Disclaimer: I own nothing

TWO MONTHS LATER

Seamus breathed in deeply and smiled when he saw the Hogwarts Express pull into the station, chugging cheerfully and the handful of early risers were grinning contently.

Shay himself had gotten up extra early, double checked his packing, and had scribbled a note for his mom that he had left early. Unfortunately, he had not gotten out the door unscathed.

*FLASHBACK*

"Where do ya think you're going, boy?" A voice snarled from behind him as Shay approached the fireplace. "Back to that school of freaks?"

Turning around, Seamus inhaled sharply when he saw his father standing there, looking incredibly rageful with a scarlet face and scrunched eyebrows.

"They're not freaks, Sir," Shay corrected, as always feeling the need to stick up for his friends.

Sean cackled. "Yeah, right! They're all crazies, waving a bunch of bloody sticks and shooting pretty, pretty colors," he stated, cruelly.

Shay ground his teeth. "One, they're not weird, sir. Two, those sticks are actually called wands. And three, a lot of those 'pretty colors' hurt real bad... sir."

Sean rolled his eyes. "Who cares? What I'm really here for is one more beating before I lose my punching bag for a few months." The man took a step forward menacingly, but Seamus stood his ground. Backing down was a sign of weakness until it was absolutely necessary to run, and only Shay could determine when it came to that point.

Punch! Kick! Slap! Punch, punch, punch! Kick, kick, kick, kick! Crunch!

Seamus gasped in pain as flames erupted in his ribs.

Sean just smiled cruelly. "Goodbye... son."

The man pitched his only child through the fireplace and onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters, where Shay, thankfully the only person on the platform, staggered, gasping for oxygen that wasn't there.

"Ow," he mumbled before straightening up as best he could, deciding he could fix his ribs on the train. Shay had been looking up healing spells and glamour charms that would help him hide the abuse; he would not have another Adam incident.

*FLASHBACK OVER*

Students and families had shown up in the past fifteen minutes, albeit very few, and the train was finally pulling in, making Shay grateful for the opportunity to fix his aching ribs and escape the hell he called home.

No, he didn't call that house his home, just hell. Hogwarts was his home, and it probably would be until graduation. Dean was here and safety and comfort and everything the Finnigan household didn't have.

Boarding the train, Shay waved his wand over his ribcage and sighed as the pain was eased before casting a glamour over his injuries that weren't hidden by his clothes.

Most of them were. Shay was wearing a pair of suffocating Gryffindor robes with long sleeves and pants that covered every bit of his legs. His socks concealed the bruises on his ankles and his high collar hid the bruises and the cut or two on his neck. The only thing he needed to conceal were the bruises and scar (stretching across his forehead from when Sean threw his down the stairs) on his face.

Shay seated himself in a compartment and gazed our the window, relieved to finally be returning to Hogwarts.

"SHAY!" A familiar voice cheered as Dean slid open the door and practically tackled his best mate, who yelped in suprise.

Dean immediately frowned. That was weird; was Shay always this thin?

He was sure he wasn't. Shay had always been on the scrawny side, but now, Dean could feel his ribs through his too baggy shirt. And his skin felt weird too- like it was covered in something like calloused or scratches maybe, but he didn't see any, so he let that slide. But Shay's weight loss and skin that was paler than Harry's, who was as pale as snow, were worrying.

His clothes were weird too- winter robes with a long sleeved shirt and long pants.

"Shay, are you okay?" Dean asked, concerned.

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" That was strange; the statement sounded like Shay had rehearsed it a thousand times.

"Shay, I'm serious. What the mat-"

"Hey, guys!" Ron waved as he, Harry and Hermione strolled into the compartment, followed closely by Neville, Ginny, and Luna, all dragging heavy trunks.

"Hi," Seamus said, happy for the diversion. He knew he couldn't avoid the interrogation all together, but he could stall long enough to come up with a good story that would answer all of Dean's questions. Such as... why have you been ignoring me; why are you so bony; why are you wearing winter clothing, etc., etc., etc.

"So, guys, what's up?" Harry grinned, happy to be going back at Hogwarts and away from the Dursleys. "How were all your summers?"

"Mine was great!" Ron cheered. "My brother, Charlie, came home from Romania and Bill visited from Egypt for a few weeks. First time the whole family's been together since... when was it, Gin?"

"Well, that depends. After your first year, we went to Egypt together, but Charlie only stayed for a day and a half, so I really wouldn't count it. Probably the last time we'd all been together for more than a week was Bill's graduation," the twelve year old explained, shrugging to show that this was just a guess.

"What she said," Ron agreed and Ginny rolled her eyes. "What about you, Hermione?"

"I went skiing with my parents in Denver, Colorado. Cold, but amazing," Hermione smiled. "What about you, Neville?"

"Oh, um, I-I didn't do much. Just-just, um, stayed home, saw a few of my cousins, but that's about it," the third year stammered. "Um, Luna, how bout you?"

"Oh, I had a magnificent time hunting Nargles. Daddy and I found so many down by the river near our house and in the woods a few towns over. On top of that, the Quibbler is really taking off. Want a copy?" Luna said, dreamily, withdrawing a stack of magazines from her over the shoulder bag.

"Sure, Luna," Shay smiled, taking a copy and Neville followed while the others politely declined. Harry, Ron, and Dean because they barely understood a word of it and Hermione because she couldn't deal with all of that 'factual nonsense,' as she put it.

"What about you, Dean?" Luna whispered, her voice soft.

"My Mum and I went in a trip to Fiji. It was so beautiful there," Dean exclaimed. "Shay?"

"Oh, I didn't do much," Shay said with a shrug. "Sat around at home, caught up with some family I haven't seen in a while."

"Who?" Harry asked, curiously.

"My uncle. I haven't seen him since before Hogwarts because his job keeps him out of the country, so yeah, that was nice, " Shay lied. Don't tell them about your father; they'll all get suspicious, and Dean will get worried.

"Well, that's great," Hermione grinned. "Are you guys looking forward to school?"

"Heck yeah!" Seamus laughed. "I love my mom, but it's so boring just sitting at home."

"What about your dad? You've only ever told us he was a Muggle; what's he like?" Harry asked, wistfully, wishing he had a dad like his mates.

Dean glared at him, trying to tell him that he was in uncharted territory, but Shay didn't seem bothered by it.

But, truthfully, he was. Talking about his dad reminded him of the fire and the insults and the beatings, but he knew not answering would make them suspicious and maybe telling them some of it would lesson the burden a little.

"Um, my dad... left... several years ago," Shay responded, deciding not to tell them about the past abuse or his dad being locked up for nearly a decade in prison or treatment facilities for alcoholism and drug abuse. "I saw him over the summer." Shay mentally kicked himself; he hadn't meant to say that! Damn you, mouth, why can't you just shut yourself up?!

Dean's head whipped around to face him. "What? You never told me that."

Shay shrugged. "It wasn't that important. He stopped by because he found out him and my mum were still legally married since they'd never filed their divorce officially. He came to get the divorce and custody finalized and then he left. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You sure?" Dean asked, cautiously, and the others looked at him before glancing at Shay. The friends were acting weird; was there something the weren't telling the others?

Shay nodded. "I'm sure, Dean."

Neville frowned. His dad couldn't take care of him because of the whole insanity thing and he took that real hard, but he couldn't imagine how he'd take it if his dad had deliberately left him.

Harry was having similar thoughts, unsure of whether he should pity his friend or relate to him or what? He had the Weasleys, but could they replace the family he'd lost with his parents? No, no matter how much he wanted to think of them as his true family, they could never replace the Mum and Dad he never knew. Did Seamus have someone like that- someone ro talk to? Then again, Seamus never had to deal with the Dursleys and their verbal abuse and neglect and the way they starved him. Little did Harry know...

Hermione just sighed. She hated how common it was for a parent to leave their child nowadays, but she couldn't do much about it, other than try to be there for Shay. But he seemed to be taking it fine, but was he? Was he actually okay? Or was it a facade?

Ron and Ginny were shocked at how such a cheerful and witty boy could have such a dark past that no one knew about. They were both suddenly thankful to be poor because at least they had food on the table and a family that cared about them, unlike Seamus and Harry.

Luna frowned, uncharacteristically. It was depressing how many praeter daemones were flying around the boy (I made this up: The explanation is at the bottom).

And Dean was frightened. He was the only one that knew the truth about Shay's father, how he'd abused his only son. Did he hurt Shay like he did when he was three? Is that why Shay was so thin and looked so fragile?

"Sorry I asked," Harry apologized.

Shay smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "It's fine. You didn't know."

"Sooo... what are you looking forward to the most?" Ron asked, trying to break the awkward silence that descended upon them.

"I'm looking most forward to the electives. There are so many," Hermione gushed.

"Hey, guys?" Shay suddenly said. "I'm gonna get some sleep, if you don't mind."

"No, go right ahead," Dean rushed to tell him. His friend looked like he needed sleep and a lot of it.

"Thanks." Shay leaned against the window, and having been kept awake for three days as 'punishment', was out like a light.

"Is he okay?" Hermione asked Dean, concerned. "Had he told you anything?"

Dean shook his head. "No, but I think it has something to do with his dad. "

"Why?" Ron questioned. "Shouldn't he be happy to see his dad for the first time in years?"

Dean looked down at his lap. Should he tell them? Shay wouldn't want him too, but the only way they could help was if they knew the whole story.

"No. Shay didn't tell you this, but his dad's been in prison for years for child abuse, domestic abuse, and possible arson," Dean explained.

The group went silent until finally...

"You don't think his dad hurt him, do you?" Ginny asked.

Dean shrugged before deciding that there was a way to check. Shay slept like the dead, so if no one told him, he'd never know.

"I can check, but don't tell Shay I invaded his privacy," Dean stated before rolling up Shay's sleeve and a collective gasp was heard.

On Shay's wrist was a bruise in the shape of a handprint.

praeter daemones: basically means past demons in Latin