It was about midday when Parvati wandered the streets of Diagon Alley purchasing school supplies for the new school year. Parvati had changed a lot over the summer. She no longer had a silly girlish obsession over Divination or unicorns. Well okay, she still loved the unicorns and their ravishing foals. Many students still thought that she and her identical twin sister, Padma, were still the best-looking girls in the year. The both had silky black hair and mysterious green eyes.
Parvati searched for a familiar face in the crowd of people. She stopped at Florence Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for a black raspberry sundae topped with a dark red cherry. While treating herself, she looked up to see her best friend, Lavender Brown, waving frantically from the other side of the French-inspired cafe. Parvati left her ice cream to melt in the heat as she went to greet Lavender.
"Lavender! It's great to see you again!" exclaimed Parvati as she hugged Lavender tightly.
"I'm...fine!" struggled Lavender as she managed to say something through Parvati's grip on her. Parvati let go so Lavender could talk. "I haven't seen you in ages," said Lavender.
"Oh, I know," Parvati said sheepishly, still embarrassed for practically strangling her best friend. "How was your trip to Ireland?"
"It was very...." Began Lavender searching for a descriptive word, "Irish," she finished. "We went to see my dad's second cousin or something. Where's Padma?"
"Oh I don't know," Parvati responded. "The last time I saw her was when we were at Flourish and Blotts."
"What have you been doing all this time?"
"Well, getting parchment, quills, new books, and such," said Parvati. "And I was just eating my sundae when you came along."
"Are you talking about that black raspberry puddle over there in the glass bowl?" giggled Lavender.
"Oh well," said Parvati simpky as she took out the cherry from the purple ice cream puddle and ate it.
"Do you want to go and find some of our classmates?" asked Lavender.
"Sure," responded Parvati. "I've all ready seen Dean Thomas with Seamus Finnigan. I also saw Hermione Granger. When you see her, you know that Ron Weasley and Harry Potter can't be that far behind."
"I've seen Malfoy and his crew of idiots. I ducked out of the shop before he could spot me though. I also saw Hannah Abbott," said Lavender.
Parvati got her new school books, then she and Lavender went through shops looking at some interesting devices, like and hour glass that turns itself over and a set of silverware that feeds you itself. Little bells on a door rang as they soon entered a dim and dusty store. The elderly shopkeeper slept with his feet propped up on the counter while he snored. Parvati found it strange that he could be sleeping because there was a hoard of rowdy fourth years-to-be across the street playing an extreme game of gobstones, each side with an impressively tremendous cheering section. Parvati's emerald eyes skimmed along volumes of books that had many years worth of dust piled on them. Her eyes reached a peculiar leather bound book with no title on one of the upper shelves. On the spine there was only a picture of a bow and a quiver of arrows. She reached up to retrieve the book when she heard the small ringing noise indicating that the door had opened.
"Parvati!" Lavender called out. "Come outside! Harry, Ron, and Hermione are out here! Come on out!!!"
Parvati looked back wistfully at the dusty volume on the top shelf. She promised herself that she would be back. For some reason, she felt she had an odd connection with it. Yes, she told herself, I will definitley be back soon. Parvati took another look at the volume before she skirted outside back into the warm and bright sunlight. She carried all of her school purchases to where Lavender was waiting for her with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.