As they neared the end of the school, Seamus assumed Hermione would become fully preoccupied with what had grasped her attention every other term end; exams. However, this was incorrect, as it seemed most of her attention was given to worrying about Harry.
With good reason; Seamus knew Harry seemed to attract trouble and possible death at every turn. As it was, there was a reason the Triwizard was banned for so many years…and this was with wizards nearly done training with school competing, well prepared for getting into nasty scrapes or irreversible hexes thrown their way.
Seamus could hardly blame Hermione for worrying.
On top of that, it seemed Harry was learning things left and right about Voldemort.
Now, Seamus knew that he'd been defeated when Harry was one. Most people in the Wizarding World knew this. Almost all...maybe not those who grew up under a rock, but pretty much everyone else. And he'd heard whispers about what had gone down in their first year and second year, but did he actually believe that Voldemort was still around, pushing people around?
Before, he would have said 'no'.
Now…now…he wasn't really sure.
Hermione, who was not easily tricked, believed it.
Enough so that it would cause her worry sometimes, the fear so tightly wound around her that he felt like she was headed for a panic attack.
And then there was the matter of Rita Skeeter…while Hermione might not have some big revenge plot planned for Ron, she certainly had it out for that woman. Not that Seamus thought her mad. He did think Rita was a generally shitty person, but Hermione was incensed.
"She knows things she has no right knowing! It's driving me insane!" Hermione huffed, "And don't just say she's listening in magically; they'd surely sweep for listening devices or magical spells, and you cannot tell me she's that good of a witch to counteract Ministry spells!"
Seamus had no better answer for her.
Between studying up on defensive spells for whatever horrors this third task would bring, biting her lip and staring at Harry sometimes like he was already gone, or studying obsessively over Rita by backreading all her previous articles and near badgering people to the point of annoyance, Hermione was stretched thin.
So, it came as little surprise, a few days before the task, when Hermione seemed to completely break down.
"When's the last time you slept?" Seamus sighed, finding her on the couch, holding a pillow like it was a lifeline, staring at the flickering fire on the hearth.
"It hasn't been that long," She mumbled, "I slept a few hours just yesterday. On Tuesday."
Seamus grimaced, "Hermione, it's Friday."
She snapped her head up. Her hair was knotted and she had deep bags underneath her eyes, "What? No." She shook her head, "That's..that's…"
"Luv, you'll run yourself into the ground like this."
Hermione swallowed hard. Somewhere, he knew she was smart enough to know this.
"If Harry messes up because we could have studied just a bit harder, I'll hate myself," Hermione whispered, "I can't stop. Whenever I try to sleep, I remember a spell I read about in some tome and I have to dig it out and practice it so I can teach Harry and-,"
"You know, Harry isn't completely useless," Seamus said, sitting next to her, grasping a blanket and settling it around her shoulders, "He's quite good at the Expilariamous charm," He teased. Hermione almost laughed.
"I just need to be distracted," Hermione murmured, settling her head on his chest, "This okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine," He said, easing himself into the cushions, tentatively looping an arm around her. It still felt so new, so fresh, that he was unsure how to proceed. Hermione looked up at him, a small smile at his movement, nodding encouragement.
"Talk to me," Hermione instructed, "About anything. Take my mind off school."
"Well, what do you want to know?" Seamus asked, leaning his cheek into the crown of her head, inhaling the scent of something like old paper and mint.
"Tell me about your family. You have siblings, right?" Hermione asked, "I've always wondered what it's like to have siblings. My parents wanted more, but when I started showing signs of being magical, I think I rather…scared them off it." She giggled.
"Aye, three." Seamus nodded, "I'm the baby. Literally. I think I was a surprise, but Mum won't ever admit that out loud. Two brothers- twins- and a sister."
Hermione nodded, interested. Seamus thought about how to describe them, pausing. He didn't talk much about his family. Dean knew about them, of course, but he didn't think Harry or Ron had ever taken the time to ask. Lavender knew of them, a bit, but more in passing than in vivid descriptions.
"Err…right. Well, my sister is named Fionnuala. She graduated from Hogwarts last year, and lucky thing too. Otherwise, you would have met her and she would have been bloody annoying about the Yule Ball." Seamus snorted, "She was a Hufflepuff. She's like every other girl, ya ken? Well, except you, and that's a good thing! Obsessed with makeup and boys and making my life a living hell. She's working at the Ministry right now as a receptionist and has a flat in Wizarding London that she shares with a few other birds. Bright red hair; redder than the Weasleys. Freckles for days. Properly Irish."
"And you're not?" Hermione teased.
"I mean, she looks it. People look at 'er and think 'There's a real Irish beauty!'." Seamus said, beaming, "She probably would have had many requests for dates to the Yule Ball, I reckon."
"And your brothers?"
"Twins, as I said. Three years older than Finn - what we call 'er," Seamus scratched the back of his head, "That would be…well, they the same year as Charlie Weasley. Even though they're twins, they wouldn't seem like it. Other than havin' the same last name, most wouldn't guess they're related at all."
"Oh?"
"Not identical. I mean, Dilan's the kindest one. He was a Gryffindor. Friends with Charlie, if I recall correctly. He's dark-haired and looks grumpy, but he was everything about Gryffindor that made me want to be one. He's studying abroad - he's always moving about. But I think he'd be the one to come back and help with the farm when Da's too old to do the work."
"And your other brother?"
Seamus pulled a face, "Nathair. He's…" He chose his words carefully, "I mean, I love him, but he's actually grumpy. Unfortunately, everyone says he's a dead ringer for me. He's a doctor at St. Mungos, so he certainly made Mum proud."
"Gryffindor too?"
Seamus groaned, as though he didn't want to admit it, "Slytherin."
Hermione was clearly surprised by this, just as surprised as everyone else when they found out.
"Dilon tried to pretend they weren't related either when he found out," Seamus agreed, "Mum was Hufflepuff and if my Da was a wizard, we all think he'd be in Gryffindor. So…quite the surprise…"
"Ah."
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate most of 'em snakes. And I don't like Nathair even at the worst of times either. To put it in perspective, I can't ever see him giving up his lifestyle to come home and help out. He always saw bigger and better things his way." Seamus shrugged, "We aren't particularly close, but well, I have two other siblings."
Even though it was clear Hermione had a million questions about his Slytherin older brother, she kept he mouth shut. Though Seamus had offered up the information, he wasn't ready to rehash all of it out again either.
"Okay, what about your parents?" Her hands had found one of his and she ran her fingers across his knuckles, her ear pressed against his heart, "You're a half-blood."
"I suppose everyone heard me talkin' about 'em first year, huh?" Seamus had been told by Finn to be proud of both sides of his family, and admittedly may have taken it a bit too far.
"Well, you weren't whispering it. It's brave. Shows that the hat made the right choice."
"As I said; Mum was a witch. She knew my Da in her childhood, but they weren't close. A town over and everything. Went to Hogwarts, and didn't think of him much. She's a powerhouse…she has a job on the council in my hometown of Adare. Never stops. Hard worker and all. Plus, raising us wains. And my Da and her reconnected after she came back from Hogwarts when my Grandmum died, and it was history from there."
"Was it really such a nasty shock?"
"Well, can't say my Da was expecting it. Think of your parents. Plus, the history of burnin' witches is long and fraught. I mean, there's a reason Muggles fear us. I heard it was a long road to get to where they are now…I've heard many cases of marriages breaking up when a non-magical partner finds out. My Da always said it felt like a betrayal. I mean, he's traditional and all. Has a farm and acres; it's so green at my home, Hermione. You wouldn't believe it. It's the most beautiful thing for miles around. But anyway, he didn't know what to think when it came out. And he can't very well explain it to my grandparents on his side, so it raised a lot of questions."
"I guess I hadn't thought of it like that. My parents just took the news so swimmingly." Hermione reflected, "I think they suspected. It probably felt like a relief to be told they weren't crazy."
"Mhh," Seamus agreed, "My Mum hid it well enough. Didn't come out 'till Dilan made sheep actually float when my Da was trying to get him to sleep one night and told him to count sleep. Scared him shitless. Dilan was three, I think." He blew out a long sigh, shrugging, "My Ma didn't want to say anything in case we weren't magical."
"How does that work? I mean, it's anyone's guess how I got my powers, but is it always guaranteed for half-bloods?"
"From what I've heard, magic is recessive. So my Ma had good reason to think that maybe we wouldn't get it. If the first child is a squib- well, I guess it wouldn't be a squib if all of them weren't- it's more likely that all the kids were, so I think she was just waitin' to see if anyone of were magical. Once one kid has it, it's far more likely the rest will. I think it's something like 98% of witches or wizards will have magical siblings if they are also magical and they have a parent who is too. I don't know the statistic on muggle-borns, but I hear it's much lower."
Hermione was almost purring in interest, "Truly fascinating stuff, you know?"
"Nothing makes Hermione more excited than a good data research project," Seamus teased, "It's a fairly undocumented science. You think with the Wizarding population decline they'd put more people on it, but who knows."
"Sounds like a perfect project for me," Hermione was beaming, "Perhaps next year I'll try to persuade McGonagall to let me take a theory class and work on it."
"The Minister would surely thank you. If he knew how to get more of us…well," Seamus sniggered, "My Mum's fully back in the fold now that my Da knows and has come around to it. I swear she's in Diagon Alley or Wizarding London every other day meeting up with old school chums or eating with Finn."
He could see the wheels around turning in Hermione's brain. When she got a look, it was almost adorable the way she was so staunchly focused on it.
"And you; you set something on fire when you showed your powers?"
"Shot in the dark there, luv," Seamus laughed, "How'd you know?"
"And you said you've never looked into it? Why do you just… exude this power?" She took one of his hands in her palms, tracing the wrinkles on his palm, examining it like it was a specimen under a magnifying charm.
"Got to a few dead ends, Mum just considered me extra magical. Never bothered much farther."
"Hmm."
"What does that mean?" Seamus asked, charting her gaze.
"I just think that perhaps it is worth looking into again," Hermione shrugged.
"Am I about to become a Granger Charity project?"
"Not Charity… research," Hermione said, leaning up to kiss his cheek, "There's a difference. Thank you; you've truly taken my mind off things," She said.
"Any luck that you'll take a much-needed sleep?" Seamus signed.
"Not when all these theories are in my brain…" Hermione threw up a time charm, "In fact…I think maybe I need to get to the library."
Seamus watched her detangle herself from the blankets. She went halfway to the portrait hole before turning, "You coming?"
Seamus blinked, "Oh, I'm invited?"
"Of course, Seamus. You're the most important part of it," She said, holding a hand out, "Don't you want to know?"
He considered it. Of course, he was curious, but he didn't have the intellectual drive like Hermione, who sometimes he thought ought to be in Ravenclaw.
However…to say he didn't have questions about it…well, he'd be lying.
"Coming, luv. Don't be upset if we don't find much. I looked my First Year."
"The world is wide and I do not accept answers aren't out there," Hermione insisted, "Even magic has an explanation, we just need to figure it out."
XXX
It seemed in the passing weeks that the things Hermione gave her attention to, in order, were as follows:
Assuring Harry was up on his Defensive spells so he didn't die in the last task Obsessing over Rita Skeeta and how she knew so many blasted things Studying Seamus and his fire magic (so far, all dead ends) Worrying about Voldemort's return Thinking about wizarding genealogy and genetics Studying for end-of-year examsSeamus usually could only hold focus on two and perhaps three things, if he was thinking generously, so he was mighty impressed. Of course, Hermione often impressed him, but still.
Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, one of those things seemed to sort itself out the morning of the final task.
Seamus got his Dailey Prophet as usual and slid it to Hermione without so much of a look at it. He almost wished he had, but she would have known something was up. He was talking to Dean when he heard Hermione spit out her pumpkin juice before trying to hastily shove the paper away.
"What?" Harry and Ron asked.
"Nothing!" She said, attempting to shove the paper back to Seamus, but Ron grasped it from her hands.
"No way. Not today. That old cow!" He moaned.
Seamus craned his neck, trying to get a glimpse. Ron saw him and narrowed his eyes.
"Do you mind?" He asked crankily.
"Well, it's my paper, ain't it?" Seamus asked.
"Yeah but…Merlin, you're always here. Hovering near Hermione," Ron muttered, still trying to hide the paper from Harry.
"Well, yeah. We're basically dating," Seamus said, motioning between him and Hermione. They'd never talked about direct definitions, so he didn't want to overstep. As soon as Ron began to make sputtering noises, Hermione looked up, cross to have to intervene.
"We are dating, Ronald," Hermione corrected, "Really!"
"Oh, so have you picked a wedding date yet?" Ron said, holding the paper out of Harry's reach, impressively multi-tasking.
"Stop being a prat, Ron," Ginny said from down the table, "You just can't conceptualize that out of the three of you, Hermione's the first one to properly have a significant other, can you!"
Hermione narrowed her eyes, pressing her lips as she took time to glance at Ginny, "I feel like I should be offended at that comment."
"Oi!" Harry slammed his hands down on the table, "The blasted paper?"
But before he could, Malfoy and his goonies started teasing Harry about something to do with his scar. In the moment when everyone was staring at Malfoy, Harry nicked the paper from Ron's hand.
Seamus crowned in, wondering what the fuss was about.
"Harry Potter...Disturbed and Dangerous?" Seamus read incredulously, "What's this bitch smoking now?"
He watched Harry read it, face growing pale, Hermione behind him, mouthing the words of the article as she read it twice as fast.
"How'd she know that your scar hurt in Divination?" Ron asked, scratching his head, "There's no way she was there, no way she could have heard-,"
"The window was open."
"Yes, but we were on the top of the North Tower," Seamus added, just as perplexed.
"Well, how did she do it? Haven't you been researching magical bugging?" Harry turned toward Hermione.
"I've been trying but-,"
Hermione cut off. She stared at the article, then up at Harry, and then brought her fingers through her curly hair.
"Are you having a fit?" Ron asked.
"No. Yes. I've…I've got it!" She grasped Seamus' hand, "Come on!"
"We've got our exam in ten minutes!" Ron called after her, "Where the hell are you going?"
"Just give me two seconds in the library! I've got an idea!" Hermione called after.
"And me?" Seamus asked, allowing Hermione to steer him through the busy halls.
"Help. I swear, two minutes tops," Hermione promised.
"Hey, I don't mind getting out of an exam, but I figured you'd mind," Seamus said as Hermione parked them at a table. She was flying about, grasping books out.
"I just need to confirm this. Then I can relax." She promised, holding up a finger, "Now, please, help me out."
Seamus stared at her, figuring at the very least, something would ease up some of her brain, "Okay. What should I read?"
She dropped a book in front of him. Seamus grasped the gold-leafed cover, holding it to see the cover; Animagnus and Me .
"What am I looking for?" He asked lightly, completely unsure what that word even meant.
Hermione's grin was mischievous, "Bettles."
XXX
Seamus couldn't be sure he actually helped Hermione, but she seemed victorious when they reached their History of Magic exam. So much so that he was pretty sure she was able to roll out her shoulders and actually focus.
Seamus stumbled his way through. History bored him to death (and apparently had done the same to Binns too), but he figured he did alright.
The relief he felt after, knowing that they'd be finishing up the last task today, though, was unmatched.
They all went back to the Gryffindor Tower to get ready.
He saw Lavender shoving magazines, nail polish, and snacks into her purse.
"Think you'll get bored?" He asked, "That a Triwizard isn't very exciting for you?"
"It's a maze. I doubt we'll be able to see much of anything," Lavender said, "Just preparing."
Seamus donned a plaid shirt over a waffle-knit, because as warm as some of the days had been, he wouldn't put it past the Ministry to make it gloomy and rainy for the 'ambiance' of the last dangerous task.
"Help me, Hermione?" He asked, standing in front of a mirror, with a pen.
"What are you trying to do?" Hermione asked, turning him around.
"Support Harry, 'course. Writing Potter on my forehead. I'd have Dean do it with his nice handwriting, but he's already gone down."
"Well, don't do it in that!" Hermione whacked the pen from his hand, "Let me…hmm…" She peered around.
"Here, Hermione," Parvati threw a tube of lipstick to her, "Use this. It's not my color anyway, but it's Gryffindor red for sure!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow to ask if he was fine with this, and Seamus shrugged. He closed his eyes as Hermione scrawled 'Potter' in letters across his forehead, before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on his lips.
"Harry will be alright," She muttered to herself, "He's been training non-stop for ages now."
"You did everything you could," He said, "He couldn't ask for a better teacher than Hermione Granger."
Ron made a retching noise behind them.
"Can we go?" He asked impatiently.
The rest of the Gryffindors, excluding Dean and Neville who had gone down earlier, trekked down to the Quidditch Pitch where the maze had been growing all year. They found spots easily, near the twins.
"See?" Lavender said, setting a blanket on the damp stands for her and Parati, waving an arm to the high leafy walls, "Not exactly a thrilling spectator sport."
"We're here for Harry, though," Parvati said, "Show some support!"
Dumbledore announced the start of the task, and Seamus stood to cheer and jump when Harry was announced tied for first place, along with Hermione and Ron who whooped and shouted. Harry turned to give them an uneasy smile as he tried to look brave.
Just as Lavender anticipated, as soon as the contestants delved into the maze, there was nothing to be seen. The Hogwarts band continued to play a medley of songs and they were passing out food, but in all honesty, it was rather dull.
"Told you," Lavender said, passing out magazines and flipping through them. Seamus was glad to see she'd hacked out any of Rita's articles, only keeping in recipes and makeup tips.
Seamus, bored by half an hour in, resorted to reading up on how to keep pumpkins looking fresh all fall for a perfect spooky front porch fixture.
The mood of the stands turned from cheerful and social to morose when someone threw up red sparks, alerting them that they needed to be pulled out. The crowd held its breath and there wasn't a collective sigh until they watched Fleur pulled to the front before quickly being ushered to a medic's den. She was limping, however, and still alive.
However, the mood was now unsettling.
Hermione, in particular, was scowling at the maze, shaking he head, "I have a bad feeling all of a sudden," She whispered, her hand searching to interlace Seamus' fingers.
"I do too," Ron agreed, nodding sharply, not even a comment about their handholding to be found.
The sky darkened as the hours wore on. Dumbledore lit torches around the Quidditch Pitch. Soon, another pair of lights from Krum.
Still no sign of Harry or Cedric.
It was late. Perhaps getting too late, Seamus thought.
There was a loud crack that Seamus recognized as port-key transportation. The crowd all perked up, all standing on their feet, ready to see their champion.
Harry and Cedric smacked to the ground.
Hermione cheered, standing and loudly clapping, her relief rolling off her in waves. Ron was grinning ear to ear.
"Merlin, that was close, eh?" He said, "Wonder who hit the ground first? Who won?"
"Oh, does it even matter, Ronald?" Hermione huffed, "Harry's safe! With…minor injuries," She added, seeing a scar or two still slightly bleeding, "C'mon!" She said, shouldering through the crowd to go and congratulate Harry.
"Cedric must have hit it hard," Seamus said, noticing he wasn't getting up, "Someone should get a medic down there."
Even as he said it, Fleur let out an ear-splitting screech, something so eerie that Seamus would remember it forever. He watched as she covered her mouth, collapsing backward.
Like a wave, Professors and Ministry officials ran forward, their smiles slipping from their faces, over to Harry who collapsed over Cedric's prone body. Seamus felt a shiver run down his spine as Dumbledore tried to ease Harry off, but Harry protested, clinging to Cedric like they were attached with glue.
Seamus heard Harry's scream as the joyous instrumentals of the Hogwarts band died with a squeal of quickly hushed instruments.
"He's back! He's back- Voldemort's back!"
The whispers whispered through the crowd like a wave; a boy's been killed.
Seamus would always remember that. Not that Cedric had died from the tournament, a very real possibility, but that he'd been killed.
Someone had killed him.
Murder .
He turned to Hermione, desperately, hoping she had an answer, "It's all part of it, right?" He asked frantically, but Hermione's eyes were glued to Harry.
He tried again, "Do you believe it?" He asked, "What Harry's sayin? Maybe it's just shock. Maybe it's-,"
Hermione turned, snapping her head toward him, "He's not lying," She whispered, her voice rough, "I believe it. Voldemort's back, Seamus."
When she looked at Harry, anguished, Seamus now understood that look.
When he looked at Harry too, all he saw was a dead man walking.
