A/N: I'm sooo sorry about the big gap. I sort of lost my muse, and had exams, etc. On the bright side, I have 4 new chapters for you all at once!
Chapter 3: All Alone
After Transfiguration, I'm dead tired. That nightmare woke me up early, and I haven't been sleeping well lately. Add to that the dull, throbbing ache in my head, and I am not a happy camper. I have DADA in the afternoon with Snape, and if I'm going to survive, I need some rest.
I head up towards Gryffindor Tower but hear somebody calling my name.
"Parvati! Where are you going?" It's Lavender, my best friend who never has time for me anymore. I turn around, annoyed.
"What? I'm heading back to the Tower, duh."
"But it's time for lunch. Aren't you coming?" she asks, all wide-eyed innocence. I hate it, the way she can stuff her perfect face with as much food as she wants and never gain a pound. But then again, her mum's model thin. My mum's a traditional round Indian woman- almost as wide as she is tall.
Taking Lavender's thin frame, I know that I have a lot of work to do. I can't possibly eat lunch.
"My head's killing me right now…I think I'll go and have a bit of a lie-down before DADA. I'm not really hungry, anyways." It's not a lie. If I ignore my hunger long enough, it just goes away. I watch her face, hoping to see the tiniest bit of disappointment.
Nothing.
"Oh, okay. See you in class then!" And off she goes, with a bounce in her step that I'm not sure she had before. Is she actually happy to be rid of me? It saddens me for a moment, until I catch my reflection in a window. Plain, dumpy Parvati, resident fat girl of Gryffindor stares back. I realize that with the way I look, it's only to be expected.
I reach the common room, and suddenly I'm too tired to do anything except drop my bag and curl up on a couch. I stare into the crackling fire, letting the swirling patterns of flames lull me to sleep.