October arrived and came to an end more uneventfully than ever, and life was still as unusual as it could be with the six Aurors. Irene was quieter and more polite, but.there were perpetual cold vibes between her and Parvati, and it was not impossible to imagine why. Ginny had mentioned Parineeta to her colleagues, and though they all agreed on a close watch on Parineeta too, suspicions upon her were feeble due to the fact that she had alibis.
Parineeta was well-loved by the Aurors. She was a very carefree person with a childish attitude and quick wit. She was pretty much infatuated with Harry, though she never mentioned it again; she often got tongue-tied in front of him. It was very funny, sometimes, and Harry often found himself chuckling lightly at Parineeta’s passion for him. He tried his best to make her comfortable, but she only turned out to be like another version of Ginny when she had been a child.
Harry extended a hand of friendship to Daisy, too. Innocent until proven guilty, and Daisy, though a suspect, wasn’t proven guilty yet. However, the teenager rarely spoke. She was polite when spoken to, but she never began a conversation with anyone except Ginny or Parineeta and lately, Harry, as they became friends. She looked stressed and seemed to grow paler as each day passed. Her health remained on the border-line, clearly showing that she really missed Andrew, Charlotte and her own family. Ginny had asked her for her parents’ contact address so that she could call them over to make Daisy feel better, but Daisy refused to allow Ginny to call them.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was better and she behaved more courteously, now. The Aurors soon grew to like her, as she was particularly intelligent and slightly eccentric, but fun to make conversation with. Chris too, was an engaging, charming boy with a sharp mind and a good sense of humour. He flirted with the ladies at any opportunity.
“Hmm,” he said, as he walked into Harry’s cabin where Ginny was seated. Ginny had let her hair down on that day, and they hung loose about her shoulders. “You’ve got lovely hair!”
“Oh, thank you,” Ginny said, going red.
Chris grinned. “You’re very pretty, you know? I’m wondering why a person like you is single.”
“I’m just not interested in relationships, right now.”
“I’d have dated you if our ages had been closer.”
“Oh… shut it, Chris,” Ginny replied, blushing more. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Harry looking more and more concerned at what was going on.
“I’m not flattering you,” Chris insisted, winking at her. “If you could only wait at twenty six until I grow a little older… maybe we can still make it together!”
Ginny chuckled, thinking of an equally witty answer. But then, she decided on something else. If Harry could make her so jealous, why couldn’t she do the same to him? “Oh, I wish…” she said. “You know, Chris, I think I’d have struck up a long term relationship with you if we weren’t so far apart in ages.”
That did it. Harry’s eyes had widened.
“Oh, it’s a pleasure to know that!” Chris replied.
Ginny giggled. “I think I’ll do something and wait””
“You can’t.”
Harry had spoken. Ginny and Chris looked at him, still smiling. He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t stop time… remember we broke those Time-Turners?” He began to look desperate.
Ginny giggled. “Merlin, Harry! We were just kidding! Do you really think that I might be doing any such thing? I don’t deny that I could do it for Chris, though…” she winked at Chris. “True lovers always wait.”
Harry looked as though he’d choke. “You have feelings for Chris?”
“Goodness, no, Harry! We’re just having fun! Do you think there might be something between us?”
“No…” said Harry, and he may have as good as let out a dramatic sigh of relief, for the expression on his face was unmistakable
***
Harry picked up his wand from the coffee table and stowed it into his pocket. Parvati gave him his car keys. “Remember, honey, don’t forget to call all of them.”
“I won’t,” he promised. Parvati had asked Harry to invite Rebecca, Chris, Daisy and Parineeta for a Halloween dinner that night. “Where’s Ginny?”
“She and Hermione are just getting ready… Hermione is working away from home, today.”
“Who’ll take care of the kids, then?”
Parvati smiled. “Actually, you won’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“Ron insisted that he’d stay until Hermione returned, to look after Jess and Jay. He’s decided that he won’t let them enter the crèche again.”
Harry chuckled. “I’m glad that he’s finally aware of a few of his responsibilities…”
“Yeah, and I hope they’ll make up soon, too.”
“That’s difficult,” Harry replied, frowning. “Ron is meeting Rebecca lots and Hermione is showing no sign of wanting to move back into Ron’s room. I wish, I really wish he would understand… when I told him the other day, he told me that Hermione ought to be a bit mature and stop suspecting him like that.”
“In a way, Harry, he is right, too.”
“But””
“See, Harry,” said Parvati, seating herself on a sofa. “Have I ever asked you about what you do during work or suspected you for anything?”
“No.”
“And if you notice, Harry, you’re meeting that Parineeta everyday. You told me yourself that she’s infatuated with you.”
“Yeah, but””
“So, technically, I must be following you around like a hawk. Why don’t I do that?”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “Um… because you know that there can be nothing between Pari and me…?”
“No, Harry, because I know you; and I know that you won’t shatter my trust. I know that you’ll remain loyal.”
Harry smiled. “You’re right, I will.”
“So shouldn’t Hermione trust Ron a bit, too?”
Harry nodded. “I agree, but that’s no reason for Ron to meet Rebecca even more. He’s just egging Hermione’s suspicions on.”
“I won’t say that Ron is wise, Harry, but both of us know him. He does a lot of things before giving them a fair bit of thought. But Hermione” I didn’t expect her to be so distrustful after knowing Ron for so long…”
Harry nodded, as Ginny and Hermione entered the room. “Come on, Harry,” Ginny said, clasping up her handbag. “Let’s go.”
“Shall we go by car?” Harry asked, holding up the keys. “It’s three months since that accident.”
“Okay…” Ginny replied. “Come on, then.”
***
“Harry, could you get me that set of goblets from the loft?” Parvati asked, as she laid the table with new crockery.
Harry nodded and extracted his wand from his pocket, waving it at the loft. “Accio goblets.”
At once, a box descended into his arms, and he rushed to Parvati with it. “Did you mean these?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Parvati replied, beaming, as she checked what was inside. “I want everything to be well-organised today.”
“You always organise everything well.”
“Oh, Harry… don’t flatter me so much!”
“No, I’m not. It’s true.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Beware of Chris, though,” Harry said as he took out some of the goblets to set the table along with his wife. “He’s one flirtatious bloke and I can’t have my wife falling for his flatteries.”
“Oh, I’ll always be yours, Harry, no matter how many flirtatious blokes try to impress me.”
“With Chris, I assure you that it’ll be difficult,” Harry replied, grinning. “It’s no wonder he was really popular at Hogwarts. He can charm people like Voldemort did!”
Parvati giggled. “I’m really eager to know someone who can be that charming, then…”
The table was set soon, and Parvati and the other ladies, who weren’t ready yet, retired to change their clothes. In fifteen minutes, Parvati and Naina were ready and they headed to the living room with Harry. Naina was in Harry’s arms, wearing a cute little skirt and top. Parvati wore a simple black and white dress and looked pretty as usual with her soot-lined eyes and long, dark hair falling to her waist. The vermilion was there as usual” she never seemed to have the heart to get it off and her face had no make-up at all.
“Hey, gorgeous,” said Harry, kissing her lips. Naina giggled as she saw that and Parvati went red.
“Not in front of Naina, Harry!”
Harry went red, too. “Oh… Sorry…”
They stepped into the living room, to find most of the others there. Padma, of course, looked as pretty as Parvati in a long gown. Romilda was wearing a straight skirt with a shirt, while Irene wore something that Harry wasn’t very pleased to notice” a low-cut halter dress. Why was she wearing such clothes, anyway? It wasn’t some fancy party that was going on. Who on earth did she want to impress so badly?
Anthony and Ron were ready, too. And at last, Hermione and Ginny entered. Hermione wore a purple and black tunic with black leggings. Ginny, on the other hand, looked nothing short of breath-taking in a white dress.
Harry could have fallen right there. He had never quite seen her look so stunning. Parvati gasped beside him. “Oh wow! You look beautiful!”
Ginny smiled. “Thanks, Parvati! You look stunning yourself.”
Parvati chuckled. “Harry was telling me about Chris””
“Oh yeah!” said Ginny. “He flirts like hell. Be careful!”
The two women looked at each other and began to giggle, while Hermione watched for a moment, amused, before joining in. Soon, Padma was laughing, too, and so were Romilda and Irene.
Harry shook his head and sat beside Ron and Anthony. “Women,” Anthony supplied. “It takes lesser time to understand calculus than to understand half their giggly talks. And what’s worse, you can’t even live without them!”
Naina looked up at him and broke into tiny giggles, too.
“There,” said Harry. “Another giggle-machine in the making.”
The three men had a hearty chuckle. The doorbell rang. The women seemed to stop laughing at last, and Padma went to get the door. She came back followed by Rebecca, Chris, Daisy and Parineeta.”
“Hey!” said Harry, shaking everyone’s hand, as Ron and Anthony did the same. Daisy was instantly attracted towards Naina, and Harry saw her smile radiantly for the first time in his life.
“What’s her name?” she asked, taking Naina in her arms.
“Naina,” replied Harry. “And this is my wife, Parvati. Parvati, this is Daisy.”
Parvati smiled at Daisy, as Naina played in Daisy’s arms. “She likes you, Daisy!” She then spoke to Naina. “Naina, say hi to Daisy Didi.”
“’I Didi!” Naina said, as Daisy cuddled her.
“What’s ‘Didi’?”
“Oh, it means ‘elder sister’ in Hindi,” Parvati replied.
“You consider me your daughter?” Daisy asked, amused.
Parvati chuckled. “Actually, amongst us Indians, it’s customary to call a person who is elder to you, but still young compared to your parents as ‘Didi’ or ‘Bhaiyya’” which means ‘elder brother’. We refrain from using names for elders.”
Daisy smiled. “Oh… Pari never told me of all this! And Naina is so cute… I see what Ginny meant, Harry. You really have a very pretty wife, and a really cute daughter.”
“Thanks, Daisy,” Harry replied, slipping an arm around Parvati.
“Harry!” another voice sounded from behind Daisy and Chris came forward. He looked at Parvati and his eyes swivelled over to Naina. Harry introduced Parvati and Naina to the boy, and Chris too, like Daisy, was charmed by Naina. “Oh my,” he said, smiling as Naina giggled at him in Daisy’s arms. “You know, this is always what I wanted my family to look like” me beside Flower who’s holding a pretty little girl.”
Parvati seemed to be confused, but Harry was aware of what was going on as Daisy frowned and looked up at Chris. “Didn’t I tell you not to call me ‘Flower’ again?”
Chris seemed to have guts, for he replied serenely. “Flower, I want you to search your heart for an honest answer to one question that I want to ask you. Don’t you want this too? And don’t lie to me, because I’ll know.”
“No. I don’t want this.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not. A family with you is the last thing that I want.”
“Flower””
“Either call me ‘Daisy’ or just don’t try to talk to me at all.”
Chris took a deep breath. “Okay. Daisy, look at Harry and Parvati. Look at Ron and Anthony and their wives. Aren’t they happy? Don’t they have wonderful moments together? I can’t see why we can’t have them, Fl” Daisy.”
“Because,” Daisy replied huffily, “Harry, Ron and Anthony do not pretend to love their wives. It’s all real. They are not as shallow as you are, Chris.”
Harry began to feel uncomfortable, now, and Parvati was utterly confused. Naina, too, was watching Daisy and Chris’s exchanges curiously.
“Please,” Chris said. “Give me just one chance. I… I love you! Really!”
“And how many girls have you said that to, Chris?” Daisy shot back. “Has the count reached a thousand yet?”
“I’ve never ever said it to anyone. I want you to be the first and last person to confess this to.”
“Yeah, right. And after we finish talking, you’ll go to Ginny and tell her that you love her.”
“That’s just a joke, Daisy! It’s a small joke between Ginny and me!”
Daisy put Naina in Harry’s arms, hurt filling her eyes. Parvati took the little girl and she and Hermione took the children away. Daisy and Chris didn’t seem to be noticing whom they were arguing in front of, and it would be better if the children were out of the way. In the living room, however, Daisy continued. “And how do I know you won’t try the same joke on me? How am I to know that you won’t do what you did the last time? You ruined me, Chris, and I’ll never forget that.”
The others in the room seemed to have noticed the conversation too, for all had gone quiet. Parineeta was already making her way towards Daisy, as Chris looked at the girl guiltily. “I said I’m sorry.”
“SO?” Daisy bellowed. “SO WHAT? DOES THAT CHANGE WHAT YOU DID?”
“Daisy…” Parineeta had put an arm around the other girl. “It’s okay, shona, calm down.”
Daisy looked at Parineeta. “After what he did to you, Pari, you’re saying that it’s okay? Why were you in India for three months, Pari? Why have you just started work when it should have been months ago? Wasn’t it all because of him?”
Harry, too, was confused, now, and Parvati had a raised eyebrow. Parineeta looked down.
Chris looked pained. “I never meant to hurt anyone! I wanted to help you!”
“Yes, Chris, it helped loads. Thank you,” Daisy replied.
“One chance… just a chance””
“You lost it long ago.”
“Please…”
Daisy shook her head. “No. And I don’t think we need to create a scene here. We’re in someone else’s house, if you haven’t noticed.”
That seemed to bring Chris to his senses, too. “Can we talk outside, then?”
“No.”
“Well, don’t complain that I didn’t try to explain, then,” Chris said, flaring up, too. “I think I’ve gone out of my way to talk to you.”
“And you aren’t doing me a favour, Chris,” Daisy replied. “Don’t you realise that you just manage to upset me more, every time that you try to ‘explain’? And what is your explanation for hurting two people for a lifetime?”
“Well, you don’t seem hurt at all,” Chris snapped. “If you were hurt, then you’d come back to me.”
“I don’t want to be hurt again,” said Daisy. “I don’t trust you anymore.”
Chris didn’t seem to have a retort. Instead, he said, “Parineeta… She’s fine, now. You’re exaggerating.”
“Am I?” Daisy asked. “Were you the one who was next to Pari, consoling and comforting her while she suffered?”
Chris looked sick. Daisy, however, continued, “Then please don’t assume that she didn’t suffer. I was there all the time, Chris, I was there. I know what she went through.” Daisy now looked at Parvati. “I’m really sorry about ruining your dinner… I can’t stay any longer. I think I’ll go home.”
Parvati nodded understandingly. “Okay… but do come again.”
“Definitely,” Daisy replied and managed a smile as she headed towards the door.
Chris took a deep breath. “Wait. I’ll” I’ll go. It was my fault, anyway…” Harry noticed that he looked upset, too. “Sorry Daisy… Pari…”
Parineeta smiled and nodded, while Daisy pretended not to hear Chris. Parineeta looked at Daisy, however, and said, “Forgive him, Daisy, it’s almost a year, now.”
“I won’t, Pari,” Daisy replied. “You can forgive him if you feel like it.”
“Daisy,” Pari said, “look at him… he does miss you a lot.”
Daisy shut her eyes for a minute and opened it. “Fine, you can side with him too, Pari. Go on. Even when he split up with me, the whole of Hogwarts only said that I took that step. I am the bad person in everything, am I not? So far, I’m responsible for Chris’s condition, and I’m also supposed to be a serial killer, according to half of my friends. Thank you, Pari; this was just what I needed.” She opened the door and walked out promptly, shutting it behind her.
Parineeta stared after her for a minute. Then she opened the door, and ran after Daisy. There was silence, as everyone stood waiting for the two girls to return. After five minutes, however, Parineeta returned with a very upset Daisy. “Daisy has decided to stay for dinner.”
Parvati smiled, trying to break the tension. “Shall we eat, then? All of you must be hungry.”
“Yeah,” Ron said, “I think we must eat.”
“Settle down at the table,” said Parvati. “We’ll get all the starters.”
“I’ll help!” Rebecca said.
“Me, too,” Parineeta said. Daisy said she’d help too, and headed to the kitchen. Finally, Parvati was shaking her head in amusement, as all her guests decided to help in the kitchen and began to carry out plates of starters and pouring out pumpkin juice in goblets. All of them then seated themselves at the extended dining table and started eating.
The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed it. Even Daisy forgot about Chris as she chatted with Ginny, Parvati and Pari gaily. Hermione, on the other hand, was slightly icy towards Rebecca, but the latter didn’t seem to notice as she chatted happily. But it was time for Ron to get jealous, as Chris decided to flirt with Hermione. “You know, I like intelligent women with curly hair.”
“Oh, do you?” Hermione asked. “Or are you just saying so because my hair is that way?”
“No, I’m telling you the truth,” Chris replied. “My love is incidentally a girl with curly hair and she is also very intelligent.” He looked fondly at Daisy as she spoke to Parvati.
“But didn’t you just tell Parvati that you think Indian women are amongst the prettiest in the world and you like them, too?”
“Yeah, I like Indian women, but I like curly haired and intelligent girls, too. Really, I see why Ron’s crazy about you. If your age were just closer to mine””
“OI!” said Ron looking offended as he heard Chris say this. “Stay away from my wife!”
Hermione laughed openly for the first time in days. She had finally made Ron jealous.
Parvati, Daisy, Ginny and Parineeta were discussing names.
“It’s funny how people mix up nicknames and real names,” Ginny said. “I mean, few people guess that my name is Ginevra.”
“That happens to Chris and Daisy too,” Parineeta replied. “A lot of people think that ‘Chris’ is a short name for ‘Christopher’”
“So his name isn’t really ‘Christopher?’” Parvati asked, amazed.
Daisy shook her head. “It’s just ‘Chris’. And my real name isn’t ‘Daisy’ either. It’s just a nickname.”
“Yeah, I know,” Ginny said. “It’s ‘Margaret’, isn’t it?”
Daisy nodded. “How did you know, though?”
“I was responsible for your case file,” Ginny shrugged. “I noticed that it was ‘Margaret Joe’ and not ‘Daisy Joe’, in there. So, has everyone always called you ‘Daisy?’”
“Yeah,” Daisy said. “Very few people know that my name isn’t actually ‘Daisy’. It’s the name I’ve had at home since I was very little. And I’m more used to be called ‘Daisy’ than ‘Margaret’.”
“My name at home is ‘Gauri’,” Parineeta added.
Parvati smiled interestedly at this. “Gauri, indeed… interesting. Why do these people call you ‘Pari’, then?”
“‘Gauri’ is just for home. Officially, I’m Parineeta and so my nickname for them is Pari.”
There was a yelp from the other side of the table, and Parvati looked up to see what was wrong. Hermione had bitten into a chilli, and was downing water, now, her eyes streaming. Parvati saw her own untouched glass of juice and passed it to Hermione. Hermione took the glass from Chris, a look of gratefulness upon her face and drank the juice in one. She seemed to feel better, after that and everyone returned to their chats.
Another course and a variety of desserts later, everyone got up from the table with full stomachs. The guests were ready to go home. Parvati was talking to Rebecca when Chris came over. “Come, Becks, let’s go home.”
Rebecca nodded. Chris looked around for Hermione. “Where’s Hermione?”
“I don’t know…” Parvati replied. “I think she’s gone inside.”
“Okay, tell her that I said bye,” Chris said, as Rebecca and he walked out of the door. All the others left soon, and Parvati found herself clearing the kitchen as the others retired for the night. The other women had offered to help, but Parvati had refused it as she enjoyed cleaning.
Parvati had just finished drying the utensils, when she heard a weak voice behind her. “Par… Parvati…?”
Parvati turned around to see Hermione at the kitchen entrance. There was something wrong with the other woman, though, for her eyes were unfocused and she looked pale. Parvati rushed to her. “What happened? Are you all right?!”
“No,” whispered Hermione, as she sank to the floor. Parvati rushed to her and knelt beside her, feeling her forehead and checking her pulse. Both seemed fine.
“Anything peculiar that seems to be happening to you…? How do you feel?”
“Not right…” Hermione slurred. Tiny beads of sweat were making an appearance on her forehead, now. “My head is hurting… I feel dizzy, too… I think I’m coming down with the flu, but that can’t be it…”
“Okay, come to the living room, I’ll check you up.”
Hermione nodded and Parvati helped her stand, supporting her all the way to the living room where Hermione collapsed on a sofa. Parvati was just about to leave, when Hermione grasped her hand. “Parvati… don’t go… I’m scared…”
“Scared of what?” Parvati asked gently, stroking the other woman’s forehead.
“I… think I’m dying…”
Parvati felt a stab of horror. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. “It’s nothing, Hermione; you might just be having a spot of indigestion””
Hermione shook her head. “No… someone had poisoned… pumpkin juice…”
Killer Instincts by Ginny Weasley Potter
Chapter Notes: Hello readers, and welcome to the thirteenth chapter *gasp* of Killer Instincts! I'm done with my exams, now, so you can expect faster updates!
For this chapter, I would like to thank Pauie for her fabulous work in correcting all my awkward phrasings. *Hugs*
Please review, guys, I'd really like to know what you think!
You can also watch the trailer for this story- the link is posted on my profile. Just copy-paste it into another page and enjoy the lovely lunaselenia's work!
Oh, and KI is roughly stretching to 35 chapters. I can't say for sure because sometimes I have to merge two chapters or cut one into two.
This chapter is dedicated to my very own Emma Watson, for her wonderful friendship. I really hope we'll end up in the same college, hon, so that we can trouble people together again... LOL. :D
Chapter Endnotes: Cliffie! I'm not sorry at all! :D