Dean

Ginny had mostly gotten used to running into Lavender in the lift and in the hallways She had even managed to mostly suppress vivid memories of Lavender’s lips glued to her brother’s in various compromising positions over the course of a year. She was becoming comfortable with the new arrangement. 

But running into her own ex coming out of Lavender’s apartment - and she had little doubt as to why he had been there - brought the situation to a new level of weird that she just wasn’t equipped to handle. As such, she did not pretend to hide the way her mouth fell open in surprise at the sight of him. 

Her shock, however, transformed into a completely different emotion the moment he opened his mouth to speak. 

“I - Wh - We’re not - “ she spluttered for a moment, gobsmacked and trying to decide which part of his ludicrous accusation was most worth denying. Anger was bringing colour to her cheeks, heating the tips of her ears. She gestured to all of Dean and finally managed, “Do you really think this is an opportune moment for I told you so?” 

“Why not?” He said, with a light shrugg, palms open, facing her, as to show he was not being agressive. He just wanted answers. That had been the worst part of this breakup. He never got it confirmed or denied if she had been using him to get to Harry. Perhaps that was why he had been struggling so much with moving on, the lack of knowing. If only she could do him the favor of confirming that it was true. If only he could know for certain that their relationship was never real, and one sides... then maybe he could finally move on and stop wondering if he was the one who ruined the best thing he ever had. 

“I’m not ashamed, In fact, I have nothing to hide. Lav knows what there is no strings attached, and... you know... that I’m not using her to get to someone else.” This was stupid, not to mention that he felt like his voice might break if he spoke and stood there talking to her a second longer. “You know what.. forget about it. Whatever you and Harry are or aren’t means nothing to me. But at least have the courage to be honest about it.” He walked past her, not wanting the one thing between him and the exit being the ginger beauty in front of him. 

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Lavender had fallen asleep by the time Dean sat up and looked at the time. Shit! The curfew was about to begin in just half an hour. He needed to get back to his own apartment before he got in more trouble than he needed. He put his clothes back on, jumping around the young woman’s room. Once every piece had be retrieved, he quietly exited the bedroom, closing the door slowly behind him. He had been so focused on being quiet that the sound of a door being unlocked made him jump.

He turned around to see the familiar brown eyes and ginger hair of the first girl to even capture his attention.. and eventually heart. Ginny Weasley. It was awkward to say the least. In fact, they hadn’t really spoke after their break up his sixth year at Hogwarts, and his seventh was spent on the run. “Hey..” He said with an awkward chuckle, fully aware that Ginny probably knew all about his arrangements with Lavender at this point. 

“I..eh... I guess I was right about Harry, ey?” He asked with an even more awkward chuckle, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. He couldn’t help himself. It was what he had wanted to say when he saw her during the battle, but... figured it was best not to. Now that she was standing in front of him... why not. Yet there wasn’t accusation in his voice, but rather pain of knowing his deepest fear was correct. She had used him to get to Harry Potter.

Dean himself had failed to show up at the Gala. First of all, it was not his style, second of all, he dreaded a reunion with everyone from school. He had been on top of his game back then. Good at Quidditch, decent in school, and wanted by more than one lady each year. Now he was a minimum wage cartoonist, while his best friend was the successful Quidditch player. “You were there right? What happened?” he asked the other person, wanting to know what really happened.