The Room of Requirement feels safe, somehow. Everyone who’s staying in it knows if they are found, they will definitely be tortured and probably be killed, and yet… it’s quite nice. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re all from different houses.
Honestly, if Dumbledore had really wanted to promote inter-house unity, he would have locked people from different houses in a room together. It works, clearly.
In two short weeks, Pansy has made a few friends: Neville, Ginny, Luna, Hannah, Cho, Susan, Michael, Ernie, Seamus, and Colin. Neville, Ginny, and Luna kind of forced her to be friends with them (Neville calls it exposure therapy), but she befriended the others all on her own. She hasn’t made friends normally since… well. Ever, really.
Most of her friends are the ones her parents forced her to play with when they were little. And she loves them, she does, but she’s never sure if they started being friends because they genuinely liked each other or if it was just easier to have somebody else to be around during boring dinner parties.
The RoR, though, is nice. It’s gotten bigger to accommodate more and more students. And thus far, nothing bad has happened. At least, nothing worse than the scare with the Carrows hanging around that one night.
Still, safety can’t stop nightmares.
Pansy has had nightmares for most of her life. But, since waking up screaming is rather disruptive, she’d learned at an early age how to suffer in silence. It sounds dramatic because it is.
And once she started at Hogwarts, she learned how to hide her nightmares from everybody. Learned that sometimes, it was best not to sleep at all. And, because of that, learned to function on less sleep and learned to hide the effects of less sleep.
So when she jolts awake after yet another nightmare, she knows she’s not falling back asleep anytime tonight. But even though she’s used to being awake late at night, she still hates the dark.
So, as quietly as she can, Pansy gets out of her hammock. She’s lucky Ginny and Luna are such heavy sleepers because this would not be fun to explain to them. She grabs a book from the shelf and curls up on the couch, letting the firelight wash her in a dim glow and warmth.
It’s always quiet at night. Pansy isn’t sure what time it is, but based on the empty hammocks in the opposite corner of her own, it’s probably only around midnight.
Sure enough, the hidden door to the RoR opens, and Neville and Seamus come in. Pansy turns her attention back to her book, kind of hoping she isn’t noticed. She really doesn’t want to explain that she can’t sleep.
She should have known she wouldn’t be so lucky.
“Hey, Pansy,” Neville says softly as he sits next to her. “What are you still doing up?”
“Probably waiting for us to get back,” Seamus says as he walks past the couch. “Cause she loves us.”
“You wish, Finnegan,” Pansy teases. He gives her a tired smile and waves as he walks to his hammock and practically collapses into it.
“Really, why are you awake? It’s late,” Neville says.
“Just can’t sleep. It’s not a big deal, just happens sometimes.”
“Everything okay?”
“I’m fine, Neville. You should get some sleep.”
“Yeah, I don't think so. I’m not leaving you alone if something’s bothering you.”
“Nothing’s bothering-”
“You’re an awful liar, you know that?”
“I’m literally not, but okay.”
“Not lying or not a bad liar?”
“Both.”
“Pansy.” He’s looking at her with that look he gets when he knows someone is hiding something. Pansy sighs.
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” she asks. He smiles and shakes his head.
“Not when it comes to you. Now come on, tell me what’s wrong,” he says, reaching out to take her hand.
“Just a nightmare. I get them a lot, and tonight’s was bad enough that I don’t really want to go back to sleep.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Neville asks. Pansy squeezes his hand and shakes her head.
“Okay. Well, if you ever want to, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, Neville.” He smiles at her again before letting out a huge yawn. Pansy giggles and tells him to go to bed. He denies being tired as if he’s seven years old instead of seventeen.
But finally, he goes to his hammock, leaving Pansy alone on the couch with her book.
Hours later, Ginny wakes up and joins Pansy on the couch, passing her a cup of coffee. Pansy almost cries when she takes a sip. It’s been made exactly to her preferences, with two sugar cubes and a splash of milk. She doesn’t know when or how Ginny learned how she takes her coffee, but she’s filled with so much love for this girl she’s only really known for two weeks.
They don’t talk much, choosing instead to sit in silence as the rest of the D.A. wakes up. Luna joins them when she wakes up, stirring a mug of bright pink tea. (It’s a mix of hibiscus, raspberry, and lemon, and supposedly keeps away a strange creature. Pansy doesn’t remember which creature, but she’s not going to question Luna.)
Luna immediately starts a conversation with the two of them about defense class, because they might all be hiding in here and not going to class, but they still have to be learning something. (The RoR is incredibly helpful, because it provides them with schoolbooks and resources, and they all help each other.)
After breakfast, Pansy heads to the potions lab and sets up for the unofficial potions class of the day. After making healing potions with Hannah, she’d started teaching more people. Today, she has Seamus, Cho, and Susan, all of whom have told her they are hopeless when it comes to potions.
Pansy knows Seamus has a tendency to blow things up, but she’s seen his focus and concentration in chess games. Cho gets easily frustrated if she doesn’t get something right the first time, but she is extremely precise. And Susan doesn’t find the subject interesting at all, but she will see things through to the end.
Pansy’s not worried. She thinks the three of them are more scared than she is, but she’s not Snape, she won’t yell at them if they get something wrong.
After dinner, there is a loud thud outside the RoR. Most of the D.A. is busy doing schoolwork or playing games, or, in some cases, getting ready for bed. Pansy, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Hannah, and Susan are sitting in what are now unofficially ‘their’ spots by the fire.
Neville immediately gets up and goes to the door, looking through the small peephole they’ve asked the Room for.
“Pansy, come here,” he says. Pansy gets up and goes to him, looking through the peephole herself.
Theo’s out there. Lying on the ground. He looks unconscious.
“Theo,” she breathes. Neville looks at her.
“A friend?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“He looks injured. You can bring him in here, if you want, or help him out there.” Pansy smiles. She loves that Neville didn’t give her an option of not helping Theo, that he didn’t tell her she couldn’t risk it.
“I’ll go out there, I think. It’s safer.”
“Want me to come with you? Just to keep watch.”
“I… Yes, that would be nice,” she says. Neville nods, and they slip out of the RoR.
Like she thought, Theo’s unconscious, and he doesn’t notice them appearing out of a door that wasn’t there before.
“Theo,” Pansy says, dropping to her knees next to him. She shakes him gently to wake him up. He’s always been a light sleeper, so she’s hoping it will work.
“Pansy? Oh thank Merlin, you’re alive!” Theo immediately wraps his arms around her as he wakes up, and she returns the hug. “Where have you been? Everyone’s been so worried about you,”
Theo keeps babbling as Pansy pulls away to examine him.
“Theo,” she says, “What the hell happened to you?”
“Nothing much.”
“Theo.”
“Just the Carrows.”
“What did they do?”
“The usual. Few torture spells, beat me up a bit.”
“The usual? You mean this has happened to you before?” Neville cuts in. Theo looks up and finally notices him.
“Yeah. Happens to most of the school.”
“Shit,” Neville curses under his breath. While all this has been going on, Pansy has been casting diagnostic spells and beginning to heal the wounds she sees. There’s not much she can do, she doesn’t have potions with her and Hannah is the one who can actually cast good healing spells.
“Okay, let’s get you inside,” Neville says. Pansy is once again glad to hear that Neville is inviting Theo to stay with them.
“... We’re already inside?” Theo says. Pansy rolls her eyes fondly and helps him to his feet. She doesn’t miss the way he can barely hold himself up: she’s supporting most of his weight.
“In here,” Neville says, and the door to the RoR appears. Theo’s jaw drops. Neville opens the door, and as Pansy half drags Theo through it, falls in on Theo’s other side to help bring him inside. The door shuts behind them, and heads turn to them.
Pansy’s sure it must be quite a sight. The Gryffindor golden boy helping a Slytherin carry another Slytherin who can barely stand.
But Hannah immediately beckons them over to the section of the room they’ve been converting into an infirmary (they’re basically making a mini Hogwarts in this room) and everyone gets out of the way as Pansy and Neville get Theo over there.
As soon as they’ve gotten him on the cot, Hannah is getting to work healing him, no questions asked. Pansy stays with Theo, and he takes her hand, squeezing it. She looks down to see him giving her a confused look. (He’s not used to this, automatic help with no strings attached.)
“We have another guest, be nice to him,” Neville says to the room. Everyone nods and goes back to what they were doing. After Pansy, they don’t care much about what house someone is in, only whether or not they are okay.
Neville returns to Pansy’s side and looks at Theo.
“Doing okay there, Nott?” he asks. Theo gives him a critical glance before smiling.
“Doing fine, but call me Theodore.”
“Shut up, you’ve never wanted to be called Theodore a day in your life. His name’s Theo,” Pansy says. Theo sticks his tongue out at her. She returns it. Theo looks past her, at Neville, and raises an eyebrow.
A glance at Neville shows that he’s trying to stifle a laugh. But he doesn’t break eye contact with Theo. A few seconds pass, and both of them burst out laughing.
“Welcome to the D.A., Theo,” Neville says when he stops laughing, holding his hand out to shake. Theo grins and shakes his hand.