Dean and Seamus quickly threw their clothes on and rushed out of the room with Luna. They reached the top of the stairs when they realized Luna had stopped outside of Bill and Fleur's room.

"What are ye doin'?" Seamus hissed.

"Come on, Luna!" Dean said.

"We should tell them where we're going," Luna replied, raising her hand to knock on the door.

"They'll try to stop us!"

"We're all seventeen, they're not our parents, and somebody should probably tell the Order what's going to happen," she answered evenly, then rapped loudly on the door.

There was a snorting noise from the other side, then Bill called, "Who is it?"

"It's Luna Lovegood," she responded perkily. "I arrived here with an elf and a wandmaker almost two months ago. The cottage has not been broken into."

They heard the bed creak, Fleur's muffled voice, and then shuffling footsteps before the door opened, revealing a groggy Bill.

"What's going on?" he asked, seeing the three of them dressed and out of bed.

"Neville's signaled us from Hogwarts that Harry's there. The revolution has begun, and we're going to fight," she said primly.

Bill gaped at her, then looked to the boys for confirmation.

"The message mentioned the Hog's Head. We reckon that's the meeting point," Dean elaborated.

"How do you know this isn't a trap?" Bill demanded.

Luna held up the fake Galleon, which he inspected. "We used them in Dumbledore's Army. Nobody else would know we use them to communicate or have any reason to suspect."

Bill examined it closely. "This is an impressive replica."

"You should tell Hermione."

"Of course she made it," Bill replied, handing it back to her. "Hog's Head, eh?"

Seamus looked dubious. "You're not stopping us?"

"Of course not," he said. "I doubt I could anyway. There's a curfew on Hogsmeade, by the way. If you Apparate into the village, you'll set off a charm. Best to Apparate directly into the pub. Have you been—wait, are you even licensed?"

"No, we're not," Dean said. "Shea and I did it once, though."

"That's no good," Bill said. "This is a far distance, and it has to be exact."

"We don't have another choice!" Seamus exclaimed.

"I'll Apparate you three to the Hog's Head myself," he replied, then ran back into the bedroom.

They waited, listening as he hurriedly explained the situation to Fleur, whose voice rose as she became more conscious and therefore more worried. He ran back out in his wizard's robes, calling out his love for her over his shoulder, and they followed him down the stairs.

"I've never Side-Along Apparated more than two people," Bill said as they ran away from Shell Cottage to get away from the Fidelius Charm's protection, "and I don't feel now is the time to try. I hate to do this, but I'll have to come back for one person."

"I'll do it," Seamus said. "I'll wait."

"Shea—" Dean started.

"It's fine. It won't be long, right? What could happen to me?"

"I wish you wouldn't ask that," Dean said with a frown.

"Right." Bill stopped and turned to them, holding out his hands.

Dean and Luna grasped his hands, and Luna wrapped her other hand around his arm for extra security. Then there was a crack, and Seamus was alone in the dark.

It wasn't until the moment right before they were gone that Seamus realized he hadn't been alone, truly alone, in so long. Being away from Dean was like being without air. He hadn't realized how dependent he'd become on Dean. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought that was probably unhealthy, but he didn't have it in him to care at the moment.

The idea of going back to Hogwarts sent a stab of fear through his heart because he knew it wouldn't be the Hogwarts he remembered. He almost didn't want to see this Hogwarts, mutated and twisted into a nightmare that he could only imagine. He tried to concentrate on the idea of seeing his friends again, but even they would be twisted. Would Lavender's eyes still sparkle? Would Neville still have that gentle smile? Would Parvati still roll her eyes and grin at him?

Bill came back then, and the noise startled Seamus. "Ready?"

"Everything alright?" Seamus asked.

"Alright as can be," Bill replied, holding out his hand.

Seamus nodded and took it, and almost immediately regretted it. He hated the feeling of Apparition, and was almost certain that—if it weren't so bloody convenient—he'd like to never fully learn how.

His feet his stone, and he stumbled. Long, familiar arms caught him, and he knew he'd made it to the right place.

"I don't know what you kids are coming from," came a grumbling voice, "but I doubt you're the last, eh?"

"There should be a whole army coming," Luna replied dreamily.

The man who'd spoken scoffed and shook his head, and Seamus was struck by the vibrant blue of his eyes. Almost like—

"I have to go tell the Order," Bill said. "You three—watch yourselves. Take care of each other. There's no world worth fighting for if all the children are dead."

"Thank you both for everything," Dean said.

"We're family now, remember?" Bill said, giving them one last smile before Disapparating.

"All this cracking is bound to get attention soon," the barkeeper muttered.

"Wait, where is everyone?" Seamus asked, looking around.

"You didn't think they were all piled in here, did you?" the barkeeper asked incredulously.

"Well, that's what—" He stopped as he noticed movement in a portrait on the wall. A girl was walking down the painted tunnel, growing larger and larger until she filled the frame and the portrait swung open, revealing a tunnel.

"This'll take you straight to 'em," the barkeeper told them. "It connects to some magic room where they're hiding out."

Dean and Luna grinned at each other, and Seamus knew the old man was talking about the mysterious Room of Requirement. The tunnel looked just like any other secret passageway, with stone stairs and a packed dirt floor and lamps burning on the walls. It certainly did not look like it led to a group of rebel students in about to fight in a war.

About to fight in a war. It hit Seamus just then, what they were about to do. This was it. This was the final step, and there'd be no going back. No longer would they run from the fight. Now they were running straight toward it.

Seamus' feelings seemed to be echoed by the others, as they all hesitated for a breath. Then Dean took Luna and Seamus' hands, and together they approached the tunnel. They climbed in one after another, with Dean leading the group, and they heard the portrait swing shut behind them.

The tunnel was much longer than Seamus had anticipated. Some part of him had assumed there would be some kind of magical teleportation property to it, but it seemed like it had just physically manifested into existence underneath the castle. It twisted and sloped, and they began to breathe heavier as the passage inclined steeply upward. Soon enough, though, they came to the end of the tunnel and found a door at the end of a short stairway. They could hear voices on the other side, and Seamus' heart flew into his throat.

"I love ye, Dean," Seamus whispered, and Luna stepped quickly away from them and started tactfully humming to herself. "I don't know what's goin' ter happen, but I know that I love ye."

"I love you too, Shea," Dean said, leaning down and quickly kissing him. "This won't be the last time we say it."

Seamus nodded resolutely, then took Dean's hand. "Right. Let's do this."

Luna smiled back at them and swung open the door, declaring, "We got your message, Neville!" Just in front of her Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were standing before a large group of students. "Hello you three, I thought you must be here!"

Cheers erupted from the group of students, but Seamus hardly recognized any of them. They were all so battered, with swollen lips and scars and burn marks. He heard a familiar shriek, then Lavender threw herself into his arms.

"I was s-so worried," she sobbed against his neck.

"There, there, Lav," he said awkwardly.

"Hi, everyone! Oh, it's great to be back!" Luna said cheerfully, walking over to a group of Ravenclaw students.

Dean carefully steered them away from the tunnel entrance and away from Harry, who was trying to regain control of the room. Lavender pulled Seamus over to—

"Parvati," Seamus breathed, eyes wide in shock.

Her hair had been shaved right down to her scalp, which was had scabs and scars on it. Padma was sitting next to her with an equally bald head, though with less injuries.

"They cut my hair to punish me," Parvati said with a shrug, but he could see how much it hurt her. "So I shaved the rest."

Seamus reached out and hugged her tightly, ignoring the commotion as Harry tried to tell them he wasn't trying to start a revolution. Suddenly there was another hush, though, and he turned as Ginny, her twin brothers, Lee Jordan, and Cho Chang came through the tunnel.

There was more arguing and more commotion as the new arrivals stirred up more talk surrounding a rebellion.

"We're fighting, aren't we?" Dean demanded. "The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight!"

Everyone shouted out their agreement as Ron said something in a low voice to Harry. The trio talked seriously among each other, easily ignoring the rest of them, and Seamus wondered if they knew how annoying that was to everyone else. He'd been putting up with it for seven years, and he still never got used to it.

"Okay," Harry said resignedly, and the room fell silent. "There's something we need to find…"

"Our group," Seamus whispered to Parvati. "Is everyone—"

"We're mostly okay," Parvati replied in a hushed voice while Harry explained his plan. "Everyone who came back, anyway. We've kept quiet, not held any meetings, laid low. They focused on Padma and I since most people knew we were in it, but we didn't reveal anyone."

"I'm so sorry I left you," Seamus said. "If I'd known, I—"

"Shea, stop," she interrupted. "If you stayed, you would've gotten yourself killed. It was a relief, knowing you were out there and not in here."

Seamus squeezed her arm, and then his attention was pulled away by Harry leaving with Luna. There was a brief lull in the tension as their chosen one disappeared again, but everyone quickly began questioning the new arrivals about their time outside Hogwarts.

"Well it turns out ye were right," Seamus said to Dean.

"Hm?"

"That they're looking for parts of something to bring Ye-Know-Who down," he elaborated.

"Sure feels that way," Dean replied, and suddenly a cushy armchair appeared next to him. He sighed with relief and collapsed into it, and Seamus smirked and perched on the arm. Dean's leg began bouncing restlessly. "This waiting might make me insane."

The tunnel door pushed open again, and, to their amazement, Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet walked in. The older Gryffindors in the room exploded into shrieks, and the Weasley twins rushed their old teammates.

"Word spreads fast, don't it?" Seamus remarked.

"I doubt they'll be the last," Dean replied.

Dean was right. Over the next ten minutes, all sorts of people began arriving through the tunnel door, so many that they stopped shutting it. Old DA members, students who were on the run, a few parents, and members of the Order of the Phoenix. Between the DA galleons, Bill alerting the Order, and the Hog's Head barkeeper reaching out to people, the news of an impending battle at Hogwarts was spreading like Fiendfyre.

Lupin came through the door with Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Dean suddenly ducked his head.

"What is it?" Seamus asked.

"I've been thinking," Dean mumbled, "ever since we saw Lupin at Shell Cottage, I…I think I had a crush on him."

Seamus goggled at him. "Ye wha?"

"Third year, I think I had a crush on him and didn't realize," Dean said. "He was so cool, the best professor by far, and I remember just always wanting to be in the front of the class and prove myself to him."

"Godric, ye've been queer this whole time?" Seamus said rubbing his forehead.

"Seems so."

"Ye couldn't've had this revelation earlier? Saved us a whole lot of heartache?" Seamus teased.

Dean glanced over to where Ginny was participating in a family reunion. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had just come through with Bill and Fleur, and Mrs. Weasley kept alternating between squeezing Ron's face and crying on his shoulder. Mr. Weasley was vigorously shaking Hermione's hand, and she looked both flummoxed and on the verge of tears.

"I think it all happened the way it was meant to," Dean replied, looking away from his former girlfriend. He reached over and took Seamus' hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Oh, Par, you were right!" Lav exclaimed, breaking the moment. She and Parvati were sitting on cushions a few feet away from them, Parvati's arms around her.

"Of course I was," Parvati replied. "I told you, love, there was no way they wouldn't figure it out."

Seamus blushed hard. "Oh shove off. And when did this happen?" he asked, gesturing between the two girls.

"Beginning of the year," Lavender replied, smiling adoringly at Parvati.

"I wrote her a letter over the summer, confessing my feelings, and she never replied," Parvati said in annoyance.

"Lav!" Seamus exclaimed in horror.

"I wanted to tell her in person," Lavender replied, pouting slightly. "I'm no good on paper."

Parvati rolled her eyes and was about to respond when Harry tumbled back into the room with Luna in tow. He stared at the crowded room, at the myriad of parents and students, and the tension of war immediately returned to the air. Lupin and one of the twins were closest to him and hurried over, asking for updates.

"What first Harry?" the other twin shouted from where he stood with his parents. "What's going on?"

Seamus swallowed, his hand tightening on Dean's reflexively.

"They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized," Harry told them, then, after a breath, "We're fighting."

Everyone erupted into a frenzy as they drew their wands and charged toward the stairs. Harry squeezed out of the way of the first fighters, and Seamus thought how anticlimactic that would be if he hadn't stepped aside of the crowd: the Boy Who Lived, trampled by his supporters.

Dean dragged Seamus up with him, and they grabbed Luna as they passed. Padma, Parvati, and Lavender kept pace behind them on the staircase, and they followed the crowd heading toward the Great Hall. When they emerged out of the secret door on the fifth floor, they saw a castle in chaos. Prefects and professors shunted their students toward the Great Hall. Suits of armor and statues patrolled the corridors. Students in all array of dress talked among themselves, some crying, some shouting, some not saying anything at all.

They fell into line with a group of Ravenclaws that were heading for the ground floor, and they tried to ignore the stares and unabashed whispering at the sight of them. Seamus knew that, despite a month of home cooking and magical remedies, they still looked haggard and scared. Although, they didn't look much different than most of the kids here.

It felt like something out of a nightmare, taking their seats at the Gryffindor table under these circumstances. They wouldn't be feasting or celebrating tonight. The ceiling above glittered blackly, and all the Hogwarts ghosts lined the walls.

Padma and Luna stayed with them as their group took their seats at the Gryffindor table. They fixed their eyes on Professor McGonagall and the rest of the teachers and members of the Order of the Phoenix as she delivered an address on the situation at hand. This was interrupted, though, as a terrible voice came through the Great Hall.

"I know that you are preparing to fight," said the voice, which was cold and high. Seamus knew the voice instantly, though he had never heard it before. It was the voice of his nightmares, of the monster under his bed, of the thing he'd always been told about but could never quite believe.

Voldemort-because he was Voldemort, not You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-announced that they had until midnight to hand over Harry before the battle would start.

Without hesitation, Pansy Parkinson stood and shrieked, "But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!"

And, sure enough, he was. Harry had been trying to sneak along one side of the Gryffindor table, lurking against the wall, but now he was frozen in place, his face reading pure bewilderment and shock.

Seamus gritted his teeth and stood, along with the rest of the table, and together they faced the Slytherins on the other side of the Great Hall. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws stood as well, many with wands drawn.

McGonagall cleared her throat and dismissed Pansy and the Slytherins for evacuation with Filch, and Seamus had to fight the urge to cheer. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were dismissed next, then Gryffindor, though there were many underage students who tried to stay, causing McGonagall to rush them off.

Finally, it was just those who were going to fight left in the Hall. A united front. An army to take on Voldemort.