Padma pushed through the crowds of Chennai, looking over her shoulder every five seconds to make sure he was still following her. The distant firecrackers burst in the night sky, forcing the earth to be as bright as day, leaving spots in her eyes. The crowd cheered and laughed, pointing to the bright display of colours amongst the stars, but Diwali wasn’t something Padma was interested in celebrating at the moment. The one thing she wanted right then was for the Festival of Lights to be over so all these damn people would just go home.

She looked back and saw him shove a rather large man out of his way and couldn’t help but smile to herself. Just a little further, she thought, and we’ll be together…

---

“Parvati!� Padma stuck her head out of her room and called down the hall. There was a muffled answer from the room next to hers.

“Did you take my grey jumper?� she asked with an irritated voice. Her sister walked out holding the sweater in question and threw it at Padma’s face.

“What do you need a jumper for? It’s going to be over a hundred degrees in India.�

“That’s a little over exaggerated. Don’t take my stuff without asking.� Her sister rolled her eyes and walked back into her room. Padma knew she wouldn’t ask the next time. She never asked. But maybe if she drilled it into Parvati’s large Gryffindor head enough, one day she’d actually listen and ask to borrow her clothing.

She threw her jumper onto her bed with the rest of the clothes she was to bring to her aatya, aunt’s house, located in an all-wizard community within the Andaman Island’s of India. It wasn’t a trip the two girls usually took, as their parents only went for two weeks during the festival of Diwali; it was a tradition for their aatya to invite her brother but, sadly, the twins were always away at Hogwarts during that time of year. But now that they had finished, they were both ecstatic about travelling to the distant wizarding community of Maya Nagar. Padma could hardly remember what her aatya’s house looked like – it had been almost nine years since she was last there – but vaguely put together a picture of a white house surrounded by palm trees and tropical flowers. She also remembered the beach, blanketed with hot, white sand that glistened like exotic jewels under the sultry sun. The memory filled her with anticipation and she could no longer wait another minute to leave the grey, rainy cold of England.

“Pack,� Padma instructed the large pile of clothes on her bed. They all neatly folded themselves and flew into the large, black suitcase open on the floor. She then repeated the spell and all of her other necessities flew from around her room and out of the bathroom to pack themselves neatly in another, smaller travelling case. With a swish of her wand, she levitated her things and carefully followed them downstairs sighing when she peeked into Parvati’s room and saw that she had barely begun to pack.

She placed her suitcase with her parent’s bags by the front door as her father pulled his head out of the fireplace in the adjacent living room.

“Oh good, you’re ready,� he said as he spotted Padma. “Just got out of the fire with the Ministry, Hubert needs us out in an hour or he’ll disable our Portkey.�

“Better tell Parvati that,� she said and explained how her sister was lazily writing a letter instead of packing.

Her father sighed angrily and pushed passed Padma to the end of the staircase.

“Parvati, I am leaving this house in half an hour, and if you are not packed, I will have no regrets with leaving you in England!� he shouted up the stairs. Padma cringed at his booming voice. Her father had a very deep and scornful tone which was of course only intensified when he yelled. In their younger years, the two sisters were scared into being good so as not to have to hear the fearful shouts of their dad. Years later, the tone still made Padma a tiny bit scared, but at least she wouldn’t cry anymore.

“Make sure she’s started. I need to help mum with the rest of our things.� He made for the kitchen and Padma went back upstairs. She heard ruffling wings from her sister’s room and knew she had yet to start packing. Hopefully she was sending a letter and not receiving one.

Padma leaned on the door frame to Parvati’s room, crossed her arms and said, “Do you seriously want to stay here?�

Her twin sister merely looked at her. People would always ask them if that was weird, if looking at one another was like looking in a mirror, but Padma had always known her sister was completely different from herself (being placed into different houses proved that) and their diverse personalities translated physically, even if others couldn’t see that.

Parvati sighed and got up from her desk, moving to her dresser to find clothes to take. She paused while pulling out a pink tank top, turning to face her sister.

“I don’t have a good feeling about going. Something bad is going to happen while we’re there,� she said quietly. Padma’s brow furrowed and she walked into the room taking a seat on the bed.

“Why do you say that?�

“I had this weird dream last night so when I woke up I checked my tea leaves. They didn’t look good.� She sat down beside Padma, her face etched with worry. “It wasn’t about me though… it was about a sibling… it was about you.�

Padma wasn’t very shocked by hearing this sudden news. Her sister was very talented at Divination, a lot more so than herself, but she couldn’t help but notice her predictions were very similar to their past Professor. Professor Trelawney never saw anything good in the future, which was the reason Padma had stopped taking the course, and now her sister was following in her foot steps. She had to give her some credit though as her tea leaves were right about a recent storm passing through which would “cause her to undergo an insufferable event�. Parvati had lost her hair potion and her hair had been so frizzy from the rain it wouldn’t even stay braided. A most unbearable day, indeed.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,� Padma said, placing a hand on Parvati’s shoulder. “We’re not there for very long, and the future can change. Maybe you can check in a couple of days and see if something will still happen. But you can’t warn me unless you’re there with me.� She smiled. Parvati reluctantly muttered an “okay�, and hugged her sister.

“Now help me pack. I can do the clothes, but not everything else. I always manage to forget something,� she said, jumping to her feet.

“That’s because you’re head is always filled with something else. You need to concentrate on everything you want to pack away, and not about sending owls to Seamus Finnigan.�

“It’s work-related!�

Padma smirked and raised her wand to perform the spell.

Once Parvati had finally decided that she wanted her brown full length skirt, and not her black one, she packed up her trunk and levitated it downstairs.

Their mum and dad were standing by the front door, shrinking the luggage and placing them into a backpack.

“Oh, good, not a second too late. We’ll just put your things with the rest and then we’ll be off,� their dad addressed Parvati.

Padma put her shoes on and waited patiently for her father to finish. When the backpack was securely fastened to him, he reached into his pocket and took out a used, bent-up soda can.

“Every one come over, then. Anyone forget anything?� They all shook their heads. “Good. On the count of three we’ll all touch it. One…� Padma inched towards the can, her stomach turning over with excitement.

“Two…� She could almost smell the fresh ocean breeze already.

“Three!� She reached out with her sister and mother and instantly felt her stomach twist again, but this time with sickness. Her body was being ripped from her home, and suddenly she stood in a dark alleyway between two very old looking buildings.

“Dad… where are we?� Padma asked, confused.

“In Chennai, of course! Your mother and I like to take the three day ferry over to the island. It’s really a beautiful trip over the water,� he said, looking affectionately at his wife. He took her hand and walked towards the busy street, stopping beside a dumpster to place the Portkey soda can safely beside it.

“Hurry up, Padma!� Pavarti called out to her sister. “We won’t even be in India for two minutes before my predictions come true.�

Padma ran to catch up with her family and linked arms with her sister.

“What was dad thinking, bringing us into a dark deserted alley? We could have been mugged. I knew I should have stayed home.�

Padma rolled her eyes and joyfully walked out into the bright, hot sunlight of India.

She ran into the ever-black alleyway, her eyes blind in the dark. She called out his name behind her. There was no answer. A distant firecracker went off and for a split second she could see the busy streets beyond. Then the dark consumed her.

She pulled out her wand and said, “Lumos.�

She gasped. Her back hit the side of the building that loomed overhead and she almost dropped her wand.

There they were, the people she was running from, the people who would rather her dead, standing in front of her, holding Adeem between them, a Silence Charm cast on him. His mouth opened and closed trying to scream the words no one would ever hear.

“Find us the Portkey.�

---

Padma walked downstairs, ready to do nothing but sit outside and maybe play a lovely game of chess with her kaka, or uncle as she’d say back home. It was the third day of their visit and she was thoroughly exhausted from all the adventures her younger cousin, Leena, was taking her and Parvati on. On the first day, she had barely let them unpack and get settled before rushing out to the beaches for swimming and scuba diving (made easy through the use of the Bubble-head Charm). Yesterday she had taken them for a hike up the dongar, the mountain, and although the view from the top was gorgeous, she would have rather Apparated to the top. But today was a day to relax – well, relax until they had to help make dinner, of course.

She passed by the shrine of Shiva and stopped at the very intricate tapestry with an image of a dancing Ganesha that hung beside it. She studied the picture, remembering her father teaching her the story of the deity. It was a little unclear to her now, but she could never forget that the boy with an elephant head was the son of Shiva’s wife, Parvati. He had four arms and like most other deities he held a symbolic object in each one. In this particular image, he was holding an axe and a noose, and Padma tried hard to remember what they meant. She was disappointed with herself that she knew so little about the deities of her father’s religion, but even her dad had started loosing touch with his beliefs once Parvati and she left for Hogwarts. She guessed his promotion with the International Magical Cooperation had something to do with it, and the fact that the rest of his immediate family didn’t practice the religion.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to practice the ways of her father, but the stories were so… illogical. She didn’t believe in giving worship to something that could not exist. The way of life was easier to participate in than the actual believing. Dharma, the universal principle of law, was something she actually thought she could live by; as a way of life. Like a moral code, she used Dharma to base her life actions, but the meaning of word had never meant anything more than that. Karma was something else she could understand, at least in the modern English context: what goes around comes around. But to think of it as something that judged your next life… how could she even believe in a next life? Reincarnation of the atman, of her soul, what did that mean to her when she saw and talked to ghosts everyday of her school life?

She had never admitted out loud that she didn’t believe in the religion, but in her thoughts she knew that Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu and all of their avatars and other deities were made up gods. Just something to give society hope. She sighed. Although she thought she wouldn’t ever believe, she also knew that she didn’t know enough to make such a decision. Knowledge would give her the final say. And so she vowed to herself to learn more about the religion and its history before she judged it any further.

“Padma, Aatya Jyoti asked for more kothimbir spice for dinner. Leena said she’d take us to the market if you wanna join?� Parvati asked from behind her. Padma opened her mouth, but her sister cut her off to say, “It wasn’t really a question, you’re coming.� She grabbed Padma’s wrist and pulled her away.


She led her outside where Leena was waiting for them and they started their walk to the market. It was only a ten minute walk, set in the heart of the wizard village, but it took them over twenty minutes because Leena had a conversation with every person they saw along the way. The people of Parda Makaan weren’t that different from Padma’s relatives, though they didn’t speak Marathi and Padma could only pick out a few words from the Bengali dialect.

“Since when can you speak Bengali?� Parvati asked Leena after she had finished a particularly long conversation with an elderly woman. Padma laughed and Parvati cast her one of those it-wasn’t-a-stupid-question-to-me look that she usually gave to her Ravenclaw sister.

“I kind of had to learn when we moved here from Maharashtra. Everyone speaks Bengali on the islands. It was sort of hard to adjust to, not for me of course, I was still just a child when we moved… it was only a year after you moved to England so I guess I was…�

“We were eight,� Padma said to help her cousin out. “So a year later you would have been five.�

“Right, so at five years old it’s not too hard to learn something new. Your brain is growing fast when you’re young, that’s what mum says. But mum and dad had a hard time adjusting. They say it’s worth it though to be around others like us. We rarely use Marathi except if mum is really angry or when you come to visit.� She smiled and skipped ahead of the two girls.

“I bet you didn’t know that one,� Parvati said.

“Of course I did,� Padma said with relish, though she didn’t say that it was her father who educated her on the boat ride over.

It didn’t take long for Leena to buy the kothimbir once they had finally reached the market which left lots of time for Padma and Parvati to explore the different shops and stalls. There were some things that they would have seen even in Diagon Alley, like cauldrons and potions ingredients, but then there were the stalls that sold jewellery and fabrics and of course all of the food stalls that sold an abundant of spices and fruits. Leena bought some cinnamon also because “if Aai had no more kothimbir, then she’s out of cinnamon and hasn’t realised it yet�. Parvati, of course, was hunched over the gold bangles and earrings, picking them all up to look at them closer. Padma stood beside her and picked up a beautiful thick red bracelet with a gold clasp. It had black flowers outlined with gold all around it, with a rhinestone in the middle of each flower.

“Ooh, that’s pretty, you should buy it,� Parvati encouraged her sister. Padma put it on her wrist and admired it.

“Ok, but since you’ll probably take it for yourself, you have to buy those for me,� she said, pointing to the large, colourful earrings in her sister’s hand. Parvati rolled her eyes but agreed and took out her bag of rupees. After a bit of haggling, they purchased the items and turned around to find Leena running towards them with a heap of fabric in her arms.

“Here!� she said, shoving the cloth into each of their arms. “It’s a gift! Kaka told me all about Hogwarts and how you two were in different house things. So I bought you a red and gold kurta Parvati, because you’re in Gryffindor, and for Padma, a blue and silver one for Ravenclaw! Chaan aahe, na?�

“Wow,� Padma said, unfolding her blue sari and holding it out. “It’s very beautiful. Thank you so much, Leena!� She hugged her cousin before folding the kurta carefully back up. Parvati hugged Leena and Padma looked around to see where it was that her cousin bought their presents. That’s when she noticed someone was staring at them. Padma blushed and turned away when the boy smiled at her. He was probably no older than she was and walking with a girl in a green dress and hijab that covered her face. She looked back over, to see if he was still watching them, and he was. Her breath caught in her throat. Not because she was scared, but because he was so handsome, he was literally breath taking.

Their eyes locked and something happened that she swore was impossible. She knew if they spoke, she would surely fall in love.

She looked away, flustered. His hypnotising eyes away from her, she realised how crazy those last five seconds of thought were. Her parents always reminisced how they shared “love at first sight�, but every one knew no such thing existed. In fact, her roommate once had an hour long discussion about how ridiculous the thought of love at first sight was.


But if it wasn’t real, then why was she aching to look at the boy she had never spoken to?

“Padma!� Parvati snapped her fingers in her face. “We’re leaving now.�

“Uh, right,� she said a little dreamily and followed her sister and cousin out of the market.

“That’s what Ravenclaw’s are like, Leena,� Parvati said. “Clearly, Gyrffindor’s are better, don’t you think?�

Leena laughed, but the sound was distant in Padma’s ears as she looked over her shoulder to glance at the boy once more.

Her head was clouded all afternoon. Her aatya even kicked her out of the kitchen when she kept knocking things over while trying to help make dinner. So she left to sit beside her dad and kaka and stared at their chess game, pretending to be interested but really thinking about what had happened earlier that day.

After an hour of thinking and trying to come up with a decent explanation for what she felt, she realised that wasting her thoughts on a stranger was absurd. More than absurd! She shook her head and promised herself she would never think of him again.

She excused herself from her father and kaka, and went outside in the backyard, hoping the fresh air would help clear her mind. She sat on one of the chairs they had placed in a circle and looked up to the sky. It was so blue and clear with hardly a cloud in sight. She wondered at how it was the same sky she saw back home, yet it seemed so different here. Being in a different place had changed her perspective on everything, as if the whole word changed just because she moved from one country to another. She thought about why that was when someone walked behind the overgrown trees that separated the backyard from the sidewalk beyond. She straightened herself and looked out to see who was there. All she could see were someone’s legs, walking past the house, so she leaned her head back again, closing her eyes to think better.

“Hello?�

She snapped her head up at the unknown voice. And instantly wished she hadn’t.

It was him.

“Who are you?� she said without thinking.

He chuckled and replied, “Sorry if I scared you. I’m Adeem, my family moved here just a couple of weeks ago. I know Leena, but I’ve never seen you before.�

Logic told her she should probably check up on his facts; she should go and get Leena to introduce him to her. But she felt safe and oddly liked being alone with the stranger… with Adeem. She stood up and walked closer to him.

“I’m Padma,� she replied, extending her hand for him. He smiled and shook her hand. She gestured for him to sit down and took the chair beside him.

“I’m Leena’s cousin, by the way. My family lives in England.�

“I could tell by your accent,� he said. She nodded, feeling a little stupid. He just smiled and said, “I’m from Tamil Nadu. Until recently, that is.�

“Is there a wizard community there, too?� she asked.

“No, this is why my parents wanted to come here. They don’t really like it though. They’re already talking about moving back.� He seemed sad at what he was saying.

“Why don’t they like it?� Padma asked.

“Well, it’s just not the same. No one here speaks Tamil. And I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re pretty much the only Muslims in the village,� he said.

“And that’s a problem?�

“A huge one to my parents,� he said. Adeem went on to explain that it wasn’t right for Muslims to associate with Hindu’s. They could talk and be friends… sometimes. No one would disagree to a friendship, but it was hard for people of two different religions to really hold a relationship. Though religion wasn’t the only, or the most prominent problem between the two; it was their political stand point, their sociology that just kept them away from each other. Muslims stuck with Muslims, and Hindus stuck with Hindus. You could never trust a Muslim-Hindu relationship (or so his parents said). Plus, if his parents wanted him or his sister to ever marry, and they did, they couldn’t find them partners here. It’s forbidden for a Muslim to marry someone who doesn’t study the Koran.

Padma’s heart sunk lower with each word he said. She would never know if what she felt was true. It was forbidden for to them to be any more than friends.