'What is wrong with you, Ron?' Lavender exclaimed, putting her hands back on her hips. 'Why are you hanging around with her?!'

'She's my friend-'

'In case you don't remember, she attacked you! For kissing me!'

'She apologised for that!'

'Oh, yes; because that makes everything better!'

Lavender Brown was having a bad day.

Well, more like a bad month.

Ever since Ron had been poisoned, things had gone from bad to worse. To most girls, their boyfriend almost dying would have been the worst thing to happen, but this is Hogwarts. And Ron Weasley was not new to the concept of almost dying. So far, he had been knocked out in a giant chess match, and attacked by death-eaters in the Ministry of Magic.

Lavender had been very impressed by that. Well, not the 'almost-dying' part, obviously. But Ron had been so brave, defending his sister and that Lovegood girl from three death-eaters who wanted to kill them. Yes, he had almost died, but that showed just how much he cared about the people he loved.

She had already been crushing on him hard by that point, but the department of mysteries had sealed it for Lavender. Ron Weasley was brave, kind, funny, and –as she had noticed at the start of fifth year- absolutely gorgeous. Lavender had no idea what he'd been up to over the summer, but it had clearly done him the world of good. The last vestiges of his childhood puppy-fat had disappeared from his face, revealing cheekbones to die for. His chest and arms seemed to have bulked up out of nowhere; his shirts used to hang off him, now they were straining to retain their stitching.

Then, the department of mysteries had happened, and he'd got those scars. Normally, Lavender thought scars were a little… distressing. But Ron's scars showed just how brave he was; she'd had no idea what exactly had happened in the ministry that night, but Ron had been stuck in the hospital wing for a long time afterwards. And when he had returned to Gryffindor tower… wow… Lavender's mouth had dropped open at the sight of him. It wasn't fair; how was he that attractive?

This was what Lavender had read about in magazines; a "glow-up". And -boy- had Ron Weasley glowed up!

Why on earth hadn't anyone-else noticed? By all accounts, he should have had a queue of people pining after him. He had always been cute, but fifth year had changed that; he was no longer an adorable boy, he was now a man. So why did Lavender seem to be the only girl who had noticed?

Come to think about it -Lavender thought- barely anyone noticed Ron to begin with. He was always being shoved to the side whenever those around him got the attention. Which happened a lot, considering who Ron's best friends were.

Lavender could relate to that.

Sure, Parvati was lovely and an amazing friend, but she was also the prettiest girl in the year. The boys were constantly eyeing up Parvati (even if Parvati herself didn't seem to notice), and she was never without at least ten different Valentines cards every year. Lavender knew she herself wasn't the ugliest girl by any means, but she felt a little sad whenever she was ignored.

Especially when her other dorm-mate had a tendency to get a lot of attention as well. Hermione Granger was considered by many (especially the teachers) to be the brightest witch of her age. Which was all well and good -Lavender knew how intelligent Hermione was- but it did get a little grating after a while.

Parvati was the pretty one, Hermione was the smart one, and… what was Lavender? Parvati's best friend? The silly girl who got giggly over pictures of teen idols? She hadn't have her own niche; she was just… Lavender. Not beautiful or intelligent. Just Lavender.

Lavender was always something of an anonymous figure in Gryffindor. Sure, she didn't slide in the background completely, but she often felt like she was being lost in the shuffle.

Maybe that's why she became so attracted to Ron. Despite being shoved to the sidelines constantly, Ron never stopped caring about the people he loved. When push came to shove, he was the sweetest, bravest, kindest person Lavender had ever met.

Of course, Lavender was aware of the deal with Ron and Hermione. Parvati had warned her at the start of sixth year; Hermione had been nursing a crush on Ron ever since the end of third year.

But -and this was what made Lavender especially angry- Hermione hadn't done anything. She hadn't even been present when Ron had won the Quidditch Cup the previous year. Lavender remembered overhearing Ron talking about it under a tree a few days after the match; neither Harry nor Hermione had been there. They'd left.

Lavender had been this close from marching over to give them a piece of her mind, but Parvati had pulled her away before her self-control broke. It infuriated her to see Ron getting ignored so often. Ron was always there to support his friends, but they never seemed to give him the same treatment. He was always having to sacrifice his own achievements to focus on them.

When sixth year had started, Lavender had finally decided enough was enough. She was going to show Ron appreciation. Goodness knows, he needed it. The poor boy had always had trouble with nerves, but Lavender was damned if she wasn't to make him feel better.

Like a good friend, Parvati had come round to the idea. After all -she said- it wasn't as if Hermione had any claim to Ron. And the redhead could use someone in his corner (well, aside from Harry, anyway).

Lavender was pleasantly surprised to find that Ron was very happy about her showing him appreciation. He'd even started strutting after she giggled at him. He'd always had a great way of walking, but Lavender was especially taken with the new confident way he was swinging his hips.

Ron Weasley cheerleader number one; that was Lavender.

At then –finally- Lavender had kissed him. It had been after a match; Ron had walked into the Common Room, and Lavender had flung her arms around him.

Sure, neither of them were experienced at kissing, but that was okay; they were learning from each-other. He had so confident, he seemed to stand taller.

And Lavender was glad. She wasn't just "the other Gryffindor girl" anymore; she was Ron Weasley's girlfriend.

Looking back, the nickname wasn't the best idea. It was designed exclusively for Hermione's ears, and Lavender had to admit that it was spiteful. But so was setting a flock of birds on someone!

Honestly, Lavender didn't know if she could ever forgive Hermione for that. Sure, Hermione was hurting, but it was her own fault. She'd spent three years crushing on Ron, and all she would have had to do was be more appreciative of him. But she hadn't; for once, Hermione Granger wasn't the smartest girl in the room. She had ignored Ron when he most needed it, and she was now paying the price.

Lavender knew it was vindictive, but she couldn't help herself.

As she continued to date Ron, she knew something was up. At first, they seemed to get along really well. Yes, they snogged, but they were teenagers, and it was so nice to finally have someone who wanted them.

Lavender didn't really know much about chess, but Ron did try to teach her. It was great to see him so passionate about something, and so… confident about it. Ron was arguably more confident playing chess than he was doing almost anything else. Lavender wished she (and everyone) could see this side of him more.

She didn't know what possessed her to get the necklace. That was a bad idea, and she'd immediately apologised to Ron after they returned to Hogwarts and got some time alone. He had been surprisingly mature about it, saying that he appreciated the thought but it wasn't really his style. He had been so sweet that Lavender had been tempted to climb onto his lap and snog him senseless.

But then Hermione had entered the common room, and Ron's attention had immediately been diverted.

Lavender tried to contain the fear in her heart. No, no, no… this wasn't the way it was supposed to go… Hermione had attacked him with birds… why did he…why did he…

And the truth had dawned on Lavender.

She was not the girl Ron was in love with. Because the girl Ron loved was the bushy-haired know-it-all who refused to even acknowledge his existence at the time.

That was, until he was poisoned.

Yes –as if to further underline this whole nightmare- Ron had to almost die before Hermione would speak to him again. Suddenly, Hermione was Ron's friend again. But that didn't mean that Lavender had forgiven her for the way she had treated Ron.

Finally, things came to a head. Lavender had seen Ron and Hermione emerging from Ron's dormitory. It was the final straw.

Hermione had hurriedly dashed off to the girls dormitories, leaving Ron to face Lavender's wrath by himself.

'What more can she do, Lavender?' Ron exclaimed, waving his arms around. 'I've accepted her apology, and you should too!'

'No, I will not! Despite what you may think, Ron, I'm not an idiot!'

'What? I don't think that-'

'Were you just using me to get back at Hermione? Is that the only reason you've been dating me?!'

There was a deafening silence. Ron's eyes widened in shock, and his mouth dropped open.

'Are you mental? What sort of prat do you take me for?'

'Well, it certainly seems that way to me!'

'How? I never thought Hermione was interested in me, so why would I use you to get back at her? I… I did use you. But not for that. I just… wanted to get over Hermione. I was sick of feeling like I was never enough, no matter what I did. So… no… I wasn't using you to get back at her. I may be a prat, but I'm not that much of a prat!'

Lavender felt her mouth fall open. Get over Hermione? What? How could he not see?

'She- she- she loves you, Ron! How could you have never noticed? And why didn't you break up with me once you realised just how jealous she was? Why…. Why…'

Lavender trailed off.

Ron was rubbing the scars on his hands. The scars from the wounds inflicted in Hermione's bird attack.

Oh god…

Ron thought she was going to attack him just like Hermione had done.

Lavender felt her eyes fill with tears.

'Lavender…' Ron said, his voice hitching slightly. 'What… I'm sorry… please… please don't cry…'

'I'm not crying because of that!' Lavender sobbed, tears streaming down her face. 'Do you really think I would ever… would ever… attack you like that…?'

'I'm… I'm sorry, Ron. I was using you, too. Not… not to get over anyone, but… to just proof that I existed.'

It was true. She wasn't the prettiest girl in the year like Parvati, nor was she was the smartest like Hermione. She was the only one in her dorm to not go to the Yule Ball with a Triwizard Champion. She was just… ordinary. Plain old Lavender.

Kinda ironic, given she'd ended up dating the one person who could understand that.

She and Ron were more alike than people thought. They were both side-lined, ignored, sick of getting overlooked. Trying to find comfort in each-other to block out a world that didn't seem to pay them any attention.

Yes, their relationship hadn't been especially healthy, but it was also what they needed at the time. To be noticed, appreciated. To be someone-else's first concern.

'I'm sorry, Lavender. I… I've hurt you. You… you deserve someone who'll treat you right.'

'You deserve that too, Ron.'

The redhead scoffed.

'Yeah, but who's gonna be interested in me?'

'Hermione Granger. You know, the girl you're in love with.'

Ron's ears went red.

'Lavender… I'm… I'm so sorry…'

'Don't you dare apologise, Ron!' Lavender exclaimed, pointing her finger at him threateningly. 'You weren't the best boyfriend ever, but you were still lovely! Why do you think I fell for you in the first place?'

'Er, because I was good at Quidditch?'

Lavender sighed.

'Ron, please stop thinking that people are only attracted to you because of things you achieve, rather than who you are. You are amazing anyway; you… you don't need to prove yourself.'

'I was going to say the same thing to you.'

Lavender did a double-take at that.

'We're quite alike, aren't we?'

'Yeah.'

The two shared a sad smile, before Lavender wiped her eyes with her sleeve, turned softly on her heel, and walked up the girls' dormitory stairs.

Lavender pushed open the door to the sixth year dorm, to find Hermione sat awkwardly on her bed, as if she had just retreated quickly from listening at the door.

No doubt she had heard the shouting.

Parvati was cautiously watching from the chair beside her own four-poster, her eyes flicking quickly between her two dorm-mates.

'Me… me and Ron have broken up.'

Parvati stood her, and rushed over, pulling Lavender into a comforting hug.

'I'm sorry, Lav,' she whispered softly, patting her gently on the back. 'You deserve better.'

Lavender shook her head.

'No. Both me and Ron deserve better.'

Pulling away, she turned her head to look at the bushy-haired witch still sat on the bed.

Hermione flinched as Lavender approached. But Lavender felt no wrath towards her.

'If you ever do so much as set a single canary on Ron again, you'll have me to answer to. Do you understand?'

Hermione's mouth fell open.

'What?' What are you implying-?'

'Because,' Lavender said, her voice hitching. 'While I might not have been the best girlfriend… I never physically attacked him. And I have a feeling that you don't want to be a worse girlfriend than me, do you?'

Hermione blinked confusedly at her, looking more and more flustered by the second. It was so unusual to see the usually-headstrong girl at such a loss for words. Or maybe Lavender just hadn't asked her the right questions in the past. Maybe they could have avoided all this if she had.

'But… Ron…' Hermione stammered, dropping eye contact. 'He… he doesn't…'

Lavender rolled her eyes. Honestly, for the so-called "brightest witch of her age", Hermione Granger could be extraordinarily thick about these things.

'And people accuse Ron of being oblivious. At least he has an excuse for it.'

Lavender pushed past Hermione, and climbed into her own bed, her eyes beginning to tear up again. It was her first real heartbreak after all, despite the sympathy she felt for Ron.

Parvati sat down next to her, and Lavender leaned into the taller girl's shoulder, her body shaking as her tears soaked Parvati's pyjama top.

Hermione discreetly left the room, closing the door softly behind her. She would give Lavender a bit of space for the rest of the evening, understanding that Lavender probably didn't want to see her at the minute.

As she walked into the common room, she found Ron, sat quietly in front of the fire, looking very morose.

'Er… Ron?'

The redhead turned, and a small smile appeared on his face. Hermione felt her heart give a sudden thud.

'Hey.'

'Are… are you okay?'

He shook his head.

'Well, probably better than Lavender feels right now. We broke up.'

There was a slight pause.

'Oh.'

'Yeah.'

Not really knowing what else to do, Hermione sat down next to the redhead.

'I was a pretty bad boyfriend to her.'

Hermione shook her head.

'Maybe you weren't the best, but that's understandable. And besides; you didn't want to hurt her feelings. That counts.'

'I guess. I've been a right coward, though.'

Hermione looked down at the scars on Ron's hand.

'No. I've known you for a long time, and if there is one thing you're not; it's a coward.' Hermione said, patting Ron awkwardly on the shoulder. 'I think you just made the wrong conclusion about how to go about these things. And it was your first relationship, after all.'

Ron shrugged.

'I dunno. Maybe I'm just rubbish at romance.'

'You wouldn't be the only one.'

The two of them shared a shy smile. Maybe things weren't completely back to normal between them, but things were changing. And –after all- every ending was the beginning of something else.

The two were so engrossed in the other, that they didn't notice the pair of eyes watching them from the girls' dormitory staircase.

Lavender Brown smiled sadly to herself, before walking back up the stairs.

You best treat him right, Hermione Granger; you best treat Ron right…