A Dream Deferred: An Unexpected Request

by Mayavanaviharini harini





Disclaimer: All the Harry Potter characters belong to JKR. Only their fate rests in my hands at the moment! The four magical herbs to be mentioned in due course, namely Mritasanjivani (the herb which restores life), Vishalyakarani (the herb which removes weapons from the body of an injured person), Suvarnakarani (the herb which removes scars and blemishes) and Sandhani (the herb which heals all kinds of bony injuries), belong to Valmiki, the great poet who composed the Ramayana.




Parvati shook her head in dismay. "Bahin, it's," she paused to clear her throat, "it's impossible!"

Padma smiled affectionately at her twin. "No, Bahin, he doesn't need medications. I am sure of that, not just as a mediwitch but as a Muggle psychiatrist too. The wizarding world has ignored the importance of psychotherapy for too long. That's precisely what he requires. And who could be a better relationship expert than you, our former love guru at Hogwarts?"

"For Merlin's sake, I cannot possibly handle a certain Professor Snape!"

"Calm down, Miss Hyper. Of course you can. He is just a thoroughly misunderstood individual." Padma took a long sip from her cup of coffee before turning around and whispering, "Like you."

Parvati was left speechless by her twin's words.

Padma couldn't suppress her laughter.

"So I had guessed it right, after all. Bahin, it's no use pretending otherwise. You do have a pathetic crush on him."

"STOP IT!" Parvati shrieked.

"Admit it, right here, right now."

"Sounds funny, right? Do you have any idea how difficult it's going to make things for me? I mean, a session with the one you cannot have! Merlin, I'm going to die! He will find out even without using Legilimency. My goodness… I have never been in a situation as pathetic as this."

"Have faith in yourself. Try to deal with him as calmly and as professionally as you would deal with any other client. You are, after all, a great clinical psychologist... I trust you, Parvati. Okay, then. See you next Monday. I'll escort Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape to your clinic from St Mungo's. Goodbye, take care."

With a quick hug, Padma walked out of the crowded coffee shop.

"It's no use pretending otherwise. You do have a pathetic crush on him."

Padma's words kept ringing in her ears.

Twins have a wonderful way of understanding each other, Parvati had to admit.

Few people understood her, even in her Hogwarts days. She was perpetually tagged either as the glam diva or as Her Majesty, the Gossip Queen. No one, not even her best friend Lavender, understood the real Parvati Patil.

Just like no one understood the real Severus Snape.



A/N: 'Bahin' is the Marathi word for sister. I am trying to put special emphasis on the Indian (and more specifically Maharashtrian) descent of the Patil twins, as 'Patil' is a Maharashtrian surname.


This story archived at: Occlumency

http://occlumency.sycophanthex.com/viewstory.php?sid=8867