For Amber's Valentine Drabble Collection: ParvatiPansyLavender - Neon, and Hogwarts' Dragon Appreciation Month, the Insane House Challenge: Location - St. Mungo's, the Weekly Tea Challenge: Indian Spice - Write about Parvati, the 365 Prompts Challenge: Style - Third Person, the Bath Bomb Appreciation Challenge: Lavender Musk - Write about Lavender Brown.
Word count: 552
Of Nail Polish and Hospital Beds
Had someone told Parvati that they'd end up there two years ago, she wouldn't have believed them.
And yet, here they were: Lavender and herself, sitting in the same room as Pansy Parkinson, and no blood had been shed.
Yet, she thought to herself, even though she was mostly fooling herself at this point.
Lavender and Pansy had been sharing a room at St Mungo's for almost six months now, after all. If bloodshed hadn't happened yet, it was unlikely to come.
"What are you looking at, Patil?" Pansy hissed, and though the words were right, her tone was missing that biting edge it had had during their Hogwarts days.
"Nothing," Parvati replied, shifting a little closer to Lavender.
They were sharing Lavender's bed — like every time Parvati came to visit, they had ended up sitting crossed-legs on top of the covers.
It still hit her, sometimes, how close she had come to losing Lavender forever. If the fact that two years after the fact, she still hadn't been released wasn't enough, the scars that marred Lavender's skin always made her heart clench painfully in her chest.
"You can join us, you know," Lavender called out to Pansy, neatly interrupting Parvati's train of thought.
Parvati arched an eyebrow at her girlfriend, who just winked back.
They had talked about this before — asking Pansy to join them. Parvati should have known Lavender wouldn't be satisfied with just waiting for her to come to them.
"You really should, you know," she said out loud, sending a smile Pansy's way. "We don't bite."
"Not unless you ask for it, anyway," Lavender added with a smirk.
Pansy sighed, but Parvati could see her blush. Progress, a part of her thrilled.
"What are you even doing?" Pansy asked, stepping off her bed and walking toward Lavender's. She loudly dragged a chair behind her.
"We're picking colors," Lavender replied, gesturing at the assortment of nail polishes Parvati had brought. "I'm thinking neon pink for mine," she said, holding up the said bottle.
Pansy snatched it out of her hand with a scowl. "You'd better not — unless you want to look like a tramp, or worse, Skeeter." Her eyes squirted over the selection until she picked one, a deep purple that looked almost black. "Try this instead."
Lavender accepted it with a smile. "What about Parv? What should she get?"
Having Pansy's full attention on her was so intense it made her shiver. Pansy hummed for a moment before handing her another bottle; a garnet red this time.
Their fingers grazed as Parvati took it, and her heart stuttered as electricity sparked, traveling up her arm.
"T-thanks," she stuttered.
Pansy eyed her for a long moment before looking back at Lavender, and then back at the polishes. "You're welcome."
She cleared her throat and sat. "Well, what do you think I should get?"
Parvati blinked and the oddly charged moment dispelled. She shared a look with Lavender, making sure she hadn't just imagined it, and her smile widened when she got an almost imperceptible nod.
This was definitely a start.
"Hmm… Something green," Parvati finally said, her eyes finding Pansy's easily.
"Maybe some silver too?" Lavender teased.
Pansy huffed out a laugh, but didn't complain.
And with her, that was just as good as any agreement.