Beauty From Pain

Chapter Eleven

Draco had just sat down at his desk, a piece of parchment before him and a quill in his hand, when his floo burst to life in the next room. He sighed quietly and set down the quill. His letter to Granger would have to wait.

He made his way out of his office and caught sight of Pansy dusting off her robes. "Pansy, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Pansy finished picking invisible pieces of dust off her robes and smiled at him. "Draco, darling, how have you been?"

"I saw you just the other day, Pans," he said. He leaned against the doorway, folded his arms, and waited.

Pansy waved her hand dismissively at him and perched on her favorite chaise. "Yes, yes, but that was only for a few moments and Blaise was there," she said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "You know he dominates the conversations; I barely got a word in edgewise."

Draco huffed a laugh but knew she was right. "You did ask what was happening in his life, so you are partially to blame for opening that particular Pandora's box of drama."

"I was being polite," she argued. "Just because I ask how he's doing does not mean I need to know every detail of his week. That was far too much."

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched, but he resisted the urge to point out that Pansy could be just as bad as Blaise when it came to over-sharing details that hardly mattered to other people. He stood to get drinks from the bar in his kitchen and waited for Pansy to finally explain why she had come.

The quiet sounds of glass shifting as he poured their drinks filled the room before she finally broke the silence.

"I visited Granger's shop."

Draco paused in his pouring for just a moment, both to acknowledge what she had said and show her his surprise. He then finished pouring their drinks and then crossed the room to ask, 

"Did you?"

Pansy accepted the drink with a grateful smile and said, "It was purely out of curiosity."

"Of course," he said and took a seat on his couch. He sipped his drink, watching her carefully for any tells or signs of what she was thinking. She was infuriatingly difficult to read when she wanted to be. "What did you think?"

She swirled her drink for a moment, took a sip, and hummed at his drink choice. "She has changed a lot since school," she said. "She is quite skilled at her craft as well. For Granger." Her eyes shifted from her glass to his face to gauge his reaction, but his face remained carefully indifferent.

"Theo says she is much more relaxed."

"And a rebel," Pansy said with a wicked grin. "Who knew the biggest Golden Girl in Hogwarts' history would come home to be such a upsetter of the precious status quo?"

The reminder of Hermione's tattoos caused a wave of warmth to wash over him and settle in his stomach. If he was being entirely honest with himself, the motive behind the letter he was writing to Granger to set up his second appointment was less than innocent. He couldn't stop thinking about her other tattoos and where she might be hiding them.

When he pulled himself from his thoughts and focused once more on Pansy, he saw a mischievous gleam in her eyes that set a bird of panic fluttering in his chest.

"Draco," she said sweetly with mock innocence, "does the idea of Granger having a rebellious streak interest you?"

His eyes widened the slightest bit, and his body went completely still.

A wicked grin slowly spread across Pansy's mouth and sent a shiver of fear dancing down Draco's spine. In no way would this bode well for him. Like a werewolf catching the scent of blood, he watched her quick mind take hold of the possibilities and chase them to all their horrible conclusions. He needed to nip this at the bud before she tried to involve herself, but outwitting Pansy was something Draco had never managed to master. His mind sped into action to try and come up with anything that might at least divert her attention away from him.