Part One | Strike the Match
Eleven. Nonverbal If You Have To
Pansy awoke the next morning with a start, although what caused her to wake was a mystery. Rolling over, she observed the small carriage-style alarm clock on her bedside table, which revealed the time was currently fifteen minutes past six, over a whole hour earlier than she'd actually set the alarm for, and, she realised with a start, a whole fifteen hours since she'd taken herself upstairs to bed. Pansy turned back and sunk her head into her pillows even though she knew she had no hope of getting any more sleep; her thoughts were already too loud, too worrisome, and too downright disturbing to enable any of the quiet calm she knew she would require to doze off, not that she'd need it, considering the amount of time she'd just spent unconscious. Nonetheless, Pansy closed her eyes and stared into the nothingness present behind her eyelids.
She knew roughly what her day entailed, having skimmed her timetable briefly the previous night. Just as Draco had aforementioned, Muggle Studies was printed in the first slot, followed by another free period before break.
Should probably use that time to come up with some sort of Prefect schedule… probably should have had that done already.
After hoisting herself out of bed, Pansy wearily made her way to the opposite wall, where a sink stood accompanied by a mirror hanging on the wall above the taps. Examining her reflection, Pansy was met by her bright green locks and rolled her eyes at the sight. Her even paler than usual complexion, coupled with some unexpected dark shadows currently taking up residence under her green eyes - which sported an unflattering puffiness - were the only evidence of the fact that Pansy had ended up crying herself to sleep. Well, this won't do for the keeping up of any pretence.
A few short days ago, at the feast she'd all but completely broke down and thoroughly lost all of her cool composure that she knew was critical to her fulfilling the role she'd had thrust, albeit unwillingly, upon her, she knew a repeat performance would be suspicious at best, downright dangerous at worst. At this point, the role was integral to her survival. Her father could no longer be thought of with any of her previous trust, which, scarce as it had been, at least had existed in some respect. And Rabastan - the thought of whom still sent an unintentional shiver down her spine, as fleeting as her past meetings with him had been, was not just a Death Eater, not in the same way her father now was, but unhinged and incredibly dangerous He was, she believed, a trusted member of the Dark Lord's inner circle. He'd served time in Azkaban for his devotion to his leader and was an abominable reminder of the world she now existed in.
A world that's gone to shit.
She looked back at her reflection once more, grimacing at the shade of her hair, remembering the night only last week, where Daphne had ended up hiding in a sink of all places. Pansy's grimace changed into a smile as she thought of her best friend, and found her thoughts veering to Millicent, Blaise, Theo, and then Draco.
There are still some things not shit in the world…
...like Longbottom.
Pansy squeezed her eyes closed, willing herself to stop thinking about Neville Longbottom, which, if anything, only ingrained the image of those blue-
...almost impossibly blue…
-eyes and unbelievably handsome features-
...like that jawline...
-deeper in her mind.
She sighed in an almost annoyed fashion. She hadn't the faintest idea why Neville Longbottom had an unrelinquishing hold upon her consciousness, and it frustrated her, further, to realise he had somehow managed to achieve this before saying more than two words to her alone. Actively shaking herself, Pansy concentrated on mentally and physically readying herself for the day that stretched before her. And certainly not on thoughts of a certain Gryffindor.
Now grateful for the extra hour, Pansy busied herself by showering, gladly finding that Winky had somehow unpacked all of hers and Draco's toiletries in the bathroom. In fact, as she made her way back upstairs towards her bedroom, passing a sleepy-looking Draco, Pansy actually found herself feeling closer to herself since she had arrived back at the castle, and despite the impending Muggle Studies class most likely ensuring that this newfound confidence would be short-lived, Pansy managed to embrace it. She carefully applied her makeup just so, and magically helping her now damp hair to get entirely dry, before Glamouring it back to black and applying some Sleek-Eazy's so it fell, a sleek carpet of night, down her back. Selecting a freshly laundered uniform, a much shorter-than-necessary skirt and the pair of black shoes that donned the highest heels, Attaching her Head Girl badge, Pansy threw her bag over her shoulder and stepped back to examine as much of her appearance as she could in the above-sink mirror. I got this.
"I got this," she repeated, aloud this time.
"Good for you," her mirror replied.
As she descended the stairs she could hear a faint rustling coming from the living area, indicating that Draco was beyond the door. Throwing it open, her eyes rushed the room and quickly located him, his head turning towards her as she entered. His body was stooped as he closed his bag and picked it up from its previous position on the armchair, not taking his eyes off Pansy as he did so.
"Morning," he said, elongating the 'o' of the word, as he brazenly looked her up and down.
Too bad it isn't for you, anymore.
"Put your tongue back in your mouth, loser. Let's get breakfast." And with that, she strode past Draco and vacated their living quarters, a smug smile accompanied the small exhale of breath and a small shake of her head as she realised just how simply the egotistically male part of Draco's brain worked.
"Well, it's about time!" Daphne was stating, as they prepared to leave breakfast. The only notable incident at the mealtime being Theo somehow managing to launch a number of croissants some fifteen feet in the air over a number of student's heads.
They landed somehow, despite Theo's insistence that he'd utilised no magical assistance, on the plates of a number of female students, the furthest away being Parvati Patil, at Gryffindor, and the closest being a surprised looking Millicent, who Pansy watched with interest as a blush appeared on her cheeks as she took a small bite of the croissant.
"That's not the only thing you can put in your mouth, Mills," Theo said with a wink.
The group emitted a collective groan at Theo's words, to which Pansy shook her head, Blaise ventured, "Mate, you are grim." Draco choked on his coffee, and Daphne declared Theo the most disgusting human she'd ever met.
"Hey, Greengrass, you know you never complained last year..." Theo began, laughing as Daphne exhaled loudly from her nose, her eyes ablaze with indignation. It was Blaise, however, that defused the situation in one swift comment of, "Enough, Theo." His deep voice, whilst calm, was lined with a threat that he had no need to say aloud.
"Alright, alright. You know I was only messing!"
"Bite me," Daphne snapped
"I have- Ah! Ow! Okay, okay!" Theo's initial retort had apparently earned him a stinging hex from the end of Blaise's wand.
"Thanks." Daphne smiled sweetly at Blaise
"More than happy to exercise any excuse to hex this fucker," Blaise replied with a smirk and a jerk of his left elbow towards a decidedly grumpier looking Theo, which earned him a solid echo of laughter from Pansy, Daphne, and Draco.
As he stood, Pansy noticed simultaneously a quick flick of Millicent's wand to her left, and a shocked screech from Theo, who was now staring, eyes wide, at Millicent, his palms clutching his buttocks.
Pansy's face turned, impressed, to face Millicent, who raised her eyebrows as her eyes scrutinised Theo. "Not you as well," he grumbled, "and after I gave you a croissant."
Millicent shrugged. "You gave twenty other girls a croissant," she pointed out.
She's not wrong there.
"Yours was the nicest." Theo feigned a pout and looked, to Pansy's amusement, momentarily crestfallen as Millicent turned away from him and began to walk down the hall.
"Maybe next time," Pansy murmured to Theo, "try giving her the only croissant."
"Huh," Theo replied, his brows knitting together as he clearly pondered Pansy's words. She watched as Theo's line of sight moved past her, to the still visible view of Millicent, now some ten feet in front of them.
Daphne shot Pansy a wide smile. "It's about time!"
"What is?"
"That we're finally in a class together, of course!"
"Oh right, yeah. Just wish it wasn't Muggle Studies with the Carrow bint."
Daphne snorted. "Ugh! I know! You look hot today, by the way, for anyone's benefit? You wanting to get down and dirty with Mister Malfoy again?"
"Thanks, so do you!"
"Don't ignore me, Parkinson!"
"I think it's on the third floor." Pansy steered them to the right, into the already busy swarm alighting the grand staircase.
"Change the subject, much?" Daphne's eyebrows were so high they were almost blended into her actual hair.
"Ugh! Fine! I'm fighting a deep-seated urge to impress the absolute shit out of Neville Longbottom. Yesterday, I had some serious visuals going on about running my tongue over his jaw."
Daphne burst out laughing. "You're hilarious, you know that? Well, when you eventually want to confess that you are trying to entice Draco...or whoever, into some more freaky frik-frak, let me know."
Oh, Daphne...if only you knew I just did.
Pansy and Daphne were amongst the first to arrive at Muggle Studies. The door was locked, and the pair found themselves standing in the corridor alongside Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. The rest of the Slytherins arrived behind Pansy and Daphne, along with Finnegan and...Longbottom. The absence of Potter, Weasley, and Granger, along with, Pansy realised with a surprise, Dean Thomas, was more abhorrent than before as she was finally forced face to face with the seventh-year Gryffindors, or, perhaps more accurately, the lack of a few well known seventh-year Gryffindors.
Pansy felt her palms begin to sweat. She clasped Daphne's arm in hers and focussed on her breathing. I got this, she reminded herself, wishing she believed her thoughts.
The classroom door slowly opened, and a black-clad Alecto Carrow stepped forward, a twisted, sinister smile etched on her face. Pansy took a deep breath, fixing her metaphorical mask in place once more and attempted to channel the confidence she'd felt as she left the her bedroom. She looked Alecto up and down, allowing the woman to see her doing so despite the fact that, just like Rabastan, Alecto had served time in Azkaban. Unlike Rabastan, however, Pansy realised she felt very little fear when facing the woman in front of her.
Good grief, are you wearing a corset to teach a class?
Smirking, Pansy walked, still arm in arm with Daphne, around Alecto and entered the classroom. Or it would seem, more accurately; A fucking shrine to Death Eater Propaganda.
Bloody hell.
There were posters and lists covering every inch of the walls of the classroom, most were simply duplicated in order to cover the whole space, and a few were enlarged, their derogatory slogans blazoning from all angles. Pansy looked around at her peers; Daphne's eyes were round as saucers, her free hand clasped over her mouth. Draco showed neither shock nor horror, though his eyebrows were raised slightly. Pansy had heard Theo mutter a strained, "Bloody hell," when they first walked through the door, and Blaise was watching Daphne, his hand resting on her shoulder as he exchanged a small smile with Pansy. Millicent had stopped next to Theo and was scrutinising their surroundings with a frown, and Crabbe and Goyle, alone in the newfound delight present upon their faces, exchanged a look of pure glee at the sight. Fucking idiots.
Before she'd had a chance to think further, Pansy's eyes had, entirely of their own volition she was certain, sought out Neville, who was wearing a look of outright disgust as he looked around the classroom. Pansy didn't know how long she watched him for but found her eyes somehow, suddenly locked with his, as he averted his gaze from the propaganda and, in a single second, had found her face. His look had shifted to one of surprise as he blinked at the witch, who, even if a fire had broken out beneath her, didn't know whether she could have broken their gaze.
"Right, find a seat. It's time to begin."
And then they both did look away, just like that. She saw, this time from the corner of her eye, him walk to take a seat near Finnegan, and she took the chair that she had already been behind. Bringing her gaze to the front of the room, she felt Daphne's own eyes upon her side, and glancing towards the blonde Daphne hissed, "Holy shit, you were telling the truth!"
"Errrr…"
Oh fuck.
Pansy's panic-stricken thoughts were interrupted by a book settling itself on her desk. Looking down, a large, red title read 'My Undertaking'. The cover also featured a hooded figure atop a hill of, on closer inspection, what turned out to be skulls. Lovely. A second item landed on top of the book; this time a small booklet of parchment, entitled 'Muggles: A Study of the Subhuman Populace.' Well, this is worse than I thought.
Using her wand, whilst struggling to keep a look of contempt from her face, Pansy opened her booklet. A contents page came second and reading some of the topics she was now apparently expected to study, Pansy wished she hadn't eaten quite so big a breakfast. Parts of various descriptions jumped out at her sporadically from the page: ...main differences between the superior Wizardkind… ...dangers Muggles pose to a Pureblood Society… ...why mating with Muggles… Oh, for fuck's sake.
"So, boys and girls," Pansy started at Alecto's piercing tone, momentarily forgetting she was somehow supposed to be taught by the dimwitted Death Eater, who was looking around the room with a decidedly happy look thrust upon her face. "this is the first of the mandatory-"
Merlin, you know a four syllable word.
"-lesson in Muggle Studies." Giving off the impression that the very word Muggle actually caused a bad taste to materialise in her mouth, Alecto looked from face to face, drifting past the Slytherins and resting her look to Seamus Finnigan and Neville. "Well, you two don't look very interested in this class." She spoke high, in a sing-song way that Pansy knew was solely in place to goad the two Gryffindors.
"Interested?" Spat Neville, and Pansy found herself straightening in her chair. "No, we aren't interested."
Alecto's face twisted, a sinister spark appeared behind her eyes as she smiled wider, and without blinking, pointed her wand at Neville. "Crucio!"
Pansy watched, horror stricken, as Neville crashed from his chair, his body convulsing in what Pansy could only assume was bouts of excruciating pain. He fell, in what felt like slow motion, to the floor. And, as chance would have it, due to the fact he'd been sitting diagonally backwards from her, he fell so close to her she could have touched his head with her shoe. Pansy reached for her own wand, unable to clear her mind enough to realise the magnitude of her action as his eyes found hers once more, riddled with such an obvious pain that almost choked Pansy's very core. A hand, two hands, perhaps more, were suddenly upon Pansy's wand arm, preventing her from bring her wand up.
"Pans, you can't." She heard Draco hiss in her ear.
What? How did he get there?
"Nonverbal if you have to. Don't let her know it's you." Draco's voice was barely a whisper, but was smooth and controlled in her ear.
Suddenly, Pansy realised the classroom was abuzz; Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were both screaming. Finnegan had been thrown to the back wall with, what appeared to be, an incredibly strong disarming charm, much stronger than Pansy had witnessed previously, when he'd stood to defend Neville The Slytherins were sitting absolutely still with the exception of Draco, who was at Pansy's side, still clutching her wand arm. Pansy, had her eyes still locked with Neville's, though he was finding it harder to keep her gaze as his eyes were forced shut on a more frequent basis due to the bouts of Alecto's curse radiating through him,
Nonverbal if you have to. Draco's words repeated themselves back at her and, nodding slowly, focussing as hard as she could and as clear as she was able, breaking her long-lasting gaze from Neville's just long enough to glare at Alecto and think 'STUPEFY!'
At once it seemed many things happened, but the fact that Neville stopped convulsing was all Pansy found herself able to register.
Alecto herself was knocked backwards and was momentarily unconscious, though with nowhere near the ferocity that Finnegan had been thrown. Finnegan himself was just now slowly getting to his feet.
The female Carrow stood up from the floor, a pointed glare on her face as she looked at each student in turn. "I'm going to find out who did that," her face once more twisting into the smile she'd worn before cursing Neville. Pansy, all alarm forgotten, and, whilst risking a few chance glances at Neville, who had settled back in his seat and seemed to be writing something, very quickly, flicked her wand slightly and thought, as clearly as she was able, Scourgify. The spell cleaned the underside of her desk and when Alecto forced every wand in the room to reveal its last given spell, a howl of annoyance erupted from her pasty face as none of the wands showed a Stupefy.
"Class dismissed!" Alecto said through gritted teeth. Pansy allowed herself another quick glance at Neville, who she realised with a stifled gasp was already watching her. His blue, yet somehow warm eyes seemed to be speaking a thousand words just to her. As she looked, she watched him bend down, fiddle with his shoelace, and then, so quickly she could easily have missed it, Neville place his hand in the front pocket of her bag.
Um, excuse me?
He then stood, turned as quickly as he could, and followed Finnegan out the door without a backwards glance.
"Come on, Pans!" Pansy heard a strained Daphne say from behind her, and she obliged, as they then strode the length of the room and exited their first, cut very short, Muggle Studies class.
"Well, fuck me! That was eventful!" But Pansy's barely heard Theo's words. "Let's go see this pair's cosy new setup." even when his arm draped over her shoulder, her thoughts were entirely somewhere else.
"Sure, it's fuck ugly though, isn't it Pans?" Draco answered, and Pansy gave a non-committal 'MmHmm' in response. Still not paying the rest of the group much attention, Pansy was drawn to her bag, specifically the front pocket. Her fingers closed around a small scrap of parchment, which, after making sure the others were all busy in conversation, Pansy brought the parchment close to her face.
Two words were scribbled, hurriedly, upon the scrap.
Thank you.