Seamus felt the flash of red coming right at him and, before he even really had time to think about it, threw his wand in a wide arc, muttering a counter-curse. Dean's hex bounced off the shield and hit a wall, causing a part of the column to crumble. The room rumbled, fixing itself with a glimmer and a puff of dust, and while Dean was standing confused, Seamus sent a hex that pulled the legs out from under him.
"Uncle, Uncle!" Dean said, using his fist and hitting the mat, "Merlin, Seamus!" He huffed, standing unsteadily. Hazel, who had been watching nearby, absconded her practice to help Dean stand.
"You trying to kill him?"
"Oh, lighten up!" Seamus sputtered, "He's fine. A bit of knocking around may do him some good."
Dean just rubbed his chin, which was turning a shade of red, and waved Harry over.
"Can you match him with someone else? I'm bloody tired of being a punching bag." He grumped.
"Take a breather, Dean. Hannah brought cookies to celebrate the first of February."
Dean immediately brightened.
"Those Hufflepuff know how to cook; good deal!"
"Who next, Oh Great Teacher?" Seamus asked with a snigger. Harry was surveying the room.
"Hmm…you beat Neville a few rounds ago…you nearly caused Corner to lose a tooth…Morag is still giggling from that hex you landed on her…" He tilted his head, turning, "What do you say you duel me?"
Seamus raised an eyebrow, "Want me to get my ass handed?" He asked.
"Somehow…" Harry chuckled, "I don't think you will."
Seamus locked his jaw, "Well, alright, I guess."
A few students stopped what they were doing to watch. Harry dueling was a big deal; he so rarely did it. The only people he had so far had been Ginny and Hermione, and only Ginny had won (though, Seamus was of the opinion it was because he was holding back, not wanting to hurt Ginny).
Seamus magicked a glass of water for himself before they began. He turned to see Hermione in her duel with Angelina across the way, totally focused and unlikely to watch his own.
Not that he needed Hermione to see him duel…but it would have been nice.
Harry began right away and was unrelenting. He sent a burning hex toward Seamus, something that if he hadn't blocked would have left him with the equaling of a bad sunburn.
Before the holiday, Seamus would have floundered. He might have blocked it, giving thanks that he was just going to get on by the seat of his pants, but he wouldn't have been able to stop the second hex Harry flung toward him, barely letting him breathe.
They did a no-holds-bar dueling. Good proper public dueling rules were like chess; you couldn't do your next move until the person opposed to you did theirs. But the D.A. classes were different; more fluid, more real.
As long as you sent anything that could be healed in-house (without needing a trip to the Infirmary where questions would be had) it was fair game. This meant that people were starting to get really creative as the rounds went on, usually sending afflictions that were bothersome but not painful, like uncontrollable giggling or unstoppable sneezing.
As Harry threw a barrage of spells his way, Seamus' brain flickered on. His mind pulled him back to Nathair's practice space only a few mere weeks ago, but sometimes felt like eons, and Seamus just reacted.
He made a traveling shield, one he could throw to the side and shoot a spell through before pulling it back, one of the most invaluable charms that Nathair had taught him.
It was like they were in a tug-a-war game, the tension between the two of them buzzing in the air. Their spells were quick and potent -neither were holding back one bit. Their shields were strong too, able to take multiple smatterings of spells and hexes shattering against them.
Harry finally tripped Seamus with a spell that made him move the opposite way his feet intended to, and Seamus fell face forward, throwing his arms out to catch himself before he hit the ground.
Harry crossed to him and tapped his shoulder twice with the butt of his wand, signaling the end.
"Blimey, Seamus…" Colin whispered, staring in awe as Seamus got up. In fact, the whole D.A. had stopped to watch, and everyone was looking at Seamus with renewed interest. For the first time in his life, he wondered if this was how Hermione felt. The range was from amazed to jealous, and Seamus was immediately uncomfortable with their focus.
"Me?" He laughed it off, "Harry got me with that spell at the end; that's a new one," He mumbled, using the 'finite' spell to keep his legs going in the proper direction.
"Well, we expect that of Harry," Lee said, in the camp of amazed.
"Did you have it down on your docket that Seamus would turn out to be a dueling prodigy?" Fred asked George.
"Certainly did not, Freddie. How interesting."
"Prodigy, I mean-," Seamus blushed red.
"It is quite the transformation," Harry said, "From before to now. Did you spend all your holiday practicing?" He asked, teasing.
Though Seamus had shared his worries about Nathair with the trio, he hadn't told anyone about what Nathair had done for him. Not even Hermione…he wasn't sure why he felt the urge to keep it a secret, but he just…couldn't.
"Something like that…" He said, scratching the back of his head, ducking it low, "I mean, I'm not naturally good. I still don't have my Patronus."
By this point, a handful of D.A. students had managed such; Luna with her rabbit, Hermione with her otter, Ginny with a horse, and Cho Chang with a swan. Others were getting so close it was tantalizing, Seamus not included, though. His charms were still sneezes of the actual thing.
It was true, he reasoned. He wasn't a natural at any of this. He had gone through the wringer at the break, pounding certain spells into his mind until it was second nature.
"It'll come," Harry assured, "And don't count yourself out; you should be bloody proud of yourself, mate! I wouldn't want to meet you in a dark hallway."
Seamus let out a little awkward laugh, shrugging.
He liked that he was mint at all this now. He enjoyed how natural it felt to duel, instead of being bogged down by trying to remember every spell and the wand-work and the way to say it.
He knew if he wanted to keep up, he'd need to be in here as often as he could. He already was spending extra hours in the Room to work out, Nathair having taught him that true dueling wasn't just cardio, but a whole-body event.
Harry advised Seamus to take the rest of class to rest, not wanting Seamus to over-exert himself, hardly knowing that Seamus had spent long days with no breaks honing this ability, but Seamus was glad all the same. He grabbed one of Hannah's delicious cinnamon cookies, watching Cormac face off against Enya.
An annoyed sneer broke Seamus from his focus.
"Do you want to know my bloody birth time too? What floor of St. Mungo's I was born on? My weight?"
"Well, actually-,"
Seamus shoved the rest of the cookie in his mouth, bee-lining to where Hermione was with a quill and a parchment, staring expectantly at Terry Boot.
They'd discussed starting the research after holidays at the next term, but they hadn't pinned down a day or so Seamus thought. He reckoned that Hermione got that burn inside of her, that need for knowledge, and decided to plow on ahead. Digging in his satchel bag, he pulled out his copy of the parchment, charmed to magically update whenever one or the other wrote on it, and he saw that she had already pounced on Lee and Parvati (probably interrupting a romantic moment) and was now making her way to others.
"What she means, mate, is that you don't have to tell her. It's completely optional; if you want to aid in our research. But if you don't, it's fine."
Hermione made an annoyed noise behind Seamus, and he pushed her back with his shoulder.
Terry was blinking, "Look, I'm a Ravenclaw. I get studies. And this one seems wicked interesting. But I think that the way she's gathering data has much to be desired." He said snootily. Behind him, Hermione was fuming.
"We're early on in it. She'll take your advice to heart, promise. You find with answerin' the rest of the questions?" Seamus asked.
"Are you involved?"
"Sure am."
"I'll tell you ," Terry said, eyes narrowed as he glared behind Seamus to Hermione, "If you let me in on the raw data afterward-,"
"We will not!" Hermione spat furiously, "It's our project, our hard work, our-,"
Seamus pulled Hermione aside.
"Another pair of eyes might see something we don't. Their brains are wired differently."
"Weirdly, you mean their brains are wired weirdly," Hermione said, glaring over Seamus' shoulder at Terry. He gave a half-wave, though they were too far away for him to hear.
"Hermione-,"
"Fine," Hermione sighed, pushing Seamus aside, "But you don't get names! You'll get the raw data, but redacted."
Terry sputtered, "Oh, come on! I can't glean anything from that."
"Well, I guess you're not a good Ravenclaw," Hermione said with a smug chuckle.
"Hey now-,"
"And if you do make any revelations, you don't get to run to the ministry with it and claim all the glory. We'll publish a paper and your name can be on it, if and only if you make a meaningful contribution."
"You drive a hard bargain, Granger. Sure you're not a Slytherin?"
Hermione's lips puckered, "Entirely."
"Fine," Terry said, "But I still want to give my answers to Seamus."
Hermione threw her hands up, "Go wild." She shoved the paper into Seamus' hands, muttering about 'bloody, blasted birds' as she went over to Hannah's cookie station.
"You have your quill ready? I have a lot to give you." Terry said, smiling placidly, "I think this will be really interesting, you know? I can't wait to see what you gather."
XXX
The news spread quickly.
The truth to getting people to offer up their childhood memories was simple, really.
Just make them feel like they were out of the loop.
Seamus did not expect the tidal wave of people that would come up, wondering why he hadn't asked them, as though it was some great personal offense. Or maybe they thought he had reason not to; it was always silly, and never correct because they weren't excluding anybody .
It simply took time to do it, and they weren't particularly keen on alerting teachers to what they were researching. Some part of Seamus was sure they'd be told to shut it down, though right now, it all seemed rather harmless.
They didn't even have to go and bother people, as it turned out. Soon, students were finding Hermione or Seamus in classrooms, hallways, between classes, and even in the bloody bathroom, and would begin rambling about their first brush with magic unprompted, so unceremoniously that Seamus had taken to shoving the parchment in his pocket at all times.
There were a lot of things that he thought magic did better, but you know what was something they didn't?
Pens.
It was bloody annoying having to cart around a quill and ink-pot, and dreadfully messy. One would think that they would have found better spells for this, but alas it was not, so Seamus had also taken to carrying around an ink clicky pen for impromptu research sessions.
Seamus felt like a therapist of late. Because a select few told Seamus exactly what he needed in very clinical terms (usually the Ravenclaws) and most…just word vomited. The Hufflepuffs usually over-spoken, giving Seamus more depth that was strictly necessary, but perhaps helpful (it was hard to say, Seamus wasn't the one foaming at the mouth to analyze all this like Hermione was). The Gryffindors though? Great Godric! Their sessions usually ended up being that their magic was tied to some deeply repressed event and Seamus had to quickly help them through their emotional troubles in the oddest of places, while his fellow house-mates talked about how their brothers were mean to them or how they didn't feel like they could ever please their mom or how they were afraid of intimacy and Merlin, these students needed someone who they could talk to and it should be someone with far more qualifications than Seamus, who had exactly zero.
The only people not flocking were Slytherins, to the surprise of none.
Still, it vexed Hermione.
"If we don't get their sides, we'll have an uneven data set!" She argued, "There are more Purebloods in Slytherin than anywhere else and just saying 'well, okay' and throwing in the towel is not an option!"
"How do you figure we get them to talk to us?" Seamus asked, wincing. He was sure the Slytherins had heard wind of what was up. Slytherins were making wide berths out of their normal paths in an attempt to not cross paths with Hermione or Seamus, very specifically so.
"Well, I don't know that," Hermione grouched, throwing her hands up, "I don't want to interview them, but my morals tell me I have to."
"They might just lie anyway," Seamus pointed out, wincing. All of this was under the impression that students were telling the truth, but Slytherins could throw their data with even the smallest of lies.
Hermione scowled, "I know, I know."
"We don't have any set 'due date' with any of this," Seamus said slowly, unrolling his latest parchment to add to their ever-growing pile in Hermione's trunk, "So if it takes a couple of years-,"
The look Hermione sent him was withering.
"Years?" She sputtered, "Years? No; I'm on the project now, I'll figure it out." She neatly patted the papers into a semblance of a straight stack, "When has Hermione Granger been bested?"
Seamus knew the question was rhetorical but he couldn't help leaning over to peck her forehead, "Never."
XXX
Hermione was called in to patrol the day before Valentine's Day, which was fine with her. She had also offered to patrol on the actual day since that was more based on volunteer, but Thelma Holmes had just broken up with her boyfriend and wanted the distraction.
In all, Hermione wasn't bothered. She and Seamus had small plans. Her biggest plans, actually, were with Rita and Luna…nothing romantic of the sort! It was just another day for her.
Her patrol partner was meant to be Padma, but she got a note passed to her by Adam that morning that Padma had taken ill.
Hermione turned fully in her seat to the Ravenclaw table and did not see Padma there.
She hummed; she'd been expecting to see her fellow Prefect sitting, snuggled up to a guy, and her excuse was something romantically based. But perhaps Padma truly was sick.
"Yeah, guess you could say that," Parvati sniggered when Hermione mused out loud who they'd replace her patrol partner with.
"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned.
Parvati snorted behind her hand, "She caught WIMO."
From down the table, Ron laughed so hard he spewed oatmeal out of his mouth. Neville's face turned bright red and he coughed, looking away, as though he'd been caught indecently. Lavender pressed her lips together to chuckle.
It seemed Hermione was out of the joke. Seamus and Dean were finishing an assignment and had skipped breakfast that day, so she couldn't turn to Seamus to ask.
"I…what's that?" She asked, crinkling her eyebrows.
"Sure, right," Parvati held herself together long enough to clear her throat, "Wizard Mono?"
Hermione groaned, "Great Gryffindor," She groaned, "It is related to romance. Is it any worse than regular Mono?"
Parvati shrugged, "Couldn't say. But muggles call it…oh, the kissing disease, right?" Hermoine nodded once, "I suppose this one comes with a…" She was blushing now too, despite her laughter, "More…sexual connotation?"
Hermione blinked. She must mean it was a sexually transmitted disease then, "Like the clap?"
From down the table, Harry choked on his toast and Colin nearly fell off the table to hear Hermione so casually refer to such things.
Parvati tilted her head, "I'd say yes from their reactions," Parvati said, catching Colin before he toppled onto the ground.
"Hmm," Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Is it spread quickly?"
"Sure. Every handful of years, Hogwarts has a run of it. Usually around Valentine's Day," Lavender nodded, "I think we've always just been too young to notice."
"Well, let's hope whoever she was sleeping with is only sleeping with her…where do you think patient zero came from anyway?" She asked, "It's not like it's a mouse that…crawls in through the walls!"
"Usually it's a 7th-year sleeping with a significant other that graduated last year, you know, when they go away for winter break."
"Can we take bets?" Ron waved his hand, "My bet is on Fred or George!" He seemed thrilled to finally be getting them back for some of their bets until Lavender made a face.
"I don't want to think about anyone in my family…you know…do you?"
The realization of his words dawned and Ron's face grew pale.
"Ew, ew, ew…" He groaned, shaking his head, as though he was trying to whip the thought from his brain.
"Because it's been kept quiet, I'd say it was a 7th-year Ravenclaw," Harry piped in, and everyone hummed in agreement.
"Well, I hope the symptoms aren't too nasty, and I hope your sister makes a speedy recovery," Hermione said, gathering her things.
"In all honesty, me too," Parvati sighed, "I'd rather not know which of my classmates are kicking boots, respectfully," She added with a shudder.
"Oh, no," Ron groaned.
"What?" Harry asked.
"I just thought of something worse than Fred or George having sex…" Ron whimpered, "Imagine Crabbe or Goyle!"
In unison, the entire Gryffindor table shuddered.
XXX
Hermione caught up with Seamus in between classes.
"I assume you've heard about…" Hermione pressed her lips together in a thin line, unwilling to say it out loud and entice giggles from everyone around her, "The…well…you know."
Seamus chuckled, "Who hasn't, lass? Sent Dean right out of class like a rocket."
Hermione looked concerned, "You think he has it?"
"Well, it's started in Ravenclaw, which is apparently unusual, and he's dating a Ravenclaw."
"Do you think Hazel would be…" Hermione coughed, "Unfaithful?"
"Well," Seamus scratched the back of his head, "I dunno. They never made it official that they were…exclusive, and Dean wasn't bothered by it. I know he's not with anyone else, but, ah…" He rolled out his shoulders, "Medical Wing is gunna be overrun today. No one wants WIMO right before Valentine's Day."
Hermione hit his shoulder, "Shh!" She said, blushing hard, "Don't say it out loud!"
"It doesn't have a taboo on it," Seamus laughed, "Though…that may be a good idea if I were a teacher…get to the bottom of it…" He mused.
"I hope Dean doesn't have it," Hermione said primly, "I'd hate to see anyone we know be too badly affected."
Seamus gave a half-hearted hum.
"Do I…" Hermione played with the fraying thread of her bookbag, "Should I be…checked?"
It was Seamus' turn to blush. He grasped her elbow lightly, pulling her into an alcove.
"It was my understanding that…you have to…" He swallowed, "It has to be penetrative to contract it," He said quietly.
Hermione, who had spent the morning swiftly reading up as much as she could on it, gave one terse nod.
"So I ask again," She said, but didn't actually ask.
"Luv, I"m not…" Seamus was turning redder by the moment. They'd never really swapped past stories, maybe neither wanting to know, but at this moment Hermione realized it was vital. Her parents, if they knew, would scold her for not being more proactive, though to be fair, she hadn't even been aware that any Wizarding STDs existed!
Seamus drew in a hard breath, "I'm a virgin, Hermione," He finally mumbled, "So, well, nothing to fear from me." He eyed her carefully, "Do…I…do…you?"
Hermione placed a hand on his cheek and leaned up to peck his brow, "Don't be silly," She said with a gentle laugh, "I'm entirely uninterested in what Hogwarts has to offer other than you."
"Oh, that's good."
"And you don't need to be so embarrassed," Hermione added, taking in his 'confession' as though it wasn't one at all, "I don't like you less because of it. Rather, slightly more."
Seamus gnawed on his lip, "Really?"
"We're figuring it out together. I think I'd feel… inadequate if I was with someone who knew so much more. You know I hate being the only one in the room not in on the joke," Hermione said pointedly. Seamus let out a wisp of laugh; wasn't that the truth?
"Either way, until this blows over, I'd prefer to put a pause on our…explorations," Hermione mumbled quietly.
"We aren't just going to contract it out of thin air," Seamus pointed out, but if he was disappointed, he wasn't showing it. Rather, he seemed to be pointing out a purely scientific fact.
"I know, I know," Hermione said, grasping his hands, "But, still…"
Seamus shrugged, "Of course. Better to wait than push forward if your mind is elsewhere. It's no fun that way."
"I still want to," Hermione added, feeling like maybe she hurt his feelings (though he wasn't pushing it on her, he was too kind), "I just…thinking about it makes me itch." She admitted.
"Sure you don't have it? I hear that's a symptom," Seamus teased. Hermione cracked a grin, hitting his shoulder lightly.
"Ah! There you are!"
Hermione jumped around to find Adam peering into the alcove.
"Wotcher, Adam," Seamus greeted with a wave.
Adam narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me you two will be a problem too…" He muttered, eyeing the suspicious inch of space between them.
"Very much no," Hermione said, stepping away from him, "I would die of embarrassment!"
"Wish the rest of the upper class had the same sense of shame as you," Adam groaned.
"Overrun with it?" Seamus questioned.
"Nearly all my Prefects," Adam crossed his arms, "We're meant to be role models, you know? It does no good seeing them lining up for Pomfreys with everyone else!"
"Did you come just to complain, or…?"
"Right, sorry, no, Granger," Adam snapped his fingers, "I've come to tell you I found your patrol partner for the evening."
Hermione blinked, "Well, thanks? I mean, you didn't have to come tell me in person…" She trailed off with a laugh.
"It's a warning, ain't it?" Seamus correctly deduced. From Adam's locked jaw, Hermione realized Seamus saw what she hadn't.
"Oh, don't tell me it's bloody Malfoy!" She hissed.
"No!" Adam's eyes were wide, "No, he's in line with everyone else…"
Seamus couldn't stop the laughter at that.
"Oh, well…that's good?" Hermione groaned. She ran through the choices. She could take most other Slytherins. The upper classes may not like Hermione, but they were chosen for Prefects, so they shared something. And they weren't as nasty as Draco or…
"Oh, don't tell me it's-,"
"Pansy," Adam and Hermione said in unison.
"Great Gryffindor," Seamus groaned, "Just let me patrol with her. We won't do anything, I swear." He offered.
"Very gallant of you, but I also came to tell you that I need you, Finnegan, for tomorrow. It was meant to be Thelma, but her ex gave her one last nasty gift. You'll be with Herbert Fleet. Pansy is in detention tomorrow night and is unable to patrol then, only right now. I apologize if I ruined any Valentine's Day plans."
"No, nothing of the sort," Hermione sighed, "We don't really…participate."
Seamus gave Hermione an apologetic, 'I tried' sort of look.
"Thank you both for being so flexible. I promise this won't be forgotten," Adam said, backing away from the pair, "Really!"
"It's fine, Adam. I'm sure it's tough being Head Boy," Hermione said earnestly.
"You have no bloody idea," Adam huffed, "All you Prefects are like herding kneazles, too!" He threw his hands up. By this time, they should be well on their way to their next class, so Hermione and Seamus walked in step with him, "Whose great idea was it to take a bunch of bright, stubborn, kids and give them more power?"
A 7th-year Hufflepuff that Hermione didn't know well darted up to Adam.
"Oh, for fucks's sake, this better not be bad news!" Adam groaned. The Hufflepuff's eyes widened, and she turned quickly on her heels, beginning to retreat, "Wait? Where are you going?"
"It's bad news," She said apologetically, turning slightly, "It's…erm…Herbert Fleet," She referred to the 7th-year Hufflepuff prefect, "He just tested positive for WIMO."
Adam took out his wand, cast silencio around himself, and screamed.