Lavender couldn't help but smile as she watched Seamus being reunited with Dean. Sure, it hurt on one level, but she loved to see Seamus happy and Dean made him happy, whether she liked it or not. As Dean pulled back, she gave Seamus a small smile before she busied herself helping the younger students get out of the castle.

She didn't have time to be sentimental. It was time to prepare for battle. This was what they'd pretty much been waiting for and even though she knew that Neville had been working to keep their skills sharp, she didn't think that she was ready for this.

She saw the last of the students through the passageway and turned back to the room to see the last of her friends leaving the Room of Requirement. She took a deep breath and exchanged a look with Parvati who had been helping her before she girl moved to wrap her in a hug.

She wished that Parvati hadn't as she felt herself tear up, but she quickly pushed them down as Parvati gave her a gentle squeeze. She took some strength from her best friend and once she was sure that she had it together, she silently pulled back and pressed a kiss to the side of her cheek and then hand in hand they left the room.

It wasn't long before they were thrown into the fold and Lavender lost Parvati as they faced the Death Eaters. She ended up duelling someone and only just managing to escape as she stunned the witch she was facing, though not without getting knocked off her feet. She let out a yelp but she knew that there wasn't time to cower or to lick her wounds so she got herself back on her feet.

She leaned against the stone wall she'd found herself backed up against as she tried to choose her next plan of action. Her heart was pounding in her chest but she knew she had to head towards the yells and not in the opposite direction, despite all of her instincts telling her to run in the opposite direction.

She was glad that she fought it when she rounded the corner to find Seamus in a duel with a masked Death Eater. It looked like he was losing as well. The Death Eater had him backed into a corner. She quickly jumped to his aid, taking the man down from behind. She knew it wasn't how you were meant to duel, but this was a case of life and death. She was just glad that she'd at least managed to save the man that held her heart.

"Lav.." Seamus' breathing was ragged, but he did look truly pleased to see Lavender so she didn't hesitate in wrapping his arms around him and without even thinking about it, she pressed her lips to his.

To her surprise, Seamus kissed her back. She knew that he probably hadn't had any sort of talk with Dean about her, but honestly, in that moment, she didn't care about Dean. As awful as that was to admit just to herself. She just cared that there was a chance that she and the Irish boy might die, that she might never get to have this moment with him.

She leaned her forehead against his as he pulled back and whispered "I love you, Shay." She had to tell him, just in case it was the last time that she was going to get to tell him.

"I love you, Lav." He whispered back, his fingers tangling in her hair for a brief moment before they both realised that they needed to get back into the fold. They couldn't hide here and they both knew it.

Seamus took Lavender's hand as she pulled away from him and let her lead him through the winding corridors of the castle. They both hand their wands held up high in front of them as they didn't know who they were about to come face to face with and they both knew that they had to be prepared.

Seamus knew he couldn't stay with Lavender though. He knew that if they fought side by side then he would be far too distracted by her presence, that he would want to protect her all the time, not keep himself safe. He was exactly the same way with Dean and that's why after their initial reunion, they had split up. Sure, it was torture not knowing where his boyfriend was or if he was even alive, but this was something that he had grown used to over the last few months.

They reached the entrance hall and Lavender dropped his hand without another word and he knew that she was probably thinking along the same lines as he was. He let her go, watching her for a moment longer than he should have done before he realised that a Death Eater was coming up the stairs towards him.

Seamus spun on his heel and sent a curse down towards him, knocking the Death Eater backwards and tumbling back down the stairs. Seamus let himself take a short breath before he all but ran down the stairs. He'd lost Lavender already, but then that was the plan. He couldn't let himself wonder where she was, he needed to just throw himself into the battle.

He threw out curses left, right, and centre, not really checking to see that they all hit their target. All he really cared about in that moment was forcing the Death Eaters back and hoping to get them back and out of the castle.

He found his way back out into the grounds which was where he had started the battle, it was where he had left Neville as he'd gotten forced back inside the building, but he had no qualms about whether or not his friend could handle the Death Eaters he was facing there. He caught sight of Neville pretty quickly and joined him in an instant. The man was in trouble, but he seemed to be mainly keeping calm and collected.

He fought by Neville's side, somewhere that he pretty much felt that he had been trained to fight, which he knew was mainly thanks to Neville himself. It didn't matter that they were both exhausted by this point, it just mattered that they had each other's back.

And then Seamus watched as a curse hit Neville and he crumpled to the ground. Without thinking, he was reaching a hand out to the man and helping him up. Neville's hand grabbed onto his and at the same time, Seamus felt a sting in his back.

Everything then went black.

Dean had only just exited the castle and it seemed that everything happened in slow motion in the courtyard. First Neville had been hit by a curse, winding him momentarily and knocking him down. But it was what happened next that had all but stopped his world. Just the same as Ted, Seamus was hit by a green flash of light.

Dean flew into action as Seamus fell onto Neville. His instincts fortunately took charge and he sent the Death Eaters who had been around the pair flying.

By this time Neville had moved Seamus from on top of him and was shaking him.

Dean sprinted across the courtyard and pulled the Irish boy into his arms. His eyes were staring up, lifeless. And he knew that it was hopeless. He knew that Seamus was gone.

But before they could do any more or say anything else, a loud voice filled the air around them, "You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured." And when Dean glanced up, reluctant to take his eyes off of Seamus even for a moment, he saw that there were no Death Eaters left around them.

"Come on." Neville's voice was small but he was on his feet now. "I'll help you take him to the Hall."

Dean shook his head, a sob now building up in his chest and forcing its way out in a strangled hiccup noise. Seamus couldn't be dead. He'd only just got him back. He couldn't have left him. Not like this. Not when they were so close.

"Dean…" Neville's hand was on his shoulder now, giving it a small squeeze. "This isn't the place for him."Dean didn't resist as Neville gently lifted him to his feet but he did push him away when he saw him try to pick Seamus up. He wanted to do this himself. Slowly he lifted Seamus into his arms and pressed a kiss to the boy's head as he did so before following Neville back into the castle.