The next morning, Pansy woke to a dreadful aching in her head. She brought a hand up to clamp it, the soft and silky hair not failing to surprise her again. She brushed it away, heading clumsily to the bathroom and ordering the cleaning elf to fetch her some potion. She leant over her sink, waving her hand so that her hair pulled back from her face, looking up.
Even without the makeup she was assigned to apply, she did look rather different. Her skin looked better, more colorful and as though it had the tiniest bit of natural blush on it. Since when had her skin been so smooth? Maybe it was a result of how much work this beauty thing was.
Beauty hurts. You can handle it.
She remembered yet another line from the book. Just simple things reminded her of what that awful book had droned on about.
The little house elf popped back in with a sickly green looking potion. She downed it, ignoring the terrible taste and just forcing it down her throat.
"My bath, please," She ordered the elf and he hurried over to start the water.
She set the goblet down, performing the necessary activities to be ready for the day and then a long and soaking bath. She'd woken up early that day so she allowed herself extra time to be ready.
When she was changed into one of the robes her mother had purchased, she ran a brush through her hair and made sure it looked just as it was expected. Satisfied, she headed downstairs, oblivious to the fact that she had no makeup on. Perhaps with the observance of her skin tone, she had forgotten that none was on.
Her mother didn't seem to notice at first. The strict woman merely glanced at Pansy's appearance before going back to her breakfast. Pansy envied how her mother could keep her back so incredibly straight without realizing it and eat so mannerly that she looked as though a pie-eating contest was out of the question. Despite the money offered.
"I received an owl from the Gazelle family," Regina began primly, wiping a small area of skin around her mouth without reason to do so.
"Oh?" Pansy replied, pretending to sound interested as she sipped a drink from her goblet. Her mother looked immediately condescending at the way that Pansy was holding the expensive silver dish, so Pansy immediately shifted her handle.
"Joel did not seem interested," she continued, her dark eyes looking to her daughter with an accusatory glare.
"I s'pose we just weren't right for each other. A common happening in the wizarding world," Pansy attempted to cover up for herself, the wrongs she had committed, but wasn't doing all that great of a job.
"That had better be all, Pansy."
"It is, Mother," she assured her, finishing breakfast without another word but the occasional 'pass the salt'.
When their plates had been cleared, Regina stood and set her napkin carefully on the table. It looked just as clean as it had been before breakfast.
"Friday evening, a young man by the name of Steven Reynolds will be visiting the Manor with his parents. I hope you do not fail to impress them this time," Regina announced clearly, gliding from the room before Pansy could respond.
"Oh, Mother!" Pansy called, following the proper lady from the room and into the sitting room.
"What is it?"
"Millicent… Millicent Bullstrode, you remember, has invited me to attend her home for tea one day. I'd like to catch up with her, and I will dutifully finish that book when I return," Pansy began, hoping to convince her mother with a promise of completion.
"Bullstrode… Plump girl, yes?" Regina asked in an aloof way that made Pansy's fists tighten.
"Yes, Mother," Pansy replied with a short dip of her head.
"Very well. Let me know when it is scheduled for," Regina responded, waving her hand to whisk them off and turning back to the Daily Prophet.
Pansy grinned beyond herself, gliding from the room and only bounding up the stairs when the door to the sitting room shut.
Once in her room, she retrieved a sheet of parchment and a quill, quickly dipping it in ink and beginning her letter to Millicent.
Millie,
Mother has agreed! I can come over for tea some day this week. Just so long as it's not Friday. I will be busy stuffing myself so I don't seem too full for my next bachelor. I'll fill you in over tea. Is tomorrow at noon good for you?
Love,
Pansy
She sealed it sloppily, sending it off with her owl and pulling out the dreaded book. The more she finished today, the less she'd have to finish tomorrow.
It was only ten minutes later that she tossed the book down and moved to her closet. Inside it was her trunk from her school days. Bored, she pulled it out and opened it, retrieving a smaller box inside of it full to the brim of moving pictures.
The first was of Millicent and Vincent, smiling and Crabbe's arm around her shoulders. Despite the fact that Millicent lacked in the appearance subject and Crabbe lacked in the common sense subject, they were perfect for each other.
Sometimes, she wished she had what they had. They adored each other and their parents were happy the two were pureblood and marrying.
There were a few of Millicent being silly and a few of Vince and Greg being absolute morons. They'd always been a source of entertainment in dull times.
The next was of Pansy, Millicent, Draco, Blaise, Theo, Vince, Greg, and a few other students she couldn't quite remember the names of. They were all looking rather silly.
Pansy almost cringed as she saw herself. Her hair had been chopped roughly and was looking like it hadn't been brushed in days. Her nose was sticking up and she noticed how bad it had once looked. So much that when she smiled, she was practically exposing her nostrils to the watching public. She'd been a tad pudgy then, or so it looked, compared to how much weight she'd lost.
She had her arm around Draco and Blaise, while Millicent and Crabbe were holding hands. The others were just smiling and pointing at Pansy like she'd done something wrong.
Pansy had been so happy then. Everything was fun. She didn't care about what people thought nor was she forced to do so. She just wanted to see Millicent and be with someone. It'd been months since she'd had a proper time to see someone from the sane world.
Slytherins had always been stereotyped as cruel, heartless idiots who had fun making fun of people. It wasn't entirely true. They were cruel, heartless, and enjoyed making fun of people when it came to Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, or Ravenclaws. But around each other, they were just a bunch of kids enjoying the time they had.
So many of the houses had been biased against them, always blaming the school attacks on Draco or another one of the Slytherins. She had ignored it because they wouldn't find any proof.
What killed her was the thought that a lot of her friends were probably Death Eaters. They might die, and it wasn't even their fault. Pure blood had it's deficiencies as well.
The next morning, Pansy yet again did not apply any makeup. She did, however, do her hair as she was told and dress as her mother would be expecting her to. Once ready and satisfied that she didn't look too much different. All right, well, she did. But she wasn't about to admit it.
After receiving her mother's approval, she apparated to the address given to her by Millicent in the reply. After a few swift knocks on the door and a couple moments of standing on the step, Millicent opened the door.
The girl had lost some weight that much was obvious. She still wasn't gorgeous, but she had slimmed considerably.
Millicent merely gasped, her jaw agape as she gave Pansy twice-overs, examining how different her friend looked.
"Pansy!" Millicent cried, hugging the frail girl with every ounce of might she had. That nearly crushed Pansy, and she had to finally push Millicent off her and catch her breath.
"Still haven't got a hold of your strength, I see," Pansy pointed out with a grin, stepping inside after allowed in by Millicent and examining the home. It was a nice place, nothing that Pansy could imagine living in but certainly nice.
"Not quite," Millicent said quietly. "You look awful different."
"Good or bad?" Pansy questioned with a mischievous little smile.
"Excellent. You're a Witch Weekly cover, or better," Millie continued, leading her into the parlor where Vincent Crabbe was reading the newspaper.
"Hi dear," He said without looking up.
"Vince, we've got a guest," Millicent stated clearly, glancing at Pansy with a wild little grin.
Crabbe looked up, sporting the same expression that Millicent had at the door.
"Parkinson?" He nearly gasped, standing up.
"I thought we'd discussed this. It's Pansy," she told him with a smirk, and he scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry," he said, and she noted as he brought his hand away that his hair had grown quite a bit.
"I'll let it slide," Pansy said, sitting down in one of the seats.
"You told me looked different, but Pansy, you really look different. I mean, you're gorgeous," Millicent continued as the house elf poured them tea.
"Mother forced it on me," Pansy explained. "I suppose I like it, but it's a bit like being under a mask."
"Your mother's never been quite as sane as she thinks she is," Vince said through a mouthful of scone, causing Millicent to toss him a look. He blushed immediately, swallowing.
Millicent had that sort of control over people.
"You've slimmed," Millicent pointed out, glancing at the robe which hugged her now slim curves.
"As have you," Pansy responded, smiling at Millie. It was in the Bullstrode's genes to be rather large, but Millicent was about half the size of any of the members in her family.
Millicent just grinned knowingly, buttering her scone. "So tell me about this Joel Gazelle."
Pansy jumped into the story of events, about the rules she'd broken, about the less than interesting chat with him, and the meeting in the Gardens.
"What an arse," Vince muttered as she finished.
"Honestly. I bet your mom flipped," Millicent responded to the awful tale, her tea growing cold.
"Well, not quite. They sent her an owl saying Joel wasn't interested. I don't think she cared that much. He didn't like travel, Quidditch, or any of that. Maybe she has some good in her, after all," Pansy replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"We'll see about that," Millie said. "So have you seen any of the guys recently?"
"No. You two are the first people I've seen away from my mother, a crazed Russian surgeon, and a cosmetologist," Pansy explained with a groan, imagining that Crabbe was a Death Eater as his father was.
"I've seen them around in Diagon Alley. Draco's opening a shop. He said his parents went hostile when he told them, but he's making a huge profit, so I don't think they mind. Besides, they've got all that money anyway. Now that they're not contributing to any…dark…things. They spent a good half of it getting Lucius out of prison, from what I hear," Millicent explained.
"Wait…Draco isn't a Death Eater?" Pansy said quietly as if someone would hear them. She didn't feel awkward asking this of her because she knew Millicent would tell her.
"Are you mad?" Vince sputtered, just managing to swallow his juice.
"Borderline," Pansy muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Is that a no?"
"Don't you read the Prophet, Pansy?" Millicent asked incredulously, sharing a bewildered glance with her fiancé.
"Not for a few months," Pansy replied, feeling oblivious as to why they kept looking at each other and what exactly she was missing out on.
"Surely someone's told you!" Millicent nearly exclaimed. "Potter killed You-Know-Who about a month ago!"
Pansy's eyes went wide, wider than usual, and her jaw dropped. It was her turn to be surprised.
"Honestly? It's all over?" Pansy gasped.
"All over, Pans. I can't believe your Mum didn't tell you. She always used to read the paper. Nearly every day," Millicent told her, still in disbelief.
"She does read it every day. I can't believe it!" Pansy exclaimed. "It's over… Did anyone die?"
Millicent and Crabbe exchanged knowing looks again. Pansy felt a wave of cold rush over her. This was going to be bad, she could feel it.
"Yes. Quite a few."
"Who?" Pansy sputtered, hoping to Merlin it wasn't any of her friends.
"Snape, for one. Rookwood, Mr. Goyle, and both those Lestranges," Millicent began. "Some of Potter's side died too, but no one we can rejoice about."
"Snape? That's terrible…" Pansy muttered, looking down at her tea.
"Yeah, it is. He betrayed You-Know-Who years ago so the whole crew's been out to get him. Any Death Eaters caught at the scene were arrested, but the guys are fine, if you were worried."
"Thank Merlin…" Pansy muttered, crossing her arms over her lap. "So what's the name of this shop Draco has?"
"Malfoy Supplies. Quidditch shop, big surprise," Millicent grinned, snapping her fingers so that the tea steamed again.
Pansy smiled. Draco had always been a bit of a nutter for Quidditch. Not so much that you couldn't get him to shut his trap about it, but somewhat. It wasn't surprising he opened a shop. He'd spent near all of seventh year examining and observing brooms and broom products. It had been a sick obsession.
The rest of the teatime, the friends spoke of memories from school. The stupid things they did appeared most frequently in conversation and Crabbe left sometime around two so Millicent could tell her all about the exciting engagement.
When the clock struck six and Pansy knew she had plenty of reading to do before going to sleep, she bade Millicent and Vincent goodbye, apparating away from the doorstep and back home.
"Enjoy yourself?" Regina snapped once Pansy walked into the door where she stood at the staircase.
"I am really sorry for being late, Mother. It was not my intention," Pansy told her honestly.
"Go upstairs and don't you come back down until you're done with that book," Regina ordered, stomping off into the library while Pansy headed up to her room.
Once inside, she slipped off her shoes and lay down on her bed, busying herself with reading.
Two hours later, she was quite a bit farther but having a lot of trouble staying focused. Her blankets had been ruffled now from the morning from her tossing and turning so much, trying to get comfortable.
At last, she had just changed into her silk pajamas but fallen asleep before she could read another word.
Friday came far too quickly. She was woken early by her mother to take a good, long bath and be sure to eat a fair amount.
"Mother?" Pansy began was they ate breakfast,
"What is it?"
"How come you never told me You-Know-Who was dead?" Pansy asked quietly, afraid of upsetting her mother.
"I imagined you knew. Everybody knew. I thought you'd be writing all your friends and they'd know," Regina explained with a small shrug.
"Oh," Pansy said quietly, staring at her porridge. She hadn't received any letters from the guys. She knew she ought to owl them, but what would she say?
'Oh, and I've all the sudden had surgery and lost too much weight for my own good.' She shuddered inwardly at the thought. They wouldn't care.
At seven o'clock when the Reynolds arrived, Pansy was standing in her room, staring at herself in the mirror. She couldn't sit in fear of ruffling her dress just yet, and she didn't want to since a house elf would be popping in any second.
She looked perfect. A fitting dress that was annoyingly low cut and her hair pulled into an expertly elegant bun with small ringlet curls hanging down either side of her face, complimenting her features.
"She's upstairs. One moment. Elf, fetch Pansy."
Pansy heard her mother's voice from downstairs and once more smoothed her dress, taking a deep breath. This one could be the one she was to marry.
"Mistress?"
An elf poked his head in the door, looking scared for his life.
"Yes, thank you," Pansy muttered, a little shocked that she'd thanked an elf but shook it off. When she reached the top of the stairs, she moved down them, her dress rippling perfectly with every step taken.
When she reached the bottom, her date looked thoroughly pleased and satisfied.
"Ms. Parkinson," he began as she held out her hand. "Steven Reynolds."
"Pansy," she told him as he kissed the back of her hand before she hooked it in the crook of his elbow.
"Shall we move onto the sitting room?" Regina asked sweetly, leading them into the comfortable room and waiting until all were seated before speaking.
"Pansy, these are my parents, Donald and Cassandra Reynolds," Steven said, waving his hand in the way of his parents, who nodded grimly.
"Pleasure," Pansy said, glancing at her Mother who nodded simply.
"So, Steven, what school did you attend?" Pansy questioned, reusing her previous starter for conversation.
"Beauxbatons. I trust you went to Hogwarts," Steven assumed, focusing his gaze on her.
"Quite correct. Although I've heard Beauxbatons is a fascinating school," Pansy commented as if that was what she really thought. Honestly, she knew very little about the French school.
"It was. Though I did wish I could've attended Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. I was a month too young," he explained, shrugging off events of the past.
Pansy nodded simply. She had never been exceedingly strong in Defense Against the Dark Arts and wouldn't have won against Krum anyway. She was actually scared to death of that competition. She had just been happy with the fact that they were too young, even if the others were upset with it.
There was an awkward silence before the same house elf she had thanked earlier slipped inside the room, clutching the end of his tea towel in one bony hand.
"Dinner, sirs and misses," the house elf squeaked, hurrying from the room in a second's time.
"Let us go into the dining room," Regina announced with a smile, standing up as the four others followed, arms linked only out of chivalry.
Steven pulled the chair out for Pansy, while Donald Reynolds pulled out both seats for the two women.
She had a very distinct reminder of the previous date she had had. Hopefully, this one would turn out much better. She tried to remember the questions she'd asked Joel and a few of them came to mind.
"What is your career?" She questioned as the first course appeared on the plates. Pansy's was a tad smaller than everyone else's, and she cast a quick glance at her mother.
"I work in the ink industries. I'm sure you use Tekka ink," Steven replied, and Pansy somewhat remembered seeing that name on her ink one day not long ago when she had been racking her brain for something to write on her end-of-the-year exams.
"Certainly. It's efficient," Pansy said, hoping to Merlin that that was the ink he produced.
"Good. I've never heard an answer less," Steven explained, and Pansy sighed quietly in relief.
There was an awkward silence, only filled by silverware lightly touching plates. Manners were not to clank your eating instruments into your plate.
"So, what sort of activities do you enjoy?" Pansy asked, hoping to keep a lid on her mouth this time instead of ragging on about how great traveling and Quidditch were.
"Oh, nothing too interesting. Sports, Arithmancy, and a few other things," Steven explained with a shrug.
Pansy was only shocked at Arithmancy. How could anyone actually enjoy that subject? She'd taken it and been so bored the entire time that she had to have fallen asleep six or seven times in that class a week.
"Pansy scored very high in Arithmancy in school," Regina popped in. So she had made Outstanding grades. But she had still hated it.
"Oh? I've heard the teacher at Hogwarts is very good," Steven commented, and Pansy nodded simply.
Regina sprung into conversation with Steven over the subject. She'd always loved the subject and Steven easily talked with her about it. Donald and Cassandra were politely eating and Pansy took the time to nibble a few bites, not too hungry.
Another awkward silence filled the room after Regina had finished discussing velocity of something or other with Steven.
Only a few words were spoken about Beauxbatons and Hogwarts over the rest of the meal. Pansy ate only about half before the elves took away the plates and replaced them with a cup of delicious-looking mousse.
"Your elves cook excellently, Regina," Ronald said as he took a bite, swallowing it and heading in for another.
"It didn't come cheap, either," Regina followed, and Cassandra laughed politely.
Another silence. This was getting very awkward. Pansy ate her mousse, glancing over at Steven who looked just as contented with the silence as anyone else at the table. Was she the only one feeling stupid?
When they'd finished their desserts, conversation began between Regina and Steven's parents. At this time, Steven turned to Pansy, taking a glance out the window.
"Err," Pansy began, realizing how inarticulate she sounded in half a second. "Would you like to see some of the Grounds?" Her mother cast a satisfied glance at Pansy.
"Certainly," Steven replied, standing up and following Pansy out the back door and into the Grounds.
Here they were. Back on that annoying stone path. She sighed, remembering the past experiences she'd had on this bloody road.
Steven started talking about ink and how difficult the industry was, despite how easy it sounded. She tuned him out, laughing respectively when she heard a tone in his voice that suggested he was making a joke and nodded when he looked to her to see if she was paying attention.
The pansies in the gardens were reflecting the magic-induced light at them as they carried on. She felt almost like falling asleep and was relieved when they took a seat on one of the stone benches.
"That's probably the hardest part," Steven finished, and Pansy nodded, forcing a false smile onto her face.
"I can't believe I ever expected it to be at all simple," Pansy said in response, and Steven's chest huffed slightly. "So, do you travel?"
"Often, actually. Most recently was to Scotland," Steven said and Pansy nodded again. She wished she could go back to Scotland. It was great there.
She'd only been there once during the summer after fifth year. It had been enchanting and really quite exciting.
Steven bounded into another ink tale.
'He's so boring,' Pansy thought to herself, pretending to listen again. He was moving his hands wildly to illustrate the story. And when a large, obnoxious belly laugh escaped him, Pansy forced a laugh that sounded convincing enough to satisfy him.
'And he has such odd hair,' Pansy thought again as she surveyed his roughly chopped hair that looked like it had been clipped by a blind muggle.
"Something on my face?" He asked after he'd finished talking and Pansy had been staring at his head for a moment.
"Oh, no, nothing," Pansy said with a grin.
"Everything all right?" He asked, tilting his head.
"Fine, just fine," Pansy said, though it was so obvious that she was lying, which was unusual for her.
"You're sure? You seemed a bit quiet in dinner."
Her? Quiet? They'd been the quiet ones! She'd been trying to start conversation and failing. Plus, he'd been droning on about Arithmancy with her mom for a quarter of an hour.
"Well," Pansy began, fully prepared to lie much better, "my mother and I got in a row earlier. I suppose I haven't fully recovered."
"Ah," Steven said sympathetically, patting her shoulder. "I'm sure it will all mend up soon enough."
"Maybe if she wasn't being such a prat about my husband," Pansy thought, though clasped her hand tightly over her mouth when she realized she had said that aloud.
"About your husband?" Steven questioned, looking confused.
She sighed, knowing that it was all about to unfold. She didn't want to tell him about how her mother was forcing her to date these guys she had never met and how she felt so degraded while she read that book. Why couldn't she marry for love? How come in school she'd never met anyone worth it?
She started crying without realizing it. Steven looked scared. No, not scared, frightened for his life.
"What's wrong? What are you doing?" Steven gasped, standing up as Pansy broke into full-out sobs on the bench.
She cleared herself up after a moment, but seeing the effect it was having on Steven, she forced out fake crying. It sounded like she was delirious.
"Don't cry, don't cry!" He tried, gripping her shoulders.
Pansy just increased it. In a moment, Steven was running like wildfire from the Gardens.
She sat out on the bench for a good ten minutes until the Reynolds all apparated off the porch step after politely saying goodbye to Regina.
"PANSY!"
Pansy sighed, knowing she'd be in huge trouble for this. She shouldn't have scared him off like that. But how else was she supposed to get rid of him?
"Yes, Mum?" Pansy asked innocently as she stood up, brushing off her gown and walking timidly to her mother who was waiting inside the parlor.
She looked angry. Her arms were folded across her stomach so tightly, Pansy was worried that she would soon not be able to breath. Her eyes were narrowed and her pouty lips (which were identical to Pansy's) were pursed together and she was biting her lower one. Her legs were crossed and the one on the floor was thumping loudly.
"He came in here, going on about how you were suddenly hysterical!" Regina practically shouted, popping up from her seat.
"I just…" Pansy attempted to intervene but failed.
"He was smart! Smart and rich and had a long life of good fortune ahead of him! He could've been your husband!" Regina began her lecture, her cheeks flushed with fury. "He was everything you could've needed and you tossed it away!"
"He was everything you wanted me to have! Not everything I needed or wanted! I want someone who's not boring and who's not Steven Reynolds!" Pansy bit back, tearing out of the room in a flash, collapsing on her bed and burying her face in the pillow. She really didn't fight with her mom that often, seeing as the Pansy was scared to death of the woman.
Author's Notes: Thanks for the kind reviews! I hope this chapter suffices for the moment because I assure you that a very interesting chapter will come next. Well, R&R!
