don't bring flowers.

chapter 3.

The sports department of the Ministry was more like a high budget joke shop than a serious sector of the Wizarding government. As Pansy walked through the winding, open corridors, quaffles were thrown between staff members, stones used in a game of gobstones were piled up in the corner and she heard a game of exploding snap take place from behind a locked door. Sadly, the serious work took place in the region she needed to be in. Behind one desk sat the person she searched for. Roger was checking different snitches and their flying abilities before scribbling down whether they worked. If they did, he packed them up into cardboard boxes and passed them across to another man in the same position of work.

"Hi." She spoke softly, hoping to capture his attention without raising her voice too high. Her vocal chords hurt from all her crying and her throat was dry from that same emotional outburst. He immediately tilted his head towards her. She gave him the most pleasant smile she could manage. "Are you able to get off a little early? I don't fancy staying around in this place. I'd like to leave now."

"Pansy, I don't know whether I-" Staring at her a little more, he noticed the red rings under her eyes and figured that a strong girl like herself wouldn't co-operate and negotiate as easily as anyone else. "Yeah, of course." He made a few excuses and cover up stories with the boy working next to him, before they departed together. He anxiously tried to ask her what happened a few times with no avail. Together they left the ministry, and he offered to take her to a small wizarding pub close by, for she was unfamiliar with the area. He didn't sell the place too well. "It's not that great, really. It's just close." She watched his shoulders hunch up.

"Is there a problem?" Her eyebrows curved upwards in curiosity. He shook it off; she refused to let it lie. Hair wafted into her face in the breeze so she pushed it away not to break focus. "Tell me please."

"It's not exactly a problem of such, but," he guided her down a cobbled street when she started to trail off in another direction, "you seem like a classy sorta girl." There was a pause and she desperately tried not to laugh. "I don't want to be taking you to some average place, you might not fit in." The only response she could fathom was a playful pat on the arm. He eased against her gentle touch until she moved away. Confidence restored, he opened the door to the pub and held it for her. Pansy bowed graciously and stepped inside. True to his words, it wasn't a lavish, spectacular place. It held a certain charm. The scent of fresh bread wafted through the air and her mouth started to water.

"I really like it here." Pansy smiled.

They sat down and chatted. He convinced her to try the soup and they shared food preferences mid meal. She forgot about all her troubles for a while, amused by how he finished the rest of her meal once she was far too full for it. Onlookers would've believed it to be a date. A knot in Pansy's stomach warned her that Roger thought they were on a date as well. The bill arrived and for a moment she slipped back into her old habits. Staring down at it with doe eyes, she twirled her hair around her finger. Usually, the face tricks dazzled people into paying the entire sum of money. "Here, let me-" she reached into her bag to take out some money, which was quickly refused by him. Surely she wasn't so wrapped up in her own world she had signed up for a date and not even realised it?

"So," they started travelling back in the direction they had come from when Roger spoke up, "how come you dragged me away from work early, eh? Problems with your inquiry?" Already she felt the tears build up in her eyes. Guilty for her selfish acts, she knew that an explanation would at least settle him. His concern was very sweet.

"Well," she started pulling at the tips of her hair, "they used legilimens to test out whether I had been trained in occlumency. It was all legitimate because my parents had agreed to it beforehand." He gave her a look of sheer disbelief, secretly urging her to continue. "The person interviewing me managed to uncover my most treasured memory. I was so shocked that I couldn't block her out until she'd witnessed the entire event." Walking down the steps and back inside, he stopped her for a second and pulled her aside so that she could regain her composure. "What should I do? I suppose it's against the law if I don't go back. I just can't face that woman again..." Embarrassed by her own weakness, she hid her head in her hands.

He didn't say much for a while, possibly mulling it over. Then he thought of something. "Go back in there, show them whose boss. Let them ask a few more questions. If they step out of line, you walk out and file a complaint and don't go back. And then you come and find me and I'll escort you home."

It seemed like a pretty fair deal, so she agreed to it. Soon enough she was sitting in the same court room as before, far quieter than usual. Odette Childe was far more surprised than Pansy at her return. Apparently, no one had walked out yet, so she expected her to be the first and for her to stay out. "Right, right, very well then." Papers flew about everywhere, showing her lack of organisation. Finally she found the piece she was looking for. A list of questions, nonetheless. Cautious of her leaving again, Odette didn't even bother asking Pansy whether it was okay to start. "When did you start associating yourself with Mr Draco Malfoy?"

What did this have to do anything? She thought with a puzzled frown. "Erm, back in our first year." She would be compliant for as long as she wasn't too invasive.

"Right you are." The same quill from before wrote down every single word they spoke. "Did he ever mention his family?" Pansy opened her mouth to reply but she wasn't finished just yet. "And their associations?" This silly woman started to make Pansy's blood boil.

"Of course not." She tried to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "We were just young kids. I mean, he bragged about how rich he was and how he had the best parents in the world. Same old, same old." She still remembered the moment they first met. He was still sulking over being rejected by Potter as the first years were brought into the Slytherin common room for the first time. Bravely, she told him that Potter wasn't worth his trouble, and he agreed. According to eleven year old Draco, 'Potter would pay' for his rude actions and bad choice of friendship. They shook hands then wiped away germs on their robes. After the initial chit chat, they properly introduced themselves. Both names were ridiculous to the other, so they became Malfoy and Parkinson to avoid humiliation. He told her that she wasn't too bad for a girl and she replied with a snide remark about how he was a girl. Something clicked instantly. The ability to mock and hate without even thinking about it was shared between them.

"Miss Parkinson? Miss Parkinson?" Pansy became unresponsive after unintentionally drifting off into her own subconscious. "Am I alright to proceed with questioning?"

Pansy immediately nodded. "Yes. Go ahead."