Out of Hand by relativelypositive
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no money from the use of J.K. Rowling's characters.
Chapter 14: Pansy Part One
Pansy Parkinson had never been a "take charge" kind of girl.
She was brought up to do what she was told, when she was told.
For the most part, her parents wanted the same things she wanted for herself. Money. Status. Draco Malfoy.
And she'd had Draco Malfoy. They'd dated. She was the only girl to ever start the courtship rituals with him.
Until Granger the Mudblood Bitch had started manipulating him.
She was fucking everything up! Now Draco wasn't the wizard her parents had their eye on!
Adrian fucking Pucey! That idiot chaser that finished Hogwarts last year. He was so stupid he didn't understand that the best part of Quidditch was cheating and not getting caught! No, he just played the game, and then was surprised when they were beat by the fucking Gryffindors all the time.
So no. She would not be giving up her lifelong dream of marrying Draco Malfoy. She just needed to fix the situation.
Maybe imprisoning The Bitch in the Room of Requirement was a bit rash. As passive as Pansy generally was, when she lost control she really lost control. She didn't need The Bitch out of the way forever…she just needed to borrow her body for a bit.
Pansy spent most of Saturday pilfering the few items she thought she'd need.
It was depressingly easy to steal from Slughorn. What kind of Slytherin was he? If Snape had still been Potions Master, Pansy would still be trying to devise a plan to get herself into the room, let alone trying to find the correct bottle.
Slughorn believed his students to be so enamored of him that they wouldn't want to steal from him, and thus had no security. Idiot. And he labeled everything. And put it all in alphabetical order! Easiest crime ever.
The only thing that could have made it better would have been to come across some Felix Felicis, but Pansy wasn't that lucky.
Pansy popped into the Prefects' bath as herself, and came out a whole new girl.
A girl in pain.
"Fucking hurts like a motherfucker!" Pansy screamed as her body took its new shape.
She took off for the Hospital Wing at a run, which in her new body was a harrowing experience. Hermione was a few inches taller than Pansy, and scrawnier, so her new height and gait meant she didn't know how to gauge distances when she ran. She skidded straight into the wall when she came to a turn in the corridor, jostling her right hand and making her shriek.
She was starting to lose consciousness from the pain. She stumbled into the Hospital Wing and cried for Madam Pomfrey.
The mediwitch bustled to her and set her on a chair.
"Where is your cast?" she questioned sternly.
"My…I…must've left it in my room?"
"That's ridiculous! How did you even get it off?"
Pomfrey gently prodded Pansy's wrist.
"Minerva mentioned you'd broken your wrist, why didn't you come to me sooner? Well, let's get a small dose of Skele-Gro into you, and knit those bones back together. Pick a bed. You'll be right as rain by class time tomorrow."
"I can't stay here!" Suddenly Pansy knew that she was dangerously close to wasting away her few hours of Polyjuice Potion. She needed a way out!
"Don't worry about your protest, Hermione, they'll be fine without you."
"That dummmmm…yes! I have an important speech to give! It's been scheduled, you see, and it'd be rude of me to skip it. So if you could just gimme a pain relief potion I'll be sure to come back right after."
Inspiration struck Pansy.
"You know you can trust me! I'm Hermione Granger!" Pansy announced grandly.
Pomfrey gave her a bewildered look.
Maybe that had been a bit much.
"Ummm...yeah…so…a pain relief potion and I'll be on my way! Off to do good things for us Mu…ggleborns…." Pansy petered out.
"That is not an option until you've taken the Skele-Gro. You'll need to rest!"
"Yeah, right. Where's the stuff?"
"I'll get your potions. You lie down, now."
Pansy refused to lie down, instead gulping down the potions and running for the door.
She'd almost made it to the Entrance Hall when she heard her name being called. Er, Granger's name. It was that Longbottom dolt. She almost kept going, but knew The Bitch would never ignore a friend. She needed to keep up the ruse for just a few more hours.
"Longbottom." Pansy realized she probably shouldn't have been so curt, or addressed one of Hermione's friends by his last name, but Longbottom didn't seem to notice.
In fact, Longbottom was a strange tomato color. He looked like he was going to puke. Pansy took a precautionary step back.
"Hermione…um…my gran…that is…"
"What!" Pansy snapped. Would Granger have snapped? No. But Pansy didn't have all day!
"Will you marry me?" Longbottom fairly shrieked.
Pansy's immediate response was "fuck no," but then she thought…could she accept on Granger's behalf? That would take The Bitch out of the picture altogether.
The only thing that stopped her was her broken wrist.
When she took on Hermione's body, she took on all its imperfections. The horrid hair. The overly pale skin. The small chest.
And the broken wrist.
Pansy never would have guessed that she'd "inherit" any anomalies. What else didn't she know about Polyjuice Potion?
If she accepted, would she be accepting for her, or for The Bitch?
She just didn't know.
She decided not to take the chance.
"I…can't. I'm horribly heartbroken that Draco Malfoy, the love of my life, and I aren't getting married. I can't think of any other man. Ask me again in a few days. Be adamant. In fact, don't let me say no. You're a….an adequate wizard. Pureblood, no?"
Maybe she shouldn't have added that last part. She knew it was high on her priority list, but Granger? It wouldn't even be on the list. Would she even have a list?
"Hermione…I can wait. It's…you're the best witch I know."
Longbottom turned and walked into the Great Hall. He was probably supporting the protest because it was Granger's cause.
Pansy turned towards the dungeons, but was stopped by yet another unexpected source.
"Hermione Granger! I want another crack at you, young lady! That quote you gave me was…disturbing. I looked up what that thingamajig is, and that's just icky. I find I must delve into that sick little mind. I think you owe me. I think I'd like a full interview. Just imagine what I'll write if you refuse to talk to me, Sweetie."
Pansy thought she could make a little time to speak to an old friend.
A/N:
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