To all those following my other PP/DM fic 'Woman Scorned', do not be alarmed as it will not take a backseat to this story. This was just something that I had running around in my head and I had to get it down on paper. Rest assured, my priority is finishing Woman Scorned!

Please read, enjoy and comment if you wish!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters are not mine. Nor am I making profit from any of this. This story is mine however.

Pansy Parkinson was reclined on a love seat, facing the Slytherin common room's grand fireplace. It was currently ablaze to fend off the dangerous chill that was wont to creep in during this late November. Around her sat her fellow Slytherins, also taking comfort in the warmth of the fire. They would make small comments now and again, but for the most part were content to just sit and let their minds wander on such a winter night.

They were all boys, except for Pansy. She had never got along with the girls of her house, whether they were in the same year as her or not. The truth of it was, she had too much common sense to ever enjoy the frivolous activities that most girls enjoyed. She couldn't force herself to giggle like they did over the most idiotic thing as a boy's attention. She also did not care for idle talk like gossip. She realized in her first year that just did not fit in their world, so she opted to hang around with boys.

At first, she was a nuisance to them. What eleven year old boy wanted a girl hanging around him? Not to mention five eleven year old boys. But she grew on them.

She didn't give in to emotions as easily as most girls their age. She also knew how to take a joke, or as in the case of Slyherins, an insult or a threat. And she gave back as good as she got, if not better. From them she learned how to play and eventually enjoy quidditch, whether it was watching it or talking about it. Not that she was very good at playing it. She thought she was rather horrible, but the boys would tell you that she was actually pretty decent.

And now here they were in their sixth year at Hogwarts.

"Of course they'd shaft us and give us a bloody dungeon while those uptight Gryffindors are somewhere bundled up in the towers," said the boy to Pansy's left.

Theodore Nott was a serious-looking boy, who was tall for his age. He had thick hair that was dark brown but seemed auburn in certain lights. His face was long, with a straight nose, and eyes that were always narrowed, as if he was constantly scrutinizing what he was looking at.

He was by far the most clever of them all. His father was a merchant of rare materials. You wanted dragon's breath, a wyvern's claw or nymph's tears? Well his father could deliver any of those things in a blink of an eye. It would just cost you an arm, a leg, and possibly your first born son's inheritance.

"Perhaps they've forgotten that we're not literally cold-blooded," said Zabini, who sat further down Pansy's left.

Blaise Zabini emitted aristocracy in everything he said and did. His mother's upbringing was impeccable in the eyes of all the old, conservative pureblood families. Perhaps she wanted to prove to them that she did not need a husband to raise a perfectly Slytherin-ish son. Apparently, all her husbands kept dying on her. Rumors were rampant about how she married and killed them for the money, but it was all really rubbish. Slytherins were mostly wealthy, and they married into other wealthy Slytherin families.

Whereas Nott always looked serious, Zabini always looked bored. He was black and was a little bit shorter than Nott. He wasn't lanky like Nott, however. He kept his hair closely cropped, and his dark eyes seemed to dance and come alive whenever he was amused. But he smiled very rarely.

And then there were Crabbe and Goyle. Two boys who looked like puberty had hit their body too early in the game, and their maturity was desperately trying to catch up. They were not nearly as tall as Nott or Zabini, but they were bulky and were rather fond of eating. They seemed like intimidating ogres, but were really quite nice to Pansy.

Crabbe's jaw was more squarish than Goyle's, and his eyes were smaller. His black hair was thick and somewhat unruly. His father worked alongside Goyle's in the Ministry. Goyle was a bit more rounder in the face, with reddish-brown hair. He was also slower in the thinking process. They weren't as affluent as the others, but still richer than most in Hogsworth.

"Curse this place. I wish this year was our last," commented a blonde-haired boy sitting right across from Pansy. Draco Malfoy was lounging on the green sofa, his pale gray eyes staring at the inferno in the fireplace.

Everybody knew Draco Malfoy. He was the heart-throb of the Slytherin House. He played on their Quidditch team, and was the richest boy of them all. His hair was such a light blonde that it seemed almost white at times. His lean face was almost always carrying a sneer, or his traditional smirk.

All the other houses, especially Gryffindor, thought them cruel and nasty, not capable of any kindness. Some of it may have been true up to a certain point. Anything past that was exaggeration and bias. But Slytherins didn't try to correct the stereotypes either. Let them think it. Slytherins didn't find it offensive in the least. They were certainly snobby and elitists and had a much tougher exterior to withstand the constant barrage of insults and threats they threw at one another.

Nott flashed a smile at Draco's comment. "You say that maybe because Astoria dumped you, eh? You, the poster boy of our house, THE Draco Malfoy, has been dumped by a Greengrass," laughed Nott.

Zabini's eyes came alive. "Ah, that is quite a blow to the ego, Malfoy."

Draco snorted. "I say it because our headmaster is a muggle-loving lunatic, you git. What do I care about that insignificant cow? Bah, she was getting boring and obnoxious anyways."

"But she is quite the looker, wouldn't you say Blaise?"

Blaise looked at Nott, and tilted his head to the side. "Yes, I suppose she is somewhat attractive."

"Of course she is," added Crabbe. "And those eyes!"

Draco quickly turned to look at Crabbe, who now looked uncomfortable under Draco's gaze.

Nott laughed again. "Take it as a compliment, Malfoy. We all think she's good looking."

Draco sneered. "What do you think Parkinson?"

The mention of her name brought Pansy out of her reverie. She had been day-dreaming about winter vacation. And Aurelius Nova. And the note he had slipped her in between classes asking if she would like to go to the Three Broomsticks with him this coming weekend.

"Huh? About what?"

"Not what, silly, but whom," replied Nott. "Do you think Astoria Greengrass is a looker?"

Pansy thought about her answer carefully. She tried to remember the girl, but only a blurry image came to mind. She had never really spent time with her, and Draco practically disappeared from their clique the minute he got with her.

Pansy just shrugged her shoulders. "When has Draco ever dated an ugly girl?" There. That should be a satisfactory answer.

Of all the things they talked about, the topic of girls was the one Pansy was least interested in, for obvious reasons. Somewhere along the line, Pansy the girl who hung out with boys became a lady. But they hadn't stopped to think that it would happen. They just acted like how they always acted with her.

And then they started noticing it slowly. It was hard not to, because one day she was as straight as a stick and the next, she had hips and curves. And then her chest was no longer flat. This they all noticed right away. She grew but was still petite compared to them. Her hair had grown past her shoulders. It was still the ebony black, but now it seemed to shine. And her legs! Oh her legs were now long and slender. At first it was awkward for all of them, being that they were males. But because Pansy never acted differently, they grew accustomed to her new physical attributes and gradually began to think of her as one of the guys again.

Her Socratic response surprised all of them, because Pansy Parkinson was usually very direct. You asked her a question and she gave you a straight answer. She didn't play games and got right down to it. Her brutal honesty was a recognizable trait, much like Draco's attitude.

Pansy had gone back to day dreaming, but now her face wore a little smile.

"What IS the matter with you, Pansy?" Blaise asked.

"What's with the smile?" added Theo.

"It's sickening is what it is," said Draco.

"Kinda creepy if ya ask me," Goyle commented.

Pansy was once again pulled out of her thoughts. "Oh, nothing," she lied. "Just glad that it's winter is all."

But she wasn't fooling anybody in that group, not even Goyle. They had known her long enough.

"Maybe it has something to do with that note Aurelius gave her," leaked Crabbe, who, despite looking like he was slow to catch on, was always very observant.

Pansy looked mortified. She had never really kept secrets from them, because frankly there was never a need to. They were all privy to the going-ons in her life because she was always with them. Well, except Draco who would occasionally take a leave of absence for months when he had a girlfriend.

But this. THIS she wanted to keep a secret, only because she didn't think she could stand the embarrassment they would cause her. She knew they would tease her about it every opportunity they could. The teasing she could handle, but only if it was between them. If they did it in font of other Slytherins, especially Aurelius! Merlin, please, no!

"Wait, what?" asked Blaise.

"Who in Salazar's name is Aurelius?" Draco demanded.

"Oh, he's a seventh year in our house. Aurelia's older brother. Ah, Aurelia, now there's a beauty," offered Theodore Nott.

Pansy's face was turning all different shades of red. "Crabbe, how could you!"

"Didn't know it was a secret Pansy!" insisted Crabbe.

"How interesting," said Blaise. "I never imagined that, well—"

"That I'd actually be interested in guys?" finished Pansy. "Or that guys would actually be interested in me?" She looked offended, so none of them wanted to agree.

"We forgot you were a girl," blurted Goyle.

Pansy waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Draco cleared his throat and all eyes were suddenly on him. "So, is this bloke your boyfriend of what?"

Blaise's eyes came alive again.

"What? No! I mean, he just asked me to go to Hogsmeade this weekend. I haven't even answered him."

"He seems like a dull kind of fellow, but then again, I haven't really exchanged more than two words with him," said Theodore.

"He's quite popular with the girls, not only in our house, but I hear in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well. Popular enough to maybe even rival you, Malfoy," commented Blaise.

Dacro scoffed at this suggestion. "I very much doubt it," he said, arrogantly.

Theodore turned to Pansy and pinched her cheeks. "Our little girl is all grown up and matured!" he jested.

She playfully swatted at his hands and laughed. "Which means you all have to work double time to catch up," she teased.

"Now you're going to disappear for months on end like Malfoy over there," whined Crabbe, who thought about the cookies and muffins she always seemed to have for him and Goyle.

"Except, we'll miss her more than we ever missed him," said a smug Blaise.

"You're making too much of a big deal over this," reasoned Pansy. But in truth, she was somewhat excited.

The Novas were very good looking, and were pureblooded, which, on a Slytherin's scale, weighed a lot more than their looks. Aurelius had a deep resounding voice that resonated when he laughed, which he was prone to do whenever a girl from Hufflepuff professed their admiration for him. His skin and hair were fair, and he grinned a devilish sort of grin, which made him appear almost wolf-like.

"See, there you go again with that far-off look," accused Theodore.

"Why have I have never heard of this Aurelius?" asked Draco.

"Because, Malfoy, you're oblivious to everybody except yourself," responded Blaise.

"You got me there," said Draco.

"I suppose you won't invite us to the wedding, Parkinson?" teased Theodore.

Goyle and Blaise snickered, and Crabbe made kissing noises.

Pansy threw up her hands and got up. "Ugh, call me when you all start acting your age!" And with that she went up to her room.

They were all having a good laugh, except Draco who was staring into space and in deep thought. Blaise was the one who noticed.

"Now what's the matter with you?" he inquired.

Draco turned to him as if seeing him for the first time. "Astoria was rather good looking, wasn't she."

Blaise and Theodore groaned.

"I can't believe you're still on that!" exclaimed Blaise.

And this time, they all started laughing.