DISCLAIMER: The plot most certainly belongs to me. Greg Stacy belongs to me. Actually, anyone who wants him is more than welcome. He would make a nice coat rack, I believe:) Other than that, the rest belong to the mighty JKR.

NOTE: I know I said this would be the last chapter. But it isn`t. Oh well. Live with it.







Grey Gaze

*Chapter Six*

by Ashley (Hype







Lavender rolled to her side, tangling herself in her thick red comforter. Suddenly, she jolted upright, grinning like a madwoman, remembering her and Fred`s plans. It was extremely early in the morning and, even though she was grinning, she was not quite her usual self, being somewhere in between consciousness and sleep....



I, not being one to wake up early, was vaguely surprised to find myself fumbling around the room, tripping over nail polish bottles, robes, various books and rather squishy things I would rather not acknowledge. However, it was all for a good cause. At least, it was for me. Fred and I were in the midst of a glorious scheme against Draco Malfoy, who had cheated me in countless ways by saying he loved me. Ha! Loved me my arse. The only thing that boy loves is his own bloody arse.

None the less, there I was, tripping about in the fifth year dormitories, trying not to wake my room mates, who had seemed to purposely place everything they owned in my path, preventing me to get to the girls` bathrooms. I had a lot of preparing to do today. No bottle of nail polish, no combs or brushes, and certainly no piles of disregarded clothes were going to stop me, not matter how frightening they were.

After falling flat on my face repeatedly for a half hour and, quite remarkably, not waking anyone in the dorms, I reached the girls` bathrooms. Of course, no one was in the red and gold adorned bathrooms. But then again, who would be at five o` clock in the morning? I smiled sleepily, not really being awake, but at least acknowledging I was there. Never would I be fully awake until I showered; for what was a shower but the place between sleep and consciousness? I rubbed my eyes, a small smile still lingering on my lips as I turned the knob on the shower to hot and shed my nightgown.

After showering and the tedious process of getting dressed and putting on make-up, I stood back and surveyed myself in one of the gold- framed long mirrors in the bathroom. All in all, I`d rate myself as a goddess. I ran a hand through my loosely- curled blond hair and smiled sweetly. I was going to drive Draco crazy yet again. This time, with the assistance with a certain Fred Weasley.

As the sun was beginning to rise, so were the other students. Among them was Parvati Patil, my absolute best friend, who had just strolled in the bathroom looking particularly cheery. She was whistling a merry tune and there was more of a bounce in her walk. Parvati stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted me. Then she broke into an abnormally huge grin and said, "My, my, my... Miss Lavender Brown... It looks like Aphrodite decided to visit you this morning!"

I turned away from the mirror on my lavender- colored, high- heeled shoes. "Well, now, Par... I wouldn`t necessarily say she visited me," I said, remembering the long morning events. "I had to work at this, mind you, since five o`clock this morning!" I said with fierceness, though I was grinning like mad.

She smiled kindly. "Time well spent. Now, Lav, you have an appearance due in...." She stooped to check her watch. "Well, now. Shall we go, your Excellency?"

"Yes," I simply said, linking my arm with hers and heading out the door.





I carefully walked down the long, curved staircase of Gryffindor, my head proudly high as people stopped to look at the Beauty Queens of the school. It was routine, of course, for the boys in the clustered common room to stare helplessly at us for a while, their eager eyes lingering on our curves. No matter their age, we could have whichever man or boy in the school. All we had to do was press their buttons, which was alarmingly easy. Draco Malfoy was no exception. Parvati and I unlinked arms and went to mingle in separate ways, though only for a brief time. We always reunited before we were to file into the Great Hall for breakfast.

I went to go see Fred, who was the center of attention with his twin, near one of the roaring fires. People were clustered around him, straining to see what he was doing. I too decided to strain. Just over Ron`s tall body, I spotted one of the photographs that had been posted the other day. There was Draco Malfoy, red-faced and flustered, staring disbelievingly after Parvati in the picture. I couldn`t help but laugh. Apparently, Fred had decided to promote the whole ordeal by flailing the pictures about wildly in the air for all of the Gryffindor eyes to see. I grinned and began to push my way through the crowd, which easily parted after they registered my presence.

"Hallo, Freddy," I said, smiling at him.

He stopped the picture waving and turned to me. His eyes scanned my body slowly before waving his muscular, freckled arms about enthusiastically. "Why, Lavender! You look marvelous!"

I flipped my hair casually, suppressing a smile. " Naturally. Well, don`t we have to--"

"Of course, of course," he said, then looking back over his broad shoulder at the crowd, who had been listening intently, as there were rumors about who I was dating. The gossip chain was having a field day over the issues in the past few days, claiming that Draco was in love with Parvati and tried to tell her truth, who laughed and walked away because she hated Draco and was in love with Fred, and Fred was playing between Cho Chang and myself, while poor little ole me couldn`t decide who I really wanted. It was crazy. Fred continued on, "Excuse me, my faithful audience, but I have some business to attend to." The crowd mumbled and began to clear out, spreading across the common room. He turned his freckled face back to me.

"You do look nice, Lav," he commented, grinning and revealing his perfect straight white teeth.

I grinned back, matching his expression. "Yes, I know. I made sure of that. Is everything going as planned?"

"Of course. Why wouldn`t it?"

I shrugged. "Just checking. Extra precautions, you know."

Fred rolled his hazel eyes in an over-exaggerated fashion, saying, "You`re starting to sound like my mum...Or even worse, Percy!"

I snorted, doubting that anyone could sound quite like Percy, who had always had a snobbish, precise and business- like way of saying things.

We would have said more, but the bell rung, dismissing the common rooms to the Great Hall for breakfast. I dashed off to find Parvati, who was talking to Harry Potter about the Hearts Ball. Harry was looking a bit nervous as Parvati went on endlessly at a fast pace. It took all poor Harry had to comprehend what she was saying at this remarkably fast pace. Ron, on the other hand, had given up any hopes of comprehending anything that was coming out of Parvati`s mouth and had struck up a conversation with Lee Jordan about Quidditch. Hermione, as usual, had her nose stuffed up in an advanced Astrology book, skimming over the text before her exam. A usual morning in the Gryffindor Tower....so far.

"Hey, Parvati!" I called. Parvati abruptly stopped talking in mid-sentence and turned to see me. Harry looked relieved beyond explanation and mouthed a silent "thank you" to me. I nodded just as Parvati and I linked arms again and headed in the direction of the Great Hall.

Breakfast was uneventful, save the stares both Parvati and I were receiving. You see, Parvati had dressed herself up as well, all for her role in the plan. She was dressed in a short purple dress, which fit around her curves perfectly, a amethyst necklace placed delicately around her neck, and her light weight was being supported by fashionable shoes of purple. I was dressed similarly, save I was in Lavender. We almost looked like biological sisters. The only thing that set us apart from passing as twins would be my blond curly hair and her straight brown hair. It made us contrast; Parvati being the dark side of purple, and I being the light. Not that it truly mattered. We just had a taste for art and fashion altogether.

Parvati continued the chat she had started with Harry earlier. Harry had reduced to staring at his scrambled eggs, as Ron and Hermione were throughly engrossed with...er...each other. It had amazed me how much bonding Ron and Hermione had done since Ron had asked her to the Hearts Ball. The two barely got into arguments anymore.

And then there was Harry Potter. Poor, poor Harry Potter was shunned aside for once in his life by his only true friends. It saddened me just to watch him sit there as he stared down at his plateful of eggs, his once brilliant green eyes gone dull. Of course, they were only dull when he looked at his eggs. Every time Harry looked at Ginny, who was a year younger than him, his eyes shown with the brilliance I always noted them for. Then it hit me...Harry Potter had it bad for Ginny Weasley, but was going to the Hearts Ball with my best friend. I sighed at the sight of Parvati and Harry, sitting next to each other, neither one of them really caring for the other. Then I saw Harry`s eyes flicker to....

No. It couldn`t be! I squinted down to the end of the Gryffindor table, where Cho was sitting on Seamus Finnegan`s lap. Sure enough, it was. Seamus was laughing heartily, Cho Chang sitting on his lap and giggling. I pointed this out to Parvati, who turned and looked at me strangely.

"You didn`t know?"

"About Seamus and CHO CHANG?!" I spat loudly. It was well- known that I absolutely loathed Cho Chang. It didn`t help that she was playing with Seamus Finnegan, whom of which had a crush on me and has been my good friend since our first year.

"Oh, Lav, lighten up, will you? They`re in love."

"They`re WHAT?!"

"In love... It didn`t take long for Seamus to recover from you, you know. You remember what happened in the library?"

"Yeah...."

"When Cho was spying on you? And Seamus caught you and Malfoy kissing?"

"Yeah..." I had no idea where she was going with this.

"Well, she knew Seamus had it for you. She was researching something and pulled out a book, only to see you and Malfoy kissing. She ran and told Seamus, just so he knew about it and you couldn`t play him along," She paused for a moment because of the glare I was sending her. "Not that you ever would play him, of course. Anywho, she told him, he ran in and caught you with Draco. Cho was there for him, you know. She loves him. It didn`t take him long to see that he loved her too," Parvati finished, going back to eating her mashed potatoes as if what she said was nothing.

Eu de conrare, I`m afraid. It was something- a big something. It explained plenty of things to me. What, I couldn`t rightly decide, for at that moment I saw Ginny Weasely drop a note in Harry`s lap as she walked by. Parvati, of course, didn`t notice this, for she was not as observant as I and was making flirty conversation with a seventh year boy. Harry also noticed this and opened the note and began reading it. He became entirely slack-jawed for a full thirty seconds before staring after her as she departed from the Great Hall with an odd look on his face.

I knew that look all too well. It was the same look all my old boyfriends had worn when I had talked to them, the look Harry had put on whenever he saw Cho last year and the look Hermione and Ron gave each other constantly. Harry was in love, alright. This time, it was with the right person. Over the years, I had watched Harry from afar, when he thought I wasn`t looking. He always seemed to fall for the wrong people for him. Ginny, being a girl, immediately fell for the right guy the first day she saw him- Harry Potter. Ginny had saved herself for Harry over the years, pushing away her admirers- and it was about to pay off. It took Harry a proper fifteen seconds before leapt up from the table and literally ran after her at full speed. Parvati still hadn`t noticed.

I shook Parvati`s arm, catching her attention, before I drug her away to a bathroom.

"Did you see what happened?" I asked her.

Her brows knitted together. "See what?"

I couldn`t stop it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn`t stop it. It just came out: "HarryisinlovewithGinnyandsheloveshimbackandhejustwentafterherwhenshedroppedanoteinhishand." I bit my lip, hoping she would understand what I just said, for I did not want to repeat it to her.

Her neatly groomed eyebrows raised slightly, then went back down. She sighed heavily before she spoke. "Oh dear...I knew it would happen one of the days..."

"You knew?"

"Oh yes...Harry hasn`t paid too much attention to me in the last few days, I`m afraid. Then I saw the way he looked at Ginny...All glazed over and...Well, we all knew it would happen."

"...But what about the...?"

"Hearts Ball? Well, I had Greg Stacy all worked up a few minutes ago. I suppose I could go with him."

I blinked. Surely...?

"Oh, stop it, Lav!" she laughed. "It no big deal, honestly. Harry can have his girl and I can have my man and we can all be happy, okay? It`s you who should be in a hussy... You have a lot to do, you know!"

I couldn`t help but grin. The bell rang, sounding off the beginning of our first class- Triple Potions with Professor Snape...ugh...





As Parvati and I were always pressing the male species` buttons, it was not surprising that we would do the same today. Parvati, however, took our whole button-pressing theories to new levels when she decided to include Severus Snape in the male species.

We were running down the dungeon halls, desperately searching for the dungeon in which Triple Potions was held. At long last, we came to approaching the rickety wooden door, only to be ten minutes late. I groaned, knowing at least fifteen points would be deducted from our house. "Snape is going to kill us..." I mumbled.

Parvati turned to me and grinned. "Lav, I have and idea."

Uh-oh. Here we go.... Parvati hastily began to unbutton the first two buttons of her dress. I nearly shrieked, but, with tremendous difficulty, maintained my voice in a whisper. "What are you doing?!"

She looked up, a mad grin still plastered on her face. "I am going to spare Gryffindor some points today. What about you, eh? I`m just sure Draco would love to see you flirting with the Head of Slytherin, no?"

My mouth dropped. No way...No possible way...She was going to flirt her way into points for Gryffindor?!

Parvati tapped her foot impatiently one the worn stone floor. "Lavender Marie Brown, sometimes sacrifices must be made, but it is all for the greater good. Now, are you with me or not?"

I gulped. "I guess so," I mumbled, unbuttoning the top buttons as Parvati had done. It looked...revealing. But then again, that was the whole point.

A smile broke out on her pretty face. "Right, then... Here we go," she said with finality, pushing open the wooden door.

Snape was scrolling away madly on the board about the Tickleus Potion, while the entire class was rushing to keep up at his remarkable pace. However, he was disrupted when Parvati and I entered the room with a loud creak, complements of the old door. Parvati strutted up to him, her hips swaying a bit more than necessary, her head tilted high, and I following in her suit. It made an impression, for Snape dropped the flourescent-colored chalk and quickly tried to regain composure.

It didn`t work too well, for at that moment Parvati and I leaned over, revealing our slightly- revealed bosoms. He stared as we said in unison, "We`re sorry, professor, but we lost track of time. We won`t ever do it again, we promise."And it worked. Snape, with a slightly trembling hand, pointed to our seats wordlessly, and without taking any points, before going back to his scribbling on the board.

The class was in awe- Ron Weasely in particular. He gave an eager thumbs-up in our direction as we passed. Then he began to explain with great emphasis to Hermione that if she ever wanted to get her way, if she did what we just pulled off, she was sure to get anything from him; not to mention that he would certainly not take away points. Hermione`s reply was a smack upside the head with her Transfiguration book. Ron resumed his silent position, his face reddening a bit on one side of his face from the impact, while Harry sniggered at him.



After class, Harry stopped us in the halls; or more namely, Parvati. "Uh....Par... See, about the ball...." Harry began nervously, shifting from one foot to the other.

Parvati waved her hand in a dismissive gesture in the air. "Oh, Harry don`t worry about it. You don`t need to go with me if you don`t want to. I know you like Ginny. By all means, go with her. She deserves you and you deserve her. Besides, Greg Stacy, that seventh year, is my new date. I knew this would happen."

Harry froze in absolute shock. It was all I could do to stop myself from laughing. Parvati, however, began to grow impatient, for she had Astronomy next and if was an awfully long journey up to the tower. "Well, Harry Potter, do you need an engraved invitation? Go find her, boy!" she snapped playfully.

Harry broke into a wild, boyish grin that drove every girl crazy before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and running off in the opposite direction. Parvati stared after him for a moment before turning back to me and saying, "You know, I almost didn`t let him go just then. That was a terribly good kiss- even if it was just on the cheek." I smiled- things were going good so far.



Draco sat next to me in Astronomy class...Perfect. As Professor Sinistra rambled on about the complexes of the Rambulous Galaxy, I watched Draco look down at his blank parchment absently, tearing the corners off in precise angles, then proceeding to turning them into origami figurines with his wand, only to add them to a mass collection of the figures at the end of his desk.. His grey gaze met mine suddenly, and I almost faltered. He whispered, or what I thought he whispered, for it was so light, "Are we still going to the ball?"

I nodded coyly and continued the stare with difficulty. Draco Malfoy seemed to have mastered intense stares. His silver-grey eyes explored my blue ones unblinkingly, as if searching for something. He also did this magnificent art without cracking a smile. He kept completely composed, unnaturally so, as he stared at me. Then he resumed to his parchment again, only to fold it into a rose. He handed it to me and smiled...A real smile. I would have told you you were crazy if you thought that Sir Draco Malfoy of Hogwarts, the Slytherin Devil Child (and rightfully so), could actually smile a heart-warming smile. So heart-warming, in fact, that I nearly melted in the spot. Was Draco really that bad? He couldn`t be if he could smile like that.... I was beginning to have second doubts on this whole payback... and the worst was yet to come.







NOTE: Ohhhh! Cliffhanger! Honestly, I think all authors have exclusive rights to these wonderful cliffhangers. Anywho... I`m going to have a poll on who Lavender should be with... FRED WEASELY or DRACO MALFOY???If you haven`t read the other chapters, do, for I don`t want you going and messing things up in the poll. Besides, it`s a good story. Just do it.:) I could write either of the couples into the story, so don`t hesitate to vote. Ready? Set? GO!!!