LAVENDER BROWN

   lavender's  brief  spiel  fades,  momentarily,  into  the  morning  din  that  their  cohort  has  conjured  in  force  —-   breakfast  has  no  sooner  begun  than  the  fourth  years  were  talking  at  length  of  the  day's  trivialities.  a  snippet  of  complaint  about  one's  abysmal  schedule  (  double  arithmancy  and  runes,  poor  thing  )  snatches  draco's  attention.  uncharacteristically  distracted,  his  gaze  flicks  away  from  lavender  for  a  split  breath  before  it  is  trained  on  her  face  again.  the  goblet  nestled  between  his  hands  is  warming  with  latent  heat  from  his  palms,  and  he  entertains  the  notion  of  forfeiting  the  beverage  as  he  focuses  on  their  interaction  again.   ‘   either  ?  what  were  you  up  to  ?   ’   he  turns  the  question  over  in  his  mind,  choosing  to  deflect  her  interest  in  favour  of  disgusing  his  hesitance.  he  has  grown  heedless  as  of  late   —-   there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  bear  such  profound  signs  of  sleeplessness.   ‘   and  what  on  earth  is  a  concealer   ?   ’   

draco malfoy was a touchy topic within the walls of gryffindor tower, lavender was well aware of that. it was like he was trying desperately to make himself enemy number one around the place. understandable, when harry had practically made himself the storybook prince of everybodies fantasy. but lavender found him a little bit fascinating. he had that broody anti-hero aura that made him just lovely to observe. “either.” she agreed, with a little wink. “only naughty things, i promise.” it’s a slight tease, half friendly. “like talking to my rooomates. because we’re friends. you know what talking to your friends is like, draco, you can stay up half the night if you stumble on to the right topic!” 

she rests her chin in the palm of her hand as she stirs milk into her coffee, an absolute necessity for the rest of the day. “concealer is like a special magic little potion. one dab and it makes all of your flaws melt away.” she says, her voice a little dreamy with it. muggle make up was such a lovely little thing, but she didn’t chance mentioning the providence of the make up she had in her own bag to someone like draco. “from dreary and sleepy eyed to absolute perfection in two seconds flat, almost guaranteed.” 

though   the   two   weren’t   close,   she   didn’t   have   anything   personally   against   lavender.   they   just   didn’t   seem   to   have   much   in   common.   lavender   was   popular,   beautiful   and   fixated   on   boys   while   hermione   was   brainy,   doing   her   best   to   make   sure   her   best   friends   didn’t   die   and   lucky   if   she   wore   a   sweater   that   even   matched.   as   they   got   older,   hermione   found   that   she   seemed   to   differ   more   and   more   from   her   femme   classmates   and   she   wasn’t   entirely   sure   what   that   was   about.   somedays   she   felt   like   a   girl   but   other   days   she   felt   she   fit   best   in   that   sort   of   grey   area   that   took   up   space   between   the   two   “definitive   genders.”   it   was   too   truthful   and   too   close   to   home   for   her   to   actually   spend   her   time   researching   it.   

the   vanity   was   something   hermione   never   understood,   maybe   because   she   was   too   insecure.   perhaps   if   she   looked   more   like   lavender   she’d   be   more   concerned   about   her   looks.   “though   the   rest   of   your   body   would   be   able   to   handle   the   risk?”   the   gryffindor   teased   with   the   perch   of   her   brow,   amusement   evident   on   her   features.   though   at   the   mention   of   durmstrang   boys,   hermione   can’t   help   but   roll   her   eyes,   “PLEASE.   as   if   this   school   needs   more   men   parading   around   in   their   idiotic,   toxic   masculinity.   i’ll   pass.”   though   maybe   a   couple   of   them   caught   her   eye   which   she’d   never   admit   that   aloud.   “honestly   i’m   more   excited   to   learn   from   the   visiting   professors.   any   classes   you’re   excited   about   this   year?”

.

lavender knew that she was a little too girly to really click with hermione. and she supposed that was normal, at this point in their lives. but her own femininity had been a hard won thing, in a way that a lot of people didn’t really understand. she’d had to step right out and be brave enough to claim it in a world where her entire identity was seen more often as a mean joke on a muggle sitcom. but she’d earned the right to care about things like her hair, and her face, and her pretty lipgloss. maybe it was weaponised a little bit, but she was allowed to have her battle armor. and she didn’t mind very much that her and hermione never really clicked –– you couldn’t win them all, and that didn’t mean that lavender couldn’t be friendly. 

lavender smiles quick and genuine at hermione’s teasing. “rawr, put away the claws kitten, of course the body is precious too.” and she surpasses a laugh then at the little rant that hermione goes on. it was a fond one, if nothing else. something she was already half expecting when she had brought the topic up. “I will so never understand how your brain works. but i get it, i mean, brain power is good too. frankly i’m hoping that one of the visiting professors teaches a history class that is even a fraction less boring that professor binns.”

     “oh, baby, you look like you didn’t sleep a wink last night either. do you want to borrow my concealer? or no ; wait! my mom taught me a charm to help with under eye bags this summer. i can show you!” 

with   her   nose   buried   in   a   book   even   hogwart’s   infamous   bookworm   can’t   help   but   peer   up   every   now   and   then   again,   curious   brown   orbs   taking   in   the   excitement   that   surrounded   her.   she’d   wasted   no   time   in   visiting   the   library   before   the   festivities   began,   a   stack   of   books   towered   beside   her   in   the   great   hall.   hermione   was   so   fixated   on   her   readings,   she   hadn’t   even   realized   that   her   books   were   taking   up   a   perfectly   good   spot   in   an   otherwise   crowded   and   packed   dining   hall.   “oh   sorry!”   the   witch   said   with   a   small   smile   toward   the   person   who   seemed   to   be   looking   for   somewhere   to   sit,   “there’s   room   here,   if   you’re   looking.   my   parents   keep   saying   they’ll   need   to   charge   me   rent   just   to   have   a   room   for   my   books.”   she   said   with   a   chuckle,   clearing   the   way,   “so.   any   interest   in   putting   your   name   into   the   goblet?”

.

lavender thought that the first years got smaller and smaller every year. she saw them all as they waited to be sorted and thought they all looked like children, although they were only four years below lavender herself. she couldn’t help but be EXCITED at the news of the triwzard tournament being revamped and launched at hogwarts this year, especially because it brought so many new faces to the school. it seemed like this year was going to be an exciting once, and for once it wouldn’t be because some scary serial killer wanted to hunt down harry potter and his friends. there was only so many years like that lavender could take : she so didn’t want another year of divination where no one stopped talking about harry’s untimely death. it made her too sick with worry to focus on anything else. 

her movements were delicate and a little cautious as she sat next to hermione granger. they were roommates, but lavender still hoped that more of their friends came to join them soon. 

     “no, no interest. my face is much too pretty to risk getting hurt doing something scary and dangerous.” she mused, with a wry little smile. “i am excited about the tournament though. i have two words for you, ‘Mione : durmstrang boys. it’s every girls dream come true. have any of them caught your eye yet?” 

(  zion moreno,  nineteen  )     ⸻     it's  not  often  that  you  hear  muggle  music  in  the  halls  and  corridors  of  hogwarts  but  when  you  hear  c’est la vie  by  b*witched,  you  know  that  it's  LAVENDER BROWN.  the  fourth year GRYFFINDOR  is  known  around  the  grounds  as  being  enthusiastic  ,  creative  and  optimistic  but  if  you  know  them  really  well,  you  know  they  can  be  very  self-centered.  there  have  been  some  whispers  that  their  family  are  siding  with  the  light  but  right  now,  all  we  truly  know  is  that  this  year  is  going  to  be  very  different.