Lavender Brown

Lavender Brown (c. 1979—2 May, 1998) was a witch, and a Gryffindor student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was good friends with her room-mate Parvati Patil. In her third year, Lavender began studying Divination, which she was fascinated by, and became friendly with Professor Sybill Trelawney, who she respected a great deal. In her fifth year, Lavender joined Dumbledore's Army, an organisation founded and led by Harry Potter, despite initially doubting Harry's claims that Lord Voldemort had returned. During her sixth year, she dated Ron Weasley for a while, though they soon broke up. In her final year of schooling, Lavender joined the reconstituted D.A. to oppose Death Eater control of Hogwarts, and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, during which she was attacked by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback.

Early life
Lavender was born in 1979 or 1980 to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, two pure-bloods.

She received her acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the age of eleven, and purchased her equipment from Diagon Alley before the start of her first year.

First year
"But 'Brown, Lavender' became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers. Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling."

- Description.

Lavender began attending Hogwarts in 1991, the same year as famous wizard Harry Potter, at the age of eleven and was the first of the first years to be sorted into Gryffindor House. She shared a dormitory with Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, Fay Dunbar and another girl, and soon became best friends with Parvati. She did not, however, get on as well with Hermione as she did with the other three girls, as Hermione was believed by most to be a loner and when she did make friends she made friends with the boys instead of the girls in Gryffindor as there were personality clashes, Hermione being rather studious may have been better suited with Ravenclaw girls.

Second year
In her second year, Lavender was one of the students present in Professor Binns' History of Magic class when Hermione asked about the Chamber of Secrets; like the rest of the class, Lavender paid much more attention at this point, even rising her head off her arms. Lavender attended Professor Lockhart's Duelling Club, and when Lockhart was disarmed by Professor Snape, she handed him back his wand. It is likely that Lavender, given her common nature had a crush on Professor Lockhart, as did many of the other female students even including Hermione Granger, and would be shocked to discover he was a fraud at the end of the year.

Third year
In her third year, Lavender started Divination and Care of Magical Creatures classes. When Divination Professor Sybill Trelawney saw a grim (a death omen in the form of a spectral dog) while seeking divinatory insight in the dregs of tea in the bottom of Harry's tea cup, Lavender was amongst the very few students in the class who, like Harry and Dean Thomas (both students who grew up with Muggles and unaware of magic until their letters arrived), did not initially know what Grims were.

She soon developed a good relationship with Professor Trelawney, who accurately predicted — or guessed — the death of Lavender's pet rabbit named Binky. The professor said that what Lavender was dreading would occur on the sixteenth of October, and on that day, Lavender received news that her rabbit, who had been a baby at the time, had been killed by a fox. Hermione pointed out that Lavender could not possibly have dreaded something unexpected and that the death must have happened days before the news arrived, but Lavender had faith in Trelawney's abilities and was upset by Hermione's rather tactless attempt at comforting her.



Fourth year
During her fourth year, Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament, a series of challenges for wizards to enter if they believe themselves capable. Harry Potter, in Lavender's year, was selected as a champion. As one of the traditions, the tournament would hold a ball and Lavender attended the Yule Ball with fellow Gryffindor student Seamus Finnigan, likely to be as just friends.

That same year, when Care of Magical Creatures professor Rubeus Hagrid, attempted to see if Blast-Ended Skrewts hibernate (which they do not), she stayed to help collect the runaways instead of fleeing into the hut like the Slytherins. During her fourth year, also Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Alastor Moody used the Imperius Curse on her in class, forcing her to humiliate herself publicly by imitating a squirrel. Hermione Granger was not impressed that he had the nerve to teach the three unforgivable curses in school and was appalled when he demonstrated them on students, she didn't come to the aid of Lavender when she was being humiliated, but she did stick up for Neville Longbottom when he was horrified by the demonstration of the Cruciatus Curse on a spider. At the end of the year Lavender would attend the leaving feast, which was held as a memorial service to the late Cedric Diggory who was killed during the Triwizard Tournament, during this service, Albus Dumbledore took the liberty upon himself to inform the students of Hogwarts that Lord Voldemort was at large once again.

Fifth year
In her fifth year, when Harry Potter announced the return of Lord Voldemort, Lavender, like many others, initially believed the Ministry of Magic propaganda that Harry was lying, much to her room-mate Hermione's irritation. On the second day of the school year, Ernie Macmillan's public of support of Harry and his claims seemed to force her to begin to question her own beliefs. It is possible that Seamus Finnigan, a fellow Gryffindor may have been putting doubts into her head also as he strongly supported the Ministry and Lavender was close with Seamus. However, despite the claims that Harry had been lying Lavender was one of the first students to arrive at the Hog's Head for the first meeting of what would become Dumbledore's Army. When the D.A. practised casting the Patronus Charm, Lavender was only able to achieve casting puffs of silver vapour, and was becoming increasingly frustrated that she could not do it. Later on in the year, High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge began inspecting the teachers of Hogwarts and Lavender was saddened when Professor Trelawney was temporarily sacked by Umbridge after her inspection, and even brought her some nice daffodils, though she continued to take the class under the centaur Firenze, upon whom both she and Parvati had a crush, despite him being half-man and half-horse.

Sixth year
By the beginning of her sixth year, Lavender had developed a crush on Ron Weasley. She complimented him, flirted with him, and wished him luck in his Quidditch games. After a particularly good performance in one of those games, Ron and Lavender ended up kissing. This greatly upset Hermione Granger, as she had hoped Ron attend Professor Slughorn's Christmas party with her and she had expected a more than platonic relationship to develop between them. It is unclear if Lavender was aware of her room-mate's feelings for Ron, though it seems likely that she would not have gotten involved with Ron if she realised that he was dating her largely to make Hermione jealous.

The two dated for a few months, and were often seen kissing in public. For Christmas, Lavender sent Ron a necklace which read 'My Sweetheart', which he disliked immensely, and after the holidays, their relationship began to go downhill. Lavender was very upset when Ron was poisoned, and when he increasingly pulled away from her. He feigned sleep when she came to visit him, avoided her, and became visibly annoyed with her affections. Worried that her relationship with Ron was fading, she sought out the advice of his best friend, Harry Potter, who she would talk to about Ron's feelings, making Harry feel uncomfortable. He also reconciled with Hermione and spent increasing amounts of time with her, making Lavender suspicious. After she saw Ron and Hermione leave the Gryffindor dormitory seemingly alone, since Harry was under his Invisibility Cloak, she ended their relationship. She attended Dumbledore's funeral at the end of the year.



Seventh year and Battle of Hogwarts
"Two bodies fell from the balcony overhead as they reached the ground a grey blur that Harry took for an animal sped four-legged across the hall to sink its teeth into one of the fallen. "NO!" shrieked Hermione, and with a deafening blast from her wand, Fenrir Greyback was thrown backward from the feebly stirring body of Lavender Brown. He hit the marble banisters and struggled to return to his feet. Then, with a bright white flash and a crack, a crystal ball fell on top of his head, and he crumpled to the ground and did not move."

- Battle of Hogwarts description

During her final year at Hogwarts, Lavender joined the second Dumbledore's Army to oppose Death Eater control of the school. Like others, she eventually took to hiding in the Room of Requirement, and may have been responsible for it forming a bathroom with washing facilities.

Lavender fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, during which she fell from a balcony and was attacked by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. Rushing to her aid, Hermione blasted Greyback away from her with a powerful spell, and Professor Trelawney dropped a crystal ball on his head. Immediately after the attack, she was seen feebly stirring. She would die from Greyback's attack.

Personality and traits


Lavender was a somewhat silly and sentimental girl, though she was also brave, as she was sorted into Gryffindor house and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. She was lively and loved to be the center of attention, but tended to react in an extreme way to everyday situations, either laughing or crying hysterically and can be easily offended or emotional. . She stood quite in contrast with the more pragmatic Hermione Granger.

Parvati Patil
Parvati Patil was Lavender's best friend and room-mate, and was often seen in her company. The two seemed to share many interests and character traits, including a keen interest in Divination, as well as a fondness for more appealing types of magical creatures, like unicorns. The two were often seen giggling and gossiping together during their school days, and shared a friendship with Professor Trelawney. Parvati became very uncomfortable with how seriously Lavender took her relationship with Ron Weasley in their sixth year, though the two remained to be close.

Ron Weasley
In 1996, during her sixth year, Lavender developed a crush on fellow Gryffindor Ron Weasley. She took to complimenting him and flirting with him, which Ron seemed surprised and flattered by, though he was interested in Hermione Granger at the time. However, after Ron became angry with Hermione, he entered into a romantic relationship with Lavender. The romance consisted mostly of snogging, often in public, much to the disgust of Hermione, who was jealous and hurt, and of Ron's younger sister Ginny, who considered him a "filthy hypocrite" because he insulted her for being caught kissing her boyfriend earlier in the year.

Lavender was very affectionate with, and possessive of, Ron, adopting the name of "Won-Won" for him and sending him a necklace for Christmas saying "My Sweetheart" on it, which he greatly disliked and was shocked that she would think it was to his taste. The romance began to cool on Ron's end after the Christmas holidays, which Lavender noticed and was very upset by. She repeatedly pressed Harry Potter for details of Ron's feelings for her, and alarmed even her best friend Parvati with how obsessively she threw herself into the relationship. Lavender was infuriated when no one thought to inform her after Ron was poisoned, especially since Ron took to feigning sleep whenever she came to visit him in the infirmary, and reconciled with Hermione. After being released, Ron took to avoiding his girlfriend.

Ron was spared the difficult task of breaking up with Lavender when she ended things with him, convinced that there was something going on between him and Hermione. Afterwards, Ron was clearly content, but Lavender was upset for some time. For example, when Ron brushed fake snow off Hermione's shoulders soon after the break-up, Lavender burst into tears.



Hermione Granger
Lavender and Parvati were not nearly as close to their other room-mate, Hermione Granger, as they were to one another. Though the girls did not appear to dislike each other, they had very different interests and sometimes clashed as a result. For example, Hermione scorned Divination, Lavender and Parvati's favourite subject. She also became irked with Lavender for doubting Harry Potter's assertion that Lord Voldemort had returned in 1995.

Though Hermione was jealous of Ron and Lavender's relationship, she directed her anger mostly at Ron, perhaps indicating that Lavender was initially unaware of Hermione's feelings for him. Eventually, however, Lavender started to become jealous and suspicious of the time Ron and Hermione spent together, while her boyfriend was increasingly pulled away from her.

Although Hermione was glad when they broke up, she tried to spare Lavender's feelings by not being openly affectionate with Ron. She also came to Lavender's aid during the Battle of Hogwarts, blasting Fenrir Greyback away from her.

Sybill Trelawney
Lavender seemed to have a reasonably close and caring relationship with Divination professor Sybill Trelawney; she had an unwavering faith in the reliability of Trelawney's predictions and was often seen comforting or supporting her when she was experiencing difficult times. She and Parvati became offended on the professor's behalf when Hermione made her disdain for Trelawney and the subject she taught clear in 1993. When she was temporarily sacked by Dolores Umbridge, Lavender and Parvati brought Trelawney some daffodils. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Trelawney helped to save Lavender from Fenrir Greyback by dropping a crystal ball on his head.

Dumbledore's Army
Lavender became a member of Dumbledore's Army during her fifth year. Dumbledore's Army was an organisation found by Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione, and led by Harry, in order to teach the students Defence Against the Dark Arts, something that professor Dolores Umbridge did not, thinking that the students would use their magic against the Ministry of Magic.

Lavender was a friend of fellow members Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Lavender may have been a friend of Luna Lovegood, too, although, when the two girls met each other, Lavender made fun of Luna for her strange earrings.

Etymology
Lavender is a type of flower, as well as a name for the pale shade of purple of the blossoms. In flower symbolism, the lavender can symbolize affection, cleansing, or concealment. The Ancient Romans used lavender to scent baths, and its name is derived from the Latin verb lavāre, "to wash". In Western culture, the colour lavender can sometimes be used to symbolize decadence and the enjoyment of sensuality. Interestingly, "Lavender" is a colour and her last name is "Brown", which is also a colour.

Behind the scenes

 * Lavender Brown was played by Kathleen Cauley in the second film, and then in a non-speaking role by Jennifer Smith in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She did not have any lines and was never mentioned by name, but appeared in several scenes. She is played by Jessie Cave in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2.
 * In the first part of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Lavender can be briefly seen on the Hogwarts Express sitting next to Romilda Vane, Leanne, and Cormac McLaggen.
 * Lavender was the first student to be sorted into Gryffindor in 1991.
 * In the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince novel, Lavender either did not qualify for or did not select N.E.W.T.-level Potions as one of her classes. However, in the film adaptation, she appears to be attending a Potions class.
 * On J. K. Rowling's draft class list, Lavender was listed as a pure-blood, and as she was attending Hogwarts 1997-1998, she must have been a pure-blood, half-blood, or she faked her blood status, as she would have been taken by the Death Eaters otherwise.
 * Lavender is the only original member of Dumbledore's Army not to at least be mentioned in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game. However, when the Patil sisters (twins) are told to meet in the Room of Requirement, Lavender's name is ticked on the Dumbledore's Army parchment.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
 * Pottermore

Notes and references
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