Padma was absentmindedly brushing the end of her quill across her cheek. Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were glossy with absorbing thought. She sat there, slightly dazed and slightly engrossed with her own muses, while Pavarti watched her curiously. Anything that could put her normally focused sister into a state such as this was worth knowing about.

"Padma?" said Parvati, "What's wrong with you?"

Padma didn't reply. She hadn't really heard her sister at all, actually. Annoyed with this, Parvati shook her twin by the shoulder. Padma's hair was slightly tousled after the violent shaking (the roughness had been needed to snap Padma out of her thoughts and back to reality). She looked at her sister dreamily, which reminded Parvati a lot of that blonde-haired loon in Ravenclaw.

"Yes?" asked Padma abstractly.

"I finished my homework before you." said Parvati.

"Huh? Oh, good for you..." replied Padma, still not fully paying attention. The very empty silence that followed only made Parvati more irritable.

"Maybe you didn't hear me clearly," said Parvati seriously, "I finished my homework before you."

"No, no, I heard you the first time..."

Parvati sighed, "You always finish first!"

"Do I?" asked Padma, "I guess I just got decked with a bit more than you today."

"Rubbish," said Parvati, "something's on your mind, and I want to know what!"

Padma frowned. She really disliked it when Parvati got into those, "You have to tell me!" moods. Not only was it unpleasant to deal with her begging Padma to spill personally confidential information, but Padma hated having all the blood rush to her head during the horrid levitation, which, oddly, seemed very unexpected every time. Parvati however, never let up on it, despite her sister's complaints.

"Nothing's on my mind." said Padma very unconvincingly.

"Don't waste your breath coming up with mediocre lies," said Parvati, "just tell me. If you don't, I just might have to draw my wand and..."

There was no need for Parvati to finish that sentence; Padma knew exactly what she was thinking, and though she would rather not share her thoughts with her sister at the moment, she rather did like having her feet stuck firmly to ground.

"Okay," said Padma, "I'll tell you."

Parvati looked anxiously at her sister, who didn't look like she was in any hurry to spill her thoughts.

"Well..?" asked Parvati impatiently. Padma chewed on her lip and shuffled her feet together as Parvati watched her with an eager eye.

"It's a boy..." Padma said, blushing.

"And...?"

"He..."

"Yes? " asked Parvati, even more restless than before. If Padma didn't tell her soon, she would levitate her regardless of any protest.

"He...asked me out." finished Padma.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" said Parvati, "So what's his name?"

The light shade of pink on Padma's cheeks had turned into a very bright shade of crimson.

"His name is..."

"Yes?"

"His name is..."

"Yes?"

"Roger..."

"No, Padma...you don't mean..."

"Davies."

A very pregnant silence fell over the two. Parvati stared at Padma expressionlessly and Padma was back to chewing her lip and shuffling her feet. Around them, the wind howled a little dramatically making the situation even more awkward than it already was.

"EEEEEK!!!!"

Parvati's shrill squeal seemed to shake the whole school-grounds. Padma jumped at the sound, and Dumbledore looked up in his study, alarmed by a sudden disturbance. On the Quidditch Pitch, Chasers swerved on their brooms and crashed into trees, and Snape's delicate balance of ingredients for his extremely dangerous potion blew up in his face. The noise frightened many small animals, and Padma watched as frogs and other creatures scampered away quickly.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Padma.

Parvati didn't answer her question. Instead, she went right along with her own barrage of inquisitions.

"When?! Where?! What were you doing?! Where is he taking you?! Oh Padma, I can't believe you waited till now to tell me! We have to arrange your outfit, your makeup, everything! Oh, what should you wear? How should I do your hair? What—"

"This is why I didn't want to tell you." said Padma, massaging her temples, "But to answer your questions: yesterday, in the library, I was studying, Hogsmeade, I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know."

Parvati looked like she was ready to babble on again when she gave Padma a befuddled look.

"Wait, erm...could you repeat that?"

"NO!"

"Gosh...fine..." said Parvati.

As both twins walked back to the castle, there was no end to Parvati's mind-numbing chattering. Padma's eye-twitched with every question, statement, and suggestion that flew rapidly out of Parvati's quick-moving mouth. She was just still so amazed with the fact that the charming Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain had asked her sister out on an actual date.

"Well, we are in the same house." said Padma.

"What does that have to do with anything? I've dated guys outside of my house."

"Well, maybe it's easier to ask someone in your own. You know them better anyway."

"What does Roger know about you?"

"Um...he knows...he knows that...well actually I think this is the first time he's even talked to me..."

"Exactly!"

"Well maybe he just wants to get to know me better!"

"Maybe...but it doesn't matter why he asked you actually, all that matters is that he did ask you. And you're going on a date with him! I can't believe it! We have a lot of preparation to do!"

"Spectacular..." mutter Padma.

"When is your date?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!"

Parvati was looking at Padma, flabbergasted at what she had just said.

"What?" asked Padma, looking at her sister's astounded expression.

"Your date is tomorrow and you haven't even thought of what you're going to wear? How do you pass any of your tests with these poor preparation skills?!"

"Things like this don't really matter Parv—"

"Don't matter?!" repeated Parvati, "Don't matter?! DON'T MATTER?! How can you say that?! This matters an enormous deal!"

"But I—" Parvati didn't give Padma a chance to finish, because she grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her straight to the great hall. Once inside, Parvati started scanning the area. Watching her eagle eyes scrutinizing every face of every student in there made Padma worry about what was to happen next.

"Aha!" said Parvati, "There they are!"

Parvati again yanked Padma over to the Ravenclaw table. She presented her to two familiar-looking girls. They looked at her oddly. Parvati explained the situation, not caring whether Padma was embarrassed or not...which she was.

"I need you to help my sister," said Parvati, "she has a date tomorrow, and she needs a makeover!"

"Oh?" said one of them, "A date with who?"

There was a sparkle of pride in Parvati's eyes as she said, "Roger Davies."

Both girls gasped. Padma felt the need to roll her eyes at their stunned expressions. She knew Parvati wanted to help, but wasn't this taking it a little too far?

"Yes, I know," said Parvati proudly, "anyway, I can't give Padma the makeover because she's not in Gryffindor; you'll have to do it for me, but I know you'll do a great job—I mean you are experts. So, you think you're up to it?"

Padma gulped at the devious smiles that crossed their faces.

"You can count on us." said Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe in unison.