And Then He Was Gone

Holding Water

"Instead of looking at the world through a grain of sand, try looking at it through ten million."

~Ashley LeeAnn Fredrick

"You can't hold on to what you don't have."

"You can always count on a friend to discover what you can't discover yourself."

~Ashley LeeAnn Fredrick

"Ginny, come in won't you," Pansy said rolling her eyes as the woman walked in through the door uninvited.

"I need to talk to you," she said sitting on the couch heavily.

"Okay...." Pansy said placing herself beside the girl.

"I have to ask you about something that's been on my mind."

"What is it, Ginny?" she asked swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Did you and Harry ever...do it?" she asked sighing in relief when it was over with.

"Where did you...."

"Malfoy," she answered immediately. "I just got to know. I know it was before me, but I just want the truth."

"Yes, one night me and Harry got caught up in the moment. It was a couple days before the last stand with You-Know-Who," Pansy said.

"That's all I wanted to know," she said leaning back against the couch head resting on the top. "Did he...enjoy it?"

"Oh, god, Ginny," Pansy sighed. "I don't know! It was a moment thing, a mistake. It meant nothing. The man is absolutely crazy about you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she sighed sitting up again. "Now I have to talk to you about something else."

"Oh, no," Pansy sighed as Ginny sat back up and took the woman's hands in hers.

"Pansy, Harry told me you and Malfoy have done nothing but bicker inside that office. And, although you're getting more work done than ever, it's not pleasant."

"So tell Harry to move Draco to another office."

"Pansy...."

"What, Ginny; what do you expect me to do? I can't forgive him," she said pulling her hands from Ginny's.

"Why is that, Pansy? Why do you think you can't forgive him?"

"Because he's a stuck-up arse," she said coldly.

"Pansy," Ginny said taking Pansy's hands and cupping them together. "You can try as hard as you want to hold water in your hands, but eventually it's going to slip through."

"Another one of your stupid Gryffindor expressions?" she asked trying to ignore the gnawing in her stomach.

"It means, that no matter how hard you and Malfoy try to hide you're feelings they're still there. Eventually they'll win; you can't hide from them forever."

"You don't get it do you, Ginny?" she asked. "Malfoy and I aren't Gryffindors; these things aren't like that for us. We were raised to marry a pureblood with high esteem. We were raised to tolerate and to be devoted. We were not raised to love."

"And Malfoy was raised to be the perfect servant," Ginny said standing. "Things change, Pansy, haven't you realized that by now?"

"If you hold the water secure enough...." Pansy said standing and cupping her hands again.

"No, Pansy, no," Ginny said. She took the woman by the arm and dragged her over to the sink. Turning on the water she let it run through Pansy's cupped hands. "Try, Pansy, try to hold the water."

After a few minutes Pansy gave up and turned off the sink. "So what?" she said frustrated. "You can't compare love to water, Ginny."

"Can't you?" Ginny said heading toward the door. "Listen, Pansy, I just came by to tell you; I think that if you and Malfoy stopped being so stubborn you'd realize you both have the same feelings for each other. You have to forgive him eventually. He was scared, and maybe if you were in his position you would have done the same."

"Weasley," Pansy called after her before she could make it out the door. "He still feels guilty about that night. Even though he wasn't together with you yet, Harry won't stop feeling guilty."

"Thanks, Pansy," Ginny said. "Oh, and by the way, Harry wanted me to tell you, 'Malfoy doesn't get drunk.' Whatever that means," she shrugged stepping out onto the porch.

"Tell Harry Potter to mind his own business," Pansy said standing in the doorway.

"He's probably right, you know," Ginny said. "One thing I've learned about him is that he knows what he's talking about."

"You love Harry don't you?"

"God knows I do, and only he knows why."

"He's a great man, Ginny," Pansy said. "You both deserve each other."

"Speaking of deserving each other...."

"Don't even start," Pansy warned.

"Stop trying to hold your water, Pansy. Just let it go and see what happens."

"You Gryffindors and your stupid big-ass hearts," she told the girl.

"Looks like you've got a new neighbor," Ginny said noticing the boxes in front of the flat next to hers. Just then the door opened and someone stepped outside, shirtless, to grab one of the boxes.

"Oh, shit," Pansy said. "You've got to be joking."