Parvati was excited for tonight and she hoped that Padma was too. It was the 25th of June, after all. The day they could look forward to every year. It was one of the most brilliant things about being twins.
She knocked on the door softly, hoping no one except the intended person would hear. She wasn't supposed to here, but today, it was worth the risk. She looked around again at the empty hallways and sighed in relief.
Within moments, the door opened with a click, and Padma's surprised eyes faced her own.
"What are you doing here?" her twin asked, whispering anxiously. Parvati smiled and pointed to her watch.
"It's already six o'clock in the evening, Padma," she replied. Padma frowned.
"I have some work left. Why don't you go on home? I'll join you later."
Parvati tilted her head and looked at her. "You always overwork yourself. I barely even get to see you these days! And have you completely forgotten what today is?"
Parvati saw realisation slowly dawn on her sister's face and knew that the latter had indeed forgotten. She shook her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe it. Honestly! Well, anyway, happy birthday, twinnie!" she exclaimed, her voice rising a little louder in her excitement.
Padma shushed her with a gesture of her hand before replying. "You know I don't like that nickname! Anyway, happy birthday to you too. Tomorrow is a Saturday. We can celebrate then."
Parvati raised an eyebrow. "Absolutely not! We celebrate tonight. You deserve a break from all of this. Besides, I have already invited some of our friends. We'll have a girls night in!"
"Paro..." Padma began in protest, but they both knew it was useless. Parvati was the more stubborn of the two, and she would have her way when she makes up her mind.
And so, soon enough, the two of them were making their way out of the Ministry. Parvati had a victorious smile on her face while Padma looked resigned to her fate.
As soon as they stepped into their apartment and switched on the lights, Padma had the shock of her life. Five girls leaped out at her, screaming a "Happy Birthday" at them. Padma nearly toppled backward into her sister, who caught her with a smug grin.
The mauve walls of the room had been covered almost entirely in multicoloured balloons and streamers, and a large banner hung in the middle of the room. Even Parvati had not expected that . It had been an effort entirely on the part of their friends and she thought it was beautiful.
Lavender, Ginny, Cho, Hermione and Daphne beamed at them. Parvati noticed even Padma was smiling back.
It was Lavender who spoke first. "We weren't sure what to do, really. You two are as different a pair of twins as we have ever seen. So we went the traditional way," she said, gesturing around.
"We thought you'd like it. Even if it is a little childish," Hermione added.
"We do," Parvati spoke up cheerfully, slipping a hand into her sister's. Padma simply smiled in agreement.
"Well, hopefully you're ready for a night of painting nails and silly Muggle movies..." Ginny smiled.
Padma let out a little laugh and nodded, keeping her bag on the chair nearby. Parvati soon joined her and their friends on the couch after casting a few Expanding charms on it. The seven of them snuggled up with a cosy blanket as Hermione Accioed a DVD from the room nearby.
"It's relatively new, but I hear it's a good movie," she explained, making sure neither Padma nor Parvati could see the title as she inserted it into the television. Parvati craned her neck to try to glance at the name, but Hermione was quicker. "Nope!" she called out to Paravati, cheerfully. "You don't get to see it until it starts. It's going to be a night of surprises for you two, so sit back and relax!"
Padma sighed happily as the screen began to light up and leaned onto her sister's shoulder. Parvati smiled in the half-lit darkness of the room. There were times when she really relished being the older sister, even if it was only by two minutes. Padma may like to think she never needed any help and could do everything by herself, but Parvati knew that it was far from true. Her sister was extremely prone to biting off more than she could chew especially since she had taken a job at the Ministry (in what Parvati privately liked to call "the Department of Paperwork") and was often too proud to admit it, even to Parvati. However, years of sisterhood had taught her to recognise the signs. And it was rather convenient that their birthday had fallen at this time of the year, just when Padma had chosen to prove Parvati's suspicions about the extra hours and tasks she had taken on herself. It was a much needed break, for both of them really.
It was much later, at the crack of dawn when everyone else had fallen asleep on their respective mattresses, tired after all the cake and tittering, that Padma finally spoke up, albeit softly.
"Paro?" she asked. Parvati sensed the hesitant note in her voice and immediately turned to her.
"What is it?" She hoped nothing was wrong. Padma was looking at her with tears in her eyes, and hence she too began to feel anxious.
"You were right."
"About what, Padma?"
"I needed this. This evening...it was wonderful."
"Yes it was, wasn't it? It has been a while since we've done something like this."
"We should do it more often..."
"You hardly ever have the time." There was a tinge of sadness in Parvati's voice. She missed her sister. Despite living together, they had been too busy with their own lives lately that they hardly spoke anymore.
"I know. I'm sorry."
Parvati knew Padma genuinely meant it, and her disappointment immediately melted away.
"Nevermind, then. Say, can you believe we're twenty five?"
Padma laughed; a sound Parvati had not heard in a while.
"It seemed so far away, once upon a time, didn't it? Back when we were at Hogwarts."
"Hey! Don't say that. You're making me feel old."
"You are old," came the teasing reply.
"Oil!" Parvati exclaimed, playfully shoving a pillow at her sister. Padma laughed again.
"It's late. We really ought to sleep, Didi," the latter said.
"You better not call me that, ever again, Twinnie..." Parvati retorted.
"I'll promise not to, only if you never call me winnie again," came the prompt reply.
They both giggled at their own silliness for a few moments. Then a comfortable silence settled in.
"Good night," Parvati whispered after a while.
Padma was already asleep.
Parvati looks around at the little flat she rents nowadays. It's nothing like the old one she used to share with Padma. It's smaller and sadder. It is almost as if the gloomy powder-grey walls, that replace the old ones of cheerful mauve emanate with her own feelings of sadness.
She laughs into the dark, empty walls. It is a hollow laugh, devoid of all emotion. She can hardly believe a year has passed since that night when they had had so much fun. Padma had wanted something like that again. They never got the chance.
Her friends have been insisting she has been rather lost of late. Her life has fallen apart since that day. Her job, her family, her friends...nothing meant more to her than her sister. Her sister, who she should have protected. Sometimes she cannot help thinking it was her fault.
She snapped at the so-called well-wishers and consolers. How could she not? What do they know of her pain? So she pushed all of them away, rather cruelly. After the first few attempts to console her, they stayed away. She liked it that way.
She wonders how things could have gone so wrong, so quickly after that night. She had lost everything and all in one night. One car driver who didn't look where he was going. That was all it took for her world to fall apart. A part of her was gone forever in that single moment of misjudgement and the other survives. Just survives.
Parvati never celebrates the 25th of June again.
Notes:
Other Notes: "Didi" is a Hindi term used for older sister or any girl slightly older than you. Padma uses it as a teasing term.
For the QLFC, as Beater 1 of the Kenmare Kestrels:
Prompt: Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun) (I used the meaning of the song as a base for the first 'part' of the story.)
Optional Prompts: powder grey, mauve
For The Golden Snitch:
Through the Universe: the other survives
Ollivander's Wand Shop: Write about a Gryffindor
Jurassic Fever: Write about a group of students simply hanging out as friends.
Lastly and most importantly, this is dedicated to Kyrie, who is my own long lost online twinnie! Thank you for all your help, hun! I hope you like the fic!