"Ooooh, Lavender, someone likes you," Parvati Patil screeched, hands fluttering uselessly in the air and cheeks red with excitement.
Heaving a sigh that she hoped nobody saw, the girl who's long eyelashes and wavy blonde hair got her the name of 'Prettiest Girl in Gryffindor,' by none other than Seamus Finniganplastered a fake smile on her face and turned around.
"What is it Parvati," She asked, noting the mock-inquisitiveness in her voice with satisfaction.
"Guess what I heard," she squealed.
"Let me guess. . . Pansy Parkinson jumped Colin Creevey in the charms classroom and they shagged like rabbits," she guessed, sarcasm dripping off her voice.
"Eww! No! I heard," here she stopped, throwing a conspiratory smile over to her twin sister Padma in Ravenclaw, who had Potions with the Gryffindors right after lunch. "That somebody likes you." She sat staring expectantly at Lavender.
Sighing, Lavender asked, not very enthusiastically, "Who?"
She immediately wished she hadn't. They burst into giggles, collapsing against each other. Lavender sat there, hands on her hips, waiting patiently.
While she waited, she chanced a discreet, covert glance over at a boy. A boy she'd been secretly noticing for the last few months.
Brown hair had grown out of it's mousy cut, hanging around the ears and making him look slightly like one of those 'Sk8ter Boi's' that Muggles were so obsessed with. And he'd grown into his features, they were sharper, not as girlish and round.
He'd done something with his teeth, too, probably one of those charms the nurse used on Granger a while back. They were less buck-tooth, smaller, straighter. Almost like the smile of that one Muggle Movie star she'd seen that one time. What had his name been again? Don Helton? Tom Telton? Oh! Tom Felton. Now that guy, she thought dreamily, knows how to make bleached hair look good.
She was snapped out of her daze by the movement of the object she was staring at. He'd turned to look at her, and upon seeing her already doing the same thing, had thrown her a smile. She turned away flushing. And as she turned back to her potion, contemplated whether it was possible for somebody's smile to look so shy and innocent, but at the same time, promising. She shook her head, clearing away the crazy thought, and convinced herself it had been an innocent smile.
"Lavender, were you listening," whined Parvarti.
"Uh, no, sorry, what'd you say?"
"I told you who liked you," she said haughtily.
"Oh, who was it," she asked blandly, her mind not on the answer.
"Well, I don't know if I should-"
"Oh stop blabbering, I'll tell her! It's Neville," Padma interrupted, throwing Parvarti a smirk.
Pale cheeks flushed as the girl snuck another glance at 'The-Boy-She'd-Been-Noticing-For-A-While.'
"She's blushing," Parvarti squealed, pointing at her face.
"It's rude to point Parvarti," Lavender said, hoping to steer her away from the topic at hand. But she would not be deterred.
"You like him," she exclaimed, raising her hand to her mouth with a gasp.
"What? That's absurd," Lavender said frantically.
"Neville! Oh Neville, guess what," The-Girl-Who-Would-Soon-Be-Dead called, waving her hand in the air.
"Parvarti, stop! You don't know what you're talking about," the blushing girl said with surprising firmness.
Throwing her a smug smile, Parvarti flounced over to Neville, who was about to add the Mandrake root to his simmering potion.
Lavender groaned, dropping her head down onto her hands. She could just faintly make out what Parvarti was saying if she strained, almost- her head snapped up as she heard a small explosion in the cauldron off to her side.
Snape came bounding over, demanding who's cauldron it was.
"It's not mine! It's-"
"It's all her fault, Proffessor Snape," Lavender heard. Blinking, she turned to the sound of the voice, and saw Parvarti pointing an accusing finger directly at her.
"What," Lavender exclaimed, mouth dropping open, a feeling of dread beginning to make it's way into her stomach.
"Well, well, well," the gleeful git almost purred. "Detention then, I think, Ms. Brown. Tonight. At Eight. I have a few cauldrons I've been meaning to clean, that I haven't quite gotten around to." She opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the sound of another small explosion, this time on the other side of the classroom.
Greasy hair flying, Snape's head snapped to the side, gazing for the culprit.
"Longbottom! Detention, eight. You'll be accompanying Ms. Brown," the professor with the obvious hygiene problems purred.
That bloody prat! He heard! And now he's going to-to make us stay in bloody detention together! She wasn't sure whether she was horrified or- excited.
"Class dismissed," he said smoothly, and she quickly gather her things and hurried out the door. Thank Merlin I don't have any classes with Parvarti the rest of the day, or she'd be little more than minced meat by the time I'd be done with her.
Walking down to the dungeons, Lavender reflected with satisfaction on the powder she'd managed to slip into Parvarti's drink during dinner.
Not as effective as Dragon Sand, she won't burn from the insides like poor King Roland did- unfortunately- but she will have a nice bit of indigestion tonight. She felt a bit like the evil sorcerer Flag at the glee in her heart and the spring in her step as she thought back to the revenge she had gotten on the girl.
She realized with a start that she was at the dungeons. Breaking out of her 'Evil glee' mode, she sighed heavily and opened the door.
She looked around the dungeon, noticing with a start that Neville was already there.
"Ms. Brown. You and Longbottom will stay here until all of these cauldrons," he waved his arm over to an enormous pile of the dirty things, "Are cleaned. Without magic. I trust you will, behave, while I'm gone." And with that he swept out of the dungeon, leaving two blushing teenagers.
"Well, we'd better get started," Neville said awkwardly.
Still blushing, Lavender simply walked over to a cauldron and began to work.
They cleaned silently for close to an hour, both listening intently to the other. Both wondering how much the other knew.
"Lavender-"
"Yes," she squeaked.
"Er- um, nothing," he said, sighing dejectedly.
Feeling a strange mix of relief and disappointment, she went back to the cauldron she was working on.
Still another hour later, Lavender looked up with a start and realized Neville standing right next to her. They'd started out at opposite ends of the pile, avoiding each other as much as possible. Telling herself she wasn't distracted by the smell of the soap he used, or that she didn't feel his robe brush against hers every time he moved his arm, she turned away.
She'd almost convinced herself, until he spoke.
"You've changed," he stated simply.
"Excuse me," she asked, bewildered, caught off guard by his sudden words.
"You aren't shallow anymore. No offense. You've changed. And you seem bothered by Parvarti now. Like you think she's silly or something. And you don't giggle anymore. Or at least- not as much. You're just. . . different," Neville said all in one breath, looking up shyly at her when he finished.
"How- how did you figure all that out," Lavender asked, too shocked to pretend everything he'd said hadn't been true.
The boy shrugged. "I've been, watching you." He blushed, looking away.
Much to her horror, Lavender felt the whole story slipping out. "It just- it started, I mean I started to change, after the department of mysteries. When they said that Voldemort was really back. My older brother's an auror, and he- I just got so scared, when I realized he'd have to go off and fight. It hit me, you know? And I realized- I realized that, it was so silly. All the gossip, all the backstabbing, all the trying to be the prettiest girl in school." She stopped, blushing furiously, and turned quickly back to her cauldron.
Congratulations. You've just made a bloody fool out of yourself. Now he'll think you're a bloody sap.
Silence reigned over the dungeon for a few minutes. But suddenly he spoke.
"Well I'm glad that you changed."
Startled, she looked up. She saw complete seriousness in his eyes, no mocking, no laughter, like there would have been if she'd told this to Seamus or Dean.
"You- you are," she asked incredulously.
He opened his mouth to answer- just as the enchanted torch on the wall flickered- and went out.
Shrieking, Lavender flung her arms around his neck, forcing him to put his arms out around her, carrying her bride-style.
"Lavender-" he said, gasping for breath as he struggled to carry her and talk at the same time. Collapsing onto a chair in front of Snape's desk he continued. "Lavender, you aren't scared of the dark are you?"
"So what if I am," she challenged, lifting her head from his shoulder, and gazing in the direction of where she thought his eyes would be.
"Just wondering," he said nonchalantly.
They sat in silence for a few moments, then both stiffened, realizing at the same time that Lavender was still in his lap, and his hand was still on her knee, absently tracing small circles.
"Erm-" he started awkwardly.
"Listen Neville, what did Parvarti tell you, in potions," Lavender demanded, brushing aside the weirdness. Using her 'I'm not just a dumb blonde. I know you had that set of robes on sale last month, so don't try to fool me into paying full price' voice.
"She didn't, tell me anything, she was about to, but then the cauldron exploded."
"Oh."
"How much did Parvarti tell you?"
"Er- just that you- that you, uh," she stammered, then gave up.
"That I like you," Neville answered, surprising Lavender with his bluntness.
"Oh- um- yes."
"It's true, you know," Neville went on.
Lavender didn't say anything, just smiled to herself in the darkness.
"Is there, a chance, that you, might, you know- could you- like me back?"
Thinking to herself that his shyness was absolutely adorable, Lavender giggled softly- some habits die hard- and reached out with her hand, finding and grasping his chin, turning it towards her.
And just before their lips met, she muttered softly, "I already do."
A/N: Heh, anybodys stomachs curl at this one? Anybody gag? I hope not, I thought it was sweet! Lol, but that's just me. The reference to Dragon Sand and King Roland and Flag, comes from Steven King's book 'Eyes of the Dragon." And the 'I'm not just a dumb blonde. I know you had that set of robes on sale last month, so don't try to fool me into paying full price' comes from Legally Blonde. Anybody remember? When that clerk lady tries to get her to buy that dress, telling her it's from that one fashion designer, but it isn't right in the beginning? I forget all the details. . but it was my inspiration, lol.
Thanks to all reviewers, and Kerichi for her ideas on the plot!
