The Sky Overhead (Lavender/Parvati, G)
Title: The Sky Overhead
Pairing: Lavender/Parvati
Rating: G
Word count: 672
rarepair_shorts prompt: 7. paint the sky with stars (My table)
Summary: Almost like being outside.
Lavender pulled her knees to her chest inside her sleeping bag with some difficulty. It was how she'd slept in a sleeping bag since she was a child on camping trips with her dad; there was something about the tightness, about being trapped, that she liked. It made her feel like the boundaries of the tent were more firm than they were, like they weren't a simple hostile knife slash away from being under the open, seeing sky, like there was more than a thin sheet of fabric separating her from the indifference of the outside world. Even though she had always loved the outdoors, sleeping in a tent had always made her somewhat uncomfortable, as though by trying to hide she was really only drawing attention to herself.
She wasn't in a tent now. The Great Hall floor was cold and hard and uneven under her back, poking her between her shoulder blades. There was no cocoon of moist tent air around her, no sound of soft rain on canvas.
“It's almost like we're outside,” Parvati's whisper came from close next to her head. Lavender opened her eyes - yes, it was almost like being outside, not quite; there was a distinct insideness radiating from the stony walls, but it contrasted with the broad expanse of sky in the enchanted ceiling above them, alight with a full moon half obscured by dark clouds floating by lazily. The Great Hall was washed a dark blue. Stars blinked down on them, still, frozen, infinitely removed.
“It would be more lifelike if this floor was a bit softer,” Lavender scoffed, trying to shift without losing grip on her knees. Still, the sight of the sky above her relaxed her stomach a bit. She loved the sky even more now that she began to get a grasp on what it could mean to them, and whenever she looked up at night always felt as though the planets were friendly to her, even so far away, even so inscrutable in their silent orbit around solitary stars. She loved their deceptive calm even more now that she knew how volatile the changes could be if you simply watched for long enough.
“Stop fidgeting,” Parvati murmured, and Lavender held still - she could hear the tension in her friend's voice.
“Are you all right, Vati?”
Parvati gave a small 'hmm'. Lavender gathered that she hadn't completely calmed down yet.
“We're safe here,” she whispered, “he can't get in.”
“He could get into the castle, couldn't he?” Parvati's whisper was urgent. “How do we know what he can do?” Lavender heard her turning over on her side inside her sleeping bag; maybe she was checking the shadows for signs of Sirius Black lurking about.
“It'll be all right.” Lavender tried to sound more confident than she felt. “Our horoscopes said nothing about danger.”
“Yours said something about being wary about the night, though,” Parvati said, sounding tense.
“Yeah, but... That could mean a lot of things.”
Parvati fell back onto her back. “I'm just scared.” Her whisper was very quiet.
Lavender shifted a bit closer to her friend and allowed her knees to fall against Parvati's sleep-bagged form. “Don't worry,” she said, earnestly, “Professor Trelawney's here. She'll see him coming if he does try to get inside. And - and I won't let anything happen to you.”
Parvati was silent for a bit. “Thanks,” she said then in a small voice. A cloud drifted across the moon's patchy face, deepening the shadowy blue of the Great Hall. Someone was snoring close to them. Lavender could make out part of Orion coming into view. She looked at it for a bit, then let her head fall to the side. Parvati's sleeping bag brushed her cheek, and there was a soft, ticklish contact of some of Parvati's hair on her face.
When she was almost drifting off to sleep, she heard Parvati's whisper, so soft she was probably not supposed to hear it: “I won't let anything happen to you either.”
Pairing: Lavender/Parvati
Rating: G
Word count: 672
rarepair_shorts prompt: 7. paint the sky with stars (My table)
Summary: Almost like being outside.
Lavender pulled her knees to her chest inside her sleeping bag with some difficulty. It was how she'd slept in a sleeping bag since she was a child on camping trips with her dad; there was something about the tightness, about being trapped, that she liked. It made her feel like the boundaries of the tent were more firm than they were, like they weren't a simple hostile knife slash away from being under the open, seeing sky, like there was more than a thin sheet of fabric separating her from the indifference of the outside world. Even though she had always loved the outdoors, sleeping in a tent had always made her somewhat uncomfortable, as though by trying to hide she was really only drawing attention to herself.
She wasn't in a tent now. The Great Hall floor was cold and hard and uneven under her back, poking her between her shoulder blades. There was no cocoon of moist tent air around her, no sound of soft rain on canvas.
“It's almost like we're outside,” Parvati's whisper came from close next to her head. Lavender opened her eyes - yes, it was almost like being outside, not quite; there was a distinct insideness radiating from the stony walls, but it contrasted with the broad expanse of sky in the enchanted ceiling above them, alight with a full moon half obscured by dark clouds floating by lazily. The Great Hall was washed a dark blue. Stars blinked down on them, still, frozen, infinitely removed.
“It would be more lifelike if this floor was a bit softer,” Lavender scoffed, trying to shift without losing grip on her knees. Still, the sight of the sky above her relaxed her stomach a bit. She loved the sky even more now that she began to get a grasp on what it could mean to them, and whenever she looked up at night always felt as though the planets were friendly to her, even so far away, even so inscrutable in their silent orbit around solitary stars. She loved their deceptive calm even more now that she knew how volatile the changes could be if you simply watched for long enough.
“Stop fidgeting,” Parvati murmured, and Lavender held still - she could hear the tension in her friend's voice.
“Are you all right, Vati?”
Parvati gave a small 'hmm'. Lavender gathered that she hadn't completely calmed down yet.
“We're safe here,” she whispered, “he can't get in.”
“He could get into the castle, couldn't he?” Parvati's whisper was urgent. “How do we know what he can do?” Lavender heard her turning over on her side inside her sleeping bag; maybe she was checking the shadows for signs of Sirius Black lurking about.
“It'll be all right.” Lavender tried to sound more confident than she felt. “Our horoscopes said nothing about danger.”
“Yours said something about being wary about the night, though,” Parvati said, sounding tense.
“Yeah, but... That could mean a lot of things.”
Parvati fell back onto her back. “I'm just scared.” Her whisper was very quiet.
Lavender shifted a bit closer to her friend and allowed her knees to fall against Parvati's sleep-bagged form. “Don't worry,” she said, earnestly, “Professor Trelawney's here. She'll see him coming if he does try to get inside. And - and I won't let anything happen to you.”
Parvati was silent for a bit. “Thanks,” she said then in a small voice. A cloud drifted across the moon's patchy face, deepening the shadowy blue of the Great Hall. Someone was snoring close to them. Lavender could make out part of Orion coming into view. She looked at it for a bit, then let her head fall to the side. Parvati's sleeping bag brushed her cheek, and there was a soft, ticklish contact of some of Parvati's hair on her face.
When she was almost drifting off to sleep, she heard Parvati's whisper, so soft she was probably not supposed to hear it: “I won't let anything happen to you either.”