RP: Better late than never

[rar_parvati]

Date: June 15th 1999
Characters: Parvati Patil, Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin, Lavender Brown, others.
Location:  The girls house, Hogsmeade
Status: Semi-public
Summary: Parvati and Padma celebrate their birthday a little late.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_lavender]

This was going to be a nice evening in and Lavender was looking forward to it. She could understand that the twins didn't fancy doing anything big and, after her own big party, she was looking forward to something a little more intimate.

She'd brought a cake, because it was her sort of thing. Parvati would protest that she didn't want presents, but Lavender had got her a gift voucher for Edna's so that she could treat herself to some fun underwear - or something sensible if that was her preference - and a voucher for Flourish and Blotts for Padma, because you probably couldn't go wrong with something book-related for Padma.

Arriving at the house, Lavender could hear the wireless on inside and smiled, knocking on the door.

[rar_parvati]

Parvati was pouring herself a glass of wine when she heard the door. Setting it down, she peeked out the window and grinned when she saw Lav. "Is that cake? Merlin, you read my mind, Brown." Parvati ushered Lav inside and took the cake, setting it on the table.

"Looks delicious, Lav. Thanks! Do you want something to drink? I have juice, water and butterbeer if you don't want wine or firewhiskey."

[rar_lavender]

"Of course it's cake." Lavender kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday, sweetie." She reached to take the lid off the cake tin. "Chocolate and raspberry." The chocolate could get a bit rich and Lavender found the raspberries were the perfect foil for that.

"Juice would be lovely," she said with a smile. "I still don't drink."

[rar_parvati]

Parvati almost drooled as she watched Lavender unveil the cake. "Looks sinful."

She nodded and got her friend a glass of juice to go with her own wine. "There's nothing wrong with that, Lav. I probably shouldn't be drinking, but it's my birthday. Or so they tell me." She giggled and took a sip.

[rar_mandy]

Mandy stood in front of her friends' door, parcels in hand for birthday celebrations, and smiled and raised her hand to knock. It was nice to get out of the house and spend some time with her friends and she thought a quiet birthday celebration with the girls would be a great way to spend some time.

Knocking lightly on the door, Mandy smiled and waited.

"Happy Birthday, Ladies!" Mandy called out, grinning, as the door opened.

[rar_parvati]

"Hey Mandy, glad you could come." Parvati smiled and held the door for her. "Padma should be down soon. Do you want something to drink?" she asked, positing to the table with beverages.

[rar_katie]

Katie met Dean at his house and they walked over to the twins' house. It was nice and warm out, and she linked her fingers through his as they walked, a bag containing two bottles of wine in her other hand. It'd be nice to see people again, Katie thought to herself. She saw Dean, of course, and sometimes other people when she went out for a bite, but she'd been training really intensely as the tryouts got closer, which meant she'd not really been seeing anyone else.

When they arrived, Dean knocked on the door and they waited for one of the birthday girls to greet them.

[rar_dean]

Dean was glad he'd run into Padma Thursday afternoon. He hadn't visited with the twins in awhile, and dropping by for their informal birthday shindig was a good excuse to do just that. Katie had been excited about the idea as well, and he smiled over at her as he reached up and knocked on the door.

[rar_katie]

Parvati opened the door and Katie smiled. "Happy Birthday! You look lovely," she said, giving her a quick hug before stepping back so Dean could greet her. "We brought you some wine, a white and a red, so you two can fight over who gets which one. Or you can just open them and drink both." She shrugged. "I'll put these in the kitchen, anyway."

[rar_dean]

"Heya, Vati," Dean said, hugging his friend once Katie had stepped back. "Happy birthday."

They stepped into the house, and he grinned at the few people who had gathered so far. It had been a long day, with lessons in the morning and planting Luna's garden in the afternoon, and he was looking forward to just spending some relaxation time with friends.

He took a seat on the couch while Katie dropped off the wine.

[rar_lisa]

She was not in a partying mood. At all. She'd gotten back from her impromptu shopping trip with Lee in time to help set up for the party, but she'd spent the time since holed up in her room. It was just like the night before at the club: everything single bloody thing seemed to remind her of Terry. She'd spent half the day crying, and it felt all wrong. Her brain felt muddled, and this time it wasn't from alcohol.

The door had opened a few times, so Lisa knew guests had begun arriving. Maybe if she went down now, she could excuse herself relatively early. It had been a late night Friday, so still being tired was a completely legitimate excuse, even if she knew she wouldn't sleep. Taking a few deep breaths, she smoothed down her hair and clothes and headed downstairs

[rar_anthony]

Anthony had expected Padma or Parvati to open the door, but of course Lisa lived there, too. She seemed to frown upon seeing him, but the frown was gone in an instant, replaced with a smile that seemed a bit forced. Bugger. He'd thought they'd parted on good terms the other night, even if she had been shouting at him in the street for a while. Well, maybe something else was bothering her. But he wasn't sure why she'd frowned like that.

"Hi, Lisa." He smiled and stepped inside, nudging the door closed behind him. He was surprised at the number of people there already--to him, a "low-key party" meant three or four friends and a case of butterbeer--but it looked like a good crowd.

"Where should I put these?" he asked. He'd brought a vase of calla lilies for the twins, which had cost more than he'd wanted to spend, but he'd been captivated by the delicate grace of the flowers, which reminded him of Padma and Parvati though he couldn't have said why.

[rar_lisa]

"Oh, those are nice!" Lisa said brightly, meaning it. She let Anthony in and closed the door behind him, then surveyed the room. "Maybe on the coffee table?" She shrugged. "You know I'm pants at decorating. Just pick somewhere. I'm sure my lovely housemates will move them to suit their taste."

Inside her head, she was cursing. She should tell him. It wasn't fair to him to find out from someone else, and if she didn't the topic would come up somehow, and she'd feel like a prat for not telling him. But she didn't want to. She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to chance becoming a blubbering mess again, and didn't want to detract from the twins' party.

[rar_anthony]

Anthony grinned. "Thanks. The girl at the flower shop asked me what sort of flowers my girlfriend liked, and when I didn't answer right away, she started firing questions at me--what's her favourite colour, how does she dress, all sorts of things. Finally I just pointed at these. She approved of my choice." He laughed and set them on the coffee table.

Lisa was making faces again. Anthony wondered if she realised she was doing it. He cocked his head, wondering why Terry wasn't at her side. "Everything all right?"

[rar_katie]

Katie stood in the kitchen, rooting about for a bottle opener. She could hear Dean's laughter and smiled. This was nice. Being out with friends. She didn't want to go sit next to him and be all couple-y tonight. It was a comforting thing to do - stick by his side, have that reassuring physical contact that he was there. But she did it too often, using Dean as a shield to protect herself from people and situations she didn't want to deal with.

She was in Lisa Turpin's house, after all. At some point, she'd have to deal with Lisa without Dean's calm and charm diffusing the situation. Might as well be today. Or maybe Lisa would be too busy with Terry to notice her. Yes, that would be good too.

[rar_parvati]

Parvati rushed into the kitchen, needing to get some more plates for her guests. "Oh, hey Katie, did you need something?" she asked, confused as to why she was looking through their drawers and cabinets. She didn't care, but it was sort of weird.

[rar_katie]

"Hey Parvati, do you have a bot-" the question was halfway out of her mouth when she spotted it on the counter, next to an open bottle of wine. "Bloody hell. What is it they say about hiding in plain sight? Sorry. I think I spent too much time on my broom today. My head's still in the sky." She smiled and shook her head, before using the bottle opener to open the white.

"Do you need a hand with anything?" she asked. Parvati seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.

[rar_parvati]

"No problem. Sometimes that happens." Parvati wasn't sure why Katie hadn't just used her wand, but figured it was better for the wine to use a corkscrew or something. She'd really need to learn more about drinking wine, though it did seem like overkill to worry about it. Or maybe she'd had one glass too many already.

"Oh, no. I just needed more plates." She took them out and smiled at Katie. They could wait another minute for something to put snacks on. "So how are you?"