alt_pansy | (no subject)

The article in the Londonarium was a piece of sensationalist trash. The death of my father was awful enough without the details being exploited for a cheap bit of sentiment and to make a few galleons. There were details that I didn’t even know, because the people that cared about me thought they would be too horrible for me to hear. Well, I know about them now, and so does everyone else too. It’s not right that a daughter should read about her father’s last moments for the very first time in a magazine. It’s not right that someone should exploit his last moments. He doesn’t deserve that. I hope that Ganymede Bobolis realises just how very angry I am. He ought to be ashamed.

When I got the key to my family vault, one of the things in it was my father’s ring. I put it on a gold chain and I’ve been wearing it ever since, because I thought it would be nice to have a remembrance of him close by, and to honour him. He was a hero who sacrificed his life so that I would have a better future. I am proud to be his daughter, and I hope that he would be proud of me too.

Longbottom's mother fought against my father. She wasn't the one that killed him, but she was there, and is a blood traitor that deserves whatever she has coming to her. But I want to make this very clear -- I don’t blame Longbottom for the actions of his parents. I’m not a hero because of my father. Longbottom's not a blood traitor because of his parents. We can both look at what our parents have done and learn from it about the sorts of people we want to be. I believe that he deserves a chance, and that my father fought for the right of all witches and wizards to have a better life, including him. And that’s honestly all I’m going to say on the matter.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

alt_pansy

I just had to say something, Lucius.

I was just so angry.

From:

alt_lucius

Invariably that is when it is better to do nothing.

I've been in Court, Little Bit, and only just seen this -

Give me a moment and I shall -

From:

alt_lucius

I have issued a statement to remove pressure from you, Little Bit.

For Merlin's sake, keep to your declaration and say nothing more.

From:

alt_pansy

Thank you, Lucius.

I'm sorry. I ought to have run it by you first.

From:

alt_lucius

Yes, in future. And if not myself, Mr Baddock.

No harm done. But -

Blast. Excuse me.

From:

alt_pansy

there. that's done.

From:

alt_ron

Good on you.

He'd no right, publishing that rubbish.

From:

alt_alice

Does anyone read the Londonarium?

Oh dear.

From:

alt_frank

bastards didn't even wait for a week after the term started.

which fight is the story about, do you remember?

From:

alt_alice

Leicester. I think.

Leicester was bloody awful.

From:

alt_frank

from what I'm reading so far it could be a good deal worse

she could do any number of things to make life hard for our boy, but she hasn't, least not that we can see.

and they could have pinned it on you outright like when they said you killed emmy, but doesn't look like they fingered you for this one.

From:

alt_alice

Did you see what he wrote?

It's breaking my heart that he has to say those awful things, and I know he doesn't believe it, not for a minute, and it must hurt him to write it just as badly as it hurts me to read it, but oh my goodness, Frank.

From:

alt_frank

where are you?

From:

alt_alice

The greenhouses.

From:

alt_frank

be there soon love.

From:

alt_molly

Oh, Alice and Frank, I'm so sorry.

From:

alt_frank

like I said earlier, molly, could be a good deal worse.

From:

alt_bill

Alice and Frank, I'm so sorry. I would have liked to have been able to give you a warning, but I was tied up in meetings all day yesterday and didn't know about the article until today. I've gotten a copy and am skimming it now. Hang on.

From:

alt_alice

Don't worry about it, Bill. I'm sure now that we're newsworthy again, we've got to expect this sort of thing cropping up.

Just let us know what you find out.

From:

alt_bill

The organising principal is the whole issue is about the big weddings of the year just ended. In the middle of a puff piece about Rosa and Prospero's wedding, new beginnings for the widow with the tragic past, etcetera, there's a side article that goes into the heroic death of her first husband.

...

Oh, what rot.

A group of brave warlocks, including Mr Lucius Malfoy, Mr Claudius Yaxley, Mr Thorfinn Rowle, Ms Alecto Carrow and Mr Anthony Parkinson, were engaged in suppressing widespread resistance fighting in Leicester, Northamptonshire, and East Midlands. The resistance unit was led by Mad-Eye, along with several of his former students, all of whom had escaped when the corrupt Ministry fell. The known fugitives Alice Longbottom and Kingsley Shacklebolt were among them. Apparently you lot separated a few of the warlocks and lured them to an area replete with ruins. The warlocks found themselves beset by a number of spells which Moody had laid in advance of the attack. Moody and Shacklebolt triggered numerous explosions. One of these caused a castle wall, to topple, trapping its victim underneath before he had time to Apparate away. Parkinson's spine was crushed by the blow. He bravely continued to attempt spells in self-defence but was rendered helpless when Moody snapped his wand and left him to die, still pinned under the rock.

From:

alt_bill

Next: (I'm summarising here):

'Within minutes, Our Lord's reinforcements arrived and turned the tide of battle. Shacklebolt, Moody, Longbottom and their minions retreated into the forest nearby and escaped, despite pursuit.'

And then...

Ms Carrow, Mr Malfoy and several others remained with the main force to finish putting down the muggle hordes and bring Leicester firmly under the Lord Protector's control. It is reported that due to the severity of the blast, Mr Malfoy had initially thought Mr Parkinson killed outright. Mr Malfoy declined to be interviewed, but according to accounts of the incident, he was seen duelling Moody himself, and is believed to have injured his unworthy opponent, as well as single-handedly subduing over two-score muggles in his vengeance....

From:

alt_arthur

Now there's heroism for you.

From:

alt_bill

Indeed. It then goes on:

'However, when searching the field over an hour later, after the end of battle, Mr Malfoy discovered to his great horror that Parkinson was still struggling for breath and fading in and out of consciousness. Healers were immediately dispatched to assist him; they quickly determined that due to the wizard's grievous injuries, he could not be moved. They endeavoured instead to help make his final minutes comfortable and free of pain. Mr Parkinson told his Healers he did not wish his wife to be summoned, not wanting her to see him in such a state. He died nearly three hours after the initial explosion. Witnesses say that Mr Malfoy did not leave his side. Mrs Campbell told the Londinarium that Mr Malfoy came himself to inform her and present her and her young daughter, Pansy, with the recovered pieces of his wand. Mr Malfoy, of course, was and remains Miss Parkinson's god-father, as well, and has exhibited the utmost responsibility toward his duties in the place of his fallen comrade.'

So that's the gist of it. You're a cowardly lot who fight dirty, apparently. Unlike your noble opponents.

I'll send an owl to Ron, if you like, try to find out from him how Neville and Evelyn are doing.

From:

alt_frank

thanks man

much appreciated.

From:

alt_bill

Well, it's the least that I can do.

I'm really sorry, Frank. I hate like poison getting blind-sided by this. I need to cultivate some new sources, obviously.

From:

alt_alice

I was in another area altogether. I remember hearing the explosion, of course, and Moody saying after that a Death Eater had been killed. It was all so...

It was all so sudden, one minute fighting alongside someone, the next instant seeing them

I haven't thought about Leicester in a long time.

From:

alt_neville

Thanks, Parkinson. I--

Thanks.

From:

alt_pansy

if anyone hexes you over this, you be sure to let me know.

From:

alt_amycus

Quite the naff duellist, your father was. Such a thing to take pride in!

From:

alt_gredforge

Eat muck.

From:

alt_pansy

I think he's being sarcastic.

I don't really care one way or the other.

Was that enough, you think?

From:

alt_gredforge

Well, we think you did a bang up job. But then we're Gryffindors, and we're not especially known for subtlety. What does Perks think?

From:

alt_pansy

She helped me write it. We must have gone though ten drafts. The first one was a lot more screamy.

It was her idea to call it sensationalist trash.

From:

alt_gredforge

Well done, Perks. We'll call upon you any time we need to make a statement to the press.

From:

alt_sally_anne

All Gryffindors should employ press secretaries. That way you'd have someone to be tactful for you. Actually your whole House could use a Public Relations department.

It probably would have been more tactful to let Mr Malfoy see it first but Pansy didn't want to wait. Things are difficult enough for Neville right now as it is, and you had a good point about how Pansy was the one in the best position to say something.

From:

alt_terry

I read it, too. The Headmistress sent me back to the staff room to fetch her tartan shawl, and the magazine was on one of the tables, so I nicked it and read it this morning.

And I've been thinking, and remembering something I overheard once...it might not even be true anyway. I remember Master's sister talking to Master about that night, once when they were talking in his quarters a couple of years ago. I just put what they said that night together with what I read in the article. She was talking about how she took out a wall, trying to get at that bloke, Mad-Eye Moody. And then later on she made some comment about how 'Tony' was always so slow. She must have meant your dad, right, Parkinson?

But if that's so, then she's the one who made the wall collapse on your dad. And what she meant was that he was too slow to get out of the way in time.

From:

alt_pansy

...what?

I don't

that's just

this is all a bit much right now.

From:

alt_ron

Are you sure about that?

I mean, you said yourself it was a long time ago you heard whatever you heard. And-

It's just, I mean, right now-

Really?

Miss Professor Carrow said that?

From:

alt_pansy

If you overheard correctly, that certainly changes what I think about Alecto Carrow.

But it doesn't change what I wrote about my father. At all.

From:

alt_lucius

Have a care, Carrow.

From:

alt_amycus

Oh, you know very well how much care I can take when I bother to do my very best.

From:

alt_bill

Oh, go on and keep twitting him, Carrow. With a little luck, you'll piss off Malfoy enough that he'll finally take care of ridding the school of you once and for all.

From:

alt_draco

Pansy, I'm sorry about that article, I really am. They oughtn't have written it. Your Father being a hero is something to be proud of though...at least there's that?

Look, I know you make a fair point about Longbottom, and I might agree except that I know what I saw at the beginning of the year when he was taking the mickey on the Razzer, and he's got another side to him, he really does. You should be careful about trusting him.

From:

alt_pansy

Draco,

I really, really appreciate what you're trying to do. And it's not that I don't think you shouldn't feel the way that you do... but I really am not up for this sort of talk today.

I'm just worn out. I need

Well, I really just need you to be my friend right now.