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House: Hufflepuff

Prompt: Lavender Brown (paired with Ron Weasley)

A/N: Well, hello to everyone reading this. This collection of fics is going to be for the Forum Wide Competition on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. I just joined the competition and I'm competing for Hufflepuff (yay!). But once the competition is over, I'll be using this fic for little other drabbles I think of, so I'd be cool if you put this on story alert.

My character prompt was Lavender Brown, and I had to pair her with someone. I was actually surprised by how tough of a character she is to write about. But, anyway, here is a one-shot on their relationship. I hope you enjoy, and leave a review if you please. :)

TO THE JUDGES: Even though the document says this one-shot is over three thousand words, it's actually only 2,969 words on my MS Word word counter, and Tat confirmed it too. Just in case you might have thought this was over the word limit and you would've taken off points. Thanks. :)

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.:. Pretending .:.

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Lavender Brown pretends not to see.

They're sitting in Potions class, and she can barely keep her eyes off of him. He has this gorgeous red hair that flows down in waves to stop just a little below his ears and curls up at the ends. She wishes she could reach over and twist it around and around her finger, as she hopes she has successfully done to his heart as well, since it's what he has done to hers. He blinks at Professor Slughorn, and she can see that he's trying hard to concentrate, but by the way his orange lashes keep slipping down over his baby blue eyes, she knows that it's a lost cause.

She peers down at his parchment to see that it's completely blank. Lavender knows that she'll have to be the only one to take notes for this lesson, because Merlin knows her boyfriend can't pay attention for his life this early in the morning. She quickly picks up her quill and starts writing down the list of ingredients that Slughorn is rattling off.

Four leeches…

One Hippogriff talon…

Two vials of beetle juice…

She can't help herself, and she sneaks another quick glance at him. He's now flicked his eyes down to his parchment, and she watches the recognition dawn on his face – that he hasn't taken down a single note of Slughorn's lecture because he's been half asleep the entire time. He blinks his eyes a few times to ban the exhaustion from them, then raises his head in alarm and grabs for his quill. His eyes scramble back and forth as he reaches for his Potions book and starts flipping between random recipes.

"Lav, what page are we on?" he whispers and turns to look at her.

His beauty strikes her once more. The pale contours of his face, the dash of freckles along the bridge of his nose like cinnamon on top of a sweet pie – They taste sweeter, Lavender thinks – the blindingly white teeth that peek out from under his upper lip, where a soft peach fuzz lies that tickles her when they kiss for hours on end.

"Page one hundred and five," she says quietly, smiling sweetly up at him.

Ron Weasley nods his head and turns back to his pristine copy of Advanced Potion Making. Deciding that he's completely hopeless and if they want to pass, it'll have to be thanks to her hard work, she sits up a little straighter in class and taps her feathered quill against her parchment. She's determined to start paying attention. However, Lavender has never been good at focusing on a task at hand. Her eyes drift from Slughorn's overwhelming white moustache to a bushy head at the front of the classroom to a hippogriff talon resting on the desk in front of her. And suddenly, she's back to sneaking a glance at Ron.

Although she expects him to be staring unseeingly at Professor Slughorn, he isn't. His gaze is a little more focused, the blues sharpened with purpose. A lock of his hair falls into his face when he leans his head on a knuckled hand, but he hardly cares. His head isn't tilted up towards Slughorn and the front of the classroom, however, but rather, his gaze is resting on something straight ahead.

With a little hesitation, she follows his stare and inwardly gasps at what he's staring at.

Or should Lavender say her. He's staring at her, at that bushy head. Her hair isn't as wild and crazy as it used to be back during their first year together, when Lavender and her Parvati Patil used to chortle at her buckteeth and mock her when she eagerly jumped in her seat to answer every little question. It's now silky and smooth, as if she's been taking better care of it. She's furiously copying down notes, but then she accidentally fumbles her quill, which clatters to the floor. She bends over to pick it up again, and Lavender catches the enchanted glint in her eyes, full of knowledge and passion for learning. Her slender nose turns up in the air once again, however, when she turns back around and feverishly continues to write down Slughorn's every word.

He's staring at Hermione Granger.

A chill runs through Lavender. The two friends have been fighting for months now. Lavender doesn't know what they fought about, but she can't really bring herself to care either, not even for her precious boyfriend. She's fully convinced she has nothing to worry about, anyway, because Hermione has been out of the picture for ages. Nothing's gong to change that, and it'd be silly to think otherwise.

But Lavender is a little unsettled when she turns back to glance at Ron. His mouth is hanging open in wonder, and his eyes are glassed over, still glued to her.

"Ron," she hisses.

Usually he responds to her high-pitched tone, which always has a way of getting his attention. But this time, he doesn't turn to her. If anything, he falls even more into a trance. His eyes seem magically enchanted to never leave the back of her head, and Lavender is powerless to do anything. It feels like she's a first year witch against the Dark Lord; her heart is sinking further and further as each tortuous second passes.

"Ron!"

He breaks out of his stupor and quickly whips his head around to face her. His eyes are still half-lidded, but at least he has closed his mouth.

She doesn't want to appear suspicious, so she gives him a little smile. "Just wanted to tell you how cute you look today." She reaches over and runs a finger down the length of his arm. This causes him to give her a big, dopey grin that she thinks suits him so well.

But even after Slughorn calls her out and orders her to pay attention in class, and even after her and Ron walk out of class holding hands, and even after they stop in the middle of the corridor on the way to their next class – Ancient Runes for her, and Defense Against the Dark Arts for him – and kiss and kiss and kiss for well over five minutes before he reluctantly lets her go, she can't stop thinking about his gaze on the bushy brown-haired girl in Potions.

Lavender Brown pretends not to see, but she never forgets.

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Lavender Brown pretends not to hear.

They're in the Gryffindor common room together, and their relationship is getting serious. It's only a week before Christmas and they've only been going out for a while, but she doesn't think that they're rushing at all. She believes that when two people are so spectacularly in love, they can go at any pace they want, move at any speed they please, listen to whatever music that will make their own bodies groove in synch.

At least, she thinks it's love between them. She's talked it all over with Parvati. Her best friend analyzed all of Ron's actions and words, and she confirmed, with help from all of the Muggle magazines she hordes in their dormitory, that Ron loves her. He's always with her, for one. And he always snogs her, which is most important, Parvati stresses, because how can two people in love have a healthy relationship without complete physical trust? Parvati also mentioned that two people in love have a strong emotional connection and completely understand each other, but Lavender doesn't think they have that. But Parvati is convinced that it'll come and progress into true love soon enough, and Lavender agrees because she's sure that she's so close to the wire-thin boundary of teenager to young adult, girl to woman.

But Lavender's mind is wandering again, so she decides to solely focus on the beautiful boy in front of her, who's staring at her with so much feeling and meaning that it fills her heart. She's sure that the glint in his blue eyes is full of love, and not just a result of the reflection from the steady flicker of the fire. He glances around, making sure that the common room is empty, before he leans closer and presses his lips to hers.

Her body hums with adrenaline as it does each time he kisses her. Although this time, it's more electric, more charged, more exhilarating. It may be because they could be caught staying up past curfew at any time, or that the fire is making them sweat as their bodies press up against each other's. Lavender feels the caffeine from her evening tea coursing through her and fueling her every move, allowing her to keep up with the demanding rhythm he's pushing. And yet, everything feels perfect. She knows everything is perfect; she can tell that he loves her, and only her, and that everything Parvati's been telling her has been right all along.

They fall back against the cushions of the couch, and Lavender is now under her precious Ron Weasley. He's kissing her with fervor, with passion, with more purpose than ever before. It's making her squirm underneath him, trying to get closer to him. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him harder, and he responds with matching enthusiasm. Their lips are moving and their teeth are grinding and their limbs are tangling and it's all so thrilling that she can barely even remember to breathe.

When she breaks away for air, his trails his lips to her neck, and they tickle her as he murmurs, "I want you."

The words sent shivers up and down her body. She isn't sure if she's ready for that commitment. But if he's determined to consummate their love, then surely she can be ready too, right? She opens her eyes again and tries to catch his own because she wants see the ardor burning within them, but they're closed.

"I want you, Hermione…"

The end of the sentence trails off in a whisper, but she has already heard him and knows what he has said. Her eyes widen, and she stares down at her boyfriend in shock. But he doesn't even realize what he's said. He just continues kissing her neck – light, butterfly kisses, so feathery that they're working effectively at melting her from head to toe. She's finding it harder and harder to protest and argue with lips like those.

Maybe he just made a mistake. Maybe he was thinking about Hermione because her and Lavender both have the same silky brown hair. Maybe his mind was just wandering, and maybe he was still really upset over fighting with Hermione, and maybe there was some explanation for this in one of Parvati's Muggle magazines that she'd look up later, and maybe, and maybe, and maybe. Lavender has convinced herself that Ron meant her, his Lav-Lav, not that cretin Hermione Granger.

However, she can still only find the strength to say, "I want you too, Ron."

Lavender Brown pretends not to hear, because it's the only admission of love she'll get.

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Lavender Brown pretends not to feel.

It's the first day back after winter break, and everyone is a little sluggish and tired. Lavender practically had to beat Parvati with her pillow before she finally got her best friend out of bed, dressed, and ready to go down for breakfast. Now they're sitting down in the Great Hall, laughing and joking and remembering how much all the Gryffindor sixth years missed each other. Ron is on her left, and she's not ashamed about it. The previous incident is determined to stay out of her mind. She doesn't have to cause a riff between them, right? Especially not on this lovely day, where everyone is so eager to see each other and share their Christmastime stories.

Lavender gazes beside her and catches Ron laughing at some joke that Seamus has just told. But as he leans forward to take another spoonful of scrambled eggs, she sees that something is missing.

She had spent so much time picking out his Christmas gift. She and Parvati had spent hours browsing through the catalogues that they had their owls drop off from big-name wizarding jewelry stores, ones where there was nothing sold for less than a galleon. They had poured over the spreads for hours, trying to pick out the perfect present. When Parvati had finally squealed in delight one night and pointed to a locket that could be engraved with a personal message, Lavender had immediately filled out the order form and sent it with her owl to Merlin's Treasures, which delivered the present to her all wrapped up just in time to send for Christmas.

She had been so proud of it, and now it was nowhere to be found on his person.

"Won Won?" she says, staring up at her beloved. He dumps the spoonful of food onto his plate, then turns to face her.

"What?" he asks. For once, his mouth isn't full of food.

"Why aren't you wearing your Christmas present?"

Ron's blue eyes go wide, and his face goes even paler than it already is. She begins to suspect that something is wrong when Harry Potter chokes on his toast, and Dean Thomas's fork clatters to his plate.

Lavender can feel her heart sinking, but she knows she has to continue.

He grasps for words, but can't find any. He reaches into his robes and pulls out the perfect little black box, which holds the sparkling golden locket. He takes it out and holds between his fingers. "D'you mean this?"

"Yes," she says in an exasperated tone. "Of course that's what I mean."

Just then, she watches Hermione Granger from a few feet down across the table clear her throat, politely wipe her mouth with her napkin, and jump up. Her hair flounces around her. She stops to gather the spare pages of The Daily Prophet that are littering on top of her finished plate.

Lavender has to act fast. "Here, let me put it on."

She stands up and comes around to his back. She takes the locket from his hands and spreads it over his neck so that the pendant is only a little bit to the right of where his actual, beating heart lies. She can feel it beating faster and faster under his skin. She'd like to think that it's her touch that's causing this reaction, but no. She notices that Ron's stare is focused above the chortling Harry and Dean and on Hermione. The brown-haired girl briefly lifts her gaze to his, and then flicks it back down again, a blush coloring her cheeks.

Lavender brushes her hands over the back of Ron's neck as she fingers the clasp. He shivers involuntarily, and it makes her fingers tremble harder. She's trying to flick the clasp open, trying to make it snap into place, but her eyes can't focus. They keep flicking up to Hermione, who's crossing in front of them now. Lavender can't help but feel powerless as Ron stares hopelessly after her. Even though she's standing over Ron possessively, she can't help but feel that her presence is negligible between Ron and Hermione's loaded stare. And then she's gone, heading out of the Great Hall, and Ron's eyes turn downward again.

She quickly finishes up the clasp and sits down next to him in a huff. And yet, even though she shouldn't, she still sidles up to his side and nuzzles his shoulder. Her eyes close shut and his Christmas sweater scratches her cheek and the cold locket dangles and hits her face like a snowball slap.

Lavender Brown pretends not to feel, so she doesn't have to notice him pulling away.

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Lavender Brown pretended not to know.

She sits in Potions class. She's next to Parvati again, back to sitting with her best friend again. But neither of them is really paying attention. They're passing notes back and forth today, hiding the pieces of parchment between their copies of Advanced Potion Making. Lavender can't find the strength to pay attention, and if even she could, she figures it'd be terribly boring and pointless anyway.

Parvati taps Lavender on the elbow, and when she turns to face her best friend, Parvati slips Lavender a note into her lap.

It reads, You okay?

Lavender feels like laughing for the first time in the past month. Of course she's not okay. She's feeling anything but okay. She knows what she saw when Ron and Hermione came out of the common room together, when the final straw snapped that was feebly holding his and Lavender's relationship together. She knows that breaking up with Ron was the right choice to make.

But sitting behind them in Potions today is almost too much to bear, and Parvati must sense that. Ron is sitting next to Hermione these days, and now he has his arm around the back of her chair. But she isn't even paying attention to it, just studiously taking down notes as she has done ever since the first class at the beginning of the year. She doesn't notice how Ron's officially claimed her as his property, not in any words but in just one action. It might only be meant as a gesture of friendship, but Lavender can tell it's so much more, even if Ron doesn't know it yet.

Lavender tried to ignore the way he looked at her in class. She tried to ignore the way he murmured Hermione's name. She tried to ignore his shudder when she clasped her locket around his neck. But ignoring it all hadn't worked.

Because even though Lavender Brown pretended not to know, she still felt the pain.

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