Is There Life On Mars? (Parvati)

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Being back at Hogwarts was always a good thing in Saoirse's book. Hogwarts was like home to all those who lived there during the school year; and Sao was sure she would always be able to come back, no matter what. She still had this year and then next year to go but the idea she would still probably be able to visit... it was comforting.

The Headmaster had announced the Tri-Wizard Tournament just last night and Sao was already feeling anxiety. As soon as the words had left his lips, Sao had heard people all over the hall start whispering about how they wanted to enter so badly. She didn't quite understand why someone would want to enter such a dangerous tournament herself, but to each their own.

Sao was just worried about how the tournament would affect her visions. If a friend of hers was chosen... she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop seeing bad visions of them, or any of the champions for that matter. Her visions were always changing, never set in stone... but sometimes she would see visions and they would come true. After everything in the last few months... Casey getting kidnapped, having a vision of Jayden being hurt, and having some kind of psychic connection with Hugo... she felt like she needed someone to talk to. That's why she now found herself knocking on the school counselor's door.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Losing sleep so soon after the start of the new term hadn’t been Parvati’s plan. Then again, discovering that her ex-husband had fathered now-teenage twin girls hadn’t been her plan, either. She was exhausted, and—now that she was back at Hogwarts—the fact that her calendar said that it was a Saturday hardly mattered; she still had to get up and do her job.

For the most part, she remained in her office during the day, aside from at mealtimes, so that students could find her if she was needed for any reason. There were a few students who had already scheduled sessions with her, but most had simply dropped by. When she heard a knock at her door, therefore, she was quick to answer it.

“Hi, Saoirse,” she greeted the young woman on the other side of the door. Saoirse Finnigan's mother was one of Parvati’s closest friends and had been ever since their own Hogwarts days. “Is everything alright?” Wearing more than one hat now, she couldn't immediately assume that the Gryffindors were there for counseling.

@saoirse

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It was nice having a school counselor that Sao was already fairly familiar with. Parvati was one of her mother's closest friends, and she could remember the counselor coming around from a very young age. Luckily, she was one of the very few professors at the school aside from Headmaster Longbottom that knew of Saoirse's clairvoyance, so she was naturally the first Sao always went to for advice. Today was no different, though Sao certainly wore a more worried look on her face.

When the Head of Gryffindor opened the door, Sao put on a small smile. "Hello, Professor," she said. Though Sao was likely on first name basis with Parvati because of her mother's friendship with the professor, Sao always had insisted on calling her professor. Sao let out a small breath when Parvati asked if everything was alright. "So far, yes," she shook her head lightly from side to side out of nervousness. "May I come in, though?"

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Being called “Professor” felt incredibly odd to Parvati every time it happened, particularly when it was Saoirse who had referred to her in that way. She didn't consider herself to be a professor, since—although she was a Head of House—she didn't teach a subject. “You can call me Parvati, you know,” she smiled.

In more personal contexts, it wasn't rare for Parvati to hear the children of her former schoolmates referring to the other adults with whom their parents had been close in school as their aunts and uncles, even if they weren't actually so closely related. With her, Lavender's children were most definitely able to be on a first-name basis. “Not around Professor Longbottom, maybe,” Parvati did briefly consider. There was a chance that the school's Board of Governors might frown upon such informality. (If they were more concerned with how students referred to members of the staff than with the school's security, well…)

Sensing Saoirse's nerves in the way that she spoke, Parvati frowned. Saoirse was a Seer, and her saying that everything was alright “so far” meant that she must have foreseen something. “May I come in, though?”

“Of course.” Parvati stepped back from the doorway and held the door open for Saoirse to enter her office. Calmly, she motioned for Saoirse to sit on the chaise longue across from her desk chair and then shut the door behind the young woman. “Do you need anything? Some chocolate? A cup of tea?”

@saoirse

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Saoirse blinked a little nervously but smiled when Parvati said she could call her by her first name. Of course she had known that, but hearing actual permission to do so made her feel more at ease. "Thank you, Parvati," she corrected herself with a little nod. Sao's smile only widened when Parvati mentioned Professor Longbottom as well, another professor she had grown up referring to by their first name. Though, since Neville was Headmaster, Sao knew to call him 'Professor.' "You're probably right, there." She chuckled softly.

Saoirse smiled gratefully at Parvati as she walked past her to go sit on the chaise lounge that Parvati had gestured to. She sat down rather uncomfortably, sitting up rather straight and unrelaxed. She looked up at Parvati again, however, and smiled when she offered her tea and chocolate. "Tea would be lovely," she replied happily.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

“Tea would be lovely,” Saoirse had given her in reply, though Parvati was slightly dismayed by how uncomfortable the girl looked. Hopefully, she thought, the tea would help.

“Alright.” Parvati nodded and immediately summoned a teacup and saucer over to her desk. She conjured up a table between her chair and the chaise longue, since there wasn't one there ordinarily. Taking a few moments more to keep Saoirse from having to hold her teacup the entire time wasn't a bother; it wouldn't take her but a minute to get the tea ready.

She spouted some water from the tip of her wand into the cup for Saoirse and heated it. Then, she summoned a selection of tea bags. “Here,” she smiled, offering them out to her. It didn't matter to her which one Saoirse chose; she could always go and buy some more.

“It shouldn't take very long to steep,” Parvati noted, setting the cup and its saucer onto the table she'd conjured. “And mind the cup, Saoirse, it's hot.” she cautioned her. “I've got sugar up here, but I don't think I've got any milk…” It would have been much easier if she could have conjured milk from the tip of her wand, as well.

“Barring that,” she continued, turning her focus to Saoirse again, “what's the matter, love?”

@saoirse

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As Parvati prepared the tea, Saoirse looked down at her hands. The overwhelming sense of nervousness she felt now with all of the extra people in the castle was practically unbearable. She felt perhaps just talkng out her anxieties would help. Jayden had assissted her quite a bit, but she felt she also needed the help of an adult. That was why she was so glad her Head of House was not only a good friend of her mother's but also very intune with the knowledge of Divination as well. Saoirse smiled softly as Parvati offered her the tea and selected chamomile tea bag. "Just sugar is fine," she nodded once.

Saoirse settled into the chaise lounge as she held her cup, waiting for it to cool. Saoirse knew there was no beating around the bush with Parvati; she had known her too long to be able to do that successfully. "I'm... I - I'm worried. About this year..." she said slowly.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Saoirse selected her tea bag, and Parvati continued to watch just how unsure of herself the poor girl seemed. Parvati had just gotten the sugar cubes and set them on her desk when Saoirse spoke up. She was worried, she said finally, “About this year…”

With as much as there was going on at Hogwarts, plus everything that had happened in the past year, it wasn't a shock to hear that Saoirse was concerned. Seeing Aurors around the castle and its grounds every day probably didn't feel the most natural, either.

The need to know if Saoirse had had any premonitions about future events, however, was what kept Parvati from immediately trying to placate her. “…About this year?” she repeated cautiously, encouraging Saoirse to provide her with an answer. She didn't want to make Saoirse feel any more anxious about whatever it was, but there was a chance that it was serious. Until she knew for certain, Parvati had to maintain an urgency about her demeanor, as much as she wanted to be able to sit and chat with Saoirse over tea. “Is it your Inner Eye, Saoirse?” she asked, almost mothering her. “Is something going to happen?”

@saoirse

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Saoirse knew going to Parvati was always the right idea. Parvati always seemed to want to make her students feel comfortable before delving into the root of the problem. And when Sao had finally mentioned what was wrong, she was thankful that Parvati didn't immediately jump to conclusions. Saoirse calmly shook her head when Parvati asked if something was going to happen. "I... I haven't seen anything yet, but. I'm worried." She spoke slowly. Luckily, Saoirse's quietness was never a huge issue around Parvati, as she grew up around the woman so she was very comfortable with her.

"I don't know if Mum told you," Saoirse began, holding her tea in front of her with both hands, still not having taken a sip. "But... I saw when Jayden got hurt. In a dream," she was still shaken up over memories of that particular vision. "And, during the attacks... wh - when Casey was kidnapped... I had this..." she paused, trying to find the right words to describe the experience. "I had this psychic connection with Hugo Weasley. It was like, we saw what one another wsa thinking? Or... feeling. I am not even quite sure what happened." She shook her head. "I'm just worried that... after last year, this year is going to be worse. That I'm... I'm going to see someone else getting hurt." She looked back up at Parvati, her eyes full of worry and sadness. If Saoirse had to see another person get hurt, she couldn't bear it.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Saoirse said that, while she hadn't seen anything in the future in specific yet, she was worried. Parvati waited to say anything else, hoping that Saoirse would volunteer the information on her own.

She did. From the moment that she began by saying, “I don't know if Mum told you,” Parvati was beginning to think of everything that her best friend had discussed with her in recent months. “But…” If there was something going on at home for them, Parvati wasn't sure that she knew of anything. “I saw when Jayden got hurt. In a dream.” Neville's son. Parvati cringed, knowing that it must have been difficult to watch.

“And, during the attacks… wh-when Casey was kidnapped… I had this…” What Saoirse was saying was only getting worse. She explained that she had had some sort of a connection with Hugo Weasley, who was also a Seer, and she explained it by saying that it had been like they had seen what the other was thinking, feeling. Parvati had never once heard of an occurrence like that. A “connection” between Seers? If it had ever happened before, it must have been exceedingly rare.

“I'm just worried that… after last year, this year is going to be worse. That I'm… I'm going to see someone else getting hurt.”

Frowning, Parvati searched for what to say first and chose to start from the top of their conversation. “No, Saoirse,” she said gently, although there was no hiding her dismay, “your mum didn't tell me.” She hadn't had the slightest idea, though she wished that Lavender had said something to her about it.

Parvati felt for her. “I don't want to see anyone hurt, either.” For once, she felt fortunate that she had begun working at Hogwarts just after the kidnappings had taken place and not before. “The staff are doing everything we can to make sure that Hogwarts stays safe.” It wasn't a sure thing; it never had been, but they were doing the most that they could without thoroughly disrupting the students' routines.

“This… ‘connection’ with Hugo…” Parvati paused, using the word that Saoirse had chosen for it. “Can you tell me what happened? What did you see?”

@saoirse

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Saoirse bit her lip as she awaited Parvati's response, but was glad to hear the gentleness behind her voice. Sao could tell she was perhaps a little disappointed that her mother didn't tell her. Perhaps her mum had been waiting for this exact moment, for Sao to tell Parvati herself. "And that's all great and all," she started quietly. "But... after last time, I'm just... terrified it may not be enough." Saoirse had never been one to get odd premonitions like that, but after last year, she just couldn't shake the feeling.

Sao made a sort of disgruntled face when Parvati asked what had happened exactly, and she thought back to the day of the kidnappings. "It... it was like I could see what he was seeing, for a minute," she explained, looking past Parvati at the wall behind her as she thought back. "And... I could feel what he was feeling." She spoke slowly. "And, it's hard to feel even more fear when you feel so much yourself already." She finally looked back at Parvati with sad eyes.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

It was challenging, but Parvati was trying to be as reassuring as she could be to Saoirse without running the risk of mentioning anything to do with the Order of the Phoenix. If only she—and the rest of the students—knew, Parvati thought, just how many of the adults in their lives were working tirelessly to ensure their security. Even within the Order, she couldn't be certain of who was a member, necessarily, and who wasn't. With the way that Harry had organized their ranks, the most that Parvati could be sure about was of the allegiances of those with whom she had once been in Dumbledore's Army.

Saoirse made a comment about being terrified that what the Hogwarts staff was doing wasn't enough. Parvati understood that concern, given what Saoirse didn't know, and she nodded softly.

In reply to what had happened with Hugo, Saoirse retold it as, “It… It was like I could see what he was seeing, for a minute. Sao made a sort of disgruntled face when Parvati asked what had happened exactly, and she thought back to the day of the kidnappings. “It... it was like I could see what he was seeing, for a minute. And… I could feel what he was feeling. And,” she went on, “it's hard to feel even more fear when you feel so much yourself already.”

Parvati frowned when she saw the look in Saoirse's eyes. Fear was a recurring theme for so many of the students, and even amongst the staff. Saoirse wasn't alone in that fear. Parvati had become somewhat desensitized to it; years of living with Lord Voldemort as a threat had done that. Functioning in society wasn't possible without being able to put aside some of those fears.

“It's okay, Saoirse,” Parvati told her. She didn't want to discount that her best friend's daughter was nearly an adult, but she felt a sense of responsibility to comfort her. “It's okay to be frightened.” Parvati couldn't say that it was “normal” to be living with the fear that Hogwarts or someplace else might be attacked by Dark wizards, but it was normal to react to that threat with fear.

“The things that are happening,” Parvati shared gently, “they're frightening to me, too.” She wasn't apathetic. With two sons, a niece, a nephew, and countless friends' children all at Hogwarts, she couldn't be apathetic; the castle had become her home again as much as it was theirs.

Taking in a breath, Parvati sighed slightly. “Have some tea,” she encouraged. That was as much as she could do without involving the nurses.

She paused, an idea coming to her. “Do you think that taking a Calming Draught might help you?” Parvati had a feeling that some of Saoirse's issues might have come from anxiety, which Caroline had the ability to do something about. “You can't do much about your Inner Eye, but the Calming Draught could help with the way you're feeling…”

@saoirse