Disclaimer:
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: First, I want to say, my prayers and sympathies are with those who were affected by those horrible London bombings. Now onto my usual A/N...This was what popped into my head after reading a plot bunnie on FAP. The specific plot bunnie is "Malfoy is in Divination Class when Trelawny makes a prediction. You choose if it's real or not, Malfoys reaction, etc., but the prediction must be about that certain someone he loves, which has now been revealed to the other Slytherins!"
Predicted
VII. The Revelation
It had been a very trying day for Pansy. First, she had been knocked over by a weepy Head Girl. Then, she had been knocked over by a grumpy-slash-moody best friend. And now? Well, now she was caught up in a catfight that she had no desire to be in and she had broken a nail, while trying to break it up. Oh the perks of being a Prefect.
She was getting really tired of this, as of late. Sometimes, she just wished she could disappear. She knew she had changed. They—the girls from her own house—knew it too, and they no longer wished to be associated with her. They were snobby bitches, not unlike herself at times. But she was learning that there was more to life than that. It wasn't an easy pill to swallow.
Her parents were cowards who had gone into hiding, and left her to fend for herself. The only person she had left—who truly cared for her and whom she truly cared for—was Draco. He'd been her best friend since they were in diapers. And no matter what anyone said or what rumors were spread, that was all they'd ever be. Kissing Draco would be like kissing one's brother, and that was not a pretty picture.
She growled to herself, as one of the girls hit her in the side. Where were the Head Girl and Head Boy when you needed them? Oh yes, weeping and sulking, respectively.
Enough was enough. She took in a deep breath, and let it out.
"STOP!" she screamed, at the top of her lungs. Miraculously, they did. She looked slightly shocked, but took the opportunity to step out from in between them. 'That was almost too easy,' she thought. And it was too easy. As soon as she was out of their way, they began to fight again. Marvelous.
She drew back her wand, about to mutter a curse, when a hand touched her shoulder and someone murmured, "Petrificus totalus." Then suddenly, the catfight stood still.
Pansy turned to find the Head Girl standing behind her, and goggled. Hermione looked horrible. Pansy knew she should look away, but she couldn't. It was like watching a car wreck.
"What happened to you, Granger? You look terrible." Pansy questioned, bluntly.
Hermione turned to her, and quirked a small, grim smile. "Long story. What's happened here?"
"You mean, what hasn't happened here!" Pansy exclaimed, motioning to the destruction of the corridor. Only then did Hermione take in the disheveled state of several statues and the torn bits of paintings and tapestries floating around the air. Her mouth formed a big "o."
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The door to the Prefects' meeting room slammed open, as Pansy marched in with full force.
"What did you do?" she shrieked at the unsuspecting blond young man sitting at the head of the table.
He looked idly at her, before returning his gaze towards the papers in front of him. "What are you on about, this time?" he asked, not looking up.
Pansy just grew angrier. "Draco Malfoy! I know what happened. Why did you do it?"
Draco looked up and stared her straight in the eyes, not even bothering to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about. "I have my reasons."
Pansy's anger deflated at the look in his eyes, and she sat down in one of the chairs. "Don't you want to be happy, Draco?" she asked, in a much gentler tone than before. "Don't you want to have love?"
Draco smirked coldly at her. "Yeah, right. So I can feel more pain? No thanks."
"Oh Draco. I feel for you."
"It doesn't matter. I don't want your pity. Besides, when did you become such an advocate for love? You haven't even had a steady relationship in all your years at Hogwarts!"
Pansy grew angry again, at this comment. "Dating around, trying to find my soul mate, is a hundred times better than being the cruel, heartless bastard that you are!"
"I'll take that as a compliment, because, wake up Pans, it's not a fairy tale we're living in!"
"Draco! Why do you have to be like this? Why can't you just let her love you and you love her back?"
"Because, I was groomed to be this way." His eyes lowered in a dismissive manner, and Pansy took the cue.
She raised herself out of the chair and was almost at the door, before she said, "All I want is for you to be happy. You're like family to me."
"I know. But it would hurt us both too much. The world would not be able to accept it," he said, quietly, in reply.
She sighed as she walked out the door. "Who cares about the world? Care about yourself, first."
When the door closed behind her, Draco raised his head and gave a bleak grin. 'Spoken like a true Slytherin,' he thought.
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Draco arrived at the Great Hall, late for supper. When he entered, he noticed that the room had suddenly become quiet, and then that the students were beginning to whisper frantically, in hushed tones. He ignored it, and walked straight to his normal seat, at the head of the Slytherin table. As soon as he sat down, all the Slytherins near his seat began fidgeting, and then, one by one, slowly moved away. That is, except for Pansy and Blaise. 'Curious,' he thought, but began eating anyway, ignoring his fellow housemates' and the rest of the school's odd behavior.
"What's going on?" he asked, through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Charming, Draco. Really," commented Blaise.
"They know," Pansy said, answering Draco's question.
Draco looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but it was Blaise who answered this time.
"Honestly, you can be so dense. They know that you rescued Granger. Will you pass me some of that?"
Draco handed Blaise the mashed potatoes that he had been so busily consuming just moments ago, and then turned his gaze towards Granger. The Hall was quiet, waiting for his response; waiting to see if it was true. He stared at her, and she felt a shiver run up her spine.
She saw Draco shrug in a calculated move, trying to look nonchalant. "What of it? I'd do it for anyone else that was in danger," he said, in a clear, crisp voice that would carry throughout the Great Hall. His answer somewhat appeased his housemates, and they began to act slightly normal again. That is, except for a few girls.
Girls from every house looked enviously at Hermione, with the thought that she had spent time in the arms of the dark, brooding Draco Malfoy. One looked murderous, of course. It was the one Slytherin girl left that had not cowered to Pansy's evil looking glares and more evil sounding threats. Pansy had realized that the girl was stronger than she looked, and she began thinking that maybe it was time she told a professor what she knew. The situation could get out of hand quickly, and she definitely didn't want that.
Hermione turned her head, glaring at the two girls whom she was sure was at fault for spilling the secret. They in turn fidgeted in their seats, confirming Hermione's suspicion. Of course. She groaned. 'Now he'll hate me for sure,' she thought.
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After supper, Pansy sought out her Head of House, fully intent on giving up the information that she had. It was high time that the girl got what was coming to her. Pansy had thought that she could do it herself. But, as she was trying to be a different person, she could now admit when she was wrong.
The first place she thought to look was the potions classroom. But before she was even close, a figure blocked her path.
"Where do you think you're going?" the figure sneered.
"Get out of my way, Evelina," Pansy replied, trying to push her way through, a look of disgust on her face.
But Evelina stood her ground, and sneered some more. "Not until you tell me where you're going."
Pansy gave up trying to fight her and instead chose the option of lying. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going to get help with my herbology report. I'm on my way to the library."
"Oh, well, so long as you're not going to snitch," Evelina said, giving her one last look that was meant to be threatening. But it had no effect on Pansy. She had created that look.
"Why ever would you think that?" Pansy questioned innocently, before sauntering off, leaving Evelina staring after her.
This of course put a slight kink in her plans, as she now had to look like she was going to the library, which was in the complete opposite direction of the potions classroom. She had no doubt that Evelina would subtly follow her to the library, just to make sure she really was going there. She also thought that Evelina might actually stay, to follow her anywhere else she went, to make sure that she didn't indeed snitch.
So, she was basically stuck. She entered the library and looked about. Who would be a reasonable source of help to her predicament? 'That Hufflepuff over there? No. Hmm...That Ravenclaw would definitely not do. Ah ha! Harry Potter and that Weasley boy. They would definitely help.'
She walked over to their table and sat down in an empty chair on the other side, so that she could face them. She pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink. Then she began to write. Ron gulped visibly. Harry just stared. 'What in the world?'
But then, she turned her parchment towards them, and said, "Would you take a look at this for me? I want to make sure it's not wrong."
Harry looked it over, reading it in his mind. It said:
"I know it's odd for me to just sit down here and pretend to be your friend and all, but you've got to pretend with me. I've got some information about Granger's attackers, but they've found me out. One of them is following me, to make sure I don't tell a professor what I know. So I need your help. Will you help me?"
Harry looked up and spotted a Slytherin girl, who seemed to be trying to look inconspicuous but was failing, over Pansy's shoulder. He nodded to Pansy, and she gave him a small smile before taking the parchment back and writing some more.
This time, when he read it, it said:
"Great. As you probably saw, I can't go myself or else she'll follow me. So, if I hand you a note, will you take it to a professor you trust?"
Harry nodded again. She handed him her note, discreetly, and whispered, "I wish to remain anonymous." To which Harry replied, "Of course." And then he left, leaving behind a confused Ron.
Pansy flashed a smile at him. "Don't worry, he'll be back. But in the meantime, why don't you tell me about yourself."
Ron looked lost, but began speaking anyway. His voice soothed Pansy a bit; it was a smooth, deep voice.
Evelina stayed right where she was, her eyes glued to Pansy, not noticing Harry Potter or the note that he had shoved into his pocket. All she cared about was that Pansy Parkinson was still in her seat, and still keeping her mouth quiet.
When Harry returned, Ron and Pansy were still talking. He smiled, maybe now Ron would get the courage to finally ask her out. He didn't want to interrupt them for long so he just nodded his head at Pansy to answer her questioning look and then said, "Got to run, Ginny's waiting for me."
Harry ignored Ron's grimace, and laughed. "You've got to get used to it sometime soon. We've been dating for nearly two years."
"Yeah, I know, but it's not easy," Ron replied back, grimace still in place.
Harry left them, just as Madame Pince was telling them that the library was closing for the day. Now they looked shyly at each other, which wasn't so out of place for Ron. As for Pansy, it was a whole other story. She had never been shy around boys before, even the ones she liked. So she could not understand what in Merlin's name was wrong with her. He was just another boy, and a goody-goody Gryffindor at that! But he was rather cute, especially when he blushed like that. Pansy smiled.
"Would you walk me down to the dungeons?" she asked.
"Er...I...er...um...all right," he stammered.
"Great," she said, taking his hand, which caused him to blush some more.
Evelina had already disappeared.
A/N: Another chapter! Wow. That was a fast update, ey? Haha. Hope you enjoyed this one, and tell me what you think. :) Did it move too fast? Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. ;)TBC
