Disclaimer: they still don't belong to me. Damn it.
The next morning Seamus woke up bright and early, happier than he'd been for a very long time. After he took a shower and got dressed he practically skipped down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He was one of the first people there; the only other people in the room were two Ravenclaw and a lone Slytherins. The Slytherins had his head down on his arms, but even from across the hall Seamus recognized who it was. A predatory grin slowly spread across his face as he made his way over to the table where the boy was sitting. Plopping down in an empty seat next to him, Seamus draped an arm around the other boy and leaned in really close to whisper in his ear.
"Hey Blaise, babe. So, whatcha doin'?" He felt Blaise stiffen under his arm for a minute, and then relax again. Seamus smirked triumphantly. At least he hadn't jumped up from the table and yelled at Seamus to stay the hell away from him. Maybe there really was hope after all. Seamus fervently wished there was. He didn't think he could handle being rejected by Blaise. Anyone else, yes. Blaise, no.
Meanwhile, Blaise was praying to whatever gods there were out there that the fun loving Gryffindor wasn't just playing with him. His heart told him that he should trust Seamus, that toying with people wasn't something a Gryffindor would do, but then his pesky common sense piped up and reminded him that Seamus wasn't exactly the typical Gryffindor. Still not knowing what to believe, Blaise decided to enjoy the other boy's attention while it lasted and worry about everything else later.
That decided, Blaise sat up and smiled brightly at the Gryffindor sitting beside him. "Why Seamus! What a surprise. What brings you all the way over to the evil Slytherin table? Hasn't anyone ever told you that we eat little innocent Gryffindors like yourself for breakfast?"
"Hmmm, do you really now? That sounds kind of fun; being eaten by a Slytherin. And it looks as if I'm just in time for breakfast, too." Seamus smirked and winked saucily at the other boy. Blaise blushed slightly, but laughed along with him.
While they were still laughing, Draco Malfoy sauntered into the Great Hall, followed closely by Harry Potter. Catching sight of his best friend laughing for the fist time in months brought a genuine smile to the Slytherin's lips. He had been really worried about Blaise. His irritable mood and dark silences just weren't normal for the lighthearted boy. Silent brooding was all right some of the time, but Blaise had been bordering on depression for quite some time.
Turning to his boyfriend, Draco saw that Harry was smiling at the two boys as well. "You know, I think that's the first time I've seen Seamus actually laughing in over three months. I was really starting to get worried."
"You mean Finnigan was being depressing too? Blaise had been snapping at all the Slytherins for weeks now. He even yelled at me last night what I asked him what the problem was. I tell you, being a good friend just doesn't pay when you get yelled at for being concerned," the blonde boy said, crossing his arms and pouting prettily.
Harry just chuckled lightly and leaned in to give him a kiss. He had only meant to give him a quick peck on the lips, but Draco seemed to have other ideas. Wrapping his arms around Harry's waist, he pulled the other boy's body flush against his own, opening his mouth and running his tongue over Harry's bottom lip. Moaning at the contact, Harry wound his arms around Draco's neck, opened his mouth and twirled his tongue with the blonde's.
Just as they were really starting to get into what they were doing, they were interrupted by the sound of wolf-whistles and catcalls. Lifting his mouth from his boyfriend's, Draco turned to glare at the two boys who where still sitting at the Slytherin table.
Grinning cheekily at the couple still standing with their arms around each other, Seamus waved his arm and said, "Oh, don't mind us. We were enjoying the show. Do continue."
Raising his eyebrows at the Gryffindor, Draco let go of Harry and walked over to sit at his table. "You like watching boys snog other boys Finnigan? And here I was under the impression that you were as straight as the Weasel."
"You know, you are the second person who didn't know I was gay. I don't see how you could have missed it. I wasn't exactly quiet about it, and I certainly wasn't discreet." Harry gave a snort of half amusement, half agreement and Seamus's last comment, earning a strange glance from Blaise.
"Well, I've never seen you with any other guys, and you're always flirting with girls. I mean, have you even HAD a boyfriend?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at Seamus.
Blaise unconsciously held his breath, waiting for Seamus to answer. He wasn't sure what he wanted his answer to be. On one hand, if Seamus said he had had a boyfriend, that would mean he really was gay and Blaise would have a chance at a relationship with him. But for some strange reason the thought of Seamus being with anyone else made him extremely jealous.
Seamus just smirked at Draco while Harry snorted again. After waiting a few seconds, Seamus finally answered Draco's question. "Do you remember last year when you caught Terry Boot and I coming down from the Astronomy Tower?" When the blonde Slytherin nodded in affirmation Seamus's smirk widened. "Well, we weren't up there just to study, ya know,"
Draco's eyes went wide and he shared a surprised look with Blaise. When he turned back to Seamus he still hadn't wiped the look off his face. "You mean, you were shagging Terry Boot? From Ravenclaw?" he asked, sounding almost shell-shocked.
Seamus's smirk suddenly transformed into a sly grin. "Yep. If you had come up to check the tower just fifteen minutes earlier, you probably would have caught us in a rather risqué position."
"Seamus, shut up. That's not what he meant. Terry Boot is a deatheater. Or else, he will be, once he's of age. Right now he's taking his orders from my father, which is how I know he's planning to take the mark."
At this news Seamus's smile faded completely to be replaced with a look of disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Terry can't be a-a-deatheater! I thought only Slytherins became deatheaters. Besides, he's not a pureblood. His dad's a muggle. He told me so himself."
"He lied. His father and my father are extremely close. They were friends in Hogwarts and got their marks at the same time. Oh, and I resent that Slytherin remark. Peter Petigrew was a Gryffindor and he's Voldemort's lab dog. It's not that strange for students from other houses to become deatheaters. Actually, there are more bad guys in Hufflepuff than in Slytherin, and that's saying something," Blaise explained.
Seamus just sat quietly for another few seconds, trying to absorb what he had just been told. His mind was running through all of this new information when something caught his attention and wouldn't let go. "Wait a minute. You said this Pettirew person was in Gryffindor? Does that mean there could still be some deatheaters in our house?" All of the sudden Harry, Draco and Blaise looked decidedly uncomfortable. "There are, aren't there? Don't even try lying to me, I can tell by your expressions there are. Who are they and how many of them are there?" he asked with a determined set to his chin.
"Um…" Harry started, not to sure how to tell Seamus what he knew. "Well, do you remember when Dean quit the D.A.?" Seamus nodded hesitantly, not so sure he wanted to know the rest. "Er, well, he lied when he told you it was because he didn't have time for it. He quit because Hermione, Ron and I had confronted him with the information we had gotten from Draco about him being involved with the deatheaters. That's also why I have all of those wards around my bed. I wasn't sure if he would try getting to me for Voldemort, so Hermione and I put them up."
Seamus was left speechless yet again. All of a sudden, though, he started to shake his head violently. "No, no, no, no! I don't believe you. Dean's my BEST FRIEND! Has been since first year. I know him better than all of you combined. He would never do something stupid like join you-know-who. And I know for a fact that he's not a pureblood. Both his mum and dad are muggles, and I've met them, so you can't tell me he was lying."
"Seamus, I know it's a lot to take in, but it is the truth. Blaise has seen him at his house before, and he's been seen having privet conversations with Lucius when he used to come to visit Draco."
"NO! Just shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. I'm telling you I know for a fact that Dean WOULDN'T do that. He's to smart."
"Seamus, I'm - " Blaise started, but was cut off when Seamus stood up and ran from the room. "Seamus! Wait, where are you going?" he yelled after his retreating back.
"I'm going to find Dean and ask him for myself!" he yelled back, not slowing his pace at all.
The three boys remaining at the table shared a look, and then took off after Seamus. Taking a few short cuts that Harry pointed out, they caught up with him about half way up to Gryffindor tower. Grabbing Seamus around the waist, Blaise pulled him through the door Draco was holding open for them.
"Let me go! I'm not going to listen to you people telling lies about my friend! I'm going to go and - "
"And what, exactly? Are you just going to go up to Dean and say 'Hey Dean, guess what I just heard. That you're a deatheater! So, is it true?' Yeah, and he's really going to tell you the truth. Not only are you going to put him on guard, but you'll also put Blaise in danger. His father doesn't know that he's not going to join the deatheaters, but he does know that Blaise is the only person who would know Dean is still working for him. So stop being so stupid and selfish and think for a change. We wouldn't tell you something like that if it wasn't the truth," Draco said, backing Seamus into a corner so he couldn't escape.
"No," Seamus said again, though this time he said it less vehemently. "No, please, just stop." There were now tears leaking down his face. Draco moved back away from the sandy haired Gryffindor. He hadn't been expecting him to start crying, and didn't know what to do. Seamus slowly sank to the floor, all the while whispering 'No' and 'Please stop.' Draco shared a helpless look with Harry, who looked shocked. When he looked at Blaise, though, he saw something he hadn't been expecting. Instead of looking shocked like Harry or uncomfortable like Draco, Blaise looked like it was his best friend that was the deatheater, like he was sharing Seamus's pain.
After a second's hesitation, Blaise moved to crouch down beside Seamus. Reaching out, he tentatively laid a hand on his shoulder. Blaise wasn't really sure what he was going to do. All he knew was that it broke his heart to see Seamus like this, and he wanted to do something to help him.
"Seamus," he said quietly. The blonde Gryffindor wrapped his arms around Blaise's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. Having Seamus hanging off of his neck was making Blaise rather uncomfortable in his crouching position, so he sank the rest of the way to the floor and drug Seamus into his lap. The Gryffindor was full out crying by this time, and Blaise cringed a little at the thought of his new shirt being soaked with his tears, but let him cry just the same, hugging him tightly and running his hand up and down his back in soothing motions.
Harry and Draco, who were still just standing around, looked at each other with knowing smiles. In silent agreement, they left the room quietly, leaving Blaise to deal with Seamus.
Seamus's sobs slowly subsided until he was just sniffling. Seamus pushed away from Blaise gently so that he could look into his eyes. "I'm sorry about that," he said sheepishly.
"It's fine-"
"No, let me explain. If Dean really is, well, evil, I'm alone…"
"Seamus-"
"Wait…Dean is the only person who really seems to get me. He never saw me as just a clown or flirt like everyone else." That comment made Blaise feel slightly guilty. "I guess without him I just feel…alone."
"You're not alone Seamus," Blaise said softly after a moment. "I'm here. And, um, I'd like to get you."
Seamus just stared at him for a moment, not sure if he had heard right. Blaise, thinking that maybe he had made mistake about Seamus, started to move away.
Feeling the other boy moving jolted Seamus back to his senses. Fearing Blaise might have changed his mind; Seamus did the first thing he could think of to keep him there. He kissed him. When Blaise just froze and didn't respond, Seamus pulled away from him, looking at Blaise with a horribly embarrassed expression on his face. "I'm so sorry," he said quietly, then stood and ran from the room.
A/N: I'm really, really, REALLY sorry I haven't updated in forever. It took longer to write than I thought it would, and I even had to cut it short so I could get it out. Since I'm really busy and kind of stuck, the next chapter will probably take longer. Hopefully no more than a month. Oh, and I just read a REALLY good story by Neko called 'Shared Intentions' on adultfanfic. It's a Harry/Draco story and has rape in it, but I like it. If you get the chance, read it. It's great.
