A/N: This could have been or may have been a pairing, if JKR had expounded on it more. Here, we see some Draco/Pansy action with sweet!Pansy. She can be nice when she wants to be, and no one's around to see it.

Submission for:

Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt Competition: A could be canon pairing

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The common room was empty, as it should be at midnight. He had been working on the cabinet for the past seven hours since classes ended and effectively missed dinner. He would pay for that in the morning but there had been no time to worry about that earlier. When your name, your family and your own life hung in the balance, what would one or two missed meals mean?

He walked quickly through the dark room, only the dying light of the embers in the fireplace to guide him to the boys' dormitory stairs. Everyone should be sleeping, and as long as he was careful not to wake Blaise or Theo, everything would be fine. Even if they did wake, he'd just ignore them.

There was a slight noise and Draco's eyes searched in the darkness for the cause. There was no movement, no more sounds. As he turned back around, he heard it was again! He saw the moving shadow, the shape coming closer to him.

He drew his wand, keeping it level with the shadow but not illuminating the area. The curse was on his lips as the person pushed the wand down and stared into his eyes. Those soft brown eyes looked deep into his soul, the sadness piercing him.

"Draco, you are not well," she said. "Something is bothering you. I see it everyday and I notice you are missing meals and sleeping less. You don't pay attention in class and you don't talk to anyone anymore."

He jumped back from her and said, "Leave me alone, Parkinson." He made to turn up the stairs but she reached out his hand.

"I just want to help you, Draco," she pleaded.

"There's nothing you can do. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing anyone can do. It's completely useless. In the end, if I fail or succeed, everyone still loses!" he said, his voice increasing in volume as he spoke. He could feel himself unravelling and he held a hand to his chest, trying to keep himself together.

She pulled him close, encircling him in her arms. He was stiff at first, no one really touched him, especially not now. He looked like a dementor and everyone ran away in fright. But not Pansy, never Pansy. She held him close, moving the two of them towards the couch in front of the dying fire. It was cold without it but he drew warmth from her.

It was all too much for him: her care, her warmth, her comfort and safety. He broke down in her arms, tears streaming down his cheeks and onto her shoulder. He hadn't realized just how much he was holding in as he thought about everything that had happened to him, and it all led up into him crying on Pansy's shoulders, mumbling incoherent words into her night shirt.

She didn't mock him, she didn't pity him. She just held him, for although there was nothing she could do, she did what she could. She pushed all her love into him, trying to calm him down and let him see some good in the world.

Soon his tears stopped and he wondered just how long the two of them had stayed down here. They had been sitting in silence for awhile, her arms still around him and at some point, his had wound around her. Eventually she made to move out of his hold but he held on. Once she left, life would resume and again, there was nothing anyone could do. And he knew there was nothing he could do.

She removed his hands but leaned over and placed a sweet kiss on his lips, pouring her love into him once more, before she pulled away. She rose from the couch and pulled him up with her. "We have to get dressed for our lessons. Meet me back here in thirty minutes?"

He nodded mutely, knowing she was right. The world had to keep turning and he had to continue his mission.

She smiled and then gave him a kiss on the cheek before saying, "There may be nothing anyone can do, but there are some things that I still can. And I'll be here when you need me."

He pulled her into his arms and whispered into her ear, "Thank you, Pansy."