-- this is a trilogy of oneshots, and although there will be drarry, it mostly focuses on Pansy and Harry's friendship and bond--

Harry James Potter had changed.

After the war, he retreated to the Muggle world to sort himself out. He spent the first half of summer grieving for those he had lost, living in self-hate and blaming himself for all of the deaths in the world.

And then he had run into Pansy Parkinson.

**flashback**

Harry stood in the middle of the street, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by how many people there were around him, walking to wherever they had to go.

All of these people had no idea that he had ruined the lives of so many.

He wanted to scream it, to yell I ruined lives, I'm the reason people are dead. He wanted to be killed, punished, sent to prison.

And then a pale hand wrapped around his arm and dragged him into the nearest café.

"Morning, Potter," Pansy Parkinson greeted. "I'd like to start this conversation with an apology for attempting to sacrifice you to Voldemort, and I'm going to follow that point up with stop being an angsty little bitch."

Harry blinked. "What?"

Pansy sighed. "Potter, I know what you're going through. You're blaming yourself for everything. Now look at me. No one blames you. The people around you would be dead right now if it weren't for you. War comes with death, and you prevented as many as you could. You are a good person. And if your ass doesn't come back to Hogwarts when it starts up again, I'm afraid I'll have to hex you."

Harry blinked. Pansy's words were harsh, a wake-up slap to the face, breaking through the bubble of self-pity Harry had surrounded himself in. 

And he couldn't help it. He broke into laughter.

Pansy looked pleased with herself, sipping the drink the barista had brought her with a slight smile. 

Harry studied her. She hadn't changed much. Her hair was still cut in a short black bob, with ruler-straight bangs that only she could pull off. Her brown eyes were much warmer than they had once been, and she had accessorized her face with a nose and eyebrow piercing. She wore a simple black crop top, and the Muggle clothing surprised Harry, but fit her extremely well.

"Thank you, Parkinson."

She inclined her head. "You know, we never did get a proper introduction."

She stuck out her hand. "Hello. My name is Pansy Parkinson, and I'd like to be your friend."

Harry smiled at the hand offered to him, and took it without a moment's hesitation. "Hello, Pansy. My name is Harry Potter, and I would love to be your friend."

*end flashback*

From the moment Pansy had woken him the fuck up and become his friend, Harry had changed.

For the better or worse, no one could decide.

He took to mostly wearing black, as, in Pansy's words, "Everyone looks hot in black." He had gotten a few tattoos up his neck and over his arms. He had gotten his ears pierced, and shaved the sides of his hair. The lip piercing had been a drunken decision Pansy had proposed after several Firewhiskey shots, but he didn't regret it. He had taken to wearing contacts to really show off the perfect winged eyeliner Pansy enjoyed applying on his eyes. He wore no jewelry except the ring she had gotten him the day before they left for Hogwarts, which only said one word: PRIDE. 

His attitude had changed a bit too, more to match Pansy's. He had realized his hotheaded, angry, emotional and blatantly oblivious attitude didn't really suit him anymore. He had adapted to a sharper tongue and wit, and his sense of humor was a bit darker. After Pansy had started pointing out pretty girls and seeming more interested in them than Harry, they had had a deep (and very emotional) talk about sexuality, which had led to her decision to get him a pride ring several days later. He was calmer, his hotheaded temper finally cooling down.

Harry James Potter had changed. In the words of Pansy, he had joined the bad bitch club.

*********************

Harry stood in the middle of his Muggle flat with Pansy, not ready to Apparate to King's Cross. 

"Are you ready for Operation Who-The-Fuck-Are-You-And-What-Have-You-Done-To-Harry-Potter to commence?" Pansy asked calmly.

"No."

"Fantastic. Let's go, Chosen Gay."

"Stop calling me that."

Pansy just winked, and disappeared with a pop. Harry sighed, and followed.

He managed to get on the train without being noticed by too many people, and immediately started walking towards the compartment his friends usually sat in.

"Bye," Pansy started to say, but Harry grabbed her arm.

"Come with me?" he pleaded. 

She sighed, her eyes softening. "Fine."

Harry took a deep breath, before sliding open the compartment door.

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny looked up in surprise as Harry flopped onto the seat next to Ginny and made room for Pansy to delicately sit next to him.

"Hello, Harry. You've changed your style. It suits you. Hello, Pansy," Hermione said pleasantly.

Pansy smiled sweetly, inclining her head. Harry grinned as well.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, sounding horrified.

"Sitting down," Harry said sarcastically. Pansy snorted.

Ron's mouth was just opening and closing.

"I like your tattoos," Hermione said quietly. Harry flashed her a bright smile of thanks.

"Pansy helped me choose some of them."

"Good choices," Hermione said, turning her smile to Pansy.

"Harry, what the fuck?" Ginny said loudly.

Harry turned his head slowly to face her, knowing his smile was becoming a little more dangerous. "What's the problem, Ginevra?"

"What's my problem? You're not the Harry I knew!"

"Nope. He's dead. Good riddance."

"He was quite angsty," Hermione agreed. "How has he changed?"

"Much more sarcastic, less angsty, more happy, less self-pitying."

She nodded. "I'm glad."

"I'm not!" Ginny yelled. "How am I supposed to date whatever the fuck this is?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't."

Her mouth opened an closed, much like her brother's. "What?"

"Don't. I don't like you like that. Maybe not at all, with how you're behaving right now."

"But-" Ginny protested.

"I'm gay, Ginny."

"You're what?"

"Gay. Homosexual. Rainbows and shit. Gaayyyyy. I like boys. Men. Dick. Flat chests. Flaming homosexual. Closet door is broken."

Ron silently stood up, grabbing Harry by the front of his shirt and shoving him out of their compartment. 

"Don't fucking come back, and take the fucking Death Eater with you," he hissed.

Pansy stood up delicately, ripping Ron's hand away from Harry's shirt. "That shirt was forty-five Galleons, which is more than your entire house is worth, Weasley. Don't taint it with your disgusting fingers."

"He's tainting me with his disgusting-" Ron searched for the word. "Fagness."

"That's not a word," Pansy said flatly.

"Doesn't matter. He's disgusting and I don't want him anywhere near me."

"Simply because he's gay?" Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Pansy nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting point. However, consider this."

And she punched him in the face.

Ron stumbled backwards, falling over Hermione's lap, who screamed. Ginny stood up angrily, but Pansy slammed the compartment door in her face, and turned around to walk away.

Harry started to walk with her, and briefly saw Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini step out of their compartment, looking at them, before Pansy was yanked backward by her hair.

He turned around to see Ginny throwing Pansy to the ground.

And he saw red.

This was the girl who had shown him what it truly meant to be happy. Who had laughed and applied black lipstick on him for the hell of it. Who had chosen meaningful tattoos for him and told him it was okay to be himself, who had accepted him with all of his flaws. Who had been nothing but blunt and truthful with him, who had hugged him when he cried and supported him and bought him a ring that said the word that meant the most to him.

And then there was the girl with the fiery red hair and the red lips and the anger in her eyes, who Harry had once thought he loved, who didn't accept him and was horrified by him, and she was hurting his best friend.

And Harry looked into the eyes of the girl he had once considered his girlfriend, and he punched Ginny Weasley in the mouth.