Chapter Text
Chapter 61: Lavender Brown is Dying (Spring 1998)
Only ten minutes later, Lavender and Seamus were dressed and waiting with the rest of the crowd around the portrait hole when Neville, and then Harry, Hermione, and Ron came through.
Lavender was not prepared for how intense it was to see Ron.
Since their breakup over a year ago, Lavender had only seen Ron a few times—in some of her classes, on the platform to the train—but only ever far away. And, more notably, Ron had never even looked at her during those times. Lavender, whose life had been a mixture of anxiety over her pregnancy, devastation over the loss, and then utter denial as she sought solace in fucking every cock she could find, hadn’t cared.
But this Lavender—who, admittedly, had still not dealt with the pit of grief in which she had tucked her loss so tightly—was more open. She wasn’t engaging in self-destructive behavior just to distract herself from the possibility that it might hurt to be in relationships with others.
So when Ron—sweaty, a little dirty, thinner than he’d ever been—popped through the portrait hole behind Ariana’s painting and looked right at her, it took Lavender’s breath away. She acutely felt every single feeling associated with him: angst, pain, embarrassment were chief among them, but there was also…attraction, arousal, and as shameful as it was, hope that he could love her again.
Seamus gripped her hand, pulling her out of her thoughts, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It hardly helped. Lavender was engaged to this man, and all she could think about was how Ron’s biceps stood out more distinctly since he’d lost some weight.
Everything was too much, and Lavender only vaguely processed that Harry was back but that they weren’t going to fight. Luna and Dean were there, and then they were all summoned to the Great Hall anyway, and Snape was there, and McGonagall and Snape fought, and Snape startled everyone except Lavender by showing he could fly. Lavender saw Xander and wanted to kill him, but Seamus kept her in line.
“Oh! Did someone get Lisa out of Hogwarts?” she hissed to Seamus, coming back to herself a little bit, now that Ron was out of sight.
“Yes,” Seamus replied, “Parvati took her to Ab’s bar with Padma.”
“Good, that’s good.”
And then, it was all-out war. She, Seamus, Neville, and Dean were assigned the task of blowing up some of the outermost entrances to the grounds, and Lavender took a moment to recognize how probably unlikely it was that she would be here with three of her most outstanding lovers, and they’d all work peacefully together.
“It’s so good to see you!” Lavender shouted to Dean over the sound of rushing wind, flying spells, and pounding footsteps as she, Dean, Neville, and Seamus made a mad dash back to the relative safety of the castle.
A vivid green light flashed just overtop of Neville’s head, and he lost his footing, slipping a few feet down the hill. Lavender wheeled around and shot her own dangerous spell into the darkness while Seamus and Dean turned around and pulled Neville by the shoulders until he was on his feet again.
“Run, Lav!” Seamus bellowed as they streaked past her.
She followed them into a rear entrance of the castle, panting and covered in soot but grateful to be alive. For the moment, they were alone at the base of a quiet stairwell.
“I know this is war and terrifying, but I’m so glad to see you guys,” Dean said, pulling them into a group hug inside which Lavender ended up being squished. As she tipped her head back to see the these strong, tall boys she loved so much, she ruefully recognized that in slightly different circumstances, she’d be ecstatic to find herself crushed so thoroughly between their bodies.
Her thoughts from earlier were crazy. Of course she didn’t want to be with Ron. If she never saw him again, that would be fine!
“So, what do we do next?” Lavender asked, pulling herself out of what might otherwise have been a lovely fantasy.
“I’m going to the greenhouses,” Neville said firmly, looking through the window of the door through which they came. Lavender turned to see they were very close to the back side of the greenhouses, and for all her explorations around the grounds, she’d not spent much time here.
“I’m going to find Luna,” Dean said.
“Nev, do you want one of us to come with you?” Seamus offered.
Neville shook his head. “No. Half the things in greenhouse four would kill you, and I only have capacity to look out for myself. We can split up.”
The air seemed to be completely devoid of oxygen all of a sudden. Lavender’s eyes stung as she watched Dean and Seamus hug their friend. Lavender stood up on her tiptoes when he took her in his arms, and she couldn’t resist pressing a firm kiss on his mouth. “Please be safe,” she whispered.
Neville kissed her back, first on the mouth, then on the cheek, and then on the top of her head. “You too,” he murmured back.
Lavender sniffed as he exited the door and sprinted toward the dark greenhouses.
She, Dean, and Seamus got into formation and took to the stairs, Lavender scaling backwards to watch their flanks. She needn’t have worried, though, because they were three floors above the entrance hall and overlooking dozens of all-out duels before they encountered another soul.
It was a soul Lavender recognized. A soul who made Lavender’s blood boil. A soul she’d never actually met in person.
“Oh my god, Seamus, that’s Xander!” Lavender whispered loudly. “I’m going after him!” She rushed down the corridor toward Xander and away from the action in the entrance hall.
“What? No! Stay with us,” Seamus insisted.
Lavender turned around and shook her head. “Seamus, he ruined Lisa’s life. He can’t get away with this!”
“Then I’m coming with you!” Seamus retorted. “Dean, can we make a pitstop?”
Dean consented, and the three of them tore down the corridor as quietly as they could.
“Oi, Lofthouse!” Lavender called when they reached the end of the corridor. Why Xander was so leisurely strolling to what appeared to be a dead end, Lavender had no idea.
Xander turned around and sneered at her. “What do you want, Brown? Still desperate for Slytherin cock?”
“I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last person on earth. I’d rather die than give you that satisfaction,” Lavender declared, sounding much braver than she felt. It didn’t hurt that she knew Seamus and Dean were flanking her, just out of Xander’s sight.
Lavender didn’t want to bother with conversation. Xander was making excellent eye contact with her—a foolish power move on his part—and she wouldn’t waste the opportunity. Instead, she dove right into his mind, searching for the information that could set Lisa right.
But it was not to be found. All she discovered was that Xander had used some sort of dark magic to place Lisa under a curse that would render her utterly at his mercy. But for how long? She searched for the answer in his mind, so much less forthcoming than Lisa’s had been. Instead of following trains of thought, she was forced to look separately at each piece of information, like he had them stored in discrete boxes in his brain.
Finally, she found it. And it wasn’t good news.
“Oh my god, she’s going to be like this until you die?!” Lavender screeched, no longer caring if anyone in the castle heard her.
Xander’s mouth grew into a smirk. “Good bit of magic, isn’t it?”
“What kind of evil, foul, loathsome cockroach would come up with such a thing?!” Lavender shouted.
Xander shrugged. “The kind who likes his women submissive. Obedient. Silent. As you all should be.”
Sparks shot out of Lavender’s wand and singed the stone floor, making her gasp.
“You know what, Brown?” Xander said with the air of someone who just experienced an epiphany. “I think you’d make a gorgeous replacement for Lisa. And it’s perfect, because you already spread your legs for everyone with a pulse, so this wouldn’t change anything, just shut your fat mouth up.”
Lavender raised her wand, prepared to end Xander’s life in exchange for Lisa’s, but she heard a voice behind her shout, “Petrificus Totalus!” and Xander dropped to the floor, stiff as a board.
“You’d never live with yourself,” Seamus explained when Lavender rounded on him. “We’ll find another way for Lisa.”
“We won’t! It’s permanent, Seamus. Until he dies!” Lavender protested.
Seamus held onto her arm tightly. “I get it. We’ll work on it.”
Lavender groaned in frustration. “What if we die, Seamus?” she snapped. “We’re the only ones who know what he did!”
“Dean, take her,” Seamus insisted.
Lavender beat the hell out of Dean’s back as he hoisted her up and carried her over his shoulder all the way back down the corridor they’d come through.
Seamus caught up to them, and Lavender tried to escape her captor one last time, but Seamus held up his hand. “Don’t bother. He’s already gone.”
Furious that Seamus let him escape, Lavender scowled at him. But they were overlooking the entrance hall again, and they began raining down spells in defense of their friends, doing their level best to keep the enemy at bay and eventually being drawn down into the fight.
Well, Seamus and Dean made it down. At the top of the final staircase, a strong hand wrapped around Lavender’s upper arm, a second hand over her mouth, preventing her scream from exiting. It was too late for Dean or Seamus to notice. They were already engaging in duels as Lavender’s new captor yanked her away from the action.
“You,” said her captor, his gravelly voice sending shivers down her spine. “I was promised you.”
Lavender felt adrenaline’s impact on her body as she heard the blood rushing in her ears in time with her rapid heartbeat.
“There you were,” her captor said, his foul breath in her ear, “in the ballroom, looking so delicious, and the only person who got to take you was Snape. Imagine my fury when Malfoy’s cub stole you from me. We were supposed to get our share.”
Greyback. This was Fenrir Greyback. Lavender broke out in a cold sweat; her stomach pitched; she wanted to retch, but his hand was still covering her mouth.
“I’m going to get my share now, little girl,” Greyback warned.
Finally, he let go of her mouth, and Lavender was about to scream when she realized he’d stolen her voice.
“Tongue-tied?” Greyback gloated.
Lavender could only choke out a response.
How was this happening? They were still close enough to the staircase that Lavender could actively see her friends dueling for their lives below them. She caught glimpses of Dean and Seamus and was torn between being glad they were contributing and wishing they would look up and see she needed help.
Greyback’s next curse swept Lavender’s legs from under her. How were all these curses not unforgivables?
Finally, Greyback banished Lavender’s clothes. He stood over her, looking like more wolf than man, while she lay on the floor both silenced and helpless. She really should have known that she would die like this instead of with dignity.
If all Greyback wanted was her body, she probably would have offered it to save her life. But this werewolf obviously relished power and inflicting pain more than he sought pleasure for himself. If all he did was force himself into her body, Lavender might have tolerated his audacity. That initial intrusion didn’t even cause her much pain; her body had no way to distinguish friendly penetration from unfriendly.
No, it wasn’t the rape. She’d been through worse. She really had.
Instead, it was the way he turned her over so she was flat on her face, her arms magicked to her sides while he continued to force himself inside her. It was the way it seemed like he was slicing her back open with knives. It was the way he gripped her throat tightly, fully cutting off her airway so that her vision became tunnels, highlighting for the first time how gentle Remus had been by comparison. It was the way he forced her legs further apart at an angle they should not bend; Lavender nearly passed out when she felt something snap in her hips.
But what killed her was the way his teeth broke the skin at her neck. Lavender felt warm blood rushing to the wound before everything went black.
*
Moments before Lavender Brown’s heart stopped, Hermione Granger looked up and saw Fenrir Greyback’s assault. She cried out and shot a non-fatal spell at Greyback, stopping his onslaught on Lavender’s body.
Hermione, who was rushing outside with Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, had no time to stop and tend to the body of the friend with whom she’d shared a dormitory for years.
Instead, Lavender’s body lay motionless, unconscious, and bleeding out for two full minutes before Dean Thomas killed the death eater with whom he dueled, which freed him to take the stairs two at a time and scoop Lavender’s limp body up in his arms.
Dean waved his wand and stopped the bleeding at Lavender’s neck, but he seemed to wobble at the sight of the large pool of blood on the stone floor at his feet. Clutching Lavender’s body to his chest, Dean sprinted up another length of stairs and down a corridor to the Hogwarts infirmary, which was already full of bodies.
It took a few minutes for Dean to convince Madam Pomfrey that this was Lavender, not Lavender’s body, and the matron seemed to be humoring him when she directed him to place the body on a bed instead of on a sheet on the floor.
Poppy Pomfrey cast several spells at once, and of the seven signs of life, Lavender only displayed one. Nevertheless, Poppy Pomfrey had taken an oath in Healer Training that one sign of life was enough. Therefore, she conjured six potions, and tipped each of them down Lavender’s inactive throat.
Seamus Finnigan crashed the doors of the infirmary and threw himself into the chair next to Lavender’s bed, causing Madam Pomfrey to huff.
“Is she alive?” Seamus demanded.
Madam Pomfrey tsked. “For now, Mr. Finnigan. She will not survive.”
“You can’t leave her!” Seamus bellowed as Madam Pomfrey made to leave Lavender’s bedside.
Poppy Pomfrey turned and snapped. “Mr. Finnigan, I have a hundred patients, ninety nine of which have a better chance of survival than Ms. Brown. I am sorry. I loved her, too. But it is over. Say goodbye.”
Seamus clutched Lavender to him, sobbing and, for the first time in his life, praying.
*
You know that feeling when you’re having the best sleep of your life, and then the sun decides to shine through your window and right onto your face, and you’re aware of the nuisance of the sun before you ever truly become conscious?
That’s how Lavender felt.
At least, that’s how she felt until she felt all the other injuries in her body, which quickly outshone the sun in terms of nuisances.
All she could do was groan.
“Oh my god, Lavender!”
That was Seamus’ voice. She’d know it anywhere.
“Lavender! Can you hear me?!”
She groaned again.
“Lav, oh Lav. Oh baby. Oh my god, I love you so much, you beautiful girl.”
It took all the effort in her entire body to pry her eyes open.
Big mistake. There was too much to see. They were in the Great Hall, and from Lavender’s position on Seamus’ lap, she could see that there were hundreds of people here. The tables were set up and food was being served, and there was no sign of war or fear.
“What…what happened?”
And Seamus told her everything that had happened since Greyback had attacked her:
Fred had died.
Voldemort had offered an hour to dispose of their dead, and during that time, Seamus held her, cried, and prayed for her life.
Neville had found Colin’s body in the grounds.
Harry had sacrificed himself for all of them, and the death eaters had returned to the castle triumphant with Harry’s body.
Harry had come back to life, or had never really died (this detail was sketchy for everyone).
Neville had killed the snake, which was apparently the key to everything (another sketchy detail).
Ron had killed Greyback. Seamus’ voice broke as he told Lavender this detail.
Harry and Voldemort had dueled, and Harry had revealed a lot of details that, again, felt sketchy to them. Something about a wand and its allegiances. What wasn’t a sketchy detail was that Voldemort’s body lay, obviously dead, on a table at the end of the Hall, ignored and mundane.
And then Lavender had taken a breath.
Several things swelled Lavender’s heart that morning: Ron gave her a tight, one-armed hug and told her he was glad she was alive. Neville, Seamus, and Dean each brought her a steaming cup of coffee and sat with her while she adjusted to her miraculous awakening. Luna stopped by to let Lavender know how highly Dean had spoken of her over the past few months.
But what truly made Lavender’s day—aside from the absolute destruction of the Dark Lord and all the hate for which he stood—was when she saw Lisa Turpin stroll into the Great Hall, beaming. She made straight for Lavender, threw her arms around her, and thanked her. Out loud.
This, too, felt miraculous. Lavender turned her head and locked eyes with Seamus, who smiled sadly and nodded.