From the moment that Lavender had looked into Parvati's teacup in third year, she knew that Parvati was meant to be hers.
She'd never been a Seer, but she liked Divination so it was one of the few subjects she worked at. While Ron and Harry were chortling over a bowler hat or some other stupid nonsense, Lavender was half-bent over Parvati's teacup, brow furrowed thoughtfully as she tried to decide what kind of flower she saw there. It looked a little French…
Parvati shifted across from her and threw Lavender one of her brilliant grins. "So," she said in a low, intimate tone of voice reserved for gossip and best friends, "Do you see true love in my future?"
Lavender bit her lower lip and cocked her head at Parvati's tea leaves, glancing between her cup and the book. Fleur de Lys- femininity; a loving woman. She raised an eyebrow, pushing down the uncomfortably fluttery feeling in her chest – nerves, perhaps, or maybe she was really Seeing? – and glanced back at Parvati with a secretive smile. "Definitely," she promised, and Parvati's eyes crinkled at her across the table, leaning in –
"Is he handsome?" Parvati asked, and Lavender opened her mouth, feeling a bit like she'd been stepped upon –
And was interrupted by Professor Trelawney spouting off about the Grim.
Suitably impressed, both girls turned to listen. Later, when Parvati asked Lavender about her leaves again, Lavender would weave a tale of a very handsome young man asking for Parvati's hand, and ignore the little voice in her head that whispered, wrong.
…
When it came time to sign up for electives in the next year, Lavender didn't hesitate to sign up for Divination once more. Parvati and Lavender signed up at practically the same time, and so were unsurprised to find that, once again, they had Divination together.
Chattering excitedly, they went to tell Professor Trelawney (dear old thing) the good news, and ended up having tea with her in her office. Lavender, by now, was an old hand at this sort of thing, and took Parvati's proffered cup with a relaxed hand, mind already sorting the patterns within.
Wheel – Events beyond your control will change your direction, Lavender read, and glanced up at Parvati, who had her head together with Trelawney, giggling over that woman's cup. Spoon – you will be comforted by someone's generosity. She bit her lip and looked back down at the cup, thoughtful, as Trelawney turned to Lavender and trilled, "My dear! I do believe I see a rose," her voice changed pitch with excitement. "And a lightning bolt! Oh, my- a love, a great insight – my dear, it's going to be a wonderful year!"
Lavender glanced at Parvati, easy smile on her lips, only to pause at the distant expression on the other girl's face. "Pav?" she prompted, brows coming together as the other witch drew a smile to her lips.
"I wonder who your true love is," Parvati teased, and Lavender locked eyes with her and flushed, ducking her head in agreement. "I'd better be the first to know!" The other witch paused, and gestured at Lavender's cup with a pink-nailed hand. "Well? What's mine say?"
"You will," Lavender lied, and then glanced down at the cup again. A wheel. "A kite," she lied again, and gave Parvati a cheerful grin. "All your wishes will come true. Guess that you're going to meet your soulmate after all," she finished, eyes crinkling in a beatific smile. Parvati laughed, delighted, and promptly dissolved into chatter.
Lavender couldn't help darting a glance at Trelawney, who smiled and glanced down, then looked perplexed. No matter what others might say, Trelawney wasn't as daft as she appeared. But Lavender smiled and smiled and smiled, never letting up, and for now the issue of Parvati's tea leaves dissolved into steam.
…
That year was the year of the Yule ball; Lavender swallowed down her misgivings like the most bitter tea and said yes to Seamus when he asked her, focusing on her dress and hair and nails and Parvati's excitement to be attending with the school champion. She dressed in red, deep and unfathomable like claret or garnets, and Seamus (most flatteringly) couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
Parvati had more trouble with her date, who seemed to be sulking. Lavender spotted the disheartened look on her best friend's face from a mile away – she'd kept Parvati's brilliant robes in the corner of her vision all evening, reassuring herself that she was checking up on the other woman – and turned to her date, putting a casual hand on his arm until he looked into the full force of her gaze.
"I'll be right back," she told him, tone pleasant and inviting. "Do you want me to get you a butterbeer?"
A few minutes later, she was talking to some Beauxbatons students by the drinks tables, flirting and charming in a way only she knew how, and by the time she returned to Seamus Parvati was dancing once more with a look of bliss on her face.
Later that night, Parvati trilled about her first kiss until she fell asleep, and Lavender stared at the ceiling and cried.
…
Following the death of Cedric Diggory, the life seemed to – if only briefly – go out of Hogwarts. Lavender and Parvati took the train home with a slightly subdued air, speaking more quietly than anyone might expect and promising with slightly panicked sincerity to see each other over the summer- "And write," Parvati insisted, "Don't forget to write."
Lavender promised, and wrote, but she didn't see Parvati again until August. Lavender's family had vacationed on the Continent, where Voldemort and Potter and Diggory seemed far away, where she could leave it all behind (except Parvati, somehow – her owls always found Lavender, and she wouldn't have it any other way). She came back to the midst of speculation and accusations and a harried Parvati whose parents, as always, were worried.
The two of them had tea in Diagon Alley, delicate teacups contrasting with the rough wood of their table, and Parvati frowned into her scone in such a way that Lavender felt compelled to reach out a hand and take the other woman's.
"It's going to be nothing, you'll see," she encouraged, to both Parvati and the tiny nervous corner of her brain. "Your parents wouldn't make you miss OWL year. And we promised to redecorate Trelawney's office for her, remember?"
Parvati brightened at the thought, her delicate hand squeezing Lavender's in reply. Taking a sip of her tea, she frowned at the empty teacup and then offered it to Lavender. At Lavender's look of misgiving (she hadn't much liked the last few times she'd read Parvati's tea leaves), Parvati pouted. "Pleeease. You're really good at it."
Lavender accepted the cup as if it were about to explode and peered at the contents somewhat warily, letting her mind settle into the familiar patterns of tasseomancy. At first there was nothing, and then… an octopus? Lavender felt her lips thinning in worry and then pursed them to hide it, humming thoughtfully. Warning – she felt her heart start up at the thought. She casually tapped the cup on the table, shifting the tea leaves a little, and proclaimed, "A parasol. See, even the tea leaves are saying you'll be fine," and tilted the cup for Parvati to see.
The other girl's smile relaxed, gaze lingering on Lavender. "Thanks, Lav," she told her, and Lavender felt a flicker of – something – as Parvati held her gaze. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
…
Truly, Lavender was scared. It wasn't in an obvious way. She went about her days much as always; after all, what's a fifteen-year-old to do? Having the weight of the world on one's shoulders was for people like Harry, or Hermione, not Lavender Brown.
The fear came out in other ways – denial, being too harsh with Trelawney or that Looney girl, and the occasional sharp retort to her teachers that surprised even Parvati.
She didn't want to believe that Voldemort was back. She couldn't. But after one too many visits to Umbridge's office, Lavender steeled herself and, Parvati in tow, witnessed the birth of Dumbledore's Army. Signing her name to parchment, regardless of what the future was, well! Lavender felt as though she could meet anything.
It didn't hurt, of course, that Parvati's name was right next to hers.
…
The day after Umbridge tried to throw dear professor Trelawney out (and failed), Lavender and Parvati visited the ex-Divination Professor in her tower, bringing flowers and quiet reassurances. Lavender even made tea in her favourite pot, though she carefully messed up the tea leaves just enough so they were unreadable. Parvati didn't notice, but Trelawney, bless her heart, did.
The older woman didn't say anything until the end of their visit. She thanked them both for the flowers, expressed a tremulous wish that they might visit her, and waved them off before asking innocently: "Oh- Lavender, dear. Did you leave a quill?"
Lavender dutifully returned and eyed the proffered item, only to start as Trelawney grabbed her sleeve and murmured with all the wisdom of the heartbroken, "You can't hide the tea leaves forever, my dear."
"I don't know what you mean," Lavender whispered, patted the older woman's hand, and added, "The quill isn't mine," before waving and hurrying out of the room.
"What did she want?" Parvati asked later, as they headed down the tower.
"Oh, she just suggested that Umbridge should see a fall down the stairs in her future," Lavender said airily, and Parvati laughed and said she was glad that Trelawney was feeling better.
…
Firenze was cute, Lavender mused as they worked on burning sweetgrass and sage in his classroom, but she wasn't sure he was worth the giggling that she and Parvati invested on his behalf. True, he was mysterious and gorgeous and wild, but lately the giggling had felt a bit like an act, a bit put-on. There were so many other things going on that Lavender it was a bit… unnecessary.
Plus, think of poor Professor Trelawney!
Still, nothing wrong with an attractive teacher, let alone an attractive teacher in her favourite subject. Lavender lay next to Parvati on the "forest" floor, hand inches from her best friend's, and stared up at the smoke, half-closing her eyes to see if there were shapes.
"Can you see anything?" Parvati asked, almost sleepily, and Lavender turned her head towards the other girl. Her dark hair was fanned out underneath her and her cheeks glowing from the heat of the fire, and Lavender blinked at the sudden thought that Parvati was more attractive than Firenze.
Jerking her head back, she stared back up at the smoke as if looking for answers. "…No," she answered finally, and she wasn't sure if she was pleased or relieved.
…
Parvati had been too quiet on the train in for their sixth year, despite having passed most of her OWLs with flying colours and looking lovelier than ever. Nothing Lavender did seemed to penetrate her aura of thoughtfulness, not even sneaking in mail orders of chocolate or long visits to Trelawney. And despite the fact that He Who Must Not Be Named was, apparently, returned, schoolwork still went on, their workload worse than ever before.
This time it was Lavender who, one day, plucked Parvati's teacup from her hands at the end of breakfast, when most students were leaving, and watched as Parvati lit up with expectation as soon as Lavender's fingertips touched her hand. Bracing herself, Lavender peered into the cup, searching for something nice to tell Parvati, something reassuring.
The first thing she spotted, though, was a Bridge. That wasn't necessarily bad, a bridge meant a 'life changing event', but Lavender couldn't for the life of her figure out what event that would be. Was it to do with the war? With school? With… romance?
She looked up at the table around them, hunting for signs. The later half of the paragraph on the Bridge, if she remembered correctly, stated to look for 'nearby clues', and so she looked, scanning the last occupants of the table. Who could be Parvati's life-changing event? Harry was left, but Parvati wanted nothing to do with him romantically (and, besides, Harry was everyone's life-changing event, so he kind of messed with the entire process of the thing). Hermione was gone, and she was pretty positive that Neville wasn't the thing… and then there was… Ron?
Lavender gawked, eyes narrowed at the redhead in thought. Ron wasn't- he couldn't be – Parvati and Ron? She had to have misread the tea leaves.
She came back to Earth with Parvati waving her hand in front of her face and giggling. "Lav," she trilled in the oddest tone of voice, "D'you think you can focus on me and not your crush for one moment?"
Crush?
Lavender blinked and went along with it. Parvati wouldn't have a crush on Ron if she did, she argued as she giggled and side-eyed the redhead with more malice than adoration.
When they finally returned to Parvati's leaves, they were interrupted by the realization they were late to class. Lavender waved at Ron as she went past and Parvati made a strangled giggling noise and she wondered what, exactly, she'd gotten herself into this time.
…
Sixth year was a romantic mess.
Lavender had never been good at denying herself things; with the exception of what she wanted from Parvati (which remained unarticulated, even to herself) she usually followed her desires wherever they led. So her self-imposed romance with Ron, something she didn't particularly want, was doomed from the start.
It didn't have to work, she told herself as she pulled yet another over-the-top act of PDA in front of the Gryffindor table. Parvati would certainly never want to date him after this. She hoped Parvati still wanted to be her friend after this.
She watched Parvati turn away with a wrinkled nose and, perversely, pressed closer to Ron. If she closed her eyes, maybe she could pretend…
…
When everything dissolved, Parvati was there for her, even though Lavender wasn't quite sure she deserved it. But Ron and Hermione were fine, and Parvati surely forgave her for the months of gushing, and the two of them resumed visiting Trelawney and being linked at the hip as usual.
It was more tentative, though. Parvati hesitated before touching her, before linking arms or leaning on her on the couch. Lavender supposed it was her own fault and tried not to mind, tried not to speculate, and waited for Parvati to forgive her fully.
They woke one evening to the sounds and colours of curses lighting up the dark, and hurried down to the Great Hall clad in pajamas, hair loose around their faces as they were given the news… that Dumbledore had died.
Parvati gasped soundlessly, frozen in place, and Lavender's eyes flickered around as if expecting to see Dumbledore jump out at any moment – surely he was hiding behind a pillar – and the Hall burst into muttering and laments, the first-years looking mostly confused or tearful, the older students stony-faced and red-eyed. Parvati turned into Lavender, then, pressing her face into Lavender's shoulder, and Lavender wrapped her arms around her, suddenly terrified for what was ahead.
The two of them stood there, among the cacophony and McGonagall's pleas for quiet, for an infinite moment as they tried to calm their racing hearts.
…
Parvati was jerked out of school by her parents the day after; Lavender wouldn't have known except she'd woken up to Parvati packing. Unsure what to say, she shifted on the bed, watching Parvati's face. It was stormy and uncertain and firm as the other witch carefully folded things into her trunk, hands steady.
Lavender wasn't sure why she didn't say anything, nor why she pretended to be asleep when Parvati stood by her bedside. She closed her eyes, wishing that it was just a dream – she was still sleep-fogged enough that it could be, if she focused – and felt a presence by her bedside, a light brush on her forehead, and then coolness, air rushing in to fill the space the person had left behind.
She opened her eyes and Parvati was gone, leaving nothing but a note on her bed.
…
It wasn't the end, of course. As soon as Lavender got out of school herself, she met Parvati, coming over to her house as her parents were terrified of the changes that were coming. They kept meeting, all summer, but something had changed – solemnity had crept in where there had once been carefree happiness, and it showed.
They were commanded to return to school. There wasn't a choice, and they sat on the floor of Parvati's bedroom, side by side with their legs pressed together for comfort, and downed their tea like shots before swapping cups.
Parvati's face shuttered thoughtfully, biting her lip as she stared into Lavender's cup. Tasseomancy wasn't her strong suit, so she could be wrong- Lavender certainly hoped she was, if her expression was anything to go by. She peered into Parvati's cup cautiously, telling herself that it might not even be a big deal. After all, the storm on the horizon was obvious even without reading tea leaves.
She turned the cup partially to see the dog, surmounted by a broken X shape. The broken x was bad enough (obstacles, losses), but the dog was clear. A dog meant a good friend, but if the dog was at the bottom of the cup…
Lavender felt strangely calm, considering that it was pretty obvious that the tea leaves were predicting her own doom. Glancing at Parvati, who was still frowning into Lavender's own leaves, she hurriedly pushed the leaves around a bit, and was looking innocent, peaceful, by the time Parvati looked up with a furrowed brow.
Tilting the cup towards Parvati, who had let out a soft, "Lav…" with her brow furrowed, she pointed to the insides. "A dog," she said, smiling in a manner that didn't feel real as she gestured to the dog – now at the top of the cup. "See. No matter that happens, I'll be with you."
Parvati glanced into Lavender's cup, back to her own, and then up at Lavender, eyes lost. "You'd better," she whispered, and Lavender wrapped an arm around her in a hug.
"Of course I will," she promised, lie bitter on her tongue.
…
Seventh year was -
Awful.
Lavender would have felt that much more strongly, she determined, if Parvati hadn't been at her side. True, both she and Parvati were in the relatively pure to half-blooded spectrum, and so they drew little notice from the "Professors" Carrow and their cronies if they kept their mouths shut.
If. They often couldn't, and with the sheer stubbornness that only they possessed, soon ended up on the Carrows' bad list for mouthing off or refusing to do anything to harm the other students. Lavender and Parvati barely made it to the Room of Requirement (why hadn't she known about this?) with Neville's help, collapsing in the warm space with hearts pounding, falling in a heap and clutching at each other until they felt safe.
Seamus gave her a knowing look, but Lavender pointedly ignored him as they looked around the room, made it their own space and proclaimed that they absolutely had to have a bathroom.
It was a tiny oasis, the calm before the storm, and Lavender almost wished it lasted longer, and that she could stay tucked in a hammock next to Parvati forever.
…
But she couldn't.
Harry returned to the school and just like that the dominos were set in motion, heading irreversibly to whatever conclusion the conflict would see. Lavender set her mouth in a firm line and rolled up her sleeves, trying to shake the remembrance of Parvati's tea leaves that were suddenly obscuring her vision.
"Lav?" Parvati asked anxiously, as the school rang with the sounds of war, and she shook her head and relaxed her grip.
"We're going to be fine," she told Parvati, wondering if either of them believed it, and hesitated before squishing her in a close hug.
…
It moved so fast.
She couldn't begin to comprehend how she'd gotten into the Entrance Hall, where she'd come from, where she was going, anything other than the Death Eater in front of her and the next and the next, why hadn't she reviewed DADA more, why hadn't she practiced, where was Parvati, where was Parvati, oh Merlin –
And then she heard a snarl and her blood turned cold as ice as she spun on one heel and blasted a dog – a wolf – backwards with a screamed curse. Her hair got in her eyes and she brushed at it ineffectively, blinking through the blood and grime that had somehow accumulated in her eyelashes, and she knew what was going to happen before it did.
The wolf leaped, and Lavender turned her eyes to the rest of the hall in a slow, almost calm scan. If Parvati was alright – if she could just find her –
Teeth scraped her ribs, and Lavender screamed.
…
"NO!"
And a blasting curse – and was that Trelawney shrieking? And then –
…
…
"LAVENDER!"
"Lavender, don't you dare. You promised."
"You promised."
…
Lips?
…
Hair. She lifted an arm to brush at it and was met with
someone's elbow.
Was someone on top of her? Her
ribs-
…
Was it raining? Lavender had never heard of salty rain.
…
…
…
…
Lavender woke up in heaven.
She wondered why she'd chosen the Gryffindor dorms as her happiest place. The red and gold hangings were full of spirit, but a bit… tacky, and that didn't strike her as her style. Trying to sit up to get a better look, she let out an involuntary gasp as her entire body protested, and she realized that her torso was bracketed in thick bandages, spanning her neck to her navel.
Now, that wasn't like heaven at all, Lavender mused, nor was the weight on her arm…
Turning her head to the left (with effort), she spotted a sleeping Parvati, curled up into her side. That's more like it, Lavender mused, stilling in her movements as to not wake Parvati up. She was warm and sweet and safe, only a little grazed as far as Lavender could see, and Lavender leaned a bit over and pressed a kiss to her forehead before relaxing back into the pillows, feeling perfectly justified in going back to sleep.
…
The next time she woke was to the smell of brewing tea.
Lavender cracked open her eyes to see the Gryffindor hangings once more, the backdrop for soft murmurs at the foot of her bed. She blinked sleep out of her eyes and turned her head left once more, only to find Parvati gone.
"I'm right here," Lavender heard, and then the weight on the end of the bed shifted as Parvati came around to the side. "That is, if it was me you were looking for?"
Lavender opened her mouth to reply, and Parvati held up a hand to forestall her. "You scared me," she rushed out, and frowned at Lavender's covers. Lavender, who was currently discovering the depth and breadth of whatever nasty wounds covered her chest, blinked up at her, thinking of Parvati rather than scars. "And you lied."
"I didn't-"
"About my tea leaves," she clarified, raising an eyebrow. Lavender looked around for sympathy and spotted only the retreating back of Professor Trelawney, who gave her a soft smile and a wave before shutting the door on the two of them.
"I just woke up and you're going to give me grief?" Lavender wanted to know, and Parvati tapped her shoulder with a huff of impatience. Lavender winced.
"Don't do that again," the other woman stressed, leaning in, eyes intent on Lavender's face. "Okay? I'd rather have some warning if-" she swallowed, hard. "You're going to try and leave me."
Lavender felt her own throat closing up. "I would never," she croaked, feeling her eyes well up to match Parvati's, and Parvati nodded solemnly.
"You'd better not," she told Lavender, leaning closer, hand gentle on the covers. Her other hand cradled the back of Lavender's head, gently, carefully, and Lavender closed her eyes and whispered one sentence to Parvati's lips.
"I promise."
…
A/N:
Just an idea I had, and the first Lavender/Parvati I've written! As you can probably tell, there is Canon divergence in some areas. It's just slightly AU. I hope you didn't squint too closely at the details and just enjoyed the story!
Isefyr