The Courtship (?) of Pansy Parkinson
It was cold sitting by the window of the Parkinson house, with the winter wind blowing hard against the house. The family had been forced to move to a smaller abode when most of their fortune and property, that could be traced back to the Dark Lord's followers, was confiscated after the war as reparations for their allegiance to several of the Death Eater families. The patronage money from the high-born families had dried up, and her father had not saved much, trying to live up to the life-style of his patrons. The fact that Clifford Parkinson had not taken the dark mark, and that their allegiances were from long-term family alliances, rather than from active support of the Dark Lord and his agenda, had probably saved them from total destitution. Due to the tight finances, the house was kept colder that she would like, and so Pansy was wrapped in a heavy blanket as she surveyed the sky.
Pansy had sat on the bench in the bay window every morning for the last couple of months, always expecting an owl from Harry Potter, and so far, being disappointed. She had laid out a fairly concise plan pointing out how it would be to his benefit to form an alliance with her, either in a business sense or perhaps even a connubial one. He had seemed impressed with her logic, but she had heard nothing from him. It had been three months, and the only news she had received was a notice in the Daily Prophet that the 'Man-Who-Conquered' had become engaged to Ginevra Weasley, who was to become Lady Potter. There had been a note in the tabloid rag, The Quibbler, announcing the betrothal as well, with the reporter (Luna Lovegood, herself) mentioning the hope that Ginny would not be so selfish as not to share Harry with certain deserving witches. There was a rumour that Luna had shared Harry's bed a few times since she graduated from Hogwarts (Harry having never returned to school after the Battle), but there was nothing in general knowledge indicating anything permanent on that front.
Pansy knew that, due to a bizarre accident of fate, Ginny could not refuse to share Harry, as he was required by the Law of Marriage to have two 'official' wives, and a number of concubines. At their meeting in the fall, Pansy had essentially propositioned Harry, offering herself as a candidate for a business position, as a concubine, or as an official wife. She had pointed out that with the ancient and Noble Houses, the official wife was seldom a party to a love-match, but was generally part of a political or financial alliance between the families. The concubines were typically where the love was to be found.
As the daughter of an Ancient House (although not as noble as some claimed to be), Pansy had always known that her body was an instrument of family alliances and policies, and the use of it (political or otherwise) was not really hers to decide. If the family decided that she would be party to a loveless marriage, that was the way the world worked in her branch of society. She hoped for something better, but knew that 'better' was not always how the world worked. Lately, 'better' was a fleeting fantasy.
As an official wife, Pansy would be expected to produce heirs to the family, while as a concubine, her children would be of a second level in the rights of succession but the position would allow her more freedom of action. In either role, she would be expected to produce numerous offspring, as the law affecting Harry was intended to restock the wizarding population depleted in the wars with Lord Voldemort (seemingly all on his own, as the Wizengamot did not seem to be applying it to any other wizard). There was some evidence that certain pure-blood families, who had profited from the late and unlamented Lord Voldemort's reign of terror, were pushing measures through the Wizengamot to, as much as any other effect, make Harry Potter's life a dirty joke to the rest of society.
The young witch was quite sure that she knew how to find out who was behind these moves, and how to counteract them. However, by herself, she had neither the resources nor the need to pursue these matters. If the alliance with Harry took place, one way or another, she would have both. She was also sure that Harry Potter would not tolerate such treatment for long, and so she continued to hope.
Hope was something that had been a rare commodity since the fall of the Dark Lord and the disgrace of so many of the families with whom she was on familiar terms. Most had been Slytherin classmates or dorm-mates, and many of them were from families of Death Eaters. Her family's original plan was for her to become the next Lady Malfoy, but the conviction of her classmate and lover Draco, the permanent imprisonment of his father, and the collapse into madness of his mother, put a definite end to that future. Because of her closeness to the Malfoys and other Death Eater children (Death Nibblers, or Death Dummy-suckers, as the bad jokes now called them), few people would have anything to do with her. Her current prospects were grim, unless Harry Potter came through with at least something.
Pansy thought her eyes must be getting tired, or there was just something blowing in the cold wind besides snow, as there seemed to be a dark spot visible against the grey clouds. The spot rapidly got larger, and Pansy soon realized that it was an owl approaching. It had been so long since she had received a message from anyone, and she seldom watch owls arrive – at Hogwarts, the owls appeared in the great hall during breakfast, and were just right there, and not growing from a distance spot to a large brown bird that she saw swooping up to her window. She cast a brief warming spell so that she could open the bay window without losing all the heat from the room, and let the owl in. She took the small scroll of parchment from the pouch on its leg.
She had a small bit of her breakfast egg left on her plate, which she offered to the owl, having no meat immediately available to repay the creature. The owl accepted this, although it appeared rather disgruntled by the meagre tidbit. Contrary to Pansy's expectations, the bird remained at the window, indicating that a reply was expected, and soon.
The young woman opened the scroll, and read:
To: Ms Pansy Parkinson
Pursuant to our meeting of September, last, I am interested in pursuing further discussions with yourself and my advisors. If these discussions are successful, I would be prepared to offer you a position on my staff as 'Confidential Advisor on Societal Affairs'. If you are interested in such a future relationship, please reply at your earliest convenience. The owl bearing this message will wait for your response.
If it is convenient to your schedule, I suggest the meeting be held Saturday next at 2 PM, in the private meeting room above the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. I have reserved the room in hope of your acceptance of this invitation.
If you wish to take more than a day to reply, please let the owl out daily to hunt. I do not expect you to provide the bird with sustenance.
Harry J Potter
Lord Potter and Lord Black
Pansy laughed bitterly at this message. Either Harry was maturing and developing a wicked sense of humour, or else he missed the implications of the old line of offering a 'position on his staff'. She wondered what kind of 'affairs' he had in mind. She also wondered how many sets of eyes had reviewed this letter before it was sent, and who the other advisors would be. Most of Harry's circle of friends and confidants had absolutely no reason to trust her, and several probably hated her guts, if they were even that discriminating as to what parts of her body they hated.
Given her presentation of her underwear to Harry at their previous meeting, she suspected that he was well aware of the double entendre. If so, this indicated that he was willing to show his sense of humour to her. This was another promising sign (as was their original meeting) that there was a possible human connection, and not just a relationship defined by hatred.
Pansy knew that Harry was doubtlessly aware that her 'schedule' consisted solely of wondering when the family's food supply and heat would run out, and she would have the option of deciding whether to starve to death or to freeze first. Given that she had little option whether to accept the offer or not, and given their earlier meeting where she was the one to broach the topic of further association, he could certainly expect her to agree.
Pansy was impressed that, given his presumed knowledge of her dire straits, Harry had written a courteous and business-like letter, as he might have written a similar letter to a respected professional person. If nothing else, the letter indicated the Harry respected her abilities, as he seemed to offering a very senior role in his life (at least for the present).
She was also impressed that Harry expressed concern for the well-being of the owl which carried the message, and specified that she need not be responsible for feeding it. This also indicated even more clearly that he was aware of her situation, and did not wish to impose on her limited resources. It appeared that Harry only hurt people he meant to hurt, and she was apparently not on that list.
At the very least, Pansy expected the meeting to be a bit rough, given their history of mutual antagonism. She could expect a demand for a vow of loyalty, if she was going to be a confidential advisor, as this implied that she would have access to some of the most intimate and private aspects of Harry's life and dealings with wizarding society. This was going to require some thought as to how much free will she was willing to give up. It also required some thought as to whether she was really giving up anything, or going to gain a huge step up in the world.
She quickly pulled out a piece of parchment and quill, and wrote a short note agreeing to the meeting at the time and place stated. She politely thanked Harry for his tentative offer, and, with a bit of a twinkle in her eyes as she wrote, said she looked forward to being on his staff. She imagined that Ginny Weasley (at least) would also read her letter, and if Harry didn't get the implications, Ginny certainly would. She imagined Harry's puzzlement as Ginny broke down laughing, and then explaining the joke to him. However, if he did understand the reference, he would definitely remember that her offers at their previous meeting had been quite explicit.
She found a small bit of meat in the ice-box (as an old pure-blood family, the Parkinsons had not accepted muggle technology like refrigerators), and offered it to the owl as she inserted her note into its message sack. The owl nodded its head to her, indicating its appreciation for this additional food, and took off on its return journey.
Pansy, being a clever young woman who would want to appear at her best, immediately considered what she would wear to the meeting. She could expect Ginny Weasley and Hermione (Weasley now, having just married Ron) to be at the meeting, as well as Ron Weasley who had an innate mistrust of all Slytherins. If she dressed in Slytherin colours, she would immediately antagonise them, and if she dressed too 'sexy', she would annoy the women who would suspect (in part correctly) that she was trying to seduce Harry. If she dressed in Gryffindor colours of scarlet and gold, they would suspect her of trying to suck up to them all, and mistrust her even more than they already did.
She decided that a grey skirt suit with a pale green blouse would be just the right combination, as the grey and green would be a subtle reference to the Slytherin colours of black and forest green, thereby stating that she recognised that her background was not theirs and she knew it and was not denying it, but the muted shades would be an indication that she had moved away from the in-your-face stance of her previous life. This combination would declare that she knew who she had been, but those days were past.
If Harry didn't understand the symbolism of her choice of costume, the women of the group of advisors certainly would.
On the appointed day, Pansy floo'd over to The Three Broomsticks in Hogmeade, where she and other student had spent many carefree weekends in what seemed several lifetimes ago. The proprietrix asked her what she would care for to drink or eat, and indicated that the catering had been arranged by Lord Potter and that there would be no charge to Pansy. Pansy was directed to climb the stairs to the upstairs room, and that the refreshments would be brought up – if she wished only pumpkin juice, butterbeer or that strange muggle concoction coffee, all three were already provided in the room above, and there were sandwiches as well.
Pansy knocked on the door, and was bid to enter. She moved into the room, and Harry Potter stood to take her travelling cloak and hang it up. Pansy noticed that there were some powerful illusion charms in place in the room, indicating a number of people present but unseen at the moment. She could see Ginny Weasley, Ron and Hermione Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.
Harry looked at Pansy and said "I must first tell you that I intend to discuss some confidential information with you during this meeting. I must therefore ask if you would be willing to agree to a memory modification spell, if we do not agree to terms."
Pansy had been thinking over the likely agenda of the meeting for a couple of days, and knew that as a 'confidential advisor', she would have to be party to Harry's closest secrets, so she was well prepared for this demand. She was also sure that, if she did not agree to this condition, she would not find out who the other persons were whose identities needed to be hidden unless she agreed, the meeting would end, and she would return to her desperate situation with no hope of any future as far as Harry was concerned. She agreed to the condition.
Harry gestured with his wand and called out "Finite Incantatem". The air in the room shimmered and four more people appeared, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, a middle-aged couple who looked a lot like Ron and Ginny, and a tall black man.
He gestured to the group in the room, and asked if she needed any introductions. Most of the people, she knew from Hogwarts, but was introduced to Arthur and Molly Weasley, and to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic. Pansy was stunned at the presence of Shacklebolt, as his attendance indicated that the meeting was to be very important for wizarding society, and that Harry had some very powerful friends.
Harry gestured for Pansy to sit, and offered her some refreshments. She indicated that the hostess was bringing her order up shortly.
Harry started "Pansy, thank you for coming to this meeting. The things you told me last September raised some very important issues for me, personal, social and political, which you are well placed to assist me with. I have been thinking a lot about the things we discussed, and I have had serious discussions with these people and others."
Your social position in the wizarding world is very different than my own, as you pointed out, and you have insights into the social workings of our world that are going to be important to me and my family in the future. Lord Longbottom is also of a high-born family, and has provided me with some insight into the workings of society. Are you willing to assist me in furthering my understanding of my role in the wizarding world, and how I am to function as the Head of two Houses?"
Pansy nodded "As I indicated last September, I would be happy to do so. I believe that I can help you with some of the finer details of the rather nasty social world we inhabit."
Harry continued "Some of the information I will be looking for may require revealing things which will not to the advantage of some of your previous acquaintances. In particular, I am concerned with old families who have been conspiring against the lives of me personally and of my associates. I gathered from your statements at our earlier meeting that this would not be a problem for you. Is this still your position?"
Harry was asking her to possibly betray old friends, or old family relations. Pansy thought this over, and knew the 'old friends' that he was concerned about had been trying to kill him (or at least aiding the conspiracies to do so) for most of his life. She also knew that these 'old friends' would betray her at the drop of a hat, if their own interests called for it. Her declaration that she was willing to turn Harry over to Voldemort was done based on her knowledge that Voldemort and his followers would be just as happy killing her as not, if not more. Many of them had betrayed her already, and she felt no loyalty to them.
Pansy announced that she still held that opinion. She also stated that she knew, in agreeing to possibly betray one set of people, she was opening herself up to the charge that she was unworthy of any trust, and she wished to lay that suspicion (looking at the scowl on Ron Weasley's face) to rest at once. She offered to take a vow of loyalty to the Houses of Potter and Black, and to make it an Unbreakable Vow! Inwardly, she smiled at the gasps from many in the room, as such a vow would cause her death if she ever broke it.
Harry and Hermione looked at her with narrowed eyes, as they contemplated this declaration. Harry looked around the room, and focused on Luna Lovegood, who smiled and nodded. One of Luna's talents was the ability to see emotions, and she could see that Pansy was being honest, if somewhat frightened, but also hopeful. Luna looked back at Harry and nodded. Others in the room nodded as well. Even Ron appeared satisfied with this resolution.
Harry said "Very well. How would you go about determining who and how such conspiracies were taking place?"
Pansy thought for a moment. She had just been handed a blank cheque to find things out, and to set up what, in her own mind, from that point on she would call 'Harry's Spies'. She said "As I indicated when we last met, I have an extensive circle of old family acquaintances and schoolmates, with their own extensive circles of acquaintances. I would like to hire some of them to assist in gathering information, and analysing the data. They do not all need to know what the purpose of the information gathering is. From my school days, I know most of the families who were on the inside of the Death Eater operations, even if they did not take the Dark Mark themselves. I know who were their client families, and who their connections were."
"Further, I know many families that, although they seemed to be connected to the dark forces, mostly because their children were in Slytherin house (nodding to Ron), but who were not affiliated with the dark side. I believe that they would appreciate the opportunity to clear their names in the eyes of the world. I am one of them"
Harry nodded again. He looked over at Shacklebolt, and said "Minister?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt stood. Pansy had not realised how tall he was, as he was at least a metre taller than herself.
"Miss Parkinson, you are doubtlessly aware that the Ministry of Magic has been rife with corruption under my predecessors. Several Death Eater families and their associates have either been in influential positions, or buying off those who were. Some of the information you would be gathering may help us, how shall I put it, 'clean house'. Would this be a program with which you could be in sympathy?"
Pansy nodded "Yes I could. The corruption in our society has caused a lot of grief to many people. Personally, I was a pawn to the machinations of that corrupt society. I went along, as it seemed to be the only way to advance. I would be very much happier to make my way in the world through my own abilities and personality, rather than just by who I slept with or had to bribe in other ways."
The Minister continued, "Very good. If you and Lord Potter agreed to associate, I suspect that a lot of the information which is of interest to him personally will also be of interest to me. I do not know if you were aware of an organization which was working for the downfall of Lord Voldemort and his minions, but many in this room were, if not full members, at least in league with this society."
Pansy nodded. "There was a rumour floating around in Slytherin about a group of what they called blood-traitors, which seemed to mean that they didn't support Voldemort or the Malfoy's pure blood agenda. Sort of a grown-up version of the Dumbledore's Army club that Harry and his friends had. 'The Firebird Club', or something like that."
Shacklebolt smiled "Something like that. Did you have any idea who belonged to the 'Firebird Club'?" Kingsley obviously enjoyed the incorrect name.
Pansy said, "Well, it was kind of obvious that Dumbledore had to be one of the important members. I suspected Professor Moody, and Mr and Mrs Weasley, as well as Professor Lupin. There were some others whose names I didn't catch, like Professor Lupin's girlfriend with the weird hair." This admission came as a shock to some in the room, as they had thought that Tonks' activities had been well concealed, including her relationship with Remus. "The kids didn't seem to be involved directly, as they had their own club since Umbridge came to Hogwarts."
Kingsley said "Did you every reveal these suspicions to Draco Malfoy or the others of his set?"
Pansy shook her head. "No."
Kingsley asked "Why not?"
The young woman thought for a moment. "Partly because people were starting to die around us, and I was disgusted by what Umbridge was getting away with. Advancing your political power was one thing; that's the way the game is played. But torturing students and lying to her superiors (and I use that term is all of its senses) was unforgivable. I didn't know whether she was sleeping with the Minister, or just knew where all the bodies were buried, or had copies of the receipts for all his bribe, but she had an awful lot of pull with the Ministry."
"Second, by that time, I was very disillusioned with the whole program and its people. Draco had been telling everyone in Slytherin how important and smart and brave he and his father were, but they had to know that the Weasley's were somehow involved in going after them and their friends – how could they not, when Mr Weasley was leading raids with the hit wizards on Malfoy holdings every two months. As I said, people were getting hurt, and the oh-so-brave-and-important leaders only attacked helpless muggles, and unsuspecting and innocent squibs. If they weren't brave enough to attack the primary targets, or intelligent enough to figure out who their enemies really were, I wasn't very keen to help them."
Kingsley nodded, and looked over at Harry, who looked over to Luna and the rest. Harry smiled and nodded as well.
Kingsley continued. "Anyway, since Harry relieved us of our primary objective, it is now the function of the organization to cleanse our society of the influence of these people. You may know that Mr Weasley here was in the department devoted to stopping the misuse of muggle artefacts. Part of his work was seeking out those who were mistreating and murdering muggles. He, and others, found that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was being hampered in its operation by the corruption of high officials, who officials were ordering the investigations of certain high-caste families be dropped, and certain events were not to be looked at from a view of determining criminal activities. It is my intent that this situation must be stopped. Would this be an issue for you?"
Pansy smiled and said "Only to the extent that I would like to help."
Kingsley nodded and looked at Harry. "Lord Potter?"
Harry looked around the room. The others in the room nodded their agreement. Harry looked at Pansy and said "Pansy Parkinson, I would like to offer you the position of "Confidential Advisor on Societal Affairs'. How would you wish to conduct your functions in this office?"
Pansy thought for a moment about the offer and its implications. She looked at Harry and then said, "Given what you have told me, I think I will need an office with room for a staff of at least ten people. I will need a legal advisor, secretarial staff and analysts for the data collected. I will also need investigative staff, as I will not be able to conduct all the studies myself. I will also need frequent and direct contact with you, should I find any critical information. I assume that I will also need a liaison officer with the Ministry, same reason."
"The location of the office should be in a secure location, not in the Ministry nor any of the Potter or Black residences, with strong wards to prevent unwanted intrusions – I suspect that there will be those who will not appreciate my efforts. It will also need secure floo connections to your houses to allow for urgent meetings when necessary."
"And Harry, I would like to set up a fashion house."
Harry's eyes widened. "Why would you want to do something like that?"
Pansy smiled "It would serve a two-fold purpose. First and most important as a function of my work, a good fashion house would attract women of the high-born houses, who may be privy to information we seek. When women are shopping for clothes, they tend to gossip, particularly when they are only wearing their underwear while trying on clothing. This may be a fruitful source of knowledge."
"Second, and this is more of a personal item, there are a number of our classmates who were members of the sewing and fashion club, as was I, and who have been having a hard time of it since school. Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis were in Slytherin with me, and as I told you, their families kept well out of the whole Dark Lord club. However, they were from Slytherin, and therefore suspect to a lot of our society following the battle. Tracey and Lavender Brown, one of yours from Gryffindor house, were the most talented dressmakers and designers in the club, and Daphne was interested in a career in modelling. Lavender has been working as an apprentice at Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley since graduation, but Daphne and Tracey had not been able to get work, at least under their own names. Personally, I would like to see them succeed, and maybe be a good source for our investigations. Might even be a good investment."
Harry looked a bit surprised at this turn of events. He smiled, and then looked at Ginny and Luna, who both smiled and nodded. They had discussed this possibility.
Harry turned back to Pansy and said "Pansy, you have demonstrated that you have the cunning that we talked about, but also kindness. I value such kindness highly. Therefore, I would like to modify my offer of employment."
Pansy looked stunned and a bit worried. How could asking to help some old school friends affect her future? Was Harry going to rescind the offer?
Harry said, "Pansy, I still offer you the position as confidential advisor, and I will accept your vow of loyalty. However, I would like to extend another offer as well."
"Pansy, you indicated that, between the high Houses, marriages were a way of cementing political alliances, as much or more than they are love matches. Would you be able to persuade your father, as Head of the House of Parkinson, to such an alliance on that basis?"
Pansy's heart leapt – it had happened! She had already discussed this possibility with her father, who had been keen to ally his house to the Potter-Black families, as this would largely restore his position in society. The tentative offer of 'confidential advisor' could have been construed as including pillow talk. She said, "I have spoken with my father on the topic of allying our house to your houses, in light of your tentative offer. He was willing to take your lead in political areas, and would welcome such an alliance."
Harry stood up, and walked over to where Pansy was sitting. He knelt on one knee and took her hands in his.
"In that case, Pansy, will you please marry me? If you accept, you will become the Lady of the Ancient and Noble House of Black."