Chapter 16

One Slytherin to Another

Harry walked out of the castle grounds and Apparated to Diagon Alley. It was almost twelve o'clock, so he went straight to The Leaky Cauldron. He walked up to the bar and ordered a Butterbeer; he had considered ordering a Firewhisky at first, thinking he'd probably need one if he was going to get through this, but then he decided that it was better to face Pansy in as sober a state as possible. Besides, it was ages since he'd had a Butterbeer.

He sat down, beginning to plan his afternoon in Diagon Alley; apart from when he'd come here to buy John his school things, he hadn't been to any of the shops since before the Defeat, and now he was looking forward to it very much.

A whiff of the same perfume that had been on his letter told him that Pansy had entered the pub, but before he had time to turn around, a pair of well manicured hands were placed over his eyes from behind.

'Guess who!' Pansy said cheerfully.

'Professor Parkinson,' said Harry levelly.

'Oh no, Henry,' said Pansy, now sitting down opposite him, 'you must call me Pansy!'

'Well, Pansy,' said Harry softly, 'first let me apologise for bumping into you yesterday. I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't look where I was going. And now, what can I get you?'

'Oh, never mind yesterday. I'll have a redcurrant rum, please!'

Harry was smiling politely as he came back from the bar with Pansy's drink.

'What, aren't you having anything?' Pansy asked.

'Oh, I've still got some Butterbeer left,' said Harry, 'and I can't stay long anyway; I need to get back to my daughter soon. I promised her I'd help her with her homework.'

Pansy looked disappointed, but did her best to hide it. 'Oh, you've got a little girl as well?' she exclaimed. 'How lovely! I adore children, you know.'

'Well, it's a good thing you're a teacher, then,' said Harry, then added, 'You've been at Hogwarts for quite a while, haven't you?'

'Yes, you could almost say I'm one of the oldies now,' Pansy said and gave a girlish laugh.

'So what qualifications does one need to teach Potions?' Harry asked, this time out of real interest. 'Isn't it a very difficult subject?'

'Yes, but I had a good teacher ... Professor Snape. You wouldn't know him, would you, not having gone to Hogwarts yourself. He was Head of Slytherin too; my old House, you know, and by far the best if I do say so myself ...'

'What makes you think I didn't go to Hogwarts?' said Harry.

'You ... you did?' Pansy swallowed. 'But I thought ... I mean I can't remember ever seeing you. You can't be that much older than me, can you? After all, I left fifteen years ago ...'

'Oh, I left twenty-two years ago,' Harry lied coolly. 'That must have been right before you started.'

'Oh ... oh ...' Pansy hesitated

Harry was forced to lie to Pansy to keep his cover as Henry Evans, but for some reason he was also amused by the fact that he had managed to unnerve her. He pushed any feelings of guilt away and even took pleasure in seeing the confused expression on Pansy's face, as she tried desperately to work out what this meant.

'So ... er ... so, what House were you in?' Pansy stammered.

Harry opened his mouth to say Gryffindor, but, instead, heard himself say, 'Slytherin.' He paused. What on Earth had made him say it? But then he saw the relieved look on Pansy's face, who obviously felt much more comfortable again, now that she was dealing with a fellow Slytherin, and went on recklessly. 'Yes, Professor Snape was my Head of House too,' he said, doing his utmost not to betray his feelings of hatred for the man. 'I seem to remember that he was on good terms with the Malfoys, isn't that right?'

Pansy turned slightly pink. 'Er ... did you know any of the Malfoys?'

'Not in person, no,' said Harry, who was beginning to enjoy this more and more. Pansy was really gullible; he could probably make her believe anything. 'But the family have done such great things for the Wizarding community, don't you think?'

'Yes, certainly,' said Pansy nervously.

'You wouldn't happen to know what's become of them? I know Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy died in the war, but didn't they have a son – Draco?'

'Well, actually,' Pansy said, smiling importantly, 'Draco and I were at Hogwarts together.'

'Were you really?' said Harry in mock surprise.

'Yes. He was madly in love with me, as a matter of fact.' Pansy was toying coyly with a strand of her hair. 'Desperate to marry me.'

'But you didn't marry?' said Harry.

'Well, no ...' Pansy thought for a moment. I didn't want to marry him, you see. I always thought I could do better ... wouldn't you agree, Henry?' She batted her eyelids at him.

Harry took another sip of his Butterbeer and tried to avoid looking directly at Pansy, but she seemed to be on a roll now – the conversation was clearly going where she wanted it to go.

'It's a shame you have to go so early,' she said, 'but we must do this again soon. We Slytherins must stick together, you know. There aren't that many of us these days, are there?'

'I suppose you're right,' Harry said smoothly. 'Most of us were killed by Dumbledore's side in the war, or are in Azkaban ... like dear old Professor Snape.'

'Yes ...' said Pansy. 'I'm surprised he let the Aurors catch him, though. He was really clever, wasn't he?'

'Yes, very,' Harry said, his expression hard and immobile, but Pansy didn't notice.

'I've always wondered whether he was on the Dark Lord's side all along, or whether he did betray him to the Order of the Phoenix, and then changed his mind and went back to him,' she said.

'Yes, that's what everyone's wondering, isn't it?' This conversation was going in a direction Harry didn't like, but curiosity stopped him from changing the subject.

'You know,' said Pansy, leaning closer towards him over the table, 'I always thought that if there was one Death Eater who could escape from Azkaban, it would be him.'

Harry stared at her. 'You think he's going to escape?' he said incredulously.

Pansy laughed. 'Oh, I'm not saying he's going to do it. I just think that he's the only one who'd be able to pull it off.'

'Why?'

'Well ... let's just say he's got friends who'd take care of him if he got out.'

'Friends?' said Harry. 'You mean friends like Draco Malfoy?'

Pansy laughed again. 'Oh, no. Draco Malfoy would never let Snape into his house. Ever. But there are others ... I'm not going to name any names ...' She smiled coyly.

Harry stared at her in disbelief. Did Pansy really know something? Or was she just speculating? He wondered whether he should try to question her further, but decided that it would be better not to do so right now. He had to think through thoroughly everything that she had said first. Besides, now that she thought he was a fellow Slytherin, there would probably be lots more opportunities to talk to her about this subject.

'Well, I really must get going now,' said Harry, draining his glass and rising.

'Oh, I'll go now, too,' said Pansy, 'I've got some shopping to do now that I'm here in Diagon Alley.'

'Well, I suppose I'll see you back at Hogwarts,' said Harry, taking a few steps backwards. Pansy was standing dangerously close to him, leaning towards him.

'Oh, well ...' Pansy looked disappointed. 'Thanks for the drink then ...'

'Bye!' Harry turned around and walked out of The Leaky Cauldron as fast as he could. Within seconds, he was standing on a busy street in Muggle London.

His plans to spend the afternoon in Diagon Alley had been thwarted, as Pansy was going to do some shopping there, but Harry didn't really care. After his conversation with Pansy he didn't feel like browsing through shops – he needed to do some thinking. He started walking at a brisk pace, not caring where he went.

What Pansy had said had unsettled Harry deeply. At first he had thought it rather fun, pretending to her that he was a Slytherin. He had done it to make Pansy uncomfortable – he hadn't expected her to confide in him the way she had, talking about Draco Malfoy, Death Eaters and Voldemort. Voldemort ... Since his return to the Magical World Harry had been surprised to notice that no one seemed afraid to say his name these days. But Pansy hadn't said Voldemort – she had said The Dark Lord. Just like the Death Eaters always had done. Just like Snape had always done ...

Snape – why did everything keep coming back to him? Tonks, the night before at Dinner, wondering why he wasn't dead yet. Luna, this morning, wearing an expression that reminded Harry so much of Snape's cold, inscrutable face. And now Pansy, thinking that he might be able to escape from Azkaban.

Was Pansy really as stupid as Harry had thought she was? Or was it all an act? Did she know something – something about Snape? But even if she did, Harry couldn't see how Snape could possibly escape from Azkaban. If so, why hadn't he done it earlier? Harry frowned. Pansy must know something – either that or she was pretending that she knew something. But what could it be? And, more importantly, who were the 'friends' she had been talking of; the friends who'd take care of Snape if he escaped? It wasn't Draco Malfoy, she had made that perfectly clear. So, who else could it be?

Suddenly, Harry caught sight of something that drove all thoughts of Snape and Pansy out of his head. It was a telephone box. But it wasn't just any ordinary telephone box – it was an old red one, which was missing several panes of glass, and was standing in front of a heavily graffitied wall. It was the telephone box which led to the Ministry of Magic.

There was only one thought in Harry's mind at seeing this telephone box. Ginny. Ginny was Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ginny worked here. Slowly he started walking towards the telephone box, but when he was only a yard away he stopped. He had promised himself that he wouldn't look her up. Ginny's face was there, right in front of him, as he looked at the telephone box, but he couldn't do it. He turned around, quickly, before he had time to change his mind, and walked away at a brisk pace.

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Author's Note: Thanks a lot for reviewing, Jeanne2, Me, RandiWeasley, Hakkai – Gojyo – Goku – Sanzo, dark fire chain, valentines-hater and alecatq!

Jeanne2: Sorry, can't tell you anymore than I already have about Snape! But at least you got to read about him in this chapter, and he'll be back again.

Talking about Snape – I don't know if any of you noticed that there was a reference or two to chapter 7 in this chapter. But then, of course, there was one in the last chapter as well ... hint hint ;)

A few of you were wondering about Luna ... Well, there isn't much I can tell you about her either without giving away too much. But I promise you'll see more of her.

So, what did you think of this chapter? I must confess I rather like it myself. I enjoy writing Pansy. Any questions? Please let me know!