Written for the Cluedo/Clue challenge for the prompts 'Seamus Finnigan', 'Winner' and 'Timid'.
Seamus Finnigan wasn't timid. He gave his opinions clearly and without shame, even when they went against his friends' own ideas. He came to realise he was wrong about Harry in fifth year and to feel ashamed about what he'd said, but he was never sorry for being open about his views.
He came from a noisy and enthusiastic family who didn't really understand the word privacy. They were all encouraged to speak their minds and use their home as a safe space for debate on anything that interested them.
None of Seamus' labels at Hogwarts – brash, pyromaniac, Irish, straight talking – suggested he was anything but open. No one ever thought Seamus hid deep secrets or felt nervous.
And it was mostly true. He was blessed with the confidence to know he was an able (if not extraordinary) student, and to know both his strengths (cooking, the ability to recite a staggering number of Irish drinking songs off by heart and a talent for fire-based magic even if sometimes accidental) and his weaknesses (Potions, his temper and an unfortunate ability to explode things he shouldn't).
Rarely was Seamus truly timid.
The first real example was his first DA lesson, when he had finally accepted that Harry wasn't lying or crazy.
Dean had been right beside him the whole time (the greatest friend, who hadn't abandoned him even when he was being stubborn and hard-headed) but it had been terrifying.
He'd felt like he was being judged, even if the truth was that most people there had already forgiven hum.
He didn't chat cheerfully like he normally did, only kept his head down and worked hard to catch up.
He finally understood what it meant to be Neville, timid in the face of Professor Snape and his Potions lessons.
His shyness passed soon enough, though, as Dean gave him encouraging smiles, Hermione elbowed Ron to stop him glaring, and Harry told him 'well done' in a sincere voice at the end of the session.
The second example came during the war, when even Seamus' buoyant personality was cowed by the violence of the Carrows and his opinionated mouth silenced by bouts of the Cruciatus and other painful curses.
There were days during that horrible year when Seamus never spoke, days when he felt his whole personality might be destroyed by the war.
But it wasn't, damaged as he was by his experiences.
Seamus was fearful and nervous for a while after, but not broken, and soon enough he was brash and lively and confident again.
Until now, ten years after the war ended.
He'd been sparse on details of what he'd been up when talking with his friends. They'd met up at some else's home or a public place, and he'd somehow managed to avoid explaining his job, distracting them all with funny stories and anecdotes. Not even Hermione, whose sharp eyes saw more than most and whose questions were always probing (though kind), could discover what he did.
Only Dean, his best friend for over fifteen years, knew what Seamus' job was.
A muggle restaurant, of which he was head chef and owner. He was young to have his own restaurant, and to have owned it for five years, but Seamus' talent in the kitchen was exceptional and he was lucky enough to have a generous family willing to help him financially when he started up.
And now he had a Michelin star and had won a slew of awards praising him for being such a promising young chef.
Yet his friends, bar Dean, knew nothing.
He was proud of his achievements but he was shy to display them. It was something he loved so well but he didn't want the questions about why he had moved to the muggle world.
His friends would support his cooking, but he worried that they would be unable to help but feel some disappointment at his shunning of the magical world in that way.
He often found that even those who did not shun muggleborns still had some prejudice towards the muggle world and saw the magical one as superior. Dean was raised muggleborn and understood all the wonders of the muggle world. He wasn't sure about the rest of his friends – Harry and Hermione had been muggle-raised but they were both so immersed in the magical world that he didn't know whether they too would think he was wasting his potential.
He had a restaurant and he'd won awards in his field, but he was reluctant to show them to his magical friends and it marred his happiness to not share such an important part of his life with them.
Yet he was too afraid to speak out – despite his usual openness he was very closed in regards to his work.
Dean kept pushing him to stop hiding.
"You're a Gryffindor Seamus, and not the sort of person to avoid things."
"Just because I was a Gryffindor doesn't mean I can't be afraid," Seamus muttered back, "our Houses don't define our whole life. You get clever Gryffindors and brave Slytherins."
Dean looked amused, "don't tell me you've memorised Hermione's speech on overcoming House stereotypes."
Seamus only shrugged, "she's a good speaker and she gives that speech often enough that I'm surprised none of us are reciting it in our sleep."
Dean rolled his eyes, "it doesn't matter. Why are you so afraid of telling them all? You've won awards and achieved so much but you're acting like a timid child."
They'd had the argument a number of times, even before Seamus won his first award. Every time Dean cajoled and Seamus stalled.
"I'll design a mural for your wall," Dean wheedled, knowing Seamus had been trying to work out what he could use to brighten up the huge plain wall in the main section of the restaurant.
"You're a right tosser, you know that," Seamus muttered.
Dean grinned, knowing that he'd hit on something Seamus wouldn't want to miss. He was useless with any kind of artistic venture but he wouldn't trust anyone he didn't know well with his precious restaurant – Dean was the perfect person to help.
"You design the mural," Seamus said after a minute, "and when it's all done I'll invite everyone to the restaurant and tell them."
Dean grinned triumphantly. Seamus scowled.
Three months later and the mural was completed. Seamus had invited all their friends out for a meal, casually suggesting his own restaurant for the location.
He tried not to be nervous at their reactions, tried not to seem conspicuous as he slipped away from the meal every five minutes to check on the kitchens. He didn't like to have such an important meal prepared by someone other than him, but he couldn't abandon his friends and he did trust his kitchen staff.
The meal went well. None of his friends were uneasy in a muggle restaurant, they all loved the decorations and the atmosphere, and everyone praised the food.
He didn't want to be timid about his achievements, but he still wasn't sure what their reaction would be. They could enjoy the place but still feel that he was wasting himself by being in charge of it.
"Lovely place," Hermione said casually to Seamus as the end of the meal came, "I'm so glad you finally invited us to come and try it out."
"What do you mean?" asked Seamus, feeling a growing sense of dread when he saw Hermione's grin.
"Well you've been hiding this place for so long," Ginny smiled at him, "we were beginning to think you'd never bring us here and that we'd have to surprise you one day."
Seamus choked on his drink at her words, "what …"
"Well you won that award," Fred said cheerfully.
"And then another one," George continued.
"And another and so on," Fred added.
"And we just kept waiting for you to tell us," the said in unison.
"But you never did," Harry cut in before they were subjected to more twin-speak.
"We thought you must be trying to be modest," Neville said to him, "but then we cornered Dean to ask him, because he always knows what's going on with you, and he said it was one of the few things you were actually shy about. Now I get timid," he continued with a self-depreciating smile, "but this is amazing. You've got some serious talent mate."
Hermione reached out to pat his arm gently, "you don't have to worry Seamus, none of us are going to tell you that we think all this is a waste. Magic is a part of us all and it's amazing, but so is what you do here. Your magic helps in giving this place an extra spark, but you don't need it for your cooking and there's nothing wrong with working in the muggle world."
Seamus beamed at her. He had worried so long about what his friends would all think. But they were already aware and fully accepting.
It was such a weight off his shoulders.
With friends like that, he thought, he'd never need to be timid about anything again.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.