belt.
It took everything within himself not to hex Malfoy where he stood. He did not want him here, and neither, it seemed, did Pansy, though the look of concern and shock that was on her face was cause for alarm.
Her features paled at seeing Draco Malfoy awkwardly standing on the other side of the threshold of the door. He looked almost sick. His cheekbones were sunken in and hallowed, his black clothing clung to his thin frame in some places and hung off of him in others.
George rested a hand on Pansy's shoulder, and the moment he did, he could see just how much Malfoy's intrusion into her life was already starting to affect her. She had paled a shade further and she was shaking. Badly.
"Pan," he began, trying in some way, shape, or form, to give her comfort, and feeling like he was failing her in that regard. He didn't know what to do or what to say.
He didn't want to give Pansy false hope and yet, she was looking so vulnerable. His chest constricted, tightening to the point where it was almost uncomfortable for him to draw in a breath of fresh air. He didn't want to see her so upset and worried, because of him. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he did, Draco interjected.
"I…er…didn't mean to interrupt," he begged.
At first, Draco was unsure what to say. He didn't know if he should excuse himself so he could leave them to it, or if he should continue upon the course of action he'd already set for himself.
The beautiful Seer's words rang in his eardrums, how Pansy didn't want him anymore, how she was George's for the rest of her life, but he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge her prophecy.
Embarrassed, even still, he chose the latter.
"I…uh…was hoping I could speak to you. Er…alone?" Draco informed Pansy in a rather haughty tone.
From the corner of her eye, Pansy saw George take a step forward and brush his hands on his jacket. All of her wanted to ignore her ex-boyfriend's sudden barging in back into her life and return to their kiss.
But there was little she could do, however. Draco had found her out, and she owed him the truth, at least.
That she didn't want to get back with him if that's what he'd come up here today hoping to do. She couldn't deny Draco the chance to have some closure. She knew that, and so did George, by the looks of him. He stepped forward and straightened his posture, standing upright to his full height, a good head or two taller than Draco.
Pansy could only watch as George slowly turned his head towards Malfoy in a methodical manner, shooting the blond a distrustful glower, before turning back to her.
George's expression softened as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
Taking her hand and giving the appendage a delicate little squeeze, George let himself smile as he realized the pads of her fingertips were somewhat coated in little flecks of paint here and there, that now bled into his skin, but he didn't care. He held onto her hand for a fraction of a second longer than he intended, having eyes only for Pansy and ignoring Draco completely as he smiled hopefully at the young witch.
"I guess…I'll see you downstairs then, Pan, when you're ready, and I'll take you to lunch if you want," he told her, holding onto her a moment longer than was necessary, his dark eyes threatening to burn a hole straight through her.
Then, with a slightly threatening raised eyebrow at Draco, who stood timidly pressed against the wall as Pansy offered a curt nod of her head, telling Draco without words to come in, George stepped through the doorway and headed downstairs without ever once looking back, leaving Pansy completely on her own with the likes of Draco.
Pansy blew out a deep breath and turned to face Draco, trying to harden her expression so her features betrayed none of the emotions that she was feeling.
As far as situations go, thought Pansy bitterly to herself. This had to be by far the most awkward she had ever faced.