Seamus did not really speak with Millicent Bulstrode after Halloween. Well, he saw her in the Hallways and in Classes and in the Great Hall and in Hogsmeade, but it seemed like that conversation between them never happened. And Seamus felt saddened about that. He felt used . Maybe he should not have expected something else about a Slytherin. Narcissistic little snakes.

That was until a few days before the Christmas Holidays started and he received a letter.

Finnigan,

I know you have stayed away from all the big fests.

But I truly believe you should come to the one on Friday.

Meet me there. Half an hour before it starts!

Do not be late!

M. Bulstrode

Seamus thought about not going. She had not even spoken to him for more than a month and now she wanted to meet. How daring for a Slytherin . But Seamus was curious, and he wanted to know why Millicent wanted to meet him.

So, he met her in the Great Hall, half an hour before a Feast that he truly did not want to attend. She was there in her Slytherin robes and she had a frog on her shoulder this time. "Hi, Finnigan, this is David!" She said stroking the amphibian.

"Because he's much smaller than Goliath?" he asked.

"Aren't you a smart Gryffindork after all?" Millie winked.

"I still do not understand… I thought you said you would not want to get another pet?"

"I didn't… I did it for you." She explained with a grin.

"For me?" Seamus had never been more confused in his life. Never .

Millie nodded and took his hand. "C'mon, Professor Flitwick is waiting for us." And she took him by the hand to an adjacent chamber filled with portraits.

"Professor Flitwick?"

"Yes, Flitwick, your charms professors? of the last seven years? Don't you remember him?" She asked, rolling her eyes "He's also the conductor, the maestro of the Frog Choir." Millicent explained like he was a child and murmuring something about Gryffindors.

"Stop, Bulstrode..."

"Millie!" She suddenly roared, turning around to look at him.

"What?" Seamus asked, looking at her like she was not even a witch . Like she was someone she had never seen before.

"I'm doing something that will mean quite a lot for you, so you better start calling me Millie or Millicent." She explained, and he could read in her voice how important it was for her, how she was dealing with trust and it was not easy for her.

"What? What are you planning to do?" Seamus asked, holding her wrists to stop her from moving forward. "Millie?" That got her attention and she stopped, dark brown eyes finding his. "Now, can you please tell me why you brought me to Professor Flitwick and why you got a new frog?"

"Can I tell him, Professor? Millicent asked the charms master, but her eyes were still on him.

"Yes, Miss Bulstrode, it was your idea after all." Flitwick was watching them from one armchair, reading what seemed like a charm's notebook.

"When we join the Frog Choir, Professor Flitwick bonds the student and the frog, so we are in sync…" Millie explained, a huge smirk on her face like she was 10 steps ahead of him.

"And what has that to do with me, Millie?" He asked.

"It is an experiment… it might not work… But I studied the charms for one month and I'm certain it will be effective." Seamus could see the excitement on her voice, on her eyes, on her smile, on the way her hair seemed to have an energy of its own.

"So, I'm your guinea pig?" He asked, a smirk playing on his lips. That did not sound like such a terrifying idea after all.

"I'll take that as a yes! That you consent to the charm? Yes?" she asked as she placed David on his hands, and Seamus stroked the frog's feet with his thumb.

"I'll supervise, Miss Bulstrode. I think you should cast the spell." Flitwick said.

"Professor?" Millicent cried in surprise. "No… this is too important!"

"I must insist, Mrs Bulstrode, you have been excelling on charms. I don't doubt your ability to cast such a spell" Flitwick said with a grin. "I'll be here to serve with assistance if needed."

Millicent nodded, taking a deep breath, and smiling at Seamus like he had never seen or imagined she could smile. Anticipation, but excitement at the same time. She raised her wand, making a circular motion "Vinculum Anura" and then another "Vinculum Anura" and one more "Vinculum Anura."

"Is it done?" Seamus asked and saw Millicent nod her head, brown eyes looking at him, waiting for a reaction. "I'm sorry, I don't hear anything different… maybe it didn't work because of my hearing impairment… you can't cure something that was caused by magic with magic, right?" The Gryffindor kissed David's head before placing it back on Millicent's shoulder. "Thank you!" And with those words, he left the little chamber.

He rushed through the students that were entering the Hall and ran outside. Ignoring his friends and not even stopping to apologize. Seamus needed to get out. He should not have got his hopes up, but he had thought that maybe, maybe the spell would work.

He felt the cold night air and the freezing snow falling over of him, and he wanted to cry and scream and say how unfair life was. And then he heard something. At first, it was just a rattle, but it was so melodically, and then it was like it changed, like a second sound was added, closer to a chirp. And he could swear he heard a croak. And he knew the animal who croaked.

Seamus rushed back to the Great Hall, barging through the door, and getting closer to the risen platform where the Frog Choir was playing. He quickly found Millicent and David, and the grin that appeared on her face when her brown eyes found his blue ones, was pure happiness, maybe with a little pride. Her spell had work after all.

And now that he was close, he could hear the frog singing much better, the different sounds, the different tones, the different rhythms. It was incredible. It was just one frog, he could only hear David, but it was astonishing, it was all he could have wanted.

He clapped for longer than all the other students, standing, full of joy. What a Christmas gift. And suddenly Millicent Bulstrode was in front of him, still the same cheerful expression on her face. "It seems it worked after all…"

Seamus nodded, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her for a tight hug, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me yet, when David wakes you up during the middle of the night because of the bond, we shall talk!" She chuckled.

"So… When do frogs sing?" Seamus asked with a smirk, stroking David's jaw with his thumb.