Who: Pansy and Theodore When: Evening of Wednesday, January 21st Where: The Slytherin Common Room. What: Pansy and Theo make nice (AKA, Theodore Eats Crow) Rating: PG for, uh, haughtiness.
Pansy had been sitting in the Common Room for a few hours, alternately staring into the flickering fireplace and re-reading Draco's latest entry. Her persistant feeling of misery was only intensified by his words, her mind a constant reel of picturing him miserable and lonely, constantly in danger. She sighed, resting her head on her fist as she re-read the words once again.
It was the second time Theodore had ventured into the common room that day and come across a person with who his relationship was somewhat strained. He and Blaise had resolved things, but he'd largely avoided Pansy out of embarrassment. The sight of her sitting there, combined with the positive outcome that had resulted from approaching Blaise, was enough to make him realize that it was time to speak to her, though he imagined she wouldn't be particularly happy to see him.
"Hello Pansy," He enunciated quietly, hands tucked neatly in his pockets as he took a few steps toward her, maintaining distance out of respect.
She snapped her journal shut as her reverie was broken by a familiar voice, looking up at the intruder. Oh wonderful, just what she wanted to deal with at the moment.
"Yes?" She asked, pushing her hair back from her eyes.
Oh, she definitely wasn't happy to see him.
"I figured it was about time we talked," He said, somewhat chagrined. "I owe you an apology." Theodore was not in the practice of apologizing often, but if any situation warranted it, this one did.
She sighed again, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt over her thighs daintily. "It's been awhile, what's made you change your mind?"
Well, this was unexpected. She wondered if this, like Blaise's flowers, was a reaction to how miserable she had appeared recently.
"Loss," He stated honestly. Candor was hardly his forte, but he figured he might as well give in after he'd succumbed to it with Blaise. "People die every day in this war. It's unfortunate and it's irreversible." A slight pause. "But I'd like to think that you and I - that our friendship - isn't. To lose people out of cowardice is to do an injustice to those whose lives have truly been lost."
She was quiet for a moment, fingers tracing over the cover of her journal as she considered him. "Thank you for coming to the wedding." She conceded, letting that be her olive branch.
From Pansy, those short words were worth their weight in gold. Struck by an immense sense of relief, he knelt beside the cushion and looked up at her sincerely. "I'm truly sorry for acting the way I did, Pansy. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't want to lose your friendship."
"I think the problem was that you weren't doing much thinking at all." She said, reaching out and touching his shoulder gently. She had missed him. "You're such a jerk." She teased with a grin.
"That tends to cause problems, doesn't it?" A self-depreciating grin, before his expression turned thoughtful. "Your wedding was beautiful, Pansy. Draco and I, we've never been particularly close, but the look in your eye left little doubt. I'm truly happy for you."
Doubt, eh? She was filled with doubt at the moment, though now about her marriage. Looking down again at her journal, she relaxed enough to let her distress creep back onto her face. "Thank you, Theo. That's good to hear."
Kneeling indefinitely wasn't a particularly attractive prospect, so he moved smoothly to perch upon the cushion beside her, concern crossing his boyish features. "Will you tell me what's wrong?" He afforded the journal only a cursory glance, unwilling to invade her privacy without permission.
She was glad to have her Theodore back, her longest and most trusted friendship. She loved Blaise, but he wasn't a confidant, and though Daphne was actually her best friend, Pansy didn't dare be completely honest with her. Not that she would ever be completely honest with Theodore either; that wasn't really her style. "Do you think I'm selfish for staying in school and not joining him?"
"Of course not," Theodore answered immediately. "You only have a few months before graduation, and then you'll be free. I'm sure Draco wouldn't want you to leave school when the end is in such near sight." He was hardly Draco's closest friend, but he was fairly certain from the way they acted around one another that he wouldn't want Pansy to miss out on account of him. "You have to think about yourself too."
"Did you read his last journal entry?" She asked, her voice quiet. She knew it hadn't been intended to make her feel guilty, but it had made her feel like the worst person on earth.
"I did," He acknowledged, recalling the boy's disconcerting words. "Draco, like most of the rest of us, was born with a silver spoon. He's not accustomed to living without all of life's comforts - and companions." Theo offered her a slight smile. "Don't take his loneliness for dark depression, Pansy. He misses you, but he would only have two lives to worry about if you were to leave now."
"You make me sound like I'm completely helpless." She said, uncrossing her legs and tucking them up beside her instead. Truth be told, outside of the Dark Arts, she probably had more magical skill than Draco. The problem being, of course, that she was much better at passive, persuasive magic than direct magic.
"I'm not so foolish," Theodore smirked. "I'm well aware that you're a very capable witch. But two people are harder to conceal than one, regardless of how talented they might be."
"Well, I don't really see what's the difference between doing it now and doing it four months from now." She said petulently, fingers playing along the edge of her skirt absently.
"It'll be suspicious if you drop out of school four months before graduation," Theo replied calmly. "It'll be difficult to explain and they'll watch you. If you wait, you'll graduate and be a free woman and they won't have any reason to believe you might be doing something untoward."
"You're wonderful. Thank you for the logic." She said, giving him a beatific smile.
"It'll work out for the best, I promise," He said sincerely, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders in support. "Besides, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, don't they?" Cobalt eyes twinkled with mischief, preemptively ducking. "You'll have a lot of time to make up for."
She rolled her eyes. "You're a cad, Theodore."
"I merely said it," Theo defended, quite certain that Draco was thinking it. "Perhaps you could comfort him by telling him what it'll be like when you're finally together, so he can have something to look forward to."
She laughed softly. If only he knew how much she thought about it. He'd be shocked, shocked! "I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"As tempting as the prospect of living vicariously is," He teased, "I'd be perfectly fine if you hexed it just to him. I'm sure he'd appreciate the ability to reply candidly."
Brushing her hair back from her eyes, she smirked. "Sorry, Theo, but I don't think I'm going to keep the spark alive by dirty-talking him in my journal."
"Just a suggestion," He held his hands up in surrender. To be honest, he wasn't sure how he'd feel if he was separated from Daphne for four months. Perhaps that sort of thing would be far from his mind. "Does he know that you miss him?"
"I tell him constantly. It eases my guilt if he knows that I'm thinking about him." She said dejectedly.
"Don't feel guilty, Pansy," He sighed softly. Surely the situation was difficult enough without added feelings of guilt. "Both of you are doing what's best right now, and it'll make things easier when the time comes for you to be together again."
"You're so sensible, Theodore. That's why I keep you around." She said, patting his knee affectionately. She would never tell anyone, but speaking to him again made her the most happy she'd been since returning from Italy.
"I'm honored," He replied dryly, but it wasn't far from the truth. After weeks of silent passing in the hallway and unreplied to journal entries, he was happy to be on good terms with her again. As much as he hated - and refused - to admit it, friends were needed in times like this. "Truly, though, Pansy, thank you for letting me to come to your wedding even though we weren't on the best of terms."
"Well, I couldn't let the evening pass without having you there to see how fantastic I looked in my dress." She said with a broad grin and a wink. Seized by a yawn, she stretched her arms over her head. "I think it's to bed with me."
The smile that lit his lips was small, but meaningful. Strangely enough, he'd actually missed Pansy's arrogance, and he had to admit that she had looked radiant in her gown. "Go on, then," He encouraged, genuinely hoping that she felt a little better about the situation with Draco after their conversation. "You wouldn't want to deprive yourself of your beauty sleep."
"Indeed. I think after a few hours tonight I'll have reached perfection." She said, her voice a mixture of humor and haughtiness. Standing, she gathered up her journal and reached down to touch the tip of his nose gently. "I missed you." She said quietly, then turned and went to bed.