Parvati Patil was chattering happily with Lavender Brown at the Gryffindor table. They took little notice of the steak that was being served for lunch. There was so much to talk about! Hair, makeup, gossip, there were endless things to discuss. Of course, the subject of “hot guys” came up.
As this wonderful subject took charge of the conversation, Parvati couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander. She knew whom she considered hot. Harry Potter, of course! What was there not to like about him? He was brave, loyal, strong-and best of all he was damn sexy.
It was at this moment she realized that the said Gryffindor was sitting just past Lavender
“Oh, Harry!” Parvati giggled, batting her eyelashes furiously. “The Hogsmeade trip is tomorrow, you know,” she continued with a suggestive smile.
“Er…” Harry was unsure of what to say. Ginny Weasley swung forward, no longer hidden behind Harry. She glared at Parvati fiercely, and put her arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry looked down at his red headed princess and smiled.
“Yeah, I know, Parvati,” Harry began. “And I’m going with Ginny.”
Ginny looked back at her with a superior smirk. It was obvious that Ginny had direct ownership of Harry, and she wasn't interested in sharing.
Parvati watched the couple hurry out together, hand in hand. Ginny looked over her shoulder at her with a ferocious scowl. Parvati could see the fire burning behind those blazing brown eyes. Unfortunately for Parvati, she had unleashed the famous Weasley temper.
***
Ginny hastily pulled away from Harry, and gasped.
"What's wrong, Ginny?" Harry asked, and attempted to pull her back into an embrace.
"I-I don't think we should keep going, I don't know if I'll be able to stop," she said quickly. "Believe me, I don't want to stop, but..."
Ginny did feel that things were getting a bit too passionate, but that wasn't why she had to leave at all. There was important business she needed to attend to.
"I love you, Harry Potter," Ginny whispered, and pecked him on the cheek. She hurried back to the Great Hall, hoping that her victim was still there.
Harry stood in the corridor, dumbfounded. He raised his s finger on his cheek, and a smile crept up on his astonished face. Harry watched Ginny's long red hair dance behind her, feeling incredibly lucky.
***
Parvati sighed. She would catch that Harry Potter one day, of course. He was totally worth the effort. She was harshly awoken from her daydreams by Lavender's continuous babbling.
“And doesn’t Neville look absolutely horrid today?” Lavender giggled.
Neville blushed as red as Ginny’s hair, and buried his nose in Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean.
***
“Exactly,” Parvati exclaimed. “That’s exactly what her problem is! She just doesn’t know what to wear.”
Lavender nodded in agreement, and launched into an embarrassing story about Dean Thomas.
Parvati abandoned Lavender’s babbling, and turned her head slightly towards the table. She noticed the fruit bowl, and glanced for a moment at the apple on top.
Parvati thought she heard someone behind her mutter "Blandus!" but all she saw when she turned around was Ginny Weasley quickly leaving the hall, probably in search of Harry.
Suddenly, Parvati had a dreamy, faraway look on her face. That apple…it wasn’t just a normal apple. It was a deep juicy red, and looked absolutely luscious. She wouldn’t eat it, though. She couldn’t eat such fine beauty!
“Don’t you think so?” Lavender exclaimed excitedly.
“Er…what?” Parvati replied, still dazed by the fruit’s mystifying beauty.
“You mean you haven’t been listening? Did I seriously tell that whole story about Dean’s hair to nobody?” Lavender asked, disappointed.
“Sorry,” Parvati mumbled distractedly. That apple…she would have to take it. Her survival depended on it! It was gorgeous; curving so delicately into that perfect round shape, with its cute little stem poking out on top. “I have to go,” she said quickly, and picked up the precious apple delicately on her way out.
Back in her dormitory, Parvati had some fun with the fruit. She dressed it up with some doll clothes, and propped it up on her night table. “This way, we will always be close.” She smiled inwardly.
She cupped the plump apple in her hands, and looked at it fondly. “I promise that I will stay faithful. I will never, ever even think about eating you,” she told the apple gleefully. “By the way, the Hogsmeade trip is coming up, would you like to come with me?” She placed the apple back on the table, nervous at what his reaction might be.
The apple stayed still, and Parvati took this as a yes. “Oh my gosh! I don’t know what to wear! You’ll have to help me,” She laughed, smothering the apple with kisses.
“What is your name, by the way?” she asked. Once again, the fruit stared back at her.
“Harry! Oh, that is such a great name! I knew this guy named Harry once...” she remembered vaguely. “He was nothing compared to you, though.”
The apple stayed seated on the night table.
“I’m so excited for the trip,” Parvati gushed. “I wonder where we’ll go. We will just have so much fun together; I’ve never communicated so well with anyone else before! I don’t know how I will be able to wait until tomorrow! Oh well, I need to hurry up to Charms class…I’d take you with me, but unfortunately, the teachers do not appreciate open displays of affection,” she said sadly. “Anyway, I’ll come and see you right after class, okay? It’s my last class today, so we’ll have some time to, you know, hang out,” Parvati didn’t want her apple to be lonely.
Charms class whizzed by in a blur. All that Parvati could think about was Harry the apple. Whenever she thought about him, she felt like she was in heaven. How was she ever so lucky as to meet a fruit like him? She dreamed about them staying together, forever.
After class, Parvati hurried back to her dormitory. Harry the Apple needed her. She could just sense it. On her way back, she passed Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley sharing a joke together. How could she have ever felt for that guy? He was nowhere near as sexy as Harry the Apple. She smiled and looked the other way, and continued her journey to Gryffindor Tower. If she had turned around, she would have seen a smirk plastered on Ginny's content freckled face.
***
Parvati reached the dormitory just in time: Lavender was about to eat Harry the Apple!
“Hey!” Parvati shouted frantically. “Don’t you dare eat him!”
“Sorry,” Lavender said, thinking she must have heard her friend wrong. She hadn’t said “him”, had she? “He--it- looked so delicious, I thought you wouldn’t mind…”
Parvati was in shock. How could her best friend do this to her? “He-is-mine!” she sputtered angrily, and snatched Harry the Apple out of Lavender’s hands. She climbed into her bed, with Harry still grasped firmly in her hand, and pulled her drapes across. Lavender walked away, confused. Why was her friend acting like this? It was as if she was in love with a piece of fruit!
Lavender and Parvati didn’t talk at all for the remainder of the day. The better part of Parvati’s time was spent sitting in her bed, muttering softly to Harry the apple. She hugged him tightly, and noticed that he had a bruise marring his flawless appearance. It must have been when Lavender had hastily picked him up, Parvati thought, concerned, and annoyed. She dug in her drawers for a band-aid, and carefully placed it over Harry’s injury. “It will feel better soon, sweetie, I promise,” she whispered to him.
She looked at the clock: it was already 9:30! She tenderly lifted the crippled apple to his place on the night table, and switched off the light. “Tomorrow will be a great day,” she said happily to Harry.
The moment she woke up the next morning, Parvati quickly looked over at her night table to make sure Harry the apple was still there. He was, and he looked as cute as ever. Parvati was relieved that he wasn’t just a dream.
“Good morning,” she whispered sweetly to the apple. She paused for a moment, and her mouth formed an “o” in realization. “Oh my gosh, today is the trip! I’m going to go pick out two outfits, you tell me which one you like better, okay?” She rummaged through her drawer, and picked out a small, sparkly black dress. She threw it over her shoulder, and picked up a short purple skirt and a purple fuzzy jumper.
“Harry, which one do you like better?” she asked, looking between the two outfits, her brow furrowed. Harry looked at her.
“Yes, you’re right…the dress is a little too much, I’ll go with the purple outfit,” she told Harry. “You stay here while I change, okay?”
Parvati went into the bathroom to change, and as Lavender walked by her bed hungrily, she heard her friend whistling a happy tune. “Maybe she’s in a good mood again,” Lavender thought. “And maybe she got over that whole apple thing!”
“Harry, sweetie, I’ll be out in a second! I’m just putting on some makeup!” Parvati called through the bathroom door.
She stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a thick layer of purple makeup and lavender stilettos.
“Harry!” she shrieked, dropping her violet purse. “Oh my goodness, Harry, where are you?” the apple was nowhere to be seen.
Lavender, who was reading a magazine in her bed, was eating Harry the apple! Parvati flinched at the sickening crunch of her friend’s teeth sinking into her soul mate.
“How could you?” Parvati screeched in anger. “He was my boyfriend! You don’t see me going around eating your boyfriends!”
Lavender put down the fruit, and looked closely at her friend. This time she was sure of it. Parvati had called Lavender's breakfast her boyfriend!
“Parvati,” Lavender said firmly. “That,” she pointed to the fruit, “is an apple. It is not your boyfriend.
Parvati lunged out towards Lavender, ready to attack. She was just about to slap her when a shrill beep rang through the girls’ dormitory. It was 12:00 noon.
Parvati’s face twisted into a frown, and her hand stopped in midair, halfway between Lavender’s face and herself. She slowly let her arm fall to her side. “What--where am I?” she stuttered.
Lavender stepped back. “You were just about to slap me,” she said, quite calmly. “You went berserk because I was eating that apple over there,” she continued, looking over at the half eaten fruit.
“Hmm, I wonder why…” Parvati cocked her head, deep in thought. She had no recollection of the events that had occurred in the previous 24 hours.
“You mean, you seriously don’t remember anything that you did?” Lavender questioned, surprised.
“No, I don’t!” Parvati exclaimed. “Care to fill me in?”
For the next hour or so, Lavender told Parvati the whole story- how she had begun acting funny the previous afternoon, and seemed to be in love with an apple. She was interrupted a few times by a startled gasp or an embarassed moan. When she finished, Parvati was still confused.
"But...why was I acting that way?" Parvati asked. "Did someone curse me or something?"
"I don't know," Lavender began slowly. "Have you gotten anyone angry lately?"
"Ginny! She was mad at me for flirting with Harry! What a witch!" Parvati exclaimed, her face red.
"Did you learn your lesson?" Lavender said with a smile, recalling Parvati with her apple boyfriend.
"Yes, I might need to learn how to make a love potion." Parvati said, her face lighting up.
Lavender stared at her friend. What was she getting at? Slowly she began to understand. "I'm with you," she said, with a plotting smirk on her face.