'So… who are you?' Dean is still very confused. The young girl had followed him to the ward where Seamus is currently sleeping in, chatting excitedly the whole way. Though she has an Irish accent, it is different than Shay's and he couldn't really understand it. Now they are surrounding Seamus' bed, the men tense and the girl fidgety. Seamus is still sleeping peacefully, and Winnie looks at him with wide eyes and a fond smile.

'Winnie, I said. I'm 15, but last time I saw Shay I was 12. We met at school when you were gone. He was always given the job of protecting us little ones because he was really funny and got along well with us. Nev and the others would always go off on their adventures but someone had to take care of us, right? The Carrows were scary and so was Snape, although he turned out to be a good guy or something, and Seamus was always there to defend us if ever they got angry. I was one of the oldest so sometimes I helped him too,' she says all in one breath. Dean stares at her, uncomfortable. She is like a young, female version of Seamus. It is almost scary.

'Oh, I think I remember you. Feisty little thing, eh? I heard about you from the younger Slytherins,' Blaise says, looking at her appraisingly. Despite her being much younger than he is Winnie is almost as tall as he and she looks at him straight in the eyes with a suspicious expression. Dean doesn't blame her for being leery of Blaise; he is a Slytherin after all, and she probably trusts no one of that house after her second year at school. Her fears are unfounded of course, but she is right to be careful. Dean would be too. Winnie is slowly rising in his esteem; she is definitely smart.

'Slytherin?' she says slowly, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. Blaise shifts nervously.

'Yes, well, I am in no way sympathetic to You-Know-Who's cause and never was a Death Eater. Nor was my mother, and various step-fathers.' Dean smiles at the last few words; he'd heard a bit about Maria Zabini's history at school. The redhead beside him relaxes a little, but she doesn't let down her guard. Blaise nods, seeming to admire her for this. 'I'm just a cunning, ambitious bloke.'

'Not humble or modest, though,' Dean says cheekily. Blaise swats his arm, grinning. 'So, were you and Shay… close?' Dean asks, sitting down on the edge of Seamus' bed and motioning towards one of the deep orange chairs in front of him for Winnie.

'I guess. I mean, I was just a little girl but he didn't really have anyone else so we hung out a lot. He… confided in me, I suppose. Told me a lot about himself—and you. Which sounds kind of strange and creepy, I know, but surprisingly, I'm a good listener, though you may not think so because I talk a lot. Seamus had a lot to say, and I was there when no one else was,' Bronwyn says, looking pointedly at Dean. She arranges herself somewhat comfortably on the hard chair. Blaise takes the other.

'What do you mean, no one else was? He wasn't alone among the older students,' the Slytherin says quizzically.

'The others were always off putting some crazy and dangerous scheme into action, you know—Ginny and Neville and Luna. There was Lavender too, of course, and she spent a lot of time with us. But Seamus never told her any of the things he told me. That's stranger I think, considering I was five years younger than he was…' her voice fades away.

'What did he tell you?' Dean asks quietly, as if afraid of the answer. The year he was absent from Seamus' life is a very sore spot for him; it hurts too much to even think about usually. It's not his fault he wasn't there, Blaise has told him over and over again, but he can't really accept that. Winnie raises her emerald eyes to meet his brown ones almost defiantly.

'I don't think I'm allowed to tell you. He told me everything in the strictest of confidence, you know, and I don't think I can break my promise of secrecy without his permission. When is he going to wake up?' she says loudly, gesturing towards the still sleeping Seamus.

'This might be a matter of life and death, dammit!' Blaise exclaims angrily. The young Gryffindor looks at him confusedly; neither man has told her the true nature of Seamus' condition. If they were honest with themselves and Winnie, they'd say it's because they don't know it.

'Besides,' Dean says bitterly, 'he probably doesn't even remember.'

Bronwyn considers this statement, biting her lip and resting her head in her hand. No one says anything. Blaise is still huffing loudly and Dean sits back, finding Seamus' hand once more and squeezing it tightly before letting go.

'No. Let's wait until he wakes up. I'm here for a while anyway, my grandfather has to stay overnight because he accidentally blew off his nose and the Healer said it will take a while for him to recover fully. And I have to stay here with him, since my parents are gone to Majorca on vacation and I'm living at his house.'

Blaise sighs, rolling his eyes and leaning back into the chair crossly.

'Why are you looking at me like that?' the girl asks Dean, who wasn't aware he was looking at her strangely at all. He raises an eyebrow, smirking.

'You remind me so much of Seamus. The Seamus of Before,' he says wistfully. She smiles sadly but before she has a chance to comment (Dean knows she wants to), a cough is heard coming from the bed followed by a feeble 'Dean?'

Blaise jumps up and joins Dean who has moved to the Irishman's side in a flash. Winnie stays back, as if unsure whether she is permitted to be at her old friend'' bedside.

'Seamus,' Dean whispers tenderly. Shay's trembling hand snakes out of his sheets and reaches for Dean's strong black one. 'How are you feeling?'

'Never been better,' the blond man says sarcastically. Blaise offers a weak laugh. 'Nah, my head still hurts a little, but it's nothing compared to before. I'm okay. I feel like an old man, with you all huddled by my sickbed. Hey, is that a Weasley?' He's spotted Winnie's orange mane behind Blaise.

'Not quite,' Dean says, moving a little to make room for the young girl. Seamus' mouth drops open in surprise.

'Winnie?' he asks incredulously. He tries to sit up, but succeeds only when Blaise places a pillow behind his back to help support him.

'Hi,' she says, giving a shaky laugh and waving her fingers. 'Haven't seen you in a while.'

'Jesus Murphy, you've gotten tall,' Seamus says, not sounding ill at all, rather excited and almost happy.

'Puberty, you know,' Winnie says comfortably, running a freckled hand through her hair.

'It happens. I bet you're taller than I am.' Seamus shrugs. Dean and Blaise look at each other, feeling somewhat awkward.

'That's not hard,' Winnie says, snorting.

'No, I suppose not.' Seamus grins up at Dean, who had always teased him for his height. Dean smiles at him for a brief second before looking down at his watch, remembering Healer Edderton's instructions. He's to give Shay some potion now.

'Here, I've got it,' Blaise says before Dean even says anything, passing the bottle containing some nasty-looking green fluid. The artist pours the right amount into the bottle's cap, handing it to Seamus.

'Cheers,' he says. Seamus grimaces but downs the medicine in one swift gulp.

'Bleh, what is that?'

'Painkilling potion or something,' Dean replies apologetically as he intertwines his fingers gently with Shay's. He notices Winnie observing their hands, a knowing smile on her face.

'What did he tell you!' Dean exclaims exasperatedly, gazing at her, torn between irritation at his lack of knowledge and relief and happiness that Seamus seems to be perfectly fine. Bronwyn only chuckles.

'What's going on? Winnie, why are you here? Not that I don't want you here, mind, I'm just wondering since I haven't seen you in three years, you know.'

'Grandda forgot to turn off his self-heating cauldron again.' She shrugs.

'Ah. Ear or finger this time?' Seamus asks this in the same manner one would inquire about the weather: completely casual, as if it is a totally normal question.

'Nose, actually.' Shay nods. Dean is quite uncomfortable right now; he wonders what else Seamus and Bronwyn know about each other and everything else that they did together during that horrible year. A year no one will ever get back. A whole year of time Dean has lost. Blaise, sensing Dean's uneasiness, turns away from Winnie to face Seamus and speaks.

'We want Winnie to tell us what you talked about all those times during the reign of Snape and the Carrows. Unless you want to,' Blaise adds. Seamus breathes in sharply.

Maybe we should have waited to ask until he's fully recovered, Dean thinks but Seamus has already opened his mouth to answer.

'I can't. So let her.'

'What do you mean, you can't?' Winnie asks. Seamus looks at her first, then at Dean. He raises a single fair eyebrow.

'I don't remember a lot of it.'

'Why not?'

'Good question. When I find out, I'll tell you,' Seamus says almost grumpily. 'Well, go for it. Tell them everything.'

'Everything!' Her eyes widen and she gasps incredulously. Blaise looks at her expectantly, picking up his notebook and quill. 'Take a seat. It's going go take a while. Nearly a whole year's worth of memories…'

Dean pulls up a chair next to Seamus' bed and Blaise does the same, as Winnie sits down on the remaining one.

'It's a good thing you like to talk, then,' Seamus says, shifting until he's comfortable in his bed. Winnie sticks out her pink tongue at him childishly before crossing her legs and taking a deep breath.