"Parvati?" Lavendar called. Parvati groaned inwardly, taking a break
from her sadness to be annoyed at her best friend. She now wished that she
had waited until after leaving the room to start crying, but she couldn't
help herself. Padma could be dead already and here she was, still alive.
Parvati loved her sister more than anything in the world and, though they had been sorted into different houses, they had lots in common. They got along well enough. Once they had even done the typical twin thing and switched for a day and had told no one, not even their friends, about it.
She couldn't stand and nor could she fathom the though of Padma dead, especially when she, Parvati, was still alive. In her despair, she did not even want Lavendar around.
Parvati continued running down halls in the opposite direction of her friends, sobbing quietly. Lavendar, however, was quick and had managed to follow her closely.
"Par, come back!" she said, "What's wrong?"
"Go away!" But Lavendar did not intend to do so. They continued this chase for a minute or so before Parvati, out of breath, decided to hide. She opened the nearest door and entered without hesitation. She leaned against the door, with eyes closed and her forehead against its cool stone surface until she heard Lavendar pass, still calling her name. Then her sobs began again. She slowly slid down to the ground. And there she stayed, in a heap on the floor for several minutes, completely unaware of her surroundings.
She still had some hope that Padma could still be alive. It was true; she had no idea what had actually happened at Hogwarts after they had departed. This hope, however, almost made it worse because now she was anxious as well as sad. Also, it would be harder to take if the news of Padma's death did come than if she already knew.
When her weeping had subsided, she whispered almost inaudibly, "I wish I was dead too."
She took a deep breath, knowing she should go back to the others. They would be worried about her. But she did not want to go back. She didn't want them to feel sorry for her or to act all understanding. She just wanted to be alone for a while, to be upset on her own.
'You'll never see Padma again,' she thought, and the second she did, the tears returned.
"Parvati?" a voice came from behind her and it was not Lavender. It was not even Ron, Hermione, or Neville. It was Malfoy. He had been in the room the entire time.
"Go away," she moaned, not turning. She hated having people see her crying.
"You can't send me away in my own house. And I was in this room first. Maybe you've got other guys wrapped around your finger, but I'm not about to obey you, you stinking Half-breed-"
She whirled around angrily. Couldn't he tell this was not the time for it? She could not help but scream at him. She had so much emotion in her that she needed to let some out, "I SAID GO AWAY! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY EMPATHY? LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR WHINING! GO CRY TO YOUR DADDY, MALFOY, BECAUSE I DON'T CARE. I'LL SAY WHAT I WANT TO NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF BLOOD I'VE GOT!"
"I'm not the one crying," he said nastily. Parvati gave him a glare so severe that he was almost unnerved. She swore several times at him and then, without warning or ceremony, strode over to him and hit him on the face-hard.
"I've been wanting to do that since I saw you, Malfoy." He did not clutch the side of his face and nor did he act as if it hurt him, but she could see the tears at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill unbidden.
They stood there for a short while, in what seemed to be a glaring contest.
"Why are you crying, anyway?" asked Malfoy, though it didn't really seem as if he cared, "You're alive, aren't you?"
"No thanks to your parents," she said, knowing that would touch a nerve, "And I'm crying because . . .my sister, she's still at the school and-and she's probably-probably . . ." She could not bring herself to say the last word. She knew she would break down again if she did, and that was the last thing she wanted to do in front of Malfoy.
"Probably dead," he finished for her and then he added, in an uncharacteristically sincere voice, "I am sorry."
She looked him in the eye for a moment, but then spun around, knowing the sobs would soon begin, "How can you be sorry?" she asked, with her hand over her face, "You've never loved anybody. Not to mention lost them. All your friends are idiots and your parents deserve to be dead. You wouldn't- wouldn't miss any of them if they were murdered. You can't understand."
"Do I have to understand to be sorry?" he asked. This would have angered her again had it not been said in an honest tone that she had never thought Malfoy could've achieved.
Before she had even decided to do it, she whirled around and threw herself into his arms, sobbing openly now. He was taken aback and stumbled backwards a few steps before catching himself, but soon he had relaxed.
They stood there together, in each other's arms until they had both lost track of time, with her crying and him patiently letting her, sometimes stroking her hair.
Parvati had been so deep in her misery that she had not been thinking quite straight, but ,the moment she felt that she had cried long enough, she realized exactly whose shoulder it was that was now completely drenched and leapt back wildly.
"I'm-I'm sorry," she said, her tan skin reddening, avoiding his icy gray eyes, "I was-I didn't mean to--."
"It's okay," he said. She finally got up the courage to look up into his eyes and found that he meant it.
"Thanks," she said, blushing even deeper, "I guess-I'll just, er, go now."
She turned to leave, but he caught her wrist, "You-you don't have to."
"Yes, yes I do," she said nervously, "The others will be wondering where I am. I ran away from them and it's been a while now. I don't want them to worry."
"Why were you running away?" he asked.
He was being a bit nosy, in her opinion, but she told him anyway, "I don't like having people see me cry and. . .And I suppose I just didn't want to talk to anyone. I wanted to be alone."
"Why would you want to be alone?"
"I just did. I didn't want to explain why I was crying or have people feel sorry for me-"
"I hate being alone," he interrupted her, "I'm always alone here."
She looked at him for a moment, he was looking past her, "You don't have to be constantly alone," she said reasonably, wiping the tears from her face, "You could invite friends."
"You said it before," he sighed, "My friends are idiots."
"Get new friends," she suggested as if he could just go to the store and buy them, "There have got to be some halfway decent people in Slytherin."
He rolled his eyes, "Only Blaise Zabini and her friend Aleabeth Lestrange fit that description, and they hate me!"
"No offense, Malfoy," Parvati said, "But you have gotten yourself a pretty nasty reputation around the decent people, with all your Muggle-born crap and your attitude. Why do you do it, anyway?"
He shrugged unhappily, "It's easier."
She snorted, "You're going to be alone forever if you think that way."
"Am I?" he said. And with that he leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips. This took her by surprise so much that she nearly stepped away, but she stopped herself and, instead, kissed him back.
Author's note: Ah, so sweet. I really like the Draco/Parvati pairing. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Thanks to all the reviewers (especially Cathy W. and d for pointing out my silly mistakes), keep it up please. Without my daily dose of reviews, I become depressed and may stop writing. Constructive flames are always acceptable (though I must admit I don't like them). Thanks to Bill Whelan for composing the music I listened to all through writing this chappie, River Dance: The Show. That is the absolute best music ever.
The next chapter will come tomorrow if you're lucky. The reason I've been able to get so many chapters up so fast is because I have had an amazingly small amount of things to do over the past weeks, but soon that wont be the case. I'm off to England in four days and when I come back, school starts so I'm not sure when this'll get finished. Peace, Love, And Much Juicy Juice, JuicyJuice
Parvati loved her sister more than anything in the world and, though they had been sorted into different houses, they had lots in common. They got along well enough. Once they had even done the typical twin thing and switched for a day and had told no one, not even their friends, about it.
She couldn't stand and nor could she fathom the though of Padma dead, especially when she, Parvati, was still alive. In her despair, she did not even want Lavendar around.
Parvati continued running down halls in the opposite direction of her friends, sobbing quietly. Lavendar, however, was quick and had managed to follow her closely.
"Par, come back!" she said, "What's wrong?"
"Go away!" But Lavendar did not intend to do so. They continued this chase for a minute or so before Parvati, out of breath, decided to hide. She opened the nearest door and entered without hesitation. She leaned against the door, with eyes closed and her forehead against its cool stone surface until she heard Lavendar pass, still calling her name. Then her sobs began again. She slowly slid down to the ground. And there she stayed, in a heap on the floor for several minutes, completely unaware of her surroundings.
She still had some hope that Padma could still be alive. It was true; she had no idea what had actually happened at Hogwarts after they had departed. This hope, however, almost made it worse because now she was anxious as well as sad. Also, it would be harder to take if the news of Padma's death did come than if she already knew.
When her weeping had subsided, she whispered almost inaudibly, "I wish I was dead too."
She took a deep breath, knowing she should go back to the others. They would be worried about her. But she did not want to go back. She didn't want them to feel sorry for her or to act all understanding. She just wanted to be alone for a while, to be upset on her own.
'You'll never see Padma again,' she thought, and the second she did, the tears returned.
"Parvati?" a voice came from behind her and it was not Lavender. It was not even Ron, Hermione, or Neville. It was Malfoy. He had been in the room the entire time.
"Go away," she moaned, not turning. She hated having people see her crying.
"You can't send me away in my own house. And I was in this room first. Maybe you've got other guys wrapped around your finger, but I'm not about to obey you, you stinking Half-breed-"
She whirled around angrily. Couldn't he tell this was not the time for it? She could not help but scream at him. She had so much emotion in her that she needed to let some out, "I SAID GO AWAY! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY EMPATHY? LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR WHINING! GO CRY TO YOUR DADDY, MALFOY, BECAUSE I DON'T CARE. I'LL SAY WHAT I WANT TO NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF BLOOD I'VE GOT!"
"I'm not the one crying," he said nastily. Parvati gave him a glare so severe that he was almost unnerved. She swore several times at him and then, without warning or ceremony, strode over to him and hit him on the face-hard.
"I've been wanting to do that since I saw you, Malfoy." He did not clutch the side of his face and nor did he act as if it hurt him, but she could see the tears at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill unbidden.
They stood there for a short while, in what seemed to be a glaring contest.
"Why are you crying, anyway?" asked Malfoy, though it didn't really seem as if he cared, "You're alive, aren't you?"
"No thanks to your parents," she said, knowing that would touch a nerve, "And I'm crying because . . .my sister, she's still at the school and-and she's probably-probably . . ." She could not bring herself to say the last word. She knew she would break down again if she did, and that was the last thing she wanted to do in front of Malfoy.
"Probably dead," he finished for her and then he added, in an uncharacteristically sincere voice, "I am sorry."
She looked him in the eye for a moment, but then spun around, knowing the sobs would soon begin, "How can you be sorry?" she asked, with her hand over her face, "You've never loved anybody. Not to mention lost them. All your friends are idiots and your parents deserve to be dead. You wouldn't- wouldn't miss any of them if they were murdered. You can't understand."
"Do I have to understand to be sorry?" he asked. This would have angered her again had it not been said in an honest tone that she had never thought Malfoy could've achieved.
Before she had even decided to do it, she whirled around and threw herself into his arms, sobbing openly now. He was taken aback and stumbled backwards a few steps before catching himself, but soon he had relaxed.
They stood there together, in each other's arms until they had both lost track of time, with her crying and him patiently letting her, sometimes stroking her hair.
Parvati had been so deep in her misery that she had not been thinking quite straight, but ,the moment she felt that she had cried long enough, she realized exactly whose shoulder it was that was now completely drenched and leapt back wildly.
"I'm-I'm sorry," she said, her tan skin reddening, avoiding his icy gray eyes, "I was-I didn't mean to--."
"It's okay," he said. She finally got up the courage to look up into his eyes and found that he meant it.
"Thanks," she said, blushing even deeper, "I guess-I'll just, er, go now."
She turned to leave, but he caught her wrist, "You-you don't have to."
"Yes, yes I do," she said nervously, "The others will be wondering where I am. I ran away from them and it's been a while now. I don't want them to worry."
"Why were you running away?" he asked.
He was being a bit nosy, in her opinion, but she told him anyway, "I don't like having people see me cry and. . .And I suppose I just didn't want to talk to anyone. I wanted to be alone."
"Why would you want to be alone?"
"I just did. I didn't want to explain why I was crying or have people feel sorry for me-"
"I hate being alone," he interrupted her, "I'm always alone here."
She looked at him for a moment, he was looking past her, "You don't have to be constantly alone," she said reasonably, wiping the tears from her face, "You could invite friends."
"You said it before," he sighed, "My friends are idiots."
"Get new friends," she suggested as if he could just go to the store and buy them, "There have got to be some halfway decent people in Slytherin."
He rolled his eyes, "Only Blaise Zabini and her friend Aleabeth Lestrange fit that description, and they hate me!"
"No offense, Malfoy," Parvati said, "But you have gotten yourself a pretty nasty reputation around the decent people, with all your Muggle-born crap and your attitude. Why do you do it, anyway?"
He shrugged unhappily, "It's easier."
She snorted, "You're going to be alone forever if you think that way."
"Am I?" he said. And with that he leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips. This took her by surprise so much that she nearly stepped away, but she stopped herself and, instead, kissed him back.
Author's note: Ah, so sweet. I really like the Draco/Parvati pairing. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Thanks to all the reviewers (especially Cathy W. and d for pointing out my silly mistakes), keep it up please. Without my daily dose of reviews, I become depressed and may stop writing. Constructive flames are always acceptable (though I must admit I don't like them). Thanks to Bill Whelan for composing the music I listened to all through writing this chappie, River Dance: The Show. That is the absolute best music ever.
The next chapter will come tomorrow if you're lucky. The reason I've been able to get so many chapters up so fast is because I have had an amazingly small amount of things to do over the past weeks, but soon that wont be the case. I'm off to England in four days and when I come back, school starts so I'm not sure when this'll get finished. Peace, Love, And Much Juicy Juice, JuicyJuice