"LOUSY LITTLE FUCKER!"
Draco ducked as a somewhat priceless glass vase flew past his ear, smashing on the wall behind him into hundreds of glittering shards. Pansy had found the antiques. He shook his head and rustled the Evening Prophet as yet another valuable shattered behind him.
"FILTHY! DISGUSTING! ASSHOLE !"
Each cruel word was emphasized by another breaking object. Draco knew he would have to stop her soon, before she destroyed everything in his home, but he was vainly hoping she would exhaust herself between the insults and obliteration of his various possessions.
"SLUTTY MANWHORE!"
Draco had to laugh at that one, though as soon as the dry chuckle escaped him he knew he was in for it. There was a dull thud from the kitchen as Pansy dropped something onto the floor, followed by the click of her heels. When the sound stopped he looked up from his paper, flinching at her closeness. She was less than a foot away with her wand drawn and pointed directly between his eyes.
"What the fuck is so funny?" Pansy growled, pressing the tip of her wand against the bridge of his nose. "You find it fucking hilarious that my husband decided to fuck some fucking whore in our fucking bed?"
Draco set down his paper with raised eyebrows at her excessive cursing. Pansy had a vicious tongue, yes, but she relied on dry wit and snappy retorts to cut, not common swearwords. "Not at all, Pansy. Your choice of language, on the other hand, is quite amusing."
Pansy's eyes narrowed and she stormed off in a whirlwind of mutterings. She had been in a foul mood for the past week, her divorce having been finalized only that morning. Draco, being Pansy's best friend, had offered her a place to stay until she found a house of her own. Of course, he had not realized that offering a room to a friend would leave him with a vast amount of broken glass and tiptoeing on eggshells. The woman seemed to have an unbelievably vast number of experiences with Blaise which she could relate to anything, and Draco had been the victim of her abuse for bringing up unwanted memories more than once.
He heard another crash from his kitchen and he stifled a groan. It had sounded distinctly like a five hundred year old glass goblet, one of the few Malfoy family heirlooms he was particularly fond of, smashing on the stone floors. Draco reached for his wand on the coffee table, spinning it lazily in his fingers, contemplating whether or not to stun the woman who was currently making mincemeat out of his kitchen.
A particularly loud crash reverberated throughout the home and Draco jumped up, determined to stop the nonsense that was Pansy Parkinson from leaving him in ruins. His resolve for stunning, or at least immobilizing, was discarded, however, when he entered the kitchen to find Pansy seated on the floor. Her hair was in disarray and sobs ripped from her chest as she kneeled amongst thousands of shards of glass. Her hands were bloody and her dress torn and her cheeks were stained with tears which continued to fall as he strode across the kitchen, reaching her in two strides and gathering her into his arms.
Her head lolled into the crook of his neck as he carried to the living room, carefully placing her on the couch where he had just been seated. When he released her she coiled into a ball, her body shaking with sobs. He quickly prised her out of her position, gently holding her hand as he ran his wand over the cuts and slices, murmuring spells until they sewed themselves back together. At long last exhaustion appeared to have overcome Pansy and he watched the slow and steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept.
If it were any other female then he would have ulterior motives for undressing them, but this was Pansy. This was his best friend. This was the woman he had cleaned up a countless number of times after one too many drinks on a night out. He carefully unzipped her torn dress and pulled it from her body, dumping it unceremoniously on the floor. He pulled off her heels and her sheer stockings before picking her up once more.
He hated that someone could do this to Pansy. She was always so strong, so haughty, and here she was with a makeup stained face and bloodied hands because some bastard who was not even worth a second of her time had gone and cheated on her. Draco had felt shaken with rage on more than one occasion since Pansy had revealed Blaise's infidelity, and seeing his best friend so broken was the last straw.
Draco carried her to her bedroom, awkwardly shifting the covers out of the way before placing her on the bed. He covered her up and watched for a moment as she burrowed beneath the covers, clutching the pillow to her head. Her forehead was marred with frown lines. She was hurting and he wanted nothing more than to kill the cheating scum who had done this to her.
Half a minute later he was throwing a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace, disappearing into the swirl of green flames. He stepped out and into the parlour of the South Wing of Zabini Manor, a familiar location for him. Hearing footsteps approaching, he smoothed down his crisp shirt and removed any pieces of soot, turning to face the large archway.
"Excuse me?"
The voice was feminine, soft, and it took Draco a few minutes to place the face. He saw curly blonde hair and a plain, pale face with a few blemishes. That, tied in with the baby dressed in pink connected all the dots he needed.
"I cannot fucking believe this," he shook his head in amazement. "Fucking hell!"
"Do you mind?" the woman asked sharply, nodding her head to the baby girl.
"Marietta fucking Edgecomb. You are the woman Blaise cheated on Pansy with?" Draco said incredulously and Marietta nodded. "Merlin, I thought Blaise was mad when he cheated on Pansy, but to cheat on her with you?"
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Marietta frowned, adjusting the baby, Rose, in her arms.
"You have seen Pansy, haven't you?" he questioned and she nodded. "No offense, but she is one hell of a good looking woman. You could be pretty, but Pansy doesn't even have to try. Merlin knows why Blaise chose you."
"Perhaps it's because Marietta has at least a sliver of a soul, something which Pansy lacks," Blaise drawled, entering the room. He tossed a lazy arm over Marietta's shoulder, looking the picture of ease.
"Something which Pansy lacks?" Draco raised his brows. "You obviously haven't seen her lately, you absolute wanker. She's a total wreck and it's your bloody fault for going back to this bint after a one night stand."
"Mari, go and put Rose down for her nap," Blaise instructed and Marietta scurried away, casting a glare over her shoulder at Draco. "Now, I think it's time we have a little chat, shall we?" The Italian wizard gestured to the cushy armchairs and Draco took a seat, keeping his hand clasped around his wand. He still wasn't past hexing Blaise into oblivion.
"What shall we 'chat' about, Blaise?" Draco asked stiffly. "How you cheated on Pansy? How you abandoned her and left me to pick up the pieces? Or why don't we talk about why she's currently a tear-streaked mess who has been breaking my possessions all day, all the while cursing your name to the high heavens?"
"She's always had a love of the dramatics," Blaise commented and Draco fought the rage which built in his chest. "I'm sure Pansy was never entirely faithful in our relationship."
"You're certain of that, Blaise? She fucking loves you," Draco spat. "You are one of the few people she loves, and she is fiercely loyal to those whom she bestows her feelings upon. She would never cheat on you."
To his credit, Blaise looked surprised, his mouth forming into a small O before his face returned to a cool mask to match Draco's. "If Pansy told you the full story, then you would know that she left me. I hardly abandoned her. I see her favour for the theatrics has rubbed off on you," Blaise said dryly.
"She left you after you told her that your illegitimate child would be moving in with you, along with the mother of the kid," Draco retorted. "Good move, Blaise. Real good move. I don't know how you could even begin to think that Pans would be okay with that."
"It would only have been until Marietta could find a house!" Blaise argued. "However, Pansy leaving has given me a chance to really reflect on things. Pansy never wanted children, and now I have a daughter of my own, all without the hassle of a melodramatic, spoilt rotten wife."
"So you're certain Rose is your daughter? Edgecomb hasn't pulled the rug over your head as well?" Draco jeered.
"Paternity tests work wonders," Blaise smirked and Draco scowled. "Even if I hadn't conducted a paternity test when Mari claimed that Rose was my daughter, I could tell just by looking at her. She has my eyes."
"Because eye colour is always a guarantee," Draco said sarcastically. "I'm glad that everything has worked out swimmingly for you. Shall we just forget the crying wreck that is your ex-wife, then?"
"Pansy should have known we would never have worked out for the long term," Blaise shrugged. "We were never perfectly suited to each other. Anyway, she's getting a hefty settlement fee, so she should be out of your hair and spending it up in no time."
"Charming," Draco said snottily. "Well then, I'll go and inform her that the money is being wired to her account now, shall we? Just so she can prepare enough shopping trips in advance."
"Splendid," Blaise remarked. "I can't say it's been a pleasure seeing you, Draco, but it scarcely is whenever we're alone."
"Fuck you, too," Draco farewelled his fellow Slytherin before stepping into the fireplace and returning to his home. He could hear snuffling and Pansy's mumbled voice coming from the kitchen. She was awake.
"Draco. I'm so sorry," Pansy's lower lip quivered when she saw him standing in the doorway, repairing the various objects she had destroyed. Her eyes were red and puffy and she still looked a mess, dressed in one of his shirts which fell to her mid thigh.
"Pansy," he murmured, cautiously approaching her. Her wand clattered to the floor and he embraced her. "Don't cry, Pans. My best friend never cries. Not even when I spilt all of her elf-made perfume in fifth year."
Pansy managed a watery chuckle and squirmed out of his hold. "Everything's so messed up now," she mumbled, wiping away her tears. "I have no idea how you've handled me these past few days."
"With a lot of firewhiskey and silencing charms," he joked, relieved when she smiled. "It'll work out. Don't worry."
"How can I not worry, Draco?" her eyes were wide, pleading. "I love him. I still love him, and now I've lost him to some stupid whore and her spawn."
"He's a prick, Pansy. You may love him, but he's a total and utter bastard," Draco shrugged, ushering her into the lounge room where she sat in an armchair, discarding all regard for properness as she curled up. "He's always been a bastard. He treats women like shit. He even had the nerve to treat you like shit, which was a bad move on his part." Draco cracked his knuckles menacingly and Pansy's lips twitched upwards. "Tea?"
"Firewhiskey?" she suggested and he nodded in agreement.
"Much better idea," he said, summoning two tumblers and a bottle of the alcohol. He poured them each generous glasses and took a swig of his own. "Blaise told me to let you know that your settlement fee will be wired to your account in the next few days."
"Great, another stack of money," Pansy rolled her eyes. "I need a cigarette. Mind if I smoke in here?"
"I haven't cared for the last week," Draco reminded her as she lit up one of the foul smelling sticks. He had absolutely no desire to try one, and his desire lessened when Pansy let out a little cough. "Why do you even smoke those?"
"Stress relief," Pansy informed him. "These are bloody good ones as well."
"If you say so," Draco sniffed, flicking his wand to open a window. The smoke lazily trailed out as the two friends sat in silence, Pansy puffing away and Draco staring into the amber depths of his glass.
"What are you looking so pensive about?" Pansy inquired, vanishing the butt of her cigarette. "Think much harder and you might make the glass explode."
"Merlin knows there's been enough broken glass in this house today," Draco snorted and Pansy flushed.
"Shut it," she snapped. "I'm angry. I have a right to smash things."
"I thought that only applied when you were destroying your own possessions."
"Pour me more firewhiskey and put a lid on it," she rattled her empty tumbler in front of him and he smirked, pouring them each another glass.
Two bottles of Ogden's finest later, Pansy and Draco had moved to the topic of loves lost.
"Astoria was a bitch," Draco slurred, his drink spilling over the edge. "My mum is insane to think I'd like her."
"Nah, nah, nah. Love is a bitch," Pansy corrected him, her eyes closed and head resting on the armrest. "I should've just done what I said when I was fifteen."
"Whazzat?"
"Never fall in love," she said. "Love is so silly. I don't want no one to hurt me again like him."
"Fair 'nuf," Draco agreed, nodding his head. "I'll toast to that!"
Their glasses clinked together clumsily, the last of the firewhiskey slopping over the edge and landing on the floor. Pansy began to giggle hysterically, Draco joining in on her infectious laughter, their glasses miraculously making their way to the table with no damage. Their laughter increased in volume, both of them clutching their stomachs as they rolled off their respective chairs and landing with a thud on the ground, tears of mirth streaming down their cheeks.
Finally when all laughter was exhausted and their stomaches ached, Pansy turned to Draco and said one thing she had never meant until then.
"Thank you."
A/N: Third chapter in as many days! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I quite like Pansy in some fan fictions - yes, she's a bitch, but a funny one if written well.
I really do love your reviews, and it would make me so happy if I could get some for this chapter :) If all goes according to my plan, I will have another chapter out before Wednesday.