Disclaimer: Harry Potter: Book series that is superbly written. Just not by me.
AN: Written as a response to 'The Countdown Surprise Dumbledore's Army Challenge/Competition' by Mi High Lover. My character was Dean Thomas.
Dean Thomas prided himself on rarely being surprised. There were plenty of things that should have surprised him, but very few that actually did.
He wasn't surprised to learn that Santa didn't really exist:
He'd worked this out on his own. It was simply not possible for one person to visit EVERY single child in the world. Not to mention the fact that he'd need to remember them all. And how on Earth could anyone consume that much mince pies in one night?
He wasn't surprised when Ginny said yes when he asked her out. Sure, she was a fiery redhead with stunning looks, but she'd given him plenty of signs that she liked him.
He wasn't surprised when Harry asked him to fill in the vacant spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He knew full well that he could fly pretty well and so did Harry. Crucially, as Harry was his mate, he knew full well that Harry knew that as well.
He wasn't surprised when Ginny broke things off with him. Their relationship had been on the rocks for some time and it was clear that she liked someone else.
He wasn't surprised by Harry kissing Ginny in front of the whole common room. He was angry, at least at the time, but he wasn't surprised.
He wasn't surprised by the fall of the Ministry. The place had been crawling with corruption for years, even before Voldemort's return. It happened faster than he expected, but after Dumbledore died, well everyone knew it was merely a matter of time.
He wasn't surprised by the ferocity and intensity of the Battle of Hogwarts. Sure it was tough and certainly no picnic, but Hogwarts was always the place where things happened, especially when it concerned Harry Potter.
He wasn't surprised by Harry Potter's victory over Lord Voldemort. Voldemort was an evil and powerful wizard, but Dean knew that Harry was more than a match for him. Hadn't he always beaten the odds before?
No, the one thing that Dean Thomas had never expected, never saw coming at all, was him falling hard for Lavender Brown. Maybe it was the way she faced up to her scarred face after the battle, determined not to cry or be upset. Maybe it was the 'innocent' expression she had when she sucked the end of her quill. (Which was far from 'innocent', she knew PRECISELY what she was doing.) Or maybe it was because she too had been hurt by the 'Golden Trio'.
But all he knew was that when he looked at Lavender sitting there, steadily slogging her way through her divination homework across the desk from him in the library, it hit him with all the power of an express train. He didn't know where it had come from and he certainly never saw it coming, but somehow he had fallen head over heels in love with Lavender Brown. And of all the things he saw coming, it was truly a surprise when he discovered that she loved him back.