Dragon's Fire

I had no idea where to turn, so I looked for advice from a different source. Pansy and I had been arranged to be married since before we were born, and she knew me better than some, but not well enough to guess my reason for her counsel.

"Pansy, can I have a word? In private?" I asked her that night, as we sat in the common room. Whistles and hoots followed us as we walked to my dormitory.

"Is this going to take long? I have other things to do, you know. Places to go, people to do," Pansy said as we sat down and I sealed the door.

"Funny, and no, this shouldn't take long."

"Very well. What's with all the secrecy then?" My, but she was direct.

"I need your advice on something," I said softly.

"You? About what?"

"A girl."

"But you've never had trouble luring a girl to your bed before," she said, cocking her head to one side.

"I'm not trying to fuck her; I'm trying to date her," I said tersely.

"Oh, well that might explain it."

"Just what does that mean?!" I asked, outraged.

"Draco, shh. I thought the whole point of coming in here was so the rest of the House didn't find out," she reminded me.

"Fine."

"Thank you. Now, what seems to be the problem?" she asked politely.

"She's still in love with this asshole who broke her heart about six months ago," I said, trying not to get pissed off.

"Hmm. That is a difficult thing to get past. Girls often keep their guards up when they've been hurt, because they don't want to get hurt again."

"Then how do I get past her defenses?" I asked impatiently.

"Shh! I'm trying to think of a plan here," she said. Her brows knit together in that way that says she's thinking really hard about something. I've only seen that look on her face twice that I recall: when her daddy wouldn't buy her something she really wanted and when Lavender Brown turned down her offer of a good shagging.

"Anything?" I asked.

"No. I'm trying to think of a way that you could assimilate yourself into her life, but I don't know who this girl is, and from the looks of it, you're not going to tell me," she replied.

"No, I'm not going to tell you her name. And I'm already in her life; we talk everyday," I said.

"Afraid I'll steal her away, eh? It helps some that you're in her life, but to what degree?" she muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"What do you talk about? Are you alone together? If so, how often? Stuff like that," she said.

"We talk about everything: her parents, her brothers, my mum's death, Father's abuse. We're alone together a lot of the time, mostly because she's afraid her brothers will find us and pummel me to death," I replied.

"Well, the fact that you talk about everything suggests that you're very close to her already. Have you tried to tell her what's really on your mind?" Pansy inquired.

"Er, no. I don't want her to laugh in my face." A look of surprise mixed with pure joy crossed her face.

"You love her, don't you?"

"Yes. I'm helplessly in love with a girl who loves someone else," I said morosely.

"Oh, do cheer up, Draco. This isn't over."

"How is it not? I've loved her from afar for six years, Pansy. She's been in love with this guy for about the same amount of time. What if her love for him is as strong as mine is for her? Then what do I do?" I asked frantically, throwing my hands up in the air.

"Draco, calm down. You're not going to solve anything this way. All you're going to do is give me a headache and probably give yourself a heart attack."

"How did you win Lavender over?" I asked, suddenly inspired.

"I'm not sure this one will work for you," she said.

"Try me."

"I left her notes, flowers, presents. Anything that would draw her attention, but not force a response from her. I wanted her to feel cherished, not pushed. Loved, but not obsessively so. I wooed her the way that I would want to be wooed." A beautiful smile crossed her face, lighting up her eyes and smoothing away all the shadows. For the first time, I noticed how beautiful she really was.

"That might work for me," I said pensively.

"Well, Draco, it might not," she said, dampening her features once again.

"Why wouldn't it?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but you're not exactly Mr. Romance, Draco."

"So?" What was she getting at?

"So, girls like that. We want to be chased and romanced. We want guys to work for it," she said, a new fire rising in her eyes.

"But you don't like guys," I pointed out, even more confused.

"Not the point, stupid. There was a time when Lavender liked guys. She told me that the reason she'd given up on them was because no man had ever taken the time to woo her. No one had ever made her feel special. Every girl wants that, Draco. Even those of us who aren't into guys."

"So you're saying that I need to woo her?"

"Maybe not woo, exactly. Maybe you should start smaller. Like: help carry her books, walk her to class, offer to help her with homework," she ticked off.

"Okay, but I already do those things," I replied.

"Okay. Have you complimented her on her hairstyle or her wardrobe?"

"A few times," I admitted.

"Do that more often. Girls like to be reassured. We always do our best to look nice for you, and when you don't notice, we feel that you didn't care," she replied.

"Girls put an awful lot of stock in what a guy thinks of them," I said.

"Yes, they do. Please don't blow this, Draco. I want to see you happy."

"I'll try not to," I said honestly. She rose, and as she walked toward the door, she said:

"Please be careful. It's not just your heart that's at stake here."

"I know. Thanks, Pansy."

"Anytime, love." And with that, she sauntered out the door. I walked over to my four-poster, mulling over everything that Pansy told me, in addition to what I knew about Ginny. I lay down on top of the covers, trying to formulate a plan. This was proving to be a difficult task. Winning Ginny wasn't going to be easy. But then, if you don't have to work for it, is it really worth having?