Never the Same, Pt. 3 (PG-13; Pansy, Goyle)
Written for the auswitchathon challenge. This is EXTREMELY AU but a lot of fun. (also using 21 - Professor for potterverse100)
Title: Never the Same
Part One
Part Two
III.
”So, should we go after the troll?”
Pansy was worried about Goyle. They’d been in school for two of the strangest months of her life, sending her into a spiral of depression and distance from everyone she’d ever known. Even her parents were refusing to talk to her, claiming she hadn’t tried hard enough to get put into a new House even though she’d done all that she could, short of a temper tantrum in the middle of dinner. Headmaster Dumbledore wasn’t budging on this one, no matter whose name she brought up.
“No, I think we should do what they said and go back to the Common Room,” Harry said, his forehead wrinkling in concern that Goyle would even mention something so dangerous.
Over the past two months, Pansy had gotten very good at reading Harry’s facial expressions. If nothing else, it was interesting to try to figure out how to annoy him the most. The last person she wanted to hang out with was Harry Bloody Potter but she only knew one person in the House and that was Goyle. She didn’t know him well, as the last weeks were proving, but he was the only thing she’d been able to retain from her past.
“Scared, Potter? I never would have thought you’d back down from a challenge. Besides, you’ll never get in trouble even if they did tell everyone to get back to the Common Rooms. You’re the Golden Boy. The Boy-Who-Lived.” Pansy tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms, eager to see if she could push Harry into doing something wrong… doing something that could get him, and his new comrade-in-arms, hurt.
“I don’t know where to go looking for him.”
Goyle grinned, something she’d never thought she’d ever see. “I know how to track trolls. They give off a scent that is unique.”
“Kinda like you,” Pansy murmured but she didn’t dare stop him. Goyle was surprisingly ready to act the part of the hero. And he was grinning! This world was nothing like the world where she knew how things were supposed to end. Everything was upside down, rearranged in a way she barely understood. Goyle just smiled. Git!
It was surprisingly easy to track the troll given that there was piles of rubble in his wake. They cornered him at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the Astronomy Tower, pushing him up and up and up until he got dizzy and plummeted to the stones beneath them. The tremors nearly sent Pansy over the edge of the stair she was on but Goyle grabbed her at the last second.
“Thanks,” she said, breathless from the excitement of the chase. “That was close.”
“No problem.” Goyle’s face was close to hers. Closer than it had ever been before.
“Did she just apologize to you?” Harry asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead, reminding her of his scar once again. “I never thought I’d see the day when Pansy Parkinson apologized. Someone write it down in the history books. Quick!”
“Have fun, are we?” They all came to an abrupt halt as the Head of their House appeared below them. “This is a serious business. You could have been injured or… or…”
“Leave them be, Minerva,” Pansy heard Professor Dumbledore murmur. It irritated her that Dumbledore was always protecting them. She was used to handling these kinds of situations on her own. No old man needed to play mentor. Maybe Harry needed him but she certainly didn’t. She saw the same expression on Goyle’s face. The two of them backed up and let Harry do the talking. Later, they’d do their own talking. This needed to stop right now or the next six and a half years were going to be torture.
~~~
The link for Part Four.
Title: Never the Same
Part One
Part Two
III.
”So, should we go after the troll?”
Pansy was worried about Goyle. They’d been in school for two of the strangest months of her life, sending her into a spiral of depression and distance from everyone she’d ever known. Even her parents were refusing to talk to her, claiming she hadn’t tried hard enough to get put into a new House even though she’d done all that she could, short of a temper tantrum in the middle of dinner. Headmaster Dumbledore wasn’t budging on this one, no matter whose name she brought up.
“No, I think we should do what they said and go back to the Common Room,” Harry said, his forehead wrinkling in concern that Goyle would even mention something so dangerous.
Over the past two months, Pansy had gotten very good at reading Harry’s facial expressions. If nothing else, it was interesting to try to figure out how to annoy him the most. The last person she wanted to hang out with was Harry Bloody Potter but she only knew one person in the House and that was Goyle. She didn’t know him well, as the last weeks were proving, but he was the only thing she’d been able to retain from her past.
“Scared, Potter? I never would have thought you’d back down from a challenge. Besides, you’ll never get in trouble even if they did tell everyone to get back to the Common Rooms. You’re the Golden Boy. The Boy-Who-Lived.” Pansy tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms, eager to see if she could push Harry into doing something wrong… doing something that could get him, and his new comrade-in-arms, hurt.
“I don’t know where to go looking for him.”
Goyle grinned, something she’d never thought she’d ever see. “I know how to track trolls. They give off a scent that is unique.”
“Kinda like you,” Pansy murmured but she didn’t dare stop him. Goyle was surprisingly ready to act the part of the hero. And he was grinning! This world was nothing like the world where she knew how things were supposed to end. Everything was upside down, rearranged in a way she barely understood. Goyle just smiled. Git!
It was surprisingly easy to track the troll given that there was piles of rubble in his wake. They cornered him at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the Astronomy Tower, pushing him up and up and up until he got dizzy and plummeted to the stones beneath them. The tremors nearly sent Pansy over the edge of the stair she was on but Goyle grabbed her at the last second.
“Thanks,” she said, breathless from the excitement of the chase. “That was close.”
“No problem.” Goyle’s face was close to hers. Closer than it had ever been before.
“Did she just apologize to you?” Harry asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead, reminding her of his scar once again. “I never thought I’d see the day when Pansy Parkinson apologized. Someone write it down in the history books. Quick!”
“Have fun, are we?” They all came to an abrupt halt as the Head of their House appeared below them. “This is a serious business. You could have been injured or… or…”
“Leave them be, Minerva,” Pansy heard Professor Dumbledore murmur. It irritated her that Dumbledore was always protecting them. She was used to handling these kinds of situations on her own. No old man needed to play mentor. Maybe Harry needed him but she certainly didn’t. She saw the same expression on Goyle’s face. The two of them backed up and let Harry do the talking. Later, they’d do their own talking. This needed to stop right now or the next six and a half years were going to be torture.
~~~
The link for Part Four.