InsaneJournal

Who: Dean Thomas, Padma and Parvati Patil
What: Portraits
Where: Down by the lake
When: Saturday, April 18, 1998
Rating: Low
Status: Log. Complete.


As she walked down to the lake--slowly so that she wouldn’t mess up her hair or end up flushed--Padma mentally cursed the gobstone that had exploded on her just before she’d planned to head down to meet Dean and Parvati. She hated being late. Obviously, letting Dean sketch a portrait while she was covered in goo wasn’t an option, though, so late was the only option.

She finally reached them about ten minutes after she’d promised to be there and plopped down on the grass next to her sister. “Sorry. I was playing gobstones and got exploded on.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. The strategy involved with gobstones was fantastic, but the gooey results of failure were not her favorite thing.

Dean wasn’t bothered--he’d been sketching the lake while he and Parvati waited. Landscapes weren’t his favourite, but it didn’t hurt to get some practice in. It wasn’t like Padma to be late, so they’d agreed that something probably held her up and chatted idly until she showed. “Hey, Padma. No problem.” He flipped the page on his sketchbook, looking over both of them thoughtfully. “I kind of want to get you...in your element. Are you guys comfortable where you’re sitting?”

Vati looked up from the grass braid she was making just for something to occupy her hands and made a face at the thought of gobstone goo. Explosions were a lot of fun, but not when they resulted in goo. “You didn’t want Dean to draw you like that?” she teased, grinning at her twin before glancing over to the artist himself. “Of course I’m comfy, silly. I’ve been sitting here for ten minutes, if I wasn’t I’d have moved by now!”

"Dean said he wanted to try to capture our differences on paper. It wouldn't be much of a challenge if I was covered in gobstone goo, would it?" Padma shifted around a little, getting comfortable where she'd plopped, and nodded. "All comfortable here!"

Dean made a face at Parvati, then hopped up and moved a bit closer--he wasn’t sure he would bother with a background, but if he did it might be nice to frame them against the lake. “All right. Now this is going to be the hard part--you kind of have to pretend like I’m not drawing you. Just...I don’t know, talk like we’re just hanging out. I’d say pretend I’m not here, except I’m probably not allowed to know what you talk about when it’s just the two of you.” He grinned. “According to Lav, girl talk is sacred.”

“Lav is right,” Parvati said feelingly, pointing at Dean in brief warning. “Do not try to interfere with girl talk, mister. It will only end badly for you.”

Warning delivered, she leaned back on her elbows and thought for a minute. “Have you drawn anyone else yet? Or just Lavender?”

"We'd have to cast a forgetfulness charm or something on you if you overheard the sacred girl talk," Padma teased. She picked up some grass and started braiding it the way Vati had. "We'll try not to say anything that would merit that reaction, though."

She bit her lip as she focused on the grass. She and Vati talked constantly, but for some reason all topics of conversation fled her mind. She perked up when Vati asked about Dean's other work, though. "Yeah, who else did you draw? I heard people talking about you drawing at Hogsmeade, but we were busy with Mr. Selwyn's photo shoot."

"Well, I drew Fay the other day after we were playing quidditch. And yeah, I did a bunch of quick portraits in Hogsmeade, that was a lot of fun. Lena and Morag came for that." Dean winked at them both. "This is going to be more of a challenge, though. I want people to be able to tell which of you is which just by looking at the drawing, so I really have to get it just right.”

He started laying out general shapes, deciding how he wanted them on the page. “How did that photoshoot go? That’s Delilah Selwyn’s dad, right? What did you think of him?” He found it hard to imagine Delilah’s attitude didn’t come from her parents, but even if her dad was a purist, he might have been nice to the twins. Both of the Patil parents were wizards, after all.

“It was so much fun,” Parvati gushed, beaming at the memory. “We got to wear the neatest things, and he let us pick a dress to take home! And there was food and makeup and jewelry and it was basically just the best day! I mean, the Slytherin girls weren’t very friendly, but Mr. Selwyn was perfectly nice. Padma even got an extra present for being the coolest girl there, basically!”

She was practically bouncing in place while she told the story, looking at her sister to back her up.

“It was really amazing,” Padma agreed excitedly. She was still overwhelmed by the memory of the day, particularly when she thought about the extra jewelry she’d gotten. “Mr. Selwyn and Ms. Rowle were wonderful. They answered all my questions and Mr. Selwyn even took a picture of the two of us to send to our parents. So they have one of us all dressed up! And Ms. Rowle sent necklaces to everyone who participated afterward!”

She leaned in toward Dean. “Seriously. You should see the stuff we got. It’s so fancy. I don’t know when I’m going to wear it!” She would find a time, though, because it would be criminal to let a dress like that hang in the closet or let the jewelry sit in a box.

Dean couldn't help but chuckle at their enthusiasm. "Maybe I should have drawn you in those! I mean, it wouldn't have gone with the down-to-earth vibe I'm going for here, but it sounds like that's your real element. Am I going to see you two on a runway someday?"

He started with Parvati, lightly sketching in her features--this was the expression he wanted to capture for her, this giddy exuberance. That was how he thought of Vati--full of joy, and spilling it all over everyone around her. Padma he imagined as more cautious, carrying her joy very carefully so as not to waste any, saving it for the people who needed it the most.

Which was all very artsy and pretentious of him, and how on earth was he going to capture that in a drawing, anyway?

“Maybe!” Parvati agreed with a laugh, giving her sister an affectionate little smile. “Although I’m not saving mine for any runway. I’m going to wear all my fancies just out and about, when I’m having a tough day, you know? There’s nothing like looking good to make you feel good! I think, anyway.”

She wanted to lean over and see what Dean was drawing, but she refrained, if only barely.

Padma smiled at Parvati’s enthusiasm. “I’d prefer to be behind the scenes, though I suspect that if Vati ends up on a runway she’ll drag me out there at least a few times.” She winked at her sister. “And I don’t know if I’ll wear my dress just anywhere, but it’s definitely not sitting in the wardrobe! It’s too nice for that.”

Her expression turned dreamy as she leaned back on her elbows. “Maybe I’ll join WICCA so I can wear it to all the charitable events they do. And so I’ll have an excuse to get more.”

“What is that, anyway?” Dean began the long, messy lines that would become Parvati’s hair tumbling over her shoulders, glancing up frequently to gauge where they should fall. “They have a lot of fancy parties, I know that much. Mostly seems like a lot of middle-aged ladies having tea, though. Are you sure it would be worth it?”

“It’s a charity group,” Parvati said, rolling her eyes. “And the parties are really nice. And who doesn’t like tea? I think you’re just jealous you can’t come to meetings, Dean.” She stuck her tongue out at him, then glanced to Padma for confirmation.

“Yeah, Dean.” Padma stuck her tongue out too. “It’s not just middle-aged ladies having tea. They have witches of all ages. And have super nice parties to raise money for good causes. We’ll get to have fun and do good work. And those middle-aged ladies have connections that could help us. Definitely worth it.”

He grinned, unconvinced. “All right, I’m sure they’re doing great work. Doesn’t mean they know how to party." Dean thought fondly of summers at home and the kind of gatherings the kids in his neighborhood were responsible for. "Someday I should show you guys a Muggle party. If nothing else, the music is way better."

"Oh, come on," Parvati protested with an eye roll. "Like the muggles really have anything better than the Weird Sisters!" An unthinkable proposition, as her expression made clear.

“Well, yeah, but not all parties can get the Weird Sisters. And Muggles have--”she paused as she tried to remember the word Dean had used over Easter break”--tapes. And tape players. So they can play the music whenever. So, maybe Muggle parties have better music than wizard parties that don’t get the Weird Sisters.” Privately, she thought some of the music Dean had shared in the car was better than the Weird Sisters, but she knew how Vati felt about them, and she wasn’t going to argue. Besides, it could have been because the Muggle music was new and she’d heard all the Weird Sisters stuff. “But a Muggle party could be fun. We’ll go to one if you go to a WICCA event with us.”

“Yeah, the Weird Sisters are good and all, but Muggles actually have multiple bands for people under the age of sixty. Variety is a thing.” Dean winked at them. “I do clean up nice, even if it’s just for a tea party, so...deal.” He was almost finished putting down the rough details for Parvati, though of course there would be a lot of going over and cleaning up and shading and so forth later. Now he had to think of a topic of conversation to get the right expression from Padma.

“What are you girls planning to do after graduation? I’ve been avoiding asking everyone because I didn’t want anyone to have a meltdown about their NEWTS, but I’m sure you’ll both do fine.”

“Padma will do better than fine,” Parvati pointed out, letting the talk of music and parties go only because it allowed her to compliment her sister. “She’ll probably get the highest marks in the whole year. Well, maybe just behind Hermione, but that’s only because she’s Head Girl and all.” She shook her head; she still thought that Padma would have made a better prefect and Head for all these years than the muggleborn girl, but then again she was biased.

If she avoided answering Dean’s actual question, it was only because she didn’t really have an answer. For all that graduation was fast approaching- and for all the Divination she’d tried to apply to the situation, both privately and with Lavender- Parvati didn’t know what she wanted once Hogwarts was done. She had vague ideas of doing something fashion-oriented, but she didn’t think that would please their parents. There was always Divination itself, but how many seers did the world actually need?

"You'll do better than fine too!" Padma insisted. Yes, she generally got higher marks than Parvati, but mostly because she focused more. "And I don't know what being Head Girl has to do with getting top marks, but if that's what it takes, I don't want them. I'd have to get us in so much trouble if I were Head Girl."

She then turned to Dean, smiling widely as the conversation drifted to something she was passionate about. "I want to do something with potions. I talked to Mr. Selwyn over break, and he's gonna introduce me to Mr. Snape at Arsenic and Old Lace. I'm hoping to get a job there this summer."

“I’m sure you’ll both do great. Padma may like studying more, but you’re both brilliant.” Dean didn’t entirely miss that Parvati hadn’t answered the question, but he wasn’t going to press the issue. It seemed like a lot of people were still figuring it out--far be it from him to pry.

Whatever reservations he had about Mr. Selwyn, he had to admit that a summer job at a well-known potion shop sounded pretty cool. “That would be amazing, Pads. Think about what kind of cool potions you might get to see made. Or even help with!”

“I still think Arsenic and Old Lace is a really romantic name for a potions shop,” Parvati said, smiling. “Just don’t let Seamus visit you there, Pads, he’ll probably explode the whole place just walking through the door.”

Her tone when she said it, of course, was fond and a little dreamy, like it usually got when she talked about their friend when he wasn’t actually in the room to hear her go silly.

“Right? I’m gonna learn so much!” Padma bounced a little where she sat. Her meeting with Mr. Selwyn had been nerve-racking, but worth it when he introduced her to Mr. Snape. “It was a little scary asking Mr. Selwyn to introduce us, but Mr. Shape was really nice. I can’t wait to start.”

She giggled a little at Parvati’s tone. “It is a really romantic name for a shop, but that’s not why I want to work there.” Okay, it helped--there were other potions shops, after all--but it wasn’t the only reason. “It’s the best shop. And no, Seamus is not allowed to visit me there. I don’t think he’ll blow everything up, but I’m sure he’ll try to do something.” Her tone was fond, though without the dreaminess of Parvati’s.

“Have you told your mum you got into WCA yet, Dean?”

Dean did not fail to notice the change in Parvati’s expression. Oh, he’d have to share that little detail with Seamus for sure. He pretended not to notice, though, starting to sketch Padma’s features lightly, though he was still thinking about how to get the expression he wanted from her.

“Oh yeah! We talked about it over the Easter hols. I think she’s a little worried about how I’m going to turn that into a career, but I tried to get her to understand that I could still do art in the Muggle world so it’s no worse than going to regular art school.” He paused, then laughed. “I don’t think that she found that very reassuring, but she said she knew from the time I was five that I probably wasn’t going to go to school for anything else, so I guess she’s had time to get used to the idea of a starving artist for a son.”

“You’re not going to be starving,” Parvati protested. “You’re a great artist, you’ll have loads of jobs and be super famous in no time, Dean!”

It was hard not to be a little envious, sitting here with two people who knew exactly what they wanted to do in life while she really had no clue herself. She reached down to pluck a clover flower out of the ground, worrying it between her fingers to distract herself.

"Exactly, Dean! You're an amazing artist. You'll be super famous and we'll be telling everyone we were your friends back when you were just starting out." Padma smiled softly as she thought about the future--Dean as a famous artist, herself developing all sorts of new, useful potions, Parvati glamorous and successful. It was going to be amazing, though there were things about school she'd miss too.

"Can you believe we're almost done with Hogwarts, though? I'm going to miss this place. Well, parts of it anyway. Not Professor Binns, obviously, but most of the classes have been fun." She let her mind wander back for a moment before asking, "What are you going to miss the most?"

Dean started sketching in earnest when Padma started daydreaming--there was the expression he wanted to capture, the soft, thoughtful look. "Quidditch, probably. WCA doesn't have a team. It's easy enough to get together a footy game at home, but pick-up Quidditch is a lot harder." He softened the line of her nose with his thumb, then came back and erased it altogether. "What about you, Vati?"

"The Tower," Parvati said after long, thoughtful moments. "The Common Room, and all the big squash chairs and that stain on the wall from when Seamus and Ron were playing gobstones third year and somehow exploded the entire set. And the Fat Lady scolding us for giggling all the time. And feasts. I'm going to miss feasts a lot."

She sighed and shredded her flower absently; the list of things she wouldn't miss about Hogwarts would be a good deal shorter, when all was said and done.

“I’m going to miss sneaking into the Gryffindor tower. I don’t think we’ll be able to switch places as easily once we’ve graduated.” She tried to picture trading places with Parvati at their jobs and failed completely. It was easy to fool people who didn’t know them very well and they could pull it off with people who they both knew well, but they’d be working at different places, and it wouldn’t be something they could pull off. Besides, if they got caught, the consequences would be a lot higher than they were at school.

She sighed happily as she leaned back on the grass. “We’ve still got time to have some fun here, though. We have to figure out how to end the year with a bang.”

"Don't let Seamus hear you say it that way. He'll take it literally." Dean began shading them both now, adding little details, adjusting the curve of Padma's mouth and the little crinkles around Parvati's eyes--he would probably continue tweaking it for a few days before cleaning it up and calling it finished, but at least now he had the general gist of what he'd wanted. There was, of course, always time to completely mess up the whole thing, but for now he was feeling pretty optimistic about it.

"Oh man, I'll miss the feasts too. My dad's a pretty good cook, but you kind of get spoiled with the house elves. And cooking for myself is going to be a damn disaster, I have to admit."

"Daddy is going to teach me Indian cooking this summer," Parvati said cheerfully. "You could come over for lessons too, if you like. I mean you'd have to be fond of curries and that."

Ending the year on a high note was much more important, though, and she leaned forward eagerly. "We should have a big party that last night. I want fireworks! "

“I’m sure Seamus will oblige.” In fact, Padma was certain that they would have to work to keep Seamus from setting off too many fireworks and getting them all in trouble. “We’re going to have to figure out where to have them, though, or he’ll blow up something trying to set off the best fireworks display ever.”

“I don’t know how long Seamus and I are going to be gone on our trip, but if your dad doesn’t mind and I’m not out of the country, I’d love to learn,” Dean told Parvati. He loved curries, and anyway they’d be better than his current cooking repertoire which was pretty much variations on cheese toasties.

“Maybe we could do it on the Quidditch pitch? I mean, we’d have to get permission to be out there after dark, but I bet if we asked Black or Flitwick they’d let us.” That way they could be a far distance from anything that was likely to catch fire--other than themselves, of course, and Dean had learned plenty of fireproofing and extinguishing charms over the years. (He would blame that on Seamus if anyone asked, but honestly, he was just as often the one saying ‘But what if you tried two at the same time?’ or ‘What would happen if you mixed Muggle fireworks and wizard ones together?’)

Parvati bounced in place, beaming as the idea came together. "Professor Black totally would! He'd probably help! I wish we could have a bonfire too, but maybe later this summer we could it somewhere? " She waved a hand, dismissing that thought as easily as it had come. "Anyway, that's not important. Fireworks are important. Who else do you think will want to help? Lav, obviously. Any Ravenclaws, Padma, do you think?"

“Anthony, definitely. And probably Terry too. I can ask around.” Probably most of the Ravenclaws would be up for fireworks, if they could get permission. “You should invite Lena, too, Dean. And see if other Hufflepuffs would be interested.” She briefly considered if there were any Slytherins who they could invite, but… “Maybe we should just make it a 7th year thing. Professor Black might be more likely to say yes if it’s not just for a select group of students. Or do we want to keep it small? Just us and Seamus and Lav and maybe Anthony and Terry?”

“Not that I don’t love the idea of a seventh-year party, but I’m pretty sure if it gets too big they’ll say we have to have supervision. I might still invite Lena and Morag, though, if that’s okay with you guys.” Dean blew little shreds of eraser away, then turned his sketchbook to show the girls. “I’ll still need to clean it up some and then charm it to move, but what do you think?”

“Us three, Lav and Seamus, Lena and Morag. That’s seven. Anthony and Terry would make nine. I think keeping it under ten is definitely best,” Parvati said, ticking names off on her fingers. She was immediately and entirely distracted by the reveal of the sketch, though, and she sat forward to look at it eagerly. “Dean, you’re amazing! That’s so great!”

Padma, too, was eager to see the sketch. It clearly hadn’t been polished, but what was there, rough lines and all, was incredible. “Oh, Merlin! That’s incredible. I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.” She could tell now which one was her and which one was Vati, and she was sure it would be even clearer when it was charmed to move. “You’re a genius, Dean. I can totally tell us apart there.”

He beamed at the praise. “I’m pretty happy with it. And nine seems like a good number. I can’t wait to see what Seamus comes up with.”