Thicker than Water (Marauders Era)

24 June, 1978 - Memories

But... but he was afraid, if he was honest. He was afraid of rejection and he was afraid of ruining a good thing. Besides, he reasoned, Lavinia had enough going on right now. There was enough change to be adapting to. He didn't need to add more things to that list. So he would wait, as he had been doing for so long now. Because however hard it was, he truly believed it was what was best for her.

The third thing that had kept Sirius up that night was Rowle. He knew he probably didn't have the full story, but he frankly didn't think he needed it. What he'd gotten from Lavinia's short and slightly slurred explanation had been enough. Rowle had been drunk and had threatened her. Threatened something awful enough that Lavinia wasn't willing to go back to her dormitory.

It made his blood boil.

Which was why, when Sirius boarded the train the following morning with James, Peter, Remus and Lavinia his knuckles were still stinging. He knew he could have healed it and probably should have because it was just begging for difficult questions, but he couldn't bring himself to. For the first time he truly understood Lavinia's twisted reasoning in not healing the bruises and cuts her mother had given her. He wanted to remember this. He wanted to remember how it had felt to tell the slimy git to keep his hands and eyes away from Lavinia. He wanted to remember what it had felt like to punch Rowle so hard across the face the big blonde Slytherin had actually stumbled backwards.

It had been equally satisfying to see the bruise blooming on Rowle's face as they'd boarded the boats to cross the lake and know that he either couldn't or wouldn't heal it.

But that had been perhaps the only satisfying thing about leaving the school. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter had claimed a boat together, just as they had on the way to the school for the first time. He would have sat with Lavinia, but she and Lily had been in their own boat before he'd had time to say anything at all and a little while later, they'd been joined by Lily's friends, Alice and Marlene.

Sirius's heart had done a strange tugging skip at that sight, in part because he knew he had to talk to Lavinia at some point and was not at all looking forward to how awkward that conversation would be, and in part because she had looked so terribly out of place, sitting at the far edge of one seat, with her eyes on her lap. But even as he'd watched, Lily had tapped Lavinia's shoulder and pointed her out to something and Sirius's heart had warmed to know that she wasn't totally alone even when he and the other Marauders weren't by her side.

It was also good to see her looking almost normal and as okay as he supposed she could be. She'd woken up earlier than any of them and had simply left so that by the time they woke, she was gone. They'd seen her at breakfast, however and though she'd complained of a headache, she'd made no other mention of the night before. They had all, by some silent agreement, decided to discuss it with her later. This was going to be a strange enough day for all of them without having the conversation they all knew was necessary about her behavior the previous night.

She also didn't say anything about the bruised nature of Rowle's face, though he caught her staring at the blonde boy for a long, long moment. There had been no emotion on her face at all, no indication of joy at the payback her housemate had received and no pity for the bruising she undoubtedly knew the pain of. She had simply turned away and acted as though there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Sirius didn't entirely know what to make of that, but he didn't press it.

And now, of course, it was graduation. And it seemed to Sirius at least, that instead of giving Lavinia a talking to or asking her about Rowle, which he suspected would be a touchy subject regardless of her blank expression, this day would be better spent remembering all the good times and reminding each other that this wasn't an ending, but a beginning. A new, fresh start for all of them. Especially, he supposed, for Lavinia, who of all of them, both deserved and needed a fresh start the most.