Sour Grapes

Chapter 24 - Pansy

She lay in bed next to him with her eyes wide, staring at the ceiling. His light snores weren't even annoying her, which was surprising considering she typically loathed those sorts of bodily functions. It was 3am and she would have been out the door by now, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to get dressed and go.

Instead she lay there deep in thought, wondering why it had felt so... different. She'd been used to being ravaged by any man doused with her potions, but Ron had been... sweet. Gentle and caring. To the point where she'd begun to think that perhaps something beyond the effects of the elixir were motivating him. Or perhaps he was just different than most men she'd selected. He was heartbroken, and probably as lonely as she.

As for her, she had found him repellant her whole life up until tonight. Then again, she hadn't seen him properly since the party at which she'd pushed him unwillingly to bed with Astoria, and before that not since the war. He had grown into his features quite well, and unlike the doughy, unkempt Hogwarts student she remembered him to be, he now took rather good care of himself. He was all broad shoulders and muscles and his freckles suited him rather than looking like dirt he hadn't washed off his skin.

Similar to that fated party, this night had started out with one goal in mind, and abruptly been changed by fate. She had thought that if she could spark something up with him, she could slowly convince him to assert himself into Astoria's life, rather than giving up and acquiescing to Astoria's demands. Perhaps she could even get him to publicly claim that Astoria was having his child.

Now that she was in his bed, however, she wasn't so sure that she wanted him to do all of that.

Glancing over at his sleeping form, she noticed an urge to lay her head on his bare chest. To be close to him. To feel his arms wrapped around her again.

She forced her eyes away from him at the thought.

"Fucks sake!" she whispered to herself, "I want to fucking cuddle?!"

Just as she rubbed a hand across her forehead in dismay, he started and opened his eyes, squinting at her through the darkness.

"What- what you doing?" he mumbled, incoherently.

Pansy froze. She did not reply, but stared at him with her eyes wide, her heart pounding in her chest.

Then he reached up and grabbed her into a warm embrace, his arms wrapping perfectly around her torso, his face nuzzled along her neckline. She could feel his warm lips caress the skin of her neck. She shivered.

The breath she'd been holding was released in a long sigh, just as the words, "night 'mione" left his lips. Pansy, lost in her own sigh of bliss, could not make out what he'd said, but drifted straight off to sleep with a contented smile across her face.

XXXX

At 8am, Ron awoke to a splitting headache and immediately yearned for one of his hangover draughts. Grabbing his wand from the bedside table of his room at the Leakey Cauldron he muttered, "accio potions."

To his surprise, more than one item came soaring towards him. He saw his hangover droughts, of which there were five, tucked securely in his leather-bound potions travel case. However, a second case flew onto his lap, seemingly coming from a different part of the room. After staring at it confusedly for a few moments, he twisted his head in the direction it had come and his breath caught in his chest.

Pansy Parkinson was splayed across the bed, wearing a pair of black boy-short knickers with lace edging, and Ron's white under-shirt. He looked down and saw that he was only wearing boxers, and the night came swimming back into his mind like sea sickness.