WISHLISTS: Good With the Bad (Lavender/Parvati)

[katie_flint]

Originally posted by katie_flint at WISHLISTS: Good With the Bad (Lavender/Parvati)

Author:katie_flint
Recipient: kiertorata
Title:Good with the Bad
Pairing:Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, mentions of Bill Weasley/Fleur Delacour
Request/Prompt Used: femslash, roommates
Rating: T
Word Count/Art Medium: 1326
Summary: Dealing with Lavender’s lycanthropy… Is it worth the hassle for Parvati?
Notes: I know learning to become an animagi technically takes longer but shhh ;) I didn’t intend at first for Lavender to have troubles with the potion, but I actually thought, just with muggle medical conditions... not all people would react the same to the potion. Anyhow, I really enjoy post!war pavender and I hope you enjoy! (I'm also sorry for any spelling mistakes, it's unbetaed).

“Ow!” Lavender yelped, receiving a wap on the shoulder from the hairbrush in response.

“Hold still,” She heard Parvati command with exasperation.

“It hurts,” Lavender whined, only to receive a sigh and yet another tug on her hair. Her discomfort fell to deaf ears, but not without reason. Feeling something fall free of the tangled mess that was her already naturally curly hair, Lavender jumped in surprise as Parvati’s hand reached around, plopping branch-sized stick in her lap.

“I honestly don’t know what to say to that. In fact, I don’t even think I want to know.”

“Well you should. You were supposed to be watching me, remember?”

“I was, but it’s not my fault I can’t keep up with your gigantic paws!”

“Parvati!” Lavender growled, “Don’t say that. You know I’m sensitive… about you-know-what,” Parvati huffed but seemed to concede to Lavender’s point on the matter, “Besides Par, you know I can’t control it well.”

“I know,” Parvati sighed, pressing herself to Lavender’s back, her arm pulling Lavender flesh against her. The bed they sat on dipping easily to accommodate the movement, “I was just scared last night. Really scared. What if something had happened to you when you ran off? You could’ve woken up anywhere... With anyone all over you.”

Lavender felt a whimper escape her lips. It hurt to know how she’d upset her best friend like this, worrying her to the point of practical tears. Wrapping her hands around Parvati’s arm, Lavender curled into herself.

“I’m sorry,” Lavender’s voice came as little more than a whisper, “I’m sorry Par. I’ll talk to Slughorn soon.”

“Please do,” Parvati’s fingers dug into Lavender’s side as she squeezed her, “I’ve already almost lost you to this thing once. I don’t want it to finish the job.”

“I know…” Lavender had been unconscious after the initial bite from Fenrir. It was little short of a mauling and a complete miracle she’d survived considering the amount of blood lost, not to mention the trauma of the attack alone.

But while Lavender fell comatose, it had been Parvati who suffered the weeks of uncertainty as Lavender remained unresponsive, verging on the edge of death for the better half.  Most didn’t know the feelings Parvati had shared with Lavender during the nights after she’d awoken. The agonizing worry and the gnawing guilt that had accompanied.

Parvati’s vigils at St. Mungo’s, the days and nights spent praying to newfound deities in hopes of a miracle. She’d even convinced her sister, Padma, to look into any spell; even a body swapping incantation. Anything to bring Lavender back to her.

It was hard for Lavender to fully comprehend, but she understood the terrible ache of loss in her own way; at the thought of never seeing Parvati again.

It should’ve been easy then to recognize they were more to each other than they’d ever been before, but it had taken a few more frights to bring them to the realization that their friendship wasn’t just platonic anymore.

Even now things between them were still startling and new. Holding Parvati’s hand on the way to Divination would have Lavender’s blood pounding in her ears harder than any love potion ever could. The guilty pleasure of being roommates with her best friend, now girlfriend, sometimes driving Lavender to jump when the door would open, even when it was Parvati herself.

It seemed almost too good to be true.

Of course, with every fairytale there lies a dark twist inside, and theirs was no exception. Lavender’s bite had resulted in a confirmed lycanthropic status. She’d spent the summer with Bill Weasley (ironically suggested to her by Ron himself), learning about her condition, but the actual time during the transformation was still a challenge to handle. The wolfsbane potion should allow her to maintain her cognitive state but the potion seemed unstable with her, causing moments of what she called, “blackouts”. Slughorn assured her they need only find the right amount and all would be solved. Lavender wasn’t quite sure she should believe him, but he offered her the brightest hope she could find, so she clung to it.

Parvati was worried, and understandably concerned when Lavender would stumble from the woods, naked and occasionally bloody. Researching with Padma, she learned the art of animagi (with Headmistress McGonagall’s blessing). This way, Parvati argued through Lavender’s reservations, when the she-wolf blacked out, someone could safely follow her and keep her out of trouble if needed.

Lavender eventually relented, choosing to agree with Padma’s sentiments that her sister was foolish and brave, a true Gryffindor. It was incredibly arousing, truth be told.

In the Forbidden Forest, a place traditionally reserved for awe and an appropriate amount of fear, became a private sanctorum during Lavender’s changes. During Lavender’s good moments, they would roam and discover games to play (without disrupting or intruding terribly on the magiclife), relying on eye signals and a minimal telepathic understanding Parvati seemed to have developed in her Animagus form.

When things turned bad however, they could become disastrous. Parvati’s animagi was a lithe but small Serval, distinctively marked by a small patch of fur on her forehead that looked much like the bindi she wore for formal occasions. Hardly a creature easily able to keep up with a lengthy stride of a werewolf in hot pursuit.

Parvati, often cursing the form that had chosen her, had gotten creative hunting down her girlfriend. Setting small alarms along the trails, she learned to cut Lavender off at certain junctions when she heard the bells go off, luring her safely back into the depth of the forest.

Luckily, she’d only once had to shift back into her human form to call Lavender off of a naïve student wondering too close to the forest late one night. It had been a close call, and Parvati wasn’t certain Lavender wouldn’t rip her apart once the pursuit was over, animagi or not.

By chance, or with the blessing of some deity above, Lavender didn’t ravage her, only catching her and toying with her before finally returning to a cognitive state.

Particularly mortified, it had taken some hard-pressed arguments and a few yelling matches before Lavender agreed Parvati had done the right thing, and that she should continue to come with her.

It was work, a lot of it, dating and dealing with a woman afflicted by lycanthopy. Parvati was ever grateful for the summer Lavender shared with the Weasleys, allowing her the opportunity to meet a fellow woman in love with a lycanthrope.  Fleur’s advice never to back down, and the assurance that they would survive the rough times, if they truly loved one and other, was at the core of what kept Parvati going.

She wasn’t entirely certain she loved Lavender, because love was a big commitment, but she certainly thought she might. And she refused to give up on her or let her go through this alone. Not when she could help.

“Lav?” Parvati eventually murmured, her breathe soft against the blonde’s neck.

“Hm?”

“Can I finish combing this mess now?”

Squeaking, Lavender barked out a stiff yes and unfurled herself from around Parvati’s arm. She heard her girlfriend hum in amusement, returning to her work with a lighter touch. It felt soothing, when Parvati wasn’t forced to rip a branch or dried mud out of her hair. Lavender wondered often if cutting it off was the answer, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. And not so secretly, she loved these sessions with Parvati.

“I think,” Parvati said slowly, turning the curly blonde locks over carefully, “We’re done.”

“Thank you,” Lavender smiled, turning and leaning in to gift Parvati a kiss of appreciation.

“Always,” Parvati rolled her tongue, tasting the delightful essence on Lavender’s lips. If this wasn’t love, she decided, then Parvati didn’t want to know what was. She’d take all the bad and then some just for a fleeting moment of good like this.


-- End