Written for Black Rose Blue's Friendship Boot Camp using the prompt 'eight'

Written for HedwigBlack's Weekly Challenges - write about a character's first time using magic

You Have Magic

"Lavender, you can't go in there!" eight year old Parvati Patil shrieked as her friend slid open the door to her father's very private office. They were never allowed in there – her father had already said she or Padma would be in big trouble if he ever found them.

But the blonde girl paid her no attention. With a mischievous gleam in her eye, she opened the door to its full extent and entered.

Parvati watched in horror as Lavender's mop of blonde curls disappeared. What if her father decided he wanted to work on the weekend? What if he caught Lavender in his office? Parvati would never be allowed to play with her again.

Lavender reappeared at the door. "Come in, Varti," she said.

Parvati shook her head. "No, we're not allowed," she replied. "You'll get into trouble."

"No, we won't," Lavender promised. "Come on." She pulled on Parvati's hand and with a nervous glance over her shoulder, Parvti allowed Lavender to drag her through the door. Their parents were safely inside the house – they wouldn't come out. They never did.

Parvati had only ever been in her dad's office once before and that had been many years ago now. She wasn't sure why she and Padma weren't allowed in there – it had just been something her father had been adamant on for as long as she could remember.

As she looked around the room, she realised it was different to how she remembered it. It was a lot smaller than last time and there were many stacks of parchment on the desk. Parvati stayed well and truly away from it all, but Lavender rifled through a pile.

"Lavender," she whispered nervously. "Stop."

It wasn't that she was afraid of her father, she just knew she would get into trouble for being there. They both would.

"Gryffindor's are brave," Lavender told her. "You have to be brave."

"I'm not a Gryffindor," Parvati argued. Both her parents and her four grandparents had all been in Ravenclaw. She was a Ravenclaw. "And neither are you, either," she added.

"I will be," Lavender replied confidently. Just like Parvati's family had all been Ravenclaws, most of Lavender's family – especially her mother's side – had been in Gryffindor.

Lavender continued to search through the parchment, until she pulled out one with a page full of writing. Parvati wasn't the best reader in the world, but she couldn't read a single word of her father's writing.

Neither could Lavender.

"It looks important," Lavender mused.

"Put it back, Lavender," Parvati whined. Perhaps it was just the wind, but she thought she could hear her parent's voices becoming louder.

"Why aren't we allowed in here anyway?" Lavender asked.

"I don't know, we're just not," Parvati argued. It definitely wasn't the wind – her parents really were getting closer. "Hurry."

Lavender shrugged. "I'm allowed in my mum's office all the time," she said. "Mummy even lets me play in there."

"Where on earth are the children?" Parvati heard her mother ask.

"I saw them go into Daddy's office," Padma said.

"Did you now?"

There were soft footsteps across the yard and Parvati jumped when the large figure that was her father appeared in the doorway.

"And may I ask what you two are doing in here?" he questioned sternly.

Parvati looked away.

"We were just looking, Mr Patil," Lavender said calmly. "We were bored with playing outside." She placed the parchment on top of the now messed up pile and looked at Parvati's father in front of her.

Parvati didn't meet her father's eye, but she knew he was watching her.

"Very well," he said after a while. "But I'd like to ask the two of you to get out of there now and find somewhere else to play. Office's are private and the doors are looked for a reason."

Parvati was slightly surprised that her father hadn't yelled at them. He had been very particular when talking to her and Padma about going in there. Perhaps he wasn't angry because Lavender was there. Maybe she would get into trouble later.

"Yes, Mr Patil," Lavender replied calmly. She was the first to leave the room, with Parvati following sheepishly behind her.

"How did you manage to open the door anyway, Lavender?" Lavender's mother questioned. "If it was locked..."

Lavender shrugged. "I just wished for it to unlock... and it did," she said.

There was a long pause as the three adults stared at each other. Lavender's mother had her mouth slightly open in shock, while Parvati's parents just stared blankly at her friend.

"You... you used magic?" Lavender's mother questioned.

Lavender shrugged again. "I don't know, Mummy."

"She must have," Parvati's mother said. "Only magic can unlock that door... Lavender used magic!"

In that moment, the mood completely changed. From hushed tones and reprimanding looks, everyone was now smiling and hugging Lavender.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, sweetheart!" Lavender's mother cried. "My baby used magic." She gave Lavender a wet kiss on the cheek, which Lavender wiped away with a disgruntled expression. It seemed she didn't appreciate the attention, which even Parvati thought was unusual for her friend.

"Show us!" Padma said excitedly.

Lavender looked to Parvati's twin sister blankly. "I can't," she said.

"Yes you can, dear," Lavender's mother encouraged.

Parvati's father took out his wand and waved it over his office door. It locked with a gentle click. "Try it again, Lavender," he encouraged, surprising Parvati. Paravti had known her whole life not to go into that office and now her father was encouraging Lavender to try and open it? She couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards her friend.

Lavender approached the door nervously and then closed her eyes. Within moments, there was another click and Parvati's father slid the door open, much to the delight of the three adults.

"You must be so proud of her!" Parvati's mother exclaimed. "Right on average, too."

"Dear, your father will be delighted with this news," Lavender's mother told her. "He was starting to worry you may have been a Squib – the Brown's were always early bloomers."

Lavender looked around sheepishly, blushing from the attention everyone was giving her. Parvati huffed irritably. There was no way her father would have acted so calm if it had just been her and Padma in there – even if they had used magic to open it.

"I can do magic too!" she exclaimed. "I'll show you." She found a leaf that had fallen from the tree above and picked it up. "I'll turn it purple."

Everyone watched patiently as Parvati concentrated with all her might on the single leaf. She closed her eyes and thought really hard, but was disappointed when the leaf did nothing but fall out of her grip in the breeze.

Her mother and father smiled.

"Not to worry, darling. You will get your magic one day. Both of you will," she added, looking at her other daughter.

The three adults then began to make their way back into the house, discussing Lavender's sudden magic. Padma trailed after them, not interested in joining her sister and her sister's friend. Padma and Lavender never had gotten along all that well.

Parvati sighed.

"Don't worry, Varti, you will get magic one day and then we can do magic together," Lavender said kindly. "You'll see."

Parvati nodded. She just wished they could practice magic together. They were best friends, after all.

I chose Lavender and Parvati for the Friendship Boot Camp because I am genuinely intrigued by their relationship and I wanted to explore it. Lavender is one of my favourite all round characters and I just really wanted to write her. I hope you enjoyed it. Your reviews would be very appreciated :)