Pansy had woken up and was combing her hair in front of a mirror. She was going to spend the whole day with Harry at Hogsmade and she wanted to be decently presentable.

She was about to leave the common room but someone was waiting for her.

"Where are you going, to your friend Scarhead?" Said a venomous voice behind her.

He was Draco and he looked like he wanted to argue with someone.

"The people I go out with are none of your business, Malfoy." She replied sharply.

"I used to be your idol and now you treat me like this, becoming friend with that half-blood of a Gryffindor? You're the disgrace of our house. I'd forgive you if you'd stop and beg me..."

Pansy was so blinded by anger.

"You should be the one apologizing to me! You're just jealous of Harry. He treats me like a friend and not like a useless furniture like you do. You're envious of him because you'll never in your miserable life become a capable person as much as him."

Draco's face turned green.

"APOLOGIZE OR..."

"Or what? Are you going to kick me out of your group? Are you going to call your daddy to defend you? You're pathetic, Malfoy."

Pansy turned towards the exit.

"Very good! Girls there is a free place in our company!" Draco yelled for his roommates to hear.

She ignored him and walked out of there as if nothing had happened.


"And this is what happened this morning." said a carefree Pansy in front of a cup of coffee. Harry stood in front of her, still laughing at the image of the humiliated blond.

They were having breakfast in a Hogsmade cafe.

"Does this place remind you of anything?" she asked curiously.

"No, just the time I couldn't come here because I didn't have a signed permit." He said warmly.

"Today, however, I would prefer to do another type of activity..."

He pulled a bag filled with coins from his pocket.

"We could do some shopping if you like." He asked hesitantly.

The girl had a smile that she could light up even a storm.

"Harry, are you sure? Aren't you afraid of getting bored?"

"Spending time with you is not boring." He said convinced, while Pansy looked embarrassed at the table.

They spent the rest of the morning going into various shops, trying on and buying clothes. Pansy didn't mind trying them on, Harry on the other hand was much more reluctant. Eventually the girl managed to convince him to buy something for himself too.

"I didn't do anything, I don't deserve it." he said.

"Harry you don't have to prove anything to anyone. You like it and you can afford it, why don't you have to take it?" She answered him, making him buy more things for him than for her.

When they were done shopping, the girl used her wand to shrink the bags and slip them into their pockets.

He was always fascinated by the simplicity of magic.

"As we suspected." said a voice behind them.

It was Ron and next to him were Hermione and Ginny.

"You suspected what?" Harry asked, but he had a very bad feeling about where they were going.

"Harry, she is manipulating you! How can you be so blind?!" Said the girl with bushy hair.

"For your information, she bought a few things, the rest is my stuff that she helped me choose." He replied a little offended by his friends' accusations.

"Guys, this time there's no conspiracy behind me. She IS my friend, as are you. We shouldn't continue this silly rivalry between houses."

"She's brainwashing him..." Ginny whispered as Ron looked at him in disappointment.

Harry was tired and didn't want to argue with them.

He snorted tiredly.

"What do you want to tell me?" he asked fed up.

The three looked at each other and finally nodded.

"It's either us or her." Said the red-haired boy coldly.

"Guys, the twins have been much more open minded than..."

"We are not the twins. It's either us or her. Choose."

He knew it would come to this sooner or later but he didn't want to.

He didn't want to lose his first real friends.

He didn't even want to lose Pansy.

He knew that somehow being with her would help him.

He needed courage to make this decision but in the end he had to.

He didn't say anything, he just silently took Pansy's hand in his hand.

"You have made your choice. Goodbye, Potter." And with enormous regret, they went back to the castle, leaving the two alone.

The girl burst into tears and ran away.

He chased after her and came near the fence that led towards the Shrieking Shack.

The girl was nearby, sitting crying on one of the stones.

"Pansy..."

"You didn't have to do this, it's all my fault."

She wanted to hold back and keep from crying but she couldn't stop.

"I-I don't want you to be alone because of me..." she cried.

Harry came over and sat down across from her.

"Pansy, look me in the eye."

She did and found herself in front of his emerald green eyes peering into her soul.

"It's not your fault...and when I'm next to you, I don't feel alone at all."

She smiled at him, even though she was still crying.

Before she could say anything, Harry pulled his invisibility cloak from his pocket and placed it over their heads.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked.

"I like being down here. Disappearing, going unnoticed, without having to think about any problems."

They closed both eyes and stood silently contemplating the tranquility beneath the cloak.

They could hear their heartbeat, their breathing.

They were both very close but no one dared come forward for fear of ruining the moment.

They got up after many interminable minutes.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Harry asked her.

The girl sniffed and nodded silently.

Harry held out his hand, Pansy took it and they walked away.

"Are you a little hungry?" he asked.

"Yes, but I don't think we'll find a place at this hour at the Three Broomsticks. I know another place." she suggested, returning that mischievous smile to her face again.

They arrived in front of an old pub with a scruffy wooden sign.

"Hog's head?" He read.

"High class cuisine." she joked.

The pub inside was filled with a strong smell of goat and ale, while the large, rough innkeeper wiped a huge empty tankard with a greasy cloth. He had a long beard and spmething in his eyes that reminded Harry of someone vaguely familiar.

"He looks like the headmaster." He suggested to the girl.

"Yes, if he had turned to alcoholism." she added.

They sat down at one of the empty wooden tables near the window.

A goat approached them and Pansy began to caress it.

"Did you come to ask us for lunch little girl?" She asked cuddling her.

The little goat also approached Harry but she only got a light touch on her head, then walked away.

After it came another goat, the grumpy innkeeper.

"What can I get you?" He asked very gruffly.

"Um for me the house specialty and a butterbeer."

"Me too." added the girl.

"Mmf!" He grunted then walked into the kitchen.

They ate a very good stew with potatoes and chatted the whole time.

Harry didn't want to think about the earlier incident, or about Voldemort, or any looming threats in the future. He wanted to stay there, holding her hand, with no one to separate them.

When he went to pay he was sure the innkeeper also gave him an encouraging wink.

They spent the rest of the day strolling the streets of Hogsmade and contemplating the scenery.

Harry wanted to tell her something important but he was afraid of ruining the moment, of ruining everything.

"A waste of space like you doesn't deserve to be happy…" hissed the voice in his head.

It was almost night when they got back to the castle.

"Pansy, there's something I should tell you."

Even the girl herself seemed worried and that she wanted to say something.

"Maybe...maybe we'd better talk about it tomorrow." she said in a soft voice.

"Oh, ehm-alright, I have no problems." Harry replied a little sorry to see the girl so worried.

But all his doubts disappeared when she leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow, Harry..." she greeted softly, then went to the Slytherin common room.

Harry couldn't know it but that night Pansy would cry all the time.

Even for him that night would become a real nightmare in which he would face the consequences of his choices...