And Then He Was Gone

Everyone Is Allowed a Mistake...or Two

"It's fun to believe, but it's more fun to figure things out."

~Justin McClure (GT class, 8^th grade)

"Mistakes are something you don't make twice...unless you're me."

~Ashley LeeAnn Fredrick (DMissofineandallmine...me!)

"What is it, Harry? Did something happen to Ginny? No offense, but you look awful," she said giving him a mug of tea and sitting across from him on the couch.

"No, Ginny's fine. Something was brought to my mind tonight; something I haven't thought about in a really long time," Harry Potter said feeling a bit nervous in the woman's presence for once.

"What, Harry?" Pansy asked feeling the tension around them.

"Do you remember that night, Pansy? A few days before the last stand with Voldemort?"

"Oh," she said sighing heavily. "That night; of course I remember it, Harry."

"Have you thought about it since then?" he asked her.

"Not really, but it's not exactly something I could erase." Pansy pulled her knees up to her chest burying her face in them. "That night..."

"I know, it was insane," Harry sighed leaning back on the couch.

"Harry, there was a reason we didn't talk about it after that night. It's because it was so uncomfortable to talk about. And when you got with Ginny...."

"I never told her. I've never told anyone," he said looking suspiciously at her.

"And you think I have?" she asked stubbornly.

"Malfoy...he knows...knew about it," Harry said catching himself.

"Are you serious? Did he talk to you about you it once? I didn't tell him, Harry, honest! But he is Malfoy, I'm not too surprised I guess," she said kind of startled.

"Yea, he talked to me once about it," Harry shrugged trying desperately to think of a way to not mention the reappearance of Draco Malfoy.

"What did he say?" she asked with difficulty.

"He said that it happened the day after he told you that...." Harry was still reeling from what Malfoy had said. "Did he tell you he loved you, Pansy?"

Pansy stared down for a moment as if fighting back the memory before standing up angrily. "He was drunk, Harry! He couldn't possibly have meant it," she said outraged.

"Malfoy doesn't get drunk, Pansy. I've known him long enough to know that. Malfoy can take his liqueur."

"He was though, I'm certain of it," she said with uncertainty. "He said it...but I shrugged it off because he passed out right afterwards! There's no other explanation besides the fact that he was a lousy drunk."

"I don't know, Pansy," Harry said honestly. "But I know that Draco Malfoy doesn't get drunk."

"Are you saying he really meant it?" she asked still angry. "Well," she sighed sitting back down. "It doesn't matter now."

"It still matters to me. I want to ask Ginny to marry me. You all know I do. But there's been something holding me back, and I finally figured out what it was."

There was a moment of intense tension that hung in the room. It clung to every corner like a spider web and made awkward silence reflect off the mirrors.

"That night, is that what it is?" Pansy said breaking it. "You feel guilty." It wasn't a question.

"Of course I do," he said standing up and pacing about the room.

"That was before Ginny, Harry," Pansy said standing up and walking over to him. "There IS nothing to feel guilty about."

"Then why do I feel it?" he asked. "Do you feel guilty?" he asked an awkward moment later.

"Why would I feel guilty?" she asked turning away from him.

"Because of Mal...Draco," Harry corrected himself placing his arm gently on hers, causing her to turn back towards him.

"I told you, there was nothing between us. Sure, there were times when we would get caught up in the moment. But out of all people you should know that that happens," she said trying to avoid his eyes. But he caught hers and held onto them.

"I don't think it was nothing," he practically whispered now. Their voices had slowly been quieting, the tension in the room becoming thicker.

"Well, no offense, Harry James Potter, but you don't know everything."

"Malfoy doesn't get drunk," he insisted quietly.

"There's a first for everything, didn't you say that once?" she said so quiet she was almost not heard; Harry had to step closer to hear her. He hovered slightly above her head still holding her gaze. His untidy (scruffy) black hair fell into his face, but he didn't' move it. A loose strand fell from Pansy's loose ponytail, but she didn't tuck it back. For moments they just stood there; not moving, hardly breathing.

Then, Harry reached up and, placing his hand behind Pansy's head, brought her lips crashing to his in a breathtaking, passionate kiss.