The Woes of Lavender Brown

4: Frustration

"Come on, we missed last night." Dean bullied her down the castle before tea.

"We missed last night? What's your excuse?" demanded Lavender, trying to resist gravity as Dean steered her down the front stairs.

"Didn't feel like looking like a nutter running around on my own."

"You're a sook, Dean." She shook her head wryly.

"You bet. Does this mean extra laps?" Dean gave her a sideways grin, and Lavender felt her belly do a giddy flip-flop as she smiled in return.

"Absolutely, mister. You have to make up the ones you missed."

"Add them on like you did the chip-laps?"

Lavender sighed. "All right. Since I'm doing it that way, I suppose you can, too."

"Going to come with me?"

"Did you?"

"No," said Dean, sounding a bit abashed. "But I'll look freaky if I'm out there running on my own. If you don't come with me, I won't do them."

"Oh, all right," Lavender huffed at him. "But you have to buy me a bucket of chips next Hogsmeade's to show your appreciation. Race you to the lake."

"What?" But Lavender had already taken off, sprinting and laughing as she looked back over her shoulder.

"No fair, getting a head start!" Dean yelled, racing after her.

*****

"It's not working," grumped Hermione, crashing on the sofa in the common room later that week. Lavender took the armchair nearest her, and Patti sat on the opposite end of the sofa from Hermione.

"Give it time, 'Mione, he'll come around," Lavender encouraged.

"I've been giving it time, and more time, and more, but he just doesn't notice me!"

"He made a comment about your hair, remember? He talked about that," Parvati pointed out.

"Yeah, asking me who I was dressing up for!"

"Well, that's step one accomplished – he has noticed you're dressing up."

"Phase two," Lavender said, "will be to get him to realise that it's him."

"That won't work," issued Dean's voice from behind Lavender's armchair. She jumped; she hadn't realised he had been leaning against it when she sat down. The back moved as he wiggled around.

"Why not?" returned Lavender.

"Because Ron's thicker than Hogwarts' walls when it comes to Hermione."

"How do you know this?" asked Parvati.

Dean appeared over the back of Lavender's chair, kneeling, folding his arms on the top of it. "Well, Ron might be thick, but we did all hear the fight Ron and 'Mione had in fourth year, and he sulked a fair bit after; he gets upset someone even mentions a country near Bulgaria, and International Quidditch is more or less a banned topic of discussion around him." Dean shrugged. "Football's better anyway."

"You'll have to explain why you still like football better than Quidditch one day, Dean," Lavender told him. "Besides loyalty, I mean."

"It's better to play it for yourself. I play friendlies over the summer with my Muggle mates; you should come, too."

"Sure," she agreed easily. "Now, back to Ron. So he does like Hermione?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely."

"Dean, what's the best way to get him to notice me?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Dean considered. "Technically, he's already noticed you. He just hasn't acted on that, right? So, guys don't always like taking the initiative, you know. You might have to do it."

"That's the spirit," said Parvati. "If you want him, just snog him."

"In private, of course," Lavender amended.

"Now I've told you the inner workings of the male mind, you do realise I'm going to have to kill you, don't you?" Dean asked them. Parvati sort of stared at him for a moment until Hermione sighed and told her it was a Muggle joke.

"They joke about killing people? That's terrible!"

"They do more than that," Lavender explained. "They make movies about it."

"'Movies'?"

"I think you've just complicated the issue," Dean informed the girl as he stood up. "Your hair smells nice by the way, Lav."

"Thanks." He vanished upstairs. Parvati and Hermione gave her looks. "What?"

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "He asked you to visit him over the summer and meet his friends; you said yes. He tells you your hair smells nice. And then you ask 'what?' when we sit here, waiting for an explanation of what is going on between you and Dean!"

Parvati let out a cheer that upset several second-years working in a corner. "Yes! We've converted her!" She settled back on to the sofa again. "So…?"

"So…?" echoed Lavender. "We're just friends."

"No, no, missy, male friends do not tell their female friends their hair smells nice," Hermione admonished. "Has he ever done that before?"

"Well, no…"

"And his advice did seem rather too freely given," Parvati pondered. "Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Lavender cried, gesturing in frustration. "You're seeing things that aren't there! I don't have a crush on Dean! I have a crush on Malfoy, remember?!"

Harry and Ron had chosen just the previous moment to clamber through the portrait hole, and clearly heard her last sentence. Both of them stared at Lavender. She slowly lowered her hands and shrank back in her armchair.

Harry was the first to start laughing. "Heh heh heh heh, heh heh, hehe hehe!" Ron joined in soon after. "Crush on Malfoy?"

"Not really," Lavender mumbled, turning bright red.

"Oh, this is gold," Harry cackled. Hermione jumped to her feet.

"That is confidential information, Harry James Potter, and you should feel very privileged to be a party to it!"

Harry tried unsuccessfully to curb his grin. Ron started laughing harder. Hermione rounded on him. "And you can talk, Mr-Haven't-Acted-On-My-Feelings-For-At-Least-A-Year-And-A-Half! At least Lavender expresses hers!"

Ron stopped laughing immediately, and gaped like a fish at Hermione. Then he recovered his temper. "What was I supposed to do, while you're off chasing other people and acting like you're interested in Harry half the time?!"

"'Interested in Harry'? I've never been interested in Harry! How can you say that?"

"Oh, this is going to get ugly," muttered Harry, stepping away from the arguing pair towards the dorms. Lavender and Parvati decided with a glance that they would follow him, easing up off the couches and trailing Harry into the boys' dorm.

"Check that no one's naked," Lavender told him, waiting outside the door. He did, and moments later he called for them to come in.

Dean was the sole other occupant of the room, sitting on his bed and reading a book. He put it down as the girls came in. "Where's Hermione?"

"Arguing with Ron," Patti said breezily, dropping onto someone's bed - Seamus', by the looks of it. She stared at the weird picture by Dean's bed while Lavender climbed onto Neville's.

"That's football," he told her, noticing her bewildered look. "I go for West Hampshire."

"They're not moving," she said, utterly perplexed.

"It's a Muggle picture."

She got up and studied it more closely. "So they don't ever move?"

"Nope."

"What's the point in that? Why don't the Muggles want them to move?"

"They don't know how to make the pictures move, Lav. Not like we do, anyway, and not without electronics."

She tilted her head. "What's 'el-lick-tranics'? They must suffer so much without magic. Poor dears."

"They cope all right," Lavender said. "But I do wish we could share some things with all of them."

Harry laughed. "Malfoy won't like that attitude, Lavender."

"Shut up, Harry," Parvati snapped, tossing Seamus' pillow at him.

"Why? She said it. All those second-years heard. It'll be all over by tomorrow."

"What will?" asked Dean curiously.

"Lavender said - yelled, really -"

"I said 'shut up', Harry!"

He glanced from Parvati to Lavender and back again. "I don't get it. Why can't I tell Dean?"

"Because it was just a stupid comment, Harry!" Lavender cried. "Because I didn't mean it! I did think Malfoy was sort of cute for a bit there, but I don't anymore, okay? Well, I don't think he's anything more than cute!"

Harry was taken aback. Dean just looked stunned.

"You like Malfoy?" he asked.

She stamped her foot. "No, I did, but I don't, and I didn't like him, really - just the way he looked, the way he did his hair!"

Dean frowned at her grumpily. "It's all in the looks, then, is it? You like the blonds, Lav?" It was obviously meant as a jest, but the hard edge to Dean's voice made it something completely different.

"No! I mean, yes! Some of them! But it's more than looks that make a likeable person - they have to be nice, too!"

Dean took a deep breath though his nose and turned back to his book.

Lavender glanced around, intending to send Parvati a look for help. But somehow Harry and Patti had managed to leave the room without her noticing, abandoning her to deal with Dean. She wondered how Parvati had managed to convince Harry to leave so quickly and quietly.

"It was just a stupid crush, Dean. It didn't mean anything," she concluded quietly, then bit her lip, waiting.

"That's what was with the new dress and different hair and accessories and all that." He refused to look at her.

"Well, yes." She tentatively sat on the edge of the bed, facing him. "But also 'cause I like having new things. More that, really."

Dean sat there silently for a moment before lifting his dark eyes to her pale ones. "You really meant it when you said you'd come to a friendly match this summer with me?"

"Yes." For a moment, they just watched each other awkwardly. Then Lavender stood up. "I'd better go…"

"Yeah. I'll - I'll see you."

She hurried from the dorm. Harry and Parvati were on the landing, looking both worried and amused. "What's up?" she asked them. Harry pointed over the railing.

"Snogging, snogging everywhere," he said with a grin. Indeed, Ron and Hermione were tangled up in one of the armchairs together. "And that could have turned out so much worse. Parvati explained about Dean."

"Since Harry was too thick to get my oh-so-subtle hint of 'shut up'," Patti said darkly, crossing her arms.

"Er, yeah. Sorry, Lavender. I didn't realise."

"It's okay," she reassured him. Boys were normally a bit thick about this sort of thing; she couldn't blame Harry any more than usual. "Better that he hear from a friend and have me explain it than hear tomorrow and not talk to me about it."

"So…are you two…?"

"Steady on, I haven't had any more time to process what just happened than Dean has," she laughed. "No, nothing's happened, as such."

"Er.…okay, then. Is it all right to go up?"

Lavender thought about it. "He could probably use a minute or two."

Harry nodded, and the girls left him on the landing, unable to go up and unable to go down. They tried not to think what would happen to poor Neville and Seamus when they finally turned up.

*****

"Pass the salt."

Parvati automatically lifted the juice jug and placed it in front of Seamus. He stared at her incredulously.

"A) That was Neville; and B) he asked for salt."

Lavender hurriedly shifted the canister to the right person.

"You don't need any more salt on that," fussed Hermione. Neville shrugged.

"It's breakfast. I'm having electrolytes."

"So, let me get this straight. Lav had a crush on Malfoy, and she didn't see fit to tell any of us," rehashed Seamus. "Ow, Patti, shin there."

"I know," she said, smiling relatively sweetly at a plate of bacon. Dean was also staring at the plate of bacon, but he didn't look so benign. And, being Parvati and breakfast time, that was saying something. Lavender felt very silly and her cheeks kept heating up when she thought about it or looked at him. And now Seamus was being stupid and not getting it, and Dean was hurting worse.

Abruptly Lavender stood, announced she has finished her meal, and strode out of the room, eyes firmly fixed on the floor before her.

Just seeing feet really doesn't give enough warning, she thought halfway across the Entrance Hall when she smacked directly into Draco Malfoy's chest.

"Watch it," he said, steadying her as her balance wobbled. "I don't need you to fall on me, too, Gryffindor." The words were snarky but she supposed the intent was kind. Scary thought, really. How could she ever have had a crush on this awful git? Hermione had been right about him all along.

"Don't touch me, Malfoy," she snarled, jerking away and tripping on the hem of her robes. The group of Slytherins burst into nasty laughter as she ended up on hands and knees, her face burning. This day could not get worse. She gave them one hurt look and ran outside as her eyes began to itch.

Automatically her feet bore her towards the lake. She was going to be late for first lesson, and she didn't have her things - she would have to go all the way up to Gryffindor Tower before class - but she didn't care, she just wanted to be away from there. She had stumbled halfway around the shore, full pelt, legs tangling in her stupid uniform and black school shoes not helping the situation, when her rational mind grabbed hold of the situation and she realised how silly she must look, dashing around the lake. It wasn't even nine a.m.

With a breathless sob, Lavender's knees collapsed and she fell to a sitting position, right in the middle of the path.

*****

She stayed outside until just before midmorning break, when she raced upstairs, tidied up in the Gryffindor girls' bathroom, changed her grass-stained clothes, and joined the throng heading out to recess.

"You missed Divination," Ron oh-so-helpfully pointed out when she caught up with some of the Gryffindor sixth years in a courtyard. Patti glared at him. "Why are you still grumpy? I thought you had breakfast."

Hermione threw up her hands. "He picks up on that, but nothing else."

"What?" demanded Ron hotly. "What have I missed?"

Parvati went to put her arm around Lavender, but the blonde shook her head. "It'll just get me started again."

Hermione gave her a sympathetic look. "We heard about what happened in the Entrance Hall this morning."

Lavender nodded, unsurprised. "I expect the Slytherins all thought it was a great joke." Hermione's expression confirmed that yes, they had. "It'll only get worse by the afternoon," Lavender commented resignedly. "They'll have heard by then for sure."

"Heard what?" Ron asked. All three girls looked at him, and he held up his hands in protest. "I was just asking!"

"It's nice to know nothing changed," said Harry dreamily, looking vaguely from Hermione to Ron and back.

"What do you mean? You'll answer my questions, right?" anxiously demanded Ron.

Harry snorted at him in disgust, shaking his head, and Parvati cheered much as she had the night before. "I've educated Harry!" She was sorely disappointed when Harry didn't get how he had been educated. At least Hermione had understood. Poor Parvati.

They went to Care of Magical Creatures, and the Slytherins had already heard. Malfoy avoided Lavender, Pansy teased her, and it was only a matter of time before somebody snapped.

"Parkinson, you can't talk. You've had a crush on Malfoy for years," snarled Dean.

"Yes, but there are two differences between me liking him and her liking him. One -"

Dean overrode her. "One: Lavender's a nice person. Two: her friends would never be so careless as to let her date someone that horrible."

"Excuse me?" said Malfoy disbelievingly from the sidelines. Nobody paid him any attention, including Hagrid, who had stopped helping students with their revision of Bowtruckles to listen.

"Three: Lavender's pretty; you're a dog. Four: she doesn't have a crush on Malfoy. Do I need to keep going? Because, Parkinson, there are so many differences between you and her that we could be here well into next week." Dean gave her a sarcastic smile, promptly turned his back on both her and a flabbergasted Malfoy, and offered his woodlice to the Bowtruckle he, Seamus and Neville were sharing.

"Did he just say I was horrid?" Malfoy asked Pansy.

"You are horrid, Malfoy," said Theodore Nott cheerfully. Malfoy thought about it, nodded contemplatively, and went back to making Crabbe and Goyle do his work for him.

Lavender stood where she was, utterly shell-shocked, until Parvati recalled her to her senses. Then she smiled and happily pitched in. Dean thought she was pretty. Dean thought she was pretty.

*****