Chapter Thirteen; Misfortune

"But- Madam Pomfrey!"

"Rules are rules. Now off you go, shoo! Go on!"

It was with great misfortune that Madam Pomfrey regretfully chased them out of the hospital wing that afternoon, as if she was afraid that the culprit would come finish the job. As they trudged away from the hospital wing, Dean did not miss the burning intensity present in his friend's' eyes.

Seamus seemed to have regained his confidence of sorts, his previous gloominess having dissipated away almost completely.

"I'm going to sneak in later," Seamus declared determinedly, looking towards him as if expecting an objection. "I'm going to see her. Whether they let me or not."

"I'm coming with you." Dean said in response almost automatically.

It was a simple statement which came to him without difficulty- he always said that, because he always accompanied Seamus everywhere. Things were just like that between them- they got along well and never asked much from each other.

But then-

"You musn't, Dean," Seamus' eyes fell shut as he shook his head firmly. "We're not going to put you in danger like that."

Dean, knowing full well that he was just being protective, almost wanted to protest against that notion, but one look at the stubborn glint in Seamus' eyes shut him up. At that, he dismissively let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine then," he said, brown eyes darting up to glance at him. "But you're not going in to have to find a way to sneak in, what with all the professors patrolling the corridors nowadays."

They turned the corner to recognise two red-headed brothers not far away- none other than the infamous Fred and George Weasley.

"I think I got a plan," Seamus said after a while, his lips shrewdly curling up in a grin as he stared after the kings of mischief.

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It turned out that it was in that night in particular that Seamus was simply unlucky, as he came to realise as he rounded the corner leading to the hospital wing.

With the helpful assistance of Fred and George, he managed to hide himself with a Disillusionment Charm- though that didn't seem very effective when he was confronted with a professor- or more specifically, the gloomy Potions Master.

Professor Snape loomed before him, his expression as acidic as ever. His dark robes billowed behind him as he slowly stalked past him. It was almost as if he could sense his curious gaze, for his footsteps came to a halt. Turning around, his pallid features were cold as his eyes travelled the corridor, flitting at the portraits that hung on the walls and then looking right through him.

His breathing stopped as he felt his entire body go rigid. The pot of pansies that he had gotten by post was clutched tightly in his hands behind him. The moment Snape decided there was someone there and decided to cast whatever kinds of revealing spells there were, he would be done for.

Suddenly, Snape's nostrils seemed to dilate just the slightest before his cold, dark eyes searched the corridor. Seamus' eyes widened as a realisation hit him.

Could he actually be smelling the flowers?

He gaped at that horrific notion.

There was silence as Snape simply stood there, as if he were thinking. The pale candlelight reflected off the grease in his hair, making him look gloomier than usual.

Seamus hoped that whatever Snape had gotten a whiff of, he would brush it off as just a random scent. He stiffened and shut his eyes- hoping that Snape would just go away.

After what seemed like forever, the Head of Slytherin House turned and walked away, his dark robes billowing after him as his footsteps thudded against the corridor. Once he was out of sight, Seamus let out the breath he was holding before he bolted to the wooden doors that were only nearby, quietly pushing them open and sliding inside- only to halt once more as he heard a voice other than Madam Pomfrey's emanating from her office.

"After they were found, I had the mirror checked before I managed to untransfigure it. It was a book- belonging to Miss Greenwood, in fact. I imagine they knew something about their attacker, something that required them have a mirror."

He sent a curious stare at their direction at the mention of Rhia, but then he reminded himself that he was not supposed to be here. Quickly sneaking towards where she lay, he took great pains to be careful, not about to let his clumsy tendencies give him away of all things. He stood, staring at her lifeless form, taking in how it looked like she was just asleep.

Shaking his head, he made to put his flowers on her bedside table before he caught sight of the other bouquet that had been left by somebody else. A few thoughts hit him. Already, the petals were beginning to wilt away at the edges. How long would it be before the flowers was thrown away by Madam Pomfrey? Would that happen to his pot of flowers too?

He stared on in silent contemplation, the pot of pink pansies still clutched in his hands. In a spur of the moment decision, he grabbed the bouquet of flowers- purple peonies, it seemed, before he stashed them in the pocket of his robes. Reaching out to grab Rhia's hand, he gave it a light squeeze before he quickly ducked out of the hospital wing, leaving before any of the professors present there could detect his presence.

Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall had evidently stepped out of the office, for Madam Pomfrey was now launching into a tirade, sounding nearly hysterical from piling levels of stress.

"Never- never in all my time in Hogwarts have such utterly strange things occurred! First, that Professor Snape shows up here asking about the Mandrakes, even though Pomona is only a few floors away and not to mention, his patrol isn't even set for today! Then flowers just magically go missing, do they?" She ranted furiously, and he could hear McGonagall give a sympathetic reply in response as the Matron seemed to be on the verge of angry tears.

Seamus shut the door as silently as possible, almost feeling bad for the school nurse as he headed back towards the Gryffindor tower.

The Fat Lady was currently dozing off at his approach, swinging open upon hearing the password, though she looked around in alarm when she could see nothing before her in the inky darkness.

"Who's there?!" She demanded as Seamus looked down and quietly hurried through the portrait hole. Climbing up the staircase, he tapped himself on the head as the twins told him to do and a trickling hot sensation encompassed him, undoing the Disillusionment charm.

"Seamus!" Dean jolted up from his bunk the moment he saw him, sliding his feet out from other his covers to face him. "How did it go? Did you...? "

In response, Seamus brought out the bouquet of peonies he had nicked from the Hospital Wing as well as his own pot of pink pansies. Dean's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he took in the sight.

"I was under the impression you wanted to give flowers, not take them," he stated slowly, feeling thoroughly confused as he stared at the Irish wizard. Seamus set the flowers on his bedside table, peonies and pansies alike, pulling his shirt over his head as he went about changing into his nightwear in silence.

"Didn't want Madam Pomfrey to go throwing them away," he mumbled in reply indignantly after a while, though his face was tinged pink slightly.

Dean didn't question that notion as Seamus got into bed and pulled his covers over himself. Neither of them spoke and he found himself listening to the soft snores of Neville, who was only a bunk away, before falling victim to sleep himself mere moments later.

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