One Day

1

Lavender

Lavender looked in the mirror, her emotions in complete turmoil. Sporting a lacey red and black chemise over the matching bra and knickers, she looked spectacular, except for the scars. They were no longer raw and red, but they were still very pink, and their jagged lines stood out prominently on her otherwise perfect skin. Four long gashes crossed her chest on her left side, one across the top of her breast, two below it, and one neatly bisecting her left nipple. Four others crossed her left thigh, and then there was the bite mark. A large oval of puncture scars wrapped around her left side next to her navel. On bad days she could still see him, the top of his head buried in her side, his long claws ripping her open, and she shuddered. Would Seamus still want her when he saw the full extent of the damage Greyback had wrought? How, even with the beauty she still possessed, how could he want her?

He said he did. He was in the next room waiting for her, and he had waited quite a bit. Lavender had been very tentative about resuming this part of her life, and he had been more than patient. She knew that she had a reputation of sorts at Hogwarts, but the truth was far from the legend. Lavender had made love to exactly one Gryffindor boy, Dean Thomas, exactly three times. That was an issue for another day, though. Lavender knew that at some point Seamus would have to know that Dean, his best friend, had been her first, but not today. Today she had to conquer another fear, the fear of rejection. She didn't do well with rejection. That part of the legend was absolutely true.

A lone tear snaked its way down her cheek, and she smiled. Get a grip, she thought to herself. Shay has told you over and over that he loves you. He doesn't care about this, and she stroked a hand down her left side. He doesn't care about any of it, Luna says so. Luna says he's ready, she's says you're ready, and frankly, Dear, you're dead fucking sexy. She gave a short laugh and wiped the tear away. The mirror showed her a stunningly beautiful young woman dressed in an outfit that was sure to take the top twenty points off any males IQ that was blessed enough witness it. She was in better physical condition than she had ever been in, and at twenty her features had matured into real beauty.

It wasn't so much the loss of the last of her adolescent baby fat, it was her eyes. Those eyes that had seen so much death, so much pain, those eyes that had wept so many tears for herself and her friends, those eyes that were the first thing to change at the full moon. They told the tale of a young woman who had grown an enormous amount in a short few years. It was those eyes that told her she was ready. The last of her doubt eased away and she truly smiled. Seamus wouldn't let her down. He really was her knight and she his lady fair. One day she would be able to tell him how much he had done for her. One day she could tell him how special he made her feel. One day she could tell him just how much she was in love with him. But tonight, tonight she would show him.