Title:  Elementals of Magic:  Prophecy of Lies

Author name and e-mail: mistykasumi at SeducerofFantasy@hotmail.com

Summary:  A 7th year contest causes Harry and Draco to bond, setting off a prophecy long ago stopped by the interference of Sirius Black.  A prophecy that told of Voldemort's destruction.

Rating: PG-13

Category: Action/Adventure/Romance

Disclaimer:  I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters and objects.  They belong to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros, and anyone else with copyrights.  I, however, do own the plot of this, and any original items, characters, spells, and other objects do belong to me.

Dedication:  IcyEyes202, for being a dear!

Homepage: 

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Interlude

Smiling Faces and Broken Pieces

                Draco was supposed to write.  He still hadn't.  Pansy was becoming impatient from his lack of correspondence.

                She had sent several letters to Malfoy Manor, and each time, Narcissa replied back, saying that Draco was not there and that she had placed the letters in his room so he can access them as soon as he returns.  She did not specify a date or a time for a return, and Pansy did not like it.

                She was definitely not writing to Potter.  The Weasel twins would most likely burn her letter up when they saw who it was from, or else read it and then change the content of the message.  At the very least, they would be confused about the message and confront Potter about it, and Pansy did not need complications.

                It's been five days.  Five days of waiting for Draco's correspondence, the ones that never came.  The Sun Room had been inhabited every day by ceaseless pacing.  Mother and Father were gone, Father at wherever the Death Eaters gathered and Mother in Germany, visiting a distant member of the family.

                The silence of Parkinson Manor had never bothered Pansy until now.  The House Elves were nowhere in sight, the way good House Elves were.  But there was nothing to stop the silence, and Pansy could hear her own breathing wherever she went.  The sounds of her soft footsteps amidst total silence were disturbing, and Pansy did not like it.

                She would not dare contact Vince and Greg, as it would most definitely arouse suspicion, though they were most likely the ones who knew almost everything.  Without being able to contact anyone, it was as if she had been sequestered from outside life, forced to live in a mansion with nothing to do and nothing to enjoy.

                Being outside was no better than staying in secluded silence.  Outside, there were cheerful noises everywhere, which did not mesh with Pansy's mood well.  The sweet chirping of the birds and the happy humming of the bees made Pansy want to curse them away.

                At the end of five days, Pansy felt like she was going insane.  The silence and the solitude were like weights on her mind that refused to lift, and she knew that she had to leave the house before she suffocated from the silence.

                Having already passed her Apparation exam the previous summer, Pansy Apparated out of the estate, as the wards were set so that she, Father, and Mother could Apparate directly out or in.  Peter had been removed as he was now on the other side, plus he was no longer truly a member of their family.

                Diagon Alley was a bustle of cheerful voices and faces, as the Wizarding world pretended to itself that the war was not coming anytime soon.  People smiled and laughed, and friends and lovers sat outside, enjoying the beauty of nature.  Pansy felt like cursing all of the morons for being happy when she was not.

                Draco was the cause of all her misery, just as she had always known, ever since she fell in love with him.  He was like a child, hard to get rid of and even harder to truly forget.  If only she had never met him, if only she had been engaged to some other aristocrat.  But wishing for what could never be was only for fools, and Pansy was only a fool when it came to love, which was too much in her standards.

                Pansy found her way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, which held a huge crowd within its doors.  The Weasleys were well on their way to regaining their aristocratic status, and Pansy did not like it.  Weasley blood had been tainted too much in the generations, and they were no longer fit for true Pureblood status.

                Feeling mildly inquisitive, Pansy entered the shop.  Many school-aged children were crowding around the displays, dissecting the products and deciding the best ones to use on other unsuspecting schoolmates.  If only she could still be that carefree and not worry about the war, but Pansy was a Parkinson, and Parkinsons were not so lucky, especially not her family.  Peter could sit snugly at Alluring Zephyr, but she could not.

                The Weasel twins ran the main branch of their shop, and one stood behind the counter while the other helped the customers, oftentimes introducing more products to the unsuspecting children.  Pansy had to hide a smile.  They did know how to run their business after all, but then, they were the Weasel twins, the most mischievous pair of pranksters to plague Hogwarts since James Potter and Sirius Black.

                Pansy wandered around the store and couldn't help admiring the clever ingenuity of their brains.  She would've bought some of the items had she not been a Parkinson and not allowed to indulge in silly, childish toys.

                Several times, the advertiser started towards her, though each time, some child pulled him away, much to Pansy's relief.  She did not need for them to make a big scene, as her parents would most definitely not be pleased.

                Finally, the twins called out to the crowd that it was time for the store to close.  A long line queued at the counter, and Pansy found it strange that she had not see Potter at all this whole time.  Shouldn't he be in the shop or at least coming to the shop when it closed?

                Slowly, the satisfied children left in groups, and Pansy saw the one at the counter heave a sigh of relief.  When the last customer left, the other twin came up to her.

                "I would like to know why you've been here this whole time and why you haven't left."

                The one at the counter looked up at her, and a frown immediately crossed his face.

                "Aren't you the girl who hangs around with Malfoy?" he asked.

                The other (and cuter) one looked at her with surprise.  "Are you?"

                "Yes, I am," Pansy said proudly, and she lifted her chin.

                "Then get out of this shop.  No Slytherins allowed, especially ones that hang around with Malfoy scum," the not-as-cute one spat.

                The one by her side turned to his brother.  "I doubt she would come here for a social visit, Fred.  Do you have something important to say?" he asked.  So the cuter one was George.  How funny that their looks spoke volumes about their personalities.

                "Yes, I do.  I would like to speak with Potter, if you don't mind."

                "Harry?" George asked bemusedly.  "We haven't seen him at all this year.  Why?"

                Pansy's heart dropped, and her vision began to swim.

                "You mean he is not here, with the two of you?"

                "Is he supposed to be?" George asked, worried.

                No, what she was thinking did not happen.  It could not have happened.  Potter had so many charms on him that he could not possibly be kidnapped by You-Know-Who.  Morgan.  No.

                "Are you alright?" George asked, concerned.

                "He—he was supposed to be living with you.  He was supposed to come here right after he stepped off the train," she whispered.

                The twins exchanged a glance.

                "But we haven't seen him at all.  Do you think—" Fred began.

                "That You-Know-Who got Harry?" George finished.

                The next thing Pansy knew, Fred had bolted from behind the counter.  George followed his twin out the door, and Pansy walked out behind them, feeling numb.  If Potter had been captured, then she had no future.  Draco would be caught surely, and so would Vince and Greg.  All her friends would be gone.  There would be no use for her to continue living.

                Once she was outside, Pansy found that everything was becoming a big blur.  She thought she saw two mops of red, but then, Pansy did something that she vowed she would never do.  She fainted.

***

                Pansy found herself surrounded by warmth.  Where was she?  She opened her eyes to see blue, and everything came rushing back.

                She pushed herself up and found George sitting by her.

                "You're up," he stated.  Pansy struggled to free herself, though he placed a hand over hers.  Pansy recoiled from the kind touch.

                "Why am I here?" she asked.

                George smiled wryly.

                "Like I was going to leave you in the streets.  Your parents would raise an uproar, and besides, I couldn't just leave like nothing had happened."

                "But why would you help me, a Slytherin?" Pansy asked.

                "I've learned that not all Slytherins are bad.  And I would never not help someone in need, as long as that person wasn't in the service of You-Know-Who.  And if you came looking for Harry, then you surely would not be."

                "You don't even know my reasons for looking for Potter."

                "But it was not selfish.  You were doing it because he knows something about someone, correct?"

                "Maybe.  I…" Pansy could not continue.  She could not bring herself to say Draco's name.

                "It's okay, you don't have to tell me."

                Why was he being so nice to her?  He was a Weasley, an enemy of her family.  And he was a Gryffindor.  Plus he was on Dumbledore's side.  Why?

                "Why are you being so nice to me?" asked Pansy.

                George smiled at her sadly.

                "Maybe because I feel a kinship with you."

                Pansy did not press him but instead, sighed.

                "I doubt I can go home.  My parents would kill me if they knew that I had been in contact with a Weasley, much less lay in one's bed.  And I'm sure someone saw you taking me here, and I know that my parents will get wind of this."

                "Then don't go."

                "But everything I have is at Parkinson Manor."

                "Are you willing to risk your life for clothes or some simple little trinkets?"

                "No," answered Pansy reluctantly.

                "Stay here then.  Just watch out for Fred because I know he won't like this, and he'll most likely be testing our newest products on you."  George grinned at her, and Pansy offered a tentative smile at him.

                "Is she still here?" a new voice asked, and the two turned to look at the door, where Fred was peeking in.  He scowled.

                "She's staying, Fred," George told his twin.

                "What?!  George, we're not housing a Slytherin, especially one with connections to You-Know-Who!"

                "She has nowhere to go, Fred.  She can't go back to her family after what happened!"

                "You brought this upon us with your foolishness.  Surely she has a fiancé to go to!"

                "Pansy," George asked, turning towards her, "do you have anywhere you can go to?"

                "No," Pansy replied desolately.  She could not go back to her own home, not after being saved by a Weasley (a cute one at that), and it would be too risky to go to Malfoy Manor, as Lucius could be there.

                Fred pulled George outside, and Pansy strained to hear their conversation, though she could not catch any of it.  Her hand involuntarily came up to her neck and clutched the necklace that Draco gave her, a symbol of their friendship.  And she cried.

***

                "George, you're asking for trouble, keeping her!  Her parents would no doubt come after us when they knew.  They would never believe that she was the cause but would blame us instead!"

                "Fred, she should know her parents better than you do!  I believe her when she says that she has nowhere to go anymore.  Poor thing," George said.

                "George, how can you say that about her?  She's a Slytherin, a SLYTHERIN!  The whole lot of them are bad news!  You are going to be the ruin of the both of us!"

                "I won't, Fred.  I'm willing to die, but I won't drag you into it.  If you don't want us here, we'll leave."

                "And where will you go?  You know that Mum would never accept this!  Who else can you turn to?"

                "We can find a flat."

                "George, don't tell me that you like her!"

                "Fine then, I won't."

                "George, come on, what about Katie or Alicia?"

                "Fred, you know that they never worked out!  You and Angelina might have a good relationship, but it never worked out with them for me."

                "But you don't have to resort to a Slytherin!"

                "I'm not resorting to anything!  Not all Parkinsons are bad, you know that!  She…She reminds me of myself.  There's a sad aura about her, and she shouldn't be feeling that way.  You know the nature of Malfoys."

                "That doesn't mean it's okay to like her!  She's a Slytherin, George, a Slytherin, our mortal enemy!!  Besides, she's a Parkinson, and one that hangs with Malfoys.  That shows her nature already!"

                "Fred, you can't just judge people by their houses or their families!  Sirius Black came from a well-to-do Gryffindor family, and he betrayed his best friends for power!"

                "And how do you know this isn't a ploy to get to Dumbledore, George?"

                "Would anyone act that real?  She knows her family, Fred, and the Parkinsons are the type to disown her for even talking to us.  You know how the hierarchy goes.  Besides, I don't think something is right with her."

                "George, how can you?"

                "Fred, why not?  The only reason you don't like her is because she's a Slytherin and a Parkinson.  Had she been anyone else, you would've been fine with it!"

                "And is that wrong?  Slytherins are all the same!"

                "No, they're not!  Some are different than others!"

                "George, if you get us killed, I'm never going to forgive you."

                "Don't worry, I won't.  I better go check up on her."

                George reentered the room to find Pansy sobbing, hand clutched around a beautiful necklace.  He paused and hesitated over what to do.  Pansy, as if detecting his presence, turned her tear-streaked face towards him, and George didn't know if he should comfort her or not, though he sorely wanted to.

                "Are you kicking me out?" she whispered.

                "Of course not.  I convinced Fred in the end, Pansy.  You can stay here for as long as you need to."

                "And where will you sleep?"

                George pondered the question for a moment, as the thought never entered his head.  He shrugged.

                "I guess I can sleep in the living room."

                "No, you should have your bed.  I'm the one who's intruding, I should take the guest spot."

                "But you're a lady.  I most certainly cannot expect to give you something like a sofa!"

                "I'm used to it," Pansy murmured softly, and George felt compelled to ask how, but he knew that now was not a good time to ask her personal questions.  Maybe when they knew each other better and she wasn't so upset.

                He gently wrapped his hand around Pansy's and uncurled her clenched fingers, removing the hand from her deadly grip on her necklace.  George looked at the necklace, a dragon and a hart holding a heart between them, and he knew that this was no ordinary necklace.  It was one of extreme monetary and emotional value.  And it could only be from one person, the person that was making her cry right now—Malfoy.

                Of course it would be a Malfoy who would hurt others and not care, and leave them to fend for themselves.  It was too typical of Malfoys.

                "Don't blame Draco.  He tries really hard, but he can't help who he is or what he has to do," Pansy whispered softly.  "He has enough problems of his own."

                "But that doesn't mean he can make you cry."

                "It's always been that way with Draco.  He always hurts the people around him that care unwittingly.  It's not his fault that he was born as a Malfoy, with his destiny predetermined.  He's had to go through a lot to find what he really wants, and the process hasn't been easy.  Nothing is ever smooth for him.  And even though I was never in his heart, I love him with everything, because he was always by me.   He was always there to be a friend.  He still is, in his own way, even though he loves another."

                Pansy's hand slipped out of George's grasp, and she smiled sadly at him.

                "Thank you for everything.  I don't know how to repay you, but I will."  And she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and George took it as a sign to leave.

                As he left, George felt a huge turmoil in him.  He was supposed to be worried and fearful that now Harry was gone.  He could be dead by now, and no one would know.  Dumbledore had been alerted already, and an emergency meeting had been called for later tonight.

                But for some reason, he could not stop thinking about Pansy.  There was something delicately beautiful about her, though she was anything but a porcelain doll.  He did not fail to notice the sadness around her eyes, and he wanted it gone.  There was something about her that made him feel for her, even though he shouldn't, like Fred said.

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Thanks to:

gumlick – Thank you so much!!!  You must read the rest as they are much more favorable!

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Hiei no bara – Yep, I know that, unfortunately!!!  And I can't tell you that!

LadyMalfoy182 – Thanks!!!  Of course they had to be!!!  And I know!!!!

And all readers!