Parvati looked at Seamus. I mean, sure she felt sorry for her friend, but what more could she do? Ginny and Seamus had been apart for nearly a week, and he needed to get her act together. Parvati had this weird feeling that he hadn't exactly told the truth about what the heck he had been doing with the Slytherins, but she didn't dare tell Ginny that. Ginny had recovered fully and spent a lot of time flirting with that slimeball Colin Creevey. But Parvati tried to put that out of her mind. It was nearly Christmas, and Parvati was in her 7th and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Parvati only wanted one thing this Christmas, and her friend Lavender had been so nice as to name it "Operation Dean." Although Parvati found this highly embarassing a name, Lavender's boyfriend Ron found it very entertaining. Obviously Parvati was not too keen on the subject, as she had asked Dean out constantly throughout the past 3 years, each time being turned down. Ron found this very funny as well, which made Parvati even madder, if it's possible. Nerves were running very low, as Parvati was almost sure Dean was going to turn her down yet again. She decided to ask him anyhow; she slowly began to walk to where he was sitting with Seamus.
"Hey guys," she said.
"Oh no, not this again," Dean said.
"Please?" Parvati begged.
"Why should I?" Dean said.
"I dunno. Why should he, Seamus?" Seamus didn't answer her; he was busy staring at Ginny and Colin, tears in his eyes.
"Seamus? You okay?" Parvati asked.
"No," he said quietly, then added "Dean, go out with her, don't make her Christmas miserable like you know mine's gonna be. Excuse me, I've gotta go somewhere." Parvati had a strange feeling Seamus had gone somewhere where he could be alone; she was sure he didn't want anybody to see him cry. How she wished Ginny wouldn't flirt like that; she knew it made Seamus feel absolutely horrible.
"Oh, how I'd like to wring her little neck.........."Dean said angrily, glaring at Ginny.
"Great Wizards, why doesn't he just tell her the truth? You know he'd never do something like that without a good reason."
"You're right, you know? He does have a reason, though I doubt that pinhead'd believe him."
"You must admit, she probably wouldn't, but there's gotta be someone who could back him up."
"This is all Neville's fault; if only he'd remembered to tell Ginny about Seamus' detention.................."
"Detention?"
"Well, yeah. Seamus didn't want anybody to know, but that's why he couldn't make it. He was sneaking around school grounds, getting a Christmas present for Ginny, of all things. Then he had that stupid dream, and he forgot all about the dumb thing. He never got a chance to tell Ginny, you see. McGonagall reminded him, but it was too late to do anything. The only perso left in the classroom to tell was that stupid Longbottom, so Seamus got stuck asking him to tell Ginny. Well, you know how forgetful Longbottom is, he forgot, so Ginny waited for him and she saw him with Malfoy and Parkinson and that was the end."
"A LIKELY STORY!" Ron Weasley said angrily.
"Oh, screw you, Weasley," Dean said.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me!"
"Why you little......" Ron dived at Dean.
"RON! STOP IT!!!!!!!!" Lavender yelled.
"Oh, shut up Lavender!" That did it. Lavender Brown had a major temper. Parvati had gotten on her bad side once before, and it was not a pretty site. Lavender's cheeks turned red; you could tell she was really mad when that happened. She kicked Ron as hard as she could in the back.
"YOUCH!" Ron yelled. He ran off, obviously not wanting to get the wrath of his girlfriend again.
"Hmph. Serves him right," Parvati said.
"Well, I better go apologize to him," Lavender said.
"Apologize? Why?"
"Because if I don't........."
"Ah, of course."
"Bye!" Lavender walked off, leaving Parvati and Dean alone once again.
"That Ron, always sticking up for his stupid sister, acting like she's some kind of saint. He won't listen to the truth; he's never trusted Seamus, not since the moment he laid eyes on Ginny. You know, I think he always kinda hoped Ginny would end up with Harry, he trusts him. Stupid, really, it's obvious Harry and Hermione were meant to be together. Harry's a great guy, he always knew Seamus wouldn't do that to Ginny; he stood by Seamus all the way. Very few people believe his side of the story; just Harry, me, you, and Lavender. That's not fair, really, as Seamus has his heart in the right place and he really did try to tell her the truth. It's Weasley's problem he and his dumb sister can't see it," Dean said.
"I agree with you completely. Those stupid Weasleys' just won't listen to Seamus," Parvati said.
"Can we talk about something else? This whole thing is depressing me," Dean said.
"Sure thing. So, about the date.........."
"Are you asking me out?" Dean said, pretending to be shocked.
"Why yes, I do believe I am," Parvati replied.
"Then it would be my honor to escort you around Hogsmeade this weekend," Dean said.
"You will?" Parvati gasped.
"Of course I will," Dean said.
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Hogsmeade Weekend arrived soon enough, and Parvati couldn't have been happier. Not only had she finally gotten a date with Dean, but Seamus was beginning to be a little less depressed than he had been. This, as Dean said, was a miracle. Anyhow, everyone was in great spirits as the weekend arrived. Lavender helped Parvati with her clothes and such; she had put Parvati in a beautiful blue tank top (a type of Muggle shirt) and short jean shorts. For one final touch, Lavender had put Parvati's long hair in a beautiful French Braid.
"You look stunning, Parvati," Lavender said to her.
"Thanks. You look great too," Parvati said, looking at Lavender, who was wearing a purple tank top with jean shorts. Lavender's hair was mainly hanging freely at her shoulders, but a small amount was pulled back into a ponytail. The girls were ready for a great day at Hogsmeade.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as they reached Hogsmeade, Dean led Parvati to the Broom Race area. He told her to wait for him for a minute, so she waited. A few minutes later Dean returned, carrying a broom.
"Why only one? You're not gonna leave me, are you?" Parvati asked.
"Of course not. You're riding with me."
"With you?"
"Of course."
"But I'm so clumsy; I'll knock you off or I'll fall off or something terrible."
"Don't worry, you won't fall, and neither will I."
"But Dean, I'm no good at flying......."
"Come on, Parvati, it'll be fun !"
"Oh, all right........" Parvati reluctantly hopped onto the back of the broom.
"Prepare for takeoff. 3..............2................1.............." Dean said as the broom left the ground. Dean rode around the course several times, Parvati hanging on for dear life. After a few runs she was no longer scared; she began to laugh as they rode around. After riding for about an hour Dean and Parvati fell back to earth, still laughing. Next they went to the Shrieking Shack. They stood looking at it for a few minutes and would have stayed longer if it weren't for the fact that they were joined by Ginny and Colin. Dean turned white and made a fist when he saw them; Parvati went pale with shock and ended up dragging Dean to The Three Broomsticks. There they drank a mug of Butterbeer each. After that they went to Honeydukes. Dean's presence seemed to bug Ron, who had already been in the shop, and he stormed away. Lavender went after him yelling things like "Jerk!" This gave Dean a good laugh. They stayed in Honeydukes for quite a while, loooking at all the sweets. Dean wanted to get some trick candy and stuff to give to Ron and Ginny, which Parvati didn't even bother objecting to; she just let him buy it. Finally they went to Zonko's, where Parvati and Dean bought plenty of tricks to use on Ginny and Ron. Finally they returned to Hogwarts. This day had been the best of Parvati's life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~