A/N: Her first good date in years, in a surprising turn of events, she's blonde, beautiful, and bubbly. As her friendship with Daphne mellows her out, Pansy finds that the idea of meeting with Potter again is heating her up. It's just the alcohol and mutual feeling of isolation, right? Right?

October 21st, 1996 (morning)

If there was ever a Slytherin that should have been in Hufflepuff, her name is Daphne Greengrass. As though her generally trusting and optimistic disposition wasn't enough, her level of excitement over the simplest things was comparable to that of a recently freed House-elf.

Case in point, at nine am on a Saturday morning, Pansy was startled awake by a bouncing, shrieking, bubbly blonde pouncing on her bed and straddling her body. The smell of apricots and overall sense of jubilation was enough for her to realize who it was and what was happening, however that did nothing to held the hangover that slammed into her body even harder than Daphne did.

"Today's the day!" her voice came before Pansy had the chance to open her eyes. "It's today! It's today!"

Pansy groaned and tried to turn over but Daphne's legs were locked around her waist and her hands were placed squarely on her shoulders. She could feel her friends' excitement vibrating through her body and from the sound her of voice and dialect – which sounded like the mixture of Scottish and Northern England that she inherited from her parents – but Pansy couldn't mimic even the tiniest bit of her happiness. Her throat felt as if it was on fire and her head was pounding from the inside out. She wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath her covers and die.

"Daphne," she finally croaked. "I swear, I'll rip that pretty little face of yours straight off."

Daphne merely giggled as if they shared an inside joke then moved to lie beside Pansy on her small twin-sized bed. Throwing her arm over Pansy's tinier body, Daphne began to lay out the plans that she single-handedly scheduled for their day. She ardently explained that their day would start with a light breakfast, then they would roam Hogsmeade and shop for their outfits for the evening, then she took the liberty of putting both their names down for a hair and nails appointment, lastly they would have just enough time before dinner to find the perfect matching jewelry for the party that was scheduled for later in the evening. Pansy stared at Daphne blankly as she outlined her day for her, internally wishing she could just sink into her mattress.

"This level of excitement is not normal for a sixteen-year-old, Greengrass," she groaned after a moment of silence. She pulled herself up until she was sitting against the backboard of her bed. With a sigh, crossed her legs in front of her as Daphne shifted to sit cross-legged beside her. "How are you this happy?"

"We're going to Hogsmeade, you numpty!" she clapped her hands together. "We need to get our dresses for the party tonight! There'll be sweets and treats and dancing and-"

"I get it," Pansy held up her hands then let her hands fall into them.

Honestly, she had forgotten.

Common room parties aside, the Slytherin house had a bad habit of weekend-long festivities on a regular basis to celebrate even the most insignificant event. Friday night was for Quidditch, and now yet another thing came up. As she attempted to grapple with her uphill battle of a hangover, Pansy recalled the year before and the first proper soiree of the year was the Quarter Moon Affair.

A completely fabricated event that gave the older students an excuse to primp and peen and spruce themselves up, only to fall into heaps of drunken messes by 2 am. Pansy had spent weeks looking forward to it last year - her first time enjoying such an event - but in light of yesterday, she doubted she would be able to stand it.

But on top of it all, her thoughts brought her back to last night with Potter. They had been civil. Even more abnormally, they had actually had fun. While she easily blamed the firewhisky, in the sober light of day she couldn't help but to consider his offer to meet again. Unexpectedly bumping into him was one thing, actually making plans to repeat their night of drunken camaraderie was just unimaginable. The idea itself was odd but the thought of going out and spending the night partying with Daphne and the rest of her house mates was even more unsettling after she had literally run away from them the night before.

"Pansy?"

Daphne's light voice cut through her thoughts just as she felt herself start to lose herself in her own wallowing.

"So- sorry," she exhaled and lifted her face from her hands. "Just a headache. You're right! Sweets and treats, I'm all for that."

Pansy barely finished her sentence before Daphne launched herself off the bed and twirled in front of her. She forced herself to pay attention to the overly-charged blonde, though it was largely for the sake of her own sanity. There was a reason why Daphne was such an addicting personality for her. She was overbearing and intrusive, but she was the perfect distraction from Pansy's usually bleak thoughts.

And she was genuine in who she is, kind and loyal, and perhaps a bit too sensitive but she was able to harden herself if she needed to.

"-thinking silver and purple with glitter but then I thought I should probably go with something more mature for the night, like midnight blue or a dark violet-"

"Alright, Daphne," Pansy interrupted her as she slowly pushed herself off the bed. "We have an entire day of shopping ahead of us. I'm sure you'll find something lovely-"

"Sexy," Daphne interrupted with an arched eyebrow, then threw her arms over Pansy's slouching shoulders. "I'm going to do it tonight. You know, ha- have sex."

Though Pansy wasn't intimately aware of Daphne's sexual history, she had more or less assumed that a witch as good-looking as her - tall, blonde, and curvy in the best places - would have crossed that bridge already, but then again she wasn't entirely surprised. To someone like Daphne, thinking about getting that close to someone must have been more daunting than it had been for Pansy. She had had the benefit of believing she was in love with Draco, and she wanted to tie him to her in some way. In hindsight that night had been the beginning of the end for them, and in an odd way Pansy wanted to shield Daphne from such an experience.

"With who?" she finally asked.

Daphne shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. Vaisey, maybe? Or Harper. I like Quidditch players. I think."

Pansy pressed her lips together to hold back a smirk. She was almost humorously naïve.

"You don't want to settle just to get it over with," she warned.

"I know," she sighed. "But, well, I've been betrothed to Marcus Flint for so long now and I'm worried he'll be the first."

"I'm sure he won't, but it doesn't necessarily have to happen tonight."

"It'll have to happen soon. I'll die a virgin at this rate."

"I highly doubt that," Pansy laughed, taking a step back until Daphne's hands fell from her shoulders. "Look at you."

"Alright, but even worse; Marcus may end up being my first."

"Well," Pansy smirked and took Daphne's hand as she began walking towards the bathroom. "I hear he's well hung."

Rather than answer, Daphne threw her head back and let out a sharp laugh, then a slow groan, then another laugh after Pansy shook her eyebrows at her. For the moment at least, her friend forgot about attempting to shag a Quidditch player before the night was over.

October 21, 1996 (late afternoon)

"You could have tried something different, you know! Something more new and spectacular."

"I like my hair this way," Pansy frowned, trying to not sound defensive as she let her finger tips graze past the tips of her shoulder-length bob. "Short hair shapes my face."

Daphne shrugged but she looked unconvinced. As the pair strolled down the main street of Hogsmeade, with freshly manicured nails and styled hair, they chatted casually about their day. Pansy had elected to leave her hair its natural black color, while Daphne added a textured highlight to her light, blond hair. Her long, thick hair reached her mid-back and was curled to perfection. The witches at the salon nearly tripped over themselves to assist her, though Daphne still insisted to Pansy they were merely trying to impress her instead.

"Anyway, tonight isn't about me," Pansy reminded her, though she omitted the fact that she was still largely on the fence about it all. Though she just spent dozens of galleons on her hair, nails, and clothing that she didn't really need, none of that was enough to convince her that going out with the rest of the older students from her house was the right way to go. The benefit of being with Daphne is she didn't think anything of the rumors; she was an unadulterated, unshakable ally. While it was impossible for Pansy to ignore the whispers of her being pregnant, being heartsick over Draco, or just faking for attention, the worst part of it all is that she could no long ignore whatever symptoms have continuously befallen her throughout the semester because everyone else noticed. They noticed her tired eyes, her thinning face, and her lack of appetite. By spending all of her time with Daphne, she had more of a shield for her impossible upset stomach, her frequent tears, and her terrible mood swings, and without her Pansy would be alone.

Especially without Blaise or Theo. She needed someone.

And Daphne - in maybe ways she was better than the both of them.

"I wouldn't say it's about me," Daphne blushed. "I mean, I haven't got much of plan. Hopefully someone will just- just notice me, right? I think- I think that's how it works."

"Daphne-" Pansy started with a chuckle then paused before continuing, though the hesitation lasted longer than she expected it to.

As they walked past Honeydukes and at that moment her eyes landed on Potter and his two extra appendages. Wealsey looked to be in the middle of a moronic story, one that Granger was rolling her eyes at, but Potter was mid-laugh as he sucked on a licorice wand but he paused when their eyes met. For what seemed like an eternity, they strolled past each other with their gazes locked until finally Pansy find herself and she did just about the simplest message she could muster-

She winked.

In the two seconds that was the entirety of her pause, she glanced at Potter and shot him a wink that she was certain only he caught - especially since Granger's eyes were steeled on Weasley and the red-head was far too into his own recounting to notice. Potter, however, noticed. He noticed enough to do a slight double-take, and immediately Pansy she would be at the forefront of his mind. More importantly, she knew he would be at the Astronomy Tower later tonight. His curiosity was piqued and she knew him well enough to know that he didn't want to come off as cowardly.

"-nothing works exactly how you think it will," Pansy continued after a soft chuckle. "Boys... well, they're- they're idiots, frankly."

"Surely not all of them-"

"No," she held up her hand, "they are. I mean, there are smart ones, sure, and they all have their strengths and talents. But when it comes to matters of the cock-"

"Oh my-"

"-they quickly become the simplest, most moronic creatures you could possibly imagine. Honestly, you've got tits and that's about everything for most blokes."

"Or perhaps," Daphne interjected, raising a finger to make her point as they turned the corner and began walking towards the jewelry shop. "You've been disappointed one too many times. Clearly Draco Malfoy isn't-"

"Shh," Pansy hissed with furrowed eyebrows as she checked over her shoulders though there wasn't a single Hogwarts student around them now.

"I mean," the blonde cleared her throat, "You're fierce and ambitious and intelligent. Maybe a little too intense, but it suits you, darling. And you-know-who needs someone more... docile. More pliable to bend to his needs."

Pansy was just short of mentioning that she and Draco had officially ended their experiment with romance during their fifth year, but she stopped herself short as they reached the jewelry shop and another thought hit her. Before Daphne could reach for the door, Pansy planted her hand flatly on it to keep it shut, her eyebrow arched with curiosity.

"Your sister," she started slowly, though she hardly needed to finish her sentence once she noted the look on her friends' face. "Are you advising me or making sure your sister has no competition?"

"Neither," she answered in a nervous whisper. "Pansy... oh, stop that. Come here."

Daphne pulled her hand off the door then swung it open, only to grip her wrist then drag her to an unoccupied corner of the medium-sized shop. Pansy's gaze briefly glanced around the glittery, glitzy gems and jeweled ornaments - from bracelets and chains to tiaras and studded masks - before turning her attention back to Daphne.

"The papers are already signed," Daphne sighed. "Our mothers met two weeks ago. Astoria and Draco will be married when she turns seventeen. They're waiting to announce until next summer. They're going to make a big show of it, you know how they do. Banquets and luncheons and galas. It'll be quite a celebration for my family - marrying up and all - and the Malfoys would like a distraction from... well... you know."

An uncomfortably long silence as Pansy grappled varyingly conflicting thoughts. She was disappointed that her mother had failed in her desperate attempts to woo Narcissa Malfoy, because she was still her mother after all, even if she is living the widow life of no-fun-no-happiness-and-constant-grieving. Additionally, however, she was honestly unsurprised that the Malfoy matriarch ultimately choose a proper yet dull girl to wed her son; unfortunately saddened in a manner she couldn't precisely put words to; and glad that finally, after everything was announced and done, she would not be the one to marry Draco Malfoy. All in all, her mental complexity could not soothe itself and Pansy needed to grip Daphne's forearm to still herself. Though she didn't want her newly minted friend to think she was stricken with grief, she felt comfortable enough to stray from her cold-hearted demeanor.

"I think I'm relieved," she said after what seemed like ages.

Daphne gave her an odd look before offering a soft smile. "Fierce and ambitious," she muttered back, unclasping Pansy's hand then holding it softly as she guided her towards the glass displays. "Intelligent and intense. Now..."

She trailed off and looked down at at the jeweled chains and pendants in the displays. Pansy bit her bit her bottom lip and nodded, grateful to finally escape that moment. Surely, she will have no control over the tears that came later in the evening, however with Daphne she easily held back. As the pair spent the rest of the hour awing at the beautifully polished, Pansy pushed all other thoughts from her mind. Daphne's chatter escalated past mindlessness, and now Pansy merely allowed herself to delve into the girl's idiosyncrasies. She laughed genuinely and lightly added her thoughts to their careful shopping until they both selected jewelry they were content with. Daphne picked a loose lilac and light rose gold chain. Pansy, who purposefully ignored how her purchase would later seem like a lie, choose a choker lined with black jewels and rubies.

October 21, 1996 (evening)

In many ways, there are witches who were born to lead the pack of socialites, and there are witches who were born to fret over being accepted by that very pack. For a long time, Pansy confidentially lived her life as the former and, apparently for a similarly long time, Daphne lived her life in the world of the latter.

While Pansy patiently brushed her hair to ensure not a hair was out of place, Daphne was on the verge of throwing out every pair of shoes she owned due to their perceived imperfection. As Pansy slowly and carefully applied her mascara, Daphne cursed every god she was aware of because her dress must have morphed in her bag and no longer fit the way it did in the boutique. The moment Pansy finally put the finishing touches on her lips, Daphne was still dripping wet from her second shower – the one she took because she was certain that her running around had caused her to start sweating, and thus start stinking, and obviously that was a clear violation of what it meant to be a top tier Slytherin witch.

"And now we're going to be late and they probably won't even let us in. I've ruined our night! You hate me! No one will ever speak to me again – I'm done, I'm moving to France, I'm never coming back, I'm such a-"

"Daphne!" Pansy shouted, finally pushing herself up from her vanity to grapple with her friend's apparent meltdown. "It's only 9:30-"

"It starts at 9:30!"

"And no one who matters will get there until after ten," she continued softly, placing her hands on Daphne's shoulders and slowly pushing her backwards until she was sitting on her bed. "Your dress is amazing; backless dresses are both sexy and classic. Those white pumps will go perfectly with it. All you need are hoop earrings and put your hair in a high ponytail. Then you're done. I promise."

Daphne sniffed and wiped her eyes, clearly still wracked with self-doubt, "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," she answered definitively. "Now, if you get dressed in the next fifteen minutes, I'll do your hair and make-up."

In an honest showing of confidence in her friend, Daphne plopped her self up from the bed and had her dress on in minutes. After securing her necklace and pausing momentarily while picking her bracelet, she slipped on her heels and gave herself an assured glance in the mirror before turning to Pansy with five minutes to spare.

Meanwhile, Pansy watched her while, oddly enough, her thoughts were on Potter. She had given her two confirmations that she would meet him again: one drunken, and the other in a vague wink. Still, she was wholly conflicted. She had run away from last nights' party, and still felt ambivalent about going out for an excessive and crowded party where most of the eyes that landed on her would be thinking about her very public fall out with Draco. Still, as she quickly gave Daphne's hastily put-together yet amazing look a once over, Pansy knew that she had to strap on her heels and give her ideal-minded friend the night she yearned for.

And her grin of triumph and relief was enough for Pansy to reveal a small smile of her own. It wasn't hard to hear the comments around Daphne around their house and the castle; she was vain, simple-minded, naïve, essentially a girl walking on air with her mind in the clouds. However, though their friendship was barely a few weeks old, Pansy couldn't help but to doubt that perception, while she had thought that same thing up until recently.

As she guided Daphne towards her vanity and began to magically dry her hair, she looked in the mirror and saw a trusting, loyal, and earnest girl. She was emotionally intelligent in a way most didn't recognize, and one of the few people Pansy knew who didn't give up on lost causes.

And after nearly two months of feeling like a lost cause, Pansy felt indebted to her. Daphne refused to give up on her, though Pansy had given her countless chances to.

"Now, doesn't that look nice?" Pansy said as she twirled the end of Daphne's long, blonde ponytail. Paired with a rose gold ponytail holder, her golden hair contrasted nicely against her skin.

"Oh, my – This is lovely!" Daphne exclaimed as she looked back and forth from her reflection to Pansy's face.

"We're still not finished with your makeup," Pansy noted, moving around Daphne's chair until they were face to face. "I'm not sure how much I can help you there, though. You've got such a warm skin tone – clearly the Spanish in you. I'm part Korean, lest you forget, and my father was from York, curse him. So all my makeup is for only for my pale, cool-skinned arse."

Daphne chuckled and rolled her eyes as she started rummaging through some of the kits she had laid out on her bed. "Use some of my things. I trust your hand much more than I do mine."

Over the next fifteen minutes, Pansy meticulously and dotingly applied her makeup. It took longer than it should have, but she couldn't stop snorting every time Daphne tried to jump into one of her long tales. While Pansy tried to perfectly sculpt her eyebrows, Daphne started complaining about how the Carrow sisters always looked as if they were seconds away from a turning into ghosts and floating away; as she carefully swept on a thin layer of blush, the blonde launched into a detailed account of the time she walked into her younger sister masturbating; and the last straw came when Pansy was finally putting the final touches on her eyeshadow and Daphne thought it was the perfect time to inform her about the day her betrothal was announced.

"Daphne, darling, I love you, but I'll make sure you leave the dorms tonight looking like a cow if you move more more time," Pansy asserted, holding the the angled brush in her hand sharply, like a threat, though her teasing smirk gave her away.

"You love me?" Daphne questioned, giving Pansy her own lighthearted smirk along with an arched eyebrow. "So sudden, Parkinson. I mean, what ever shall I do-"

"Oh, shut up," she scoffed. "And really – stop moving! I'm nearly done!"

Luckily the pair was able to put their things together just after 10:30 and Daphne's anxiety had lessened a significant amount. Pansy didn't feel guilty as they linked arms and as quickly as possible moved around the castle until they reached the one-eyed witch statue on the third floor. They were both covered in their official Hogwarts cloaks as they quietly tip-toed about, and Pansy made sure that her Prefects badge was as prominent as possible, but it was better hat they weren't caught than attempt to lie their way out of the situation to Filch.

It all seemed perfectly normal - exactly what she had wanted and expected out of her Sixth year before she had gotten in her own way. As they pair slipped through the secret passage way and their heels loudly clicked against the stone floor, Pansy felt a weight lift off her chest and she let out a shaky laugh, causing Daphne to tighten her arm around hers. The girls glanced at each other and smiled, before making their way into the night that would completely erase Pansy's feeling of security once more.

O O O

A/N: Apologies for the delay! I haven't been feeling very well and I still need to write the gap between this chapter and the final ten chapters (which are already either written or drafted)!