Re: The Edge of the Forest

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy laughed, yet again, which it appears she does a lot while talking with Theo. After all he is such good company and quite entertaining as well. "She sounds like a real winner. Why, I'm completely appalled at the fact that she isn't dangling on your arm, your very own little lover girl. Not sure anyone could get better than her." She smiled but shook her head, as she hadn't hexed any of them. "Unfortunately we don't make a habit of taking our wands to such affairs. It's seen as... untrustworthy or something, if that's even a word. Like you don't have faith in the party throwers ability to ensure the safety of all attending, I don't know. Some stupid fashion my mother and her friends have taken up. Idiotic if you ask me." She leaned closer, whispering to him. "But I always keep mine tucked away. I have to get a bit creative in some of those dresses I wear, but I've always got my wand on me. You just never know. Anyway, I always like to infuriate them with icy answers and bored stares. Those foreign types get so easily flustered when they don't have girls doting on them and begging to hold their hand."

[Theodore Nott - Inactive]

"No wands? Oh, oh oh oh what fun you could have! Secretly hexing people, making them think that someone else did it and just in general causing chaos!" Theo clapped his hands, and then sobered. "I think it's the accents- the expect you to swoon while they talk all sultry. Unless it's an American, of course, they're only good for annoying the hell out of you with their harsh voices and uncouth mannerisms."

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

"Very very true. And those Frenchies think they're all suave and the Russians think they're so exotic and the Italians think they can win you over with their loudness and their food. Well... some of them might be able to with the food, but then they're so loud and obnoxious all the cheesey noodles in the world couldn't make that all better." Pansy rolled her eyes. "I shudder to think who my mother will eventually match me up with. Er, try to match me up with." I find this amusing because there are so many fics where Pansy and Theo end up together, lol.

[Theodore Nott - Inactive]

Joel finds this awesome because he can totally see them kicking ass at some party, AND he wants to say that it's kind of funny the end up together in so many fics, because Panco is TOTALLY the only real way to go. "I completely agree! And then you have the Germans, oh Salazar the Germans! Bringing in their sausages and their beer." Theo looked at his friend with pity. "I do fear for you. You could end up with anyone from Malfoy, to Blaise, to some unknown little porker from some far off country. When you're an adult, you need to put your foot down and blast your way out the doors...it's what i'm planning on doing. Utter disgrace to the name of Nott, is what i'll be. But no in a Sirius Black sort of way."

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

I fully agree with you there. Pansy and Theo make better bamf friends/world dominators than lovers XD "Good for you, Theo. You show the rest of the Notts how it's done!" Pansy pulled yet another leaf out of her hair, followed by a small twig. She wondered if she'd become a permanent slight-wood-nymph the way she kept finding more things embedded in her hair and attached to her clothes. "No need to fear for me though." She winked at him. "I've got a whole slew of plans set up for if who mum picks is less than desirable. Changes are I won't even know the bloke beforehand, so that's always an opportunity for some fun of playing with his mind."

[Theodore Nott - Inactive]

Theo grinned maliciously. "If you need any help my dear, you can count on old Theo." he stood, holding out a hand to help her up. "I'm going to head back to the castle, and take a shower and hopefully find some clean clothes."

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

"Oh, I'll definitely let you join in the fun!" She took his hand and then dusted off her jeans again. "I think I'll stay out here and read a while longer, but I'll see you later!" She waved goodbye to him before climbing back up into her tree, opening her book to where she'd left off and reading until it got dark and she had to head up to the castle again before night fell.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy made her way down to the forest. She was underdressed for the cold, but she didn't care. There was a small form tucked away in her light jacket, and once she reached the edge of the trees and dropped to the ground, she pulled Toby out from her jacket, slipping her scarf off and wrapping him in it, sitting him beside her. She rested her hand on the little lump for a moment before she started digging in the dirt with her hands a little bit, until she got deeper and the dirt was too cold and frozen and she had to pull out her wand to dig a big deeper. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, sniffling softly as she picked up the little ferret wrapped in her scarf, putting the small bundle down into the hole before pushing the dirt back over him. She pressed it down a little in a mound over the spot, a scar of brownish red dirt in the grass by the forest. She glanced around for something to mark it, but couldn't find anything nearby. She gave up on the quick search, wiping her hands off on her pants and sitting there staring numbly at the tiny grave.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco saw her walk down to the forest and after a moment's consideration followed her. He watched as she buried the small creature, feeling awful for what he did. When she sat back to look at the grave he slipped his cloak off and walked over to her, kneeling next to her and putting his cloak over her shoulders. "I- I'm sorry Pans... I shouldn't have."

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy heard someone coming up behind her, but she didn't move. She didn't turn to look, but as soon as a cloak dropped over her shoulders she knew who it was. She didn't look at him, didn't take her eyes off the pile of dirt in front of her. If she looked at him, she wasn't sure what would happen, if she'd just forgive him and hug him, or if she'd be so angry she would make him leave. She couldn't bring herself to answer him, to say anything, to even acknowledge that she'd heard him, but she didn't make him go, and she left his cloak on her shoulders. She was motionless, her heart breaking as she looked at the newly overturned dirt, the stains from it under her fingernails. This wasn't like their previous fights where they'd just insulted each other or shouted or argued about stupid things. He'd actually killed her pet without a second thought. And if he could do that, Pansy didn't know what he was capable of.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco sat slightly behind her, waiting in the silence, watching her sit there motionless, staring at the pile of dirt. She hadn't snapped at him to leave, thrown off his cloak and drawn her wand on him but at the same time this was hardly an invite to stay. He stayed there in silence for a few minutes before he opened his mouth to speak. Before he said anything he reconsidered and closed his mouth, staying silent and waiting for her to move. He didn't know what to say to her past sorry, he had no idea what to do to try to fix this.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy didn't remove her eyes from the grave, but she finally gathered herself enough to speak to him, somewhat pacified by his patient silence. "Draco, why did you do it?" He voice was soft, barely audible if he'd been any farther away. Her throat felt tight and her fingers were trembling, though from the cold or emotions she wasn't sure. She couldn't understand what would possess him to do something like that, but if it had been to prove his point that he was well on his way to becoming one of them, it had worked. Right now, Pansy felt like Draco was this heartless Death Eater to be that she didn't know as well as she once thought. She knew he'd changed, but she didn't know it was this much.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco heard her whisper and took a deep breath. In an equally quiet voice he replied to her, "I don't honestly know, I could say to prove a point and that would be the easy option but the truth is that I'm not sure. Something inside me snapped and he was there and all of a sudden I knew what spell I could use so I used it." He shook his head slowly, looking past her at the ground, "I'm really sorry, I just wish I could explain it to you better."

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

Pansy listened to him and stayed quiet a while after he was finished talking. She turned to look at him over her shoulder. Sorry wouldn't make it all better, but staying mad at him wouldn't help anything. Her eyes were red around the edges but she didn't care if he saw her like this. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last time, and Toby had been her pet after all. She leaned toward him, hiding her face in his shoulder and wrapping her arm around his neck as she tried not to cry again. She tried to tell herself it was just a ferret, but she'd loved the little animal. He'd been her one constant companion throughout the entire school year so far, through the highs and lows and late nights of studying.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco saw her red-rimmed eyes and felt even worse, he always had hated seeing her cry. When she moved to him he put his arms around her too, holding the cloak around her in the cold air, knowing that it would only make things worse if on top of all this she got sick. He held her in his arms, not saying anything but just offering her as much physical comfort as he could. He knew they would need time to move past this, past his mistake, but at least this gave him hope that maybe they could.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

It felt a little twisted, mourning over the loss of a pet while clinging to the one who'd killed it, but who else would Pansy turn to? It was always Draco she went to when she needed someone, no matter what it was. She turned her head, still resting against his shoulder, but so that she could see the little grave, not ready to leave it yet, still wishing it wasn't real, that Toby would crawl up to her at any moment, his little ferrety smile telling her it was all a great horrible joke. But slowly Pansy was grasping that no matter how much she hoped for something, that was separate from reality. Wishing something to be so did not make it so. Wishing Toby was still alive wouldn't bring him back, and wishing Draco hadn't changed wouldn't make him the same person he was when they were kids, not even the same person he was last year. Today had been a rough shove for Pansy growing up, but it was getting her there. She tightened her arms around his neck, moving up to sit closer to him, beside him as she just stared at the mound of dirt, ignoring the feeling leaving her fingertips from the cold. "I'm going to find a rock or something, to mark it." She let go of him and stood up, keeping his cloak around her shoulders. It was too big for her, but it was warm. She walked off down the edge of the forest, very slowly, staring at the ground and looking for a rock as she let her thoughts wander.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco sat there with her for a moment before she pulled away and said she wanted to find a marker. He stayed where he was, watching her as she walked around the edge of the little clearing. He knew this was something she would have to do herself but he was relieve to see she kept the cloak on, no matter the reason she kept it on he didn't want her to get cold. He hadn't realized until today how quickly he could slip, he had seen his temper in action earlier in the year when he had fought with Pansy and Scorpius but until today he had never gotten so angry and used magic on someone or something, especially not something so defenseless. And as much as he was apologizing to her he couldn't help but remember the momentary rush of power that had run through him, so different from the feeling of trying the spells on the wooden dummy.

[Pansy Parkinson-Malfoy]

After finally having located a rock with a side that was relatively smooth, she picked it up and carried it back to where the grave was, where Draco still sat. She dropped to her knees again, placing the stone over the fresh dirt and drawing her wand. She engraved Toby's name onto the rock and sat there, her wand still gripped in her fingertips as she looked at it. She didn't turn to Draco this time or sit close enough to be touching him. She was still upset with him and it still hurt that he could have done that, that he'd changed that much and she hadn't realized it. She whispered to him again, holding his cloak tight around her. "Let's go back inside."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco nodded and stood up, "Okay." He waited until she had walked past him then he put an arm around her shoulders as they walked away from the forest and back up to the lights of the castle. He figured the best thing to do now was to get her up to the castle then probably try to get her to go to bed then give her a little space and probably try to talk to her about this tomorrow.

Continued in the lounge.

[Hannah Abbott]

Hannah led them down to the edge of the forest. It was far enough away from the castle that it gave the illusion of open space, yet still within the school limits. "Much better out here, don't you think?" She asked, pulling her hair up out of her eyes.

[Neville Longbottom]

"Yeah." Neville said with a small nod. "It's nice to be outside but not outside where everyone else is. It gets annoying when everyone else is around."

[Hannah Abbott]

Hannah nodded, "Exactly. I don't mind a lot of people so much in the summer, but in the winter the fewer the better. It's so much more intimate when there's snow on the ground. I always try to walk to work in the winter." She smiled, "And catching snowflakes on your tongue is just about the best thing ever."

[Neville Longbottom]

Neville smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, I like the snow a lot, but summer is my favorite season because it's easier to garden then." he said with a nod.

[Hannah Abbott]

"Yeah, you must hate when it starts to snow." She shrugged, "You could always save up for a little greenhouse. I don't know how much they cost, though. I'd imagine a lot."

I am thinking about Harvest Moon now...

[Neville Longbottom]

"Oh, well, Recently Professor Sprout taught me a charm to put like a bubble around my garden. So it's like a greenhouse." he said and grinned at her.

I don't know what that is.

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