with mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come [parvati]

[Deleted]

The thing about birthdays when you grew up was that they stopped being quite so exciting. There were fewer presents, and Padma preferred if people didn't point out that she was of the age where the first grey hairs were making their appearance.

But the thing about being a twin was that she shared her birthday, and her sister needed something nice. So Padma booked them a table for brunch at a nice cafe in Horizon Alley, just the two of them. There were diplomatic-ball arrays of silver cutlery, crisp white napkins, and delicately embossed leather menus filled with stunning images of delicious sounding food.

And, of course, she was dressed fittingly, in a nice green blouse she was fairly sure Parvati had bought for her a few years ago. She laid a napkin across her lap, and waited for her sister to arrive from Hogwarts.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Miraculously, in the middle of everything else that was going on in their lives, Parvati and her twin sister, Padma, had made plans to celebrate their birthday with brunch at a café in Horizont Alley. There was a time not even a year before when such an outing would have felt almost ordinary, yet even just the thought was luxurious—as though she were stepping back in time, if only for the day.

The last time that she had seen Padma had been more recently than it would have been, if not for Marcus Flint's death. But she had vowed to herself that there would be no crying this time, particularly because Marcus, as she had since learned, had abused his children.

No, she would keep herself in a positive frame of mind. Looking in the mirror as she finished getting ready, there was relief in remembering that her sister looked hardly any different from how she did; she wasn't alone in having a few more lines on her face. She wasn't sure for how long she had actually owned the dress that she had decided to wear, though she was fairly certain that it had been one that she had “borrowed” from Padma years before but had never actually returned.

Parvati arrived at the café a short time later, carrying a bag with a card and the birthday present that she had gotten for her sister. There was a new boutique in Hogsmeade, a place called C'est La Vie. It seemed to have been quite popular with the students already, though the selection of clothing wasn't such that it would risk Padma's looking like she was trying to imitate her teenage daughter.

She quickly realized that Padma had already gotten them a table and was thankful for her planning. “Happy birthday!” she smiled as she approached, shifting the gift bag into the crook of her arm to greet her sister with a hug.

@padma

[Deleted]

Padma grinned and stood to return her sister's hug. When she pulled back, she gave her sister's hands a squeeze. "Happy birthday to you! I'm so glad you were able to get out the castle to celebrate." It was such a relief to see Parvati smiling too, as the last time they'd met had not been happy. But those thoughts were not for today.

She took a step back, and laughed. "Nice dress." She remembered buying that one, but she hadn't gone looking for it, so she hardly begrudged her sister for it. And it wasn't like she hadn't stolen her sister's clothes before either.

Sitting, she ran her hands over the menu and flipped it open. But she knew what she would order, so she barely looked at it, instead smiling at her sister. "How have things been at Hogwarts?"

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

“Happy birthday to you! I'm so glad you were able to get out the castle to celebrate.”

Parvati was glad that she had been able to, too. “I couldn't miss brunch with my sister on our birthday, could I?” she asked, still smiling. It felt nice to have a change of scenery that wasn't somewhere on the grounds of the school and heavily-guarded by Aurors.

“Nice dress.” Padma clearly recognized it as her own, though how many times had they actually ended up with one another's belongings over the years? They both knew that it didn't really matter, which made it more amusing than anything else. Parvati, too, had to laugh as she sat down.

“How have things been at Hogwarts?” her sister wondered, a question that Parvati had no idea how to answer.

“It's been… interesting,” she said while putting her napkin on her lap, placing emphasis on the last word. How else could she possibly describe it? “I had to help a Durmstrang student to the Hospital Wing after sh—they—were burnt by their girlfriend,” she explained, her facial expression pained as she spoke. “I've never seen anything like it, Padma,” she admitted. Even in the rubble of the Battle of Hogwarts, the casualties hadn't been like that. The appearance and odor of charred flesh was still fresh in her memory.

“And I met with Raleigh,” Parvati added, not that the change of subject was much better. “The older Flint boy.” As it had turned out, her sister had been entirely right about Marcus. “I should have listened to you,” she said quietly, not wanting their conversation to be overheard. Really, she knew that she should have listened to most people; it hadn't been just Padma who had had a bad feeling about him. “They were abusive.” And it hadn't been Pansy alone. “Both of them were. Urgh, I can't believe I trusted him…”

@padma

[Deleted]

Parvati said she couldn't have missed brunch, but Padma simply smiled, and insisted, "still, I'm glad you're here."

Saying interesting in that particular tone of voice meant, quite transparently, that things had not been good. And it quickly became obvious why.

Burning flesh was a smell to make stomachs turn, Padma knew, and Parvati's face showed it. "Are they okay?" she asked, but she had faith in the school nurses that they would be. Not a pleasant topic for brunch, and quite a concerning one, and yet changing the subject hardly helped.

"I never knew," she whispered. Oh, she'd never trusted Marcus Flint, but she'd never even suspected that he abused his children. And he had four - two, really, and the other two were Ernie's, and she was sure that made it worse for her sister. "Oh, Parvati." Her heart was breaking for her sister, and for those children. She wasn't sure what else she could say.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

“Are they alright?”

Parvati shuddered to think about what might have happened if she hadn't found Viola. There weren't many people about the castle that late at night, and, while the nearest Auror would have come across them eventually, who knew for how long Viola would have been left to wait? Whatever might have happened, though, didn't matter; what was important was that both of the students involved were alright, in the end. “They are,” she told her sister. “At first, I thought it must have been another attack,” she said, mindful of keeping her tone such that it wouldn't draw attention. Luckily, it had been isolated; just the two Durmstrang students were involved, and that was the end of it. “I'm just thankful it wasn't.”

On the subject of Marcus, which was possibly even worse than having the unpleasant smell of burnt flesh etched into her memory, Parvati shook her head in response to Padma's sympathies. Of course she hadn't known, Parvati thought. It wasn't as though a member of the Wizengamot was going to announce that he was terribly sorry but he and his wife had been harming their four teenage children for their entire lives. Raleigh seemed to think that his brother had been harmed the most—radicalized, possibly, from the way he spoke about it—which wasn't Parvati's place to discuss, and especially not in public.

“That's what he wanted, wasn't it?” Parvati forced out a sad laugh as she thought. “He wanted to charm people into thinking that he was something he wasn't.” She was a grown woman; it was her fault for not being careful, too, wasn't it? She had been married before, yet she had fallen for Marcus Flint's façade. “His children, though… They didn't do anything to deserve that.” No child deserved that pain. If Marcus weren't dead, Parvati was sure that she would have slapped him across the face, just to give him a taste of what he had put his children through.

“I don't know how much I can help them, really,” she explained. “Only the youngest isn't of age, and Ernie isn't under any obligation to help the girls…” Even if she felt that he should have done something, it was up to him. She wanted to show them that they were still cared for, that the world wasn't as awful as they had been led to believe by the actions of their parents.

@padma

[Deleted]

"Well, thank Rowena for small mercies." Another attack would be too much to bear. And likely forthcoming, but she longed for peace for the school. Too young, too soon.

"That was his job, really," Padma agreed, when Parvati said Marcus had wanted to charm and fool them all. She hated that her sister had been fooled, that she had missed so much. But at least they could call it what it was, and move on.

"No child deserves that." And she understood Parvati's inclination to want to help, and her inability to do so easily. She felt the same way. They were too young, and if Ernie wouldn't do anything for his daughters, then Parvati and Padma would just have to make sure they were supported anyway. She tapped her fingers on the table for a moment. "Well, we know people - if they need a contact in the Ministry, or somewhere, offer it. That's part of your job, isn't it, so it's hardly out of place. And might make a world of difference." A bit of care, a bit of support, because graduation was hard enough, even without not having family to support you when you got out.

But she glanced around for a waitress, because if they didn't find a less heavy topic, then she would really need a drink - she'd wanted a mimosa anyway, as a birthday treat, but even more so.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Of course, Padma was always thinking ahead. “Well,” she reminded, “we know people—if they need a contact in the Ministry, or somewhere, offer it.” She could do that. “That's part of your job, isn't it, so it's hardly out of place. And might make a world of difference.” It wouldn’t jeopardize anything to do with the Order, either, as long as she was careful. She was known to have been a member of Dumbledore’s Army.

“True,” Parvati smiled. “We have got connections, haven't we?” They really were well-connected. Padma, herself, was the Head of the Department of International Cooperation, and that wasn't exactly an internship. And Padma had a point; it wasn't overstepping—though hopefully her connections could see beyond the girls’ last name without her having to bring up the issue of their parentage.

As Padma looked—Parvati assumed—for a member of the restaurant's waitstaff, she searched for where she had placed the gift bag for her sister. The last she had checked, it had been on her arm. She didn’t think that she was old enough to be getting so forgetful, but—“Hang on.” There it was; she’d put it beside her chair. While they waited to be served was as good a time as any to give Padma her birthday present, and Parvati pulled the bag back up and set it on the edge of the table.

“It wouldn’t be our birthday if I didn’t get you something,” Parvati laughed, “would it?” She nudged the bag towards Padma. “Open it. Go on.” Buying her sister something other than a gift voucher had been her first thought; she knew her twin’s style quite well, though she thought that Padma might prefer to pick something out for herself.

@padma

[Deleted]

Parvati smiled and agreed that they did have connections. Between the two of them, they had a who's who of the Wizarding World just a Floo call away, and not just in Britain, if they wanted to really get away. "Just a few," she said, biting back a grin.

Parvati pulled out a gift bag, and Padma smiled. "You didn't have to," she said, but she certainly wasn't protesting. Parvati had excellent taste, and always had. And well, birthday gifts were part of the tradition. She pulled the bag across the table towards herself and peered in the bag, looking for the card that she knew her sister would have put in. It was bad luck to open presents without looking at the card first, after all, and Padma was at least a little bit superstitious.

She read it and smiled, placing it on the table before pushing aside the tissue paper to pull the blouse, in perfect sapphire blue, from the bag. She beamed, and reached across the table to squeeze her sister's hand. "It's gorgeous. Put me to shame, every time," she said.

Padma reached down to the floor beside her, and passed across Parvati's present, wrapped in scarlet red paper. She didn't quite dare buy clothing for Parvati, but it was hard to go wrong with some new Divination supplies, especially the nice stuff, and Padma hadn't skimped. "Your turn," she said with a smile.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

“You didn't have to.”

Padma looked at the card that she had gotten her before looking at the gift itself. Knowing that she would have done the same, Parvati couldn't be too impatient with her sister, but there was always the anticipation. If Padma had ever disliked something that she had gotten her for their birthday, she had certainly never shown it, although there was always a first time for everything.

It hadn't been this year, fortunately. Parvati smiled at Padma's reaction to what she had gotten her and returned the squeeze that she had given her hand. “It's gorgeous. Put me to shame, every time.”

“What can I say?” Parvati laughed, intentionally being show-offish in her tone. “It's from this new boutique in Hogsmeade. It's called C'est La Vie,” she explained. Never would she let it be said that she didn't give away her secrets. “Everything in there is absolutely lovely,” she gushed. “It's quite popular with the students, too,” she added, “though I think the woman who runs it offers a bespoke service, as well…”

“Your turn.”

Parvati was stopped in her rambling by the presence of another gift, although this one, of course, was for her. She took it gently from her sister and began to unwrap it as neatly as she could. It wasn't extraordinarily heavy, but it was something substantial; she could tell that much. Padma shouldn't have gone to all of that trouble for her, she thought.

Continuing to work her fingers up under the edges of the wrapping paper, Parvati's eyes lit up. What she had received exceeded every possible expectation that she could have had. Her sister had bought her some new Divination supplies—a deck of tarot cards and a scrying mirror among them. “Merlin's beard… You know it's been ages since I've done any of this properly!” She was thrilled and knew that she would have to make time for it somehow. “I love it all,” she added, in case there was still any doubt in Padma's mind.

Using her wand, she wrapped the package back up as though it hadn't been touched. For the sake of carrying it with her, Parvati figured that it would be easier that way. That, and she couldn't leave the wrappings all over the table, when they hadn't eaten yet. “Where on earth did you find all of that?” she asked, setting the gift so that it was safely beside her legs.

@padma

[Deleted]

Parvati returned her smile, and told her the name of the store. "That's definitely a name that sounds better in French," she said with a laugh, "but your seal of approval means I'll have to take a look next time I'm up north." And based on the blouse, it would be excellent.

Padma watched as Parvati carefully unwrapped her gift, and the smile she lit up with made her absolutely glow. She didn't need to be a Legilimens to know her sister loved it - nor did she need to be told, although Parvati did. "But you always loved it, even when I had no patience for it," she said, when Parvati said it had been ages since she'd done much divination, smiling at her sister's joy.

As to where she got it - "here and there - I found the scrying mirror in an antique shop last time I was in Paris." It had been a quick through visit to speak with the Head of Beauxbatons about the Tournament, but she'd had a little time for herself to poke around the boutiques in the Quartier Magique. "The rest is from some nice odds-and-ends stores on Horizon Alley, and a bit of Dean's handiwork. He'd like to wish you a happy birthday too, but I told him he wasn't invited," she added. "Patil twins only."

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Padma's teasing about her inability to pronounce the name of the boutique—properly, anyway—was humorous, Parvati had to admit, though she had managed to convince her sister that the place was worth visiting. With her schedule, Parvati imagined that it would be a while before Padma actually got around to it, but she was sure that she would at some point.

At the comment Padma made about her not having been as enraptured by Divination in school as she had been, Parvati laughed, too. “You tolerated it, at least,” she noted. “Hermione thought Lavender and I were mad for enjoying it!” She harbored no hard feelings about it now; it was just anecdotal.

It was always so interesting to listen to Padma speak about the places she went. “Here and there” could have meant just about anywhere. Padma's travels for work weren't infrequent, even if she was based in Britain.

She shouldn't have been shocked that the mirror hadn't been from anywhere local. That Padma had thought of her while on Ministry business, though, made it all the more special. Her sister had gotten her something that was relatively unique, and Parvati was certain that no one she knew would have anything like it.

Some of the other things, Padma added, were from right there on Horizont Alley. “And a bit of Dean's handiwork.” Padma had gone above and beyond for her—as had Dean, apparently—although she didn't seem to think much of it.

“He'd like to wish you a happy birthday too, but I told him he wasn't invited. Patil twins only.”

Parvati grinned. Rarely did she get to spend such quality time with her sister, but she wouldn't have minded seeing her brother-in-law, either. “Fair,” she nodded, “but do tell Dean that I appreciate it. I haven't heard from Ernie yet today, but it's still early.” She was highly doubtful that her ex-husband had forgotten her birthday so soon. Some acknowledgment would have been nice, however.

@padma

[Deleted]

Padma laughed at Parvati's reminiscenses of their school days. "Tolerated is a good word for it. Divination's a perfectly legitimate art, I just don't think Trelawney had the knack for it." Whether Parvati or Lavender had the knack was debatable too, but they did have enthusiasm and they weren't the ones grading it, so she was far more inclined to let it slide, which Hermione hadn't.

"Of course I'll tell him! He'll be glad to hear it." And as for Ernie, well - "I'm sure Ernie will owl you later." If he knew what was good for him, he would. She wasn't sure he did, but she had hope, and there were more important people out there. "And have you heard from the boys yet?" She hadn't heard from Daryl or Asha yet, but she had no doubt that she would.

Before Parvati could answer, the waitress came to take their orders, and Padma offered hers up quickly, eager to hear if her sister had heard from her sons that morning. They were at Hogwarts at least, it wouldn't be too difficult.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

“Tolerated is a good word for it. Divination's a perfectly legitimate art, I just don't think Trelawney had the knack for it.”

Parvati tried not to balk at her sister's view of Professor Trelawney, but she knew better than to think that the woman had been a fraud. Dumbledore wouldn't have had her teach Divination if she hadn't been fit for the role. (Looking back on it, his appointment of Gilderoy Lockhart to the Defence Against the Dark Arts position might have been questionable, but everyone was allowed a mistake.) “Of course she did!” she protested. “You've just never appreciated her brilliance.” Besides, Professor Trelawney had been the teacher to whom she had been closest in school, and that wasn't to mention that Lavender surely would have been killed by Fenrir Greyback's mauling if not for her intervention.

While Padma might not have believed that Professor Trelawney was particularly skilled at divining the future, there was no denying that her husband was a talented artist. “Of course I'll tell him,” she replied to Parvati's compliments on his work. “He'll be glad to hear it.”

Holding out hope that Ernie would wish her a happy birthday was futile, Parvati thought, but Padma said that she was sure that he would send her an owl later on. “Probably,” Parvati forced herself to agree. “I'm sure he's been busy,” she added, although she didn't elaborate with what—or whom.

“And have you heard from the boys yet?”

No sooner had Padma finished her question than the waitress came to take their orders. Padma gave hers first, and Parvati followed, changing a few details of hers so that it wouldn't be the exact same thing as what her sister had just ordered.

Once the waitress had left, Parvati answered. “I saw them both this morning,” she smiled. “And I'm quite proud to say that neither of them had to be dragged from bed for it,” she mentioned with a laugh. Even if her sons had needed reminding, she wouldn't have minded that.

“Have you heard from [Daryl] and Asha yet?” she asked Padma, knowing how lucky she was that her children could wish her a happy birthday in person for once.

@padma

[Deleted]

Parvati had always defended Professor Trelawney with everything she had, which made her easy to tease, and Padma smiled at her protests. Padma respected the woman - she was very good at playing probabilities - but her travels had introduced her to real Seers, and they were something else entirely. "Didn't have the knack for teaching it," she amended, "though I'm not sure who does." Perhaps the current Divination professor was more skilled in the mystical arts, but that should take the sting out of her criticisms.

Ernie's busyness was not something Padma cared to dwell on. She'd seen him around since the divorce - the Wizarding world wasn't that large after all - but she'd not spoken to him, and she didn't care to change that. "I'm sure that's the case," she agreed, but the waitress's arrival made it easy to move on.

Parvati's description of her sons' birthday wishes had Padma joining her in laughter. "Birthday wishes of their own free will are vastly superior to those that need prompting. Especially when they overcome their teenage sleep schedules to do it."

As to her own children - "I got an owl this morning," she answered with a smile. "Doodles and promises to show me dance moves, and lots of love from the pair of them. They sounded like they were doing well." She sighed. "Not quite the same as seeing them in person, though."

parvati patil macmillan