And Then He Was Gone

Wasted Time

Humidity is rising - Barometer's getting low
According to all sources, the street's the place to go
Cause tonight for the first time
Just about half-past ten
For the first time in history
It's gonna start raining men.

It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!
I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get
Absolutely soaking wet!
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!
It's Raining Men!

~It's Raining Men, The Weather Girls

"You look happy today, Scruffy," Pansy said when Harry popped his head into her office.

"I should be," he said grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay, what is it? Did Malfoy fall off a cliff or something?"

"I wish," Harry said coming in and shutting the door behind him.

"Well, what is it?" she asked setting down what she was working on.

"I purposed to Ginny last night."

"No, you didn't!" Pansy practically screeched.

"Yup," Harry said grinning like mad now. "She came to me after she talked to you and we had a long talk. And somewhere between her yelling at me and us talking I realized that she's the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Have you told Ron yet?" Pansy asked, glad that her friend was so happy.

"Hell, no," Harry said. "He may say he's okay with our relationship, but somewhere underneath I know he'll always think of Ginny as his little sister he's got to protect."

"Only from you," Pansy said. "Well, that's great. I'll have to talk to Ginny; I bet she's on Cloud nine right now. Sure looks like you are."

Harry nodded and then started for the door. "Pansy?" he said turning around.

"Yea?" she asked looking back at him.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem."

***********************************************

"You're late," Pansy said when she heard the door swing open, not even bothering to look up.

"And you care?" Draco asked making his way to his desk.

"I never said I did," she replied continuing to work.

"Good, I hate when people care about me."

"Like anyone would," she muttered under her breath.

"Listen, Parkinson," he growled, hands on her desk in a second. "You have no idea what my life was like, or who cared about me; so just shove it."

"I had the same life as you, Malfoy," she replied nonchalantly not bothering to look up at him.

"No, Pansy," he said. "Our lives were similar, not the same. Yours has been a helluva lot easier than mine."

"Because I choose it that way," she replied finally looking up at him. "You made decisions and I made decisions, Draco, and they're why we are the way we are."

"Oh really?" he asked leering down dangerously close to her. "And what decision did I make for you to be such a bitch to me?"

"You ran away," she replied calmly turning back to her work.

"I didn't run away."

"Oh, then what did you do? It looked like you were running from something. What were you running from, Malfoy? I bet you don't even know anymore."

Draco just stood there and didn't respond. Obviously satisfied, Pansy tried to return back to her work.

"Pansy, can't you forgive me?"

"I thought you weren't going to ask anymore," she spat bitterly not looking up.

"Well, I'm asking again. I don't want to loose our friendship."

"It's already gone, Malfoy," she said closing her folder and standing up.

"You can't even try can you?"

"Ask me again tomorrow," she said making her way to the door. "I feel like being too much of a bitch today to try."

"You're always a bitch," he muttered turning back to his desk.

"Excuse me?" she asked raising the Slytherin trademark eyebrow.

"Pansy, you've always been the ideal Slytherin girl. Nothing seems to have changed."

"A lot of things have changed, Malfoy," she said.

"Like what?"

"I'm not parading around waiting for you to notice me anymore. I'm here, and I'm real. I'm sorry I'm not one of your cheap little French skanks, but this is me. This is who I'll always be, and you can't try to turn me into one of them. At Hogwarts I would've become anything for you. I was pathetic, wasn't I?"

"Are you actually offering me another chance, if I accept who you are?" he asked.

She smirked and opened the door. "I'm not offering, Malfoy. You already missed your chance. There are plenty of guys out there, and I'm tired of wasting my time on one of them; especially if that one is you."