*****
Chapter One: The Day It All Began*****
Disclaimer etc in first part
Heliona
Writes: Draco, Hermione and Ron
Kyizi Writes: Ginny, Harry
and Parvati
Yahoo! Group: a_smirk_and_a_smile
*****
Harry:
Harry laughed and swivelled the broomstick around. He loved the feel of the wind in his hair and the rush of the air as it flew past his ears and he was glad he had suggested that they spend the afternoon flying. He loved Quidditch and he loved practice, but there was something altogether different about flying for fun.
"Harry, I really don't think this was such a good idea."
He smiled as Hermione wobbled about on the school broomstick they had borrowed for her as she made her way towards him. He flew in a direct line towards her and reached out to steady her as she looked about ready to fall down into the lake.
"Did I ever tell you how much I hate flying?" she said with a slight glare and Harry laughed.
"You might have mentioned it once or twice." He smirked at her and she smiled.
"Oi, Harry," Ron said, pulling his broomstick to hover alongside them. "Parvati's not half bad, think we should invite her to join the team?"
"No!" Parvati laughed as she joined them. "For a start there's no point because
I leave at the end of this year as well, and for another thing, I'd get too
nervous."
Harry was sure that Ron had the same thought as he had, because he really couldn't see Parvati Patil being nervous about being the centre of attention. Ron rolled his eyes and turned to dive towards the lake as Parvati followed after him, skimming across the top of the water, soaking him in the process. Hermione laughed and turned to look at him and Harry couldn't help that his breath hitched in his throat.
"I don't think I've seen Parvati laugh in a long time."
Harry nodded but didn't comment as he looked at Ron chasing Parvati, trying to get her soaked in retaliation. Ron was right; she was a very good flier. He had to be honest and admit that he never really paid much attention to the other girl. The memories he retained of Parvati were of the flighty, giggly girl that he had met when he started Hogwarts, and aside from the blazing row she had had with Lavender (which the whole of Gryffindor tower had been privy to), he hadn't really paid attention to her since.
Harry looked at Hermione again and smiled. She was watching the chase on the lake with great amusement, a slight twinkle in her eyes, and Harry couldn't help himself; he reached out and gently stroked his thumb over her cheek.
She looked up at him, startled and he instantly tried to pull his hand away, but she caught it and smiled tentatively back at him. Harry let his hand rest on her face again, cupping her chin as he moved his broomstick closer to her, without even realising what he was doing.
Hermione leaned into his touch and her eyes fluttered closed as his thumb traced her jaw. He had wanted to kiss her before, but never as much as he wanted to at that precise moment. As if reading his thoughts, her eyes opened. Harry moved closer to her and her eyes widened as his lips almost touched hers. He kept his eyes open, wanting to make sure that she really wanted this before he actually kissed her, but not sure what he would do if she didn't.
"Hey, Harry, I think it's about to rain, we should head back to the castle!"
Harry and Hermione both jumped apart and he made a quick move to catch her as her surprise resulted in her falling from her broom. Her robes slipped through his fingers and she screamed as she fell towards the water. Harry dove and within seconds she was in his arms, clutching tightly to his shoulders with a death grip.
He was going to kill Ron.
*****
Hermione:
Oh my God! Oh my God! Her thoughts raced as she clung to Harry's broad shoulders.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, his voice shaking slightly.
Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, thanks. I'm going to kill Ron, though."
Harry chuckled and Hermione could feel it rumbling through his chest. It brought her thoughts back to what had been about to happen just before Ron had untimely interrupted them. They had been about to kiss. She knew it would have been the most intense kiss of her life, and that only increased her bitterness towards Ron. He had better not come near me for a good few hours, she thought to herself as she scowled at her red-headed friend.
Ron and Parvati flew up to them, and Ron's face was whiter than usual. "Are you all right, Hermione?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she snapped. "No thanks to you."
Ron looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, you did kind of surprise us," Harry said.
"Sorry," Ron apologised. "But, didn't you hear me mentioning the storm clouds heading our way?"
Hermione could see Harry's eyes widened, and quickly jumped in. "No, Harry was giving me tips on how to fly and I was concentrating on staying on my broom. You know I hate flying." Although, she added to herself, it isn't nearly as bad when I'm sitting with Harry on his broom. She wrinkled up her nose at the innuendo and shook her head. She was clearly spending too much time around Ginny.
"I caught Hermione's broom," Parvati said, holding the broom, which, to Hermione, looked as though it was glaring angrily at her for letting it fall into the lake.
"Thanks, Parvati," Ron said, smiling. "It'd be pretty bad if we had to replace it." He turned to Hermione. "We'd should be getting back, so you'd probably be best getting back onto your broom."
Hermione's eyes widened. "You must be joking! I'm staying right here, thank you very much. There's no way I'm getting back on that vindictive thing."
Harry chuckled. "All right then. I think my trusty Firebolt can take us both back. Ron, you keep hold of the vicious broom until we can lock it away."
Ron grinned at him and nodded. "I'll put a Stupefy curse on it, too, shall I?"
Hermione glared at Ron, and hit Harry gently. "Stop it, both of you, and get me back onto solid ground."
"Yes, boss." Harry led the way and gently landed on the Quidditch pitch, holding onto Hermione for what was much longer than the normally appropriate time.
Hermione didn't mind, though. In fact, she loved the feel of Harry's strong arm wrapped around her small waist in a protective manner. He squeezed her briefly before letting go and moving to unlock the broom shed. All the Quidditch Captains had keys to the shed, along with Madam Hooch.
"Get in there, you beast!" Ron shouted, pretending to struggle with the broom as he placed it back on the rack.
Hermione and Parvati shared a grin, although Hermione quickly smothered hers when the boys reappeared, instead glaring at them. Unfortunately, both of them could see through her disguise and she could see Harry's eyes twinkling merrily.
"Come on, let's go, I'm starving!" Ron said, leading the way up to the castle.
"What's new?" Harry muttered to Hermione.
"He's right, though, all the excitement's made me hungry," Hermione countered.
"So, you thought it was exciting?" Harry asked, leaning closer and his voice becoming huskier.
"Well, some of it," Hermione whispered, her eyes focusing on Harry's lips, her tongue licking her own.
"Really?" Harry smirked, and, whilst Hermione thought he looked incredibly sexy smirking, she desperately wanted to kiss that smirk right off.
"Umm, I'm getting hungrier by the minute," she answered breathlessly.
"Well, in that case, I'd better get you to the Great Hall before you faint from hunger," Harry said, grinning, and picking her up.
Hermione shrieked and smacked him, but he didn't put her down, instead running up to Ron. "Help me, Ron, Hermione's about to die of starvation!"
Ron laughed and opened the castle doors to let Harry through.
"You're such an idiot!" Hermione said through her laughter. She was infuriated that Harry had not taken the opportunity to kiss her outside, but she was smart enough to realise that it would have been incredibly stupid.
Harry put her down, and Ron grabbed her hand. "Come on, Hermione, I'm hungry too."
He dragged Hermione into the Great Hall. She could feel Harry's eyes on her as he and Parvati followed them in, and tried not to blush when he sat opposite her at the table.
That boy is just too handsome for his own good, Hermione thought to herself. And now he knows how he effects you, and will torment you forever, another voice said. Shut up! At least I know I can retaliate. I just wish we could be open about it. Still, I guess sneaking around is something Harry and I have a lot of experience in. Her thoughts drifted back over the previous years to all of their adventures, although she couldn't but help notice that every single one of them included Ron. It's a pity we're an odd number. Things would be much simpler if there were four of us! Then again, she added, looking at Ron talking animatedly to Parvati, maybe there are four of us now.
*****
Parvati:
Parvati listened to Ron energetically discussing the last Cannons game, his hands flying all over the place in an attempt to clearly show exactly how every play had contributed to their eventual win and she couldn't help but grin. She had had more fun in the last few hours than she could remember having in the last few years.
It's no wonder they spend all their time together, she thought. They really are the best of friends.
"And then Kerr swept in, did the best Turner spin since Turner himself and scored the last goal just as O'Connor caught the Snitch. It was bloody lucky too. If Kerr hadn't scored, O'Connor would have won it for the Wombats." He shook his head.
"Well, maybe if the Cannons invested in a half decent Seeker then they might have a chance." Ron was looking at her as if she had just committed blasphemy and she smiled. "Seriously Ron, Smythe was never meant to be a Seeker, she's built for a Chaser, but she just doesn't have the agility and speed to play Seeker."
Ron nodded rather grudgingly. "I guess you're right."
Parvati took another small helping of mashed potatoes, laughing as Ron took the dish from her and emptied the rest onto his plate. "Where do you put it all?" she asked as he took his second helping of chicken.
He shrugged. "I work it off doing many manly things that are…well, manly," he said with a cheeky grin.
Parvati tried to stop her cheeks from reddening at the thought of just how manly Ron was. She heard a chuckle and looked up at Harry who was sitting next to Ron, looking right at her. She did her best to glare, but it didn't work and instead she found herself smiling at him.
She couldn't believe just how easily she had fallen into a friendly rapport with The Trio. She and Lavender had always thought that they were such an exclusive group, and she had to admit that she never would have got along with them so easily all those years ago. She knew she was flighty, but she was just so happy to have found a good friend in Lavender that she didn't care.
If she was honest, she was more like her mother than Padma was. Where Padma had inherited her father's good sense and brains, Parvati seemed to have her mother's way with people. She had always been the more fickle twin, but it had never bothered her before, at least, not until Terry had assumed that she was a complete airhead.
She knew that the way she had always worshipped Professor Trelawney had earned her the reputation for being less intelligent than her sister, but Parvati was by no means stupid. She knew something that no one else was privy to. Her mother had gone to school with their somewhat melodramatic teacher and Parvati knew that Trelawney was not a fake; at least not always. She may have made up most of her predictions, but Parvati knew that there was at least one real one, a real one that was so important that not many people even knew it existed.
She glanced at the Ravenclaw table and her eyes found her sister. She knew that she should feel bitter that Padma had not really been around for her lately, but she also knew that her sister found it difficult to talk about Terry without using the phrase "I told you so". A phrase that Parvati hated with a flaming passion, as it was one that her sister had always used while they were growing up. She knew that she wasn't as intelligent as Padma, but that didn't mean she appreciated her sister rubbing it in.
Padma had warned her about Terry, she had warned her that he was not really interested in Parvati for anything more than someone to hang on his arm. Parvati should have listened, but she knew it was futile. She accepted that her one failing was how easily she gave her heart to people. Not necessarily always in the romantic sense, but in general as well. When she opened up to someone, she let them in with a blind eye and she would give them her heart. And Terry had broken it.
"Parvati?"
She looked up as Ron said her name. She realised that her cheeks were damp and quickly brushed her hands across them, wiping them dry. She tried not to look embarrassed, but she knew that her face was bright red.
"I'm sorry," she said, not looking any of them in the eye. Good one, Parvati. You finally have someone to talk to and you screw it up by crying on them. Oh God, what must Ron think? One moment you're talking Quidditch, the next you're crying a river into your mashed potatoes. Nice impression.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked gently.
She turned to the girl, knowing that Harry and Ron were uncomfortable but that Hermione was really asking for all three of them. Because that was the way they worked; you didn't just get one, you got all three.
"I'm all right," Parvati said, trying to keep smiling. "I'm fine, I just got a little too lost in my thoughts, that's all." None of them looked to convinced, but she forced herself to smile, no matter what she was feeling (another thing she had got from her mother). "Really, I'm okay."
She glanced momentarily at Ron, hating the way her heart contracted at the thought that he would be uncomfortable around her now. She had only really started talking to him earlier that day, but she had soon found that she liked him. And she was suddenly wondering if that was such a good thing. Because she was beginning to wonder if her heart had just found the next person it wanted to be given to, and she wasn't sure she wanted to trust anyone with it again, even someone as seemingly wonderful as Ron Weasley.
*****
Ron:
Ron watched the emotions run over Parvati's face and frowned. This was one strange girl. Firstly she was talking to him about Quidditch, and he thought she was the best girl in the world, aside from Hermione, of course, and then she burst into tears. Tears were not something he could handle. He could see Harry shifting uncomfortably beside him and knew he was thinking the same thing.
When Hermione asked Parvati if she was all right and Parvati smiled, Ron felt much better. He noticed how her smile usually reached her eyes, and this time didn't, but didn't comment, thinking that it wouldn't be appropriate.
Bloody hell, Ron, since when do consider other people's feelings? he asked himself. Since those other people are smart and pretty, another voice said.
That Parvati was pretty went without saying. Everyone in Gryffindor knew that she was one of the prettiest girls in the senior classes, along with Hermione and Ginny. Although, of course, if anyone went near Ginny, he'd knock their heads off. Ron knew that some people thought Parvati was a bit dizzy, but having got to know her, he realised that wasn't the case, at least not any more.
Parvati's mood seemed to have lightened and she and Hermione were talking light-heartedly about Charms whilst they ate their dessert. Ron turned to Harry and caught him looking at the two girls.
"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Ron whispered.
Harry jumped and his eyes widened as he stared at Ron. "Wh-what?"
"Parvati? She's gorgeous," Ron explained.
"Yeah, she is," Harry said, smiling slightly and glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, hands off," Ron said jokingly. "She's mine. I don't want you putting your Boy-Who-Lived mojo on her."
Harry's eyebrows rose. "Boy-Who-Lived mojo? What is this thing? I've never heard of it. Are you telling me I've had a weapon to attract the opposite sex that you been holding back from me?"
Ron grinned. "Oh, come on, you've got the whole handsome, hero thing going for you."
Harry snorted. "Yeah, see me beating off all the girls rushing to be by my side."
Ron shrugged. "Personally, I think Hermione scares them all off. At least, that's my excuse."
This time it was Harry's turn grin. "I don't know, in your case, it's probably Ginny as well. She's just as protective of you as you are of her! You don't stand a chance, man."
Ron pouted. "I think she'd approve of Parvati, though."
"So, does that mean you might make a move?"
"I don't know. I don't know how she'd react." Ron shrugged.
Harry glanced at the girl in question. "Personally, I think she'd react quite well. But, I would take it slow. I think it's a little early, what with the whole Terry mess."
"He was a bit of a git, wasn't he?"
Harry nodded. "From what I gathered, he just took her for a ride. And, I don't mean that literally," Harry added, off Ron's look. "Honestly, at least I know where Ginny gets her dirty mind from."
"Ginny's dirty mind?" Ron asked, aghast, quite upset that his innocent little sister could possibly be having distasteful thoughts. A small voice in his mind refused to be quietened, telling him that Ginny was now sixteen and in no way was she either little or innocent. "Speaking of her, where is she?"
*****
TBC…
