Parvati jumped out of her seat and, nervously flicking her hair, turned to face the green-eyed boy before her.
“Why yes, Andrew, of course!” she beamed, clasping his hand and drawing closer to him. A flash of uncertainty crossed Andrew’s eyes, but it was gone before Parvati noticed it. Smiling down at her, Andrew lead the way out of the Great Hall, not noticing the glare Padma was casting the pair from the Gryffindor table. Parvati glanced back at her and winked mischievously, relishing the power she had at this moment. Just to incense her sister, Parvati reached up and kissed Andrew on the cheek, much to his surprise.
“What was that for?” he asked, smiling down at Parvati.
“Oh nothing, I’m just happy to see you,” Parvati answered, grinning toothily back at him. “I’ve missed you, sweetie.” Andrew drew Parvati closer to him and squeezed her to him affectionately.
“I’ve missed you too, P,” he said, now clasping her hand in his. At this point they were outside in Hogwart’s grounds, steadily making their way towards the Quidditch pitch. Gosh, Padma is so lucky, thought Parvati, glancing up at Andrew’s handsome face. This guy is actually perfect; does he have no flaws? Suddenly, Andrew let out a ground-shaking belch, scaring off the birds in the tree closest to them.
“Sorry, P, I know how much you hate it when I do that. I ate too much at breakfast again; I never know when to stop!” said Andrew, embarrassed. Parvati stopped in her tracks and, closing her eyes tightly, she mustered up all of her energy and let out a belch to rival even that of Andrew’s. Alarmed, Andrew took a step back to ensure he wasn’t in any danger of being knocked over. After Parvati’s belch, there was an uneasy silence. Parvati and Andrew stared at each other, both unsure what to do. Suddenly, at the exact same moment, they both burst out laughing, clutching onto each other for support.
“The look on your face!” wheezed Parvati, trying to control herself while Andrew continued to howl with laughter.
“My face! I’ve never seen you concentrate so much in order to relieve yourself! You usually just hold it all in!”
“I’ve always let it all-” Parvati stopped, forgetting herself. Parvati, just give yourself a shake! You nearly blew the cover again! she thought, and stopped laughing. She watched Andrew uncertainly, unsure as to whether he noticed her slip up. The laughter had not quite died from Andrew’s face when a look of concern flitted across his chiselled features.
“Padma honey, is everything alright?” The concern in his voice nearly caused Parvati to tell him the truth. What am I doing? thought Parvati, uncertain again. Andrew is Padma’s boyfriend, not mine; I can’t just start falling for him now! It would be unfair to him.
“No, nothing’s wrong, I’m fine,” she lied, not quite meeting his eyes. Parvati felt Andrew’s warm hand upon her face as he turned her head towards him.
“You don’t have to lie to me, P, you know that,” he whispered, his sparkling eyes filled with concern. Oh Padma, you really have the most amazing boyfriend, Parvati thought sadly, staring up at Andrew. I wish Dean would look at me like that, or anyone else for that matter.
“Come here, Padma,” Andrew whispered. Parvati felt herself being pulled close to Andrew. Lifting up her head, she felt her face drawn towards his, their faces so close, their lips nearly touching…
“Go on, Parvati, open the present now!”
Lavender nudged Padma, knocking her out of her fantasy where she was beating Parvati round the head with her broomstick.
“What? Oh!” Realisation dawned on Padma’s face as she remembered, and she took the gift Lavender had given her earlier out of her pocket. Warily, she shook it, trying to guess what was inside. Despite herself, Padma was excited. She usually had to tell Heather and Maria exactly what she wanted for her birthday; it was surprising how much she enjoyed not knowing what she was going to get.
“You’ll never guess… you may as well open it!” Lavender urged her, excitedly watching Padma’s every move. With trembling fingers, Padma pulled at the wrapping paper, delicately removing it without tearing it. The box inside shivered as she held it as if it too was excited. Shakily, Padma took off the lid and peered inside. With a gasp, she took the present from the box and set it on the table in front of her.
“Oh thank you, Lavender! That was so lovely of you!” Padma beamed, pulling Lavender into a hug. The present Lavender had given Padma was a Pygmy Puff, which had already begun humming contentedly as Padma stroked it. She giggled as it moved toward her, affectionately nudging her arm.
“Why did you get me a Pygmy Puff?” she asked, smiling down at her new pet.
“I saw you staring at a fifth year’s one, so I just thought you might like to have one for yourself,” Lavender said, shrugging and smiling. Padma grinned back at her, happy in the realisation that Lavender wasn’t the rude, obnoxious person she previously thought her to be.
“Come on, best go back to the Common Room and get this summer homework started,” Lavender said, getting up from the table.
“Excuse me?” cried Padma indignantly, staring at Lavender as if she were mad. “I’ve done all my homework already!”
“What are you talking about, Parvati? You told me last week you hadn’t done a thing yet,” Lavender said, staring accusingly at Padma, trying to work out if she was joking around.
“Oh, right, yes, THAT homework!” Padma laughed breezily, trying to hide her anger at Parvati while joining Lavender as they walked towards the Gryffindor Tower. The little witch has left me to do all her work like a regular Cinderella! Well, I’ll show her; the wicked stepmother in the story didn’t turn into a toad by herself! she thought, remembering the altered Muggle fairytale.
Padma walked in silence beside her, letting Lavender’s chatter wash over her. When they reached the Gryffindor Common Room, Padma rushed to her dormitory, only once opening the wrong door, and collected the unfinished homework of her sister’s. Weighed down by the books, she waddled down the stairs and sat in one of the armchairs nearest the fire. Opening the first book on her lap, Padma looked upon the unfinished potions essay with a groan.
“I know, Snape wants it done for the next class. We better get it started or it’ll be detention for us again,” Lavender said, staring despairingly down at her own essay.
Padma was just about to dip her quill in her ink pot when a piece of parchment fluttered from the Potions book she’d been holding. Reaching down to pick it up, Padma noticed it was in Parvati’s handwriting and there appeared to be hearts decorating it. What’s this then? Padma thought, a cunning grin spreading across her features. A little love letter for a certain Dean? And indeed it was just that; a love letter that was obviously not sent for fear of an answer. However, Padma was listening to the little devil on her shoulder now, telling her to post it. Oh dear, looks like I’ll have to send this letter for my dear Parvati! With a hurried explanation to Lavender, Padma swooped out of the Common Room and walked briskly towards the Owlery, a wicked smile plastered across her features and a glint in her eye.