Title: Chocolate

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Parvati/Lavender

Disclaimer: Own nothing, all credit and love goes to JKR who created this universe. She owns, she rules, and I am but a lowly fan.

Notes: Spoilers for just about every book, but specifically PoA and GoF. Written in 37 minutes, and yes, chocolate is food in my opinion. Written for the Contrelamontre challenge, of course.

There's something about chocolate. Every child in Hogwarts, every teacher, everyone knows that. Chocolate can be medicine, nourishment and a substitute for love. Chocolate can be the break between a friendship and indifference.

That's why it doesn't surprise Lavender when Parvati offers her friendship along with the chocolate frogs, that first day on the train to Hogwarts. She stands there, gangly with a pretty face, long black hair twisted around a finger. The other hand has two chocolate frogs in it. Lavender takes one, asks her to sit down. Parvati smiles then, sunshine smile, and sits down.

It's not an unusual way to start. Not at Hogwarts. Not anywhere. No one can resist chocolate.

Chocolate is a girl thing sometimes. Between second and third year they sit at Lavenders house watching Muggle movies and cooing over clothes, stuffing chocolate in to their mouths a mile a minute. They sit close, shoulders leaned up against each other, and sometimes their hands brush in the bag of Malteasers, and they giggle. One of Lavenders fingers leaves a chocolate print on Parvati's jeans.

Chocolate is consolation. It warms like nothing else, and it hugs like nothing else.

After Blinky dies, Lavender sits in her dorm sobbing. When Parvati comes in, Lavender doesn't look up. She sits with her head in her hands and sobs. Parvati takes one hand and pushes a bit of chocolate in it. It's very rare, French, Lavender knows and she looks up. Parvati smiles at her. She pops the chocolate into her mouth and smiles back. Her body suddenly feels warm again. Parvati lies down besides her on her bed and holds her. She smells like chocolate.

There's a temptation to chocolate. Too much of it is bad for you, they say, too much can be evil.

Lavender gives up chocolate in her fourth year. Her mother says she's becoming dumpy, so she goes on a diet to lose weight, and chocolate is the first thing she gives up. Parvati thinks it's silly when she hears. 'You need chocolate now more than ever' she says, and Lavender doesn't know why. She gets stubborn and refuses to eat any chocolate.

Parvati makes it her duty to make Lavender eat chocolate at some point. She tries sending them to her under the guise that they're from Seamus. Lavender goes to the Yule Ball with him, but she doesn't eat the chocolates. She doesn't fall for Seamus, and she doesn't eat chocolate.

Some say chocolates are better than sex. That may be, but they are no comparison to love.

In the middle of summer holidays, she's lying outside with Parvati, watching the ice cube Parvati is using to cool herself down with. It beads up on her skin, and Lavender watches the hand moving the ice cube. The other hand is holding the chocolate milkshake Parvati is drinking. Lavender suddenly feels much warmer than the English weather should make her, and has an extreme craving for chocolate.

It would be so easy to lean over and kiss Parvati and taste the chocolate in her mouth.

One night, fifth year, in the dorms, whispers of Voldemort and the-boy-who- lived blowing through the halls, Lavender crawls into Parvati's bed to keep warm. Parvati holds her close, and Lavender can feel her breasts, hipbones and her stomach along the side of her body. Parvati still smells like chocolate and Lavender feels safe.

When Lavender wakes up next morning, not knowing where she stops and Parvati starts, it seems only natural to kiss her. Parvati pulls back, and Lavender thinks nono pleaseno don'tmovedon'tgo pleaseloveyouplease all in a jumble. But Parvati smiles that smile that Lavender knows so well, warm sunshine mischief and reaches for something on her bedside table. A chocolate frog.

'Our friendship started like this. It's only right that it's progression should as well.'

Lavender notices how much she sounds like her sister, but the Parvati is kissing her, and she tastes like chocolate, and half a chocolate frog is being pressed into her hands, already melting slightly. Lavender smiles against chocolate tasting lips.