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Gryffindor Auction Prompt: Day 23, Auction 4: Seamus Finnegan

Word Count: 770


Faded But Not Gone


The soulmark on his wrist was still grey. Seamus wasn't sure what to make of that, if he was honest with himself.

Usually, soulmarks only faded if your mate was dead, but Seamus' hadn't faded. It had just… paled.

Was his soulmate in a coma? It was the only thing Seamus could think of. He knew that someone suffering deep depression or grief could cause a soulmark to fade, but the longest recorded period of that was a few weeks at most. Even if the person was still suffering, it eased enough for the soulmark to regain its deepness.

Seamus' soulmark had been grey for almost a year.

The DA reunion was bittersweet. It was wonderful to see the people he considered his extended family, but at the same time, it was very obvious that they were missing members.

It had been good to catch up with Neville and Harry, Ron and Hermione. Dean was there, but given they shared a flat, Seamus saw him plenty already.

Luna was there, laughing softly with Ginny in the corner. Parvati was talking to Hermione, but she looked odd without Lavender standing beside her.

Dennis had come, and it was brilliant to see him but Seamus couldn't look at him without seeing Colin, and that hurt because they'd all been kids but Colin seemed even younger by comparison.

It was a death that stung all of them.

In the corner, Seamus saw Percy and Oliver, and then he realised they weren't alone. George was with them, and Seamus was a little surprised to see him, because, well, George was struggling.

It was understandable of course, Seamus couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose a twin.

George seemed to feel his gaze and looked up to meet his eyes. Seamus raised his glass and nodded his head.

It felt like a triumph when the gesture was returned.

The second reunion, a whole year later, and Seamus was surprised how many of his friends had found their soulmates.

All it took was a touch, skin to skin, but given the amount of people in the world, it wasn't so hugely common to actually find your soulmate.

Seamus' own mark had darkened slightly over the last year, but it still wasn't the usual black. Still, he hoped that the darker mark meant that, whatever had happened to his soulmate, it was getting better for them.

Seamus listened to the updates on his friends' lives, smiling and nodding in all the right places. The biggest victory he'd heard of during the evening was the upcoming reopening of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

He was glad George seemed to be getting some semblance of his life back together.

Speaking of George, Seamus was joined at the bar by the red head as the night wore on, and the two chatted in low voices about the shop, and Seamus' healer training.

George still seemed somewhat diminished from the fun-loving, vibrant person he'd been when they were still in school, but he seemed more lively than he had; almost like he was relearning who he was again.

It was when they were both going to pay the bill that their hands brushed together and a surge of warmth flowed through Seamus' hand and up his arm.

He blinked, and then looked down at his wrist just in time to see his mark change, from the firework it had been to the name George Weasley.

"Holy fuck," he whispered.

"I… yeah," George agreed, looking at his own mark.

The third DA reunion brought with it baby news from a few couples. There were more rings worn on fingers and there were promotions and the end of training being discussed, all kinds of news as lives were moving forward at a rather alarming pace.

But the biggest news in the place seemed to be the smile on George's face, as he talked and laughed, his arm wrapped securely over Seamus' shoulders for most of the evening.

And Seamus' smile was just as wide, just as happy, because a quick glance at his wrist showed his soulmate's name in almost black writing.

Seamus thought that it wouldn't ever go fully black—George would always be mourning Fred in ways that others could never understand—but that was okay.

Because George was smiling, and he was happy, and that was all Seamus wanted for him.

They were getting ready to leave when George wrapped his arms around Seamus' waist and tugged him close for a kiss.

"I love you."

Seamus smiled and pressed another quick kiss to George's lips. "I love you too."