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"Lavender!" Harry smiled as Parvati surged forwards, throwing her arms around her best friend.
"Hey, Parv." Lavender returned the hug, although Harry didn't miss how she was moving a bit gingerly.
"How are you feeling?" Dean asked.
"Like I've been stuck in a hospital for nearly three months." Still holding onto Parvati, she beckoned for Hermione, who joined the hug with her former roommates.
"We're very glad that you're alright," said Seamus.
Lavender gave him a grateful smile as she released the other two girls, and Hermione returned to Harry's side.
"So, you really did it? You beat You-Know-Who?"
"I beat Voldemort, yeah." Harry caught her wince as he said the name, but he certainly wasn't going to fuss about it now.
She glanced from him to Hermione and back, and grinned. "You two are standing very close together. You finally realized it, didn't you?"
Harry and Hermione exchanged shy smiles. "Yes," Hermione replied.
"Finally!"
Seamus, Dean, and Parvati all laughed, having reacted similarly when they found out.
"I told them how I knew it would happen all the way back in our fourth year," Parvati said sagely.
Lavender nodded in agreement, and Hermione squirmed a bit before leaning against Harry's arm. He placed his hand across her back comfortingly.
"We all knew," said Seamus. "Well, all of us except for..." He trailed off, and everyone's moods dampened a bit.
"How is he?" Lavender asked quietly.
"He's doing alright," Harry replied. "You, er, heard about Fred?"
She nodded somberly, her gaze dropping.
The others shared uneasy glances. They all knew how upset Lavender had been when Ron broke up with her, and Harry wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that she still held a torch for him. He and Hermione had privately discussed how Ron and Lavender could have made quite a good match if Ron hadn't convinced himself that he was supposed to wind up with Hermione.
Lavender looked at Harry and Hermione. "I'd like to do something for him."
* * *
"Where did all these butterflies come from?" Neville looked around in surprise and a bit of concern as the cloud of colorful butterflies descended over his garden.
He and Harry stood at the head of a large table that was crowded with Weasleys and assorted other friends, a pair of birthday cakes in front of them. Harry had insisted that if there was going to be a celebration for his birthday, it would be for Neville as well, and Neville was equally pleased to not be the center of attention at his own event.
Harry and Hermione exchanged knowing glances, and then turned to Ron, who was staring at the butterflies. To his bemusement, they started to gather around him, some even landing on his shoulders.
"They seem to like you, Ron," Ginny said amusedly.
"They clearly have bad taste," George joked.
"Zees are not normal butterflies," Fleur pointed out, reaching out for one to land on her finger. "Ze coloring ees not natural. Zees are magic."
"Magic butterflies?" Ron asked dubiously.
By now, Hermione and Parvati were quietly giggling into their hands, and Dean and Seamus were smirking.
"It looks like there's a trail of them," Dean pointed out, for no one who didn't know what was occurring seemed to have realized that the butterflies had formed a trail starting from Ron and leading deeper into the garden.
"I think they want you to follow them, Ron," Hermione added.
"What?"
"Go on," said Harry, "follow the butterflies."
"Follow the butter—" Ron cut himself off and stared at Harry, remembering. "What did you do, Harry?"
"I didn't do anything," Harry replied innocently, holding up the hand that wasn't keeping Hermione steady as she laughed.
Ron blinked at him and made a face, but then looked up at the butterflies and in the direction they were coming from.
"Go on," Seamus urged.
Ron gave skeptical looks to Harry, Hermione, Parvati, Dean, and Seamus in turn, having realized that they were the ones who knew what was happening. But then he stepped away from the table, turning to follow the trail.
Hermione and Parvati exchanged excited looks, and Harry, Dean and Seamus high-fived each other.
* * *
"Why spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies?'"
Ron shook his head as he remembered saying the line to Harry in their second year. What had his friend done?
Harry and Hermione were still being careful around him, trying to make sure that he was handling everything that had happened alright. It was getting a bit frustrating, really.
Yes, of course he still missed Fred, but he took comfort from knowing that his brother had died for a good cause and helped to finally bring an end to the darkness that had taken over their society.
And yes, the change in his best friends' relationship had caught him off guard, but it really wasn't all that unexpected. He came to terms with it much more quickly than they expected him to, and perhaps more quickly than he himself expected to, but he realized that the relationship he had previously believed was supposed to happen, between Hermione and himself, would have been an utter disaster. There was a lot that he and Hermione disagreed on, and while those disagreements were never a serious threat to their friendship, they would most certainly cause severe problems in a deeper relationship. He didn't want to spend a future bickering with her the way they had always done.
And the evidence that she would make a much better match with Harry had been there long before he was willing to acknowledge it, as Seamus and Dean had quickly pointed out.
All of these thoughts had resulted, surprisingly, in him missing Lavender. He hadn't been serious about his relationship with her, and he had hurt her with his recklessness, disregarding how he manipulated her feelings for him to try to make Hermione jealous. He had gone about it like a complete git, frankly, and he wished that he could apologize for it.
In hindsight, he missed what he had with her. He had enjoyed snogging her, of course, but he also missed just being with her. He had tried to make it all as public as possible, to show everyone that Ron Weasley was just as skilled at getting girls as his brothers were, but the moments of quiet fondness had been really nice as well.
And, of course, there was also the fact that she was quite pretty and outgoing and affable, and had those latter two qualities in far greater abundance than Hermione did.
He had been a dunce for not seeing at the time that she was the better match for him.
And now he might never be able to apologize, much less try to make up for his stupidity. She had been in St. Mungo's for going on three months now, and last he had heard, the healers were struggling to heal her injuries.
He really hoped she would be alright.
The butterflies led him through the expansive garden that had been skillfully cultivated by generations of Longbottoms, until he entered a circle of roses with a stone fountain at the center. The water spouted from the wand of a tall, elegant witch, some ancestor of Neville's.
And then the trail seemed to disperse, the butterflies fluttering idly about in the air above him. He blinked up at them. "Now where am I supposed to go?" When they didn't answer in any fashion, he looked around. "Follow the butterflies," he grumbled. "What am I doing here?"
There was a giggling sound from the fountain, and he stilled, staring at the stone witch. Then, from behind her, a much more familiar witch emerged. "Lavender?"
"Hello, Ron." She stood beside the fountain, her hands fidgeting in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness.
"You're alright!" Joy welled up within him, and he practically skipped over to her. "I'm very glad to see you."
Her smile widened. "You are?"
"Yes!" He caught himself, realizing that he should act more dignified. "I mean, I'm very pleased that you're okay."
"Thank you."
"And I..." He paused again, deciding that it was perhaps not best to immediately remind her of how he hurt her. His apology could wait.
"I'm very sorry about Fred."
His face fell. "Thanks."
"Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah, it's... He helped us win the war. He went out a hero."
She nodded. "I'm glad you're doing well."
"Thanks." He looked around the garden, where most of the magical butterflies were still fluttering around. "So what was all this for?" He gestured at a cluster of butterflies near the stone witch's head.
"I thought I might surprise you."
"Me? What about..." He trailed off, thinking of the others who had urged him here. "Hermione and Parvati already knew, and the boys."
"Most of them."
"But why?"
"Because I've missed you, Ron. I've missed you quite a lot, ever since..."
"I'm sorry about that, Lavender. I was so daft that whole year. And you were great, you really were."
"We were great. Or at least, I thought we were."
"We were." He nodded in affirmation of both her words and his own.
"In that case, maybe we could try again?"
That same joy rose higher still, and he didn't need to think about his response. Stepping closer, he kissed her.
The kiss turned into a rather nice snog, and both of them were smiling when they parted.
* * *
They were nearly back at the party when he froze, realizing that she was about to meet his parents for the first time. It was way too early for that, wasn't it?
"There you are," Ginny appeared, smiling at Lavender. "I'm really glad you're okay."
"Thanks." The girls hugged, and then Ginny turned to Ron. "Everyone's waiting for you."
He swallowed. "Mum and Dad?"
She smirked and nodded. "They're excited to meet you," she told Lavender. "But maybe hold off on the pet name for a bit."
Lavender went pink. "I'll come up with a better one this time." Then she smiled at Ron and took his hand. "Come on."
He relaxed at her touch. This would be fine. He knew that his parents would really like her, and if that meant there would be added pressure to stay with her, it didn't feel like that would be the worst thing in the world.
He returned her smile, and they followed Ginny back to the party, where they were greeted with cheers and benign taunts and warmth.