As Lavender Brown's body lay amongst the ruins of what was once her home, she watched a family grieve the loss of one of their own, wondering why fate had so cruelly dealt them such cards. From a young age, all she wanted was to love and be loved in...
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»»» AS she watched Fred knock on the door, Lavender crouched behind the fence, knowing that it only took one false move for her to be spotted.Once he got inside the house, things would become far trickier, as they would need to remain within their radius of reality. A smile played on her lips; she could just about hear the curses that he was directing towards her.
The door opened and Lavender pressed herself against the ground, despite there being no real need. The conversation was lost to her, the only sound she could concentrate on was of her own heart beating. Upon hearing her mother's voice, every part of her wanted to peak around the corner to check that the woman was the same one she met the other day.
Focus, she urged herself. Fred is relying on you to keep it together. He's been kind, kinder than most and if that's not reason enough to help him get out of this, then I guess you really are nothing more than your demons.
Inhaling deeply, Lavender forced herself to breathe properly and not succumb to the shallow breaths that often led to a mental crisis. Slowly the ringing became less prominent until it was a dull sound that she could push to the background. More importantly, she could now hear the conversation Fred was having with her mother.
"I've tried everything! Placing my feet in a garlic broth, rosemary under my pillow, sleeping the wrong way, you name it I've tried it," she heard Fred claim. "It's really done a number on my Missus, so I guess I should say cheers for that."
Without any fear of being caught, Lavender allowed herself to smile at his antics. Merlin knew what her mother thought of him, but the fact that she hadn't slammed the door yet was a good sign.
"Have you tried a horseradish stew?"
Lavender could picture his face gagging at the suggestion, but he must have held it together as the conversation continued. Lavender was more focused on the sound of her mother's voice. She sounded far better than the previous time she saw her. Of course, by the time the alive Lavender returned home, she would have no idea of the breakdown her mother went through, nor the trouble her parent's marriage was in.
"Please, you're my last hope," Fred said and Lavender held her breath.
"Come in, I've got some books that could help you," she heard her mother say and let out a sigh of relief. All the same, she waited a second before daring herself to peak around the corner. Just as they had planned, Fred had kept the door slightly ajar for her.
Now was the time for the real test.
Straightening up, Lavender approached the door cautiously, not sure what to expect. Each step she took felt far more difficult than the one previous and she couldn't determine whether it was due to her nerves or some strange magic her mother used the last time she saw her.
Her hand shook as she pushed the door so that it was fully open. Licking her lips, she eyed the line where the house began. The last thing she wanted to do was have a panic attack over the fact that she couldn't get back into her own house. But there was a lot riding on this and she needed to uphold her part of the plan.
