A/N: This drabble was written for Draco's Den as a part of the Roll A Drabble. This was from the month of September. My roll for that month was Mermaid and my MC has to hide said mermaid. The group is trying something new for roll a drabbles where the participants are allowed to choose their own pairings as long as a Slytherin is in the story!

Grammarly did my beta work, so any other errors you may find are my own.

I own nothing in this story except the little plot that I was able to come up with. It is based on a prompt that I found when searching for writing prompts on Pinterest.

Title: Not an Optical Illusion
Pairing: Ron Weasley/Pansy Parkinson, Ron Weasley & Harry Potter, Harry Potter & Pansy Parkinson
Rating: K
Summary: When Pansy came to him in a moment of trouble, Ron went to his best friend to try and find a solution.

Let me know what you think of this little drabble!

Love always,
~starr

The knock at the door was faint, and it was just by luck that Harry had even heard it. Rolling onto his side, he reached over to find his glasses on the bedside table before pushing himself up and getting off the bed. He made his way over to the door, yawning and stretching along the way.

As he reached the door, he turned the doorknob, opening the door just a small crack. Standing on the other side of the door was Ron, with a nervous look on his face. Harry sighed and opened the door the rest of the way. "Do you know what time it is?"

"We have a problem," Ron replied, carding a nervous hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow and leaning his head against the door.

"Just," Ron paused momentarily and looked back over his shoulder before returning his attention to Harry, "come with me. You won't believe me if I don't show you."

Hanging his head, Harry grabbed his robe and tied it around his waist for stepping out of his room. He motioned to Ron to lead the way in the hopes that he could soon return to sleep.

The pair made their way through the Burrow, and next thing Harry knew, he was being led outside in the middle of the night. A few thoughts passed through his mind, but he quickly pushed them aside. He needed to focus on whatever it was that Ron was leading him to so that he could get back to bed.

As they rounded the corner into the backyard, Ron stopped in the middle of his tracks and turned to face Harry. The nervous smile on his face meant that whatever it was that Harry needed to see was just in front of them.

"You have to promise that no matter what you see in a matter of moments, you won't get upset and start shouting," Ron whispered, placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Why are you whispering?" Harry asked, pressing up on his tiptoes to look over Ron's shoulders, and that's when he saw her.

"Because there's a mermaid in the swimming pool," Ron replied, hanging his head as he stepped aside, revealing the gorgeous creature sitting in a kiddie pool.

"A mermaid with exceptional hearing, I'll have you know," the creature replied.

Harry thought about it for a moment. That voice sounded awfully familiar. He took a few steps closer to get a better look at her. He studied her face for a few moments. "Pansy, is that you?"

Flipping her tail over the edge of the pool, Pansy rolled her eyes and nodded her head. "Yes, it's me, Potter. Who the hell else would it be?"

"It was just a simple question," Harry replied, holding his hands up in the air. "What happened to you?"

"What's it look like to you?" she hissed, flicking the ends of her tail up and down.

Nervously carding a hand through his hair, Harry wasn't sure how exactly he was supposed to respond. "Well, you look gorgeous."

Ron smacked Harry in the arm. "That's not the point."

"What am I doing out here then, Ron? She's your girlfriend," Harry said, rubbing his arm gently.

"I need help hiding her until we can get her some help," Ron insisted. "Can I borrow the invisibility cloak?"

"How is the invisibility cloak going to help in this situation?" Harry shouted.

"Shhhh!" Pansy and Ron hissed in unison.

"I told you not to shout," Ron replied. "It was the first thing that came to mind, so unless you have a better idea, I need to borrow that cloak.

Harry thought about it for a few moments and hung his head. He turned on his heel and made his way back to the Burrow in search of the cloak.

Pansy splashed some water in Ron's direction with a grin beaming from her face.

"What was that for?" Ron asked, leaning against the side of the pool.

Pansy made her way over beside him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "For being willing to help when I needed you most."

"You're sure it's not just an optical illusion, and I'm not wasting my time, right?" Ron replied, laughing and flinching before he felt her smack him.

"Definitely not," she hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just wait till I get my legs back, Weasley. Then you'll really be in trouble."