They gave identical eyerolls and huffs, exchanging an irritated look that made Lavender giggle even harder and Harry smile. "We are twins after all," Parvati huffed.
"But there are some differences," Padma said with a sharp smile. "You never learned how to do anything in the kitchen right. That's why Mum and the aunties and Grandmum stopped trying to teach you."
"Hey, it's not easy! Right Harry?"
"It can be hard, yeah," Harry agreed.
Padma snorted. "One time she confused the paprika with chili powder and we drank gallons of water that night when the curry was super spicy."
Parvati flushed while Lavender broke out laughing and Harry chuckled. "Like you're little miss perfect! One time she mixed the salt and the sugar and our gulab jamun were salt balls!"
Padma flushed deeply and growled at her sister. "You're the one that used all the strings for the dolls and Papa and the uncles couldn't restring any of their instruments!"
"You didn't stop me and those were our dolls, you kutiya !"
"I'm telling Mum you called me that!"
Harry's eyes widened with alarm as Parvati and Padma started shouting at each other, half in English and half in a different language. They were waving their arms and were pushing each other slightly. "Should we stop them?"
Lavender shook her head. "No, this is normal for siblings. I used to fight with my little sisters like this all the time."
"I'd never dare fight Dudley like this," Harry muttered to himself.
"Ahem," Lavender cleared her throat. She quailed a little at the identical angry looks from the Patils. "Might not want to draw any teachers or prefects."
Padma smoothed her skirt out. "Right, sorry. But here's the thing, we need a lot of spices. I remember the ratios but how are we supposed to get them out here? Not to mention where are we supposed to cook it?"
"I can ask Professor Flitwick if we can use the Household Charms club classroom," Harry said. "He might let us. As far as spices go, I can try asking the House Elves."
"Really?" Padma looked impressed. "I didn't know you could do that."
"I don't think I'm supposed to but I know we can order things via owl. Maybe they can tell me how to get some things that way? We can make it work."
"We can ask Mum and Dad," Parvati said. "They might send us stuff."
"You know they won't. They only care about us learning and school stuff here," Padma sighed. "Plus Grandmum would get really mad at us. These are family recipes and you know that. We're not supposed to be sharing those with people not in the family."
"Oh right," Parvati mumbled. "Always thought that was kinda dumb though."
"I wouldn't want you to get in trouble over this," Harry said quietly. "Family recipes are important, right?" The tone of his voice made the girls stop and look at him.
"I mean yeah, but it's nothing like that," Parvati said, though she had a touch of uncertainty in her expression.
"I think Grandmum cares more about the ratio of spices," Padma said after a moment. "So if I measure the spices myself then it should be okay, maybe. As far as they know anyways." She shrugged. "Honestly, she might be happy that we get to eat our family food while here. She always complained that we eat too much British food."
"Then we can ask Professor Flitwick tomorrow after class," Lavender said encouragingly. "I'd love to eat some Indian food too. I miss having takeaway from other kinds of food here. It'll be fun!"
"Yeah, I'm excited," Harry said with a smile.
"I'll write a letter for home," Padma said. "See what Grandmum says."
"You can ask Hedwig to deliver it for you," Harry said. "She's my snowy owl. Just tell her it's for me and I think she will. She gets bored I think since I don't really have anyone to write to."
"Thanks Harry," Parvati said. "I'll help Padma write the letter and we can send it off tonight." She and Padma waved and walked towards Ravenclaw tower while Lavender and Harry continued on to Gryffindor tower.
"Does… does he usually say stuff like that?" Padma asked after they walked in silence for a few moments.
"Kinda? Enough to notice," Parvati said quietly. "I'm not as close to him as Lavender but I like him. He's nice and seriously, he's great at baking and I bet he's a good cook too. But yeah, it's a little weird."
Padma did not say anything more and the two continued to walk in thoughtful silence.