Gobstones - A Don't Think Twice/An Aerial Approach Companion Oneshot

"Oh, no, I suppose I haven't spoken to him since…" she pauses trying to think. "Since he accidentally broke my gobstones set in the charms corridor and offered to replace them." She says semi proud that she remembered.

Parvati Patil rushed along the charms corridor paying little heed to her surroundings as they bustled past her. She was running with such haste, because her sister had owled her asking to borrow her Gobstones. Apparently it was of the utmost importance.

Parvati and Padma had, before coming to Hogwarts, done everything together. They'd learnt their magical heritage from their mother together, their first spells had been within minutes of each other and they'd shared a room in their parents' small home. Going to Hogwarts had changed all that, neither had suspected that they may be sorted into different houses and it had confused the pair. Originally every day they woke apart had seemed like waking without a limb, but now, in their second year they'd grown much more comfortable with distance.

That didn't stop either sister from calling on the other in desperate times of need via owl on a daily basis though, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms were well known by both sisters and the opposite's password was divulged to the other without pause as soon as it were changed. The opposing houses had grown comfortable with these frequent intrusions surprisingly quickly, though there were still grumbles from Gryffindors and Ravenclaws alike who didn't like the 'enemy' knowing so many of their secrets.

One of these so opposed had always been Oliver Wood; the first time Padma had emerged through the Fat Lady's portrait hole, her blue tie obvious, the Quidditch captain had marched over and haughtily demanded to know why Roger Davies had started to send first year spies so early into the term. Padma had, unsurprisingly, not taken to Oliver from that moment onwards, often cursing him and damning the Gryffindor behind his back. Parvati on the other hand, despite his rude words to her sister, took quite a fancy to him (much like most girls throughout Hogwarts).

Parvati would wander down to the Quidditch pitch with Lavender when Padma was busy just to watch the Gryffindor captain practice, he flew through the air effortlessly and, in her first year eyes, could do very little wrong (in the air and on the ground). She was part of a gaggle of girls who would marvel at Wood's prowess, something Padma thoroughly disapproved of, for she preferred the 'much more graceful' Roger Davies. Parvati privately thought that a Quidditch captain didn't need to be graceful, as long as he was swift, instructive, a good flyer and, most importantly, quite fit.

By their second year, when both sisters were much more comfortable with time apart and their house rivalry, owls would flit from tower to tower with less frequency and less urgency; their mother had painted their bedroom red and blue in their absence and though the colours she'd chosen clashed the sisters embraced it enthusiastically. Though neither would admit it to the other, both were scared that the other was drifting away with the separation, therefore, when Padma demanded quite adamantly that she needed Parvati to lend her some Gobstones post-haste, Parvati was ever so quick to rush to her sister's side.

That was until she threw herself around a corner straight into the hard chest of Oliver Wood.

The Gobstones smashed to the floor and Parvati's first thought (rather than "ohmygodijustranstraightintoOliverWoodhowamIgoingtolivethisdown?!") was that her sister was going to, quite happily, slaughter her. And then she realised that she'd ran straight into Oliver Wood.

"I am so, so sorry!" he apologised profusely while Parvati attempted to collect her wits (which were as scattered as the shattered Gobstones pieces.)

"Padma is going to murder me," was all she could say, staring at the disarray before her, hardly noticing the appraising looks the older boy sent her. He must've thought she'd bumped her head.

"Because you dropped your Gobstones?" he asked tentatively, worrying about the mental state of the young girl with the quivering lip and the tears welling readily in her eyes.

"She needed to borrow them!" she stressed in response, though he clearly didn't understand the gravity of the situation. Didn't he understand that the relationship with her sister was at stake here?

"Well, I'm sure she could borrow someone else's Gobstones?" he asked not really understanding the importance of the set leaking potion on the floor.

"I… She asked for mine," she told him with defeat before slumping down against the wall.

Oliver was quite out of his depth here for, only being a fifteen year old boy himself, he had little experience with girls crying readily in corridors; yet he felt inclined, seeing as there was definitely blame to be laid at his door, to help the sobbing second year.

He dropped his book-bag and settled against the wall next to her and, after wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders, he asked her to tell him all about it. And she did. For the first time Parvati Patil confided to someone the sheer extent of her worries, how she was scared that she'd lose her sister, how she was scared she was the lesser sister (for everyone knew that Padma had the brains) and how she was heartily convinced that the breaking of her Gobstones would be the final straw.

Oliver hadn't anticipated that the problems of a twelve year old girl would be so diverse and complex, he really had just expected her to sob over her broken game for a while. Rubbing her back he talked to her softly and assured her that all her fears were misplaced. Padma was her sister, he told her, she'd never abandon her and they'd been through so much together. This seemed to be the right thing and the wrong thing to say for, though the girl looked hopeful, a fresh bout of tears fell as she remembered the times past.

While Parvati cried openly into Oliver's shirt the world passed them by, the Charms corridor wasn't the most private of places and the looks ranging from sympathy to envy were many. Oliver's friends had long left him to it, opting to get some dinner while it was still on the table, and Parvati (though she didn't know it) had long missed her sister's deadline for the Gobstones.

As the tears abated and Oliver's shirt began the slow process of drying he tentatively took his arm from her shoulders and stood up, pulling her to her feet after him. "What we both need is some dinner, I think. I'll replace your Gobstones and I can talk to Padma if you want?"

"Thank you," she told him with a watery smile. "You better leave Padma to me though, she doesn't particularly like you; she prefers Roger Davies," she explained upon seeing his confused expression.

"Bloody Roger Davies," he cursed before leading the way to the Great Hall and the dinner awaiting them.

A.N. So, as you can see, it's relevant to Don't Think Twice but it isn't – I just got inspired to shed some light on the incident that is very vaguely referred to in chapter 11 and expand on Parvati a little. I didn't want her to be dismissed but couldn't really expand on her in that instance because her motivations for Hermione were inescapably born from a more selfish side of her personality.