Lover of the Light

Alternate Perfection

Lover of the Light

Chapter Seventeen: Alternate Perfection

"Well, you're certainly all smiles."

Looking up from her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, Hermione met the eyes of her only roommate. She hadn't noticed when the latter had come in or—as she now paid attention to her surroundings—when the few others studying in the classroom had left. She just remembered sitting down, getting a quick greeting from a few of her classmates, and then time had stopped existing when she lost herself in her mind.

"I'm happy," informed Hermione to Parvati with a smile as she closed her textbook. "Is that so odd?"

The Gryffindor Patil twin grinned, putting her hands on her hips and looking all-knowingly at the brunette. "Yeah, it sort of is," she said truthfully. "You've been in such a disastrous mood for weeks, Hermione. I was close to asking McGonagall for a dormitory change."

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, I wasn't that bad."

"You were," advocated the other girl. "But whatever happened to you recently, thank Merlin for it. I don't think I've seen you smile this way since Ron and Lavender broke up back in Sixth Year."

A glint of grief crossed Parvati's dark eyes at the mention of the deceased Lavender Brown. It truly pained Hermione to know that Parvati had lost her best friend in the war. Regardless of how annoying both girls were together, they were a symbol of true friendship and loyalty. If things would've ended bad, if Harry nor Ron had made it out of the war intact, Hermione knows that she'd never get over their loss and the hole they would've left. She sympathized with Parvati. And even though in previous years she'd never shared a proper conversation with the girl, she was glad that she got the chance to do that now. And both, despite of the past, shared the mourning over Lavender like all those they lost.

"It's a boy thing, isn't it?" Bringing Hermione back into the focus, away from the memories of war, Parvati kept that grin despite her brief sadness. "Did Nott finally do something right?"

Hermione coughed distractedly, picking up her schoolbag from the ground and putting it on her desk. "Why does Theo have to be involved?"

"Well, he is your boyfriend." Parvati didn't bother to hide the bewilderment in her voice or in her facial features. She removed her hands from her hips and crossed her arms over her chest. "Piss poor excuse of a boyfriend, if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to get involved in your personal life or start rumours—"

"That's rich,"

"—but I really don't see why you're with him. I mean, he's a slimy Slytherin. And...You've not been happy once since you came out of the relationship-closet with him." A frown creased the dark-skinned girl's forehead. "Being in love with a boy, Hermione, is all butterflies and happiness and laughter."

Hermione stopped organizing the things inside her schoolbag. She felt a bolt of a realization kickstart her heart, but she forced herself to pull it down. She slowly turned to her roommate. "Love sometimes hurts, Parvati." It was a whisper that echoed throughout the lonely classroom. "Love is sometimes having to let go, even when you don't want to. Love is sometimes tears and pain and...Sometimes love is forbidden. It can't all be good."

Parvati gave a nod. "That may be so, but you're forgetting one important thing."

"And that is?"

"Fate," replied the other girl instantly, loudly. "Though I'm a preacher that love should always be magnificent and like a fairytale, I can't ignore that sometimes there's struggles to overcome. But you know what, Hermione? Love is fated. When two people are meant to be, despite the hardships, they'll be together. Even if you have to let go, if it's meant to be it'll come back and happen. There's no true tragedy there, is there?"