Past Indiscretion (PG; GG/PP)
Title: Past Indiscretion
Claim: Gregory Goyle/Pansy Parkinson (Seventh Year)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 952
Prompt: 47 - Family at potterverse100
“But everyone will be there,” Daphne wailed, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration at Pansy’s stubbornness. “There isn’t a single Slytherin who won’t-“
Pansy cut her off with a firm shake of her head. “Not every Slytherin. I told you I don’t do things just because everyone does it or because it’s expected of me.”
“Oh, really?” Daphne’s smooth brow lifted in question as she realized she’d struck pay dirt. “What about Draco’s little group in fifth year? You were more than happy to follow him into trouble. You can’t tell me all that has changed.”
Pansy put down her wand as her hand had suddenly started to shake too much to hold it steady. Nerves, she assured herself. It was just an attack of nerves. Hearing his name no longer made her self-loathingly coy. She no longer needed to be in Draco’s good graces to feel she mattered.
“That is old news, Daphne. I’m no longer the same person I was two years ago. If you are, I feel sorry for you.”
The carelessly offered sympathy brought splotches of unhealthy colour to Daphne’s porcelain cheeks. “You feel sorry for me? That’s rich, Pansy. I suppose a lot of us have changed.” She got up to leave the room but added over her shoulder, “And not all for the best, I might add. At least my family still has money. And some pride.”
“Ah, the biting wit of the securely rich,” Pansy mumbled, looking back at the mirror. She detested the girl who stared back at her. This was the girl who had pined after Draco Malfoy until she nearly sold her sold her soul for one glance from him. She had given up position and pride when he left.
The power shifted and she was no longer the favored one. It hadn’t mattered that Draco had never given one thought to her as anything more than window dressing. She had always been there, never giving him reason to doubt her support. All last year, she had struggled to keep up with his secret plans that never seemed to include her. In the public eye, she acted as if she was still his confidant, but in the privacy of her rooms, she cried herself to sleep. Everything was changing and moving so very far out of her control.
There was no more hiding, though. When it was discovered that Edward Parkinson was not a Death Eater so much as a petty criminal who took the little knowledge he could glean from either side before turning it into ready money, he was rejected from all aspects of society. No one wanted to be associated with a turncoat… even the turncoats. He managed to escape formal charges from the Ministry of Magic by fleeing the country in the middle of the night, leaving his wife and children to bear the brunt of the accusations.
Delphi and Astor had taken the news with their typical stoic silence. The twins always leaned on each other for support, retreating even further from the rest of the family without a backward glance. Even though they were at the same school, Pansy never saw them and didn’t figure she would. One day, she hoped her sisters would forgive her for being the one who had broken the news to them. They’d never been close but she’d always figured there would be time as they got older. Now it felt as if nothing would work.
Iris Parkinson quickly buckled under the strain and had been committed to St. Mungo’s until the patriarch of her family claimed his only daughter was no longer strong enough to handle life under the magnifying glass and sent her to a sanitarium in France for recuperation. Pansy didn’t know the name or even the location of this place her mother would never leave.
So it was left up to Pansy to be the Parkinson that dealt with the repercussions of the father’s action. The blow of not having Draco or Professor Snape to turn to in those dark days had caused her moments of dread, panic and despair but she knew that they wouldn’t have been able to help much. They would have, however, been able to cushion the downward spiral.
She was not left completely alone. If her reduction in status had rendered her suddenly low on the pecking order of the Slytherin House, there were still those who were lower. Millicent had slid down willingly with her friend, knowing she could never handle life at Hogwart’s without Pansy’s support. Draco’s henchmen hadn’t been able to keep their posts after Draco’s abdication. Vincent Crabbe had struggled and finally taken a position carrying Blaise Zabini’s bag to and from class. He seemed happy even if he was treated no better than a slug. It was a job that kept him protected and taken care of.
Gregory Goyle, on the other hand, had gone rogue and didn’t seem to spend enough time in the dungeon to make his fall from grace matter. While she wasn’t sure where he went, she’d been receiving notes over the past several days that were unsigned. 3F 2D R 10P, this last one read. She’d figured out the meaning of each one right away since the code wasn’t difficult, but she lacked the ability to do much more than merely survive these days. More intrigues… the stress of the thought made her brain short circuit.
Tonight, the rest of the Slytherin House would be planning mischief down on the banks of the lake. No one would be around to watch her walk out of the dungeon door and up to the third floor. It was now… or never.
Claim: Gregory Goyle/Pansy Parkinson (Seventh Year)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 952
Prompt: 47 - Family at potterverse100
“But everyone will be there,” Daphne wailed, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration at Pansy’s stubbornness. “There isn’t a single Slytherin who won’t-“
Pansy cut her off with a firm shake of her head. “Not every Slytherin. I told you I don’t do things just because everyone does it or because it’s expected of me.”
“Oh, really?” Daphne’s smooth brow lifted in question as she realized she’d struck pay dirt. “What about Draco’s little group in fifth year? You were more than happy to follow him into trouble. You can’t tell me all that has changed.”
Pansy put down her wand as her hand had suddenly started to shake too much to hold it steady. Nerves, she assured herself. It was just an attack of nerves. Hearing his name no longer made her self-loathingly coy. She no longer needed to be in Draco’s good graces to feel she mattered.
“That is old news, Daphne. I’m no longer the same person I was two years ago. If you are, I feel sorry for you.”
The carelessly offered sympathy brought splotches of unhealthy colour to Daphne’s porcelain cheeks. “You feel sorry for me? That’s rich, Pansy. I suppose a lot of us have changed.” She got up to leave the room but added over her shoulder, “And not all for the best, I might add. At least my family still has money. And some pride.”
“Ah, the biting wit of the securely rich,” Pansy mumbled, looking back at the mirror. She detested the girl who stared back at her. This was the girl who had pined after Draco Malfoy until she nearly sold her sold her soul for one glance from him. She had given up position and pride when he left.
The power shifted and she was no longer the favored one. It hadn’t mattered that Draco had never given one thought to her as anything more than window dressing. She had always been there, never giving him reason to doubt her support. All last year, she had struggled to keep up with his secret plans that never seemed to include her. In the public eye, she acted as if she was still his confidant, but in the privacy of her rooms, she cried herself to sleep. Everything was changing and moving so very far out of her control.
There was no more hiding, though. When it was discovered that Edward Parkinson was not a Death Eater so much as a petty criminal who took the little knowledge he could glean from either side before turning it into ready money, he was rejected from all aspects of society. No one wanted to be associated with a turncoat… even the turncoats. He managed to escape formal charges from the Ministry of Magic by fleeing the country in the middle of the night, leaving his wife and children to bear the brunt of the accusations.
Delphi and Astor had taken the news with their typical stoic silence. The twins always leaned on each other for support, retreating even further from the rest of the family without a backward glance. Even though they were at the same school, Pansy never saw them and didn’t figure she would. One day, she hoped her sisters would forgive her for being the one who had broken the news to them. They’d never been close but she’d always figured there would be time as they got older. Now it felt as if nothing would work.
Iris Parkinson quickly buckled under the strain and had been committed to St. Mungo’s until the patriarch of her family claimed his only daughter was no longer strong enough to handle life under the magnifying glass and sent her to a sanitarium in France for recuperation. Pansy didn’t know the name or even the location of this place her mother would never leave.
So it was left up to Pansy to be the Parkinson that dealt with the repercussions of the father’s action. The blow of not having Draco or Professor Snape to turn to in those dark days had caused her moments of dread, panic and despair but she knew that they wouldn’t have been able to help much. They would have, however, been able to cushion the downward spiral.
She was not left completely alone. If her reduction in status had rendered her suddenly low on the pecking order of the Slytherin House, there were still those who were lower. Millicent had slid down willingly with her friend, knowing she could never handle life at Hogwart’s without Pansy’s support. Draco’s henchmen hadn’t been able to keep their posts after Draco’s abdication. Vincent Crabbe had struggled and finally taken a position carrying Blaise Zabini’s bag to and from class. He seemed happy even if he was treated no better than a slug. It was a job that kept him protected and taken care of.
Gregory Goyle, on the other hand, had gone rogue and didn’t seem to spend enough time in the dungeon to make his fall from grace matter. While she wasn’t sure where he went, she’d been receiving notes over the past several days that were unsigned. 3F 2D R 10P, this last one read. She’d figured out the meaning of each one right away since the code wasn’t difficult, but she lacked the ability to do much more than merely survive these days. More intrigues… the stress of the thought made her brain short circuit.
Tonight, the rest of the Slytherin House would be planning mischief down on the banks of the lake. No one would be around to watch her walk out of the dungeon door and up to the third floor. It was now… or never.