Disclaimer: Any characters that are recognized from either the Harry Potter books, or the 3 TV shows belong to their respective owners. The original characters and the portrayals of certain cannons belong to their respective role players from The Beginning of The End © Eliza Cunningham and ladyerinsnape. I own nothing except the DVDs.
Seamus Finnegan and the Uncertain End
Present day- February 20, 2003-St. Mungos Maternity ward
Seamus had spent the last six hours patching up some idiots that decided to take on some rather ferocious hippogriffs, and when he was done, he was told that Hestia was in labor, Seamus just about had a panic attack, heart palpations, high blood pressure, one would think that it was funny for a first time father, but they didn't know how Seamus died and came back to life in only 5 minutes, how a women who he thought was a Hogwarts professor tried to kill him, how he was stupid enough to get drunk and then he nearly beat up Roger Davies, then he blabbed out loud to a bunch of woman, including Katie Bell, Luna Lovegood, and Hermione Granger. Whatever happened, Seamus would not give up, and he just hoped that whoever the bad guy was, that he didn't just slay everyone just for the fun of it. Seamus ran into Hestia's room, panting, pale, and sweaty, he almost fainted when he stopped running. Clutching his chest, Seamus could only say one thing "Hi'
In the yellow colored room, there was a woman with brown hair and had a rather round belly. She smiled at Seamus as he approached "Hey" she spoke in a happy yet tired voice. "It's that day" Seamus said, and he slowly started to remember brief moments in time of the last 6 years of his life. "It's a new chapter in the book of our lives"
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6 Years ago- May 3rd, 1998 -7 AM
It was over, it was all bloody over Seamus thought as he watched his friend Dean Thomas sleeping in his 4 poster bed. The final battle had happened only hours before, it was rather early and as he dressed and went down to the great hall, Seamus noticed the utter destruction of the castle. It looked as if a butterfly's wing beat might just topple itself upon its residents.
The tall, brown haired Irishman walked into the vast room, which surprisingly had many people in it already. The bodies of the 50 or so who were lost were moved into a side room. Soon after he'd walked in he saw something that he didn't expect to see. That, was Parvarti Patil crying as she ran out of the side room, and before she collided with him, Seamus caught her. "Parvarti, what's wrong?" the young woman from Indian descent sobbed and then said out loud "She's dead" Seamus then whispered "Padma is dead?" Parvarti simply sobbed more into Seamus's shoulder, both rather depressed by this.
Much later, after other fellow Gryffindors had walked down from the common room, Harry had finally appeared, and looked guilty and Seamus watched as he sat with the Weasleys and noticed that Parvarti and George Weasley shared an identical look of depression, as if they're lost half of themselves. Seamus wondered what the future would be like, for them, for Harry, for himself.
Once funerals were done with, things had started to look up, but not for long…
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5 Years ago January 30, 1999- Seamus's loft
It was a cold morning outside in the Irish countryside, but if one were to look into a small green loft, they would see a man with brown hair thrashing in his sleep, and then gasp awake. Seamus had been having nightmares about that battle, it was as if the past was going to haunt him for all eternity...
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1 year ago-June 4, 2002-Attack on Hogsmeade-Different POV's
After Hestia's surprising announcement of pregnancy, Seamus felt quit reserved and calm. After eating breakfast, giving the dog a bath, taking a shower, and then putting on a fresh change of muggle clothing, Seamus decided to take a visit to Hogsmeade. So, he jumped into the fireplace, not noticing his dog running, to warn him. "Three Broomsticks" Seamus shouted, he was shot out of the fireplace and into the cellar; he heard faint shouting, voices, and then a squeal. Climbing onto the main floor, Seamus noticed the chaos outside, then Hermione, and then a young girl hiding under a table. Running outside he saw chaos everywhere and ducked spells, better to wait than advance to the battle. Climbing under the table, he asked the young girl "What's going on?" you mean besides a freaking battle Seamus screamed inwardly
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Alyson was startled to see a man under the table with her. Aly looked at him, trying to figure out who he was. She couldn't figure it out. She wondered if he was good or bad, whether she should talk to him. She looked at him again, he looks nice...But looks can deceive people. Alyson thought. Even in this situation she had to take caution. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She nearly got her head blown off by a babbling freak with a wand.
"Well, some guy came into Hogsmeade. All of a sudden the person started shooting curses every which way!!" Alyson screamed, concealing her tears. The only thing on her mind now, was her sister...Jolie. She had to go find her! See if she was alright or not, but that obviously had to wait since it was too dangerous to go outside.
Seamus clenched his wand and then started to stand up "Wish me luck" Seamus ran out of the building, seeing chaos everywhere, seeing his old friend Eliza Cunningham and Hermione Granger both in the fray, he ran over "Eliza" Seamus shouted as he ducked more spells and started to shoot hexes everywhere "Are you and Hermione the only ones from the old crowd here?" Seamus shouted over the voices
Vanessa was definitely having a blast at the moment and she moved a little closer to Hogsmeade. She ran to the other side of Hogwarts so she can set fire where the Three Broomsticks were. The Slytherin Head of House was still at the outskirts but she was closer to Hogsmeade. They hood was still on her head covering her face and she planned to keep that hood of her face. The girl then pointed her wand at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks. "Incendio. Incendio. Incendio." she hissed, and then all of a sudden the front entrance of the pub was on fire.
Maybe she could've trapped people inside. Nessa loved hearing the screams of children and even adults and it pleased her. "Serpensortia. Serpensortia. Serpensortia." she said, and she conjured three more snakes, and maybe they could bite someone. Things were going as planned but she had a feeling people could see her but she'll defiantly fight back. "Incendio. Incendio." she hissed around the Three Broomsticks but she hasn't exactly burnt down the place because she liked there drinks. Vanessa then sighed, and looked at the people. "Victory is ours. Long live the Army." she hissed, and then she ran back to where she was originally by Madame Puddifoot's
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Seamus turned, the Three Broomsticks was on fire, running back he started to try and put out the flames, then he ran in and shouted at the people inside "Go, its going to collapse, run as fast as you can" Seamus shouted and coughed as the flames torched everything, he kept shouting Aguamenti everywhere, trying poorly to put out the flames, the smoke was getting heavy and burning his eyes,
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Seeing Seamus show up, Eliza was glad that there was another adult there who didn't run away. Old crowd? Well, Eliza knew that he was of course talking about everyone in their year at Hogwarts, but she didn't really know who else was there. It wasn't like they had all gone to Hogsmeade for a little get together. "Er.. I don't know, Seamus. Hermione and I just met here by ourselves.."
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Eliza didn't really have time to have a conversation with Seamus. The Three Broomsticks was now on fire, although it could be tamed still. Turning around, Eliza yelled into the building. She had seen Alyson Aldaine run in moments before. The last time she had seen Alyson was at Hogwarts when Aly had only been a second year. Alyson had begged Eliza to let her fight the Death Eaters, even though Eliza just wanted her to be protected. If she was hiding from all of this, then she was sure changed. However, Eliza knew something that Alyson could do that would be helpful, yet still relatively safe.
"Alyson! Please try to put out the fire! You know the Aguamenti spell?" she said quickly, not having much time to converse with Alyson about the spell. Rushing off, Eliza hoped that she did know it, as there were a lot bigger problems around Hogsmeade. Not everything revolved around the Three Broomsticks.
Arriving back with Seamus, Eliza knew that there was only one important thing needed to be done. There were still a lot of Hogwarts students there and they needed to be protected. "Seamus, we need to make sure that all the Hogwarts students get back to their school!" Most of them had already run back to Hogwarts, but there were still bound to be some stuck inside some of the buildings.
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Eliza knew that those who were doing the destruction to Hogsmeade needed to be stopped, but the Hogwarts students also needed to be kept safe. Turning away from Seamus, Eliza ran down the street, deeper into the fray of spells, fire and snakes. Eliza burned all the snakes whenever she saw them, but the fire was a different problem. She couldn't stand there all day putting out the buildings with water. Eliza had to rescue the students and stop whoever was making this mess.
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Seamus then heard what Eliza said and shouted "Everyone that is a Hogwarts student not in the DA, follow me, people in the DA, help them get back to the castle, " Then Seamus roared "NOW!" just as a great rumbling took pace, the top of the building was breaking, the ceiling started to cave in, and Seamus could only do one thing, he grabbed Hermione's arm, and then shouted "Run!" as the students followed
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Alyson looked around, the man had run out the door. All Aly could do was pray for him, hoping he would stay safe.
She got out her wand, just watching everyone panicking. All of a sudden, a dark figure pointed their wand into The Three Broomsticks and sets a few things on fire. Aly's eyes grew wide. She had to do something, but she couldn't. Everyone was doing everything they could, it wouldn't make a difference. But then a woman, she faintly remembered from a battle in Hogwarts. Eliza said to use Aguamenti, but she was too startled. Now Eliza made it worse, she was now thinking of what happened, being cursed was the worst thing that ever happened, but this couldn't be as bad.
Alyson slowly got up from under the table, at least there wasn't a fire at where the exit was. People rushed out the door, soon enough it was only a few people in the Pub. Aly held her wand confidently, pointing at a flame that was on the counter of the bar. She closed her eyes and whispered "Aguamenti! Aguamenti..."All of a sudden a jet of water shot out her wand. She kept on saying 'Aguamenti' until the fire was completely out.
Putting out the fire was the best advice anyone gave her. This just made her to do something else. Alyson decided to stay in the pub, extinguishing the flames, unless someone told her to go somewhere safer.
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Vanessa then looked up in the sky and she saw Tepes ride the wyvern and Nessa smiled. The whole army was doing a great job, and she decided that she was going to creep in Hogwarts. The girl then crept inside the streets of Hogwarts, and then pointed her wand around Honeyduke's. "Incendio. Incendio. Incendio." she hissed, and flames went all around Honeyduke's. The girl then pointed her wand straight towards the road. "Flagrate." she hissed pointing anywhere and flames appeared. Hogsmeade was definitely ruined and no one was going to stop Vanessa today.
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Trixie flew through the air, just wanting to fly around...She didn't want to fight. Unless she had to, if that was what she had to do. She decided to find the closest Army member and tag along with them. She pulled her hoodie over her head and swerved above the town...Finding someone, she saw Kienmayer...but he seemed too busy to have to deal with her. Then next person she saw was a hooded figure, she decided to pick them since they were just shooting spells.
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Trixie pointed her broom downwards, and landed on the ground beside the hooded figure. She softly smirked and nodded her head, trying to say good job."Mind if I tag along?" She asked, her voice low. She looked around, so many of her friends running away. She knew she needed to do something; she dropped her broom on the ground, deciding to leave it there. Trix got out her wand. She started to crave blood, then all of a sudden she turned into a different person. She seemed to take vampire form, her heart beating 500 miles an hour. Her long fangs stuck out of her open mouth. She yelled over the screams of the people" Stupefy! Stupefy!"She yelled over and over.. Pointing at people she didn't even know, it was so wrong...but her vampire side said it was so right.
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Vanessa then saw a girl appear next to her and she seemed familiar. The girl was part of the Tepes Youth and Nessa didn't approve of that group but she wanted to be nice to the girl. "Yes, you may tag along with me. It's Vanessa Serini the Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin." she whispered to her. "If you blow my cover your dead meat." she hissed at the Gryffindor girl. Vanessa then pointed her wand in random places so spells can be shooting around randomly. "Crucio." she yelled and she pointed her wand in the air, and the spell will immediately fall down and hopefully hit a person. "Incendio. Incendio." she cried causing fire to appear everywhere.
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Vanessa then looked at the Gryffindor girl. "Shoot fire everywhere." she told her, it will make people ever more afraid. Vanessa loved hearing the screams and she just enjoyed everyone so nervous. Vanessa then screamed mimicking the coward students and adults. "Fight you bunch of cowards." she hissed.
Hearing the woman hiss, Seamus located her and shouted spells "Stupefy! Reducto! Congringo!" Seamus started to shoot off more stunners, running at the hooded figure. It felt like old times like in 7th year.
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Vanessa then looked at a boy sending spells to her. "Weak spells Seamus. You were always a coward at Hogwarts, and you were stupid. You and your friends shall die." she hissed to them. "And then maybe I'll kill your family." she shouted at him. "Protego!" she yelled, and her shield blocked the spells from hitting her. "Stupid git." she yelled out to Seamus. "Trixie shoot more powerful spells at him." she told her. "Crucio!" she hissed, and that Unforgivable Curse was going at him. "Incendio." she shouted and that spell went right towards his feet.
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All 3 spells hit, Seamus fell to the ground, something started to burn and he poured a jet of water on his shoes, then got up, the Crucio curse still painful, but since it was brief he didn't fall with agony. "Oh really, we'll wait till Harry gets here, then you'll be dead and we shall be victorious" Seamus spat at the potions mistress, what Seamus didn't know was that Harry would never come, and the result of this battle could be more tragic than ever before.
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This was as bad as it had been in Diagon Alley, if not worse. Who were these people? All of Britain had learned to fear the Death Eaters, but this group of fighters was far worse. Everything about them was different, though, and Eliza knew that they were not Death Eaters. Whoever they were, though, they would later be feared by whoever survived this attack.
Looking all around her, Eliza was starting to realize that their defense was pointless. Seamus had already gotten quite a few Hogwarts students out of harm's way and Eliza just hoped that there wouldn't be other ones stuck inside some burning building. However, looking around, Eliza noticed that some buildings seemed to now be made of ice. What had caused that? Eliza supposed that some adult probably thought that icing the building would be a lot quicker than using water to diminish the fire.
Seeing the sight of a duel in front of her, but far enough away so Eliza wasn't in the way of it, Eliza squinted her eyes. "Kienmayer?" she asked herself, barely a mutter and not audible to anyone around her in the fray. How could Kienmayer be doing all of this? Eliza remembered back to the time when she met him in Diagon Alley. He had been such a gentleman and had been so kind to her. That couldn't really be him, could it? Taking a couple of steps closer to see if it was him, Eliza nearly screamed as someone came charging towards her. Turning around, Eliza quickly apparated away from Hogsmeade, hoping to see Hermione at her destination when she arrived.
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Vanessa then let out the witchiest laugh after the three spells were hit by Seamus. "I told you that you were weak." she said evilly. "Oh Potter! Potter again to save the day!" she said sarcastically. "I'll make another scar on his body, and I'll make him The Boy who just died." she said making fun of his name. "Sectusempra." she bellowed, and then she pointed her wand at Seamus. A green light shot out of the tip of her wand and went forth Seamus. If Seamus got hit with this curse he will be half dead.
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This curse is powerful because it causes a person to bleed like crazy. "No one can save you know." she said evilly. The hood still remained on her face. "If I put down this hood you will know who I am. I was a Slytherin, and absolutely despised you kinds." she told them. "I cannot wait to torture those Dumbledore's Army members and they will die just like that oaf Dumbledore." she said cackling with her voice. "Incendio. Incendio. Incendio." she hissed, and three fires appeared around the Three Broomsticks.
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The spell hit, and Seamus hit the ground, with the last of his strength, he apparated to Eliza who just so happened to be at the place he was thinking of, The Burrow ... "Tell Hestia, Tell her ..." Seamus trailed off, passing out, to slowly die
9 Months Ago-Nexus Nightclub- The night Seamus and Hestia did something they shan't have done…-In between their points of view
Seamus grumbled, he was stressed, having dreams again lately, worse and worse, fumbling for his jacket and wallet, the 23 year old wizard stepped out the door of his flat and then apparated. Seamus appeared on High Street in the little village and looked for the club; it was where if you got hammered, you weren't looked at like some drunken hobo, unlike in the Hog's head. Lately he was having dreams and feeling lonely, he needed to get out of the house, and he wasn't going to work, he was even growing a beard, course he shaved and cleaned up a little. Looking toward the bar, Seamus walked past the dance floor and sat on a stool, ordering a cold glass of beer.
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Hestia was fed up. Everyone seemed to know what was best for her and her recovery without even stopping to ask her what she wanted. Did they think that she wanted to be miserable? She was trying so hard to be normal but nothing worked. Maybe she wasn't meant to be like everyone else. Maybe Azkaban broke and twisted her into something so unrecognizable and damaged that no one would ever love her or see the person she had become and like that person. Did anyone know or care about the Hestia she was now? The Hestia who could look at the world and see shades of black and white was gone. The world was not a welcoming place and she was on the edge waiting to fall off at the slightest touch.
Work for once was not rewarding at all. She discovered that one of the creatures she sold was purchased by a man with no moral code and a cruel streak. The sight of the broken animal moving away from her and swatting at her gentle hands with its paws was heartbreaking. No creature deserved to be abused and hurt by someone, especially not someone they trusted to care for them. Her day seemed to go downhill from there and she was eager to go home.
Arriving at her apartment she frowned at the messages from both of her parents and brothers telling her to check in with them as though she was a child. She loved them, but they were smothering her and she needed to be on her own for a while. Hearing the message from her brother telling her not to sit at home with her pets she stopped glared at the machine and marched into her bedroom changing into a pair of jeans and a red top meant for parties she had no intention of ever going to.
Taking a deep breath decided to go back to Nexus. Her last trip to the club was a disaster that lasted only five minutes before she ran from the building in a cold sweat. She had no intention of letting that happen this time. With a glance in the mirror by the door she frowned. She couldn't get past the plain girl looking back at her. Everyone saw the brown hair and eyes and immediately thought of the Hufflepuff who was afraid to cast a spell at her dueling partner. She had always thought of herself as strong, well until the illusion was shattered like the cup she tossed in the recycling bin that morning. Sighing she put on a shade of red lipstick she forgot she owned and grabbed her purse apparating to Hogsmeade.
The sight of the door to the club loomed over her but she shook her head and walked inside and straight to the bar. Hestia was not someone who drowned their sorrows at the bottom of a bottle but she needed something to hide her shaking hands and holding a drink would make her look like everyone else. Firewhiskey made her woozy and tasted disgusting, and wine was too bitter for her tastes. That was why she stayed away from alcohol. There wasn't really a reason to drink unless it was in a toast. She didn't think she was missing anything, and until that night she hadn't even felt remotely interested in drinking. Her disinterest also meant that she never really paid attention to what the drinks were called. She knew that a lot of them had dirty names, but aside from that she was completely clueless. She found herself regretting her lack of drink knowledge when it came time to order her drink. Hestia looked around nervously trying to think of a drink, she didn't care what it was as long as it wasn't Firewhiskey. Cringing at the impatient look on the bartender's face she swallowed the knot that formed in her throat as a drink her brother's girlfriend liked popped into her head. Embarrassed she quickly ordered a Raspberry Daiquiri and looked around the room determined to have fun for at least a night. Tomorrow she would go back to being just Hestia.
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Looking around the bar, Seamus noticed someone familiar and got up to sit near Hestia "Howdy stranger" Seamus said, smiling, then "What brings you here, inner demons?" Seamus took another sip of the cold beer bottle, remembering those haunting screams of the students that the Carrows would punish, the pain they inflicted on them all, a muggle would say its World War 2 and Hitler all over again,. Seamus would agree. Seamus's faced turned ghostly and far-out as he remembered everything, how one-by-one everyone left, how the final battle, with all of the bodies, the blood, the destruction, it was horrible, it was like Voldemort wanted to copy Hitler in some way, but that's sort of why Seamus was having nightmares, and then he took a large gulp of his drink, letting the cold freeze down his trachea.
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Hestia thanked the bartender and picked up the red and pink colored drink with shaking hands. The loud music and colored lights were a little too much for her. With a shuddering sigh she brought the colorful drink to her lips expecting it to taste disgusting. Instead she discovered that it tasted like the concentrated raspberry juice she made when she was too lazy to make juice that required more work than simply adding water and stirring. Add water and stir was one of her favorite set of instructions when she felt as though the world was surrounding her in a suffocating blanket of shadows. The juice and sugar coated sweets she liked to spoil herself with helped her to forgot and simply indulge in childhood memories. She knew that it was filled with sugar, but she had a bit of a sweet tooth and drinking a cup of sugar-filled juice just had to be better than the grease soaked junk food her brothers ate.
Taking another sip from her drink she twirled the plastic stir stick through the like drink. There was no point to it really, since the drink didn't have ice in it, but the movement gave her something to do with her hands. She was afraid that if she let herself sit idle on the stool for even a moment that she would crack and want to leave. Hearing another voice and sensing that someone had moved toward her she turned slightly on the bar stool and smiled at the sight of a familiar and oddly comforting face.
"Seamus! I didn't expect to see you here." Actually she hadn't really expected to see anyone she knew considering it was a weeknight, and most people didn't go to a club to drink themselves into a stupor during the work week. She was not sure how she was supposed to feel about being caught drinking away her sorrows, but she couldn't bring herself to care anymore. Inner demons he said? Yes, that perfectly summed up her reasons for being at a night club going against her judgment and drinking when she never drank. Drinking was about as foreign as the club she was in, but she needed to have one night where she wasn't the good girl everyone wanted her to be. She wasn't the eleven year old girl eager to start her life as a witch, and she wasn't the cheerful Hufflepuff who told Blaise Zabini that he needed to choose a side because being loyal to something was important. How could she be loyal to something when she didn't know what she wanted or what she believed anymore?
"Something like that," she replied sighing before taking another sip from her drink and frowning when she noticed that her cup was now empty. Glowering into her cup she ordered another one drumming her fingers on the bar top as she waited. The wait was relatively short and she thanked the bartender with a smile that was returned with a look that made her think that he knew something she didn't. She heard stories about people getting drunk and crying to the bartender, but she was not one of those people. She didn't ever get drunk; she just needed to take a bit of the edge off. Taking a sip from her drink she thought that it tasted slightly different, almost as though there was more alcohol in it masking the fruit taste she enjoyed in the first drink. Hestia turned her attention again to Seamus with every intention of asking him what he was doing there, but she didn't have the chance.
"So what are you..." she trailed off as she saw the color He looked almost as though he had seen a ghost and the haunted look made her cringe as she thought back to the image she tried not to think about; the one she saw gazing back at her from the mirror every day. She watched as he took a large gulp from his drink and her heart went out to him as much as it scared her. Running seemed like a good idea but she wouldn't ever leave a friend when they needed her, and she thought he needed to talk to someone, even if she was as messed up as he was. She remembered their conversation when he bought his dog and was ruthlessly reminded that he too had inner demons that needed to be purged. Maybe they were there for the same reason. Maybe he needed to talk to her as much as she needed to talk to someone else who understand being in a dark place emotionally and struggled to find their way in the light.
"Seamus? Are... are you alright?"
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Seamus zoned out for a moment, another memory coming to him after what Hestia just said, it was a memory of his 7th year, a slytherin just beat the crap out of him and he was found on the floor of the 4th floor corridor, the young girl had black hair and she asked him "Are you alright" Only 5 days later, she was killed in the final battle, brutally murdered. Seamus then snapped out of it and said "Yeah,...fine" quietly, staring at the table, not showing his pale and ashen face
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Hestia seriously doubted that he was 'alright.' She used the world every time she wanted to avoid answering questions, usually the ones about her health, mental or otherwise. Thinking back on her question she had the urge to slap herself upside the head or maybe off of the bar top if she thought it would actually do any good. Her companion seemed to be so lost in his own thoughts that she wondered if he was actually seeing her.
The temptation to tell him she would listen to whatever was on his mind without judging him was there, but she batted it away like an annoying insect. She didn't like being bullied into talking about her feelings, something she discovered about herself only after her mother encouraged her into therapy. Therapy was working to some extent but she could not move past the feeling of not belonging anywhere. She wasn't a muggle and to the Death Eaters and those who imprisoned her in Azkaban she was not a witch. If she wasn't a muggle and was not a witch then what was she? Was she a freak of nature? Was her birth truly a freak accident in the gene pool? How she wanted to believe that they were wrong and that she was a witch and worth as much as they were. Every time she thought of it she wondered if she was actually contributing anything. Sitting in the dark with various creatures' content around her she wondered if maybe it would be easier to run, to leave the world that was made up of mostly bad memories.
No, talking about what brought that haunted look to his face was not going to help her, and it probably wouldn't help him. Her therapist Lorraine's repetitive encouraging words never seemed to be enough for her. Why would they work on someone who looked as though the world had fallen out from under him? He and the other students witnessed the horrors of the death eaters first hand. Their experiences were very different and yet they were both suffering from the unfairness of the world.
"Right, as if anyone would believe that," she replied noticing that he wasn't even looking at her. If he wanted to pretend that he was fine she wasn't going to get in his way. Pretending she was fine got her through the day. Pretending made the knowledge that she had nearly died twice because of stupid ideologies about blood purity. Pretending helped her act as though she hadn't spent a year and a half being reminded that she was nothing but a mud blood. She was tainted and would never fit in the wizarding world no matter how many spells she knew or how many apologies she received from the minister about her sentence.
Hestia swallowed wetting her dry lips before taking another sip from her second drink. She could not have been there for more than half an hour and already she was feeling lightly weird. The dark cloud and turn her thoughts had taken was what she placed the blame on. She had only finished one... oh wait... that sip made it two. She only finished two drinks and surely they didn't have that much alcohol in them. They tasted too much like raspberry punch for her to believe that they had enough to make her drunk. If she were drunk she wouldn't have allowed her horrible thoughts to cloud her thoughts yet again. Deciding that the dark cloud had loomed over her long enough she looked at him and then the table before deciding she was changing the subject to something that did not make her want to jump off a bridge.
"Am I so boring that you would rather look at a bar that has probably been sick on once or twice than me?" She asked. She would get him out of his funk in her own way, by ignoring the issue and pretending it didn't exist.
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Seamus jumped and then looked at her "No, you're not boring, I mean well, you're pretty, but you're not boring" The Irishman stuttered, inner demons suddenly forgotten, and he took a sip of his drink, it had a strange taste to it, the bartender then came by with a basket of onion rings for them. Seamus took one and started to eat, the drink numbing his senses and the food filling his stomach
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Hestia was more than a little relieved when he jumped as though being physically sent back to the present from the awful thoughts he must have saw to make him look as though he was reliving something painful. She smiled before she let her brain process what he said or stuttered out as it was. He called her pretty? Hestia blushed wondering where the compliment came from. Some girls liked to be told that they were pretty, but she didn't like the intention. Calling someone pretty was something a parent told their child because they thought that they looked abnormal in some way.
As a child Hestia loved to be told that she was pretty. There was a childish innocence to the way that she looked at the world then. Five year olds didn't understand that someone could say something seemingly nice and mean it as a horrible insult. She discovered that particularly nasty form of insult her first year at Hogwarts, not surprisingly from a Slytherin. At the time she frowned trying to figure out how someone could say something that she would hear coming from her parents and just know that it was mean from the tone alone. Older and more world weary she could now easily tell the difference. He hadn't said it in a backwards insult sort of way. She thought that he almost sounded as though it slipped out in the middle of his explanation that she wasn't boring him. Well she wanted a change of topic and she definitely got one.
"That's a relief to hear," she smiled. "I wouldn't want to remind you of a History of Magic lesson." She remembered being awed by the presence of a ghost in the classroom. The fact that he was their teacher was on her mind his first lecture, so much so that she hadn't realized how boring he was until the second class. Her bubble burst with a resounding pop and she discovered that just because he was a ghost he wasn't necessarily interesting. His dullness was one of the first events that told her that the wizarding world was not as exciting as it seemed. Hestia realized too late that it was not only not as it seemed but just as dangerous if not more so than the muggle world she was used to.
"I was just wondering what you were doing here," she replied explaining what she asked before she noticed that he was thinking about a place that she was positive she didn't want to know about.
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"I needed to get out, my house was an old house that my grandparents lived in, there too many memories and its all whoever decided to give birth to that bastard Tom Riddle's fault" Seamus said, and then sipped the glass of liquor that the bartender handed him. Smacking his lips in satisfaction, Seamus stared at Hestia's eyes "Your eyes are beautiful"
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Hestia understood what it was like to go somewhere that held too many memories to be comfortable. Her parent's house was stifling her with memories of her happy childhood, and the ministry of magic reminded her how out of place she felt in the wizarding world. She moved out of her parents' home for that very reason, and the stifling concern that they showed for her was also the reason she was in Nexus. Hestia was going to prove to herself and others that she could go out and act like everybody else. She wasn't just a freak of nature with nowhere to call hers. She would not let the bastard and his followers break her.
As much as she disliked calling anyone a bastard Tom Riddle was as far as she could tell, the biggest bastard the world she could think of. He deserved to be insulted and she was glad that he was dead. Most of the time she regretted wishing someone dead or in his case reveled in the fact that he was dead. In the case of Tom Riddle she could not bring herself to feel bad. He was a murderer and a madman who brought out the worst in the people of the wizarding world. He and his Death Eaters were responsible for killing entire families, people she knew, people she only discovered were dead when she was released from her own personal hell in the form of a prison cell. Yes, if there was anyone who deserved to be called a bastard it was Tom Riddle.
She didn't want to think about him, he was not fun and forcing herself to have fun and enjoy her night out was the reason she was there. That thought brought her back to the uncomfortable realization that he complimented her again. Unbidden she watched as he smacked his lips causing her to smile nervously. Did everyone seem more attractive after a fruity drink? She almost wanted to reach out and... no, she was not there to, well she was not exactly sure why she was there other than to act normal for a night. Those thoughts were definitely not normal.
"Um... thank you," she laughed trying to hide the blush that flushed across her cheeks. "I like your accent," she blurted out wincing at her comment. She was from London and her accent was just not the same as an Irish one. Americans seemed to like accents but she wasn't American, she was British. A Brit who just happened to like Seamus's Rashness if there was such a thing. Conversations were a weakness of hers. Horrible did not even begin to describe her conversation skills.
Now starting her fourth drink she wondered if there was actually anything alcoholic in the drink she had in front of her. She couldn't be sure, but she was beginning to think that the bartender was giving her fruit juice instead of alcohol and that was the reason he was smirking at her like he knew something she didn't. That was the only explanation she could come up with for liking the drink she was drinking repeatedly. She had no idea what was in a Daiquiri other than the raspberry flavor she wanted it to come in. Oh well, she didn't plan on getting drunk, and she was obviously not dying from an allergic reaction so what was in it didn't really matter.
"Erm... that didn't come out the way I thought it would," she laughed taking a large sip from her drink.
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Seamus drained the liquor and began his 3rd, that's when things started to go very, very wrong for both magical adults,. Seamus had a smirk on his face and then planted a kiss on Hestia's lips, getting passionate, then he broke apart "Want to go home?"
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Hestia drained the contents of her cup enjoying the light headed feeling that seemed to make all of the sounds and lights in the room come to life. She was almost hypersensitive to the world around her and she felt as though she was escaping into some part of her she didn't know existed. She didn't think she was drunk, even if her hand moved in front of her vision in an odd sort of way.
She managed to drag her eyes away from her hands in time to see his smirk. Hestia didn't have time to think about why he would be smirking before he planted his lips against hers. At first she just sat there on her bar stool wondering what on earth was going on, but then the confusion slowly shifted into an almost blissful sort of joy. She could taste something weird and assumed that it was his drink, but aside from the taste of his drink mixing with hers she was enjoying herself more than she probably should have been. When he pulled away she had to fight to keep her breath and stop the room from spinning with her alcohol dazed mind. His question did nothing to sober her, in fact she was slightly giddy at the thought of what might happy. The thought that she might not completely be in control of what she was doing did not even register in her mind.
"Mmmhmmm..." she giggled realizing that she couldn't even say a simple yes. "I live in the magical apartment complex, we can go there."
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Seamus took her by the shoulder, and they apparated on the spot. Stumbling, Seamus led her into the building and then the craziness really started. Seamus wrote his phone number on a napkin and then he started to make out with her, this led to the morning after. The morning that Seamus would never be able to decide later if it was good or bad.
November 27, 1999- The day they met- Magical Menagerie
Almost a year had passed since the fall of Voldemort and Hestia had finally been able to say his name without becoming a stuttering mass of nerves. She decided that she enjoyed working in the magical menagerie, and didn't regret her decision never to work for the Ministry. Kingsley Shacklebolt was a good man, and he seemed genuinely sorry for what happened to her; but, the Ministry and the values that had her thrown in Azkaban did not go away with Voldemort defeat.
Working in the menagerie was enjoyable, and though she had chosen a career that meant she would not have to deal with politics she thought that it was good for her. Hestia was slowly coming out of her shell and there was a part of her that hoped she would eventually put herself back together. She would never be exactly the same as she was, but war changed everyone, and she doubted that any of her former classmates could say that they had come out of the war the same person they were when they went into it.
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Seamus walked down Diagon Alley, the war had changed him a bit, he was less ready to jump at accusing someone, but he was braver now, and wouldn't back down from a fight unless he'd would get him nowhere. Walking into the smelly and noisy shop known as the Magical Menagerie, Seamus started to look at the creatures, both magical and mortal. He was looking for a bird or a dog. Looking around he noticed Hestia and walked over. Asking her he said "Do I know you?"
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Hestia turned to look at the customer who walked into the Menagerie and smiled. He looked familiar, but that meant little when someone worked in Diagon Alley. She had finally stopped flinching as each new customer came into the store, and she felt that a part of that was due to Eliza's wedding. She hadn't wanted to go; in fact she had dragged herself there to show herself that she could. If she could attend a large gathering of her former classmates she knew that she could try to move on with her life. She didn't want to be the type of person who locked herself in their home too afraid to go out into the world.
The first thing that he said was unexpected. Most people usually greeted someone before trying to figure out who they were. She guessed that his manners were the result of the war; either that or he was simply straightforward. As forward as his question was his voice helped her figure out who he was, or at least where she recognized him from. "You might, we went to Hogwarts at the same time," she replied, "My name is Hestia Burke."
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"Well hello Hestia, I'm Seamus, Seamus Finnegan" Seamus said and then looked around "everyone sure has picked up after this whole war crap" Outside, Diagon Alley was bustling but wasn't stuffed with people.
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"Yes, I suppose that not living in fear afraid that any moment someone is going to come after you for something you said or did would be enough to get people outside." She only had what she had read and been told about what the wizarding world had become during the war. Having spent a year in Azkaban for being a muggleborn Hestia was kept from the terrors that people felt when the Death Eaters took control over the Ministry of Magic. Instead she had spent her days in a dark cell without anything to tell her how long she had been there. She was almost ashamed to admit that when she heard the footsteps of Kingsley Shacklebolt the majority of the shell she was she had thought that she was hallucinating; the second part of her hoped that it was a Death Eater coming to kill her. "There really isn't a point to staying inside all of the time," she said quietly, more to herself than to Seamus. "Now, are you looking for something in particular?"
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"A dog or a large bird" Seamus answered, it was nice that now there was nothing to worry about. No Death Eaters, No Voldemort, nothing, just picking up the pieces. The war had drawn Seamus away from everyone he knew. It was like a hand came over his eyes and erased all of his memories. Only they started to come back and suddenly WHAM! Seamus remembered everything.
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"A dog or a large bird?" Hestia asked thoughtfully glancing around the shop. The combination was odd, but she every customer had their own unique tastes. The week before she met a man who suffered from an obsession with obtaining another crup for his collection, and though he seemed to genuinely love the dog-like creature he was a bit too forward. When she discovered that he owned ten of then she had been both horrified and amused. Crups could be a handful, even if their forked tails and small stature were adorable (so long as you lived in a strictly magical community).
"Are... are you looking for a simple pet, a familiar, or a companion of some sort?" She didn't want to be forward and ask him if he was alright, it was one of the things that she was working on. Some people disliked it when they were faced with someone who was straight forward and honest, but that was who she was. Since her stay in Azkaban her forward behavior had been toned down. She no longer got into arguments with people she barely knew. That change was one she was happy with because it unnerved her when the tables turned and she was the one of the defensive, and not just verbally.
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"Just a pet, I don't have any, just a single Irishman who's looking for a life to live. " Seamus answered, noticing that Hestia didn't ask if he was fine said something, it said she'd changed after the war. Change was good and bad, if it didn't kill you of course.
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Hestia smiled at his answer and with a small nod looked around the loud shop. What he said made a lot of sense, living was possible with Voldemort dead, and she was happy to see that someone else was moving on. A pet was a small start, but it was still a start. There were some, like Harry, who would likely always be followed by the war. He was a hero and that meant even after the death of Voldemort people would look to him for guidance. She heard that he was appointed as a member of the Wizengamot and international confederation of wizards and felt a little sorry for him. She was glad to be a relative unknown amongst her classmates, even if she was known for being one of the very few Hufflepuffs of her year.
"A dog is likely a better choice, though I will admit I have more than one pet, and a cat. They're not at all fond of birds which might make me a touch biased," she smiled stroking fur on the shop owner's half-kneazle Benjamin. "Border Collies are great companions and they're low maintenance. Or you might be interested in getting a crup, though I don't recommend them if you live near muggles. They can be rather beastly toward non-magical individuals."
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"I'd rather a normal dog, a border collie sounds great, they get exercise and you can run your frustrations out with them" Seamus said and smiled He hadn't really kept in touch with his friends, everyone seemed to fade away and he hoped things could pick up where they left off. He'd heard about Harry being in the wizmegant and about the 2 weddings+1 engagement party. Seamus was currently renting a muggle apartment till he got his own house.
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"It's good to hear that you would be giving him or her a bit of exercise. They're lovely dogs," Hestia admitted. Her parents' neighbors owned a border collie when she was growing up and the dog had been a constant source of entertainment for her five year old self. That had been before she showed obviously signs of magical talent and had only done minor things when she was frustrated or terribly excited. Growing out of her magical bursts was one of the perks of attending Hogwarts. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to grow up in the muggle world as a muggleborn witch without a magical education. It would have been not only dangerous, but sad. Being different was not something easily accepted in either world. "We have three border collies in at the moment, two males and a female. Most people prefer magical breeds, but I imagine it's for the novelty of the thing. Just to say that they own an exotic pet or some such rot like that." She didn't believe in owning pets for the sake of showing them off. Pets were not show pieces.
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"yeah, but I'll take the girl border collie" Seamus said, as of now, he decided it was better to just get one dog, one day if he had enough money and time, he might come back and if the 2 dogs were still there, he'd adopt them. "I remember when my best mate Dean Thomas gave me a book on dogs, very fascinating, but I wouldn't be showing them off. They'd be family, and family doesn't show each other off just because someone's a greedy pompous git"
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Hestia smiled brightly at his reply. She felt herself relax slightly at his words, and knew that the dog would be going to a good home. It was a gut feeling she had, one of the few things she could trust to ignore rationality. Very few decisions that she made post-Azkaban were driven by impulse. She started the frustrating habit of double checking every possible danger zone in her apartment before relaxing, and she tended to question her own judgments no matter how trivial the subject of her thoughts was. Overall the gut feeling she had about Seamus was better than standing around debating whether or not he was pulling the wool over her eyes.
Hestia took her wand from her wand holder up the sleeve of her robes and tapped a piece of parchment entering all of the important sales data onto the appropriate form. She then walked over to where the collies were penned and smiled as she picked up the female. "She comes to 24 Galleons, 6 Sickles, and 21 Knuts. You can pay either by direct Gringotts transaction by filling out your Gringotts vault information and authenticating the purchase with your wand or with cash. Once that's all set this beautiful girl is yours." She smiled; laughing softly as the dog's wagging tail tapped her side excitedly.
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Seamus dug into his pocket and pulled out a shrunken pouch, setting the money and presenting his wand on the table, Seamus said "Here you go" The dog looked very happy and excited, practically jumping off her "heels" to give Seamus a doggy hug.
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Hestia followed his movements and was startled by the way that he placed his wand on the counter. She knew that it wasn't really her concern. How another witch or wizard handled their wands was their decision, even if she believed that it was dangerous. Ignore it, ignore it...you're turning into Professor Moody!... blast! "This may sound a tad odd coming from a Hufflepuff alumna but you shouldn't ever leave your wand where someone else could take it," she said nervously shifting her weight from her left to right foot and back again. You're an idiot! The voice in her head sounded remarkably like her father. It wasn't harsh, but it was clearly frustrated that she opened her mouth without listening to what her own common sense was telling her.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be lecturing you on wand etiquette, and I know that the war is over but one never can be too careful," she explained rambling slightly. She kept her wand secured in the strap up the sleeve of her wand arm under her robes because she felt at ease knowing it was there. For a year she lived without the comfort of a wand, without any comforts at all but her own nerves and shaky grasp on reality in her cell. Her year in prison was not something she wanted to think about, not when she had made a fool out of herself the moment before. Hestia cleared her throat and smiled awkwardly, "well... um, yes, if you'll just take the little one from me I will get everything all set for you to take her home." She said holding out the Border collie.
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Putting his wand back in his waist band and taking the puppy, Seamus said "I know, but I've changed in that way too, I know muggle combat, karate actually." The Border collie panted and started to slobber Seamus. Laughing he said "Okay silly, calm down" Seamus started to scratch the pup's ear in a loving gesture.
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"She seems to like you," she smiled, relieved to see they appeared to be a good match. Hestia picked up the forms she had left on the counter finishing them with a few strokes of the ball point pen she used. Outside of Hogwarts she preferred to go back to her muggle roots. Quills were simply inconvenient, and she liked the feel of a pen over the odd feeling that holding a quill gave her. "I think we're settled here, and I have a feeling that she's found the perfect home. Have you ever owned a pet before?" She asked, not remembering if he had a pet when they were at Hogwarts. It was difficult to keep track of the people outside of her house at times, even if while at Hogwarts the Hufflepuffs always seemed to be in hiding somewhere.
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"Um when I was young before Hogwarts, I had a lizard, but the summer after 2nd year she died from old age" Seamus answered, holding Myra like one would a toddler. She wasn't trying to jump out of his arms and explore, preferring to fall asleep and snore soundly on Seamus's shoulder
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"You took care of her well. This one might be a bit more of a handful but she is already comfortable with you and that is always a good sign." The collie had definitely chosen the right wizard, and he the right collie considering how comfortable they seemed to be with each other. Good, it meant that they would be happy with each other, and there were too many unhappy people in the world. Nightmares plagued a lot people, and she knew that she wasn't the other person who was released from Azkaban feeling a sense of guilt and pain that wouldn't go away. At times she felt as if the Dementor's had stained her soul with their dark and dirty presence. Maybe that was why she had changed as much as she had, maybe it was why she had chosen to work in a pet shop rather than seek out a job somewhere else. Weak... "Have you kept yourself busy since we graduated from Hogwarts?" She asked in a low voice careful not to wake the sleeping puppy.
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'Yeah" Seamus said, the sleeping pup's snores loud and blowing into his ear "My dad however passed on, because when I never replied back to their letters, the Carrows sent them a letter saying I was dead, my dad had a literal heart attack and mom cries anytime someone mentions him now. So what happened with you?"
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Hestia frowned at Seamus's story. It was upsetting and demonstrated the cruel power the Death Eaters once had. She knew all too well how far reaching their power went. If they could gain control over the ministry as quietly as they had under Tom Riddle's rule it was no telling what they would do if they were desperate enough to seek out revenge. Revenge was a powerful yet useless feeling to have. It didn't help anyone in the end, and more often than not the person who ended up paying was the person who wanted revenge in the first place. She wasn't deluded enough to think that she had never wanted revenge. Once she had been freed from Azkaban and realized that she was free she had been angry, angry enough to want to hunt down every last Death Eater who had forced children into prison cells. The screams of the witches and wizards in the other cells haunted her at night when she was alone and could think about how her life had changed since entering the unforgiving wizarding world.
No one had really asked what happened to her before, and she had been silently grateful for it. Her parents though supportive could not understand the life their daughter lived when she was around the magical community. She knew that she could say the words, she had told her parents a highly edited version of her life as one of the wizarding world's least favored blood types and Seamus had at least been there experiencing the war in his own way. Everyone experienced it differently.
"I actually wasn't really there for the most part. I was one of the muggleborns arrested and sent to Azkaban, and I spent a little over a year there before Minister Shacklebolt came to tell me that I was free to leave." Hestia could remember his apology vividly though her thoughts had been anything but clear at the time. She was rather pleased that she had managed to say the name of the horrible prison without shaking. That was a start at least.
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Seamus snorted a little "wow, that sounds better than mine, I got beaten and cruico'ed every time I tried to be tough, the Carrows, they didn't care" Seamus remembered every day, how Parvati had to Crucio a 2nd year Hufflepuff against her will, how Susan Bones literally sobbed upon hearing about her family's death, which she later found to be fake, on how Dean and Luna had to go into hiding because Dean was muggleborn, and Luna was just Luna, and of course there's the "Golden Trio" Everyone thought they were just hiding, but really they were trying to find out how to destroy Voldemort. Seamus remembered how during spring break Ginny went into hiding and then Neville tried to lead everyone in the DA that was left. It was crazy how things went
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Would she had rather been beaten for speaking out or had the dementors feast on her soul and take all of her happiness everyday for over a year? That question and others swept through her and she wondered if she would have had the strength to stand up for her own heritage in the face of the Death Eaters at school. Muggleborns would likely have been used as practice dummies anyway. Would she have rather faced the cruciatus? From her experience she would have rather been in pain than feel the way she did and often still did. Happiness was not something that should be stripped from anyone, and after a couple of months in Azkaban she knew that she was slowly losing her tentative hold on her sanity. Hope was non-existent in Azkaban fortress, at least at Hogwarts there were other students fighting to keep going. The prisoners in Azkaban were alone surrounded by the desperation and cold of the dementors.
Hestia understood that everyone had their own horror stories from the war, but she knew the emotional pain she suffered because she had felt it. Even locked in a cell she was fully aware of how much worse it could have been for her. When her hope faded and her miserable thoughts turned to the belief that she had betrayed her parents by keeping them out of the war she thought that she would never get out of Azkaban without being changed somehow. Like her former schoolmate she was changed. He likely had physical scars, while she had emotional ones that wouldn't fade.
"You seem so open about what happened at Hogwarts," she said wondering how he was able to speak freely about what he had suffered during the war. Maybe it is how he has learned to cope, she thought curiously. She wanted to be able to simply say that she had been in prison without remembering every horrible thought that had run through her mind.
Present day- February 20, 2003-St. Mungos Maternity ward
Seconds later, Seamus broke out of memory lane as a hand clamped on his wrist and he heard a scream. A baby's wail broke out and moments later, a second one, James and Katherine Finnegan-Burke were born into the world, but little did anyone know what would transpire over the next few decades…
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N:So what did you all think of the first chapter? send in your reviews!