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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»»» GETTING into the library turned out to be simple. Whilst Fred was well versed in getting out of there without being noticed, it seemed the reverse was just as easy. The smell of old parchment clung to the air, swirling around in the dust particles that were only noticeable in the sunlight that crept in through the top window. Silence whispered between the shelves, as if it was stalking them both, giggling at their attempts to be secretive, leering for a sound to break it.
Lavender stood at the end of the aisle of a long row of bookshelves, staring up at the mammoth task that lay ahead of them. She was also acutely aware that neither of them were the best of researchers, making it all the more difficult. A finger brushed against her own as Fred stood next to her, mimicking her expression.
"This is going to be hell," he murmured and she couldn't help but agree.
They glanced at one another, before turning to opposite shelves and skimming through the volumes that were uniformly stacked next to one another. Each one was inscribed with a short summary about the book, which proved useful, since there seemed to be hundreds of books about the Great Wizard Merlin and a History of Magic.
Lavender pressed her finger against the spine, before pulling it out and holding it against her chest. She continued down the row, taking out any book with a title that seemed remotely relevant. It was only when she realised she had taken a book out about Magical Plants and their infinite possibilities - Merlin's guide did she stop.
She was about to turn and tell Fred that she had reached her limit, when a thin book was placed on her head.
"How many do you reckon I can balance on my head?" Fred asked, clearly bored of the task too. Lavender took the book from her own head and pressed it against his chest.
"We have work to do," she reminded him.
"Is that five I hear?" He questioned, cupping his ear. "Or did someone say seven?"
"You're insane," Lavender said smiling, as she placed the books on one of the tables hidden in the midst of all the shelves. As she did, she was transported back to the moment where she had found her best friend half asleep, head drooping over an open textbook. It was extremely difficult for her to convince Pavarti to stop studying and get some food, but by the end of their O.W.L. year, Lavender considered herself a professional in the task.
Slowly she lowered herself down onto one of the chairs and flicked open one of the books. Her mind was distracted. The longer they were trapped like this, the harder it was to stop the memories from claiming her sanity. Without the ability to move on, there was little satisfaction to be gained through this cruel torture.
"Ta - da!" Fred said, snapping her out of her thoughts. She glanced up and forced a smile at the sight of his head bobbing as he tried to maintain the balance. He narrowed his eyes, but before he could comment, Lavender took a book from the top of the pile and replaced it with a heavier one.
