The weekend was almost upon them and Pansy could not express just how happy she was about that fact.

Feeling the eyes of Alena and Elwin follow her through every step she took within their sight was stressful enough and silently seething in the mockery of Davis of all people did not help in lessening the stress she was feeling in any way. To top it all off, however, she was now also aware of something very private about Harry and she didn't know how to handle it. It terrified her beyond words, not to mention how embarrassed and guilty it made her feel.

And now she was having lunch in the Great Hall before they'd be having a double-period of Potions class…with the Gryffindors, of course. How was she supposed to handle that? How was she supposed to be in his vicinity, how was she supposed to even look at him?

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing here and how you're feeling and it's more than I expected from you but what's done is done and can we just go on like usual?"

"But how?" she whined, cradling her head in her hands while her elbows were resting very improperly on the table.

"Alright, I swear I wasn't going to ask, but what the bloody hell is going on, who're you talking to and how the bloody hell are you married to Potter?" Theo, who was sitting across from her, asked her before stuffing his face with fish and chips.

Pansy groaned because every set of eyes within earshot was now trained on her. "Well done, Theodore, you bloody dung-for-brains," she muttered. Daphne had gone further down the table to speak with her little sister, Astoria, about something, so she was left all alone to deal with this. Moving her head just so, Pansy glared at him balefully from beneath her fringe, blowing a strand of her from her face as she did so. "It wasn't my choice, alright? It happened when Draco decided to only save his own skinny arse. Harry saved me. He actually risked his life and saved me from those blasted Dementors and that's when this – this bond happened." She shrugged helplessly. "Dumbledore said that Magic itself witnessed what he did, so this…just…kind of happened."

"Couldn't believe it myself when I first heard the news," Blaise piped in, chewing on a piece of grilled pork before washing it down with orange juice. "His mother was supposedly an extraordinarily talented witch though, despite the circumstances of her birth." He shrugged. "Could've hitched it with someone worse, all things considered. That ponce, McLaggen, for instance."

"He's just upset that he lost money to McLaggen for betting against Ireland when our families watched the World Cup finale together," Theo confided to her with a snigger. "It's been weeks and Blaise still hasn't gotten over it."

"I would have…if he'd just stop lording it over me," Blaise grumbled. "Prat thinks he's got good Quidditch sense when he's barely a second-rate flyer himself."

Pansy glanced down the length of the table, mindful of who was listening and who wasn't. Not feeling particularly safe, she shrugged and shook her head. "Doesn't matter now, does it?" she murmured instead. "It's irreversible."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Blaise raised his glass of orange juice. "Cheers, then."

"So…how's it going so far?" Theo then asked.

Pansy turned her gaze from Blaise to Theo. "How's what going so far?"

"You know…your, uh, thing with Potter."

She opened her mouth to say something before clamping it shut. "No. Not answering that," she simply said with a vehement shake of her head. "I'm definitely not talking about that." Pushing her barely-touched plate away from her, Pansy got up from the bench, grabbed her bag from beneath her chair and got ready to head to Potions class. "Professor Snape won't want us to dawdle," she drawled as she left for the dungeons. It didn't matter that they easily had another fifteen minutes or more.

And of course, she couldn't just leave the Great Hall quietly without countless sets of eyes turning their gazes on her. It was impossible to move throughout the halls and corridors of the castle without being stared at by the student populace – and even the bloody portraits! It was so incredibly frustrating. And it wasn't goodattention. It wasn't the kind of attention she'd enjoy. It wasn't being admired for her beauty, for her clothes, for her confidence. All of this attention she was on the receiving end of now boiled down to nothing but morbid curiosity.

In the back of her mind, she could feel Harry excusing himself to his friends and coming after her, forcing a soft groan out of Pansy. Of course, it would look good and that was a good thing but it also wasn't. What would the spawn of some of the worst Death Eaters think if the princess of the Parkinson family appeared to be so very happy with the Boy-Who-Lived?

Hasty steps quickly caught up to her and for a moment she expected him to touch her shoulder but he simply slowed down next to her.

So, together, Harry and she walked down the corridor towards the dungeons, neither saying anything at first until Harry decided to speak up.

"Bugger them," he finally said, causing her to glance at him from the corner of her eyes. "Ignore it and they'll move on eventually."

"It's not that simple," Pansy muttered. "It's a culmination of things."

"Yeah, I got that."

"Then you ought to understand where my frustration and worry stem from."

Harry chuckled at that. "I ought to do a lot of things, yeah?"

Pansy just huffed in turn.

"Look, I get you, I genuinely do, but agonising over this whole thing every minute and second of the day won't make it better." He sighed, shrugging helplessly. "It's how people are."

"And you just go with it?" she asked him doubtfully. "You just go with it because it simply is how some people are?"

"Well, I can't very well force people to stop being utter prats now, can I?"

"Fair enough." Again, she peered at him from the corner of her eyes. "However, you still fail to understand the predicament this bond has put me in."

"Because of the two relatives of those Death Eaters?" Harry wondered, which she answered with a nod. "We can deal with that. I'm used to stuff like this as well."

She wanted to retort but faint memories suddenly crept up from the back of her mind like a fog, which made her pause.

See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapour.

How is it that you – a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?

Voldemort is my past, present and future.

And with every memory he had apparently managed to hide from her so far, her mouth kept gaping more and more. She felt almost as if her jaw was becoming unhinged. Pansy was staring at Harry as he clutched his head and almost pulled his hair out with gritted teeth, visibly and forcibly trying to stop his mind from working, actively keeping the bond from sharing the full extent of his memories with her.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

I Am Lord Voldemort.

"Blasted, fucking – damn it…"

"You can't be bloody serious!" Pansy hissed at him with widened eyes, her breathing turning shallower by the second. How'd he manage to keep those thoughts from her for months? "He's still out there?!" She felt herself go pale so rapidly, it wouldn't take much anymore for her to resemble the Bloody Baron.

"I don't know what he is or what happened, alright?!" Harry snapped at her in a whisper. He shot a look at both sides of the corridor, just by the stairs leading down to the dungeons, before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a corner lined down with medieval armour to hide them from sight. "Listen to me."

"I will, once you stop manhandling me like a sack of potatoes," she ground out. Stuck between Harry and the wall behind her, Pansy felt everything but comfortable. They were way too close to each other and she could feel her cheeks flush. Hopefully, the low light would help hide her face. "I do not appreciate being treated like some common muggle girl, alright?" Once he let go of her with a disapproving and tired look, she smoothed out the sleeves of her school robes and glanced at him expectantly, her heart beating in her chest in trepidation. "Well? What in Merlin's name is going on?"

He hesitated, clearly frustrated, and then swore rather explicitly under his breath though it did him little good. She was surprised at his filthy mouth. "Voldemort is not dead," he finally said with clear annoyance in his voice. "That's the gist of it."

"W-well," Pansy began shakily, swallowing thickly as she did, "the kneazle's out of the bag, as they say."

"That's one way to put it, yeah." Harry shrugged. Then his expression turned hard and serious. "You can't tell anyone about this, alright? Only Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and I know about this."

"Well, I have to tell my father, though!" Pansy whispered harshly. "He has to know, just in case!"

"Just why are you so worried?" he asked her, his suspicion evident in his slightly narrowed eyes. "Who're you scared of?"

There were several names immediately popping into her head and she had to wince at his now bulging eyes.

"No way. Mal-"

"Shhh!" She shushed him, now panicking herself. "Later, alright? We've got a lot to talk about later."

Distantly, there was a gaggle of voices that caught their attention, signalling that there were also people heading their way now, right from the Great Hall's direction. It was very likely that lunch period had just ended and their respective year mates were now on their way to Potions.

"Tomorrow would be a better time, I think," Harry said after taking a moment to think, "and I know a good place to do that without worrying too much about others." He then gave her a crooked smile. "You up for a trip to the Chamber of Secrets?"

For a moment, her worries and fears abated and made way for excitement. "Am I ever!"

"Don't forget to write a letter to your parents, though. It was a promise after all," he then reminded her while glancing to his right towards the approaching noise of chatter. Tiredly exhaling, his face fell into a frown filled with dread. "If you want to sit with my group in Potions class, I won't mind but I urge you to stick with the Slytherins," he told her, "otherwise you'll just end up in the crossfire with Snape."

"I appreciate the warning." She'd definitely heed it.

They waited for a few more moments until the rest arrived, then Pansy turned to Harry, nodding in the general direction of the group of fourth-year Slytherins and Gryffindors. She had spotted Draco's distinct pale-blonde hair immediately.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Harry," she said loudly with a slowly growing grin. "I'm looking ever so forward to it."

Harry thankfully managed to stifle a visible cringe at the sudden attention on them, as did she, to be fair. Though Pansy, admittedly, was willing to suffer through more of this, through more of these vultures picking apart the carcass of her former comfortable life which had become this blasted soulbond and marriage to Harry Potter. She was willing – if only to see Draco's tightened jaws, clenched teeth and angry red blotches covering his face.

After spotting Daphne, Pansy immediately walked over to her friend.

"What's that about tomorrow?" Daphne asked her with a raised brow.

"Harry's going to show me something tomorrow," Pansy explained as they descended the stairs to the dungeons, "and we have a lot of important things to discuss." She winced a bit. "I can't tell you more than that but I will implore upon him the importance of sharing these things with you."

"Don't get me wrong but if this is more of the mad stuff Potter and his gaggle of disciples keep getting into, then I can very well live without knowing those things," Daphne said, wrinkling her nose.

"I very much concur, Daph, but I gotta have you with me or I will literally lose my mind."

Daphne sighed dramatically. "If I must."

Soon they reached the Potions classroom and the door immediately opened to let them in. Professor Snape was already waiting inside, inspecting a number of ingredients and bottles on his desk. The moment Pansy stepped through the threshold, she felt his piercing, dark eyes, zeroing in on her.

After she had taken her seat between Draco and Daphne – which really wasn't saying that much considering the room they needed to work on the potions they would be brewing – Professor Snape spoke up.

"You have my sincere condolences, Miss Parkinson," he drawled out, making her stiffen in her seat. He was the first teacher to actually address their situation. Red-faced, she wished he'd just shut up and get on with class. "I cannot imagine the horror you must have felt upon learning of your fate," the professor continued. "Although, I shall hope that you will strive to not get dragged down to Mr Potter's academic level in this subject…or any other, for that matter."

No one dared to snicker or even giggle, not even the Slytherins, not even Draco. Instead, there was a moment of bated breath, everyone waiting for a reaction.

Pansy glanced fleetingly at Harry, who was glaring furiously at Snape.

"Fucking twit," she heard him rant inwardly, "plug-ugly bellend."

Smothering her smirk, Pansy spoke up softly. "I will endeavour to make sure to keep him in line, Professor."

Now, there were a few snickers and giggles on the Slytherin side of the classroom while Granger and Harry's Weasley were trying to murder her with just a look. Harry on the other hand was decidedly unimpressed with her.

"Minger."

"Yob."

Spending a lazy Saturday morning in bed was exactly what Pansy had craved yesterday and the day before. A smile was on her lips as she snuggled deeper into the blankets.

Just a few minutes longer and then she'd head downstairs for breakfast, spend some time in the library on her homework – it really was beyond her understanding, why any of the Professors thought that giving them homework in their very first week was a good idea – and then she'd be forced to spend some quality time with Harry.

To be fair to him, they'd gotten along well enough since arriving at Hogwarts. He had been kind and understanding to her and their disagreements hadn't devolved into a mere hurling of insults.

It could've been worse. It really could've been worse. This was genuinely far better than at the end of last term when they could barely stand the other's presence, be it physically or mentally. Pansy was confident enough to admit that they'd finally found a semblance of common ground.

She wondered how the Gryffindors had reacted to their bond.

"Most of them found it hilarious, to be honest." Harry's sudden voice nearly startled a shriek out of her. "Lavender and Parvati find it romantic; Fred, George and Lee just took the piss and wouldn't stop offering terrible advice; Neville, Ron and Hermione hate you and feel terrible for me while Seamus and Dean said that…I don't want to say it."

He sounded embarrassed and that made her suspicious.

"Say –"

Though he didn't need to actively say it. Again, something just slipped and it made her gasp out loud.

"He said what?!"

"Bloody hell…"

"He ought to keep his eyes away from my arse! You tell him that!"

"Tell him yourself," Harry muttered. "Or don't," he hastily added. "If you do, then people will know about what this bond can do and that's dangerous. You've secrets of other people and I've secrets of other people."

Pansy gulped. He was right. No one else apart from their immediate friends could know. "And we are from…opposing ideologies."

"Look," he then said, "I don't consider you an enemy or something, alright? I mean, yeah, you are annoying and ignorant, right?"

"I take offence to that."

"Yeah, I don't care. What I'm trying to say is…you aren't my enemy. You're close to…I don't even know anymore what Malfoy really is and I'm really curious about what you've got to say there but…I just can't see it. I just can't see you waging war against muggles or something."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to react to this," Pansy then admitted with a raised brow and a slight frown.

"Take it as a compliment." Harry paused. "Anyway. You and your family… you are close to dangerous people and the fewer who know about us sharing thoughts the better. I've a massive target on my back. That's a fact."

That was a fact indeed. "Suddenly, being bound to Vincent or Gregory doesn't sound so bad," Pansy admitted wistfully. "It would've been such a simple life. Bland and sad, but simple."

"Yeah and I bet Snape wouldn't have worried about you being dragged to their level. What a twat."

Pansy had to stifle a laugh. "Did I hear that right? How uncouth, Harry. Never pegged you for someone sovulgar."

"Oh, shut up."

The late morning sun shone brightly over the lake, where she was taking a leisurely stroll around with one Harry Potter.

"Who'd have thought," she muttered, her hands tucked in her robe's pockets. She was wearing a simple burgundy robe with long and loose sleeves and a sash tied around her waist, ending just below her knees. Beneath the hem, a hint of her beige trousers gave way to black leather boots.

"I certainly wouldn't have," Harry admitted with a sigh, his hands also tucked away in his robes' pockets. He, admittedly, was easy on the eyes with his dark green robes and new glasses. They complimented his eyes really well. "Thanks," he added after clearing his throat. "How're…how're things with Malfoy?"

"You know," Pansy began, "a good thing about this bond is that I can sense and even read the intentions behind such questions." She glared at him from the corner of her eyes. "We'll talk about that later."

He rolled his eyes at her. "You can't blame me for it."

"Of course I can't, but I still will." She huffed. "We haven't had a proper conversation since in the Express. I hope he suffers in his guilt."

"Figured as much. He hasn't stopped scowling at me from across the hall. You're kinda vicious, aren't you?" he then mused, "and I don't mean that negatively. You don't just hold a grudge but one hell of a grudge."

"So you better be careful with how you treat me, Harry," she replied sweetly.

"Right." After a moment, he stopped walking and held up a finger. "I just had a thought. Do you actually have a way to sneak out of the dungeon at night?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. Whyever would I be sneaking about and knowing these things?"

Harry groaned. "I'm so used to sneaking past curfew, I didn't even think that it wouldn't be as simple for you."

"Oh, you mean for the Chamber then?" Pansy mused, now understanding his worry. "No, sneaking out at night would not be a good look for me," she agreed, "not to mention the risk of getting caught by the wrong people."

"Makes sense. Come on then," he said abruptly, "let's go now."

"Wait, really?" she asked, now feeling hesitant. "As in, right now?"

"Sure," Harry answered with a shrug. "It should be alright." He let his gaze sweep over the vast grounds and the hundreds of students enjoying the last sunny days they'd likely be having in the year. "The castle should be empty enough that it should be alright."

Suddenly, Pansy felt a lot less confident about going to the fabled Chamber of Secrets. "Alright…"

"It'll be fine." Waving her worries off, he nodded towards the castle. "I've got to pick a few things up from Gryffindor Tower."

She followed him as he quickly walked back to the castle. "Like?"

"Like things we need." Harry glanced at her with a serious expression. "It's a secret and it will stay a secret, even after you see them."

Pansy rolled her eyes, feeling a bit out of breath at the rapid pace Harry was setting. "Fine and slow down, will you?"

"Sorry but no. We've got to use this opportunity."

"Hey, wait!" Bloody–!

In much too short of a time, they reached the castle gates, passing the curious gazes of her fellow Slytherins and Harry's Gryffindors on their way. Not just red-faced out of embarrassment, Pansy felt faint traces of sweat clinging to her skin as she exerted significant effort to actually catch up with Harry. It felt icky and she craved a shower now.

They weren't just done yet, however, and walked past the vast and mostly deserted hallways and corridors, numerous portraits greeting them as they did so.

In what must have been record time, they had climbed the stairs to reach the portrait of a very fat and pale woman wearing a pink silk dress.

"Is this the one, dear?" the portrait asked, eyeing Pansy critically as she panted and caught her breath. "A rather pretty one, though she could do with looking…not as unfriendly."

"Yes, that's Pansy," Harry answered distractedly before turning to her. "Can I trust you with the password until there's a new one?"

Leaning against the wall to fan herself, Pansy gave a thumbs up instead.

"I'll be just a moment then." He turned to the portrait. "Utrem Vini."

"I certainly wouldn't say no, dear!" the woman joked, leaning her head back and laughing loudly as the portrait swung to the side to reveal a hole to crawl through.

Harry quickly stepped into the Gryffindor common room, leaving her alone to wait outside, once the hole was closed again. She was a bit miffed that he hadn't asked her to join him in the Gryffindor common room, considering that it wasn't unheard of for students to visit friends from other houses.

She would've declined, admittedly, but he could've asked.

After wiping her forehead with a handkerchief, Pansy then examined her fingernails, a pout forming on her lips as boredom quickly set in. Should I go for a bright pink or a vibrant red next? she wondered idly. She then sighed and walked over to the wall across from the flight of stairs leading downstairs. After crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed again and groaned.

"What's taking so long?"

"It's not even been a minute, calm down."

Her eyes then wandered over to the portrait again and she raised a brow at the Gryffindor Tower's guardian, who was staring at her rather unabashedly.

Pansy stared right back. "What?"

"You treat that boy well, you hear me?" the woman demanded, her expression rather stony.

Rolling her eyes, Pansy replied with a huff. "Oh, get off my back,chi darn braster o sbwriel."

The woman now looked positively scandalised, getting up from her stool, her whole body wobbling as she waved an irate finger at her. "Young lady, I ought to teach you some manners!" Then, to Pansy's utter shock, the Fat Lady started berating her in Welsh. "Dylwn i olchi dy geg gyda sebon! Dylwn i daro'ch gwaelod yn amrwd! Dylwn –"

Thankfully, the portrait swung to the side again to reveal a flustered Harry, carrying his broom of all things and something else; a strange, almost flowing material cradled in his arm. Once he got out, the portrait slammed the entrance shut, immediately glaring at her again. "Dylwn i ddarllen y weithred terfysg i chi!"

"Bloody bugger, come on!" Harry hissed at her and grabbed her by the arm to drag her down the stairs. "I'm really sorry for Pansy's behaviour, Fat Lady!" he called out from over his shoulder.

Pansy could hear a very loud and angry harrumph from the portrait as they were already halfway down the first flight of stairs. "Well, I'm not sorry," she complained. "That sow has no business sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."

"I seriously can't believe that you got into a fight with a portrait of all things." Harry gave her a disbelieving look, then stopped once they reached the bottom of the stairs. Glancing left and right down the corridor, he quickly moved and pulled her towards an empty classroom, opened the door, pushed her inside and followed after her, carefully closing the door behind them. He took a deep breath, then exhaled while she marvelled at the fact that he hadn't dropped his broom or that piece of odd fabric even once on their way downstairs. Harry then looked at her with wide eyes. "Didn't know she could speak Welsh, though."

"I didn't either!" she groaned, cheeks slightly red. It felt like being admonished by her own nana. "That's why I insulted her in Welsh in the first place!"

He shook his head at her. "That doesn't make it better, but it doesn't matter now anyway."

"Yes, well, what's that broom for and what's that fabric?" she then asked, pointing at the items he brought.

"The Firebolt is to get into and out of the chamber comfortably," Harry explained. "There's a slide down and it's rather steep. This," he continued, leaning his broom carefully against the wall before holding the neatly folded piece of fabric up, "is a…very important secret." He paused, his gaze fixed intensely on hers. "Considering our…uh, relationship, you'd be finding out about this one way or another anyway, so…yeah. This is me showing you a great amount of trust, alright?"

Pansy was intrigued. "Very well, I'll keep your secret."

He then shook the fabric once, unfolding it and, flowing almost like water, it became apparent that it was rather large. What really stunned her, however, was Harry slipping beneath it and disappearing from sight.

"No bloody way!" Taking a tentative step forward, Pansy reached her hand out, having to gauge the general distance between herself and Harry. "A perfect invisibility cloak," she whispered in awe. "I can't even guess where you're right now!"

"Here," he said, making her jump and stifle a scream when his floating head suddenly appeared in the middle of the air beside her while the rest of his body was still gone.

She gaped at him. "So that's how Draco saw your head! You bloody arse!" Despite herself, Pansy couldn't help but giggle. "I can just about imagine Draco's face." She couldn't help but give him a very amazed look. "You've impressed me, Potter. I'm very, very impressed."

He chuckled. "Thanks." Removing the cloak and carefully folding it again, he tucked it beneath an arm and reached for his robe's pocket to reveal an old piece of parchment. "Last but not least…there's this."

"At any other time, I would have been very unimpressed but now I'm very curious," she admitted.

Harry smiled, though his smile turned a bit sad after a moment. He touched the parchment almost tenderly before he unfolded it, took his wand from an inside pocket of his robe and tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Giving in to her curiosity, Pansy walked over to Harry and stood to his side, leaning over to peer at the parchment and, once again, she was utterly gobsmacked. "Is that Hogwarts?" She turned to look at Harry and then back at the parchment, then back at Harry and again at the parchment. "This is a map of Hogwarts! There're – there're the grounds! I can see the dungeons! A-and those names! Snape's in his office! Is that accurate?"

"It is," Harry confirmed with a soft smile. "That's how Remus – Professor Lupin – found out about us sneaking out of the castle after he confiscated the map." He sighed. "My dad created it with Sirius, Remus and…Pettigrew." He growled out the last name. "The Firebolt…it was a gift from Sirius. He gave it to me last year while he was on the run. In secret, of course," he added and then held up the cloak. "This belonged to my dad."

"Oh," Pansy said quietly, shuffling about awkwardly. She didn't know how to feel about Harry Potter sharing all these intimate details about his rather curious possessions. It was as if she was intruding on something she wasn't supposed to.

He smiled wryly. "One way or another, you'd have found out either way. I don't know if you've noticed but, to me, it's becoming increasingly harder to keep thoughts away from you."

Nodding, Pansy exhaled heavily. "Definitely."

"Why all this secrecy, though?"

"Because I don't want anyone to follow us," he explained.

A moment of silence followed, neither knowing what to do or say now. It was an odd situation to be in with a person she used to despise not even a year ago. Now she was forced to rely on him and that changed a lot. It changed her perspective, her relationships and, most of all, the things she thought she knew. And, most certainly, there was something she needed to know now.

"Shall we go then?" Harry asked her, unfolding the cloak again and handing her the map. "Hold this for me, please."

With evident surprise, Pansy took it, gingerly and genuinely afraid to accidentally tear it. A moment later, the cloak fell over her, covering both herself and Harry with ease. Still, he was awfully close to her now.

"I don't like it either but we've got to stick close to each other," he explained. "You don't want to cover lots of space when invisible. You want to be as small as possible."

"Right. Speaking like an expert, are you?"

He smiled wryly. "Kind of am, aren't I?"

He then took his broom and pulled it under the cloak as well and, miraculously, they still had quite a bit of room for another person of her size. It really was a piece of marvel, this cloak, and it felt unlike anything she had ever touched before; like water woven into fabric.

"Funnily enough," Harry said, now speaking through their link after they had stepped out into the corridor, "I used a pretty similar description. Follow our dots on the map and tell me when people are coming our way. The map can see through the cloak."

After that, he just led them silently and with ease through the castle. Pansy, meanwhile, after finding their dots on the map and cringing at how close they were to each other on this map, kept an eye out for anyone they might accidentally stumble into.

It didn't take them too long to reach Myrtle's bathroom and, after sneaking in, Harry closed the door behind them, muttering "Colloportus!" to lock the door shut. The ghost wasn't anywhere to be found and for that, Pansy was thankful. She did not want Myrtle to start blabbering about seeing her and Harry both alone in her bathroom. He removed the cloak next, revealing them back into the world, and leaned his broom against a wall before folding the cloak as much as possible and stuffing it in the inside pocket of his robe. He took the map from her, tapped it with his wand again, muttered "mischief managed" and, within the blink of an eye, this intricate map of Hogwarts suddenly became a blank piece of parchment again.

After folding it and hiding it away in his robe's pocket as well, he walked over to one of the sinks, leaned in on one of the sink taps and remained still for a few seconds. Then, he said something but it sounded more like an otherworldly, voiceless hiss, which covered her whole skin in goosebumps.

Suddenly, a rumble shook the bathroom and, before her very eyes, the sink sank into the ground to reveal a very large pipe leading to…somewhere.

"Morgana's saggy tits!" Pansy quickly walked up next to Harry, staring into the large, circular entrance. She couldn't see the bottom and where it led to and now she definitely understood and appreciated Harry's decision to bring his broom with them.

"Hop on," he told her, causing her to turn and eye him warily while he was already straddling his broom and hovering over the ground.

"Where?"

He gestured in front of him, between where he was sitting and where he was holding the broom. With flushing cheeks, Pansy took a hesitant step towards him, torn between wanting to see the chamber and not wanting to be cradled in his arms.

Relenting, she moved over to the patiently waiting Harry and his broom, sitting herself sideways onto the uncomfortable shaft. "This doesn't mean anything."

"Believe me when I tell you that I haven't even thought for a second that it did," he muttered, his arms now around her as he gripped the shaft tightly next to her left leg. "Hold tight."

She did, her hands gripping onto the wood tightly to her left and right as the broom suddenly lurched to life. Her eyes were closed while Harry was flying them down the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, the air noticeably changing into something moist, cool and murky.

She wasn't sure how long their flight lasted but suddenly, she heard the soft thud of feet on the ground, which prompted her to quickly jump off on shaky feet. "Gosh, I hate brooms," she muttered, trembling hands smoothing her hair and robes just to have something to do. She opened her eyes to notice almost complete darkness around them, only the silhouettes of a tunnel noticeable around them.

"Lumos. I love flying," Harry then said, pointing his glowing wand at her. "Come on."

She quickly walked up to him, lighting her own wand and sticking close to him as he led the way. The tunnel itself was rather unimpressive, admittedly; it was little else than a mix of metal piping and cavern rocks lining the walls. There were many small puddles, bones of rodents here and there, and even the shed skin of a massive snake. It was difficult to gauge the time down in these tunnels but, after a bit more silent walking, the tunnels noticeably widened and became brighter, braziers to their left and right flickering to life in a bright yellow light. Pansy was immediately reminded of the lamps in the Slytherin common room. If she was judging the brightness of these flames correctly, it should be around noon by now.

In front of them was a massive door flanked by two pillars, which were intertwined by intricately carved stone snakes. The door itself was left wide open, revealing a smooth pathway surrounded by towering marble pillars that were entwined with carved wood and snakes of different shapes and sizes, flanking a vast and wide chamber. At the far end, a massive statue of Salazar Slytherin, eerily similar to the one in the common room, loomed high over the chamber and gazed imperiously down at them as they entered the room. The ground was covered in many puddles and the distinctly sweet smell of rotting meat was permeating the air. It made her gag and dry-heave and she needed a moment or ten to get used to it; not without covering her mouth and nose in the crook of her arm, however.

"This is it," Harry said, leading them deep into the Chamber of Secrets, torch brackets affixed to the pillars bursting into yellow flames as they passed by each pair along their way. He glanced to the left and scratched his head. "I guess such a massive, magical creature takes time to fully decompose."

Her head snapped to the left and her hands immediately flew to her mouth, covering her gasp at the grisly sight of a large dead basilisk lying on the open floor. Easily twenty feet in size, not much was left of its flesh and organs anymore, the most parts of its skeleton and skull now visible.

"You fought that thing?"

Pansy couldn't even imagine it. She couldn't even entertain that thought. It felt like…it felt too fantastical to be true but…it was true. She could feel it, straight through the bond. And more of Harry Potter was unpeeled and revealed to her, out in the open. Just…where was the spoiled brat everyone was complaining about? Why wasn't he bragging about such a monumental accomplishment?

"To save Ginny," Harry simply said, answering her earlier question and ignoring everything else. "This is where we're supposed to be honest with each other now, right?" He sighed at her shaky nod. She was scared of what he was going to say but she needed to know. She needed to understand because now she was directly involved. The soulbond made sure of that. "There was…a diary," Harry began. "I don't know how or why, but…Riddle…Voldemort –" Pansy couldn't help the flinch. "–…he was somehow in it. A younger version or something. Malfoy's dad," he continued, peering intently at her, "snuck it into Ginny's books when we ran into each other in Diagon Alley and she began writing in it. Riddle slowly started to take over and control her; killing roosters, smearing stuff with their blood on the walls and releasing the basilisk to target muggle-borns. The diary was only destroyed when I stabbed one of the basilisk's fangs into it."

"Merlin, Maeve and Morgana…" She couldn't believe that he was telling the truth. If he wasn't, she'd know immediately.

"Quirrel?" Harry went on. "You still remember him, right?" Blinking at the sudden mention of their former DADA professor, Pansy could only nod. "The turban he was wearing? He was hiding Voldemort in the back of his head."

Pansy's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as she gaped openly at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

Harry looked at her grimly. "He's still out there, you know, possessing people and things while looking for a body."

This is insane. "I've to tell my dad, Harry. He has to know," she pleaded.

"Only once you tell me why."

"You wouldn't be able to stop me anyway!" Pansy huffed. "I'd just go, write a letter and send an owl!"

He didn't reply and merely raised a brow at her, glancing casually at the Chamber all around them and the only exit accessible by a Parselmouth and a broom.

"You bloody bugger…" Exhaling through her nose and glaring at the ceiling of the chamber, Pansy took a steely breath before she began her part of this quid pro quo. "I'm not sure whether you're aware but, after the war, there were quite a few Death Eaters, who claimed to have been under the control of the Imperius…Lucius Malfoy being one of the ones who was never convicted."

"So, Malfoy's father was a Death Eater," Harry muttered, shaking his head. "Not that surprised, to be honest."

"My father said that Lucius was one of the Dark Lord's staunchest allies and was rumoured to have done some horrid things during the war," Pansy admitted, "so if what you just told me gets out or if, Merlin forbid, the Dark Lord actually returns…I want my father to be prepared. My father would never sacrifice me to sell you out. It won't ever happen and neither would my mother do that. Because of this bond," she explained, indicating it with her hand between Harry and herself, "we – my parents and I – are also in danger. My dad has to know."

Harry mulled it over but only for a moment before nodding. "You're right," he said. "Tell him then. But your dad also supports this whole thing, doesn't he?"

"Not the slaughter of muggles and muggle-borns!" she insisted angrily. "Families like the Greengrasses or mine or even Blaise and his mother, we just want a clear separation between our society and the muggle world and muggle-borns! Muggle-borns will never understand our culture! They come here with their Christmas and Easter holidays and take over our holidays but don't understand what Magic means to us! They don't understand that Magic is a living, breathing thing and that being favoured by it is a monumental gift! Instead, they just pull out a spell book, cite a couple of things from memory and act as if they've got it all figured out." She huffed. "Not to mention all the witch hunts and that one war against a muggle king and his muggle-born advisor. It's been tried and scrapped and tried again and scrapped again and it will never work. Muggles will never fit into the magical society and should just stick to their – to their aeromobiles and screws and leave us and our traditions and beliefs alone. They attend Hogwarts, learn to use our gift and then just piss off to their world again. It is theft."

"Huh, I didn't know that," Harry mused, a deep frown lining his face. "I mean, it makes more sense than simply going 'our blood is better than yours'–" "Which it is," Pansy threw in. "– but I still don't agree. It's still stupid."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "At least you understand that I don't want to actually murder Granger…over differing ideologies, at least."

Silence settled. She let her gaze sweep over the Chamber again, a feeling of disbelief and wonder still dominating every other sensation. Just what other secrets did this room hold?

"Want to head back?" Harry then asked her.

Pansy shook herself off such silly thoughts and nodded. "Yes, please. Also, I'm going to tell Daph. If you get to tell your friends, I get to tell Daphne."

"Er...I don't know…" Harry hesitated.

"Come on! She can keep a secret, I swear!"

"If she doesn't, you and your family are going to bear the brunt of the consequences." He met her gaze intently. "You know that, right?"

"Of course, but I trust her the way you trust your losers!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Stop calling – you know what, no. I won't let you bait me like that." He took a deep breath. Then he exhaled and glared at her, pointing a rude finger in her direction. "She's the only one outside of your parents, though. Anything more and I'm going to be really angry. Trust me when I say that you wouldn't want to see that."

She was almost tempted to go and blab, just to see his angry side. Instead, she opted to simply smile, though his unimpressed frown was a clear sign that he was well aware of her thoughts.

"Oh, and do you mind if I tell my father about the basilisk?" she wondered. "He surely would keep the fangs but he'd sell what is left of the rest. As part of the Parkinson family, you, of course, would also profit massively here and would have access to the fangs should you ever need it."

"I don't really care about the money but sure, I guess." Leaving her bewildered, he glanced at the carcass of the massive, legendary creature and scratched the back of his head. "Better than just leaving it lying around here, innit?" Then he turned his attention back to her. "Can we leave now?" he asked her with a bit of impatience. "I've a lot to think and talk about with Ron and Hermione."

Pansy agreed. Fear and worry were deeply settled in her stomach now. The Dark Lord is not dead. "Yes. This place reeks."

She couldn't wait to tell Daphne everything.

AN:

Minger. – An ugly, unpleasant, or smelly person or thing.

Yob. – A loutish, uncultured person

Foreign Languages:

Utrem Vini. – A bottle of wine. (Latin)

chi darn braster o sbwriel. – You fat piece of trash. (Welsh)

Dylwn i olchi dy geg gyda sebon! – I should wash your mouth with soap! (Welsh)

Dylwn i daro'ch gwaelod yn amrwd! – I should spank your bottom raw! (Welsh)

Dylwn i ddarllen y weithred terfysg i chi! – I should read you the riot act! (Welsh)

Believe it or not, all the translations are done via Google Translate. I can't actually speak these languages.