Hello everyone! I'm already back, this time with a series of short One-Shots (still on Harry Potter), dealing with the general theme of scars.
The concept: Each OS will talk about another scarred character. There will be stories about different eras, different characters, different pairings… You can expect (I think) an OS per day.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and nothing is mine. I don't make any money out of this story.
.:.
Rating of this OS: K+, it's rather soft
Those Scars We Carry: Lavender Brown
We all have scars, Lavender thinks. Mine are just more visible than others. She needs to remind herself of that, because they won't ever disappear and she'll have to live with them forever.
She looks at herself in the mirror she used to carry everywhere with her. Her scars are not red anymore, she notices. They have turned to pink. But they still cover her shoulders, and she knows they disappear down her back.
She sighs. It's the first day of school of the year (she has come back for a proper last year, she doesn't even know why she bothered anymore) and so she puts on her Hogwarts uniform. She adjusts the collar so that her scars are no longer visible, and then walks out of the Gryffindor dorm, thinking about how unfair it is that it could have been repaired so fast, when she can never be.
When she arrives in her Transfiguration class, she feels like all the students there for the first lesson of their seventh year are staring at her. She flinches a little, but then she sees Parvati, smiling at her. There's a free seat next to hers, and she takes it without even asking herself if her friend was actually waiting for someone else. She's grateful when Parvati just smiles at her and says, "You look beautiful today, Lavender."
And she believes her, because she's her friend and why would she lie to her? That's when she realizes that's exactly why she would, and she has to force a smile on her lips, fidgeting in her seat.
She wishes she could just skip lunch like she had skipped breakfast, but she can't. She walks in just behind a group of other students, lagging behind them; she doesn't want to be alone when she arrives in the Great Hall.
She doesn't sit next to Parvati this time. She doesn't want to hear her false compliments. So she takes a seat between Seamus and Ron, and both look at her with a smile on their lips.
"How you doing?" Seamus asks her, and she laughs, surprised. How does he think she is doing?
"I'm fine," she answers anyway, and he nods, before turning his attention back to his meal.
It's awkward, of course, but she can almost believe he cares, giving his attitude. And she tries to get a conversation going. She asks him, "Are you okay too?"
"Better than some," he answers shortly.
And she knows who he's talking about: the Weasleys, Dennis Creevey, Harry even… And her. She nods, just like he had a few seconds ago. Maybe she should have asked something else…
"You looked beautiful this morning," he suddenly blurts out, and her eyes widen.
She stays silent and has a half mind to walk away, but she chooses to answer, "You don't have to say this to make me feel better, Seamus."
"I meant it. You looked fierce. Determined. Like you weren't scared of the scars."
And this time, she believes him. And she smiles. It's the first time anyone, besides the doctors she's seen, has referred to her scars as what they are: scars.
I hoped you enjoyed this! :)
