She had practically dug her own grave for herself by that mistake with Steven. He wasn't that bad, was he? She could've lived with him. Besides, he'd be off doing his own thing and she could get used to his annoying lectures about ink, of all things.

The next morning, she'd waken to see that she'd slept in her clothes and that her owl was missing from its cage. And after she rubbed her eyes a few times to ensure clarity, seen that all her books were replaced with slightly-used dull looking books. Her eyes widened. In a flash, she had hopped from her bed and rushed to her desk. Her letters were missing.

Her mother had to have seen what she'd written about her to Millicent and what her good friend had written back.

Not bothering to change, put on makeup, or even run a comb through her hair, she bolted down the steps and into the kitchen, where her mother sat. She was reading the newspaper like a normal individual, eating a scone and patiently looking up at Pansy as she entered.

"Where's Athena?" Pansy questioned her mother. She didn't actually need the expensive owl at the moment, but she wanted to know where she was.

"She's away for a while," Regina responded without looking at her daughter still. She sounded cool and confident, like nothing had happened. She scooted a piece of paper across the table and Pansy wearily lifted it.

It was a letter from Steven Reynolds. Just. Great.

Mrs. and Ms. Parkinson,

The evening was pleasurable until the very end. I am afraid to say that I have arranged an engagement with someone else. My sincerest apologies to you both.

Steven Reynolds

Her troubles multiplied by ten at that moment. She set the letter back down just as her mother finished the scone, standing up and looking at her daughter's appearance.

"How long has it been since you've run?" she asked, acting as if she was fine about it.

"Two days," Pansy admitted, wringing her hands together.

"You had better catch up. You know what they say. A missed day is worth four missed days," Regina said with a sickly false smile. "Obviously, you'll have to do eight times more than usual."

Pansy's mouth gaped. Eight times? She would collapse! But she shouldn't have yelled at her mother the night before and was definitely not planning on doing it now.

In a state of shock, she hurried upstairs and changed. Once outside, she started at a comfortable pace, slower than usual. Running was quite possibly the most boring activity ever made. One just circles an area for a given time. If there was something other than the dull surroundings, it may have been all right.

She did the regular mile, realizing she had to do eight more and slowing considerably. She was basically walking with her feet picking up.

"TEN!"

She turned to the screeching voice, seeing her mother peering her head out the door with a scowl on her face.

Ten miles? And she though she'd collapse from eight. Speeding up to an impossible pace, she waited until her mother was out of view and then walked.

At last, she'd finished, her mother's head poking out the whole time. She was so worn out; she felt like she hadn't slept at all the night before and the day had already passed.

"You've got plenty to do, Pansy," Regina assured her once the very sweaty and exhausted girl entered the house again.

"Shouldn't I take a bath first?" She suggested hopefully, brushing hair from her eyes.

"Oh, fine, but hurry," Regina ordered and Pansy nodded, walking gracefully upstairs despite her weakness and coming downstairs later when she had bathed and changed.

"We're going to practice," her mother explained once Pansy was in the parlor.

"Practice?" Pansy questioned, worried

"You obviously have not accomplished how to treat a man and how to keep a man. Today, you will learn and you will master it."

She felt her limbs weaken considerably. How was she going to practice how to treat a man? She had several books to tell her how already.

"Sit," Regina barked.

Pansy obeyed, sitting down wearily but managing to not look it. Her mother looked to Pansy, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

She had the feeling that it meant, 'laugh at me and you'll get twenty laps'. Pansy gulped quietly, wringing her hands together again.

There was a long, awkward silence in which Regina just stared expectantly at her daughter.

"Err…" Pansy began inarticulately.

"Say something! Pretend I'm the next guy you will be meeting," Regina sputtered, looking as though her daughter should have known.

Pansy's face heated up quickly. How was she supposed to pretend that her mother was a boy she didn't want to be with?

"Oh… What school did you attend?" She muttered, wringing her hands together in her lap.

"Durmstrang," Regina replied in a deep voice that made Pansy bite her lip. So that's why she wasn't supposed to laugh at her. Her mother was imitating a man.

"A fine school," Pansy finally replied after a pause in which she inflicted pain on her lip in order to not burst into impolite giggles.

"I assume you went to Hogwarts," Regina continued, and Pansy felt her face heat up uncomfortably. She had to laugh. She had to laugh.

"Yes," Pansy finally squeaked, biting her lip again and tasting the blood inside her mouth.

"Forget it!" Regina finally cried, shooting up from the couch. She glared momentarily at her daughter before brushing out creases in her robes. "You had better impress Mr. Yitel Saturday evening."

"Mr. Yitel?" Pansy asked, standing up and also brushing creases from her robes.

"Yes, Senus Yitel. I trust you will treat him better than you have me," her mother insisted, sticking her nose into the air and leaving the room.

So she already had another date. She sighed once her mother left the room, heading upstairs to do absolutely nothing all day.

However, when she arrived upstairs, she saw an owl there. It wasn't Athena, it was Millicent's owl. If her mother walked in, she'd be dead. Absolutely dead.

Pansy,

Think you can come to the wedding? Just curious. I've got to finish up this list soon so I can organize the wedding and reception. I do hope you can come. Of course, your mother's invited, but you don't have to tell her that. So has your mother arranged any more dates for you yet? Let me know.

Love,

Millie

Pansy sighed, setting the letter down and ordering the owl in a whisper to remain in her room until she had replied. She badly wanted to go to the wedding, but asking at the moment was to get her nowhere. She had to act refined at this upcoming date. Or else she had no chance.

Millicent,

I'm not sure. I made a mockery of my last date, Steven Reynolds. I scared him off by pretending to be hysterical in the Gardens. Mother was furious. I've got another date with somebody named Senus Yitel this Saturday. If it goes well, I'm sure I'll be able to come to the wedding.

Oh, and Mother's taken my owl away as a punishment for ruining my date with Steven. So I'm not sure when I'll have the RSVP to you.

With Love,

Pansy

She sent it off with Millicent's owl, creeping downstairs and into the library. Her mother had taken away her books but not restricted her entrance into the library. She spent most of the day in there until dinnertime.

Saturday came around soon enough. Pansy had read a little bit of the books left for her but was dreadfully unimpressed by her mother's idea of a well-written book.

She had chosen a teal dress for that evening. It was bought by her mother and luckily not as low-cut as the usual ones. It was still annoyingly tight, though it ruffled out in a flowing way at the lower half.

This time, her date was not coming with his parents. Apparently, they'd died at the hands of Voldemort and now he was left with more money than he knew what to do with. Besides that, he was pureblood and from what her mother had said, handsome. He was expected to arrive at seven and dinner was to be ready by 7:30.

She had gone over what she planned to talk about with him in her head. She had to make this go well if she wanted to go to Millicent's wedding. She owed it to her, after all, since she'd been so distant.

So far, Pansy had come up with school, Quidditch, traveling, the Ministry, house elves, and then led him outside as she had her previous dates. If he tried to kiss her, she'd have to let him, but hopefully pull away soon enough without making him mad or making him raise his temper. And if he was boring, she'd have to live with it.

When the doorbell rang, Pansy waited patiently at the seat to her vanity, examining her appearance. She looked especially different tonight, experimenting (successfully) with lighter, blending makeup and her hair up with wisps of curls hanging down elegantly on either side. Her shoes were heels, despite her hate for the pain that came afterwards, and she had chosen gloves for her arms. Well, she hadn't chosen them, her mother had, but they made her look more elegant.

When the house elf entered, Pansy nodded simply and walked to the stairs. She paused as directed, heading down them and looking to the man in the entry way.

He was handsome. With a clean shaven face and brown hair, carefully cut and not chopped at all roughly. He was dressed nicely too, in dress robes of black that suited his appearance nicely.

She smiled politely at him once she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Pansy Parkinson," he began his voice low and husky.

"Mr. Yitel," Pansy responded politely, holding out her hand and expecting him to grab it.

"Senus," he corrected, lifting her hand to his lips and brushing the back of the gloves to them before allowing it back to her side.

She merely dipped her head and Regina stepped in, starting into conversation with Senus as she led him into the parlor. It was getting to be a boring, repetitive room for every date she had.

Once they had been seated, Senus turned to Pansy.

"A rather exquisite home you have," he complimented dryly, in a way that suggested to Pansy he was a darker sort of man.

"Thank you, Senus. I'm simply lucky to welcome you to it," Pansy replied in a dignified manner, her lips turning slightly towards a grin.

"I should be thanking you for the opportunity, Pansy. I must say, your robes are rather pleasant," he continued, and Pansy smiled grimly.

"And your robes are splendid as well."

Regina jumped into the conversation now, discussing clothing with Senus and how one could not be sure that their clothing was worth it unless it had a certain feel to it. Senus seemed to be agreeing politely, and Pansy was distracted by the gloves. She was beginning to hate them.

"Dinner."

A house elf announced in a squeaky tone as it popped its head in the doorway. Pansy glanced at the clock, seeing it at about 7:10. Early. Regina would not be happy about that.

However, they stood and entered the dining room, seating themselves with Senus and Pansy next to each other and Regina across from them.

"What school did you attend, Senus?" Pansy asked once she had taken a sip of the wine in the goblet.

"Hogwarts, actually," Senus replied, and Pansy tilted her head to the side.

"As did I. I don't remember you."

"I believe I was in seventh year in your third. I don't expect you to remember. I wasn't in the common room much, nor was I around in the Great Hall much. I had other destinations," Senus explained, and Pansy didn't bother asking what those other destinations were.

"Oh," Pansy replied, feeling stupid. So he was four years older than her, about 23? That wasn't too bad. He didn't seem all that old anyway.

"Surely you didn't play Quidditch," Pansy continued, eager for information. "I don't remember your name being called."

"I was never any good at the sport," Senus admitted. "Though I did attend the games every chance I had."

"Oh," Pansy said simply. She was at a loss. What was it she had planned to talk with him about? "Do you travel often?"

"Frequently, yes," Senus said with a nod. "I work as a translator for the Minister."

"Oh? You're bilingual?"

"I can speak fluently in French. A bit in German, but very little," Senus replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Pansy nodded, taking a bite of her food as her mother sprang into conversation about France. She'd always loved the place, having taken Pansy there on numerous Christmas vacations to visit.

Once she was nearly done with her meal, a house elf cleared the plates. She didn't mind, seeing as she wasn't all that hungry from her large lunch earlier that day.

Dessert was served, and the two talked easily about Hogwarts mainly. They both had strongly disliked McGonogall. Though not a word was spoken of Snape. He was dead, after all. Nobody wanted to dwell on memories like that.

"Would you like to see the Gardens?" Pansy asked politely, visioning what to talk about while they were outside.

"Actually," Senus began, "it's raining. Perhaps a tour of the home?"

She felt a bit stupid now. She hadn't even been the one to suggest it, but it sounded like a perfect substitute.

"I've got some owls to send out," Regina stated, standing up and bidding goodbye before disappearing from the room.

Pansy nodded, standing up and taking Senus's proffered arm.

First, she showed him the art gallery, the library, some old rooms containing artifacts and such. Senus seemed mildly intrigued by each of them. Once the middle floor had been covered basically, she led him upstairs.

"What's in here?" Senus asked innocently as he stood in front of her door, turning to Pansy with a brow raised.

"My room," Pansy explained, fully ready to show him the glass room, but he had opened her door.

"A marvelous color," Senus said, walking in.

Pansy didn't really want him in there, but followed, hoping his tour would be just as short as the other rooms had been. But he shut the door once she was in there.

"You seem to have a lot of privacy in here."

She looked around simply, wishing he'd light one of the lanterns. Her wand was downstairs, after all.

She turned to try and light one but his hand grasped her arm, stopping her. She gasped lightly in surprise and turned to him.

"What're you doing?" She asked curiously, but he pulled her closer by her arm.

He didn't reply. Instead, he roughly grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. He bit her lip painfully, causing her to taste her own blood. His kiss moved to her neck, easily making it hurt and forming a red mark.

"Stop," Pansy whispered quietly.

He didn't. He pushed her down and she hit her head on the dresser with a loud 'thud'. Her eyes closed. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't happening.
His hand closed around the front of her dress, pulling it off with one strong rip, tearing it and tossing it carelessly away.

"Don't make a sound," he instructed, moving in to kiss her painfully again as his hand roamed down to her chest, ripping off her bra and tossing it aside as nonchantly as the dress.

She whimpered painfully, not meaning to but unable to stop. It hurt. He snatched off her knickers in half a second and had his pants unbuttoned and lowered to his knees.

She was a virgin. He couldn't do this. She wasn't supposed to lose her innocence yet. Not until she was married… No…

Her eyes had opened now, wide and fearful, brimming with tears. She tried to push him off with her arms and kicked at him with her legs, but he slapped her roughly across the cheek, one of his nails cutting it.

She felt tears rushing down her cheek with the pain that resembled a dozen needles pushing into her skin.

He pushed down his boxers, not wasting any time before he forced himself into her. She screamed aloud as a blood mixture pooled around her as he thrusted himself into her with such a speed that she began sobbing and screaming.

"STOP! STOP! GET OFF ME!" She cried hopelessly, beating at his chest until he smacked her again, snatching her wrists and holding them with one powerful hand as he continued into her, ignoring her weak and hopeless screams into the room.

"Mr. Yitel."

It wasn't Pansy. She stopped her sobbing, taking sharp intakes of breath. Her mother was standing there in the doorway, her hands clasped together in front of her.

"I believe it is time you go. Please stop by tomorrow," Regina said simply.

Senus smirked, pulling away from her and pulling his pants back up, buckling them and leaving the room with a whirl of his cloak.

Pansy was beyond relief. She felt such an intense pain in the lower half of her body. Her legs were numb and shaking. Blood had pooled around her and her cheek was stinging from his slaps.

She was just beginning to think her mother wasn't all that bad when another boney hand with much longer nails collided with her cheek.

"You stupid girl," Regina snapped, tossing her a blanket and grabbing her by the wrist, forcing her to her feet. Her eyes blazed and her teeth were baring menacingly.

Pansy merely stared, wide-eyed, at her mother. Her cheek burned and blood slipped down it. That was the least of her worries, however.

"When a man hits you, offer him ice and a cold brandy. You do not tell him to stop. You do NOT defy him! Do you understand me?" Regina barked.

Pansy remained speechless. Her eyes were still wide and her breath was coming out in short gasps.

"PANSY! Do you understand me?" She barked again, tightening her grip around Pansy's wrist.

"Yes, mother," Pansy gulped, biting back tears.

"Clean yourself up and go to bed," Regina told her clearly. "Tomorrow, you will apologize to Senus and the mistake you made will not have happened. I will send a house elf in to clean up."

Pansy nodded simply, sniffling and letting out another choked sob. Once her mother left the room, she stood there incredulously for a bit before preparing herself a bath.

While soaking in the burning hot water, she closed her eyes, letting her hair sink into it and only allowing her nose above.

She felt like she could give it up just then and nobody would miss her. Obviously, her mother really liked Senus, meaning she was bound to end up marrying him. She'd lost her virginity against her will and her whole body was aching as if someone was constantly smashing a hammer into it.

She stayed under for what seemed like hours before lifting her head, staring at the expensively painted wall before her. She couldn't give up yet. Millicent had to get married. She had to be able to go. If she wasn't allowed, she'd be extremely upset. More so than she already was, that is.

Pulling herself out of the water, she dried herself off and wrapped the towel around her, moving to the mirror. Black was streaming down her face, which was cut up from the three slaps she had received that night.

Hurriedly, she brought a cloth up to wipe off her face, leaving the cuts and her hair dripping down her towel and arms.

Without bothering to use a drying spell, she slipped into her pajamas and into her bed, ignoring the noise of the house elf cleaning the carpet up as she drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.

Author's Note: Eh? Poor Pansy… I promise Draco will come in to the next chapter, for you eager reviewers. There will be several more chapters in the future. Enjoy!