Life as I Knew It

Chapter 16--The Only One She Fears

Pansy landed flat on her back, looking up at Draco. He offered her his hand to help her up, but she refused it. Normally, she would have eagerly accepted his hand, but there was something so undignified about the whole situation that Pansy felt the need to show she was capable of getting up on her own. She mumbled an apology to Draco as she pushed herself to her feet. She made a move to collect her bag, but Draco swooped in and picked it up for her.

"Thank you," Pansy said, trying to take the bag from him.

Draco held tight to the bag and took a hold of her arm. "Actually, Pansy, I had something I wanted to talk to you about," he said as he led her to a secluded area near the entrance to the common room.

Pansy thought about the fact that she was going to be late for another class. She really did want to hear what Draco had to say, but this was not a good start to the school year. Pansy decided to go along with Draco anyway, rationalizing that this was not the real world, and her academic record here was not important. So she allowed herself to be led.

When they got to the wall, Draco handed Pansy her bookbag, but he did not say anything. He just stared at her in the same transfixed way he had at King's Cross. "So what was it you needed to say?" Pansy prompted.

Instead of speaking, Draco leaned in close and kissed her.

The kiss took Pansy completely by surprise, although from the way he had been looking at her, she figured it should not have. Pansy had always loved kissing Draco, and she had done it so often during their fifth and sixth years that she was very familiar with his style. Having that knowledge, she noticed right away that he was doing it differently now. He was tender and hesitant. Pansy supposed that it would have been nice had she not experienced the passion and urgency of which he was capable. As it was, this kiss was not doing much for Pansy. The only real satisfaction it gave her was the triumph over Moonshyne. It was the thought of Moonshyne that kept Pansy from impressing her own passion upon Draco. It was crucial to her that he take the lead in everything so that Moonshyne could not accuse Pansy of anything. So Pansy was forced to endure a rather bland kiss from the man she considered her soulmate.

Pansy's sense of triumph increased when the door to the common room swung open and she heard Moonshyne's voice. It was short lived as Draco also became aware of the presence of his girlfriend. It would have been impossible for him to extract himself from Pansy without drawing Moonshyne's attention. As an alternative, Draco drew Pansy deeper into the shadows so as to escape his girlfriend's notice. Pansy understood his motivations, and as much as she wanted to rub the snogging in Moonshyne's face, she knew it was best to bide her time. Drawing attention to it in any obvious way would have been unsavory and just not Pansy's style. So instead, she just stood there, still in Draco's arms, and tried to listen in on Moonshyne's conversation.

This time around, Moonshyne was talking with Daphne. "Melpomene won't tell me, but I have a feeling that there is actually something about that new girl."

Daphne stopped just inside the entrance. She was facing Draco and Pansy, which was convenient because it meant Moonshyne had her back to the two of them. Pansy thought that Daphne's eyes might have landed on them for a second, but it was so brief that it was difficult to tell. "And you're point is?"

Moonshyne huffed. "My point is, if you know something, tell me."

Daphne laughed, not sarcastically but as though she were genuinely amused by this. She walked away, shaking her head as though that was the best joke she had heard in a long time.

Before Daphne got far, Moonshyne grabbed a hold of her robes and stopped her in her tracks. "I am so tired of people skirting the issue. I want to know what you know right now!"

Daphne looked coldly at the hand on her robes. "In case you've forgotten, Moonshyne, I don't take orders from you. So get your hands off me and try bullying someone else."

This time Moonshyne let Daphne leave. After Daphne had a long head start, she followed into the area that housed the girls' dormitories. Finally, Draco was able to let go of Pansy, and he returned to the main part of the room without a word.

Pansy was intrigued. She left the common room to head to her next class. Even though she was already late and it would take a solid fifteen minutes to get to the Astronomy Tower, Pansy set out at a leisurely pace. She had a lot on her mind after observing that little scene. First there was the fact that Moonshyne actually expected Daphne to know whatever Melpomene was not telling her. Right from the beginning, Daphne had acted differently toward Pansy than anyone else. Pansy remembered at the train station she had seen Daphne staring at her and all the knowing looks Pansy had caught from her since then. She could not decide what to make of the fact that Daphne apparently knew a lot more than she was telling, so she moved on.

The second intriguing thing about Daphne and Moonshyne's interaction was the way Daphne had spoken to her. Earlier that same day, Melpomene had tried something similar, to little effect. In fact, Zahara had told her it was foolish to try. Yet, Daphne had effectively intimidated Moonshyne. Pansy could only guess what that meant, but now she knew for sure that Daphne was the person to whom she really needed to talk.