The Houses Competition

House: Hufflepuff

Class: Head of House

Category: Standard

Prompt(s) Chosen: (Event) a formal breakfast, and (word) empty

Word Count: 1,818

Warning for the use of OCs for the Patil parents, and a slight bit out of character. Also, extreme fluff warning too. This is the continuation of Before the Big Breakfast Nerves. I would like to take this time to thank everyone who beta read this story. It truly means a lot that you would help me out like that. So, thank you all very much! I hope you all enjoy Breakfast with the Patils.

Breakfast With the Patils

Susan watched as both Padma and Parvati raced over to their parents and enveloped them in a giant hug. Her heart was still pounding away in her ears but she could see that the Patil parents seemed to be nice people.

Mrs. Patil looked much like her daughters. She had long, almost midnight black hair which she wore plaited down her back. Her eyes were a soothing chocolate brown that reminded Susan more of Padma than of Parvati. Her smile, when she turned it upon Susan, was calming, and Susan relaxed a little bit..

"Hello, dear," she said, walking over to Susan, who had been fighting her nerves while the family hugged. "You must be Susan!"

Susan nodded. She felt her face flush a deep scarlet and mentally cursed her fair skin for how easily anyone could see how nervous she was.

"It is very nice to meet you, Susan," Mrs. Patil said, holding out a hand to shake Susan's. "Padma has told me a lot about you."

"All good stuff, of course," Padma said, giggling as she led her father over to where her mother and Susan were standing. "Daddy, this is Susan Bones. She is my girlfriend."

Mr. Patil was a swarthy middle-aged man. His hair was just starting to take on a hint of salt and pepper but was still mainly dark black like the rest of his family's. His eyes were a darker shade of brown than that of his wife's or Padma's. They reminded her of Parvati's eyes. He made Susan more nervous than Mrs. Patil had. His face was serious and no-nonsense, as though they were at a Board meeting or something like that.

"What are your intentions with my daughter, Ms. Bones?" Mr. Patil asked, voice sounding very serious even though Susan could see the tug of a smile trying to break out upon his face.

Susan started to panic. She hadn't expected them to start grilling her about her and Padma's relationship until after breakfast. "I….uh...I…."

"Div, you are scaring the poor girl," Mrs. Patil said, putting a comforting hand on Susan's arm. "You seem like a very nice girl, Susan. You also make our daughter very happy which makes us both very happy. Don't allow my husband's teasing to get to you."

"Why don't we sit down to breakfast?" Padma said, looking at her father and shaking her head with exasperation. "I made the bacon just the way that you like it, Daddy. Crispy."

"I can see that," her father said, sitting down at the table and reaching for the plate of bacon. "This looks absolutely delicious, my dear."

The table slowly started to fill as everyone took their seats. For a minute, no one seemed to know what to say. The table had some of the Patil family's most favorite things to eat for breakfast. Crispy bacon, which smelled amazing with the exotic spices that Padma had rubbed upon it. Sausages that were plump and browned to perfection. Juicy, blistered red tomatoes that had come from Susan's own garden in the backyard. The eggs were fried to perfection and the sunny yellow yolks smiled up like miniature suns upon the plate.

"Could you please pass the bacon?" Susan asked, looking at the plate of mouthwatering yumminess across the table from her in front of Mr. Patil.

"Of course," he said, holding the plate out to her. "Padma didn't tell us you liked bacon. Has she ever used this exact spice rub before?"

Susan shook her head. "I think she wanted to put an Indian flair to the very English breakfast we are having," she said, trying not to sound like she felt. No matter what she did, she still felt helplessly nervous. "Padma's a very good cook. In fact, we really like cooking together and try to do so as much as possible."

"That's very good," Mrs. Patil said, elbowing her husband in the side. "See, at least someone in this family knows how to please…."

Mr. Patil chuckled wryly and Mrs. Patil joined him. For a second it seemed like they might start to fight with each other. This was an old argument, to be sure. But then they smiled and Susan could tell they were making light of the situation and trying to make her feel more at ease.

"Tell us, Susan," Mrs. Patil said, taking a bite of eggs and then a sip of coffee, "besides cooking what else do you enjoy doing?"

"Susan has a—" Padma started, then froze when she saw the expression on her father's face.

"Padma, your mother wants to hear from Susan," Mr. Patil said, nodding towards Susan encouragingly. "Go ahead, Susan."

"Well..." Susan stammered, looking towards the window that looked out upon the garden where the tomatoes had come from, "I do enjoy gardening. A lot of the food we eat comes from the garden out back." She picked up her empty mug of coffee and walked over to fill her mug once more. "I also enjoy volunteering at St. Mungos. I visit people who don't get many visitors and try to cheer them up."

"Looks like you have found a kindred spirit here, Mari," Mr. Patil said, smiling at his wife. "Mari has a pretty huge garden herself. Perhaps after breakfast, you two can go and talk gardening for a while."

"I'd like that very much," Susan said, brightening up upon finding a subject she could at least talk to one of Padma's parents about. Feeling a little less nervous, she took a bite out of her tomato.

"I'm not sure if I told you this," Padma said, looking between her parents and sister then at Susan, "but Susan just got a promotion at work recently!"

"You did not tell us that," Mrs. Patil said, smiling at Susan. "That's very great for you. I'm happy to hear that you are doing well at your work."

"What is it, exactly, that you do, Susan?" Mr. Patil asked, taking a sip out of his coffee. "Padma hasn't told us a lot about that aspect of your life."

"I'm working with Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts," Susan said, smiling. " Until recently I was only a Junior Healer. But I just got my promotion to Healer and Madame Pomfrey said that I might even be able to secure a job at Hogwarts. She's been looking for extra help ever since—."

No one needed to be reminded why that would be. Each of them knew that since the end of the war, there had been so much senseless loss of life and healers were in short supply.. Ever since Hogwarts had been violated by Death Eaters and all other sorts of unsavory characters, the danger to students had increased exponentially.

"That sounds very admirable," Mrs. Patil said, nudging her husband. "Your parents must be very proud of you!"

"My parents were killed during the first wizarding war," Susan said, looking at the table. "I was very young when it happened."

"I am so sorry," Mrs. Patil said, reaching across the table and taking Susan's hand. "I didn't know."

"It's alright," Susan said, smiling. "They died for what they believed in which makes me very proud that they were my parents."

"What flavor blend is this coffee?" Parvati asked, smelling the coffee with a look of pure satisfaction on her face. "I need to know where I can buy more."

"It's a rather special blend," Susan said, smiling as she took a sip of her own coffee. "It's a mocha blend with a hint of peppermint and vanilla."

"There's something else here too," Parvati said, taking another sip and trying to figure out what it was that she was tasting. "Is that a bit of hot chocolate in there?"

Susan nodded.

"Absolutely brilliant," Parvati raved, looking at Susan. "You'll have to let me know when you prepare the next batch so I can see how it's done."

"I will," Susan said, smiling at how well this was going. Now that the Patils were sitting here in her and Padma's kitchen Susan didn't know what she'd been so nervous about, to begin with.

"Can I get anyone anything while I run over to get another cup of coffee?" She picked up her empty cup.

"No," both Patil parents said, shaking their heads. "Thank you for offering."

"You're welcome," Susan said, walking over to the coffee maker. She stopped dead in her tracks and suddenly wanted to cry looking at the coffee pot.

The coffee pot which had not that long ago been full to the brim of coffee was now totally empty. She couldn't believe they'd drank that much coffee. But then again, it was usually just her and Padma. Of course, it would go more quickly with three extra people. She quickly got to work making another pot of coffee.

The rest of breakfast went pretty well as far as Susan was concerned. They talked about the food in glowing terms. They talked some more about work and other items of interest such as the Gala ball that was being held to commemorate the Battle of Hogwarts. Susan even felt confident enough to show Mrs. Patil around her small garden.

"It looks like you have a pretty decent garden here, Susan," Mrs. Patil said, looking over the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers that Susan was so fond of. "Perhaps I can send you some seedlings from my own garden. Would you like that?"

"That would be amazing," Susan said, excited to see what sort of plants that Mrs. Patil would send her. "I can send some of my own seedlings home with you too."

"You are so very kind," Mrs. Patil said as her husband and daughters joined them once more. "Perhaps the next time we meet we can invite you over to our house and I can show you around my own garden."

"I'd really like that, Mrs. Patil," Susan said, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

"Well, we must be off," Mr. Patil said, hugging his daughters and then Susan. "Thank you both for breakfast and I look forward to seeing you again, Susan."

"Daddy, Mummy, don't—"

Before anyone could get another word out Mr. and Mrs. Patil Apparated home. Susan looked around, wondering if any of their Muggle neighbors had seen.

Padma must have been thinking along the same lines because the last word of her unheeded warning was, "—Apparate."

Parvati shook her head as she hugged both her sister and Susan. "Mummy and Daddy will never change," she said, smiling. "I think we should do this more often, don't you?"

"What, have Mummy, and Daddy Apparate in front of my Muggle neighbors?" Padma asked, laughing at the thought of old Mrs. O'Malley down the block seeing her parents Apparate.

"No, silly," Parvati said, giggling and walking backward towards the kitchen door. "Have breakfast together as a family."

"I think I'd love that," Susan said, smiling as she joined Padma and Parvati at the sink to do the dishes. All in all, this had been a rather successful first breakfast with Padma's parents and Susan knew that there would be many more to come.

I hope you all enjoyed Breakfast with the Patils as much as I enjoyed writing it.