Its Kind of Strange Like That

I do not own Seamus or Ron or the other people who are here but aren't important that all.

Author: Dimitri Aidan

Series: Nah

Rating: R at the most

Pairings: Seamus/Ron, Dean/Harry, Hermione/Viktor, and other things.

Warnings: AU. It's an old one a friend started years ago that I've decided to pick up, much against my better judgment. Tremble in fear. Slash and such…

Notes: Just another part of my Seamus appreciation kick.

Chapter One: So Being Depressed is a Common Thing?

Dean Thomas was having a good time. He was sitting in the common room with his boyfriend, doing nothing and he honestly didn't think he'd been happier in a long time. Well…maybe he shouldn't have been too happy, since he was fixing up the aforementioned boyfriends newest cuts and such, since Madam Pomfrey would only see him if something was seriously wrong these days, but still when dating a celebrity you had to take what you could get by the way of alone time.

"Ow! Deannnnn…"

"And you call yourself the Boy Who Lived." Dean muttered disdainfully, swabbing a cotton ball over the dark haired boy's cut eyebrow. Harry Potter pouted pathetically, hoping for some kind of sympathy from his taller boyfriend and only getting a piece of ice on his split lip for his trouble. "Don't even try it Harry. The pouting has no effect on me, I've been Seamus' only friend too long for that."

"I heard that Dean!" Seamus Finnigan shouted, glaring at Dean who stuck out his tongue then turned all of his attention back to Harry who grinned at Seamus then snuggled deeper into Dean's arms.

Seamus sighed and went back to his book. Yes he could actually read. He knew that it was a shocking revelation for some people, since he was the official idiot of Gryffindor, a title he had unknowingly won from Neville in his fifth year, most people wouldn't expect such things. And not only did he read, but he read chapter books. Gasp, he actually read novels and not just the trashy kind his Da's sister bought at the supermarket either.

He knew, it must have boggled the mind to even contemplate that he had a brain and knew how to use it, but he did, so…

He growled to himself and tried to focus on the book. Return of the King, it was pretty interesting already and he was only into the second chapter. Though…he was still bitter that one of his favorite characters had ended up being a nut job and died in the last one. He had already read the first two books in this series and even choked down The Hobbit. The Hobbit had been…a little on the boring side.

He looked up and found Dean and Harry being…absolutely sickening on the couch, damn those two for being so fucking happy and…in love while he lost his best friend and suffered through the fucking Hobbit! Feeling just a little disgusted he tossed his book at the far too happy couple and stalked out, muttering thoroughly inappropriate things under his breath as he did.

He hadn't been jealous at first, he honestly had been happy for the both of them because they…made each other ridiculously happy. That had been in December of their fifth year, right before Christmas actually, which mean their two year anniversary was coming up and…it had just really hit him that they were serious about each other.

That had made him even happier at first, that meant Dean would be happy for a while to come and Harry might not lose his mind like everyone thought he was. But now…two years…that was…god…he hadn't thought two teenagers could possibly stay with each other that long let alone still be happy and…a little on the sappy side as well.

They weren't always like that, they had their fights and periods of silence as well, but when they got a moment alone the love just…radiated off of them and instead of being happy he was bitter and jealous and feeing pretty damn spiteful. And to be perfectly honest he didn't want to be alone in his pissy mood, he felt that he should bring someone down with him.

And, almost as if on cue Hermione walked around the corner looking…happy. Which made him angrier because he could guess why she was so damn happy and he was willing to bet it was because of her boyfriend, Krum. Well goody for her.

"Oh, hey Seamus, what's up?"

"Nothing. Get a letter from Krum?" Her cheeks flushed and she nodded. He nodded slowly. "You must really trust him. If my girlfriend lived…god only knows where I'd be really worried about what they were doing all of the time, you know? Like are their other guys looking at her or is she starting to forget about me, is she lonely? That kind of stuff. And what with him being such a big star, I bet he had girls all over him."

Her smile faltered and seemed fixed on. "Well…Me and Viktor trust each other…of course…he wouldn't forget about me or…anything…and he doesn't care about those other girls." She looked at her feet for a minute. "Excuse me Seamus, I have to go."

Seamus watched as she ran off, probably to find Lavender and Parvati then have a really good bitch and cry fest. Well, he hoped she enjoyed herself. Oddly enough he didn't feel any better now that Hermione was miserable as well, probably because she'd eventually figure out that Seamus was feeling bitchy and had taken it out on her and then she'd go back to her happy little love filled world.

He was seriously considering, as in really and truly thinking over it, jumping out of the Astronomy tower when Ginny and Neville walked out of the library, smiling happily and holding hands and all of that good rot. Just when he'd thought he'd left that shit behind with Dean and Harry.

He was trying to figure out if he could get away without being seen when Ginny, who was really a good person and wanted the entire world to be happy and…perfect and all of that happy stuff, and he swore the girl hadn't been seriously depressed since her first year, and she was even happier now that she was with Neville, bounced over and smiled at him.

"Hi Ginny."

She frowned. "Something wrong Seamus?"

"Just trying to figure out whether or not I would pass out before hitting the ground if I jumped out of the Astronomy tower." He replied honestly. "I'm hoping not, that would just ruin the effect."

She smirked, undaunted. "Well, you can keep Ron company then. He said he was going to jump too."

"Ginny, did it occur to you for even a moment that your weird ass brother might actually be depressed and considering jumping and that while you were making out with Neville he actually went up to the tower and that as we speak he's looking down at the ground and that by the time I get up there he may be nothing more then a tangled mass of shattered bones and blood on the ground? Some kind of splotch on the front steps maybe?"

Ginny's mouth opened but all that came out was a tiny squeak. Seamus could see the tears starting before she turned and ran off in the direction of the towers. Neville glared at him with more intensity then he thought capable of the other boy.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk all of the time?"

"Is that a trick question?" Seamus drawled in a tone that any Slytherin would have been proud of. "Oh you're serious? Well, misery loves company and all of that."

"God, you and Ron are both being such…" Neville shook is head and walked off, intent on finding his girlfriend and making her feel better. Seamus waved at his friend's retreating back then looked around.

Might as well go find Ron and see what his apparent partner in anti-social crimes against happy people was up to. Maybe he could freak Ginny out even more and shove Ron out of the tower. She was sure to love that…

Bitter and homicidal, today was obviously a good day for him.

0000000000

He found Ron in the tower…well actually, he found Ron out of the tower, sitting on the ledge about five feet below the window. You could hop there from the window, if you weren't terribly afraid like most people, and get back in through a small trap door. The thing about the ledge was that there were no spells keeping you from falling to a terrible and painful doom (why was that thought so entertaining) and it was only a meter wide.

If you missed…well it was a good idea to not miss. Seamus didn't and landed with a dull thud. He wondered a little too late if he should have announced his presence so Ron didn't freak out and like…kill himself or something, because he decided he didn't want the whole Weasely clan on his ass just to freak out Ginny. Very few things were worth having a group of angry redheads after you.

Ron didn't even flinch. He just looked back at Seamus then turned back around and went back to watching the Hufflepuff House Team practice for the game tomorrow.

"I heard you were thinking about jumping." Seamus greeted.

"The thought had crossed my mind." Ron admitted, not sounding regretful or guilty. He sounded amused. Seamus understood that. After a while, having an actual death wish loses it's 'Oh my god what's wrong with me' appeal and becomes an endless source of amusement in your head, even if the humor is crude and no one else likes it. The many ways he could imagine to kill himself were a true testament to his creativity, in his humble opinion.

Dean tended to disagree and Seamus had never felt inclined to give anyone else any insight into his world. Hell, he didn't feel like letting Dean in all that often these days.

"Your sister didn't seem to think so." Seamus smirked. "Did I mention I made her cry by suggesting that while she was playing kissy-face with Neville you might have actually jumped and be a smear by now."

"That's not nice." Ron deadpanned.

"It wasn't meant to be." Seamus quipped. "So, what brought on this bout of screw the world angst Weasley?"

"It was either this or strangle Harry and Dean by default. I don't understand how anyone can be that damn happy so much of the fucking time because of another human being. It just…boggles the mind."

"According to my mother it's the sort of thing you can't understand until it happens to you." Seamus didn't even try to keep the note of disbelief from his voice. His mother was a bit of a romantic he supposed and still mooned over his father, though in Seamus' opinion the man was a bit of a goof, and he couldn't take her word that seriously.

"Right."

"You know what I think?" Seamus asked, realizing he was setting himself up for another insult.

If Ron said nothing he would know he had wasted his time and they two of them could continue to be friends by the joining of their best friends as usual. He liked Ron yeah, but they weren't close, they had never been close. He was okay with that, this was their seventh year after all, he was used to it.

"Nope." Ron said calmly.

Seamus grinned. "I think you're developing a nasty case of envy."

Ron blinked and turned slowly to face Seamus. "Are you saying that I like Harry and or Dean?"

"No." Seamus said calmly. "I just said you were envious. Admit it, you hate the fact that you can almost never get Harry away from Dean and when you do all he wants to do is see Dean or talk about Dean or think about Dean, no matter what you suggest. You might as well be total strangers for all the good talking to him does."

Ron sighed. "You too?"

"Uh hu." Seamus smiled thinly, all traces of humor gone. "Is it wrong to hate your best friend most of the time because he's found someone that makes him happy and seems to have forgotten you even exist?"

"No."

"No?"

"No." Ron repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Dean and Harry had started it after all, he and Seamus were just innocent bystanders in their little love affair. Okay, so maybe he was jealous that Dean had his best friend. Yes, Dean was Harry's boyfriend and maybe he deserved a little more of Harry's time because of it, but was it so much for Ron to ask to have a conversation with Harry that didn't involve Dean in any way, shape, or form? He understood that they were…together and had that love thing going for them, great, but Ron still wanted something.

Not Harry, exactly, he'd never wanted Harry, but like he hadn't spent years as the sidekick and best friend and the one person Harry could always come to. Did that count for nothing now that Harry had his very own boy-toy?

He refused to believe he was wrong for wanting to talk to his best friend and by default, Seamus couldn't be wrong either. His logic as…probably full of flaws, but what did it matter?

"I tired of this you know." Seamus muttered. "Tired of watching everyone else be so damn happy, tired of being alone all the time, tired of people looking at me funny because I'm not acting crazed or hyper. Like I can't be upset or have teenage depression like everyone else does."

"I know." Ron agreed. "I have been saying it for years I don't want to go down in history as Harry Potter's faithful sidekick but if I go anywhere without him or act pissed off with him everyone acts like I've broken some kind of sacred law. I'm allowed to act like a prick if I want to."

"Or overly bitchy and want to bring everyone down to your level of depression because being spiteful really isn't that bad of a thing." Seamus added, a grin forming on his lips.

"Nothing wrong with being spiteful." Ron agreed. "Besides, guilt was invented by someone who didn't feel bad for something they should have felt bad for."

Seamus was quiet for a moment and then laughed. "That actually made sense."

"Yep, I'm the next Confucius." Ron quipped, moving closer to the edge for the sole purpose of dangling his legs over it.

"Confucius: the only wizard more nutters then Dumbledore." Seamus said, cracking a grin as he sat next to Ron again.

"Sad but true." Ron returned the smile. This was kind of…strange in a good way. It was true he and Seamus had shared a room for seven years and pulled a few pranks together but….they weren't really friends. It was amazing how you could be around some almost half your life and still know next to nothing about them. He'd never thought about it or bothered to ask.

They just sat there for a while, no longer speaking, watching as the sun started to sink below the trees and the sky turned a golden-pink color. It was quiet for a change, none of the constant movement and noise inside of the school and the Hufflepuffs were packing up and preparing to go inside, since it did get pretty chilly at night, as it was mid-November and all. Neither one of them showed any sigh of wanting to go anywhere.

It was a nice kind of silence, understanding and companionable. Seamus decided he and Ron should hang out more, it was nice to be around someone who understood that he wasn't going to by happy all of the time…not even some of the time if that was how he felt.

He sighed then frowned at nothing, feeling eyes staring at him intently. And since he was pretty sure no one but Ron was out here, he turned to face then redhead, only to have Ron lean in at the same moment and lips brushed lightly. Almost instantly Ron jumped back and looked away, cheeks turning bright red. Seamus just blinked.

"Sorry, I wasn't…thinking. I was…I don't know." Ron felt pretty stupid at this point. Damn hormones…it wasn't his fault Seamus had just been sitting there…looking so…well…Ron hadn't been thinking straight and had wanted to kiss him, he'd admit it. It wasn't like he'd never wanted to kiss other people…never another boy though…well maybe Draco…once or twice.

But he'd never acted on it because no matter how attractive the slimy git might have been he was just that, a slimy git.

"Ron." Seamus poked him in the arm. Ron turned, cheeks burning and Seamus grinned. "You've never kissed another boy have you?"

"Sure I have…not…" Ron blushed darker.

"Huh. I would have thought you and Harry-"

"What!" Ron's eyes widened. "No, we never…did you and Dean?"

Seamus shrugged. "We kissed once or twice, just to…see you know? It was…a little after he and Harry first…thought about getting together. He wanted to be sure I guess. It isn't a big thing…I like Dean and all…but there was nothing there that way."

"Oh." Ron said softly, looking at his hands. "So I didn't freak you out or anything/"

Seamus shook his head then reached out and tugged on a lock of Ron's hair thoughtfully. He moved his hand down Ron's face and cupped his cheek. Another blush was working it's way up Ron's face but he remained still as Seamus leaned into him. He didn't move at first then kissed back tentatively.

It was kind of weird. He'd never been kissed before…he'd kissed girls sure, but he was always in control and seemed to start the contact, this was different. Seamus was in control here, no doubt about that in Ron's mind, and was purposefully keeping it light and easy. Ron had to confess he was rarely as considerate to the people he was with…he didn't mind letting Seamus lead.

There was a light questioning brush against his lips and, after a moment, his lips parted slowly to allow Seamus entrance. Seamus flicked his tongue over Ron's playfully, smiling some before puling back. Ron was pink again and panting softly. Taking that as a good sign Seamus took Ron's lips again, tongue slipping into Ron's mouth. Ron's arms wrapped around his neck and Ron leaned into him, pressing his lips against Seamus' firmly.

Seamus pulled him closer, arms wrapped around his waist, so Ron was practically in his lap. Ron had to admit that, despite how odd it was to be out here doing this….it was really nice.

It was the first nice thing in a long time.