Before she knew it, Padma was spending a lot of time with George. She had not meant for it to happen, but then again, she was not sorry that it had. No one seemed to understand her like he did. She was discovering a new side to him. He was a great talker, wonderful entertainer, but he was a good listener as well. She listened to him too, and learned about his plans for the joke-shop, his disappointment at not being chosen to be Quidditch captain and mainly his envy of his brother.
Padma assumed that Lisa and Mandy had no problem with this, after all Mandy spent much of her time with Terry Boot and Lisa liked to hang around, but when October drew to a close she realised that they did.
"Are you guys going out or what?" Lisa asked one day out of the blue. Or rather out of the blue velvet curtains that surrounded the bed she was lying on.
"No!" groaned Padma. In the beginning, when she had thought of George the way every other girl thought of him, she had loved being asked if she was his girlfriend. But now that she knew him as one of her best friends, it was starting to irritate her. "God, Lisa, I can't believe I have to tell you this. I have to tell people I don't know this."
"Well, she has a right to ask," snapped Mandy. "You act as if you're married or something – always joined at the hip."
Padma sat up from her bed and drew the curtains back. "D'you guys have a problem with me seeing – being friends with George?" she asked. Mandy and Lisa exchanged a glance. "No, we don't," sighed Mandy, ever the diplomat. "But we're scared that you're getting in too deep. I mean, I'm sure he's really nice and everything, but he's in seventh year. He'll be leaving Hogwarts soon and you'll probably never see him again. We just don't want you to get hurt."
Padma laughed. "But I don't even like him like that." Mandy and Lisa looked at her in disbelief. "Honest," she continued. "I'm sorry if I've been spending less time with you guys."
"It's no problem," smiled Lisa.
"And I'm sorry if I snapped," apologised Mandy. "Let's forget about boys! Who needs 'em? Tell you what, why don't we have an early girls night in tomorrow, just the three of us?"
"Sounds great," smiled Padma. Then she remembered, and her face fell.
"What is it?" asked Lisa suspiciously.
"Sorry guys, George is helping me with Transfiguration tomorrow."
Mandy and Lisa exchanged a weary glance with each other before drawing their curtains around their four-posters.
"So George," began Harry choosing his words carefully. "You're pretty friendly with Padma aren't you?" George groaned.
"Don't you start as well. "I've had Fred and Lee on at me all night. 'Why don't you ask her to the Yule Ball?' No one gets it. We're friends."
"Oh no, that's not what I meant. You see, I need to speak to a Ravenclaw, to get something off my chest. Well, to clear the air – not that there's any air to clear – but, well it's about Cedric."
"Ah," said George and began listening.
"So let me get this right," said Padma. "Harry wants you, me and Cho to meet up in the Three Broomsticks this weekend. He's going to turn up. You and me will go somewhere. And he'll speak to her about Cedric?"
"That's pretty much it," said George, flicking through his copy of Top Stick, a racing broomstick magazine.
"But why can't he just ask her for a private word?"
"Because the last time he did that, he asked her to the Yule Ball and she was already going with Cedric. If he asks again, it'll look like he's trying it on with her. He doesn't want that, just to stop feeling guilty about what happened."
"Gotcha," said Padma. "One condition."
"How do I know this means trouble?" moaned George.
"I have to know how Cedric died as well."
*
"And then I did the Accio spell and pointed at the cup. I grabbed it whilst holding onto Cedric's wrist. Then we were back here." Harry had finished telling Padma what had happened on the night that Voldemort had risen again.
Padma's eyes were wide. "I'm so sorry Harry," she whispered. "If I had known it was that bad, I would never have put you through it all again."
Harry gave her a fleeting smile. "It gets easier every time. The first time was hell, almost as bad as when it actually happened. But it's easier now. And I have to practise for when I tell Cho. Is that all you want to know?"
Padma nodded dumbly. "Then I'll see you on Saturday," he said.
"See?" said George, once Harry had left. "See why he has to get it off his chest?"
Padma nodded.
*
"Hi Cho," said Padma. Cho was alone, an act that seldom occurred. "Mind if I sit down? I'm meeting George here, but I can't see him yet."
"Sure," smiled Cho. "Take a seat."
"You meeting anyone here?" asked Padma.
"No," sighed Cho. "I like to be on my own sometimes." Padma cast her mind back to last term. Whenever she had seen Cho, in the corridors, in the Common Room, in Hogsmeade, she had always been with someone. It wasn't like her to be on her own.
For a while there was silence. Padma ordered a Butterbeer. "You didn't know Cedric, did you?" asked Cho suddenly.
"No," replied Padma quietly. "Not very well."
"He was a good guy, he didn't deserve to…" she trailed off.
Harry entered the Three Broomsticks looking nervous.
"Hi Harry," said Cho. Padma was glad that she had not needed to make the initiation.
"Hi," he mumbled. "Mind if I sit down?"
"No problem," said Cho although her voice did not hold the same warmth that it had when she had welcomed Padma.
"I can never tell you two apart," said Harry to Padma, trying not to sound like he had rehearsed his lines with her earlier. "Is it Parvati or Padma?"
"Padma," Cho answered for her. "Parvati wears a pink bracelet. Padma wears a turquoise one."
Padma was surprised that Cho had noticed. George entered the Three Broomsticks with Fred and Angelina. "There you are!" he announced to Padma. "I thought we were going to meet outside Zonkos?"
"Why would we meet outside Zonkos?" asked Padma, getting up.
"Because I said Zonkos," said George opening the door for her.
"No, I said here!" cried Padma. They left.
"How did it go?" asked George as Harry entered the common room. Ron and Hermione were anxious. "Well…" began Harry. "She was shocked obviously. And then she cried for, like, an hour. And then she asked me how I could have ever thought she could have blamed me when she knew how friendly we were. She thanked me for telling her, because Amos Diggory and Mrs. Diggory had said that they would tell her when she was older. She also thanked me for bringing his body back and said that she knew I would have put my life at risk and saved him if I could. Then she cried some more. And more. And more. Then we said goodbye."
"That was it?" exclaimed Ron. "You didn't take advantage of her crying?"
"Oh shut up Ron!" cried Hermione. "Harry isn't low like you are."
"Thanks George," said Harry. "I feel so much better now. I was dreading the feast tomorrow. The anniversary of the Goblet of Fire."
Hermione looked up suddenly. "Can I borrow an owl someone?"
"What now?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, it has to get there for tomorrow."
"It will probably be there by night if you send it at dawn," said George. "Where is there, by the way?"
"Bulgaria," muttered Hermione, fiddling in her bag for a quill.
"Oh I get it," taunted Ron. "It's you and Vicky's anniversary tomorrow, isn't it?"
"Chum me up to the owlery, Ron, will you?"
"Of course," said Ron. "Don't want to miss your special day!" They left.
Harry and George looked at each other. Viktor Krum, International Quidditch Star had shocked the world when he had started seeing Hermione. Ron, hadn't taken it too seriously at first – he was a little jealous but that was it. Krum would return to Bulgaria and never see Hermione again.
However, when the Grangers had allowed Hermione to go and see Krum over the Summer holidays, Ron's jealousy had kicked into overdrive.
George could tell that Harry was thinking the same thing as he was. "Has he ever said anything to you about her?" he asked.
Harry shook his head. "Never," he said. "But I know, of course."
"He's losing time," sighed George. Harry looked at him, stunned.
"I've never heard you say anything like that."
"It's true. He's losing her."
Harry shook his head.
*
The smell of pumpkin pie filled their nostrils as the Ravenclaws entered the Great Hall. Each Halloween to date, something had happened. In First Year, a troll had been let loose. In Second Year, Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat had been petrified. In Third Year, Sirius Black, a convicted fellan, (who was now on the run from Azkaban,) had attacked Ron. Only last year the Goblet of Fire had spat out an extra name – Harry Potter's.
Padma did not want to be cynical, but as she opened her mouth to sing the school soing she could feel that something terrible was about to happen.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts…" As usual George was singing at his slowest tempo.
"Teach us something please…" sang Padma to the tune of "All Things Bright and Beautiful"
"Whether we be old and bald…" Suddenly George was hit with the utmost pain near his heart and was forced to stop singing.
"Our brains could do with…" It felt as though a ball of spikes was attacking Padma's hearts. She stopped singing and began to cough.
"For now they're bare…" George was now coughing so hard that he could not breathe. Tears were coming from his eyes. He tried to call Katie's attention, but Katie did not seem to notice.
"So teach us something…" Padma fell to her knees. Distantly she heard someone else coughing. Why wasn't anyone paying any attention?
"Bring back what we forgot…" George tried to sit down , but his foot slipped and he landed on the floor. "Professor Dumbledore!"
"Just do your best…" The Great Hall began to swin before Padma's eyes. "Madam Pomfrey!" she called. But Madam Pomfrey was too busy singing.
"We'll do the rest…" George now felt like he was going to die. "Help," he called, but it was too late. "Fred!" he cried, but his twin did not care.
"And learn til our brains all rot." That's what's going to happen to me, thought Padma, as the Great Hall's dark ceiling began to fade away. My brain is going to rot. "Parvati!" she yelled loudly, but just before she was dragged into unconsciousness she realised that her twin did not care.