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It started towards the end of 5th year. Not a full blown crush, but a niggling interest in Ron.
Before being in the DA Lavender didn’t think much about why she was a Gryffindor, or what it meant to be brave. She was vaguely aware of it, but being in the DA made her take it more seriously than she had before, so by the end of fifth year she had a very different attitude towards the six students who had fought Death Eaters at the Ministry.
Well, it really only changed her opinion about one of them. Luna would always be too odd to really associate with, Ginny too much of a broom-head to have much fun with, Neville was a bit hopeless at socializing, Harry was too intense, and Hermione too... Hermione. They weren’t even really hurt according to school rumors. Hermione had been, but it couldn’t have been that bad, or there would be scars, right?
But Ron had been hurt. He was in the hospital wing for a long time, and when he came out, there were scars along his arms- proof he was very brave. In fact, she wasn’t sure how she had missed it, but Ronald Weasley really had been growing more and more impressive over the years. He had flown a car to Hogwarts, he had gotten awards from the school, he’d secured their Quidditch victory. He was a bit of a hero, now. He was loads more interesting than she had ever noticed before.
She thought about it all summer and brought it up with Parvati at one of their sleep overs where they were discussing which boys were growing cuter. They went down the list, and then it finally came to Ron.
“I think he’s grown rather nice don’t you?” Lavender asked, feeling uncertain as the twins mulled it over. In the end, they decided he was cute to look at. Even Padma, who had disliked Ron a bit since the Yule Ball, had to admit Ron had ‘empirically improved’ since fourth year.
Then she saw him on the Train. Just a glance, but he was so much taller, and his shoulders broader than the year before. She could see his scars better. How brave he must have been!
He looked up and gave a smile to her when they passed in the Train hallway. Lavender felt her face flush as she waved back. Mind in a fog, she found her compartment and sat down next to her best friend.
“Why are you smiling?” Parvati asked as Lavender sat down in their compartment.
“No reason!” Lavender said, blushing. She couldn’t have a crush on Ron Weasley, of all people! He was always so boyish and annoying in class. But he was so much cooler now. It was almost better that no one else seemed to recognize what a diamond in the rough Ron was. It was like her own little secret.
That night, when Hermione was still downstairs, she cornered Parvati in their dorm room, unable to contain her secret crush any longer.
“I think I like Ron!” she blurted out. Parvati looked thoroughly unimpressed with this news.
“Don’t be that way!” Lavender pleaded. “He’s gotten quite handsome! And so tall. And his shoulders are so broad. And I hadn’t noticed how cute his smile was. Or how blue his eyes were…”
Parvati laughed. “Ok, he has definitely grown up to look good, but…”
Lavender gave a pleading look. She couldn’t have a crush on someone her friend didn’t approve of.
“Sorry, I mean… It’s Ron! He’s always been a bit…” her best friend tactfully avoided saying it. They both knew Ron had never been a favorite up til this point. A nice enough guy, but he was always uncouth, swearing, all knees and elbows. “Plus, he and Hermione are practically a thing.”
“Not officially, they aren’t!” Lavender said with authority. She felt a bit bad thinking of the frizzy haired brunette. Hermione had never said anything to them about it, of course, as she barely ever talked to them if not to criticize- but they had often thought Hermione fostered a crush on Ron. “There’s no reason he wouldn’t want to go out with me instead of her.”
“Well of course not, you’re amazing!” Parvati grinned at her friend, and they both giggled. Hermione chose that moment to trudge into the dorm room. Parvati tried to quiet her mirth, but Lavender saw no reason they couldn’t continue their discussion. They’d just have to be discreet.
“Well, I like him,” Lavender said. “But will you help me talk to him? I just don’t think he even knows I exist, really. I’ll be so nervous.”
“Nothing to be nervous about. You’re one of the prettiest girls I know. The key is just to laugh at his jokes, and cheer him on. Merlin knows no one else does.”
“You’re right! I almost feel like I should start a fan club for him!” Lavender giggled.
“You aren’t falling for what the papers said about Harry, are you?” Hermione asked from the corner, one of her snottier looks on her face. Lavender didn’t dislike Hermione, exactly- but she sure didn’t like her either. She was always interrupting them, spoiling their fun, and generally was a harbinger of death most days. Lavender was about to go off on her when Parvati answered for them, “Definitely not.”
“Oh…” Hermione replied, looking stunned to be wrong for once. “Well… Good. Because all that tosh in the papers is getting a lot of the girls to go after him now.”
“Why should you care, I thought you liked Ron?” Parvati asked. Lavender elbowed her in the side, but her friend looked steadily at Hermione.
Hermione’s blushed.
“I’m just caring about the welfare of my friends, and want them to be liked for themselves, not by a bunch of crazed fangirls who just want a bit of celebrity!”
“So you wouldn’t care if girls started going after Ron then,” Parvati stated smoothly. “After all, Ron’s not a celebrity fangirls can take advantage of. He’s just a your average friend, right?”
“Well…” Hermione began, looking flustered. “That’s a very different situation from Harry. He’s not in the papers- so you can’t compare the two situations.”
“But both Harry and Ron are just your friends, nothing more, right?” Lavender pressed. On some level she felt she needed permission from Hermione to date Ron.
“Just friends, yes” Hermione said shortly, turning around to get her pyjamas from her trunk. That was all the permission Lavender needed. She wasn’t stealing a boyfriend. “Going to go shower. Good night.”
Parvati and Lavender waited for Hermione to leave before they burst out laughing.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you did that!” Lavender let out.
“Well, I guess we know they still aren’t official.”
“Then he’s fair game,” Lavender said, making up her mind. Hermione had years to get Ron for herself. If she hadn’t made a move, she never was going to. She probably didn’t even like Ron that way. She’d do exactly as Parvati said. Laugh at his jokes and cheer him on. Ron Weasley Fanclub, party of one, Lavender Brown.