Hey everyone! The first chapter of this story was brought to you by Beauty Therapy: Body Modifications assignment, Insane Prompt List, Hogwarts Bingo Party, and The House That Dobby Built on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Beauty Therapy: Body Modifications assignment: Task 9 - Write about someone being burned physically.

Insane Prompt List: 785. (Au) Fugitive

Hogwarts Bingo Party: B2 Harry/Pansy/Ron

The House That Dobby Built: (settings) Leaky Cauldron

Warning for Fugitive!AU and slight bit out of character. Also for mentions of character death. Plain italics are flashback while the underlined italics are the letter to Harry and Ron from Pansy. Word count is 2,691 words. I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of The Fugitive.

Pansy could hear her heart pounding in her ears and that was all. It felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath her and she was just falling. In all honesty, she shouldn't even be here. Washed up on some sandy shore across from the island prison of Azkaban.

She can recall the day she was told she was wanted for war crimes as clear as though it happened right this minute. With the clarity of events happening in the present the past washes over her like the waves do now.

"Pansy," Harry says in that way he has where he doesn't want to frighten her about something, "there is something important we need to discuss with you."

"What is so important it can't wait until after date night?" Pansy asks, a perfectly manicured eyebrow raising towards her dark hairline. "I planned this especially for the two of you and…"

She doesn't get the chance to say she wants to enjoy the date and them. She doesn't get a chance to hear what they want to discuss. The doors of the Leaky Cauldron fly open, almost off their hinges, and Aurors pour in.

"We told you to give us some time to make sure it's true," Ron says forcefully trying to fight his way to Pansy's side.

"You don't dictate when prisoners are taken, Auror Weasley," their boss, a graying man called Hops says. "Neither do you, Auror Potter. Especially not in this case."

"What's going on here?" Pansy asks, realizing that all eyes are on them. She is the center of attention like she always wanted to be. But she certainly never wanted to be the center of attention for this reason. "What have I done wrong?"

The patrons of the Leaky Cauldron begin to whisper amongst themselves. Each one guessing at what she might have done. Each one of the guesses being as wild as the first one. The guesses went from she broke into Gringotts to she was the new dark lord and they were stopping her before she could get started.

"What have I done?" Pansy demanded, folding her arms over her chest as firmly as she could with wizarding handcuffs on.

Hops sighs, and anyone listening could it was days like this he hated doing his job. After all, he didn't want to have to put this young woman into custody. He didn't want to take her to Azkaban but after the crimes that had been laid at her doorstep he had to.

"I'm not at liberty to say here," Hops tells her, making Pansy want to cry.

She doesn't cry but she wants to. She knows she has to stay strong. She's got to be the bigger person here and just allow herself to be taken. When she learns what they are arresting her for she can defend herself then. She just doesn't want to be seen as an aggressor in a room full of people who already look at her as such.

"Do you have to arrest her here?" Hannah Abbott asks curiously. "I...I…."

"I know," says Hops, "it's not good for business. I'm sorry about that Ms. Abbott."

Hannah looks like she's about to say something when Pansy is marched off. Pansy can hear Harry and Ron yelling after her.

"Don't worry," Harry's voice calls out, "we're right behind. We'll get you out of this in no time."

"Harry's right," Ron's voice is heard next.

There is scuffle and she can tell that they are both trying to fight their way towards her and the rapidly moving head Auror. But it doesn't matter. They don't make it in time anyway. Soon she's off to arraignment on some trumped charge or other.

Pansy groans as the sun beats down on her from above. She can feel the sand under and for a minute she forgets all her troubles. Just for a minute. Then she catches sight of someone down the beach pointing at her excitedly. Looking at a piece of paper that is lying nearby she understands why. It's a wanted poster. Not just any wanted poster. Her wanted poster.

Cursing mentally she pulls herself to her feet the image of her own shrieking face branded into her eyelids. She begins to stumble silently down the beach aways from the excitedly pointing person.

She knows this much she isn't going to be taken back to Azkaban. Not that she actually made it all the way there to begin with. She doesn't want to make it all the way there. A chill goes through as the memory of third year and the Dementors rear its ugly head.

"Where do I go?" she asks herself. "Where can I go that is safe and I won't be found?"

She walks and thinks. The silence filled her with more dread than seeing the wanted poster had. She knows she didn't do anything wrong. She wasn't that person any more and even when she was she hadn't participated in anything hardcore torture.

"Why is this happening to me?" she asks no one.

Looking down at her bound hands she sighs. She knows she has to find a way to get these binds off her and the only two people she can think of to do that are at work at the moment. Harry and Ron. They would know perfectly well how to get these cuffs off her and, of course, they'd want to find a way to regain Pansy's freedom.

"I'll go somewhere only they would think to find me," Pansy whispered to herself, "and wait for Harry and Ron. But where should I go where no one will see me?"

She wasn't walking long before it hit her. She could go to the Leaky Cauldron. Hannah Abbott had tried to speak up for her. Maybe Hannah would be willing to let her stay in the backroom and wait for Harry and Ron to get off work.

Convinced that this was the right idea she changed course and walked towards the Leaky Cauldron, making sure not to be spotted in her current state. She was pretty sure that if any Auror saw her she'd be sent right back to Azkaban for Merlin only knew what. They hadn't even asked her any questions, just deciding that she was guilty because her parents were exDeath Eaters.

Upon entering the Leaky Cauldron, she found that coming there was a mistake. Standing at the bar with his back to her was the lead investigator into whatever it was she was accused of. He was in the middle of a heated discussion with Hannah and Pansy knew it was probably about her or the case.

"She isn't here," Hannah snapped, surprising both herself and Pansy. "You can check the backroom all you want but Pansy Parkinson isn't in this building. I can assure you of that." Catching Pansy's eye while the lead investigator was talking to one of his men, Hannah nodded towards the stairs to the upper floor and rooms. "Now if you don't mind, I have a bar to run and patrons to calm down. They aren't used to having their meals and solitude interrupted by Aurors at this time of the day."

Pansy made her way quickly up the stairs when the Aurors turned to argue with Hannah. She quickly walked into one of the first open rooms she saw, she didn't want any of those Aurors downstairs coming up and seeing her. She didn't want to get Hannah in trouble after.

After a few minutes Pansy heard footsteps in the hallways, praying it wasn't Aurors she sneaked quietly to the door and opened.

Hannah folded her arms over her chest. "What did you do?" she asked in a serious tone of voice. "Why are the Aurors after you?"

Pansy shrugged. "I don't know," she said in concern. "They didn't tell me. They didn't even question me about anything. They just decided that I was guilty and sent me to Azkaban."

"Is there anyone you want me to contact for you?"

"Get a message to Harry and Ron, please." Pansy scribbled something down on a peice of parchment from the bedside table. "They will be able to find out why I'm being targeted and also be able to get me out of these."

Hannah nodded.

Pansy sighed as she left once more alone in the room. She wracked her mind for anything she could have done that would have on the Ministry of Magic's most wanted list. Everything she came up with was something she'd done when she young and stupid and didn't know any better. There had to be a reason. There just had to be.

"How do you think she escaped?" Jones, a dark skinned, dark haired, grey eyed witch asked Harry as they and Ron stood with the other Aurors in the office waiting to be briefed on the newest update. "Do you think she had help?"

"I don't…"

At this moment Head Auror Alerton stood up and made a noise for silence. He held up the wanted poster with Pansy's picture on it. "This is our fugitive," he said, silence falling over the Aurors in the room. "Pansy Parkinson. She's accused of the murder of one Lucius Malfoy, an ex-Death Eater turned to our side because he didn't want his family to suffer." A murmur of surprise went through the crowd of Aurors. "She went missing on transit to Azkaban prison 18 hours ago and has been on the run ever since. I want you all to keep your eyes open and ears the ground. We will catch this one and when we do, she will pay for what she has done."

Harry and Ron shared a look of horror. They hadn't been together with Pansy for long but they knew enough to know that Pansy wasn't a murderer. She hated the sight of dead people and she cried still sometimes at the thought that her parents were involved in killing people. That wasn't the action of a killer.

A loud tap sounded on the window and Harry spotted the owl from the Leaky Cauldron. Walking cautiously to the window he opened it and took a note tied to the owls leg. He opened the note slowly motioning Ron over to his side.

Harry and Ron,

I think I'm in some very big trouble. They wouldn't tell me what I was being accused of before sending me to Azkaban but I think I'm in some serious trouble. As you can probably tell I'm at the Leaky Cauldron trying to find a way to get out of the cuffs they put me in. Come as soon as you can, please. I need your help to figure out who is framing me and for what."

Pansy

Harry looked at Ron, and then down at the note, and then back up at Ron. At that moment they both knew that they had to help Pansy. She didn't even know what she was being accused of, let alone how bad things were looking for her. Harry walked over to his desk and took his set of cuff keys out of his drawer.

"Where do we think we're going?" Alerton asked walking over. "No one leaves the office until the fugitive is caught."

"One of my sources thinks he knows where Pansy Parkinson is," Ron said. "Me and Harry will just go out and have a quick chat with this guy and then we'll be right back."

"Those stay here." Alerton pointed towards the ring of keys in Harry's hand. He walked over and plucked them out of Harry's reach before the dark haired, green eyed Auror could get the keys he wanted off the ring. "Well, what are you waiting for? Off you go."

Harry and Ron walked out of the Ministry hearts in their stomachs. They were going to use the keys to free Pansy so she could find out who was framing her murder. But now they had to figure out a different way to get her out of the cuffs.

"Maybe we could use heat and melt the cuffs?" Ron suggested.

"But that could be dangerous," Harry sighed. "We'll give the suggestion to Pansy and if she agrees we'll do it. Alright?"

Ron nodded and they fell into silence as they walked towards the Leaky Cauldron, neither one wanting to be the one to tell Pansy she was framed for murder. But also knowing that they had to all the same.

Pansy stared in shock at Harry and Ron. She could still hear the words they just told her ringing in her ears. She had been accused of murdering Lucius Malfoy. She was wanted for the murder of her ex-boyfriend's father and her current boyfriends were supposed to hunt her down.

"You do know that I didn't do it, right?" Pansy asked, the shock coloring her voice. "I would never do something this vile." She saw Harry and Ron looking between each other as though speaking with their eyes. "What? Tell me I can take it."

"We believe," Harry said. "But that doesn't help you get out of those cuffs."

"I thought you were going to bring your set of cuff keys from work," Pansy said. "Or at least I was hoping you would."

"Harry was going to but Alerton took them from him," Ron sighed. "I had an idea while we were on our way here but its kind of risky."

"What is it?"

"Ron suggested we use heat to melt the cuffs off," Harry said. "Only if you want to, that is?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and gave Harry a haired look. Her blue grey eyes shining with terror of the unknown. "Of course I want to," she exclaimed. "I need to find out who is framing me for Lucius Malfoy's murder and clear my name."

Pansy watched as Harry trained his wand on one piece of the cuffs and Ron the other one. She didn't really understand why they couldn't just melt the chain apart and then go from there but maybe that was just her.

"Don't move," Harry instructed as he gently eased the heat source towards the cold metal around her wrist. "We'll have these off in a jiffy."

"What's a jiffy?" Pansy asked.

"It's a Muggle saying," Ron said, moving his heat source but not as carefully as Harry had done. He saw Pansy jerk away from the heat a moment too late.

"Ow!" she shrieked, as Ron's sharp movement caused Harry to burn her. Not only had Harry burned but Ron had too.

"Just sit still," Harry exclaimed. "I almost have it."

"Me too," Ron said.

A few minutes later the cuffs were on the floor in pieces. Pansy gently looked at her burned wrists wanting to cry. She couldn't go to a healer and get these fixed.

"I've something that could work on those burns," a voice said from the door. "But after you have her patched up, you'll have to leave. We don't want any trouble here."

"Alright, Neville," Harry said, taking the healing potion Neville had made from him. "Thank you, and Hannah, for everything you've done for us."

"What are friends for?" Neville walked out the door and left them in silence again.

Pansy gently took the potion from Harry and applied it to her burns. The cool, icy feel of the potions on her wounds making her sigh with relief. She knew she would have to care for her wounds while on the run and that would be a little difficult because she would run out of the potion sooner or later. But right now her top priority was clearing her name.

"Now where do we start on figuring out who is framing me for murder?" she asked looking from Harry to Ron, anger and confusion warring for dominance on her face. "But most of all, why would someone frame me for murder?" This was going to be a tiring stretch of time but she was sure they would make it through this. They would make it through stronger than they were before.

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of The Fugitive as much as I enjoyed writing it.