Dec. 5 | for @silveredglass

In eighth year, during breakfast on the fifth of December, Parvati says to Lavender:

“Stop messing around with all these stupid boys when it’s totally obvious—and Professor Trelawney’s predictions back me up—that we’re the ones who are meant to be together, like, forever and ever.”

Lavender blinks, having never consciously considered this before. “You think so, Pav?” she asks, and Parvati just rolls her eyes and gestures for Lavender to finish her tea.

Lavender drains the cup, pushes their jam and toasties out of the way, and flips the cup onto a clean saucer.  Parvati leans in as Lavender carefully lifts the teacup. They stare at the dregs spread out on the saucer and Lavender’s heartbeat triples in time.

“Oh,” she says, staring at the tea leaves. “You’re right.”

Parvati just smiles smugly at her, her lovely brown eyes—which Lavender always loves to accent with shimmery kohl—drift downwards, and Lavender blushes hot as she realises Parvati is looking at her lips. 

Parvati’s eyes flick back up, her teeth press into her own full, glossy lips, and Lavender’s heartbeat quadruples.

Lavender lowers her voice, leans in. “Even though I…you know?” and she makes a vague, silly gesture that somehow encompasses both the long scar along the side of her face and scary teeth and claws.

Parvati rolls her eyes. “The leaves don’t lie, Lav.” 

She points at Lavender’s saucer again, one long, brown finger barely touching the leftmost edge. “See, it says right there I’ve been in love with you since fourth year, and…” she moves her finger to the top, “there it says you’ve been in love with me for ‘many moons,’ which is obviously a nod to your not-quite-condition, and even here…” she moves her finger once more, to the centre, “this is very obviously a symbol of working through strife and feral instincts together.”

Lavender bites her lip, trying not to explode with happiness all over their breakfast. Instead, she manages to rein in her wilder instincts and darts in to give Parvati a quick kiss—right on her glossed lips! Lavender licks the vanilla from her own lips, and can’t believe her own boldness.

Down the table, Seamus, Anthony, and Blaise catcall them, like total boys, and Lavender is 100% sure in that moment that Parvati and the tea leaves are right.

“Fuck off!” Lavender yells, and the boys all break into cackles, but Lavender doesn’t care.

Parvati’s cheeks go the most lovely shade of mauve—as if she’s applied Madam Hattie Hag’s Glowing Bronze Blusher in ‘Night Spell’ to them, but it’s all natural. 

They manage to sneak away shortly after, and the next year is a a whirlwind of bold discovery—nights with hot chocolate on the Astronomy Tower as they predict their futures together (and even when Mercury’s in Retrograde, their futures always seem to contain good communication, love love love, lots of sex, and…strife.

They kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas, amid even more catcalls from stupid boys, and Lavender can barely breathe for the the way the firelight in the Eighth Year common room makes Pav’s golden ‘Felix Felicis in Love’ eyeshadow sparkle against her eyelashes. 

Parvati finds a way to stay with Lavender during her strange not-quite-a-werewolf nights. 

Since Lav was attacked on a new moon and not a full moon, she doesn’t transform, but she does spend the night eating about ten pounds of still-bleeding chicken (gizzard and all), with a strong desire to both mate with Parvati and eat her. 

The worst part is that on new moons (and the days leading up to them), Lavender can’t even wear the silver earrings Parvati brought her back from Maharashtra. Incidentally, that’s how Parvati manages to stay with her without getting attacked: she just puts on all of their silver jewelry, and even borrows from Padma to be extra safe. 

Most nights, they end up talking to one another all night, from opposite sides of the room, while Lavender goes through oscillating episodes of blood hunger and lust. She usually falls asleep sometime after rubbing herself off while watching Pav rub herself off like a goddess in silver bangles, torcs, and earrings. it’s kind of ridiculous, but also kind of hot, and Lav is perpetually grateful that Parvati—a vegetarian—doesn’t get grossed out watching Lavender chow down like a dog on several chicken carcasses and then lick her fingers clean.

They leave school, finally, and even though Lavender doesn’t transform, she has werewolf DNA in her blood, and—thanks to St Mungo’s not having anypatient privacy laws!—can’t find a job. 

Parvati gets a job as a staff writer for the Society section at the Daily Prophet, and even though Madam Malkin wants to hire Lav, she’s legally not allowed to.

Lavender’s mum gives them a portion of their restitution money (for her dad, an Auror, who was killed by Rodolphus Lestrange in the War) to buy a rare two-bedroom flat in Marylebone. It’s not magical, but the Galleon-to-Pound conversion is outrageously generous and it helps them get by on one salary. Plus, Lavender’s not legally allowed to hold property in the magical world. They use the second bedroom as a wardrobe/makeup vanity/werewolf rights campaign-planning room.

They spend the first year connecting the Floo, warding, making friends with their neighbours, shopping in Muggle London, visiting Diagon and their magical friends, decorating in an eclectic mix of pinks and golds with lots of Indian touches for Parvati and lots of Welsh ones for Lavender—which basically means they have lots of pink-dyed wool blankets, throws, and pillows. 

Lavender writes her thirtieth werewolf rights opinion piece in their spare room while Parvati hangs over her shoulders, pressing lipsticked kisses to the side of her neck. 

“Stop,” Lav giggles, though she reaches up with her free hand to hold Pav in place.

“I’m really proud of you, Lav,” Parvati says then, and a thousand times afterwards, even though Lavender hasn’t made any progress at all on her quest. No one even notices her letters to the editor.

(It is a quest because she’s a Gryffindor, and has always wanted a quest.)

In fact, Lav works for months on her campaign before she gets her first breakthrough: Harry Potter. He apologises for how long it took him to notice her hard work—which is normal for boys, Lavender has learned—and then tells him about how Professor Lupin was like a godfather to him, and that he is Professor Lupin’s son’s godfather. 

Harry gives her an embarrassing amount of money to step up her campaign, and also tells Hermione about it, which is arguably more helpful. 

Hermione arrives one Saturday morning in December, two winters after they’ve left Hogwarts, with three cups of hot chocolate and a hesitant smile. “I thought I could help,” she says. “If you don’t mind.”

Lavender doesn’t mind at all. 

And it turns out Hermione has been working for the Department of Magical Creatures at the Ministry, and getting nowhere. She actually cares about werewolf rights, and that’s enough for Lav and Pav. 

The three of them sit around Lav and Pav’s living room, sipping hot chocolate and eating Coconut Ladoo Parvati’s mum had brought over the day before, working through Lavender’s strategy and trying to make it better for people like her and those who had it even worse—full werewolves.

It takes three years before the Wizengamot agrees to a vote on whether or not werewolves should be allowed to hold jobs—but it passes. Parvati kisses her right there in the middle of the Wizengamot as cameras flash everywhere. She can’t even feel her own body because she’s so tightly wrapped up by Parvait, but it’s perfect, so perfect, and Lavender feels like she could float away. 

That night, an owl arrives from Madam Malkin, offering her an apprenticeship. Parvati squeals just as excitedly as Lavender does. They jump up and down in their living room, holding hands and cheering, and then Parvati leans into Lavender and kisses her again, and Laveder’s hand moves from Parvati’s to her waist, pulls her in, and they end up naked and panting right there on top of one of Lavender’s pink ‘Welsh’ wool rugs. 

It’s one of the happiest days in Lavender’s life, right after that day Parvati told her their future.