AN: This idea would just not go away, and I tried to do it justice.
Disclaimer: Nope.
I.
"Look, we have to do something. If we don't, we might as well write good old Harry a letter explaining how we don't want to fight against Voldemort."
He looks around the room, at the 30 odd people who are scattered around the fringes. It's not all of the people who want to fight, but this number is suspicious enough already.
It's silent. He knows what they're thinking. Don't listen to him, the self-preservation part of their brain will be saying. He has thought that already a couple of times, but now it is time to act.
"We're going to die either way." His voice rings out. Neville glances at him and then stands behind him.
"Yeah, we want people to look back and say, we helped defeat him too." Neville adds.
Slowly, other people come around him, nodding.
Dumbledore's Army is back up and running. And they will fight.
The King
Seamus Finnigan = A young man about to embark on the hardest year of his life. He'll handle it though, he'll be a hero at the end.
II.
He's waiting outside the station, hoping that Dean's going to come.
Of course Dean isn't going to show up, but the Irishman is not going to give up without a fight. It was hard enough persuading his mother to let him come to school, even though it was compulsory.
So he sits there, on the fading brown bench, huddled in a coat, with his trunk by his feet.
He notices when she sits next to him and sighs. They don't say anything though, but he knows she's waiting too.
"I'm sorry about Dean." She says, her musical voice interrupting the stark silence surrounding them.
"I'm sorry about Fay." He replies, looking at her for the first time. His mother would tell him to go for it, considering she is so gorgeous. He just grabs her hand and they sit, silently.
And their friends won't be coming. But they will wait.
A few notes on Seamus Finnigan
1. Irish
2. Fire obsessed
3. Miserable without Dean.
4. Hates the Carrows immensely.
5. Looking at Lavender Brown, again.
III.
He sits next to her at breakfast. It's a regular occurrence now, and he pours their drinks while she places a piece of toast and some bacon on their plates.
"What's first?"
There's an intake of breath, and he looks up, seeing Neville walking towards him. He's covered in bruises and cuts.
Lavender gets up quickly, and grabs his arm, as if afraid that he will fall.
"The bloody Carrows."
Of course, Seamus now antagonises them more, so that he gets hurt, rather than anyone else. And it's worth it, because now he truly is a Gryffindor and they're fighting.
Having Lavender patch him up when he enters the Common Room is really just an added bonus, honestly.
She helps him devise witty sayings to go on the walls, and even helps him decorate them. She's smart, but Seamus can't stop thinking that Dean's artistic skills would be nice too.
His Queen
Lavender Brown = Lovely and vivacious, even after all that's happened to her. She has a special smile for Seamus too.
IV.
He's waiting for Dean to write to him, to contact him, anything.
Because even though Neville is great company, he isn't Dean. And even though he's friends with Parvati and Lavender and the other girls, it isn't the same without Dean.
There're no more conversations about Muggle things, no more man-to-man chats. And he needs those chats, with the confusion between him and Lavender.
He's worried, and scared, but he won't be telling Lavender or the others that.
If Dean dies, he doesn't know what he'll do, because Dean is Seamus' twin, without being twins.
So he bottles up his feelings, keeping a lid pressed on tight and he won't break. It was hard enough holding Lavender as she cried, and having to pull out the shards of wood that had been pierced into her skin.
But he's Seamus Finnigan, and he's the strong one. And they need someone strong.
A few words on Dean Thomas
Seamus and Dean met on the Hogwarts Express at 12.45 pm and 32 seconds.
Dean was buying a pumpkin pasty. Seamus hates them.
Seamus was buying a liquorice wand. Dean's allergic to liquorice.
Naturally, they became best friends.
V.
It really hits him when Michael Corner is almost killed after letting out one of the third years who are due to be tortured.
Michael isn't seen again for weeks, and when he reappears he has completely changed.
Dumbledore's Army suspends, but Seamus still fights.
He blows up one of the Carrows offices, he thinks it's the blokes, but they're practically inseparable that it doesn't matter which one.
He earns multiple whippings and fresh bruises and for the first time he thinks he might die.
But he doesn't.
"Seamus, why do you do this?" Neville asks him, as Parvati presses a cool cloth to his bruised face and Lavender bathes his torn up back in Murtlap essence.
He doesn't actually know, but he suspects it's something to do with fighting for a better future.
He tells Lavender this and she just leans her head on his forehead and smiles weakly.
Seamus (again)
6. He has never been more afraid.
7. NEWT's are hard enough without a war.
8. Totally in love with Lavender. She doesn't know.
9. Finds pleasure in blowing things up and causing havoc.
10. Just wants Dean to come back, thank you very much.
VI.
"Seamus?" Lavender asks him quietly one evening.
"Mmm?"
"Do you think we'll survive?" There's a catch in her voice and he tilts his head to look at her, the fire reflecting in her eyes and casting a glow over her cheeks.
"I think we will." He whispers into her ear, drawing her nearer to him and revelling in her smell.
Her hair is ribbon-less, and Seamus likes being able to run his hands through it.
She sleeps in his room now, and Seamus is glad for the company. He loves her, but he's not quite sure how to tell her.
It's a relationship founded on pain and heartache, but sustained by love and he's sure that if – not if, when – they get through this they'll get married.
But he's always been a little bit afraid of love, because of his parents. So maybe he'll wait a while before telling her.
His queen (again)
1. Unattainable
2. Bloody gorgeous.
3. A delicate flower
4. Never wears ribbons anymore.
5. Secretly, she's not a Gryffindor.
VII.
The radio's on as he walks into the dormitory after school.
Neville has a look of deep concentration on his face, and he's trying to connect to Potterwatch.
"Try Vance." Lavender suggests, from her seat on Seamus' bed. Seamus sits down by the radio too and miraculously it works.
"Let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell."
Seamus freezes, because Dean finally got a letter through, and he was hiding with the two dead men.
He gets up from his seat and flings aside the chair, smashing it into the door. He's angry and he goes to the Room of Requirement, smashing things for hours before a scared Lavender comes and holds him as he cries.
Dean Thomas in a nutshell
1. Missing
2. Not dead
3. Really likes soccer.
4. Best friends with Seamus.
5. A Muggle-born on the run.
VIII.
He follows Neville into the Room of Requirement a week later. He has to sneak out in the night, although he would have liked to go out with a bang.
Inside he finds a wearied Neville lying on a hammock with a bottle of Firewhiskey open in his lap.
"Neville."
"Seamus. Hi. Um. Take a seat."
A hammock appears and he collapses into it gratefully, closing his eyes tiredly.
When Lavender arrives a week later, with bruises up her arms and cuts on her face he gives her a swift kiss and holds her tight.
He hasn't told her he loves her yet. He's still afraid she'll run away. A bathroom appears and she goes to take a bath, coming out afterwards smelling so nice and fragrant.
She manages to take his mind off Dean for a while and they fall asleep in Seamus' hammock, legs intertwined and heads touching.
Some more facts about Lavender Brown
6. Not like the old Lavender Brown.
7. Compassionate to the point of annoying behaviour.
8. Only now understands the seriousness of the situation.
9. Trelawney's room is her safe haven. She's unafraid there.
10. Wants a house full of kids and a flower garden.
IX.
Dean's face could not have been a sweeter sight to Seamus when he entered the Room of Requirement.
Harry and Ron had Hermione had of course been the heroes, but Dean was the miracle.
"Dean!" Seamus cries, getting up swiftly and hugging his friend tightly.
His face is an ear splitting grin, and Lavender knows how much it would hurt, but Seamus doesn't care.
Dean is healthy and looking happy, and Seamus is the complete opposite, although he's happy now Dean is back.
They start talking amongst themselves, and only Lavender can see that Seamus is trying not to cry as he gestures with his hands and looks around the room, excitement evident in his features.
Dean is talking too, and Lavender hears him laugh, it mingles with Seamus' laugh. It's a sound that everyone's missed and he looks so complete in that moment that she realises she loves him.
Dean Thomas, again
6. He doesn't have a wand anymore.
7. When he sees Seamus, tears almost fall.
8. Hogwarts won't ever feel safe to him now.
9. He wants to become an artist after the war.
10. He notices Padma second, after Seamus, and he keeps staring.
X.
He sees her body lying near the stairs and his first thought is that she is dead.
She's not.
There are bites all down her neck and her arms, and her legs are splayed in an awkward way.
"Lav." He says quickly, leaning down and seeing whether she is breathing.
If she is, he can't feel it.
His heart starts beating painfully quick and he looks around, yelling for someone to come and help.
He lifts her head and upper body and she screams in pain, opening her eyes and looking into his own.
"Don't leave me," he says, and he grabs her hand, squeezing tightly. She is trying to say something, and he bends his head closer, eager to hear something from her perfect lips.
He's crying.
"I love you."
He holds her tighter as people start arriving.
"I love you too." He tells her and sees her smile.
The King (once more)
He's not afraid of love anymore.
