Into Tomorrow

Parvati Patil couldn't believe it had only been a month since school had let out for the summer. It had only been a month since summer had torn them apart. It had felt like an eternity. It was probably just as well she had dropped divination; she didn't want to imagine what Trelawney would have said about what she was feeling now. But it was only a few more days now and they would be together again. Only a few more days until they could start planning their futures together.

That is if they survived their NEWT's. That is if they survived Voldemort. Parvati sighed as she stared out into the night sky. It certainly wasn't easy being Harry Potter's girlfriend. At least there hadn't been any serious mention in the Daily Prophet. Parvati didn't really care what the dishrag of a newspaper said, but she didn't really care for a repeat of what Hermione had been through during fourth year, and they hadn't even been dating. Thank the stars for that.

She smiled at this thought, the thought of when they had become a couple and Parvati paused for a moment, trying to determine the right words for what she and Harry shared with each other. Dating seemed so juvenile now, after everything they had been through, and relationship seemed so whimsical given everything they felt for each other.

People had reacted so erratically that morning they'd walked into the great hall together, holding each other's hands. Most of their fellow Gryffindors took it in quiet stride and muted acceptance. The only people who had said anything at all had been their closest friends.

For Harry, Ron and Hermione had both been shocked to see such a sudden change in Harry's outward demeanor but accepted it with quiet nods. For Parvati, well it would have been Lavender who would have done the gaping at them, wondering what had happened, but she was gone now. Since that day, she and Hermione had become somewhat closer, though not as close as she had been with Lavender, or as close as Hermione was with Harry and Ron, but still, they sometimes talked late into the night when they were alone in their dormitory.

Even though the dormitory was emptier without Lavender's presence, it no longer felt empty. Harry had done that for her, he had filled her with a warmth and buoyancy she'd never expected to feel again, and she cherished every moment they were able to spend together because of it.

Even Dean and Ginny had been openly supportive of them, even though both she and Harry both knew that their fellow Gryffindors had harbored crushes on them once upon a time.

The reaction from the rest of the school was erratic at best. A great many people had thought Harry was simply being sympathetic, even Padma had thought so at first, looking upon them from a distance. But she quickly recanted that when she saw them up close and knew that they had connected. Parvati remembered the warm, loving hug she had gotten from her sister, when she wished Harry and Parvati all the joy in the world, though later Harry had commented on the twinkle in Padma's eyes when she hoped he'd treat her twin better then he had at the Yule ball from two years prior.

Even Professor Dumbledore had seemed to be happy for them, though Parvati suspected it was more for Harry's benefit then hers, but she didn't mind, she had Harry, everything else was irrelevant.

The Slytherins of course, sneered and scoffed, as if such public displays of affection for anything short of a bank account were below them. And Malfoy had said she was merely spreading her legs for a worthless orphan. Harry had spent a week in detention as a result; fortunately he spent it with Professor McGonagall and not that fat cow Umbridge. Malfoy on the other hand, had spent two weeks recovering in the hospital wing from the thrashing he received. Harry hadn't even drawn his wand for it; he'd simply pummeled him to a bloody pulp with his fists.

When she cornered Harry for letting Malfoy get to him, he simply commented that all Malfoy had were Crabbe and Goyle to keep him company whenever he wept in the night over his father being in Azkaban, and was doing him a favor by providing him a change of scenery, if only temporarily.

But in the end, even the event didn't stop the slimy git from hurling the occasional blank, vacant insult in their direction whenever they passed one another in the hallways. Fortunately, Harry had learned his lesson from the detentions and had slowly begun learning to ignore Malfoy's barbs. It was that and the fact she had threatened to withhold certain privileges from him if he spent another night in detention that made him see the wisdom in remaining calm.

The weeks flew by and for the first time, she found herself sitting in the quidditch stands watching the Gryffindor team practice, and Harry had the good grace to refrain from making any comments about Professor Trelawney's ever constant predictions of his death, even the time the flock of owls flew through the pitch and knocked him off his broom. She knew this would be a time where he would make a remark about his impending doom, but he didn't, and she was grateful to him for it. Even though both of them had dropped Divination, she held the professor in, if not high regard, then at least genuine affection.

And then suddenly, the end of the year had come, and they were separated. Before they removed themselves from the train, they had caught themselves exchanging words of love and affection, something she'd never thought she'd ever be doing just six short months earlier, let alone with Harry. Parvati went back home to her parents while Harry had to return to his aunt and uncle, and looking at them in King's Cross, she found it difficult to believe he was related to them at all.

They had written back and forth almost every day they were apart. Her parents had surprised her with an owl as an early birthday present. Normally, her parents were not prone to such obvious displays of affection, but Parvati half-suspected her sister had clued them in to how important it was for her to be able to communicate with Harry.

Boann, her new short-eared owl, and Hedwig had crisscrossed the sky countless times as they wrote each other almost daily. They both knew it was somewhat childish, but there were nights where she felt vacant inside knowing Harry wasn't just a stairwell apart from her, and she somehow knew it was the same for Harry, even though he had never put it into words. He might have been the Boy-Who-Lived, but he wasn't a poet by any means.

It seemed horribly unfair he was trapped with his family until his birthday, but he promised that after July 31^st, she would see so much of him, she'd be sick of the sight of him.

She had laughed at that, but right now she wished that it were true. It was only a few more days until they were together, but it still seemed like an eternity. Parvati wasn't sure where Harry would be staying after his birthday. She had asked her parents if he could stay with them for the remainder of the summer, but they had quietly refused.

It wasn't anything against Harry they assured her. They told her they trusted him with their daughter, and believed him when it came to Voldemort. It was simply they didn't have the space to take him in, even for a few weeks, and that the two of them sharing a bedroom was not an option to be considered, though she thought she saw a smile creeping up upon her mother's face as the words escaped her lips.

Parvati had rolled her eyes at that. She wouldn't deny thinking about things such as that, but both she and Harry knew they were nowhere near ready for that kind of commitment to each other. In ten or twelve months when they were finished with school, perhaps then they could start thinking about such things, but not today.

As she looked out the window again, she saw the shadow of something moving through the air. As it came closer, she saw the silvery moonlight reflecting off of Hedwig's beautiful feathers. As she landed on Parvati's outstretched arm, she hooted a greeting and molted as Parvati scratched the beautiful creature's neck. She then retrieved the letter Harry had tied to Hedwig's leg. As soon as the letter was removed, Hedwig flew across the room to Boann's cage where after a quick sip of water, she tucked her head under her wing for a brief nap. Parvati could only smile at this; she had always been taken with her boyfriend's beautiful owl, but not as much as she was with her owner.

Parvati then proceeded to tear open the letter with eager anticipation and quickly devoured the words written on the parchment.

Dear Parvati,

You have no idea how hard it was to get those two words onto the parchment. For some reason I was torn with beginning the letter, Dearest Darling, but that just seemed so incredibly, cheesy, idiotic and foolish, that I tore that parchment up and tossed it in the trash. All right, I admit it, I wanted to shove it down Dudley's throat, but I didn't feel like breaking out my dragon-hide gloves to do the job properly. Besides, you'd probably think I've been reading too many of Aunt Petunia's muggle romance novels if I started out with something like that.

The truth is, I miss you. Terribly.

It's a little scary to think I'd become so accustomed, so fast, to having you next to me all the time. But the truth is, I have. I feel empty inside if you're not nearby, or if I know I won't see you later on. I love you.

By my reckoning, if I get it finished right quick, you should get this letter around midnight, assuming Hedwig doesn't stop off for a late-night snack. That means it'll be exactly twenty-four hours before my birthday. One single day before I can escape this dreadful place and we can be together. Well, as much as we can be under the circumstances.

I'm sorry I can't tell you where I'll be staying once I leave here, but I received word about that tonight and, well I'll leave it for later. I'd like it to be a surprise. A pleasant one I hope, but in any case, you can expect to see Professor Lupin to stop by tomorrow to tell you what the details are. I know you're still a little bit uneasy about him given that he's a werewolf, but please trust him, for me? And please don't be put out that I can't tell you in a letter, it's just that it's safer if it's done this way. It will be obvious once Professor Lupin gets there, and if not then I'll explain everything I can when I see you. You can trust him, I do.

I know it's unfair to not be getting the answers to all the questions that must be swirling around in that pretty head of yours, believe me I know, but, if nothing else, I made a promise not to tell and I have to honor that. I hope you can understand that.

I got my school letter today, no head boy badge. And you know what? I'm fine with that. And truth of the matter is, I'm perfectly happy not getting the position, it would probably be more effort then it's worth. Besides, I can think of better things to do with my time, if you know what I mean. I heard it might be a Ravenclaw who gets the badge. Just so long as it isn't that Conner twit, I'm fine with that. The way he treated Ginny last year was inexcusable.

I know I said I wanted to get this letter to you by midnight, but I can't stop writing. It's like I feel you next to me while I'm writing, and I feel alone when I stop. I suppose it's a little silly, especially since I'll be seeing you tomorrow, but I miss you. Have I mentioned I miss you? Because I do miss you, something terrible. Have I mentioned I love you? Because I do, I love you Parvati Patil, and I always will.

This is the part where I'm supposed to curse the night and pray for the dawn so I can see your beautiful face. It is a beautiful face you know? I love the way your lips curl right before you kiss me, or the way your eyebrows close into one when you're concentrating on a particularly difficult piece of homework. I love the way tour nose twitches when you fall asleep, curled up against me when we relax in front of the fire. At least you don't murmur in your sleep, then things would be getting really sappy, don't you think? You don't murmur in your sleep do you? I'll have to ask Hermione about that. Ha ha.

I think I'm going to end this letter now, before I become tempted to wrap myself up in an envelope and have Hedwig deliver me to your house. Somehow I don't see your parents being too enamored with me for doing something like that, but I'd do it anyway. But Hedwig, the poor girl, would probably drop me on my head before getting three feet from my window, so lets just keep it to letters for now. Maybe I'll see if Hagrid can find us a Hippogriff or two for a moonlit Christmas Eve ride.

I love you so much Parvati, and that scares me. Not for what the future holds, but because I never thought I could find someone to love as much as I love you, never love someone so much that it hurts to be apart from them, even for an instant. And it's worse when I know my words don't come close to what I'm feeling in my heart. What do I do when 'I love you' simply isn't enough?

(Excuse the stains on the parchment; it's tea. Really it is.)

I'll see you soon,

Love,

Harry

Parvati sat the letter down in her lap and began to shake, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a good thing she knew her boyfriend wasn't the most romantic letter writer in the history of the world; otherwise she'd be obliged to whack him outside the head for making her feel this way. She couldn't even begin to describe how she was feeling, not even to herself, but somehow Harry had once again opened up to her in such a way as to put her in awe of him.

She already knew Harry didn't want to be head boy. Yes, she knew there was a part of him deep inside that would like the confirmation of faith that the position entailed, but the attention it brought was something he could do without.

It wasn't his declarations of love and affection, or the obvious tearstains on the letter that tore down her emotional shields. She knew he loved her after that first night in the common room so many months ago.

It was that he was allowing himself to be scared of loving her. He had been through so much in his life and had so much to be afraid of; there was so much she was afraid of. He wasn't afraid of loosing her; she had been quick to realize early on that being close to Harry meant being a target, he was afraid of wanting to be with her. He was allowing himself to think of having a life beyond Hogwarts, of having a life beyond Voldemort and being the Boy-Who-Lived. In that one sentence, he had opened himself up to her for a lifetime of possibilities. He had opened himself up to all the things she and Lavender had once spent night upon night giggling and gossiping about.

She paused at this thought and closed her eyes. The pain wasn't so overwhelming anymore when she thought about her friend, but it still hurt some. It had faded over the last few months, but it was still noticeable on occasion. Harry had told her he still felt some pain about the people in his life he had lost and she knew it would be the same for her. She recited a silent prayer that her friend was content in whatever golden field she found herself wandering about in the afterlife.

Letting a sigh escape her lips, Parvati tried to decide if she should start packing her trunk or not. Her parents hadn't said anything and she wasn't sure if it would be wise to tip them off to anything on the off-chance they came up to check on her before tomorrow.

She decided instead on a brief 'I love you' note to Harry and after watching Hedwig fly off into the distance, she gently placed his most recent letter to her under her pillow and then changed for bed.

Extinguishing the candle on her nightstand, she rested her head on her pillow and silently hoped the dawn would speed itself to her home, that much sooner and she could be with the one she loved most of all. One more dawn and she could be with him forever. One more dawn and her life would be complete.