don't bring flowers.

Post-war Harry Potter fan fiction, consisting of heavy Draco/Pansy with hints of Pansy/Other boys and Harry/Ginny. This is my first fic on this website, and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. The majority of characters in this piece belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling and in no way am I trying to say that they are my own.

Prologue.

"Congratulations Parkinson, I'm sure we all would have died if we followed your silly actions." A sixth year Ravenclaw snarled at her, pushing as he walked past. The students of Hogwarts that chose not to be involved with the Battle were being escorted out of the Castle and to a safer place by Filch and the prefects. Not all the prefects were co-operating, though. A sullen looking Pansy Parkinson slouched behind everyone else, dragging her feet as if they refused to take her the full journey. According to the rest of the students, offering up Potter to the Dark Lord was dishonourable and a disgrace for wizarding kind. She had never specified that the Dark Lord was to win. If anything, she secretly routed for Potter to overcome just so this horrific battle would finally be finished. Her intentions were more complicated and heartfelt, even if the actions themselves were rushed and fuelled by panic that caused a slip of the tongue. Pansy had no interest in politics or this war. She was in mutual territory, only wanting it to be resolved. Her loyalty lay with a blonde haired young man, whom was still lost in the Castle somewhere.

"Pans, hey, don't worry about what you said." A plump Millicent Bullstrode plucked Pansy out of her daydream, clasping onto her shoulder with a sweaty palmed hand in a failed attempt to comfort her. "You were scared and just" her mind wandered away from the truth, voice quavering and cutting off mid sentence. The 'D' word had been banned among the Slytherin students all year, or at least kept to a hush when Pansy was around. The poor girl grew weaker the longer he was away and everyone knew she said what she said in an attempt to save her precious Draco.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to conjure up a sensible reply. All she wanted to do was to hug her friend and be promised that everything would be alright. "I need to know he's safe, Millie. I don't think I can live with myself knowing that he could be hurt, lying in a pile of rubble somewhere, or worse, be dead..." Realisation hit and she sobbed uncontrollably. Digging her heels into the mud ridden grass beneath her, she decided there and then not to move, despite the rest of the crowd trudging onwards to reach some sort of haven. Millicent was at a loss, desperately trying to get the attention of the rest of her house, hoping they would force Pansy to stop being unreasonable and to carry on.

"Pansy, Pansy please come on, you are being silly now." A large bang was heard behind them and a few people shrieked, turning to face the castle again, Pansy included. They saw a fire burst out through one of the highest towers, smashing all windows and crumbling all bricks in sight. "See?" Millicent tried to use this example to reason with her. "It's too dangerous and you are not in the mindset to play hide and seek in a battle zone right now." Nothing seemed to be getting through to her so she tried a new tactic. "You are no Gryffindor, Pansy." Millicent recoiled at her words, but continued.

Pansy stood in stunned silence for a moment or two, weighing out her options. Secretly, she pulled out her wand from the inside pocket of her robe and held it out towards Millicent. "I'm sorry I have to do this. You don't understand." She took a deep breath then shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Immediately Pansy started to run towards the castle, knowing too well that her spell would've caused attention and there was the potential for someone to chase after her. It didn't take her long before the castle was in full view, and her eyes couldn't focus because of all the spells darting around. She crouched down to ground level and slowly made her way towards the main courtyard, trying to work out some sort of plan. The only way forwards was to make a run for it. If she could get in through the main door, perhaps who she was looking for would be in the Great Hall, or searching for Potter himself. After taking a deep breath, she lunged herself upwards and darted straight through the middle of a duel, managing not to get hurt.

All the chaos and commotion was a blur to her as she focused on the door, casting a few defence spells when curses started to rebound in her direction. Adrenaline kept her moving at an incredible pace. Inches away from the door, she stumbled and tripped on some debris that had fallen in front of her. The force and shock of it all caused her to hit the floor with an almighty crash, instantly knocking her out of consciousness.

The young, slytherin girl lay among the dirt as the battle raged on. Hopeless and unable to move, it seemed as though there was no chance of her getting out alive.

Soon, a mysterious stranger noticed the girl, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her off into the distance.