Work Text:
THC secret santa
For Queen :))
Hope you enjoy! I'm the elf sent by your Santa
Prompts:
Pansy/Ron, Theomione, Lucius/Narcissa,
angst, hurt/comfort, friendship, general
Forced proximity, enemies to lovers
[dialogue] "Are you naturally this infuriating? Or do you have to work at it?"
[weather] autumn
[object] green silk shirt
[word] pernickity
[dialogue] "That's a terrible idea. In fact, it might be your worst idea ever!"
[word] outwith
[object] apple
Words: 1588
Betaed by Corrie!! My own Personal Hero!!!
Thanks Monica for saving me from googling all the types of skirts and thank you Keren for the title
"Would you stop pacing!" Ron shouted. "For Merlin's sake, you're giving me a headache!"
Pansy stopped and glared at him. "If you could do something about it!"
He sighed, exasperated. "What do you want me to do? This is a room charmer to be unable to do any magic by the Ministry of Magic with the door charmed to be able to be opened only from the outside. I was here when we spelled it. Nothing we say or do is going to break the spell. We need the door to be opened. You dragged us in here."
"So it's my fault?"
"Yes! Yes, it is. We could have talked like normal people at the party. But instead you didn't want us to be seen, so you dragged me in here."
She huffed and tried waving her wand again to no effect. Ron leaned back in the armchair, watching her intently.
"You think I'm ashamed of you."
"I don't know, are you? We nearly kissed and you ran away. Everytime I tried to talk to you since, you have magically disappeared or got someone else in between. I came with Hermione and Theo at Lucius and Narcissa's wedding anniversary because Draco, invited. You accused me of following you and dragged me into the one room we can't break out of after avoiding me the entire party."
"This is ridiculous! You expect me to believe you didn't come here because of me but rather for Draco?"
"Pansy, I know you were out of the country after uni, but surely you must have realised when Hermione walked in with Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy that we're a tad more Slytherin-friendly than in our Hogwarts days."
"Is that why you befriended me? Granger is friends with two Slytherins and you're trying to even the score? Or trying to get back at her for dating Draco?"
Ron stood up.
"Are you naturally this infuriating? Or do you have to work at it? First, Hermione is dating Theo and Draco is currently pursuing a Queen. Secondly, why did you ever befriend me, even talk with me if that's what you really think of me? Do you really think we're doing a bet to see how many Slytherin friends we have under our belt? That's what you think of us?"
He couldn't hide the hurt in his voice. He'd really thought they were getting somewhere, that at least they were slowly friends, if not jumping at each other's throats.
….
Ron had always liked autumn. His birthday was in March, and he'd always had hand-me-downs from his brothers. But autumn was the start of Hogwarts. Autumn was when he had met his best friends in the entire world.
And autumn would be when he met her.
She was twirling around the falling leaves. She was wearing a green silk shirt and a maroon pleated pinstripe skirt. She looked ethereal. In her twirls, the apple in her hand fell.
Feeling that was his chance, Ron took five big strides and picked it up.
"I think you dropped something," he said and handed it to her.
When she turned, Ron realised he knew her.
"Par- Pansy?"
"Weasley?"
"W-what are you doing here?" He couldn't believe he was stuttering. This was Pansy Parkinson. He knew her.
She scoffed. "What, am I not allowed to be in the park, Weasley? Do you know Regent's Park?"
Ron shook his head. "I'm so sorry! That's not what I meant! It's just last time I spoke with Draco he was saying you were in Brazil with your scientist friend. That and her many cats."
Pansy narrowed her eyes. "Since when do you know Draco?"
"Since he's best friends with my best friends? It's been five years since we finished Hogwarts. Times have changed."
"Really?"
"Yeah… for example…I'm currently looking for the perfect gift for Draco's birthday party. Would you like to come and help me find uhmm.. the perfect gift?"
"His birthday is in June.".
Ron nodded. "Yh-yeah, I knew that. Because we're friends..but you see…he had an important Auror mission….undercover…from June to August…so we're doing it in September. mid-September. He needed time to decompress. It was…quite stressful."
She sighed. "I know, Theo and Blaise invited me. It seems… you're speaking the truth."
"Why would I lie?"
She started walking ahead. Then turn her head. "Aren't you coming? We could discuss it over coffee?"
She flipped her hair and started walking even faster if possible. Ron jogged after her.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
….
Since then there had been a dozen more meetings in various places. Ron had felt they were finally getting somewhere, but it seemed it wasn't to be if the afternoon was anything to go by. Or all the other times they'd met.
"Pansy! I didn't think you were back yet!" Draco exclaimed!
"I couldn't miss my best friend's birthday party!"
"You missed the last five," Draco muttered.
"Shut up." Pansy hit him over the chest and then handed him a box. "This should make up for it."
Draco opened it and Ron could tell it was probably going to be the best present of the night.
"This is amazing! Pansy, this a first edition set of the rarest Potion Journals! I've only mentioned this once when I was twelve! You remembered more than a decade later?"
"Probably because she's so persnickety about everything!" Theo muttered. Both Hermione and Pansy hit him.
"Ouch!" he said, but he was laughing. And so was Pansy. Ron had never heard her truly laugh before.
"Why are you smiling like an idiot? Are you really not going to do anything to get us out of here?"
"I told you, we can't. The Law Enforcement department devised this room to be completely impervious to magic. It's a punishment room for Lucius Malfoy for his war crimes. He was released early from prison if he stays in this room for 18 hours a day. He'll have to come back here soonish. The party has been going on for a good while."
"What?" She gaped at him. "Why did no one tell me that? How do people not know this?"
"Because it's a secret. And I'm only telling you because we're stuck here together and I trust you won't tell anyone. You'll only hurt Lucius if you."
She shook her head, finally sitting down on the sofa. "I won't tell. But Lucius was late to the party and it's been like, only two hours. What if we're stuck here for the next four hours?"
"Then Hermione will come and get us in about two hours. We agreed we'd stay no more than four hours here and she has my keys in her pearl bag."
"Right. But you're not dating her."
Ron stood up and came closer to her. "No, I am not. You asked what got me smiling earlier. You."
She scoffed. "Yeah, right."
"The first time I saw you after Hogwarts in the park. You were radiant. I thought you were ethereal." She was looking at him in disbelief. Then he grasped her hands when she tried to stand up. "Then at Draco's birthday party, when I heard you laugh… It was the purest laugh I ever heard. You charmed me. Outwith your persona you're showing, I've seen glimpses in the last couple of months of the friend Draco has talked about for the last years. You're amazing. I love the passion you put into your work, how you care for your friends. How you accepted Hermione, me, and even Harry into your life. You didn't expect this when you came back but you took it in stride. I can tell you're different. I'm different too. And I really like you."
She looked away. "If you're suggesting… That's a terrible idea. In fact, it might be your worst idea ever!"
He chuckled."I think that's a slight exaggeration. I think it would be a good idea. But if not good, everyone needs a bad idea from time to time. So what do you say?"
Pansy turned and looked at him. Ron felt like they were looking into each other's souls. Slowly, she nodded.
"Okay."
He pulled her closer and kissed her. For a second, he feared he'd miscalculated, but then she kissed him back. Even years later, he'd still say it was the best kiss of his life.
Two hours later, Hermione and Theo found them cuddled on the sofa, her head in his lap; Ron was reading out loud one of Lucius's books.
She'd scrambled up at the intrusion, but then she'd purposely stood up and grabbed his hand, dragging him up.
"Thank you for finding us, Granger. Um, could we have Ron's keys? I still need to talk with him."
To her credit, Hermione pulled them up as Pansy asked, without saying a word. However, Ron could tell an interrogation was going to happen once they'd meet alone. Looking at Pansy's face as she pulled him away from the room, he was more than fine with that.
….
She dragged him from the manor and then she Apparated him away. Ron realised they were in….
"Glasgow? We're in Glasgow?"
"This is where I moved when I came back to the country. I figured we could take a walk till my place and talk in the meantime. If you don't mind…"
Ron smiled at her. "I've always wanted to see Glasgow at night since this Auror mission two years ago." He leaned in and kissed her again. "Lead the way!"