Moments of them

I don't own the characters or anything to do with Harry Potter.

She never would understand how he could betray her in such a fashion. Memories from that night drifted around inside her head refusing to go away. Or even to leave her with a moment's peace. She sighed heavily to herself as she settled back on the sofa trying to blot out the wave of emotion that tried to make the tears fall. Inevitably they were going to come; the longer she fought the smugger she would allow herself to be. If she could fight them for even a second longer then last night then she could say that she was beginning to get over him. When the tears did not come she found herself jumping up and examining herself in the mirror with surprise. The sobs that still wracked her chest were a sign that she was any thing but over the ordeal. Reflecting on the tear filled hours she had spent in her bed,she supposed she had dried her eyes out.

All she could remember was the look on that whore's face when she had discovered them within the tangled bed sheets. It was a look compromised of shock and sadness. Blaise had just looked at her with his mouth forming the words "let me explain".

It was the night before her wedding when she Parvati Patil would be marrying (to many peoples dismay) Blaise Zabini. She had forgotten to take her tiara with her and Lavender had not returned with it when she had asked her to retrieve it. She had only supposed that – being Lavender- she had met a random guy in a pub on her way around to her flat. Seen as it wasn't yet midnight, so therefore not bad luck, she had decided to go and get it herself.

She and Blaise had been in love since roughly a month after the war ended. When her sister Padma had been killed by Fenrir Greyback, the notorious werewolf, she had fallen to pieces and found herself uninterested in everything. She barely ate or slept in the first few weeks. The simple explanation for this was that all food tasted like cardboard and dreams brought nothing but nightmares as she watched her sister being murdered. Blaise had rid her mind of the morbid thoughts of her dead twin sister. Two months later they had moved in together and seven months after that he proposed. It had taken them less than a year after that for them to get to this moment. She loved him deeply and; even though many people said that they were too young she knew that she would never regret her choice.

As she hurried out of the cold, bitter air of Christmas Eve she idly began to wander up the steps that led to her home. She had less than half an hour before she had to leave so she was giving herself a few moments. Tomorrow she would Mrs. Zabini and while she was thrilled about that she just hoped that everything would be perfect. As she reached the door she discovered that it was still slightly ajar. She smiled knowingly to herself; he never liked to close the door behind himself because it meant finality. She didn't close the door behind her, knowing that she couldn't stay long. Dumbstruck she paused out side her bedroom door, hoping that she was mistaken. She could have sworn that she had heard a moan coming from inside. However, she brushed it off foolishly believing that Blaise would never do some thing like that to her; especially the night before their wedding. He loved her and he wanted to vow to spend the rest of their life together; to be faithful to her forevermore. She heard a low breathy moan of the name "Blaise". She couldn't be hearing this; every thing was going onto turmoil inside her. Slowly, painstakingly she reached forward and turned the door knob, her breath catching in her throat. Gently she pushed the door open and it creaked ominously; cautiously she peered around it and she stopped breathing completely. Amongst the tangled bed sheets were the two people that she held closest to her heart. They were engaged in an intimate task that she and Blaise usually undertook in that bed; their bed.

Clearing her throat she pulled the two people out of their own world and into hers; which was, at this moment crashing and burning around her once more, having changed from how perfect tomorrow would be. She refused to let the tears begin to fall while they could still see her. Blaise was frantically grabbing his clothes from the floor surrounding the bed. Before she turned away from the scene, imprinted on her mind was the sad and worried expression on her "best friend's" face and Blaise mouthing "just let me explain".

As she ran through the apartment she summoned her suitcase full of clothes that was ready for their honeymoon to the Alps. She went to her parent's old house that had been left to her when they were also murdered. On the door step she paused and recalled when her and Blaise had shared their first kiss, it made her want to be mind numbingly cold and withdrawn, just to stop her from ever having to feel the pain of having her heart wrenched in two. In her list of the five worst nights of her life this was second only to Padma dying. The betrayal shocked her, Lavender; for one had turned her nose up when Parvati had told her of her new boy friend. She had told her they wouldn't last and because she couldn't stand to be wrong she had gone and ruined her best friends' world along with an innocent child's' world as well. All that passed trough her mind for the next few hours was the bitter thoughts of wishing them happiness and satisfaction. The thing that hurt the most was that she was so sure that they were made for each other. But she had been proven wrong.

It had been nearly six months since that night and since then Parvati had completely secluded herself from the wizarding world. She owned her own café in the muggle world and she was perfectly content to live out the rest of her life this way. Although she had resigned herself to live amongst muggles she still used her wand to clean and cook. Life was much easier with magic then without and it saved a lot of time. She had sold her parents house to help pay for the café. Also, deep down she did not want to admit that all the memories were making her depressed. For instance her childhood with Padma and her parents and her and Blaise's first kiss. In the past few months when she passed the Leaky Cauldron she kept her head down as though she did not see it there.

She tried (in vein) to suppress the memories of her life. All of the muggles who visited her café were surprised that such a young girl of 19 could achieve so much. Although she made new friends she found it hard to trust them and she had not even began to think about dating. The old Parvati was disappearing before her eyes and the part that remained was trying desperately to hold on to the past but the majority of her wanted to let go. Let go of all the pain, let go of all the memories that haunted her every foot step, her every breath. Every night she would curl up in a helpless ball on the sofa and sob her heart out as she ended each and every day by remembering. The most painful memories seemed to return the most frequently.

The most frustrating part about it was that no matter how she tried to comprehend it she really could not understand how he could betray her. The night before their wedding, he was the one that had set the date for the wedding. He was the one who had proposed. Every time he spoke of the wedding and she asked him what she had done to deserve him he replied with the simple answer of 'don't you mean what did I do to deserve you'. He had set her on a pedestal and she thought that he would always be loyal to her.

With each day that passed Parvati became more and more cold, simply for the reason that the colder she was the less likely any one was to get close enough to hurt her. Her café in the muggle world was booming and she still had not seen a wizard even though nearly a year and a half had passed. Her café was called Parvati's Paradise Café and it was placed in the small village of Gadwall Hollow. Although she would not admit it to any one including herself she was missing the company of her fellow wizard folk.

Just after closing time one evening, just as she was going upstairs to her flat above the café she heard the undeniable CRACK of a wizard or witch apperating. Cautiously she went to the front door and stuck her head outside. Lighting her wand with a quick Lumos spell she edged her way to the alley next to her café, making sure that the café door was locked. She hesitated at the corner not sure whether or not she wanted to see who it was. When she reached the corner she paused again, where she heard the distinct tones of a gruff male voice. She knew that voice. The man was swearing under his breath, he must have stubbed his toe or caught wind of the foul stench that lived in the alley. Muttering a disillusionment charm under her breath she rounded the corner. Approaching the figure she realised that he was alone. He began to edge his way to the end of the alley and she had to back against the wall that was not covered in dried every thing unpleasant that she could imagine.

Her suspicions were confirmed as he passed by her pausing and looking at the wall that she was pressed up against. He stared at the precise spot where she stood, then with a nervous chuckle he shook his head and moved forward. She could hear the man breathing raggedly as he neared the corner of the alley. Blaise Zabini had not changed much over the course of a year and a half; all that had changed about him was that he had grown a little extra stubble. Parvati had to remind herself of the last time she had saw him to stop herself from losing control at the mere sight of him. It was as though he had never betrayed her and he was just returning home. However he had betrayed her and she did not even know why he was here yet. Her thoughts were interrupted by Blaise banging on her café door.

She stood behind him in the dwindling light from the setting sun and pondered whether or not to talk to him. She removed the disillusionment charm with a wrap of the wand to her head. Blaise continued his assault on her door and began to shout her name. Just as his voice began to sound desperate and began to break, she cleared her throat. With his wand at the ready he turned around, when he saw her he immediately relaxed.

"What are you d- doing here B-B-Blaise? I haven't seen you in over a year so why bother now?"

"That would be because I tried to leave you alone. I didn't think that it was fair for you to have to deal with me. What happened with Lavender was a mistake. It meant nothing to me, I know that you don't want me to be here, but I saw your picture in this muggle newspaper and well I guessed that since it's been a year and a half since that night I could come back. Just to tell you goodbye and to tell you that I never moved on and that I still love you. But most of all I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what I did. Right now if I hadn't screwed up, if I hadn't given into temptation then we could have a kid right now, just like we always planned. So here goes Pavarti I'm so sorry and I'm not expecting another chance but please try to forgive me."

"Every time I close my eyes all I see is you and her in our bed. And every time I close my eyes I can only think of that betrayal. That night when I came home all I could think of was how much I loved you."

"What do you mean? Loved? Are you with some one else?"

"It's none of your business, you didn't want me enough a year ago. What's changed?"

I've changed and I never stopped wanting you, but I made a mistake and lost you."

She realised that they were standing close together, too close considering the current situation, but she had missed the warmth of human companionship and in short, she had missed him. Breathing deeply they glared into one another's eyes and Blaise looked as though trying to think about what to say. He took a deep breath and spoke:

"I realise that I have absolutely no right in being here but I have one request. Just tell me that you don't love me, that you no longer want me, that you don't need me and I'll go. You'll never see me again, does that sound fair to you? Just answer me and I'll leave."

She bit her lip hesitantly; she knew that if she lied it could potentially be the biggest mistake of her life. But if she told the truth then she was going back on every thing she had built over the past year and a half. All the pain and the suffering would be for nothing, and she would have to live in the shadow of knowing that he was capable of cheating on her.

"Do you love me?"

"I do"

"Now what do we do? Do we start again or do I leave?"

"We'll let time decide that. For now let's just forget the past and try again"

"That sounds like a plan."

"By the way what happened with Lavender?"

"Oh, she tried to seduce me and then when I told her no I think she cast a spell on me. I didn't try to resist hard enough. The pull was unbearable and almost completely irresistible. Then she kissed me and the spell wasn't broken until you cleared your throat and then it was too late."

"Yikes I didn't think of any thing like that. Blaise I'm sorry I was an idiot.

"Me too lets just start again. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Parvati how'd you like to start our story again?"

"I'd love to."

Blaise leaned in and kissed her on the lips, officially initiating their love story again. She couldn't be happier.