Life as I Knew It

Chapter 21--Helena

Pansy and Zahara parted company in the dungeons. Zahara continued on to the stairway, and Pansy turned off toward the Slytherin common room. Pansy had not intended to go to the common room that afternoon, but she figured that since she was already in the dungeons, she might as well pop in and see Millicent or Blaise.

Blaise's appearance had basically returned back to normal, and he was very aware that this was because of Pansy. Although he still did not remember anything, he and Pansy had become fast friends, and she had every hope that soon a memory would break through.

Pansy entered the common room to find an unfortunately familiar sight, Draco reciting poetry to a basking Moonshyne. Pansy almost turned and walked out the door, but she caught eyes with Daphne. The girl acknowledged her and made her way to the doorway.

As Pansy waited, Draco's voice rang out. "The will of man is by his reason sway'd; and reason says you are the worthier maid."

"That's interesting," Daphne said, as she halted at Pansy's side. "Lysander said that to Helena after he had been drugged, and in the end, he meant none of it."

Pansy had no idea what Daphne was talking about, so she smiled and nodded. She supposed that was sort of interesting.

"He normally recites sonnets, you know." Pansy did not know that. "But that's from A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"Is that supposed to be interesting, too?" Pansy instantly regretted saying this. She wanted Daphne to keep talking to her.

Daphne did not seem to take offense though. "Oh, I've forgotten how shallow you are. Obviously, you would not know anything of literature." She spoke the next part slowly, as if talking to an idiot. "Lysander is telling Helena that he loves her instead of Hermia, but it isn't true. You would be Hermia in this situation." She resumed talking normally. "Which is odd because I would consider your relationship more of a Helena/Demetrius thing."

Pansy had the distinct feeling that she should feel insulted, but she still had no idea what Daphne was talking about. "Is this why you came over here?"

Daphne took a deep breath, as though she regretted having to change the topic. "No. I've talked with my guy, and I'm willing--we're willing to tell you more."

"Oh," said Pansy. "That's great! Do you want to go to my room then?"

"Well, not particularly. It's on the fourth floor. Why don't we just go to one of the secluded catacombs down here?"

It was true that the dungeons were quite labyrinthine. Those corridors were most often used by young lovers having secret rendezvous, and for a moment Pansy balked at the idea, but then she realized that the other choice was to take Daphne to her bedroom, which would be just as intimate. Pansy decided that while she would still have to make the trek to the fourth floor, there was no point in dragging Daphne up there. "All right, then."

Pansy followed Daphne around twist and turns. Even though, she considered herself quite familiar with the corridors of the dungeons, Pansy was lost by the time Daphne stopped. Daphne sat on the hard, stone floor and motioned for Pansy to do the same.

After a slight hesitation, Pansy slid down the wall so that she was seated next to Daphne. She had so many questions to ask the girl, but she preferred to let Daphne open the conversation. "So, we're here."

"Right." Daphne sighed heavily. "What would you like to know?"

So much for letting Daphne go first. "Who is he?"

Daphne smiled and wagged her finger. "You know I can't tell you that."

"What was the plan?"

"I don't know exactly." Pansy scoffed. "Look, I'm not trying to put you off. If you would just ask a question I can answer, I would be happy to do so."

"Okay, so, you're telling me, then, that you never asked him what he was doing? Just tell me what you do know about the plan."

Daphne rolled her eyes, as though answering that question was more work than she wanted. She did not speak for a long time. Just as Pansy was sure that Daphne was ignoring the request, she said, "So, the Dark Lord is dead. He really, really is. How do you feel about that?"

Pansy hoped this was directly related to the plan. She knew what her answer had to be. The world would be set right, and the fall of the Dark Lord would not have happened, and everything would be normal. To a fellow Slytherin, Pansy would never reveal any ambivalence about supporting the Dark Lord. "I'm none too happy about it, actually."

Daphne did not seem to know what to make of that response. "Well,... why is that?"

"Daphne! Just get on with it. Was that the plan, to kill the Dark Lord?"

Daphne bit her lip. "Yes and no. The plan was to take his place, but the plan has gone to hell. The plan was to use Moonshyne as a figurehead. She's the new heir of Slytherin. But he can't control her."

"So she is the new dark presence."

"No, no." Daphne snorted. "She knows nothing about that. He tried to go it alone, but it's just not working. That's why I need to protect his identity. And that's why I need to know how you feel about dark lords."

Thoughts raced through Pansy's head. "What are you offering me?"

"What?"

Pansy smirked. For the first time she truly believed she had the upper hand. "Come on, you clearly had an agenda here. You want me to help you. I don't know if you think I can neutralize Moonshyne or give him a clean slate, but you came here to negotiate with me for my talents. So go ahead. Lay your cards on the table."