Pansy was standing at the bar when Percy walked in the next evening. She was talking to a man, and seemed to be doing everything in her power to seduce him. Percy frowned. Should he really accept her offer?
He turned to leave, but it was too late. "Percy!" she called suddenly. Percy turned begrudgingly, and saw her give the man some money. She walked up to him. She was wearing the same heels as the night before, with a short black skirt, and white blouse under her robes. "How are you?" she asked.
"Fine," he replied. He could see the man glaring at him over Pansy's shoulder.
"Good. Let's go and find somewhere to eat and we can discuss what we are going to do with you." What she was going to do with him? He had heard things from Ron before he had left home, and they didn't exactly give Pansy much of an innocence... but how much could he actually believe his brother and what he had said?
Pansy led him down a dark cobbled street and down two alleyways until they found a small restaurant named the 'Bloody Toad'. "Charming name," Percy muttered.
"The food isn't as bad as it sounds. It's cheap. Not that it makes much difference to me..." She laughed a laugh, which soon turned into a cough. "I'm sorry. A mild cold," she explained, taking his hand and leading him into the restaurant.
He followed her to a small booth as far away from the door as she could manage. "It should be easy to talk here," she told him. "So, our plan of action." He frowned at her.
"Plan of...action?" he questioned.
"Percy, I told you to meet you so that I could help you. You don't want to turn into one of us do you?"
"Who is this 'us' that you keep referring to?" he asked.
"Those who joined The Dark Lord. Those who escaped, leaving those they loved for dead. Those who turned their backs on Harry Potter. Us."
"And me," Percy mumbled with shame. He was surprised to see her shaking her head.
"Everyone gets a second chance. Don't you want yours? Don't you want to be welcomed home by the family you love so much? Don't you want to be able to look at your father and for him to say, 'sure. I'm proud of my Percy,'?"
"He's not though..." Percy said honestly.
"How do you know that? Have you ever asked him? Have you ever given him the slightest hint that you know of his presence?"
"I-I'm ashamed." She placed her hand over his reassuringly.
"Why?"
"Because... because I abandoned him. My whole family." He pulled his hand away. "You don't understand what it's like. I wanted to make something of myself. Be better than them."
"Better than your brothers?" He nodded. "I was at constant competition with my older sister Pricilla. She was tortured by the Dark Lord himself. I watched. And I laughed. It was fun to see her defeated, fun to be better than her... but leaving her like that made me a weak person. I ran away... and look at me now."
"You seem to have done alright for yourself though," Percy put in.
"Percy, you haven't heard what they call me behind my back. So hurtful... and yet, so true. But, enough of me. I had my choice to turn my back on this life, and I chose to stay like this. Percy, you have work tomorrow I assume?" He nodded. "I've had enough of your moping, it's almost pathetic. You Percy Weasley, are going to talk to your father."
He stared at her as though she'd gone mad. "Why are you helping me?" he questioned suddenly. She gave him a half smile and looked at him from under her eyelashes.
"Let's just say... I need to prove something. Believe me, this is not entirely selfless. Remember what you have to do." She smiled at him and slipped some coins into his chest pocket as she stood up. "Night."
Percy glared after her. A waitress came to collect the plates and Percy threw the money Pansy had left him on the table, and he ran after her. "Pansy!" he called.
"Can I help you sir?" A woman asked, playing with the buttons on his shirt.
"No. No, I don't think you can." Percy sighed and walked off towards the inn where he had slept the night before leaving the woman standing on the path.
"Miss Parkinson left you a message sir," the inn keeper told him just before Percy began walking up the stairs.
"And what was that?" asked Percy angrily.
"Good luck." Percy couldn't help but smile as he sat down on his bed. Good luck... the words echoed through his mind. Good luck indeed... he was going to need it.