Disclaimer: I don't own J.K. Rowling's world, I just like to play with it every now and again.

Author's Note: This was originally posted as a series of one-shots. I have removed the individual stories and gathered the entire series together for easier reading, as requested by several reviewers. Apologies to those who reviewed the individual works, the reviews were lost in the move. Cheerleading credit goes to SeraphimeRising and bookaddict19.

A Series of Unexpected Encounters

by Scribe Teradia

One: A Day at the Zoo

"Dad!"

Pansy stepped to the side to avoid being trampled by the pair of youngsters who were racing toward her, barely making it out of their way in time. Their dark, unruly hair was oddly familiar, but she brushed off the sense of deja vu, since the odds of running into anyone she might know were pretty slim. Why her editor at the Daily Prophet had sent her to cover an event at a Muggle zoo, she had no idea, but jobs didn't exactly grow on trees for former Death Eater sympathizers, and she couldn't afford to lose another one.

"Settle down, boys," said a voice from behind her, and Pansy froze. Eight years, since the events leading to the Dark Lord's downfall, but she'd know that voice anywhere, even though her contact with the Boy Who Lived had been fairly limited.

Her first instinct was to keep walking, to find a different path, to remain aloof. It was followed by the urge to flee, to leave the zoo and come back later, avoiding confrontation altogether. She did neither, finally turning to face the father of the boys who'd tried to run her over. "Hello, Potter."

"I'm sorry?" He blinked at her, from behind the familiar glasses, eyes as green as she remembered, and she felt a slight flash of irritation that he didn't recognize her, though she was careful not to let it show.

"You probably don't remember me," she said, keeping her tone light, congenial, as she extended a hand toward him, the fingernails perfectly manicured and painted a light pink. "Pansy Parkinson. We were at school together."

"Parkinson? Oh, yes, of course, friend of Malfoy's, right?" She felt another flash of annoyance, to be lumped in with Draco, but it was quickly brushed aside the second he took her hand, his fingers warm, rough with callouses.

"Once upon a time, yes. We keep different company, these days." There was a time when she'd hung on his every word, would do anything he asked of her, couldn't bear to spend a moment away from him, back when she was young and foolish and they still had all the time in the world. Once everything was over, the Dark Lord defeated, she was among the first to be left behind, forgotten and orphaned, scrabbling to make a name for herself while Draco enjoyed what was left of the Malfoy fortune and, eventually, Astoria Greengrass. Pansy summoned a thin smile, lifting one shoulder in half a shrug. "Astoria prefers to keep it that way."

"Oh." She could practically see the words processing through his brain, until he finally got the gist of what she meant, and then he grimaced. "I'm sorry."

Before either of them had the chance to say anything else, the boys hauled on his hands, and he made a show of bowing forward under the strain. "Dad! Dad! Can we go see the lions?" The singsong voices brought a hint of a smile to his face, and she realized it was the first she'd seen him smile since she'd said hello.

"All right, all right. Come on, then, you two." He gave her an apologetic look, starting past her. "Can't disappoint the boys, you know."

It wasn't until he was nearly past her that she realized that what she'd thought was a backpack between his shoulderblades was in fact a child, in one of those pouches Muggle women often wore. "I'll walk with you," she heard herself say, turning to walk alongside him. "I was headed this way, anyhow."

They walked in comparitive silence for several minutes, though the boys kept a running commentary of chatter back and forth about the different animals. Harry cracked first, finally saying, "Sorry, but why are you here?"

Pansy sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward before glancing sideways to smile at him. "I'm on assignment." She fished her press badge from her purse and passed it over. "What my editor calls a human-interest piece."

Harry turned the badge over in his hands, studying it carefully, then handed it back. "Muggle correspondent? Is that someone's idea of a joke?"

"Dumbledore would laugh himself sick, I'm sure," Pansy replied, with a faint smile and a shake of her head. "I never really cared about any of that, not the way some of the others in my House did."

"But Malfoy," he began, looking confused.

"Did it ever occur to you, Potter, that I might have had thoughts in my head that didn't come from Draco Malfoy?" Pansy snapped, flashing him a glare and walking faster, catching up to the boys.

Harry caught up with her, sooner than she would have expected, reaching for her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, and she didn't have to look at him to know that the apology was a sincere one. Gryffindors made for terrible liars.

"Don't," she said, with a shake of her head, pulling away from him. "Just don't, Potter."

"Pansy." The single word halted her in her tracks, her heart pounding, and she was vaguely aware of the boys farther down the path, pointing at something, though most of her attention was on their father. "I should know better than to pass judgment on someone for who they were friends with in school. Mistakes were made on both sides."

"It's fine," she said, tossing her head and pulling away from him again, walking along the path toward where the boys were pointing at a lion. She glanced back at him, the rust-colored hair of the child on his back, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you miss her?" she asked, changing the subject.

Before she'd finished the question, she could see that she'd wounded him, the light going out of his green eyes, his shoulders straightening. "All the time," he finally answered, his voice rough with grief as though Ginny had died yesterday and not two years ago.

Pansy's steps faltered, and she stopped walking, allowing him to catch up before reaching to touch his arm. "Now it's my turn to apologize. That was thoughtless of me, Potter. I'm sorry."

He met her eyes, and something passed between them, unspoken but powerful, registered on a subconscious level and holding them in place. Then the moment was over, and the boys had his attention again, and the conversation turned to more mundane things as they wound their way through the zoo.

When it was over, Pansy couldn't help but think that the day had ended far too soon. "I'm glad I ran into you," she said, as they stood just outside the zoo entrance, the waning light from the setting sun picking out golden highlights in his daughter's red hair.

"So am I," Harry replied, smiling down at her. Not the heart-stoppingly breathtaking smile of a man like Draco Malfoy, but it made her heart skip a beat all the same. "I should probably get these hoodlums back home."

"You do that," Pansy said, smiling down at the boys who reminded her so much of their father. On a whim, she stepped closer, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek, then stepped back and waved. "Goodbye, Potters. I'll see you 'round." Before any of them could say anything (particularly Harry), she slipped into the nearby alleyway and Apparated away.