Wow, how long has it been? I feel like it's been forever. I've had some stuff written down on paper for a while but I never got a chance to type it and send it to my editor until now. I'm sooooooooo sorry guys. You all probably forgot about me or have some sort of grudge against me now…or some of you were probably like "she's not even that good a writer so who cares" (that last one would make me cry of course). But I have succeeded in typing up a new chapter--despite all the time I DON'T have. I hope you all will read and review!

Reincarnated Love

Chapter 26-

Part 2- Deadly Funeral

Draco woke up, wondering if the past night was a dream. One look down told him that it wasn't. Hermione was still fast asleep with her head resting against his chest. He smiled, she looked even better when she was sleeping. He looked at the clock on his bedside table, it was only 7 AM. He groaned and let his head drop back on his pillow.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked.

Draco looked at her. "Way too early for me to be awake," he responded. She smiled at him. They lay there for a few more minutes, relishing each other's presence. "So what exactly was your nightmare about?" Draco asked.

Hermione thought for a moment. There was absolutely no way that she would tell him about Jason, just thinking about the guy scared her. There was no telling what Draco would do if he found out. She was mostly afraid that he would try to kill Jason. The only problem with that was that Draco would get locked up and Jason's death would be on her conscience.

"Nothing really, it was just one of those nightmares that seem realistic enough but really aren't," she said. "It just freaked me out."

"I can't even remember the last time I had a dream like that," Draco said.

"What, are your dreams worse?" Hermione asked.

"Sometimes," he said. "It depends on what they're about."

Hermione hugged him close and closed her eyes as she did so. Draco looked at her and smiled. He kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Oh, before I forget," Draco said. "I won't be here on Wednesday…or Tuesday for that matter."

Hermione lifted her head and looked at him. "Why?"

"Pansy's dad died and the funeral is Wednesday. She didn't think she could go alone without some sort of catastrophe going on so she asked me to go with her," he said.

"Aw, is she okay?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not too sure," Draco said. "That's why I'm going. I need to make sure she's okay."

"So you're leaving Tuesday?" She asked.

"Yeah," He replied.

"Was she close to her dad?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, pretty close." Draco stared at the ceiling. "I just hope nothing bad happens at the funeral."

"Would something bad happen?" Hermione asked.

"Knowing Pansy's family, yeah. There's a pretty good chance that someone will die during this funeral," he said, half smiling.

Hermione propped her head up on her arm. "Well, make sure she doesn't get killed." Draco looked at her and smiled.

"Don't worry, that's why I'm going," he said.

"Did you hear that Ron asked her to the Ball and she said yes?" she asked.

"Of course, I heard," He replied.

Hermione smiled. "I'm glad that those two are warming up to each other." she said.

"They'll definitely make an interesting couple," Draco said.

"Interesting seems to be the perfect word for them," Hermione agreed.

--

Pansy

Tuesday rolled around despite Pansy's extreme dread. For the entire weekend, she had been trying to distract herself from the depressing time. On Monday, she threw herself into her school work so that she wouldn't have to think about seeing her father's dead body in a coffin. She also spent a lot of her time with Ron--he had turned out to be a very good distraction. But now Tuesday had come.

Pansy was packed and ready to go, standing by the door to the Great Hall waiting for Draco to come down. She was alone of course, since it was way too early for anyone to be up--except for Gwyn but Pansy had told her that she rather wait for Draco alone.

"What's up with the daze?" Draco asked, a yawn in his voice. She hadn't even heard him approach her.

"Nothing, I was just thinking," Pansy replied. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as you are," he said.

"Then you're not ready at all," she said with a slight smile. Draco smiled back and pulled her close.

"Pansy, you'll be fine," he said, reassuringly. "So come on before you decide not to go at all." Pansy nodded slightly and picked up her bag. The two of them walked outside to find that Dumbledore had gotten Hagrid to make sure they got to their destination, which he did.

Draco and Pansy arrived at Ms. Eleanor Livingston's (formerly Mrs. Eleanor Parkinson) mansion in record time. They stood outside for a minute, just staring at the huge, snow covered home. Draco never liked visiting Pansy's mother's mansion, partly because he was pretty sure that she and his father had some sort of love affair when he was younger and partly because he couldn't stand Ms. Livingston or the way she treated Pansy. In his opinion, she was a nutcase and when she divorced Pansy's dad she just seemed to get crazier.

"I can't believe that I have to stay at this ugly slut's house," Pansy said, regaining the attitude that had been missing for the past few days.

"Try to be pleasant," Draco said although he was secretly glad that she was starting seem like Pansy again.

"I will…just not to her," Pansy said. She sucked in a deep breath and rang the doorbell. The door was immediately opened by the most beat-up looking house elf Draco had ever seen.

"Young miss, your mother has been waiting for you," the elf said.

"Of course she has," Pansy said, walking through the threshold into the house. Draco followed her, noting how different the place looked since his last visit--which was before Pansy's parents' divorce. Before the mansion had an elegant, antique feeling but now it seemed gaudy. The hall was overly decorated with gold hangings and such. The pictures were framed in golden frames and there were gold framed mirrors, and gold candlestick holders. It sort of looked like they were trying to flaunt their wealth, which is never very tasteful.

"Wow, they should definitely fire their decorator," Draco said.

"You mean fire the home-wrecker? Eleanor would never! She must agree to everything he says, he's a god to her," Pansy said.

Draco snickered. "Is she that in love with him?"

"I wouldn't call that love. I don't even think she's capable of love," Pansy said. "Oh wait, no. She's in love with money and sex. I think that's about all the love she's capable of."

"Darling!" Pansy's mother walked in wearing a dark blue evening gown and a shawl that matched. Her short hair hung in tight curls around her face--which was covered in her usual, rather large, amount of make-up. She held her arms out, expecting Pansy to hug her. She was disappointed when her daughter just stood there, staring at her. Eleanor settled for scrutinizing Pansy instead. "I know this is a hard time for you, it is for us all, but you must not resort to food, sweetheart," she said. "Food may be comforting now, but it has it's price."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Wow, mother, that's the most comforting thing you can say to me?" she asked, arching a single eyebrow.

Her mother stared at her for a second and decided to disregard the comment. She turned to Draco and smiled. "Draco, sweetheart, I haven't seen you for ages," she said, surveying him with, dare I say, lustful eyes. "Why do you never come to visit?"

"I haven't had much time to, my apologies," Draco replied, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze.

"You've grown so much, you're just as handsome as your father," she said, smiling flirtatiously at him. "I heard he's out of Azkaban. He should visit me sometime. I'd love for us to catch up."

Pansy stared at her mother with disgust. "Eleanor, I'm going to take Draco to his room okay?" She didn't really care if it was okay with her mother or not; she just needed to get her away from Draco. Pansy grabbed Draco by the arm and led him up the stairs.

"Don't forget to come down for brunch sweetie!" her mother called after them.

Pansy and Draco walked into Pansy's bedroom and threw their things on the floor. "What a friggen' slut!" Pansy exclaimed as Draco sat down on her bed. "Was she seriously flirting with you?" She started pacing up and down the room. "And I love how she attacks me about my weight. She is absolutely unbelievable!"

"I agree," Draco said.

"She needs to shoot herself in the face!" Pansy screamed.

"Who does?" Both Draco and Pansy turned toward the door to see Pansy's brother standing there.

"Oh my god! Max!" Pansy exclaimed, running into his arms.

"Hey, you seem happy to see me," he said.

"I am," Pansy said, letting go of him. "You have no idea."

"Well at least someone isn't annoyed with me," Max said.

"Why would anyone be annoyed with you?" Pansy asked.

Max sighed and sat down next to Draco. "Well mum and Damien are mad because I brought Analiese with me."

"You went back to Germany?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah, I do have a life there," Max said. "And she's a part of it despite what Eleanor says."

"Well, she has no right to say anything since Damien is always involved in everything," Pansy said.

"So Draco, what's new with you?" Max asked, turning his attention to Draco. "I haven't seen you for a while, what have you been up to?"

"He's been getting into trouble with his dad again," Pansy said.

"Really?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I've been disrespecting him ever since he got home from Azkaban," Draco admitted. "Also, I'm dating another muggleborn so I'm in even more trouble," he added.

"I don't care what anyone says, being pureblood is more of a curse than being muggleborm," Max said. "At least muggleborns are happy."

There was a soft knock on the door and a very petite young woman cautiously walked in. She had long blonde hair tied with a ribbon and sapphire eyes. She was wearing an emerald velvet amora top and dark jeans that were slightly faded at the knees.

"Your mother says that brunch is ready," the girl said, her voice heavy with a German accent.

"Analiese, you really shouldn't do favors for Eleanor, she'll just think that she can control you," Max said, smiling at her.

"There is a thing called manners," Analiese replied.

"Yes, and my mother lacks those," he said.

"True, but I don't," she retorted.

"Is this your girlfriend?" Pansy asked, smiling at Analiese.

"Yeah. Analiese, this is my sister, Pansy and her friend Draco," Max said.

"Pansy, I've heard so much about you!" Analiese said happily and hugged Pansy.

"And I've heard a lot about you too!" Pansy said.

"Excuse me!" They all turned to see Pansy and Max's soon to be step-brother standing in the doorway. "I believe that you were all ordered to brunch!"

"Shut up, Damon," Pansy said.

"We'll be down in a minute," Max said.

"How dare you tell me to shut up?!" Damon demanded.

"Well, let's see, you are like three years younger than me, I'm of age and you can't do squat to me," Pansy said. "I don't really consider that daring, it's too easy you little twerp."

"You BITCH!" Damon screeched.

"Damon, just go downstairs and let your dad know we'll be down in a moment," Max said. Damon glared at them for a while, then turned on his heel and stormed out.

"What a little brat," Draco said.

"He is truly a little stinker," Analiese said.

"Well, we might as well go down and eat," Max said, standing up. They all followed him out the door and down the stairs.

"Oh Max did you know Eleanor has taken to flirting with Draco?" Pansy asked with pure disgust in her voice.

"Has she now?" Max asked. "I guess she's intent on getting every Malfoy male in bed with her then."

Draco snorted. "She said I'm as handsome as my dad," he said.

"Yeah, she wants you," Max confirmed. "I'd make sure that I'm not alone with her if I were you…you never know when she'll try to strike."

"Your mother is creepy," Analiese said. "Although she's not as creepy as Damien."

"Don't worry about him, he touches you and he's dead," Max said, his jaw set.

The four of them walked into the dining room to find the table half-full. At the head sat Damien--the notorious 'home wrecker'--with Eleanor and Damon sitting on either side of him. Pansy's Uncle Jeremy was there with his son, Francis, and his daughter, Caroline. Pansy's grandparents were also there along with her aunt, Justine. Pansy sat next to Draco and across from Max and Analiese.

"Ah, you are finally here!" Damien exclaimed.

"Pansy, Max, how many times have I told you both that you never make people wait for you," Eleanor said. Pansy rolled her eyes and ignored her mother.

No one spoke until they were all halfway through the meal. "When is Lydia coming over?" Pansy asked--mostly to piss her mother off.

"I don't know, tomorrow maybe," Eleanor replied. "The actual funeral isn't until tomorrow."

"I think she should come over today," Pansy said. "She probably needs some support. I think she's most likely hurting right now." No one responded so Pansy went on. "I wish I could have gotten out of school sooner so I could comfort her. And just thinking of poor Cal and Hunter makes me want to give her a hug."

Eleanor threw down her fork, it bounced off her plate with a clatter and hit the floor. One of the house elves quickly ran to retrieve the fallen utensil and replaced it with a clean one. Eleanor calmed herself and stared at Pansy. "Pansy, darling, what did I say about food not being your friend?" she said. "You are stuffing yourself again."

Pansy looked at her mother and smiled. "Alright mother, would you like me to go throw it all up in the bathroom or would it be too rude to leave the table," Pansy replied, taking joy in the furious look on Eleanor's face. "If that is the case I am very skilled in projectile vomiting. I can aim it over to the corner."

Draco and Max tried to hold back their snickers as Eleanor turned red with fury. Their uncle Jeremy, however, was not skillful in hiding his laughter--especially now, while he was drunker than a sailor on vacation. He burst into loud, obnoxious laughter and started banging his hand against the table. This scene set Francis and Caroline into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Damien turned white as a ghost and he gripped his fork so tight that Pansy thought it might break in half.

"Pansy, you are excused from the table," Eleanor said.

"Thank you," Pansy said, smiling triumphantly. She pushed back her chair and walked out.

"May I also excuse myself," Draco said, as politely as he could without bursting into laughter. Then, he too walked out and dashed up to the safe confines of Pansy's room. "That was hilarious!" he said to Pansy. "Your mom was pissed!"

"I know, did you see Damien?" Pansy said, letting out her laughter. "That was the best thing that has happened since the divorce."

--

Pansy woke with a start early Wednesday morning. She opened her eyes to see Max hovering over her. He motioned for her to stay quiet.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"I was just out to see Lydia," he said.

Pansy sat up straight. "How is she?" she asked.

"She's not great, but I think she might last the funeral," he replied. "Not without bursting into tears, though," he added.

"Oh Merlin, I wish she were here," Pansy said.

"She's supposed to be coming over later on with all of her and dad's relatives," Max said.

"Is grandmum giving her a hard time?" Pansy asked.

"A little but grandpa is taking care of it," Max informed.

"Oh Max, I wish I could help Lydia right now," Pansy said. "I've never felt so close to her as I do now. It makes me feel bad that I ever gave her a hard time."

"Good, you were a bit of a wench when she and dad first married," Max said with a laugh. "So, I wanted to talk to you about Draco."

"What about him?" Pansy asked.

"How's he making out? I know he must have gone through a tough time during Christmas especially since that was when Lisa died," Max said. "How's he doing?"

"He's been in and out of a depression lately," Pansy said. "During the beginning of the year, he was having hallucinations and he sometimes locked himself in his room for hours at a time. But he's been doing better ever since he started dating Hermione."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Granger?" Pansy nodded. "Wow, I never would have guess. But then again, I never would have thought that he'd fall for Lisa," he said.

"Yeah, well he's been my rock for the past couple of days," Pansy said. "I've been able to lean on him and he's supported me so I owe him."

"Are you dating anyone?" Max asked. Pansy rolled her eyes as she noticed his older brother protective thing kick in.

"No, not officially," Pansy asked. "What about you and Analiese?"

"What about us?" Max asked.

"What are your intentions?" Pansy asked with a smile.

"Truthfully?" Pansy nodded. "I was going to ask her to marry me on Christmas but dad got sick and I decided to postpone it."

"Really?" Pansy asked, getting excited. "When are you going to ask her now?"

"I don't know, maybe her birthday or valentine's day," Max said, looking thoughtful.

"You should do it on whatever day is closer," Pansy said. "You never know if your life will end before you ask her."

"You're right," Max said. "Well, for now, let's go help with whatever funeral stuff that needs to be done."

The two of them got up and offered their assistance to their mother, reluctantly. Draco and Analiese also helped out. Eleanor had them running around, talking to the caterer and welcoming family members that showed up throughout the day.

At ten, Lydia arrived with Cal, Hunter and Holly. When Pansy opened the door and saw them, she threw her arms around Lydia and wouldn't let go for a full two minutes. When she finally let go, they both had tears in their eyes.

"Pansy, honey, I'm so glad to see you!" Lydia said.

"Me too," Pansy replied. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to go over and visit you, it has just been so hectic here."

"It's okay," Lydia said. "How have you been doing?"

"I'm hanging in there, what about you?"

"Same, more or less," Lydia replied.

Pansy looked at her step-mother and realized that there was something different about her. She had gotten… "Oh my god! Are you pregnant?" Pansy asked.

Lydia smiled through her tears. "Yes."

"When did…" Pansy couldn't finish.

"I found out after your father got sick, that day when I passed out," Lydia supplied.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pansy asked.

"I didn't want anyone to worry about me," she replied.

"Yeah, and you almost endangered yourself and the baby by overworking yourself to help Gabriel," Holly said. "Hey, Pansy."

"Hey," Pansy replied absentmindedly. She couldn't believe that Lydia was pregnant. Cal and Hunter were only two and now Lydia was going to have to worry about another small child running around. And this one wouldn't ever know his/her father. Pansy hugged Lydia again. "If you need any help, I'm here."

Lydia smiled. "I know."

"Pansy! Are you slacking off again!" Eleanor's voice could be heard from down the hall. "I better not catch you eating! You know what I told you about food!" she said as she approached them. "Oh, you're here."

"Hello Eleanor," Lydia said, politely.

"Lydia," Eleanor said her name with disgust. She glanced at her and then said, "Pregnant again, huh? Aren't you a fertile one, popping babies out left and right."

"Eleanor, you haven't changed," Lydia said through gritted teeth.

"Right, well, Pansy can show you where you are to stay," Eleanor said. Then she turned on her heel and strutted down the hall.

"Don't mind her," Pansy said. "She's just mad because we all like you better."

"She's got that right," Max said.

"Max!" Lydia said, smiling. She hugged him tight and smiled. "How have you been?" she asked. "Although, I just saw you this morning!" She laughed.

"I'm good," Max said. "And Lydia, this is Analiese."

Lydia looked at Analiese and hugged her just as tight as she had Pansy and Max. "It's so nice to finally meet you!" She let go and backed up so she could get a good look at her. "You are absolutely gorgeous!"

"Thank you," Analiese said, blushing.

"And Draco! I haven't seen you in ages!" Lydia pulled him in a hug as well. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing okay," Draco said. "You?"

"Not so good, but I'm much better now!" Lydia said.

--

The funeral service started at noon, immediately after the viewing. Lydia refused to look at the body, as did Pansy. Draco decided to sit with Pansy and Lydia instead of seeing the body. He didn't think he could handle it either, dead bodies just weren't his cup of tea. Max, on the other hand, practically guarded his father's coffin. Poor Analiese--who looked rather sick, Draco noticed--sat with him dutifully. Eleanor made a show of going to look at her dead ex-husband and burst into fake tears. Damien comforted her of course. Pansy's uncle Jeremy was drunk as usually and tried to hug his dead brother-in-law, while most of the family members paid their respects to Pansy, Max, and Lydia.

When the service started, Lydia was already crying. She wasn't bawling like Eleanor did when she saw Gabriel Parkinson's body but there was a continuous flow of tears in her eyes. Cal, who sat on her lap kept trying to wipe her face but when he didn't succeed, he too started crying. Lydia hugged him close and shushed him but to no avail. Pansy squeezed Draco's hand as an attempt to keep a hold of herself, but once Hunter started to cry along with his brother and mother, she lost it. Soon enough, everyone was crying. People made speeches about Gabriel and more tears were shed. The whole service went on like that, although it was interrupted by Eleanor's showy sobs of distress.

After the service, everyone dined outside. Lanterns were put up and the food was set out. People were constantly giving their condolences to Pansy, which made her cry even more.

"Hey, couz!" Francis said. He slipped an arm around Pansy's shoulder. "Why so glum? Be happy that your pops is in a better place or what ever."

Pansy glared at him. "Are you seriously going to do this?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Hit on me and act like a jerk," Pansy said.

"I'm not acting like a jerk," Francis said.

"Alright, then leave me alone," Pansy demanded, shrugging off his arm.

"Jeez why are you such a bitch today?" Francis asked. Pansy just glared at him and walked away, trying to find Draco.

"Pansy," Lydia said. Pansy turned toward her and tried her best to smile. "Hey sweetie, do you know where Hunter is?"

"I thought I saw him with Holly," Pansy said. "I'm pretty sure she was taking him to the bathroom."

"Oh good," Lydia said, looking relieved.

"Are you okay?" Pansy asked.

"I don't think so," Lydia said. "It all feels so surreal, you know. Everyday, I expect to wake up to his smiling face," she explained. "And the more I realize that that's not going to happen ever again, the more I want to feel his arms around me, comforting me."

"I know what you mean," Pansy said, using all her might to hold back her tears.

"I finally know how Draco feels," Lydia said. "I feel like I understand him a bit more now."

"Yeah," Pansy said. It was getting harder for her to keep from crying.

"For the past few weeks, I've been wondering whether or not I will be able to recover from this and now that I see how Draco is, I have some hope," Lydia said. "Despite the fact that he's probably not doing that great, he still seems to be able to support a friend in need; he's a truly great friend." Lydia covered her mouth with her hand as an attempt to stop the coming sob. "I'm sorry honey, will you excuse me?" With that, Lydia headed for the bathroom.

Pansy felt like following her, that way they could cry together, away from all their superficial relatives. She hated her relatives so much that she felt like screaming at them. She watched them all laugh and chat merrily. How could they be so happy when her dad was gone? How could they live with themselves, knowing that they never really cared? They just saw this as a social event where they could talk about how unfortunate Pansy and Max and Lydia were. This was just another opportunity for Eleanor to pretend that she was a great wife and mother, which she wasn't.

Suddenly, Pansy felt nauseous and sick. Everything spun in her vision and she only saw everyone and everything as distorted figures and shapes. She felt like she was losing control of her body. She was so dizzy that she didn't catch on to what was going on around her.

She didn't notice that her uncle Jeremy was drunker than usual. Nor did she notice the fight that Jeremy started with her father's brother, Daniel. She was too nauseous to notice that the two men had become violent and that they were actually throwing punches at each other. She didn't see her uncle Daniel shove Jeremy, with all his strength, in her direction--unintentionally of course. The next thing she knew everything was spinning and someone had grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way.

Pansy looked up at the blurred image of Draco and then at the bloody image of her uncle Jeremy behind him. He was lying in a puddle of red and there was screaming. Then, everything went black.

Long, I know. That was my way of making up for the half a year wait, although I'm sure it wasn't nearly enough. I'd like to thank my editor Isadora120 because she's stuck by me despite the serious lack of writing that has been going on--on my part, of course. She's pretty awesome!! Also, to all of you who have waited this long for me to update(if any of you have...)I cannot express how much I love you! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE REVIEW!