Three Witches
Pulse of Gossip

And indeed, Pansy's mother held to her word, refusing to answer the few questions her daughter tossed her way to pry information out of the woman regarding the bore of an heir Black."

"I am not, though, on my own," Pansy thought to herself as she sent an owl to the Zabini estate, her chin held high despite her recent faux pas action of urging everyone at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to turn Harry Potter over to Voldemort. "But if there is anyone who knows the gossip surrounding the man who was my father," she continued to muse, fully committed to taking on her new role as the long lost daughter of the heir Black, "then the one needs to go to the source of gossip within the Pureblood community."

A letter arrived shortly after inviting her to visit the Zabini estate via the Floo Network at her latest convenience. Without hesitation, Pansy stepped over to her fireplace, took a handful of Floo powder, and firmly stated her destination, chin still held high as she stepped from her front foyer into the study at the Zabini family mansion.

Blaise Zabini stood near the fireplace, leaning up against one of the bookcases, his mouth twisted into a slight sneer as he showcased his disgust while remaining dignified and polite towards his fellow Pureblood. "Parkinson," Blaise spoke in a brusque manner. "To what do we owe the pleasure of you visiting us today?"

Her mouth twisted in amusement as she stepped away from the fireplace and sat in one of the chairs, placing her hands in her lap like a proper lady, unlike how she'd acted the night of the final battle. She held her chin high and said, "So? Have you read the newspaper, Zabini?"

Blaise snorted before looking away in amusement, his arms crossing his chest.

Not a word left his mouth, which resulted in Pansy's nostrils flaring in irritation. "Blaise Zabini."

"Of course, I've seen the newspaper, dear Pan," Blaise laughed, dropping the disgust he'd greeted you with before turning to look at her, his head tilting in amusement. "I'm surprised your head's still held high after that scene you pulled in front of anyone, but good for you."

Pansy sucked in her breath, her hands unclasping from the proper posture instilled in her from a young age by her mother so she could latch onto the cloth of her skirt, twisting slightly to control her building frustration. "Not that. The other thing."

"Other thing?" Blaise began to relax. "Now you have me curious, although you had me curious when you sent me a letter out of the blue, particularly since your social standing right now is," and there came a chuckle right before he said, "Mud."

"Don't you dare say I'm below that filthy Mudblood that runs around with Potter, Zabini?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dare," Blaise said mockingly. "But still, Pans. What is it that you want to tell me? What else was in the paper?"

"What can you tell me about Regulus Black?"

"Regulus Black?" Blaise said, his smile turning into a frown. He stepped away from the bookcase and headed over to the desk, looking down at the paper, yet he didn't bother looking to see what in the article involved the person in question. His fingers tapped the desk instead, and from his mouth came, "Why do you ask?"

"He's my father," Pansy said, not missing a beat as she took on the role of the long-lost daughter as she'd taken on the role of Draco Malfoy's doting girlfriend. She smiled at Blaise sweetly. "I was hoping…."

"Let me stop you right there," Blaise said, an eyebrow rising, his mouth twisting into a smile, the amusement quite clear on his face. "How do you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's rather odd you never told any of us this?"

"How, when I just learned myself?" Pansy said.

"Oh?" Blaise said, his eyes now focused on the newspaper before him. He reached out and opened the paper to the page in question, musing over what she said."And you learned how?"

"My mother," Pansy said. "She saw the article." And then her smile turned into a frown. "I mean, it's on the same page, right?"

"Huh," he said, growing silent as he looked over the page. Blaise ran a hand through his dark hair and closed the paper. "They are on the same page." He then looked up at Pansy. "Is this your attempt to get back into society's good graces, Parkinson?"

"Whatever are you talking about?" Pansy asked, tilting her head slightly.

Blaise tapped the paper with a single finger. "You're not one of the magical community's favorite people right now, with how you said we should turn Potter over to Voldemort."

"I simply did what anyone else would do in the situation," Pansy said, her nose wrinkling as the corner of her mouth twisted in disgust.

"Sure," Blaise said. "Anybody else would have done exactly that." He let out a deep breath and finally looked up. With grace, he moved from the side of the desk to the front, leaning up against the desk, looking at her, deep in thought. "So, Parkinson, why are you here."

"What do you mean, 'why am I here'" Pansy said, her voice straining as she clasped her hands together in her lap as her mouth twisted. "I'm here to find out what I can about my biological father."

"Why?" Blaise' mouth twisted, letting Pansy know he was annoyed, which made her entire body tense as she leaned into the chair she sat in. "Can't your mother tell you?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Can my mother tell me?" She shook her head. "Mother says she doesn't want to talk about him, so all I got out of her was that the Black heir, my father, was a bore."

"Regulus Black was your father?"

The sound of a third person made Pansy turn her head to look at the open door of the study, her eyes widening at the sight of the Zabini family matriarch. The woman was exotic, snake-like, yet without the kind of snake-like horror Pansy overheard some of her fellow Slytherin saying Lord Voldemort personified. And she sat there, unable to open her mouth.

"Good afternoon, mother," Blaise said. "Pansy Parkinson's, come for a visit."

"I can see that," Blaise's mother said, walking gracefully into the room. She looked down her nose at Pansy, her mouth pushed into a thin line, but when she finally stood right next to the younger woman, she said, "Are you sure your father isn't Sirius Black rather than Regulus?"

Pansy's mouth opened. "What do you mean?"

"While you do look like you could be a Black, my dear, I do have to wonder if Reggie would have managed to have offspring as foolish as you," the woman said before saying. "And nobody in the Black family is a bore. Including their throwaways."

"I'm not following," Pansy said, swallowing, remembering the rumors regarding the woman's status as a black widow.

"But then you are dense like his older brother, so there's a chance you take after your uncle rather than your father?" The Zabini matriarch laughed as if she found the situation amusing. "If what you say is true." The woman lifted her hand and looked at her fingers. "I doubt you could inherit if that's what you're looking for."

"What?" Pansy said, swallowing the thought of being an heiress. "Why not?"

"My dear, did your mother say how she and dear Reggie got together?"

"No. You call him Reggie?" Pansy said.

The woman laughed. "She really hasn't told you anything, has she?"

"Just that he's my father, a bore, and she's surprised he's getting the Order of Merlin," Pansy said. "Do you know why?"

"No, I do not," the woman laughed. "But I should warn you should you decide you want to go after the Black fortune, that you'll have to contend with Potter."

"Potter? Why?" Pansy asked.

"Why?" The woman laughed. "She really didn't tell you anything. That Harry Potter is the godson and heir of Sirius Black, the older brother of Regulus Black? My understanding was that when Regulus died without an heir, everything went to that throwaway older brother of his, and then when he died, it all went to the Potter boy."

Pansy frowned. "So I have to deal with Potter?"

"I'm quite sure Potter will be fine with handing over anything he's inherited as part of his godfather's estate to the girl who cried, 'hand over Potter' to the entire world just to save her own skin," the woman said as Blaise let out a chuckle.

Pansy glared, still determined to move forward. " I am, after all, the daughter of Regulus Black, am I not? "

She was, after all, post-war taking on the role of Regulus Black's long-lost daughter.