The little Austin pulled up before the small hotel in Vlorë, finding a parking place by the side. This was their third day in Albania, and they'd just finished scouting out around the area that they thought You-Know-Who might be. Late tonight they'd be sneaking across the waters to the area above the naval base that all the signs pointed to. Lavender jumped out of the passenger side and closed the door behind her.
On the way to Vlorë, Lavender had been almost constantly casting the suite of detection spells, several times getting positives that You-Know-Who had been within yards of the road. Once the spell had even informed her that the wraith had left someone when they died just a few feet from where they'd passed. None of the results revealed anything that was really new, so they'd be having to investigate the grove above the naval base after dark.
Lavender really wanted to just find a bed and get some rest. The casting had taken a lot out of the twelve-year-old. As she trudged up to the hotel though, she got the idea that she wasn't going to be taking a nap any time soon.
A five-year-old girl burst out of the hotel, crying "baba!"
Her Uncle Charlie went down on one knee, and cried back at the onrushing girl, "Elira!"
Lavender turned to her uncle, just as Elira jumped into Charlie's arms. "Does Lucy know about this?" she asked.
"Lucy set Dashurie and me up in Skofia Loka," Charlie said. "We've been together off and on of seven years now. Elira, this is your cousin Lavender."
Elira twisted around in her father's arms, and shyly said, "hi." Lavender had to admit that the little girl was quite cute with her pixie cut black hair and dimple.
"Lavender, go to the front desk and ask for the key for Zeshkan," Charlie said. "I've got a daughter to take out for candy before delivering her back to her aunt, who by the way, is running the desk right now."
Lavender barely paid attention to the aunt, though she cataloged the exotically dressed lady enough that if her uncle asked, she could describe her fully, and identify her later. The key had a number two on it, and she headed up to the room. She really wanted to just collapse, but she knew better. This was not her first time accompanying her uncle on a job after all. It was, however, the first time she could use spells to make sure it was safe.
Lavender had spent a lot of time in charms learning the spells to detect traps and prevent bugging. Asking Flitwick about that had been one of the first things she'd done when she had visited his office the third week of school. (It wouldn't be a good idea to be too eager to learn those spells.) There were much more advanced versions, of course, but this time she wasn't worried about a Russian assault squad interrupting her shower. That had been rather frightening in South Ossetia.
She entered the room, closing the door behind her before casting the array of spells. There was nothing there, not that she expected it, but it paid to be sure, since she was for the moment alone in a foreign country. At least she could speak all the local dialects this time.
Lavender dropped face first onto the bed, and swiftly fell asleep. She knew she'd need the nap before tonight's exploration.
The call from Seamus had surprised Parvati. To be honest, she'd never expected to get a call from any of her classmates. She was sure that it hadn't been a cheap call, but every time she'd tried to wrap up the call, he'd draw her back into the conversation. They'd talked about Hogwarts. They talked about Harry, Hermione, and baby Jimmy. They talked about songs they'd like to sing, and where to sing them. They'd even talked about Herbology! They didn't talk about their kiss, though. In fact, Parvati was convinced that Seamus had forgotten about it, or at least hadn't returned her feelings.
That was before he finally got to ended the call. He'd ended it by saying "I love you." Parvati had been shocked, unable to stop herself from the automatic reply long trained into her by her parents, "I love you too."
Parvati was twelve. She wasn't supposed to have a boyfriend yet, at least according to her parents rules. She wasn't supposed to be in love.
But Parvati had kissed Seamus, and dreamed of kissing him again. She'd spent over a hour talking to him on the phone, and she'd told him that she loved him. She couldn't deny it to herself, as she stood by the mirror in her room, already undressed for bed. As she looked at her growing breasts, surely big enough now to require a bra, Parvati judged herself to no longer be a little girl. True, little Ginny Weasley might be a slight bit more developed than her ... who was she kidding, Ginny was more developed her, for sure. It was her and Padma's argument that had finally got her a bikini.
"Still thinking about Seamus," Padma said from the door. Parvati shook her head. "Mum wants to talk to you before you go to bed. She's in Dad's study."
Parvati turned around to look at her sister. It wasn't that different than looking at a mirror, sometimes. They were mirror twins, after all, with Parvati being right handed and Padma being left handed. And since both had undressed for bed, Parvati's admitted better fashion sense wasn't a factor, both of them only having their plain white undergarments on, and that only due to their time of the month. "I guess I have to. Bury me in the back garden and get Ron to speak at my funeral. Seamus probably has some suitable lost girlfriend Irish lament he knows to sing."
"It's not going to be that bad," Padma replied. "Dad went out, so it's just Mum."
That was a positive, Parvati thought as she walked down to her father's study. Without Father present, it indicated that the talk was serious, but there was no punishment involved, because father was always there when punishments were handed out. Her parents never gave out punishments without the other present.
Parvati opened the door to the study, and found her mother seated not behind her father's desk, but on the love seat. This was another good sign. Parvati took her seat on the other end and waited for her mother to speak.
"Parvati, you are growing up, and when I heard you end your call with your friend Seamus, it led me to believe that we need to reestablish some rules, and perhaps clarify them," her mother began. "First, I really need to know about your relationship with Mister Finnagin. When did you meet him?"
"I sat next to him after we were sorted," Parvati began. "He's a Catholic, and always says his faith's grace before meals, only he almost sung it before he picked up his fork and tore into the feast. Since we're both Gryffindors, we where in all of each other's classes, but we weren't often paired with each other. To be honest, he wasn't the best student at first, not until Hermione hit her brill idea to help each other study and beat the Ravenclaws, which we did.
"At first, I really didn't think that Seamus was contributing much, but as we studied, I got to know him. He's funny, and he can sing. When we rode back on the Hogwarts Express was the first time I really heard him sing. I hope when his voice breaks he still has a good one, because his treble is ... well divine might be the right word. He can make a song soar.
"On Valentine's Day, we decided that Harry and Hermoine needed to have a date, as she was pregnant with Harry's child. Somehow that evolved to all of us having a date in the same classroom. We drew names at random. Sally-Anne drew Dean, Lavender drew Ron, and I drew Seamus. Poor Neville was going to be left out until Ginny Weasley had to spend a day in Gryffindor when her mother got hurt. Anyway, we all thought that it wasn't much, and only Harry needed to have a good date, which he did.
"Turns out we all got good dates. Apparently Percy, one of our prefects sat down with the boys and gave them a few good tips. Seamus even had chicken instead of the steaks that all the other boys had, and I know he loves beef. He even turned our water into wine ... it was a special occasion ... and it was good wine too, judging by what father taught me.
"Seamus was the first person outside of family that I told of my dream to sing at the Royal Albert Hall during the Proms. That's why Dean gave me the painting of Seamus and I singing next to the conductor in the hall that I have in my room now.
"Last week, Seamus was my first kiss, and I started it. We'd, the rest of the girls in my dorm, that is, had been talking about Hermione's first real kiss with Harry, and I looked over at Seamus. The next thing I knew I was standing in front of him, and we kissed.
"Our lips met, and his hand went into my hair, tilting my head just a bit. My arms went around him, as his other hand slid down my back. It wasn't until the gust of wind blew up my dress, and his hand touched my bare bottom that I realized how deep the kiss was going. We kind of jumped apart then. He fell into the hedge."
"I see," her mum said. "It seems that it is time to remind you of boundaries again. You are not supposed to be dating until at least the third Hogsmead visit of your fourth year. You may go on joint trips to Hogwarts in mixed company during your third year, but if I hear that you are getting hot and heavy with that Irish boy or any other boy expect withdrawal of privileges
"You will make no further visits, anywhere without proper undergarments. That being said, it is obvious that your current undergarments are not suitable for the maturity of your body. Tomorrow I shall take you shopping for something in lace, along with your sister of course. As for long calls with Seamus, I shall not stop them, but do not expect to see him anywhere but perhaps in Diagon Ally shopping for your school goods until the Hogwarts Express. I think you've spent enough time away from home for the Summer.
"Do not even think of even slightly stretching the rules. Right now they are light. If you push, we'll start looking for an arrangement for you," her mum finished. "And that's after we lower the boom on you with more restrictions. Come home like Hermione, and you won't be going back to school."
Parvati knew that her mother was serious about the rules, and she had been pushing them a bit. She nodded her acceptance before she silently rejoiced in the one good piece of news hidden in the lecture. She was going to get a woman's undergarments instead of the plain white childish ones she had one, including her first bra. Responding to her mother's silent signal that she was done, Parvati stood, bowed to her mother, and started to leave the room.
"Oh, and no more water to wine," her mother added.
With a sudden bit of mischievousness, she turned around, smiled, stuck out her tongue, then left the room for bed, feeling much better than she had been.