Disclaimer: HP is not mine.

Chapter 13 – Filling Out The Dance Card

With renewed vigor and purpose, Pansy took the steps faster, unlocked her door, and stepped into her grand front hall. Shutting the door firmly behind her, she turned to rush up the stairs to continue the development of this new scheme when she bumped headlong into a solid body in her path. Surprised, she stepped back to take in the imposing figure standing before her.

"What the devil are you doing here?" she finally spat.

"Now Pansy dear, is that really any way to greet your oldest and dearest friend?" Draco snickered down at her.

"Please! What do you want?" she huffed in frustration as she quickly sidestepped her new guest and headed to the sitting room for a drink. She could tell by the malicious glint sparking in his steel grey eyes that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

"Who said I wanted anything? Can't I just visit a dear friend?" he offered in an overly innocent tone, following her into the next room at a leisurely pace.

"You really are becoming a dreadful actor, Draco. You'll have to do better than that." Pansy sighed before knocking back a shot of Firewhiskey to settle her nerves. This man always knew how to rattle her.

"I merely stopped by to extend you an invitation."

"Really?" Pansy giggled in disbelief. "How thoughtful. I'm not sure if I should feel honoured or not."

A slight frown worked its way over Draco's lips at her less than eager tone. She seemed amused but there was definitely something missing in her demeanor. The clingy schoolgirl he once knew was gone.

"Aren't you in the least bit interested?" Draco asked, becoming a little agitated.

"Yes, please tell me more, Draco darling." She tittered condescendingly as she situated herself on the settee.

The cruel sharpness was back in his eyes as he chose his words carefully. "Well, there's a Ministry gala Saturday for business owners. It's some kind of an awards banquet. So, are you up for an evening of my company?"

Pansy stared at him blankly. Percy hadn't uttered one word of this to her. A storm of questions suddenly thundered through her. Was he involved in the planning? Why hadn't he mentioned anything? Was he taking someone else? Did he keep it from her deliberately? She felt her heart begin to pound viciously in her chest.

When she didn't answer right away, a cruel smirk began to curl Draco's upper lip. He wasn't certain if Weasley had invited her or not, but the answer to that question was clear by her reaction.

"Pansy… darling, is everything all right?" he asked innocently.

"What? Yes… When did you say it was?" Pansy asked distractedly, her mind working in overdrive.

"This coming Saturday." Draco reconfirmed.

"And how long have you know about it?" she asked, putting the pieces together.

"A few weeks now." He answered, leading her to the conclusions he wanted her to make.

"I… I don't think I'll be able to accompany you." Pansy mumbled as she stood and moved over to the window.

"And why not?" Draco feigned hurt.

"Well… I…"

"You're not going with that tosser, are you?"

"Excuse me? Who exactly are you referring to?" She growled at him.

"Oh, you know who!" Draco huffed out melodramatically.

"No, I'm not going with him if you must know. I… I have other plans."

"Really? He didn't ask you? Wait! Does this mean you're no longer… how shall I put it… slumming it?" He asked, trying to control the laughter locking his chest.

"Augh!" She snapped at him in disgust. "Yes, I am still seeing him. In fact, I met his family today."

"Oh sweet Merlin, Pansy! You didn't actually go into that hovel, did you? Have you bathed yet?"

"I did… Go in, that is. And it's not a hovel." She amended quickly. "We had a lovely al fresco lunch in the garden, and I spent the day getting to know his family."

"And who was in attendance?" he asked, trying to seem nonchalant by keeping his eyes glued to the inspection of his nails.

She gave him a peculiar look, but answered regardless. "Percy's family, save for that crazy brother who has the obsession with dragons. I'm a little grateful though. I've heard some rather strange things about that one."

"His entire family? Anyone else?"

"What do you mean 'anyone else'? It was a family gathering. It was his parents, his sister and brothers, and their wives."

"Well the Weasel, and I do mean the youngest, hardly goes anywhere without the Mudblood and…"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Draco," she cut him off unceremoniously, "what is this fixation you have on Potter? Get over it. It was almost ten years ago. Yes, he was there. Are you satisfied? It really is quite sick how much you two love to hate each other. You can't even behave civilly in public. Embarrassing really."

Draco had paled considerably throughout her rant, and began to sputter. "I… I wasn't asking about him, you stupid bint. I… I wanted to know how serious it was between you and… How… You were there to meet the whole family… What are your intentions? You're not planning to marry the wanker, are you? He's a… a blood traitor."

"Oh really, Draco. That is so passé, and you know it."

"What would Daddy say?" he lobbed at her.

"What do you mean 'What would Daddy say'?" Pansy spat back.

"Well, I can't imagine that he knows you're consorting with a Weasley. I'm guessing he would find that little piece of information highly disturbing. He certainly wouldn't think it passé."

"My father is away on business." Pansy seethed.

"Convenient that," Draco tossed at her flippantly, "but he won't be away forever, will he? And when he does return, he's bound to find out who you've been… defiling yourself with."

"Are you threatening me, Draco?"

"No Pansy dear, I would never dream of doing such a thing. I'm just warning you… of the possible consequences of your actions. I haven't a doubt in my mind that he'd disown you if you even considered binding yourself to a blood traitor like Weasley."

Pansy's eyes grew wide as the horrifying realization settled on her, and she staggered back slightly at the sheer weight of it. She hadn't even considered the possibility. Her father wouldn't disown her, would he? He'd be angry, but she was his only child. He'd forgive her, wouldn't he? The Weasleys weren't that bad. She could show her father… convince him how nice they had been to her… well, for the most part.

Suddenly, Draco's voice cut through her mind's frantic spinning. "Goodnight, love. Please let me know what time I should be around to fetch you Saturday evening."

Pansy could only nod her head dumbly at him, and watch as he strutted from the room like some kind of maniacal rooster.

"Damn him!" she finally snapped.

Why was this happening to her? She'd only just realized what she wanted, and now she had to contend with Draco and her father. Not only that, but Percy himself seemed hell bent on keeping her at arms length. Why? Why was he pushing her away? And why hadn't he invited her to this Ministry gala? It would have been the ideal outing to advance the plan. As her partner, he should have jumped all over the opportunity.

Her mind began to prey upon her. Why hadn't he invited her? There were three possible explanations. In the deepest part of her, she hoped it was because he was in love with her and wanted her for himself. That he couldn't bear the thought of her with Draco, and so wanted no part of it. But that just didn't make sense in light of his recent comments. In his words, she was selfish and high maintenance.

No. A more likely scenario was that he had grown tired of her demands, and her pouting, and her temper tantrums. He was fed up with her and just wanted his reward. Pansy's heart sank. She didn't want to believe Percy was that cold. That he only cared about his compensation. She wanted him to want her… to want something other than her money.

The final explanation was one that she was loath to even give credence to, and yet it was there, feeding on her… egging her on. What if… What if he had met someone else? What if he was pushing for the plan to end so that he could get on with his life with this other woman? The thought made her sick, almost dizzy. She didn't want to acknowledge the viability of the unfortunate idea, but once the notion had taken root in her mind, she couldn't help but obsess over it.

Pansy took a drowning breath and let the air seep out of her in one long, low stream. In any case, she had to confront him. She had to learn his heart even if it meant knowing for sure that it belonged to someone else.

With some effort, Pansy stood and made her way out of the sitting room. Her pillow was going to be a cold comfort tonight.

----------

By the time Pansy made it to the Ministry the next morning, she'd worked herself into such a tizzy she was ready to take Percy's head off with a well-aimed sectumsempra. As the previous night wore on and sleep eluded her, Pansy's mind had conjured up a number of different scenarios, each more ridiculous than the one before.

Finally, sometime around four o'clock, she had slipped off only to have a jarring nightmare in which she was laying in a rather large bed beside Percy and that bitch Daphne Greengrass as they had loud, passionate sex. No matter what she did to try and draw their attention, they remained utterly focused on each other. Pansy had woken with a start truly shaken by the vivid images from her dream. So much so that she simply couldn't get herself back to sleep and finally dragged herself out of bed, realizing any attempts from that point on would be futile.

It was a combination of this graphic dream and her imagination's incredibly vivid creations that had her pounding down the hall toward Percy's office like a witch possessed.

Upon reaching his door, she threw it open with such force it bounced off the wall loudly and slammed behind her as she marched through. The bespectacled hag at the reception desk stared at her dumbfounded, but Pansy was not to be deterred.

"I don't give a flying fuck if he has meetings today, Phyllis. He is going to see me!" she announced in a high-pitched screech.

The older woman sat frozen for a moment, her mouth hanging open revealing a mouthful of stained, crooked teeth, but then she nodded slowly.

"Good." Pansy spouted, slightly allayed. "I'm glad we could achieve this understanding peacefully."

Phyllis said nothing but continued to gape at her, apparently stunned stupid.

"Well?" Pansy growled.

At this, the old witch scrambled to her feet, and scurried into the inner office. Not a minute later, she reappeared with a very unimpressed Percy behind her. Scampering off to her desk, Phyllis quickly pulled up her copy of 'Witch Weekly', and hid in the hopes of avoiding being caught in the crossfire of whatever massive battle was about to hit.

The two unwitting lovers glared at each other without flinching or wavering. For some strange reason, the rage firing dangerously in Pansy's eyes only caused Percy's ire to grow even hotter.

"Can I help you, Ms. Parkinson?" he offered shortly, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

Her eyes narrowed to slits and she clenched her small hands into fists. Quite suddenly, she stormed toward him menacingly but marched straight past into his office, nudging him aside none too gently as she went.

With an aggravated sigh, Percy shut the door behind him and turned to face her. "What is it now?" he huffed at her.

"Who is she?" Pansy snapped back in response.

"What?" In the back of his mind, Percy marveled at her unfailing ability to force him off his guard.

"Who is she?" she repeated steadily.

"Who is who?"

"You know who?"

"No, I don't." Percy railed.

"Don't play stupid." Pansy seethed.

"What the devil are you talking about, Pansy?"

"Don't you dare try and change the subject," she snapped, pointing her finger at him threateningly.

"How could I change the subject when I don't have the foggiest idea what you're referring to?"

"Who is she, Percy?" Pansy whined, and stomped her foot.

"Who is who, Pansy?"

"Is it Daphne? Please tell me it's not Daphne."

"What are you… Are you asking me… Is this…" Then it dawned on him what she was accusing him of. "Unbelievable. Are you actually asking me if I'm… I'm seeing someone else?"

"Well, are you?" Pansy volleyed at him, indignant.

"Pansy, that is none of your business."

"You are! How dare you! How dare you make me look like such a fool?" she railed, the tears pooling instantly in her eyes.

Recognizing that the woman in front of him was about to break down, Percy began to panic. "I didn't say that, Pansy. I simply said…"

"You said it wasn't my business. You completely avoided the question. That's a confirmation if ever I heard one. How could you?" she sobbed, leaving the tears to stream down her face unchecked.

"Pansy…" he tried to plead with her.

"We had an agreement… a contract, and now you're gallivanting around with some hussy behind my back, making me look utterly ridiculous." Like a child, Pansy swiped at her eyes with first her palm and then the back of her hand.

"I am doing nothing of the kind." Percy went ramrod straight, looking highly offended.

"Then who are you taking to the Ministry gala Saturday evening?" she countered angrily.

"What?" Percy became thoroughly confused with the unexpected turn in the conversation.

"You heard me." She shouted at him.

"I'm not taking anyone." He sputtered.

"Oh, you're not? Well you're not taking me. I wasn't even considered."

"No, I am not, and no, you were not." He forced out, clenching his fists so hard that he could feel the crescent shaped indents from his nails searing into his palms.

"And why not?" she barked haughtily.

He reeled back, finally reaching his breaking point. "Because I'm not permitted to." He shouted.

"What?"

"You heard me." He threw back at her.

"What? Why?" she whinged.

"Because, Ms. Parkinson, I'm one of the overseers of the event along with the other Deputy Minister, Niles Benton. I have to manage the evening and ensure that it runs smoothly. I won't have time to pay attention to a date let alone play a ridiculous game schemed up by some silly twit to snag a complete berk."

His biting words and tone brought a heavy silence to the room. The only sound for several long moments was his laboured breathing as he tried to regain his composure. Pansy stared at him in mortification, but he refused to meet her gaze. How could she have got it so wrong? She should have just asked him straight out why he wasn't taking her. But what was she to think? First he wanted to end things… the plan that is… and then she finds out he wasn't even going to tell her about this gala event.

Feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of her eyes, Percy bolted for the sanctity of his desk. He needed a barrier… a wall between them because she was seriously riding his patience and nerves. What did she want from him? He understood why she might have been put out regarding their contract and how seeing someone else might have been considered a breach. But did it really merit her breaking down into tears over the matter?

Throughout this mental harangue, Percy had sat down, forced his elbows onto the desktop, and proceeded to comb his fingers roughly through his hair in an aggressive course from front to back. After some harried passes, he finally settled his forehead into his hands, focusing on the documents littering his desk but unseeing of their actual content.

Pansy sniffled loudly as she eyed him in concern. Rarely had she seen him this hacked off. Gathering her courage, she slowly made her way around to his side of the desk. She could almost feel the waves of tension pouring off him as she neared. Once beside him, Pansy tentatively reached out and laced her fingers through a lock of ginger hair at the side of his head. He wrenched himself away immediately as if scalded by her touch, clasped his hands before himself, and pressed his lips into his whitening knuckles.

Hesitating slightly, Pansy swallowed down the growing lump in her throat at being so rebuffed and then dropped her hand to her side. She glanced about and then decided on another tactic – one that had always worked quite well on this particular man. Turning her back to the desk, she scooted closer to it and placed her hands on its edge. With a sudden burst of movement, she hopped up and sat herself on his desk. Pansy smirked devilishly and flipped her right high heel off her foot. Kicking her leg out in search of his, she slowly brushed her foot against his left shin, curled it around his leg, and idly began to stroke his calf with her toes.

At this unexpected and highly intimate contact, Percy snapped his eyes to her and gawked openly, stunned by her audacity. Averting his eyes quickly, he flushed a beautiful shade of red and cleared his throat nervously. When it became clear that he was going to continue to ignore her, Pansy clenched her jaw slightly in frustration.

Suddenly, a pert little smile started to tease at her lips, and she reached up and took hold of his right hand, bringing it down into her lap. "Percy," she purred through a soft pout, "I'm sorry. I… My imagination got the better of me."

In response, he sat back and away from her, and began to pull anxiously at his bottom lip, avoiding her gaze the entire time. Growing desolate, Pansy stayed her foot's play and let it fall away from him. Nothing was working… He wasn't responding to any of her ploys for his attention. Absently, she began to stroke his fingers with her right hand, exploring the smooth texture of his skin.

"Pansy, what are you doing?" he finally implored, unable to take much more of her touch.

"What? I like your hands," she answered feebly as she ran her fingers delicately over his knuckles, giving them her undivided attention. She was either unable or unwilling to meet his gaze.

That wasn't the intention of his question but in a way, her quiet, devout manner had answered him. She was clearly unhappy about something… she had started this stupid argument for some reason which remained a complete mystery to him.

In a rush of courage and need, Percy swiveled his chair toward her and nudged himself closer. Gently, he laid his left arm behind her on the desk and turned the palm of his captured hand up to still her hand's nervous dance.

"Pansy," he called to her softly, trying to draw her eyes to him. "Pansy, what is this really about? You can't possibly think that I would… that I've been seeing someone else. There's only you."

'Shite. Did I just say that?' Percy kicked himself inwardly for the slip.

Pansy brought her gaze up to meet his, searching his face for the truth in his words. Why was she so needy all of a sudden? She felt almost desperate. Seeing the nervous, yet genuine concern rolling in his eyes, Pansy quirked a small, shy smile. She took a deep breath but before she could answer him, his intercom crackled to life and the voice of his secretary came booming through. "Mr. Weasley, your ten o'clock has arrived."

"Thank you, Phyllis." He mumbled, as he leaned forward to glance at his scheduler.

Upon spotting the name neatly scrawled in the specified time slot, Percy's face fell instantly and went completely ashen. Not sensing the shift, Pansy reveled in the intimacy of being so close to him again and the comfort of knowing there was no one else but her.

Without warning, Percy tore his hand away from hers viciously and returned to his work, sending a chilling wall of indifference up between them. It barely masked the white, hot rage boiling just beneath the surface.

"How convenient." He muttered to himself, his eyes darting about as he tried to bring his anger under control.

'Of course she's not here to see me,' Percy mused darkly. 'This was just the next leg of her plan. To come here and play her stupid games... How did she know though?'

"Percy?" Pansy stuttered, deeply alarmed by the incredible change in him.

Ignoring her, Percy leaned forward and pressed the intercom button. "Please show the gentleman in, Phyllis."

Pansy's heart began to race. She had no idea what had just happened, but she knew it could not be good. As the door opened, she stood from her perch on his desk and turned to take in the new arrival. Once her eyes settled on the man standing in the doorway, the wild beating of her heart stopped cold as a dreadful understanding flooded her system.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy." Percy gritted out through clenched teeth, keeping his eyes down toward his work.

"Well hello, Mr. Weasley." Draco chirped happily upon spotting the two inhabitants of the room, getting over his surprise quickly. He was seriously dreading the meeting with the Weasel as he was woefully unprepared, but Pansy's presence could not have worked out more in his favour. "And Ms. Parkinson. This really is a fortunate pleasure, now isn't it? Have you decided when you'd like me to fetch you Saturday evening? Is half past seven good for you?"

Percy's quill stilled and his body went rigid, the heightened tension assaulting his lithe frame almost tangible. As Pansy stared daggers at her old childhood friend, she was very nearly ready to lunge across the desk and rip the victorious smirk clear off his face when Percy's steely voice interrupted her.

"If you both wouldn't mind saving the scheduling of your next encounter for another time, I would like to get on with Mr. Malfoy's application review. I don't have all day."

Pansy snapped her eyes down to Percy, but he refused to meet her gaze, opting instead to pore over the file before him making the odd note here and there. The only sign of his anger was the slight twitch of a muscle in his jaw and the deep red blush creeping slowly up his neck.

"Percy…" She pleaded.

"We're through, Ms. Parkinson. You can show yourself out." He answered her crisply without looking up.

She stared at him utterly gobsmacked. He couldn't possibly mean… After a full minute of gaping down at him unable to formulate a response, Pansy tore her eyes away and moved herself swiftly around his desk, tears stinging painfully in her eyes. She took several long strides toward the door with only the driving need to be anywhere but in that room flooding her mind. Before she was able to escape though, Draco's hand shot out and gripped her upper arm gently to stay her departure.

Pulling her closer, he whispered playfully. "You still haven't given me an answer, Pansy love."

Percy stood with a start, and barked. "Get your hands off her."

Thrown by the threatening tone, Draco looked over at Percy. "Weasley, this doesn't concern you." he snickered, trying to hide his discomfort at the possessive, raging jealousy playing so openly on the other man's face.

"This is my office. Either you adhere to my request, or you will find yourself in the company of two Aurors."

At this, Draco briefly glanced back to Pansy, looking for support. When he found nothing but a willful avoidance of eye contact, he returned his gaze to Percy and met his challenging glare full on. After a moment that seemed to hang in the air, Draco let go of Pansy's arm, cleared his throat uncomfortably, and pulled at the hem of his jacket to straighten his appearance.

Finally taking a breath, Percy cast his eyes about and shifted awkwardly on his feet, becoming all too aware of how he'd overstepped his bounds. What was he doing? He was making a complete fool of himself. Malfoy was right – this really wasn't any of his business, and she clearly wasn't hurt or even in distress. Staring down absently at the words dancing beneath his fingers, Percy slid his hands over the parchments before him and tried to sort through the jumbled thoughts in his head.

Pansy waited. Waited for him to continue. Waited for him to take the next step and claim her back. His outburst gave her reason to hope. If he just stood up to Draco and said… Suddenly, she heard him sit, and then came the words that nearly shattered her.

"Right… Right you are. Not my place. My apologies. Where were we? If you would please have a seat Mr. Malfoy." Percy managed, his voice quavering slightly.

Before Draco could even respond, Pansy answered coldly. "Half past seven will be fine, Draco. Good day, Mr. Weasley." And with that, she was gone.

After watching her leave, Draco brought his eyes back to the man behind the desk. The desperate look of heartache clouding Percy's eyes as he stared vacantly at the now closed door caused a sickening guilt to snake its way through Draco's chest. He knew that look. Understood it implicitly. The pain of loving someone you couldn't have and wouldn't ever deserve. He almost felt sorry for the poor sod.

Shaking himself of the weakness, Draco moved forward to occupy the seat across from Percy.

"Well, Weasley, you certainly know how to sweep a witch off her feet. The gala should be a right bit of fun though, shouldn't it?"

Percy's eyes shot over to him from the door, and he leveled him with a look that could melt steel. Without breaking the glare, Percy reached over and grabbed a file at his left.

"Let's begin, Mr. Malfoy. We only have an hour, and there is certainly a lot to discuss about your… interesting application."

Percy opened the file and stiffly began to flip through the documents, eyeing each one and snorting out his derision. Draco could not ignore the growing pit of dread in his stomach. Perhaps he should have waited until after their meeting to taunt the git.

A/N: Well, I finished "Deathly Hallows" in three days. I laughed, I cried... It was better than "Cats!".

IHeartMCR: LOL. Sorry, no make out session or babies for that matter. But soon... soon...

kalira: Oh, thank you. The angst in this will only be fluffy... Kind of like "angst-lite". That said though, there is more in store.

stoneofpurity: LMAO... Draco has some issues... lol.

Isosohungy: Please don't... that could get really messy. I'll try to be faster with the next chapter. I kind of got caught up with another book ;D

Nancy: Oh, I've so done that before. I'll try to update soon.

Avanell: That would be our dear, sweet Draco... lol. Pansy stopped listening after she heard Percy's harangue about her, so she didn't catch Ginny's come back.