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A/n: Yay, next chapter! I realize that I've been neglecting the story I *should* be working on, TGGTH, terribly. But this evil bunny has started to bounce around in my brain and is chewing on my mind like cabbage. It keeps waking me up in the middle of the night with ideas for this series! I'm trying to get it to take up residence in another brain, but it seems to like it here with me. Hey, does anyone know a good name for an evil bunny? If it's going to be living in my brain, I should name it. Why don't you leave a name suggestion in your review?

Warning: If you didn't figure it out from the first chapter, this is SLASH! Homosexuality, gayness, dykes, whatever you want to call it! If you don't like it, stay away!

Disclaimer: I hate this part. I really do. I…. I don't…. Arrgh, I can't say it! …Idon'townthem! There! Now don't expect me to say it again!

Thanks: Many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many thanks go out to Nikki (aka Ides of Diamonds) who helped sososo much with this fic. She even wrote the poem which appears toward the end of the chapter. Thank you so much Nikki!

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Chapter Two: Violet

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"Hold on

Hold on to yourself

for this is gonna hurt like hell

Hold on

Hold on to yourself

you know that only time will tell

What is it in me that refuses to believe

this isn't easier than the real thing

My love

you know that you're my best friend

you know I'd do anything for you

my love

let nothing come between us

my love for you is strong and true"

-- "Hold On" Sarah McLachlan

***************

Just a look from your eyes/sparkling blue on mine/ shakes me to the core

"Quote the raven: never more?" Parvati sighed. "Yeah, that's good if you want to kill her and bury her under the floorboards. You're supposed to be expressing your love, not freaking her out." She said to herself.

Parvati sighed again. This wasn't turning out right at all. In her fantasy, she had written a poem, a beautiful piece of literature, in which she would pour her heart into. It would convey exactly how she felt whenever Lavender smiled at her, touched her hand, unveiled her future in Divination.

Parvati would watch silently as her love read the poem. When Lavender would finish, she would run her hands over the parchment, on which sprawled Parvati's scrawling calligraphy spread like vines on a trellis. Then Lavender's eyes would connect with Parvati's, and she would realize that she loved Parvati, that she always had. She would fling herself at Parvati, sending them both to the ground.

Parvati's body would be trapped beneath Lavender's, her brown eyes looking up into sparkling sapphires. Lavender would then lean forward and brush her lips against Parvati's, their flesh connecting in the lightest of kisses.

And I can't even get the poem part down. The rational part of Parvati thought, bringing her fantasy crashing back to earth with a whistle so loud, she was sure they could hear it in the Slytherin dungeons. "If I can't even get that done, the rest isn't very bloody likely to happen."

Parvati turned over and buried her face in her pillow. "There should be some kind of… I don't know, *punishment* for falling in love with your best friend." She mused out loud. Then thoughts of Lavender punishing her came to mind, so she immediately had to drop that subject. "Jeez, you have a kinky side to you, don't cha?" she said to herself.

"Now I'm talking to myself. Isn't that one of the signs of insanity?" Parvati said, bringing her hands up to rub her temples. She was getting a steadily increasing headache. "No, you're only insane if you answer yourself." Parvati's eyes went wide, realizing that she *did* just answer herself. "Oh, boy am I screwed."

Parvati grabbed a fresh piece of parchment and a quill. "Just… just write the poem, Patil."

*************

How did I let myself be dragged into this? Hermione wondered wearily, as she let Ginny drag her into the fifth year girls dormitory.

Inside, Parvati was cross-legged sitting on her bed, writing furiously on a piece of parchment. Probably Divination homework. Hermione thought scornfully.

Ginny dropped her girlfriend's hand and marched up to Parvati and placed her hands on her hips. "Do you love Lavender?" she asked.

Parvati nearly jumped a foot in the air. She looked around frantically, while hastily shoving the piece of parchment under her pillow.

Parvati wasn't the only one who was surprised. Hermione's eyes went wide at Ginny's bluntness. How can she be so frank? She wondered in awe. Then, and why do I love every bit of it?

Parvati finally found words. Sort of. "W-what…huh?" she looked around a bit, at a loss.

"Do you?" Ginny asked again, hands still on her hips in an intimidating manner.

Hermione was amused at the show of emotions that were fluttering through Parvati's face. First confusion, then dismay, and last, submission. "Is it that obvious?" she asked, evidently upset.

"Yeah, it was," said Ginny, now with some pity showing on her face. It was? Thought Hermione. I didn't see it.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Ginny.

Parvati looked up at Ginny, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "How are you going to *tell* her?" she said, as though it was obvious.

"Well," said Parvati slowly. "I've been dropping a lot of hints in Divination—"

Hermione snorted. "Well, I can see why she hasn't caught on yet." Ginny slapped her lightly on the arm.

"Stop being so supercilious." She said.

"I am not being supercilious!" Hermione said in defense.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes you are, you know you are!"

Parvati's eyes were darting in between the two girls, wondering what they were talking about. "Um… what does supercilious mean?"

Hermione smiled tolerantly at the other girl. "Supercilious. Full of contempt and arrogance. Supercilious. Which I am *not* being." She added, shooting a Death Glare at Ginny, who responded only by rolling her eyes once more.

"Anyway," Ginny said, her attention turning back to Parvati. "There's a Hogsmead weekend coming up," she said with an evil grin.

***************

Parvati shifted uncomfortably in her scarlet dress. The velvet gown swished around her ankles. In one hand she clutched a piece of parchment, and in the other a flower of a lavender plant.

Parvati had gone to one of the greenhouses used for Herbology earlier that day and found the plant. She had been surprised and delighted to find that Professor Sprout sowed more than plants of the magical variety.

I swear, if this doesn't work, I'll kill Ginny. She vowed to herself.

Parvati tugged up the neckline of her dress self-consciously. She never imagined she would be standing where she was.

She was at a restaurant known as the Hogsmead Herb Garden. Parvati could understand the "garden" part. Surrounding the place was grounds full of plants of every variety. Not just herbs. That was the part that Parvati didn't understand. She had often heard of the garden from older girls who had gone to the Herb Garden with their boyfriends to…um, talk.

Paths twisted through the gardens, none of them leading to a specific place. At night they were threaded with fairy lights, leading the way for traveling couples. They were enchanted to bring the adventurers who were wandering in them back to the restaurant if they were there for over three hours. It was rumor that there was one path, when found, would take you to a clearing full of magical flowers and plants, which was supposedly planted by two lovers who were on the run from Voldemort's army. Of course no one had ever seen it yet.

A waitress came over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Excuse me, miss? Would you like to sit down?"

Parvati looked over at the table, elegantly set for two, a candle in the center of the table giving off a romantic lighting. "Um… yeah. Sure." She plopped down in her seat, not inelegantly, and took a sip from a glass of water, which was sitting in front of her.

"Let me guess. Big date?" asked the waitress. Parvati turned her head to look at the waitress. She looked about forty-five, fifty. She was dressed in plain black robes, the uniform at the Herb Garden. She had light brown hair, graying slightly at the edges and cropped short. She wore oval glasses, which actually looked fairly good on her.

Parvati smiled. "You could say that."

"My name is Nikki." Said the waitress. "I guess I'll be your waitress. Who's the lucky guy?"

Parvati barely suppressed a smile. "He's… a friend. He doesn't really know that this is a date. I'm going to tell her—I mean, him, that I like him as more than a friend tonight."

"Well, good luck." Said Nikki. "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's to *think* before you tell someone you have a crush on them." Nikki got a wistful expression on her face, as if remembering something from a long time ago.

"What do you mean?" asked Parvati, curious.

"Oh, a whole mess of things can happen." Nikki sighed. "Entire friendships can be ruined…" Nikki then smiled a bitterly. "So…can I get you anything to drink?"

****************

A half hour later, Lavender was late, Parvati had drunk ten Butterbeers, and she wasn't exactly feeling sure of herself from talking with Nikki.

Entire friendships can be ruined… Nikki's words echoed in Parvati's brain, and she desperately hoped she was doing the right thing.

"Where is she?" wondered Parvati out loud. The note that she left Lavender had told her to meet her at nine o'clock. It was now half past nine.

What if she didn't see the note? Parvati thought frantically. What if she did see it, but isn't coming? What if—

"Hey," said a soft voice besides her. Parvati's head turned instinctively towards the sound, and she found herself drowning in a sea of blue. Lavender was looking beautiful, as usual, in a dress of pale purple. It ended right above her knee. Pastel colors always suited Lavender, and brought out her eyes.

"Hi, where were you?" Parvati asked, smiling warmly at her friend.

"Seamus and I took a walk around." Lavender said, a sappy smile on her face.

Parvati's heart jolted. Her smile faded slightly. "So, are you and him…." She let her sentence trail out.

"What? Oh, no!" said Lavender, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose in an adorable gesture. "He's a nice guy and everything, but…no."

Parvati felt her smile return with a vengeance. "Really??" she was aware that she was grinning like an idiot, and forced herself to calm down. "Well, I'm glad you came."

Lavender looked around the restaurant. "This place is so cool! Did you see those gardens?" she leaned forward excitedly.

"Wanna go for a walk in them later?" Parvati asked.

"Sure!" Lavender agreed. "But first let's eat. I'm starved!"

**************

"Oh my god, Parvati, it so hilarious!" Lavender swallowed another piece of pie, then waved her fork around for no apparent reason then because she wanted to. "Me and Dean are studying in the library, and all of a sudden…boom! There's Seamus! The books and papers went *everywhere*" Lavender giggled, remembering the incident and Parvati laughed along with her. "I swear, Madam Pince was going to kill us."

"She probably wanted to," laughed Lavender, thinking of the strict librarian. She looked down at the last crumbs of her raspberry pie. Lavender still had a few bites left. Now or never. She thought to herself. "Um…Lavender?" she said, not looking up from her plate.

"Hmmm?" answered Lavender.

"Parvati took her napkin in her hands, and started twisting it around. "There's something I wanted to tell you…but I'm not too sure how too." Parvati finally dared to look up into her friend's eyes.

The pools of blue gazed at her fondly. "Just say it. You know you can tell me anything."

"Well…" started Parvati, pausing and searching for the right words. "I wrote it down. So…" she pulled out the piece of parchment, now crinkled and slightly ripped in one corner. "Here." She held out the parchment to Lavender, who gently took it.

Parvati once again turned her face down into her plate, unable to watch the emotions that were surely racing across her friend's face. A hundred thoughts were running through her brain, but the strongest voice was the one reciting the poem that Lavender was reading now.

Shades of Purple

Lilac, violet, mauve, and plum,

All are shades of purple.

Amethyst, indigo, wine, and maroon,

All are shades of purple.

But Lavender glory, can't be beaten.

Her beauty can't be matched.

My own best friend,

Sweet Lavender girl,

Indeed, stole my heart.

But I can't get the nerve,

I don't have the guts,

To tell her the golden truth.

My heart's keeper,

My beautiful Lavender,

Is the one who lights up the dark.

It's you, my friend,

Who's sealed my heart,

Where it shall not roam.

It's you, Lavender,

Who makes me go crimson,

With your velvety touch.

Amethyst, lilac, plum, and wine,

All are shades of purple.

There are so many,

Yet none come close,

To sweet dear Lavender,

My own true love.

After a small amount of time, Parvati couldn't stand not knowing anymore. She tentatively looked up at Lavender.

The beautiful girl was sitting there, an unreadable expression on her face. Parvati's heart immediately sank.

Parvati was torn. One half of her wanted to run out of the Herb Garden, and the other half wanted to take Lavender, who was currently looking quite lost. She didn't know what to do, so she just stood still.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of tension, Lavender seemed to snap out of her trance. "Um…. I… I have to go to the bathroom," she mumbled, and ran off towards the bathroom.

Parvati banged her head down on the table.

*************

"Hey little girl would you like some candy

your momma said that it's OK

The door is open come on outside

no I can't come out today

it's not the wind that cracked your shoulder

and threw you to the ground

who's there that makes you so afraid

you're shaken to the bone

and I don't understand

you deserve so much more than this"

-- "Good Enough" Sarah McLachlan

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End of Violet

Final Chapter: Lavender, coming soon.

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A/n: What will happen next? What was Lavender's reaction all about? Will Parvati and Lavender end up together? If so, will I write a mushy kissy scene? Find out in the conclusion of Shades of Purple: Lavender! Oh, and don't forget to leave a name for the evil bunny in your review. I don't know why, but I've become quite attached to her. Yes, it's a female, I've decided. Because it makes me write f/f slash.