A/N: This chapter (dedicated to the w00bie Kimmie of the E/S creational fame) has, among other things, Emma/Seamus fluff. Thanks to the [few] who have been feeding my evil inner review whore, she really appreciates it!
Disclaimer: ...Can we say 'no shit, Sherlock!'?
~*~
Harry walked out of Double Potions with the Slytherins with a stony expression on his face. Lessons were somewhat different, now. More of a focus on technique and practicality than on theory, at least relative to the past. Antidotes... they weren't hard to brew, and they had learnt all about it in earlier years. But Montague had, with a blank expression, told them to brew several of the most common ones. As they were cleaning up, Montague had been combining the successfully brewed ones of the same types... into holding bottles, several racks of labelled single-dosage vials in front of him.
Antidotes and Healing Potions... to be used by the masses that were injured each day in the battles... Harry walked off towards the direction of Defense Against the Dark Arts even as the Slytherins separated from them towards the direction of History of Magic.
Ron glared at the back of Draco Malfoy as the Head Boy, falling in step next to Pansy Parkinson, silently made his way down the hall in the opposite direction. "Slimy Slytherins... I'd rather take candy from Fred and George than a so-called 'Healing Potion' from one of THEM..."
Harry sighed. Thus far, all the student Death Eaters who had been apprehended from the battle... eight out of the ten had been Slytherins. It was an admittedly bad track record, but then again...
It had been Slytherin first-year Persephone Vafer who had stopped Millicent Bulstrode with a brick to the head. It had been Slytherin Prefect Emma Dobbs who had hit Theodore Nott with a Stunning Spell, before the latter could hex Harry's own roommate Seamus from behind. Slytherins... it didn't seem quite so simple nowadays...
And then, they had arrived in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Harry put those thoughts behind him.
~*~
Roger Davies was standing in front of the classroom, face turned towards the window, when the Gryffindors filed inside. The young Auror's face was solemn as he shut the door behind the last student.
"I expect that everyone has been practicing the Countercurses to those mind-control spells?" he asked the class in a quiet voice. Nods of assent and affirmative murmurs greeted him, and Roger gave what was almost a smile. He didn't smile often.
A few more spells demonstrated, and Roger paired the class up in groups to practice casting the spell. With the odd number of students present, Harry ended up paired with Roger himself, who cast the spells for the student to counter as they stood, facing each other, a short distance from where Neville and Hermione were practicing.
"Good work," Roger told Harry after the student had countered several spells in quick succession. "A bit cleaner on the upstroke of the last countercurse, but otherwise, very good." He lifted a hand and rubbed his left arm, which was still bandaged around the forearm.
Harry's curiosity got the better of him, and he gave his interim Defense professor an odd look. "Pardon me for asking, sir... but what happened with that?"
"This?" Roger pointed at his arm. When the student nodded, the former Ravenclaw captain gave a rueful sort of grin.
"I was in a battle... my partner and I were facing off a pack of Death Eaters... we were rather outnumbered, and as I was dueling with one of the Death Eaters, another hexed me from behind. Well... with a Conburo Dermae aimed at my head."
Harry's eyes widened at this account, spoken very simply, and stared at the face of this former fellow student. Roger... Professor Davies sighed, a frown marring his face.
"It hit your arm though," Harry pointed out.
Roger nodded silently, a pensive look in his too-old eyes. "My partner gave me a shove. She took the brunt of it..." He took a deep breath, then composed himself, "She's in St. Mungo's. They're trying to fix the burns on her face... singed through a few nerves." He looked down at the wand in his hand, "I'm just lucky to be alive. That curse is deadly at close range."
"Who is she?" Harry asked quietly.
"Oh... she was my trainer, actually. You probably don't know her; she was in 7th year by the time you entered. Her name is Madison Higgs, formerly of Slytherin House. Her younger brother Terence was Slytherin's Seeker before Draco Malfoy."
At Harry's stunned look, Roger gave another hollow smile. "Yes, Potter... there ARE Slytherins out there who help others."
Actually, Seamus, who was standing about ten feet away, shooting spells back and forth with Parvati, could have told him that. Not that anyone knew.
~*~
Seamus guessed that it was nearly three o'clock in the morning now, although it was always hard to tell, here.
There were no windows in the dungeons, and the only light in the room came from the dying fire in the grate.
Seamus shifted slightly in the bed, flexing his bare limbs. It wasn't the first time that he'd slept here.
It wasn't the first time that he'd had sex with her here, either.
In the dim glow of the nearly-gone fire, her skin shimmered smooth, a dark honey gold. Dusky, luscious eyelashes rested upon pale cheeks, and her chest rose slightly with each breath she took.
Oh, she was stunning.
Though... not the type of beauty that brought men to their knees, singing songs of praise and odes of joy. She was a small little thing, the top of her head barely coming to his lips when she stood erect. The face was attractive, but not flawless, and though her skin was soft and smooth and her figure pleasing, she wasn't a perfect beauty.
But she had gorgeous blue eyes deep as oceans and bright as stars, and when she looked at him, they would always be warm and soft. He'd never seen anyone with such beautiful eyes, not even the veela at the Quidditch World Cup that he'd attended years ago.
And her delicate, almost fairylike features were more mobile and expressive than most would associate with her house.
The body that she'd given to him shivered slightly with the chill of the room, and he snapped out of his reverie. The dungeons WERE a bit more cool than most were accustomed to, even those like her.
Pulling the covers higher over her form, he moved a bit closer until he was holding her in his arms, her body nestled against his own, spooned together.
Her head was tucked underneath his chin, and in his line of vision, he saw their clothing, haphazardly strewn over the carpeted floor. Robes and shoes and trousers and skirts and underthings, a mess. They never WERE quite polished when they did this. It was always need and passion and intoxicatingly deep, breath-stealing kisses, hands that held and touched and unwrapped.
Dully, the silk of both their ties, lying almost side by side, shimmered in the glow from the coals. Red and green and gold and silver. A somewhat hazy splotch of colour on the dark background of black robes and forest green plush carpet.
Almost melding together.
Complementing and... bringing out the vividness in each other.
And Seamus, his heart almost too full of a sudden torrent of overwhelming, choking emotions, moved until Emma was firmly tucked in his arms, his hands resting on her waist and his face buried in her hair. And his eyes glittered with an odd light as he, with infinite tenderness, kissed the top of her head before finally closing his eyes as she stopped shivering.
~*~
Emma awoke, warm and lethargic, at dawn. She tried to stir, but the strength of the warm arms wrapped around her prevented her from moving too far. Turning slowly so that she was facing him, she gazed at him curiously.
He opened his eyes when he felt her moving, and unconsciously, tightened his arms before he realized that she wasn't going anywhere. And when his eyes met hers, she was smirking slightly.
"Isn't your arm dead from me lying on it all night?" she asked softly, lightly.
He smiled, and there was something unusually tender in it. But before she had time to think about it, he kissed her cheek lightly, "You were cold."
She smiled lazily, before closing her eyes again. "Oh."
It was still early, and she went back to sleep. And he watched her, making out her peaceful features in the darkness of the room.
And he reflected that she was beautiful when she smiled for him.
Disclaimer: ...Can we say 'no shit, Sherlock!'?
~*~
Harry walked out of Double Potions with the Slytherins with a stony expression on his face. Lessons were somewhat different, now. More of a focus on technique and practicality than on theory, at least relative to the past. Antidotes... they weren't hard to brew, and they had learnt all about it in earlier years. But Montague had, with a blank expression, told them to brew several of the most common ones. As they were cleaning up, Montague had been combining the successfully brewed ones of the same types... into holding bottles, several racks of labelled single-dosage vials in front of him.
Antidotes and Healing Potions... to be used by the masses that were injured each day in the battles... Harry walked off towards the direction of Defense Against the Dark Arts even as the Slytherins separated from them towards the direction of History of Magic.
Ron glared at the back of Draco Malfoy as the Head Boy, falling in step next to Pansy Parkinson, silently made his way down the hall in the opposite direction. "Slimy Slytherins... I'd rather take candy from Fred and George than a so-called 'Healing Potion' from one of THEM..."
Harry sighed. Thus far, all the student Death Eaters who had been apprehended from the battle... eight out of the ten had been Slytherins. It was an admittedly bad track record, but then again...
It had been Slytherin first-year Persephone Vafer who had stopped Millicent Bulstrode with a brick to the head. It had been Slytherin Prefect Emma Dobbs who had hit Theodore Nott with a Stunning Spell, before the latter could hex Harry's own roommate Seamus from behind. Slytherins... it didn't seem quite so simple nowadays...
And then, they had arrived in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Harry put those thoughts behind him.
~*~
Roger Davies was standing in front of the classroom, face turned towards the window, when the Gryffindors filed inside. The young Auror's face was solemn as he shut the door behind the last student.
"I expect that everyone has been practicing the Countercurses to those mind-control spells?" he asked the class in a quiet voice. Nods of assent and affirmative murmurs greeted him, and Roger gave what was almost a smile. He didn't smile often.
A few more spells demonstrated, and Roger paired the class up in groups to practice casting the spell. With the odd number of students present, Harry ended up paired with Roger himself, who cast the spells for the student to counter as they stood, facing each other, a short distance from where Neville and Hermione were practicing.
"Good work," Roger told Harry after the student had countered several spells in quick succession. "A bit cleaner on the upstroke of the last countercurse, but otherwise, very good." He lifted a hand and rubbed his left arm, which was still bandaged around the forearm.
Harry's curiosity got the better of him, and he gave his interim Defense professor an odd look. "Pardon me for asking, sir... but what happened with that?"
"This?" Roger pointed at his arm. When the student nodded, the former Ravenclaw captain gave a rueful sort of grin.
"I was in a battle... my partner and I were facing off a pack of Death Eaters... we were rather outnumbered, and as I was dueling with one of the Death Eaters, another hexed me from behind. Well... with a Conburo Dermae aimed at my head."
Harry's eyes widened at this account, spoken very simply, and stared at the face of this former fellow student. Roger... Professor Davies sighed, a frown marring his face.
"It hit your arm though," Harry pointed out.
Roger nodded silently, a pensive look in his too-old eyes. "My partner gave me a shove. She took the brunt of it..." He took a deep breath, then composed himself, "She's in St. Mungo's. They're trying to fix the burns on her face... singed through a few nerves." He looked down at the wand in his hand, "I'm just lucky to be alive. That curse is deadly at close range."
"Who is she?" Harry asked quietly.
"Oh... she was my trainer, actually. You probably don't know her; she was in 7th year by the time you entered. Her name is Madison Higgs, formerly of Slytherin House. Her younger brother Terence was Slytherin's Seeker before Draco Malfoy."
At Harry's stunned look, Roger gave another hollow smile. "Yes, Potter... there ARE Slytherins out there who help others."
Actually, Seamus, who was standing about ten feet away, shooting spells back and forth with Parvati, could have told him that. Not that anyone knew.
~*~
Seamus guessed that it was nearly three o'clock in the morning now, although it was always hard to tell, here.
There were no windows in the dungeons, and the only light in the room came from the dying fire in the grate.
Seamus shifted slightly in the bed, flexing his bare limbs. It wasn't the first time that he'd slept here.
It wasn't the first time that he'd had sex with her here, either.
In the dim glow of the nearly-gone fire, her skin shimmered smooth, a dark honey gold. Dusky, luscious eyelashes rested upon pale cheeks, and her chest rose slightly with each breath she took.
Oh, she was stunning.
Though... not the type of beauty that brought men to their knees, singing songs of praise and odes of joy. She was a small little thing, the top of her head barely coming to his lips when she stood erect. The face was attractive, but not flawless, and though her skin was soft and smooth and her figure pleasing, she wasn't a perfect beauty.
But she had gorgeous blue eyes deep as oceans and bright as stars, and when she looked at him, they would always be warm and soft. He'd never seen anyone with such beautiful eyes, not even the veela at the Quidditch World Cup that he'd attended years ago.
And her delicate, almost fairylike features were more mobile and expressive than most would associate with her house.
The body that she'd given to him shivered slightly with the chill of the room, and he snapped out of his reverie. The dungeons WERE a bit more cool than most were accustomed to, even those like her.
Pulling the covers higher over her form, he moved a bit closer until he was holding her in his arms, her body nestled against his own, spooned together.
Her head was tucked underneath his chin, and in his line of vision, he saw their clothing, haphazardly strewn over the carpeted floor. Robes and shoes and trousers and skirts and underthings, a mess. They never WERE quite polished when they did this. It was always need and passion and intoxicatingly deep, breath-stealing kisses, hands that held and touched and unwrapped.
Dully, the silk of both their ties, lying almost side by side, shimmered in the glow from the coals. Red and green and gold and silver. A somewhat hazy splotch of colour on the dark background of black robes and forest green plush carpet.
Almost melding together.
Complementing and... bringing out the vividness in each other.
And Seamus, his heart almost too full of a sudden torrent of overwhelming, choking emotions, moved until Emma was firmly tucked in his arms, his hands resting on her waist and his face buried in her hair. And his eyes glittered with an odd light as he, with infinite tenderness, kissed the top of her head before finally closing his eyes as she stopped shivering.
~*~
Emma awoke, warm and lethargic, at dawn. She tried to stir, but the strength of the warm arms wrapped around her prevented her from moving too far. Turning slowly so that she was facing him, she gazed at him curiously.
He opened his eyes when he felt her moving, and unconsciously, tightened his arms before he realized that she wasn't going anywhere. And when his eyes met hers, she was smirking slightly.
"Isn't your arm dead from me lying on it all night?" she asked softly, lightly.
He smiled, and there was something unusually tender in it. But before she had time to think about it, he kissed her cheek lightly, "You were cold."
She smiled lazily, before closing her eyes again. "Oh."
It was still early, and she went back to sleep. And he watched her, making out her peaceful features in the darkness of the room.
And he reflected that she was beautiful when she smiled for him.