The crashes and screams pounded against his ears. Death, carnage, and destruction lay all around him. Lights and bolts of magic shot through the air. Wizards, Death Eaters, giants, spiders, and more crashed and fought against each other as the castle was shaken to its very foundations.

It was all a jumble in his mind, jolting his senses and dizzying his thoughts. He hadn't thought it would be like this. He knew it would be dangerous, that it would be difficult, that they might die…but this? This was madness. This was hell.

It was almost exhilarating at first, before it all began. McGonagall split them up into groups, each with a task. Professor Sprout and Neville took a contingent of students to the greenhouses to get mandrakes and devil's snare and other unpleasant plants. Fred, George, Lee, and some friends were sent to patrol the secret passages. The professors went about casting protective charms on the castle. Even Professor Trelawney contributed, gathering Lavender, the Patils, and others to get crystal balls to throw at the invaders.

Seamus and Dean were part of a large group sent to guard the Forbidden Forest. They didn't want to think about what sort of nasty creatures the Death Eaters could be sending out of the forest, but when they arrived, a contingent of Death Eaters was already approaching the castle. It was a larger group than theirs, and they had no choice but to meet it head on.

The fighting was chaotic, it was messy, it was everything he'd had nightmares about for the past eight months. They'd been overwhelmed and had to fall back. Seamus tried to block out the screams of his comrades, tried to focus on Dean, but it was so dark and there was so much happening that they got separated quickly. He thought back to second year, when Lockhart tried starting a duelling club, and they'd thought it was all in good fun, that they'd never really have to duel someone.

This wasn't like Lockhart's duelling, though. This wasn't two wizards facing off in a controlled environment. This was on another level entirely. It was tricks and warfare and fighting dirty in every sense of the phrase.

He'd been bending over the body of a fallen Death Eater, rummaging in the pockets for a wand when someone screamed, "Shea! Watch out!"

His fingers closed around a wand just as he felt the ground shake violently. He looked up to see two giants grappling with each other, stumbling ever closer to where he stood. Fear locked his limbs, and he stood frozen, watching, until a charm hit him in the chest and sent him flying backwards, right as a giant's foot came down where he'd been standing.

"You utter maniac!" the person shouted, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"E-Ernie?" Seamus groaned as he stumbled along, half-running and half-being dragged.

"Yeah," Ernie said. "Come on, I left Luna over here. We gotta stick together."

Stick together. "Y-Ye seen Dean?" Seamus asked, panic seizing his chest.

"No, mate, sorry. Keep up, now."

They ducked behind a portion of the castle wall that had been blown apart. Luna was crouched there, shooting curses out from behind a large chunk of debris.

"Oh good, you got him," Luna said, her tone remarkably even for the situation they were all in.

"Luna, have ye seen Dean?" Seamus asked.

She shook her head, her long hair matted and messy. "No, I—oh my," she said, pointing.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were running down the grass, narrowly avoiding the brawling giants. Then they stopped, and everybody felt the reason. Ice filled their chests and froze the night air around them. The explosions and yelling fell silent in a way Seamus had only felt once before, in third year…

"H-Happy thoughts, everyone," Luna said, then waved her wand, and a silvery rabbit burst out of the tip of her wand.

Happy thoughts? Happy thoughts? What even were those? Seamus thought of his mother, who'd abandoned him. Of Dean, who he couldn't find. Of Bill and Fleur, their saviors, who'd probably die in this war. Of—

Ernie's wand produced a boar, and the two Patronuses circled around Seamus, causing the darkness in his mind to fade. He remembered the month in Shell Cottage, remembered the warmth and safety and Fleur's madeleines.

"Expecto Patronum!" he cried, and a fox flew into the air.

"We have to help them," Luna exclaimed, pointing down the grass to where the trio had stopped running. They were trying and failing to produce Patronuses, and the horde of dementors was getting closer.

Without a word, Luna, Ernie, and Seamus all left their spot behind the wall, sending their Patronuses on ahead, where they danced and soared through the air toward the dementors. The trio looked to them in shock.

"That's right," Luna said when they were close. "That's right, Harry."

Luna spoke encouragingly to them, and finally they were able to produce their Patronuses. The dementors fled under the assault of the six silvery creatures, and the feelings of pressing oblivion faded.

"Can't thank you enough," Ron said, breathing heavily, "you just saved—"

But their moment of peace was disturbed by yet another giant came thundering out of the forest.

"RUN!" Harry shouted, but he didn't need to. Seamus grabbed Luna's hand, and with Ernie behind them they ran back to the castle. Seamus looked over his shoulder to check that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were with them, but he saw them running along the tree line. They had their own agenda, he guessed, as always.

"We can't just hide here," Seamus panted when they got back to the wall.

"The hell we can't," Ernie snapped. "I don't want to die tonight."

"Either fight tonight or die tomorrow, Ernie," Seamus snapped. "Ye think ye're going to live much longer if we lose today?"

Ernie glared at him, then raised his wand and headed into the castle.

"Keep an eye out for Dean," Seamus told Luna, and they followed Ernie into the fray.

HPHPHP

They hadn't rejoined the fighting for more than ten minutes when Voldemort's voice filled the air again, commanding his fighters to retreat and giving them an hour's rest. The two Death Eaters they'd been fighting just then dissolved into smoke and flew away, leaving them in shock. They hadn't believed that they'd really retreat. But, when your boss was Voldemort…

"Where do we go now?" Seamus asked.

"The Great Hall, of course," Luna replied.

She was right. It was the largest space in the castle, and it was where they always gathered. He remembered third year, when they all slept in the Great Hall because Sirius Black had broken into the castle. He remembered the Yule Ball in fourth year. He remembered the feasts, the celebrations, the mourning. It was the place where they all belonged, regardless of House or bloodline.

When he stepped into the Great Hall, the first thing he noticed was the line of bodies. The Weasleys were all gathered around someone, and his hands trembled at the thought of Bill, but—no, he saw Bill and Fleur standing, crying. He counted them all and…one of the twins was missing. Tears burned his eyes, and he wanted to leave. He didn't want to see the rest of this. He didn't want to know who else had perished.

Madam Pomfrey was at the front of the hall where the teachers' table usually was, treating the wounded. Firenze lay on his side on the platform, his flank streaming with blood. Seamus spotted someone with blonde hair lying on a cot—

He ran down the length of the hall, weaving between groups of war-battered survivors, but he was blocked from stepping up onto the dais by an older man.

"We need room to work," he said.

"But I need—I think that's my friend, I need—" Seamus started.

"Shea," croaked another voice.

He turned to see Parvati standing beside him, her eyes swollen and puffy from crying. He wrapped her up in his arms, and her body shook with sobs.

"Is she…" Seamus started, but he didn't know what to say.

"She was a-at-tacked by that w-werewolf," Parvati cried. "They d-d-don't know if sh-she'll make it."

Tears burned in his eyes as he laid his cheek on her bald head, which was covered in soft peach fuzz. His eyes swept over the Great Hall, and his heart dropped out of his stomach when he recognized Lupin and his wife laying on the ground beside the mourning Weasleys. His mind briefly flitted to their newborn baby, but he pushed those thoughts aside. If he thought any harder about it, he'd be shattered, and he needed to continue on.

"Luna's all right, we came here together," he said. "Have you seen anyone else?"

"Padma's helping get herbs and plants from the greenhouses," she replied, pulling away from him and wiping her cheeks. "Neville's helping get the…the bodies. Hermione—"

"She's right there," he said, nodding toward the Weasleys. "And Dean?"

Parvati shook her head. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Seamus? Seamus?!" a voice bellowed. "SEAMUS?!"

"Dean!" Seamus shouted back, and their eyes met from across the hall.

They began running for each other, darting and ducking around until they met in the middle. Dean's arms wrapped around his middle, and in his momentum he lifted Seamus up, spinning him around in euphoria and relief. Dean's face pressed against Seamus' neck, and Seamus buried his face against Dean's shoulder.

After a few rotations, Dean set him down and kissed him fiercely before Seamus could even get a word out.

"I was out of my mind with worry," Dean murmured, their foreheads pressed together. "I didn't know—"

"I'm alright," Seamus said. "I'm alright. I'm here. I'm with you. It's—"

He was going to say it was okay, but it wasn't, really. Not when Lupin and his wife were dead, and Lavender was almost dead, and they still had a long fight left ahead of them.

"We're going to get through it," he said instead. "We'll get through it together."

Dean nodded. "Together," he repeated.

HPHPHP

When their hour's respite passed, everybody was back in position. Some of the more skilled Order members and professors stood guard outside the Great Hall. Students lined the corridors, others went back to the spots they'd been fighting earlier. Shoulders tense, eyes alert, but nothing came. It was still silent in the castle, with no movement on the horizon, and that made it all the worse.

"What's happening?" Seamus whispered, afraid if he broke the silence then he'd break the peace.

"Maybe they're messing with us," Dean said. "Hoping we lower our guard."

They waited longer, and longer. The minutes bled by, ticking almost audibly in Seamus' ears. Then, he heard a sound he didn't want to hear for the rest of his life. Voldemort's voice floated through the air again.

"Harry Potter is dead," Voldemort announced.

A loud buzzing filled Seamus' head as he tried to process this information. He blocked out the rest of what Voldemort was saying, not wanting to believe it. Harry, dead? It couldn't be. When had he last seen Harry, anyway? Not since they'd saved him at the edge of the forest, and that was hours ago.

Voldemort stopped talking, and Seamus could hear murmuring and crying filled the corridors. He heard footsteps, and then Dean tugged Seamus along. They joined the crowd heading for the entrance courtyard. All of their faces were strained and dirty and tear-streaked.

"NO!" screamed a woman, and Seamus recognized it as Professor McGonagall. Others began screaming as they walked out the doors, and Seamus wouldn't have walked out if it wasn't for Dean pulling him along.

As they stepped into the light of early dawn, Seamus saw the line of Death Eaters stretched out before them as they formed a similar line before the entrance of the castle. And there, in front, was a man so hideous and nightmareish that there was only one person he could be.

Voldemort was taller than Seamus had imagined, with sickly pale skin that was almost translucent in places. His face was flat, almost like the giant snake that was draped over his shoulders, and even from this distance he could tell the man had gleaming red eyes. Seamus head to tear his eyes away from the horrific vision of him, and he noticed the two giants standing behind the Death Eaters, and then, in front-

"Dean," Seamus said, grabbing his hand. "Dean, Dean, what's Hag—what's Hagrid carrying, Dean—what—"

"SILENCE!" Voldemort screamed. There was a noise like a bang, a flash of light, and then none of them could speak anymore.

Seamus watched in horror as Voldemort commanded Hagrid to lay Harry's lifeless body at his feet, then proceeded to blither on about how Harry was just a simple boy.

"He beat you!" Ron suddenly shouted, breaking the charm cast on them all.

Seamus and Dean and everybody else began shouting as well, but then Voldemort cast his silencing spell again.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds, killed while trying to save himself—"

There was a jostling in the crowd to Dean and Seamus' left, and to their dismay they saw Neville break free of the line of survivors, charging straight at Voldemort. In another second, Neville was Disarmed and on the ground, and Voldemort was laughing.

Seamus watched in horror as Voldemort approached Neville. He still couldn't speak, otherwise he'd scream for Neville to get out of there, to run while he still could. He was still in shock that it was Neville of all people who'd run at the Dark Lord when all of them stood paralyzed with fear.

"I'll join you when hell freezes over. Dumbledore's Army!" Neville screamed, throwing his fist in the air.

The Silencing Charm broke again, and they all roared their support for Neville, for their cause, despite all they'd lost. Voldemort's expression went steely as he leaned in closer to Neville. He said something, but it was too quiet for the rest of them to hear.

Suddenly, something crashed in the castle, and flying out of one of the windows was some sort of bird, but when it flew over to Voldemort and laid itself in his hand, Seamus recognized the ragged form of the Sorting Hat.

Voldemort announced his plan to get rid of the Houses and essentially turn Hogwarts into a shrine to Salazar Slytherin. Then he shoved the Hat onto Neville's head and pointed his wand at him. Everybody grew tense, also wanting to charge forward, but the Death Eaters raised their wands to keep them in line.

"Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me," Voldemort informed them, and then he set the boy on fire.

Screams of terror and rage rose up from their crowd, and Neville kneeled there, his head covered in flames. Seamus pulled his wand out and took a step forward, and that's when the centaurs arrived.

They felt the rumbling vibrations of hundreds of hooves before they heard the battle cries, and then a huge herd of centaurs came bursting out of the treeline. The smaller giant they'd seen earlier was with them, and Voldemort's giants charged him immediately. Arrows rained on the Death Eaters, who broke formation, and everything started happening.

The survivors—the students, professors, Order members, and more—all charged forward as Neville broke free of his Body-Bind, and threw the hat off of him. He saw something flying above them, and recognized creatures he'd only seen in drawings. Great black, skeletal horses that he assumed were thestrals, along with a somewhat familiar hippogriff, began swarming around the giants' heads. Then Voldemort screamed, and Seamus saw that Neville had cut off the head of his snake with a—wait, where had he gotten a sword?

Suddenly there was more shouting, and beyond the crowd of Death Eaters Seamus could see reinforcements coming up the front steps to the castle. Hogsmeade shopkeepers, parents, friends, all began to swarm the enemy from behind and all sides. The Death Eaters had no choice but to move closer to the castle.

Voldemort cut through the crowd, cursing and jinxing everything out of his way as he went straight into the Great Hall. Now there were more fighters than Death Eaters, and Dean and Seamus had to retreat into the castle to keep out of the duelers' way.

Ron's mother was fighting the scary witch Seamus knew to be Bellatrix Lestrange, and they shot their volleys of spells so quickly Seamus was getting dizzy. Finally, though, Mrs. Weasley's spell hit Lestrange straight in the chest, and she toppled over as everyone cheered.

"We're winning," Dean said breathlessly. "Even without Harry, we're—"

"Protego!" someone shouted, and a Shield Charm popped up between Mrs. Weasley and the furious Voldemort.

Everyone looked around for the source of the familiar voice, and then Harry appeared in the middle of the hall, his famous Invisibility Cloak clutched in his hand. The screams and cheers of elation almost deafened Seamus, but they went silent immediately as Harry and Voldemort began to circle each other.

"I don't want anyone else to try to help," Seamus heard Harry say loudly, and he thought that message was particularly aimed at Ron and Hermione, who were gripping each other's arms at the far end of the hall, their faces stricken with joy and fear.

They continued to face off, calling jeers back and forth. Harry seemed remarkably calm for someone who had just returned from the dead. He taunted Voldemort with surprising confidence, and Voldemort was clearly rattled. He thought he'd won, and now he'd been humiliated in front of all his followers and enemies.

As they argued, it became clear that the rest of them were irrelevant. They were locked in their conversation, saying things Seamus didn't understand, talking about protection and love and Dumbledore and Snape. Snape had loved Harry's mother? Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him? There was something called an Elder Wand?

The sun finally rose above the horizon, and red-gold light flooded through the windows into the Hall. Voldemort waved his wand, his voice a wicked screech, and Harry cast his spell too.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Seamus registered dimly in the back of his mind that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had chosen to use a second year spell of all things against the darkest wizard who ever lived, but that thought quickly left his mind because it worked.

Their spells met with an explosion of light and sound, and Voldemort's wand flew out of his hand, spinning in an arc toward Harry, who caught it easily. They watched in hope and terror as Voldemort toppled over backwards, his arms out to his side, as he hit the ground with a thud of incredible finality.