Chapter Text
“My dearest Parvati,” the letter read.
Don’t be afraid. I’ve only gone to Hogwarts to take my Wolfsbane Potion. I will come back in the evening, and then we will spend the rest of our lives making up for lost time.
The letter wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. Parvati closed her eyes, pressing it to her heart. The panic she’d felt when she found Lavender gone subsided, and she could slowly feel her heart rate return to normal.
She’d realized she was in love with Lavender when the sight of her snogging Ron made her jealous. How foolish I was, encouraging her to pursue him in the first place. After the way he treated her sister Padma at the Yule Ball, she should’ve known he only had eyes for Hermione.
When Ron dumped her, Lavender was devastated. But after Dumbledore died, they both realized how fleeting life really was. Parvati confessed her feelings, and Lavender kissed her. She was a good kisser. She had loads of practice when she dated Ron.
Parvati wished she could’ve been her first kiss, but she was damn well going to be her last. It took so long for us to grow up. We could’ve had months together, years maybe.
Parvati would never forget how awful it was to find Lavender mauled by Greyback. She’d miraculously survived, but was now a werewolf. Parvati and Padma were learning how to brew Wolfsbane Potion from Professor Snape. It was hard for Parvati, because Potions wasn’t like Divination. It didn’t come naturally to her.
Professors Snape and Lupin had narrowly survived the war. They had returned to teach Potions and DADA at Hogwarts, though Lupin was planning to join Ron’s brother George at his joke shop next year. Snape wanted to have his own apothecary someday. Parvati didn’t know who was going to take over from them, but there were rumors Harry would be the new DADA teacher. George was thrilled at the prospect of working with one of the Marauders. Snape had invented many potions and spells, including Sectumsempra. Now that the war was over, he was determined to get credit for them.
It took a while for Parvati to trust Snape, to get used to the idea he was on their side. But when she had the courage, she asked him for advice on how to have a relationship with a werewolf. Snape liked gathering lupins, or lupine flowers, to represent what he had with his werewolf. Parvati liked gathering lavenders to represent what she had with hers.
Whenever she regretted not talking to Lavender sooner or telling her how she felt, Parvati remembered Snape and Lupin had lost much more time. They had liked each other since their school days, but the start of their relationship was slower and far more complicated.
Even now, it was difficult for werewolves to find work. But Lavender and Parvati started a Divination business. Lavender learned from Firenze how to read the moon, stars, and planets. Parvati continued her studies with Professor Trelawney, and became an expert in dream interpretation.
Greyback had broken out of Azkaban. Lavender made it her life’s mission to track him down. With Lupin’s help, she finally managed it. He was also bitten by Greyback, and he helped her adjust to being a werewolf the same way he helped Harry repel Dementors. One night, Parvati had come home to find her gone, just as she had today. Greyback and his supporters were after her, the letter on her desk said. Everyone she loved was in danger, and Parvati should seek protection from the Order. Lavender lived on the run and went into hiding, keeping in touch with Parvati through owlpost.
Parvati missed her desperately, but all she could do was wait. She would’ve waited forever if she had to. Lavender would never be happy unless she was hunting Greyback. She was like Harry with Voldemort in that way. During the last full moon, Lavender fought Greyback according to the rules of werewolf society, and killed him. Parvati still couldn’t believe he was finally dead.
The door clicked open, and Lavender pulled her into a bruising kiss. She was always horniest on the days before the full moon. Parvati was glad. Sex with Lavender always reminded her she was alive. They both were. She hadn’t lost Lavender to Greyback. By the light of the moon, her scars from Greyback’s bites shone silver, and her dark skin gleamed like a blue topaz.
They fell together on the bed, Lavender grinding against her. Parvati moaned.