How did we end up here? Seamus asked himself incredulously. Because here they were, in the cellar of the Malfoy Manor of all places, trapped with Harry, Ron, Luna, Ollivander, and a goblin while Hermione was tortured by You-Know-Who's worst Death Eaters.
Luna had cut all their bindings apart as soon as they'd arrived. Ron took up residence by the door and screamed for Hermione over and over while Luna explained that she and Ollivander had already tried every means of escape. Seamus was still reeling from being with his friends and classmates again and finding themselves right in the middle of this war after being isolated for so long. He found Dean's hand and clung tight, not caring who saw.
Cacophony surrounded them between Hermione's screeches, Ron's fervent shouting, and Bellatrix screaming right back at all of them. Then they heard Draco be sent to retrieve Griphook from the cellar. Ron somehow retrieved the lights they'd illuminated, and they lined up against the walls of the cellar before the door opened.
They all glaring at Draco as he came in, and Seamus balled up his fist, wanting to punch the git square on his pointy nose. Draco quickly took Griphook out of the cellar and locked the door again. Ron re-lit the room, but there was an extra person there that nobody had expected to see.
"DOB—" Ron started, but Harry hit him.
Harry, Ron, and Dobby spoke urgently, concocting a plan around Dobby's Apparition abilities. Dobby went over to the old wandmaker, slumped over in the corner with his eyes closed. He held his other hand out toward Dean, Seamus, and Luna, but they didn't move, their eyes fixed on Harry and Ron.
"Harry, we want to help you!" Luna said.
"We can't leave you here," Dean added.
"Go, all of you! We'll see you at Bill and Fleur's," Harry insisted.
Harry suddenly hissed and squeezed his eyes shut, looking pained even though nothing had happened to him. Hermione screamed again.
"We can help! We've got to get Hermione!" Seamus insisted.
"Go!" Harry pleaded. "Go! We'll follow, just go!"
Dean and Seamus looked at each other, then nodded. They each took one of Luna's hands, then Dean reached out for Dobby's. For the third time that evening, they were compressed and squeezed into nothing, and then—peace. Seamus felt jarred not only from the Apparition but from the stark difference between the calamity they were just in and the quiet they were in now.
There was a cottage in the short distance, and the stars illuminated the sandy cliff and grass around them. They were all heaving deep breaths, trying to get as much of the fresh, salty air in their lungs as they could.
"You will stay here," squeaked Dobby, "and I will return with Harry Potter and his friends!"
"Thank you, Dobby," Dean said, smiling at the elf, who disappeared with another crack.
There was a moment, and then Luna sighed. "Well, that was exciting, wasn't it?" Despite her airy tone, she was visibly shaking, and Seamus stepped forward and hugged her tightly.
"What eez going on?" came a voice from the cottage. Two figures were headed toward them. Seamus instinctively reached for his wand, then remembered he didn't have it anymore. As the figures approached, Seamus saw a shock of long red hair on the man and figured this was Ron's eldest brother.
"We're friends of Ron's," Dean said. "We were captured by Snatchers, we just came from Malfoy Manor, Dobby went to—"
"Wait, hold on. If you're friends of Ron's, what was his rat's name?"
"Scabbers," Dean answered. "But he turned out to be an animagus, right? That was the rumor."
Bill and Fleur looked at each other, and she nodded, turning toward them. Dean blushed and looked away, and Seamus remembered how entranced he'd been by her in fourth year. Really, his lack of reaction to Fleur that year should've been Seamus' first clue that he was gay.
"Let's go into ze house," Fleur encouraged.
Bill stooped and helped Dean support Ollivander, who was still mostly unconscious, and Seamus and Luna followed. As they walked, Dean explained how they'd been captured along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and that they'd ended up at Malfoy Manor but were rescued by Dobby. Now they were just waiting for Dobby to return with the others.
"Oh how awful," Fleur said. "And zis happened all so quickly!"
Seamus realized that it did happen quickly. Had it really just been an hour ago when Seamus got ambushed by Snatchers in the forest? He just started to ruminate on how he hadn't wanted to go into town in the first place when there was a loud crack outside. They'd settled Ollivander on a living room chair when suddenly they heard yelling.
"HELP!" Harry shouted. "HELP!"
They ran out and saw Ron carrying Hermione toward the cottage. His expression resolute, he acknowledged them with a nod as he rushed to shelter. Hermione was sobbing half-heartedly, blood on her face and arms. Seamus shivered and continued toward the shore where Harry was crouched.
Seamus stilled when he realized Harry was crouched over…Dobby. He wanted to vomit. This elf had been their savior, and now he was dead. Bill instructed Dean to take Griphook into the house, and Fleur and Seamus followed. Seamus glanced over his shoulder at Harry and Bill, who was gently suggesting to Harry that they bury the elf.
He turned forward and blinked tears from his eyes. So much had happened in so little time, and he hadn't been able to do anything. Never before had he felt more useless.
HPHPHP
Not moments after Dobby's funeral did the trio begin scurrying around making their secret plans and refusing to explain anything. Dean and Seamus were used to their antics, so they didn't try to confront them or ask any questions, but Bill and Fleur were visibly upset and frustrated. They all gathered around the dining table with cups of warm tea, and Fleur began cooking something for them to eat. Seamus almost passed out with euphoria at the thought of home-cooked food.
"You lot show up out of the blue with a dead house-elf and saying you were at Malfoy Manor, and they expect us not to ask questions?" Bill raged. "Mum's been out of her mind worrying about those three, and I can't even write to tell her I've seen them in case it's intercepted."
"They have a lot on their shoulders," Luna said evenly. "I expect they'll tell us when it's all over."
Bill's eyes softened. "When it's all over. Right. When'll that be?"
Nobody replied. Fleur bustled over to them with a platter of crackers, cut cheeses, and meats. "'Ere, zis should tide you over."
"Thank you," Dean said, reaching forward to grab some of the food. Even though it was just an appetizer, Seamus thought it was the best food he'd ever tasted, and he never wanted to eat beans again.
"So how did you two end up in the middle of all this?" Bill asked.
"We've been on the run since August," Dean replied. "Hiding in forests, stealing food and supplies, visiting Muggle homeless shelters."
Fleur made a noise of disgust, her face pinched with concern as she whipped her wand around and dishes and ingredients began flying around. Bill watched them with steady eyes.
"But you weren't alone the whole time, right?" Bill asked. "On Potterwatch…"
"We were on Potterwatch?!"
"Yeah, they honored Ted, Dirk, and the other goblin. Mentioned that you had likely been travelling with them," Bill explained.
"Blimey, I thought we were being secretive about it," Dean said. "Wonder how they knew?"
"There are allies all over. Always watching. You probably received some help you didn't even recognize," Bill replied.
"Oh yes," Luna said. "Did you encounter any bears?"
They stared at her.
"Bears?" Dean said.
She nodded, her hair bouncing in her enthusiasm. "Yes. Otsos are merciful forest bear spirits. They look after all the creatures in their woods. Did you see any tracks?"
Seamus stared at her for a long time, a grin spreading across his face. He'd missed her. "No, Luna, we didn't see any bears. But they prolly didn't want us to, right?"
"Right. They are quite elusive, and more common in Finland," she said, then picked up her tea and sipped.
Upstairs, they heard a door close. Then there was a soft knock, and another door opened and then closed. Bill grumbled something under his breath about the trio. Dean and Seamus exchanged a look and a shrug, then kept eating.
"So, we'll head out in the morning, then," Dean said. "Do you have a map that we could have? I'd say borrow, but there's—"
One of the knives Fleur had been commanding clattered to the floor as she whirled around to face them. "What are you saying?"
"We can't stay here," Seamus said. "We're putting you in danger. We can leave tonight if you'd prefer—"
"Non!" Fleur exclaimed. "But of course you will stay 'ere! All of you!"
Their mouths hung open, and they looked at Bill, but he was nodding with the same seriousness in his expression as in Fleur's.
"But-but—"
"It's not up for discussion," Bill said. "We'll keep you safe. You don't have to worry."
Bill's words echoed around in Seamus' head until they settled in his heart. We'll keep you safe. You don't have to worry. Worrying was all they knew how to do anymore. Tears rose in his eyes, and he hurriedly scraped the back of his hand across his eyes. Dean took his other hand and squeezed tightly.
"Thank you," Seamus said. "We'll repay you someday."
Bill smiled at all three of them. "You don't have to worry about that. War makes family of us all, and family looks after one another."
HPHPHP
Later that evening, Bill and Fleur got all of their sleeping arrangements set up. Hermione and Luna were in the smallest of the three bedrooms, with Griphook and Ollivander in the twin beds of the second bedroom. Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus were all put up in the living room.
Seamus lay awake that night, reliving the day's events. Has it really just been a day? He wondered to himself. He tried to focus on the familiar sounds of three out of four of his dormmates' sleep-breathing, but only Ron was truly asleep. Harry was having some sort of fitful dream, and Seamus could tell Dean was as awake as he was.
"Can't imagine what they've been through," Dean whispered.
"D'ye think they were fightin'? Or just hidin'?"
"I think it's more complicated than that," Dean replied. "Yes, they were hiding, otherwise they'd be all over the news. But I don't think they were cowering. They're up to something, that's for sure, and it's something to do with fighting back."
"I hope they figure it out fast."
Dean huffed a laugh. "Well I doubt they're moseying about, taking their time."
Seamus nodded in silence, then thought about the weight that must be, the weight of the entire wizarding world. If Harry didn't defeat Voldemort, what would they do? That's what they were all waiting for. Sure, the Order of the Phoenix was helping too, but really it had to be Harry in the end, didn't it?
He thought about what it would be like to carry that weight around for your entire life. Harry hadn't known it would come to this—none of them had—but he'd still been their hero, their idol, for seventeen years now.
"I don't think I've ever given him enough credit for how much he has depending on him," Seamus whispered. "I've always just thought of him as one of us, but he's not."
"He is and he isn't, I supposed," Dean said. "Ron and Hermione too, in a way. They've been dealing with so much for so long, we've just gotten used to it."
"I wish we could help," Seamus said.
Dean made a humming noise. There was a pause, then he said, "I wonder if Dumbledore's Army started back up."
"Under Snape's regime? No way."
"Well it was founded to fight against Umbridge's regime," Dean said. "The students would need it now more than ever."
That made him think of Parvati and their community, all of the students they'd gathered together and bonded with over their own individual oddities and identities. His heart squeezed so tight with anxiety that he thought it would burst. He hadn't let himself think of them in so long. Were they okay? Were they sticking together?
"We all need each other now more than ever," Dean finished.
Seamus found he didn't have anything to add after that. He realized that, for an artist who was more comfortable with his hands than his words, Dean had a poetic way of understanding the world. Seamus deeply admired him for that. His heart swelled with love and admiration for his best friend, for his—boyfriend? No. That would be a discussion for another time. A time after war. If they ever found that time.
He glanced over his shoulder to see if Harry had settled any and recognized the rhythmic breathing he'd spent six years next to. He looked back at Dean and reached out to grab his hand, gripping the long fingers tight.
"I love ye," Seamus whispered.
"I love you too," Dean whispered back.
And there, in the tiny cottage on an unknown coast with allies new and old, they'd found an eye in the center of the storm.