9. The Redemption

Pansy took a deep breath. Bustling crowds of Muggles pushed past her, bumping into her with their many shopping bags busily tapping on their phones. Strange things, phones, she mused, distracted for a moment at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and absorbed in the hustle and bustle of Charing Cross Road on a Thursday evening. She couldn't turn away now, not after being shouted at by Potter and Weasley, not after lowering herself to ask for their help.

Shoulders back, chin up, smile on her lips, and Pansy Parkinson was ready. She pushed open the door to the Leaky Cauldron where she knew - or rather, hoped - Hermione and Draco would be waiting for Potter and his Weasley.

It had been seven weeks since the disastrous confrontation in Pansy's drawing room and she hadn't seen or heard from either of them. She hadn't tried to contact them, either, so she hadn't really expected it. She only knew the wedding had been postponed for personal reasons and a new date had not been set yet. It had, of course, been all over the newspapers and speculation on the reasons had made the headlines for weeks.

Pansy withdrew into the shadows as soon as she was inside and surveyed the crowd. There they were, sitting at a table in the far corner, heads close together and and hands intertwined. Pansy closed her eyes and counted to ten. At three, she began to walk. She'd never been the patient type.

She sauntered up, smile in place, and sat down at one of the other chairs at the table. Hermione turned pale, Draco flushed red. Interesting.

"We're expecting friends. Go away," Draco grunted through gritted teeth. The muscles in his jaw tightened ominously and grey eyes turned black with anger. But Pansy had been glared at by the best of them and refused to be impressed.

"I believe they may be delayed. Indefinitely. We, however, should talk," Pansy said in a light tone.

Hermione shoved her chair backwards. "Come on, we don't need to stay, Draco. Let's just go."

Pansy smiled, baring too many teeth to be quite reassuring. "Do sit down, Hermione. Don't think I won't make a scene," she purred. "And you, Draco. You really do not want me to say what I have to say at the top of my lungs. And I will, you know, so you had better both sit down and let me speak. You can leave afterwards." She leaned back in her chair with a confidence she did not quite feel and tapped her fingers on the table in a disorganised rhythm to hide the tremors.

Draco hesitated but he knew Pansy well enough to recognise the determined gleam in her eyes.

"Fine. Hurry up. We have plans."

"But, Draco…" Hermione protested, but she was quickly shushed by him.

"She isn't going leave us alone until she's said her thing, so let's just get this over with." Draco glowered at her again but Pansy shrugged off the uncomfortable feeling it caused.

"I'm so glad you're both being sensible," Pansy said in that same infuriating, light tone. Then she whipped out her wand and cast a Muffliato around their table."Just a precaution so nobody can overhear," she said, shedding her languid pose and leaning forward, suddenly nervous. She paused, at a loss for words.

"Well?" Draco gave her an irritated look. "You wanted to talk, here we are, listening, and you're not saying anything. We do have better things to do, Parkinson."

Pansy nodded, pushed the paralysing fear that had momentarily taken over her body away and began.

"I'm getting this all mixed up. But you must know that I came here to tell you the truth. And the truth is, Draco, that I've loved you since we were teenagers. I loved you so much, but I always thought we'd have time. Time to explore our feelings, time to grow together into a real relationship. But then Voldemort came back. Oh, don't flinch, for heaven's sake. He came back and took over your life, and my parents' lives, and the War happened. And then suddenly it was over, and you were gone and I was stuck here in Britain trying to organise my parents' lives and pick up the pieces. And then you fell for her." She nodded at Hermione, kindly, without the biting jealousy the words implied. "And I thought, it's never going to work. But it did. And you proposed. And I decided that I wouldn't give up on you just yet." She turned to Hermione. "That's the only reason I became your maid of honour. So I could remain close and try to sabotage this wedding from the inside."

"And you succeeded," Hermione cut in, wiping angry tears from her eyes. Draco put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, sending another glare at Pansy. "There's no need to tell us all that, Pansy, that was very clear already."

Pansy shrugged with a studied air of indifference. "True," she conceded. "But what you do not know is that… things changed. Not my determination to get you for myself, Draco, but my dislike of you, Hermione. I truly began to appreciate your sense of humour and your free spirit. I began to understand what he saw in you, and, to my great consternation, I began to see it in you as well. I… I tried to fight it but I couldn't. I fell for you."

Pansy paused and took in the incredulous faces of the couple across from her.

"I was very confused too, I will admit. I kissed Draco as much to convince him to break things off with you as to convince myself it was him I really wanted and not you. Neither worked." Pansy let out a sound between a laugh and a sob. "And you… You were amazing, Hermione. That night… It wasn't about Draco at all, no matter what was said the day after. I was confused then. I didn't know what I felt any more. But that night, that was just about us. About you. And I'm sorry I ever let you believe otherwise."

Draco opened his mouth to speak but Pansy held up a hand and he subsided. She stood up again. Her knees almost gave way but she quickly planted both hands on the table for support. She leaned towards Draco and Hermione and looked each of them in the eyes in turn.

"Draco, you told me, when we kissed, you told me that you chose her." Her eyes flitted towards Hermione and a soft smile stole over her lips. "That hurt, of course. But now I realise that means… that means you had to choose. You weren't indifferent to me, you just picked her over me."

She noticed Draco shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and knew she'd been right. She leaned a tiny bit closer and her voice became a soft whisper.

"What if you don't have to choose?"

She straightened up and closely observed their reactions, but she couldn't see much more than confusion and surprise. Her knees began to tremble again and she knew she had to get out. Just as Draco began to open his mouth to say something that would no doubt put an end to all her hopes, she leaned in again, giving both of them a good view into her low-cut robes.

"I'm not one for the subtleties of life, as you well know. It comes down to this. I like you both. I care about you both. I. Want. You. Both." Her voice was so low it was almost a whisper.

Then she pushed herself up again, coughed, and said, a little louder, "You have no reason to believe me, of course. So here's the proof." She placed a folded piece of parchment on the table.

"Luckily there is no reason to choose in this modern day and age. Owl me if you want to talk." She walked away as quickly as her trembling legs could carry her. She could barely breathe and Apparated home as soon as she reached the door. She sat down in the middle of her hallway, leaning her forehead on her knees and arms protectively covering her head. She had never been so scared. She had never been so brave. She had never risked it all. She let the tears fall.

In the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione hesitantly reached out for the parchment. Neither she nor Draco had spoken a word since Pansy had left, probably because neither knew what to say. Had Pansy really just suggested a three-way relationship? Was she even seriously considering it? But those thoughts had been pushed aside by curiosity. What could be the proof that showed Pansy really cared?

Draco leaned closer as Hermione unfolded the parchment. It contained just eight words.

Wendell and Monica Wilkins
25B Lomandra Drive
Perth, Australia

AN - Beta love to Chiseplushie! And apologies to any Aussie readers if this happens to be your address. I literally just opened a map of Perth and picked a street.