Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

This is actually quite difficult. Manipulating tarot cards to relate to characters and their problems while also keeping the future plot in mind is not as easy as I thought it would be.

It was after dinner when Harry heard the bell ring outside his tent. It was actually quite late. Most students had retired to their common rooms to do their homework. He was actually just about to do the same. He settled back into his chair, "Enter."

He really hadn't been expecting who came through, but maybe he should have. She was, after all, top of the class in Divination. "Parvati, what a surprise." He picked up his cards and began shuffling them.

She smiled a little hesitantly at him. "Hi Harry. I heard that Professor Trelawney tested your abilities earlier. She guaranteed your proficiency at tarot readings."

Harry hid his grin with his hood. "I'm aware."

The Gryffindor blushed. "Right! Of course you would know, you were there and all- Sorry. I know I'm rambling. I'm just nervous. I'd like to ask you to do a reading for me."

Harry motioned toward the stool and watched as she sat. "What would this reading concern?"

"The future."

Harry nodded. He shuffled the deck a few more times before spreading the cards in a semicircle along Parvati's edge of the table. "Choose eight cards. Don't touch them."

Parvati quietly pointed to eight cards and Harry placed them facedown in a hexagonal shape. She placed both hands on the table and then knitted her fingers together, anxiously settling in for a reading.

Harry gathered up the remaining cards in his deck and placed them in the inside pocket of his cloak. He then turned over the card on the bottom, the one closest to him.

A dog was howling at the moon. "The Moon. This card represents you presently, and your path. You are unsure of the future. You don't know if the path you're taking is the right one for you."

Parvati nodded. "Yeah. Since the war ended, I don't know what to do with my life. Do I stay in school? I know planning for the future is necessary but I've also come to value every moment I'm alive. I don't want to waste my life in school. And when I get out of school, what do I do then? What will I do for a job? I'm really just not sure what I want or what to do, Harry. I need some guidance."

So Parvati wasn't on the right path. She was on the path of indecision and pressure. Harry ignored cards 2-4. In accordance with her answer, Harry moved directly to card 5, which was to the left of the first card.

"Alright, this card will show you the path that you should be on." He reached over and flipped the card. "The Hermit. This card makes an appearance when questions about purpose are brought to light. For example, your desire to know what to do with your life. Now you must emulate the Hermit in order to find answers. Only his Inner Voice and the light of his lamp guide him. Eventually the lamp is cast away, because his own inner light must learn to shine in the absence of the light of others. For true wisdom to be forthcoming, there can be no distractions or worldly preoccupations. The Hermit isolates himself from others in order to essentially find himself. Once he has found that which he searched for, the Hermit returns to the world with his lamp in order to help others see their own potential. The appearance of the Hermit means learning more about yourself. Your worldly problems and affairs can be put on hold; everything you leave behind will remain when you return. Only you will have changed. The Hermit can also indicate the entrance of a mentor into your life. They will show you how to find the answers you seek within yourself though you will find that you had the answers all along."

Parvati just stared at him for a moment. "Harry, if I didn't know better I'd say you were Professor Trelawney in disguise." She shook her head. "Alright. So this Hermit says that I need to isolate myself in order to find my path, right?"

Harry nodded; he felt the need to be very upfront with her. "Yeah. This need to look within yourself indicates that you have many potential paths and only true soul-searching will show you the right way."

Parvati hummed in thought. "The Inner Voice bit is pretty clear but the lamp worries me. Could the lamp symbolize my sister? I've never avoided Padma before and we're really quite close."

"I believe that is the purpose of isolation. The Hermit isolates himself so that his own light can learn to shine without others. Similarly, you must form your own opinions that unbiased by the opinions of your sister. When you have found your answers, you and your sister will be reunited." Harry leaned over and took the hand of his beautiful housemate. "You two are in different houses anyway, Parvati, it's not as if you spend every waking moment together." He squeezed the mocha hand in his own and then released it. He tried for a charming smile. "Besides, she's a Ravenclaw, she'll understand your sudden need for deep thought."

He succeeded in making her laugh. "I suppose you're right. What about that teaching bit? Surely I'm not meant to be a professor? And the mentor?"

Harry shrugged at the Indian beauty. "It can mean whatever you want it to. The Hermit is not a teacher, he merely helps steer others in the direction of enlightenment. So I wouldn't box myself into that future. You may or may not become a professor; it's up to you. The mentor could be anyone. They are not a teacher per say but a supportive figure. They offer advice and guidance."

Parvati nodded. "Alright. I think I understand now. You can continue."

Harry proceeded to the sixth card, above the fifth and closer to Parvati. "This card represents people and events that could be helpful in finding your path in life." He flipped it to show a well-dressed man holding a cup. "The Page of Cups. A person whose imagination is free to dream and to create the life they choose. When the Page appears, his energy manifests as a person around you, an event you will experience, or a part of yourself that must come to light. As an event, the Page of Cups usually refers to children but he can also predict a starting friendship or relationship, happiness and pleasure in an existing relationship, or really anything related to emotional beginnings. People represented by the Page of Cups are romantics. Gentle, compassionate, imaginative and artistic, he values tranquility and peace. Though beneath his quiet exterior he is brave and studious. Though he can be moody and impractical because he is rooted in the spiritual and the emotional."

Parvati blinked. "So I'm looking for a gentle, compassionate, imaginative, peace-loving, brave, studious, moody, impractical friend." Her disbelief was plain to hear.

Harry laughed. "They could be separate people, or objects for all I know." He continued on.

"This card represents things that will hinder you in your journey to find your way." He flipped the seventh card to reveal a man and four coins with pentacles on them. "The Four of Pentacles. This card advises the acceptance of change. It embodies holding on to things; whether you're holding on to money, possessions, people, or the past, you have to let it go. You can't use these things as a security blanket."

The Gryffindor seemed troubled. "Now I really feel like that Hermit card meant my sister. We've always been together so in a way, I guess she's my security blanket. It's always been Padma and Parvati so I never had to be just Parvati."

Harry waited until she was done before nodding absently.

He moved to flip the eighth and final card. "The High Priestess. She represents the unconscious and the Inner Voice. If the Priestess appears when an important decision is being made, this often means that the answers will be revealed if you are patient and true to yourself. You simply have to wait and trust your own intuition. The answer exists within you. She also represents the Shadow; the negative part of your personality. In most people the Shadow is passive, and the Priestess can therefore suggest a need for passivity; sometimes goals can be overcome by inaction. So, Parvati, this essentially means that what happens, happens. As long as you make choices that you think are right, everything will work out for you in the end."

Parvati beamed at him. "Thank you, Harry. Everything seems so much clearer now. Whether it's still clear when I wake up, is another matter entirely."

He smiled at the girl. "It was my pleasure to help you. That's why I'm here."

He began to gather up his things as his housemate got up to leave. He wondered if the house elves and the teachers would leave his tent as it was for the night. It wasn't in the way.

Parvati turned in the entrance. "Harry?"

"Yes Parvati?"

She blushed. "Er, if I'm ever unsure, could I…could I come back for another reading?"

He nodded graciously. "Of course. There is no limit on readings."

He watched her as she left with a radiant smile. Parvati had some decisions to make, but it seemed as if she'd make some new friends in her own time. That bit about being unsure though, she'd be back.