when love arrives ( lavender brown ) ✓

vii

[ SHE BECOMES YOUR SAFE HAVEN. YOUR ROCK. THE ONE THAT YOU CLING TO WHEN THE STORM GETS TOO MUCH AND YOU'RE BATTERED AND BRUISED. ]

During the last half of their sixth year, the Room of Requirement had somehow turned into something akin to an underground shelter. The hammocks, tents, and improvised beds placed all over the room, along with the dirty, tired students, just came to show how much Hogwarts had changed since the death of Albus Dumbledore.

Severus Snape had taken control of the school which was once a safe haven, and with him had come the despicable people who called themselves 'death eaters'. The students who were still loyal to Dumbledore and Harry Potter were forced underground, taking refuge in the secret room against the dementors and Unforgivable Curses.

Huddled together in a small, improvised bed made of blankets , Lavender Brown and Callisto Aerglo held hands tightly as they listened intently to Lee Jordan and Fred Weasley host Potterwatch, which had become the primary source of information for all of those who still supported Harry Potter.

''Do you really think he'll come back?" Callisto asked quietly, watching as Fred and Lee wrapped up the broadcast and wiped the smiles from their faces immediantly, slumping slightly.

"Of course I do, Calli," Lavender shifted slightly so that she could look her girlfriend in the face, "We have to believe they will come back."

"It's just..." Callisto murmured, "What if they don't, Lav. What if they got them and we don't even know about it. We'll die, Lav. They'll kill every last one of us-"

Lavender wound her hand through Callisto's hair and pressed her head in the crook of her neck, shushing her.

"We won't die, my love. It'll be fine," Lavender assured, not sure if she was convincing her lover or herself, "And when all of this is over, we'll get ourselves a nice house outside of London and we'll get married...That is, if you want."

"Did you just...say you wanted to marry me? Me?" Callisto leaned back, looking at Lavender with a look of mild surprise.

Lavender gave a short laugh, brushing Callisto's messy hair behind her ear and nodding sheepishly, biting her lower lip with a smile.

"Yeah, definetley," Lavender placed a kiss on Callisto's forehead, feeling the girl shake as she giggled.

"Callisto Brown-Aerglo does have a nice ring to it," She smiled cheekily, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

Lavender hummed and cuddled closer to Callisto, happy to find that amidst all this misery, pain, and the lead up to a war that could end in the wizarding community under the rule of a vile tyrant, she could at least have these little pockets of time that were filled with love, bliss, and above all, hope.

Hope that there would be more than huddling together in the Room of Requirement, waiting for someone who could very well never come back. Hope that even if said person never returned, their combined strength and knowledge would be enough. Hope that they all would get out of this mess alive.

[finals haven't even started and i've already gone through three nervous breakdowns and one anxiety attack all in the span of two days yay]