Nothing Is Impossible

Disclaimer: These lovely creatures belong to J.K.R. (as though you didn't know). The plot's mine. Mwaaa haaa haaaa.

Warning: this will be a slash story, hopefully by the next chapter. For the blissfully ignorant, slash means that there is a relationship between two (or sometimes more) members of the same sex. In this case it happens to be Seamus and Draco. Should this sort of thing squick you, please go elsewhere.

Now, on with the show!

Nothing Is Impossible

The rivalry between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had become almost legendary at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The two never passed up an opportunity to make an ass of the other, and these incidences were –more often than not- witnessed by the entire staff and student body. Perhaps this is why it came as such a shock when Draco lost all interest in Harry not long after they began their seventh year.

Whatever had occurred between Seamus and Draco during their detention, no one exactly knew. What everyone did know was that when they came out of it, they were not the same people they were when they entered it. Draco presented an extremely noticeable change. He had become silent, speaking only to teachers, and even then only when he was addressed. He still walked the way he used to walk and dressed the way he used to dress and ate the way he used to eat. He used to throw insults at any and everyone he could, especially Harry Potter and his two best friends. Now, not even Harry could elicit so much as a smirk from the now passive Slytherin. He drifted along, always dazed. His eyes, previously only glazed and gray, were now almost silver and held something like to innocence; he was as though he were seeing the world for the first time.

Seamus' reaction had been a bit more severe. He had taken to the same silence Draco had. He walked and dressed the same as always. But, unlike Draco, he refused to take so much as a singular morsel of food into his body. He slept almost excessively, whenever there was time for it. He'd even stopped talking to Dean; he'd fallen into a world where he was all alone surrounded by the ghosts of his past. Dean was worried beyond all belief, but he knew better than to press the matter. At least, not right away.

Both boys had their own justifications for behaving the way they did, though most of those justifications boiled down to the same thing. Lots of words were said in a very short period of time that night. Harsh words that carried a lot of weight and rang true for both parties, bringing skeletons out of closets and re-opening old wounds. Those cold words spoken to him brought Seamus' past to the forefront of his mind. Never having fully dealt with his father's death made Seamus rather fragile. No one had ever spoken to him of his father at all, and he had never spoken to anyone about him. Though he would have loved to have been able to deny it, there was no way Draco's words could not have hurt him. Just the pain of the memory alone was enough to make him cringe, and in combination with Draco's mocking words it was almost more than he could handle.

Seamus had been an odd sort of blessing for Draco. He'd said the right words in the correct sequence, breaking a hole in Draco's emotional wall. Then it had snowballed from there, gaining momentum as the days wore on until all that was left of it was nothing more than a heap of rubble. Draco was looking at the world in perspectives he never even knew existed before. Everyday pleasures that everyone around him seemed to take for granted gave him a kind of very soft joy and made him feel lucky to be living life. People he used to see as nothing at all now had names and faces as important and pretty as his own. His father had taught him that being a Malfoy made him better than everyone else. Now he knew that 'Malfoy' meant as much to the world as 'Potter' or 'Weasley' or… 'Finnegan'.

Although he wasn't aware of it, Draco started keeping tabs on Seamus. He watched him at every meal (those he chose to attend) and in every class and any other time that he could. Second only to Dean, Draco knew Seamus better that anyone. He noticed that he was not eating and losing too much weight. He didn't have much meat on him anyway, let alone meat to spare.

It was at dinner one night several long weeks later that Draco finally put his foot down. After poking at the food that Dean had put on his plate for nearly twenty minutes, Seamus stood to leave. Draco, though he wasn't all that sure why, stood as well. He cut the sick and tired creature the Gryffindor had become off at the exit.

"Move, Malfoy," he whispered wearily.

"All right." And he grabbed the other boy by the hand and led him back to the Gryffindor table. Seamus tried struggling to get away but in his weakened condition he was simply no match for Draco at his full strength. After sitting Seamus next to his best friend, he took an empty seat right next to him. "Eat," he commanded, though he kept his tone extremely gentle.

"No." He tried standing, but both Dean and Draco pulled him back down.

"He's right, Seamus, you need to eat something," Dean offered, much to the shock and glee of Draco.

"He is a piece of shit," he said coldly with a glare to match his tone.

"Exactly, so why starve yourself because of what a piece of shit like me says?" Draco cheerfully pointed out, causing Dean to grin madly.

"You know, Malfoy, that's probably the most true thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth," Seamus replied, the weariness creeping back into his voice. "But really, I'm not hungry," he added, once again attempting to stand. Once again Dean and Draco's combined efforts forced him back into his seat.

"Look, Seamus, I'm sorry for all the wretched things I said to you and if I could, I would take it all back."

"But you can't," he interrupted.

"No, I can't. And I wouldn't insult your intelligence by thinking I could. But now you're taking this way too far."

All of a sudden, Seamus' brow furrowed though his eyes never wavered from those gray ones less than a foot away from his own. "Did you just call me Seamus?"

Blushing, Draco coolly replied, "Yes, I did. Would you rather I not?"

He just sighed. "I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"I don't know. It matters to me, I guess."

"And since when did you give a damn at all about me?"

Without even stopping to think about it, Draco told him, "Since you told me I was a heartless git. In so many words. pauses I guess you just… opened my eyes."

Several very long and very silent moments passed throughout nearly everyone in the entire Hall. They were, in a sense, seeing each other for the first time. Though neither could have articulated exactly what it was that passed between them, they had come to some sort of peace with each other. Around them the dining hall had gone completely silent. Every face was turned to the Gryffindor table as though waiting for some kind of bomb to explode. In truth, the bomb already had gone off, six weeks prior. For the first time in over a month, both Draco and Seamus had broken their silence.

In little more than a whisper Draco once again began pleading with the near skeletal boy across from him. "Please eat, Seamus. Even just a little."

He nodded softly as he cast his eyes down. "It's just hard, you know, when all you can see in your head is people dying. Kinda makes one lose their appetite."

"I am so sorry I said that shit to you."

For another moment they stared at each other, neither really sure of what to say. Finally Seamus broke the silence. "Are you really?" It wasn't a challenge so much as it was Draco's last chance to prove himself an asshole.

"More so than you will ever know," he replied solemnly, standing up.

Seamus turned back to the plate that Dean had made up for him nearly an hour ago. He looked up and watched Draco walk away. When he'd reached the door, he turned around and gave Seamus a very warm, very genuine smile. Much to his own surprise, Seamus found himself returning it. Then he was gone.

Behind Seamus' back, Dean grinned. "What the hell did you say to him, anyway? I think you're the only person ever to get an apology out of that stupid git." At that he smiled almost fondly at the doorway the boy in question just disappeared through. "I think today is going to go down in history as The Day A Malfoy Admitted Fault."

"Maybe he's not such a stupid git," Seamus whispered, totally missing Dean's expression and starting to eat for the first time in a very long time.

"Wait up!"

Draco turned to see Seamus running up to him. It had been nearly a week since he'd made his Grand Apology to the boy and had given up on ever talking to him again. The Gryffindor had continued to keep to himself for the last few days. He had taken Seamus' aversion to him in stride, though it hurt him to do so. Since forcing him into eating, Draco had found himself longing to speak to the skinny kid who was now running up to meet him. His heart started pounding and adrenaline was entering his bloodstream. 'Amazing,' he thought, 'that he does this to me and I don't even know him.'

Seamus stopped just a few feet in front of Draco's blushing person. "Hiya!" he said rather awkwardly, blushing crimson himself. "Um… yeah, hi."

He could hardly breathe. His lungs and vocal cords seemed to have shut down, failing him when he needed them most. The adrenaline pumping through him was threatening to replace his blood. 'Does he know how fucking gorgeous he is?' he caught himself thinking. After standing there staring for a moment that felt like eternity he managed to muster a weak, "Hi."

Nervously, Seamus ran a hand through his red-gold hair, making Draco inaudibly gasp. "So… uh… So how's it going, then?"

"Fine, thanks. And you?"

"Actually, I wanted to thank you for… you know… showing some initiative…" he stopped. Smacking his forehead with his hand, he muttered, "Shut up, Seamus." As though he just realized where he was and who he was with, he paled considerably. "I'm sorry, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me."

Relieved beyond relief, Draco laughed. "'S all right. I seem to have lost control of… my… um…"

"Reasoning? Ability to speak correctly?" Seamus replied, grinning. "Yeah, me too."

They paused as a couple of first year Ravenclaws passed them. They had witnessed the momentous event in the dining hall earlier in the week and seemed to not be able to get enough of the boys who were trying rather hard to carry a conversation. They took it upon themselves to stand there and gape for a moment until the mutual looks of get-the-hell-out-of-here-if-you-value-your-lives forced them on their way.

"Hmm, that was a bit awkward, wasn't it?" Seamus said, watching the girls turn the corner.

"Which part?" Draco breathed as he leaned against the wall. He was having an exceptionally difficult time keeping his composure with the way his companion was driving him absolutely mad with desire.

"Well, now that you mention it, I guess the last ten minutes have been kinda awkward, haven't they?" He was shifting his weight from one leg to the other while he became utterly fascinated with his feet. He looked up with a completely horrified expression on his face. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that quite the way it sounded."

Laughing, "Will you get over it, already? You're fine," seemed to put the other at ease. A wonderfully confused look crossed Draco's face. "Hmm. Was that a bad choice of words?"

Now it was Seamus' turn to laugh. "That depends on how you meant it, I suppose. Though I really wouldn't be offended if you meant it… like… that." Once again, he blushed so brightly red it put even Ron's hair to shame. "Shut up, Seamus."

Heart skipping a beat, Draco was overtaken by hope. An extremely suggestive grin graced his angular face. "And if I did mean it like that?" This time it was Seamus who silently gasped. Then he cracked a grin.

"Oi!" Dean's voice carried through the otherwise deserted hallway, grabbing the attention not only of his best friend, but Draco as well. He closed the distance between himself and the boys a few meters ahead. Once he realized that the boys he was running up to were having a 'moment' his characteristic, shit-eating grin cracked his face. "Hiya, Seamus. Malfoy. How goes it today?" he greeted them almost overzealously.

Completely incapable of keeping a straight face or even being bothered by the interruption, Draco returned the smile and replied, just as jovially, "Peachy, Thomas. And yourself?"

Face morphing from embarrassment to shock, Seamus stood there watching these never-before friends converse as though it were the most normal thing in all the world. Simply refusing to acknowledge his friend's discomfort, Dean continued on. "Wonderful, thank you. Lovely weather we're having, don't you think?"

"Actually, I try not to do that too often."

"What? Think? Now you're starting to sound like Seamus."

"I do have a tendency to rub off on people like that, don't I?" he forced his way into the innocuous conversation, desperately trying to move it along.

"Last I checked, you do more rubbing up than-" Dean started.

"That's quite enough out of you!"

With that Draco dissolved into a fit of laughter. Doubling up, he clutched at his stomach and drawing the attention of his companions. It took a moment for him to collect himself and catch his breath before saying, "You two are… so cute." And again he went into peals of laughter. "S-sorry… I can't… help it."

"You know, I think there may be something seriously wrong with him," Dean feigned concern for the hysterical Slytherin.

"Must be a birth defect," Seamus replied, grinning. That comment did absolutely nothing to quell Draco's giggles, sending him right back into hysterics. "Come on, love, lets get you somewhere safe." So he and Dean lead the still giggling little blonde down to lunch.

**

"Impossible!" Hermione exclaimed when she saw the rather peculiar little trio enter the dining hall. Draco Malfoy had each of his arms around Dean and Seamus. They were looking as though things had never been any different for them, like they'd all been best friends since they'd arrived at Hogwarts for their first year of school. While this was true of the latter two, Malfoy had never had anything to do with either of them at all ever. Well, not until about a month and a half ago when Seamus had said something to Draco to make him totally revaluate his entire lifestyle. At least, that's what the rumours said. Not that Hermione really paid all that much attention to rumours, but when neither Seamus nor Dean would say a word to anyone, that's pretty much all one could listen to. It seemed plausible enough… But Malfoy on the arms of said Gryffindors? This was almost too much for her to believe.

Very little of what Seamus Finnegan did surprised anyone who knew him in any remote way, shape, or form. The novelty of the drama between him and Draco Malfoy had worn off a bit ago, excepting that eventful dinner earlier in the week. Still, it did strike Hermione –along with a great many others- as odd when all three of them sat at a few of the vacant seats near the end of the Gryffindor table and began eating lunch as though it were the most normal thing in the world. 'Well, what does it really matter, anyway?' she started asking herself. 'Who says it's not normal?' 'Only anyone who's ever even so much as laid eyes on that ferret, Malfoy.'

Then there was the fact that he had been giving her, Harry, and Ron an inordinate amount of space. Not to say that he had been kind to them, not by far. But he did stop teasing them and really just started ignoring them altogether. Not that he was being particularly rude, though. From all that Hermione had absorbed through her powers of observation, it would have appeared that he had actually become a human being. Who knew? Maybe he might even turn out to be a decent person, at that.

The way he behaved was just too natural for it all to be a ploy. Not even Draco Malfoy would condescend to sit with Gryffindors even if it meant that he would inherit the Earth afterwards. And why, of all people, would he choose Dean and Seamus to play with if it weren't genuine? They had very little to offer the world in terms of incriminating information for the Dark side. Assuming, of course, that Draco would do such a thing as act as a spy for anyone. Really, he didn't have it in him to keep his mouth shut about things he really should keep his mouth shut about. Hell, he's even alluded to his own father practicing Dark Magick, for god's sake, if not outright admitted it. 'This is all just speculation, you know,' Hermione reminded herself for what was probably the three hundred thousandth time in the last five minutes.

"You know, I thought that was impossible," Neville gestured at the party at the end of the table.

"Neville, my dear, nothing is impossible." Ginny was staring in that direction as well, looking a bit peaked as she did so. "As this just goes to show."

This chapter is much better than the last, I think. Do you? What worked? What didn't? God, now I sound all needy. sniffles And I am. But anyhow…. Yeah, thanks to kirpu for the lovely review. I promise this is getting direction. Shock, I know, rub it in. Uh, yeah. Lots of luv and hugs and kisses. Cheers!