Author's Note: So, here's something a little different. Just because Seamus deserves a little something. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Not having come up with this brilliant series makes me sad.
The Girl with the Glass Smile
The first time he saw her he thought she was bloody beautiful. He was in sixth year and she in fifth, it genuinely surprised him he had never noticed her. Her hair is long and blonde – always a bonus with hormone driven boys – and her eyes are a crystalline blue, damn near the colour of a clear pond, a smile on her face that seems like it could so easily shatter. They're sitting at opposite ends of the Great Hall during dinner and apparently his subtle staring isn't so subtle after all.
'Seamus, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?' Lavender's high pitched voice cuts through his musings.
'What?' He's confused; he's just enjoying his dinner.
'You're staring at the sodding Slytherin table! Moony eyes out in full force!' Parvati has caught on to her friend's line of questioning.
Rather than answer to what he sees as useless interrogation he turns back to his half eaten dinner and sneaks half glances across the hall, all the while ignoring the whispers of the two girls in front of him and the snickering of his best friend.
It's been three weeks since he took notice of the beautiful Slytherin girl who looks so much like the others but also so different and he still has no idea what her name is. He finds himself feeling all the more pathetic when he notices that Parvati and Lavender have stopped their whispers and instead turned to giggling when they catch him 'observing his surroundings'.
'Honestly Seamus, this is just getting sad,' Dean has decided that enough was enough, 'you obviously have some sort of fixation with the girl. Just do something about it!'
It's alright for some when they've got their perfect little red headed girlfriends.
Perfect little fifth year girlfriends. He figures Ginny must know her name, Hogwarts administration does seem to get a perverse laugh out of pairing lions and snakes together.
'For goodness' sake Finnegan! You're telling me that all this time you've been basically eye – sexing the girl you haven't even figured out her name yet?' He's not quite sure why Ginny sounds so exasperated, he looks at a lot of the Hogwarts girls without knowing their names.
'Come on Red, just tell me and put me out of my misery?' he decides to play the sympathy 'I'm-so-pathetic-help-me' card.
It seems to work because after 10 minutes lecturing on the proper way to get to know a girl he finds out not just the girls name but also a fair bit of her family history.
Her name is Adelaide Lovell, a pureblood with a pretty impressive pedigree – according to their standards – and a cousin to the Greengrass sisters. While not openly supportive of you-know-who her family has been known to only associate with 'only the best', he's been told that she's a prime candidate for an arranged marriage to Zabini or Nott. The thought bothers him for some reason.
The girl with the glass smile doesn't deserve to be stuck in a family like that for the rest of her life.
Halfway through his sixth year he plucks up the courage to engage her in conversation. He had been watching her study in the library for a little while, admiring the way her hair fell across her forehead. Before mentally hitting himself for being such a pansy.
He plonks himself down in the seat opposite her, devilish smirk at the ready and is mildly offended when she does not immediately acknowledge his presence. Deciding to stick it out he pulls out a bit of parchment and starts to scribble nonsense sentences, he figures the constant scratching of the quill will get her attention soon enough. It doesn't.
'Honestly, do you know how rude you're being?' he's had enough; he cannot deal with this indifference.
'Oh really? I'm being rude? Did you ever consider that it's considered rude to practically stalk a poor girl and not even have the decency to ask for her name?' his mind doesn't even register what she's said, her voice is absolutely gorgeous. He's still pretty vacant as she packs up her things and leaves.
It's a job well done he decides.
It would seem that Ginny has taken it upon herself to take the situation in hand as she sits him down one afternoon, Dean at her side.
'Right, well, Seamus. Let's get this started shall we? First off, you cannot fixate yourself on a girl like that for that long and not attempt to do anything about it. Second off, I thought you should know you have now become subject to a betting pool among some of the Gryffindor girls, kept on the down low of course, wouldn't want it to become public knowledge that big manly Finnegan has gone all googly over a girl and a Slytherin at that!'
He's offended at that, until he looks up and notices that teasing twinkle in her eye and the barely suppressed laughter of Dean off to the side.
'To be honest mate, she doesn't seem like such a bad sort. Never seen her torturing anyone like the others anyway,' Seamus takes this as Dean's stamp of approval; he couldn't very well go after a girl his best mate didn't approve of.
Ginny and Dean have broken up and she's now with Harry, the whole school should have seen this coming really, the sexual tension had been building for years.
Then exams are upon them and its apparition tests and everything is just piling up and Adelaide Lovell just seems to slip his mind. He does still notice her though, at Dumbledore's funeral he's sure he spots her somewhere in the mass of seats shedding a tear. He also notices the lack of her housemates. He leaves Hogwarts that year, still not having had a proper conversation with her.
The first half of his summer was just like all those that had come before, except for this time he was still mourning the death of the greatest wizard he had ever known. He and Dean still see each other, the latter still hell bent on getting him into that ridiculous 'foot-ball' game and he still sneaks out at night to find a good party, sneaking back in the next morning to his irate mother who swats at him as he cheekily swoops down to give her a kiss on the cheek.
Then everything changes. Scrimgeour is dead and you-know-who is in charge and his best mate is forced to go on the run. Dean sends him a letter late one night; he supposes it relieves his anxiety a little bit. He's made it out alive.
Seamus,
I haven't got much time but this is it for me mate. I'm going into hiding, can't put mum and the girls in any danger. Not that there really safe, but if I was there I imagine it would be one hundred times worse. Look out for them for me would you? I can't really tell you where I'm going but I'm safe for now, figure I might look for others, Hermione's probably out here somewhere though I suppose she's with Harry and maybe Ron. Wherever they are. Right, I've got to go, can't stay in one place for too long. Do me a favour and stay alive? Don't think I could handle it if I came back and you weren't there.
Don't die,
Dean
P.S
Destroy this, it'll only get you into trouble.
With a sinking heart he throws the note into the fire, staring as the flames lick and curl around the parchment. As soon as it's light out he apparates to the Thomas household and puts as many defensive spells as he knows around.
Adelaide crosses his mind, what's happening to those like her?
He hasn't got a choice about whether to go for his seventh year. It is now mandatory for all pure and half blood children in the country to attend Hogwarts under the new regime. The one cabin the Gryffindor sixth and seventh years shares seems empty. There is no Harry, no Hermione, no Ron and no Dean. Not to mention the other muggle borns that had not returned. This is not a cheerful trip, Ginny still has the same steely air around her but it is now in addition to a constant worrying. Neville just looks resigned; Seamus can tell he does not want to put up with any Death Eater crap. Parvati and Lavender seem to have lost their sparkle, where now they would usually be gossiping about the summer events they just speak in hushed whispers, occasionally glancing out the darkening window. It is too much for him, he gets up and leaves barely noticed and takes a walk up and down the train.
It's on his trip back to the compartment he sees her for the first time that year, she looks exactly the same. A regality and elegance to her posture that is unmistakeable, even amongst her company of equally aristocratic Slytherins. When he looks deeper he is able to see she looks a little more fragile, that much closer to breaking.
The Carrow's fast become his least favourite people, they even surpassed Malfoy and his goons and that muggle in his village who made it his mission to try and ruin every holiday Seamus spent at home. The only word he can think of to describe them is barbaric.
They take delight in causing pain, they're first 'Dark Arts' class as it is called now involves practicing curses on animals the Carrow teaching them has brought in. He feels sick to his stomach and refuses to participate as do most of his classmates, barring some Slytherins. Carrow lets it slide this time, they were warned though, next time this type of insolence occurred would result in severe punishment.
Neville, Ginny and Luna decide to reform Dumbledore's Army; all original members that are left jump to join them. There were even some new recruits all willing to cause a bit of trouble. It starts out as harmless vandalism at first, a little bit of artwork on the walls that couldn't be removed and a bit of undetectable sabotage in classes, it soon escalated into something more, Michael Corner was caught releasing little first years from being hung by their ankles and then Susan Bones is punished for hexing some Slytherin fifth years who had cornered a second year Hufflepuff. This is in addition to all the cuts and broken bones they receive for whatever reason the new 'heads of discipline' can find.
The biggest surprise comes in the revised Muggle Studies course taught by the supposedly female Carrow. It is a shared class with the Gryffindor and Slytherin sixth and seventh years and Carrow is in the middle of her latest speech on the lack of intelligence muggles have and their complete inability to provide culture in the world. Mid-rant she is cut off by a soft but clear voice that captures the attention of the entire class.
'I had a muggle friend once. I met him in a park when I ran away once and we kept in contact. Tell me Professor, have you ever heard of Shakespeare? Or Austen? Or even Beethoven? I have. He introduced them to me and I found them to be the most beautiful works of art I have ever experienced. I imagine that a majority of 10 year old Muggles have a better grasp of the English language and culture than you and your idiot brother combined.'
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. The Slytherin's looked murderous; one of their own had just denounced everything they believed in. The Gryffindor's were shocked; since when did a Slytherin stand up to the Carrows like that. The Carrow herself just looked shocked for a moment while it sunk in before swiftly turning on her heel and later returning with her brother, both taking delight in a very public punishment at dinner.
Seamus just remembered why he had found her so interesting.
He is running and he is fighting, dodging the crumbling walls of his school. Dean is back and he has seen Adelaide. She had not left with the other Slytherins; she had stayed and immediately gone after one of the Death Eaters who had followed the escaping younger years. It is a big mess and it was not like he had imagined, it was pure chaos but he knew he would fight to the end for this.
They both survived the battle. Though not without their scars, his a large white mar across his chest and hers a thin red line that went from the corner of her eye and across her nose to her chin. He still thinks she's bloody beautiful.
They had developed a kind of relationship during that last year, when she had been left on the floor bleeding and near unconscious, he had picked her up bridal style as Neville led the way to Madame Pomfrey, Parvati and Lavender close behind. They felt the need to help.
Without the dangers of the Dark Lord Adelaide and Seamus felt much more inclined to associate freely, they laughed together but they also rowed. Still, they went on. It was a strange sight, he was big and loud and crass and she elegant and refined and beautiful but somehow they fit. And when he kissed the red mark running across her face it revealed more to those around them had it been some flashy display of affection.
Her smile is just a little less breakable, sturdier and Seamus knows that when she smiles at him. He soars.
Author's Note: It's just a little fluffy, I hope you enjoyed it. Constructive criticism is always welcome so drop in a review.