Those That Love Us

"Padma!"

I turned around. Despite the great number of people who were leaving the Great Hall after tonight's dinner, I knew exactly who had called me and I waited for to make her way through the throng.

"Hello, Parvati," I cried, half-yelling over the chatter.

We stepped away from the rest of the group, where we could hear each other more clearly. "Going for a run?" she asked me.

"Of course. Care to join me?"

Neither of us said anything until we were through the front doors of the school. It was a relatively warm May evening, and the air was completely still, but at least the sun was almost set. I steered Parvati in the direction of the lake.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence, she spoke. "If you can't be an Auror, Padma, what will you do?"

Hmm. I thought about it for a second, not wanting to vocalize the thoughts that had been dancing around in my head for months. Then I told her, "Probably experimental magic. I have the background to do it, and it would be interesting."

"You know what we'll do, after we graduate, if you can't go through Auror training?" Parvati started. I waited for her to continue, and I know she had been thinking about this for a while, just like I had. "I'll be a Healer -- you know I could, I would just need to take one extra class -- and you and I, we'll make faster potions for healing, because a lot of people are dying because they have injuries that can't be treated right away -- we'll make potions and spells for that, and we'll both get to do a little of what we want."

I smiled. "Maybe we could do that anyway, I could work on spells like that during my free time, even if I do get into Auror training, and you could be the Singing Healer -- and your fans would love to have you treating them."

We were almost at the lake, but Parvati stopped me and grabbed my shoulders. "If you get to be an Auror, you will not do experimental magic in your free time, Padma. You will not work yourself that hard."

Parvati, superficial?

We must be talking about different people.

When we got to the lake, I broke into a sprint, Parvati a few seconds later. We didn't talk while we ran -- running was for leaving troubles behind. I focused on my breath and the sound of my feet, pounding into the grass and dirt.

I don't know how long we ran; it wasn't something that either of us cared to measure, but the stars we out when we stopped.

"I -- huff -- don't know how -- huff -- you do this -- huff -- every night," my sister said, somewhere behind me.

I spun around and smiled cheerily at her, then slunk to the ground. I pulled my shoes and socks off my sweating feet, dumped them next to me, and inched towards the lake.

I fell flat on my back, staring up at the sky and letting the water cool my feet and legs. Parvati laid down next to me, still breathing hard.

"Parvati, I do this almost every night," I told her. "That's how I do it."

"I would say, remind me never to do this again, but I don't mind getting the chance to talk to you. I understand why Cho wanted you try out for Seeker, you're rather athletic."

"But I don't like Quidditch, I only started going to the games after I was friends with Cho."

"Gryffindor House says it's forever grateful that you're not on the team."

For a few more minutes, we stayed on the ground. Then I sat up and started putting my shoes back on. "We should probably go back in. Dumbledore doesn't mind a run around the grounds, but lying by the lake staring at the stars would probably get us both detention."

"I don't mind detention." Parvati was still stretched out beneath me.

"I do," I said, and stood up.

Sighing, so did she. "I guess I do have Astronomy tonight," she admitted.

"Then why are you out here? You should be doing homework or studying for N.E.W.T.s!"

"You should be, too," she admonished.

Damn. I hate it when she does that, but she's always right.

Linking arms, we walked up to the castle together.

<><><><><><><>

"Hello, Padma," a dreamy voice greeted me as I entered the common room. I ignored Luna and gathered my schoolbooks from my dorm, then came back down. I settled at a table to study for my Ancient Runes N.E.W.T.

In the future tense, the sentence form is object-subject-verb. Future, object-subject-verb. Past is The great wizard showed his skills -- subjct-verb-object, in future that's His skills the great wizard will show... I think. What's the rune for 'will' again?

I set my textbook down and, instead, studied the common room. Most of the people still up were fifth- or seventh-years, either nestled into one of the overly squishy chairs by the fireplace. The room was rather large, but felt cozy, as the stone walls were lined with bookshelves and portraits of former headmasters. The overly squishy chairs were mostly near the fireplace, but a few had been dragged to one of the two long oak tables where we could study. Or rather, where we were supposed to study, but that never stopped anyone from sitting in a chair and reading their Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

Two second- or third-years were sprawled out in front of the blazing fire, playing wizard chess. I envied them for a moment; how lucky they must be, to not have to worry about N.E.W.T.s or O.W.L.s!

Then I recognized one of them -- a fourth year, Stewart Ackerly. His father had been killed the summer before last by a Death Eater. And I realized, once again, that during this war, everyone had something to worry to about or someone to miss.

I put my Ancient Rune textbook down. That wasn't important right now. And I picked up the DADA book.

The form of a person's Patronus....