Notes: Written for the prompt Shapeshifting at Ladies Bingo Round 6. WC = 675
Lavender was nervous. It was the first full moon since the Battle of Hogwarts. For the past few days, she'd been feeling weak. She knew the transformation was coming tonight.
While she'd been promised by Professor Slughorn that the Wolfsbane Potion could help her retain her humanity while in her wolf state, it would not work on the first full moon. This one, she would have to go through on her own.
Professor McGonagall, aware of Lavender's new state, had offered up the dungeons for her student's first transformation. It was a place where she could shift with the knowledge nobody else would be harmed. Normally the Shrieking Shack would have been used, but the passage had caved in recently. Until it could be cleared, the dungeons would have to do.
As she stood in one of the dungeon's cells, Lavender chewed on her lip. Part of her nervousness was fear of the painful transformation that was about to take place. The other part was that she hated being in the dungeons by herself.
Suddenly, Lavender heard a noise. Looking up, she saw a figure moving towards her. As it came closer, she saw it was Parvati. "What are you doing down here?" she asked in surprise.
Parvati raised her eyebrows and dropped the bag she was holding at her feet. "You didn't think I would let you go through this on your own, did you?" She approached the cell where Lavender was and pressed her head between two of the bars. She kissed Lavender on the lips.
When the kiss broke, Lavender said "It's not safe for you down here." She was worried that she would bite Parvati and doom the other woman to life as a werewolf. Or worse.
"You're locked in, right?" asked Parvati pointedly. Lavender nodded. "Then I'll be fine. I know to keep my distance once the shift starts."
Lavender opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. Although she was scared about hurting Parvati, she didn't want to experience her first full moon on her own. Finally she said "Thanks for coming." Having her girlfriend there made her a little less afraid.
"Of course" said Parvati. "I'm not abandoning you just because you turn into a wolf once a month. You're still my Lavender."
Her words lifted Lavender's spirits. After the battle, she'd been worried everybody would look at her differently or want nothing to do with her. Knowing Parvati still thought of her as the same person made her feel like she could survive this.
Suddenly, Lavender gasped in pain. Her left leg went out from under her as the bones broke. She fell on all fours to the dungeon floor. During the next several minutes, she screamed in agony. She only stopped shrieking when the transformation was complete and her cries turned to growls.
Afterwards, Lavender would recall three things vividly. The first was the fear on Parvati's face. The second was that the wolf hated being locked up and nearly knocked itself out by running at the bars on the cell headfirst. The third was that Parvati, coming to her senses, performed the Full Body-Bind Curse on the wolf. She sat across from Lavender's frozen wolf form the entire night, recasting the spell whenever the wolf began to move again.
When the sun came up the next day, Lavender shifted back into her human form. She was naked and dirty, covered in the filth of the dungeon. But she was alive. She'd survived the transformation, thanks to Parvati.
Parvati unlocked the cell and stepped inside. She handed Lavender the bag. Inside was a change of clothes and Lavender's wand.
After Lavender dressed and put her wand in a pocket, she shot Parvati a wary look. "Do you still love me?" she asked quietly. She recalled how scared Parvati had appeared when she'd first transformed.
Parvati pushed a strand of hair out of Lavender's face and kissed her again. When their need for air caused them to break the kiss, Parvati said "Does that answer your question?"