Disclaimer: Not JK…

Chapter 1: The tale of the witness

It had always been his bane to be the onlooker.

To observe but not to feel, to recognize but not to act.

He had gone down these paths of thoughts often enough. Not that that made them any easier to bear.

Lavendar Brown had breezed through his life, and had disappeared exactly that way.

Ever since that day she broke up with him, he had had to look at her, with a different person each week, always happy and smiling. As if there wasn't anything else she'd rather be doing.

He hadn't felt the dread of losing her completely, until Ron Weasley. He knew he had lost then. What was he before one third of the Golden Trio?

But he had broken up with her leaving her broken. Hope had shined through, but the cloud of a looming war had made him too anxious for anything else.

Now the war was over, but she was in no position to listen to what he wanted to say.

She had been attacked by Greyback, and her face was now a pale shadow of what it had been.

He had been shocked at her face at first but an hour later, he was already able to see behind the scars.

She had appeared so vulnerable, so…unprotected, it had banished any other thoughts from his mind.

He'd stay with her. He had resolutely cut out any of her protests.

She hadn't wanted to see anyone. She hadn't wanted the pity anyone would feel looking at her.

He hadn't pitied her. He hadn't felt sorry. He had taken it in stride and had all but forgotten that her face now criss-crossed with angry red scars.

He had felt her need for company, seen it in her eyes that she needed someone who would treat her just the same. Someone who could make her forget the reason she was in the Hospital Wing and not celebrating with her friends.

That was the reason why Dean Thomas was now grumbling something about stupid smitten friend as he walked back towards the Great Hall.

"You should have gone with Dean" she tried for the last time to convince him to go. She did not want him to stay with her miserable self while he could be enjoying the victory with everyone else.

"What for?"

"You don't have to feel obligated to stay with me. I'll be fine all by myself"

"Whoever told you I'm unhappy here?"

"I dunno why you insist on sitting here looking at the complaining patients"

"I only see one complaining patient here"

It didn't bring her usual reaction. She didn't laugh like she would have. Her eyes turned brooding, a hint of fear flashing through them.

"Lav?"

"Huh?"

"You sort of spaced out?"

"Nothing. Just keep talking. Tell me the news"

"Gossip you mean?"

She smiled at last, and flinched when that brought her pain.

"You could call it that" she said, trying to hide her obvious pain.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt is the temporary Minister for magic"

"Good for him. He always stood by Dumbledore"

"I still think Ron's dad should have got it" he said cautiously, wondering how tender the subject of her ex-boyfriend was to her.

"Shacklebolt is the better choice. He was an Auror"

There didn't seem to be any visible difference in her manner and he was relieved he hadn't made her mood worse.

"They are thinking of restarting the school for those who didn't attend it this year and those who had to…leave"

"You mean those who went into hiding?"

"Sort of. You'll join?"

"Yeah…May be. I don't think people will be very welcoming…I was bitten by a werewolf afterall"

"There's nothing wrong with you! Ad today wasn't a full moon. You won't have any problem blending in"

"Thanks. We'll see. I'm not very intent on making plans. I'd like to just live for a few years. No war. No fear and all that"

"We still have a lot of time anyway"

Her laughter was more an expression of relief this time, as if she had just realized that there was no war to anticipate.

"Yeah…I always wondered what I'd do after the war. I thought I'd sort of open a shop or something. That'd suit me but now that I do have time, I'm not so enthusiastic about it"

"I'd wait until I get out of the infirmary if I were you" he encouraged.

"There I go again! Making plans before they are even necessary"

She shook her head and fell silent, staring at the ceiling of the room.

The sounds from below reached their ears making both of them smile.

"It really is over, isn't it?"

Lavender's voice was delighted and he saw a glimpse of the old lavender he knew.

"Yeah! We won!"

His voice was as excited as hers.

She settled back again, and soon her eyelids drooped to cover her eyes.

Seamus Finnigan sat beside her while she slept, knowing he was where he belonged.

Because even though he'd thought the same things countless times before, and had bits and pieces of his heart chucked in the bin repeatedly, he just knew she was the one he was waiting for.

A/n: Review!