Disclaimer:All things related to Harry Potter belong to J. K. Rowling. I have borrowed her characters for my own plot.
AN: Apparently, my computer didn't save the changes I made. If you read the version in which Malfoy finds Lavender, the ending to this chapter has been changed.
Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and set off down the stairs, Ron and Hermione hurrying along behind him. At the foot of the stairs, Harry slid through the open door.
"What were you doing up there with her?" shrieked Lavender Brown, staring right through Harry at Ron and Hermione emerging together from the boys' dormitories. Harry heard Ron spluttering behind him as he darted across the room away from them.
--Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince page 478
Lavender Brown was not having a good day. She had broken up with Ron Weasley the previous night after catching him and Hermione Granger in a sordid affair. She should have known better than to get involved with him anyway. After all, he'd only been in love with Hermione since, what, fourth year? And what's more, they both denied the whole thing! It couldn't have been more obvious, though. After all, what else could they have been doing alone in the boys' dormitory?
All through charms, Lavender glared at them and fought back tears as they flirted, touched, helped each other with their class work. The longer she watched, the more out of control she felt. And as that feeling increased, so did her focus on her book bag. They were in there, she knew, all the supplies for her secret habit. All day, she waited for the right moment to slip away. She acted like nothing was wrong, gossiping through lunch with Parvati and some other friends. Even telling them how Hermione was a whore didn't stop her obsession, though. She felt that pull that she hated so much, and yet she knew where it would invariably lead. Finally, on her way from Divination, she was able to slip away, telling Parvati she had left something in the Charms classroom.
Lavender quickly hurried to the second floor and slipped into the girls' loo, her secret hiding place since third year. No one came in here unless it was for some mysterious need to be alone due to the resident ghost, Moaning Myrtle. Myrtle had, however, turned out to be a surprisingly good confidante. She'd kept Lavender's secret knowing it was the only way she'd come back; Myrtle was hungry for companionship.
"Hi, Myrtle, are we alone today?" Lavender asked as she took her usual place against the far wall.
"Of course. You know nobody visits me. It's been three weeks since I've seen you," Myrtle whined. "I was beginning to think you didn't like me!"
But Lavender was already focused on the scissors and disposable razor which she had already removed from her bag. By now she could get the blade out rather efficiently. She made the first cut on her forearm. Instantly, she went numb. There was no physical pain, nor any emotional. Finally, she thought in relief.
It wasn't about pain. It was never about pain. It was about the blood and about control. Lavender pulled out her wand as the blood oozed from the small cuts she had made. She pointed at her arm and formed the blood into a bubble. The bubble grew slowly and started to rotate. She had been experimenting with this for a while.
Minutes went by. The bubble had slowly grown to the size of a football. She knew she should stop soon, that she should put it down the drain, but she continued to stare at it in fascination. Then something happened that had never happened before: the door opened and someone walked into the room.
Lavender was so startled she lost her focus, and the blood fell to the floor. It was amazing how such a small amount of blood could look so bad when it was splashed all over oneself. She raised her startled green eyes into equally startled brown ones. For a second all she could think about was the irony that Granger would be the one to find her.
Granger's face turned pale and then a little green as she took in the blood soaked appearance of her classmate. Lavender gave a little shriek and ran into the nearest stall. "Go for help, Myrtle, you idiot!" Granger said just before she threw up in the sink.
"NO!" Lavender yelled. "No, nothing's wrong. You don't have to tell anyone." But she knew it was too late. In desperation, she reached under the door and grabbed her wand to start cleaning herself up. "Tergeo," she whispered as she siphoned blood off her clothes.
Utter chaos ensued. Flitwick was first on the scene followed by McGonagall who rushed Lavender up to the hospital wing. On the way out, she hissed to Granger, "Keep your mouth shut, slut!"