A/N: Ignored the summary? Just a reminder this is slash and features lesbian content. So if the idea of Lavender and Parvati together makes you say "Eurgh!" you'll want to pass on this one.
Demon Love Part 1
Do you know where friendship ends and passion does begin?
- Suzanne Vega
Parvati Patil tapped her quill against the side of her head, then turned and sneaked a look at Lavender Brown, who occupied the seat next to her. Lavender's head remained bent over her desk, where she sat scribbling on her roll of parchment and twirling a strand of hair around one finger as she wrote. Parvati knew she should be concentrating harder - they were in the middle of their History of Magic final - but she couldn't help thinking ahead to tomorrow night.
Tomorrow marked the end of exams for their sixth year, and she and Lavender had agreed to meet at a secluded place by the lake to celebrate later in the evening. Parvati had been planning this for months, ever since the Easter holidays to be exact. She knew what she hoped would happen, but every time she got a chance to act something made her change her mind and -
"Fifteen minutes," reminded Professor Binns, floating around the room.
Parvati sighed, forced herself to focus on her essay question, and began writing her conclusion.
**
While Hermione moaned about forgetting to include a mention of Victorian occult practices in her essay for Binns, Parvati sat quietly at the Gryffindor table. Everyone seemed to be riding the same adrenaline rush that comes with finishing exams, and while some students like Hermione processed this sensation by reviewing each question and her own answers, Parvati preferred to forget about exams as soon as they were done. Second-guessing herself never seemed very helpful. So stop doing it now, she told herself, feeling her stomach flip when Lavender leaned over to whisper something to her.
Parvati thought she'd never meet anyone else with whom she could be as close as her twin, Padma - until she came to Hogwarts. Her first shock had been the Sorting Hat separating the two of them. Prior to coming to school, she and Padma had been inseparable, sharing a room and often even the same bed at home. For the first eleven years of her life, Parvati had lived in what felt like complete synchronicity with her twin.
Then she had become friends with Lavender Brown. Whereas Parvati and Padma were alike in nearly every way, Lavender represented something different. She wasn't particularly striking in appearance, with light brown hair and blue-grey eyes. Very different from the Patil twins who both were marked by strong, expressive faces and masses of thick dark hair. But Lavender intrigued her, and they had so much in common that soon Parvati found herself doing everything with the other girl. After six years, Parvati felt she knew Lavender better than anyone else in the world, even Padma. She knew when Lavender liked to eat breakfast, could identify her just by the sound of her sigh, knew how she looked when she slept.
Padma hadn't much liked her twin's new friendship, and still fussed at Parvati. "I don't know what you see in that girl," she often complained. "You like her more than me."
"I don't. I just like her differently." Parvati recalled how she'd had to look away from Padma as she said this, knowing exactly how she did like Lavender.
**
Parvati and Lavender's last exam was Divination, a subject in which they both excelled. Privately, Parvati didn't have much patience with Professor Trelawney, but she was interested in Divination and Lavender adored the woman, so Parvati had never shown anything but public admiration. Not to mention such displays seemed to ensure high marks in that subject. Their final exam this year involved a range of divination techniques, from interpreting a variety of zodiacs to reading tarot cards and of course, their professor's preferred method of divination, crystal-gazing.
"The challenge now is to see what the orb holds not for yourself but for the other person," cautioned Trelawney in her misty voice.
Clearing her throat, Lavender began. "Parvati will face a challenge this summer."
"Yes? What kind of challenge? Tell us what you see, dear," urged the teacher.
Lavender peered harder into the ball. She was silent for several minutes before saying with a frown, "It involves - it involves... something old, I think." She shook her head and stared again at the cloudy ball. "Something that belongs to her or her family. She has to make a decision…"
"Can you see these events unfolding?" Professor Trelawney's voice drifted at them.
"I can see - oh!" Lavender let out a small cry and drew back, her face flushed.
"What is it, my dear?" Professor Trelawney swooped next to Lavender and put an arm around her shoulder. "Perhaps the clairvoyant vibrations are too much for you? You are particularly sensitive to their workings. Try to tell us what you see."
But Lavender had already pushed back her chair. "No," she said, shaking her head. "There's nothing else," she added, not looking at Parvati.
Professor Trelawney fixed her owl-like eyes on Lavender for a moment, clearly disappointed her best pupil was suddenly refusing to continue a reading. "Very well, dear," she sighed, jotting down notes with her quill. "You'll want to work on your endurance over the summer. I feel certain you are on the edge of a break-through."
"What was that all about?" asked Parvati as they clambered down the ladder.
Lavender's blue eyes seemed pale, and the irises very dark, when she looked at Parvati. "I don't want to talk about it." Shuddering, she added, "I hope you brought something good for our party tonight. I need it."
**
Now Parvati sat by the lake with Lavender. Both of them had brought along bottles nicked from their parents' drinks cupboards. Stealing them had been Parvati's idea, who fully intended to use the time-honored method of inebriation to lower everyone's inhibitions.
"I hope you appreciate this," grumbled Lavender, pulling out her bottle of vodka. It had been much more difficult for her, having to deal with her Muggle parents' lock and being unable to use magic on it.
Parvati announced, "My parents hardly ever drink. They probably won't even notice anything's gone." Producing two shot glasses, she poured out vodka for herself and Lavender.
"To our final year at Hogwarts," proposed Lavender, raising her glass.
"Cheers." Parvati clinked her glass against Lavender's and gulped down her drink. Coughing slightly, she wiped her mouth and looked at Lavender, who hadn't quite managed the whole shot. "Drink up," Parvati encouraged.
Lavender finished off the remainder of her glass then looked over at Parvati's bottle. "What did you bring?"
"Drambuie. My parents only drink it at Christmas so I didn't think they'd notice its absence."
Lavender poured them each a glass, then raised hers and downed it in one swallow.
"Lavender! You're supposed to sip this," admonished Parvati.
"How do you know?"
"I know a lot of things."
Lavender smiled. "Things you didn't share with me?" She filled her glass again and took a small sip. "I like this one better."
"It's yours." Parvati raised her glass and took a swallow. She noticed Lavender had undone the front of her robes and wore only a pair of shorts and a Weird Sisters t-shirt underneath.
Feeling Parvati's eyes on her, Lavender asked, "Like my shirt? I got it at their last concert."
"Yeah." Suddenly feeling warm herself, Parvati shrugged off her own robes and lay on her back. The coolness of the grass enveloped her and she kicked off her shoes, running her bare feet across the turf. "What'd you see this afternoon in Trelawney's room?"
Lavender flopped down beside her. "Nothing."
"Sure?" Parvati turned her head to regard her friend. "You didn't act like it was nothing."
Lavender looked down and plucked at the blades of grass. "It was just a mistake. Too hot up there."
Parvati resumed staring up at the stars. "Okay." She reached over and handed Lavender a bottle. "Have another drink. It will help you adjust to the clairvoyant vibrations," she added, imitating Trelawney's voice.
Lavender giggled. "Well, maybe just one more..."
**
"Parvati?" Lavender's voice seemed to be coming from far away. "Have you ever noticed that if you lay down and look up everything spins?"
"That only happens when you're drunk." Parvati now lay on her front in the grass and glanced over at her friend, who appeared to be studying the night sky.
"I don't think I like it." Lavender sat up and giggled. "Can you make it stop?"
Parvati sat up as well. Lavender leaned against her and put her face next to Parvati's. "Please?" she asked, still laughing.
Parvati pushed back the strands of hair that had blown across Lavender's face. Then, hands still resting on either side of Lavender's face, Parvati took a deep breath, leaned forward and kissed her. For a moment she felt the other girl stiffen in surprise, but instead of pulling away, Lavender wriggled even closer and kissed Parvati back. Parvati could taste the sweetness of the Drambuie on Lavender's lips as they kissed. Everything about Lavender seemed sweet - the way she smelled, the feel of her mouth, the softness of her cheek as she pressed herself closer.
"That didn't stop the spinning," Lavender whispered, her breath hot against Parvati's ear.
Parvati opened her eyes. "Sorry."
"Don't be." Lavender moved over until she was in front of Parvati, then as she kissed her, pushed Parvati back to the earth.
Parvati put her arms around Lavender, enjoying the feel of the other girl's weight on her. She'd wondered for so long what it felt like to kiss another girl, especially how it would feel to kiss Lavender. Now she knew: Lavender was soft but her kisses came hard and her hands knew just where to touch, finding their way under Parvati's shirt and pushing the cotton top up to bare her skin to the cool breeze. She was acutely conscious of Lavender's smooth legs tangled with her own, of Lavender's fingers now pushing back her thick long hair, now tracing the outline of her mouth, now at her waist and making her jump in surprise. Parvati felt herself blush as she recalled how many nights she had imagined Lavender's hands touching her, just like this, as she lay in her own bed.
"Just a minute," Parvati gasped and rolled to the side, suddenly self-conscious.
"What's wrong?" Lavender regarded her with concern.
"Nothing. It's late, that's all. I didn't think we'd be out here so long. Don't want to get locked out of the castle." Parvati took several deep breaths and tried to steady herself.
Lavender grinned in the dark. "Let's hope Granger is sound asleep when we get back so we can pick up where we left off."
But Lavender's ambitious plans proved short-lived. Once they stood up and began walking, Lavender experienced the full effects of drinking half a bottle of spirits on an empty stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered and Parvati had to admit her friend looked rather green.
Lavender ducked into the bushes, where she promptly was sick. It didn't seem to bode well, Parvati reflected sourly, that the first girl she'd ever kissed had to throw up twenty minutes later. The odd reading from that afternoon returned to Parvati's mind. What exactly had Lavender seen and refused to tell her? Maybe there was something wrong with her besides the alcohol.
When Lavender returned she looked worse than ever. Her eyes were red and her fine hair tangled, and for once in her life, she wasn't giggling. "I'm sorry," she said with a mournful look at Parvati.
"I'm the one who's sorry," replied Parvati. "This was a stupid idea. C'mon, I'll help you back to our dorm."
But Lavender planted herself next to Parvati and leaned against her shoulder. "It wasn't stupid," she whispered, running a finger along Parvati's bare arm. "I like being with you."
Parvati felt gooseflesh where Lavender had touched her and gave her friend a sad smile. "I know, you're my best friend. Some friend I've been tonight, though, getting you sick."
Lavender shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant and you know it. You're more than my friend now." She curled her hand around Parvati's.
"You do know you're drunk, don't you? I probably shouldn't listen to anything you tell me."
But Lavender remained insistent. "You didn't have to get me drunk. I would have kissed you anyway. I was just afraid you wouldn't kiss me sober. I'd kiss you now except I just, well -" Lavender broke off and looked doubtfully over at the shrubbery.
Parvati smiled and put an arm around Lavender's shoulders. "Let's get you upstairs," she said.
Staggering up the many flights of stairs to Gryffindor common room without encountering Peeves, a patrolling teacher or a prefect wasn't easy and Parvati was frankly relieved when they reached the sixth-year girls' dormitory. Lavender was practically asleep on her feet and tumbled unceremoniously into bed.
"Accio." Parvati brought a tumbler of water from the window ledge and handed it to her friend. "Drink some of this," she urged.
Lavender leaned on one elbow and took a few gulps before falling back against her pillows. The room was dark and completely silent. Parvati hesitated, pulled off Lavender's shoes, then suddenly felt shy again and wondered if she should help her friend into her nightgown. But Lavender had passed out and it seemed too much trouble to change her clothes, so pulling the hangings around the four-poster, Parvati went over to her own bed.
**
"Lavender, you look like you've been hit by a bludger," observed Seamus at breakfast the next morning. "What were you doing last night?"
"Nothing." Lavender glared at him and accepted a piece of dry toast from Parvati.
"Nothing my arse. Why didn't you invite me to the party?"
"Shut up, Finnigan," said Parvati with uncharacteristic rudeness. Lavender really did look bad. She had dark circles under her eyes, which remained bloodshot, and her face looked wan.
Lavender wasn't much interested in food, but she did manage to consume an entire jug of pumpkin juice in one go, at which point she seemed to perk up and began eating the hash browns Parvati placed before her.
"You know, Madam Pomfrey could make your hangover go away in an instant," persisted Seamus, grinning madly. "Oh, but then you'd have to tell her you'd been drinking, wouldn't you? And let's see, that's definitely worth some detention time. Possibly lose some house points. But we're so far up at this point I don't think that would make much difference."
"I said, shut up," Parvati hissed, glancing down the table to see if Hermione, a prefect, had heard.
"Fine. Just share the wealth with your fellow Gryffindors next time, okay?"
"Deal. But you're going to have to wait a while for that."
"Drank it all last night, did you? Wasn't very thoughtful." Seamus enjoyed teasing the girls, but truth be told he was feeling a little jealous. Usually Parvati and Lavender were fun to hang out with. Why hadn't Lavender asked him to join them? He really didn't see what those two girls did together all the time.
**
Exam results were posted right before the end of term banquet and as usual, Hermione had come out tops in every class. Gryffindor had won the House Cup for the sixth year running and Parvati looked forward to rubbing it in when she saw Pansy Parkinson at the feast that night. Even better, they'd be on the train to London tomorrow. Lavender had asked Parvati to spend most of the summer with her at her family's place in the country, an invitation that had been readily accepted. Lavender's parents being Muggles was a bit inconvenient, but Parvati was willing to spend six weeks in a non-magical home if it meant being with Lavender the whole time. Besides, Padma had been bugging her worse than ever - insisting that Parvati had agreed to loan her certain articles of clothing when she knew she hadn't - and acting petulant that Parvati didn't plan to spend more time at home.
The end of term feast lasted late, and when the students were finally herded off to their dorms Parvati felt in high spirits. She glanced up at the enchanted ceiling, which sparkled with all the night stars, and tugged at the billowing sleeve of Lavender's robe. When Lavender turned Parvati laughed softly, not because anything was amusing but just because she knew Lavender would smile back at her, which she did.
Upstairs, they pulled the hangings around their beds save the ones separating them, and whispered to each other until Hermione demanded crossly, "Will you two be quiet? We've got to get up early tomorrow." Then Parvati simply beckoned Lavender over to her own bed, pulled the curtains around them, and muffled any giggles with her pillow. But once Lavender was so close to her, Parvati didn't feel so much like joking. Instead, she just felt a constant sense of wonder that this girl shared her feelings - shared, it seemed, her very soul. The thought made Parvati quiet but Lavender just smiled sleepily as Parvati stroked her light brown hair, or ran her fingers across Lavender's shoulder blades, or kissed her ever so quietly in the dark. Lavender eventually dropped off to sleep but Parvati stayed awake, watching her. So much energy was coursing through her body she thought she'd never need to sleep again.
Unfortunately, Parvati didn't feel quite as energetic come morning, and she had to rush to gather up her things and clatter downstairs with the others to catch the Hogwarts Express. Hurriedly twisting her hair into a loose plait, she thumped the lid of her trunk shut and fastened the lock. By late afternoon they'd be at King's Cross. She'd already made arrangements with her parents for the Browns to pick her up one week from today.
The week at home passed more quickly than Parvati had anticipated. After their intense final days at school, being separated from Lavender felt as odd as her initial separation from Padma had once felt. When she saw Lavender's face as her family arrived at the Patils' house, Parvati knew the other girl felt the same way. Yet riding in the Browns' car was worse than the journey on the Hogwarts Express where at least they'd had a compartment to themselves, interrupted only occasionally by Seamus or Dean or Padma and her friends who accused them of being even more anti-social than usual. Now they had to sit in the back seat, so close yet not daring to touch each other.
Parvati didn't even trust herself to look at Lavender; she was afraid the Browns would be able to tell her feelings just from the way she looked at their daughter. And she already worried, sometimes, what the Browns did think about their daughter's best friend the witch. After all, her own father was an Obliviator, not a Rotary Club member like Lavender's dad. The Patil household was crammed full of magical collectibles her mother liked to buy and bore no resemblance to the tidy, mundane interior of the Brown home. Parvati sometimes got the feeling the Browns felt intimidated by their own daughter just because she could do magic. She imagined it must be a little difficult for Muggles like the Browns to reconcile themselves to the fact their child could turn the tableware into a tortoise, and suspected additional information as to Lavender's new-found interest in kissing girls might prove too much for them to handle.
Lavender, however, appeared untroubled by potential parental wrath. As soon as they were alone in the cheery yellow and white-papered bedroom they were to share, Parvati found herself flattened against the wall with Lavender pressed against her. "Just so you don't forget who you belong with," said Lavender after giving Parvati a long kiss.
Parvati pulled her closer to continue but Lavender shook off her grip, giggling. "Don't you think you'd better unpack?" she said coyly. "Come and find me when you're done," she added and slipped out the door.
Smiling to herself, Parvati opened her trunk and began piling her clothes onto the twin bed across from Lavender's. With that kind of encouragement Parvati felt certain she could unpack very quickly. She opened the door of the wardrobe, and then she screamed.
Hovering in the darkness of the empty wardrobe was a hand: a cleanly severed, human hand and it was gripping a blade.