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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
»»» "SO how long have you been like this?"Neville asked, unaware of how his guests were silently conversing with each other.
Lavender blinked and plastered on a smile. "Time is a weird thing for us. But it can't be long at all," she said, throwing Fred a meaningful look.
"Yeah mate, we've been popping across so many timelines. Half an hour ago it was the middle of the night," he said with a smile. As soon as Neville turned his back, Fred pulled a face at Lavender and gestured to the clock, his eyes widening. Lavender shook her head at him, sending him another warning look.
"But then how long will you be stuck like this?" Neville followed up, a frown etched on his forehead.
Lavender exchanged a glance with Fred, her stomach twisting into knots. From their first meeting with Neville, it was clear he had a decent summary about their background and situation, but the actual task of disclosing it all to him was far harder to follow through with.
"Not long," Fred said hastily into the silence. "We just have a few things to finish up and then we'll be okay."
"You'll be back to normal?"
Lavender inwardly groaned at the twenty questions they were receiving. Each one seems far harder to answer than the previous. She was also acutely aware that they were dangerously close to disclosing information that could potentially drive her childhood friend insane.
"You wound me Nev, when have I ever been normal?" Lavender said with a breathy laugh. "What's going on with you? When are we?"
Neville shuffled between his two feet and shrugged. "It's my fourth year. I'm just visiting Gran for the weekend. She's just popped out to get some supplies. I suppose I can't tell her about this?" He swept his eyes between them, both of whom shook their heads.
"Don't want to worry her," Fred said with a small smile. The memory of a younger version of the boy crying his eyes out as he lost his Gran flashed through his mind. At that point Fred had decided that Neville was somehow linked to their destiny. He had to be. Using his years of brotherly experience, he was quick to distract him.
Neville regarded him carefully, an odd look in his eyes. "No, I guess not," he said finally.
"Fourth year did you say?" Lavender repeated, raising an eyebrow at Fred, who paled. He was not a fan of the smirk that played on her lips. "Have you found anyone to take to the Ball yet?"
A strangled sound escaped Fred at her question. Lavender ignored it, turning her full attention to Neville who shook his head.
"I don't know if there's any point in going. I don't even know how to dance," he said miserably.
Lavender smiled. "Well that, I can certainly help you with. We have a professional in the midst," she said as she brushed off some dust from her shoulders.
