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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»»» THOUGH the whole concept of time travel was difficult to swallow, Lavender couldn't help but touch every lamppost they walked past.Like the first time she had met Fred and become real again, she felt the need to physically confirm that they had moved to a different location. The weather alone was enough evidence that they had left their summer days behind. Her fingers danced with the snowflakes, letting each one land and watching how it melted quickly under her warm palm. It provided another indicator of how they were still somehow alive and breathing, even though she knew the truth to be far from it.
Fred was true to his word and led her to Madame Rosmerta's, where they were indeed greeted with free Butterbeer and food. Never one to ask too many questions, Rosmerta simply commented on how strange it was to see him without his other half. A questioning raised eyebrow was also present when she noticed who he had for company, but luckily she was well versed in the art of discretion.
With a quick conversation, he was able to arrange a small private booth for them both as well as the meal he had promised.
"I've never tasted something so good," Lavender moaned into her mug. She hadn't realised how much she missed wholesome food until she took her first sip of Butterbeer. Instantly the liquid shot down her body, warming up every cell it passed by.
"Steady on," said Fred, a smirk playing on his lips. "You don't want people to get the wrong idea."
"They can think what they like," she quipped back, her cheeks already tainted a faint pink. "Besides we're kind of the only people here, so no one is going to judge you for your weird eating habits."
"My weird eating habits? I think you'll find they're quite normal and you're just boring," he retorted, amusement clear in his eyes. Lavender rolled her eyes but offered no further comment. Truth was, she was far too content with eating (demolishing) the steak and kidney pie that Rosmerta had brought out for them.
"I don't think I'll ever take this for granted again," she said in between mouthfuls.
"Way better than some Muggle cafe right?" Fred agreed. "Although, you haven't tasted food until you've had my Mum's roast. Nothing can ever top that," he added with an afterthought. His throat tightened at the thought of his mother again and suddenly the pie wasn't as delicious as he once believed.
"We'll add that to our list then," she said, cutting in quickly before he got too caught up with it. Her heart rate sped up considerably as he gave her a look and arched an eyebrow.
"What list? I didn't know we had a list."
"A list of all the things we're going to do when we get out of this. It starts off with you getting your N.E.W.T.s, although I think I'll let you do that yourself. Then we've got to travel the world, but before all that, we'll go for a roast," she said with a smile. One eyebrow arched upwards at her statement.
"What happened to moving on? I thought things would be so much easier if we did," Fred asked, struggling to keep the edge out of his tone.
"It would be, and I still believe that. But then you gave me pie and now I just want a world where we'd be able to eat whatever we want and do whatever we want," she said levelly. Truthfully, she couldn't help but feel the pending argument was useless. It was clear that they had differing opinions on their chances for survival and since she didn't have any leads on how to pursue her preferred option, they might as well continue as they were.
