Chapter Six Seamus… I Love You
"Miss Thornburn! That's the third time I've had to tell you to stop talking." Professor Snape's cold voice cut through Elizabeth and Dean Thomas's whispered conversation in the next day's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "Because you can't seem to keep your mouth shut, you can stay after class and help tidy up."
"But sir!" Elizabeth began to protest. "Seamus is--"
"Your little comatose can wait. I'm sure he won't be going anywhere fast anytime soon." Professor Snape said, a small smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. The Slytherins didn't even try to hide their snickers.
Elizabeth opened her mouth angrily but Dean put a warning hand on her arm at the same moment that the room exploded with shouts from both Ron Weasley and Harry Potter as the yelled at the professor.
The professor docked points from both of the boys and gave both a detention a piece. Elizabeth looked mournfully at the book before her; which held the incantation she should have been nonverbally practicing. Defeated.
As the final bell sounded, the Slytherins cleared their area (which for Elizabeth's convenience they'd left in a complete mess of not only strewn papers, but someone had managed to procure some sort of glue like substance that was stuck to the tables and floor in lumps that had hardened to the consistency of rocks.
"What am I going to do?" Elizabeth groaned, throwing her book into her bag as the class emptied. Dean lingered behind, clearing off his own desk at a snail's pace. "Seamus is going to wake up in ten minutes-" Professor Snape retreated to his office with a small huff. "-and just look at what those vile Slytherins did!"
She pointed to the grayish green rocks that were cemented to the class floor, and a number of the desks. Worse still, they appeared to be expanding. Elizabeth knew that even with her sturdy scouring charm, it would take longer than the less than five minutes she had to spare before she ought to start for the hospital wing.
"Maybe your measurement was off?" Dean said hopefully, turning his own wand on the lumps as Professor Snape's office door snapped shut.
"I double checked. It should wear off in eight minutes, give-or-take…" Elizabeth trailed antagonistically, "He'll think I'm letting him down, I promised." She made most of the mess disappear from one of the tables with a single sweep of her wand.
"How 'bout I go up there, I can try and explain." Dean suggested.
"Could you?" Elizabeth asked hopefully, looking up after zapping another table's contents into an oblivion.
"He is my best mate." Dean replied wistfully. "I still can't believe he went that well for you." Shouldering his book bag he continued, "I'll go now."
Elizabeth nodded silently and continued scouring the floor. Professor Snape reentered and making "tutting" noises went to his desk. Elizabeth imagined that each of the piles was his head and felt slightly satisfied as each one disappeared.
While crouched over working on a particularly large lump Elizabeth heard swift footfall along the corridor.
"What are you doing in my classroom Longbottom?" Professor Snape asked in his low drawling voice. Elizabeth stood up from behind the desk to see Neville standing in the door way, face flushed from an obvious run.
" 'lizabeth--" he gasped, "Madam Pomfrey sent me... It's Seamus-"
"I don't believe it ness---" Was all Elizabeth heard Professor Snape say before she tore from the room, Neville in toe.
"Liz!" Neville called from somewhere behind her. "Liz, wait up!" But she did not slow until she reached to floor of the Hospital Wing.
Before she had even turned the corner Elizabeth heard the shouts. Pain, anger, frustration. Shouts poured from the closed ward of the hospital wing. Pushing her way through the small crowd of students that had accumulated outside the door Elizabeth had one guess at who was making the commotion.
"Finnigan's popped his top!" Shouted Draco Malfoy, gaining a howl of laughter from his fellow Slytherins.
Elizabeth ignored this and other rude comments as she slipped into the ward, closing the door behind her.
"What took you so long?" Dean demanded, coming over to Elizabeth from the edge of the partitions.
"What happened?" Elizabeth asked looking anxiously over at the partitions. Judging by the silhouettes, she guessed there were at least four other people on the other side, maybe five.
"Horrible." Dean answered shaking his head sadly. "He was still asleep when I came in, but after a minute he woke up. The first thing he said was your name. He looked about, no you, so he just started thrashing around, cursing and swearing at me, at everything." Dean finished, with a hurt look on his face. Elizabeth squeezed his arm reassuringly.
"Am I allowed to go over there?" Elizabeth asked, throwing another anxious look at the partitions.
"I don't see why n--" Dean was cut off by dull clunk, a crash followed by not enraged shouting, but dry weak tearful mumbling.
Four strides of her long legs carried Elizabeth around the corner of the partition. The view she saw made her feel quite ill.
The back partition had been knocked over, as was the potion cart, its contents lay spilt and shattered on the stone floor. Beside the bed, laying in the fetal position, Seamus had his arms thrown over his head. There was a slight blood splatter visible, he had a bleeding nose.
Professor Dumbledore along with Madam Pomfrey knelt beside Seamus though giving him his space. Professors Sprout, Sinistra and McGonagall al stood seemingly unsure of what to do. All the professors showed signs of a tussle but were now motionless watching as Seamus lay sobbing.
"… stop…leave me alone---knew it wasn't real…told you ---'t know anything. Please just leave me 'lone." Seamus's voice rose and fell with each sob. He was exhausted and after a moment grew too tired to speak and after a final plea, he quieted.
Elizabeth stood frozen to the spot, horrified by what she saw.
"Miss. Thornburn, where have you been?" Professor McGonagall was at her side. Her whispered demand brought Elizabeth out of her reverie.
"I had to stay to help tidy up in my defense class." She explained watching as Seamus shied away from Professor Dumbledore's gentle hand and kind words. "What happened? Why--" Her voice trailed as she waved her hand at the scene before her eyes unable to believe that Seamus had taken such a great leap backwards after the breakthrough of the day before.
"We believe his captors may have used a polyjuice potion to look like a number of us while he was being-" Professor McGonagall looked uncomfortably sideways, "while he was being held captive."
"But how did they get your DNA?" Elizabeth whispered, shocked at this new bit of information.
"We are working on that, but I am afraid we may not want to know."
Elizabeth nodded in understanding. Moving around the bed, she knelt beside the headmaster and magical matron.
"Seamus?" Elizabeth whispered, "It's Elizabeth, sorry I'm late."
"Why do you do this?" Seamus's voice came muffled from behind his arms. "Why don't you just let me go, I don't know anything!"
"We love you Seamus," Elizabeth answered. One of the professors draped a thin bed sheet over Seamus's now shivering skin and bones body. "Seamus… I love you, do you remember?"
A pair of bright blue eyes peeped out from behind his arms a moment before he pulled the sheet over his head. "No you don't." He muttered, "You're not Elizabeth."
She knelt and sat back on her heels, crossing her arms over her chest. "What makes you say that?" She demanded.
"Elizabeth's never late. You think you were being cute, leading me on yesterday?" Seamus was furious. He's still got his spirit. They didn't take that from him. "You almost had me fooled," He continued, "But Elizabeth's never late."
"Stop flattering me, you're making it out that I'm perfect." Elizabeth laughed softly causing Seamus to cringe.
"Elizabeth is perfect, you're not Elizabeth."
"This is getting nowhere." The girl muttered in exasperation under her breath. Looking up at the teachers, they all had thoughtful expressions mingled with their worry. Several encouraged her with nods.
"Suppose I'm not Elizabeth," She turned back to him, "Then who am I?"
"You know who you are." Seamus snarled, "Stop playing these sick games."
Elizabeth's feet began to tingle, they were falling asleep. This might take a while. She sat on the floor next to the still trembling figure.
"No one's playing with you, Seamus. I'm not having any fun." Elizabeth waited a moment but got no reply. "Let's talk, I don't see any harm in that." Seamus shifted under the sheet but otherwise remained quiet. "How 'bout classes? I'm doing alright. We've almost finished studying Crups in the magical creatures class. They're really cute and playful. Really are like little Jack Russell Terriers. I'd like to get one as a pet but I think it'd attack my parents, they're muggles, you remember my parents don't you? Well they remember you; you came over a few times this summer…half of your get well cards are from my mum." She laughed slightly eying the bright elaborately decorated cards from her mother. She was an artist. Seamus was still, but by this she knew that he must be listening. "Professor Hagrid has been hinting at what out final project will be. If you don't have anymore of these ridiculous setbacks, you might be back in class for it. He hasn't said specifically what it is, but pretty much everyone figured out that its going to be Kelpies." Though still under the sheets, Elizabeth could tell by his change in position that he was now facing her. "Didn't your mum get you one for your sixteenth birthday? A strawberry roan mare--"
"Don't you talk about me mam." Seamus's voice cut like steel through Elizabeth's sentence. "You don't know her."
"But Seamus I do know her, and your dad. I spent practically half the summer at your house! Remember your mum got mad at us for riding our brooms too high over the orchard, and when your dad ate a whole piece of that cake I burnt?" Elizabeth wiped back the tears that fell from her eyes as she remembered the fun and happiness of those all too short six weeks that seemed like a lifetimeago. Seamus' eyes appeared over top of the sheet. Though there was a guarded look about them, she could still see a faint smile dancing in their blue depths. It's working.
"Remember when you, me, Dean and your cousin Claire went camping? Claire fell into the creek and that Kappa was after her. You remember that don't you? We tried throwing pieces of cucumber from our salads at it but it didn't work? We laughed so hard that night. I wonder how it got there. Those things are Japanese aren't they?"
She paused a moment and heard Seamus mumble something.
"Sorry Seamus, I didn't quite catch that. What'd you say?
Seamus pushed himself, with some effort, into the sitting position. The sheet pooled at his waist.
"I said 'my neighbor brought one back from Asia during the spring.'" He spoke in an even tone, all anger gone from his voice. His nose had stopped bleeding though the blood was drying in a sticky red line down the side of his face.
"Ah, I knew I'd catch you. I really am sorry I was late. Snape kept me behind." Elizabeth explained, "So I guess som-" She faltered as Seamus threw himself at her.
She tensed. This would not be the first time he'd lashed out physically at anyone, but yet the first time he'd done so to her.
But instead of violence, she found only defeat. His arms hung loosely around her shoulders as his own shook with agonizing sobs. Women's intuition failing her and knowing nothing better to do, Elizabeth put her own arms around him and rocking him gently ran her fingers through his hair whispering reassuring words into his ear.
Hearing sighs behind her; Elizabeth looked up and saw Professor Dumbledore still standing in front of her. Holding Seamus's head to her shoulder like a child, Elizabeth smiled weakly up at the headmaster through tears of both relief and sorrow that streamed steadily down her face. Professor Dumbledore nodded to her with a slight smile on his face. He left nodding to the only remaining professors on his way out, Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.
Elizabeth sighed as Seamus shook with violent ripping sobs. This was going to be a long road…