A/N: Pansy has given up on expecting anything resembling normalcy in her life. She went from being an Alpha within her own house to sleeping on dungeon floors, punching Gryffindors and shagging just to keep the sadness away. Most surprising of all, Hermione Granger has her back.

September 10, 1996 (late evening)

In the end, Potter got the last laugh.

The unbelievable prick never came back.

Pansy, fuming though still rational, continued to work alone as the hours ticked by, well past the time she realized her moronic partner wouldn't be returning to finish their assignment. Maybe she had pushed him too far by trying to make him feel uncomfortable, or maybe he was an immature arse who was unable to shake off a couple feelings of discomfort. Whatever the excuse was, Potter will surely pay for it tomorrow. The four-eyed overgrown house-elf was far more trouble than he was worth. During normal times, she would have laughed at her own description of him, but now Pansy could only frown.

I n the span of just a couple of weeks, Pansy has been essentially rejected by two men; one whom she detested and one who- well-

Fresh tears sprung to her eyes, like they always did when Draco managed to slip past her mental firewall and invade her thoughts. Without Potter in the room, Pansy let herself sob pitifully as she scrambled to prepare double the potion with no extra help, only wiping her tears away when she feared they were dangerously close to falling into the cauldron. What a sight she must have been in that moment: frizzy hair, exhausted features, and a body that shook with sobs every minute or so.

As always, the worst part of it all was the fact that Pansy had no rhyme nor reason to be weeping over Draco's avoidance or Potter's unreliability. These were two men that she decided long ago were not worth much of her emotional investment. And yet, her misery persists and she didn't even have the pleasure of blaming her period any more.

"Fuck this," Pansy said to the steamy air as she glanced at her watch. It was already past midnight.

But one sad look at the fifteen vials she has managed to brew so far and Pansy already knew that the rest of her classmates would have far more. And of course, it wouldn't exactly be her first all-nighter. Slamming her face into her hands, she shouted in frustration into her palms. After a long minute of that, and another moment to wipe away the reminder of her tears, she settled into her work again. In between slicing, dicing, stirring, and waiting, she repeated a mantra of all the men in her life that can go fuck themselves at that moment; Draco, Potter, Slughorn, and she threw in Dumbledore for good measure.

September 11, 1996 (morning)

The next morning arrived with Pansy laying beneath a table in the room where she had spent all night in. Blinking away the sleep from her eyes, it took Pansy all of three seconds to realize she had ten minutes for breakfast and absolutely no time for her morning. Scrambling, she packed up the two dozen or so vials she had brewed last night - abandoning the bit that was still in the cauldron, it had sat for too long, anyway - and made a half-arsed attempt to clear the wrinkles from her shirt and flatten down her frizzled hair.

She was breathless when she half-walked/half-ran into the Great Hall, lugging her potions behind her. Her state didn't go unnoticed by most of the hall, but her grumbling stomach forced her to ignore any social repercussions that bound to be coming her way.

"You look-" Blaise wisely stopped as soon as Pansy's glare landed on him. She stopped at the edge of the table, purposefully ignoring Draco (and Astoria, who was sitting in her seat, something that would have earned Pansy's ire any other time), and begin swiping strawberries, pieces of toast, and a sausage from her friends' plates.

"Hungry," Theo finished flatly for Blaise.

Before answering Pansy reached forward and stole his glass of orange juice, chugged half of it, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Excuse me, but I do need my energy before I find Potter and murder him," she replied in a falsely sweet voice. "He left me to finish Slughorn's assignment all by myself- all night long. I slept on the floor. I haven't even brushed my teeth-"

"Oh, so that's the smell," Draco said with a smirk, earning a quiet giggle from the blond beside him.

If she were in any other mood, Pansy would have rolled her eyes and moved on, but instead she shot Draco her worst sneer - one she learned from him, ironically enough - and spat, "Fuck off, wanker."

The look of mild surprise on his face alone was worth it, but Pansy didn't get a chance to gloat. She had Transfiguration then a break before Potions, though before she could start her day there was another man who needed her wrath. The Great Hall was partly empty now, though thankfully Potter and his merry band of idiots were amongst the few who stayed behind and were hovering by the entrance.

"Potter, you pathetic, petty excuse for a man," Pansy said spat, which was normal enough though her clenched fist was anything but. She walked past, and ignored, two angry Weasleys and a cautious Hermione, and strolled straight up to Potter. Before he had a chance to speak and ruin her momentum, Pansy pulled back her fist and sprung it forward and upward to connect solidly with Potter's nose. "Fuck you."

"What-!"

"Oh my god!"

"Pug-faced-"

Whatever it was the Gryffindors surrounding Potter were shouting at her, Pansy blocked it all out. In addition, she paid no attention to the down-right shocked faces of her housemates. After all, there was Transfiguration class she needed to attend and she was in need for a quick trip to the bathroom before she could start her day.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be a normal day if Theo didn't attempt to micro-manage and repair her life. Pansy wasn't even surprised when he was leaning against a sink in the girls' bath when she exited the still that now reeked of her pitiful breakfast.

"Ate too fast," she said dryly before leaning into a into a sink and guiding water from the faucet into her mouth. When she was finished and used her wand to refresh her mouth to minty perfection, Theo was holding a danish.

"There's more where that came from if you tell me what the hell that was."

Pansy snorted, but she couldn't deny the food so she quickly grabbed it though this time she made sure to chew and swallow carefully. "I told you all already. Potter is a prick."

"I've never seen you resort to such Muggle-ishly savage violence, Pansy," he said without smiling.

"I hadn't slept all night. I'm exhausted and angry. I'm- I'm angry at everything, Theo. I'm just always angry and- and miserable."

That sudden bit of honestly was unexpected, even to her and she could tell Theo felt it as well because he awkwardly brought his hand up and placed it on her shoulder. Pansy leaned into his touch as she nibbled on her pastry. His brown eyes looked so soft and welcoming, and he was awfully close to her, and kinder than anyone has been to her in what seemed like ages.

"You should let me help you," he said softly. "You don't have to do everything alone-"

"I've always been able to-"

"But not now!" he exclaimed, causing her to tense up though his voice immediately lowered. "You must allow let someone else take care of you."

"Oh, Theo," she whispered as he moved in to put his arms around her. "I smell."

"No, you don't," he laughed, which she both felt and heard with her forehead against his chest. She felt him take a deep breath, and she mimicked it right after, her entire body calming with a single inhale.

"Theo."

"Yes."

"Theo," she repeated and pulled away from him slightly to reach her hand to his neck and pull him down until her lips were on his. He froze, just for a moment, before kissing back for an equally short moment.

"No- Pansy, we can't-"

"Please," she whispered urgently, swatting away his hand that held her back so she could cup his groin. "I need this."

Theo buckled forward and closed his eyes, maybe trying to convince himself that a crying, vomiting, exhausted witch wasn't exactly in the right mental state to make this decision. Whatever his internal monologue was, Theo ultimately gave in to his lesser brain.

"Gods," he muttered as he placed both hands on the side of her face and brought her up to the tips of her toes to kiss her deeply, and eagerly, then pulling back to whisper against her lips, "We're going to be late for-"

"Okay, Theo, shut up," Pansy interrupted him breathlessly before pulling on his tie to bring his lips back down to her. He responded quickly, and began shedding his cloak and schoolbag on the bathroom floor as she pulled him by the tie into the nearest stall that she hadn't vomited in recently.

The moment the stall door locked behind him, Theo's hands were touching and groping anywhere he could reach. He propped her up against the door by her arse and used his free hand to knead her breast and pinch her nipple through her shirt. All the while, their lips hardly disconnected. Given an inch, he took full control of his encounter, which Pansy had no problem with. Just the feeling of having his warm body against hers, his tongue tangled with hers, his hands all over her, it made her feel full again. Her exhaustion from earlier in addition to full-body need for a lay made her deliriously happy and desperate for him.

"Th- Theo," she gasped as she pushed his face away. She paused to look at him before continuing, his red face and bruised lips, his wild eyes full of the same desperation she felt. Merlin, she lived for this. "Now- fuck me now."

He didn't need to be told twice, and Pansy was grateful for it as he resumed their snogging and got to work on his trousers. In just a few moments, she heard his belt clink against the bathroom floor. She was dropped to the floor for a moment and together that frantically tore off her knickers, their lips and tongues never disconnecting as they finished and he picked her up again. Seconds later, she felt him enter her and they both shared a moan, too deep in the moment to focus on their intense snog anymore.

Pansy stared at Theo as he froze inside of her, his eyes closed and his mouth agape. She desperately wanted him to move, so much so that she slowly began to wind her hips around him, but she was getting just as much pleasure from watching the way he seemed so completely lost in her.

"I feel like I've been waiting forever for this," he said hoarsely after what seemed like an eternity. "Every since- Gods, Pansy-"

At last, he started to move, first slowly, then faster and faster until the small of her back was being slammed against the door of the stall so hard she feared it would break. The acoustics of the bathroom forgave nothing, and even as Pansy tired to muffle her noises, and with Theo's face hidden against her neck, the sounds of them fucking came back to them twice-fold.

And they sounded magnificent.

Pansy twisted her fingers into Theo's mousy brown locks and dug her nails into his upper back. His hands remained on her bottom and hips, guiding her towards him every time he thrust forward. They stayed in that position for only a couple more minutes, until Theo both tired himself out and spent himself inside of her. He slowed down progressively and with a long groa. Again, he froze with her still in his until, with shaky legs, he took a step back and lowered her to the ground.

He had a hand against the side of the stall, apparently bracing himself, and kept his eyes low. Though his fringe was keeping Pansy from seeing his face, she was could tell him his breathing that Theo had entirely over-exerted himself. This was a boy that didn't play Quidditch, after all. She kept her smile to herself by pursing her lips and bending down to collect her knickers. As if her movements reminded Theo that his own trousers were around his ankles and "flaccid cock partly covered by a white button" wasn't a good look, he quickly rushed to dress himself as well.

"Worth the wait?"

She needed to break the silence, it was crushing after the fun they had had and she had no idea what he was thinking.

When Theo finally looked at her, he was actively suppressing a grin even though the evidence was in his eyes. "Ah- right, listen. About that, it's not like I've been pining-"

"You don't have to explain, really."

"-holding some kind of torch-"

"I get it."

"-friends, always just friends, and I've appreciated that-"

"Theo!" she exclaimed, holding up her hands. "I wasn't thinking anything of it. Just trying to make conversation."

"Ah, aha," he chuckled awkwardly. "I merely wouldn't want you to fear me making a big thing of this, if you- if you feel it wasn't meant to be."

Pansy gave him a confused look, though she perfectly understood what he meant. She cleared her throat and nodded, "Listen, we're already late enough as is, so-"

"Right!"

All too happy to escape an awkward moment, Theo followed Pansy out of the stall and they quickly collected their things and magically attempted to make themselves presentable. After a largely silent walk to Transfiguration, they both paused just before the door.

"You can go first," he offered. "I'll follow in a couple of minutes."

Pansy nodded curtly though before she could turn away Theo grabbed her wrist and bent down to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I truly am a better wizard by having you in my life, Pansy Parkinson. We all are."

She opened her mouth to respond, only to close it again and merely nod. It was precisely what she needed to hear and there was no need to ruin that by opening her mouth.

Thankfully, they were able to discreetly enter Transfiguration without incident. In fact, the class was already so fully enthralled in their task that not even the professor noticed two late Slytherins slipping in. By the time the pair secured the seat near the back, Pansy realized she would have been at a loss without Theo beside her. Rather than struggling to understand the assignment of the day by herself, Theo quickly recognized the spell and chapter the class was on. At the very least they weren't entirely clueless and were able to begin practicing the Bird-Conjuring Charm as if they has been in class from the very start. While Theo managed to conjure a bird before her, Pansy didn't feel too bad when a few squawks coughed out of her wand.

As much as she wanted to put her best performance forward, the compilation of thoughts clouding her brain seemed to be hindering her best magic. With Theo right beside her, and the both of them smelling so clearly like fresh sex, and Potter just across the room, Pansy could barely hear herself think. Against her best efforts, her eyes eventually landed on Potter, who seemed to be having the same amount of success as her with the Bird-Conjuring Charm.

For once Pansy pitied Granger as she witnessed the poor girl struggle through attempting to walk Potter through the basics of casting the charm, meanwhile Potter looked as if he was actively avoiding Pansy's gaze at all costs. His nose, though it has a small patch over the bridge, has stopped bleeding.

Unfortunately.

Fucking prick.

However, Pansy found that she wasn't nearly as angry as she had been before. Perhaps punching Potter was exactly the release she was yearning for. Then again, getting fucked in the girls lavatory also helped.

Still, it was a wonderful feeling to have punched Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived got his nose bloodied by a five-foot-nothing Slytherin girl. Though the Great Hall has been emptying out at that point, enough students saw it that the entire school may know by now – after all, hot gossipy spread faster than venereal disease in Hogwarts. Judging by the odd stares (more than usual, that is) at least this particular class was well informed.

Hell, even McGonagall looked more sour than usual. That reminded Pansy that her little stunt may still cause hell to rain down on her from Potters' most loyal followers.

"That will be all for today, students!" Professor McGonagall shouted over the noise, immediately bringing Pansy out of her thoughts. "Tonight's chapter is on human transformation. Very impor—"

Pansy began to tune the professor out and pack her things, eager to race back to her dormitory and use her free period to clean off the feeling of sleeping in the library overnight—and getting fucked in a toilet. Unfortunately, just when she thought her beeline towards the door was successful, the human equivalent to a bucket of cold water thwarted her again.

"Parkinson! Wait!"

She shouted with the force that only a holier-than-thou Gryffindor could have. Granger's faux-authority and ridiculous amount of meddling knew no bounds. Still, if only her own curiosity, Pansy stepped to the side as she exited the class as impatiently tapped her foot as she waited for Granger.

"What's going on?" Theo whispered cautiously as he approached her with crossed arms. Pansy secured her hands on her hips and shrugged indifferently. Her eyebrows were furrowed to match her frown, her entire demeanor steeled as if prepared for battle.

"Parkinson," Granger repeated breathlessly as she seemingly dragged Potter through the threshold of the classroom. "Harry told me what happened. Yesterday, I mean. While I would never condone revenge, I found it abhorrent that he would skip out on his school work—And, well—Harry has something to say to you."

Beside her, Theo choked back a chuckle, and that alone Pansy found ironic. Granger and Theo had practically the same articulation.

Outwardly, however, she merely blinked. She did it again as the silence grew between the four.

Then with an exasperated sigh, Potter stepped forward from behind Granger and nearly spat, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you to do the work alone. It wasn't fair of me."

"Good Merlin, Potter," Pansy said dryly. "I didn't take you for the emotional type."

"Don't rub it in," he said through clenched teeth.

"No, I mean—" her mouth twitched slightly as Pansy attempted to bite back a grin, "Thank you. Or, I suppose, thank you, m—Granger," Pansy nearly accidentally slipped, but her smile remained sickly sweet all the same. "Honestly, I had thought last night was a bit of a revenge on your part."

"A revenge for what?" Granger glanced between her and Potter. One look at Theo and Pansy could tell he was equally as clueless, which caused her to smirk knowingly.

"For—"

"For being unbearable in general," Potter interrupted her, which only made Pansy's smirk wider. She was his dirty little secret, it seemed.

Perfect.

"And you know what?" Pansy said suddenly as the idea came to her. "You have my sincerest and most earnest apologies for the way I've behaved, Potter. Let's call it even now - no need to bring Slughorn into this business. I'm just happy to put this all behind us. I for one predict a brighter future for us all here on out."

Both Nott and Granger looked as if they were in varying stages of shock, though Granger seemed more grateful due to the fact that her little intervention actually worked. Pansy would have given anything to insult her right then but instead she maintained her steadfast faux sweet smile. Her sights were set on Potters grimacing face, a far more promising target to focus her attention on.

"Look at that," Granger finally spoke, oblivious to Potters' silent discomfort, though still wary in her own right. "I dare say that Slughorn's little house unity experiment may be working. Perhaps event Ronald and I can learn a little lesson from you two."

Theo coughed loudly beside her, which only earned him him a sharp elbow in the side, a move that Granger wisely choose to ignore for the benefit of their entire interaction.

"Right, I'm sure Weasley and I will be next to hug it out before the semester is over. Speaking of house unity," he glanced at his watch quickly before shooting Pansy a look that told her she had a lot of explaining to so later. "Would you like a companion to walk you to Arithmancy, Granger. Following in Miss Parkinson's lead, I am more than willing to reach across the aisle in the name of school-wide peace."

Tosser , Pansy thought with a mental eyeroll, immediately recognizing Theo's attempt to throw her his own confusing gesture.

Granger, though she still looked optimistically cautious, nodded after giving Potter a small smile that said more between them than made sense to Pansy.

"Wait-" Potter tried to stop them as Granger swung her bag over her shoulder, but he was a moment too late. Granger only gave him a comforting glance over her shoulder and mouthed something Pansy couldn't decipher.

Theo on the other hand, only shrugged and had an expression that Pansy read as indifferent. But she knew better, and couldn't help the twinge of disappoint that tugged at her core. It was less than an hour hour ago that he had so desperately shagged her in the girls' bathroom. Indifference and a shrug was hardly the response she wanted from him as he walked away. Nott knew her as someone who never shied away from casual fucks, but it was just now that Pansy realized he may also be apt for the same.

By now, however, the nausea-inducing twisting in her stomach and chest-clenching pressure on her heart was so expected that Pansy only took a deep breath to force the her emotions to subside before she steeled herself to look back at Potter. His expression was more tired than angry, which she could appreciate. Even a mean Gryffindor would have been an unfair burden on her at the moment.

"Harry Potter," she said with a smirk after an extended moment of silence. "You let Granger scold you into apologizing to me. Gods, I never thought you the type to-"

"Save it," he sighed, leaning against the stonewall behind him. "Christ, Parkinson, what was I supposed to say? Last night, I just wanted to get back at you for- for-" his face started to turn slightly pink but before Pansy could tease him for it, Potter continued, "Anyway, I told Ron and he opened his mouth in front of Hermione. And trust me, a slap from you is nothing compared to her once she gets heated up. Apologizing to you was the least painful thing that would have happened to me. It was self-preservation, which as a Slytherin, I'm sure you understand."

"I do," she said simply, crossing her arms over her chest with an arched eyebrow. "Which is why I'm also wondering why you didn't tell your friends why exactly you didn't come back to the room last night. An insufferable, bigoted Slytherin slag made you uncomfortable; what a lovely cover for you holier-than-thou Gryffindors."

Potters' silence was enough for her. The fact that the notoriously snarky Boy Who lived didn't already have a smart retort told Pansy that perhaps he didn't even know what to think. Sure, he was upset; she had invaded his private space, revealed a part of him that he'd rather not know, even bettered him at something that he hadn't anticipated. All signs pointed to her winning, but connecting the dots between sex and Pansy Parkinson in Potters' mind seemed like it was almost too much for him to easily grapple with.

"I know what you want me to say," Potter replied slowly. "Are you so eager for someone to acknowledge you as a viable woman that you'd stoop to blackmailing me of all people?"

Pansy's smirk didn't waver, but she did roll her eyes to further mask her disappoint.

Damn him - he did know how to bloody get to her.

Fuck Potter, he was more like Draco than he knew.

"Oh, Harry," she said in a mockingly sweet tone. "This isn't about you, dear. This is about me. More specifically, this is about my grade in Potions. I'm done with you skirting our responsibilities then taking a peek into that ratty book of yours and finding some bulltshit answer. We have a semester year project to work on and you can't find that in your fucking book."

"How did-" Potter looked taken aback, but Pansy didn't have the patience to play game with him.

"We sit right next to each other, moron. I know your handwriting from whoever demolished your textbook a hundred years ago. But listen, I don't care if you're cheating. Literally, go the fuck on. It couldn't possibly bother me less. I only care about our partner work and starting our research on the project. We start this weekend or I swear on everything that is good and holy-"

"Fine," Potter held up his hand and interrupted her, "You win. We'll start this this Friday evening. Now, I don't want to waste another second of my free period with this conversation. Six pm good for you?"

She won. Pansy smiled - she won . After agreeing on the time with Potter, a bidding his grumbling back an all too cheerful goodbye, Pansy practically began skipping back to the Slytherin dormitories to enjoy her own free time until she had to face the rest of the day.

September 11, 1996 (afternoon)

Her happiness was short-lived.

As Pansy made her way back to the dungeons, she realized that she was alone yet again. Her stomach churned, but she didn't bother to head for the bathroom. Soon she will be in the comfort of her own dorm and she was just a shower and a pepper-up potion away from the dread settling into her bones being slightly relieved. Now that her quarrel with Potter at least partly squared away, and Pansy refused to think about Draco and how distant he has been, and how close Astoria seemed to be with him this morning, and Theo and questioning whether or not he enjoyed being in her presence and-

Pansy desperately tried to keep herself from spiraling into a self-doubting madness again. At this rate her sour mood and worsening health was practically a part of her routine, and she reached the point of dealing with her physical and mental decline while trying to keep her conscious mind in tact. On a day-to-day basis, she could set her clock to the exact moment her internal struggle would begin to bubble over;

Wake up.

Shower.

Cry.

Classes.

Vomit.

Lunch.

Classes.

Sob.

Dinner.

Battle subconsciousness.

Homework.

Cry.

Sleep.

Repeat.

It was the antithesis of what she thought her sixth year would be. With her and Draco done, her growing independence, and a newfound sense of self-confidence, Pansy had felt poised to have her strongest year yet.

Instead, she was still a miserable bitch and now she was even making herself miserable.

As she approached the stone wall to the Slytherin dorm, Pansy furiously wiped her eyes of the tears that had begun to fall down her cheeks without her realizing. In the most confident voice she could muster, she said the password - Invictus Maneo - and immediately made a straight line to the girls' dorm.

As quickly as she could, Pansy dropped her things and grabbed everything she needed for a hot shower. She didn't have much time before her free period was over and she intended to take advantage of every minute she could. For extra satisfaction, once she was in the shower, Pansy sharply turned the knob for water laced with a mind-calming potion. The next half an hour was practically heaven. The only thoughts to pass through her mind were concerning washing her hair, scrubbing her body clean of a night of potion-making, and what she was craving for lune later. It was the first peaceful moment she had had in a long time. Back in her form, she continued to channel that calm energy as she brushed her hair, got dressed, and took her daily potions.

First pepper-up.

Then her oily hair and skin control serum.

Next her contraceptive potion.

And lastly a large sip from the back-head corrector her mother found for her.

Though, after a second look at the bags under her eyes, Pansy took a short swig from her invigoration potion for good measure.

She flashed herself a smile in the mirror, trying to get her exterior to affect her interior, then sharply frowned before grabbing her school bag and materials and heading to Potions.

September 12, 1996 (afternoon)

"You didn't scare me off by the way," Potter said without preamble, "I – I was just surprised."

Potter had leaned over and whispered during Slughorn's lecture less than a half an hour into their lesson. Pansy's mood, still as sour as always, caused her to sneer at him in return.

"Right," she hissed in a way that failed to sound as sarcastic as she wanted to.

"Yeah. Surprised," he repeated through a clenched jaw. "Surprised that there's actually a woman beneath those fifteen layers of spitefulness."

"You'd be lucky to know what I actually am, Potter."

"Not just a Slytherin slag, then?"

She shot him a sharp glare, before looking back at the front of the classroom. Pansy resisted the urge to punch him again before answering, "My knowledge is vast and varied, thank you very much. You'd be a lucky boy indeed if you ever had the tiniest taste."

Before Potter could respond, Pansy quickly raised her hand and asked the professor to explain the difference between dragon claw ooze and dragon blood. Potter's face was flushed again, which she ignored, along with the odd looks from her friends scattered around the room. She prided herself on being a competent potioneer and the last thing she'd ever want to do is request a professor's help, especially one that clearly played favorites in his class. Still, anything to shut Potter up. After he answered Pansy's question, the professor seemed to remind himself of the task they were supposed to complete, and any hope that her hard work would be recognized vanished.

Similar to her and Potter, it seemed like most of the groups had had a hard time creating more than a dozen or two vials of Essence of Dittany. Fortunately, while they hadn't created the most amount, her night-long effort put them in the top three groups and that caught Slughorn's attention.

Unfortunately, however, he lavished most of his praise onto Potter. Even the actual winners – Macmillian and Davis' honor – got less attention than the miraculous Boy Wonder. While Potter sheepishly allowed Slughorn to go on for a full four minutes on how he had inherited his poor deceased mothers' natural talents, Pansy seethed silently beside him. Though they agreed to some semblance of a truce to complete their project, Pansy shouldn't have been surprised that Potter allowed the acclaim to fall solely on him. Perhaps he was a cowardly lion, or maybe his dislike for her was merely that deep.

Pansy help onto that anger – in addition to her prior frustrations – until the end of the class, when she was finally free to leave this terrible classroom.

While she was able to shake away looks from both Draco and Theo, Potter was much faster. He caught up with her before she was able to turn the corner and quickly caught her elbow. For the second time that day, Pansy was looking up at Potter's miserable face as he was on the cusp of an apology.

"Alright," he sighed. "Maybe that wasn't fair."

Pansy remained silent as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Can I help that the man really likes me?"

More silence, this time paired with an arched eyebrow.

"I'll start contributing my fair share-"

"You sure as fuck throw around the word fair like you know what it means, Potter," Pansy spat.

"Jesus Christ, I'm trying to do the right thing right now. Apologizing, doing my work. Can you just – fucking hell – calm down for once? Not everything is about you."

Pansy frowned sharply. His words were resonating but mere words never did anything to lift the weight on her chest. Instead of answer, Pansy turned on her heels and began walking the other way.

"Parkinson-"

"Fine!" she shouted. She stopped short and lowered her voice as she noticed other students began looking their way. Quickly looking over her shoulder, she rolled her eyes and continued, "Th- thank you, Potter.

"And I still hate you."

A/N:

Sneak peek for next chapter:

The pair spent a few moment staring at each other, Theo from his bed and Pansy awkwardly standing in the center of the room.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. You stupid cow, she thought, foolishly realizing that in her miserable state she pathetically went searching for Draco comfort - comfort that didn't exist.