Shades of Lavender

Chapter Three: When Zachie met Pixie

Lavender looked at him, agitation infecting her hands like a disease. She fidgeted with her necklace, the necklace that Parvati had given her. "I'm bi actually, Smith."

Zacharias did a double take. Then, "Yes, but once word gets out that you fancy Patil, they're going to call you gay. You know that, right? And, like I said, the wizarding community doesn't think too kindly of gay people."

Lavender shook. There was a horrible lump in her throat. "I don't see why it's any of your business," she said fiercely, blinking back tears.

"Well, it wouldn't be except that I need your assistance and I think we can come to some sort of agreement." Lavender did not like the way this conversation was going.

"You're going to blackmail me?"

"No," Zacharias said. "I'm not that evil."

"Well, what then?"

"Okay," Zacharias started to look uncomfortable again. "I really need to get Sarah and all the rumours off my back. You need to stop the rumours about your sexuality."

"No, I need to hold off the rumours about my sexuality," Lavender said, interrupting. "So far there haven't been any rumours. I should know. Parvati's the gossip queen at this school."

"More to the point," Zacharias snapped. "There's one sure-fire way that we can solve this."

"What?" Lavender asked. She felt extremely clueless at this point and was all too aware that she was sniffling in an unbecoming manner.

"Do you want to go out with me?" Zacharias said, raising an eyebrow casually.

Lavender looked bewildered. "But, we were..." It hit her. "Oh!"

Zacharias rolled his eyes. "Finally, she gets it."

"So, you're saying that we can cover each other's asses?"

"Well, I'd put it a little more eloquently than that," he said wryly.

Lavender glared. "Why the hell aren't you in Slytherin? You're just using my misfortune to gain from a situation."

"Is 'Slytherin' your biggest insult?" Lavender could detect a hint of laughter in his voice, which just made her madder.

"Don't pick at the inconsequential parts of what I'm saying to avoid the truth about what you're trying to do. It's disgusting." She was well aware that she was now, embarassingly, yelling but any rational behaviour was completely out of her hands.

"It's really not," Zacharias said earnestly. "After all, we're both getting something out of it. If I hadn't needed help myself, I wouldn't have said anything about your little ... crush."

"It's not a crush!"

"And you say that I avoid the important parts of conversations," Zacharias muttered. "Look, Brown, I'm not trying to insult you, or blackmail you. I'm trying to help you."

"As well as yourself," Lavender said, but she was calming down. "Would this cunning little plan of yours mean we had to spend every waking moment together?"

Zacharias looked slightly horrified. "No! Just the usual Hogwarts dating behaviour."

"What? Spending every waking moment together? Clearly, Smith, you haven't seen much of the dating scene at Hogwarts." Clearly, she thought privately, he hadn't thought that part through properly.

Zacharias thought for a moment. "Well, we've both got close friends who we want to spend time with in our own houses," he said, but he sounded unconvinced.

To her dismay, Lavender found herself warming to the idea of a 'cover'. "That's never going to work. For the first week, we're going to have to eat together, sit in class together and do everything together."

"Bloody hell," Zacharias muttered. "I'm getting all the downsides of being in a couple without the benefits."

"You suggested it," Lavender said. "Besides, there will be benefits..."

Zacharias looked slightly horrified. "Must there be?"

"You'll get the rumours about you and Sarah off your back," Lavender said, amused by his discomfort despite herself.

"Of course." He looked slightly happier. "There is that. So, do we have an agreement?"

Lavender wandered over to one of the bushes, ripped off a leaf and pulled into pieces absentmindedly. On the one hand, Zacharias was a bit of a prat and she still felt like she was being used. Plus, there were the consequences of going back to Gryffindor tower and telling everyone that she was dating the one guy outside of Slytherin that everyone, herself included, thought was a smarmy git.

On the other hand, there was Pansy Parkinson finding out about her feelings and ruining her life forever. Never let it be said, Lavender thought, that I'm not melodramatic. "Alright, we'll give it a week trial. If it doesn't work out, I get to break up with you spectacularly in the middle of the Great Hall at Breakfast."

"It's a deal," Zacharias said, smiling and holding out his hand. Lavender shook it. His hands were large and strong and there was a small callus on his right thumb.

"What's that from?" she asked curiously, touching the red mark.

Zacharias shrugged. "There's this hook on my saxophone that this thumb sits under..."

"You play the saxophone?" Lavender asked.

"Thought everyone knew that," he said. "I've been mocked enough for it. When I was at a Muggle primary school we all had to learn an instrument. I decided, in my nine year old ignorance, that nothing but tenor saxophone was good enough. And I fell for it. Hard."

Lavender had never talked to someone who was in love with a musical instrument so she didn't quite know what to say. "Well," she said awkwardly, after a moment's silence, "we should probably get inside. The other girls are will be wondering where I am." This was quite untrue. Parvati would have told them that she'd gone outside to talk to Zacharias and they'd be analysing it at this moment.

"Okay," he said. "Well, I should really find out something about you first."

Lavender chewed her lower lip. "What do you want to know?"

Zacharias thought for a moment. "Why is your hair such a strange colour? I've been wondering that for a while now. I'm sure that it was brown last year."

Lavender grinned. "I went to Vietnam in the first month of summer with Dad. We were at this beach and I was bored so I decided to get my hair dyed. Except the dye was for Asian hair. So the blond went a little orange. Went wonderfully with my suntan."

He laughed. "No one's ever told you not to trust foreign wizards?"

"She wasn't a wizard. Dad's a Muggle."

"Oh." Zacharias nodded. "What about your Mum?"

"Dead," Lavender said brusquely. "Six years ago. Car accident. She was a Witch."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Lavender winced at how abrupt she sounded. "I'd really better get inside though."

"I'll walk you to Gryffindor Tower," he said. "Can't have my girlfriend wandering the castle by herself. Especially since she has no sense of direction," he added as Lavender started to stride towards the Forbidden Forest.

They walked in slightly awkward silence to Gryffindor Tower. Lavender was dreading the moment when she'd have to tell Parvati, Hermione and Daphne that she was dating the prat that, in a moment of madness, she had said she'd marry last night.

"Well, good night," she said, as they got to the Fat Lady. "I'll see you at breakfast. Have fun breaking the happy news to your housemates."

"Same to you," Zacharias said, pulling a wry face. "Sweet dreams, Brown."

Something wasn't quite right. "Um, Zacharias," Lavender said hesitantly. "I don't think that you'd call me Brown if we were dating."

He pulled a face. "I'm not calling you Lavender," he said. "It's three bloody syllables."

"You can talk, Zach-a-ri-as."

"I'll think of something," he said and walked into the darkness until all she could see was the faint gleam of his pale hair.

Lavender muttered the password and crept through the common room, where the glowing embers of the fire were the only light. Maybe they'll all be asleep, she thought. The idea was ridiculous and she almost laughed out loud.

She pushed open the door to the room, not without apprehension, and saw three pairs of dark eyes glaring at her. "Hi guys." Please don't be too nasty, she thought. Their reaction was not quite what she had expected.

"And just where have you been?" Parvati asked.

"It's past your curfew," Hermione continued. Lavender was confused for a second. She was fairly certain that she didn't have a curfew.

Daphne sighed. "This is just the last straw Lavender. We don't know what we're going to do with you. Consorting with gits without our supervision."

"It's appalling behaviour," Hermione put in. "Really, I should just give you detention."

"So," Parvati said. "What went on at the late night stroll with Mister Zacharias Smith?"

Lavender bit her lip. Her love for Parvati was unrequited, as far as she was aware, and she wasn't really going out with Zacharias, but she still felt guilty. "He asked me out," she admitted.

Parvati whooped and Daphne let out a little cheer. Hermione, not one for letting her hair down, simply smiled broadly. "Wait," Parvati said. "You said yes, right?"

Lavender grinned despite herself. Their excitement was infectious, if somewhat surprising. "Yes."

Parvati let out another whoop of glee. "I knew it!"

Hermione laughed. "I knew that matchmaking plan of Harry's would come in handy sometime. You guys were very cosy at the meeting."

Had they been? Lavender thought. All she could remember was being nasty to him about the Sarah incident. Now that wasn't even a possible topic of conversation.

"Well, what's he like?" Daphne said impatiently.

Lavender grimaced. This was the part she had been most worried about, she realised. She had never actually straight-out lied to her friends, least of all Parvati. They assumed she was straight. Parvati assumed that she had completely platonic feelings towards her. And, she wasn't about to start lying. Twisting the truth, yes. Ignoring parts of questions, yes. But straight-out lying, no. "We didn't."

Parvati and Daphne groaned but Hermione smiled. It was a well-known fact in their dormitory that Hermione was sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Lavender didn't have the privilege of that title, having had an extremely embarrassing snog with Seamus in their fourth year. Parvati had certainly been kissed and Daphne, with long-term boyfriend, Jared from the year above them, had probably gone further than any of them. "Slow and steady wins the race, Lavender."

"Yes," Parvati laughed. "But the hare had much more fun."

"Where's the romance if he doesn't kiss you when you accept his offer?" Daphne asked.

Where's the romance if you're dating because of an arrangement? Lavender thought. Out loud, she said, "He was awfully sweet though. He held my hand. It has a little callus on the right thumb from his saxophone playing." All of that was true, Lavender thought with some surprise, if you took sweet to mean, nicer than Zacharias Smith normally is. "I think I'll go to bed now," she said. "Long day."

They murmured their goodnights and went to sleep. Soon the room was full of deep breathing but, again, Lavender had difficulty getting to sleep. She couldn't understand how this was going to work. Surely Zacharias would meet someone he was attracted to, surely someone would find out about their plan anyway. She sighed quietly, turned onto her side and drifted off.

*

Lavender enjoyed breakfast that day, despite everything. She arrived reasonably early, hoping like hell he wouldn't be there, so that they could sit with Gryffindor. Sadly, this was not to be. She walked into the great hall and saw Zacharias sitting with his housemates. He waved and called out, "Pixie, come sit with us."

Lavender slid behind the table. "What did you call me?"

"Pixie," Zacharias murmured. "Isn't it cute?"

Lavender raised an eyebrow. "Um...Okay, hun."

"I did think of brownie or fairy," Zacharias continued. "But they're a bit sweet. Pixies are a little more sparkly and disagreeable. Like you."

"Fairy is also a brilliant nickname for someone who's gay, Zachie," Lavender muttered. "But of course you realised that."

"Pixie, you know everyone, yes?" Zacharias said. In an undertone, he muttered, "Zachie?"

"Four syllables is much too long for a pixie to pronounce," Lavender whispered. "Yeah, I know everyone. Hi Hannah, Ernie, Susan..." She went around the group, who were all staring avidly at her.

"You know," Susan said reflectively, "I never thought Zacharias would get a girlfriend. He's so prickly."

"Thanks, Susan. I think you're wonderful too," Zacharias said.

Susan laughed. "That's what I mean. So, when's your big date?"

Lavender honestly hadn't thought that far ahead. "Um...when's the next Hogsmeade weekend? Is it Halloween, Zachie?"

"Yes, I believe it is."

"Did you just call him 'Zachie'?" Hannah asked. Lavender nodded. "He must really like you. I ended up in the hospital wing once for calling him 'Zach'."

"Did you?" Lavender asked keenly. "What else does he hate?" Sadly, no one took her seriously so she just used to opportunity to discover whether the Hufflepuffs got better food than the Gryffindors and piled as much as she could onto her plate.

"I like a girl who enjoys her food," Zacharias said, staring at her as she took her third helping of eggs.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Lavender informed him. The Hufflepuffs burst into peals of laughter. They clearly were not the witty house at Hogwarts.

"Do you lot always laugh this much?" Lavender asked.

Justin smiled. "None of us are very good at comebacks." Just as she'd suspected. "Zacharias is though."

"You should eat with us more often," Hannah said, nudging Zacharias.

"I'm sure you'd soon tire of me," Lavender said, feeling flattered. Normally Parvati stole the spotlight but at the Hufflepuff table it was a different story.

She almost liked it. Odd really.

*

They went to Defense Against the Dark Arts together. Zacharias had a self-satisfied smile on his face that Lavender didn't quite understand. Apart from the reasoning that he was an egotistical prick, she couldn't think why he was so proud of himself at that point.

"Honestly, Zachie, what sort of nickname is 'Pixie'?" she asked.

"A very good one," he replied, smile vanishing in his attempt to look affronted. "Zachie, on the other hand, I could live without."

"I could live without you, Zachie, but due to this lovely partnership, It's necessary for me to endure the ridiculous names and smug smirks." Lavender scrumpled up her nose. "I've got a question though: Who do you fancy?"

Zacharias looked startled. "No one actually."

"So why me? I mean, you could have asked anyone from your house to cover for you. They all seem to like you. Can't think why," she muttered.

"You were safe, I guess," Zacharias thought aloud. "Obviously, I noticed you staring at Parvati and thought that would be useful one day. But there was more to it than that. You're funny in a blunt sort of way, which was going to be helpful in keeping my sanity, and you're different from the girls in my house. They were hanging on your every word at breakfast."

Lavender grimaced. "Yes, well..."

"Anyway, this bi-ness..." Zacharias said, in an obvious attempt to change the topic.

Lavender laughed. "What?"

"Well, I can hardly say 'your bisexuality' can I now?"

"The 'more than two syllables' problem?"

"Yes. Does that mean that it would be possible for you to fancy a male?"

"Yes, it does. I've fancied Seb Irving for years and, no, there are no guys at Hogwarts who I particularly fancy."

"But, if you weren't infatuated with Patil, you could fancy me," he said, grinning.

Lavender smiled. "Yes, but I don't usually become attracted to idiots."

Zacharias grinned. "Yet, somehow you like Patil."

She hit him lightly on the shoulder. A voice spoke from behind her. "Crayola, stop being nasty to Smith. You'll never keep your boyfriend that way."

"Hey, Vati," Lavender said, her chest constricting. Zacharias reached over and touched her shoulder. Strangely, it comforted her.

"You'll have to sit with us at lunch," Parvati said, linking arms with both of them and dragging them to the front of the line to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "Can't lose our little crayon entirely, can we?"

Zacharias was looking at Parvati with the same disdain that he viewed Harry with. "May I ask, why do you call Pixie after a popular Muggle crayon brand?"

Parvati laughed. "Why do you call her Pixie? No, actually, I don't think I want to know," she amended as Zacharias opened his mouth. "I call her Crayola because her name is made up of colours. She hates it."

"What else does she hate?" Zacharias asked. Lavender wasn't sure but she thought it was with the same enthusiasm as she had asked his house mates earlier.

"Nothing," Lavender said firmly, opening the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "At least, nothing you need to know about, honey."