Lavender Zabini, it was going to be. She wouldn't be anything now, and Parvati had no choice but to take her place.

Not to Be

By silver-nightstorm

Words: 1091

XX

"Get up."

She looked up from her book to see her mother in the doorway, glowering. She tried to say something, but she couldn't form the words. Her throat was too dry.

"I said, get up!"

She swallowed a couple times, not moving from her supine position under her downy comforter. It took her a few moments, but she finally managed to speak. "What's the point?"

Parvati Patil shrieked as Lakshmi Patil stormed into the room and ripped the covers from around her, knocking her to the ground in the process. Picking herself up off the floor gingerly, Parvati glared at her mother and rubbed at her bruised knee.

"The point is, my dear, that we have work to do!" Lakshmi deposited the covers back onto the bed and dusted her hands off. "This meeting is very important and…"

"I won't marry him."

"That's not for you to say," retorted Lakshmi, throwing open the door to Parvati's closet. "I know you never liked his friends at school and I know he's a Slytherin but…"

"Mum, you really think that's what I care about?" demanded Parvati. She stormed up to her mother, blocking her access to her clothes by shoving the novel she still clung to into her face. "I could care less where his bloody loyalties were during the war! What I do care about is the fact that he was betrothed to her and…"

"You don't have many options, you can't afford to be picky!" Lakshmi shoved her daughter's hand out of the way. "This is your fault, you know? If you had just let your father and I pick your betrothed when you were young as is customary you wouldn't have to choose from the leftovers now."

"Pick somebody else!" screamed Parvati. Lakshmi jumped, shocked by the proximity of the noise. "There is more than one leftover from this war so pick someone who wasn't engaged to my dead best friend! You want to torture me, don't you?" Parvati retreated back to her bed, collapsing onto it, cradling the book in her hands before throwing it onto her nightstand. "This is all because I didn't leave at the end, isn't it. How could I? You're always telling me to do the right thing but when it comes down to it, apparently that doesn't matter to you so now, instead of saying it to me directly, you're just going to make my life a living hell by reminding me of her at every turn! It's my fault they were both there and now you want to make sure I remember it forever! You blame me for her and now you're going to torture me even more and…"

Parvati glared at her mother for a few moments before bursting into tears. Once upon a time, Lakshmi would have been with her daughter on that bed comforting her but things had changed during that war. Instead, she went back to the closet, pulled out a sari, and placed it on the vanity. She silently retreated to the door. "I expect you to be ready and waiting in an hour. And wear makeup to cover those horrid tears."

XX

Her hair was short now. She had cut it soon after the final battle at Hogwarts because it reminded her too much of the time she spent with Lavender obsessing over makeup and hair and boys. It reminded her too much of her sister. In Diagon Alley soon after the battle, she had been ambushed by an ecstatic Cho Chang who was so happy that she was alive and… long hair didn't last long after that. She ran a comb through her shoulder length curls, brushing out the tangles as slowly as she possibly could. Her purple and green dragonfly barrette was lying on the vanity and she pulled her hair into a twist that rested on the nape of her neck and secured it with the garish piece. Her mother hated that pin. She would wear it no matter how ridiculous it looked.

She dug through her drawers looking for the one eyeliner pen that she had left. She found it after a few frantic moments of fumbling and quickly applied a thin line on her waterline. Fishing the mascara out of the same drawer, she swiped the brush over her eyelashes quickly. She threw the two back in the drawer and slammed it shut with a resounding thud.

"Fifteen minutes!" called her mother. Parvati did not reply.

The sari that her mother had set aside was her favourite one, a dark royal purple in a transparent light-weight fabric. The edges were decorated with silver threads, stones, mirrors, and beads with flower cut outs. Parvati tucked the end of the sari into her petticoat and wrapped the fabric around her body in the traditional way. Her blouse was more modern, practically backless with short cap sleeves but the dangerously low neckline was thankfully concealed by the fabric of the sari. She secured the many pleats with pins and pulled silver bangles onto her wrists. She carefully put on her silver earrings and looked forlornly around her room. This was her home. She shouldn't have to do this. Her parents had been kind enough to let her escape this Pureblood custom for so long that she had almost forgotten that it existed but now it was right here in front of her and she had to face the facts. If only it wasn't him that she had to marry.

One last look in the mirror. Parvati looked beautiful. She hated it.

As she walked down the hall of the third floor of her home, Parvati acknowledged that she could have been much worse off. Among the currently available men her age were many children of ex-Death Eaters. Their previous engagement contracts had been suddenly and inexplicably dropped. Parvati couldn't think of something much worse than being married to the brutish and dumb Gregory Goyle or the prat Draco Malfoy.

Blaise Zabini, by himself, wasn't a bad choice. He was handsome and smart and not a horrible person. Zabini on his own was actually one of the better options for Parvati. She knew that fact and she acknowledged that fact and she hated that fact. If it wasn't for her. Lavender Zabini, it was going to be. She wouldn't be anything now, and Parvati had no choice but to take her place.

She unconsciously straightened her shoulders as she reached the stairs. Gripping the bannister with clammy hands, Parvati descended down to the ground floor.

XX

Multichapter Forced Marriage Competition

The Multichap Competition Round 1

Almost like a novel – multi-chapter-story-challenge

The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts Challenge

So this is my first attempt at a forced marriage fic, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Please favourite, follow, and leave a review. It'd be much appreciated!