"No," Harry said, flashing a brilliant smile, "I'm free." He lead her to the park nearby, thinking about what she had said. It was true; they really had done all they could to survive. It was times like these that Harry really hated Voldemort. If it wasn't for him, there wouldn't have been much reason for Harry to dislike Pansy, or the girl she had been... there probably wouldn't even have been this Marriage Law.

"Well," he said, "I find this topic rather depressing now. How about I find out more about you? How did you get started in the fashion business?" He winced at the word 'fashion'; it left a funny taste in his mouth. 

  Pansy gave him her first real smile and stepped onto the gravel path leading into the park. There were huge pots filled to overflowing with bright mums in gold, red, violet, almost brown. The air was crisp and cool and someone had set up a cider stand in the back of the park. She genuinely loved this time of year and she used that to distance herself from the sad track their conversation had taken. One day, we'll discuss what happened to both of us. I wonder what will happen then. Her head shot up in suprise at his question and she laughed at the look on his face.

  "Fashion isn't all that bad, Harry. My intrest in it means that I will always look lovely on your arm." She laughed again, then sobered a little. "Fashion has always been something that I loved. When I was little, I would watch my Mother get dressed in the most beautiful gowns and leave with my Father. I wanted to be that beautiful, so I began imagining what I would wear one day when I became beautiful and could go to parties like they did." She sighed, her eyes going distant for a moment. "It's something that has always been with me." She gave him an encourageing smile. "Now you tell me, Mr. Potter, what you love so much about being the Head Auror.

"That's a beautiful story," Harry said softly. "Being an Auror wasn't something I always wanted to do. Believe it or not, before I had met Professor Snape, I had thought briefly of doing something with Potions. Mixing dangerous substances together to my heart's content sounded rather appealing." He chuckled.

"And then with Voldemort coming along and practically ruining my childhood, I had to learn as many skills to help me survive as I could. Along the way, I also learnt how to track and handle Dark Wizards, and now, it just seems natural for me to do it. If I don't have a bit of danger and risk in my life, I guess I won't be happy." He paused.

"I'm sure once we have children I'll have to stop though. Children shouldn't be subject to such horrors, and putting myself in front of wannabe Death Eaters all the time would surely put our future family in danger."

Harry was startled by Pansy's vehement declaration, and felt awe. She cared so much about children that she hadn't even had yet. In that moment, Harry knew his future sons or daughters would grow up with the best possible childhood they could have. 

"I do enjoy it," he said honestly. "I feel a great sense of...self, I guess, when I'm putting the bad guys away. It's nice to know I'm making the world safer, even if only for a while." 

They continued walking through the park, a comfortable silence descending upon them. They were passing the swingsets when he saw one of the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen. Although male, he could recognise and aprpeciate a pretty flower when he saw one, and this one was stunning. A rose, with petals of black and blue.

Concentrating, and sending a sideways glance at Pansy, he conjured it in his hand. When he had first seen it, it had looked like the ideal gift for Ginny...but he couldn't imagine giving it to her now. It didn't seem right.

However, it did seem right giving it to Pansy. With a small smile, he handed it to her silently. 

Harry's breath held when he saw her face light up as he handed her the flower. He knew if it had been Ginny, she would have asked why he had gotten her a flower and not a Snitch, or something Quidditch related. He knew he had made the right choice.

"You're welcome," he said sincerely. He was so dazzled by her innocent and carefree smile that all thoughts of Ginny went out of his head. "It's not as beautiful as you, though." 

Harry gave her a boyish smirk. "No need to answer. I constantly dazzle girls with my compliments." 

Inside, though it didn't show through his confident facade, his stomach was flipping. He had made her blush, and it felt good. He groaned inwardly. This was how it started with Ginny. Except that he had known Ginny for a while before he had felt something towards her, and he had only really known Pansy...well, today. 

Averting his eyes from Pansy's intense stare, he suddenly caught sight of the swingsets again. He had bypassed them before, for his eyes had been caught by the pretty flowers, but now, he felt an insane urge to just run over them and jump on them. He hadn't been on one since his fifth year, and it was a childish Muggle thing he missed.

Harry smiled brightly at Pansy's delighted ex
pression. She looked very, very pretty in that moment, and he pushed her again to keep the swing moving.

Once he had her swinging for five minutes straight, he stopped it. "Damn, my arms are getting stiff," he groaned. He moved his shoulders backwards and forwards to try and release the tension, and noticed it was getting darker. Had they really been out for that long?

"What time do you need to get back to the boutique, Pansy?" he asked enquiringly.