OH MY GOD it's been almost two months!!! I'm SO SO SO SO sorry!!!! I would've killed me if I weren't…umm, me…anyway. Not going to keep you any longer..
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"Grab Creevey's camera and take a picture- it lasts longer," Pansy's voice said irritably as Ron mused over her unexpected generosity.
"What? Oh. Funny," Ron said flatly, grabbing the bag off the counter and shoving it in his robe pocket. Pansy smirked and turned around sharply, hitting Ron in the face with her messy plait (A/N: 'braid' for all my American friends!).
"I am so full of the wit," she replied mischievously, walking towards the exits of Zonko's, with difficulty due to the crowds of students blocking their war. Ron weaved his way through following Pansy's blonde head as he dodged. A few minutes later, they had made it successfully made their way outside.
"OK. Now what?" Pansy had started to say when a sudden cry came from somewhere behind them.
"Pansy?" Pansy turned around and her jaw dropped.
"Matti!" she exclaimed, dropping her satchel in the snow and running to the grinning strawberry blonde standing near the door of Gladrag's. She looked about 18 or so, was Pansy's average height, and her hair was cut in a flipped pixie cut. The girl set down her carrier bags and patchwork bag and grinned as Pansy hurried over. They hugged and Pansy drew back, looking at the girl curiously. "What are you doing here? I thought Salem didn't get on hols until we did?" Ron mentally smacked himself for not recognizing the American accent earlier.
Matti laughed. "Well I got bored. So I decided to pop over to merry old England! Principal Mitren will never know the difference." Ron raised an eyebrow and picked up Pansy's satchel, looking at the girl and trying to find a name in his head. The girls continued to chat, oblivious of his presence.
"This is fab!" Pansy squealed, linking arms with her. "I have a reservation at the Three Broomsticks, want to pop in? It's our local pub, or bar as you call it." They had started to walk towards it happily when they heard a loud clearing of the throat behind them.
"Ahem!" Ron coughed loudly, holding up Pansy's satchel and motioning his head towards Professor McGonagall, who was standing guard just across the street and not looking happy. Pansy turned her head and groaned audibly.
"Oh right. Matti, meet Weasley. Weasley, Matti." Matti looked behind her as well and upon seeing Ron wheeled Pansy back hurriedly.
She extended a hand boldly to the annoyed Ron. "Matilda Parkinson, you can call me Matti." Ron shook it hesitantly as Matti gave him a huge smile. "I'm Pansy's cousin, mother's side."
"Ron Weasley," Ron replied cautiously, looking the girl up and down. Not too bad looking, as far as girls go, although she was a bit on the chubby side (A/N: RON'S opinion, not mine!!). Far too energetic and friendly to be Pansy's cousin though- did the nastiness skip her or something?
Matti was now looking at the two of them interestedly. "Is this your boyfriend Pansy?" Ron pretended to gag as Pansy hastened to explain.
"Far from it; Dumbledore had this new crackpot idea that we should pair off and get to know someone outside our house…I got stuck with Weasley," she added in distaste. Ron scowled as Matti grinned yet again.
"Uh huh, uh huh…say, I'm dying over here. Can we get some of those drinks you offered before?" she asked suddenly.
Pansy shrugged. "Don't see why not…we'll wangle a third place somehow or other."
"Can I just make my escape back to the castle now?" Ron cut in moaning, shoving the satchel at her. Pansy glared at him.
"No. McGonagall will have kittens and Lord knows we don't need any more bitchy feline hybrids around." Ron sighed angrily but didn't say anything to the contrary. Matti, meanwhile, was giggling to herself.
"'Have kittens?' That's so cute!" she said through giggles. Simultaneously, the younger pair glared at her making her subside quickly.
"Right. Let's be off then," Pansy said, leading them to the pub across the street. Ron rolled his eyes but trudged beside her, feeling a little out of place as the Parkinsons had their arms linked now and were happily chatting without him.
--
"How did this happen?" Ron asked Ginny ten minutes later, squished into a line of booths pushed together to fit everyone. The instant they had entered through the door they had been pounced on by all of Pansy's friends, only a couple of which Ron knew by name. Before he knew it, they had all crammed in together giggling like a pack of Parvatis and Lavenders, with a few Slytherin boys thrown in for good measure. Fortunately (or unfortunately…depends on your point of view) for Ron, Draco was one of them, meaning that Ginny was at the table too. Ginny shrugged and took a sip of her Coconut Cream Float.
"Dunno…Malfoy just kind of spotted them and dragged me over. It was all so fast!" she added dramatically, making Ron chuckle.
"It's mad, this whole thing…and we got the worst deals if you ask me," Ron said, motioning towards their partners who were now in the midst of laughing unnaturally loud at one of Matti's jokes. Ginny rolled her eyes and, to Ron's surprise, smiled slightly.
"He's definitely a character," she agreed, setting down her now empty glass. Ron straightened up sharply.
"What do you mean by that Ginny?" he asked carefully, putting down his own bottle. She looked up, saw the look on his face and started laughing.
"Oh Ron, do shut up. I'm not starting to like him by any measure, just a sort of…reluctant respect. The dislike is mutual," she replied grinning.
"Are you starting to read Hermione's books Gin?" Ron asked in confusion. Ginny laughed.
"The day I do is the day Malfoy becomes a zookeeper," she retorted giggling, making Ron laugh as well. Suddenly, someone plopped themselves down next to Ron, making him jump and then look. Seamus Finnegan, looking slightly rumpled but very cheerful, grinned at Ron and winked at Ginny, making her blush furiously. "Welcome to our merry party," Ron greeted him glumly. Seamus chortled and took a swig of a Butterbeer he had brought from the main counter.
"Cheers mate," he said, putting the bottle down next to Ron's. "So how are your dates?" he asked them with a twinkle in his eye.
"When will people stop asking me that?!?" Ron asked furiously, turning the same shade as his trademark hair. Seamus howled with laughter at the indignant look on Ron's face, and his condition wasn't improved when he saw Ginny's look of equal protest.
"Oh relax, I was just pulling yer leg…but hey, I got a nice one didn't I?" he said, nudging Ron and grinning adorably at Blaise across the tables, who giggled and smiled back shyly. "Nice lass, once you get to know her. Snorts a bit when she laughs though."
"So Weasley," a sudden amused voice interrupted, making everyone who had been previously chatting silent. Ron and Ginny both looked up. "Gorilla Weasley, not Mouse Weasley," Draco said pointedly. Pansy sniggered with her friends as Ginny glared and Ron scowled.
"Steady on Malfoy, I beg to differ- Ginny looks much more like a little fox than a mouse!" Seamus teased good naturedly. Draco's expression twisted unpleasantly.
"Didn't ask your opinion Finnegan," he said.
"Since when do I give a Hippogryff shit?" he retaliated chuckling. Draco narrowed his eyes but ignored him, choosing instead to go back to tormenting Ron.
"How's the back Weasley? Did Pomfrey fix the boo boo?" he taunted maliciously. Ron got up to beat the living crap out of him but Ginny leaned across and laid a restraining hand on his arm as Seamus pulled him back down. Draco smirked.
"It gets old really fast Malfoy," Ginny said angrily, looking at him.
"I'm still laughing," he replied in amusement. Ginny chose not to reply to this, and instead took out a Charms book and began to read it. "Weasley, your book is upside down," Draco said smirking more broadly now. Ginny flushed and turned it over without a word.
"I happen to like reading upside down," she mumbled, looking at the words in front of her determinedly. Draco snickered and leaned back comfortably.
"Yup, I reckon that bush haired Granger went rushing for him as soon as he limped his way out of the Hospital wing…probably kissed the spot, made it feel all better…" Draco trailed off nastily, leering across the table at Ron like a Halloween pumpkin. Ron flushed with anger but after one look at his friend, Seamus cut in amicably, as always.
"That's not a very attractive look on you Malfoy…shall we start calling you Jack?" Seamus gibed in a jolly manner, lifting his bottle to his lips and taking a good long, Irish swig.
"Oh so funny Finnegan," Malfoy drawled sarcastically. "Your wit is surprisingly boring."
"That's it," Ron said suddenly, clunking his bottle on the table noisily. "We're out of here, 'chaperones' or not. Come on Gin, Seamus." Seamus shrugged, downed the rest of his Butterbeer and got up (but not before winking cheekily at Blaise, who giggled and blushed). Ginny bit her lip, eyes darting to the door where Professor Sinistra was sitting on a barstool watchfully, but after a moment's hesitation gave a piercing glare to Draco and followed her brother.
"Oh that's nice," Pansy said after they had all watched the doors swing and shut. "Kind of ironic really, the Gryffs bailing out on us."
Her cousin slurped up the rest of her Mintberry milkshake and grinned. "I think they're fun- and that red headed bloke is something." Pansy and Draco's jaws simultaneously dropped.
"Are you joking?" Pansy gawked. Matti shrugged, not faltering under the glares of her two blond companions.
"No; from what I got from that little fight, you three got the most interesting ones you could've," she replied, nodding to Blaise, Draco and Pansy.
"You're serious," Pansy realized in horror. Matti giggled.
"Come on, you have to admit…he's kind of cute." Pansy opened and closed her mouth like a bad impression of a tuna while Draco laughed.
"Yes, do tell Parkinson- isn't Weasley just the dreamiest bit of love pudding ever?" Draco exclaimed sarcastically, batting his eyelashes. The bar went silent at the loud exclamation. Pansy smirked as Draco went an ashy gray.
"It was a JOKE!"
--
"I hate Slytherins," Ron grumbled bitterly, kicking some snow into the air and hearing a squeal as it landed on his sister. "Oops, sorry Gin." Ron grinned apologetically but all he got in return was a snowball in the face. As he wiped it off, he could hear Seamus guffawing loudly and Ginny giggling. "Very funny," he said grinning, tossing the snow onto the ground.
"You…should have…seen your face!" Seamus gasped, clutching his side for support.
"Are you sure about that?" Ron asked rolling his eyes. Suddenly, Seamus looked behind Ron and his laughs started tapering off into little wheezes. "What's up with you?" Ron asked curiously, turning around. He gagged when he saw a tall, black robed professor looking unpleasantly down at him. "Ah."
"Mr. Weasley…Mr. Finnegan…Miss Weasley…" Snape checked them off on his white fingers, raising a black eyebrow at them all.
"We were just…ah…"
"-getting our partners something from Zonko's sir," Ginny cut in smoothly. The eyebrow didn't leave its position.
"Is that so?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes," she replied, nodding sincerely. "Mal- Draco wanted a Blood Lollipop, and since I was done with my drink I figured 'why not?'" Looking up earnestly, Ginny waited with bated breath for Snape to pass his judgment. Seamus and Ron looked on in awe and anticipation.
"Reckon she's dead?" Ron mumbled to Seamus out of the corner of his mouth.
"Hard to say…"
"Well," Snape said, drawing himself up importantly. "I will certainly be asking Mr. Malfoy if he got a," his lip curled, "Blood Lollipop tomorrow." He swept away, cloaks billowing behind him. Ginny sighed in relief as the two boys came up to her in disbelief.
"No detention!" Seamus cried, shaking Ginny's hand gravely, making Ginny giggle and blush.
"Well, now we have to go buy Malfoy a Blood Flavored Lollipop," Ron said, grinning. Ginny groaned and started trudging through the thick snow to Zonko's, across the street.
As they followed in her wake, Seamus and Ron could hear her saying, "Pain in the arse necrophiliac creep…"
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okay, so not a lot of Pansy/Ron scenes but I thought this was pretty good. J review please!
