Parvati Patil

Parvati Patil (born 1979 or 1980) is a witch who was in Harry Potter's year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was sorted into Gryffindor house, and soon became close friends with Lavender Brown. Her identical twin sister Padma Patil however was sorted into the house of Ravenclaw. Parvati joined Dumbledore's Army her fifth year, and was again a member in her seventh, participating in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Early Years
Parvati began attending Hogwarts in 1991 and was sorted into Gryffindor house, while her identical twin sister Padma was sorted into Ravenclaw. Parvati shared her dormitory with Hermione Granger and her best friend, Lavender Brown.

During her first flying lesson, Parvati came to the defence of housemate Neville Longbottom when Draco Malfoy threw away his Remembrall. Slytherin student Pansy Parkinson made fun of her for this.



Third Year
"She says I've got all the makings of a true Seer. I saw loads of stuff…"

- Parvati on Professor Trelawney

In her third year, Parvati began taking Divination, which soon became her favourite subject. She and Lavender grew close to Professor Trelawney, who believed that Parvati could be a Seer. She also alarmed Parvati by telling her to beware a red-haired man, making Parvati suspicious of Ron Weasley.

That year, when Professor Lupin taught his Defence Against the Dark Arts class about Boggarts, Parvati's greatest fear was revealed to be mummies, although this could be translated as a fear of death or a fear of being buried alive.

Fourth Year


Parvati attended the Yule Ball with Harry Potter in 1994. She wore dress robes and gold bracelets. She seemed to enjoy the attention she received for being the date of a famous wizard and was eager to dance. After being ignored by Harry, who was romantically interested in Cho Chang at the time, Parvati spent most of the evening with a boy from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, whom she dated for a time afterwards.

Parvati also enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures classes when they were taught by Professor Grubbly-Plank, as opposed to Rubeus Hagrid as she felt she was a better qualified teacher. After the Yule Ball, Parvati and Padma acted "very cool" towards their dates Harry and Ron - presumably because they felt they treated them poorly during the ball - ignoring them and refusing to dance.

Fifth Year


Parvati and Padma joined Dumbledore's Army in their fifth year, and it seemed their attitudes towards Harry and Ron had somewhat mellowed. During one meeting, Parvati produced such a good Reductor Curse that she reduced a table to dust. She and Lavender were quite upset that year by Dolores Umbridge's treatment of Professor Trelawney, whom Umbridge wanted to dismiss, but Headmaster Dumbledore managed to keep on. Parvati and Lavender were both enamoured of the new Divination professor, Firenze.

Her experience in the D.A. likely contributed to Parvati achieving an O.W.L. in Defence Against the Dark Arts; she is also known to have achieved O.W.L.s in Divination and Transfiguration.

Sixth Year
In her sixth year, Parvati had to convince her parents not to take her and her twin sister out of Hogwarts. She was disappointed not to be invited to the Slug Club by new Potions professor Horace Slughorn; in particular, to the party he hosted at Christmas, which she discussed with Hermione Granger.

That year, Parvati also became slightly dismayed by her best friend Lavender's romance with Ron Weasley. Although Parvati initially was supportive of her friend's feelings for Ron, as the two seemed to whisper and giggle about him before they began dating, Parvati was put off by the almost obsessive degree to which Lavender threw herself into the relationship, often snogging him in public, getting possessive when he was with another girl, pestering Harry with questions about his feelings for her, and giving him a necklace that read "my sweetheart". The two remained close, though.

Parvati and Padma returned home the morning after Albus Dumbledore's death at the end of the school year.

Seventh Year
In 1997, Lord Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic and attendance at Hogwarts became mandatory. Parvati returned for her seventh year and joined the second Dumbledore's Army, which was re-formed in order to oppose Professors Amycus and Alecto Carrow's teaching of the Dark Arts and anti-Muggle propaganda, as well as their cruel punishment of students. When Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to Hogwarts in 1998, the D.A. insisted on fighting Lord Voldemort's incoming army.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Parvati duelled with Travers, but helped Dean Thomas by shooting a Body-Bind Curse at Antonin Dolohov to prevent him from retaliating against Dean for stunning another Death Eater.

As neither Parvati nor Padma were listed among the casualties, they presumably survived the Second Wizarding War.



Physical appearance
"I still can't work out how you two got the two best-looking girls in the year."

- Dean Thomas on Harry Potter and Ron Weasley bringing the Patil twins to the Yule Ball

Parvati and Padma were described by Dean Thomas in 1994 as "the two best looking girls in the year". They both have long black hair and are of Indian descent. Parvati usually wore her hair in a plait. In the films, both Parvati and her sister Padma are always seen wearing silver necklaces with the letter "P" hanging from the chain around their necks and over their ties.

Personality and Traits
Parvati can be seen as the less serious of the Patil twins; like her friend Lavender Brown, she enjoys gossip and fashion, and the two were often seen whispering and giggling together. They also share a great interest in Divination and are relatively close to Professor Trelawney. Both girls could also be insensitive to others at times, such as when they pointed and laughed at Luna Lovegood's radish earrings, though Parvati was loyal to those she considered her friends and stood up to those who treated them poorly, such as when she defended Neville Longbottom against Draco Malfoy's taunts and comforted Professor Trelawney after Dolores Umbridge fired her. Parvati is also brave, as her sorting into Gryffindor house and participation in the final battle proves.

Magical Abilities and Skills
Divination: Parvati´s favourite subject at Hogwarts was Divination, in which she was very talented, according to Sybill Trelawney. She continued to take the subject on to N.E.W.T. level.

Defence against the Dark Arts: Parvati also seemed to be talented with Defensive spells. Three spells she could successfully cast include Riddikulus, the Reductor Curse and the Full body Bind Curse. She earned an OWL in this subject and continued on NEWT level.

Parvati also earned a Transfiguration OWL.

Padma Patil
"Parvati Patil's twin's in Ravenclaw, and they're identical. You'd think they'd be together, wouldn't you?"

- Hermione Granger

Padma Patil is Parvati's twin sister. The girls were separated once they began attending Hogwarts, as Parvati was sorted into Gryffindor and Padma into Ravenclaw, which also indicates differences in their character. Parvati appears to be less serious than her studious sister.



Lavender Brown
Lavender Brown was one of Parvati's roommates at Hogwarts and soon became her best friend. The two girls share many interests, including Divination, gossip, and fashion, and are both close to Professor Trelawney. They were often seen around school together, giggling and whispering. Parvati initially supported Lavender in her infatuation with Ron Weasley in their sixth year, but eventually became slightly dismayed with how intensely Lavender threw herself into the relationship. However, the two remained close.

Hermione Granger


Parvati and Lavender were not as close to their other roommate, Hermione Granger, as they were to each other. Hermione did not share the girls' interests, such as Divination and gossip, which occasionally led to conflict. For example, Parvati and Lavender were both offended on Professor Trelawney's behalf when Hermione made her disdain for the class clear in their third year. However, the girls do not seem to have disliked each other. In 1996, when Hermione was jealous of Lavender dating Ron Weasley, Parvati was noted to feel guilty over having laughed at Ron's cruel teasing of Hermione in Transfiguration, and the two girls discussed Hermione's attendance of the Slug Club Christmas party with Cormac McLaggen. Since Parvati looked "positively agog" at Hermione sharing this news with her, it can be assumed that Hermione seldom confided in her roommates.

Harry Potter
"Come on! We're supposed to dance!"

- Parvati trying to get Harry Potter to dance with her at the Yule Ball

Parvati was not particularly close to Harry Potter, a Gryffindor in her year, but the two attended the 1994 Yule Ball together. Parvati was initially pleased with Harry as a date, since his fame gained her a lot of attention. However, Harry neglected to ask Parvati to dance and spent most of the ball staring at Cho Chang, which upset Parvati and led to her leaving his side for a boy from Beauxbatons. Afterwards, Parvati treated Harry coolly, but this did not impact her decision to join Dumbledore's Army the following year. In their sixth year, Parvati and Harry both found themselves rather annoyed by their friends' exhibitionist romance. This may have also indicated her attitude towards Harry had mellowed back to a level of friendship.

Etymology

 * Pārvatī is the name of a Hindu goddess, consort of Shiva and daughter of the Himalayas. Parvati translates into "she of the mountains" in Sanskrit. It possible Parvati Patil's name, and her sister's, may have been somewhat inspired by the model Padma Parvati Lakshmi. Padma and Parvati are also characters in Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie, the latter known mostly as Parvati-the-witch.
 * Patil is a common Marathi surname in the state of Maharashtra, India.

Behind the scenes

 * In the film adaptations of the series, Parvati and Padma are portrayed as fraternal, rather than identical, twins. They are also shown to both be in Gryffindor, whereas in the books, Padma is in Ravenclaw.
 * In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the way Pansy Parkinson addresses Parvati suggests that the two were already familiar with one another, but this is never explored.
 * In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Binns calls Parvati "Miss Pennyfeather".
 * In the films, Parvati is first seen portrayed by actress Sitara Shah in Prisoner of Azkaban. In Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and Half-Blood Prince she has been portrayed by Welsh actress Shefali Chowdhury..
 * In the film version of Prisoner of Azkaban, Parvati's Boggart is shown to be a cobra, rather than a mummy.
 * In the film version of Goblet of Fire, Parvati is shown to spend a lot of time with her twin, Padma. However, in the books, she is seldom seen without her best friend, Lavender Brown.
 * In the film version of the Yule Ball, Parvati wears an Indian orange blouse and a pink skirt known in India as a "Laynga", gold bangles (known in India as Churia), and had gold braided into her hair (known in india as a Parandah Braid). She also seems to be closer to Hermione Granger than she seems to be in the books, and dances with the aide of Igor Karkaroff rather than a boy from Beauxbatons.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)

Notes and references
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