The new moon always felt the best to Lavender. Her eyes were brown without a hint of yellow, she didn't want her meat bloody, and her ears couldn't pick out the various whispers people were saying about her as well as they could nearer to the full moon. Her scars were just as livid as always, but with the cold weather and rain they had been getting recently, she could remain bundled up and hide most of them. She ignored Seamus's looks when she pulled her collar high to hide the slashes down her neck, and instead brushed out the door after giving him a kiss and wishing him a good day at work. He wanted her to be proud of her scars and not apologize for them or hide them. She just wanted to get through another day of being out in public without breaking down into tears over the looks she would get from strangers.

The heels of her boots didn't click going down the street. She used to love the feeling of commanding attention with her high heels but now, even though her boots did have heels, she cast a silencing charm on them every week to keep them quiet. Part of it was the fact that she had learned last year that drawing attention was going to get her hurt, but most of it was the fact that if her heels clicked going down the street, people would look at her, and then they might see her scars.

She got to work five minutes early as usual, unlocking the door and letting herself in. Her boss, Brenda, was already in the back counting the money for the till, and Lavender called a quick hello before setting about her own opening tasks. She straightened the robes on the hangers, brought out new stock from the back, and readjusted the clothing on the mannequins in the window in the short time before opening.

With Christmas coming up, Brenda had called her in for extra hours and Lavender was mostly happy to oblige. Seamus's crazy schedule meant that she rarely got to see him anyway, so as long a she didn't pick up extra work when she knew he was going to be off, she didn't mind. It gave her something else to do during the day, and the extra Galleons were appreciated.

There was a slight flurry of activity when they first opened the doors, but after the first hour it settled down into a manageable stream of people. Lavender was kept on her toes as she was sent for more fabric, or a different cut of robes, at Brenda's request. It wasn't until her lunch break that she had a chance to stop for a moment, and while she ate her sandwich in the back she kicked her feet up. It was a rewarding job, to be sure, but days like this were stressful and made her want to ask Brenda to hire seasonal help.

When she came back from break, Brenda went to go take her own break and Lavender was left on the floor alone. The first lady she helped was lovely, only had a ripped seam she needed fixed in a gorgeous blue silk robe, and Lavender said she'd have it done by the next day. As she set to work on it, a pair of girls came in and started pawing through the racks, voices loud even without her full moon hearing.

Stifling a sigh, Lavender put down her stitching and got up and walked over to the girls, pasting her customer service smile on her face. "Can I help you ladies with anything today?" She asked cheerfully.

One of the girls looked at her, then audibly gasped. She raked her eyes over Lavender's face, taking in all the scars with wide eyes. Lavender was careful to keep her smile fixed, even though it felt like the girl was physically hurting her. "Oh Merlin, what happened to you?" The other girl asked, turning around and having almost the same reaction.

Lavender could feel her smile cracking. "Can I help you ladies with anything today?" She repeated, voice shaking slightly.

The girls exchanged looks before the first one shook her head. "No."

"Okay," Lavender said, taking a deep breath. "Just let me know if you want to try anything on." She bit her lip hard as she turned her back, trying to keep the tears from coming. She could hear them whispering behind her and even though she didn't know exactly what they were saying, she had a good guess about the words. She walked over to the register and held herself ramrod straight until the girls left and Brenda returned.

Her boss took one look at her and sent her home, shaking her head over Lavender's apologies and insistences that she could stay. Brenda practically shoved her out the door, telling her to go home, have a cup of tea, and don't mind what people say.

Home early, Lavender followed Brenda's advice and made tea before curling up on her couch and crying, tea going cold in front of her. She knew people talked, and those girls certainly hadn't been the first to make her feel like this, but it was the consistency of it, and the knowledge that those girls were only a few years younger than Lavender herself. They were either Hogwarts students or home schooled, and Lavender felt, perhaps unjustly, that they should know better than to comment on anyone's scars after the recent year.

It also hurt to know that just a year before, that would be her and Parvati. The death of her best friend was still a raw wound, as raw as her scars, and thinking about her hurt like being clawed all over again. But Parvati had been the best shopping buddy, and Lavender didn't like to think about the fact that had she seen herself a year ago, she and Parvati would likely be just as horrified by her appearance as those girls had been.

Lavender tucked herself up in a blanket that smelled like Seamus. He wasn't going to be back for another six hours or so, but she could at least feel like he was there to comfort her in spirit.

She picked up a book a little while later and fixed dinner, looking out her window as rain started to fall. Times like these, the wolf was as far away as it could be and it felt good, but even at the new moon she was still alienated from others because of her scars. She wasn't a full werewolf, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the closer it got to the full moon, the bloodier she wanted her meat and the snappier she got. Seamus had learned to deal with it amazingly well, though sometimes she wondered if he was just humoring her, and was in fact extremely unnerved by her around the full moon.

Around nine in the evening she heard the sound of a wand against the door, undoing the wards. She knew, from the particular rasp of the wand on the wood and the muffled curses against the rain she could hear, that it was Seamus. That didn't stop her from touching her own wand in reassurance. Lavender, and all of the DA, had been particularly slow to let the wariness go after the events of last year. Some of them had dealt with it by going into law enforcement, while others, like her, were still more nervous about certain situations than regular people would be.

She got up to greet him when he walked in, taking his cloak and hanging it up to dry. He kissed her when she turned back around, surprising her with the intensity of it. "Hello to you too," she said, unable to help the smile that spread over her face despite her bad day.

He leaned in to kiss her again and she was more than happy to respond accordingly, looping her arms around the back of his neck and twining her fingers into his hair to pull him down to her. His hands, rough from his work, slipped under her shirt, brushing against the silken smooth skin of her hip. "Seamus," she whispered, breathing in sharply at the sensation. He was always exceedingly gentle with her scarred skin, and he knew exactly where those scars were, and exactly how she liked to be touched, and it wasn't long before she was pulling him into the bedroom and yanking his shirt over his head to expose his own scars. He had many, both from their seventh year and from his more recent line of work, and she knew exactly which ones to run her fingers over lightly to make him shiver, and exactly where to avoid because the skin was still raw.

After, they lay together in bed, sweat glistening on their bodies. Seamus's hair was still wet from the rain but he seemed a little calmer now than he had when he first walked in, his eyes a little less wild, his need a little less present. He ran a hand along her cheek softly, then kissed her gently. "Nothing is going to hurt you," he murmured against her lips, making her shiver with the feeling of it even though her needs had just been sated. "Nothing."

"What would hurt me?" She couldn't help but ask, despite the moment.

"Nothing," he said again, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and drawing her close, so close she could feel her eyelashes brushing against his skin. "Not while I'm here."

He held her all that night, and when she woke up to weak sunlight streaming through her bedroom window, she was still wrapped in the circle of his arms. Usually he was a fretful sleeper – they both were, since the events of the previous year – and so it was a little strange, but not strange enough to make her worry too much. She went into the kitchen to fix tea and breakfast for them both, wearing nothing more than a purple cotton nightgown she had pulled on before leaving the bedroom. Her blood had run hot ever since she'd been attacked, something to do with chemical changes in her body from the werewolf bite.

Lavender hushed the kettle before it screamed, pouring hot water over black tea for the both of them. Toast and eggs and sausages were easy enough to fry up as well, and soon the smell of melted butter and frying meat roused Seamus from the bedroom. He came out rubbing his eyes and with mussed hair, cute as could be, and she gave him a quick kiss as she handed him his tea.

She giggled as he chugged the tea down, then took his cup back and fixed him another. "Sleep well?" She asked, giving him a sly grin.

He returned it, nodding. "I don't have to be at work until five tonight," he said, sidling towards her.

She dodged nimbly out of the way. "You'd have me burn our breakfast, then?" She asked in a pert voice.

"Nah," Seamus returned. "Breakfast first. Then back to bed."

That got another laugh out of her, and soon enough they were eating. "What did you mean last night?" She asked as she chopped at her sausages.

"Hmm?" he asked, mouth full of toast.

Lavender snorted at the sight of him stuffing his face. "Very charming. Last night, when you said you'd never let anything hurt me? Is something happening with the Aurors?"

A shadow passed over his face and he scowled as he swallowed his mouthful of toast. "Nothing to be worried about. Just the usual hotheads causing trouble."

Lavender frowned slightly but didn't push the issue. There hadn't really been many hotheads causing trouble after last May. Everyone was still recovering from the war, no one had the time or energy to stir up anything new. He'd tell her eventually though, if it was that big of a concern. He was terrible at keeping secrets.