Lavender was excited for the night ahead, she and Cormac had had their little arrangement going on for years now, they always met up on a Thursday night and fooled around. Friends with benefits he had called them one day. Lavender had been hurt of course. Sure, she was a little bit easier than most girls, she liked having a good time for Merlin's sake! But over time and as they carried on meeting up each week she had fallen for the devilishly handsome would be Quidditch star. It wasn't even about his status either, he was playing keeper for one of the top teams in the league and could have any girl he wanted, she had expected the arrangement to stop the second he got signed but it never did. She tried not to think about how many other girls e was doing this with, certainly the witches were falling over themselves to be with him but still, he never seemed to have anyone on his arm when he turned up in Witch Weekly 'Celebrity Sighting' column. Week after week he turned up at their pre arranged destination with that beautiful smile plastered on his face that made her knees weak.
She had tried to end it once or twice, telling herself it was for the best; cut herself off from him and go cold turkey, move on. Get a man who would see her as more than a weekly fuck. But she couldn't do it. No amount of sitting in front of her mirror and talking herself until she was blue in the face would make her tongue utter the words 'I think we should stop' as once she saw him walking towards her, his designer muggle jeans hugging in all the right places and his top two shirt buttons undone to reveal his painstakingly beautiful chest she would melt into a puddle of want and need, her brain hazy from lust and, unfortunately for her, love.
She had read once in a quibbler a while back that carrying a four leaf clover on ones person helped bring about luck. Of course there were rules, you had to grow and harvest it just so. You had to carry it carefully and it had to be in close contact. It all sounded really ridiculous and everybody knew that that was written in The Quibbler was true but even still Lavender Brown was not a girl to give up. She had tried other forms of luck in the past and while they had generally been helpful, a job promotion here or a Ministry windfall there usually, they had never brought her luck in the one part of her life she really wanted it. So Lavender read the article and then read it again and again until she was able to recite it backwards and in Elvish before she got to work. There was no harm in trying, right?
oOoOoOo
This week was going to be different, tonight she had planned an actual date. A date involving a lesson in driving muggle cars since she knew he was so enchanted by them. She had gotten Hermione to help her get one of those race car lessons and was really excited to see the look on his face when he found out what was in store for him. It was the fastest car she could find of course, because what quidditch player wanted to get off of a racing broom that could reach speeds of one hundred and fifty miles per hour only to get into a muggle car that barely moved. And it was red too. Red, the colour of lust. The colour of love. Red, the colour of the house that had defined them when they were mere children. Red was the colour that had brought them together. Red, the colour of love.
As she stood in front of the mirror, her carefully selected outfit that accentuated every curve and made her boobs look even bigger than they were, her shoes that had heels on that made her legs look much more like something you would see in 'Runway Witch' and accentuated her arse. Not that she thought her arse needed accentuating of course, Cormac never failed to tell her how amazing and perfect her arse was. He loved it. Lavender applied her make up charms precisely, putting extra attention to her eyes. He had told her once she had beautiful eyes. That they often mesmerised him and every time he was about to come he would force her chin up so she had to look at him before he fell apart. Before she was following him a second later. She didn't mind, she loved looking into his eyes but the connection it gave felt too raw and she was often left questioning herself again when she got back home. Of course, his eyes were beautiful too and that there was the problem, she had lost herself in them so many times, the sea of sapphire so deep it felt like it was drowning her.
Arriving at their regular meet up place that week Lavender waited nervously, struggling not to bite her nails or scratch at her bare arms when the chill from the night air penetrated her skin. She was in a muggle neighbourhood, just where they always met - no reporters here looking for stories he had said and she had nodded her head in agreement. She told him she understood, even when she didn't. A warming charm unfortunately was out of the question so she would just have to wait and hope he wasn't late, not that he ever was of course. For as much of an utter cunt he could sometimes be Cormac McLaggen was never tardy. Lavender was starting to regret her choice of outfit that evening when she couldn't keep her teeth from chattering but when she saw him, moments later, walking towards her in his light jacket, fitted shirt and jeans she sighed and reached out instinctively to touch his chest. He looked perfect of course, he always bloody did.
Before Lavender had the chance to say or do anything though he was kissing her full on the mouth. A kiss that promised so much more than she was used to getting from him. Kissing wasn't totally a no-no for them but usually it was only when they got hot and steamy and so far wrapped up in one another's naked bodies, bringing each other to climax that they did it.
Pulling away Cormac looked at her with dilated pupils and asked "Have you used an engorgio charm on those?" Pointing to her chest before they both laughed.
Lavender was about to reply with something witty and Gryffindor like when he shushed her by putting a finger to her mouth, took off his jacket to wrap around her freezing cold shoulders and stared intently at the woman before him. She stood, stock still, eyes wide as she waited for him to continue.
"Tonight we're going on a date. I'm sick of pretending that this doesn't mean anything. I'm sick of seeing men fawn all over you and I swear to merlin Lav, if I see Weasley drooling all over you one more time I'll throw a bloody bludger at him." He said as his finger was replaced by his thumb that was now tracing her bottom lip. He wasn't looking at that though shockingly, he was looking right into her eyes, his stare boring through her, waiting for a reaction. When she gave none he gulped visibly and nervously asked "Will you be my girlfriend Lavender Brown?"
Lavender smiled and giggled, Cormac had always been a brave Gryffindor, smart, sassy and never ever nervous.
"I thought you'd never ask" she breathed happily with a sigh of relief.
As the pair walked away for their very first real date Lavender patted her pocket and thanked Godric Gryffindor himself for the four leaf clover she had brought along with her that night. She was going to have to send The Quibbler a Honeyduke's hamper!