Written for Fill Your Stocking Challenge (Zacharias and Lavender, "Are you kidding me? We're not fine!", and curve), and the Ultimate Patronus Quest (dog: Write about friendship)

It isn't the first time that panic has filled the air in the Room of Requirement. Zacharias paces anxiously, seeming to refuse to be comforted by Ernie. "Are you kidding me? We're not fine!" he snaps, and Ernie backs away. "This is nowhere near fine! We're hiding out like a bunch of bloody rats! Oh, yeah. Perfectly fine, isn't it?"

Lavender comes between them, gripping Zacharias firmly by the arms. Her eyes meet his, silently pleading with him to calm down. "Enough! There's enough going on like it is!"

Zacharias clenches his jaw and looks away. "Sorry," he grumbles. "I just hate being trapped here."

"Maybe you should walk with him," Neville suggests. "Just be careful."

Lavender nods. Admittedly, she would love to get out of their little hideout for a while. Safety is nice, but freedom is more her style. She takes Zacharias by the hand. "We won't be long."

Neville nods. "Keep your wand ready," he says. "Keep an eye out, and come back at the first sign of danger."

Lavender offers him a mock salute, her lips quirking into a smile.

…

"I know I looked like a prat back there," Zacharias sighs as they stroll the empty corridor. "But I don't like feeling trapped. It makes me feel so… so…"

"Useless," Lavender agrees.

Zacharias nods. He purses his lips, studying her for a moment. "You get it," he decides. "I always thought you were just this vapid, giggly idiot, but you actually get it."

Lavender inhales deeply. She tries not to take it personally. "Yeah, well, I've grown up," she says sharply, her tone betraying her hurt. "War does that to you."

Zacharias comes to a stop at a long window. His fingers trace the curve of the wood absently as he stares out. "War," he echoes. "It's stupid, isn't it? I mean, we're just kids."

Lavender smiles bitterly as she moves to his side. Her eyes peer through the glass at the ground below. It's strange to think that once this place had been her home, her safe haven. Now, it feels more like a prison.

"War doesn't care if you're five or fifty," she says. "You'll feel its affects whether you participate in it or just watch it unfold."

He slumps forward, his body falling slack. Lavender cautiously reaches out, taking his hand. He doesn't pull away, and she can't help but to feel a little grateful at that.

"I'm just a kid," he whispers. "I'm scared."

"So am I," she admits.

He turns to look at her, his brows raised. She can see the doubt in his eyes. "You? Please. You're a Gryffindor," he snorts. "Don't they kick you out if you're scared?"

"Bravery doesn't mean you have no fear," she tells him with a small shrug of her shoulders. "Sometimes it just means that you're scared to death, but you carry on."

"I don't know how to carry on. I'm not like you."

"Just last year, my only worry was that Ron didn't really like me," she says, and she can't help but to smile at how childish it seems now. "Now, I know there are bigger problems. You just have to find something to fight for. I fight for myself, for my best friend, for Hogwarts. It makes it a little easier to wake up every morning."

"I don't really have any friends to fight for," he admits, his cheeks burning a soft pink. "I mean, I reckon there are about three people that like me enough to hope that I don't die. But friends? Not so much."

She frowns at the way his voice quiver. She wonders if he's ever opened up about this to anyone. Perhaps he uses his sarcasm and arrogance to mask his loneliness.

"Well, now you've got me," she says softly. "You can fight for me, if you'd like."

Zacharias is silent for a moment. She almost expects him to laugh in her face, to tell her that he doesn't need her sympathy. Instead, he nods, smiling. "I think I could fight for you," he decides.