A/N: Disclaimer, no money, etc. Finally getting the ball rolling on this fic, whee!

Stained Glass Visions

Part Two: Beginning

A week after the incident on the Quidditch pitch, Draco, Vincent and Gregory approached Pansy in the common room and beckoned her to follow them. With Draco in the lead, she and the other boys followed him out and down into the castle depths. Draco finally stopped deep in the dungeons, in a seemingly unobtrusive dark corridor. To an outsider, Draco Malfoy would have looked perfectly calm. But to Pansy, who knew him well, he looked positively ruffled. That was when she realized… it was finally beginning.

"The Dark Lord has need of us," he told the three clustered around him. He grabbed Vincent and Gregory's hands with one of his own, and in the other he caught up Pansy's hand. With a deep intake of breathe, he slapped their hands against the stone wall next to them. Pansy's world abruptly tilted sideways and she felt herself falling or rising, she wasn't sure which. The gut-wrenching sensation behind her navel told her that she was caught up in a portkey—a very roughly cast portkey by the feel of things.

After a long moment Pansy opened her eyes and found herself and the three boys sprawled out on the dirt. Shafts of dim sunlight fell about them, and Pansy realized that they were in a forest—the Forbidden Forest, most likely. Rough wood dug into her back and Pansy realized that the tree behind her must be the other portkey back to the castle. Blinking, Draco stood up and waited for the others to follow suit. Once they were all standing, he led them to a small clearing, where a man dressed in black robes awaited them. A hood was raised over his head so that his face was thrown in deep shadow. Pansy squinted, trying to figure out who was under the hood.

The man began to speak without preamble. "In a few months our project should be in full swing. One of our operations will be executed at the school." He nodded at the small group. "You'll be contacted with more details when the plan becomes more concrete. The Dark Lord has not yet determined how large a part you will play in the operation. So for now, be aware, and await further orders," he finished, and Pansy recognized that he was dismissing them. She turned and walked back to the tree, the others following behind her. Again. that wrenching feeling—then they tumbled back out into the corridor.

Pansy left without saying a word.

…

Professor Sprout was blathering on about something in Herbology, but Pansy couldn't bring herself to pay attention. She just didn't see the point. Why bother learning about plant life, why bother trying to get good notes, when it was all going to come crashing down in a few months, anyway? She gritted her teeth together in an effort not to scream, to tell all of her stupid classmates what was going to happen. Pansy was in an advanced class for Herbology—she couldn't remember why at the moment—so of course most of her classmates were Hufflepuffs. Warm, fuzzy, stupid-happy Hufflepuffs, with their families and their values and their love—Pansy felt bitter tears rising in her eyes and was aghast. She knew it was bad when she was getting jealous of the Huffles.

She cradled her head in her arms and tried to block everything out. Suddenly there was movement around her—she glanced up, confused. Everyone was pairing off for something, and she had no idea what was going on. Someone placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. Pansy looked up, trying not to shiver at the contact. It was the blonde girl—Abbott.

Looking very unsure of herself, she asked, "Do you need a partner?"

Pansy slowly nodded. "I…missed most of the lesson, though," she whispered as she and Abbott walked to an open station. "I'm afraid I don't know what to do."

"That's okay…I remember." Abbott smiled at her, and Pansy's mouth twitched in response.

They worked mostly in silence, with Abbott occassionally directing her. Pansy began to relax, to slip into the work, and she then remembered why she was taking Herbology. It had exactly this affect on her.

Near the end of class Abbott turned toward her. "When… did you want to get together to finish it?" she asked.

Pansy blinked at her, nonplussed. "What?"

"Oh. It's a long-term project…we have to write a paper and do research on further applicaple properties."

"It doesn't matter," Pansy said, again feeling that nihilism crash down around her.

"Is Saturday okay? In the library—after dinner?"
"Sure."

Abbott studied her, and Pansy grew uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. See you Saturday, Ms. Abbott," Pansy snapped gathering her things and almost, but not quite, rushing out the door.

…

Saturday rolled around, and after dinner Hannah gathered her things and went to the library. She found an empty table and sat down. For some reason, her stomach was full of butterflies.

Pansy showed up not long after she did, and the two got to work. Mostly, they were doing research. Occasionally, when Hannah came across something interesting, she'd share it with Pansy, who surprisingly seemed quite interested. Soon the two were engaged in deep conversation about the ethical uses of powdered unicorn horn, and what alternative ingredients produced similar effects.

"You really have a good eye for alternatives," Hannah remarked at one point.

"…thanks." Pansy said, caught off guard

"Are you going to go into herbs or potions after Hogwarts?"

After Hogwarts…Pansy resisted the urge to laugh wildly. Something in her face must have changed because Hannah's brow furrowed.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?"

Pansy blinked, and looked up into Hannah's face. "I…"

Hannah placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. Pansy shrugged it off violently, suddenly angry. "Goddamn Hufflepuffs! You're so fucking touchy-feely! It's none of your business."

Hannah's face crumpled. Oh God, thought Pansy, don't tell me she's gonna start crying. But she didn't. "I—sorry." she said, gathering up her things. "I think I better go."

Pansy swallowed a sigh, and watched the blonde Hufflepuff walk away.

TBC

thank you to: smeagol's preciousss, lynntownsend, and arimel for your reviews. Every little bit of encouragement helps coughhint-to-the-rest-of-you-out-therecough

RainShadow