a\n: For the 'Legitimately Challenging' Challenge.

Pairing: Fred\Lavender

Format: Multi-chapter\Novella

Prompt: Cancerous

Genre: Horror

Thank-you for an excellent challenge, astronauts!

Enjoy, everyone, and please review!

He found her sitting at the bottom of the last staircase, crying against the wall.

"Lavender?"

She jumped, and made a startled noise, before sitting back down, and slumping against the wall. Fred couldn't help but think to himself she was too pretty to be slumping against anything like she was weak. Lavender Brown was not weak.

"I didn't mean to frighten you...Why are you out here, though? Everyone's in bed, and you know the staircase moves."

She didn't seem to care.

"Lavender? What is it?"

She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes.

"Your brother, that's what! He never shows a bit of sympathy! He only cares about himself."

"Whereas that may be true, all of it... You know he cares about you. Not everyone can be sympathetic. Ron has never been good at it."

"Look, if I'm confiding this in you, that's all it means: That I'm confiding in you, not asking for you to stick up for him!"

Fred dismissed her comment, and continued. "You're never this touchy, what's behind your tears beside my brother being a twit? Which, actually, you should get used to if you plan on furthering this relationship..."

"I was planning on telling him tonight," she stated quickly, and then stared off into the distance.

"Telling him...what, exactly?" Now, Fred was nervous.

Great, she wants out and he's going to think it's MY fault. Way to go, Freddy.

"That I'm sick."

"Sick of him?"

"No..not at all."

"Sick in love? Aha! That's it...how cute!"

"No, Fred...like, legitimately...sick."

"Sick with what?"

"Cancer."

a\n: the opener started off a little slow, but I have great ideas for this story. Review, and next chapter will be longer.

Au revoir!

~PMI.~