D/C: I don't own Harry Potter.

Hello again! Well, I can't believe I actually got five reviews on my first chapter! I was rather surprised, to tell you the truth; I didn't expect people to accept the Lavender/Viktor pairing. Well, anyway, I'll shut up now, and leave you to read the second chapter! Enjoy!

Knotting Ribbons

Chapter 2:

Life was just a mixture of fabrics and designs for Lavender; nothing else mattered to her. She barely registered the tinkling of the bells downstairs as customer entered and left the boutique, as the tip of her quill moved across the parchment. She needn't bother about it anyway; Parvati knew how to take care of things. Indeed, she came up around lunch time to tell her that she's sold out ten robes, and taken measurements for five other robes. After that, she left in a flurry of fuchsia to bring them a bite to eat.

Deciding to give herself a break, Lavender dipped her quill back into the bottle of ink, and stood adjacent to the French windows, looking down at the busy streets of Diagon Alley, which were filled with shoppers bearing lumpy parcels, furtive-looking Ministry officials, or parents who were busy trying to shake their kids off of their arms. It all sounded so serene and natural...this was a world she was no longer part of. She was able to stand there and not be afraid of anyone looking up at her, because of a charm she'd placed on the glass.

As she watched, she thought she spotted a familiar face amongst the crowds, a sallow face who people were stopping to gawk at, and who was making his way purposely towards the boutique. Lavender held her breath; it was Viktor Krum! She immediately felt rather flustered; what would he do once he walked up close to the door and saw the CLOSED sign up? Would he turn on his heels, walk away and not make a second call? She hated to think that their boutique was going to lose a celebrity like Viktor, and she mentally willed Parvati to return and graciously invite him inside for his robe measurements.

However, the distinctive tinkling of the bells that were hung above their door told her that Parvati must've forgotten to lock up and put the sign, and she find herself being rooted to the spot, especially when Viktor's clear and loud voice carried up to her studio, calling, "Miss Patil, are you here by any chance? I've come for my measurements!"

Lavender, needless to say, was feeling absolutely frantic. She paced around in circles in the centre of the room as she contemplated the best move, her platforms making soft thudding noises against the moquette. Should she just ignore him and wait till he left the place before hurrying down to lock up? Should she call down to him telling him that Parvati wasn't here, but she would be back in a few minutes? Or maybe...just maybe she should go and meet him herself?

She immediately shook that idea out of her head. She would never go and meet Viktor; she wouldn't allow him to see how horrible her face looked. She bit down at her bottom look and turned back to the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Parvati, but there was no visible trace of fuchsia anywhere.

"Miss Patil?" Viktor called again.

Lavender gritted her teeth; it was as if Parvati had done this on purpose...forgetting to put up the sign and going out in the time when Krum would be most likely to arrive, in order to force her into meeting him, because she knew her well enough to figure out that she'd never let a customer like him slip from between her grasp. As she tried to figure head or tails out of her dilemma, her gaze fell on a golden mask she'd been fashioning for a client's masquerade ball. She hurried forward and picked it up. It was a replica of the theatre's famous "happy face", made of gleaming gold silk, with the edges embroidered with glimmering ruby-red rhinestones, and as an extra effect, a short red feather was sewn across each of the eye holes, so that they rather looked like eyebrows.

Taking in a deep breath, Lavender gingerly placed it on her face, and sprinted out of the studio. Lifting up the skirts of her long robes, she rushed down the staircase, and caught up with Viktor just as he was heading out of the door.

"Mr. Krum!" she cried out breathlessly, clutching a stitch at her chest.

Viktor released the door knob from his grip and turned around to look at her. However, he frowned when he came to face a golden masquerade mask instead of the friendly Asian face of Parvati Patil. "Er...Miss Patil?" he said uncertainly.

"Oh, no. I'm not Parvati; I'm just her friend, Lavender Brown," she said quickly. "Parvati went out to get lunch; she'll be back in a few minutes, though. So, if you'll just sit and wait on the sofa over there...and I'll ask the house elf to get you a drink. When Parvati returns she'll take your measurements and..."

"I'm sorry, Miss Brown, but can't you do that?" he interrupted her.

"E-excuse me?" she stammered.

"I'm in a terrible hurry, Miss Brown," he pleaded with her. "If I don't have my measurements taken now, there von't be enough time to have these robes made, especially since the Quidditch tournament starts in just a couple of days."

"Well..." Lavender said in a strained voice. She didn't want to approach Viktor; she hadn't been close to anyone in quite a while, and taking his measurements meant that she'd have to stand right near him, and maybe even touch him...and she couldn't deal with that.

"Miss Brown?" he said, sounding slightly impatient.

She sighed in resignation. "Oh, alright; I'll take your measurements," she agreed. She grabbed the roll of measuring tape and a piece of parchment and a quill, and walked towards him. "Erm...if you could just hold out your arms..."

Silently, Viktor held out his arms to his sides. Taking a deep breath, she stepped behind him and placed the end of the tape at the base of his neck, and it rolled down the length of his back and to his feet. She had barely leaned down to note down the measurement, catching a brief glimpse of striped purple socks right below the hem of his robes, when the tape sprang up and snaked its way up to Viktor's arms, where it stretched itself along the length of them. Again, Lavender had to make haste to take down the measurement, before it curled itself around Viktor's neck. She almost giggled then, when she saw the look of alarm on his face, and she quickly noted the diameter of his neck so that the tape now slithered down to bind itself around his torso.

"Wow."

Lavender couldn't help it; that expression had just rolled off her tongue before she could even stop it, but Viktor's torso diameter was a remarkable 56 inches – she hadn't expected that considering how loose the plain navy-blue robes he was wearing were. She glanced up at his face to see a bemused smirk playing across his lips, and she felt herself blushing underneath her mask.

"You must work out a lot," she said, matter-of-factly.

"That I do," he admitted. "I play Quidditch, after all."

Lavender almost smacked her forehead; of course, how did she forget about that? It was only natural that he'd have such a built when he played all the time...it was just that Ron had always been rather thin. The measuring tape, now finished with its work, dropped in a tangled mess to the floor at Viktor's feet. Just as she bent to pick it up, Viktor said, "Here, let me get it for you", and before she could pull her self back up, she had knocked into him.

What happened next seemed like a slowly-rolling film. The masquerade mask lost its hold on Lavender's face, and it slid away from it. She made a desperate grab for it, but it was futile; the mask slipped out of her shaking fingers and fell to the floor with a dull clatter. She just stayed there long enough to see Parvati coming in through the door, and the look of utmost shock on Viktor's face, before she fled the scene. As she rushed up the staircase to her sanctuary, tears of humiliation streaming down her cheeks, she could hear her friend hastily apologising to Viktor for her tardiness...but she heard no sound from Viktor; her revolting face had probably rendered him speechless.

She burst into the studio, and slammed the door shut behind her. She made a dart for the sofa, but she tripped over the long hem of her pale robes and toppled to the floor over a small pile of lilac silk, which smelled strongly of musk and nutmeg. She didn't bother to pick herself up, she just lay there sprawled on the floor, letting the scents overwhelm her while her tears stained the soft, expensive fabric. Her sobs were loud and anguished, and it was either them or her crash to the floor which brought Parvati within seconds to her side, where she sat and stroked her hair, murmuring words of condolence into her ear.

"It's okay, Lavender. It's going to be okay."

-

A/N: Yay! Chapter two complete! What did you think of this? Did I get the amount of drama okay? How were Lavender's reactions? Good? Well, please tell me what you think of the chapter, won't you? And wait for the next chapter; I'll update soon!

- S. N. B.