I'm sorry that there's been such an enormous gap between the last chapter and this one. I've been very busy with work for college and hardly seem to have a chance to write anything any more. But I'm still planning everything out for Padma and I hope to be able to update a bit more regularly. As an apology, this chapter is extra long! Keep reading and reviewing, and please be patient – there are many more chapters to come :)

Chapter 14: Magical Me

Two weeks after they returned from India, Padma and Parvati's Hogwarts letter arrived. This year all they needed was the Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2 and just about the entire collection of Gilderoy Lockhart's books. He was a famous celebrity in the wizarding world, having travelled the world and written many books on his adventures, as well as winning numerous awards from Witch Weekly for his smile. Parvati seemed to think that he was quite good looking. Then again, so did the twins' grandmother.

The evening that they received their letters, Padma sat on her bed reading the book that Terry had got her for Christmas. Parvati lay on the floor between their two beds. She was writing a letter to Lavender and chewed on the end of her quill, her foot bobbing along to the latest Weird Sisters' song on the wireless. After the trip to India, this was the perfect way to relax.

There was a fluttering of wings and a small tawny owl swooped in through the window. It dropped a letter at Padma's side and settled on the perch in the corner of the bedroom, nudging Rama aside to have a drink. Padma picked up the envelope and recognised Terry's neat handwriting on the front.

"Who's that from?" Parvati asked curiously.

Padma ripped open the envelope and pulled out a sheet of parchment.

Dear Padma,

How was your time in India this summer? I'm sure you had a great time. Learning about Indian magic must have been fascinating. And I hope you remembered to bring me back a present.

I've been to a couple of Puddlemere games with Mum and Dad. Mum thought that it was great but a bit brutal – personally I think that's the best thing about Quidditch – and she nearly fainted when the Harpies' Seeker was hit in the face by a Bludger.

I'm going to Diagon Alley this week. Do you want to meet up to buy our schoolbooks?

From Terry

P.S I bet you've done much more homework than you were meant to.

Padma smiled as she looked up from the parchment.

"It's from Terry."

Parvati rolled her eyes and chewed thoughtfully on her quill.

"What did he want?"

"Just to know how India was," Padma said, refolding the parchment. "And if I wanted to meet him in Diagon Alley to buy our school things."

Parvati looked up at her twin and smiled.

"Sounds like a date to me."

"Don't be so stupid," Padma retorted sharply. "You know he's just my friend. And you remember how much trouble you caused last time saying things like that!"

Parvati frowned. At an icy stare from her twin, she pressed her lips together and turned back to her parchment.

"Fine. Be that way if you must."

"Dinner is ready, girls!"

Padma put away the letter and hurried down the stairs after her sister. Her grandmother and father sat in the dining room, while her mother dished food out onto the plates. She still wore her St Mungos robes and her hair was falling down from its usually immaculate twist.

"I was rushed off my feet today!" she said, spooning rice onto Padma's plate. "I only had a few minutes to whip all of this food up. You won't believe how many wizards are foolish enough to allow their children near their cauldrons!" she said to her husband, "I had a girl in today whose hands were as big as balloons. Her mother let her play around a batch of Swelling Solution, for goodness' sake!"

She eventually stopped babbling on and took her seat, Summoning a bottle of wine from the sideboard. Padma pushed her chicken around her plate.

"Can we go to Diagon Alley next week," she said.

"Of course we can!" her mother said, smiling warmly. "Goodness, I almost forgot that you're both back at Hogwarts at the start of September!"

Padma's grandmother peered curiously at her daughter-in-law.

"You haven't come into contact with a Babbling Brew, have you Surya?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

The old witch raised an eyebrow and turned back to her food.

"Never mind, dear."

Across the table, Parvati snorted into her water and tried to disguise it as a sneeze. Padma grinned momentarily until her twin said innocently,

"Is it alright if she meets up with Terry?"

Padma could almost see her grandmother's ears prick up, but the Indian witch continued to chew thoughtfully. Despite her casual attitude, she was clearly interested. Her mother glanced up from her food momentarily.

"Of course you can," she said with a smile. "I'll take you and Parvati to Diagon Alley at noon next Wednesday. I've got the day off."

Padma exhaled slowly, relieved that her grandmother hadn't said anything. But she had clearly relaxed too quickly.

"So who is this Terry boy?" her grandmother asked, helping herself to a goblet of wine.

Padma wished that she was of age so she could jinx Parvati, but instead she turned to her grandmother and smiled. The Indian witch smiled back, a glint of interest in her eye.

"So who is he?" she repeated firmly.

It sounded as though she was about to set off on one of her inquisitions where Padma was closely scrutinised. Padma had to tread very carefully.

"He's one of my best friends and is in my house at Hogwarts," she said simply.

"Isn't he the boy that your sister and Hina were talking about at Christmas?"

Padma nodded shortly, feeling anger well up at her throat.

"Yes he is," she said truthfully, "but what Parvati said is untrue. He's just my friend; that and nothing more." She breathed heavily through her nose for a moment. "May I be excused?"

Her mother nodded shortly. Padma got up from the table, hearing Parvati sweetly ask her mother if she could meet with Lavender on Wednesday. Padma tried to ignore this and hurried back up to her room, throwing herself down on her bed. She stared at the blue and green patchwork for a moment before rolling over onto her back and glaring at the ceiling, allowing the annoyance to subside. She eventually got up and grabbed some parchment, ink and her quill, writing a reply to Terry.

Dear Terry,

India was fantastic (even though I thought it was going to be terrible!) and I really enjoyed myself. The magic that they use is so different from ours, and I wish that we'd had homework on foreign wizardry to do – I could have written about twenty scrolls on all I've learnt. Don't worry; I managed to buy you a souvenir while I was here as well.

My mum is going to take Parvati and me to Diagon Alley next Wednesday. She says that we can meet you in the Leaky Cauldron at noon. I'm really looking forward to starting back at Hogwarts, though I wonder why we've been set the Lockhart books this year. He's not really a world authority on Defence Against the Dark Arts, is he? I bet the new professor is a huge fan of his.

I'll see you on Wednesday,

From Padma

She rolled the parchment up and called Rama down from his perch in the corner of the room.

"I want you to take this to Terry," she said warmly, stroking the tawny feathers gently. "I'm sure he'll give you plenty of Owl Treats if you get there really quickly."

Padma walked over to the window and threw it open, allowing the warm summer air to fill the bedroom and the sound of the traffic of the suburbs to wash around her ears. She watched the sun dipping down over the rooftops for a moment before letting Rama soar off into the sky, and she only turned back when he became a tiny dot above the chimney pots.

o0o

The next Wednesday, Padma and Parvati sat at the dining table, waiting for their mother to come downstairs and take them through the Floo Network to the Leaky Cauldron. Padma read the Daily Prophet while her sister was looking at her star charts in Witch Weekly, making careful note of what her fate would be for the next month.

"You hold too much faith in those things," Padma commented, looking over the top of the newspaper.

Parvati rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what your problem is with them," she snapped. "Just because you don't trust anything you can't learn in your dusty old books, it doesn't mean that other people can't use them if they want to."

Padma was about to retort but her grandmother came into the room. Meera wrapped a shawl about her thin shoulders and took her enormous carpet bag from the floor, bending to kiss the twins on their foreheads.

"Have a lovely time at Madam Marchbanks' house," Parvati said brightly.

"I'll try," her grandmother replied, "and I'll be fine as long as she doesn't insist on boring me with more tales about all of the ridiculous things Hogwarts students do in their O.W.L.s!"

With that she hurried out of the back door, heading for the lane where she would catch the Knight Bus. Padma's mother hurried down the stairs, attempting to spell her hair up into its usual knot and check her handbag at the same time. She grabbed a silver casket from the mantelpiece and handed it to Parvati, lighting a fire in the grate with her wand.

"Hurry up," she said, pulling her cloak about her shoulders. "You don't want to be late for your friends, do you?"

Padma pulled on her cloak before taking a handful of Floo powder from the silver box and throwing it into the flames. She watched as they turned emerald green.

"Now, don't talk to anyone you don't know when you arrive," her mother said, checking through her handbag again. "Just sit down and wait for your sister and I to arrive."

Padma nodded and stooped to step into the fireplace, feeling the flames lick about her legs. She tried not to breath in any ash and said clearly,

"The Leaky Cauldron!"

It felt as though she was being spun around and, as she twisted madly, Padma could glimpse fireplaces flashing past and hear snatches of conversation. She was relieved when she was eventually thrown out of the fireplace and stumbled out into the Leaky Cauldron. As her head stopped spinning, she noticed that the smoky pub was even more crowded than usual. At every table there seemed to be a group of witches who were chattering excitedly and keeping the barkeep very busy.

Padma sat down and watched as her twin and then her mother stepped out of the fireplace and into the pub.

"Why are there so many witches in here?" Padma asked her mother.

"I'm not sure," Surya replied. "Have you seen Terry yet?"

Padma shook her head. Suddenly a scream cut through the air and Lavender Brown appeared through the crowds of witches, throwing herself at Parvati.

"How were your holidays?" she asked excitedly. "Did you learn more about reading the leaves and…" she trailed off as Surya cleared her throat noisily. "…I'm Lavender Brown, Mrs Patil. It's very nice to meet you."

Padma stopped herself from giggling at the girl's nervousness and instead glanced around the pub again, hoping to spot Terry. Parvati finished introducing her mother and turned to Padma.

"…and you remember my sister Padma."

Lavender glanced at Padma for a moment then smiled warmly.

"Oh yes, I remember. I met you at Christmas, didn't I?"

"Yes," Padma said, forcing a warm smile. "It's nice to see you again."

"Can we go and get our school things now?" Parvati asked.

"Of course you can." Padma's mother handed over a purse full of gold. "Now make sure that you're both back by four."

"Of course, Mrs Patil," Lavender said politely before Parvati dragged her off into the crowds.

Padma couldn't see them, but she could tell where they were by the giggling and she rolled her eyes, wondering why on earth the two girls were in Gryffindor. She looked around the pub again. Her mother smiled warmly at her.

"I'm sure he'll get here soon," she said encouragingly. Padma nodded. "What's Terry like, then?"

Taken slightly aback by the question, Padma stared at her mother for a moment. She came back to her senses and smiled.

"Well…he's one of my best friends," she explained hesitantly. "He's…intelligent and funny and…just a really nice person."

There was a moment of silence.

"He sounds like a lovely boy," her mother said finally.

"He is," Padma said with a smile. She glanced up as she heard someone shout her name and stood up, waving to them. "Terry!"

Her fellow Ravenclaw pushed his way through the crowds, closely followed by a tall man with a thin face and tan hair and a shorter woman whose eyes were the same bright blue as Terry's. Padma strongly suspected they were his parents. All three of them wore Muggle clothes, although Mr Boot had a cloak fastened about his narrow shoulders.

"What a crush!" Terry exclaimed, smiling broadly. "There's not enough room to swing a kneazle in here! I wonder what all these witches are here for."

"Gilderoy Lockhart is doing a signing of his new autobiography," Mrs Boot said excitedly. "I read it in the Daily Prophet this morning. I'm Amanda, by the way," she added, shaking Surya's hand. "Anyway, I managed to persuade Edward to buy me all of Lockhart's books for Christmas. After all, as a Muggle you can never know too much about the wizarding world!"

"Quite true," Padma's mother said kindly.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs Patil," Terry said, offering his hand. She took it and shook it, looking slightly taken aback.

"Nice to meet you too, Terry. Would you like to join me for dinner," she asked his parents.

Mr Boot took off his cloak and hung it neatly over the back of a chair.

"That would be lovely," he replied. "Terry, make sure that you're both back by three. And don't go wandering off the main street."

Terry nodded.

"Come on Padma."

The two Ravenclaws headed out of the Leaky Cauldron, leaving Mrs Boot to quiz Padma's mother about being a Healer. They joined a crowd of excited witches and headed out onto Diagon Alley, eventually managing to escape the throng.

They walked down Diagon Alley, heading into a shop that sold quills, ink and parchment. Inside was cool and quiet and there were rolls of parchment hanging off shelves, graded according to quality, colour and price. Terry paused at a shelf full of different inks, picking up a pale grey bottle and examining it.

"I've always wanted some of this," he said, smiling. "It's Vanishing Ink. More of a joke item, really. I would have thought they would have stocked it in Gambol and Japes."

Padma rolled her eyes and turned back to examining a Quick-Quotes Quill. She dug into her cloak as Terry finished paying for his ink.

"This is for you," she said, handing him a rather crumpled paper bag. "It's from India. I remembered, though you really didn't let me forget with your letters."

Terry took the bag.

"You really didn't have to…" he started.

"Don't say that!" Padma grinned. "I might just take them back!"

Terry laughed and opened the bag. He examined the book and sweets with a smile across his face, then looked up, still grinning.

"Thanks, Padma!" He looked at her for a moment. "So do you want to go and get our books?"

He held open the door for a frail looking witch and the two of them walked over to Flourish and Blotts. It seemed as though Terry's mother had been correct. All of the witches from the Leaky Cauldron seemed to be congregating outside the bookshop and there was a banner hung across the upper windows reading:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

today 12.20 – 4:30pm

"You a fan of Lockhart?" Terry asked Padma. She shook her head. "Thank goodness for that. I can't stand the flowery git! What makes it worse is that my mum seems to fancy him!"

"Parvati and my grandmother are the same," Padma commented, "sadly."

The two Ravenclaws managed to squeeze their way into the crowded shop. Padma avoided being stood on by a rather stout witch and dodged to one side as another witch moved past, a complete set of Lockhart's books in her arms. Terry grabbed hold of Padma's hand and dragged her to one side, eventually reaching the stairs to the upper level. The two of them hung over the banister.

"There's Parvati and Lavender," Padma commented.

The Gryffindors were standing at the front of the crowd. Parvati clutched a copy of Magical Me to her chest and Lavender was jumping up and down, attempting to catch a glimpse of the famous Gilderoy Lockhart. He entered the room, smiling at the crowd and adjusting his forget-me-not blue robes. A photographer was snapping away at Lockhart and the crowds were chattering away until Lockhart said,

"It can't be Harry Potter?"

All of a sudden the crowds parted and all conversations ceased. Lockhart dived forward, grabbed Harry seemingly out of nowhere and dragged him up to the table where he'd been sitting. The crowds applauded. Padma watched as Harry had his photograph taken with Lockhart by the Daily Prophet photographer. His face was a vivid shade of crimson.

"Don't you feel sorry for him sometimes?" Padma asked Terry.

"I don't know," Terry whispered back as Lockhart spoke. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, fame can't always be a good thing. He always seems to be dragged around by people who want him to be a celebrity." Padma paused and looked at Harry. "I don't think I would like it."

"I've never thought about it that way," Terry said quietly.

Down on the shop floor, Harry seemed to be clamped to Lockhart's side by the wizard's arm. Lockhart was giving a long winded speech.

"…ladies and gentlemen," Lockhart said excitedly, "I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Next to Padma, Terry groaned dramatically. The rest of the crowds downstairs, however, clapped and cheered enthusiastically. Terry headed up the stairs as Harry was presented with Lockhart's complete works. Padma followed him.

"No wonder those books were set!" Terry said angrily, picking a copy of Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them off a shelf. "Lockhart's just a self indulgent, flowery git!"

"You really don't like him, do you?" Padma commented with a wry grin.

Terry was just about to reply when he spotted someone across the shop and waved at them, replacing the book on the shelf. Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein walked over, both of them seeming to have grown, and Anthony looked very tanned. He shook hands with Terry before turning to Padma. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and smiled weakly at her.

"You, er…look very well, Padma," he stuttered before disappearing around a bookshelf.

Padma looked curiously at Terry who shrugged before turning back to discuss Quidditch with Michael. Anthony eventually emerged from behind the bookshelf with a book covering his face. From what Padma could see, his face seemed to have gone a shade of maroon and the copy of Advanced Theories of Alchemy he held was upside down.

"Are you coming?" Padma asked Terry. "I need to go and buy some ingredients for Potions, and then I want to go to the second hand bookshop."

"Alright," Terry said. "We'll see you on the first of September then."

"See you later, mate," Michael said. "Bye Padma."

Anthony peered over the top of the upside down book.

"Bye Terry," he said. He said no farewell to Padma, only disappeared behind the book again.

Padma frowned and headed down to the front desk. The crowds of excited witches had dispersed slightly but Lockhart was still signing copies of his autobiographies, surrounded by smiling photographs of himself. Terry glared at the wizard briefly while Padma paid for the schoolbooks that she had grabbed from a table of Lockhart's works.

"I'm going to hate Defence Against the Dark Arts this year," he muttered.

"Forget Lockhart," Padma said with a grin. "Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream to take your mind off him."

"Alright," Terry said grudgingly, but a smile played at the corner of his lips.

The two of them headed out of Flourish and Blotts, heading for Florean Fortescue's for some ice cream in the sunshine.

o0o

By four o'clock, Padma had managed to get all of her school things, along with a couple of second hand books for extra reading. She found her mother sitting in the Leaky Cauldron with Terry's parents. The three of them were sipping on glasses of mulled mead and chatting animatedly. Terry's mum beckoned her son over.

"Look at what I bought." She showed Terry a copy of Magical Me. "And I got it signed by Lockhart himself. Isn't it fantastic?"

"Of course it is, mum," Terry agreed grudgingly. His father looked torn between being amused and embarrassed.

Soon enough Parvati arrived, her hands full of bags.

"Lavender met up with her parents at Madame Malkins," she explained to her mother. She smiled briefly at Padma in a silent greeting. "Mum, I got the most amazing book on the leaves for grandmother…"

"I think we'd best head off home now," Surya interjected, rising from her seat. Parvati pouted but promptly Flooed home. "It was very nice to meet you Edward, Amanda," she said to Terry's parents, shaking their hands before pulling on her cloak. "Padma, say goodbye to Terry then come straight home."

Padma shook hands with Terry's parents as her mother disappeared in a flash of emerald flames.

"It was nice to meet you," she said politely.

"And it was lovely to finally meet you," Mrs Boot said, beaming. "Terry has told us ever so much about you, Padma. He always seems to be talking about you; why, only the other day he said…"

"Mum!" Terry hissed.

Padma grinned at him and he smiled back shyly.

"Come along, Amanda," Mr Boot said to his wife. "We'll meet you outside, Terry."

Padma watched them leave and turned to Terry. He smiled at her and hugged her tightly, drawing away with a tinge of a blush on his cheeks.

"It was great to see you again," he said, "and thanks for the presents. They're fantastic."

"That's alright," Padma said. She gathered up her bags. "Well, I'll see you on the first of September then."

She headed over to the fireplace and threw a handful of Floo powder into the flames, watching them turn emerald green. Stepping into the flames she turned and waved to Terry before crying out,

"23 Elm Row!"

When she eventually stumbled out of the fireplace at home, feeling slightly dizzy, she headed straight upstairs to her room. She put away her things and lay on her bed, wondering what had made Anthony's face go that interesting shade of maroon in Flourish and Blotts.