This one-shot was written for:
1. Fire the Canon's The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Holyhead Harpies - Chaser 2 - PadmaLavender - friendship - used bonus prompts: Jealousy – Will Young, "Sometimes your life boils down to one insane move." – Avatar, Dialogue: "Ahhh, nostalgia. How sweet you are."
2. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - colorful swirls's 2013 Summer Fanfiction Olympics - Event 1 - Swimming - used prompts: mandatory prompt - beach, optional prompts - never, a bucket, midday, "Come back with my - !", yellow.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, all rights go to J.K. Rowling.
Muggle candy
Padma sighed and took a step closer to the sea. She frowned at the sight of the water salty water. It seemed slimy and dirty. She noticed some seaweeds hover on the top the water and a jelly fish which reminded her of used plastic bags. Yuck, she found the sea disgusting and non-appealing.
She looked at Parvati and Lavender who were chatting happily and enthusiastically. They were even shaking their butts and winking at boys who were openly flirting with them. Padma frowned at the sight and quickly shook her head. She was used to this behaviour from the two girls, but still, she couldn't understand how they could behave like that.
She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. This holiday was awful; her parents got rid of the 'youngsters' and the only company she had was Parvati and Lavender who didn't even seem to notice that she was there. How much she missed her best friend Lisa who was in Scotland somewhere with her muggle grandparents. Why couldn't she join them like Lavender did?
Padma sat down on the beach and started reading her Transfiguration book. She didn't even look up until she heard a loud noise. She frowned when she noticed that Lavender was sitting next to her in her hot pink bikini.
"How can I help you?" she asked politely when she noticed how the blonde girl was looking at her.
"You are reading," Lavender frowned and Padma rolled her eyes.
"Yes, the activity I'm doing involving a book is called reading." Padma nodded in agreement, but she was close to breaking in hysterical laughter.
"It's summer," the other girl stated and fixed her brown eyes on the Ravenclaw student.
"Yes, the season between spring and autumn is summer," she agreed and Lavender grimaced.
"Why the hell, are you reading your Transfiguration book in summer on the beach?" Lavender asked as she would never understand Padma's actions.
"Come back with my –" the girl started, but Lavender was already right next to the sea and she was close to letting the book fall into the water. Padma got up and ran after the other girl who grinned mischievously. She was waving the book, but she didn't give it back to Padma when she reached her.
"I will only give it back, if you promise that you won't learn until the end of this day and you actually do something fun," Lavender stated and Padma looked at her nastily but nodded.
"What is your definition of fun?" she asked with crossed arms. The blonde girl grinned and had a mysterious smile on her face.
"I'm sure you will like it," she stated and Padma shook her head.
"Where is Parvati by the way? Why are you with me instead of my dear sister?" she asked curiously and Lavender frowned but she broke out into a grin
"Vaty? She met some random Muggle hottie. She is snogging with him somewhere I guess," she said and shrugged. "Don't worry, we are going to have great fun without her!" she said heatedly but she didn't calm Padma down. She was pretty nervous as her sister's and Lavender's definition of fun was very different from her own.
"We start with a game!" Lavender said zealously and Padma nodded. She couldn't do much- she wanted her book back.
"Okay," she said emotionlessly.
"I would suggest Truth or Dare, but that's not fun since there aren't enough people here," Lavender frowned and she even look around, that made Padma roll her eyes.
"That's too bad, now I must go back reading," she said, but she was stopped by the blonde girl who shook her head.
"I have a great idea," she said happily and Padma frowned. "Wait here!" she said and the Ravenclaw student sat down on the sand and frowned when her foot became wet. If Padma was right Lavender was gone for ten minutes and eleven seconds. When she came back she had a yellow bucket in her hand, the type young children used for sandcastle building.
"Where did you get that bucket?" Padma asked a bit suspiciously, but Lavender just smiled.
"That's not your problem. Calm down," she said simply and gestured to Padma to sit down. With a sigh the Ravenclaw girl did as she was told.
"We will play an interesting game. I have put some colourful muggle candy in the bucket. We will pick one and we will have to say some information about ourselves. Red means love life, orange means friends, blue means family, green means enemies, yellow means interests and brown means embarrassing moments. You should say interesting piece of information, not things I already know. It has to be newsworthy," Lavender said importantly and Padma raised her eyebrows. "You will start," the blonde girl said and with a sigh Padma picked a candy from the bucket.
"Orange," she said with a sigh. "Friends," she stated and Lavender nodded.
"Lisa is in love with Michael Corner?" she stated, but it came out as a question. The other girl frowned, but nodded.
"I think everyone knows that except Michael, but as I'm actually only interested in your love life I let you go... for now," the girl from Gryffindor stated and Padma wasn't sure if she should sigh in relief or be terribly afraid of what might come if she picked a red candy.
"It's my turn," Lavender said happily and she picked a brown candy. "Embarrassing moment... Hm, it's hard, probably when my mother came into my room when Seamus and I had a little clothing on," she stated and Padma couldn't close her mouth. She knew that Lavender and her sister where more free-spirited and had many boyfriends before, but she never thought that they might not be virgin anymore. She and Parvati had a mutual agreement of not talking about these things, mainly because Padma wasn't really comfortable with the topic. She just found fifteen too young to even think about losing her virginity; it seemed that her sister didn't share her views.
"I would have died in embarrassment," Padma muttered and she felt herself blush when she imagined herself in Lavender's position.
"Sometimes your life boils down to one insane move." Lavender simply shrugged and Padma nodded softly. "Your turn," Lavender said with a grin. Padma picked out a sweet and grimaced when she noticed that it was red.
"Tell me something about your love life," the blonde girl said enthusiastically and Padma groaned.
"It's nonexistent," she said stubbornly and Lavender shook her head with a smile.
"Then tell me the name of your crush," the blonde suggested happily and the black-haired girl blushed.
"I-I don't have one," she said, but Lavender just laughed.
"Of course you have one, Pads." Padma noticed that Lavender used the nickname only the closest to used, but she didn't complain. She found that she didn't really mind.
"Ron Weasley," she muttered but Lavender heard it and she grinned.
"Ahhh, nostalgia. How sweet you are," she stated and Padma looked at her questioningly.
"Most of the girls have had a crush on either Harry or Ron. I must admit redheads are hot," she stated and Padma nodded slowly.
"It's your turn," the Ravenclaw student suggested, gesturing to the bucket, but Lavender shook her head.
"Oh, sweetie. I'm sorry for you," Lavender stated and Padma looked at her in confusion.
"Wh-What do you mean?" she asked and Lavender shook her head in sorrow.
"Ron will never love you, sweetie. You are not the type of girl he would like," she stated and Padma raised her eyebrows.
"Hermione could be easily a Ravenclaw," she said softly and Lavender looked at her with pity in her eyes.
"That's the reason why she will never end up with Ron. He needs a real woman, not a bookworm," she stated and Padma frowned.
"Are you insulting me now or are you trying to help?" she asked curiously and Lavender chuckled.
"I'm trying to help you, silly. I'm your friend," she stated and even though Padma never thought of Lavender as a friend before she accepted what she said. They saw the world in a completely different point of view, but that didn't mean that they couldn't trust each other.
Maybe Lavender annoyed sometimes Padma, but she had to admit that when she needed help three people were always there for her: Lisa, her best friend, Parvati, her twin sister and... Lavender. It was always somehow natural for her as Lavender was her twin's sidekick, but whenever she needed help the blonde girl was there too, let it be emotional or physical problem.
"How can I get him? Can you give me an answer?" she asked curiously and Lavender just rolled her eyes.
"You don't change your ways for a boy, they are the ones who need to change," she stated and she nodded even though she had no idea what Lavender was talking about.
"Then what should I do?" she asked curiously and the blonde smiled heatedly.
"You have to realize that a much better boy would do anything to get you," she stated and Padma frowned.
"What are you talking about?" she asked curiously and Lavender looked at her like she was crazy.
"Oh, come on! Don't say that you don't know that Terry Boot has fancied you since first year," she stated and Padma looked at her like she was crazy.
"I see I have a lot of work to do," Lavender stated with a dramatic sigh and the other witch looked at her curiously.
"What do you mean?" she asked softly.
"You are oblivious! And I thought that the only the most intelligent students can get into Ravenclaw," she said with a frown and Padma blushed.
"I-I don't need help with boys," she muttered but Lavender shook her head.
"Of course you do. Don't worry, we are going to be here for another ten days and I'm sure Parvati will help me too. By the time we go back to Hogwarts you will know how to deal with boys," she stated way too enthusiastically for Padma's liking.
"I'm tired of thinking of boys. Can we change topic?" Padma asked with a sigh. "Where is my dear sister?"
"You're jealous of her, aren't you? You want to be in her position, making out with some cute boy, right?" Lavender asked and Padma blushed.
"Of course not," she said. "I-I... I just... It's lunch time... midday... noon," she said embarrassedly, because Lavender was actually right. She indeed pictured herself as her braver, more free-spirited twin sister who was loved by boys.
"Don't worry, I will help. If you really want, you can always try Ron, but I must say that Terry is quite handsome. I would lick..." Lavender started, but Padma stopped her. She really didn't want to know what Lavender wanted to lick.
"Thanks, Lav," she said emphasizing her nickname. The blonde girl smiled and winked.
"No problem, Pads," she said with a smile.
"You are a great friend," Padma stated and Lavender smiled.
"Of course I am," she said dramatically and snobbishly and the girl from Ravenclaw laughed.
"However, I really don't need your course or for you to play matchmaker," she stated and Lavender grinned.
"Of course you do. Even your sister does. Do you think she would have got that extremely sexy muggle boy without me?" she asked Padma challengingly who just shook her head and laughed.
"If you really want then you can organize a date for me with Terry. He really is... sexy," she stated and now Lavender laughed.
"Oh, I might be a bad influence on you," she stated with a grin and Padma grinned too.
"When is a great friend a bad influence?" she asked and she looked at the bucket. "Can't we just eat those muggle candies? They are pretty good," she stated and Lavender smiled.
"We will continue our little game when Vaty comes back," she stated. "Until then... I'm going to give you advice," she said and Padma raised her eyebrows.
"Advice?" she asked.
"How to get a sexy boy," Lavender grinned and Padma chuckled.
"Of course... Now-now... Do you want advice on... Transfiguration?" she asked after she couldn't find anything she could give advice on. Lavender shook her in and had a horrified expression on her face.
"It's summer. Just forget about school for a minute, will you?" she asked and Padma nodded with a smile. Both of them turned around when they heard the horrid singing voice of Parvati.
"Hey guys," she sat down with a huge grin on her face and she started humming again.
"Shut up, Vaty, please!" Lavender pleaded her friend.
"I just love muggle music. This boy, Andrew showed me a song about jealousy and it was like... perfect," Parvati stated dreamily. Lavender and Padma looked at each other and nodded.
"Just shut up, Parvati!" Padma asked when she continued singing. Lavender looked at her in sympathy and Padma smiled. Maybe she was going to gain a massive headache thanks to her sweet sister who just couldn't sing nor shut up, but she actually gained a friend or at least she realized that Lavender was more than her sister's friend. Lavender Brown was Padma's friend too.
"So... I want to lick Terry's..." Lavender started again.
"Shut up Lavender!" Padma asked.
Just as her sister, Lavender should learn to shut up sometimes in Padma's opinion.
Maybe then she wouldn't need so many painkillers...
