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Prompt 26 - Thousands
A/N: Warning – I'm playing. This idea hit me during another story (for that version check out 'Midnight' from These Days). The prompt urged me to go in the same direction again. Oh, and this piece will overlap the time frame of 'Neutral'.
Ron fell at 3:37PM.
23 minutes later (4PM) – Pansy found herself reacquainted with the infirmary with Ginny Weasley by her side. She had begged Ginny to tell her what was going on but Ginny's pale complexion and worried eyes stopped her from pursuing it any further. Pansy realized she wasn't the only one suffering now.
22 minutes, 20 seconds later (4:22PM) – Pansy, despite Madame Pomfrey's orders, had taken up a vigil by Ron's bed. Harry and Ginny sat on the bed across from her but next to Ron. No one looked at each other – only Ron, who looked so peaceful. Pansy thought that he looked like he was merely sleeping. She desperately wanted to shake him, to wake him. Luckily she found that gripping the chair arms as hard as possible was the only way not to give into the temptation
5 minutes, 45 seconds later (4:28PM) – Arthur and Molly Weasley came rushing into the infirmary. Another brother on their heels. Pansy remembered him as having a twin but couldn't remember his name. Pansy watched as Ginny ran to her mother, tears rolling down her face. Arthur and the twin moved to Harry to have a seat. Pansy just remained seated in her chair. Ignoring the emotional exchanges between mother and daughter, father and son; she just kept her eyes on Ron – not realizing that the twin really had his eyes on her.
1 hour, 12 minutes, 4 seconds later (5:40PM) – The Weasleys and Harry tried to get Pansy to come to dinner with them but she refused. She couldn't bring herself to leave his side. Going to the restroom was pushing it for her sanity. She just wished she could understand why she felt this way.
27 minutes later (6:07 PM) – Pansy realized she was in neutral; under Draco's watchful eyes. She couldn't move forward and she couldn't move back. The sneaking suspicion that Ron was to blame irritated her; she just couldn't quite put a finger on what that other feeling swelling in her chest was.
1 hour, 19 minutes, 27 seconds later (7:26PM) – The Weasleys had gone home for the evening with the promise from Madame Pomfrey that she would Floo if anything changed. Harry had sent Ginny to bed while Neville had joined them. Harry and Neville were playing Wizard's chess but she didn't pay them any attention.
4 minutes later (7:30PM) – She finally lost it.
23 seconds later (7:31PM) – Harry had her wrapped up in his arms as she sobbed. Telling Harry over and over again that she couldn't lose Ron. She just couldn't lose him. Why wouldn't he wake up, she screamed. He was needed here. She needed him, she gasped. She needed him here.
19 minutes, 45 seconds (7:50PM) – She screamed that she wanted him here; didn't he know that!
5 seconds later (7:51PM) – She was silent in Harry's arms. Realizing it had taken her thousands of seconds to realize what the feeling was in her chest.
Pansy just hoped that she would have thousands more seconds, minutes, hours, days, months to feel it.