Bravery and Cunning

I don't own 'Harry Potter'

"Hey!"

The crowding students looked up and were suddenly looking smug as he approached, and Harry couldn't help but want to pull a Snape and sneer at them.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"We're just telling her the truth, Potter."

Harry pinned them with a glare. "And what truth is that?"

"That she's nothing but a cowardly traitor."

He noticed out the corner of his eye as Parkinson flinched slightly, as though struck physically. His stomach clenched as she kept her eyes on the ground.

This wasn't Pansy Parkinson. Pansy Parkinson was prim and proper, bursting with confidence as she stalked the halls. She should be throwing snide and sarcastic comments at people and fluttering her eyelashes at someone like Malfoy, not standing in silence as people verbally tore her apart. The submissive stance to her was wrong, and Harry couldn't help but feel unsettled by the image.

He noticed the boys snicker at Parkinson and he breathed in deeply before he did something stupid. Like hex them.

"Oh really? Please, do explain how someone who tried to fix everything for their own family is a 'cowardly traitor'. How putting yourself in a situation where people are likely to turn on you all for the sake of trying to end things is the action of a cowardly person. While you're at it, why don't you elaborate on what it was you did exactly for the past few years while this world went to shit."

Apparently his words were sinking in and the idiots were staring at him with fear as they backed away slowly.

"You have no right to stand there and judge her while I bet you did nothing for any side of that despicable war. Did you fight? Did you tell your families about the danger? Did you even try to make a difference either way?

"Newsflash arseholes, we were in a civil war and the truth is that nobody wins in a war. I will gladly stand here and say that Miss Parkinson was extremely brave when she tried to hand me over to Voldemort 'cause she knew that people would turn on her for it, but she still went ahead and tried to finish things with the least bloodshed possible.

"I know damn well she wasn't the only person who thought about turning me over, but she was the only one who had the balls to stand up and actually say what she was thinking.

"So no, she's not a 'cowardly traitor'. If anything you're the cowardly ones for attacking her in an abandoned corridor."

The morons paled rapidly and stammered out apologies before they fled with as much composure as they could manage.

"Why?"

Harry turned back to the girl and noticed for the first time that her eyes were more hazel than brown, with a few flecks of green. He'd always thought of her as 'pug-faced' but puberty had been kind, lengthening her face so her features weren't so cramped, though her nose was still a little upturned. It was kind of cute.

He considered her question. He knew it was strange for Harry Potter, stereotypical Gryffindor to rush in and protect a 'slimy' snake, but being made to fight in a war really put things into perspective. The House rivalries didn't accomplish anything and it just seemed so childish now. He'd killed someone, what did he care what colour someone's uniform was?

"Honestly Parkinson? I'm tired of all this crap, excuse my language. We're teenagers, but we were made to fight when the adults should have handled things. Our childhood were basically ruined because of a mad man, and I really can't be bothered to keep up with a school rivalry that does nothing but make me even more tired."

He looked her in the eye. "And before you ask, no, I don't blame you for trying to hand me over to Voldemort. Nobody wants to admit it, but sacrificing one person so everyone else lives is a depressingly tempting scenario."

Her lips wobbled before a wary smile found its way to her mouth. "That's rather analytical and cunning for a Gryffindor, Potter."

Harry grinned, enjoying the light in her eyes grow. It made her very pretty. "Can I tell you a secret?"

She nodded cautiously.

"I was supposed to be in Slytherin."

Her eyes widened and she gaped, the overall image so innocent that he couldn't help but laugh, doubling over with the force of it.

He straightened up to see a determined expression on her face and quieted.

"I suppose if you can be cunning I can be brave."

Before he could question her she strode over to him and grabbed his face, pulling him down into a firm kiss. Her lips were soft, but she wasn't passive in the slightest. Especially as she'd already invaded his mouth with her tongue. It was a million times better than his other experiences, and she was very much an active participant, if not outright in charge. Which definitely wasn't something he'd ever considered but found he enjoyed immensely.

He held her waist gently as she pulled back, a mixture of resolve and hesitation in her eyes. It was breathtaking to see something so human on her face.

"Brave indeed," he smiled. "Since it's lunchtime, would you do me the honour of joining me in the kitchens for some food, Miss Parkinson?"

She snorted and grabbed his hand, all but dragging him along. "I've just had my tongue in your mouth, the least you could do is call be by my first name, Harry."

"Pansy."

He smirked. Apparently coming back to Hogwarts for another year was a good idea.

A/N: Hello people! I'll admit, I never really liked Pansy in the books, but I think we've all established that Harry wasn't the most observant narrator in canon (Bless him lol). I've read a couple Harry/Pansy fics, and I think it's cool to see someone like Pansy developed in different ways

Let me know what you think :)