A/N: Thanks to those of you who read the first chapter, especially to those small few who bothered to follow or favorite the story, it really does mean a lot! I'd really like to retitle this story at some point, but for lack of an appropriate one, I'll let that wait… Enjoy this next chapter!
Title: "Obliviate"
Author: Thurios
Pairing: Deamus
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T
Chapter Warning(s): N/A
Word Count: 1,983
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"Seamus…"
It was three o'clock in the morning on September 1st and the only light to be seen turned on in the Finnigan home was a lamp the topmost room of the small house. Seamus had been extra careful to muffle the sounds of his own footsteps without the aid of a Silencing Charm, a feat that proved unsuccessful as he watched his mother close the door behind her and she stepped inside.
His trunk lay open upon an unmade twin bed, filled with spellbooks, clothes and other possessions he wouldn't dare part with. The boy in question had turned around quickly, his expression similar to a deer caught in a truck's headlights. Seamus said nothing as Mrs. Finnigan stepped cautiously around the mess of her only son's room until a sudden impulse of nerve pushed the words uncertainly from his throat, "Y-Ye can't make me stay…"
Mrs. Finnigan looked mildly hurt by her son's words, still surveying the trunk and possessions that lay around it, before replying in a voice she wasn't even sure she could quite hear, "…I know."
"I'm… sorry. For everythin'…"
She looked much more hurt at that statement. The sandy-haired woman finally made eye contact with Seamus and couldn't help but notice this was one of their only quiet bits of communication all summer, the others either being in exasperated shouts or nothing at all. It was only a moment of looking into the other's eyes before they both advanced to hug the other tightly, and for that moment, they forgot about the fights and the nasty arguments that never gave their home a moment's rest. Mrs. Finnigan pulled away from her son and held him at arm's distance,
"Don't be sorry, Seamus… It was wrong of me to…to-"
"I know you wouldn't have- Da' never- he never-"
"I know… Just- I'll loveye, no matter what, no matter who ye love."
"I love ye too…"
Mrs. Finnigan couldn't have been happier to finally achieve closure with him over at least one of the issues that had effectively ruined the summer. The weather had achieved record highs that only mirrored the Hell she and undoubtedly their whole, small family had been tensed with, between heated and very physical arguments between Seamus and his father, her and her husband, and most heartbreakingly, her and Seamus. There were still a few issues that needed addressing, but at the very least, this was resolved…
"I still don't want ye to go."
"I have to, M'am!" he whisper-shouted at her to avoid waking his father up, "I can't stand another day here, not with him-"
"I know!" she countered temperamentally, "I just said I didn't want you to, not with all this business about You-Know-Who and Dumbledore…"
"It's rubbish!" he quipped viciously, "Harry Potter's been seeing and hearing things since he arrived at Hogwarts, talking to snakes- nobody else was there the night Cedric died-!"
"And what about your second year, Seamus? What about all those Muggle-borns who were petrified by Slytherin's heir?"
Seamus backed away from her defiantly and closed his trunk, effectively clicking the locks that held it closed, and turned back eventually to face his mother, very suddenly red-eyed, and whispered tensely, "Don't you see why I have to go back?
Mrs. Finnigan said nothing, a single tear escaping from her mossy green eyes as his voice raised.
"What if it's him next? What if I never get to see him again?"
Seamus looked down, still embarrassed and ashamed of allowing himself to show his emotions in front of his usually-boisterous mother. For such a loud-mouthed woman, she was certainly tongue-tied, standing in his wake in her nightgown, wiping a tear from her own eye and putting on a brave face for the sake of her only son. She nodded understandingly and began to move towards the door.
"Be ready to go before your father wakes up, okay?"
"I will."
oooOooOoOoOooOooo
Seamus and his mother had arrived at King's Cross about an hour before the train was to depart. After fussing over his trunk, the amount of clothes packed inside, whether he had money with him, and whatever else she had time to fuss over, they were left to part between platforms nine and ten. Mrs. Finnigan smiled sadly as he turned to face her, still triumphant of the fact that despite his subtle growth over the summer, she still had a couple of inches over him; they hugged tightly and said their goodbyes.
Typically, they were among the bustlers that arrived minutes before the train's departure, but this year, he had time to appreciate being the early bird and benefitted in choosing his compartment and watching diligently for the moment Dean would cross the barrier and join him, which didn't take long.
Seamus was literally jumping for joy when he spotted a very sullen-looking and very tall figure depositing his trunk with the others; his somber expression lightened incredibly when he saw the frantically-waving image of his best friend with his nose pressed against the windowpane. Dean ran aboard the train and didn't even have time to search for the compartment before he was tackled against the wall of the empty train corridor by a short boy's fiercest hug, "I've missed ye so much, Dean, I'm so s-!"
"Shh, Shay, hold on a moment-!"
Dean laughed good-heartedly at his best mate's enthusiasm before pushing him back into their compartment and shutting the door before properly hugging the boy who melted against the embrace, trying his hardest to remain simply friendly…
"I've missed you too, you little git."
"Oh, ye make me feel so loved-!"
"It's simple repayment for you ignoring my owls all Summer!"
Seamus frowned, effectively silenced and worried about just how much explanation he needed to go into about the events of his dreadful summer. The most dreadful part of it wasn't his father's resentment toward him or the estrangement from his mother, but rather the ceasing of any and all contact with his friends, namely Dean.
"I-… It's a long story, Dean, it's- I can't…"
No, you right little sodder, don't go crying like some pansy in front of him.
He looked towards the window and broke away from Dean's embrace, turning to wipe his eye and swallow the threatening lump in his throat. Of course, the ever-observant Dean was quick to notice this and didn't move an inch, "What happened?"
"Me Da', he… He took away my owl and wouldn't let me write. Took all me letters too…"
This was true; Mr. Finnigan had indeed confiscated his tawny owl, Thaddeus, at the beginning of the summer, following one of their many heated arguments.
"Why?"
Seamus drew the blind to their window as more and more students began to clamber inside the Hogwarts Express and sat in the seat's corner, clutching his knees to his chest and sighing, "I… I told him something that really upset him. Upset me M'am too, and- and when I got angry, he got angry, and then we just- just…"
Dean urgently sat beside Seamus and shot his wand towards the little window on the door, letting it's privacy blind draw as well, and pulled his curled-up best friend into a hug, letting the Irishman rest his head on his shoulder, something he hadn't done since the third year. Their physical comfort towards each other was an endearing staple of their friendship, one of the things that led Seamus to fall so in love with the other boy…
The only time Seamus was ever silent was when he cried, and Dean knew well to not pry as tears collected on the arm of his maroon sweater. It was times like these, times when the tall boy was the best friend in the world, when Seamus felt guilty about lying to him…
His Memory Charm on Dean Thomas was never mentioned, and on most days, Seamus was grateful for it- the night was almost as forgotten to himself as it was to Dean, given his state of being during the Yule Ball, but he still felt so guilty… What if Dean would have woken up glad to have the small boy in his arms the following morning? He forced the thought from his head and wiped his eyes indefinitely as he began to explain his summer, and found himself leaving out more details than he had planned.
"…She almost wouldn't let me come back this year, ye know? Because of all the rubbish Harry and Dumbledore have been on about in the Prophet, about You-Know-Who… I was about to come to the station meself, but she found me, and finally agreed to take me."
He had left out the very important detail that began the dreadful summer of course, the part where he confided in his mother that he was very much in love with his very male best friend. He also left out the part where his father found out and disowned him as a son, and the part when his mother was heartbroken and torn between the two greatest loves of her life. He left out the part when he and his father had fought like Muggles in the living room, leaving each other very badly hurt…
"So, you've been fighting with your family all summer about the business with You-Know-Who?"
"No," replied Seamus indignantly, "I've been fighting with them all summer about the business with Harry."
Nothing Seamus said was a lie; he didn't think You-Know-Who was back at all. Or at least, he forced himself to believe that he wasn't. Maybe it was the nightmares of the Dark Mark hovering over his best friend's house, ones that left him clutching the teddy bear Dean had given to him in the first year until the sun rose, that put him in such denial. Maybe it was the hopeless optimism that nowhere was safer than Hogwarts…
Hogwarts was the safest place to be until Harry showed up…
Who was Harry to bring all this danger to school, and put his best friend at such a horrifying risk?!
You-Know-Who was NOT coming back, ever.
"I believe him…"
"Dean, d- don't be ridiculous, what proof does he-!"
"Look, the lunch trolley! Smart of you to get a compartment so close to the front, Shay…"
Dean made a point of loudly withdrawing sickles from the zipped bag in his pocket and opened the door just a few moment after hearing the witch's sing-song call ("Anything from the trolley…!"), returning a few moments later with several Pumpkin Pasties, a package of Every Flavor Beans, and a Licorice Wand. Seamus smiled, happy that Dean decided not to let their disagreement begin a row between them… He had been so alone all summer, it was the best relief in the world to have his best friend beside him.
The sweets were dumped between the two boys unceremoniously by Dean, who smiled warmly as he tossed the licorice wand into Seamus' lap, knowing full well what his favorites were. The Irishman grinned back as the artist dumped the package of Every Flavor Beans onto the front cover of his battered sketchbook, which lay between the two boys; it was an unspoken game of theirs to play to see who could blindly guess the flavors selected by the other. Seamus closed his eyes.
"So, what did you say in your letters?"
"Oh, I invited you over a couple of times –close your eyes, cheater!- but finally gave up and sent you a rather dramatic letter… I was pretty hurt. Thought you were ignoring me."
"And what did that one say? Oh, this is applesauce, isn't it?"
"Right-o! And, er-" Dean blushed a little as he closed his eyes, taking the bean from his still grinning best mate, "Well, seeing as you haven't been ignoring me, I don't think it's that impor- oh, you git, this is earthworm!"
A/N: Hopefully you liked this chapter. Obviously, Deamus can't be considered canon, but I'm trying very hard to not defy existing canon. Thankfully, with characters as minor as Dean and Seamus, I have plenty of negatives to work with!
If it wasn't obvious enough, we're officially into Fifth Year and won't be doing any lengthy time jumps any time soon. :D
Please, please do give me your thoughts! And thanks for reading-
-Thurios
