Smoother than a storm (Parvati)

[Deleted]

After Andy cleaned the blood off her hands, she made her way back to Hogwarts. She was back by Sunday morning, seamlessly finding her place at the Gryffindor table.

The rest of her Sunday was peaceful and calm, with plenty of time to write another letter to Phil. She was oddly at peace for what she had just done and the mask she wore was just as flawless as it had always been, her smile carefully carved to ward off suspicion. It was easy, because she was happy with herself.

Her meeting with Madame McMillan had been scheduled about a week ago, and it was to be for Monday morning. When the time finally rolled around, Andy stood in front of her office for a moment in silence before knocking, as she often did. She took in a deep breath, biting her lip. Was this going to be it? Was she going to be found out an expelled? Her questions were answered within a millisecond. No, that wasn't going to happen. She had complete control over this situation.

She knocked.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

It wasn't until the start of the final week of September that Parvati had another meeting scheduled with Andy Lestrange. Back in the spring, she had had a session with the young woman, and they discussed her strained relationship with her biological family members. Because Andy was in Gryffindor, Parvati was certain that she would be seeing much more of her this year, since she was now her Head of House.

With Andy's appointment time scheduled for a Monday morning, Parvati kept herself aware of the time and returned to her office as soon as she had finished her breakfast. Ever since she had discovered the letters from Pansy Parkinson (now Flint) to Ernie, her personal life hadn't been in the greatest shape, but the students came first.

Hearing a knock at her door, Parvati stood up from her desk chair and walked over to answer it. She opened it to find that it was Andy, whom she greeted with a smile. “Come in,” she invited her, stepping back to allow Andy to enter.

@lestrange

[Deleted]

Andy nodded in greeting upon entering, moving toward her seat. "I hope your summer holiday was well?" she asked, sitting down as she did so, her eyes finding Madame McMillan as she asked her question. She wasn't expecting to find the chair oddly comforting or the temperature of the room to be so pleasent. She could feel herself sinking into it already... honesty. She sat up straight, as her parents taught her, and kept her polite smile on her face- also as her parents taught her. Her blood parents, that was. She blinked in recognition at the fact that she had just referred to them as her parents in her head, which she hadn't done in months.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Andy seated herself and asked if her summer holiday had been well. It had been undeniably different from summers past, Parvati thought as she shut the door after Andy and took her own seat, but she didn’t need to go into that. Her divorce wasn’t something that she tried to publicize, though she hadn’t worn her wedding ring since before she had started her position at Hogwarts in the spring.

Regardless, Parvati nodded as she replied to the question. “It was. Thank you for asking, Andy,” she told her, turning to grab a quill from her desk. “How was yours?” Andy’s response, Parvati imagined, would be a good indicator of where they would need to begin with the day’s session.

@lestrange

[Deleted]

Andy nodded back, "I'm glad to hear it," she said. Then Parvati was grabbing a quill and asking Andy how her summer was, and Andy grinned, a genuine grin. "It was perfect. We went camping and had some lovely nights..." she cleared her throat, adding in a chuckle (non genuine this time) before speaking again. "Happy to be back, though. For the most part," back without Phil was the worst of it, really. She had always seen school as an escape but last summer was the first time in her life that she wanted to stay put. She wanted to stay with Phil and her family forever.

But things changed. Plus, if she hadn't broken away from it all she wouldn't have had the courage to... move on in other areas.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

As Andromeda spoke, Parvati jotted down occasional notes, not once looking down at the parchment as she did. From what she said, Andy seemed to have had a pleasant past few months, having gone camping—with the Longbottoms, Parvati presumed. “Happy to be back, though,” Andy told her nevertheless. “For the most part.”

Whether it was school assignments or something else on Andy's mind, Parvati gave her words a nod of acknowledgment. “I'm glad you had a lovely summer,” she told her, going back through her notes.

“The last time we met,” she began, “you had some concerns about your older brother, is that right?” From what she recalled of their first and only session—back in April—Andy had been fearful of her brother's potential to do her or the Longbottoms harm. “Is there anything in particular that's worrying you today, Andy?” she asked, wanting to give the young woman the floor.

@lestrange

[Deleted]

Andy gave a small smile, not really committed to it. Parvati went on about the last time they met and mentioned her bother, Nik. Andy's smile grew slightly at that and she nodded. "Yes. I've taken care of that, though," she said casually. "I've decided to cut him out of my life until I feel more confident in speaking with him. I thought that was the best choice. As for right now..." Andy glanced around the room, as if she was bored with the conversation, then turned back to Parvati. "No, I'm all right."

parvati patil macmillan