Written For:

Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Round 11 - Beater 1 - Write about losing a friend on an autumn night(s). / Prompts: 3. (dialogue) "You can't start a new chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one." / 13. (phrase) walking down the road / 15. (song) Oceans - Seafret

Golden Snitch: Superstitious Nonsense - Rabbit's Paw - Write about Lavender Brown. (Hogwarts, Ravenclaw)

Beta'ed by Sophy and Krissy.

xXx

Oceans Apart

It feels like there's oceans
Between you and me once again
We hide our emotions
Under the surface and try to pretend

November 1999

Lavender and Parvati were walking down the road. They were side-by-side as they took in the colors of the leaves changing.

Lavender bit her bottom lip as she thought about what to say to her best friend.

The war had been over for more than a year already, and time seemed to go so fast in some ways and slow in others.

She had miraculously survived despite some serious injuries from Greyback. Seamus and Parvati had both helped her in her recovery and for so long, that had been the only thing Lavender was focused on. She didn't think about what she would do once she was healed and could start getting back to her life.

Decision time was upon her, though.

The first thing she wanted to do was see where Parvati's head currently was. "Parv, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what to do now that I'm mobile again."

Parvati giggled. "Lav, you sound so serious."

Lavender smiled slightly. "Can't help that. I've been thinking about what to do for a job. Or maybe I should say career."

Parvati rolled her eyes. "You just got out of the hospital. Relax. Have some fun."

"I got out of the hospital nearly two months ago. It's not like I have a trust fund to live off of. I can't spend my days doing nothing!"

Parvati stopped walking, stepping harshly on a fallen leaf as the wind picked up around them. She narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean? Just because I have a trust fund doesn't mean I'm not going to do anything with my life!"

Maybe Lavender had been a bit mean with her jibe, but she had forgotten herself. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant I couldn't take my time."

"So, why are you bringing it up to me?"

"At school, we talked about teaming up and starting our own fashion design business."

"That was then; this is now. And right now, I just want to have fun."

Lavender shivered a bit as the breeze settled around her, and they began walking again. This time in silence.

That didn't change anything for Lavender. Even if Parvati was no longer interested, it was still something she wanted to do, and she'd do it by herself if she had to.

They stopped at a fork in the road. They glanced at each other but continued on their path—the right side.

November 2002

They were silent as they walked along the familiar road. They met up on this particular road every year. It had become a tradition.

And every year, it got harder and harder to find something to say. Still, Lavender wasn't one to give up.

She cut a glance at Parvati, who looked to be lost in her thoughts. "So, how have you been doing?"

Parvati smiled brightly. "Great. Romilda knows all of the best parties to go to, and we are somewhere different almost every night."

Lavender hid her grimace. She still found it odd that Parvati and Romilda Vane were friends. In fact, they were probably best friends by now. At one time, Lavender had held that title, but she had been so focused on getting her business off of the ground, that many of her friendships have deteriorated.

She still had Seamus, of course, and she had made friends with Cho Chang, who was also interested in the fashion design business—it had immensely surprised her when the old Ravenclaw Seeker came to her and wanted to help her with her business. Unfortunately, Parvati and she had grown distant from each other since they didn't have much time to spend together.

Parvati had her parties, Romilda, and all the guys she dated. Meanwhile, Lavender had her business, Cho, and Seamus. She and her boyfriend were steady, and they were already talking about marriage.

"How have you been doing?" Parvati asked.

"Okay. I have a steady flow of customers now, and Cho always adds such unique things to her designs that people love them. She also inspired me to take more risks with my own designs, and the customers seem to like what I've been doing."

"And you and Seamus?"

Lavender smiled at just the thought of her boyfriend. "Seamus has been hinting that he's going to propose to me soon."

Parvati stopped walking. "Wait? Propose? Isn't that a little soon?"

Lavender stopped as well and faced the other girl. "We've been dating for two years. Many people from our year are already married: Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Neville and Hannah. I don't think it's soon at all."

"But you haven't even gotten to play the field a bit, date different guys. The only other guy you ever dated was Ron."

Lavender did her best to not let her irritation show. "I don't want to date any other guy. I know I've found the one I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Why should I look at anyone else?"

Parvati started walking again, and Lavender followed suit. Silence fell, but it wasn't a comfortable one among friends. It was a strained one between people who barely knew each other anymore.

Lavender never thought she'd feel like this where Parvati was concerned, but it felt like there were oceans between them.

They tried to hide their feelings and tried to pretend they were still friends, but how long could the deception possibly last?

The leaves that littered the ground were all brown; it perfectly matched Lavender's current mood.

They arrived at the fork in the road and stopped at it. They glanced at each other before they continued on their path—the left side.

November 2005

Lavender and Parvati didn't bother trying to force a conversation. It had just gotten so hard in the previous years to find common ground. What was the point of trying?

Lavender's eyes followed a leaf as it slowly fluttered to the ground, the dark red a contrast to the black road.

"We're not friends anymore, are we?" Parvati asked suddenly.

Lavender didn't startle. She had wondered when one of them would bring up the obvious. She had been trying to find a way to do it without hurting Parvati's feelings, but it seemed like the other girl had beat her to it.

"No, we're not. We're too different now."

"We were so close at Hogwarts. It was us against everyone else. How did this happen?" Parvati whispered sadly.

Lavender sighed. "Our adult lives took different paths. You wanted to be the same fun, happy-go-lucky girl that you were in Hogwarts, and that works for you. But I couldn't go back to being the same bubbly, air-headed blonde that I was. I changed too much from the war, and then my recovery period. So, we did different things. We made friends that shared our interests, and now our get-togethers seem forced."

Parvati nodded. "You're married to Seamus and trying to have a baby. I still have dates with at least three different guys every week, in no rush to settle down. I'm only beginning to think about a job, and you've grown quite a following with your designs. We don't share any of the same friends. The only thing we share is our memories."

"Exactly," Lavender agreed.

"So what?" Do we walk away from each other? Throw away seven years of friendship as if it never existed?"

Lavender didn't cry, even though she felt tears building at the thought of saying goodbye to a girl who had been almost like a sister to her while she was in school, but she knew what needed to be done. "We'll always be friends in a way—we'll certainly always care about each other—but I don't think we should force these conversations because it's something that we feel should happen. You can't start a new chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one. And I think our chapter may be finished."

Parvati tilted her head curiously. "When did you get so wise?"

"I don't know, but I think it applies to us perfectly."

They stopped at the familiar fork in the road.

Parvati sadly smiled and waved. She took the left path.

Lavender watched Parvati's back get farther and farther away, and then she began her own path, on the right side. Her path included Seamus and children, and even though she'd miss Parvati, she couldn't wait to start the next chapter in her life.

xXx

(word count: 1,416)