Three Witches
Pansy Parkinson
"Draco won't get back together with me."
"And why would he?"
Pansy looked at her mother upside down from where she'd flung herself onto the green velvet chaise before twisting over so her small nose rested on the armrest, her dark eyes going wide in disbelief.
"Stop sitting in such an unladylike manner, Pansy."
Pansy slowly shifted herself up. The pillows of a lighter green shifted under her slightly as she moved her elbows to rest on the armrest and her chin in her hands as she continued looking at her mother, batting her black eyelashes. "Why wouldn't he want to get back with me, given we're both Purebloods?"
"Why would he, after that stunt you pulled," her mother said, her fingers slowly working at forming delicate embroidery stitches. Not once did she look up from her work.
"I don't understand why you don't use magic to do that," Pansy said, finally getting her mother to look up from where she sat in a chair that matched the chaise Pansy lounged in.
Very calmly, very coldly, her mother said, "Why did you change the subject?"
"What do you mean?"
"I was pointing out there is absolutely no reason for Draco Malfoy to get back together with you after that stunt you pulled." Her mother lowered her embroidery to her lap, her face expressionless. "Did you not offer The Boy Who Lived as a living sacrifice?"
"I don't see what I did wrong," Pansy said, flopping onto her back, her thin arms folding across her chest and the dark green dress, which flowed in a straight cut. The bottom of the dress floated off the edge of the chaise slightly, the gossamer green fabric drifting away from the green silk part of the skirt.
"You don't?"
"I'm a Slytherin. I was being resourceful and saving my own skin."
"You were being foolish," her mother snapped, finally losing her cool before continuing her needlework, stabbing the embroidery needly into the fabric stretched across the wooden hoop held in her hand. "Foolish girl. Do you not understand what you've done to our family reputation? That we're the laughingstock of the wizarding world now?"
Pansy said up, her mouth forming a pout as her small nose wrinkled. "Why?"
"Why? Because you suggested sacrificing Harry Potter, too," her mother hissed. "To that monster!"
Pansy's eyes narrowed, thin pale fingers reaching up to brush a lock of black hair behind her ear. "And what have I done? Isn't it the rest of Pureblood society who are fools? Trying to save face and not hold onto our values?" She lifted her chin. "At the time, it looked like he would win."
"You still didn't have to bloody be the one to suggest giving in to that monster's demands!"
"Monster? Just a while ago, you were singing his praises."
"I was not," her mother snapped. "Agreeing with Pureblood supremacy is not the same as agreeing with that monster. It's time you learn the difference."
Pansy leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "I still don't understand what the big deal is."
"I told you. Our reputation is ruined."
"I mean, I don't understand why our reputation is ruined. I simply said what every other Slytherin was thinking."
"And this is why you're a fool," her mother said. "You suggested sacrificing Harry Potter, the hero, but their side is in charge of things now. But I warned you long ago to know who you should form alliances with to get ahead."
"That's why I formed an alliance with Draco," Pansy said.
"And the Malfoy family has better things to do than to have their son associate with the young lady who thought sacrificing Harry Potter was a good thing," her mother said.
"You keep going on about that," Pansy said, rolling her eyes as she continued looking up at the ceiling.
"And what will the foolish daughter of mine plan on doing to place herself in a better light within the magical community after she decided that sacrificing The Boy Who Lived to save her own skin was a good idea? How do you plan on being resourceful now?"
"I'm sure I can convince Draco eventually," Pansy said.
"Pansy, dear," her mother said, her tone remaining cold. "Do you not understand the Malfoy family is siding with Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived now? Do you not understand they actually know how to save their own skin?"
Pansy tensed, swallowing as she looked at her mother, who continued to stab her embroidery needle through the hoop.
"Good. Now you understand your predicament, don't you? Because the entire magical community knows what you did. It's in the papers, but did you really think one of the students wouldn't have let it slip what you did?"
"Surely nobody in Slytherin would betray another Slytherin like that," Pansy said.
"Given that your words resulted in the entire Slytherin house being escorted from the Great Hall in shame, they might have," her mother said. "Yet it never occurred to you it doesn't have to be a Slytherin that tipped the papers off to your betrayal?" Her mother reached for her wand, summoning the newspaper to Pansy before going back to stabbing her embroidery. "There are three other houses, so anyone from them could be the anonymous source who outed you."
"I bet it was that Mudblood," Pansy said, picking up the paper to look at the headlines.
"Who?"
"Potter's friend."
"If they're Potter's friend, it will behoove you not to call them a Mudblood," her mother said, a sharpness to her words right before the woman shook her head. "Honestly. What am I going to do with you?"
"It must have been her, though," Pansy said. "She's that vile." Her thin pale fingers straightened out the newspaper, glaring at the page the paper was opened to. Her eyes didn't focus on the article titled "PARKINSON BETRAYED POTTER" and instead focused on another title. "Who's Regulus Black?"
"What?" Her mother said.
"The headline reads, 'FORMER DEATH EATER REGULUS BLACK TO RECEIVE ORDER OF THE MERLIN POSTHUMOUSLY," Pansy said.
"Ah. The Black heir," her mother said, her tone changing. "He certainly was different."
"You knew him?" Pansy said, looking up.
"Younger brother of one Sirius Black," her mother said. "Yet heir to everything the Black family owned only for it to go to his brother after all, or so I've heard."
"From whom?"
"Narcissa Malfoy," her mother said, continuing to work away at her embroidery, this time not stabbing her needle through with the same murderous zeal as before.
"He's connected to the Malfoy family?" Pansy asked, her head tilting as she looked at her mother.
"Her younger cousin." And then, "She also complained about how everything eventually went to the Potter boy rather than her and her sister, simply because the Potter boy was the godson of Regulus' older brother."
"Really?" Pansy said, turning her head.
"You should know this, though."
"Why?"
"Because the Black family is the most prominent of the Pureblood family. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. That disgusting Sirius Black liked to flip that around and say Most Noble and Ancient House of Black as if doing so would change the fact the Black family is—was nobility."
"Wait? They're nobility? And wealthy?" Pansy said.
"What are you scheming now?"
"What did this Regulus Black look like?"
"Like every member of the Black family?"
"You mean they have blond hair and blue eyes?"
"Oh. No, Narcissa is an exception to the rule. Even that foul sister of hers—the one who married a Muggleborn was an exception. The Black family is known for their dark looks. As in their black hair and dark eyes."
"So, I look like I could be a Black?" Pansy asked.
Her mother looked up, setting her embroidery in her lap again. Her mouth pushed together for a moment, and then, "Just because you look like a Black doesn't mean you are a Black."
"But there's no way for anybody to question my claim," Pansy said.
"What claim? What are you thinking of doing?"
"It says here that despite being a former Death Eater, he will be receiving the Order of Merlin."
"Really?"
"You didn't notice?" Pansy said, holding up the paper and pointing at the article.
"I was far more interested in the article involving my daughter making a fool of herself." The woman let out a laugh. "And heir Black. He was such a bore. But if you want to make an even bigger fool of yourself potentially, I will not stop you from doing so."
"Well, you did ask me what I was going to a resourceful Slytherin now. Why shouldn't I take advantage of this to fix our reputation?" Pansy ran her fingers over the newspaper again, even though it didn't need straightening. "Plus, this is better than siding with the other side and will allow me to save face with the Purebloods, who aren't in a rush to side with Potter."
"Whatever you say," her mother said. "If anyone asks, I'll neither confirm nor deny it. You're on your own."