Life as I Knew It

Hermione showed Pansy to the train compartment she and her friends had already claimed. Pansy hoisted her trunk into the overhead section. Then Hermione told her to come back out to the platform.

"Why can't we just stay on the train?" Pansy asked.

"Because, Pansy, only losers hang out on the train before it's time to go. Come on." She gestured toward the exit.

Pansy checked her watch. It really was about time for the train to leave the station, but as she looked around, it was true that no one was aboard. When she stepped on the platform again, she noticed another oddity. There were no parents on Platform 9 and ¾, just masses of students. As a seventh year, she had not felt the need to have her parents escort her to the train, but it was odd that none of the younger students had anyone to send them off. Actually, this was no odder than everything else that had happened, she now reflected. Pansy decided to follow Hermione's lead for the time being.

Unfortunately, Hermione led her straight to Draco. For some reason he had been separated from Moonshyne. "Oh my god, Draco, you look super cute today."

Draco beamed at this compliment, which in and of itself was not entirely out of character. However, since the compliment had come from a Mudblood, Pansy did find his reaction peculiar. He preened and strutted like one of the peacocks his father kept at their manor. Well, maybe not quite like a peacock, but still, Pansy was disturbed.

"Thanks, Granger. You're looking pretty hot yourself."

Hermione blushed and stammered a string of "oh my gods" and "likes." It was fairly incoherent to Pansy, although she had not been listening that closely. After complimenting Hermione, if you could call it that, Draco had noticed Pansy for the first time. He looked her up and down in a way that made Pansy want to blush, too. Of course, Pansy had a history of appreciating attention from Draco, whereas Hermione did not.

"Who's your friend, Granger?" Draco asked without looking away from Pansy.

Hermione answered sweetly, not at all distressed by his shift in attention. Pansy saw that hearing her name meant nothing to him, but it was not as painful as she had feared. This was due to the fact that, even though he did not remember her, he clearly still had some feelings for her. Despite all the other changes, Pansy still had a chance with him. Ginny had said that he was a poetry-reciting queer, but that was only because of Moonshyne. Things were looking up.

Draco had never looked at her like this before. He seemed entranced by her beauty, which was strange because Pansy knew that she was not pretty. She snuck a glance at Hermione and knew that actually, if Pansy was honest with herself about her own physical flaws, Hermione was the more attractive of the two. Still, as they stood there, Draco only had eyes for Pansy.

While she was in this honest, objective mood, Pansy took the time to evaluate Draco's looks. She supposed she had always been aware that he could barely be considered cute by conventional standards. Though she was completely enamored with him, she now saw clearly that Draco was not by any means "super cute," and he was far too pale and pointy to be called "hot." Pansy had, of course, called Draco hot a number of times, but that had a lot to do with the fact that she believed he was going to grow up to look more like his father.

Draco extended his hand to her, and Pansy took it. "I'm Draco Malfoy, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

Pansy smiled. "Likewise," she said in a tone that was slightly flirtatious, but not too much so considering that he had a girlfriend. She knew her Draco very well, but the fact that everything else had changed so much made her a little reserved in dealing with this one.

"Parkinson? Haven't I heard of your family before?"

Pansy had no idea how to answer that. If she did not exist in this universe, what did that mean for her parents? In the chaos of it all, Pansy had not had the time to think about all the implications of this. How long was this going to continue? It hit Pansy for the first time that she might be stuck spending the rest of her life in a world where she had no history. "It's quite possible. We are pure-bloods."

Draco's eyes lit up. "Yes, I feel like I've met you before. Where have you been going to school?"

Pansy bit her lip. That was the first really difficult question she had been asked so far. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Pansy was prevented from answering by the arrival of Moonshyne.

Up close, Moonshyne really had a terrifying beauty. First, there was just the fact that her green hair was supposed to be natural, which was terrifying enough. Also, her eyes were slits like a snake's. They were a startling shade of silver that did not occur in nature. Moonshyne had high well-defined cheekbones, and if it weren't for her hair, she would have had a regal look. At the arrival of Moonshyne, Draco gaze wandered back to his girlfriend and his interest in Pansy waned.

"It's time to get on the train, my sweet Draco." Moonshyne's voice sounded a bit like crystal tinkling, which Pansy found very irritating.

Draco turned and without a glance back, he followed Moonshyne onto the train.