Parvati Prevails

Chapter One: Padma Perfect

'Don't you get it yet?' said Padma Patil incredulously, after spending three hours attempting to teach her slightly less adept sister the basics behind a Patronus charm. They had been working on Parvati's Patronus in empty classrooms for weeks. Padma had suggested reading up on the theory behind Patronus charms before moving on to practising with wands in case it would help.

'You're just a terrible teacher,' scoffed Parvati airily. 'Don't try to lay the blame on me.'

'Parvati,' enunciated Padma clearly, as if she speaking to a not particularly bright toad. 'I tutor seventh years sitting NEWT examinations, remember?

'More power to your elbow, sister,' said Parvati with mock-enthusiasm.

Madame Pince, who happened to be inconveniently shelving books just behind them, turned around and hit Parvati on the shoulder with the volume in her hand.

'SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Parvati rubbed her shoulder and glared at the Librarian's retreating back.

'Look,' said Padma, sounding her most patient and sympathetic. 'Why don't we try this again tomorrow, hmm?'

Parvati's answer was to direct her glare onto her twin instead. Padma, unfazed, gathered up her parchments neatly and then tossing back her long, silky hair, sauntered out of the Library.

*

'Maybe you're allergic to Patronuses,' suggested Lavender on their way to dinner in the Great Hall.

'You can't be allergic to spells!' snapped Parvati scornfully.

'Well, it's either that or you're just really stupid,' answered Lavender. 'Even Neville Longbottom can produce a relatively decent Patronus in DA class. Why don't you just ask Harry to help you?'

'I'm not asking him for anything,' scowled Parvati. 'I must be allergic to Patronuses.'

'Alright, but I think you'd probably be better off with Harry's advice then Padma's.'

Parvati's scowl deepened, her eyes so close together that she could even see the dozens of freckles that tainted her otherwise-perfect nose. Parvati desperately loathed those freckles. Padma didn't have any freckles, how come she was cursed with the bloody things? Whoever heard of a Patil with freckles anyway?

She hated to admit it, but Lavender actually had a point (shock horror). Harry would be a much better tutor than Miss Know-It-All Padma. The thing with Harry though, Parvati mused, was that whenever they were together she felt this insane urge to punch him in the face. No one could quite figure out where this sudden anger and resentment had sprung from.

'Harry is a bit of an idiot, sometimes,' Hermione had admitted once when they were sitting up talking in their dormitories, unable to sleep. 'But that's just because he's a guy.'

The other girls nodded and murmured to each other in an understanding fashion.

'I think Harry's alright,' said Lavender. 'But he's nowhere near as sexy as Ron.'

Parvati rolled her eyes, torn between the desire to snort or shudder. Lavender's not-so-secret passion for Ron was just plain ridiculous. No one had managed to point out to her yet that Ron was completely in love with Hermione. Privately, Parvati thought that five years of lusting after the same person was just a tad too pathetic. Lavender claimed it was because she had a thing for lanky redheads.

The girl was a flipping nutcase.

'I'm going downstairs to read for a bit,' said Hermione abruptly, getting up and leaving the room. The other girls watched her leave uneasily.

'She reads too much,' said Lavender, completely oblivious (then again, what else was new?).

It had taken all of Parvati's self-control not to lean over and whack her best friend on the head with her pillow.

She had been so deeply engaged in her own thoughts that Parvati realised a bit too late that she was about to collide with someone else who was leaving the Great Hall. A certain someone with floppy white-blond hair and dangerously cold grey eyes, wearing his trademark sneer.

They ran into each other so forcefully that she nearly fell backwards onto the floor, which would have been utterly embarrassing. Instead, Malfoy grabbed onto her shoulders instinctively. Involuntary shivers ran down Parvati's spine.

'Watch it, Patil,' Malfoy sneered, letting go of her so fast that she didn't have any time to savour the moment.

Parvati glowered. 'Are you wearing mascara, Malfoy?' she asked scornfully, peering at Draco's unnaturally thick, long lashes. They seemed a lot darker, thicker and more defined than usual.

Lavender snorted with mirth and even Crabbe and Goyle looked tempted to laugh. Blaise Zabini, Slut Extraordinaire, slipped a seductive arm under Draco's elbow and smiled evilly at Parvati, her blood-red lips curving menacingly.

'You'll pay for that, you stuck-up little bitch,' she hissed vehemently.

Bugger, thought Parvati. I'm going to die...Blaise Zabini is out to get me and I'm going to die. A horrible, horrible-and most likely extremely painful-death.

The Slytherins departed, and as soon as they were out of sight Parvati clutched at Lavender's arm weakly to prevent her legs from buckling beneath her.

'I'm so dead!' she whimpered. 'Lavender....what am I going to do?'

Naturally, Lavender had no idea. She shrugged. Nothing was ever new. Another day, another shrug. Damn Lavender! Damn Lavender and her damned dumbness!

Parvati decided to skip dinner and head back up to Gryffindor tower. After all, she was going to die anyway; eating would only be a waste of time. Lavender, having spotted Ron already sitting down, refused to follow her best friend and promptly placed herself as close to him as she dared (three seats away, on the opposite side).

Back up in the dormitories, Parvati carefully inspected herself in the mirror. All that beauty would be going to waste, and all because Blaise Zabini was a possessive bitch. Life was so unfair. She wondered how many people would miss her when she was gone. Lavender of course would be devastated, as well as a fairly large percentage of the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff boys. She wondered if Malfoy would care in the slightest.

Probably not.

From that day on, Parvati lived in fear. Harry and the rest of the DA had assured her that she had learnt enough to defend herself against Blaise.

'Unless she's got a Dementor hidden in her closet,' Lavender pointed out.

'I wouldn't put it past her,' Parvati answered darkly.

Just to be on the safe side, Harry had suggested that she should be escorted to all her classes by at least two DA members, and never go outside of Gryffindor tower alone. Many of the guys in the DA were eager to assist with this project, and as a result, Parvati travelled everywhere accompanied by a small crowd of male admirers and she was utterly grateful to Harry for improving both her safety and social status. She felt much better, but there was still no doubt in her mind that eventually, Blaise Zabini would kill her, and there was nothing the DA could do to stop it from happening. She had nightmares about that sort of thing. It was not fun. In one particularly gruesome dream, Lavender had left the window to their dormitory open at night, and Blaise's pet vampire bats from hell had flown in and sucked away all her blood while she slept.

Padma had been a big fat help with the situation.

'You're an idiot,' she told Parvati severely, during one of their afternoon strolls around the lake.

'Okay, could we skip the lecture?' snapped Parvati irritably. 'Because I've only heard it, like, a million gazillion times before.'

'And whose fault is that?'

'Well, you're the one who keeps going on and on about it.'

Seamus and Justin Finch-Fletchley were patiently skipping stones on the bank side while they waited for the twins to finish.

'How do you manage to get yourself into these awkward situations?'

Parvati glared at her sister, perfect Padma the prefect. It was true they were identical twins, almost exactly the same, but Padma was a few minutes older and half an inch taller. Clever, popular, and undeniably freckle-less, she had always been the favourite. People always referred to her as 'the smart one', 'the beautiful one', 'the charming one'. Parvati was just 'the other one'.

She sighed. No matter how hard Parvati tried, Padma always seemed to be one giant step ahead of her in everything. She had been the first out of the womb, the first to talk, first to walk, first to read and first to do magic.

But now Parvati would be the first to die.

The irony was surely killing her.

Padma, who was thinking of other things, said casually, 'So, what does Malfoy think about all this?'

'How should I know?' said Parvati, looking daggers at her twin. They could never hide anything from each other. Parvati didn't think it was a particularly fair deal; while Padma knew all about her own dirty little secrets, she always missed out on the fun because Padma didn't have any dirty little secrets.

'I doubt Malfoy thinks anything about anything,' Parvati added contemptuously.

'Uh huh,' smirked Padma, unconvinced.

'I'm going to leave now,' sniffed Parvati and she stalked off in a huff, escorted by her docile, adoring bodyguards.