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Written for the Disney Competition - Bolt (Dean Thomas) Prompt - Water.
Never Be Parted Again
He missed Seamus. Badly. The pain of his absence seemed to have a grip on Dean's heart, and it wasn't for leaving. He'd only been on the run for a few weeks. He thought about writing, but it wasn't worth the risk. Not only was there a possible risk to exposing himself, he didn't want to put Seamus in danger if the wrong person found the letter.
His dreams were full of the cheeky smile he loved so much, full of the Irish accent that never failed to make his blood rush to his head. It felt like he was missing a vital part of himself, like he was without one of his lungs. Like he'd left his heart behind. Which, in a way, he kind of had. It was hard, but Dean pushed on, kept himself alive in the hope that Seamus was doing the same thing.
He had to hope there was a reunion in store for them, or he would give up. He thought about what that could possibly do to his mum and his sister, and the thought hurt. It wasn't the same though. They had each other. They would live, they would survive. Hopefully. Seamus was in constant danger at Hogwarts.
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and Dean lost all track of time in the end. Time seemed to stretch out in front of him. He didn't know what was going on, didn't know if anyone he loved were still safe, still alive. It was the uncertainty that hurt the most, Dean thought to himself. The uncertainty that kept him running like a coward.
When he got caught, Dean felt relieved in a strange way. If he was dead, he wouldn't feel uncertain any longer. Wouldn't have to deal with not knowing if people were dead or alive, wouldn't have to keep feeling the pain of having his heart ripped away from him. When he was thrown into the dungeon, he screamed at them to kill him. Begged them to aim their wand at him and say the words that would have green light obliterating him from the earth.
They laughed at him, taunted at his desperation for death, and then they left him all alone in the dark dungeon. He tortured himself more than they ever could have anyway, so why would they waste the energy.
In the end, it was Luna who saved him. She filled him with hope by telling him stories of Hogwarts. When they were left alone, she'd whisper all the things Seamus, and Ginny, and Neville had been doing to torment the Carrows and Snape. She told him how Seamus had spoken about him late at night when he couldn't sleep. She told him how he had waited every day for word of Dean's capture or his murder, and she told him of the relief Seamus felt when the news didn't come.
Seamus was staying alive for him, Luna told Dean, and it helped to harden Dean's resolve to do the same.
Harry saved them. Well, Dobby saved them, but it amounted to the same thing. Shell cottage became Deans newest prison, but at least there he was allowed the liberty of fresh air. Many nights found him outside, sitting at the wards edge, listening to the water crash into the shore. It was a beautiful place, but Seamus still wasn't beside him, so Dean couldn't honestly say he liked it. They got news from Hogwarts more frequently here though, something for which Dean was infinitely grateful.
Potterwatch became his solace. Every day he didn't hear Seamus' name on the death list was another day Dean was grateful to be alive. He wasn't ready to leave a world that still held Seamus, and it became his mission in life to hear that laughter again. He wasn't to know that the reunion would come sooner rather than later.
It was Luna that told him. Dean was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, when she came in to him, face flushed with a strange mix of excitement and fear. They'd spent the day wondering where Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone, and why Griphook was so important to them. When Luna suggested they were breaking in to Gringotts, it had provided Dean with the first proper laugh he'd enjoyed in what felt like months.
"It's time," she said, gripping at his hand. He hadn't had to ask what she meant.
Dean climbed through the tunnel into the brightly lit room that was already full to brimming point. His eyes already scanning the crowd, he heard Seamus before he saw him. Arms surrounded him as Seamus pulled him into a tight embrace. Dean clutched at him, unable to believe that the feeling was real. He was home, back in Seamus' arms.
"I missed you," Seamus murmured into his ear.
"I love you," Dean replied just as quietly.
One last squeeze and they parted, though their hands found one another quickly. They would fight together, and they would either live together, or they would die together.
Nothing would part them again.