The next morning at breakfast, Ron miserably recounted last night's events to his friends.

'Just because you freaked out doesn't mean you're frigid Ron,' said Ginny, 'Everyone gets like that the first time, it's just that when you're with someone you care about then they can help you through it. You barely know Pansy so it must have been weird.'

'That doesn't help Ginny. I'm still a fucking virgin.'

'Well I'm glad you didn't so it,' said Herminie, who was practically beaming.

'Yeah I know you are Hermione, you don't have to keep going on about it. I'm so glad that you are revelling in my misery' Ron snapped at her and he got up and left the table.

Hermione hurried after him. 'I didn't mean it like that. I mean it like, I'm glad you didn't do it because someone better will come along for you.'

'Oh yeah? Like who?'

'Like me.'

Ron stopped walking and stared at her.

'You? You want t sleep with me'

Herminie blushed. 'Not just sleep with you. I really like you Ron. That's why I didn't want you to get with Pansy. It made me realise I was jealous because I want to be with you.'

'Wow, this it out of the blue.' said Ron.

'What do you say?' Hermione asked nervously.

'Well yeah, of course, I've always liked you, but you're so out of my league. Then you went out with Krum. I didn't know you were over him.'

'Well there's one condition to us going out.'

'Anything.'

'We're not going to sleep together for a month.'

'What? Why?'

'So that I know you really like me and don't just want a shag. I couldn't bear to be used by you so if you really like me and want to be with me then you'll do this.'

'Ok, I'll do it,' said Ron grinning.

Then he lean down and kissed her. Hermione giggled at how strange it felt to be kissing her best friend.

Ron snaked his hand down her wrist and clasped his fingers around hers and they walked to their next class hand in hand.

(x)

As Ron and Hermione's relationship went from strength to strength, Pansy and Draco's was deteriorating rapidly. They still hadn't gone on her promised date and Pansy patience was wearing thin.

'Look Draco,' she confronted him, 'when are we going to go on this date? You keep sleeping with me, promising me dates but we still haven't been on one. I know you've been ill a lot recently but this is getting silly. How can you to be too ill to take me out but not too ill to have sex?'

'Pansy, stop pestering me, we'll go out when the time is right, I promise.'

He shrugged her off and went back to his friends.

'You should just tell her you don't like her man,' said Goyle. 'I know she's a slut but it's pretty low leading her on like that.

'Hey I'm not leading her on, you lot have all slept with her too.'

'Yeah but she's not in love with us. You promise her dates and stuff in return for sex.'

'Well she'll soon get the picture. I'm planning on asking Sasha that hot fourth year out.'

'Well maybe you should talk it through with Pansy first. She'll be cut up if she just see's you two together.'

'What's with you Goyle?' Malfoy spat, 'why are you so concerned about Pansy's welfare all of a sudden?' but without waiting for an answer he went to talk to Sasha.

'Hi sash,' he said pulling her away from her friends slightly.

'Oh hi Draco, what's up?' She asked.

'Well I just came over here to tell you that I'll be taking you out tonight.'

'Oh right, yeah great.' She blushed.

'I'll meet you down here at half past eight.'

'Alright, yeah see you then.' And she turned back to her friend with a self satisfied smirk on her face.

Later on that evening Pansy approached Malfoy in the common room.

'Do you fancy going out tonight Draco?' She asked.

'Nope, I'm busy tonight.'

'Oh, what are you doing?'

'I'm going for a drink and then a meal in Hogsmeade.'

'Well I can come to that, your friends won't mind.'

'No you can't, you'd be a gooseberry there's only two of us going.'

'I don't mind. Crabbe and Goyle both now me, I wouldn't feel left out, go on.'

'It's not Crabbe or Goyle.'

'Blaise then.'

'It's not Blaise.'

Pansy looked puzzled. 'Well then who?'

'Her name's Sasha, and here she is now.'

Sasha had just walked down the stairs from her dormitory dressed in her best muggle clothing. She wore a black denim skirt with thick black tights with woolly black boots. On her top she had a thin moss green cashmere sweater with a long black coat over the top. She was pulling on a hat, gloves and a scarf as she approached her date who was standing with a girl that was glaring at her furiously.

'You ready?' she asked Draco, who nodded and took her arm, leading her away from Pansy.

Pansy watched them retreat out of the common room, anger and sadness battling for strongest emotion inside her. Knowing that she was about to cry she ran up to her dormitory, not wanting her classmates to see her vulnerability. She burst into tears as soon as she hit her bed. Draco had been the only boy she'd ever properly cared about, maybe even loved and he had not only gone out with someone else but paraded the fact around to make her jealous.

Before she had a chance to stem her flow of tears Blaise entered the room.

'Are you alright?' He asked, standing in the doorway.

'I'm fine, leave me alone Zambini,' she muttered in return.

'What Draco did to you was out of order but don't let it get to you. He's not worth it. I know he's my mate but he's a user.'

'I said get out Blaise, I don't want to talk about it!' Pansy snapped.

'I'm not leaving, you're upset.'

'Well if you're not leaving then I am,' she said, grabbing her coat and scarf from her trunk. She brushed forcefully past Blaise, who didn't try to stop her, and hurried through the common room and out into the dungeons without looking at anyone.

She raced through the castle, her anger coursing through her veins, and pushed her way out into the darkness. It was freezing outside and snow was falling heavily on the already thick blanket that coated the grass. She quickly pulled on her coat, fastening it tightly around her body, and wound her scarf around her throat.

She waded through the snow, shivering furiously against the bitter chill, her head bowed against the wind. She had ceased crying but the icy blizzard made tears stream down her face and she could only imagine what a state she looked.

Eventually she made it into Hogsmeade and she decided to go to the Hogs Head, knowing that Draco and Sasha were likely to be in the Three broomsticks. She sighed at the warm blast of air that hit her as she entered the grimy pub. The barman started grumbling at the cold she had brought in and the snow that was falling off her clothes onto the floor, but she ignored him and ordered a large firewhisky, straight up.

She took her drink to a table in the corner of the room and stared around at the other customers. The bad weather had evidently kept most of the custom away as the bar was almost completely empty save for a few unsavoury looking men playing poker in a corner.

Pansy swallowed her drink in one, wincing as the hot liquid burned its way down her throat. She sucked in air through her teeth as she finally felt the drink hit her empty stomach. She signalled to the barman, who had been watching her intently, and he brought her another of the same.

Soon she was feeling distinctly light headed and dizzy and a small collection of empty glasses littered her solitary table. She turned her head as a cold chill signalled someone entering the pub, but it took her intoxicated eyes a few seconds to focus on who it was. It turned out to be Harry, Ron and Hermione who had decided to go for and evening drink. Wanting to be somewhere quiet they chose the Hogs Head. They all ordered drinks and sat at a table not too far from Pansy's.

'She looks upset doesn't she,' said Harry jerking his head in Pansy's direction.

'Don't look at her!' Ron said as Hermione started to turn her head inconspicuously.

'Maybe you should just talk to her, then you wouldn't have to hide every time we see her in the corridor, it's getting kind of tiring,' said Hermione, looking seriously at Ron.

'No way. I humiliated me and her, there's no way I can talk to her again. Look, can we just go to the Three broomsticks instead?'

'No,' said Harry, 'we've got our drinks and I'm not moving. Don't let her rule your life.'

Ron sighed into his drink. Soon they were talking animatedly about quidditch. Even Hermione was excited about the upcoming match, so they were discussing it in minute detail. Ron listened to them talk but didn't contribute and soon he found himself tuning out altogether. He was watching Pansy, who had started crying. She was nursing a drink and sniffing quietly. Suddenly she looked up and caught Ron's eye. They both looked away immediately, embarrassed.

'What's up Ron? You haven't spoken in ages,' said Hermione.

'Nothing, I'm fine. I'm gonna get more drinks, you guys want one?'

His friends nodded and Ron approached the bar, casting a few sideways glances at Pansy. The fifth time he made such a look pansy caught his eye again. Evidently she had been watching him too.

He took the drinks from the bar man back to his table and set them before his friends but didn't sit down.

'You know what, I think you're right. I need to talk to Pansy,' he said, and walked over to the table at which she was sitting.

'Can I sit down?' he asked gesturing to the empty seat.

'Why would you want to do that?' Pansy asked, more aggressively than she had intended.

'Because we need to talk,' Ron said, sitting down without her permission. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.'

'Oh come off it. You're practically bawling.'

'Even if there was something wrong why the hell would I tell you? You don't even know me.'

'I'm not saying tell me your life story, I just though maybe you just needed someone to talk to.'

'Well I don't. Why are you even here?'

'Like I said, we need to talk about the other night.'

'What's to talk about? You wanted me because I'm easy but then bottled out because you, like the rest of the student population, find me repulsive.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Don't deny it. Everyone thinks it. I'm just the ugly slut that people sleep with because I'm an easy lay but no one wants to get to know, no one wants to go out with, no one even wants to be friends with.'

'Don't be stupid, you're not ugly and you've got plenty of friends.'

'Like who? I'll save you the trouble Ron, no one likes me and you're just another guy on the list of boys that used me. Don't bother apologising.'

'Well I want to apologise, that's what I came over for. Actually I came to say sorry for messing you about and not going through with it. But I didn't think you thought it was because I thought you were ugly. It definitely wasn't that! I think you're one of the hottest girls in school, it was just something Hermione said to me-'

'Oh right yeah, Hermione who happens to be your girlfriend now. Look, I don't want to hear your excuses because I don't care. I don't know you and I don't want to know you. Guys have done much worse to me that walk out during sex, trust me. You're forgiven and forgotten, you can go now.'

'But I don't want to go. People have done worse things to you than what I did?'

'Forget I said that, it's none of your business.'

'Pansy, have people been hurting you?'

'Drop it.'

'No! I that why you're upset tonight? What happened? Was it something to do with Malfoy?'

'Don't talk to me about-' but before she could finish her sentence she had resolved into a fresh round of sobs.

Ron awkwardly looked around. He wasn't used to girls crying in his presence and he didn't exactly know what to do. He looked desperately over at Hermione who mimed putting her arm around an invisible person sitting next to her. Catching on, Ron put his arm around Pansy's shoulders and pulled her close to him so that her head rested on his shoulder.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you,' he said.

'Y-you didn't,' Pansy cried, 'He's just such and asshole! I've been sleeping with him for months, giving him everything he wanted, even when I didn't want it. He's been promising me dates and everything and never following through and then today…'

But she couldn't continue through crying. Ron shushed her as she tried to speak and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

Pansy cried for a long time into Ron's t-shirt but eventually softened into the occasional sniff and sob.

'He's not worth it,' Ron said, seeing that she had calmed down.

'What would you know?'

'I know he's a dickhead that's made mine and my friend's lives a misery at times. I don't know exactly what he did to you and I don't expect you t tell me, but it was obviously bad for you to be this upset so he's not worth it. I think you've had a lot to drink and maybe its best if I get you back up to the castle.'

'You don't know what's best for me,' she snapped, pushing him off her.

'Pansy-'

'No! Leave me alone, I'm going to have another drink!'

'No, you're plastered already, this isn't helping.'

'It's helping me. Leave me alone.'

Ron tried to prise the drink the bar man had just brought her out of her hand and it sloshed onto his lap.

'You idiot!' she shrieked, 'you spilled my last drink, now I have no money!'

'Well that's a good thing!' said Ron, brushing the excess whiskey from his trousers.

He signalled to Harry and Hermione who came over and helped him lift the struggling Pansy to her feet. They wrapped her in her coat and scarf and pulled her out of the pub and back to the castle. As they reached the castle they saw two Slytherin boys who said they'd make sure Pansy got to bed ok so they left her with them.

'What was up with her?' Hermione asked when they were finally back in Gryffindor tower.

'She's just having a few problems,' said Ron.

'Like?' asked Harry.

'Just boy troubles I guess. She forgave me for running out on her at any rate so at least I can look at her again, that is until she starts hating me for ruining her night tonight.'

You did the right thing Ron,' said Hermione, curling her arm around his waist, 'who knows what she would have done if you hadn't stopped her drinking.'

Ron shrugged. 'I'm going to bed.'

Harry nodded, 'me too.'

They all got up and headed towards their respective dormitories, but just as Harry got out of earshot Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and whispered in his ear, 'three weeks left.' To which Ron smiled his first smile since they left for Hogsmeade.