A/N: Still slash, possibly a little slashier than the previous chapter. I believe it was RatheraMutemwiya who complained of not enough Lavender and Parvati action but rest assured, things will keep heating up for them. Yeah, Bookcat, Hermione is everywhere - fond as I've become of Lavender and Parvati I still wasn't convinced they could solve this demon problem all on their own, enter Hermione. Celenae the Goddess of REVENGE: certainly don't want to incur your wrath with a name like that - sorry if I missed your earlier review. Lady alijan, hope you won't hold it against me if I take some liberties from the actual Durga myth - happy researching. And thanks to the rest of you who braved (and reviewed) part 2: Qwyneth, Hermionepotter, Wotan, Franimal, SaraJane and Cloudstrife. And continued thanks for Heath's expertise in locales, which carries over into this part as well.
DEMON LOVE PART 3
Parvati dropped her sword and it fell to the floor with a loud thump. She moved towards the hand, which had fallen slightly in its hovering and was now dripping its strange, shimmering blood all over the carpet.
"Don't touch it!" shrieked Lavender.
Too late. Parvati had already stuck out her hand to catch a drop. "It feels like egg white," she announced, looking from her own hand to the severed one. "Do you think it's okay?"
"Who cares if it's okay?" Lavender continued in a high-pitched squeal. She was practically dancing with anxiety. "It's a demon hand! I've got a piece of a demon in my bedroom and it's ruining the carpet!"
"Will you be quiet, both of you?" demanded Hermione. "I know you only asked me to visit because you needed a brain for this, this … rowboat of fools we're all on, so I'm telling you - be quiet before your parents come upstairs!"
Indeed, no sooner had she issued this edict than Mrs Brown called out: "Lavender, what are you girls doing up there?"
"NOTHING!" all three of them yelled together. They held their collective breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
"Then please try to be more quiet – your father's watching the news!"
With a sigh of relief they turned again to the hand.
"I think it's fine," announced Hermione, inspecting it. "See, the bleeding's stopped."
"So is it evil?" muttered Lavender. She had retreated to her bed and sat upon it, knees drawn to her chin.
"If it were, it had plenty of opportunity to attack just now." Hermione turned to Parvati. "It seems to be somehow associated with Durga. Did she say anything about it?"
Parvati shook her head. "No, nothing. I thought it was one of her hands. I had no idea it belonged to…something else." She narrowed her eyes for a better look. "It looks human - it doesn't look demonic."
"You can't always tell by looking," Hermione reminded. She returned to the desk and her letter. "I've asked Professor Lupin to visit as soon as possible. After I tell him about this I'm sure he'll get here as soon as he can." She picked up her quill and continued writing, thinking to herself how fortunate it was that Lupin had returned to Hogwarts the year before last - and had stayed, making him the longest-lasting Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor in recent memory.
With a final glance at the hand, Parvati crossed the room and sat next to Lavender. "Are you alright?" she asked, putting an arm around Lavender's shoulders. "I'm sorry if that scared you."
"I'm not scared of that hand." Lavender frowned and tossed back her hair. "I'm only afraid of it ruining my room. Mum just redecorated last year."
"Okay." Parvati smiled and bent closer to Lavender, who pulled away, nodding pointedly at Hermione.
Parvati didn't see what the problem was. Hermione was so engrossed in her writing and her back was to them anyway - surely she wouldn't begrudge them one little kiss. It was a relief when, a few minutes later, Hermione announced the letter was finished and left to locate an owl outside who could carry the letter to Hogwarts.
As soon as the door closed, Parvati pounced on Lavender. "I told you I couldn't be careful around you," she murmured. "This is killing me…"
"You seem to be doing okay," smiled back Lavender, who had to admit she'd missed having Parvati so close to her. As Parvati made up for the lost time she added, "Maybe I should invite Hermione over more often - seems to put you in quite the romantic mood."
Unfortunately, the girls' rendezvous was soon cut short by the sound of approaching footsteps, and they hastily moved to separate beds just as the door opened. Feigning looks of unconcern, both girls lounged on their beds and smiled at Hermione, who gave them each a dubious glance then headed for the camp bed where she was sleeping.
"With any luck we'll hear from him tomorrow," she announced. "So we'd better get a good night's rest - the next few days could be busy."
**
Parvati found Hermione's presence constraining, since Lavender had become unusually uptight ever since the brainy Gryffindor had arrived. At the same time, however, sneaking opportunities to be alone with Lavender had its own charm. This morning they were brushing their teeth together, bathroom door locked and Hermione already gone downstairs to breakfast.
Lavender was just putting away her toothbrush when Parvati made her move.
"You smell like a garden of earthly delights," joked Parvati and ducked to kiss Lavender, who tasted like toothpaste and whose neck was still damp from her freshly shampooed hair.
"Herbal shampoo," murmured Lavender, not shy now they were behind closed doors. She entangled her fingers in Parvati's thick hair and moved closer. Then she proceeded to kiss Parvati with an ardor she'd only allowed herself to imagine.
Parvati stumbled and banged into the sink. A sharp corner of marble stabbed against her back but she hardly registered this pain. She was too warmly conscious of Lavender's mouth and of Lavender's hands, which had worked their way from her hair to under her thin cotton tank top.
In fact, they were so engrossed they nearly didn't hear Hermione knocking patiently on the door. "What's taking you so long?" they finally heard her ask crossly.
They broke apart and Parvati touched her fingers to her mouth in wonder. She wanted to tell Lavender how nobody had ever kissed her like that - not any of the boys at school, not even those boys from Beauxbatons two years ago. Before she could say anything, however, Lavender opened the door and smiled at Hermione. "Just leaving."
**
The day passed listlessly. Although Hermione kept suggesting they acquaint themselves with the weaponry neither Parvati nor Lavender made much effort in this area. Everyone was waiting anxiously for Professor Lupin's reply. They made almost hourly walks to the stand of trees bordering the Browns' property to see if an owl had arrived, but each time returned to the house empty handed. By late afternoon, Lavender and Parvati had retired upstairs, leaving Hermione to make another check before dinner.
The sultriness of the afternoon hung around the grounds like a haze. Hermione crossed the yard and traveled the now familiar path from the Browns' garden to the thicker, wild grass that dominated the rest of their property. Waiting for her in the clump of trees was the owl she'd sent out yesterday. Its head was tucked under one wing as it rested - apparently it had been waiting for her for quite some time. She gently removed the tightly rolled parchment and read Lupin's response. Then she dashed to the back door, called a quick hello to Mrs Brown in the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time.
As Hermione approached the bedroom door she heard muffled giggles coming from inside. Since this was the sound she most associated with both Lavender and Parvati, she didn't think much of it and opened the door.
Inside, she found Lavender in a state of distinct disarray. Her blouse was partly unbuttoned and her hair looked uncharacteristically messy. Blushing a red deeper than her earlier sunburn, Lavender turned aside and fiddled with her buttons. Parvati hitched up her shorts and kept her eyes down, waiting for Hermione to say something.
When nothing but silence hung in the air, Parvati looked at Hermione and said, "So now you know."
Hermione just nodded.
"Shocked, are you?" asked Parvati, crossing her arms defensively.
"Not really." Hermione moved further inside and took a seat at the desk. "Don't take this the wrong way you two, but between learning you're lesbians or learning you've managed to conjure up the ghost of Durga, it's the second thing that shocks me more."
"We're not lesbians," said Lavender quickly, smoothing down her blouse and flicking back her hair.
Parvati glanced sharply at her but before she could say anything, Hermione continued.
"Bisexual, queer, questioning - whatever. I only came up to show you the owl I received from Professor Lupin. He's going to Apparate to that grove of trees down the road at sunset. We have to be there to meet him."
"Oh." Parvati felt rather deflated somehow.
"I'll leave you two alone," said Hermione with a hint of a smile, and closed the door behind her.
As soon as she had gone, Parvati rounded on Lavender. "What did you mean, we're not lesbians?"
"I hate that word," said Lavender, peering into the mirror and brushing her hair. "It's not what we're like."
"Well, it's what everyone else would call us."
"I don't care. I don't like it." Lavender stayed by the mirror and avoided looked at Parvati.
"So what exactly have you been playing at these past few weeks? All those things you said to me – was any of it true?"
Hearing the hurt in Parvati's voice, Lavender put down her brush and turned to face her. In a softer voice she said, "Of course I meant what I said to you. You're the most important person in the world to me. I just think what we have is special, you know? It's not like anything else. There doesn't seem to be a word that can define it."
"Well, plenty of people have a word for it." Parvati didn't look pacified. "And some of those words aren't very nice. You'd better decide how serious you are, Lavender, because I can't take it if you bail on me. A few days ago you tell me you can't face any of this without me and now you tell Hermione you're straight?"
"That's not exactly what I said to her - now you're putting words in my mouth. I am serious about you Parvati, really I am." Lavender took a step towards Parvati, but the other girl stepped aside.
"We'd better get downstairs if we're going to walk to the grove in time to meet Lupin," Parvati said, picked up her bag and left. On her way down she paused on the stairs and studied Hermione, who sat in the living room flipping through a magazine. Hermione seemed to know an awful lot of ways to describe sexual orientation. Parvati wondered where she'd got it all.
**
Remus Lupin knew he would be joining Hermione, Parvati and Lavender, but when he saw the three girls standing together the sight still struck him as odd. Usually Hermione was part of a trio consisting of Ron, Harry and herself - he'd never seen her around other girls before. And certainly not in the company of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, whom he remembered only vaguely as girls who were more interested in hairstyles than Hinkypunks.
"Thanks for coming, Professor," said Hermione, stepping forward.
"I could hardly refuse, Hermione, not after what you told me." He looked more closely at the other two. "Is it true, Parvati? Did you really see Durga? And I understand you have a demon under your control as well?"
"Yeah. At least one demon, anyway," Parvati muttered, glaring at Lavender.
Lavender snorted, tossed her head and marched away.
"What's going on?" Remus asked Hermione.
"Oh, don't mind them. Lover's quarrel." Hermione was eager to show him the weapons and the hand.
"Oh?" Remus looked first at Lavender, then at Parvati. "Oh. I see," he stammered. "Very well, let's take a look at what you've got here."
Lavender and Parvati forgot at least temporarily about their feud as Professor Lupin examined their weapons inventory. "You girls have been very thorough," he praised them, and Lavender smiled. "Now where's that demon, Parvati?"
Parvati took out her wand and flashed it at the hand, which she'd turned invisible for the journey to meet Lupin. None of them had felt very easy about walking the roads of Wiltshire with a disembodied hand bobbing alongside them.
She explained her interactions with it so far, including making it bleed while dueling. "What do you think it is?"
Lupin frowned and approached the hand. "This is unusual," he murmured and peered closely at it. Then he turned to Parvati. "Will it allow me to touch it?"
"If I tell it to," she replied, a touch of pride entering her voice. Again drawing her wand, she pointed it at the hand and ordered it to stay put.
Lupin placed his own wand at the small wound, muttered something inaudible to the girls, and healed the gash. The hand began to hop around in excitement, but Lupin merely murmured soothingly to it and took it in his own hand. After a few minutes' scrutiny, he released it and turned back to the girls.
"Most unusual." He shook his head. "This hand did belong to a demon once, years ago. He had shown particular loyalty to Durga and in exchange she animated his hand, which was severed in battle. Although not technically alive in the sense that you or I are, this hand does have powers of its own and responds to commands issued by Durga or -" he turned to Parvati and Lavender "- her daughters. That would be you two."
Lavender blinked in surprise. "You mean I can control it too? I thought Parvati was the only one."
"Well," smiled Lupin. "First you have to master the weapons."
"How did you know all that?" asked Hermione, head cocked to one side.
"I wrote the book on Demonology," he replied and with his wand extracted the textbook Hermione had been carrying in her knapsack. "Well, co-authored, anyway."
The book floated into her hands and Hermione stared at the cover. An Introduction to Demonology, 4th edition the title read, by Bronia Borenius and (in smaller script) R. J. Lupin. "How could I not have noticed?" she wondered aloud.
"Borenius is really the big name in demon studies," said Lupin modestly. "But that textbook has brought in a fair amount of Galleons. My only source of income sometimes, book royalties."
"So are all demons evil?" interrupted Hermione, thinking back to the incident in Lavender's bedroom.
"Most are, yes, but many of them are simply what we might consider amoral. For instance, the demon from which this hand originated was part of a large group of mercenary demons - willing to fight for whomever made them the best offer. Of course, mercenaries usually aren't highly trusted, but still… I don't think you have anything to fear from this hand," Lupin concluded.
Lavender hadn't been listening. Instead, she was inspecting the weapons with renewed interest. She picked up the largest sword, the one with the ability to cleave mountains, and held it with both hands. She swung it from right to left, surprised at how heavy it was.
Lupin, noticing what she was doing, hastened over. "Careful," he cautioned. "That was Durga's personal blade of choice. Perhaps you'd better start with one of the lighter pieces."
Lavender leaned the sword into the ground and was surprised when it easily ripped up the turf, providing no support to lean against. She carefully replaced it near the other items. "This one's kind of cute," she mused, selecting one of the elaborately jeweled and ornate daggers.
Parvati, pleased to see her friend taking an interest in things, suggested, " Try sparring with the hand."
The hand obligingly hovered in front of Lavender and wielded its own blade. Lavender jabbed at it uncertainly, not coming close to making contact.
"Why don't you try this spear?" suggested Professor Lupin hastily, and held up one of the thin, lightweight golden spears.
"Okay." Lavender readily relinquished the sword and accepted the other weapon. She drew it back and hurled it at a tree, but her throwing style was so ineffective even Parvati laughed.
"You're such a girl!" she crowed, as the spear took a nosedive. "That had an accuracy charm on it and you still managed to throw it right into the ground."
Lavender scowled. None of the weapons felt very natural to her. Clearly, Durga had made a mistake. Even Hermione had a better throwing arm than she did.
"Let's start with these smaller swords again," suggested Lupin tactfully, handing her one and drawing his wand. "I'll conjure you a target."
But before she could even get started, Lavender let out a loud cry of pain. Lupin's hand-off had been quick and she hadn't quite caught the handle. Instead, the sharp blade had sliced across her palm and index finger. Her hand felt warm and sticky with blood.
Parvati leapt to Lavender's side. "She's hurt!"
Lavender stared as her own blood quickly covered her right hand. Her fingers and indeed, her entire hand, seemed to throb with as much strength as did her heart, seemed to echo her own pulse. Yet just as quickly, the throbbing pain gave way to numbness and then to nothingness. It might as well be her own hand that floated in midair, she felt that disconnected from it all.
"I really don't like blood," she murmured, staring at her bloody palm, and then she fainted.
**
Lavender had cloudy memories of seeing Lupin crouching over her, attending to her injury, and of being transported back to her house. She had no idea what Parvati and Hermione told her parents but when she came to, she saw Parvati, Lupin and Hermione sitting in her bedroom.
"Lavender!" exclaimed Parvati, noticing she'd opened her eyes. "You're okay, Professor Lupin says you'll be fine. I should never have teased you -"
"It's okay," interrupted Lavender. She glanced down at her hand, which was heavily bandaged but no longer painful. "What happened?" She struggled to raise herself in bed and looked over at her two other visitors.
"I'm afraid I should have handled that sword with more care." Lupin spoke apologetically. "You've got a nasty gash. I'm no Madam Pomfrey but I do know basic healing, especially when it comes to er, lacerations. You'll be fine by tomorrow."
Hermione said nothing, just looked from Lavender to Parvati with a worried expression. Lavender could guess what that meant. "You don't think I can do it," she said flatly, staring at her hand. "It's up to Parvati now."
"That's not true," insisted Parvati, crouching next to her and stroking her hair. "Durga came to us - both of us - for a reason. Remember what she said about you," she added, almost in a whisper. "I can't do this without you."
Lavender didn't know what to say to that, so addressing herself to Lupin and Hermione asked, "What did you tell my parents?"
Now they looked sheepish. "Well, some memory charms were used," admitted Hermione. "We had to act quickly and it was just too much trouble to explain everything and why Professor Lupin was here so he just, you know…"
"So what? What'd you do to them?" Lavender was feeling more awake by the minute.
"They're fine. They're just…resting," said Lupin. "Once this whole situation is sorted out they'll have no memory of it."
Lavender had raised herself up on one arm but now flopped back against the mattress. Her parents were in a state of magic-induced catatonia and she had nearly sliced off her right fingers. At this rate You-Know-Who would have gained control of farm animals not only in Wiltshire but also have extended up through the rural Midlands. And British beef was already facing so many problems.
As if reading her thoughts, Professor Lupin shooed Parvati and Hermione from the room, saying he needed to check on Lavender.
"You're going to be just fine," he assured her, taking a seat near her bedside. "By tomorrow you can be in fighting form again. Just some blood, makes it look worse. And your parents will be perfectly all right. It's really for the best."
Lavender rolled over and faced the wall. "I don't know why all this is happening to me," she said. " I've always been ordinary - I don't want to be different."
"You don't always get to choose these things," offered Lupin. "I didn't want to be a werewolf, but that's just the way things worked out."
"I know and look where it got you - you had to leave Hogwarts after your first year teaching because of it. I don't want my life to be like that. I just want to be normal."
Lupin regarded her for a moment, then asked, "Why do I get the feeling you're not talking about Durga's legacy anymore?"
Lavender turned to face him. "That's just one thing. There's other things that are more…permanent."
"Like how you feel about Parvati?" he asked gently.
Lavender blushed and dropped her eyes.
"Lavender, you're both very young. I can't say what direction your life will take in the future. But it seems clear Durga has singled out both you and Parvati for a reason. And part of that reason is the love you share for each other. If you continue to fight it, you could place not only Parvati in jeopardy, but also the magical community that is fighting against the Dark Lord." Lupin looked down at her and added, "Many people regard love as a great gift - why not accept this gift and use its strength to fight against those who would impose a darker world on us?"
"Do you really think Parvati would be in - in jeopardy?"
Lupin sighed. "Divination seems to be your strong point, not mine. But I do know the history of Durga and those who have allied themselves with her. She only chooses those witches who have unusual courage. Perhaps you're not giving yourself enough credit."
Lavender didn't say anything, but even with her face buried in her pillow she could feel herself smiling.
**
Downstairs, Hermione and Parvati fidgeted in the living room.
"D'you think Lavender will be alright?' worried Parvati.
"Of course," Hermione answered impatiently. "Lupin knows his remedies."
Parvati sat next to Hermione on the Brown's plaid sofa. "I know. I was thinking more about, well, other stuff."
"Oh, like what I walked in on earlier today?" asked Hermione with an amused smile.
Parvati flushed. "Kind of. Before you came here I said we should tell you. But she didn't want to. Even after you found us she -" Parvati paused, choosing her words carefully. "She said we weren't really, you know, like that. I feel like I've been pushing her into all this stuff she doesn't want to do - the demon stuff, learning to use the weapons, being with me…"
Hermione's amused expression faded and she became more contemplative. "Lavender is no pushover," she pronounced. "It's true she's obsessed with hairstyles, makeup and clothes and her constant giggling can be tiresome, but she also seems pretty obsessed with you. She looks at you the same way Ginny Weasley looks at Harry."
"Really? You think so?" Parvati tried not to sound too excited.
"Oh, yeah." Hermione nodded. "Besides, your relationship really isn't that unusual. Haven't you ever read Witches Almanack?"
Parvati shook her head. "Sounds really boring."
"Oh no, not at all. It's about this famous coven in Paris – all the cleverest witches used to meet –" Hermione noticed Parvati's glazed expression and hastily got to her point. "Anyway, most of them preferred the company of other women, if you know what I mean. It's not like you're the only one to ever feel this way."
"Tell that to Lavender," sighed Parvati. She looked over at Hermione's stack of books. "I suppose we should make ourselves useful and figure out what You-Know-Who wants with a herd of cud-chewing demons."
Hermione produced her notes and her books and spread them out on the Browns' dining table. But before they proceeded very far, Parvati asked abruptly "How did you know all those, y'know, terms and stuff this afternoon?"
Hermione smiled and continued brainstorming reasons Voldemort might have for wanting buffalo demons. "Well, I do read a lot."
**
Lavender had fallen into an uneasy sleep, but awoke early the next morning despite her lack of sound sleep. Her hand felt completely normal and when she removed the bandages she saw no hint that she'd nearly lost several fingers.
"Parvati, wake up." She crept to the bed next to her and shook her friend. "My hand is all better."
Parvati had stayed up late with Hermione and Lupin. Groggy, she opened her eyes and peered sleepily at Lavender. "I'm tired," she murmured and pulled up the covers.
"Get up, come on," urged Lavender. She glanced over at Hermione, saw she was still asleep, and gently began to kiss Parvati.
This action produced a more satisfactory result. Parvati opened her eyes and sat up. "Aren't you afraid you'll get caught?" she smiled.
"No." Lavender flexed her fingers. "You'll be happy to know I have complete range of motion in this hand."
"That is a relief," admitted Parvati. She stretched the length of the bed then said, "Everyone thinks you're such a good girl. And boy-crazy."
"I know. I try to make it work for me," shrugged Lavender modestly. Then, placing her hand on Parvati's thigh, she leaned forward and kissed her in a way that meant business.
"Would you two stop, already?"
The two girls jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice. "How long have you been awake?" demanded Parvati.
"Too long," grumbled Hermione, sitting up and glaring at them. "Do you have to act like lovesick teenagers all the time?"
"But we are lovesick teenagers," protested Parvati. "It's not acting." She glanced at Lavender to see how she'd react and to her relief the other girl was smiling.
Hermione slid out of bed and began rummaging through her things for some clothes. "Well, let's get busy then."
Parvati grinned. "For your information, we were getting busy - until we were so rudely interrupted."
"Not like that." Hermione crossed her arms and gave them a rebuking look much like one they might have earned from Professor McGonagall.
"Okay, we'll be good," Lavender promised and attempted to adopt a lofty tone. "We're both incredibly committed to…to…becoming frighteningly competent Daughters of Durga."
Parvati burst into laughter. "Frightening, yes. But you're hardly close to being competent, Lefty."
"Shut up." Lavender glared at her but Parvati could see the smile in her eyes.
"Could you please be serious for just one moment?" Hermione's hands were on her head and she was pulling at her bushy hair. "We've already wasted enough time!"
Lavender was about to point out that pulling at her hair like that would only make it bushier when their attention was distracted by tapping at the door. "Er, girls?" they heard Professor Lupin ask tentatively. "Could you come downstairs please? I think I've made an important discovery."
**
"Why do I have to master all the weapons if we're not really going to use them?" asked Lavender, squirming uncomfortably at being the center of attention.
They all sat around the Brown's kitchen table, where Professor Lupin had just explained his theory that they would not, in fact, be doing any actual battle. Lupin's face looked more drawn than usual and Lavender wondered if he'd spent the whole night reading.
"Because," he explained patiently, "You must demonstrate you can use them. Then you will have control of the demon hand, which from what I gather is most likely to use the weapons to assist you."
"But what about what I saw in the crystal? I saw Parvati fighting. Something bad is going to happen, I can just tell."
"You could have seen her sparring with the hand or another target," reasoned Hermione. "Visions of the future tend to be open to interpretation, as I recall."
"Seeing as you didn't even finish one year of Divination -" began Lavender hotly but Lupin cut her off.
"I'm not guaranteeing you won't use them. But modern magical technique has changed considerably since Durga's time. As spellwork has become more sophisticated, there is less need to resort to the kinds of enchanted arms used centuries ago. For example, you can use the trident to break a Grindylow's grip, but you can also use the techniques I taught you in my class, which require nothing more than your own wand."
Lavender sighed. "Which brings me again to my question - why do I have to use the things if all I really need is my wand?'
"I think it's your test," said Parvati quietly. "Remember how Durga said I'd passed her test by binding myself to you instead of Padma? Maybe this is the thing you have to do."
"Maybe." Lavender still looked unconvinced. "Do you really want me to do this?" she asked Parvati.
"I don't want you to do anything unless you really want to do it," Parvati said. Her eyes were very dark, so dark the iris and pupil were nearly indistinguishable.
"Alright, then. I'll try." Lavender pushed back her chair and stood up, her delicate face resolute. Parvati noticed she kept clenching her right hand into a fist, then releasing it, and knew Lavender was nervous about hurting herself again.
"I'll help you this time," Parvati offered, and left Lupin and Hermione at the table.
Outside, she selected one of the spears and handed another to Lavender. The ever-helpful demon hand hovered nearby, providing an audience.
"It's all in the follow-through," Parvati instructed, demonstrating how to throw. She took aim at a large tree trunk and released the spear, which shot through the air and into the bark. "Now you try."
Lavender laboriously copied Parvati's motions with the result that even if her shot didn't go very far, at least it followed a straighter line than yesterday. When they had used all the spears the hand obligingly flew over near the tree and collected them, then deposited them at Parvati's feet.
"Again." Parvati stood by while Lavender perfecting her throwing arm. When she finally succeeded in connecting with the tree, the hand became so excited it seized the remaining spear and hurled it next to Lavender's with astonishing precision.
"Show-off," muttered Lavender, but still smiled to herself. Her shoulder and arm felt quite sore already but at least she could now throw objects without inducing gales of laughter.
"Want to take a break?" asked Parvati. The mid-morning sun had burned off any lingering wisps of fog, and now both girls were hot and tired from their workout with the spears.
But Lavender shook her head. "No. Let's keep going."
"Okay." Parvati hesitated, then returned to their stash and carefully handed Lavender a sword, taking another for herself. "Watch me." She demonstrated a few moves she'd learned with the hand, then turned again to face Lavender.
Lavender closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. As she did so, familiar images flashed across her mind's eye - the same images she'd seen that last day with Professor Trelawney. Parvati was standing against a background of trees, something was hovering nearby her, and she was dueling with - Lavender.
Lavender shook her head and looked around, startled at the sense of deja-vu she'd just experienced. All that time spent looking for a familiar clearing - it had been here, in her own garden that she'd seen Parvati. And now saw herself.
"You okay?" Parvati frowned at her friend.
"Yeah. Let's go." Lavender felt suddenly confident, as if she knew now what to do, and subsequent events proved her right. Both girls moved carefully, probably more cautiously than they might have done had Lavender not hurt herself. As they became more comfortable with the weapons in their hands and with each other, they developed a kind of rhythm until Lavender felt the sword was moving her along of its own accord and she merely had to follow it. She didn't notice when Hermione and Lupin came outside to watch.
"Very good." Professor Lupin spoke quietly but was smiling at her with obvious pride. Lavender and Parvati paused, their blades against each other, then dropped the weapons and walked over to join the others.
Even Hermione looked awed. "Do you know how long you've been out here?" she asked, wide-eyed. "You didn't even come in for lunch."
Now she thought about it, Lavender was famished. The only thing they'd paused for was water breaks. She looked over at Parvati, who had her hands on her knees and was breathing heavily. Her long braid had loosened and strands of hair poked out at various points. Feeling Lavender's eyes on her she straightened up and smiled.
"You're really working as a team now," said Professor Lupin, looking first at Parvati, then letting his gaze rest on Lavender.
"I've been in touch with Professor Dumbledore," he told them all, "and he's aware of the situation. He's also made arrangements to exempt you from the underage use of magic rule, provided I am supervising."
The three girls exchanged looks. For Dumbledore to have arranged for such an exception could only mean he thought it likely they would have to use magic to defend themselves, or others.
Noting the more sombre mood, Lupin attempted a smile and said, "I almost forgot - I brought these for you two." He tossed an orange to both Lavender and Parvati, who quickly peeled them. Lavender stood in the sun, swallowing orange sections and enjoying the smell of citrus that now hung in the air, too tired to really think about what Lupin's news might mean.
As they turned towards the house, the hand suddenly flew in front of Lavender and came to a halt just before she reached the back door. It then held itself up in an unmistakable gesture of inviting a high-five.
Lavender grinned and slapped her palm against the dismembered one floating before her. "Cool."
All of them walked inside. As Lavender and Parvati headed for the stairs, Hermione dashed up ahead, suddenly excited in a way that could only mean she'd learned something new. "Guess what I found out while this afternoon - demon's blood is a stain remover! Professor Lupin told me and I gathered some from the carpet for a test and it really worked."
"Great. Maybe my mum will let me keep it," said Lavender, gesturing towards the hand. She was almost starting to think of it as a pet. "It can help with the laundry."
Hermione burst through the door, eager to show them the results of her work, but Parvati touched Lavender's elbow and held her back for a moment on the landing. "You were really amazing today," she murmured, twining her fingers into Lavender's.
"Think so?" Lavender smiled wearily, then leaned forward and kissed Parvati, tasting the saltiness of her neck and the tang of orange that lingered in her mouth. Leaning against her, Lavender closed her eyes and let all the thoughts and feelings drain out of herself, all except for how it felt to have Parvati kissing her right now.
"See? Look how it removed - oh, honestly you two!" They didn't even bother moving at the sound of Hermione's exasperated voice. "That's it. Tonight I'm sleeping downstairs on the sofa!"