QLFC round 9: Hoops: Write about someone meeting a goal.

Duelling Club - Cherrywood wand: (character) Parvati Patil, (word) Method, (dialogue) '"Don't give up." That's not as easy as it sounds.'

Hogwarts - History of Muggles, Task 2b - Write about someone discovering a world or place. Extra credit: write about a lost civilisation.

Roald Dahl Day - write about someone searching.

Optional prompts: Spot, promise, plan, gentle, building, steam, end, pull, use, head.

Random Character Challenge: Padma Patil

Betaed by The Lady Rogue, The Kawaii Neko, BlueRubyBeat.

2,474 words

Padma had always been the overlooked twin. The studious one. The one whose attention always seemed to be elsewhere. She knew what people whispered about her; that she always had her head in the clouds, that she sometimes seemed as loony as Lovegood. In her fifth year, her classmates had gossiped about why she had received the position of Prefect, instead of someone more outgoing, more assertive.

But Padma couldn't care less.

Her eyes were turned not to the world in front of her, like her sister Parvati, but to the world as it once was. What did Hogwarts look like, upon its construction? Would she recognise London, if she were sent back two thousand years? Her closest glimpse of unknown civilisations until this moment had been when she had spoken to Ronald Weasley about the mer-colony under the Black Lake. They had been there for centuries before the founding of Hogwarts.

Until today.

It was the eighteenth day aboard the Lovely Lady, and she was starting to think that they would have to turn back. She had been diving all around the coast of Portugal, hoping to find the remnants of Atlantis.

The Muggles thought Atlantis was a myth, invented by one of their philosophers to describe an ideal world. Wizard-kind knew better. Somehow, at one point in history, merpeople had bred with wizards and had given birth to a new kind of people - ones that were as at home underwater as they were on the surface.

People used to go to them for advice, for they were the best scholars in the world - quick to question and slow to anger, with not a single prejudiced bone in their bodies. However, war and witch hunting had driven them below the surface, vowing never to return to the world that had rejected them unless that world had proved that it had changed.

And it had changed. Padma was determined to prove that, just as she was determined to prove that this legendary civilisation had not dwindled into oblivion. Voldemort had been vanquished, wizards had found a way to live peacefully among Muggles, and where that was not possible, to hide themselves from them.

If only the Atlanteans were still around today, Padma was sure that the prejudice that had clouded the wizarding world would never have permitted Voldemort's rise to power. If they had still been around, then Parvati would never have lost her best friend.

Padma shook herself out of her introspective state. She would need to be on high alert if she was to find Atlantis today. Donning her water repellant clothing, complete with all of the heating charms necessary for deep sea diving, she examined her supply of Gillyweed.

It was running low, one of the reasons she would have to call a halt to their voyage and declare it a failure if she didn't find Atlantis soon, though that was not a conversation she was looking forward to having with the captain. She knew the Bubblehead Charm, of course, but it wasn't nearly as effective as the overlooked plant.

With a sigh, she secured the Gillyweed in her pocket and stepped out of her cabin.

Almost immediately, she was met with the cool sea breeze, just powerful enough to lift her braid from her back. The crew were busy with their tasks - there was never an idle moment on a ship - and Charlie Weasley was patiently waiting at the prow, already harnessed with his rope. He noticed her as soon as she did him, despite his ginger hair blowing into his eyes, and they met under the rigging.

'Today's the day,' he said confidently. 'I can feel it. All your maps have indicated that this is where we are most likely to find them. If they're anywhere, they'll be here.'

'Let's hope so,' Padma simply replied. 'Have you got your camera?'

Charlie patted his chest, where a Mokeskin pouch was tucked into his wetsuit.

'No Atlantean creature will get past me,' he promised. 'I have eyes like a hawk from watching for Danish Flutterwings. Those dragons are as tiny as fairies, but Merlin can they pack that fiery breath.'

Padma laughed, but the mention of dragons struck a chord in her mind.

'Remind me to introduce you to an acquaintance of mine when we get back,' she said, fondly remembering Luna Lovegood, whose interest in rare creatures rivalled Padma's fascination with civilisations. They had had a good debate or two at the Ministry cafeteria when their lunch breaks coincided. She thought Luna would love to hear about dragons as small as fairies.

'That would require you to abandon your hermit-like ways,' Charlie joked, nudging Padma so she knew not to take it to heart. 'Over two weeks on this voyage and a month planning it beforehand, and I feel like I barely know you.'

With a pang of guilt, Padma realised that she had locked herself away for most of their travels, emerging only to give directions for a new course, or to ask the crew about any rumours from these parts of the sea. Not for the first time, she wished that Parvati could have come with her, to liven up her spirits if nothing else, but Parvati was but a shadow of her former self.

The war had hit her sister hard. She spent most of her time taking walks with Firenze in the Forbidden Forest, trying to divine what life had in store for her from the stars. Padma could only hope that the Atlanteans had some wisdom they could impart on the subject.

'Don't give up hope yet,' Charlie said gently, and Padma realised that she had taken too long in her response.

'"Don't give up." That's not as easy as it sounds,' Padma replied humorlessly.

After all, her whole family had given up. First her sister losing hope, then her parents had moved back to India, unable to handle the aftermath of the war, leaving Padma to take care of Parvati. It would be so simple, if Padma could just let go of this dream, the one she had fought so hard to keep, but so far had only brought her grief.

An image of Parvati's face, smiling for the first time in years, came unbidden to her mind. She would find the Atlanteans. And they would help her sister get better.

'Let's do this,' she said abruptly, clearing all melancholy from her mind.

Charlie gave a short nod, sensing her change in mood, and pinched his nose as he gulped down the Gillyweed. Padma took a moment to secure the rope to her own harness before taking a mouthful of her own stock, trying to ignore the slimy texture that she would never get used to.

Once she felt the last tendrils slither down her throat, her breath hitching, she put her goggles on and nodded. Charlie signalled the captain, who called to the crew to periodically search the waters for them upon their return, and adjusted his own goggles. The first time they had dived, Padma had almost been pulled back under by the current, and they had barely got a length of rope to her in time. Now they were more careful.

Committing the sun's warmth on her skin to memory, Padma dived, the Gillyweed guiding her instincts. The water was icy cold, and she knew that it would have taken her breath away if she had used the Bubblehead Charm.

Kicking with her legs felt as natural as walking, and Padma set about with her usual method - exploring as deep as she dared. By all accounts, Atlantis could be found halfway between the reef and the surface, trapped in its own little bubble that fish bypassed with ease. According to most scholars, the city was protected by the same sort of spells that most wizarding places used to keep Muggles out, but Padma wasn't so sure. If it were that easy, then wizards would have found the Atlanteans by now.

So she had taken extra precautions. One of the reasons she had struck up a friendship with Luna was because the younger woman could see things others couldn't. Many said it was her imagination, but Padma's instinct told her otherwise. Luna had agreed to ask her father about the spells he placed on her Spectrespecs, and less than three days later had given Padma a slew of spells to learn. Those spells were now placed upon the two divers' goggles, not that Charlie had needed any. His naturally keen senses, honed by his time as a Seeker, helped him notice magical disruptions.

The two of them really are alike, Padma thought to herself. Parvati would want to set them up, if she took an interest in that sort of thing anymore. The old Parvati would have, anyway. Maybe when she got back, Padma would coax her sister into caring about this sort of thing again. The worst that could happen was that Charlie and Luna would have a nice conversation about magical creatures.

Just then, a glimmer caught her eye, a distortion of the sun's reflection.

It's probably just the water breaking up the light, she told herself. That's what it was the thirty other times you thought you saw something. Apart from that one time she accidentally swam into an anglerfish.

Remembering the incident with a shudder, Padma drew her wand to be on the safe side. Still, her treacherous heart started beating erratically, and her feet kicked overzealously towards the occurrence.

Now that she looked more closely, she could see a crack in the water, as if it were made of glass. Experimentally, she pushed away, sending waves towards the weakness. Spiderwebs of light snaked outwards, but the glow faded nearly as soon as the water settled.

Excitedly, Padma sent red sparks in all directions. It was the agreed upon symbol — easy to cast, and easy to spot. Within minutes, Charlie was by her side, spotting the crack almost instantly. A string of bubbles flew from his mouth and he gesticulated, obviously forgetting that she couldn't hear him underwater.

Patiently, Padma tapped her ear, shaking her head for emphasis. Eventually, he realised that his movements were fruitless, and his hands fell to float mid-water, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Padma would have rolled her eyes, were she not fearful of dislodging her goggles.

Charlie's blush soon faded though, and he motioned for Padma to link her harness to his own. They had discussed the possibilities of finding the Atlanteans and the creatures that lived on their island, hoping, but not expecting, to happen upon them.

Padma had spent days in the Space room in the Department of Mysteries searching for a way to slip through the wards without actually breaking them. No one knew whether the pressure of broken wards would destroy Atlantis, because no one knew whether they lived in a bubble of air or water. In the end, her boss had given her a device that absorbed the magical signature needed to bypass the wards and extended it to everything that came into direct contact with it. In exchange, he had given her six months to find Atlantis or shelve the mystery for another ten years. In his mind, there were more important things to work on.

Now, Padma was holding onto Charlie as tightly as she dared, while he took the device out of his Mokeskin pouch. It was small and unassuming. Anyone else might have mistaken it for a pocket watch, but as Charlie pressed it to the wards' weakness, it latched onto the unseen surface with spider-like legs. Padma could see it grow red hot in the water - the reason why Charlie was handling it and not her - and steam bubbled up around it.

Without warning, the device suddenly shot forward, dragging Charlie by the tips of his fingers, and jerking Padma along by extension. She was glad they'd had the idea of linking their harnesses - the unexpected movement had jerked Charlie's body from her grasp. The sensation was not unlike Apparition, Padma mused, as her stomach had trouble following the rest of her body. However, her thoughts quickly turned elsewhere once she drank up the sight before her.

Within touching distance stood a great arch, perfectly rounded, supported by intricate pillars on each side, and beyond that lay something that looked like an aqueduct, though Padma instinctively realised that it was a bridge to the city beyond.

The city itself was breathtaking. She could see no form of life, and she suspected that was because they had not yet entered through the gateway, but the view alone was worth all of her work up until that moment.

Tall, grey pillars marked entrances to buildings, not unlike Greek architecture, but everything was curved, rounded so that she could not see where one stone stopped and another started. Light shone from large window-like holes, though she imagined that there were no panes to separate the life within from that without. Patches of mossy seaweed grew here and there, but all the plants that touched the buildings appeared to have been transformed into intricate patterns, enhancing their aesthetic.

The city scaled in size, rising upwards to what looked like a cross between an amphitheatre and a colloseum. Padma imagined the debates taking place, the peaceful resolutions, the schooling of young minds. Briefly, she thought that it was a Ravenclaw's paradise, though the thought that she would have nowhere to put her books crossed her mind.

As she took a step forwards, Padma was immediately aware of a change in the water around her. It seemed lighter, thinner, like the humid air of a night before a thunderstorm. It felt neither hot nor cold, but more like the temperature of a cool summer's eve. Experimentally, she removed her goggles and realised that she could see perfectly, as though she were above ground, though when she touched a hand to her neck, the gills were still there.

'It's some kind of cross between air and water,' she said softly, not realising she spoke aloud. 'I feel as though my gills and my lungs are working in synchronisation.'

'What kind of magic was lost with these people?' a deep voice asked from behind her, and Padma realised it was Charlie.

She turned to him in surprise.

'You could hear me? The water really is thinner than I initially thought,' she observed, filing the note in her mind for later.

She raised a tentative hand to brush her fingers against one of the pillars. It was smooth to the touch, almost slick, and the painting of a mermaid holding out a spear, her aquiline features at once strong and wise, was all that was needed to convince her fully.

'We've found it,' she breathed. 'The lost city of Atlantis.'