Lavender bit her lip as she stood outside the door of Seamus' room, her hand was on the door handle but she didn't know if she should go in. She'd run away from him once and even now she wasn't sure if she was ready to have the conversation that she knew was about to happen, that needed to happen. It scared her but she'd seen how hurt he looked at dinner, so she knew that she couldn't let them both hide from their feelings any longer.

It was one thing to hide from her own ones, but she couldn't make him feel like this. He didn't deserve this. She had to take a slow breath to steady herself, but she knew that this was the right thing to do. It would at least put him out of his misery if she allowed him to know where her head was at.

Eventually she pushed the door open and when she saw him curled up on the bed she felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach. She knew that she was the one who did this to him and she knew that she had to put it right. She swallowed thickly before she made her way over to his bed.

"Shay..?" She said quietly as she sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. Something felt off. This was their place, but it didn't feel like it was anymore. At least not in that moment.

Seamus slowly looked up at her and she watched as he attempted to give her a smile. She saw the small movement of his lips and waited for it to spread across his features, but that didn't seem to happen.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, her hand moving to touch his arm as the guilt spread through her that this was what she was doing to him, that this was what she was putting him through.

"For what?" Seamus asked quickly, a frown quickly appearing as he sat himself up and his eyes widening slightly. "What on earth have you got to be sorry about?"

Lavender stared at him. She didn't understand why he wasn't mad at her just then. The fact that he even had to ask what was going on didn't help her to feel any more relaxed about the whole situation, that was for sure. "I…" She began but trailed off. She still didn't know how to put any of it into words.

Seamus' fingers were on her cheek as she tried not to let herself tear up. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Lav." He said softly. "I'm glad you're here though." He added, his fingers trailing over her skin. "I think...I think there's some things that we need to lay on the table."

Lavender lay her hand over his as she attempted to fight her nerves. He was staying close to her, so that had to be a good sign, right? But that didn't stop the knot that was in her stomach from tightening.

"I don't know what this is." Seamus said honestly as he watched the girl. He had no idea what he was meant to do about this, but his heart was telling him that she needed to know where his head was at. "But I do know that I… I have feelings for you, Lavender."

Lavender said nothing. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, but other than that she appeared to show no reaction whatsoever. For a brief moment he wondered if he had overstepped, if he had read the whole situation wrong, but he knew that it was at least his truth and he knew that he needed to at least get it out there.

He couldn't force her to say anything though. He couldn't make her say what he thought was on her mind. It wasn't his place to tell people how they felt either. He knew from experience that he couldn't dictate what anyone felt.

She didn't move his hand away from his though. Her hand stayed on his so slowly he took her hand into his, his thumb moving over her skin.

"I know it's complicated." He continued, his voice small but he hoped he at least sounded confident in his own words. "I know it sounds absolutely insane, but I am in love with two people at once. And while I don't want to cheat on Dean, I don't want to lose you either." He paused as he saw the tears forming in Lavender's eyes, feeling tears pricking at the back of his eyes too.

"I love you too." Lavender whispered, her voice shaking slightly, but her eyes met his and held his gaze.

Seamus wanted to kiss her then. He wanted to press his lips to herself and wrap himself around her, but he knew that he couldn't. He needed to talk to Dean before he could do anything like that. It wasn't fair to the other boy to make any moves before they'd had a conversation. The problem was that he had no idea when that would be.

Instead he just simply moved to lean his forehead against hers, his eyes closing for a moment as he let his heart rate steady. He knew that she would be going through the same emotions of guilt and fear that he was, and while he didn't want her to be going through any of that, it was somewhat comforting that he wasn't alone.

After a little while, he moved to wrap his arms around her and pulled her close to him, let her fall against him as he lay down. This was their normal at least, and though it felt completely different now, it at least wasn't cheating. This wasn't something he felt like he would have to hide from Dean. That was the rule, right? Don't do anything that you would have to hide from your partner.

Dean stuffed the wand that Bill had given him into his pocket as he pulled his jacket on. It felt like he was suiting up for battle, but he supposed that was actually what he was doing. They were about to march into battle. The siren had been sounded and he was going to finally get to go back to the castle he looked on as his second home. He wished it was under better circumstances, but at least he was also going to get to be useful.

He took Luna's hand into his own and gave it a small squeeze before they apparated to the Hog's Head. The dingy pub was quiet but at the same time, Dean could feel it buzzing from the activity that he knew was happening in the back rooms. He didn't let himself look at anyone as he walked through, his hand still holding onto Luna's tightly.

They were greeted by an elderly man who looked very much like their late Headmaster, but Dean knew he was actually the landlord of the pub.

Aberforth met them with a nod. "She's waiting for you." He told them as he indicated the portrait on the wall in which there was a young girl.

The painting swung away from the wall to reveal a hole and this was when Dean let go of Luna's hand, but only so that he could climb into the wall. He knew from the information that Bill had given them that this was a passageway that would take them to Hogwarts. He took a deep breath before he turned to reach down to help the blonde haired girl up. He knew she would be feeling the same anxieties that he was but he was hoping that she was being fueled by the same adrenaline that he was.

They walked in silence along the passageway with only the sound of their breathing and the light on the end of Dean's wand to guide them along, but when they reached the end of the passageway, Dean had to pause. He needed another moment. They didn't know what was about to face them on the other side of the door. Hell, they didn't even know if they would make it back out of the castle alive, but he knew that delaying it meant that they were definitely not going to be any use to anyone.

Luna gave his hand a squeeze and then she did the hard part and pushed the door open. Dean blinked rapidly as he was met with the bright lights of a room that he didn't recognise. He paused as he wondered if they'd been given the wrong information by Bill but then he saw him amongst the milling students in front of him. Seamus.

Dean dropped Luna's hand and all but leapt out of the passageway. "Shay!" He called as he tried to make sure that he was heard over the top of all the other students who appeared to be forming queues and heading in the opposite direction to him.

Seamus heard him though and spun around on his heel to face Dean. Dean watched as his face lit up and in just a couple of strides he had his arms wrapped around his Irish boy and his lips were pressed against his.