Potter

Chapter 98

"Thank Merlin," Theo mumbled, pulling the door to the Leaky Cauldron open and allowing me to step through. I thanked him, beginning to shrug my coat off when a pair of arms crashed around my neck and hugged me tightly.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Lavender Brown cried– quite literally, I realized as something wet dripped onto my skin– and I frowned as I stepped away, holding her by the shoulders. Lavender stared back at me, cheeks splotchy red and hair looked as if it had been repeatedly run through with her fingers.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Lavender's smile was tired.

"I came to have a drink."

"Are you alright, Lav?" Theo asked, concern washing over his tone as he took my coat from me and hung it up alongside his. Lavender nodded jerkily, lifting a tear-stained sleeve to wipe at her face.

"Yes. No– sort of better now, I guess," she said, giving a small sniff. "Won't you come have a drink?"

"Of course," I said, letting her hand fall to grip mine as she pulled me away, leading me towards a booth she had apparently been occupying. A half-filled glass of Firewhisky sat atop the table, and Tom, upon catching sight of our group, was quick to float two more over.

No one spoke again until we had all sat at the table– Theo next to me on the outside, Lavender across, manicured nails wrapped around her mug as she lifted it her lips. Her blue eyes looked brighter than ever, lined with the red markings of someone who had been crying for quite sometime. I didn't endeavor to imagine the cause, knowing I'd find out soon enough.

"What happened?" Theo was the one to ask, his voice surprisingly soft– but then, St. Mungo's had made a point of remarking on the importance of a Healer's bedside manner. I supposed even Theo's snark could be gentled in the right situation, and I was grateful for it.

Shakily, Lavender raised her hand in a 'one moment' gesture, then went to dig through the bag that occupied the bench beside her. She ruffled through it for only a moment, pulling out two envelopes– one she handed it off to me, saying it had come to our home this afternoon, and the other she held between her own fingers, the edges worn over as if they had been worried at for some time.

The cursive handwriting on the back of the envelope was familiar enough that my heart ached to open it, and an added weight certainly gave it an air of curiosity. But with a look at Lavender's still down-trodden face, I set it aside for the time being.

"When the mail came today," she said, giving a soft sniff, "I got a letter from Seamus– and I was so happy, because he never writes, he always forgets, but– I thought he remembered, finally. So I rushed to open it, and... he broke up with me."

"Through a letter?" Theo looked livid. The expression grew as Lavender nodded, lifting a hand to wipe clumsily at her face as tears began to spill once more.

"Through a letter," she repeated miserably. "He explained he didn't want to do it over the holidays, because– well, they're the holidays, aren't they?– but he didn't want to drag it out any longer than necessary. Because, evidently, our relationship was something that had to be dragged. Out."

"I'm so sorry, Lav," I soothed, reaching out to rest my fingers atop the fabric of her fuchsia sweater. Lavender offered me a grateful smile, though it barely reached her eyes.

"Thanks, Lily."

"I'll apparate straight there and hex him for you, if you like," Theo offered, completely genuine. "I'm sure the others would be more than ready to help."

"Thank you," Lavender said. She looked a tad befuddled by the offer. "But... no. Don't.  He– it sucks, but he was very polite about it. He didn't bullshit me. I can be grateful for that, at least. He wasn't mean, or rude, it just–"