Whole collection written for InLoveWithLaughing's One-shot a Day Competition. This chapter uses the prompt 'bubbles'

Whole collection written for owluvr's Character Diversity Boot Camp using the prompt 'smile'

First There Is Hate

The darkness overwhelmed her as she descended the staircase to the dungeon.

How had it come to this? Once upon a time ago, she had been able to roam the school grounds freely. She had been able to walk up the stairs with a smile on her face. Sometimes she'd even skip up them, in a world of her own.

It was that perfect, carefree bubble that every child had. The one that had been burst the moment war had come.

Unless you were willing to torture poor first years for sport, you had to sneak around in the middle of the night like your life depended on it.

And, to an extent, maybe it did. Maybe her life did depend on it, because if she was caught, she knew she was as good as dead.

But she couldn't sit back and allow other students to be tortured. She would do everything she could to put a stop to it. What more could be done to her? She already had scars that she was sure would last a lifetime. The only thing left to be taken was her life.

She tip-toed as quietly as she could, cringing as every step brought an unwanted echo through the silent castle. She wondered who was patrolling tonight. If it was the Carrows, then that was bad, but if it was Crabbe and Goyle, then she could simply outsmart them.

The door creaked open just as she approached.

"Who's there?" came a voice. It was neither male, nor did it belong to the female Carrow.

She stayed silent, pressing her thin frame to the wall as a face appeared from behind the door.

Pansy Parkinson! Oh, that was not good news. Not only was she rather intelligent, but she was also big.

She held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

"I said, who's there?"

For a moment, she thought Pansy had seen her, because the Slytherin's eyes looked her way. But a moment later, her head disappeared and she could once again breathe.

Her heart hammered painfully against her chest. She would have to be more careful next time; she didn't want to end up like Neville had. They had thought him dead when he hadn't returned for two days.

Now what was she to do? She couldn't very well march in when she knew Pansy was just on the other side. The trapped students would be in even more danger than they already were. And who knew who else was in there. There was always more than one out.

She stopped to think. Maybe she could go back and bring reinforcements. No, that was too dangerous. They needed small numbers; they needed to remain hidden.

Just as she was about to approach the door once more, it opened again. This time, there was nowhere for her to hide. Pansy Parkinson's face stared back at her, an ugly sneer appearing on her face.

"Got you, Weasley," she said.

Ginny drew her wand, ready to fire a curse. She could hear whimpers coming from the dark room inside. She needed to get in there.

"We've always known you and your lot were the ones getting the firsties out of there, we just needed to catch you." Pansy also had her wand drawn. "Now, you'll be joining them."

Like hell I will, Ginny thought. "Stupefy!" The spell had hit Pansy before she even knew what was happening. The Slytherin flew back, a loud crack echoing throughout the room. Pansy howled in pain.

"Serves you right!" Ginny spat, lighting her wand so that she could see. To her surprise, Pansy had been alone, save for two terrified first years that were curled up in the corner, their arms marked with cuts and bruises, their whole body swollen from who knew what spells. The sight of them turned Ginny's stomach.

"Weasley!" Pansy roared, getting to her feet once again, her wand out, fury in her eyes. She shot a green light to Ginny, but she dodged it easily.

Pansy had just tried to kill her!

Shooting another Stunning jinx Pansy's way, Ginny hurried over to where the first years were. "Go!" she instructed, pointing to the open door. "But be careful about it."

Not needing to be told twice, they climbed to their feet and hurried away. Pansy was once again on her own feet, this time a little slower than before.

Just to ensure that she was not going to go after them, Ginny Stunned her once more. This time, the Slytherin didn't get up, but instead lay whimpering on the ground.

Ginny heeded her no more attention. As quickly as she had come, she left the dungeon, hoping to catch up with the two first years before anyone else did.

She found them standing by the door with open mouths. "Hurry!" she urged.

They ran, Ginny following them. They ran all the way to the Room of Requirement which opened upon their approach.

Neville and Lavender were already there, waiting to usher them in.

"Everything okay?" Neville asked.

Ginny nodded. "For us, yes," she said. "For Pansy Parkinson, however…." She gave him a wry smile. "She'll survive, though," she added.

Neville simply nodded.

This is only going to be a collection of 4 one-shots, one posted each day (because of the one-shot a day thing). There will be romance in later chapters... I just needed something to get myself into it. I've never written Pansy before, and I tend to fair better by writing characters in canon situations to begin with. So, I've tried. I hope you like, and your reviews would be very much appreciated.

Also, on HPFC, I have a competition running called 'Fanfiction, School of Imagination and Creativity'. It's a 3 month long competition I'm running with Ralinde, and if you're interested in signing up, feel free to do so. It should be fun.