A/N: I don't own anything you recognize and I'm definitely not making money off this.

This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry

Auction Day 12 Rare pairs – Piers/Dean

Word Count: 928

Warning: mentions of character death.

Dean paused in the doorway. He knew this was going to help, it had to help. There really wasn't anything else left to try. He'd done everything he could to cope with Seamus' death. He'd drunken himself into oblivion several nights in a row. He'd tried drugs, Dreamless, anything he could get his hands on. None of it really helped. None of it actually got rid of the pain. It had numbed things for a bit, long enough for him to realize that everything he was doing was wrong.

"It does help," a voice commented. Dean looked over to his left where a guy was standing. He was thin, with a longish face. His black hair hung over his eyes.

"Why do you say that?" Dean asked, looking at the bloke.

"Because you're thinking about whether or not to go inside, to the meeting. That's why you're here, for the meeting. I can see it in your eyes."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, right, I'm Piers Polkiss, and I'm also here for the meeting," he said, extending a hand. Dean shook it.

"Dean Thomas, and you're right, I'm standing here because I'm not sure I'm ready to go inside."

"We all start that way, don't we? Not sure what to do, if moving on is really, really even possible. Who did you lose?"

"My boyfriend... well, almost boyfriend, we didn't get a chance... You?"

"A good friend, Dudley. I still don't know what happened. The house was blown apart, they found three bodies... one of them was his," Piers answered, tears sparkling in his eyes. Dean nodded. HE could relate. He remembered finding Seamus' body in the rubble. He remembered grabbing his limp hand, shaking him, smacking him, trying anything to get him to wake up. That hadn't happened.

"We should head in, then, right?"

"Only if you want to, Dean. I mean, if you're not ready, forcing it won't solve anything. The healing process is different for everyone, some people... they're not ready to face admitting things. That's alright if you're not."

"Are you going in?" Dean asked, looking at Piers.

"I was planning to, but if you want to talk somewhere else, we could. Like I said, not everyone is ready to talk in front of a group."

"I... I think I want to go in," Dean admitted, noticing how Piers nodded at him, how despite the fact Dean was in a muggle city, going to a muggle support group, he felt like this man, Piers, actually cared about him, really cared about him.

"Let's go in together then? At least now you'll have one face you know?" Piers suggested. Dean nodded, following Piers inside the plan building. It had been nearly three years since Seamus had died. This was the first time Dean had even looked at another man, really looked at someone. He wasn't sure what was so special about Piers, a man he had just met, but he was thinking he wanted to find out.

The meeting went better than Dean had hoped. He told his story, about how Seamus had died in a terrorist attack, how he'd never had a chance to tell him how he felt. Every time it got too hard. Every time the tears choked Dean, silencing him, Piers nodded, letting him know he wasn't alone. Dean found the courage to continue telling his story.

As the meeting grew to a close, everyone applauded Dean's courage to tell his story. One man promised that Seamus had known, that even if he hadn't known then, he knew now. Dean didn't find that comforting, but thanked the man anyway.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Piers asked as he and Dean headed towards the exit.

"No, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It would have been worse though, if not for you," Dean commented.

"I'm just a man who saw someone in pain, someone I could relate to, that's all," Piers stated.

"There's still not enough words in the world to thank you for giving me that support, Piers. You know, it's strange. Since Seamus died, I lost interest in everyone, everything. You're the first person who's broken through that haze."

"I could say the same about you, honestly. That's what drew me to talk to you, Dean. I could see the hurt, but there was something else, something that made me for a brief moment, feel again," Piers admitted.

"Is it a feeling you think you'd like to explore? I mean, I'm heading to the fireworks show downtown, I work in pyrotechnics, well I used to..."

"Are you asking me to watch fireworks with you?" Piers asked. Dean nodded, hoping beyond hope he hadn't misread the signals, that he hadn't just alienated the first person he felt something for.

"Yes, I am," he stated, holding his breath.

"Great! I love fireworks, will there be hot dogs?" Piers asked, causing Dean to laugh in relief.

"I think so, we could grab a couple?" he suggested.

"Sounds good, how about I meet there, in say half an hour?" Piers suggested.

"Perfect, I'll be the guy moping by the hot dog stand."

"It's a date," Piers said, flashing Dean a smile before getting in his car and driving off. Dean stood there for a moment before looking up at the heavens.

"Seamus, I know, but it's time I moved on," he whispered, a smile crossing his face. Maybe things were finally looking up, maybe coming to this support group, trying something new, had actually been the perfect thing to do?