Beautiful (Harry/Lavender)

[slashluv18]

Beautiful
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Harry/Lavender
Warnings: AU, EWE
Summary: Harry and Lavender start something new.
Word Count: 612

"Hello, Harry." Lavender smiled widely as she waved.

"Hey, Lavender. What's up?" Harry asked, genuinely happy to see her. He would never admit it out loud, but he kind of had a crush on her, ever since she became less superficial after the end of the war.

She had gone through a period where she had been deep in depression due to the horrendous scar on her face because of Fenrir. For a girl who had always prided herself on her good looks, the scar felt like a death sentence.

After talking to Bill Weasley, she finally realized she had to stop feeling sorry for herself. There were worse things out there than being scared. She picked herself up and got on with her life.

Gone was the dramatic, flighty girl he had known in school. The new Lavender, the grownup Lavender, Harry liked a lot, and he found himself thinking about her quite often. She was still bold when she wanted something, but she no longer gossiped and went from guy to guy like they were going out of style.

He forced himself out of his thoughts when Lavender began talking.

"Well, I've been a bit lonely. You see, my roommate is out of town for the unforeseeable future. The flat seems so big without her." She smiled demurely.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Harry asked. He knew there was concern in his eyes. Everyone always said his eyes were so expressive and they showed what he was feeling all of the time.

Lavender bit her bottom lip, and Harry's eyes were drawn to it. He gulped, waiting for an answer.

"Well, maybe you can come over. Keep my company." Her eyes trailed down his chest.

A few years ago, he wouldn't have understood the subtext of that offer. He could choose to purposely misinterpret her meaning now and she probably wouldn't know the difference.

After all, he hadn't always been that sharp when it came to basic flirtation. As he got older, he realized that Lavender had flirted with him long before Ron, but Harry had never picked up on it. It was okay, though. Back then, he hadn't been interested in her at all.

He was interested now, though. He liked Lavender, but he didn't want to be simple one night stand for her. She really didn't do that anymore, but he wanted to make sure that she felt something for him. Once he had a taste of her, he wasn't sure he'd be able to let her go.

"Lavender, what do you feel for me?" Harry decided to cut to the chase.

Lavender smiled gratefully. She was probably happy he decided to be blunt. "I like you. It's not love – I know that – but I think it has the possibility of becoming love. Harry, you've been such a good friend to me. You never seemed to have a problem with my scars. In fact, you said once that they made me even more beautiful to you because they were a symbol of my bravery. You make me feel intelligent, and that was something I never felt, especially in school when I shared a room with Hermione Granger. You like me for me, just like I like you for you. And I would like to see where we could go."

Harry wound his arms around Lavender's trim waist and pulled her so she was flush against him. She whimpered as her hands rested on his chest. "Good answer."

Lavender leaned forward so their lips connected in a gentle kiss.

He didn't know if they would be together forever, but he was sure he'd enjoy finding out.