Finally a Place for Peace

Lavender grinned, she seemed to have helped which was good. Though her grin faded when Leighton asked if she too had any secrets. Now this presented a dilemma. Was her relationship with Hester even a secret? Did people know? To be honest, there was only one way for her to find out. If Leighton didn't like it that was her problem. So, Lavender breathed in before biting her lip.

"Well, I'm not sure if it's a secret, but I'm kind of in a relationship," There was so much more to it than that, but Lavender felt she could trust Leighton. "With a Gryffindor," She hoped she could trust the blonde. Though she'd wait to divulge who the said Gryffindor was.

Leighton raised an eyebrow. "You're in a relationship? Lucky!" she said, nudging Lavender with her shoulder. Leighton has always wanted to date someone. Yet, no one really caught her attention. When Lavender stated that she was dating a Gryffindor, Leighton grinned. "I always believed that opposites attract. Gryffindor and Slytherin is a good combination." Leighton admitted. She never once held anything prejudice against Gryffindors. One of her friends, Emily, was a Gryffindor.

Leighton then waited, hoping that Lavender knew that Leighton was trustworthy, for Lavender to tell Leighton who she was dating.

The tension in Lavender's shoulders fell slightly with relief as Leighton reacted just as she'd hoped. Well, her reaction to what she knew so far. The blonde was like her in many respects, her views on the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry being similar to Lavender's own. Now she'd be testing Leighton's views on homosexuality.

"The thing is," This was difficult, but there would be so many more occasions when Lavender would need to do this. "Hester. I'm dating Hester. Hester Alderman," She couldn't have made that anymore clear, she'd said Hester's name about a hundred times. Nerves had never been her strong point.

Leighton was momentarily shocked, before breaking out into a smile. "That's great! Congrats!" Leighton had nothing against homosexuality. Her own brother was bisexual before he died. She could remember meeting one of Alyx's boyfriends. He was a total sweetheart. Leighton knew that her family wasn't a traditional pureblood family. Leighton was proud of her family and their views. She was very blessed, even though they were gone.

"I suspect I'm one of the only people who know about you and Hester." Leighton stated, smiling at her friend.

Lavender sighed inwardly, glad Leighton had finally smiled after the initial shock. She'd been worried there for a second.

"I-I'm not sure if I'm honest. We haven't exactly been shouting it around so I guess you're one of few," Lavender shrugged slightly. "Thank you," She smiled at the blonde, thankful she'd found someone so kind. The two of them were nothing like people expected from girls in Slytherin, and Lavender was quite proud of that fact.

Leighton smiled when Lavender sighed in relief. Lavender must've been very worried about Leighton's reaction. Leighton was happy that Lavender was different from most people. It was a nice break from all the backstabbing Slytherins. Even though, Leighton had to admit, that she could be a backstabber too. She wasn't going to lie and say she wasn't mean. Only, when someone proved worthy of Leighton's trust, they had it.

"Don't thank me! I should thank you for letting me know something like this. I bet its pretty nerve wracking, having to keep a relationship a secret." Leighton didn't know what she would do if there was a reason to keep a relationship on the down low. Leighton was never really a timid person to begin with. While, she knew what to keep secret, she liked bragging. It was just the way she was. Leighton had respect for Lavender.

Lavender nodded, so thankful she'd met this girl.

"I wouldn't say we're keeping it a secret exactly, not from people here anyway. We just aren't yelling it about," She ran a hand through her hair. If people at school found out would that mean her parents would too? "However, I haven't told my parents yet. They...they just wouldn't understand," Lavender cast her eyes downwards. Her fingers tinkering with a stray thread of her robe sleeve.

Leighton nodded as Lavender explained. "I'm sorry about your parents. I assume your a Pureblood, so I understand why they are acting like they have sticks up their arses. Surely they would understand if they love you." Leighton explained, setting a comforting hand on Lavenders. Leighton's grandparents were exactly like that. Dmitri, Leighton's father, had the worse parents. They straight out disowned him when he married Alastair. The Theons and the Vladimirs have been feuding for years. It was quite sad really. Leighton just hoped she could be there for Lavender.

Lavender looked down at the warming hand on her own before giving the blonde a thankful smile.

"I don't think they do," She shrugged slightly, having accepted this fact years ago. All she needed was her brother, and now her friends. At times Lavender couldn't help but wish she'd been born into her parents enemies family. The Malfoy's or Greengrass's. She'd met Draco and Astoria once, at a dinner party years ago, they seemed nicer than her own parents. Though she never got to find out because there had been an argument and her mother had dragged her out of there. Draco had found her standing in the corner of the big hall alone and tried to befriend her, at which point her mother had stormed over and started yelling at him. Once they arrived home that evening Lavender had tried to explain that Draco was being kind, but Violet Parkinson wasn't having any of it.

Leighton sighed sadly for Lavender's sake. "I'm truthfully sorry. I can't believe you're as..." Leighton struggled to think of a word. "Normal as you are." Leighton said, for lack of better word. "I would expect you to be like any other Pureblood; proper, mean, and prejudice." Leighton stated, smiling slightly. Leighton has grown up in a very unique Pureblood family. She was honestly surprised by how great Lavender was.

"So, how did you and Hester begin dating?" Leighton wondered, wanting to direct the conversation to something that would make Lavender less depressed.

Lavender smiled, grateful someone else saw how different she was to other typical Slytherins.

"I could say the same to you, about the normal thing," She raised an eyebrow jokingly. Then Hester came up in conversation once more, and Lavender found it difficult to even remember how they'd started dating. "Erm,we first met in the Hospital Wing actually. Sort of hit it off from there ," She suppressed a giggle at the thought. Of all places for their romance to blossom.

Leighton smirked at Lavender's words. "You'd be surprised." Leighton replied, talking about how yes, she was very mean. It was just how she was. That was a reason why she was able to fit in with Aurora's crowd. She was spiteful, revengeful, and mean. But, that was unimportant at the moment.

Hearing about how she met at the hospital wing, Leighton smiled. "I'm not shocked. Most of my friends met each other at the hospital wing and had romances blossom." Leighton replied, thinking about if she would meet someone there as well. Leighton usually didn't spend time wondering about romance, but she wanted to date at least one person soon. Perhaps she should start looking.