One-Shot: Truces and Blessings

The morning after Voldemort's death, the Golden Trio awoke: the hero in one bed, and his best friends curled up in another.

"Well," Ron said simply. "What do we do now?" All three laughed, realizing they were free for the first time in months – no, years!

"I…I think we could go down to the Hospital Wing. We should help however we can." Hermione suggested. The boys nodded.

At the hospital wing, many lay in beds wounded or dying. It was a sickening sight. There were people with lost limbs, others afflicted with curses like boils or flowing pus. Then, Harry noticed one wounded warrior off to one side. He nudged both Ron and Hermione and pointed. "Oi. Look." Hermione's hand went to her mouth, and Ron visibly fought between staring and looking away in shame.

Lavender Brown lay wrapped in bandages over her most of her body. There was a distinct slash across her face that reminded the three of a similar one across Bill's brow. The Golden Trio cautiously approached, intercepted by Madam Pomfrey just leaving the girl's side.

"Stay and visit with her, won't you? She needs company."

Harry nodded, stating they had been planning on it, before sitting beside Lavender's bed. Her head turned slowly to regard each of them in turn; Harry surmised that it was causing her great effort.

"Harry. Hermione. Wo- Ron." she spoke. Ron blinked; the utterance of his real name and not the pet one she had given him when they were dating was not lost on him. "You came to see me."

"Of course we would," Hermione said gently, taking her hand. "We're friends, aren't we?" Lavender blinked almost in astonishment at this admission before turning her face away; she couldn't bring herself to look Hermione in the eye just yet. Her eyes locked on Harry's and there was a sudden earnest in them.

"There's something I want to say to each of you…privately… if you don't mind." The Golden Trio looked at each other, silently wondering, before Ron and Hermione volunteered to step outside and away.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was perplexed as to why Lavender even wanted to talk with him; her real interactions had been (romantically) with Ron and (coldly) with Hermione. Besides, he didn't even know her that well.

Sniffling made him glance up. Lavender was staring at him and crying.

"You were so brave," she admitted. Harry awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Rubbish. So were you. So was everyone. And you know I never wanted this for my world, for my…family" Technically, Harry didn't have a family by blood; he had been thinking of Ron and Hermione in that moment. He couldn't help but glance back to outside the curtain where they were – though they would try and deny it later – almost certainly eavesdropping. Lavender followed his gaze and gave a weak, but knowing smile.

"Ah. Such a wonderful thing. Family," she mused, and for a moment, Harry wondered if she was slowly losing her mind before she burst into tears again. She unexpectedly seized his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Harry!" she got out through her tears. "I'm sorry that I hurt you – all three of you! I hurt you so badly! I was a selfish bi-"

"That's enough of that!" Harry said, in a paternalistic, brotherly voice that he sometimes used on Hermione (to her great annoyance). There was no malice in his words though, just stern affection. The Boy Who Lived suddenly smiled. "If anything, I should be thanking you."

Lavender blinked in confusion. "Thanking me? Why?"

"For getting my friends to stop acting like loony tossers and realize exactly what was in front everyone's faces, including their own!" He said this extra loudly; to make damn sure Ron and Hermione heard him. He smiled in bemusement and tucked a strand of blond hair behind Lavender's ear. "You may have been a wedge that drove between them, Lavender – and maybe I did resent you for that, because it just made my job as the peacekeeper in our trio all that much harder. But, in the long run, you brought Ron and Hermione together. For that, I am grateful to you."

Lavender softly wept, touched at Harry's honesty. "Thank you, Harry. Very much. Can you send Hermione in, please?"

Harry nodded, gave her hand a squeeze, and left. As soon as Hermione relieved him of duty, he hypocritically pressed an ear to the curtain, right next to Ron's. Sadly, he could not hear anything, though (neither boy realized the curtains had Muffliato charms placed on them). Nevertheless, things were about to get interesting…

Hermione slowly took her place in the chair next to Lavender's bed. Lavender was determined to look anywhere but at her. Hermione decided she would have to be the one to break the ice…. by burying the hatchet.

"Lavender," she coaxed sweetly. "Look at me." After a long moment, Lavender did – and her eyes welled up immediately.

"How can you look at me?" Lavender whispered. There was some fear in her voice, as if she was afraid Hermione would maybe strangle her or something in revenge.

"Because I don't dwell in the past and I no longer hold a grudge," Hermione said simply. "If I did, would I be sitting here talking to you?"

Lavender looked down. "I doubt neither of us would be here, anyway. You would have let Greyback have me." She looked back up at Hermione. "But, that didn't happen. You saved me from him…why?"

Hermione smiled tenderly. "Because I've been there." She nodded and whispered the next almost to herself. "Oh, yes. I've been there…."

Lavender gasped and her eyes filled with tears anew. "Oh, Hermione…. he didn't…."

Hermione shook her head. "No. But he was hell-bent on it. Bellatrix wanted to have a little fun with me first." And she told her former rival of her torture at Malfoy Manor, telling the tale for the first time to anyone. Lavender actually looked stricken. Then, she burst into tears.

"I'm…I'm sorry that happened to you! And…. oh, I'm so sorry that I hurt you! P-Pavarti said I was a fool, to go after Ron, but I still did it anyway. The whole of our year in Gryffindor knew you and he were made for each other, and I went and almost ruined it all!" She calmed slightly and gave a mirthless laugh. "I guess sometimes you only see what you want to see."

Hermione gently patted the girl's hand. "I forgive you, Lavender. For all of it. I used to think I could never say that to you, but I realize none of that matters now." She suddenly chuckled. "And, truth be told, all that stuff with you and Ron helped me stay on my toes! I realized I had to compete with one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts! I had to earn my prize!" She instantly regretted referring to Ron as some kind of 'prize,' but Lavender appeared not to have noticed.

"Oh, no!" Lavender cried, with intensity in her voice; it reminded Hermione of how the blonde-haired witch would gossip about blokes with some of the other girls. "I could never compete with you, Hermione! You're smart! And you're perfect and gorgeous!"

Hermione was stunned by this admission. Never, in her entire life, even before the fiasco sixth year, did she imagine Lavender Brown saying such wonderful things about her. "I don't always feel perfect and gorgeous," she lamely admitted.

"But, you are! Whereas I-"

"Honey-"

"It's true and you know it!" Lavender said forcefully. The banter must have exhausted her, because she sank back into the pillows. "Like I said, I never could have competed with you. I couldn't have stopped you and Ron from getting together any more than I could stop the sun from setting." Hermione turned away, before Lavender grabbed her hand.

"So…" and a smile - a ghost of the old Lavender - surfaced. "Has he kissed you yet?"

Hermione burst out laughing. "Yes, he has. In the middle of the battle."

Lavender giggled before shaking her head in amusement. "That idiot," she sighed, with a hint of affection in her voice. "And how did Harry take it when he found out you two were together? He seemed pleased about it when we spoke just now."

"Are you kidding?" Hermione laughed. "Last night could not have been the worst time to tell Harry – he was still half-exhausted, the poor guy. I guess that's why he kept walking around in circles saying 'I'm going to be an uncle!' over and over again."

"You're pregnant?!" Lavender squealed, and Hermione was surprised to hear happiness in her voice, rather than horror or envy.

"No!" Hermione cried quickly, blushing furiously now. "Ron, and I – we…. we haven't…"

Lavender gave her a knowing smile. "Ah, but you will. And our world's hero knows it, too." She chuckled. "That Harry… always thinking five steps ahead of everyone else."

Hermione smiled. "Careful, now. All the blood will start going to his head. Don't let him hear you say that." She stopped momentarily, realizing those last words were almost the exact same ones she had said to Ron about the blonde now beside her, when Ron had casually told Hermione he loved her. Then, almost as soon as the thought entered her head, it was gone. She was actually having fun, sitting here with Lavender.

"Hermione," Lavender said, forcing the bushy-haired girl to look up. It was clear they had reached the serious part of the discussion now. There was imploring in Lavender's eyes. "Take care of him, won't you? Take care of Ron. Be happy and have lots of kids – little red-haired kids as only the Weasleys can!"

"What are you talking about, Lavender? You'll find someone and have kids, too! You're going to get well again!"

Lavender shook her head in resignation. "No. It's too late for me, Hermione. Besides, who would want to live the rest of their life as half a werewolf?"

Normally, Hermione would have been offended by such comments, on account of Bill having the same predicament and he wasn't dead, nor did he wish we was. But, instead, she could only feel pity for Lavender. Then, she had a thought.

"Well, I'll tell you what," she said, and the maternal, teacher voice that Ron and Harry always hated (and yet secretly loved) came forth. "It may be written in the stars that you don't get out of this. But, if you still fight with everything you have – even if it doesn't turn out to be enough – then…" here, she took a breath, "When Ron and I have a little baby girl, we'll name her partially after you."

Lavender's breath hitched in her throat, and her eyes filled with tears for the umpteenth time that day. "You would do that? You'd name your daughter after me? Really?"

Hermione smiled a genuine smile. "Really."

Lavender took Hermione's hand and kissed it gratefully. "Bless you. Goodbye, Hermione. I regret that I didn't get to know you better, and…. maybe we could have even been friends, if I hadn't had my heart set on Ron. Say what you want, I'm still ashamed of all that. I'm happy for you and Ron. Go with my blessing. I wish you both every happiness!"

Hermione gently pressed her back down into the bed. "Sssh. We are friends. And I know; it's OK, I forgive you." She kissed Lavender's forehead then headed for the door before turning back. "Fight for me, now, Lavender. Promise?"

Lavender smiled. "I will, Hermione! I will!"

Hermione smiled back, before saying goodbye to Lavender for the last time.

Ron sat staring at his ex-girlfriend for a long time. She stared back. Finally, he knew he'd have to say something, or look like a prat.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked carefully, as just asking How are you feeling? would have been totally ignorant and insensitive besides. Lavender nodded.

"A little. But it won't be enough." She smiled at him sadly. "I promised Hermione just now I'd fight, but it won't be enough. I'm dying, Ron."

Ron looked stunned. He felt tears coming to his eyes, and the resentful part of him – the part that still bore some hatred for her - wanted to fight them off, but he couldn't. He started to cry.

"Sssh…" Lavender said quietly, and she awkwardly reached out a hand to brush the tears away. Her touch was purely platonic now, which Ron was grateful for. "Don't cry for me, Ron. You have more important people to worry for. People who love you." Ron knew by this she meant Hermione, but he didn't say anything. He looked up to see her still smiling at him.

"I did love you," she admitted. "But I still knew, in the back of my mind, there was someone else more worthy of your love. And she is, Ron. Hermione really is. She's a very caring person." Lavender's freely-given surrender in the form of a compliment almost set off another round of hysterical crying on Ron's part. He felt his throat get very tight, all the same.

"And that's just what I love about her…. Thank you, Lavender. And…." he couldn't believe he was actually saying this, but somehow he needed to. "Thank you. For noticing me when I thought she didn't. For giving me the experience and courage to go after Hermione."

"You're welcome," Lavender said gently, and she meant it. Then, with great strength, she lifted herself up and kissed Ron on the cheek. He looked shocked, which made her laugh. "Now, get going, Won-Won. Go make some little Weasleys for me. Your girlfriend just admitted that she wants some."

Ron found himself laughing hugely at it all: the peck on the cheek (surely meant to be only friendly), the use of the old pet name. He smiled for the first time and dared to give Lavender a gentle hug. "Goodbye," he whispered.

Lavender Brown died two days later, fighting to the last, as promised.

Epilogue

Harry Potter stretched out on the inflatable air mattress. A part of him couldn't believe that he was here, reveling in one of the happiest moments of his life, as well as those of his best friends. Ron Weasley couldn't believe his brother-in-law was actually here either…. after the rest of the family had already left – even Ginny with James and Albus. When Harry had first offered to spend the night in the hospital with him and Hermione, the redhead had thought it sweet but balked. The Chosen One, however, had insisted.

"Quit with the paranoia, Harry!" he had laughed. "Voldemort's been dead for eight years; you don't have to protect me and Hermione anymore!"

"Oh, that's nice, that you think I'm going to sleep with my wand in my hand all night!" (Even if he, admittedly, was going to. Old habits die hard). "Can I help it if I want some time alone with my goddaughter? With my family?"

Now, the Golden Trio was together: Harry on the air mattress, Ron in a rocking chair just off of the baby's bassinet, and Hermione in a hospital bed, cooing at the little baby girl in her arms.

"So," Harry said, clapping his hands together to break the silence. "After six hours of fawning all over her, do we finally have a name? Or am I going to have to wait until morning?"

Hermione looked up at him with a chiding smile. "Harry, the naming of a child is a very big decision!"

"Since when have you taken six hours to make a decision?" Harry shot back.

"Bite your tongue, you git! At least she's putting thought into this – unlike you. You named your sons in a matter of minutes by naming them after other people! What a total cop-out!" Ron cracked.

"I'm not going to sleep until I know my niece's name," Harry said firmly, the look on his face almost like that of a little kid's pout.

"I know someplace you can go," Ron nodded in his direction, a devilish grin on his face. "Back home to my sister and nephews!"

"Think again, Baby Daddy."

"Oi!"

Hermione let out a belly laugh, watching her best friends bicker. It was almost as bad as, yet more playful than, whenever she and Ron fought.

"Wait, wait," she got out through her giggles. "Both of you, shut up! I think I've got a name!" Ron and Harry quieted down immediately and looked to her eagerly. Hermione paused for effect: "Rosalind Lavender Weasley."

Harry looked at her quizzically, his expression neutral. "Rosalind?"

"We could call her Rose or Rosie for short!"

Meanwhile, Hermione noticed that Ron had said nothing. He looked a little miffed, in fact. Finally, he spoke up.

"Lavender?" His wife and brother-in-law stopped postulating to look at him. "You want to name our daughter after my ex-girlfriend?"

"It would just be her middle name, Ron." Hermione explained exasperatedly. "And what are you getting so hot and bothered about? I thought you and Lavender made up before she died!"

"Why are you so eager to have our little girl partially be a living reminder of how much of a git I was to you?"

"That was when you were sixteen!"

"If I didn't' know any better…."

"I made a deal with her, OK?!" Ron and Harry stared at her, shocked. Hermione regained her composure.

"You may not know this – I never told either of you – but I made a promise to Lavender when we were saying goodbye. I said that if she fought for her life – even if she died anyway – I would make sure she did not die unremembered. I would name any daughter of mine and Ron partially after her."

Ron looked like he wanted to hex something. "Well, that's just great!" he snarled, angrily pacing around the room. "That's…that's almost as bad as 'Albus Severus'!"

Before Harry could say anything, Hermione snapped to her brother-in-law's defense. "I will not let you make Harry the enemy here! You know why he named Al after Snape!"

"And I suppose when we have a son, you'll want to name him 'Vicky'?" Ron asked, mockingly pretending to like the idea.

"Oh, will you just stop!" Harry growled in annoyance. "What a hypocrite – not two minutes ago, you were giving me grief for choosing names to honor other people! You just have to make everything worse than it actually is, don't you?"

"It was just a joke!" Ron whined, peeved that Harry seemed to be implicitly taking Hermione's side.

"Yeah, well, I don't think it's funny." Harry glared in Ron's direction. "I happen to think it's sweet that Hermione remembered a promise like that at all, let alone wants to still uphold it. And I think 'Rosalind Lavender' is a beautiful name." He said the last firmly. "When are you going to grow up, Ron? Hermione's right – I thought all was forgiven between you and your ex! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You know, when I visited Lavender, I actually thanked her for hooking up with you!" Ron stared at Harry as though he had just committed blasphemy, but the Boy Who Lived held up a hand. "Before you get all Auror on me, hear me out: she made you and Hermione hurry it along; realize your feelings for each other that much faster… even if you were taking your own sweet bloody time enough as it was! I couldn't have done that – and I didn't want to get involved anyway; I didn't feel it was my place!" He now spoke more gently. "Ron, I'm not saying you should then go and name any son of yours after Krum…but this is a completely different case. She said she was sorry to all of us, and we forgave her; the least we can do is make that forgiveness lasting in some way."

Ron was now leaning against the wall, head down, thoroughly ashamed at himself. He began to get a little teary even. He looked up at the ceiling, as if his eyes were trying to pierce through it to the heavens. "Forgive me, Lavender," he said quietly. He looked back at his family. "I'm sorry, love; Harry. 'Rosalind Lavender Weasley' it is."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears, and she kissed little Rosalind sweetly. Ron and Harry bro-hugged, a little emotional themselves; all was forgiven. Then, the Golden Trio and the infant settled down to sleep for the night. And somewhere far above the little family, Lavender Brown was watching… and smiling.