Pansy marched down the sidewalk until she arrived at number ninety-three, Diagon Alley. She wasn't in a very good mood after the events of the previous night, but she knew this needed to be done; after all, Gregory would do it for her. However, Fred Weasley made her unaccountably nervous. Something about the way he'd looked at her the other day unnerved her. She didn't get that feeling from his sister at all, Ginny seemed to be more of an open book, but Fred... there was more to that one than met the eye, she was absolutely sure.

The door chimed as she pushed it open, and she walked into Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, looking for its proprietor, with a laundry list of things to discuss.

Hopping nimbly down from the ladder where he'd been rearranging packages of Wildfire Whizbangs, Fred rounded a shelf and looked for the cause of the door's salutation. It had been fairly busy for a weekday during the school term, and he'd spent no end of time simply moving from one place to another to stock the shelves or attend to customers. "Welcome t-" his greeting died in his throat as he noticed who had just come in, surprised and not to see her standing in the middle of his shop floor. "Miss Parkinson," he acknowledged, stepping forward, "what can I do for you today?" He kept his tone light, though he was fairly sure she hadn't stopped in to pick up a supply of dungbombs.


Why does he make me so fidgety? "Please, call me Pansy." She moved toward him, unsure of whether or not to shake his hand. "I wanted to speak with you. Is this a bad time?"

"Pansy, then," Fred agreed, motioning her in the direction of the counter, where he pushed forward a stool for her to sit on. "Not a bad time; as you can see you're the only one about at the moment," he assured, then flicked his wand in the direction of the door, changing the sign to read 'Stepped Out'. He guessed she'd come to see him about Greg, and it wasn't a conversation he wanted interrupted by a customer wandering in. Leaning against the counter, he faced Pansy again, nodding for her to continue.

"Oh, right, yes," she began, startled by his willingness to speak with her. Get it together, girl, she scolded herself mentally. She smiled at him, perched on the stool, and decided that the best course of action would be to put him off balance. "You know, I'm quite the fan of yours. Your exit from Hogwarts was one of the most memorable days of my entire schooling career. I got horrible marks on my exam that day, but it was worth it."

Fred chuckled, the memory of riding off with George, fireworks still turning the air around them bright with fire, one that he had held close since losing his twin. He was glad they'd made their mark before life had gone completely mad, before the war had shredded his family and tossed the pieces carelessly aside. "Glad to know we brightened someone else's day as well. It was all worth the look on Umbridge's fat little face, in the end, and you lot certainly needed a bit of cheer, or at least mayhem, by that point." He smirked, adding, "Besides, exams are completely overrated."

She nodded. "I agree completely." Better. This doesn't have to be an ugly encounter, or end in an unfortunate hexing, after all. "Mr. Weasley... or, actually, may I call you Fred?"

"Rather you did. Only the poncy solicitors call me Mr. Weasley, and that you're definitely not. Always makes me want to look around for my dad," Fred answered with a wink.

"Fred, as much as I'd like to say that I just came to pick up a couple of your patented Daydream Charms, I've actually come to talk to you about Gregory."

Smiling wryly, Fred braced his arms against the counter and settled in to listen. "I imagined as much," he allowed, having rather expected something like this since the day he'd seen her at Greg's flat, though he'd had no idea what her choice of time or venue would be. He raised one hand to gesture for her to speak her piece; she was one of Greg's, and had a place to check Fred's intentions toward someone close to her.

"I don't really presume to know what your relationship is with Gregory, but I would like you to be aware of mine." Her voice turned businesslike, although her face still held a pleasant expression. "I've known Gregory all of my life. He's very much like a brother to me, and really, he and a few others are all the family I've left in the world. You can imagine how important he is to me."

Fred nodded solemnly, knowing plenty about hanging on to the family one had left.

"So you'll perhaps forgive my bluntness when I say to you that should you ever, and I mean ever, do anything, that might remotely be construed as hurtful to him, I should be very, very cross." She sighed, and continued. "I do want you to know that I'm not suspicious of you in the least. He seems to fancy you, and I suppose you, him." She shrugged. "I just wanted to.. well, not warn as that doesn't seem very friendly, but... well, warn you," she finished.

Waiting a few beats to be sure Pansy was deigning it as his turn to talk, Fred turned his hands palm-out in a sign of nonaggression, aware that she needed to make her point and know he'd understood. "I'd fully expect you to be cross, were I to do something so callous. Let me volunteer, though, that I'm quite fond of your Gregory, and have no intention of doing anything of the sort." I've been doing the dead opposite for a bit now, in fact, he added mentally, though he thought better of airing the information aloud. "I'd ask when 'friendly' became part of your vocabulary, but you have been, thus far, which I appreciate."

She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and studied him, as if trying to decide if he were sincere. "Gregory is very important to me. If that means I have to be," here she sighed heavily, "nice, then so be it. I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate it if I'd come in here, wand blazing, telling you exactly how it was going to be. He actually doesn't know I've come at all."

With a slightly wicked smile trying to make an appearance, though he was fighting it down, Fred agreed, "He's the type to want to fight his own battles. I'm glad you came in to let it be known where we stand," he said honestly. Pansy was probably the next most assertive person in Greg's life, so far as he knew, and it would fall to her to make certain that Greg was not headed somewhere he ought not to be, especially after the recent scare he'd given them all. He was having trouble with his expression because there was a lot he'd give to watch Greg's reaction as he took in the idea of Pansy coming in to the Wheezes to 'threaten' him.

"Yes," she agreed. "He is the sort to want to fight, all right, his own battles and everyone else's, as well." Her face serious, she continued. "However, in light of last week, I'm of the opinion that he should take it easy for a bit." She cocked her head to the side, "But Gregory doesn't always listen to me. Though he just might listen to you." She smiled, her lips barely tipping up at the corners, and gazed at him.

Only a tiny bit surprised by Pansy's perceptiveness, given that she'd spent seven years in Slytherin, Fred nodded minutely. So that's what this was all about. Well, fair enough. "We're working on that," he granted, wondering how she'd take the admission. It seemed to be what she was after, but her little smile was hard to read and he knew better than to take only her words into consideration; she was, after all, a Slytherin.

A slow smile crept up over her face and she nodded once. "Right. Well, then. It seems we have an understanding." She sighed happily, glad for this particular chore to be over and done with. "And you're welcome to come to tea at my home with Gregory whenever you'd like. It's apparent that he likes you; you must be a bit of alright." She slid down from her perch on the stool and looked up at him. "Fred," she said, offering her hand.

Smiling genuinely in return, Fred stood and clasped Pansy's hand lightly between both of his. "A pleasure, Pansy. I thank you for the invitation, and I imagine I'll get Greg to agree to it eventually. If you need anything, you know where to find me, obviously, or I imagine in some cases an owl would do." He pressed her hand gently and released it, pleased that what could have been an incredibly uncomfortable encounter had turned out so well. He'd noticed the night he'd seen her at Greg's flat that she was possessed of a strong personality, and today's meeting had only reinforced that opinion; it reassured him on two levels, since it was both a good thing for Greg, at the moment, and would make his own interaction with her both more pleasant and more equal.

Appraising him one last time, she replied. "Same goes." She turned to leave, smiling to herself. Gregory's taste in movies might be pants, but he's in top form choosing men. She gave Fred one last parting smile over her shoulder, and left the shop.


[SUMMARY: Pansy stops by to let Fred know who Greg's friends are.]