Lavender Forever

The Stacks

She was glad to be back at school, even though it was cold. Very cold. Castle. Stone walls. Drafty hallways. Arras to keep in the heat, anyone? Had it ever occurred to anyone that paintings on the walls and suits of armour did absolutely nothing for insulation? In fact, the suits of armour took away some of the heat. And it didn't have to be a pretty arras. And shouldn't someone do something about that wind. Of course, there were times when it was beneficial, but otherwise, it was absolutely horrid.

She held back a sneeze as she folded her icy hands into her sleeves, hoping to warm them up. One of her cold feet mindlessly tapped against the floor while waiting for the lesson to start. Giving up, she rested her elbows on the table. Lavender placed her head in her hands and tilted her head thoughtfully.

"What'd I say?" Parvati suddenly hissed, nudging her elbow. "Huh?"

Yes. Sitting in Quidditch stands watching Cedric in middle of winter. Bad.

"Lavender," Lavender began in a low monotone, frowning, "they're going to kick us out if we don't go now. Let's leave with a bit of dignity."

"Not that," Parvati muttered, smoothing out some of the crinkled pages of her textbook.

"If you stay here any longer watching him, you're going to be sick again."

"And?" asked Parvati accusingly.

"And I'm sick now," Lavender grumbled.

"So?" she pressed.

"It was worth it. Did you see the wind in his hair?" Lavender let out a dreamy sigh.

Grudgingly, Parvati admitted, "Yes. But-" She stopped herself as Professor Snape turned and regarded the class.

"While you were off all off," his face twisted into a look of disdain, "frolicking in the snow, I did a little marking." Snape paused dramatically to give the room a glare as if it was the class' fault everyone actually did their homework. There were stifled groans and slumped shoulders.

She really was glad to be back. Truly. Who wanted to be at home, hugging a nice, warm blanket on her couch in front of the grand marble fireplace when one could be in cold room filled with jars of Merlin-knows-what, being told that she was incompetent?

With a sigh, she began fishing for a fresh citrus scented handkerchief.

"Work," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "reflects on an individual…"

Warm, comfy couch with rabbit? Cold, sitting five feet away from Draco Malfoy? Well, she could do that at home, too. As quietly as possible, she blew her nose.

"…and the work in this class as been abysmal." His gaze swept across the room, landing accusingly and he took a few steps away from Lavender before he asked, "What is definition of abysmal?"

Hermione's hand shot up immediately, accompanied by a few snickers from the Slytherins.

Dammit, she wanted to start brewing something soon so she could pretend to ignore the fact that Parvati had once again created a large flame to finish the potion faster. This time, there was no way Lavender was going to make it smaller again. Stirring rapidly was better than watching her fingers turn blue and purple. Pretty in her mind. Bad in reality.

"No one?" the teacher who could greatly benefit from a change in shampoo asked. At the odd gleam in his eyes, a few Slytherins put their hands up and Snape shook his head, a slight smile playing across his lips that were awfully chapped for someone who was an expert at brewing potions. He gestured at Blaise, then added, "And a point off for everyone who doesn't know the definition. That brings us to twelve points off Gryffindor."

Furthermore, he deducted three as Hermione made the uttermost strangest faces and practically fell out of her seat during Blaise's soft reply. After much grumbling, they were listening to Snape explain a forgetfulness potion when Seamus suddenly shouted that there weren't twelve people from Gryffindor in Potions, costing them to two points.

Lunch was mainly spent listening to the boys in her class bitch and moan about Snape in between bites of food; Seamus and Ron took turns indignantly insisting that they were all baited.

The fire raged in the common room, giving off an incredible warmth that was, unfortunately, severely lacking in the rest of the school. Seamus and Dean took seats on the opposite end of the room, talking loudly about music groups as Neville alternated between keeping Travis, or whatever his toad's name was, from leaping away and trying to do homework.

Lavender curled up in a chair close to the fire, tilting her Charms text towards the lamp separating her and Parvati as if it would help her concentrate. She could hear Parvati scribbling, which aggravated her even more. With a loud sigh, Lavender stared at the snickering flames.

After several months, which were more like a year, she decided that Operation Quidditch Snake was a failure. Of course, she figured she would probably end up changing her mind as soon as she saw him again, but for now, it was off. Now she had to do something about The Cedric Problem. She walked into him—even literally—in the halls and it was a now or never situation. There was no way this was going to turn into another O.Q.S.

"I need my glasses," she declared to no one in particular, standing up and leaving her book behind to save her seat. She paused on her way to the dorms to peer over Parvati's shoulder.

Behind her Transfiguration text, Parvati had been drawing in long blue hair on some of the guys photographed her Witch Weekly and giving them dresses as they all gave her doleful looks. She turned and looked at Lavender, then indignantly flipped a few pages back and gestured at the results of the quiz What Do You Look For In A Wizard?

"It says that I'm a galleon-digger!" Parvati exclaimed, eyes wide. She made an irritable motion with her right hand and rolled her eyes. "Stupid thing. What's wrong with a little financial security?"

"You don't need financial security," Lavender said pointedly, wiping her nose with a handkerchief. "Your parents are rich. I think you should just admit you're a galleon-digger-"

"But I'm not!" insisted Parvati.

"I mean, when it comes down to it, I'll admit that I have galleon-digging tendencies…" Lavender paused, fiddling with the hem of her sleeves. "Parvati?"

"What?" asked Parvati, who started doodling over a picture of a smirking female who was smirking no more.

Lavender tilted her head to look at the ceiling for a moment, pondering how to phrase it. "I've got a problem."

"Well, we've all got problems," came Parvati's optimistic response as she twirled her hair idly.

"I've got a problem."

"You said that already."

"But I said it in a different tone," replied Lavender with a slight sniff.

Parvati sighed, waving a hand over the magazine to make the ink dry more quickly. "What is it?"

"Who," Lavender said, brows furrowing. "Who."

"What?"

"Who is it."

Shaking her head, Parvati swung her legs down from the armrest. "Alright. Fine. Who is it? Oh. Never mind." She picked up her bag, tossed a suspicious glance at Seamus and Dean, then strolled towards the stairs.

Lavender grabbed her textbook and threw her own bag over a shoulder and followed.

Once they climbed up to their room and sat on their respective beds, Parvati asked, "What about him?"

Lavender tilted her head from side to side as she played with her tie. "Should I tell him? I mean, it's getting ridiculous…"

"Yes, it is," Parvati said firmly. "I'll go kick him in the shins for you. He'll never want to bug us again."

"No!" Lavender reared back. Dropping her voice, she muttered, "Don't kick him in the shins."

Scowling, Parvati shot back, "He knows you like him. He's known it forever. Stupid boy. Puts the 'ass' in class. Slimy little git-"

"Cedric Diggory?" asked Lavender in disbelief. "But he's really nice." A warm, tingling feeling washed over her. "And he's so pretty."

Parvati's eyebrows knitted together for a brief moment. "Oh, no, not Cedric. Pucey. I'll make him cry," she said rubbing her hands together with glee.

"But Adrian's nice, too," Lavender protested. "You just don't know him like I do."

"And you don't know him like I do," Parvati shot back.

"What'd he do to you?"

Parvati looked annoyed. "You'll just deny it or start talking about how wonderful he is."

"I won't."

"You will."

"No. Seriously," Lavender insisted. "I won't." She pursed her lips and held them together with her fingers.

Parvati rolled her eyes. "He's so cocky," she began, eyes drifting around the room.

No, he isn't. The word's 'confident'. Confident. According to Witch Weekly, few people at Adrian's age are confident. He's the lucky one in a billion.

"Self-centred and egotistic…" she said, marking off her fingers.

What? He's the nicest guy around.

Well, could it be because he likes your father's investments and hopes to get something for himself?

No. No. Of course not. We've been through this many times.

Meeting Lavender's gaze, Parvati raised her eyebrows and added, "No matter what conversation he gets into, he manages to turn the topic around within two minutes."

One can't blame him for being such a skilled, charismatic conversationalist.

"And the topic?" Parvati shook her head, rolling her eyes again. "It's always him and his life."

That is not true. Not true at all. It took her many conversations to gather all she knew about him.

"He goes around the hallways burping in other people's ears."

See, one had to like people for the whole person. The burping factor's merely a quirk that made him special.

"The way he basically slurps down his breakfast is quite unnerving."

Why were you looking at him during breakfast? Lavender thought, feeling a slight twitch in her left eye.

Her tone turned to one of immense distaste. "I heard that one ball, he used a light spell and pointed his wand in people's faces, going, 'Squint if you w-'"

The door had swung open and in came Hermione, arms wrapped around a large book. She walked slightly lopsided as her bag was practically overflowing with many more. Tossing Lavender and Parvati disdainful glances, she asked, "Talking about boys again?" Before they could answer, she continued. "If you spent as much time on schoolwork as you do talking about boys, you would do a lot better at school."

Parvati rolled her eyes and continued. "He uses the term 'Mudblood' and-" She paused, turning her head to look at Hermione, who seemed to have leaned in slightly. "Can we help you with something?"

There was a long pause. Hermione straightened up and smoothed her robes, settling with an, "I'd study if I were you two" before picking up her bag and walking out.

"You know whenever she gets a bloke?"

"What about it?"

"We bug her about it."

"Of course. It's in every rule book."

--

"Lavender, could I get those boxes your parents send your potions in?" Hermione asked as she reached for the bacon.

"Threw them out," muttered Lavender.

"Well, when you get more…"

"Sure," said Lavender flatly. She swung her legs idly as she watched Seamus heap spoonfuls of ketchup onto his sausages, then helpfully began splattering some on Dean's plate. With a sigh, she once again peered at the letter her parents sent her.

Sweetie,

Your mother and I are disappointed in your marks for your first term. Why didn't you tell us about them over the holidays? Try raising your Transfiguration mark by 8%, your Potions mark by 20%, Herbology by 5%, Defense Against The Dark Arts by 13%, Astronomy by 3%, History of Magic by 10%. Keep up the good work in Charms. We're going to some bookstores and picking up a few books for you to read and catch up. Otherwise, we may need to find you a tutor. Try to get an 83% average for the year.

Also, don't worry. I think your mother's about to break down and get you that horse you've been wanting since you were five.

Dad

Parvati leaned over, peering at the letter before fixing a steady glare to someone behind her. "What do you have in Potions?"

"Dunno…"

"How do your parents know your mark when you barely know your marks?"

"She'd know her marks if she kept track of them with a chart," said Hermione.

Lavender idly picked at her breakfast and Seamus helpfully scooped some ketchup onto her plate. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Are you alright?" Parvati whispered.

"I'm fine."

There was a pause. Her voice oddly strained, Parvati piped up, "Look over at the Ravenclaw table. Near the end. Blond hair, starting to get up."

Lavender tilted her head, trying to look. "I think so. He's going for the doors now, right?"

"Yup. Did you see him? His forehead was so shiny you could point the smallest light spell at him and his forehead could direct ships for kilometres," Parvati said with a giggle that sounded slightly forced.

"I thought he was cute!" Lavender replied, crumpling and stuffing the letter into her bag as she rose slightly to get a better view.

"Cute for a light reflector."

As they launched into a fit of giggles, they ignored the people rolling their eyes and muttering. "Auw, but he really is cute. Let's follow him around."

"His owl's more cute," said Parvati, sobering up. "Did you get a good look at that thing?"

"It should be a crime to have an owl that cute," murmured Lavender in mockingly tragic tones.

"Maybe we shouldn't follow him, you know? Might meet the hot girlfriend."

"Or the hot boyfriend," Lavender answered. They dissolved into giggles again.

"You shouldn't be so needy."

"I'm not needy."

"Needy."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Shut up," Seamus said irritably.

--

The idea came during another Potions class, as Parvati absentmindedly stirred the cauldron while reading Lavender's Witch Weekly. Lavender threw the ingredients in and read the magazine upside-down. Next to a picture of a smug-looking Jessica Krol, the magazine offered a recipe to "make your hair curly! Just like Jessica's!"

Lavender never cared for sleek hair. She never cared for golden hair. Hair after braids had been taken out always formed an odd cloud around her head. But curly hair? It was a dream. Especially when it was left down, though her parents disapproved of that. Guests. Blahblahblah. Lack of manners, blahblahblah. Go to your room, blahblahblah. You're not going to get a winged horse for your birthday at this rate, young lady, blahblahblah.

Of course, the magazine ended up being confiscated, with ten points deducted from Gryffindor and menacing glares from Professor Snape and other Gryffindors, but in between a debate about who should ask for the magazine back, Lavender and Parvati decided to try making it.

Asking for the potion from their parents, Parvati reasoned during Transfiguration as her own copy was taken along with some points, wouldn't be the same. Making this potion was quite different: whereas all the work done in Potions had no true use in the real world as far as those two could see, this one was almost a necessity.

That meant they had to find another issue of the Witch Weekly. After a delicious dinner filled with steak and potatoes, Parvati and Lavender scampered to the Ravenclaw table, smiling brightly at Padma with assortments of candies hidden in their hands. Padma eyed them suspiciously, though she had a faint smile.

"Padma," Parvati began sweetly, though Lavender personally thought she looked slightly homicidal, "we were wondering if we could borrow your Witch Weekly."

"We have candy," Lavender added, thrusting out some bubble gum. She waved to Terry and Lisa with a candy-clenched fist. "It's really good."

Lisa looked from left to right and went back to her dinner while Terry waved weakly.

Padma shook her head, as if getting a migraine, putting down her eating utensils. "Why do you need one?"

Lavender absentmindedly unwrapped a piece of gum and popped it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Well, there's this recipe for a potion in there that-"

"Can we borrow it?" Parvati asked impatiently as she rocked from her heels to the balls of her feet.

"What happened to yours?"

Parvati sighed, crossing her arms. "McGonagall took it. Can't you just lend yours to us?"

"What happened to yours?" Padma repeated, this time to Lavender.

"Uh," Lavender said to her shoes, "Professor Snape kinda confiscated that one."

"You two," Padma groaned, rubbing her temples.

"So melodramatic," Parvati said jokingly to Lavender, though an irritated tone was apparent as they left the hall.

Over the course of the week, they tried asking a few Hufflepuffs in their year. Though Lavender and Hannah exchanged greetings in the hallways, the pigtailed blonde clutched her bandage-covered bag and made it clear that there was no way in Merlin's name Lavender was ever going to get her copy. Especially if the teachers had already confiscated not one, but two, of theirs. As for Ravenclaws, Lisa had just laughed and asked, "That trash?" several times when they mentioned it.

Much to Parvati's chagrin, Lavender refused to ask someone in the higher years, and thus, they were halfway to the Slytherin common room to ask Pansy, rehearsing an apology speech, when Parvati suggested they go to the library to look it up. Anything beat giving that little witch satisfaction.

Lavender and Parvati made a half-ass attempt of looking it up. The first day they tried, they were distracted by Ernie and a few other Hufflepuffs, who were talking about the couples of the school. Though that changed as soon as the two joined the table. No matter how hard Parvati and Lavender tried, somehow the conversation was always steered back to Harry Potter and His Effect On Gryffindor And The School As A Whole.

After that, Madam Pince lectured at them for not putting the books in the proper locations. On several occasions, they just went to the Great Hall for snacks instead. Another night they got into a shouting match with Pansy and Tracy that ended up with Draco sending Professor Snape in their direction and Lavender and Parvati losing another point.

For a week, they halted their efforts altogether, opting to read ahead and to regain House points. This resulted in Hermione making the strangest faces in their direction as Parvati answered questions. At one point, Lavender swore Hermione would have fallen out of her chair with one hand raised and the other hand gripping the edge of the table in desperation to add more information.

"Glory hog," Parvati had muttered.

Finally, it was raining out and Lavender needed to read up on the lecture she missed because she spent History of Magic doodling on the front few pages of her textbook. Instead of looking for the history book first, they went to the potions section, where they found a book with the recipe rather quickly. As Lavender read about magical discoveries, Parvati copied down the recipe and instructions.

When Parvati finished, they sat there for a moment as Lavender tried to decide whether or not to borrow the abnormally large book. Finally, Parvati picked a number and told Lavender to guess and Lavender found herself hauling the book to get it checked out.

"You know," Parvati murmured thoughtfully as they strolled out into the corridors, "we could have just asked Madam Pince where the book was."

Lavender wrinkled her nose, turning to look at Parvati. "True, but I didn't feel like getting yelled at again."

Parvati shook her head, looking thoughtful. "No, but that happened on the second night. We could have asked her earlier on."

"We might have gotten yelled at earlier on," said Lavender pointedly.

Parvati started nodding, then furrowed her eyebrows. "Why'd she yell at us again?"

Lavender managed to shrug with the book in her arms. "Can't remember. Probably wasn't important."