Pansy vs. Harry

The moment the black mist turned into blades and lunged at Harry, she sensed something was wrong.

"This isn't the real world," Harry said.

She stood where she was and let the pitch-black spike pierce her chest.

The expected pain never came. The blade vanished like an illusion.

That was only natural. When you realized you were dreaming rather than in the real world, your brain would tell you that these injuries couldn't really hurt you.

"Impossible!" Pansy's face twisted. "How did you figure it out?!"

Harry sighed, a little speechless. "Was it that hard to guess? Since when did you get strong enough to cast spells without a wand? If you really had that kind of ability, you shouldn't be at Hogwarts. You should be a boss in Dungeons & Dragons."

Pansy's expression grew even uglier.

Harry ignored her and frowned in thought instead.

If this wasn't reality, when had she fallen into the illusion? When she'd gone to sleep in the dormitory? Or even earlier?

"How dare you... How dare you ignore me?!"

Pansy was enraged. The black mist surged again, and this time, the moment the blade pierced Harry's body, a chilling, agonizing pain spread through her limbs and bones.

"Agh-!"

Harry fell to her knees, cold sweat soaking her back.

Pansy was in just as bad a state. She leaned against the wall, her face deathly pale and her breathing rapid. Clearly, this power placed an enormous burden on her as well.

"Stop!" Harry shouted, forcing herself to endure the pain. "If this goes on, you'll die too!"

"Hahaha!" Pansy laughed maniacally. "If I take you down with me, it'll be worth it!"

Harry couldn't understand Pansy. She didn't even know how she had offended her. In the memories of both her lives, she and Pansy had barely spoken to each other. "What exactly did I do to make you hate me this much?"

"You don't understand? You actually don't understand?!"

Pansy's voice was so shrill it nearly cracked. Her face was terrifying in its fury, unlike anything Harry had ever seen.

"It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, why would Draco never give me a second glance?! Why would he think Muggles had any good points?!"

Harry was shocked. "That's what this is about?"

"That's what this is about?!" Pansy cried hysterically. "Do you know how much I like him?!"

Harry: ...

"If you like him, go after him! What does that have to do with me?!" Harry roared, unable to take it anymore.

"Once you're dead, he'll look at me!" Pansy screamed hysterically, her answer having nothing to do with what Harry had said. The black mist churned violently with her emotions.

Harry could hardly believe her ears.

All for Draco Malfoy? For such a childish reason, Pansy was willing to stake her life? Was this really something a fourteen-year-old witch could come up with?!

She wasted no more words and pulled out her wand.

Seeing this, Pansy smiled smugly. "It's no use. I control this dream. You can't hurt me, unless..." Unless Harry's mental power was stronger than hers.

"Stupefy!" Before Pansy could finish, Harry cast the spell straight at her.

Pansy's words cut off abruptly. Her eyes widened, and she fell stiffly to the ground.

Harry's eyes flew open, and she sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath.

Outside the window, the moonlight over Hogwarts remained quiet and serene. Her roommates' breathing was steady and peaceful.

Expressionless, she reached out, grabbed the tail of the snake-shaped bracelet on her wrist, lifted it up and shook it twice.

"Harry Potter! What's wrong with you in the middle of the night?!" Voldemort's furious roar exploded in her mind.

Only then did Harry confirm that she had truly returned to reality.

Thinking of Pansy's reason for hating her, she suddenly found it utterly ridiculous and almost wanted to laugh.

All for a man? And Draco Malfoy, at that?

What was so great about Malfoy? When he was a boy, why hadn't any girls fought over him out of jealousy?! Wasn't he much better-looking than that weasel?!

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin girls' dormitory.

Pansy Parkinson, leaning against one end of a bench in the dormitory, abruptly opened her eyes and spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor in front of her.

The dormitory was empty.

Ever since their last argument, all her roommates had moved out. Now she was the only one left.

She had been pleased with herself, thinking that without her roommates around, she could kill her love rival more easily and with less trouble.

She hadn't expected it to backfire on her instead. Now she was so weak, and there was no one to take care of her.

"Damn Harry Potter..." She gritted her teeth and viciously wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, a savage malice twisting her features. "Just you wait. Sooner or later, I'll make you pay..."

She braced herself against the chair and tried to stand, but her legs suddenly gave way, and she fell to the floor with a thud.

The cup she knocked over struck her head. Cold tea dripped down her hair, matting her carefully tended black locks into a mess.

And as luck would have it, she had fallen right where she had spat the blood.

Shame immediately swept over her.

Pansy naturally didn't blame herself. She directed her hatred at someone else.

"Harry Potter-!"

She pounded the floor hysterically, her fingernails scraping against it with a grating sound. "It's all you... It's all your fault!"

Yes, it was all Potter's fault. If it weren't for Potter, how could Malfoy not even spare her a glance? If it weren't for Potter, how could her roommates have argued with her and moved out? If it weren't for Potter, how could she be in such a sorry state now, like a drowned dog!

Black mist slowly gathered behind her, gradually forming a blurry human figure.

"How disappointing." The shadow's voice carried a grating sneer. "I've never seen anyone as bad and useless as you. To tell the truth, I once helped two other people, but they weren't as bad as you."

"The only things you have more of than they did are your boundless greed and desire, yet you lack the ability to support them."

Pansy's body went rigid.

"How pathetic and ridiculous," the shadow continued. The mist swirled, looking to Pansy as though it were mocking her. "Stupid and wicked, and utterly useless."

"Wait!"

Pansy turned around in panic. Paying no heed to her disheveled state, she crawled on her knees to grab the dissipating black mist. "Give me another chance! Please! I can definitely-"

The shadow fell silent for a moment, then finally dispersed completely into the air.

Pansy slumped to the floor and let out a long breath. At least it hadn't immediately taken back the power it had already given her.

Then a trace of hatred appeared on her face again.

That old thing had been dead for so many years, yet it dared to insult her like that. Once Harry Potter was dead, the old thing would be the second one she made pay!