As always, thanks to MrsBates93 for her wonderful beta'ing
In memory of Alex/visions of a scarlet night. A lovely girl who passed far too soon.
xXxXxXx
It consumed her; the grief of losing her best friend.
She hadn't wanted to see her, not at first. Her cold, lifeless body being carried into the Great Hall. She had turned away and covered her face with her hands. She had felt guilty when she couldn't feel any moisture on her palms, there was nothing trying to squeeze its way out of the corner of her eyes.
She should be crying. Her best friend had just died for merlin's sake. There would be no more late night gossip, no more talk about boys they had liked or the latest scandal Harry Potter had gotten himself into.
That was all over.
They had known that there was a chance that one or both of them could die. There was no such thing as a war without casualties.
But why did one of them have to be Lavender?
Memories of the past seven years flashed through her mind. Their first meeting and proper introduction in the Gryffindor dorms on their first night in the castle, sharing nerves as they were bombarded with magic and everything new. Through the years a tentative friendship had grown and become stronger, until they were more sisters than anything else.
The first tear of many fell as Parvati realised exactly what she had lost. A sister. Now she only had one left in Padma.
Not that that was a bad thing, but Padma did not know her as well as Lavender had come to know her. She suspected being sorted into different houses had had something to do with that.
Lavender. Her best friend. Her sister. No-one would ever replace her.