flashback: he did what now?
If it hadn't been for the fact that the streets were all but deserted at this usually busy time of year leading up to holidays when Hogwarts students, recently freed from the chains of studying and exams for a quick reprieve, and that half a dozen stores down their end of Diagon Alley alone had their doors boarded up and layers of dust collecting
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"Hey, alright, it's okay, c'mon in, what's-" he started to ask just as his eyes caught and smashed together a few key words.
Roger- slept with- pregnant-
Oh, dear-
"Bloody hell, Lav-" he muttered, glancing up at her, then back down to quickly finish reading over the letter.
"When'd'you get this? Are you okay?" he asked, an instinctive sort of question more than anything else, though before she had a chance to even, he was closing and deadbolting the door behind her and pulling her in closely for a hug, arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders.
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Nothing made sense to her anymore and everything was just spinning. Spinning, spinning- right out of control and just picking up speed.
But as George took her in his arms, when she breathed him in, things began to slow down, just enough for her to get a handle on herself. She knew that this was the right choice, that he would know exactly what to say or what to do, anything to help her cope or distract her.
"I got it yesterday-" she started, burying her face into his strong chest.
"He didn't even tell me himself. All our letters-"
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When it came to Roger and the way he fit into Lavender's life, he had always been at a bit of a loss. He had gotten there first, a childhood friend that had known her before she had been that gawky little blonde thing slyly following he and Fred around, catching them mid-prank setup in some deserted hallway in the middle of the night and essentially sassing herself into being allowed to take part in their shenanigans. Before she had been an pain in his neck, then an amusing annoyance, then ultimately one of the best friends he could have asked for, she had been Roger's, and that whole tumultuous romance of theirs had always been rather confusing yet unavoidable.
But this. Whatever his very much neutral feelings towards that Ravenclaw might have been, and whether or not he and Lavender had actually broken up (there were some very mixed reviews going on on that front), this was lower than anything he might have expected.
"He might've been meaning to? Waiting for the right time, or something-"
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Now this great big thing was happening to Roger and he hadn't even tried to tell her.
And he had slept with Maeve, gotten her pregnant. In an instant his connection to her was deeper and more profound than any connection that Lavender could have hoped to have with him.
Suddenly, she was just the girl next door, an old ex-girlfriend, an after thought.
"Two weeks. The baby is coming in two fucking weeks-" she cried, though it was muffled by the fabric of his shirt, her face still buried.
"I thought after I graduated- He said-"
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However not clued into the situation he might be, with two weeks left before becoming a father with someone other than Lavender-
"That little shit- bloody hell, Lav, I'm so sorry," George muttered, hugging her that much more tightly.
"What can I do? Itching Death powder in his sock drawer? Dungbombs in his flat? I could beat him up the old fashioned way-"
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She'd been drawn to the twins since her first year, awed and mesmerized by their carefree nature and pranks. Whenever she could she'd follow them around, most nights getting found out before even leaving the common room, but that didn't deter her in the slightly. Slowly the relationship grew, more so with George rather than Fred somehow but both twins were special to her now.
And even now, as she pulled herself from his chest, realizing that she'd left little wet stains there from her tears, one of those sad, huffs of half laughter escaped from her lips.
"You know that Itching Death Powder is always my first choice-" she told him, starting to wipe away at her cheeks.
"But maybe a black eye-"
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There wasn't much he wouldn't have been willing to do for Lavender, someone whom he considered close enough to be family in every way that mattered - a tear-dampened shirt and a right hook to the face responsible for those tears was the least he could do, and he had every intention of going through with it, whether or not she was joking.
"It's the least he deserves. Should've told you months ago-"
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Lavender cut herself off, biting her tongue as she shook her head against. The heaviness in her chest grew deeper and twisted up, sobs bubbling up and catching in her throat in a way that made her feel sick.
The summer had been blissful and exciting, long afternoons with Roger after practice and catching games on the weekends. She'd never been in a box before or had the pass to go back with the team afterwards but he had made it happen. It was like everything was just back on track.
And that's how she expected it to go back now-
"Merlin. I am so stupid."
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Whatever else she might be (and sure, he might be a bit biased in his assessment of her, always one to gladly overlook faults in the people he cared about), Lavender Brown was most definitely not any kind of stupid.
"Don't you even dare. This isn't on you. There's no way you could've known. He's the idiot here."
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"I really thought we were going to make it-" she told him, her shoulders dropping as she sighed.
"He was my first- well, almost everything-"
And that was pathetic it felt like.
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"It's his loss, alright? Look at you. Gorgeous and brilliant and amazing. You've got your whole life still ahead of you. Seconds and thirds and fourths-" He offered a quirk of a smile, simultaneously teasing and comforting. "
You deserve better than someone who'll leave you hanging around-"
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"You're just saying that-" she said, sounding more like a seven year old than a seventeen year old.
If her cheeks weren't hot from crying then she would have blushed.
"Who'd ever want to get on with me."
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It wasn't as if he had never thought about it. When she had suddenly grown into herself, no longer just gangly and awkward, but, apparently overnight, strikingly beautiful and undeniably appealing, he had most definitely thought about it. But it had never gotten much farther than the 'fleeting thought' stage - her heart had always belonged elsewhere, and his own had never exactly been one to settle on any one person, and he respected and liked her too much to have ever even wanted to try anything.
But, as a matter of opinion, he would readily admit it.
Lavender Brown was a total catch.
"Just sayin'."
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One of those crushes had been George, a silly little girlish affection that she'd had for him since the first time she caught him sneaking out of the common room to set one of his epic pranks. He was carefree and goofy, a bright smile and warm eyes.
"You would?" she asked him, taking a small step forward to close the remaining space between them.
Before he could even answer Lavender leaned up, something stirring inside of her making her braver than she normally would have been when it came to boys and kissing, and pressed her lips to his.
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He couldn't not kiss her back. Hell, he didn't want to not kiss her back. But on the one hand, she was vulnerable and emotional. On the other, she was...well, vulnerable and emotional. If this was what he could do to help and comfort- and she was initiating it-
...Right?
Oh, what the hell. Why not.
By the time her lips actually touched his, he was leaning in to meet her, easy and soft, following whatever lead she might be looking to take.
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It was probably just better to act, to listen to the way her heart was pounding against her chest, suddenly a little bit breathless.
Her arms snacked around his neck, deepening the kiss slowly, though it was clear that she was timid, inexperienced with really taking the lead.
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