Lavender flopped backward onto the cluttered bed, sighing dramatically. Her half-finished Charms essay was on the bed next to her, the longer roll of parchment taking up almost as much room as she was. At her feet, Parvati giggled, reaching to catch the inkwell before it spilled onto Lavender's assignment.
"C'mon," she encouraged, closing the Transfiguration text she held, leaning across the bed to meet the other girl's eyes. "You're nearly finished, you only need a few more inches."
"A few more inches is far too much. There can't possibly be that much to say about Cheering Charms. You cast them, they cheer someone up. Flitwick expects a roll of parchment on that?"
Parvati placed her textbook on her bedside table and shifted Lavender's essay, making room for her to sit closer to her. The two of them worked on their homework together on her bed every night, finding the common room far too noisy and separate beds far too inconvenient for collaboration. "If I cast one on you now, will you be able to finish the essay?" Parvati watched Lavender roll her eyes in response. The corners of her mouth curved upwards in a subconscious smile.
Lavender rolled over onto her side, head propped up on her hand as she grinned back at Parvati. "There's no way I'll be able to finish this tonight. I'll just sleep now and wake up early tomorrow to write the rest."
Parvati raised an eyebrow, wordlessly telling Lavender that it wasn't the best idea. However, she knew Lavender well enough to know that arguing the point would be useless. Parvati shrugged, laying down against the pillows at the other end of the bed, pulling the covers over herself.
When Parvati woke the next morning, she felt slow, warm breath on the back of her neck and gentle, sleep-relaxed arms around her waist. She breathed a laugh, turning around slightly, careful not to wake Lavender. She wasn't sure exactly how they had gotten into this position. Perhaps Lavender had moved in the middle of the night for the comfort of the pillows. The few times they had fallen asleep on the same bed while studying had found them both curled up on opposite ends of the bed. Usually, Lavender made it back to her own bed.
Parvati had never thought to anticipate something like this. Now that it was happening, she knew the one thing that she didn't want to do was to get up. She reached over to check the small analog alarm clock on her bedside table. Her morning alarm wasn't due to go off for another half hour.
At this, she smiled, settling back onto her pillow, her hand coming to rest on top of Lavender's.
Lavender awoke at the sound of the alarm. She blinked slowly for a moment, eyes heavy with sleep. It took her a minute to realize where she was, how close she was to Parvati.
The other girl turned off the alarm, rolling over to meet her eyes. "Sorry," Lavender whispered, not entirely convinced of its accuracy in the situation. She hoped Parvati felt the same, that she didn't mind their unintentional sleeping arrangement.
"Don't be." Parvati's voice was no more than a breath, but she followed it by softly pressing her lips against Lavender's own. The kiss was brief, but warm. "You gonna finish that essay now?"
Lavender smiled broadly, firmly believing that Cheering Charms were nothing compared to what she just experienced.
.o.
A/N: For the Marathon Competition, Starting Point using the prompt "cheering." Loosely based on a similar experience of my own. Thanks for reading xx