Hogwarts, Room of Requirement
Two hours before evening curfew on the same day, Parvati Patil sat in a plush chair in the Come-and-Go Room and stared at the small mirror in her hand. Yesterday Harry Potter's hyper elf had delivered it to her, saying only that Harry would soon contact her through the mirror. This afternoon the elf had popped directly onto her bed, scaring her senseless for a few seconds, and instructed her to be alone in a safe place at 9PM.
It was now two minutes before the designated hour, and she wondered with some apprehension what Harry wanted to say to her. He had already thanked her and Padma for their help in contacting Dinesh, and, though she was curious about what was happening, she wasn't sure she wanted to get dragged into this situation any further. She felt very lucky that no one had suspected her or Padma of being involved in Harry's escape from Hogwarts.
She was startled as the mirror buzzed and vibrated, and she looked at its blank face in confusion for a few seconds.
"Hello?" she asked tentatively.
"Parvati?" replied the voice of Harry Potter, followed by his image in the mirror.
"Hi, Harry," she smiled. "I couldn't figure out how to use the mirror at first. This is pretty neat."
"It is pretty neat, isn't it?" Harry replied, marveling at the image of Parvati's face reflected in his mirror. "Are you in a safe place?"
"Yes, I think so," Parvati responded, looking around automatically. "I'm in that room you showed to me and Padma. I've been coming here when I want to be alone; it can turn into a spa with lotions, baths, and a sauna," she grinned.
"Oh," said Harry, unsure what to say about Parvati using the Come-and-Go Room for such a purpose.
"Well, I, er, wanted to ask you another favor. You can say no," Harry said hurriedly, "but I thought you might be willing to use the mirror to tell me what's happening in Hogwarts from time to time."
Parvati considered for a moment, frowning slightly. "I can do that, Harry, but I don't want to be your spy. If I start snooping around too much, the Headmaster will get suspicious. And not everybody owns an invisibility cloak, you know?"
Harry nodded into the mirror. "I know, Parvati. I don't want you to spy; just to let me know every once in a while if something happens. Maybe you could keep an eye on Hermione when she's in your dorm room, and listen sometimes when she talks to Ron."
"I can do that, Harry. But I haven't seen her in a few days. I think she's still in the hospital wing. What did you do to her?" she asked, a slight hint of accusation in her voice.
Harry sighed. "Nothing; I just tied her up and told her what I thought of her. She couldn't say anything because of her bloody oaths; I hope it's torturing her," he said bitterly.
Parvati frowned at his attitude, but accepted his explanation. She was no great fan of Hermione. "I'll keep an eye on her, Harry."
"Thank you, Parvati. Just be safe and don't take any risks."
An awkward silence followed Harry's declaration.
"Are you, er, doing okay?" Parvati asked, not accustomed to making small talk with The-Boy-Who-Lived.
Harry gave her a genuine smile, one of the few she had ever seen him give. He was still feeling a little giddy from the effects of the ritual that morning.
"I'm feeling much better than I have in a while, Parvati," said Harry, unconsciously running his hand through his hair. "Dumbledore put some kind of block on my magic, and I had it removed earlier today. It's too early to tell if there's damage to my magic, but I feel a thousands times better than I did at Hogwarts."
"Wow…that's…" Parvati stammered, eyes slightly wide. "That's awful. I mean, it's good that it's gone, but how can he get away with that?"
"He wouldn't, normally," Harry replied, glowering slightly at the thought of Dumbledore. "But since Voldemort is back they're afraid to do anything to him. Stupid, but there it is."
"But he can't get to you now? You're safe where you are?"
"As safe as I can be," he answered. "I can't say where I am, but I'm fairly certain Dumbledore can't touch me here. I'm starting to figure out what's going on, too. Dumbledore believes that I have to die in order for Voldemort to die. That's why he's been trying to keep me vulnerable, and that's why Ron and Hermione were arguing; they know all about it."
Parvati snorted, an action Harry had previously thought her too refined to perform. "I still can't believe that bossy little bookworm would do that to you; she's always on some moral crusade or other. Ron, on the other hand…"
"I couldn't believe it either, at first," Harry replied sadly. "But it's true. She's known since second year. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing they're wrong. An Unspeakable told me that Dumbledore screwed up somehow—but now there's some prophecy out there that only Dumbledore knows, and he won't tell anyone what it says. The old bastard still wants to get his hands on me."
Parvati's eyes lit up, and Harry knew instantly he had made a mistake. He should have known better than to mention a prophecy in the presence of one of Trelawney's devoted disciples.
"Ooohhh," Parvati cooed with interest. "Do you know who made it? Maybe Professor Trelawney would be able to—,"
But Harry cut her off. "Parvati, wait. I know you like divination, but you can't tell anyone about this, especially Professor Trelawney, yeah? There's no telling what that woman would do. You have to swear not to tell anyone. I'm deadly serious."
"Alright, Harry," she said after a pause, accepting reluctantly. "But divination isn't that bad. It's kind of fun, and Professor Trelawney is really nice outside of class. She's not crazy like everyone thinks."
Harry just shook his head and smiled. "Parvati, the woman smells like cooking sherry at eight in the morning. And trust me, divination is less fun when the teacher predicts your death every day."
Parvati didn't deign to reply at first, merely sticking out her tongue at Harry.
"Not all magic involves foolish wand-waving, Potter," Parvati intoned in a terrible imitation of Snape, earning a chuckle from Harry.
"Parvati, you're not nearly ugly or greasy enough to pull off that voice."
Parvati looked at him calculatingly for a moment, then smirked. "So does that mean you think I'm pretty, Harry Potter?"
She was rewarded with a blush and a stutter. "Oh…er, well…you know…you're pretty easy on the eyes, I suppose."
Parvati burst out laughing. "You are so terrible at talking to girls, Harry. I can't figure you out. Not afraid to take on Dumbledore and Dark Lords, but terrified of complimenting a girl. I'm not one of Hagrid's beasts, you know?"
Harry, still blushing, grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'll, er, try to keep that in mind."
Parvati just rolled her eyes. "What now, then? Are you just going to stay in hiding? How often do you want me to use the mirror?"
The look of embarrassment on Harry's face was erased instantly, replaced by the hardness Parvati was used to seeing.
"I'm going to be training. I need to learn how to fight, and in a hurry. I find out tomorrow if my magic is okay, and then I've got to talk my, er, guardian into training me. I don't know what Dumbledore is thinking, but I'm not going to sit back and let the old bastard slit my throat because of some bloody prophecy."
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