She couldn't have been more grateful that Padma was free tonight. Oliver had been out for far longer than Mandy would have thought necessary, and she was in desperate need of her friend to both discuss and distract from her worries. Padma's visit had prompted a cleaning of the flat, which Mandy did the muggle way, taking several hours and putting a portion of her nervous energy to good use. Productive worrying she thought with a nod, as she moved into the kitchen, surveying the culmination of her culinary efforts. Mandy had always liked to cook, found it soothing when stressed, and had hence perhaps over-prepared for the night. Doesn't matter. Plenty of left overs to take to work for lunch. Two baskets of muffins, a mound of biscuits, a casserole and a homemade pizza might have been pushing it for just the two of them, she realised in retrospect, sending a stasis charm towards the casserole and levitating it and a good portion of the muffins to the fridge.

There was wine in the fridge, a stack of sure-to-be awful movies next to the telly and, right on time, a knock on the door. Ever the punctual one. Mandy made her way to the door, opening it with a smile.

"Hey, sweetie," Padma said and walked in and greeted Mandy with a one-armed hug as the other arm was filled near to bursting with a bag of what Padma considered to be the essentials--chocolate in its various forms, her favorite tea, some muggle movies, nail varnish, and her fuzzy slippers. She looked over towards Mandy's kitchen and her jaw dropped. "You've been busy." She raised an eyebrow at Mandy. "We're not going to eat all that, are we?"

Having returned the hug with a tight squeeze of her own, Mandy avoided her friend's hazel eyes with a slight blush. "I needed something to do." She twisted her fingers around a lock of hair, offering Padma a vaguely embarrassed smile. "You're welcome to take some home with you. I just needed to take my mind off of things and went a little overboard." Taking the bag from Padma's hand, Mandy placed it on the kitchen table and set about emptying it, nodding with approval at the chocolate and grinning widely when she found the nail varnish. Love having friends. "Do we want real food or junk food first? And what do you want to watch?"

Padma followed Mandy over to the kitchen table. "I know I should say 'real food', but I really like the look of those biscuits," she said with a sheepish grin. "You pick the movie, though, please. After having my head stuck in folders all day, I'm not sure if my judgment can be trusted." She helped herself to a biscuit and moaned as she took a bite. "I think I love you, Mandy."

Fishing out a particular favourite from the movies Padma had brought, Mandy gave a smile. "You brought Drop Dead Gorgeous; the feeling's mutual." Lazily levitating a selection of junk food over to the coffee table, Mandy set up the movie and settled onto the couch, unable to keep her mind from registering that the last person she'd watched a movie with had been Oliver. Stifling a sigh, she hit play, a smirk appearing in anticipation of an underrated gem of a film.

Padma sat next to Mandy on the couch, pulling her legs up beside her and smiling as the movie started. "I adore this movie. I'm always caught between laughter and hysterics when Gladys says, 'The swan ate my baby, the swan ate my baby!'" She looked at Mandy beside her and even though she was smiling at what Padma had just said, her smile seemed forced and their were dark circles under her eyes. Touching her on the arm, Padma said, "How are you holding up, sweetie?"

Though she'd anticipated talking about...things, Mandy wasn't quite prepared for Padma to dive into the discussion so soon. She lay her head on her friend's shoulder, allowing the familiar dialogue to distract her from answering for a few moments before a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "I hate this. I don't even know how I'm meant to feel." She brought her legs up, hugging them to her chest, continuing in a small voice. "We hadn't even been properly together for twenty-four hours when it happened. I get all panicked and upset and I'm not sure if that's over the top for where we are right now, but then if I'm not worrying about him, I feel like I should be." She fiddled with a lock of hair, curling into as tight a ball as she possibly could, the action a subconscious effort to hold in the worry and panic she felt at the situation. "I don't know what I'm meant to do. I hate not knowing," she finished in a whisper.

Padma draped her arm around Mandy's small frame. "I think you're doing all you can, given the situation," she said, trying to reassure her friend. "It's going to be okay. I know he's seriously hurt-" she broke off with a wince, "but he's young and healthy, and I think that will help him get through this. And when he wakes up and sees that you're still there and have been waiting and worrying for him, he'll know he made the right decision to choose you above all the women he probably had chasing after him."

he'll know he made the right decision to choose you above all the women he probably had chasing after him. The words that should have been encouraging still caused a pang in her heart. Nodding against Padma's shoulder, Mandy sat up, arms still clasped tightly around her knees. "Ok," she agreed quietly, unable to give voice to the maelstrom of thoughts wheeling through her mind. Leaning her head back against the couch, she stared at the screen, only partly focussed on the movie. Deciding to opt for some comfort food, she lazily used her wand to levitate some chocolate from the coffee table, offering it to Padma first.

"Thanks," Padma said, helping herself to a large chunk of chocolate. I forgot how bad for the diet comforting friends can be. She was grateful that Mandy had wanted company; she had spent the day stewing over how Michael had treated her, Pansy and Cormac. It was a relief to get lost in a friend's troubles for a bit.

She really hope there would be some good news about Oliver soon; it hurt her to see Mandy so unhappy. Padma didn't understand why life seemed to be so unfair to some people. First the total toerag of a husband and then her boyfriend getting bashed in a Quidditch accident.

Grabbing her own chunk of chocolate, Mandy savoured the first bite as she decided to enjoy company of her friend and a good film. Just having Padma near was a comfort, proof that the lonliness that had been plaguing her was unwarranted. She was so grateful to have reestablished their friendship, more than she could say right now. Having Padma around really did make everything seem less gloomy, the desolate fog she'd been existing in seeming to lift with her presence. It'll be ok.

Padma grabbed a bottle of nail varnish and smiled at Mandy. "What do you think?" she said, reading the label on the bottle. "Aphrodite's Pink Nightie? I think this would look smashing on your toes." She backed away to the end of the sofa and took one of Mandy's small feet onto her lap. She thought back to the countless number of times she and Mandy had done each others' nails in the Ravenclaw dormitory and she grinned at the feeling of familiarity it brought back.

"Seriously? I don't know whether that name's fabulous or flabberghasting," Mandy replied, settling into their long-established practice with ease. Padma's grin prompted one of her own as Mandy leaned her side against the back of the couch, welcoming the distraction her friend provided. "I've got a fantastically strumpetous shade of purple for you later, if you want," she added, curling her hair behind her ear. She'd done quite enough worrying for tonight. She was just going to relax and enjoy Padma's company. Starting now.


{Summary: Mandy and Padma have a girls' night. Chocolate, movies and nail varnish abound.}