True to his word, Seamus rarely left his side. Harry found he wasn't as bothered by it as he thought he would be. It was certainly a welcome distraction. It had been nearly a week since Harry cut himself, and he hadn't gotten the urge to. He did, however, get the urge to continuously scratch his arms and wrists; as the healing process began, the scars became unbearably itchy.

"Stop scratching them," Seamus said under his breath. The two of them were sitting on Harry's bed, completing a nasty essay for Professor Snape. Ron and Dean were on the other side of the room, playing Chess.

"I can't help it, they won't stop itching," Harry said, desperately trying to stop.

"They're never going to heal if you keep scratching them." Seamus shook his head. He stood up and walked over to his nightstand. After a moment of rummaging through, he made his way back and tossed a bottle to Harry, who caught it. "Use that. It's itching cream from home. You can use the whole bottle if you need to."

Harry looked just behind Seamus to the other two boys, who weren't paying attention to them. Understanding Harry's concern, Seamus moved closer, shielding him. Harry rolled one sleeve up at a time and applied the itching cream to his arms. He felt instant relief.

"Better?" Seamus asked.

"Much," Harry sighed. "Thank you."

"Harry, it's almost time for Quidditch Practice," Ron said, finishing up his game. He won against Dean, which was a surprise to know one. He stood up and stretched before reaching for his uniform.

"Damn, I was just getting to the good part, too" Harry said sarcastically, throwing down his quill and standing up.

"See ya later?" Seamus asked, reaching a fist out. Harry gave it a fist bump.

"Of course."

Harry and Ron left the room, through the crowded common room, and out the portrait hole. Ron watched Harry out of the corner of his eye; he was smiling and humming softly.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Seamus lately," Ron said causally.

Harry looked at him. "Yeah, I know."

"Why?"

"Cuz he's a cool guy," Harry shrugged. He knew why Ron was asking. Harry knew he had been somewhat distant with him and Hermione lately. But he couldn't help it; ever since that talk with Seamus, he knew his feelings were valid. He was angry, and although he didn't want to show it towards his friends, he didn't want to act all happy with them when he knew he wasn't.

"Oh," was all Ron said. And they continued to walk in silence.

Practice was probably one of the best they had this season so far: Ron still needed a lot of work, but he caught half the balls this time, rather than letting them all fall. Katie knew with the first game starting in three weeks, they were bound to get even better. When she dismissed them, it was with a big, satisfied smile on her face.

"I think that was the most compliments Katie has given us during any of our practices this year," Harry said in good spirits. Once dressed and showered, they headed back to the castle.

"I don't know, I mean, I still think I could have done better," Ron said, looking slightly worried.

"You just need to continue practicing. We've got time – and who knows. Maybe the next practice you'll stop all the quaffles." Harry said, trying to keep both their spirits up.

"Yeah, maybe." Ron shrugged.

It took everything in Harry not to roll his eyes. He was trying to be supportive, but he had to admit – he was tired of Ron's moping attitude towards the team. They made their way back to Gryffindor Tower, where they found the others; they were gathered in some of the best armchairs by the fireplace, completing various pieces of homework. Seamus, who was sitting in the loveseat, pushed over so that Harry could join him.

"I brought your homework down for you," Seamus said, handing Harry his unfinished potions' essay.

"You're the best," Harry said with a smile. He excepted the homework and got started. Ron looked over at the two and decided to sit on the chair opposite Hermione, who was sitting by herself. While the others were engrossed in their essays, he leaned over to her.

"Do you think Harry's been acting a little strange lately?"

"Strange how?" Hermione asked, not looking up from her notes.

"Well…I feel like he's been kind of distant lately. He hasn't really spent much time with us." Ron explained, looking towards Harry and Seamus once more. They had started laughing at something, and Ron couldn't help but feel a little left out. Hermione looked up at Harry as well, and then at Ron.

"We all don't always have to hang out together, Ron. Just because he hasn't been around much doesn't mean he's not our friend anymore. He's just exploring other options." Hermione explained, getting back to her work.

"You don't get the feeling he's mad at us, or anything?" Ron continued.

"Mad about what? We haven't done anything," Hermione responded.

"I don't know. It was just a feeling. Never mind, I guess."

Hermione looked at Ron once more, who looked a little disappointed. "If you're that worried, go talk to him."

Ron decided to wait a bit before approaching Harry about the matter. He didn't really know how to explain it to Hermione, but something just seemed very off about him. Ron went back to his own homework but kept glancing up at the two every now and then.

"Hey, have you noticed Ron keeps looking over at us?" Seamus whispered in Harry's ear. Harry quickly glanced over at Ron, who had his head down.

"I thought I felt someone staring us." Harry said, rolling his eyes. "He was asking earlier why we were hanging out so much."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know. I can't help but feel he's a little jealous," Harry said, voicing this concern for the first time.

"Jealous? Of what? What could we possibly be doing?" Seamus asked, taken aback.

"Since we all became friends – me, him, and Hermione, that is – we haven't really hung around anyone else. Obviously, we have other friends, but – "

"You don't spend time away from each other, got it." Seamus finished. He looked over at Ron again, to find Ron staring back. He gave Seamus an awkward inward lip smile and went back to his work. "That's a bit annoying."

"And besides, if I didn't branch out and hang out with you, I wouldn't have realized how awesome you are," Harry said, playfully punching Seamus in the arm. Seamus laughed as well, causing Ron to look at them once more.

Ron gave a sigh and threw his things down. Standing up, he headed towards Harry. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Harry and Seamus exchanged looks before Harry shrugged and followed Ron to a deserted corner. "What's up?" Harry asked, nonchalantly.

"Are you mad at me?" Ron came right out and said it.

"For what?" Harry asked, slightly taken aback.

"I don't know. I just get a feeling you're mad at me."

"Because I'm hanging around Seamus?" Harry asked, knowing where this was going. "I can hang out with other people without being mad at you guys. I told you, Seamus is cool. I'm just trying to get to know him better."

"But why? We've been roommates with him since year one and you're just now wanting to become closer?" Ron pressed.

Harry couldn't contain himself this time and rolled his eyes. "Ron….we thought Neville wasn't cool when we started together and he's a close friend now too. Why is Seamus different?"

"We don't hang around with Neville though –"

"You're making more of a big deal out of this than is necessary," Harry said, sounding irritated. He turned to walk away.

"You still didn't answer my question," Ron called back.

"Which is?"

"Are you mad at?"

"Starting to be," Harry replied, before turning back and heading towards Seamus.

"What did Ron want?" Seamus asked. He watched as Harry started gathering his things. "What's wrong?"

"Can we go to the library instead? I don't want to be here right now." Harry said with a deep sigh. Seamus just nodded and gathered his things too. They didn't say a thing to anyone as they headed out the portrait hole.

Hermione watched as Harry and Seamus packed up their things and left the common room. She turned to Ron. "What did you say him?"

"Nothing! I just asked if he was mad at me." Ron said defensively. Hermione raised her eyebrows, giving him a skeptical look. "Ok and I may have asked why he was hanging out with Seamus all the time –"

"Ron," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Harry can have other friends! Why is this such a big deal to you?"

But Ron didn't answer. He didn't know why it was a big deal…but he also had a feeling Harry wasn't being entirely truthful. But to spare another lecture, he kept that particular thought to himself. He let out an annoyed sighed and continued on with his homework.

"What did Ron say back there?" Seamus asked as they made their way to the library. Harry started to explain their conversation, and Seamus could hear how irritated he was. "You didn't actually tell him you were angry at him, did you?"

"No. But I didn't exactly tell him I wasn't angry either," Harry said. "I'm still not ready to talk to them about what happened and how I feel…and I feel if I tell them I am, in fact, angry with them, that it'll all spill out."

"Is there anything I can do that will help you feel more ready? Or are you going to wait until it feels more natural?"

"Definitely wait until it feels more natural," Harry whispered back as they entered the library. "I'm not sure how long that could take, though. I'm just glad Hermione isn't pressing me about anything."

"Just know I'm here if you need help with that," Seamus said. They found an empty table at the back of the library.

Harry watched as Seamus unpacked his bag. He watched him curiously as he unrolled his scroll for his potions' essay, prepped his quill, and got comfortable. He looked up at Harry just before starting. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"Why do you want to help me?" Harry asked, hoping he didn't sound aggressive. "I mean, I'm glad you are I'm just….just curious."

Seamus considered Harry for a moment before putting his quill down and sighing. "True talk?" Harry nodded. Seamus looked around to make sure they were truly alone before leaning in closer. "I never told anyone this, not even Dean. But…the summer before last, me uncle…me uncle also self-harmed…he went from razors to knife blades….he started drinking heavily…trying to do anything to numb whatever pain he was feeling…but nothing ever seemed to work. And he didn't tell anyone what he was doing or how he was feeling. And then one day…."

Seamus' voice faltered and he looked down. Harry had a horrible feeling he knew where this was going. He reached out and put his hand on top of Seamus'. Seamus swallowed and continued. "Me father found him. Self-inflicted gunshot to the head. He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to be anyone's burden and couldn't stand the pain he was going through."

"Seamus…I…" Harry didn't know how to respond to this. Seamus looked up, tears welling in his eyes.

"I know we've never been close over the years…but I can't allow you to go the same way as my uncle. My uncle felt he had no one. But you do, Harry. You have me, and I don't want you to think you're a burden. Because you're not. You're worth it - your life is worth it."

Harry looked away from Seamus as his lip started quivering. Harry couldn't ever in his life, remember someone saying those words to him…that he wasn't a burden…that he was worth it…He felt Seamus grab onto Harry's hand and hold it. Harry knew he was shaking slightly from the emotion. Because he knew Seamus was right…there were days where he felt it would have been better if he had ended it.

"I'm sorry, Seamus. I'm sorry if I remind you of your uncle – but I promise I'm going to get better –" Harry choked, trying to keep it in.

"I know you are. Because I see how hard you're working. And I'm proud of you." Seamus stood up and walked around the table. Harry stood up as well and they embraced in a tight hug.