when love arrives ( lavender brown ) ✓

viii

[ BUT THE DAY COMES WHEN YOU MUST LET HER GO. ]

The day that Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley returned to Hogwarts was the day that Callisto Aerglo knew they were all ready to risk their lives and fight.

"What do you need, Potter?" She could hear Professor McGonagall's voice ask faintly over the murmur of the other students, who were all gathered in the Great Hall.

"Time, Professor," Answered Harry, backing out of the Hall, "As much as you can get me."

Next thing she knew, the herd of students was scrambling to get out of the Great Hall and assume any positions they were assigned by the professors, leaving her to push past people in an attempt to reach Lavender.

"Lav!" She screamed, moving with the crowd so as to not get trampled over, "Lavender!"

Finally catching a glimpse of the familiar yellow headband, Callisto ran towards her girlfriend, not caring if she had to push people aside to get ot her.

"Lav!" She yelled one final time, catching the girl's attention and causing her to stop in her tracks just in time to catch her.

They stold that way for a couple of moments; Lavender's arms wrapped tightly around Callisto's waist and her head buried in the crook of her neck, trying to memorize what she smelled like, how she could feel her heartbeat pressed against hers, how soft her skin was. She wanted to memorize every inch of her stargirl.

"I love you," She whispered, moving her lips to Callisto's ear, "I love you."

Instead of responding, Callisto just pressed her lips to Lavender's in a soft, tearful kiss. As she kissed her, Callisto made sure to pour every ounce of love into it; she made sure to pour every word that she had meant to say but never did into it.

"We'll get married after this. A wedding at the beach would be nice," Callisto whispered against Lavender's lips, causing her to giggle.

"Yeah. Maybe we can arrange that," Lavender answered, nudging her nose with her girlfriend's.

Their intimate moment was interrupted by the castle rumbling, causing them to spring apart and look towards the entrance of the school, where stone soldiers were being commanded by Professor McGonagall.

Realizing that there was not much time left until the courtyard turned into a battlefield, Lavender brought her girlfriend into another feverish kiss, forcing herself to part with her once the castle rumbled once more.

"I love you," Lavender said once more, taking off her headband and intertwining her hand with Callisto's, placing the article on the girl's palm, "I'll see you later, my love."

"See ya, darling," Callisto breathed, slowly letting go of Lavender's hand and watching as her figure disappeared around the corner before looking down at the piece of fabric in her hand.

--

"Expelliarmus!" Callisto yelled, feeling her throat become raw from all the screaming of spells and hexes.

Her face, body, and clothes were caked in dirt and blood, her hair was sticking to the back of her neck with sweat, and there was a gash right below her chin, but she did not care. All she cared about was protecting her world, her friends, her home, her love.

Speaking of love, Callisto and Lavender had not crossed paths the whole night since they parted earlier outside the Great Hall, which caused the Aerglo girl to actively start looking for her lover.

"Stupefy!" She pointed her wand at a death eater, who flew back with the impact as the spell hit him square in the chest.

Running through the courtyard, dodging spells, fighting back-to-back with her fellow classmates; she though this battle was going to last forever.

Suddenly, a loud, distinguishable scream echoed through the courtyard, making Callisto turn her head in the general direction of the sound that she knew very well. Lavender.

Taking off in a sprint, Callisto did not even process which spells and charms she used as she hit death eaters left and right, only focused on getting to her love.

[ it's almost done hahah im sorry for the pain hahaha ]