Mirror

Mirror

She looks at herself in the mirror. Everything is ready. The dress is beautiful, the right style and white. The diamond in her ring flashes and is reflected in the mirror. Her hair is pulled up in a fascinating coiffure.

The wedding was announced several weeks ago in the newspaper. Hundreds of people are waiting in the church. Several of them are jealous of her because it is she who will marry Draco Malfoy and not them. This would be any girl's dream marriage.

Pansy hates it.

She looks more pale than normal. Her eyes are bloodshot with dark circles under them. She cried all last night. Her hair looks weird on her head. Wrong. It's not her. Not her at all.

Pansy is jealous of the women sitting in the church, them who have the freedom to jealous of her without anything happening.

"Are you ready?" asks a voice behind her, startling her. Millicent.

"Just a minute," she mumbles. She knows she should go, but she can't stop looking in the mirror. She hasn't allowed herself to wonder if this is the right thing to do, marrying him, but staring at herself, seeing herself, knowing herself, makes her question it.

"You shouldn't do this, Pansy," Millicent says, startling her again.

"What?" she asks, surprised, and turns to look at Millicent. Millicent had never given her opinion about the wedding before, and no one had said she shouldn't do it. Not even him, the one she doesn't want to think of.

"You look awful, Pansy," Millicent says, relaxed. "You shouldn't marry Draco if you don't want to. Here, take this." She hands Pansy a leather jacket, a T-shirt, and some trousers. Muggle clothes.

Pansy stares at her.

"Here," Millicent repeats. "Take it." Pansy takes the clothes slowly. They smell weird, no, not weird. It's just a smell she hadn't expected to smell again, not after this day. It's his smell, not Draco's. His.

"What are you doing?" Pansy asks, even though she wanted to ask, How do you know?.

Millie shrugs. "He told me," she says, answering the unasked question. "Not to mention you often smelled of him when you came back from your... job. Hon, it was actually quite oblivious."

"But..."

"Oh, relax. Only for me, of course, but I do actually know you," Millicent continues. "Now, you'd better change so we can get away before Draco's mom gets in here. I'd prefer not to face her anger."

"What...Why?"

"Oh, Pansy, darling, isn't it obvious? You always make the wrong choices. Who wants Draco Malfoy when you can have the hero of the wizard world? Not you, I can see. Now, come on, hon."

Pansy bites her lip and shakes her head. She can't do this...Can she?
No, of course not. Of course...Of course not...
"He doesn't love me," she whispers.

Millicent looks at her and smiles. "Oh, really? He told you that?"

"Well, no, but...I could see it in his eyes!" Pansy stares down at the floor, feeling ashamed of herself. She once swore she wouldn't cry over Harry bloody Potter again, but...

"Oh, honey, you got it all wrong. He was shocked. Try to think about it. You had just told him you were a Death Eater who spied on him and now wanted to get out. He must have thought you had used him."

"Well, yes, but...that doesn't change anything! He still..."

Millicent slaps her. Hard. And Pansy knows she is right.
"He doesn't hate you. Now, change your dress! And no 'buts'!"

Pansy sighs and looks up at Millicent. "You're only doing this because then Draco will be embarrassed, aren't you?"

"Yep. Now change."

Again Pansy sighs and looks down at the muggle clothes. She can't resist smiling. The smell brings good memories back, memories of him and her.
"They're his clothes, aren't they?" she asks quietly.

Millicent nods. "Yeah. Now, will you move on?"

Pansy smiles and hugs Millicent.
"Thanks, Millie. Thank you so much!"
She can't stop the tears from falling down her cheek.

Millicent, uneasy with big shows of emotion, claps her head.
"Err...You're welcome. Now, will you please change your clothes?"

Pansy nods and smiles, ready to live her real life and not the mirror's life.