Both of Us

Pansy awoke and her senses were invaded by the scent of fresh coffee. She inhaled deeply then rose from the bed and got dressed. She had transfigured a few of Ginny’s clothes to fit her height and account for her pregnancy. In jeans and a jumper she walked barefoot to the kitchen.



“Morning.” Ron said. “Hungry?” He asked with a smile.



“Yes.” She said moving forward and taking a seat that he had pulled out for her. He placed a plate on the table for her and she eagerly tucked in. “This is delicious Ron. Thank you.”



“Your welcome.” He said. “Have you seen a healer lately?” He asked.



“I had an appointment a month ago, I’m due to be seen.”



“I can ask Neville Longbottom if he has time to come by.”



“I don’t have money to pay him. I need to wait to be seen until I talk to Draco.” She told him.



“Neville is a friend of mine, I’m sure he’d come by to see you if I explain what’s going on.” Ron told her. She gave a shrug and it was clear she didn’t believe him. He didn’t bother telling her that if need be he would pay Neville his fee.



“How do you think Draco would help you?” Ron asked.



“He has a castle in Scotland. I can live there. I know he‘s been looking for someone to manage it so he doesn’t have to make so many trips there.”



“You’d be alone.” Ron said.



“Yes but I’d not be given guilt lectures by parents or insulting healers.”

“Insulting healers?” Rons asked.



“The healer that I see is a friend of my parents, he always has a comment about not obeying my parents whenever he sees me.”



“That’s unethical. He should keep his opinion to himself.” Ron said getting slightly angry.



“I know.” Again she shrugged it off. Ron let his anger subside and changed the subject.



“The storm is very bad right now. I use hawks for mail during rough weather, but I’d rather wait until tomorrow to send one out.” She looked outside. The trees were bending over from the force of winds and not a single animal was in sight on land or in the sky.



“Is the barn secure?” She asked him.



“Yes, there are charms and wards to protect the horses. It’s not as warm as the house but horses can deal with it alright. The charms will keep the temperature comfortable.”



She nodded and finished her breakfast. “I’ll help with the dishes.” She said standing.



“I have a house elf that does that.” He told her. She looked down at the small creature to Ron’s side who was holding out a hand for her plate. She handed her dishes over and followed Ron into the front room.



“Just relax. I’m going to go through the floo to see Neville, I won’t be gone for long. The house elf is here if you need anything.”



She nodded and he left through the floo. She went through the magazine he had on his coffee table and relaxed on his couch. Ron’s house was decorated in neutral shades of browns in various hues. There was nothing sparkling and pristine. His house was lived in and actually felt like a home.



She had been reading for a few moments, when Ron reappeared. “Neville will come by after his shift ends, he said not to worry about his fee.” She smiled and went back to her article.



Ron went to his desk and shuffled through parchments. His elf notified him that someone had come through the infirmary floo and as Ron got up Pansy asked if she could join him. He nodded and she followed him in.



They entered the infirmary to find an old woman with an even older looking dog. “He has a nail stuck in his foot Mr. Weasley!” She cried frantically. “Oh please hurry, he’s in a lot of pain!” Pansy looked at the animal sitting calmly in her arms, and surprised the urge to laugh. Ron had been right about the people and their pets.



“Alright then, alright. That’s easy to fix. Pansy, can you hand me the tray with the bandages please?” Using his wand he sterilized his hands and fed the dog a bowl of pinkish water.



After a moment the dog rested and became unconcerned with anything Ron did. Pansy held the small tray of tools Ron needed to as he used his wand to remove an old rusted nail. Discarding the nail, he took another potion and emptied it into a bowl on the tray then soaked the dogs paw. He took the bandages and wrapped the paw completely.



The woman had since calmed down when she saw quickly Ron worked. “Oh thank you Mr. Weasley.” She said covering her dog with kisses.



“Here’s some more of the potion. Add it to his meals tomorrow and if the bandage comes loose bring him back.” Pansy admired the confidence that he spoke with, while she emptied the tray into the rubbish as Ron had asked her to.



“Thank you Mr. Weasley, oh and congratulations you two.” She said to both of them as she left through the floo.



“Why did she congrt…..” She stopped and looked at her belly then back at Ron. “She thinks it’s yours.”



“I know.” Ron laughed taking the spell off his hands and washing them.



“I’m so sorry.” She said, not knowing why she was apologizing.



“Don’t be sorry, she meant well.” Ron led her back into the house and together they waited for Neville who was due to arrive soon.



Neville came through the floo at about 2 o’ clock, his healer’s bag over his shoulder. “Hello Pansy.”



“Hi Neville.” She said. Pansy held Ron’s hand as Neville examined her. Since he was not her regular healer, and had no access to her records, he gave her a complete exam. Ron averted his eyes at some personal moments and it made Pansy want to giggle. She had lost all modesty by this point.



Having a healer examine her completely had destroyed all her shyness.

After the examine they relaxed in the front room and Ron’s elf served them tea.



“Everything looks great Pansy.” He told her.” Any pain, cramps, spotting?”



“No, nothing.” She answered.



“Nothing you are concerned about?” He asked.



“No.” she said.



“Are you taking your prenatal potions?” He asked.



“Oh,” she suddenly remembered, “I left the house without them.” Neville reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of the lime green potion.



“Here you are.” His face grew serious. “I feel I should mention this to you. Your parents came and saw Healer Gudren early this morning. I didn’t think anything of it until Ron came to see me a few hours later.”



Pansy rolled her eyes. “To find out if he knew where I was?” She asked.



“No.” Neville said.



“What for?” Ron asked, suddenly cautious and concerned.



“To find out Pansy’s state of mind.”



“What?! Can they do that?” Ron asked.



“Normally a healer can’t divulge information about his patients, but since they are friends of his, he makes an effort to let them know. The good thing is he had nothing in his records that could prove she is of a questionable sanity, otherwise he would have sent her chart to the mental damage ward and he hasn’t done that.”



“That’s good.” Ron said looking back to Pansy and her relieved face.



“What’s going on Pansy?” Neville asked.



She filled him in on her rape, her parents reactions and their wishes. Neville’s face grew more furled as she told of her healers comments and her parents talk the night she left.



“Where will you go?” He asked.



“I’m going to write to Draco when we are able to get through the weather. He’ll help me.”



Neville nodded. “Having the help of Malfoy will be an asset. Nobody goes against the Malfoys.”



“Well Pansy, I’ll see you next month if you wish. Just let me know where you will be by then. You don’t have to go back to Gudren if you don’t want to.”



She thanked him and gave him a hug. Ron reinforced the wards on his house and went to check the status of the barn.



By evening the storm had died down but was still active. The winds may have eased but the downpour continued. “With the wind not as agressive we can send a hawk now if you want.”



Eagerly Pansy wrote out a note to Draco. As he had known what happened to her, she only had to tell him what her parents had planned. She kept it simple and to the point, asking for help and possible lodgings at his Scotland castle, even offering to see to it‘s management.



With the note secured to one of Ron’s hawks, and a spell used to keep it safe from the water, the bird took off into the night. Pansy stayed by the window and watched until it vanished from sight. “Do you think he’ll get it by the time the storms passes.”



He seemed confused until he remembered his words to her. “Pansy don’t worry about that. You can stay here as long as it takes Draco to respond. I won’t throw you out.” She let out a sigh of relief. Ron wondered how her home life had been during her pregnancy if she was troubled by something like that. Maybe everything was being taken literally at home and she became more guarded with words.



It didn’t matter either way. Ron was not the kind of man to evict a pregnant woman from his house without a place to go. She would stay with him until Draco could be reached no matter how long it took.



Ron went through charts from his infirmary after Pansy had gone to sleep. During dinner her spirits had lifted and she spoke about her hopes at Draco’s castle where she cold raise her child in peace. She would gladly give up her parents fortune and connections for a chance to be a good mother.



It touched Ron to see how mature she was now. He was sad that he had been treated as she was, but the way her face lit up when she spoke of her baby made Ron smile. Pansy would be a good mother. Money didn’t matter, just like it hadn’t mattered with his own mother. Pansy, just like Molly Weasley, would find a way to make things work. It was something Ron admired. Pansy had her cry and now that the tears were gone, she would press on.



A rolled up parchment came through the floo and landed on the floor. Ron picked it up and unrolled it. It must be important to come through at nearly midnight.



‘Ron, I just heard some news from an intern I befriended. The Parkinson’s spoke to Gudrun again this afternoon. They claim Pansy has thrown a tantrum and ran away. I overheard them saying that she vanished before they could give her the potion. I am going to do some digging and see if I can find anything else. Whether you tell Pansy about this or not is up to you, however I can say that she is very healthy and not given to shock. Telling her will not harm her in her condition. It might be wise for her to know what someone might be plotting against her. It also might be wise to keep her close until Draco can be reached. Neville.’



Ron looked up from the letter and filled with a boiling rage. A potion? What kind of potion? Knowing what Pansy had overheard a few nights ago, it couldn’t be good. He incinerated the letter and decided he would tell Pansy in the morning.