AN: Written for the Hogwarts Oneshot Wars. Canonically, Lavender Brown is Pureblood, but for the purposes of this story, she's a Muggleborn. My prompts were glimmer (word) trust (emotion) and aquamarine (color.)
Fair warning: This is really depressing. You have been warned.
It's her first year, and Lavender stands in the space between platforms nine and ten, hoping that there's something she's missing, some tiny detail that she just can't catch. She's got that tight feeling in her throat from choking down tears, but she refuses to break down. Her older brother is watching her, smirking: he's convinced that this is all some joke. There's no way you can be special, he told her when she got her Hogwarts letter. Don't be dumb, magic isn't real. But she'll show him.
"Excuse me," says a voice.
Lavender turns to see a girl standing before her. Her dark hair is pulled into a high ponytail, and her eyes are fierce and determined.
"My name is Parvati," the girl says. "You're going to Hogwarts, right?"
Lavender nods anxiously. "I- I can't find the platform."
"I can show you how to get to it," says Parvati. "But you have to trust me, okay?"
Lavender chews on her lip for a moment before answering. "Okay."
"Good," says Parvati. She points at the brick barrier between the platforms. "Just take your trolley and run straight at that wall."
Lavender stares at her. "What?"
"You said you would trust me," says Parvati, raising her eyebrows. "I'll do it with you, okay? But you have to do it if you want to get to Hogwarts."
Lavender glances over at her family. Her brother is smirking.
"Let's go," she says.
Parvati flashes her a smile, turns, and runs. Lavender takes a deep breath and sprints after her, fingers wrapped tightly around the trolley's handle. Her heart is pounding and the brick wall is approaching and suddenly she's on a completely different platform and Parvati is smiling.
Lavender comes to an abrupt stop. "W-what just happened?"
"Welcome to Platform 9 ¾," says Parvati. The air smells like smoke and people and promises.
"I'm Lavender," she says, breathing it in. "I don't think I told you."
"Come on, Lavender," says Parvati, grabbing her by the hand. "Let's go find a compartment."
So they do.
Second year, and Lavender is terrified out of her mind. The words "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" ring in her ears. Parvati walks with her everywhere, like an extremely fashionable bodyguard.
"Trust me," she says grimly, "if anyone wants to get to you, they're going to have to get through me first." And though some people would laugh, Lavender knows that Parvati is dead serious.
Fourth year, and Lavender stands in front of the mirror, staring at herself.
"You're gorgeous, darling," says Parvati, appearing and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Lavender bites her lip. "Are you sure about this dress?
"Lav." Parvati squeezes her tightly. "You look amazing. I'm telling you, this is your color."
"I think blue looks better on you than it does on me," says Lavender doubtfully.
"It's aquamarine," says Parvati, "and you look beautiful. Seamus is going to die."
Lavender grins nervously. "What if he tries to kiss me?"
"Kiss him back!" says Parvati, giving her a light shove.
"I don't know how!" says Lavender. "Besides, there's no way that's going to happen.
"Oh, please," says Parvati. "He's had a crush on you forever. I know these things. Trust me, okay?"
Lavender smiles at her in the mirror. "Okay," she says, because there's no one else in the world she trusts more.
Later, when she and Seamus are exhausted from dancing, they sit together on a bench in the garden. The air is cold and the stone bench is even colder. Seamus smiles at her, somewhat shyly, and says "I like your dress."
Lavender smiles back. "Parvati helped me pick it out. She says turquoise is a good winter color."
"Winter is right," says Seamus. "You must be freezing." The dress is made of thin, gauzy material, and it has no sleeves.
She smiles. "Just a little bit."
He inches closer and wraps his arm around her. "Better?" he says, and she nods, and then they both laugh and he leans in and she leans in, and when he kisses her, she kisses him back. His lips are freezing cold and so are hers, but it doesn't matter anymore.
Fifth year, and the memory of Seamus's kiss in the garden is just a distant memory, something that happened when they were younger and more awkward. She and Parvati help each other write essays and gossip about boys and draw ugly pictures of Umbridge in their notebooks.
When Hermione asks them if they want to learn to fight the dark arts, Parvati says yes for both of them.
"Are you sure?" says Lavender.
"Trust me," is all Parvati says.
They go to the meetings together and become a part of Dumbledore's Army, learn to Stun and Disarm and Shield, to fight, and Lavender feels proud, for her and for her best friend.
Sixth year, she and Ron fall apart and Parvati sits on the floor by her side and hands her chocolate. "You weren't a good match, anyways," she says. "Trust me, you'll find someone better."
Lavender nods and eats chocolate and wipes away tears.
Seventh year, and Lavender is dragged out of the Gryffindor common room, a wand jammed against her throat. "Mudblood," Crabbe hisses at her, and she knows that he is about to speak the Cruciatus curse and braces herself for it.
But the door bursts open and Parvati comes in, screaming Lavender's name, wand drawn. She punches Crabbe in the face and grabs Lavender by the hand, and they run together, the way they did years and years before, when Parvati showed Lavender the way onto Platform 9 ¾. They run until they reach the Room of Requirement, where they find Neville waiting for them. With Ginny and Luna gone, they are the backbone of Dumbledore's Army now, Lavender and Parvati and Neville and Seamus. They protect the first years and fight back in small, silent ways. They have a purpose.
Then Harry appears and tells them that it's time to fight, and Lavender stays close by Parvati's side as curses fly and the world succumbs to darkness and chaos.
She sees a curse shoot towards Parvati and knocks her out of the way, and then pain rips through her body and she is falling, falling. The world spins and voices scream and everything fades in and out of focus. When she opens her eyes, Parvati is kneeling next to her and screaming her name, over and over again. Lavender reaches up and takes her hand.
"Hey," whispers Parvati. "It's okay, it's okay- you're going to be okay-
Painfully, Lavender shakes her head. "I'll really miss you," she whispers.
Tears run down Parvati's cheeks and fall onto Lavender's skin like rain. "Don't go," she says. "I can't do this without you."
"Don't be silly," says Lavender, and everything hurts, but she holds on because Parvati needs her. "You're going to be just fine."
"Not without you," says Parvati. Everything is spinning. Lavender squeezes her hand.
"I know these things," she says. "Trust me." Parvati's face is a glimmer of light in a sea of dark.
"More than anyone," says Parvati, and then the glimmer is gone and everything is dark and Lavender doesn't know what's happening anymore.
She smiles and dies like a Gryffindor.