"Are you in trouble?" Lavender asked when Harry found her in the common room.
"No, at least I hope not." Harry smiled weakly. "Dumbledore gave me permission to skip the feast."
"Oh that's good, right?"
He nodded. "It's what I want."
"Okay, that's good then." Lavender gave him an encouraging smile.
Harry then noticed the looks on her and Parvati's face. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"
The two girls looked at each other. "Uhm, sort of? Not really?" Parvati said uncertainly. "I was telling Lavender that I heard Granger crying in the bathroom. Not in the dormitory one, but one out in the castle."
"Oh." Harry looked out the portrait door.
"Yeah," Parvati said sheepishly. "I gotta go see Padma about something. I'll see you at the feast Lavender. See you after Harry." With a wave she left the common room.
"Is she crying about what Ron and Seamus said in Charms?" Harry asked.
"I think so," Lavender sighed. "It was rude of them to say that but she does act all swotty and snooty about class and homework." She turned to look at Harry. "What's that look for?"
"I just know how it feels," he replied, "hiding in the bathroom and being upset."
"Oh?"
He nodded glumly.
Lavender looked down at her lap. "I guess I do too."
"When you said you knew how I felt to be picked on?" Harry asked softly, looking at his friend. "When it was about something you couldn't control?"
She looked at him in surprise. "You remembered?"
He nodded again, shyly this time. "'Course I do. You're my friend."
She beamed at him. "Thank you." Her smile faded a little. "Yeah, it was… when I was really little, I didn't have a lot of clothes. Some girls noticed I wore the same things a lot and they teased me terribly." Her eyes popped open when she felt Harry pat her arm. It was the first time he made that kind of gesture on his own.
"I know what that's like," he said and she believed him. "I grew up wearing hand-me-downs from my cousin and they never fit me either."
"Did the other kids treat you badly too?" she asked.
"Uhm, more in the sense they didn't treat me at all, good or bad. My cousin made sure I never had friends really for a long time. Or made sure no one was friendly with me."
She scowled. "That's really wrong." She huffed. "At least I had a couple of friends that helped me feel better." She patted him back and was glad to see him accept it willingly without any change in expression. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you," he said quietly. "It's okay now though. I have you and Parvati and Padma and Hedwig as friends now. I always wanted friends and now I do."
"I'm your first friend?" she asked, equal parts happy and saddened by that tidbit of information.
"My first human friend," he said with a small smile. "I met Hedwig before you, you see."
Lavender laughed. "That's fine. I don't want to fight with Hedwig." They sat in companionable silence for long moments, letting the ambient sounds of the common room wash over and around them.
"Can… can I ask you something?" he asked finally.
"Of course."
"Could you… go talk to her?"
Lavender winced. "Oh, I don't know about that. I mean, I don't like that she's upset too but she's a bit… unpleasant. We don't really get along."
"Sorry, I just, you're right of course," he said hurriedly. "That's asking a lot and I'm really sorry."
"Why do you want me to go talk to her?" she asked.
"Because I don't like hearing people cry," he said. "And you're really nice and it's easy to talk to you and I think she'd appreciate it."
"Oh." Lavender felt very flattered and warm in that moment though she was a little reluctant still.
Harry saw the conflict on her face. He took a deep breath. "I'm not telling you this to guilt you but I trust you. I'm not going to the feast because my parents died on Halloween," he said in a rush. He pressed on, wincing at the look of horror on Lavender's face. "When I was little, I wanted to go Trick or Treating like my cousin and my aunt told me that my parents died on Halloween and if I wanted to dress up and eat candy on the day they died, that'd be a strange way to remember them."
"What?!" Lavender nearly shrieked, covering her mouth with her hands when Harry gave her a panicked look and people in the common room turned to stare at her outburst. She waited for everyone else to look away before she took her hands away. "What?!" she hissed. "That's. I. What?! How could she say that to you?!"
Harry shrugged weakly. "Ever since, I never liked Halloween all that much."
"I don't blame you. I'm so sorry," she said mournfully.
"Please don't let that keep you from enjoying the feast though," he said. "That's why I didn't want to tell you before. I didn't want to ruin it for you."
"You didn't. I understand. I just… that's so wrong." She dabbed at her eyes, using the handkerchief Harry made for her.
"I've upset you," Harry groaned.
"I'm upset for you," she corrected. "There's a difference. Or so Daddy tells me. That's what he says for things like this." She realized what she said and looked even more horrified. "Oh God, you just told me your parents died today and I'm talking about my dad, I am so so sorry-
"It's okay," Harry interrupted. "Really, it is. I didn't tell you that to guilt you or anything, but, just that I trust you. I… never told anyone that before. But you're really nice to me and a great listener and you shared something very private with me so I wanted to do the same."
He looked at her directly. "I won't push you to talk to her if you don't want to. I don't want to pressure you. Whatever you want to do." He patted her shoulder this time.
She felt a little better. "I guess I can go try and talk to her but I'm doing it for you."
"Thank you," he said gratefully, smiling a little. "I'll give you something too after."
"Because I'm talking to her for you?" she asked cheekily.
"Because you're my friend and you're doing something for me," he said sincerely.
"You're my friend too," she replied just as sincerely.
.....
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