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Chapter 171 - Chapter 171

Her last, big break had been the piece that the Prophet and subsequently a number of other newspapers had picked up about Harry and his friends, the Avengers, who had come into magical Britain and rescued a group of school kids and their professors and managed to bring the last wannabe Death Eaters to justice.

But that had been a one-off. Even with that piece under her belt, still no one wanted to hire her. Money had gotten tight, desperately so to the point where she'd been venturing more and more into the muggle world where a galleon went further in order to make ends meet.

Which brought her to where she was now; at her last hope. Harry Potter had offhandedly offered her a job and, despite not believing that it was genuine, she'd rung anyway and asked. Harry, being Harry, had been not only genuine, but generous, affirming that the job offer was real and even paying for her plane ticket from England to New York.

"Thank you," Lavender murmured to the flight person as she left the plane, her head bowed to ensure that her hair covered her face.

Just as the airport just outside of London had been incredibly vast and packed with far more people than Lavender had ever seen in her life before (not even the Quidditch Wold Cup could compare) the airport that she'd just arrived in was the same.

Her eyes wide, Lavender scuttled against the wall, trying to take it all in.

And then he was there, smiling at her as he weaved his way through the crowd to reach her.

"Hi, Lav, welcome to America!" Harry exclaimed.

"Hi, Harry," she replied, a little of the tension leaving her at his familiar presence and warm welcome.

Harry also, she noted, looked at her eyes, not a hint of a glance at her scars. There was no pity for her; no scared look behind his eyes. It was almost as though all he saw was the girl she'd once been a lifetime ago.

"Do you have any other luggage?" he asked, flicking his eyes to her pack which she'd stowed in the little compartment above her seat on the plane.

"No," she replied. "I don't own all that much."

"Well, in that case, let's get out of here and somewhere a little more sane, hmm?" he suggested.

As they walked, Lavender couldn't hold the question that had plagued all the entire flight over any longer.

"Where will I be staying?" she blurted.

Harry smiled across at her. "A small flat; although here in America they call them 'apartments'. It's simple but I think you'll like it. It's got two bedrooms, kitchen, lounge, dining room. Even a small balcony that if you lean out just the right way, lets you see a hint of Central Park. It's fully furnished, of course."

Lavender stopped dead, causing Harry to stop a couple of steps later and turn back to look at her, his eyebrows raised.

"I … I can't afford anything like that," she managed quietly, her cheeks darkening in embarrassment.

"That's not a problem," Harry replied, waving her protest away as though it was non-existent. "I own it; bought it a couple of days ago in fact."

"You bought it specifically for me to use?" she clarified.

"Yeah. It's yours as long as you want it," Harry replied easily.

"I can't let you do that," she stated firmly, shaking her head.

"Sure, you can," Harry countered. "Look, if it means that much to you, after you've had a couple of pay checks and you're on your feet, talk to me and we'll work out rent or something. And Lavender, just so you know, this is nothing. You fought in the Battle; you helped buy me the time that I needed to finish off Riddle. That's not something I'll ever forget. You deserve this; I owe you."

Lavender found herself blinking hard, desperately trying to force the tear not to fall.

"I didn't do it just for you," she finally managed.

"I know," Harry smiled before taking her elbow. "Come on, let's go get you started on your new life."

ooo00ooo

"Miss me?" Harry whispered into Bruce's ear.

Bruce jumped and twisted his head around, one hand on his heart as though trying to stop it from leaping out of his chest.

"Harry! Stop doing that!" Bruce snapped.

Harry simply continued to grin while he switched to looking across at the jade green giantess sitting cross-legged on the ground, her head slightly bowed and her eyes closed.

"Where've you been, anyway?" Bruce asked.

Harry shrugged. "Had to pick a friend up from the airport. How've things been going here?"

"No luck yet," Bruce sighed. "Jenn seems to be getting a handle on her breathing and I've got her trying some of those meditation techniques that you suggested but nothing yet."

"Have you given any more thought to the suggestion I made last night?" Harry asked.

Bruce looked down, his toe scuffing the dirt.

"Yeah, I have," he admitted. "And loath though I am to consider it, I think that you might be right. It's clear that she's not letting herself feel all of her emotions and that bottled anger and frustration has her … locked into this form for want of a better term."

"Probably fear, too," Harry stated. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's afraid of herself in this form, not to mention afraid of what others will think, say or do when they see her."

"From personal experience, I'd bet anything that you're right there," Bruce replied.

"So, the question is, what are you going to do about it?" Harry asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

In reply, Bruce simply kept his eyes focussed on Jennifer as he walked forward slightly before kicking off his shoes. And then, closing his eyes against the dread of what was to come, Bruce let go.

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