Infinity Times Infinity

A week and a half had passed since the Black incident and no one had heard nor seen of the escaped convict. The things circulating through castle halls were stories that students made up to tell each other. Stories of having seen the crazed maniac to scare others were still going and didn’t seem to have an end. Regardless of the fact, the teachers made sure students weren’t dallying around in the corridors and reinforced new rules. 

It was after lunch and the three of you had some time to spare before your next class began. 

“Have you noticed how downcast Solaris becomes after Halloween every year?” Adrian asked from beside you. 

You glanced over to the lake where Solaris was. She was looking out over the black lake, kicking pebbles here and there. 

“Now that you mention it... yeah. Wonder why that is?” You hummed, thinking it over until you remembered something. “Solaris is Hindi right?” 

Adrian nodded. 

“Doesn’t Diwali take place around this time?” 

His eyes widen at the sudden realization. “You’re right!” 

Around the end of October and early November, Solaris always got packages from her parents. Most ranged from candies and food to jewelry and clothing. One year, you were curious and asked her why her parents owled her so many things. She explained to the two of you how special Diwali was to her and her family and how saddened they were that she couldn’t be with them to celebrate now that she attended Hogwarts.  

“She must be feeling so alone without her family to celebrate.” 

You rubbed your chin contemplatively, then an idea came to mind. “I have an idea.”

Adrian immediately shook his head, scared of what you had planned. “Oh, no —“

“What? You haven’t even heard my idea!” You exclaimed, then shushed seeing as Solaris could’ve heard you. “We should celebrate Diwali, even if it’s just for a day. Something so she can feel at home.” 

Adrian gave you a bewildered look before mulling it over. “And how are we going to achieve that exactly?”

You thought about it for a while. “We can ask the house-elves if they can help us prepare some traditional dishes! I have some recipes written down somewhere from one of my mother’s journals. If not, maybe Alex can help.”

“And what about the decorations? How are we going to make rangolis, or get diyas?” 

You gave a little smirk. “I’m sure you and Cedric can handle that. You’re one of the craftiest people I know.”

“I guess I can find some spells for colorful sand and such,” he stammered, his eyes elsewhere as he made his plan. “Cedric can help with the lamps.”

You took out a small journal from your bag and a pen to write things down. 

“And I know just the people for the fireworks and sparklers.”

Adrian’s jaw dropped. “Fireworks?! Y/N, are you sure we’ll be able to —”

“They’ll be tame, don’t worry. We’ll find a place to light them up without being caught.” He gave you another odd look, which you placated with the wave of a hand. “I know a place.”

Adrian seemed to be contemplating the details in his head. “You know, this doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I think we can pull this off. Merlin, I hope we don’t come off as patronizing by accident.” 

You chuckled dryly. “She might hex us if we get something wrong.”

“Let’s hope not.”

– – – – – 

“Fred! George!”

The two redheads jumped, immediately stopping whatever they were doing before realizing it was you. Their smiles grew mischievously and they walked over, immediately by your side. 

“Hello there beautiful.”

“What can we do for you today?”

You rolled your eyes. “Enough with the sweet talk boys. I was wondering if the two of you still had any fireworks. Sparklers, lights, anything colorful and bright.” 

They both perked up, definitely intrigued. “What’s the occasion?”

“Throwing a little snake party in the dungeons?”

“Planning on chasing Filch with them? Maybe get some revenge on a professor?”

“Because count us in.”

You chuckled. “No, but I am throwing a celebration.” 

“Care to share the details?” Fred smirked, playfully raising his eyebrows at you. 

“Frankly, I’m hurt we didn’t know about this celebration beforehand.”

You rolled your eyes. “Well, this celebration came into fruition just this noon.” 

“Well, come on now.” 

“Don’t leave us hanging.” 

They pushed you around with their shoulders until you pushed them away annoyedly. They only cackled as they stumbled away before stepping in front of you. Their eyes were filled with a shining curiosity just barely hidden behind coppery-red lashes. 

“Have you guys heard of Diwali?”

They looked at each other, lips pursed as they tried to recall anything of the sort. 

“Isn’t that what Parvati always talks about in the common room every time around now?” Fred asked. 

George snapped his fingers. “When she invites her sister over for the following week?”

“Yeah.”

They both nodded their heads, then turn back to look at you.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well Adrian and I are planning on bringing Diwali to Solaris since she can’t go and celebrate it with her parents.”

“You and Adrian, huh?” Fred drolled. 

You nodded, deciding to ignore the annoyance in his voice. “Yeah, we’re looking for more help. So far, Adrian, Cedric, and Alex are willing to help with decorations. I asked the house elves if they wanted to help with the food and they agreed. Now, I’m looking forward to getting help from two certain redheads.”

George smirked. “Help from two redheads you say?”

“I heard those blokes are rather nice. Haven’t you, Georgie?”

“I heard that they aid darling damsels who need help.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, and where can I find these dashing young redheads?”

“Lucky for you —”

“You’ve found them.” 

“And they want to help.”

“Count us in!”

“Great!” You clapped excitedly, then dragged the boys into a rib-crushing hug. “Meet me on the seventh-floor corridor, the one with the giant tapestry in about… three hours? Find your most colorful displays and bring them with you.” 

You pulled away, your face shining with delight. Everything was coming along just fine. Food was down, decorations were down, and now the entertainment. All that was needed now was to find a way to secure the room. You watched as the boys looked down dazedly at you. Oops, you must’ve hugged them a little too tight, but you couldn’t help yourself. You were praying to anyone who would listen, that this plan be executed perfectly tonight. 

– – – – – 

Everything was set and done. The room you needed appeared on the seventh floor. Its door beautifully intricate with symbols and images etched along its sides. It seemed the room was excited as well. The house-elves had popped in minutes ago with a lavish table full of foods uncommon to you. The smell, however, put your mind at ease. It all looked and smelled amazing. 

Adrian and Cedric had already been inside the room, decorating the place with little clay candles and colorful sand. You and the twins attempted to help, but you only managed to cover one another with more sand than the floor. 

Once everything was set, it was time to retrieve Solaris. She was alone in the Slytherin common room, reading a book with a glum expression on her face. It hurt you to see her so withdrawn and you felt even worse knowing you had been ignoring her for most of the day, but it was all going to be worth it… you oped so at least. 

It was easy to ambush her, she didn’t put up much resistance when you told her that you had a surprise for her. “Keep your eyes closed!”

“Alright, alright! Eyes are closed.” She sighed, finally resigned to her kidnapping. “Where the hell are we going? We’ve gone over seven flights of stairs.” 

“Wow, you’ve been counting?”

“I’m not going to be complacent next time I get kidnapped. I’m going to need to know my way back if I do.” 

You glared at her, but her expression remained the same since she was too busy focusing on not falling. 

“Sol, you have the weirdest reasons for your actions.” She simply giggled at your annoyance. 

It took a few more minutes before you reached the intricate door. The carvings on it glowed a warm golden hue as you approached it, seemingly excited at your arrival. You opened the door and guided her inside, hands immediately over her eyes. 

“Surprise!” You removed your hands from over her eyes. Your voice was drowned out by everyone else’s as they jumped out and shouted words of surprise. 

The room didn’t take shape of an indoor scene like the majority of times that it did, instead, it took the shape of an outdoor courtyard similar to Solaris’ house. The walls were white with beautiful green tiles adorning the bottom half of them. The floor was made of smooth stone, more tiles by the looks of it. Pillars stood against the wall, adding more dimension to the room. 

You’d only been to Solaris’ house a handful of times — okay like twice. You tried your best to shape the image of the room like hers so that she could feel somewhat closer to home. It seemed to have worked. 

Diyas littered nearly every surface of the patio. They were on the window sills, tables, and even on the stairs leading up to the (inaccessible) second floor.  Some had even been carefully enchanted to float around the room. Vines of colorful flowers winded and hung from the makeshift window frames, all giving fragrant and lively scents. It was almost overwhelming… almost. 

“How did you guys — what? When did you guys do all of this? Where are we?” 

“The room of requirements!” Fred said, opening his arms to demonstrate the room’s vastness. 

“At least that’s what we call it. It takes shape of whatever you need,” explained George as he retold the story of how he and Fred found it. 

“W-wow, this is how my —” she spun around slowly to take everything in. “This is almost how my house looks like — when did you guys plan all of this?”

“This morning —” you were cut off by the twins who practically suffocated you with their weight. 

“This lovely human being right here planned it all out of course!” Fred pointed to you.

“Guys, it wasn’t all me,” you huffed, pushing their elbows off of you effortlessly. “They all helped out.” 

George ignored you and plopped his arm on your head once more. “Rounded us all up and put us to work.”

You began to list out what everyone did, and as you did, she finally took in all who were in attendance. Adrian, Cedric, and Alex stood at one side of the courtyard, waving excitedly at their mention. They were joined by the Patil twins who you had consulted with for most of the planning. The two of them were eager to help, seeing as they were also missing their family’s celebration. The last to mention were the twins who bowed dramatically at their role in tonight’s celebration. 

As your explanation came to an end, you turned back to the silent Slytherin beside you. From your nervous excitement, you failed to notice how her eyes glistened until she threw her arms around you, holding you in a tight hug. 

You returned the gesture. “Do… do you like it?”

“Like it?” She sniffled, her voice wavering slightly. She let go of you to playfully punch your arm. “Merlin, you’re so obtuse sometimes. I love it!” 

“You heard the girl, she loves it!” Fred shouted. “Let’s get this celebration started!” 

– – – – – 

Everyone ate their fair share of traditional dishes. Solaris explained every so often what each dish was and what they contained. They were all new to you and you were so excited to try each one of them out. You were especially excited to try out the desserts, which all looked delectable. 

Every now and then, you’d steal a glance at Solaris to see how she was doing. You had no idea why, she looked absolutely glowing in the sari her parents had gifted her. The three of them helped each other with many of their activities, especially those you were a little afraid to screw up. 

As the evening dwindled and the sky outside darkened, everyone was growing excited to light some fireworks. All except Solaris who looked a bit nervous. 

She approached you, her arms wrapped around herself. “Hey, do you guys have any extra diyas?”

“Uh, I think there should be some leftover.” 

You went to the small table in the corner where some of the extra supplies remained, then came back with a small bowl filled with oil. She took it from you, holding it with both hands, then asked if you could light it. Touched by her request, you waved your hand over the cotton wick. A small blue flame appeared, its light flickering lively as it leeched off the oil. 

She took a deep breath, thanked you, then called for a certain Slytherin. “Adrian, can you come over here?” 

Adrian looked up, then excused himself from Cedric and Alex’s side before walking over. She dug around in her pocket until she produced a small cloth pouch and approached him halfway. He watched her curiously as they both met in front of the main entrance to the terrace. 

“What’s that?” 

Solaris held something that resembled a bracelet in her hands. The bracelet was a bright red color and had beaded items looped between the string. She didn’t say anything and instead motioned for him to sit down across from her. Once he did, she placed the diya between them, presenting him the bracelet right over the flame. 

“This is called a rakhi,” she said with a smile, and carefully picked it up from her palm “It’s tradition for women to give their brothers a talisman on the last day of Diwali. It’s like a physical symbol that says I will protect you. I’ve never done this before, so I don’t really know how to do this ‘cause you know I don’t have any siblings, but I think of you as my brother, Adrian so — oh, don’t cry!”

He frantically tried to wipe away the tears that spilled from his eyes as she explained the significance. “That’s — that’s so sweet, Sol.” 

“Stop crying, I can’t see your wrist,” she chuckled as tears blurred her sight. “If I drop this, it’ll your fault.” Carefully, she placed the rakhi over his wrist and tied it snuggly. 

Truthfully, you had to hold back some tears as you watched them. It was something you’d never seen before and it touched your heart. Similar to Solaris, you didn’t have any siblings and could understand each other whenever Adrian or the twins complained about their siblings. 

The motion wasn’t meant to be saddening, in fact, it was endearing and celebratory, but the previous mood in the room had been more lively and now it was all mushy with emotions. Thankfully, the twins were able to bring the mood back by bringing out the fireworks and crackers. 

You all stood close, watching the fireworks shoot up and whiz around excitedly. ‘Oohs’ and ‘aahs’ escaped people’s lips every time a new color appeared. The twins showed off some of their moves by making some of the fireworks wrap around their bodies, flicking up and down their arms before throwing them upwards. A few minutes into the display, Solaris leaned over closer to you. 

“There’s so much more to the celebration, but Hogwarts doesn’t really provide much to work with. This is amazing, but a traditional experience is so much more magical. We can experience a true Diwali experience once we graduate, okay?” She said with a grin. Neither of you looked at each other, too busy focusing on the lights but you could tell how giddy she was. “My parents would love to have you guys over.”

That’s when you finally turned to look at her. Her shining eyes reflected the fireworks bursting in the room. Seeing her in such a state made your chest blossom with warmth. You focused on her heart and how it pounded with melancholy, a lasting feeling of want, but the rhythmic beating slowly mixed with joy and love. She was happy, truly happy. You could sense her heartbeat pick up and soar with every explosion of light. If it weren’t for all the lights in the room, you’d suspect it was her soul that lit the entire place. 

“I’m looking forward to it.”