BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

79

Pansy Parkinson decides that she doesn't want to explain what's going on in public, since muggles are everywhere. Once I explain that I cannot apparate, she seems to grow frustrated. If it were up to her, she would apparate away with me anyway, but that would cause her to die on the spot. Instead, we make the trek by taxi to the Leaky Cauldron. From there, we use the floo to get back to her estate.

We come through the fireplace, and Pansy waves a wand to clean most of the soot off her, muttering an incantation as she goes. She turns and does the same to me.

"Having you in the house is already going to dirty it up enough without the floo powder," Pansy scrunches her nose. "If my mother says anything to you, ignore her. She mostly stays out of British politics though, so I doubt she'll even know your name."

Pansy's home is less empty than the manor that Draco lived in. The wallpaper is a light greenish blue with gold details. The furniture in the room is shades of light pink and cream. I hadn't expected Pansy to come from such a bright home. Even aesthetically, she stands out with her black bob and her burgundy lipstick.

"So, what is going on?" I ask, trying to avoid stepping closer to her, while peering around the room.

"There is a guest suite not far from my room. You'll have to forgive this place for not being as lovely as Chateau Draco, but I doubt you'll actually mind," Pansy says. She snaps her fingers. "Colky!"

A house elf appears in the room. Its hands tuck behind its back, but I can see that they are heavily bandaged. I swallow.

"See to it that the guest suite is arranged for a visitor," Pansy says, then looks over at me and frowns. "Also, fetch some proper robes for this witch, if you would. I'm afraid her clothes did not make the journey here with her."

The house elf, Colky nods, and croaks in a gravelly voice, "of course, Miss Pansy."

The house elf snaps his fingers and then disappears. I spin to look at Pansy. She collapses onto a settee, swinging her legs out to the side haphazardly. With her black heels still on her feet, she lounges backwards.

"You're free to go," she says, dismissing me with a hand, not looking away from the ceiling. "Keeping you out of harm's way does not require actually being physically in the same space as you, you know."

"I'd like to know how I'm in danger," I say, crossing my arms.

Pansy presses the tips of her fingers together lightly, her long nails clicking against each other as she does, "Mandy Brocklehurst is unhappy that you've let the aurors in on her little indiscretions. As incompetent as she is, she does have the money to hire some goon to come bother you about it. Really, Mandy Brocklehurst has always been unoriginal. Her plan to kill you is eerily similar to mine."

I stare at Pansy. She shoos me away once more, rolling her eyes.

"Head out those double doors into the receiving hall. There is a rather large staircase upstairs, which even you cannot miss. Walk up them and down the hallway all the way. That is the guest suite. It's only one floor, unlike Draco's, but as I said, you really have no reason to complain. If you need anything call Colky. He'll answer to you so long as you are a guest of the estate."

Without giving her the opportunity to shoo me away again, I leave the room. Following her instructions, I head through the house. I hadn't realized how barren Malfoy Manor was until coming here. I suppose I noticed the emptiness there was in it, but I had nothing proper to compare. It is less crowded than the Black family home, but I assume that is because the renovations have displaced many of the previous magical and dark artifacts. This place feels less magical and also less solemn.