As We Stumble Along

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Summary: Everyone knows what happened to Harry in Deathly Hallows, but not much is known about the occurrences at Hogwarts. What really went down at Hogwarts while Harry was off Horcrux hunting?

A/n: I posted the Pufflefic… it is under the title "Nicest Kids in Town" if you're interested. :D

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. Besides, if it was… it wouldn't be about Harry…

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Chapter 24: Faster

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Time flew by. Thankfully it seemed like Seamus took Neville's advice and did not poison Alecto Carrow. That would have been the stupidest thing in the world to do. Poisoning Alecto Carrow. Talk about a death wish.

Easter break was cut down to a long weekend, but Neville still went home. Anything to get away from the prison like castle. If something came up that he would never have to return there he would be happy. But even then, he knew a lot of people looked to him, being the leader of the DA. He couldn't just abandon them. Not at all.

So he returned, sitting in a compartment with Susan, Hannah, and Ernie. He looked at Susan every now and then, but it was a lot of small talk with Ernie to keep the awkward tension between him and Susan to a minimum.

Neville didn't even realize that Ginny hadn't returned to Hogwarts until he made it up into the common room. Seamus slowly walked up to the DA leader when he entered the room. "Where were you?" he snapped somewhat angrily. Dude, what was up with Seamus? He was acting so weird.

"What?"

"On the train, where were you?"

Neville gave him a weird look. "I was sitting with Ernie and them, is that a crime?"

That wasn't the smartest thing to do. "So you pick them over me then, huh? Just leave me all alone to sit there in misery on the long ride back to this hell on earth!?"

Neville looked at him for the longest time in silence. Something was really really wrong with Seamus. Extremely wrong with Seamus.

"I'm… sorry?" he said slowly, not sure of what else to say to Seamus. He was probably just in one of his moods and there was no reason to get upset about it, he'd come back in a day or two and apologize for being such a prick.

"Maybe you should have been in Hufflepuff," he snapped. "Seems like you'd rather be with them than worry about your real friends! Ginny didn't come back, but you don't know that because you were too busy with Ernie and Susan!"

And with that, Seamus stormed up to the dorm and slammed the door.

Neville sighed and sat down in the chair by the fireplace, and he was soon asleep.

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The next morning at breakfast, Neville was slowly eating a muffin and staring at the table when Seamus entered with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. He sat down a good distance away from Neville, chatting it up with some of the sixth years.

The next thing Neville knew the hall fell silent as Alecto Carrow began gagging painfully after taking a sip of her drink. Her hands went up to her throat and it looked like Amycus was about to have a coronary. Neville's stomach dropped as he looked at Seamus who was obviously holding in laughter.

He didn't. No.

No one was that stupid.

Wait. Let's edit that. Seamus was that stupid and rash.

The next thing any of them knew, Alecto rushed out of the Great Hall with Amycus by her side. As horrible of a person she was, Neville didn't' want to see her die. He didn't want to see anyone die. Death was so permanent, and she deserved worse than death in a way. She deserved to pay for all the hell she put on people, for all the people she hurt.

But not death. No one deserved to die before their time.

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Needless to say, Dark Arts and Muggle Studies were cancelled that day. And Seamus was literally strutting around the Gryffindor Common Room, obviously so very proud of himself for what he had done. He was a hero once people found out he was the one who poisoned Alecto Carrow. He got all the attention he wanted for doing one of the stupidest things Neville ever heard of.

But all that attention was not a good thing. Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout managed to save Alecto (obviously scared into helping her). And neither Alecto nor Amycus were too happy about her close brush with death. They personally questioned every student to force out of them who did this to her.

It didn't take long for Seamus' name to come up.

After Muggle Studies one day, Seamus Finnigan disappeared.

He just disappeared. Alecto called him up to the front of the class and made everyone else leave. After that, no one saw him. He just fell off the face of the planet.

Over a week passed and classes continued like normal. Seamus was just… gone. Nowhere to be found. And it highly worried Neville. While the other Gryffindor may have been extremely angry with him, he was still Neville's friend. And Neville didn't want him hurt.

Neville stopped going to meals. He would eat in the kitchens with Zarney.

He spent more time with Ernie, Terry and Michael, still highly worried about Seamus. He as beginning to fear the worst.

But he got what he wanted. He got to poison that horrible woman, and everyone was talking about him. That was all anyone was talking about: how Seamus Finnigan finally did something to directly lash out against the Carrows.

But had he paid the ultimate price?

"That was just idiotic…" Terry commented with a small sigh.

"I don't know, that took guts…" Ernie said with a nod. "I wouldn't've been able to do that."

Mike nodded. "I agree…"

Neville was silent, pretending to be obnoxiously interested in the Herbology book in front of him.

"It was still stupid. It probably cost him his life. And she didn't even die!"

Silence.

No. Seamus wasn't dead. He just… couldn't be.

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A/n: Leave some love!