A Stroll in Your Shoes

Disclaimer: I did not create any of the Harry Potter characters, etc.

A/n: I should really be working on my assignment, but it’s just so terribly boring, and so I ended up diverging to this. I’m sure you don’t mind.

I don’t know why, but this stupid uploading thing always takes away my bolding and italics. I’m sure you’ll figure out where the thoughts are supposed to be italicised, and I’m sorry if it confuses you. I tried like four times to keep the italics, but no such luck :(

Enter the Banshee

Draco had always known that telling Pansy he was breaking up with her would be a horrible experience, but he had not been expecting the tirade to go on for this long. She could really yell when she wanted to; he was sure he must have burst an eardrum by now. It wasn’t just her yelling that made him cringe though. Her tears and pleadings were enough to drive even the bravest and most sympathetic man running to the hills. Pansy was trained in the art of crying females, and if turning on the waterworks was a class at Hogwarts Draco was sure she would get an O for her performance today.

Pansy let out a fresh sob while pathetically wringing her hands. “How could you do this to me!”

How many times has she said that now? Twenty?

“Just today you were kissing me and acting like everything was perfect!”

Well actually that was so Ginny would get jealous….

“I thought you loved me!”

Draco stared at her in perplexity. Not once had he suggested that he loved Pansy in any way. He may have lusted after her at one point; he may have liked her diverting comments about less fortunate people, and enjoyed her company, but he had never loved her and never once hinted that he might.

He folded his arms and in characteristic arrogance, stated idly, “You should really try not to let your imagination run away with you. I suppose it’s not your fault though. Girls always do seem to assume what they think is the truth…”

The tears stopped abruptly and her blue eyes narrowed with frightening intensity to lock on his face with a dark rage that clouded her whole face. She looked furious, and for the first time Draco was actually worried that he might have gone too far. His tongue always did have a habit of getting him into trouble with people, but he couldn’t help it. Pansy was acting ridiculous and thought he loved her. Childhood friend she may be, but there was no excuse for a female that liked to cry and throw tantrums in order to get her way- which in Pansy’s case just happened to be keeping him as a boyfriend.

“You heartless bastard!” Pansy all but screeched. In two quick strides she was before him and raising her arm, letting her hand collide with his cheek in a powerful blow. The sound of her slap seemed to echo in Draco’s head over and over, and instinctively he raised his own hand to rub his now stinging, and very red, cheek.

“Why’d you do that for? You know I never once said I loved you!”

Honestly, what was with females and hitting him lately? He didn’t know why they had to get so offended over everything.

Her lip trembled pathetically, and with an inward sigh Draco realised she was pulling out the waterworks again. Didn’t she realise that didn’t work on him?

“You’re cruel, and I hate you! You’ve broken my heart, and now you can’t even bring yourself to feel sorry for me! Don’t you even care how I feel?”

He tried hard not to roll his eyes. There was only so much he could handle of this any longer.

“Pansy, can’t you see that we’re just not meant to be together?”

“But why?” she pleaded in that horrible, whiney voice that had always aggravated him.

“Because I’m in love with Ginny!”

He hadn’t meant to say it. The words had just sort of slipped out before he could stop them. It was too late to call them back now though; the frustration and raw honesty of his words would give no credit to any lie he could create.

“You in love with Weasley?” Her eyes boggled in disbelief, her mouth dropping open to give her the charming look of someone who had just been hit with a rather heavy brick.

“Well you don’t need to say it like that,” Draco muttered in some exasperation. It may be a little out of the ordinary, but they were just two people after all. Besides, he and Ginny had already overcome their loathing of each other, so it shouldn’t really be that hard for Pansy to grasp the fact that he might love the fiery-headed Gryffindor now.

“I just… I mean...” She blinked and Draco noticed with some amusement that once more the tears were gone. At least his words had achieved something.

“Look, Pansy,” Draco began much more gently. “I know getting back with you and then breaking up with you so suddenly was a stupid thing to do, and I shouldn’t have done it; but I can’t change that now. I thought that if I just tried to move on it would be alright, but I couldn’t move on. I couldn’t forget about her, and seeing her with Blaise just made me so angry that I realised it would be pointless to continue this with you.”

She placed a hand on her hip and looked at him with a sharp glint in her eyes. “So you got back with me so you could forget about Weasley?”

“No, I-”

“DRACO MALFOY, YOU SODDING IDIOT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO TREAT ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR WHORES?”

“I don’t have any whores.”

Girls came out with the weirdest things sometimes. Why did they always have to exaggerate everything? She was talking like he had plenty of girls on the side, when she should know she was the only girl he had slept with.

“YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!!”

Draco actually felt the hairs move on his face. She obviously took great care of her lungs to expel such mind-blowing screams, and he pitied the man who would one day become her husband. It was obvious to him she originated from banshees. 

Her eyes narrowed into slits, and in that moment she suddenly reminded him of a cheetah prowling a wounded antelope, just waiting for the right moment to rip into it. If he made one wrong move he was sure he would feel the full extent of her wrath, but Draco for all his sly Slytherin behaviour never did seem to know when to just shutup.

“Well no I don’t. You are the only girl I’ve slept with after all.”

Her hands clenched into fists, and she took a great, shuddering breath. “You know what, I’m glad you dumped me! You are the most idiotic, spoilt, arrogant, cruel, hateful, spiteful, vile, annoying, jerk-like, monstrous, vindictive, conceited, vain, stuck-up, revolting, malicious…”

Draco’s eyebrows creased together into a frown. Was she really going to continue on this long list that made absolutely no sense? Surely she was running out of ridiculously, exaggerated adjectives by now?

“Pansy-”

“I’M NOT DONE!” She took a deep breath, glared at him ferociously once more, and then continued. “Disreputable, infuriating, idiot I have ever had the misfortune to meet!”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Been studying a thesaurus lately, Pansy?”

“No,” she retorted haughtily, drawing herself up to her full height. “I just wanted to make it very clear how much I hate you right now.”

“Well you certainly got your point across….” And made yourself look weird in the process…

Giving a sniff with her chin up in the air, she stared at him down her nose. “I don’t even want to look at you right now, and I hope Weasley says no. You don’t deserve any girl!”

“Wait, Pansy!” He walked over quickly and grabbed her arm, earning a mighty glare from the Slytherin girl. Releasing her for his safety, he took a step back and tried again to placate the wildcat still glaring at him.

“I’m sorry alright. I really am, but don’t you think it’s better I tell you the truth instead of staying with you and pretending everything is fine and dandy?”

She sniffed again and looked the other way. “I don’t care. You have no respect for me, and I hate you.”

“No respect? Merlin Pansy, do you actually believe the rubbish you’re spouting out? I care about you, alright? You’re one of my best friends, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay with you out of respect for you. I just don’t love you! Nothing can change that. I’m in love with Weasley, and it would have only made both of us unhappy if I stayed with you.”

“That’s not the point. You’ve wounded my heart!”

“C’mon, Pansy!” Draco snapped impatiently, feeling thoroughly sick of her behaviour now. “We’ve known each other since we were born, and I know that you’re only acting this way because it’ll be more interesting to tell Daphne and the others later how horrible I was to you, and what you said to put me in my place.” He smiled that small, half-smile that would make any girl go a little weaker at the knees. “Let’s just cut the dramatics, shall we?”

She folded her arms huffily and gave him a half-hearted glare, obviously unable to resist the arrogant charm of that smile. “Fine. I admit that maybe I was going a little over the top…”

A little?

“But I am still angry at you. I do like you Draco, and I can’t just snap my fingers and immediately not be upset that you broke up with me just because you like Ginny.”

“Yeah I know, but there’s not much I can do about that. I can’t exactly snap my fingers and make myself like you again either, you know?”

She sighed, realising that it would be pointless to keep arguing with him, and decided to just listen to what he had to say. “Fine, I get the point. So what it is it you want? I know there’s something still on your mind, otherwise you would have run away by now as soon as I started crying.”

He shifted nervously and looked at his hands. “Well… since you are my friend… couldn’t you try to put your understandable feelings of resentment aside and help me figure out what to do with Ginny? I’m at a complete standstill.”

Pansy tapped her foot irritably, but thankfully she didn’t resort to dramatics again. Draco was not sure how much his head could handle being screeched at any longer anyway.

“Are you dense?” She suddenly demanded, unable to keep her thoughts to herself. “You break up with me for Weasley, and now you’re asking me to help you get her?” She shook her head in exasperation, muttering what sounded suspiciously like ‘boys’ under her breath.

“Well you are one of my best friends- even if I did just break up with you. I have to turn to someone, and I can’t keep expecting Granger to help me. Going to Blaise is out of the question, and no one in their right mind would ask Crabbe and Goyle for advice...”

Pansy stared at him in some disbelief. “You asked the mudblood for help? Wow, you really are desperate.”

“Yes I know, but she actually comes in handy sometimes.”

“Ah yes, in being an encyclopaedia for everything- even Ginny Weasley it seems.”

Draco couldn’t help but smile. The old Pansy was coming back, for which he was rather glad too. He couldn’t stand it when she became the lover of melodramatic performances.

“So what do you say? Will you help me?”

Pansy let out a breath and looked at him frankly, her eyebrow rising ever so slightly. “This is all rather ridiculous, and you really don’t deserve my help at all after the way you’ve treated me.”

Draco felt his heart sink. He was so sure that Pansy would have helped him. Even if he had just broken up with her, he didn’t think she could have possibly been attached to him that much to really hate him for it. After all, she was the one who had broken up with him last time, and didn’t seem too heartbroken that they no longer went out when she was snogging Theodore Nott behind the changing rooms.

He could see her thinking and then a twisted smile slowly crept onto her lips, and her eyes gleamed with mischief. “Blaise really likes Ginny, doesn’t he?”

Draco nodded. “So he thinks anyway.”

Her smile grew until she looked positively feral. Draco himself felt just a little alarmed and took a small step back.

“I’ll help you.” She stated with that same creepy smile.

“Really??”

She nodded. “I may not like you very much right now Draco, but Blaise Zabini has had his day of reckoning coming for a long time. It’s only natural that he should take precedence in my revenge, so you will just have to wait for me to show you how much I am displeased with your behaviour today.”

“Uh, sure,” Draco agreed, privately thinking that Pansy was a bit weird. He wasn’t complaining though. It was really quite lucky that Pansy disliked Blaise so much right now, but he did wonder what the amber-eyed boy had done to earn this loathing.

“So what did Blaise do?”

Pansy glared at Draco, but he knew the dagger expression in her eyes was for the absent Slytherin. “I’m just sick of him thinking he’s so charming. All he does is go around womanising all the girls, and then he just drops them like used tissues and picks up someone else. Not to mention the whole time we were going out, Blaise would always be there to interrupt and take all your attention for stupid Blaise things. If I can take his dumb ego down a notch, I will; and if it means helping you than that’s just a sacrifice I’ll have to make.”

Draco couldn’t help but smile. It was just like Pansy to think that way. She really was a Slytherin at heart- just like them all.

“Alright, so how are you going to help me?” he asked curiously. He had been wondering what to do with Ginny now that he knew she liked him. If Blaise would just kindly remove himself from the stage then all would be set for Ginny to fall into Draco’s very welcoming arms, but Blaise was oblivious to everything. He really was being so disobliging by not realising he was in the way.

“Well, there is something we could do-”

The door suddenly opened and Blaise himself walked into the room.

“Speak of the devil,” Draco muttered under his breath.

Pansy leaned up towards Draco, whispering in his ear under the guise of giving him a kiss, “Leave this to me.”

He nodded to show he understood, and allowed his eyes to fall on their tan-skinned friend, who was watching them both anxiously.

“You two haven’t seen Ginny have you?”

“Lost her have you?” Pansy asked snidely, making Draco snicker to himself.

“No,” Blaise snapped, losing some of his good-humoured expression. “I just can’t find her. There’s a difference.”

“Right,” Pansy replied with a mocking smile. “Maybe she’s finally realised how ugly you are and decided to find love somewhere else. Though I’m sure that would never occur to you, since apparently you’re god’s gift to women.”

“You’re the one that said it.” Blaise said with a lazy smile, and leaving Pansy quite speechless, turned to Draco. “Anyway, have you seen Ginny? I want to ask her whether she wants to come with me to Hosgmeade, but I can’t find her anyway.”

“On a date?” Pansy asked innocently. “Now that’s something. You’re actually taking her on a date before you shag her.”

Blaise turned his amber-eyes to Pansy, a hint of frustration creeping into their normally good-natured depths. “Yes, Pansy. On a date, and it’s really none of your business what I do with my girlfriend.”

She didn’t seem bothered by this snub and instead gave a sunny smile that didn’t quite hide the gleam of mischief in her dark blue eyes. “Well we should all go on a double date then, right Draco?”

Draco’s brow creased in confusion. Hadn’t he just broken up with Pansy though? He caught the warning glare in her eyes, and wisely chose to agree.

“Yeah. We should…”

“Well I suppose Ginny would like that,” Blaise mused more to himself. “Alright, I’ll ask her what she thinks.” His eyes fell on Pansy again, narrowing slightly. “You’d better not be planning anything. I haven’t forgotten what you did to Padma that one time.”

Pansy smiled sweetly. “Now Blaise, why would I hurt Ginny? I actually like her.”

Draco could almost see the words speaking in her eyes, ‘you on the other hand are far from safe.’ He did not envy Blaise right now, and wondered just what it was that Pansy was planning. He too had not forgotten what she had done to Padma Patil those six months ago.

Blaise seemed far from convinced, but decided not to debate about it anymore. “Well it’s a double date then. Now I just have to go find Ginny. You’re sure neither of you have seen her?”

“I saw her this morning talking to herself. It seems to me Blaise that you have made our Gryffindor go crazy. Perhaps you should start wearing a sign that says: “Danger, may cause moments of insanity.”

“Ha, Ha; you’re so witty Pansy.”

She smiled angelically. “Only to you, Blaise.”

Draco stared at Blaise giving an exasperated expression at Pansy, and at Pansy who was lapping up the annoyance she was giving Blaise like a cat at a cream pot. He wondered why he hadn’t noticed before how Pansy and Blaise really did fight all the time. They both seemed to delight in annoying the other, and even though they were friends in an odd sort of what, they did seem to bicker more than laugh together.

Deciding to end the bickering before it got more out of hand, Draco turned to his friend. “Why don’t you try in the library? I have a feeling she will be wanting to talk to Granger.”

Blaise groaned. “I never looked there. Ginny’s never in there unless she has to absolutely be there, but if she’s talking with Granger than she’s bound to be there.”

“Indeed.”

Pansy smiled mockingly at Blaise. “You see, even the walking encyclopaedia is better company than you.”

Blaise only rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Draco watched his friend leave, and once the door shut, then turned to Pansy with a slight frown on his face. “What was that about?”

“What?” she asked innocently.

“Never mind,” he said with a sigh and sat down on one of the chairs. He was beginning to have a rather odd suspicion, something he couldn’t believe he had not noticed before. Those thoughts were soon interrupted as another thought occurred to him.

“Why are we going on this date? I broke up with you, remember?”

“Because we’re going to pretend that we’re still dating. Nobody else knows that we’ve broken up except us, so it will be fine.”

“Are you even going to tell me what you’re planning?”

She shook her head. “I think it’d be better if you didn’t know.”

He frowned but said nothing more, wondering just what was going to happen on this date, and why Pansy looked positively gleeful at the thought of it…

A/n: Slightly short chapter, and a little random, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same!