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Pansy Parkinson knew just exactly who she was supposed to be and how she was supposed to act. She was supposed to be rude and self-centred; to hold herself above everyone else. She was better than the other houses. Her entire family had always been in Slytherin and now she was to. She had a role she was supposed to play. But that role wasn’t who she was.
She envied other girls in her year and in her house; the ones that didn’t come from old families. The ones that didn’t go to Hogwarts with expectations thrust upon them. They were the ones with friends across houses. They were the ones people liked despite being in Slytherin. They were the sort of girls Pansy wanted to be like. Perhaps that was why she was so vicious towards people; a bitter jealousy that always lingered beneath the surface. Like a venomous snake, the jealous reared its ugly head and snapped at almost anyone that got too close.
That was why her friendship with Draco worked so well. Both of them came from old families and both of them came with heavy expectations upon them. Draco held his head up high as if he were more important than everyone else because his father told him to. He acted just as a Malfoy should. The only times Pansy had seen him waver from that publicly were the few rare times he’d extended any sort of friendship or politeness towards Harry Potter and his lot. She was fairly certain Lucius would have Draco’s head if he found out. But he never would. Because Draco’s friends were loyal and everyone else barely cared enough about them.
It had never bothered Pansy that her friendship group was exclusively male - mostly because she was never really interested in boys to begin with. It had always been girls that caught her eye. Still, she didn’t mind her friends too much. Crabbe and Goyle were practically joint at the hip. They were always far too eager to do as Draco told them for her taste. They were followers; almost like their fathers in that regard. Pike...Pike had never been that close with any of them, mostly lingering on the outside of the group and never making too much effort to get close to any of them. Pansy didn’t mind him too much. It was Blaise and Draco she found herself closest to. They were the ones never fooled by any act that she tried to put on. They were probably the only people that had ever actually made her genuinely smile or laugh, and wasn’t that pathetic to think about? Still, she’d keep that tidbit of knowledge to herself for now.
By her sixth year at Hogwarts, her group of friends had more than a slight reputation. They were polite to others in their house and Pansy really did try to do a good job as prefect, but they were somewhat outsiders. People left them alone . Said people also made a few too many misconceptions about them. The funniest Pansy had heard was that apparently she was Draco’s girlfriend. Quite frankly, Draco wished he could date someone like her.
That was how she found herself entirely unbothered in the Slytherin common room - partially because one of the bonuses of sixth year was having far less classes, and partially because nobody actively tried to infiltrate her friendship group anymore. With no one around to care, Pansy had rather dramatically splayed herself over Draco and Blaise, forcing the former to play with her hair. After all, if people were going to assume they were dating then she might as well get something out of it. Even if that was to just demand unprompted attention from her best friend.
None of them really spoke for a while. Unlike with Crabbe and Goyle, they didn’t need to talk. They were content enough in their own company. Pansy did eventually break the silence. “Do you know what’s entirely unfair?” That quickly drew her friends’ attention. “The fact so many girls in our year are just so pretty . Have you seen Hannah Abbott? She’s stunning! I hate it!” An over dramatic sigh left her at that. Honestly, it was one of the greatest injustices she’d ever faced.
Her complaint was met with a flick on the forehead. “Or you just have abysmal taste? A Hufflepuff, Pans? Really?” She glanced up to watch Draco crinkle his nose slightly. “Even a Gryffindor would be better than that!” He was quick to insist.
“Or you both have just as shitty taste as each other?” Blaise sounded somewhere between amused and exasperated - not that that was anything new between the three of them. “And why Gryffindor, Draco? Surely Ravenclaw is the most tolerable? Unless there’s something you want to tell us?” He wrapped an arm around Draco’s shoulders with a far too wide grin. ”After all, what are secrets between friends?”
Draco gifted Blaise the simple, intellectual, and elegant response of, “Fuck off.” His hands stilled in Pansy’s hair as he sat up a little bit straighter. His face contorted into its supposedly ‘regular’ sneer. “I’ll have you know that I have very high standards! Too high for any Gryffindor to even consider reaching.” Unfortunately, Draco’s sneer had long since stopped affecting his friends in any way.
“If you had standards, you wouldn’t let everyone keep assuming you’re dating Pansy.” Pansy had no remorse in hitting Blaise for that.
With a huff, she sat up properly and wedged her way between the two of them. “I swear you’re both just as bad as each other.” She insisted. In the brief moment of peace, she’d forgotten how absolutely insufferable her friends were. For a moment, she’d convinced herself they were tolerable. “Remind me why I’m friends with you both again?”
“Because you’re avoiding having worse friends?” Blaise grinned “You could have the misfortune of being stuck with Potter and his little band of friends. Doing good and saving everyone that fits in with their nice, neat morally superior mindset. And by that, I mean everyone who isn’t a Slytherin.” None of them were a fan of the expectation of villainy put on them due to their house. But if they were going to be stuck with that label? Then they were sure as hell going to live up to it.
“...You, tragically, have a point. Unfortunately, I think I’ll have to make the ultimate sacrifice and keep the two of you as friends!”
They fell into pointless conversation after that; words that would be forgotten later but meant everything in the moment. Because they were just teenagers. A group of kids, not the concept of evil. Even if no one else believed them, they had each other and honestly? All three of them were perfectly content with the friends they had made.