A/N: Here's our part 6!
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January 2, 1995
Pansy yawned, brought a hand up to her head and leaned against the wall in a manner she figured would be inconspicuous. It helped that the person she was watching was Cedric, one of the most trusting wizards throughout Hogwarts, and a boy seemingly with little to no perception skills. Had he been Harry, he would have surely noticed her consistent lingering in recent times, but, fortunately for Pansy, he wasn't remotely close to Potter. It was, quite frankly, astounding to her that he'd managed to do so well in the first task; anybody would have been forgiven for thinking the Hufflepuff boy would have been the first of the four to fail.
Durmstrang studied magic and had courses that Hogwarts and Beauxbatons would never allow, much less encourage throughout any portion of their country. Beauxbatons, meanwhile, was considered exceptionally 'gifted' and 'progressive' when it came to the subjects therein. The Veela and Krum had to be the most talented person in their respective schools, whilst Pansy knew first-hand that Cedric… wasn't. Harry was the true Champion of Hogwarts, and Cedric was a spare.
Some Muggleborn — she'd not use Mudblood — called it a 'home field advantage' or the like. The term was unfamiliar to her, but the simple terminology therein made it exceedingly easy to understand. The Muggleborn thought it fair that Hogwarts be allowed two Champions as the host school and she'd not disagree. Cedric's occasional bursts of knowledge thanks to the fact that he was further along in Hogwarts would prove helpful for Harry, so long as the boy stopped socialising and actually focused on the task at hand. It was maddening that he spent the vast majority of his time simply speaking with other Hogwarts students rather than actually working towards his continued existence, dull as it seemed to be.
Pansy sighed, looked into the sky, and sighed again, this time longer and so that her annoyance would be manifested in such a way that it wasn't simply boiling over internally. She had already spent a good deal of time watching Cedric, and still, he'd done absolutely nothing worthwhile. It was beyond annoying by this point, and the egg he'd won via the task, she hadn't seen even the slightest hint of it. Unlike Harry, he didn't seem to keep it close by, protected and with its security ascertained.
All that Cedric seemed to keep nearby were his groupies, including the Ravenclaw witch, Chang. For all of the supposed intelligence of a Ravenclaw in comparison to other houses, she didn't seem as if she was all that helpful to Cedric. The two simply flirted back and forth with one another in a way that ensured nothing productive truly happened. It was quite sickening, their flirtatious habits and lack of public decorum when they'd sneak off to have a snog.
Chang had no shame and Cedric wasn't quite as noble and innocent as the rest of Hogwarts made him out to be. He was certainly no Harry in terms of raw strength, potential, or gentlemanly mannerisms. No, Harry was far superior in those regards, not that she was keeping track.
She wouldn't do that. It was just a comparison; for it, she'd used Harry as a baseline instead of Draco. After all, Harry had been her Yule date and as such, it made sense for Pansy to use him as a baseline for all wizards.
Annoyed with herself and the fact that, as was oft the case, her mind went back in the direction of Harry, Pansy rapidly blinked her eyes and shook her head so as to refocus on the task at hand; spying on Cedric. Harry was off studying with Granger, and whilst Pansy had a lot to say about the Muggleborn witch, she'd not do so. She knew just how much Granger meant to Harry and so she'd tolerate the presence of the other witch so long as it kept him happy and aided him in the tasks at hand.
Mayhaps it helped that she was left to spy on Cedric sans the company of Harry or Granger. Pansy was brilliant when it came to watching others and listening in on conversations. She'd learned how to do so from a young age at the behest of her mother. Purebloods were always working angles, especially those of importance such as her family or others of Old Blood, and it only made sense that you'd keep your head down and ears on alert for what you might learn. If she were to be a Lady of a wondrous house sometime in the future, she'd have to do that to such a degree that other houses would be wary whensoever she was near.
Cedric, meanwhile, lacked any sense of privacy or secrecy. He spoke loudly, and he joked around with those he called friends, and whenever a question was asked, he would answer to the best of his ability and with the utmost honesty. It was almost commendable. Almost.
If they were truly friends of his, any of those that came up to speak with him throughout the day would have told him to hush up when it came to the task. Any information that he had come across or learned through study or tribulation, whensoever he spoke, was sent into the air for anybody else to take and use for their friends or those they were close to. Krum, the Durmstrang seeker that so many witches seemed to have a fondness for, likely had friends doing much the same that she was.
Fortunately, Harry valued his privacy and wouldn't be so open-mouthed about everything. It wasn't in his personality.
"Yes," Cho said shyly, as the Ravenclaw girl finally passed through the archway with Cedric hot on her heels. The girl seemed quieter than normal and there seemed to be a bit of blush on her face. "I'm certain."
It gave Cedric a goofy expression as he followed after her. The boy seemed enthralled as if Chang was a Veela like the French witch. The one who'd occasionally look at Harry in a manner that Pansy didn't like. Not in the slightest. Fortunately, Harry didn't seem all that susceptible to the French temptress. It must have been maddening.
"Are we—" Cedric coughed, that goofy expression still on his face as he seemed to look around before speaking again, this time in a quieter tone of voice, but still loud enough for the nearby Pansy to overhear. "Going together?"
Chang seemed scandalised as if the mere suggestion was so forward and gutsy that she hadn't thought he'd ask it. Even if it wasn't something related to the task, Pansy simply had to know what had the other witch in such a state of embarrassment. It was too wonderful to pass up.
"We shouldn't. It'd look bad… you going into the bath with me and that egg?" Chang shook her head, muttered something quietly and dashed away from Cedric with a few more words said, but in a tone so low that Pansy didn't have the slightest of chances to understand just what was said.
The bath with her and the egg. Water? That'd be amusing, or the two are simply trying something out… I suppose I'll give the Ravenclaw's words a chance. They can't be thought of as the home of the most intelligence without some form of merit.
Pansy chose that time to close up her book and heave herself — gracefully — from off of the wall under the archway. For the moment, she was satisfied that she'd done her job and aided Harry in his next task. If the water option was exhausted and proved fruitless, perhaps she'd pay Cedric another non-visit… it did occur to her that the eggs could be different, but it was Hogwarts. More importantly, the games were hosted by the English Ministry with help from the staff of Hogwarts; such complexity was beyond their simple, corrupted minds.
She laughed to herself quietly as she moved away from the courtyard and in the direction of the class, she knew Harry was still studying inside with Granger. For what it was worth, she did hope the answer would prove fruitful. Not only for the lack of interesting happenings in Cedric's overly extroverted life but also for Harry and the sake of his continued happy and otherwise alive existence.
If he were felled on account of a tournament he shouldn't have been placed within in the first place, she'd be very cross with many people. Her family, more specifically her mother, would see to it that those behind the act were punished.
Pansy peered into the classroom from the alcove of the door. Unfortunately, Granger was still present. She'd hoped by taking a little bit longer on the trip to get to Harry that the other witch would have been gone by now even if she knew that she was simply trying to aid him much like she herself was doing. That didn't change the simple fact that Granger's presence was, quite simply, grating in an indescribable fashion.
The other witch had a voice that caused annoyance to blossom in Pansy's chest and a manner of speaking that made it seem as if she knew everything that happened. In truth, there were few that annoyed Pansy even half as much as Granger did, and of that lucky, prestigious group, Malfoy was amongst them. Malfoy, the boy she'd originally been intent on marrying and joining his family.
As time progressed as it so oft did, Pansy realised just how lucky she'd been by distancing herself from him. Slowly, and from their first year onwards, he'd seemed to grow more and more driven by a single-minded hatred for Harry, who truly wasn't all that horrible. All that hatred did was prove to the school that Slytherin was weak, unintelligent, and not nearly as cunning or inconspicuous as they should be. It was if they'd turned into Gryffindors of the bully variety that Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw would, on occasion, complain about.
Bullies, Pansy rolled her eyes as she continued to watch Harry maintain the studious air around himself. If you don't want to be bullied, curse or hex the person, and if you can't beat them, trick them; Draco and his goons are so stupid, it should be quite easy.
Pansy shook her head. She longed to get back at Draco for his dismissive, impolite, arrogant attitude whensoever she'd speak or do something. He thought himself the best of Slytherin when in truth, it was those like herself and Greengrass, Zabini or the older Flint, the Carrows even, that were the true embodiment of Slytherin.
There was a good piece of advice she'd been given some time ago; 'if they can think about you on a whim, you've already lost.'
Whilst admittedly the idea of being on every wizard's mind was enjoyable, she realised the truth of it. If they could always think about her, recall her face, her name, her personality, she'd be at a disadvantage. It was best to keep information about yourself hidden, rarely spoken about, and your head down with ears and perceptive.
Those cousins of hers, the Carrow Twins, were perfect examples.
Pansy huffed, swallowed, and finally pushed open the door with all the confidence she could muster. It wasn't hard.
"Harry," she greeted immediately, a smile forcing its way to her face when she looked at the boy with messy hair and kind eyes… before her eyes inevitably sought out his companion and tutor. "Granger."
Granger looked her up and down, no hatred in her eyes, but there was a caution and sense of inherent dislike, and most of all, remembrance that made itself plain to see when the Gryffindor witch looked at her. "Parkinson," Granger returned, her voice cool, without malice, and surprisingly 'stern' for a nervous, typically passionate Muggleborn witch.
"Welcome back!" Harry said loudly as he immediately stood up from his chair and made his way over to Pansy, whereupon reaching her, he hugged her without so much as a word of warning. He squeezed her back, smiled as he separated and cocked his head at her. "How'd it go? Learn anything?"
He hadn't exactly been for the idea of spying on others, but when she'd stressed the importance, he'd eventually come around. Perhaps it helped that she 'swore' to him — only with words and not by magic or anything of the like — that she'd not use any of the knowledge she learned for 'evil'. She suspected that to be the case, really. Anyhow, when she swore she'd be kind and keep Cedric's secrets so long as they weren't related to the tournament, he'd immediately been for the idea of listening in on the other boy. She imagined he knew just how important any extra information was, and as a result, realised it could help him in a way that studying wouldn't.
She'd corrupted at least that tiny portion of him. Perhaps it made her feel a tough bad for doing so, but if he were to survive in an innately corrupt world, forgetting one's morals would, on occasion, be helpful. Morgana, to do so could even be listed as a requirement to survive the world. 'Heroes' were a thing for stories read aloud to children in their beds, but villains and those who sought any type of destruction were very much real.
"Do you have the egg with you or nearby?" Pansy asked with an exaggerated look around, content to draw out the information she'd learned. Whilst she'd never say harsh words to Harry or those he was close to any longer, teasing was another matter altogether.
She knew that witches from all backgrounds teased their wizards. Pansy, as such, would be no exception to the rule. Not when the rule was very enjoyable.
Harry nodded and indicated with a nod in the direction of his misshapen satchel. With but one look, his meaning was immediately obvious. Pansy wasn't entirely pleased that he made it look so obvious, though she supposed it was better than leaving it alone and without the ability to defend.
"Pansy?" he asked again, eager.
Pansy chuckled and stood to her full height… and then on the tips of her toes on account of their bothersome height difference. "Grab it, and come with me."
"I'll come too," Granger immediately volunteered, injecting herself into the would-be private time Pansy had intended on having with Harry. "Where are we headed and what did you learn? We could discuss how best to follow through with a plan on our way to the destination — I'd not like to hear the screeching again if we're not certain it'll work. It could cause damage to our hearing, you know."
Damage to our hearing. Does magic not exist?
Rather than spew that back at the Muggleborn, Pansy simply smiled. She wouldn't let her anger or dislike for Harry's friend cloud her reasoning and ability to communicate effectively and without vitriol. No, Pansy would be polite and mannered, as her mother had taught her… and her reward would be seeing the bookworm blush and stammer at her suggestion.
"Please, do join us, dear. The activation is, supposedly, by way of water. Cedric and his entourage said as much, and so I thought it a good idea if we went to a bath together. You have a suit for bathing, don't you? And you too, Harry?" Pansy gestured down herself, her smile growing as Harry looked at her with wide eyes and Granger blushed the colour of a tomato. "We'll all, of course, need to get into the water together if we'd like to see how the egg works. It's quite important, and very specific — now come along, won't you both? I'd like to ensure we make the evening's meal afterwards."
Granger looked at her, still blushing, but with narrowed eyes, and when Pansy simply smiled back with the utmost confidence and self-assurance, the other girl eventually backed down with an audible swallow. "I think… yes, you two can go," she clapped her hands together and then smoothed her skirt; a skirt that was already quite smooth, before she moved to pack up her belongings. "Harry. Tell me what happens. We'll speak in the common room when you're back. Make sure you don't forget anything. I don't know if it'll have a note inside, a map, words, just don't forget… Parkinson, if he does, would you remember, please? Whatever the hint is, it has to be very important for this next task. It could decide what magic we have Harry focus on next."
Pansy rolled her eyes at Granger's words but stopped herself short again of a remark she would have otherwise, under normal circumstances, made. This change was still very new to Pansy, but the blush and embarrassment made it worthwhile. Especially if she could continue to tease both Granger and Harry; blushing faces and stammered words were better than angry looks and heated exchanges… though a traitorous portion of her mind said that she wouldn't mind a 'heated' exchange with Potter.
That portion of her mind was very vivid.
"Let's go then, Harry," Pansy finally said as she nodded at Granger, all but telling the other girl that she'd do as she wished and relay any information of importance to her.
Granger repaid her with a look that lacked suspicion and was nearly thankful. Pansy would accept it.
"Myrtle's bathroom?" Harry asked with furrowed brows as he looked around the place.
Pansy nodded, and based on the look on Harry's face, deduced something interesting. "You've been here before, have you?"
He nodded and gestured towards the sinks in the centre of the room, and a few of the stalls. "Ron, Hermione and I have some stories to tell. Well, when we're out of Hogwarts, I suppose," he winked at her and the next words sent a jolt down her spine that she hadn't prepared herself to handle. "I can't give away all my secrets, Pans."
That left her inwardly cursing his name for multiple reasons, but more than that, she truly hoped he hadn't seen her body wiggle at his words and the tone in which she'd spoken to her. It wouldn't be very fun if he had; she was meant to be the person that teased and he was meant to be the one that blushed and squirmed.
Switching that dynamic up wasn't enjoyable. Not at all, she thought petulantly.
"There's a bath in the back left and showers on the right, they're slightly hidden, mind you," Pansy gestured to the left and gestured to Harry afterwards. "You'll go first. I've heard the spiders up here could be quite large, and I'd like to avoid them and their webs if I could manage to do so. I'm sure my big, strong wizard could see the path ahead cleared."
He snorted. "Your big strong wizard?"
Pansy raised her brows at him as if she didn't need to repeat the words she'd just said. "I don't believe you misheard me."
"You're just using me as spider bait," he complained with a faux pout as he moved ahead of her, clearly unbothered by the fact that those eight-legged abominations could soon be crawling upon him. Pansy was pleased, however, not to be the one that those bothersome insects might be bothering.
"Think of it as my requirement for feeding you the information that water should aid you," Pansy said with a shrug as she followed very close behind him, and as they reached the midway point to the bath, she went so far as to reach out with her non-wand hand to grab the back of his robes. Myrtle was oft said to jump out at people, and she'd rather not be overly startled; her pride couldn't suffer jumping and screaming before Potter. At least by holding onto him, she could claim something else.
"I would have thought that payment would be joining me in a bath."
Pansy snorted, not at all embarrassed as Granger had earlier been. "Please. You're the lucky one. Even if I remain in nearly all of my clothing with charms placed to ensure they remain dry, you'll still be able to say you had the pleasure of bathing alongside me," she countered. "If anything, you've made out like a bandit today, Potter."
As they finally made it to the bath, Harry snorted and looked over his shoulder at her. There wasn't any jesting or teasing in his next words or on his face as he spoke them.
"I suppose I have, haven't I?"
The sincerity and happiness made her look away lest he saw her blush.
January 3, 1995
"So under the lake? Is that what we're thinking the clue meant?" Granger asked as she tapped on the desk and looked between Pansy and Harry. Her eyes were searching, and she definitely seemed a bit miffed that she'd missed out on hearing the hint, but all the same, she was more than ready to help Harry with the task.
It made Pansy's opinion of the other witch climb slightly higher. Granger would always be a touch too much in terms of her studious behaviour and the know-it-all personality she portrayed in class, but outside of that setting, she was a worthwhile companion.
"Yes," Pansy confirmed. "It was very evident. Whatsoever Harry does next, will be under the water and for the sake of some sort of reclamation. I'm uncertain as to what that would be, I mean what they'll take from him, but it'll be of limited duration that he has to retrieve it."
"Have you checked your trunk? Everything?" Granger all but demanded from Harry when Pansy finished speaking; the lattermost nearly snickered. Pansy had told Harry to do exactly that when he'd returned to Gryffindor Tower that evening.
"Yeah. Everything's right where it should be, more or less. Nothing was missing that I noticed, nothing that was remotely important… I think I was missing a pair of socks, now that I think about it, but I don't reckon they've taken those to put at the bottom of the lake, yeah?" Harry looked between the two witches when he finished, his face was adorable when he sought out confirmation.
Pansy, were it not for Granger's presence, would have been tempted to run her hands through his hair and grace him with a kiss on either cheek. She wasn't a harlot, but Potter could be rather adorable on occasion. Enough so that a kiss or embrace wouldn't be too without reason.
"No, Harry, I doubt they stole a pair of your socks. Perhaps it'll happen closer to the task," Granger's latter words mused aloud after she answered Harry.
"It doesn't matter," Pansy finally said with a shrug, before a lul in their conversation could happen — before Granger could question what she meant by her previous words, she continued quickly. "Whatever they took doesn't matter. You didn't find it, it's probably nothing yet, but what does matter is what you learn. We don't have an endless amount of time to have you learn a cacophony of spells that would benefit you under the water. We'd be lucky to have you master three or four spells in the amount of time that we'd have, one or two would be more realistic."
"She's right," Granger agreed. "I'll go to the library and see what books I can find that would be useful. I already know there's one spell, a charm, that causes a bubble filled with air to form around your head. It's not perfect, it can be collapsed or destroyed, but if we can't find anything else, it would have to make do."
If it can be destroyed, we shouldn't use it, Pansy wanted to say. Instead, she remained silent, certain that she or Granger could find something else between the two of them.
Harry, whilst the two of them looked, would simply have to think about how he'd act under the water; there were potentially problematic creatures he could face, and that wasn't counting the other champions. It was well-known that they could provide obstacles for one another, if not outright fights altogether.
Krum, of the three others, would likely be the most difficult in that regard. That was, if one of the other three Champions took it upon themselves to ensure they finished first, or somebody else didn't finish at all, it would be him. The Veela, Delacour, could perhaps work her mind enthrallment over Cedric or Krum, but Harry possessed an almost unnatural willpower that had been proven by Professor Moody.
It made Pansy very confident that the sole witch in the tournament would not, in any way, be problematic for him to overcome if it came to blows. Cedric, whilst the older boy was said to have extensive magical knowledge and a good degree of that being combative knowledge via a 'high-society' duelling outlet — without experience that was — would not be one to raise his wand in an aggressive manner. Pansy would consider that a weakness of his, but one that she would happily have Harry be made aware of.
Still, caution would be necessary.
"Pansy?"
She broke free from her thoughts and turned her head so as to look at Harry. He seemed to have no worry or nervousness, not in his words and not expressed on his face. It was rather impressive, and also the epitome of bothersome… perhaps minorly annoying or worrying too. It wasn't her in the tournament, but even still, she felt the looming sense of doom that Harry should, and apparently wasn't, feeling.
"Yes?" she asked him, perhaps a bit short-sounding.
He blinked at her. "Alright?"
That question made her narrow her eyes at him. Wizards, even those as kind and gentlemanly as Harry, didn't have a clue when it came to witches. As her mother said, when she deemed it the right time to invest completely in one wizard, she would have to work with that man over a vast amount of time to reach some level of understanding.
Harry wouldn't need much work at all. He's just a bit thick, like most wizards.
Pansy nearly cursed that inward desire for him. It didn't help when she wanted to be mad at him. Well, she supposed it helped him.
"I'm thinking about what I'm going to do to help you, where I might find the spells or where Granger might find the spells, and how we'll ensure that you learn them to a level where you'd be beyond proficient," Pansy pointed accusingly at him then. "You should be far more worried than you are."
He shrugged. "Not really a point in being worried. Everything works out, it always has, and with you and 'Mione, I'm more confident than ever."
Pansy nearly hung her head. Whilst she was glad to have inspired such a degree of hope in him, she didn't like that mindset. In Slytherin, it didn't work — he was lucky he'd been placed in Gryffindor. Still, she supposed if he was that confident, everything should well and truly work itself out so long as there was a bit of guidance helping it along. If that guidance came by way of Pansy's own intervention mixed together with Granger's studious efforts to aid Harry in his survival of the second and third tasks, he'd have a chance.
"You realise we're going to spend countless hours until the day of the task so that you're not killed by whatever it is you'll be going against, right?" Pansy asked with her hands on her hips and her head cocked to one side. If he dared say otherwise, so help the world, she'd curse him until she was out of breath and then see what she could do in terms of silent casting. "We'll start with something that, I don't know, keeps you from drowning whilst you're swimming around all happily under the water. Do you agree, or would you prefer your luck keeps air in your lungs?"
He blinked at her. "I… I would like to breathe under the water, and however I'll do that works — Hermione mentioned some bubble charm, right?"
"It's prone to getting burst by something sharp or anything that might run into it. I don't think you'd want to drown at the bottom of some dark lake, would you?" Pansy took a step closer; she was very close to jabbing one of her fingers into his chest to emphasize her point.
"I'd reckon there are other spells that are better, but if Hermione doesn't know them and you don't, we'd have to spend a lot of time looking around, right? What else could I try and learn without that?" Harry asked, finally relaying that he wasn't wholly reliant on luck, but still, the lack of any level of fear was simply strange. If she were in his shoes, she'd be writing home to her parents and demanding aid in any capacity that they could give.
There's an idea, she thought to herself. Pansy could write home to her parents and see if they knew any spells that could help Harry. They had a sizeable library like most families with old blood did, and they had a lot of friends in various circles and a good deal of them owed favours to her family. Her father would be insufferable if she had her mother use those to aid Harry, but her mother wasn't like her father. If she knew that she could help Pansy with Harry, even if they weren't more than friends thus far, she'd do so.
Pansy's mother wished for Pansy to be happy, and based on the teasing she'd done whensoever Harry was present or brought up, it was readily apparent that her mother had no issue if Pansy chose Harry. Ah, decisions.
"Leave the searching to Granger and I, though if you do wish to help, speak with Granger. Whilst the two of you look in the Hogwarts library, I'll check the books that we have in the Slytherin common area and I'll write a missive to my mother in the hopes of a book being in our library. If all of our efforts jointly prove fruitless, then I'll think of something from there," Pasny sighed and gestured to a desk, wherein a chair was still tucked neatly under. "Grab a seat. We'll brainstorm together and see if you don't already know any spell, however minute or poor you might think it to be, that could prove helpful."
He blinked at her, likely already thinking about spells that might be beneficial, and then he wisely did as she bid him to. When Pansy saw him pull out the seat of the desk beside the one she'd gestured to, and then look at her expectantly as he slid into a chair of his own, she couldn't help but let him see a small half-smile on her face. Some time ago, he would never have listened to anything that she'd said to him.
Morgana, the two wouldn't have even been able to spend time alone together. Not remotely. They'd very much disliked one another, though not for any reason save for Draco's intervention. He wished for her to dislike and make fun of Harry, and she'd wanted to keep the relationship they'd built in the hopes of a good future… it all felt so empty now.
Boring. Stupid. Idiotic. It had taken the Carrow Twins to tell her that she was being foolish, though with not the usage of such words.
Pansy sighed, slid into the seat and withdrew a book from her satchel and slid it before Harry. "Alright," she said to him. "Let's get this started."
January 28, 1995
Pansy nearly closed her eyes and allowed an impromptu nap to take place as she leaned back atop a transfigured couch. It would have been so very easy to let the peacefulness that was sleep take her into its waiting, comfortable and often enough, warm arms, but she didn't allow herself that rest. She wouldn't until the second task came about, and even then, only after t was complete and Harry was victorious.
It wasn't out of some sense of owing or whatever other words people might use. Simply put, like any person that was worthwhile to keep around, Pansy felt a sense of loyalty towards those she called friends; that was the reason she loathed to call many people at all, friends. The more people you kept close to your heart, the more time you would need to spend aiding them, ensuring they were the right sort of company amongst a myriad of other traits and the like that you'd need to keep track of.
Greengrass, Harry, Bulstrode and on occasion, Davis — the Carrow Twins were automatically included as well — were all in whom she'd place at least some small amount of trust and friendship. They had aided one another, made quick friends and had good working relationships, and as such, they were those she would always aid.
Today proved itself a wondrous example. Between her efforts and Granger's, they had found four spells that Harry might find easy to learn and manageable whilst he was under the water, there was also a weed of sorts that she'd learned about. Neither she nor Granger was very favourable towards it, but having a secondary option that required not but a piece of weed ingested wasn't horrible even if it proved undesirable.
"Alright," Harry said with a clap of his hands and a wide, toothy smile as he looked between Granger and her. He seemed in extremely high spirits, and she imagined that was on account of him figuring out a charm that aided his swim speed. It caused some sort of propulsion to happen that would vastly increase the speed in which he moved underwater, enough so that he could outpace even a shark or many a small fish… so long as he went in a reasonably straight line. "What're the spells?"
Pansy couldn't help herself. Regardless of how unladylike it might be, she allowed herself to snort whilst looking at him. Granger raised her brows and hid a laugh behind a cough, and Harry looked at her with wide eyes. It's the first time he'd heard such a found come from her… she thought.
"Granger. Your two spells first, and I'll speak my two afterwards. I'm not fond of back-and-forth word games," Pansy said politely, and with a gesture to the aforementioned Granger girl. In her mind especially, by allowing Granger to speak first and all at once, she was being especially polite.
Harry and Granger looked at one another, Granger pulled a face that seemed surprised and something else, and then, after a brief cough to clear her throat, she started to speak.
"As Pansy said, Harry, we've each found two spells through the weeks of searching and whilst you've been looking for spells of your own. I'll put the easier, less versatile spell first and the latter second — I can't believe I hadn't thought of that second spell the moment we were brainstorming about how best we might see you survive under the water," Hermione swallowed, withdrew notes from her satchel, and started reading the words thereupon. "Instead of the bubble-head charm, one that is easy to learn and easier to burst, I found a spell that allows you to inhale water and use the oxygen therein. It's quite dangerous, and if you lose concentration or the spell effects falter, you'll have a very serious issue with the water already being deep in your lungs… suffice to say, it's not ideal."
Harry blinked and winced in unison, and then he spoke. "What's the second option, 'Mione?" he asked.
At that, she nodded, happy to move that spell elsewhere. "Second, and as I said very obviously, is transfiguration upon your body. It's considered dangerous to do, but it's a level of magic we should learn, at least in a limited capacity, by the time we're finished with our education at Hogwarts. You could pick a shark, a fish, maybe even a Merman — anything that has the innate ability to breathe underwater with a set of gills. If you'd like to ensure you remain mobile and on the move with the utmost of your agility, you could even transfigure your whole body or the majority of it. In fact, it's extraordinarily useful and an amazing ability to have, there are tales of… never mind, I shouldn't delve too deeply. I suppose of the two, it's the harder, but safer option, though that shouldn't be confused to mean that it's without danger. You'd still be transfiguring very important functions of your body."
Harry nodded as if he understood. "Thanks, 'Mione. Really. I know neither isn't really ideal, but that's more than I could have come up with. You and Pansy have been doing a lot for me, spending hours of your days helping. I haven't forgotten, and I won't," he smiled at Granger, and then after a few seconds passed, he shifted that smile over to Pansy. "What about you, Pansy? What're you thinking? What'd you find?"
She wanted to bite her bottom lip. Transfiguration had been something she'd looked at, considered even, but she'd ultimately determined that it was too dangerous and risky, and as such, was something she'd scrapped; she knew it was the greatest of all of the options nonetheless.
"I'll mimic Granger's order of speaking, that being to put the easier option first, and the more difficult, better option second," Pansy fought down a yawn, only barely keeping it from flying out of its own volition, and then she started forth. "My first option was quite simply the utilisation of a spell that would recycle your oxygen, but there's a cost — it's not infinite. You would gradually be going without oxygen the longer you utilised the spell, and as a result, you'd need to swim to the top or find some other way to ensure you have a supply of oxygen. It's estimated to last for ten to fifteen minutes, though it varies per person."
"If we could find a way for Harry to maintain some sort of oxygen supply, that spell of yours could actually be pretty advantageous," Granger mused aloud.
Pansy wanted to say of course it could, there was a reason she'd picked it, but instead, she simply nodded at the other girl. Thus far, she'd not made a single comment at Granger that could be perceived as rude or outright hostile despite the feelings she felt towards her… Pansy especially disliked just how often Granger touched Harry or hugged him, or smiled at him.
It was atrocious and not cute in the slightest. At least when Pansy smiled at him or allowed him the privilege of holding her hand or her warm embrace, it was done with grace and fluidity that the Muggleborn girl lacked. Harry usually had more of a gusto with physical affection when it came to Pansy too, she perceived that with ease.
"Pansy?"
She looked at the source of the voice, that being Harry, and raised a brow at him. She hadn't heard anything else while she'd been thinking in her mind.
"What's the other spell you were thinking about?" he asked, a lopsided smile on his face as he leaned closer to her. Mayhaps she'd missed something. She wouldn't show embarrassment, no, she'd sit up straight and continue all the same without so much as a hint that she'd done so on accident.
"If that spell isn't to your liking, the only other option I'd come across — whilst perhaps a touch vulgar — involved the utilisation of plant life and the like that persisted underwater. It could, perhaps, work in tandem with the first spell I'd told you about," Pansy looked between the two, noticing Granger's hesitance, and so she focused solely on Harry. "You would tap anything else that you could see down in the depths, and it would allow you, over a period of time, to sap the oxygen from the target and absorb it into your body. I'd only found the spell in mentions of the primary, and after a great deal of time, I managed to find it in a book that would be frowned upon to possess, though not illegal in any capacity."
"So he'd steal oxygen from other things?" Granger asked immediately, and as soon as Pansy was finished speaking. Already, the latter girl could hear the disapproval in the former's voice. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Granger was ever the champion of plants, fish, bugs and house elves.
Pansy nearly sneered. House elves, at least those owned by her family, were treated fairly, provided room and board, all the food they'd like to eat and should anyone raise a hand to them, the person would be banished from the premises. Violence, for the sake of violence, was vulgar. Untoward. Uncivilised.
Simply put, it was so very Muggle. Any witch or wizard with a touch of self-respect would never resort to it.
"He could choose to take all of the oxygen from whatsoever he chooses as a target or some of it. I'd be unable to provide you with a percentage, as you're likely aware, but the option remains in place if he doesn't wish to sap the entirety of one's life force, in crude terms, from it," Pansy responded. It wasn't even as if something could die unless Harry held the spell overly long, and he wouldn't need to.
So long as he managed his oxygen well and kept on top of it, he'd be perfectly fine, as would anything he'd borrow strength from.
"I can see why it'd be frowned upon," Granger said with a look elsewhere, away from Pansy's general direction.
It was a good thing too, or Pansy might not have been able to resist that urge to sneer that had struck her earlier. She did so hate when one had a self-imposed code that came across as overly good. Anything that had any form of downside or flaw, or even a risk of complication was automatically classified as 'dark', 'evil' or 'malicious' out of fear. One would think that schools such as Hogwarts would educate the public on matters just like Durmstrang strives to do, but with the influence of fools in the Ministry, that wasn't the case.
"Anyone, even a stickler for rules, would have to realise the spell isn't disallowed and as such, could be utilised. If used in tandem with the spell I spoke about first, he could very easily ensure that all remains well. It isn't as if these options are the only ones we have too, there's always the weed—"
"Gillyweed," Granger interjected.
Pansy narrowed her eyes at the other girl and picked up from where she'd left off. "—Gillyweed, that Harry could use. If he does so, whilst that would mean finding or taking it from somewhere, there's the risk of the unknown unless you've somehow mastered everything about the product in a short span of time. There's also the fact that he'd need to be out of the water by the time it wears off too, or the liquid in his lungs will drown him — that remains an issue with the weed even when he's out of the water. We'd need a way to empty his lungs."
"We could think of something," Granger said. "There's a charm that makes somebody cough."
"That's a hex," Pansy said with a roll of her eyes. It was too, she knew as much considering she'd used it on Crabbe or Goyle so that they'd slow down whilst they ate. It was behaviour unbecoming of one such as her, but if it meant peace whilst those two sloppy wizards ate their fill, it was unbecoming behaviour that proved itself worthwhile.
Harry coughed before the two could argue over semantics or simply argue for the sake of arguing. They'd gotten along well enough thus far, and so he likely wished to avoid having that ruined. She couldn't totally blame him, she supposed, but there would never be any fondness in her heart towards Granger. Pansy imagined the same could be said by Granger towards herself.
"I'll see if Neville knows anything about Gillyweed. The bloke has book after book about those sorts of things, so I'd reckon if anybody knew everything there was to know about it outside of Professor Sprout, it'd be him — meanwhile, I'll try your secondary option 'Mione and both of Pansys. It'd be best to try and get as many options as possible, yeah?" Harry smiled at the two witches and gestured at the book before him. It was filled with notes that he'd made, Granger had made, and occasionally, that Pansy had interjected. "I'm pretty certain all of the other spells I know should function underwater just fine too, right?"
"Right," Hermione agreed.
At that, Harry clapped his hands together and leaned back in his seat. "We're settled, then," he said.
Granger nodded and stood up abruptly from her seat. "I'll go and get the books related to transfiguring oneself. You'll find it fascinating, especially as the books tell you the possibilities," she said before she promptly headed for the door with a skip in her steps; she seemed very eager to begin aiding him with the transfiguration magic.
Pansy nearly shook her head in exasperation. It wasn't half as interesting as Granger made it out to be. She knew that.
"Pansy?"
With a yawn that she covered by way of one perfectly manicured hand, she lazily rolled her head so as to look at Harry. it was nought but the two of them in the room again, and so she didn't have to be quite as perfect as she often did. He knew a bit more about her, he'd seen her when she wasn't the epitome of perfection that she nearly always was — he'd even gotten to see her without the typical cacophony of beauty spells and products she'd adorn herself with.
"Harry?" she asked back at him.
He did as she did earlier, he snorted. "Here," he said as he held out his hand that she hadn't noticed had been digging in the satchel that was hanging on his chair. In that hand of his was a small box with a cute little bow at the top of it. In other words, it had the appearance of a typical small-sized gift. His next words reinforced that idea. "I got this for you… for all of the help that you've given me recently, you know? It's still a bit strange, sitting here with you, speaking with you. But it's been grand, especially when we went to the Yule Ball together and especially when I looked in the crowd and saw you wearing my tournament robes."
At the memory of her hijacking those robes and dancing with him, she couldn't help the blush that came to her face of its own volition. Those memories were pretty fond whensoever she thought about them. It seemed the same could be said for him whensoever he thought about them too.
"You didn't need to get me anything," Pansy said as she sat up straighter and folded her hands in her lap, ever mindful of manners as she slipped into the 'courting' like attitude that her mother had taught her. It was very old-timey, and yet, with Harry and how kind he was, it felt as if it was normal.
It had never felt this way with Draco, least of all when he practically shoved gifts into her hands before returning to those boyish friends of his. Not one had the maturity or myriad of other traits that Harry seemed to possess.
He rose from his seat then, and smiled down at her as he grabbed up his satchel and threw it over his shoulder; it was only then that she looked out of the nearest window and saw quite how dark it had gotten. The hour was late, very late, and certainly later than she'd thought it to be.
"I wanted to," he said with simplicity in his tone and dashing look upon his face as he lowered himself and wrapped her up in a simple, short-lasting hug that she returned without any manner of hesitance.
He started to back away after nought but a few seconds, and as she felt him doing so, she did something without thinking that was quite embarrassing. Enough so that the scant blush upon her face nearly increased thrice over, to the point that a comparison between her and a tomato might be possible.
Pansy, without thinking, pressed her lips against his cheek, whereupon doing so there was the faintest of contact with the edge of his lips. It was very forward, very unladylike of her, and yet, somehow, she believed her mother would be encouraging her to kiss the wonderful boy that was Harry Potter.
She could do far worse, and doubted very much that she could do any better; there was no word that could be used to describe better than the best.
Harry pulled back after the kiss, looked at her, smiled goofily, and dipped his head to her before he made toward the door. He knew that she'd likely remain out longer, skirting her time to the very boundaries of the nightly curfew. If he thought so, he thought correctly. There was more that she needed to do in the evening, and more that she could do that would aid him.
"Goodnight, Harry," Pansy found herself saying, and in a tone of voice that was softer and sweeter than the majority of the time in which she spoke.
He smiled at her as he turned to exit through the doorway. "Goodnight, Pansy," he said with an exaggerated bow and that same, toothy, wide smile of his.
When he was gone and the door was closed behind him, she looked down at the little box she was still grasping. It was very cutesy, and with her expertise at gift-giving and receiving, she already knew it was meant for jewellery without so much as shaking it around or deftly untying the ribbon to remove the top.
Pansy looked at the door again. It had to have cost him no small amount of galleons, moreso than many a wizard in Hogwarts would typically spend. That cost, it didn't matter in and of itself to her, but the fact that he'd been willing to spend it without any true level of commitment between them… made her think.
Maybe, she thought to herself.
It was time to go completely in on Harry Potter.
February 15, 1995
When Pansy meant now was the time to go completely in on Harry, she hadn't wanted or meant for some article written by a horrible author such as Rita Skeeter to drop. No, that was one of her least-wanted desires, and yet, whilst she hadn't wished for that to happen in the slightest, it had.
Somehow, by some way — like Draco and his inferiority complex when it came to Harry — Rita had not only found out about the Yule Ball that Pansy had thought she'd kept under wraps, but she'd also found out, to some degree, that they spent more time with one another than was strictly necessary for their school projects. She'd even gone so far as to suggest that Harry was with Granger, which in and of itself was a delusional thought, and that Pansy was the one that he was 'cheating' on Granger with.
The thought was absolutely abhorrent; Pansy second best to Granger?
There wasn't any world where that might have a modicum of truth outside of grades, and that, most certainly, was not Hogwarts-related.
"Well then," Harry said, blinking as he looked at Pansy with easily-readable uncertainty. "What do we do?"
At his question, asked without so much as a bit of concern for himself, she huffed. "There's nothing we can do now that the article's already been published by this rag," Pansy held up the Prophet for all of a few seconds before she threw it away, off into some corner of an abandoned classroom, where it'd be covered by dust and mildew in no time; where it belonged. "I'll write home to my mother and have the article discontinued, mayhaps she'll even withdraw an apology. That'd be very enjoyable."
"Damage is already done though, yeah?" Harry asked, gesturing to it. When he realised what he said, he winced and smiled at her as best he could despite the narrowing of her eyes. "I don't mean like it's anything bad, but… you wanted to keep our friendship and what have you a secret, right?"
"I had intended to keep how close we are a secret, yes. As you can imagine, even with my going to the Yule Ball as your partner, Draco and those who worship him weren't exactly happy, much less supportive of my choices — still, as I told you, I'm not without friends or allies of my own. Fortunately, I have enough that he'd not outright do anything in opposition. I would hope that wouldn't change now."
He blinked at her, and then he grinned as if an idea had just come to him. Instantly, she was wary. His ideas were oftentimes interesting, to say the least.
"Well?" she asked as her hands found her hips of their own volition.
"Why don't we date?"
Pansy blinked. She knew she hadn't heard that right. That wasn't how a wizard such as him would ask such a question.
"Come again, Harry?"
At that, he seemed to realise what her words meant and the brow she raised at him. He swallowed, gave her that lopsided smile of his and drew closer, his larger hands encompassing her smaller ones. "Would you go out with me?"
"I suppose I could," Pansy relented… and then she kissed his cheek, after insisting that he lower himself so she could do as much. "Though, if I'm to be your girlfriend, I'd like something from you."
Harry furrowed his brows as he looked at Pansy. "What's that?" he asked her with a small degree of uncertainty or curiosity, she couldn't quite make out which emotion it was that he was feeling.
"I would, perhaps, enjoy the occasional kiss by way of a greeting and one by way of a farewell whensoever we're together. You could manage that easily enough, I'm sure, isn't that right?" Pansy batted her eyes at him just in case she needed the extra bit of cuteness. Obviously, she knew that she was the cutest and most beautiful witch in all of Hogwarts, but it could never harm her chances of receiving what she did so wish to receive.
No, she was certain that doing so would ensure that all would go how she wished it would.
"You want me to kiss you when we meet up or when we're done for the evening?" Harry asked, his brows still furrowed as he looked at her.
Pansy rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless. Now that she was — officially — his witch, she'd have to be more patient than she'd already been, and more helpful in ensuring that he understood witches in general. "That is what I'd like, yes. If I'm not mistaken, that requirement shouldn't be remotely difficult for you to fulfil, isn't that right?"
Without a second in-between her words and his response, Harry nodded rapidly. He seemed to think she'd retract her request or something, the poor boy. She couldn't imagine why he'd think she'd do something so nefarious or needlessly cruel; it wasn't just wizards that enjoyed a good kiss.
"Grand."
Harry kissed her just as she'd done, and then he said something that was, perhaps, a touch devious on account of the day that it was.
"Hogsmeade? As a celebration, I mean?"
"We'd have to go without getting caught," Pansy pointed out, already calculating how they could do so.
Many of the Slytherin students had snuck out of Hogwarts in the past. It wouldn't be especially difficult to figure out a way to do so without being caught by the groundskeeper or staff, least of all with the tournament happening as it was. In fact, the tournament made for the perfect cover, for all of the people within Hogsmeade, so long as Pansy and Harry had a minor disguise on, wouldn't be certain as to which school the two teens belonged.
Harry could be so very clever when he wished to, she mentally fawned. His cleverness far exceeded that of Draco, who often relied on his friends and contacts to ensure his safety and success.
"I can do that," Harry said with a grin, lopsided and charming as ever. "You might have to stay close to me though. Just to make sure we're not caught."
Pansy looked him up and down. "This isn't some attempt to take advantage of my beauty, is it?" she asked, barely containing a grin. Both of them knew that he wasn't the type of wizard to do such a thing, and if he tried, she'd curse him until he could barely walk.
Her mother had taught her all sorts of magic that related to dealing with a wizard that grew a bit too difficult or acted overly foolish around her.
Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head, and then his shoulders slumped and his eyes narrowed. "You got me just then, didn't you?"
"If you have to ask, then you probably already know the answer, don't you?" Pansy retorted as she patted his cheek and started toward the door. "Are you going to show me the way, or are you going to stay in the room and look at my rear whilst I walk away from you?" she asked when she noticed Harry was still standing where she'd left him.
"I'll need to make a quick stop by Gryffindor Tower. You can wait near the entrance for me, right?"
Pansy contained her curiosity, if only barely. She wasn't sure what he needed to go and retrieve, but she'd not question it when the answer would soon make itself known to her. Even if it didn't, she was very certain that she'd be able to figure it out without much preamble. Harry was so very poor when it came to keeping secrets from her. She could read him as if he were a tome in the Hogwarts library; that was how easy the sweet wizard was to read.
"I'll wait for you, yes," she answered, grinning to herself when he finally started towards her. "Tell me, Harry, where do you intend on taking me when we have this little trip to Hogsmeade? I'm sure that you've got something in mind, don't you?"
Harry smiled at her. When that was all the answer that she got, she couldn't help but huff. It was very frustrating, but if she let him know as much, she'd lose. It was one of the few tendencies that continued from the time when they didn't get along, all those months ago. Unlike most of the others from when she'd disliked Harry for being, well, Harry, it was one that added a playful, teasing dynamic to their relationship.
She couldn't complain about it, nor would she ever.
"I'll see soon enough, then," Pansy said when Harry refused to elaborate, and at that, he openly laughed as he looped his arm through hers and escorted her in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.
Pansy was — not that she'd admit it to Harry — very much looking forward to the time they'd spend together. Hogsmeade, whilst very limited, could be so very romantic. She was already feeling those obnoxious flutterings in her stomach.