AN: Here we go again, chapter 2 finished and (more or less proofread), I'm already well into CH3-4, but well, I proofread at a glacial pace.

Hope you guys enjoy :)

Muggles

Living on the streets was by far the lowest point in Lavender's young life. She had a warm coat, looked enough like a bloodthirsty werewolf to avoid harassment, and always managed to scratch enough money together for the wolfsbane come the full moon, so life could definitely get worse (even if she had to eat a few more rats than she would have preferred). This was however a fact that she tried not to think too hard about.

Her old Gryffindor scarf, was her single most important property. Living as a beggar, she found that money for a sad victim of the war, always came a bit easier when people knew she had stared Voldemort in the face, not joined his forces.

She thoroughly regretted not having taken "muggle studies". On a hunch, the 8 months old werewolf, had decided to try and expand her "hunting grounds" to muggle-London. Though she did occasionally make a fool out of herself, it turned out to be a good idea. She didn't know if money was less tight for the muggles, or if food was just worth less to them, but she found her appetite more sated when her meal was paid with pounds rather than sickles. Except of course, whenever the daily prophet brought a sob story, about an ex Hogwarts student committing suicide or freezing to death or whatever, then she ate like a queen.

Another boon of learning to "speak muggle", was that she had twice as many homeless shelters to try her luck with when nightfall drew near. It wasn't that she actively tried to avoid talking to other homeless, but since everyone was as miserable as herself, forming bonds would only remind her of what she had lost. When muggles asked about her disease, she would answer vaguely, and try to change the subject. After a while, she heard about HIV and AIDS, she couldn't wrap her head around all the details, but she understood that it was a slow killer, and getting it was a source of shame, which she found appropriate for an excuse.

It was in one of these shelters she met Stephanie Winters. Steph was the squib daughter of some very old fashioned parents, both her older and younger brother had gotten into Hogwarts, while she was forced to fend for herself at a boarding school in the West Country. Miss Winters hadn't forgotten her origin, though her origin had certainly forgotten about her. She played the part of an ordinary muggle to perfection, 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, gym after work Tuesday and Thursday, and 2 drinks with co-workers on Fridays. The only way she even came close to breaking the mould was volunteering at a homeless shelter a couple of times a month. Steph recognized the Gryffindor scarf on their first meeting, but it took a couple of weeks curious prodding before she was sure Lavender was a witch.

With time, Stephanie Winters and Lavender Brown developed a friendship. Every Wednesday after work, Stephanie would buy 2 large coffees and some pastry to go with them. Then she would meet Lavender near the guest entrance to the Ministry, they would find a bench out of the way, and complain about their lives together. Stephanie was embarrassed to admit she was slowly developing feelings for the younger woman, even disregarding the 4 year age difference, she had a home and steady income, there was no way making a pass at her, wouldn't constitute abuse of power.

One Wednesday evening, as the first winter snow was falling, Stephanie gave Lavender the best news she had heard in a year. Stephanie wanted the werewolf to move into her apartment, in an attempt to get her back on her feet.

Having a permanent home for her duffle bag felt great. It took hours in the shower to get the dirt and grime of the gutter out, but afterwards she had never felt better. She celebrated by cleaning Stephanie's apartment from top to bottom, repairing the broken cupboards, and even got the floorboards to stop squeaking with the help of her wand.

A few weeks later she got her first job as a "muggle" with Stephanie's help. It was in a warehouse down by the docks, and amounted to little more than lifting boxes around and writing numbers on clipboards. She obviously couldn't use magic on the job, but what she lacked from malnutrition, she made up for in werewolf strength. The co-workers were nice too, even if most of them were twice her age. All of them wanted to let bygones be bygones, and instead complain about how "this whole damn country is falling apart".

For a while, life was good. Really good. So good Lavender forgot it wouldn't last.

They were arguing, like friends do, the full moon was still 22 hours away. Steph was angry about Lavender's habit of leaving her work clothes lying on the floor. Lavender was irritable, her skin felt itchy and too tight. She tried to explain to Stephanie that she needed some fresh air, but it came out all wrong, and all she managed was angry sneering. She tried making her way to the door, but her friend blocked the way. There was more yelling, and then Lavender shoved her into a coat rack. Stephanie was crying and couldn't move her arm, 20 minutes later an ambulance took her to the hospital.

When Stephanie Winters came home, she found the coat rack repaired, the dishes washed, and all of Lavenders belongings missing. She also found her spare key pushed through the hole in her mailbox.