Life as I Knew It

Chapter 29--The Key

Pansy followed Professor Dumbledore up the stairs to his office, all thoughts of Daphne and supper gone from her mind. She remembered that his hand had been blackened for all of her sixth year, but she had never known why. But it did not happen until sixth year, she thought, and she was happy for a moment until she realized that it had probably actually happened the summer before, and Draco had already remembered that.

Once they got to the office, Pansy sat in a chair and set her book on her lap. "Professor, I'm sorry. I don't know anything about your hand. I mean, I remember it, but that's all."

Dumbledore sat back against the edge of his desk. "Very well." He was silent for a few moments. "Did you say that Professor Figg is a squib?"

"Well, that's just a rumor I heard. But I'm know for a fact that Mr. Black was in Azkaban for around twelve years. Why are you hiring a replacement Defence professor so early in the year, anyway? We're barely more than a week into fall term."

Dumbledore smiled. "Is that right? The first Quidditch match is this weekend and that normally happens in early November."

This confused Pansy a great deal. "I have definitely only been here for a week."

"Oh, I don't doubt that."

Dumbledore fell silent again, and Pansy wondered what she was even doing there. She did not have any more information for him. "Sir, maybe I should go."

He shook his head. "No, not at all. Your presence helps me think. Have you had this effect on anyone else?"

"Er, well, yes. Blaise Zabini... returned to normal physically, and Hermione Granger claims that she remembers everything up to sixth year. Nobody remembers sixth year. Oh, except for Zahara and Melpomene. I think they know what happened."

Dumbledore looked at his hand. "I'll explore that option later, but as for now, I think I have a better idea as to who can help me. Would you mind coming with me?"

Pansy did mind a little. She was starving, and she really wanted to talk to Daphne. As far as she could tell, her presence may be necessary, but Dumbledore would have little other use for her. "No, sir, it's fine," she said, resigned.

When they left the office, Sirius Black was gone. "Did you... Are you still going to hire Mr. Black?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid that is no longer an option. Tell me, have you come across any other persons who should be dead but aren't?"

Pansy looked up at the headmaster, and she wanted to laugh. "No," she lied. "Is he dead now?"

"Yes. Or if he isn't, he will be soon," he said gravely. "The world is righting itself, and I don't know how long that will take in his case." The news saddened Pansy. Even though she had not known the man and he had in actuality died over a year before, she felt responsible in some way. It did not seem to matter in that moment that he was supposed to be dead. He had been cleared of the murders, he was going to get a job as a professor, and he was going to fall in love with Melpomene, at least according to her. Pansy stopped herself from asking the headmaster if he had been happy. She reminded herself firmly that she did not know him, and she never would. There was no reason for her to care more about his death now than she had at the time.

Professor Dumbledore's pace increased, and to Pansy's dismay, he started up the stairs. "Sir, may I ask where we are going?"

He did not look back at her, and she realized that Sirius Black's death was sure to be affecting him even more than it had her. "We are going to see Harry Potter."

Pansy groaned. "Why?"

The headmaster paused on the steps. He turned to face her. "Because since even before he was born, Harry Potter has been the key to everything. With you nearby, he may start to remember, and that would be a very good thing for everyone. You will have to be there, and that means we will have to put a great deal of trust in you. Do you think you can be trusted?"

Pansy felt that she should feel affronted, that this was just a stereotyping of Slytherins as untrustworthy, but she did have a boyfriend who had taken the mark, so she had trouble mustering up indignation. She stood there in silence, mostly thinking about her shortcomings. That question had turned out to be difficult.

It must have taken her too long to respond, because Dumbledore asked her another question. "Do you know why I chose you to be a prefect, Miss Parkinson?"

Pansy was at once happy that he had remembered and nervous to hear the answer. She had assumed at the time that it was because of her natural leadership abilities, but now she was having doubts about that. The more she thought about it, Daphne did seem to be a better choice, other than the whole trying to take over the world thing, which did actually demonstrate leadership. "No, sir."

"It was because I have faith in you. I don't want to stereotype, because I have known great people to come from Slytherin, but ambition can lead you down a dark path. I probably should not say this, but I believe that you, more than Miss Greengrass or Miss Perks, are capable of resisting that. Now, I have no choice but to trust you, because I don't know what Mr. Potter will say." His eyes pierced hers. "And I believe that you will be worthy of it, as long as you want to be worthy of my trust."

In that moment, Pansy wanted nothing more in her life than to someone that Professor Dumbledore could trust. As she followed him up the stairs, she marveled at his ability to instill that kind of feeling. Unfortunately, if everything went as she expected, he also would soon be dead again.