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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»»» "OH hey guys!"
Lavender brightened immediately, her heart easing at the sound. Her brown eyes lit up as she met the gaze of one Neville Longbottom. Seeing him was like an anchor to her increasingly loud mind, adding a sense of normality to their insanity.
Neville lifted up an arm and waved at the two of them. "Wondered when I'd see you again," he said, sporting a toothy grin. Lavender exhaled, turning to Fred for the first time as she struggled to maintain a straight face.
"Is that the best you could do?" She questioned as she watched him put the plant pot down carefully. It was barely big enough to cover his face, let alone the rest of his body. Without much of a warning, she was certain he had simply grabbed the first thing he could find.
"Hey! At least I tried, you just sat there," he accused.
"Yeah, but I'm not the one who abandoned school last year. Technically I still go here remember?" She countered. Fred opened his mouth again only to shut it abruptly.
With a smirk plastered on her lips, Lavender pushed herself off the ground and rushed to hug her friend. It was only when she wrapped her arms around him, did the true weight of what had happened in the last hour or so dawn on her.
They had time travelled, Mary still believed her daughter was cursed, she had an awkward encounter with a girl she used to be immensely jealous of, and to top it all off, she was branded with marks that only acted as a beacon to their abnormal situation.
It seemed the last time things had felt somewhat stable was when she last saw him, after which their ghostly adventure had become more confusing and terrifying. As Neville awkwardly patted her back, she sniffed a couple of times, eyes burning with the threat of yet more tears.
Not this time, she thought to herself as she pulled away and smiled at him.
"You are a sight for sore eyes," she said, voice wobbling at the end. A hand pressed against her shoulder and squeezed it. Her own hand immediately reached up to meet it, giving it a squeeze back. She refused to look at Fred in that moment though, for fear of sparking all the emotions she was focusing on keeping at bay.
"You gave us a surprise and a half," Fred said, clapping his free hand on Neville's shoulder. He had grown considerably since the last time they had seen him, his boyish features no longer present.
"I can't stay long, Gran's waiting for me downstairs," he said apologetically. "Are you guys alright?" he asked, but Fred cut him off before he could continue.
"Let's just avoid that question this time around," he started with a glance at Lavender. "We've been through crap, we're still here trying to figure this mess out, I think that sums it all up."
"I saw Mary again," Lavender said at the same time, knowing that it would provide enough of an explanation. Neville was all too familiar as to how strange Mary's moods could be and how they inevitably impacted her daughter.
