Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.
A/N: Second part of the update
Tensions
Lavender reached her destination, the Divination Classroom, a short while after leaving her partner. Quietly opening the door and quickly scanning and sniffing the room just to be on the safe side, she slowly makes her way in, carefully closing the door behind her.
"Lumos", she says silently as she pulls out her wand and a light starts to shine on the tip of it, illuminating the room and a smile instantly forms on her face.
"Just like the last day I was in it", Lavender told herself as she gaze about the room. There were still twenty small, round tables along with armchairs and pouffes. The lamps that were on each table still had red scarves draped on them and the shelves on the walls were still pack to the brim with feathers, candles, playing cards, crystal balls, and an absurdly large amount of teacups.
"Good to see some things never change", the werewolf said as she began walking around, running her hand across the table while remembering all the times her and Parvati would skip out on lunch and converse with Professor Trelawney, learning new ways to foresee the future. She remembers being told by her favorite teacher that both of them had a knack for Divination and would grow up to be great seers.
Lavender's smile sadden a bit after this particular memory and she raises her hand up and watches as claws extend out from her fingertips, "Too bad none of us couldn't predict this happening to me. Though I guess she did the best she could to save me from Greyback" she says while growling to herself at the mere saying of that vile name.
The girl closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in order to calm herself down, but no sooner did she do that her eyes snaps back open and she slowly turns her head to the front of the classroom, more particular, a chair that was sitting at the same table that Professor Trelawney sat at. As she move closer to it she was able to pick up an unusual but familiar scent and it was only when she was right next to it that she realizes that it was her own; at least the scent she used to have before her first transformation.
She then spots a card on the table in front of the chair and she picks it up.
This seat is reserved for Lavender Brown, one of the most wonderful students I ever had the pleasure to teach. May she one day return back to us so that we can continue to glimpse into the future together.
…
Lavender slowly places the card back on the table exactly the way it was before. She takes a good long look at the crystal ball place in middle of the table before bringing a hand up to wipe the single tear that threaten to escape from her eye.
"You always did like Divination more than the rest of us", a voice says from the door but she already knew who it was without evening looking. One of the benefits of her "curse" was that she usually sense the presence of people she was familiar with long before that got in range of her physical senses such as sight, smell, or hearing.
"I was the only one besides Parvati who ever paid attention", Lavender answers before looking toward her partner, "Everyone else in our little group either fell asleep or stop coming to class, especially your little friend, Hermione. Remember the day she storm out of the classroom like a diva who didn't get her way? She was complaining about it almost all night."
"Annnnddd just like that the moment has pass", Ron says as he turns around and leaves the room.
"Hey, you still want to see my Uranus?", Lavender jokes as she leaps across the room to the door-frame, "You sure eager to see it that day in class."
"Going back on patrol", Ron replies.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that you shouldn't pass up a second time", Lavender keeps joking as she appears behind Ron only to stop upon the ranger holding a closed fist up. Instantly, the werewolf readies herself for a fight, her eyes shifting and her claws extending.
"What is it?", she questions as she looks all around while sniffing the air, "Death Eaters? Vampires? Werewolves? Greyback?"
"None of those", Ron answers while looking forward, his eyes now a swirling white as he stares straight ahead at the wall in front of them, "I think we got some students sneaking about after curfew."
In a flash, Lavender was back to her normal self, leveling her partner with a glare.
"We're not here to tuck the brats in", she says.
"True, but if something was to happen tonight, they could get caught in the crossfire and that could be disastrous for the Kingsley and the school", Ron explains, "Look, at best we will try to scare them back to their dorms, or at worse, lead Filch or one of the Aurors on patrol to them."
"Probably be easier to just knock them out and leave them somewhere where one of them will find them", Lavender suggests.
"Physical violence of that level on children is against the law", Ron reminds her, "Now come on, let's get these kids to bed."
Finding the students was easy between Lavender's enchanted senses and Ron's supernatural sight. Sneaking up on the five boys was even easier as they were too preoccupied with trying to see into the one of the Great Hall's open windows through what seem to be a pair of magical telescopes.
"Hey Billy, stop hogging it and let me see!", one of them shouts.
"Wait your turn, Samuel, I'm next!", another replies.
"No, I'm using it afterwards!", a third chimes in and pretty soon, the Shadow Aurors were watching a shoving match unfold in front of them.
"They look to be a little old, sixth-years perhaps? Maybe seventh-years?", Lavender comments as she shakes her head at the antics.
Ron spots scarlet and gold on the robes through the moonlight and joins Lavender in her annoyance with an eye roll, "And they're from Gryffindor too."
"Marvelous", the werewolf nearly growls, "Look, let's go find Filch and lead him here so we can go back on patrol."
Ron nods his head and turns to silently leave.
"Oi", they suddenly heard one the boy looking through a telescope shout, "I think I see Hermione Granger!"
Lavender finds herself slightly tensing up at the mentions of those name but out of the corner of her eye, she could see that her partner had it worse.
"Wow, Granger looks amazing in that black dress! I wonder if she is single!", the one with the telescope comments
"Oh, like you would stand a chance!"
"Hey, I'm quite the charmer I have you know!"
"Potter really screwed up with marrying that plain Weasley girl when he could have had someone who had both brains and a body!", another boy says, earning a laugh from the whole group.
Lavender saw Ron's hand clench into a fist and in that brief moment she feared that her partner was about to commit five counts of homicide or at the very least, aggressive assault on the boys; which would well turn into homicide as she doubt these brats would get to a healer in time even if they survive the initial assault.
Luckily, her ex merely lets out a breath before shaking his head and moving back down the hall.
"You know, I overheard Hagrid mention that Granger had a thing for that Weasley boy, Ron I believe his name was, when she attended", Lavender hears and out of the corner of her eye, she see her partner stop in mid-turn.
"You mean the Craven Weasley?", another says.
"Yeah, him".
"You know, my dad says that that guy just hung around the Golden Duo to ride their coattails and straight up and abandon them once things got tough. Far as I know, no one seen him since."
"My mom says good riddance, the world need less people like him. Don't know what Granger saw in him but my sister said she always saw them arguing for one reason or another."
Now Lavender was silently placing herself between Ron and the boys who were completely unaware just how close they were to going to the afterlife.
But the Weasley lad merely starts silently walking away, his footsteps never making a sound while he himself never look back, leaving the werewolf alone with a group of teenage boys who were nope the wiser of what just transpire.
Back in the Great Hall, Hermione was diligently at work trying to put the finishing touches on a piece of legislature that would increase the territory of the centaurs tribes in the Isles by a whole five percent. While she usually work on stuff regarding House-Elves from her position within the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but she finish her latest project regarding that two weeks ago and instead choice to pour herself into this.
This was all done despite her superior, the newly-appointed Department Head, Gethsemane Prickle, telling her to take said two weeks off for "personal time".
"Hi, Mione", the witch suddenly hears to her left and she looks up from her writing to see her the one and only Chosen One.
"Harry!", she gasps, "Oh goodness, I did not see you there, I am so sorry!"
Harry lets out a small smile, "It's alright, really."
"How have you been? How is Ginny and the boys?", Hermione started asking.
"I'm fine. They're fine. We're all fine", Harry answers, "You saw them just a few months ago at Albus' birthday, remember?"
Hermione laughs, "I know, I know. But they are growing up so fast. Ginny tells me all the time about all the mischief James gets into!"
"Right, right, he is quite the handful", Harry tells her before coughing into his fist. The two of them look on in silence for a moment, each of them briefly turning their attention to a different point in the room while not looking at each other.
"Soooo", Harry starts, "I figure you bring that bloke you're with...Dennis, was his name? I don't see him anywhere."
"Dennis?", Hermione questions, "I broke up with him about three weeks ago."
A shock expression etches across Harry's face for this was his first time hearing about this, "Really? What for?"
Hermione lets out a small huff as she rolls her eyes, "Same as the others; I am workaholic, you never make time for me, and the most famous one, you make me feel inferior."
Harry join his friend in the art of the eye-rolling at the last statement, "Mione, you're brilliant, but I hardly doubt you're so much that you make guys feel "inferior" or whatnot", he states.
"Well Harry, I wish everyone had the same mindset that you did. And I am not a workaholic, am I?", Hermione asks.
"Of course not", Harry tells her, "That's like saying I put too much focus into my job, which I don't."
"Of course, we just so happen to be really diligent and dedicated to our profession, nothing more" Hermione concludes, "I cannot see why people confuse that for being a workaholic."
"Completely bollocks", Harry agrees before the duo once more descend into awkward silence.
"So, you think we'll have to give another speech this year?", he then asks.
Hermione gives him a look that convey her clear annoyance in his question, "We do it every year, Harry."
"Right, right. Feeling a little light-headed right now, so I must have forgot", Harry states.
"Perhaps you're feeling light-headed because you were astonish by Miss Granger dazzling beauty", a voice from behind them says and the duo didn't even try to hide their repulse when they turned around to see the acclaimed journalist for the Daily Prophet, and sworn enemy of Hermione, Rita Skeeter, standing there with her magical notepad and Quick-Quotes Quill floating next to her, standing by to take notes.
"I could have swore I specifically requested that you not be the journalist at this year's memorial", Hermione nearly growls, "Wrote a full ten-page essay to your editor-in-chief, Mr. Cuffe and everything."
"Oh yes, that little thing. I tried reading the whole thing but started falling asleep after the first three paragraphs", Rita explains before clapping her hands together, "Anyway, down to busy. Tell me, what secret meeting is going on over here between the two of you? May I remind you, Miss Granger, that Mr. Potter here is a married man with children and such a thing could be taken the wrong way? Or is this the moment that the two of you finally admit your long buried feelings for one another that you have been secretly harboring for well over a decade"
"The only person who would take this the wrong way is yourself, Miss Skeeter", Harry replies with a sneer, "And once more for the record, I am happily married with Ginny and only see Hermione as a friend."
"Yes, but do you ever feel that you could have done better than the tomboy Weasley? Our readers want to know why you got with a plain Jane like her and not someone like Miss Granger here", Rita says.
Harry's hand twitch for a moment and the thought of pulling out his wand and casting Stupefy on the journalist cross his mind for far longer than he would have care to admit but luckily for Skeeter, it only amounted to just a thought.
Though just barely.
"Neither Harry nor myself have anything more to say to you. Have a pleasant evening", Hermione spoke up, though her tone clearly stated that she hope that the rude journalist had anything but that.
Rita moves to say something but shuts her mouth when both Headmistress McGonagall and Minister Shacklebolt appear next to her.
"Is there a problem here?", McGonagall asks while staring down Rita as Kingsley began matching her intensity as he too seem to glare a hole into Skeeter's soul.
"Oh not at all, Headmistress", Rita lies, "In fact, I was just finishing up with the Golden Duo and about to go interview so of the other guests."
"I ask that you please be mindful of the questions you will ask. A number of attendants here are mourning those they lost all those years ago", Kingsley all but orders.
"Of course, Minister", Rita answers as she nod to everyone who was "surrounding" her, "Have a pleasant evening", and with that she make her getaway.
The four of them watch her go for a moment before focusing their attention on more pleasant company.
"I hope she did not cause some negative emotions to stir up in the two of you", McGonagall began, "Tonight is already hard enough on you two as it is."
Harry cracks a soft smile and lets out a breathe of relief, "We're fine, Professor, really."
"Well, that is good to hear, Mr. Potter. Also, I hope both you and Miss Granger are ready to give your usual speeches."
"Don't worry, Professor, we are", Hermione answers for the both of them while Harry just cough into his fist.
"Yeah, can't wait", was all he had to say, wondering if he change a few words up from his speech last year, would anyone besides Hermione, Ginny, and the Headmistress notice.
Meanwhile, at the top of the Astronomy Tower, after they got done leading Filch to the group of boys that were out past curfew, Ron and Lavender continue to survey the area with Lavender using her enhance night-vision along with her superior smell and hearing while Ron used his Wraith Vision to spot anyone moving about where they weren't suppose to be.
"This is more boring than I thought it would be", Lavender complains, "Are we sure there's going to be an attack tonight?"
"Are you hoping for one to cure your boredom? Because that is what it sounds like", Ron points out, though he was cautious as he could pick up the rising irritation in Lavender's voice.
"Don't try to pull that shit on me!", Lavender snaps as she turns her head to Ron, "I got far better things to do then to sit around here wondering whether or not Greyback is going to show up! I was about to get a lead on him through one of his top lieutenants in his army when we were called away to take down that cell in Knockturn Alley, which you could have done all by yourself!"
"You mean the lead that cause you to put four Hit Wizards in Saint Mugo when they stumble upon you "interrogating" that very lieutenant?", Ron adds in with a chuckle, remembering Lavender's frustration after that particular werewolf got away while she was dealing with the Hit Wizards.
"They're lucky I held back and that's all they got!", Lavender replies, "Why would they care if two werewolves were fighting one another? If one of us killed the other or we both killed each other, to them it just means there's a couple less monsters roaming the streets!"
"Here we go again", Ron told himself, "Look, Shacklebolt is doing his best to make life easier for werewolves but you have to give him time."
"I believe I have given him more than enough time, Ron, it's been eight years!", Lavender growls as she throws her hood off, her red eyes now fully visible and they seem even more unnatural when align with the dark nearly moonless night, "And while you were hiding away in who-knows-where, away from the problems of the world, for six of those years! So don't you dare sit there and lecture me about how I need to wait for things to get better because from where I'm standing, Professor Lupin is the only werewolf who people will talk about in a positive manner and he's dead!"
"I wasn't hiding away like you seem to think", Ron calmly replies, trying to keep his emotions in check though from his point of view, this argument has been a long time coming. Though he was quick to note that Lavender's claws were begin to slowly extend from her fingertips and her teeth were evolving into fangs.
"Then where exactly were you?! No one just disappears for that long then turns up out of the blue with fancy new weapons and abilities like you did and not expect people to wonder what exactly happen to him!", Lavender hisses though she kept her voice low enough not to be overheard by any patrolling Aurors.
"Look, all you need to know, Lavender, is that I did some things, I met some people…", Ron hesitates for a moment, "And then I came home."
"I'm your partner, Ron. Have been for little over two years; yet it seems like I barely know anything about you!", Lavender states as she takes a step toward him and it took a lot of willpower on the ranger's part to stop his hand from instinctively going for his blade, for he knew that would do nothing more than escalate the situation. His partner may have more control over her "primal instincts" better than most werewolves, but personal experience has taught him that she was highly emotional sometimes.
That scene in the Great Hall the day after they broke up quickly rose to the top of his mind.
"You seem to be leaving out the part where you're my former classmate and ex-girlfriend as well and that's another good reason why I don't have to tell you a thing about what I did for those six years", Ron points out, even though in the back of his mind, he felt that that was an immature comment to make.
"We were kids back then who couldn't control our raging hormones but now we're adults and I figure it's high time you could start acting like one", Lavender states.
"Look, one of the conditions that I wanted to be met in order for me to join the Shadow Aurors and serve without question was that no one was to bug me about where I had been for the past six years and so far both the boss and big boss have kept up their end of the bargain", Ron says, "Plus, I don't go asking about what you were doing during the years after the war."
"I would tell you if you asked", Lavender says.
"Well I'm not. That is your business and your business alone. Just like how my business is my business. So bugger off and goes back to looking out because we're on the clock in case you forgot", Ron snaps, his patience with Lavender's attempts at prying into his past at an end.
Lavender could feel the beast inside her begging to be release, wanting nothing more than to rip Ron to shreds. Every fiber of her being was screaming the same thing over and over again.
Rip. Shred. Tear. Maul. Dominant. ALPHA.
Everything single time she has felt a surge of anger during the past eight years, those same words played in her mind, swarm through her body, and reverberated deep in her soul.
But the girl always thought herself better than the average werewolf and for good reasons. Instead, she merely turned back around and went back to scanning the area, grumbling all the while as she reverted back to her normal form.
Ron, on the other hand, turns his attention back toward the Great Hall, leaving Lavender to her seething. Through his Wraith Vision, he could see everyone was gathered around, looking at the podium where two figures stood and Ron didn't need to have supernatural abilities to know just who those two were.
"Stay here, I'll be back", the lad tells his partner and leaps off the tower without evening waiting for a reply, making his way to the roof of the Great Hall.
Great Hall
"And so once more we take this night to remember all those who gave their lives in that agonizing war", Harry said before gesturing his hand to a table on his right which held over fifty portraits that had the pictures of the those who died in the Second Wizarding War, among them including:
Cedric Diggory
Sirius Black
Charity Burbage
Hedwig
Dobby
Remus Lupin
Nymphadora Tonks
Colin Creevey
Severus Snape
Alastor Moody
Rufus Scrimgeour
Albus Dumbledore
For a brief moment, George Weasley, who was standing next to his wife, Alicia Weasley nee Spinnet, alongside their two boys, in the "Weasley Corner" as it was often dubbed whenever the family gathered at Hogwarts, steals at a look at his twin, Fred Weasley, who was with his family consisting of his wife, Angelica Weasley, and his kids, George Jr. and Katie. George remembers back to that dreadful night where Fred barely escape death by just having a suit of armor between him and an explosion cause by a Death Eater while fighting outside the Room of Requirement alongside Percy. Fred came out with more than a couple broken bones due to the armor colliding hard into him, but nevertheless survive. There were nights even to this day where George would lie awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering just how different his life would be if things didn't turn out the way they did.
"Too bad us Weasleys still aren't one big happy family", George thought grimly as his mind but returning his attention back to Harry.
"We also take this night to remember those who have yet to be found", the Chosen One concludes as he then gestures to the table on the left which only held two portraits.
One of Ronald Bilius Weasley and the other of Lavender Brown.
"If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of these two, please report it to your local Hit Wizard", Hermione interjects, "Their families and….friends greatly miss them."
As the crowd gives a thundering applause, Harry and Hermione make their way down to the Weasley Corner, where they greet the crying matriarch of the family, Molly Weasley, standing in front of her husband, Arthur.
"That was beautiful, dears", she says as she hugs them them both.
"Thank you", Harry says as he pulls back at looks into the eyes of the woman who has been the closest thing he has had for a mother, her eyes spilling over with tears, "And as always, the minute I get information on Ron, you all will be the first to know."
"Thank you, Harry, knowing that means the world to us", Arthur says from behind Molly, "We'll find him one day, I just know it. My boy is out there somewhere and we just want him to come home."
As Harry exchange small talk with his family, Hermione stood there in an awkward silence. It wasn't like she didn't want to talk to the Weasleys, she just didn't know where to start. Harry married into the family so of course he saw them far more often than she did and while has she had even taken them up on their offer to spend Christmas at the Burrows once or twice; beyond the occasional talks with Ginny and Harry, she really didn't interact with any of them. Ron was the main foundation for the bridge that connect her to the Weasley clan but ever since his disappearance, that bridge has been falling away piece by piece as time went on until only a single worn-out plank named Harry and Ginny remain and that too seem to be on its last leg.
"Maybe I should actually make time to go see Harry at his office or go out to lunch with Ginny whenever she offers", she thought to herself as she took a deep breath…
And finds herself turning to the open window not far from her as her nose caught a strange aroma coming from that direction that drew her attention. Slowly, she made her way over to the window and looks out of it to see the Black Lake shining in the light of the moon in the midst of its Waxing Crescent Phase; but the intelligent witch paid no mind to this as she continue smelling the air, trying to pinpoint just where the scent was coming from and why it seem familiar to her.
Just as she leans her head out the window and check the sides, a voice comes from behind her.
"Miss Granger, a moment of your time, please", Rita Skeeter said, drawing Hermione's attention...and her irk.
"I could have sworn that I was done answering your questions for tonight, Miss Skeeter", she replies with a glare.
"Regardless of your attitude toward me", the reporter starts, "I believe the people deserve to know just why both you and Mr. Potter continue to hold out hope in locating Ron Weasley."
"I beg your pardon?", Harry says as he comes up to the two women, no doubt to aid Hermione.
"Let's not mince words, Mr. Potter. It's been over eight years since anyone has seen the lad. In fact, it was you and Miss Granger who were the last ones to see him when he abandoned you."
Abandoned.
Such a word struck a deep chord in the hearts of both Harry and Hermione. It was a word that they themselves had never used in regards to what happen that night eight years ago, but what the media had used when they found out what happen. Harry blames himself for that for it was during the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, when he was exhausted and wearily, that he finally relay to a worried Molly and Arthur just what happen to their youngest son while still in a crowded Great Hall. Someone must have leak the story to the Daily Prophet, for within three days of the battle, his best mate was given the infamous title "The Craven Weasley", by none other than Rita Skeeter herself.
Also, despite numerous efforts by both Harry and Hermione to get the truth out; that Ron was affected by the Slytherin's Locket that he was wearing around his neck, which amplify his already established self-esteem issues and the stress he was experiencing due to his family being in danger, the lowly nickname for the third member of their group stuck and the Golden Trio was reduce to the Golden Duo in the eyes of the public.
"Regardless of how long it has been", Harry said as he got back to the matter at hand, "Ron was still my best mate and until I see a body, I'm going to hold out hope that he is still alive out there."
"I as well", Hermione agrees, "Now if you excuse me, I have no more questions to answer from you."
"But it has been eight years, Miss Granger", Rita persisted, "Surely it's time for you and Mr. Potter to move on from someone such as him."
"Good evening to you, Miss Skeeter", Harry say in a voice that broker no argument and both him and Hermione made their way back to where the Weasleys were gathered, ignoring anymore pestering from the journalist.
Just outside the window that they were previously next to and perch up on a small ledge that a normal person could only dream of standing on, Ron found himself dealing with the overwhelming guilt in his heart.
While he has read the Daily Prophet regarding the previous memorials in years pass; reading about his friends' speeches and hearing them in person were two separate things entirely. But what really hit him hard was the words his father said. They distracted him so much that he almost got himself caught by none other than Hermione herself and was only saved by Rita Skeeter of all people timely intervention.
"I have to be the biggest git on the planet for putting them all through this", he told himself before sensing a presence above him and he looks up to see Lavender looking down at him from the top of the roof of the Great Hall, pointing a finger at him and then the roof itself. Raising his left arm up, he reveals a contraption of some sort attach to his arm and aims it at the ledge of the roof.
With a mere squeeze of the handle his hand was wrap around, a chain-link three prong grappling hook comes shooting out of the device, zipping upward through the air before latching onto the roof-edge right next to Lavender.
With another squeeze of the handle, a mechanism within the device began to retracting the chains with immense force and Ron found himself getting propel upward at astonishing speed. Within mere moments, he was pulling himself up on the ledge and next to the waiting werewolf.
"For someone who gets on me for starting an argument while we're on the clock, you sure like to go do as you please when you're suppose to be on watch", Lavender points out.
Ron opens to respond before a thunderous clash cut through the quiet night air. Soon it was followed by another, then another, and another. It kept going still at least a dozens of them have got off and Ron and Lavender quickly scaled the nearest tower to the Great Hall only to find themselves looking southwest where they could spot a reddish-orange light began to glow in the distance along with billows of smoke raising above the buildings.
Then through their enhance vision, they could see green flashes going off and hear human screams carried on the wind.
"Crimson Griffin! Moon Queen! You are to investigate immediately! I repeat, investigate immediately and you are authorize lethal force if necessary! Be advise that Aurors will be along soon afterwards!", they hear Kingsley harshly whisper over their communication trinkets, the sound of screams and shouts being heard in the background, no doubt caused by ruckus that has erupted inside the Great Hall, "All other teams are to remain at their post and remain on high alert!"
"What do the Americans call it? We got played…. ", Lavender asks while still looking ahead in shock.
"Like a damn fiddle", Ron answers, as he takes off in a sprint toward the edge of the tower, quickly joined by Lavender a heartbeat later.
"I'll strike from the ground!", Lavender says as she leaps into the air, across the walls, and landing on the ground with an effortless grace.
"And I'll strike from the skies!", Ron concludes as he does the same, throwing his cape to the side, revealing a leather bound backpack with a number of attachments going all around his upper torso. Pulling on a cord handle that was on his right shoulder, a flap of the backpack opens up and a contraption compose of ropes and a large square made of a mixture of silk, cotton, and other materials erupts forth from it, catching the wind and allowing the ranger to beginning gliding through the air while his partner took off in a dead sprint with the aid of her bestial abilities across the open ground.
Meanwhile, there was pandemonium in the Great Hall as Headmistress McGonagall franticly took Neville and the rest of the teachers, along with a team of Aurors, to investigate the school to make sure all the students were safe within their dorm rooms while Minister Shacklebolt struggle to calm everyone down and reestablish order. Nearly all the Weasley kids were crying and Molly had her hands full running back and forth between all her grandchildren, assuring them that everything was going to be okay.
"Ginny! You and the boys stay here in the Great Hall! Myself and most of the Aurors are heading to Hogsmeade! Try to keep your father and brothers here, so I don't have be worrying about them in the middle of a fight!", Harry told his wife who nods as she wraps are arms around her crying children.
"I am coming with you!", Hermione says as she comes up behind him.
"Mione, this could be a trap to draw both of us out into the open!", Harry tries to tell her.
"All the more reason you should not be going out there by yourself!", she counters.
"I'm taking half the Aurors here, including Dean and Seamus! I'll be fine!", Harry says.
"I am going and that is final!", Hermione snaps in a tone that stated that this discussion was over.
"Take care of him out there, will you Hermione?", Ginny says, "And watch your own back as well!"
"I will bring him back safe and sound", the witch assures her friend.
"Seeing how I no longer have a say in this conversation, I suggest we get going then", Harry states as he turns to Seamus and Dean who just got down fighting their way through the crowd to reach them.
"You guys ready?", Harry asks, receiving a nod from both of them.
"Parvati is going to stay here and try to help calm everyone down!", Dean says.
"That's good, it seems the Minister is going to need all the help he can get", Harry says, "Come on, we'll take the passageway that comes out in the Shrieking Shack!" and with that the group took off.
The crisp night air wrap itself around Lavender's body as she dash across the field toward the village, reaching speeds that surpass the fastest muggle Olympic sprinters without evening coming close to exerting herself. She was in her element for she had few equals way out here, far from the cities and communities of muggles and wizards. In this neck of the woods, she was always the hunter and nearly everyone else was the prey. She was the Queen of the Night and the Lady of the Wild all mixed into one and these were her hunting grounds.
In her mind, this was her realm and everything else just lived in it because she allow them to.
Lavender Brown accepted a long time ago that after that night eight years ago, she was no longer fully human, at least not the sense that the average person would think.
Monster was the word used to describe her the night she first transformed.
She had often heard the tales that unless the Wolfbane Potion was taken beforehand, a person inflicted with lycanthrope would lose all their mental faculties and attack whoever was closet to them, be it friend or foe and would only recall such events upon changing back to their human forms.
But Lavender was different and she remembers right down to the exact detail the terrified look in her parents' eyes as they pointed their trembling wands at their only child as she was in mid-transformation.
Any normal werewolf would have attack regardless of the danger merely because they didn't know better, but Lavender for some reason did know better and did the opposite because in her mind is was the only sensible thing to do…
She ran.
Straight out her bedroom window, never to see her home again.
Lavender push such thoughts to the back of her mind. She had a job to do and she knew what was expected of her tonight. She drop down on all fours and sped forward even faster toward the chaos of Hogsmeade Village, where the screams began to echo into the night.
But even now she couldn't help but think of the irony of the situation as she once more she found herself running, only this time it was toward the people with wands.
And if there was a higher power in this cruel world, the "most savage werewolf in modern times" would be there waiting for her.
A/N: No flashback this chapter, but more in the next one.
1. Fred and Angelica had a thing in the books and I feel that if Fred would have survived, he would have gotten with her instead of George. Nothing against the canon relationship, that's just how I feel. Also Alicia Spinnet is a character from the series and she was in House Gryffindor in the same year as Fred, George, and Angelica, so I chose her to be George's wife and while this does change up the canon Wealsey family post-Battle of Hogswart, it's necessary in my mind.
2. Once more I feel like that Hermione only started coming to the Burrows to see Ron more than she wanted to see Harry. With Ron gone, she pretty much lost the main reason to come if it wasn't for Harry and Ginny. Plus I feel that both Harry and Hermione are workaholics and would drown themselves in their jobs if it wasn't for Ron.
3. As you probably guess, Lavender has a lot of issues she is dealing with right now and I feel that changes for werewolves wouldn't happen over night despite Shacklebolts best efforts. Werewolves' prejudice has been going on for centuries and doesn't just go away easily.
4. The Uranus joke is a reference to Ron's joke to Lavender in the "Goblet of Fire" book.
5. Rita Skeeter is still a bitch and we wouldn't have her any other way.
6. Professor Trelawney actually had a good relationship with Lavender and Parvati in the series.
7. You get to see Lavender in action next chapter and learn what makes her so special among werewolves.
8. If you're wondering where Ron's gadgets came from, looking into the Shadow of War DLC "Desolation of Mordor".
