Welcome to Cloud Nine

Pansy and Ron’s weekend was fabulous. Ron’s family was big and boisterous and the dinner was more a party then a simple family get together. She thought she might have trouble keeping his brothers names straight but seeing as how she went to school with all but two, she managed alright. It was the wives and girlfriends that she couldn’t keep straight.



She knew Ron’s oldest brother Bill was married to the Beauxbatons girl from the fourth year tournament, but Charlie, the second brother was dating some woman from Romania whose name nobody could pronounce. She asked everyone to just call her Anna, which wasn’t a problem.



Percy, who she knew from Hogwarts was still dating the girl he had dated then. When Pansy couldn’t quite remember her name, Priscilla, Prudence, or something like that, it seemed her feelings were hurt, and Percy spent the whole evening consoling her.



Fred and George turned up with a set of twins, who also took delight in scrambling their names. Gwinivive and Genivere, were actually Guinevere and Genevieve. They matched the twins perfectly. All four delighted in laughter and pranks. They kept the mood light and it was impossible to be in a bad mood with all four of them around.



Going back to Ron’s afterward was a delight and Pansy thought about how nice it would be to go home with him more often. Ron was very vocal about her spending the night more often, and she liked the thought of him spending the night at her place as well, which he agreed to do in the coming week.



But their prefect weekend was spoiled when Ron took her back to her house. There, secured on her door was a letter. It hadn’t been dropped there by an owl. It had been fastened to the door by someone with a wand and Ron had a pretty good feeling who may have put it there.



Pansy took it off and they went inside. Ron didn’t ask her what it said, he didn’t think it was his business. He asked her to let him know and he trusted that she would. He was right.



“It’s from Brain.” She said, handing it to him. “He wants to talk.”



Ron scanned the note.



‘Pans, meet me at Three Broomsticks, room 305. We need to talk. I will expect you there today. Don’t keep me waiting. Brian’



“Pansy, this is a demand.” Ron said.



“He can be that way, when he wants something.” She said.



“I’d rather you didn’t go.” Ron said, knowing he couldn’t forbid it, but he had to voice his opinion.



“I’m not.” She said firmly. “Because I don’t want to talk to him.”



Ron sighed in relief. “Good. Listen Pansy, I asked Harry to check him out.”



“I thought you might.” She said with a small smile.



‘You aren’t upset?” He joined her on the small couch in her home.



“No. I can’t ask you not to do anything that will make you feel more secure. You obviously needed to know more about him after meeting him. I could tell when you met him that he was trying to assert some form of dominance over the situation. If you need to know about him, who am I to tell you otherwise.” He smiled and leaned in kissing her cheek.



“Harry should have something for me soon. I’m hoping he contacts me today in fact. He told me at the dinner that he sent out a lot of requests.” Ron told her.



“Well, I want to know what he finds out. Brian was always very secretive about his past and his family.” She said getting up and taking her bag to her room.



“Did you ever meet his family?” Ron asked following her and taking a seat on her bed as she unpacked.



“No. He said they still live in Scotland and liked to keep to themselves. I assumed he meant his parents. Why would a whole family wish to be left alone.” She reasoned.



“Well, everything about this guy is strange.” Ron said. He checked his watch and stood up. “I have to run some errands then head back home. Dinner tonight?”



“Sure.” She kissed him before he left through her floo.







Harry’s owl was waiting when Ron returned from the market. He left right away and hurried through the ministry offices to Harry’s.



“Well, what did you find out?” He asked, sitting down.



“This guy is something else.” Harry said facing him. “His parents are both dead and he was raised by an uncle, who died when he was 20. His uncle however did several stints in correctional institutions for fraud and harassment. Apparently he would create money making schemes and get people to invest, most often the elderly. Since there was no investment, these people handed over money.”



“Did he teach his nephew these tricks.” Ron asked.



“Nobody knows. When the uncle died, Brian inherited a fortune from him, but since there were no records, there was no way to prove that the money didn’t belong to him. He sold the house and property and came to England. He became a financial consultant and made a name for himself. So far he hasn’t done anything underhanded and he’s valued in his field.”



“Alright, so nothing there if he has integrity in his field.” Ron said rubbing his eyes.



“It seems that he learned from his uncle being locked away several times.” Harry agreed.



“No other family?” Ron asked.



“No. His personal life however is far from pristine.” Harry said.



“What do you mean?” Ron asked, the hair on the back of his neck began standing up.



“When he was in secondary school, he went to Italy to study. He was punished several tines in his first few years for harassment and degrading comments to several female students.” Harry pulled out a file and opened it.



“There’s more isn’t there?’ Ron asked.



“By the time he was sixteen he had moved to touching, and several times his uncle was called in to deal with matters of groping a breast or slapping a bum.” Harry told him.



“Your joking?” Ron was shocked. At sixteen to have the bravado for such a thing was a red flag if he ever saw one.



“No. Later on another girl filed a charge that he tricked her into taking a potion and raping her. He claimed the encounter was consensual, but by the time she was able to report it the potion she said he slipped her had gone through her system.”



“What happened?” Ron asked.



“Nothing at first. Since there was no way to prove one way or the other, they couldn’t punish anyone for something that might have happened. Since they were both of age and the incident took place off of school grounds and during a holiday hiatus, they couldn’t be punished for student conduct either.”



“Covered his ass then, did he?” Ron was developing a severe hatred of this man.



“Yes, however the girls who he harassed and groped all joined together and went to the Headmaster saying that they believed her. Parents also wrote in saying that the school had to do something about him. Nobody believed a word he said, since his record was less then ideal and the girl was very popular and honest. Her word was taken by the whole school and there were threats made to him by other young men. The pressure was too much for the staff and school board and he was sent home, where he finished school by correspondence.”



“That’s unbelievable.” Ron said.



‘That’s just the beginning. He’s been investigated three times.” Harry told him.



“What?!” Ron sat straight up.



“Yep, I got that same information from everyone I spoke to. Three times before me they answered questions about him. Apparently his former girlfriends all filed some charge or another against him and as a result his past was looked into. He tied one of them up, but refused to release her when she called the safe word. He also refused to adhere to the rules they agreed to. She claimed he did anything he wanted to do to her and she begged him to stop.”



“The bastard.” Ron reclined back in his chair.



“The other two girlfriends claimed similar things. One claimed outright rape, saying he forced her to have sex after a fight. Apparently being refused makes him angry. He likes control and power.” Harry told him.



“What about beatings, torture…..anything violent in a non sexual way?” Ron needed to know what was in this man’s mind.



“The girl who was tied up said she was whipped but didn’t start bleeding, although her skin was red raw in several places. The rape victim was the worst off. While there was no punching or blatant beating, he did bruise her up from pinning her down and holding her in place.” Harry explained.



“Why is this man not in Azkaban?” Ron asked.



“The encounters he claims were consensual and seeing as how the ladies were also part of bondage clubs and the like, some of them were settled with a fines and penalties.” He said. “It appears that he uses the lifestyle to inflict pain, but has no respect for the games or the rules.”



“So because these women enjoyed certain things they were denied justice?” Ron said exasperated.



Harry nodded. “He has a target in these women. Pansy was the only one who wasn’t part of that lifestyle. He began dated Pansy a full year after the last assault charge. He may have been trying to distance himself from it, but was unsuccessful. Has she had issues with him?” Harry asked.



“She would have, but she’s fast with a wand. She broke up with him and cut off all contact.” Ron told him.



“Well, good thing she did. He’s probably using Cloud Nine to find a woman to date.” Harry surmised, closing the file and handing it to Ron. “You are going to let her know about this right?”



“Yes, I’ll let her know.” Ron took the file and stood up. “Thanks Harry, I appreciate it.” He left shortly afterward and went home.







Ron prepared dinner for Pansy and she arrived through his floo that evening. They ate while Ron filled her in on what Harry had found out.



“I never imagined that, but I can believe he would do it. He is very controlling. He ordered when we went out, he decided where we went, and he set the time and dates.” She said.



“Well, this just confirms the bad feelings I got from him. Has he sent you any owls?” Ron cleared the plates away and they took their after dinner tea to the front room.



“No. I imagine he’s waiting for me to show up tonight at his hotel room, but I don’t have anything to say to him.” She let her body lean against hers, placing her hand on his knee. It had become the customary sitting style for the two of them.



“If he gives you any trouble, I will handle him. I want you to know that. I will protect you.” He told her.



“I have no doubt that you will. Although I doubt that it will come to that. He likes girls that cower and do what he says. I’m not like that. I threw him from my house that first time, and sent all she shit crammed in a bag with an owl. I didn’t listen to him afterwards and I cut him from my life. I didn’t allow him to talk me into anything. That’s not the kind of girl he likes. He got upset several times when I changed my order at restaurants or changed a time that we were supposed to meet.” She laughed as she remembered his frustration.



“Pansy, if you would rather stay with me for now, I’d love to have you.” He offered.



She shifted in her seat and looked at him. “Ron, I am not about to run from the man. He can kiss my ass. I would love to stay with you again, but I’m not going to do it just to keep away from someone else. I want it to be for the right reasons.”



“I admire you, do you know that?” He asked smiling at her.



“Really? And I thought you just wanted to fuck me.” She teased giving him a wink.



He took their cups and set them aside, then leaned over her, pushing her back into the couch. “Well, that it a good benefit to dating a sexy woman.”



“Is it?” Her giggles were muffled by his lips.









Pansy spent the next day cleaning her house. She had spent three full days with Ron and dust had built up. If it was thing she was over analytical about it was her home. It was immaculate and always clean as a whistle.



She had just finished her dishes and was wiping down the counter when a knock sounded at the door. Thinking it was her neighbor who mentioned she would be stopping by, she opened it without asking and Brian pushed his way in.



“Brian, just leave. I don’t want to talk to you.” She said with force, still holding the door open.



“Did he tell you not to talk to me?” Brian demanded. His tone was something Pansy hadn’t seen, but from the report Ron had gotten, she knew that if she showed weakness if would fuel him. He liked to dominate weak women and while she wasn’t the most courageous of women, she was far from weak.



“I made the decision not to speak you when you tried to anally rape me. Now leave.” She kept her gaze fixed on him, showing him she would match him move for move.



“You know Pans, you would have liked it had you just relaxed and enjoyed yourself.” He took a step toward her.



Pansy pulled her wand from her pocket and held it in her hand with a firm grip. She didn’t aim it, just let her hand fall to her side, but she made sure he saw she had it. “Leave Brian, I’ve had enough.”



He had stopped but still hadn’t moved. “You haven’t had enough. You haven’t had a taste of what I can do.”



“I don’t want to taste anything from you. Ron gives me what I need.” She said, keeping her wand at the ready.



“Do you honestly think he can give you want you need?” Brian asked sarcastically.



“And you think you can? You don’t know anything about me Brian. You want a certain type of woman and that woman isn’t me.” Pansy kept her calm under his gaze.



“You don’t even know what you need. But I do and I can give it to you.” He came closer. This time she lifted the wand, aiming right at his head. “Put the wand down.” His voice was firm but she was unnerved.



“Leave Brian. What we had wasn’t serious and would have dissolved regardless. I am not one to be ordered about and I wont ever be.” She kept her wand arm steady, not a shiver or shake.



“Drop the wand.” His brow furled and his voice hardened. His face became a mask of impatience and Pansy knew that it would turn to anger if he was provoked but she wasn’t backing down. Keeping the power in her corner was the only way to deal with this man.



“No. Leave my home Brian. This is the last time I will ask nicely.” She took a step aside and opened the door wider, keeping her eyes and wand focused on him.



“This is far from over.” He told her, then walked out the door. The minute he was gone Pansy secured her wards and ran through the floo, charging into Ron’s front room. He was just coming in the door with Harry behind him. The smile on his face vanished when he saw her.



“What happened?” He asked leaving Harry to close the door as he rushed over, taking her shoulders in his strong hands. “Are you hurt?”



“No, he showed up but I wasn’t hurt.” She assured him.



Ron calmed down somewhat, although still unnerved. He led Pansy to sit beside him as Harry took the armchair and they both listened to Pansy recount what happened.



Ron and Harry were both on edge now. “Pansy I can have the Auror department station men outside your house, or ward it with Ministry spells.” Harry offered.



“I would feel much better with you staying with me.” Ron countered.



“Both of you stop.” Pansy looked from one to the other. “Maybe someone could talk to him and set him straight. He obviously has no respect when it comes to women, so maybe a man speaking him to him will have more of an effect.”



“I could go over there and give him a rundown on Ministry policy.” Harry said, even though it was obvious that he knew it was pointless. Brian had already shown in the past that he had no authority, and he hadn’t don’t anything to Pansy that would warrant Ministry involvement. He had shown up at her house, but hadn’t threatened her at all. He wand being out was a precaution due to their past but she wasn’t in danger from the Ministry’s point of view.



“No, I’ll talk to him.” Ron said. “He needs to hear it from the man Pansy’s involved with, and someone who also knows about the club. I know what games he plays and where he goes. I’m the one who needs to talk to him.”



‘Ron, you will just talk right, nothing more? No fights?” Pansy asked him.



“I am just going to talk to him.” Pansy continued to glare at him, then he realized Harry was also fixing him with a glare. “I wont fight unless he attacks me. I mean it.” Harry and Pansy both seemed to relax but both knew that Ron would take a finger in his face to be an attack.