Based off a Reddit prompt of HPFanfiction where Lavender's name is pulled out of the Goblet of Fire instead of Harry's.

I would first like to thank my lovely betas: PenguinofProse, and Bae_Before_Bay. You have been so wonderful and I'm so grateful for your help with this project.

Massive double doors opened with a loud creak. Upon opening, they revealed the Great Hall basked in the warm glow of thousands of floating candles floating underneath a high vaulted ceiling bewitched to look like the night sky. Four long tables ran the length of the hall and sat hundreds of other students, while the teachers, along with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, sat and looked down upon the newly arrived first years. Next to her she could hear a bushy haired girl whispering to two boys while they filed down the middle of the hall.

This was Hogwarts.

Tonight was the night her journey began.

At the podium Professor McGonagall began calling names for students to be sorted into the four Houses. Below, Lavender waited with baited breath. She was so excited- she could barely hear the names being called.

"Brown, Lavender!"

It was her name. She paused for a moment, looking dumbly at Professor McGonagall until Parvati Patil poked her in her ribs. Lavender blinked and tried to ignore the pounding against her chest as she walked up to Professor McGonagall. Everyone was watching her with anticipation in their eyes. Lavender's hands shook, and all she wanted to do was run away. However, instead of fleeing, she steeled herself; she didn't want to disappoint the older, stern faced witch.

There was a stool on the podium in the Great Hall. When Lavender sat down she looked up, and just before the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, she could see the Leo constellation through the enchanted ceiling. Then the hat fell over her head, and she saw only blackness against the old, and slightly musty smelling, hat.

"Well, well, well… What have we here?" said a voice that whispered as if were right next to her ear. "Hmmm… Now where are we to put you? Not cunning enough for Slytherin, nor driven enough for Ravenclaw..."

I want to be in Gryffindor! Lavender thought to herself. If she concentrated hard enough, she could imagine scenes of knights fighting dragons in glistening armour, and princesses dancing in her thoughts. Glory, honor, nobility. She had grown up on fantastical stories that her mother and father would read to her at night, and it was what raced through her mind now. Wouldn't Gryffindor just be splendid?

"Well, you're certainly bold enough!" The hat exclaimed. It gave a small tut before continuing, "But you're also diligent, and quite loyal if you work at it. Surely a different house wouldn't satisfy you? You'd be far happier in Hufflepuff."

No! Lavender closed her eyes, thinking as hard as she could. She practically screamed her protest in her head. There was unspoken truth in her head. Glory is never given to Hufflepuff.

"Glory is never just given to anyone, little Lionheart. But if you're certain…"

Chapter One: In Which a Rat Starts the Butterfly Effect

Mountains of Gryffindor scarves glared red and gold at Lavender as she shopped in Madame Malkins, hunting down her accessories for the year. She grabbed a couple and then went to find more exciting additions for her wardrobe that weren't dictated by uniform. Pastel bandanas, velvet scrunchies, colorful choker necklaces, and butterfly barrettes… There was almost too many choices.

No. There was a limited budget- dress robes were not cheap.

After a good thirty minutes of meandering through the shop and browsing their wares, Parvati and Padma finally showed up. Lavender decided to stick with a few new scrunchies, as she was always losing them. She added them to a large stack of Gryffindor robes in her cart next to her, then continued down the aisle taking note of how empty the store was. Hogwarts was starting in two days. By now most stores in Diagon Alley were packed with parents buying last-minute school supplies, but it seemed that the attack at the Quidditch World Cup had scared off most of the crowd.

Lavender didn't blame them. She hadn't personally been at the World Cup, but she had seen the picture of the Dark Mark in the paper. The smoke-like snake slithering through the skull suspended fifty feet in the air had sent a shiver down Lavender's spine that cut straight through her like a knife. Even her father, a Gryffindor like herself, had looked terrified. Regardless, they had decided to venture out to get school supplies, and Lavender had also managed to convince her parents to let her buy her school clothes by herself. Parvati and Padma would be there soon, and they wanted to try on dresses together. They shouldn't let fear ruin the trip, she reasoned.

Her parents hadn't been thrilled, but they compromised by getting most of the supplies together, waiting to separate till the only things left to buy were robes and books, as the shops were right next to each other.

There was a giggle behind her, and when she felt a pinch at her side, Lavender shrieked before coming face to face with Parvati Patil, and her twin sister Padma. They each had a large stack of new uniform packs; Gryffindor and Ravenclaw respectively.

"That was awfully mean!" said Lavender, rubbing at the sore spot on her side.

"I have every confidence you'll get me back," said Parvati, swinging a long plait over her shoulder.

"Mum and Dad have to stay late at the Ministry again, what with the World Cup fallout. They wanted us to ask if we could stay with you overnight and they would meet us at Kings Cross tomorrow," said Padma, grabbing a couple of Ravenclaw scarves.

"I can ask my parents when we meet up at Magical Menagerie." said Lavender, "But they adore you, and you're already coming over after shopping, so I don't see why not."

Padma beamed, and the two followed Parvati towards racks upon racks of glittery dress robes. "That's great!"

"Oh! Lav, check out this one!" said Parvati in an excited voice from the rack of dress robes. She held out a red silk robe that glowed as if it were on fire in the bright lights of Madame Malkins.

"It's a little on the nose, don't you think?" said Lavender. "I mean, they can be whatever color we want." The fact that red was their houses uniform color went unspoken, and that this was their first chance, possibly only, to branch out and wear whatever they wanted while at school.

"Good point," said Parvati, putting the dress right back. She then grabbed a pastel purple dress with layers of billowing gossamer and tulle. "Oh! What about purple?"

"Parvati, didn't Lavender just mention something about being too on the nose with colors?" laughed Padma as she held a sleek orange dress against her t-shirt.

"Now when did I say a thing about that?" said Lavender, admiring the sparkly fabric, and deciding to try it on. "So what do you think they're for?"

"Gee Lav, maybe a dance?" said Parvati, looking a couple different pink dresses. She found one decorated with lots of lacy flowers and gave a little gasp of delight.

"Well, duh!" said Lavender, rolling her eyes. She held the dress against her. It was a bit large against her small frame, but a fitting would fix that. Pastel purple was on the nose, it was true, but she loved the way it billowed around her frame and matched her blonde hair. Plus, with a light purple eyeshadow to match, standing out against her brown eyes- she would truly feel like a princess. She placed it in her cart and browsed a couple more purple dresses to try on. "But I meant what kind of dance. Do you think it'll be like an end of the year kind, or the spring kind, or maybe even a Christmas kind?"

"Five galleons says it's end of the year." said Parvati, grabbing a bright yellow silk robe.

"Christmas, obviously, " scoffed Padma, "Mum and dad booked a cruise around the Mediterranean, so we're staying over break instead of going home."

"Bollocks," said Parvati, "Well, they were hinting that there was going to be some big summer event."

"So I suppose that leaves me spring?" said Lavender while she leaned over her cart to peer at them.

An hour later they had all found dress robes they loved. Lavender ended up choosing the gossamer and tulle purple dress she had first tried on. Once they were fitted correctly and had paid for their purchases, they all filed into Magical Menagerie where Lavender and her parents had agreed to meet.

Upon entering the shop, they found it was lined with cages upon cages of different animals and had a strong musky odor from the numerous critters. To Lavender's delight, there were several adorable kittens there that under normal circumstances would have made her heart burst with joy, but a cage full of far too intelligent rats across from the mewling calicos freaked her out too much for her to enjoy herself. They stared at her with beady little eyes and just generally ruined the whole experience. Rats were awful enough, but these ones reminded her far too much of Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers.

Words could not describe how glad she was when, at the end of last year while cradling and heaping love on her cat, Crookshanks, Hermione assured her that Scabbers would not be returning this year.

She was grateful when her parents finally arrived to take them back to their home in Dartford. By the end of the night, she had completely forgotten about the awful rats and was laughing as Padma spoke in vivid detail about a summer romance with a Parisian wizard she and Parvati had met while in France with their parents.

"He kissed me when we left. And you know what he did?" said Padma, grinning with a wicked glint in her eyes. Crickets sang as they relaxed in the cool night air in the porch garden.

"What?" said Lavender, her eyes widening to the size of galleons as she bent over with anticipation.

"He stuck his tongue in my mouth!" squealed Padma while Parvati choked and her eyes bogged out.

"No way!" said Lavender, gasping as a thrill raced through her.

"No fair! You never told me that!" Parvati admonished, "Did anything else happen that you didn't inform me of?"

"What? No!" said Padma very unconvincingly, "Of course not!"

"Padma!"

"Oh, fine! We might have… snuck out… Nothing happened, we just sat around!"

"Oh my God! Spill Details!"

"Yes!" said Lavender loudly, while Padma blushed and hid her face. "Now!"

"Nothing happened! We just sat and talked! And watched the stars a bit!"

"Parvati, was he cute?" said Lavender to Parvati, who was giggling maniacally.

"Gorgeous. And tall, with jet black hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. And he was older. Turning seventeen in September." said Parvati with a sigh as there was a scuffle from something small hopping in the bushes. "I was green with envy all summer. First summer romance, and now first tongue. Padma, you slag, you're putting me to shame."

This remark earned her a snort and a smack upside the head from Padma. "He wasn't that much older. We're turning fifteen in October. You're being melodramatic."

"I'm going to get some drinks," said Lavender, deciding that such an occasion warranted something sweet and celebratory. Maybe she could sneak some butterbeers out of the kitchen. Leaving Padma and Parvati giggling, she padded softly inside. No one was in the kitchen or dining room, so her parents had likely gone upstairs, a theory that was confirmed when she heard footsteps and giggling from the stairs.

She grabbed three butterbeers from the large cupboard her parents kept in the kitchen, enchanted with stasis and cooling charms, ignoring the shriek from outside, then quietly padded back to the garden door. It was when she opened it that she regretted not paying attention earlier.

A small black shape darted inside, causing Lavender to scream, dash outside, and slam the door closed.

"Shit!" said Padma, "Lav, what'd you let it go inside for?"

Upstairs, a window opened. "Everything okay out there?" said her father's voice, sounding a bit tired.

A quiet fell over the girls. They could tell their parents about the rat, or deal with it themselves. Lavender thought fast and glanced at the tiny rat that was now cowering under the dining room table. At seeing such a small and harmless form, she determined she didn't want to have to admit how she had screamed like a little girl at it, no matter how uneasy it made her.

"We're fine!" said Lavender, "Just goofing off."

"Okay. I want you girls in bed in an hour; we have an early day tomorrow. Just a heads up."

Shit.

Once the window had shut again, she gave the rat another glance before turning to Padma and Parvati, "Any ideas?"

Padma looked at the garden shed and picked up an old Quidditch broom, and two regular brooms. "Eh…"

The plan was simple enough. As spellcasting would likely involve a lot of flashing and banging that they did not want: they decided to try it with brooms. Parvati and Padma would sneak inside from the front door, while Lavender guarded the back door. Padma would scare the rat out from under the table with the end of one broom, while Parvati bunted the rat to Lavender with an old Cleansweep, who would use an ancient looking broomstick to ensure the rat wound up outside.

A foolproof plan, in Lavender's opinion. Nothing could go wrong.

That is, until Parvati and Padma came back.

"Front door is locked, and our Alohamora would set off your parents wards," said Padma, holding the watering can under her arm.

Parvati leaned on the broom, glancing at the rat that was still cowering under the table. "Aww… he's just a baby."

"She," said Padma, "No balls. Rats have huge ones."

Lavender shuddered, "Can we please just figure out another plan?"

"Bum rush it?" said Parvati, then passed her broom to Padma. She headed into the garden shed and came out holding a large metal bucket. "You two scare it out. If it doesn't run away when we go in, we'll pass it to each other like a muggle hockey puck, and I'll trap it with the bucket."

"And if it does?" said Lavender as she suppressed a shudder.

"You cover right, Padma you cover left." said Parvati, "I'll try to catch it if it heads towards me."

The air felt thick with apprehension as Parvati quickly opened the door, and then stepped to the side in case the rat darted forward, allowing Lavender to charge in and take the right side. Seeing her, the rat darted left as Padma ran in and used the broom to hit the rat towards Lavender who squealed and used her own broom to keep it from running further into the house. She fervently swept the squealing juvenile towards Parvati, who slammed the bucket down on top.

"Did you get it?" said Padma in a very shrill voice, bouncing on the balls of her feet, and holding the broom threateningly.

"Yup!" said Parvati triumphantly, holding the bucket over the rat, but there was no noise. It was completely still.

There was a pause where the same collective thought ran through each of the girls' heads, and she suddenly felt very paranoid. But she hadn't seen the rat run away, so it must be under the bucket.

"Uhh…" said Parvati nervously. She got down a little lower, and pulled the bucket up just far enough to look underneath it. "Oh no!"

"Oh god, we're going to die!" said Lavender with horror at the thought of the horrid creature running amok in her home.

"I think it's dead!" said Parvati, "She's not moving. Lav, you go get your wand. Or your dad. I'll move her outside."

"Oh…" said Lavender, feeling a bit of unexpected sadness and guilt at the thought of hurting the rat. She ran upstairs while Padma and Parvati edged the bucket towards the open door. For a second, she thought about getting her father but decided to grab her wand instead. While she was still underage, the Trace wouldn't register as both her parents were magical, and Lavender still didn't want to admit she had let a rat get into the house. She had learned Episkey last year, after learning that her baby rabbit, Binky, had been mauled by a fox.

She came down and found Padma and Parvati huddled over a small crate that had also been in the garden shed.

Binky's old carry crate.

Binky had been a rather small rabbit, a Netherland Dwarf (and a baby one at that), so her crate was also rather small, and the wiring was tight enough that it would also contain the rat.

Lavender bit her lip and picked at her nails as she examined it with a conflicted heart. The baby rat was a foul, but pitiable sight. It limped in a tiny shuddering huddle, with it's right leg bent at a horrific angle.

Guilt gnawed inside her. She had done that. The rat was terrible, but ultimately the worst thing it had done was trespasse. It didn't deserve a broken leg.

"Episkey!" said Lavender, waving her wand. There was a sharp crack when the leg snapped back in place, healing it instantly. The rat stopped limping, and perked up a bit, staring at Lavender with wide, curious eyes. There was a ring of white around them that Lavender had not noticed before that spoke to possible domestic origins. The large ears that were nearly the size of it's head confirmed it.

"Oh my god," said Parvati with a squeal, "Look at those ears! They're massive! How adorable are they?"

"Not adorable at all," said Lavender, shoving down the urge to agree, then picking up the crate to release the rat far away from her house.

"Ron would probably go ballistic over her." said Parvati, "He seemed very distraught when he lost Scabbers."

The remark stopped Lavender in her tracks when she remembered how upset Ron had been. While she felt hardly any sympathy for Scabbers, she had felt awful for the boy who lost his pet. Having lost Binky, it was a pain she knew all too well.

Perhaps it was the feeling of butterflies in her stomach at the thought of Ron's delighted smile or the warm feeling that spread in her chest when she even thought his name, but Lavender considered keeping the awful, horrible, no-good rat. If she could put up with it for just one night, she could bring the rat to Hogwarts and Ron would finally notice her.

She studied the rat as it stayed huddled in the far corner of the carry crate. Like the rats at Magical Menagerie it made Lavender uneasy, but it's stare didn't make the hairs on her neck stand up like Scabbers had.

She set the cage on the porch and ran in the garden shed to grab a water bottle Binky had used and hooked it into the carrier. Having taken care of that, she went inside to grab a few baby carrots and a slice of ham from their Stasis Cupboard so that the rat wouldn't get hungry. She would have to figure out a way to hide her from her parents before they got on the Hogwarts Express, but that would be fine.

This would be fine. She could handle a rat in her room for one night. She was a Gryffindor, and anything was possible if you were bold enough.