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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»»» FINDING booze in the apartment turned out to be the simplest thing they had done all day. After studying the space carefully, Fred started tapping his feet against the different floorboards, switching to knocking when he got to the far corner. Neville had claimed there were no bottles to be found, but after living through a war, Fred found it difficult to believe. A triumphant grin lit up his face.
"See a lot of people forget that there are simple Muggle methods to hide items," he explained, pressing against the floorboard and lifting it up to reveal a small alcove. Lifting up a bottle, he proudly presented it to his audience.
Lavender rolled her eyes and went to retrieve some glasses. The last thing she wanted to do was show him how easily he could impress her.
"That's not - how did you know?" Neville asked, eyes wide.
Fred shrugged. "We have the same sort of arrangement in our own apartment. It's pretty common actually." He examined the bottle; the last owners had probably stowed it away during the last Wizarding War with a Vow to open it when it was all over, only to be robbed of the chance of doing that, or anything, again.
"On second thought," he said, glancing up at Neville. But to his surprise, he waved him off dismissively.
"I never would have thought to look there. And it's not like anyone else is going to drink it. You guys enjoy it," he said. "I should probably be heading back to Gran's soon. I told her I'd only be gone for a couple of hours. When you guys are done, just use the key under the mat to lock up. If you're still here by tomorrow, I'll see you then, if not, I guess this is it," Neville continued, eyes cautiously drifting to his friend. Lavender stopped in her tracks, not expecting him to be leaving so soon.
"Are you sure? Won't you stay a while?" She asked, only to get an apologetic smile in return.
Fred straightened up and offered his hand to him. Whilst he wasn't sure what to make of their ever changing situation, he knew that Neville had gone a long way to make them both comfortable.
He took his hand and shook it.
"Take care of her," he said, his voice low. Not needing to look at Lavender, Fred immediately nodded. Remembering how quickly Neville had reacted to her in distress, he felt stupid for getting jealous of him earlier. At the end of the day, they both had the same goal and that was all that mattered.
"I will," he promised. "Thanks Neville, for everything."
Lavender held her breath as Neville turned to regard her. He studied her for a moment, contemplating what to say. But she knew that look well enough to know what it meant. Shaking her head at him and pulled him into a tight embrace. They had come a long way from two children seeking comfort with one another and yet, in another way, nothing had changed.
"You've been amazing," she whispered into his ear. Somehow the universe had decided to give her a small miracle and it came in the form of Neville Longbottom. He added a little normalcy in her life again whilst also reminding her of memories she had long forgotten.
