I'm No Angel ~Pansy x Ginny~

Chapter Twelve

March 1, 2000

So many people, Pansy thought to herself. Persephone's funeral had been announced the day after her death, and it seemed like everyone was there. It was disorienting to say the least. One of the interesting things that she had seen so far was Andy Black sitting on a bench, crying, and an unfamiliar woman comforting him. She figured it must be one of his close friends from America, but she chose to ask him about her. "Hey Andy," Pansy said. "Hey Pansy. What's up?" Andy asked. "Who's your friend?" Pansy asked, sitting on his left. "Who's she, your girlfriend or something?" The unfamiliar woman asked. "No, she's married, and she has a baby on the way, so no, she's not my girlfriend. She's one of my friends that I met when I first came to Britain. Larissa, this is Pansy Parkinson. Pansy, this is Larissa Abernathy, one of my friends from Ilvermorny," Andy said. "Nice to meet you," Pansy said, holding out her hand. Larissa took her hand and shook it. "Likewise. So, quick question, where's your husband?" Larissa asked. "Um... I'm not married to a guy," Pansy replied, then saw Ginny nearby. "See the woman over there with the flaming red hair?" Pansy asked, and Larissa looked, then nodded. "That's my wife, Ginny Weasley," Pansy said. "Oh. I'm sorry I assumed you had a husband," Larissa said. "It's fine," Pansy replied with a small smile. "Oh, Andy mentioned that you're expecting. If you don't mind me asking, how far along are you?" Larissa asked curiously. "I'm almost six months, so I'm just past halfway through this pregnancy. Ginny and I are really excited. I actually just had an appointment yesterday to see how everything is going so far, and we found out that we're having a girl," Pansy said. "That's wonderful, congratulations! Have you picked a name?" Larissa asked. "Yeah. We're going to name her Zinnia Persephone Weasley-Parkinson," Pansy said. "That's such a cute name!" Larissa said. "Thank you. I really appreciate it," Pansy said.

During the funeral, Ginny, Pansy, and Larissa sat together, with Pansy in the middle. After Persephone's parents and brother Draco said a few words about her, Pansy and Ginny went up next. "Persephone Malfoy was one of our closest friends. We loved her as a sister, and she loved us the same way. To us, she was family," Ginny said. "Persephone and I didn't start out with a great friendship like she had with Ginny. Still, I grew to like her over time. She was... she was a great woman with a kind heart, and it's so hard to say good-bye to her," Pansy said, bursting into tears. Ginny hugged her, and they returned to their seats, where Larissa joined in the hug. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this the same day that we met, Larissa," Pansy said. "You don't have to apologize, Pansy. It's perfectly normal to cry at a funeral. The mood swings that you have during your pregnancy are probably also a contributing factor," Larissa said. Pansy smiled slightly and managed to stop crying for the time being.

After the funeral, Larissa asked if she could stay with Pansy and Ginny, as Andy had told her that he needed some space to cope with Persephone's passing. They both welcomed her to stay with them for as long as she needed to. Pansy decided to take a warm bath to try to ease some of her stress, so Larissa and Ginny were left alone. "To be honest, I've had a bit of a crush on Andy for a few years. He gets me like no one else can, and I can talk to him about anything that's on my mind, and I like it," Larissa said. "That's sweet. Have you thought about how you might tell him how you feel?" Ginny asked, and Larissa's eyes widened. "Are you kidding?! I used to, but not anymore! I certainly can't tell him now! He just lost his fiancée! It wouldn't be right!" She said. "I know that, Larissa, and I wasn't saying that you should tell him yet. Give him some time to deal with his loss, and then try telling him how you feel about him," Ginny replied. "I planned on it. Thanks for the advice, Ginny," Larissa said. "Any time, Larissa," Ginny said. Pansy came into the room and sat next to Ginny, who kissed her softly, then kissed her stomach. "I think that my bath really helped me out with my stress, Princess," Pansy said. "That's good to hear. What do you want to do now?" Ginny asked, just as Pansy let out a yawn. "I think that I'm going to go to bed," she said. "Yeah, me too. It's getting late," Ginny said. They showed Larissa to her room, then went to their own room and fell asleep.

The next morning, Pansy woke up to a kick from Zinnia, and she decided to take a shower and get herself some breakfast. Just as she sat down to watch some TV and have her breakfast, there was a knock on the door. It was very quiet, but loud enough for Pansy to hear it, so she put aside her breakfast and got up to answer the door. "Hey Pansy... Is it all right if I come in?" Andy asked nervously. "Sure. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Larissa told me that you wanted to be alone to cope with losing Persephone," Pansy said, standing aside to let him in. "Yeah, that's how I felt yesterday, but then I realized that being alone would be bad for my mental health, so here I am," he said. Pansy looked at him, and noticed that he looked like he hadn't slept in at least a week, since the day Persephone died. "Andy, you look terrible! No offense," Pansy said. "None taken. I know that I look terrible. I haven't been able to sleep at night. Every time I drift off, Persephone comes to me in my dreams and tells me that... that she's still alive, that the Persephone who died was an impostor sent to get information about us, and I'm not sure if I believe it," he said. "I have an idea. If you dream about her again next time you fall asleep, try asking her to send us a message with her Patronus," Pansy suggested. "You know, that just might work. I'll try it... as soon as I fall asleep again," Andy replied with a yawn. Pansy hurried over and moved her breakfast to let him lay on the sofa. "Thanks. I'm grateful for your help," he said as he laid down. "No problem, Andy," Pansy replied, and he closed his eyes.

Andy's dream

He saw her approach him again, just as she had in all of his dreams since her death. "Hello Andy. I was worried that you wouldn't come back," she said. "Well, it's not like I could just voluntarily choose not to sleep. It'd probably kill me," he replied. "I know that you know, deep down, that I am still alive. I know it, Andy, I just know it," Persephone said. "I was just talking to Pansy when I was awake, and she made an interesting suggestion," he said. "Hmm. And what was her suggestion?" Persephone asked. "Well, she said to try asking you to send us a message with your Patronus. Do you think you could do that?" Andy asked. "Yes, I can do that. Just remember that my Patronus is an otter. I know that I haven't showed it to you yet, but Ginny and Pansy should know if it's mine or not," she said. "Thank you, Persephone," he said. "No problem, my darling. I hope to see you again in the real world very soon," she said, blowing him a kiss.

End of Andy's dream

Andy woke up to find Pansy, Ginny, and Larissa all standing around him. "Hello everyone," he said, still half-asleep. "Hey Andy," Larissa said. "Pansy told us what happened earlier, and we'll let you know if one of us sees Persephone's Patronus," Ginny said. With that, Andy got up and made himself some breakfast. The four of them spent the morning watching for a silver, glowing otter, and just around lunchtime, Pansy pointed out something silver flying right towards the house. She quickly opened the window, and everyone stood back as a silver orb flew in, stopping in the middle of the sitting room. Before their eyes, it morphed into a shining silver otter and spoke to them in Persephone's voice. "I know that you are wondering where I have gone, and all that I can say is that I'm somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, and I can see the outline of Hogwarts in the distance. It's cold, wherever I am, which seems to be a cave of some sort. I hope that you come to find me." Andy looked like he might faint upon hearing this, and Pansy had to get him to stay awake. They made plans to apparate to the front gates of Hogwarts in the morning, and then they would talk to Professor McGonagall about supplies and aid, if they were to need it.

Word Count: 1545 words

Plot twist! Hahaha! I couldn't actually kill off Persephone (remember, she used to be Hermione before), she's a main character! Still, it's interesting. Who died instead of Persephone? Will the gang be able to find her based on what little information she could give them? Will Larissa admit her feelings to Andy? Read on to find out! Also, the picture at the beginning of the chapter is of Larissa Abernathy, who is portrayed by Lexus Amanda, who, coincidentally, has the same initials as Larissa. Bye for now!