She had snuck up to the Astronomy Tower while the Carrows were busy patrolling and punishing students simply because they weren't purebloods. They had hardly noticed the lack of one Gryffindor.
So she lay on the roof, staring at the stars twinkle away in their quiet, calming way.
"Lavender?" a voice asked from behind her. She jumped, and out of instinct, her wand was immediately at his throat, and the book fell from her hands and on to the floor.
On seeing who it was, however, she lowered her wand.
"Sorry," she began, but he cut her off.
"It's alright, Lav," he said. The fact that the war had made them overly cautious hung in the air between them.
Seamus picked up the aquamarine book and handed it back to her with a smile.
"I should return this book," she said, heading towards the door, not willing to stay in the uncomfortable atmosphere any longer.
"The Inquisitorial Squad is patrolling that hall," he replied, sitting down on the ground.
Lavender stopped and turned back.
"What are we going to do?" she asked, with a sudden resignation in her voice that was quite unlike her.
"Sit here, until they go to sleep. We can always cast a Disillusionment spell if..." Seamus said, but she shook her head.
"Not that. How on earth are we going to win this war? They are too strong for us."
Seamus looked at her, surprised. She could tell that in years they had been house-mates, he had never seen her so melancholy. She usually kept it all hidden under a layer of cheerful bubbliness, after all.
He gestured for her to sit down. She considered it for a moment, before taking a seat on the floor beside him.
He was humming something, she realised. It didn't sound like anything she'd heard before, so she assumed it was either Muggle or very old.
He noticed her staring at him and turned his head to loook at her, causing her to blush slightly.
"It's a Muggle song," he said, replying to her unasked question.
"What is it about?"
"Never giving up," he smiled.
She laughed.
"Well it is," he added, shrugging. "About not letting them get the better of you. About celebrating the fact that we're here. About being us."
Lavender wished she knew how to reply. She knew he was doing it to cheer her up, and truth be told, it was helping, if only a bit.
"That's what they want, Lav. For us to give in to them and be scared of them. If we think they've won, they have."
"I know," she replied, quietly. Fighting a war made everyone grow up quicker, she realised as she looked at him. None of them would have even thought about all of this, any of this, if it hadn't been for the war.
"They won't get the better of us. We'll win this," he said, almost as if he was reassuring himself more than her.
"Here's to us, then."
Notes: Written for the One Character, One Prompt Challenge (HPFC), The Great School Bake-Off (TGS), The Halloween Challenge(HPFC), and the 500 Different Pairings Challenge (HPFC)
Baked Good: Blueberry Pancake Cupcake: 1. Blueberry cake (Color: aquamarine) 2. Maple syrup frosting (Object: overdue library book) 3. Maple syrup drizzle (Song: "Here's to Us"- Halestorm) 4. Fresh blueberry (Action: stargazing)
Character and Prompt: Lavender, Hidden
Pairing: Lavender/Seamus
Halloween Character Prompt: Write about anybody
Word count: 501
