This Is Where

37. Natural

"And where have you been?"

Parvati froze as she entered the common room. It was empty aside from Lavender, who was standing by the fireplace with her hands on her hips.

"Out walking," Parvati said. "Sorry if I worried you."

"You've been out walking a lot lately," Lavender said stiffly, then quickly deflated. The angry mom act didn't suit her. "Are you keeping something from me?"

Guilt flooded Parvati's gut. She let out a sigh and went over to Lavender, tugging on her wrist so they both sat on the ground.

"You can't tell anyone," Parvati whispered, looking around. "I've been...I've been making out with Tracey Davis."

Lavender's eyes widened. "But she's a Slytherin!"

"She's also a really good kisser," said Parvati, resisting the urge to giggle.

Lavender looked shell-shocked.

"Okay, okay, so it started when she cornered me after Potions last week," Parvati started, but she didn't notice that Lavender wasn't listening.

"Par," she interrupted.

Parvati turned to her. "What is it?"

"Is it..." Her pulse thrummed in her neck. "Is it okay to like girls?"

"What do you mean?"

Lavender flashed back to the conversation she'd had with her parents over the summer, when she'd casually mentioned having a friend that was bisexual. Her parents hadn't reacted the best.

"It's just unnatural," her mother had said simply.

"Darling, perhaps it's best if you don't hang out with this friend anymore," said her father. "Don't want you being influenced by that type of lifestyle."

"Oh, it's not your Indian friend, is it?" asked Mrs. Brown with a frown. "I liked her."

Fear had flooded Lavender. "No, no it's not Parvati," she lied quickly.

"Good. Dear, could you pass the paper?"

"I just mean," Lavender said, coming back to the present, "that some people think it's wrong. Girls liking girls and boys liking boys."

Parvati pondered for a moment. "I don't see what's wrong about it. I'm not harming anyone."

"What do your parents think?"

"I haven't told them yet, but they've never told me that it's wrong," Parvati said.

Lavender chewed her lip. "So you don't think it's...unnatural?"

Parvati observed her for a heart-stopping moment and then shrugged. "There's a saying in India, what is unnatural is also natural. The way I see it, love is natural. What could be more natural than love?"

And to all my aromantics, not feeling love is also natural =)

~Ki