Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word count 414
Perfect
Dean leant into Seamus tiredly. He had a cut above his eye and his body ached all over, but they were alive. Seamus was in worse shape than him, and yet the other man (because they could no longer be called boys, they'd just fought a war) had his arm around Dean's shoulder and was running a comforting hand through his hair.
"They're going to reopen."
Dean blinked, looking up to see Neville standing in front of them, visible cuts and bruises everywhere Dean looked. "What?"
"Hogwarts. They're going to rebuild. They're going to reopen."
"How'd you know?" Seamus asked. Dean could hear a slur in his voice from tiredness.
"McGonagall said so," Neville shrugged, kicking his toe against the floor. "After this year… I don't know if I can come back. It's… it's too much to bear. After everything…"
"It'll take time to rebuild," Seamus murmured. "Take some time to heal. You might feel differently."
Neville nodded. He patted Seamus' shoulder and smiled at Dean tightly before he walked off. Dean watched him sit down beside Harry, easily pushing his way through the throng of admirers for the Man Who'd Won Again, or whatever title they were going to give him this time.
Dean smiled when he saw the grateful look on Harry's face at Neville's intrusion.
"I don't think I want to come back," Seamus said after a moment. "Nev's right. After last year… it's a lot."
Dean shrugged as well as he was able with Seamus' arm wrapped around him. "So we'll take off for a bit, ay? Go and explore somewhere warm and new, where… somewhere that doesn't have any memories, good or bad."
"What? Just… go?"
"A fresh start could be good, you know? Somewhere… somewhere new. Somewhere we don't have nightmares about."
"That'd cost a fortune, Dean."
"We could work," Dean replied quietly. "Muggles do it all the time. Backpacking holidays, working wherever they can pick up work in various towns. It's… like a right of passage."
Seamus pressed a kiss to Dean's temple. "That sounds perfect."
Dean nodded, closing his eyes briefly. As much as he wanted nothing more than sleep, he knew that he'd have nightmares and he didn't want any part of that right now.
"Then that's what we'll do. I… I missed you."
Seamus's arm tightened. "If you think I'm letting you out of my sight for anything in the foreseeable future, you can think again."
Dean snorted. He didn't argue.
It was perfect.
Written for;
Showtime - 1. Making a fresh start.
Amber's Attic - DeanSeamus
Hamilton Mania - A1, P17. Post War / Extra - 22. Fortune
Canadian Craze - 2. "It's too much to bear."
