Title: Sister's Comfort
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Length: 498
Warning: Character death
Summary: Sometimes they need it.
Notes: None.



Parvati felt drained. There were scratches all over her arms and knees, a welt on the side of her forehead from where she had hit her head against a wall trying to duck, and a deep gash against her throat that was caused by a curse that narrowly missed her head. She felt the warm trickle of her blood as it lightly fell down the side of her throat, coating her Hogwarts Gryffindor robes with a brighter red than what it already was.

Her sister knelt down before her; her robes just as torn and ragged, her hair just as grimy and tangled, and her features just as tired from all the fighting. Tearing off a piece of her own Hogwarts robes, Padma balled up the material before meticulously applying pressure to the open wound on Parvati's neck. Had her sister not lost her wand, she would have surely healed her by now.

It was Padma who had looked after her after the fighting had ceased and the celebration had mellowed to one of cautious optimism as people started hunting down the dead. It was Padma who had taken her by the hand and led her to a deserted corridor so she could sit down on one of the lower stone steps of a staircase. And it was Padma who had somehow acquired a blanket and thrown it over Parvati's shoulders. Yes, she owed a lot to her twin sister.

Parvati held out her right hand -her wand hand - and looked down at the dirty fingernails and cut skin. Lavender would have never allowed her cuticles to get this bad; she would have jumped at the chance to do a quick manicure as they giggled of life and boys. The very thought of her best friend was making her hand shake.

Fisting her fingers, Parvati looked up at her sister dreadfully. "How is she?" she whispered, unable to voice her fear. The last she had seen of Lavender was when Madam Pomfrey had taken her into her care, ushering those around them to carry her moaning friend up to the Hospital Wing. Parvati had begged her sister to follow and find out what was happening, since she was unable to walk from the Cruciatus Curse that had hit her just a while before.

At Parvati's question, Padma paused her actions, her glance focusing ominously on her ripped robes that was piled on the floor. After a moment, Padma's gaze met hers, the look in her eyes causing Parvati to feel the familiar prickling behind her own.

"They did everything they could."

With a cry, Parvati careened forward with loud sobs, her shoulders shaking violently. Her sister immediately surrounded her with a warm, comforting embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Parvati," Padma whispered as she rocked her gently. Parvati held on to her sister, begging for solace against the fear of her loss. Her grip tightened when she realized that Padma was still alive. At least she didn't lose them both.