Fic: The Story of Them (Seamus/Lavender, others Rated: Hard R)
Title: The Story of Them
Author: wook77
Rating: Hard R
Pairing(s): Seamus/Lavender, others
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: The story of Seamus and Lavender is the story of them - the whole of the DA as they take on the Death Eaters.
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~8200 words
Author's Notes: Originally written for idea_of_sarcasm at hp_springsmut, I based the story off her prompt of "Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real". Many thanks to my betas, neversleeps, why_me_why_not and elanorofcastile. Also - many many thanks to the mod, midnitemaraud_r for not killing me when I took shameless advantage of her patience.
~September~
Lavender hands over her ID and her family records, cringing at the invasion of her privacy. If it weren't for her family, for the way that her parents insisted that she would be safer at Hogwarts than at home, she wouldn't be here. As her family history is questioned, she looks around and catches sight of Seamus and Neville off to the side. Neville makes it through quickly, getting a shove and a cuff as he walks past a couple of the robed figures. Seamus, though, isn't nearly as quick.
"Here you go. We'll be watching you. All of you," the woman threatens as she hands Lavender back her ID. She makes to stay nearby to wait for Parvati when shouting erupts from Seamus's queue.
"Fuck you, arsehole! I'm just as good as the rest of these and better'n most!" Seamus shouts as wands appear to point at him.
"Look, Mudblood - " the person manning Seamus's queue starts to say but Seamus interrupts.
"Mam's a witch, that makes me eligible to go. I'm going to school and you can't stop me!" His hands flail as he shouts at the man. Lavender edges closer, pushing a bit through the gathering crowd.
"We can stop who we like. Rules are rules." A guard approaches at the same time that Neville does. Lavender grips her wand, ready to defend Seamus and Neville if she has to.
"Fuck your rules and fuck you, too!"
She's too worried to do what she normally would've at Seamus's tirade. She wants to roll her eyes at him, tell him how absolutely barmy he's being, but she's too scared with the way that the guard grips Seamus's shoulder and starts to manhandle him. She pulls out her wand and lets it hang loose in her grip while keeping it hidden in a fold of her robes.
"Shut it, Seamus," Neville says to Seamus, putting a hand on his arm. "He'll be fine, sir, he's just worried about the new term and his NEWTs."
"Right," the man says in response to Neville's placating.
"Come on," Neville urges Seamus, and they climb on the train before anyone can react.
"Lav?" Parvati asks as both of the Patil twins appear next to her. "You ready?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Let's see if we can find where Seamus and Neville went. Safety in numbers," she whispers the last.
"Sounds good," Parvati says as she leans closer, all three touching and watching the lines.
"Can I stay with you three?" Colin asks as he slides in with them, throwing a nervous look over his shoulders.
"How'd you get through?" Parvati asks as they step onto the train.
"Sh, quiet," Colin says.
They go from car to car, silent and nervous, until they find the compartment with Neville and Seamus. The door's locked and Lavender knocks on the glass, interrupting the obviously heated exchange inside. Neville casts some sort of spell and the door pops open.
"Can we hang out in here?" she asks as she steps inside. The compartment isn't all that large but there should be enough space for all six if someone rides the entire way on the floor and someone else sits on a lap.
"We can make room, come in," Neville says and slides further into the compartment. Seamus grins at them and slides in further, as well. Once all six of them are in the compartment, they have trouble getting the door shut. Colin slides onto the floor under the windows while Lavender slides in next to Seamus and Parvati and Padma cram themselves onto the seat next to Neville.
"Muffliato. Colloportus. Obfirmo." The spells are quickly rattled off with the obvious ease of practise.
Lavender doesn't remember ever hearing about the second or third ones. Her confusion has to show as Seamus whispers in her ear, "Door can't be unlocked by Muggle or magical means without really trying now."
At Seamus's explanation, Lavender relaxes just a bit. For the first time since she'd made it through the check-in queue, her grip on her wand loosens.
"How'd you get here, Colin?" Seamus asks as he nudges Colin with his foot.
"Lied."
"What about the family back-up?"
"I'm completely pureblood." Colin winks as he speaks.
"Why would you risk it?"
"Couldn't go on the run, could I? It'd be - "
"Be what? What're you saying?" Seamus's tone switches from curious to defensive in a heartbeat.
"It'd be too scary. This is less scary."
"Oh," Seamus says and slumps into the seat. "Yeah."
"How's Dean?" Lavender asks, reaching out and touching Seamus's hand lightly.
"Haven't heard from him in a couple of weeks. He tries to tell me he's ok but I know he's scared and he's all by himself." Seamus flips his hand and entwines their fingers, squeezing her hand tightly. Her heart skips a beat at the feel of his hand surrounding hers.
"He'll be all right, you'll see." She tries to comfort him, squeezing his hand. The sad smile he flashes at her sends her heart racing once more.
"He almost got caught a week or so before the last letter. Stupid fucking Death Eaters. Fucking Snape, man. Fucking all of them."
"We need to figure out what we're going to do," Neville says, trying to distract Seamus from his worries over Dean.
"You think it's going to be bad?" Colin asks.
"Yeah, it's going to get bad," Seamus says condescendingly.
"Leave off him," Lavender whispers. "It's not his fault that Dean's out there."
"No, it's the fucking Death Eaters' fault, isn't it?"
"I don't think any of us that aren't in Slytherin should walk around alone. No going out by yourself, at least in pairs at all time. You think?" Neville looks between all of them.
"That's a good plan, Neville. I'll tell the Ravenclaws," Padma agrees, echoing Neville's look.
"Where's the sweets cart?" Seamus asks, letting go of Lavender's hand and crossing his arms over his chest.
~October~
"Hurry up, Luna, we're going to get caught!" Seamus whispers as he ducks behind a tapestry and holds it out slightly for Luna to follow him. She slides in just as Crabbe and Goyle round the corner and thunder past. "Idiots."
"Thank you, Seamus. Perhaps we could do this again tomorrow?" she asks and then skips off towards Ravenclaw without waiting for a response.
Seamus shakes his head and hurries to Gryffindor. "Dithering Albatrosses!"
The Fat Lady gestures him in and closes so quickly that his shoelace almost gets stuck. She's doing the best she can to protect all the students and he appreciates it. If it hadn't been for the portraits giving Luna and him the alert, they would've been caught for certain. Sir Cadogan yelling "hail and well met, fellows in black" to the Carrows and their cronies had saved their arses tonight.
The DA members can't be everywhere to protect everyone. That's why he's limping, Colin has a black eye, Corners has a broken rib, and Neville's got a bum wrist.
"Seamus?" The voice comes out of the dark and Seamus flinches, pulling his wand and pointing it towards the sound. It takes a moment for the fact that it's Lavender to penetrate.
"What're you doing up?" he asks as he walks towards where he can make out the shadow on the sofa nearest the banked fire.
"Couldn't sleep." He picks her head up slightly and slides in under her so that he can sit while she lays there.
"Muffliato," he casts. They've all got good at casting protective charms so their conversations couldn't be overheard. The Carrows have spells and alarms and countless other devices in place across all of the houses. They don't trust anyone, not even their own Head of House. The situation keeps degenerating and it's all McGonagall can do to protect them as much as she can out in the halls. They'll work on protecting their own inside Gryffindor. Once he's sure the spell took, he asks, "Why not?"
"I was worried about you." Seamus barely hears her over his own still-pounding pulse.
"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." He tries for brash and thinks that he sounds more like a scared kid. Which he is but that's not something he'd like to think about right now so he pushes it deep down. They've got to do what they can to keep people inspired, give them hope while Harry's out trying his best to finish Volde- He Who Must Not Be Named.
"Don't leave," she says, tugging at his hand until their fingers are entwined and resting on his thigh in front of her face.
"All right. Sleep here tonight?"
"Do you mind?"
"Never," he vows. "I'll watch over you so go to sleep. Nothing'll happen."
"Thanks," she whispers, and he can feel her breath even out as they sit there.
Tonight, they'd taken too many risks. Stupid risks, too, but Seamus has always been one for brash action so it should be expected. Probably was expected what with the way he'd been paired with Luna who's the exact opposite of him. Neville's come into his own, leading all of them as they do their best to resist the Death Eaters running the school. They've had to have aged McGonagall and Flitwick and the rest by about a hundred years with the stupid shit they've been pulling.
Tonight, for example, they'd painted the hallway with "I Support Harry Potter" in large, Gryffindor-red letters. So busy on their work, they'd not heard the Carrows approaching. Sir Cadogan, watching around the corner, had cried out the warning and they'd taken off running, barely remembering to grab the bucket of paint and the brushes. Enlisting the portraits has to be one of the best ideas they'd come up with so far, and that's thanks to Colin.
Seamus runs his hand across Lavender's scalp, threading his fingers in her hair as he thinks. It's been since the end of August since he'd heard from Dean. He can't help but worry over him. They'd set up an elaborate code so that their owls wouldn't be intercepted even though Dean's are going to his mam and his mam is forwarding them to him.
It's a hell of a time, he decides. They're all cloak and dagger, little kids playing at war and sedition. He wants to go back to when his biggest worry was over whether or not Lavender'd accept his invitation to the Yule Ball. The rest of this is rubbish, complete and utter rubbish that none of them should have to deal with. For just a moment, he allows his bitterness to surface as his face twists with it. Fucking Harry and not taking care of Volde-He Who Must Not Be Named properly when he'd been a baby. Fucking Dean for running off instead of sticking it out like Colin. Fucking Death Eaters and their rubbish politics. Fucking Seamus for shooting his mouth off all the time and getting them into hotter water.
Yeah, this whole thing is too much. He's not grown enough for this, none of them are.
~November~
Parvati bites at her lip. She wants to put the truth down in her essay, that blood purity doesn't matter and that only deeds and words count, but she's afraid of the punishment. They - Padma, Lav and her - all are. They've seen what resisting has got Seamus and Neville. The bruises and broken bones tell her exactly what sort of 'reward' she'll garner with her original essay. Instead, she pulls out a new piece of parchment and starts again.
"Trouble?"
Gasping, she panics as she looks around for the voice. She sees Colin standing on the stairs that lead to the boys' dormitory. "Yeah."
"Want some help?" Colin comes further into the room and gestures towards the crumpled papers.
"I can't write this essay. I can't do it, not the way that they want me to."
"So don't."
"But then they'll send me to detention and you've seen how Neville and Seamus fare there. I've seen what's happened with you."
"Yeah, well, you gotta do what's right for you." He sits next to her and grabs the recently discarded essay.
"You're judging me."
"I'm not, no. Not everyone can be as brash as others. We've each got our own reasons for doing things. Seamus? I don't think he cares much about living anymore. Neville's just trying to hold all of us together until Harry saves us. Me? I'm trying to get by without getting my family killed. We all have our reasons and concerns."
"I'm scared of being hurt." Parvati pushes her hair away from her face and stares at the table. "I'm not much of a Gryffindor, am I?"
"Doing what needs to be done when you're scared is brave. It's not brave to just go out there and hang yourself for no good reason."
"Yeah," she agrees half-heartedly. Staring at the essay, the words not forming for the essay that the Carrows want, she dips her quill into the ink and starts again, writing what she wants. Even if she doesn't turn it in, she's still doing her own bit. Colin disappears for a bit, bringing down his own homework. He's a solid presence next to her, relaxing her as she works. It's close to midnight by the time she's finished.
"You going to turn it in?" he asks as she bundles up her books.
"I don't know."
His hand reaches out, holding on to her elbow. She leans into the touch, resting her hip on the table. His hand squeezes her arm as he says, "Either way, you did it and you'll know it."
"Thanks," she responds and touches her hand to his. His fingers entwine, squeeze and release hers before she can even think about it. Bemused, she makes her way to the room she shares with Lavender and stashes her books in her trunk.
"You finish the essay?" Lavender asks from the bed next to hers.
"Yeah."
"Can I copy it?"
"It's not the one they want," Parvati says as she wonders if she has the courage to turn it in on the morrow.
"I don't care." Lavender sounds fierce. "I'm tired of hiding behind everyone else, letting them get hurt while we do nothing. It's time we start doing our part. If Loony Lovegood can do it, so can we."
"All right, you can copy it."
"We can do this, Parvati." The fierceness is still there but Parvati hears the fear underneath it. Maybe this is what Colin was talking about, maybe it's time that they, she, starts to confront her fear.
"Yeah, we can," she agrees as she places her hand over where Colin had held her arm.
~December~
"You'll write?" Lavender asks as she steps off the train with Padma and Parvati. The DA is careful not to be seen too much with one another. It's a small attempt to avoid detection regardless of Umbridge's notes from back in Fifth Year. She barely acknowledges Luna as Luna skips off. The wink she gets in return is quick enough that no one should've caught it.
"Of course we will."
Lavender watches Neville and Seamus step off the train with Colin firmly between them. She wants to say goodbye one more time but they've already done that in the privacy of their own common room.
"You think they'll be safe?" At Parvati's question, Lavender looks away from them to catch an odd look in Parvati's eye. The spurt of jealousy as she looks from Parvati to the trio of boys to Parvati once more surprises her. "Which one?"
"Which one what?" Parvati asks at the same time that Padma asks, "What're we talking about?"
"Come on, Parv, don't play stupid with me. Which one has you worried?" Her tone aggressive, Lavender asks as she watches Seamus turn and wink at them before splitting from the other two.
"None of them," Parvati finally answers after a long pause that tells Lavender that she's lying.
"Fine. You want to lie to me, fine, but I thought we were better friends that this." Lavender starts to walk off but Parvati's hand on her elbow stops her.
"Colin," Parvati whispers into her ear. "And it's either Seamus or Neville for you."
"Seamus," Lavender whispers back.
~January~
Neville's stomach turns as he watches for Luna. She hadn't been at the lines, hadn't been anywhere on Platform 9 ¾. When she hadn't answered his owls, he'd worried but thought, perhaps, it might have something to do with Luna being, well, Luna and not with the idea that she'd been taken. He'd been stupid. Absolutely and completely and utterly stupid and it'd got Luna captured.
He resists the urge to punch the wall or the glass of the window. That's something more like Seamus and he refuses to lose his temper the same as Seamus. The DA members all need someone that keeps his cool, can think through a situation. Thinking will keep them alive.
"Hear from Dean?" Neville asks after casting the privacy charms.
"Not a word, mate, not a fucking word. You think…" Seamus's voice trails off.
"I think he's fine," Lavender says from her seat next to Seamus. She grabs his balled-up fist and smoothes his hand out, palm on his thigh. Neville watches the exchange, the quick, intimate smiles, and wonders if either of them realise what's between them yet.
"From your mouth to God's ear," Seamus says as he flips his hand over and entwines their fingers. Neville wants to be happy for them, wants them to see the way that they're falling for one another and act on it but… but if they do, then the rest of them are going to have to plan for it and overcome the liability. It's a shit day when he thinks of a friend falling for a friend as a liability. It's just that, in this world right now, any sort of intimacy is something that the Death Eaters are going to see and hold over everyone else's head.
"What about Luna?" Neville asks in a bid to distract himself from his thoughts.
"She's not on the train. I looked," Parvati says from beside Neville.
"I didn't see anything in the Prophet or the Quibbler about it, though. Don't they normally announce who they're holding like it's some sort of contest?" Colin asks.
"I think it's got something to do with the fact that the Quibbler was publishing the truth and then they stopped. I don't think Luna made it home from the train," Padma whispers.
"I just watched her skip off," Lavender says. Her words bring Neville's attention back to her and, by extension, Seamus. He watches as Seamus shifts about so that he can sling an arm around her shoulder and pull her in close, entwining his opposite hand with hers now. They're wrapped around one another; they have to know what they're feeling. Don't they? They have to but they don't seem to have a clue, yet. It's not all friendship there. After all, Padma and Parvati seem just as upset and Neville isn't wrapped all around either of them.
He wonders if, maybe, he should be offering some sort of comfort to them, especially Padma who seems even more upset than Lavender. Feeling socially awkward, he concentrates on what he's been doing best all year. "We'll have to have a meeting with all of us. Get an idea of what we can do to protect all of us better. Should we step up the resistance or back off?"
"Back off? You serious, mate?" Seamus looks up from Lavender to glare at Neville. "We've just been playing up 'til now. We need to make it worse for 'em, show 'em that we're not just a bunch of little kids to be snatched out from under our parents' noses. Show 'em that they need to fear us."
"They're not going to fear us - " Padma starts to say but Seamus interrupts her.
"They will, we make it hard enough for 'em. Keep striking at their weak spots, show 'em that they're just as human as the rest of us. Show 'em that they aren't ever going to cow us or break us."
"And how are we going to do that?" Parvati asks.
Before Seamus can answer, the train whistle sounds. Tension and tempers still there, they look at one another. Neville moves to break the silence by saying, "We'll meet tomorrow night. Come up with a plan."
He releases the privacy charms and then grabs his trunk before making his way to the carriages. They're proof that they've all been robbed of their childhood. One more reminder that they've had something stolen from them. They can all see the Thestrals now.
~February~
Seamus runs along behind Ginny, breath puffing in his chest. She's the only one that's just as rash as him, just as brazen. He thinks, in a rare moment of insight, that they're both fueled by the same fear and worry. He's got Dean out there somewhere and she's got her whole family running. They're similar in their reactions, both taking worse and worse risks, going beyond what the group's suggested.
"Hurry up, Seamus," she whispers as she ducks around the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor.
"I'm going as fast as I can. Some of us don't have brothers to run from, you know," he whispers back as they race up the stairs to the Fourth Floor.
"Sh, they're gaining on us." She takes off and Seamus pumps his legs harder to catch up.
"Hurry thee hence, my fair lady and gentleman! The brigands approach from the rear!" Sir Cadogan gallops into a landscape as they run past it. Dodging the trees, he paces them before turning on the reins and sending his fat, little pony back towards their pursuers.
"We're not going to make it," Seamus pants as they race up another flight of steps.
"We will if you'd shut your gob and hurry your legs!"
"Fuck off, Weasley, I'm going as fast as I can."
"Which isn't fast enough. Come on, we're getting close!" The Fat Lady is just up another flight of steps and Ginny calls out the password as she hurries, "Dimpled Algorithms!"
The Fat Lady swings open and they leap inside. Sitting on the floor, they exchange a look and then start laughing. They have to look like loons with the way that they're bent over trying to catch their breath from their sprinting but the laughter feels good, just what they need.
"The fuck is an algorithm and why's it dimpled?" Seamus asks.
"Gotta have the 'd' and the 'a' in there somewhere and it's not like it's a word that the Carrows would know."
"Point. Then again, I wonder if they'd know anything about any sort of word larger than a grunt." They'd been sobering until Seamus starts his impression of Amycus. Then the insane laughter starts once more, so loud and hard that they lean on one another.
"Keep it down, they're still looking for you," Lavender says from the sofa.
"We lost 'em on the fourth floor. Got Cadogan to thank for it, too. He - "Seamus doesn't continue as the sounds of an argument outside the door start up.
"Cut you up, you fat cow, if you don't open up!" It sounds like Amycus threatening the Fat Lady.
"I can't let you in without the password," she says and Seamus hears the quiver in her voice.
"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Ginny whispers as they silence themselves, hurrying to stand and get to their rooms.
"I know they're in there. I'm a teacher and you'll open when I say you're supposed to open!"
The three of them exchange a look. Ginny runs up the steps and Seamus gestures for Lavender to hurry too. Hanging back, he listens to the Fat Lady.
"I'm afraid without the password - "
"Just what is going on here?" McGonagall joins the group outside the doors. Seamus leans in so that his ear is pressed to the back of the Fat Lady's portrait. The feel of Lavender next to him startles him for a brief moment. He doesn't even think about it, just reaches out and entwines their hands.
"Chased a bunch of your brats up here after catching 'em defacing the school." Seamus looks over at Lavender and mouths 'defacing' with a questioning look before aping Amycus's movements. She grins briefly before sobering.
"It's the middle of the night. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to interrupt the students. There are multiple exams on the morrow and they require their rest. I'm certain that my students wouldn't be so imprudent as to deface the school. Have you looked at any of the paths you've discovered? Perhaps there are intruders in the school."
"Done by your students and none of them intruders."
"I insist you show me this defacement before I allow you to interview my students."
"Down by the Great Hall, come on. I'll show you," Amycus says and their voices trail off.
Seamus breathes a sigh of relief and looks at Lavender where she presses against his arm. As he twists his head, their mouths brush. She's too close and it's accidental. At least, the first brush is accidental. The second, third and fourth are on purpose. Seamus can feel her lips against his, darts his tongue out to taste her, licking at her closed lips.
"Seamus?" Her voice has almost the same quiver as the Fat Lady's and it sobers him completely. He's stepped over the line on this.
"Sorry," he mutters. "I, just…I'm sorry. I know you don't want it."
"I do," she whispers back and then kisses him. It feels even better, her taking the lead. His hands thread into her hair while her hands grasp his shoulders. She tastes like Honeyduke's, sweet and creamy chocolate that drags him further into the kiss and away from the danger they're both currently in.
His hands shake when he pulls back and touches her face lightly, giving her a moment to breathe and think. They both need to think. Now's not the time, of course, not with the Carrows barely distracted by McGonagall. They've got to get upstairs but he can't concentrate on anything but the way that Lavender tastes. He leans in, lips brushing across lips as his nose rubs against hers.
Her hands fumble at his shirt, unbuttoning it and then touching him lightly. They're soft, softer than anything he's felt before, while her nails are hard and cool against his flesh. Leaning back against the portrait, he allows her to touch him however she wants as his cock hardens and he arches into her touch. Her nails graze across his skin, leaving little red marks that he can't see in the dark. He can feel them, though, as she does it again, this time dragging them across his nipples.
"Lav," he murmurs as she pushes his shirt from his shoulders and off his arms, fingers brushing across his biceps and tracing the muscles there. His voice shakes as he speaks, "Lav."
"Seamus," she responds with a cheeky grin as she traces his arms and back down his sides, raising gooseflesh and tickling him. Snatching her hands away from his ticklish spots, he holds on to her hands and leans in, kissing her once more.
"We should stop," he says after he pulls back. "You should go to bed and so should I."
"Do you want to stop?"
"Not really, no. But we should."
"I don't want to, either."
Her admission has his pulse pounding in his ears as he leans in, kissing her and walking her backwards towards the sofa. Letting go of her hands, he pulls her nightgown up, touching her thighs and running his hand along her waist and belly. Her flesh there is even softer than her hands, something he'd never thought possible. When the backs of her knees bump the sofa, he tears his mouth from hers and lips along her jawline, down her neck to suck in the flesh at the juncture of collarbone and neck. His mouth traces a path along the neckline of her nightgown as he pulls it up just a bit further, fingers delving just inside her knickers.
He's rushing this, going to fuck it up, but he can't get enough of the way her flesh is so different from his. The softness pulls at him, tempts him into faster touches and strokes. He's gentle, though, almost too gentle as she reaches between them and pushes his hand against the outside of her knickers.
"Touch me," she moans as he freezes. Helpless to resist, he does, tugging her knickers down so that he can feel her against his palm. She's wet, wetter than he'd thought she would be with the way that he thinks he's fumbling. His thumb pushes her open, searching for that nub he'd read about. He wants to get this right, give her pleasure to show how much he cares about her.
Her hands fumble at his belt and he stills, letting her open up his trousers and push them down his hips. He can't believe how utterly erotic it is to watch her grab the bottom of her nightgown and tug it up and over her head so that she's absolutely bare to his gaze. And gaze he does, taking in every aspect of flesh that he can see in the dim glow of a banked fire. He'd left his wand back across the room, dropped in that first kiss, else he would cast a Lumos.
Getting his mind back to where his hands are, he brushes across her clit. He grins when she moans and bites her lip. The way that her head falls backwards turns him on even more. Her neck's right there and, never one to resist, he leans in and nips at her skin just as he thrusts his index finger up and into her core.
"Oh Merlin," she moans as she arches into his thrust.
He's torn between running his fingers up the back of her neck, into her hair, and holding her head in place so he can keep kissing her or touching her breast. Either one sounds just about right for the moment. If only he had two more hands, he could do what he wants, touch her every where she deserves to be touched. He decides on both, holding her in place to kiss her before letting go and touching her breast and then going back to kissing her. His other hand doesn't stop its rhythm, thrusting a finger in while his thumb rubs across her clit. She's panting and moaning, little breaths that barely make a noise but go straight to his cock anyway.
His pants chafe, too rough for what he wants. He wants her smooth, soft hands on him, except he’s too much of a gentleman to ask her to do it. Dean would laugh at the idea of Seamus being a gentleman (hell, his mam would too, but then he'd much rather not think about his mam right now with the way that Lavender's wet and warm around his finger) but it's true, he just wants Lavender to feel good about this, now and later.
He wants to rub against her, get some sort of sensation on his cock other than just the rough cotton as it shifts with his thrusts. As if she could hear his thoughts, her hand drifts down his chest and then cups his cock, lightly and tentatively. It's his turn to moan, his mouth opening on her neck as he does.
"Squeeze me," he begs. When she does, squeezing and then releasing before squeezing again, he loses control, bucking into her hand and coming. This is definitely not something he's going to ever discuss with Dean. Ever. Never ever ever.
When he comes back to himself, he gently pushes her backwards so her arse is still on the arm of the sofa and then he kneels between her legs, licking where his fingers had touched. Her thighs close and he gently urges them open once more, thrusting his tongue into her and curling it.
He wants to see Lavender, see if she glows or if her hair is tangled, if her hands were playing with her breasts or her hair as he tastes her but with the sofa in the way, he has to imagine it. He thrusts his tongue deep inside her again and again. Her legs start to convulse around him so he pulls out and licks across her clit. Opening his mouth over her clit, he licks across it before nipping it slightly, just a slight catch of his teeth on her.
Her hand thrusts into his hair and pushes him against her tightly, her scent all around him as she comes, thighs tensing around his shoulders and neck before releasing and shaking.
"They're not going to be gone for much longer, you might want to hide," Neville says from the stairs, making Seamus fall on his arse as Lavender screams and scrambles for something to cover herself. They gather their clothes and, with one last look at one another, rush into their respective dormitories just before the portrait swings open to admit McGonagall and the Carrows.
~March~
Colin's the second one into the Room of Requirement and the first one to discover the Curfew. They're low on supplies, Neville and him. They've been in the Room of Requirement ever since Ginny hadn't come back from the Easter break. Neville because he's Neville and the Carrows have finally wised up to the fact that he's the leader. Colin because he's Muggleborn and someone finally told them.
Considering that he's beyond hungry - and lonely - he volunteers for the mission to get supplies. Aberforth's his normal, grumpy self as he walks about the pub and assembles what they need, vowing all the time that this is the Last Time he'll ever help them. Tired of the complaining, Colin steps out back of the pub and a screeching alarm sounds. Colin looks left and right before running back into the pub.
"You little idiot, I told you to stay put, didn't I? Hurry up and get into the portrait! Here, take this, don't forget it!" Aberforth pushes the bundle of food into his hands and then shoves him towards the portrait path. Colin hurries along it, cursing himself along the way. He risks a look back and he watches the tunnel collapsing behind him for just a moment before racing for the Room of Requirement.
"You get the food?" Neville asks as he bursts through the opening. "What's going on?"
"They've got some sort of alarm. I accidentally tripped it, made Aberforth really mad at me." He takes a look around the room and realises that they're having a meeting. "You meeting without me?"
"We were waiting for you, honest," Parvati says from her seat.
"Oh, ok. Well, I have food if we want to share." He holds out the package in his arms.
"Looks like we can't sneak out onto the grounds anymore. I think they've finally figured out that it's us out there, too." Seamus looks around the room and then continues, "Someone has to be feeding 'em with information. There's no way they're getting this smart all on their own."
"Or maybe we're making it too obvious," Padma responds, her meaning obviously about Seamus. Ever since the Potterwatch where they'd announced that Dean's missing, Seamus had taken progressively worse risks. Colin worries about him, that he's going to get all of them hurt or killed.
"What are you saying?" Lavender demands, standing protectively in front of Seamus.
"Let's all calm down. This is what they want, us turning on each other. Calm down, we're smarter and we'll still work around all of their plans." Neville is still placating them as Colin hurries over to sit next to Parvati. Untying the package, he offers her one of the apples. She grins in response and her fingers brush his as she takes it. His fingers tingle where they'd touched and he wants more. It's not something he'd ever thought possible, but since their talk in the middle of the night months ago, he's not been able to resist watching her, protecting her.
When Seamus's voice joins the din, he thinks that Seamus feels the same about Lavender. Good for them, he thinks to himself as he reaches out to brush a tiny drip of apple juice off Parvati's lip. From the way that she watches his finger as he brings it to his mouth, he thinks that, maybe when this is over, he might be able to find that much vaunted courage he'd told her about. Until then, he's stuck biding his time here in the Room of Requirement and looking forward to her visits.
~April~
"We have to save her," Padma says as they all huddle in the Room of Requirement.
"No shit. How do you suggest we do it?" Seamus says, making Lavender want to smack him.
"Seamus! Back off," she orders and he turns his glare on her. As if his glare could intimidate her into silence.
"Weren't you close to Parkinson?" Colin asks Padma in an obvious attempt to get back towards the main conversation of how to rescue Parvati from the Carrows.
"You think could get some of her hair?" Lavender sees his plan and grins at the simplicity of it. They've been using Polyjuice to move around the grounds for some time, normally impersonating staff members so they can patrol on their own. It's what saved Michael Corners from an even worse session when he'd rescued that First Year.
"I think so." For a Ravenclaw, Padma's being awfully dense right now, but who could blame her? She's got enough to think about with Parvati being in the Carrows' clutches.
"Maybe Bulstrode, too?" she asks.
"Yeah." Padma still sounds unsure of what anyone is thinking.
"Since you know Parkinson better, you can be Parkinson. I'll take Bulstrode since it's easy enough to act like a brainless cow," Lavender says, and she sees Padma figure it out. "Then we'll walk in and ask to punish Parvati. Practise for our NEWTs and all that."
"And just where will I be?" Seamus demands, stalking over to stand in front of her. If he thinks that he gets the right to cow her, tell her what to do and sideline her just because they're snogging on a regular basis … well, he has another think coming. She's not the same girl that started off the year.
"You'll be outside watching for the real Parkinson and Bulstrode."
"Me too," Colin says.
"Me too," Neville echoes.
"How soon you think you could get their hair?" Lavender turns to Padma.
"Lunch? I'll catch Pansy outside the Great Hall and snatch the hair then."
"All right, then we should head to class."
Lavender finds it hard to keep from fidgeting during Divinations, her only class in the morning. It feels weird to sit at the table with just Padma. She's so worried about Parvati and the fact that she's been with the Carrows since last night. She hasn't a clue why Parvati would've snuck out last night. They'd been safe enough in the dormitories at night since most of the boys had started hiding in the Room of Requirement. It helps that the Carrows think of the three of them - Padma, Parvati and Lavender - as stupid and ineffectual. They're going to learn just how effective they really are, though.
By the time class is done, Lavender's having a tough time sitting still. Thankfully, Professor Trelawney has decided on an easy day. It helps that Seamus makes the craziest predictions she's ever heard, making her laugh and distracting her from her worries. They finish the class and hurry to lunch, the three of them walking in tandem down the stairs.
The lifting of the hair is so subtle that if she hadn't known to watch for it, she would never have caught Padma stealing Parkinson's hair. A simple compliment, making Parkinson preen, followed up by another compliment to Bulstrode - Parkinson's hair in the right hand, Bulstrode's in the left - and Padma has enough to make the Polyjuice potion work. They're in and Parvati'll be saved soon enough.
They eat as quickly as they can, escaping back to the Room of Requirement. Lavender pours two cups of the Polyjuice and then Padma adds in the hair. They clink their glasses together in a toast and then choke down the drinks. Lavender hates the way that the Polyjuice feels even more than the taste, the way that she can feel herself becoming Bulstrode. Her robes get tight and bulge unattractively, pulling up at her belly and stretching her sweater across her chest.
"Ugh," she moans as she looks down at her changed body. "Next time, you're Bulstrode."
"No way," Padma responds as she looks at her own hands. "Pansy is bad enough."
When they exit, they're ready for their Dark Arts class. This is the best time, right before class, to volunteer for extra credit by practicing their Unforgivables.
"Can I help you girls with something?" Amycus looks up from his desk.
"We wanted to work on our Cruciatus, sir," Padma simpers as she approaches the desk. "We're still not certain on the way to get it just right. I don't want to fail. My father would be ever so disappointed."
"Of course, over here. It happens that we caught someone last night that you can use as a target." Amycus gestures them closer and they see Parvati bound to a chair in the corner of the room. Lavender's surprised at how quickly Amycus agrees to their disguises and the weak excuse.
"Sir! Sir!" A Slytherin student bursts in the classroom. "Longbottom! Fifth floor!"
"Really?" Amycus rubs his hands together before looking at the girls. Lavender cheers him on, mentally, urging him to go haring off after Neville so they can get Parvati out of here before the Polyjuice wears off.
"Sir, it's a perfect opportunity, you should go and we can use him to practise. I'd really like that," Lavender says in her best imitation of Bulstrode's deep voice.
"You're sure you'll be fine in here? Don't need someone helping you?" Amycus asks as he looks towards the door.
"I think we have it. We just want more practise and since you've a volunteer already…" Padma's voice trails off suggestively.
"Practise, girls! Practise while I'm off taking care of something. We'll get him yet!" he crows as he hurries out of the room, leaving Padma and Lavender alone with Parvati.
"Just try it, Parkinson," Parvati says while she glares.
"It's us, Parv, we're here to get you out." Lavender says as she forces her larger than normal body across the room.
"Us?"
"Padma and me," Lavender says. "Lav."
"Oh thank Merlin!" Parvati looks ready to collapse in relief. They hurry with her bindings but the first charm and then the second don't work. The third charm works but it takes far too long to free her. Parvati stumbles as she stands up, legs going out from under her.
"Hurry it up," Seamus says as he pokes his head in the door. "Cadogan says the Carrows are coming back. And Vi saw Parkinson and Bulstrode down near the Great Hall heading this way."
"We're trying! She's been bound all night, her legs won't work." Padma tries to pick up Parvati but her weight drags both of them down.
"I'll carry her, go on and get out of here," he insists.
Colin's head appears next to Seamus. "I'll help."
"Colin! Isn't it too dangerous for you to be out here?"
"I had to come," Colin says simply. Lavender catches a look between them, but before she can put the thoughts together, Parvati's speaking and distracting her from them.
"Go on, they can get me out of here. If either of you get caught looking like that…"
Lavender and Padma exchange a look and then a nod. "We'll be the lookouts, then."
Seamus and Colin hook Parvati's arms over their shoulders and carry her out of the room, Lavender and Padma looking for anyone that might impede their way to the Room of Requirement. A suit of armor bursts into song just as they start up a flight of stairs. Considering that it's April, there's no reason for God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs other than the warning system. The five of them don't bother with looking around. Instead, they take off running, Seamus pulling Parvati onto his back and hunching under the weight to speed them up. Lavender drops back to watch for anyone coming behind them while Colin and Padma run in front of them.
"Stupefy!" Padma casts as they reach the top of the stairs. Alecto barely casts her spell before she falls to the ground while Colin raises his wand and casts his own spell, "Protego!"
Amycus's spell rebounds off the shield.
"Stupefy!" Amycus collapses under Neville's spell.
"Hurry!" Neville cries out as he kicks one and then the other. "There're others on their way!"
Lavender's features twist back into her normal look and the stretched-out clothing is now too big. They hadn't thought to plan the escape part; they'd been too fixated on the rescue itself. The door appears with little pacing and they all hurry through it. Seamus drops Parvati in the first available hammock.
Braced for someone coming in, they stare at the door and wait, breathless and quiet. A minute feels like an hour while the next fifteen minutes feel like a day. They look at one another while keeping their wands trained on the doorway. Umbridge had proven that the Room of Requirement wasn't ever completely safe.
When fifteen minutes have gone past, Lavender's arm trembles under the slight weight of the wand and the tension in her shoulders.
"Thanks," Parvati says. "Thanks."
Lavender drops her wand hand to her side and hurries over, hugging Parvati tightly while Padma holds on to the pair of them. "Oh Merlin, Parv, I thought… I … why'd you run out? Why didn't stay in bed?"
"I had to see someone," Parvati answers. There's an odd noise from behind Lavender and she puts two and two together. Of course. Parvati had snuck out to see Colin.
"I understand," Lav whispers into Parvati's ear. "You should talk to him about it."
"You don't think it's weird?"
"After this year? Nothing's too weird," Padma says as she pulls back and tugs Lav with her.
"Looks like we're moving in. The Carrows had to have seen who we are." Padma looks around at the room.
"They didn't see me," Seamus says. Lavender's heart twists as she looks at him, sees the resolution in his face.
"They had to have."
"Bent over in half carrying Parvati - " he starts to say but Parvati interrupts him.
"You calling me fat, Seamus Finnigan?" Parvati says threateningly.
"Just saying that I'm a small bloke and you're taller than me is all. You're no fatter than anyone else."
"Not helping."
"What I meant to say was that I was bent over with Parvati on my back so they couldn't see my face."
"You're going back out there," Lavender says, hand coming to her mouth as she stares at him.
"I am, yeah. There're still plenty of things needing doing."
"You can't."
"I can and I'm going to."
"Don't you dare," Lavender threatens, stalking close to Seamus. "Don't you even think about it."
"I'm going and that's final."
She barely resists the urge to throw something at him to make him wake up to the dangers he's rushing towards in his impetuous Seamus way. Merlin but she can't stand that man, can't stand his bullheadedness and rashness. He's going to get himself killed and then where will she be? If he thinks that she'll go out there and save him, he's got another think coming. Her temper flares and she yells, "Don't think we're going to come and save you if you walk out that door, Seamus Finnigan."
"Fine, then," Seamus says and turns on his heel, stalking towards the door. The temper disappears and she's left feeling mixed up and confused.
"Seamus?" Neville calls out, and Lavender is relieved to see Seamus pause. "We'll come if you need us, you know that."
"I know."
He's still not looking at them but he's not walking towards the door. What's he waiting for? He's leaving and he should go, dammit. He needs to leave so she can yell and scream and cry. Her pride keeps her standing there for a moment before she runs up to him and hugs him from behind, holding on tightly.
"Don't go."
"I have to."
"You don't."
"I do."
"Fine." She lets go only to tug him around to face her. "If you're going, then I'm going, too."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not," he says and pulls her hands from his arms. "You're going to stay here safe and sound. I need to make sure you're safe, Lav."
"I hate you, Seamus Finnigan," she says but she doesn't mean it.
"I love you, too." He hugs her and then walks out the door.
As Lavender stares at the disappearing door, she can only think: it's not supposed to end like this.
As always, I'd love to hear what you thought.
Author: wook77
Rating: Hard R
Pairing(s): Seamus/Lavender, others
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: The story of Seamus and Lavender is the story of them - the whole of the DA as they take on the Death Eaters.
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~8200 words
Author's Notes: Originally written for idea_of_sarcasm at hp_springsmut, I based the story off her prompt of "Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real". Many thanks to my betas, neversleeps, why_me_why_not and elanorofcastile. Also - many many thanks to the mod, midnitemaraud_r for not killing me when I took shameless advantage of her patience.
~September~
Lavender hands over her ID and her family records, cringing at the invasion of her privacy. If it weren't for her family, for the way that her parents insisted that she would be safer at Hogwarts than at home, she wouldn't be here. As her family history is questioned, she looks around and catches sight of Seamus and Neville off to the side. Neville makes it through quickly, getting a shove and a cuff as he walks past a couple of the robed figures. Seamus, though, isn't nearly as quick.
"Here you go. We'll be watching you. All of you," the woman threatens as she hands Lavender back her ID. She makes to stay nearby to wait for Parvati when shouting erupts from Seamus's queue.
"Fuck you, arsehole! I'm just as good as the rest of these and better'n most!" Seamus shouts as wands appear to point at him.
"Look, Mudblood - " the person manning Seamus's queue starts to say but Seamus interrupts.
"Mam's a witch, that makes me eligible to go. I'm going to school and you can't stop me!" His hands flail as he shouts at the man. Lavender edges closer, pushing a bit through the gathering crowd.
"We can stop who we like. Rules are rules." A guard approaches at the same time that Neville does. Lavender grips her wand, ready to defend Seamus and Neville if she has to.
"Fuck your rules and fuck you, too!"
She's too worried to do what she normally would've at Seamus's tirade. She wants to roll her eyes at him, tell him how absolutely barmy he's being, but she's too scared with the way that the guard grips Seamus's shoulder and starts to manhandle him. She pulls out her wand and lets it hang loose in her grip while keeping it hidden in a fold of her robes.
"Shut it, Seamus," Neville says to Seamus, putting a hand on his arm. "He'll be fine, sir, he's just worried about the new term and his NEWTs."
"Right," the man says in response to Neville's placating.
"Come on," Neville urges Seamus, and they climb on the train before anyone can react.
"Lav?" Parvati asks as both of the Patil twins appear next to her. "You ready?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Let's see if we can find where Seamus and Neville went. Safety in numbers," she whispers the last.
"Sounds good," Parvati says as she leans closer, all three touching and watching the lines.
"Can I stay with you three?" Colin asks as he slides in with them, throwing a nervous look over his shoulders.
"How'd you get through?" Parvati asks as they step onto the train.
"Sh, quiet," Colin says.
They go from car to car, silent and nervous, until they find the compartment with Neville and Seamus. The door's locked and Lavender knocks on the glass, interrupting the obviously heated exchange inside. Neville casts some sort of spell and the door pops open.
"Can we hang out in here?" she asks as she steps inside. The compartment isn't all that large but there should be enough space for all six if someone rides the entire way on the floor and someone else sits on a lap.
"We can make room, come in," Neville says and slides further into the compartment. Seamus grins at them and slides in further, as well. Once all six of them are in the compartment, they have trouble getting the door shut. Colin slides onto the floor under the windows while Lavender slides in next to Seamus and Parvati and Padma cram themselves onto the seat next to Neville.
"Muffliato. Colloportus. Obfirmo." The spells are quickly rattled off with the obvious ease of practise.
Lavender doesn't remember ever hearing about the second or third ones. Her confusion has to show as Seamus whispers in her ear, "Door can't be unlocked by Muggle or magical means without really trying now."
At Seamus's explanation, Lavender relaxes just a bit. For the first time since she'd made it through the check-in queue, her grip on her wand loosens.
"How'd you get here, Colin?" Seamus asks as he nudges Colin with his foot.
"Lied."
"What about the family back-up?"
"I'm completely pureblood." Colin winks as he speaks.
"Why would you risk it?"
"Couldn't go on the run, could I? It'd be - "
"Be what? What're you saying?" Seamus's tone switches from curious to defensive in a heartbeat.
"It'd be too scary. This is less scary."
"Oh," Seamus says and slumps into the seat. "Yeah."
"How's Dean?" Lavender asks, reaching out and touching Seamus's hand lightly.
"Haven't heard from him in a couple of weeks. He tries to tell me he's ok but I know he's scared and he's all by himself." Seamus flips his hand and entwines their fingers, squeezing her hand tightly. Her heart skips a beat at the feel of his hand surrounding hers.
"He'll be all right, you'll see." She tries to comfort him, squeezing his hand. The sad smile he flashes at her sends her heart racing once more.
"He almost got caught a week or so before the last letter. Stupid fucking Death Eaters. Fucking Snape, man. Fucking all of them."
"We need to figure out what we're going to do," Neville says, trying to distract Seamus from his worries over Dean.
"You think it's going to be bad?" Colin asks.
"Yeah, it's going to get bad," Seamus says condescendingly.
"Leave off him," Lavender whispers. "It's not his fault that Dean's out there."
"No, it's the fucking Death Eaters' fault, isn't it?"
"I don't think any of us that aren't in Slytherin should walk around alone. No going out by yourself, at least in pairs at all time. You think?" Neville looks between all of them.
"That's a good plan, Neville. I'll tell the Ravenclaws," Padma agrees, echoing Neville's look.
"Where's the sweets cart?" Seamus asks, letting go of Lavender's hand and crossing his arms over his chest.
~October~
"Hurry up, Luna, we're going to get caught!" Seamus whispers as he ducks behind a tapestry and holds it out slightly for Luna to follow him. She slides in just as Crabbe and Goyle round the corner and thunder past. "Idiots."
"Thank you, Seamus. Perhaps we could do this again tomorrow?" she asks and then skips off towards Ravenclaw without waiting for a response.
Seamus shakes his head and hurries to Gryffindor. "Dithering Albatrosses!"
The Fat Lady gestures him in and closes so quickly that his shoelace almost gets stuck. She's doing the best she can to protect all the students and he appreciates it. If it hadn't been for the portraits giving Luna and him the alert, they would've been caught for certain. Sir Cadogan yelling "hail and well met, fellows in black" to the Carrows and their cronies had saved their arses tonight.
The DA members can't be everywhere to protect everyone. That's why he's limping, Colin has a black eye, Corners has a broken rib, and Neville's got a bum wrist.
"Seamus?" The voice comes out of the dark and Seamus flinches, pulling his wand and pointing it towards the sound. It takes a moment for the fact that it's Lavender to penetrate.
"What're you doing up?" he asks as he walks towards where he can make out the shadow on the sofa nearest the banked fire.
"Couldn't sleep." He picks her head up slightly and slides in under her so that he can sit while she lays there.
"Muffliato," he casts. They've all got good at casting protective charms so their conversations couldn't be overheard. The Carrows have spells and alarms and countless other devices in place across all of the houses. They don't trust anyone, not even their own Head of House. The situation keeps degenerating and it's all McGonagall can do to protect them as much as she can out in the halls. They'll work on protecting their own inside Gryffindor. Once he's sure the spell took, he asks, "Why not?"
"I was worried about you." Seamus barely hears her over his own still-pounding pulse.
"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." He tries for brash and thinks that he sounds more like a scared kid. Which he is but that's not something he'd like to think about right now so he pushes it deep down. They've got to do what they can to keep people inspired, give them hope while Harry's out trying his best to finish Volde- He Who Must Not Be Named.
"Don't leave," she says, tugging at his hand until their fingers are entwined and resting on his thigh in front of her face.
"All right. Sleep here tonight?"
"Do you mind?"
"Never," he vows. "I'll watch over you so go to sleep. Nothing'll happen."
"Thanks," she whispers, and he can feel her breath even out as they sit there.
Tonight, they'd taken too many risks. Stupid risks, too, but Seamus has always been one for brash action so it should be expected. Probably was expected what with the way he'd been paired with Luna who's the exact opposite of him. Neville's come into his own, leading all of them as they do their best to resist the Death Eaters running the school. They've had to have aged McGonagall and Flitwick and the rest by about a hundred years with the stupid shit they've been pulling.
Tonight, for example, they'd painted the hallway with "I Support Harry Potter" in large, Gryffindor-red letters. So busy on their work, they'd not heard the Carrows approaching. Sir Cadogan, watching around the corner, had cried out the warning and they'd taken off running, barely remembering to grab the bucket of paint and the brushes. Enlisting the portraits has to be one of the best ideas they'd come up with so far, and that's thanks to Colin.
Seamus runs his hand across Lavender's scalp, threading his fingers in her hair as he thinks. It's been since the end of August since he'd heard from Dean. He can't help but worry over him. They'd set up an elaborate code so that their owls wouldn't be intercepted even though Dean's are going to his mam and his mam is forwarding them to him.
It's a hell of a time, he decides. They're all cloak and dagger, little kids playing at war and sedition. He wants to go back to when his biggest worry was over whether or not Lavender'd accept his invitation to the Yule Ball. The rest of this is rubbish, complete and utter rubbish that none of them should have to deal with. For just a moment, he allows his bitterness to surface as his face twists with it. Fucking Harry and not taking care of Volde-He Who Must Not Be Named properly when he'd been a baby. Fucking Dean for running off instead of sticking it out like Colin. Fucking Death Eaters and their rubbish politics. Fucking Seamus for shooting his mouth off all the time and getting them into hotter water.
Yeah, this whole thing is too much. He's not grown enough for this, none of them are.
~November~
Parvati bites at her lip. She wants to put the truth down in her essay, that blood purity doesn't matter and that only deeds and words count, but she's afraid of the punishment. They - Padma, Lav and her - all are. They've seen what resisting has got Seamus and Neville. The bruises and broken bones tell her exactly what sort of 'reward' she'll garner with her original essay. Instead, she pulls out a new piece of parchment and starts again.
"Trouble?"
Gasping, she panics as she looks around for the voice. She sees Colin standing on the stairs that lead to the boys' dormitory. "Yeah."
"Want some help?" Colin comes further into the room and gestures towards the crumpled papers.
"I can't write this essay. I can't do it, not the way that they want me to."
"So don't."
"But then they'll send me to detention and you've seen how Neville and Seamus fare there. I've seen what's happened with you."
"Yeah, well, you gotta do what's right for you." He sits next to her and grabs the recently discarded essay.
"You're judging me."
"I'm not, no. Not everyone can be as brash as others. We've each got our own reasons for doing things. Seamus? I don't think he cares much about living anymore. Neville's just trying to hold all of us together until Harry saves us. Me? I'm trying to get by without getting my family killed. We all have our reasons and concerns."
"I'm scared of being hurt." Parvati pushes her hair away from her face and stares at the table. "I'm not much of a Gryffindor, am I?"
"Doing what needs to be done when you're scared is brave. It's not brave to just go out there and hang yourself for no good reason."
"Yeah," she agrees half-heartedly. Staring at the essay, the words not forming for the essay that the Carrows want, she dips her quill into the ink and starts again, writing what she wants. Even if she doesn't turn it in, she's still doing her own bit. Colin disappears for a bit, bringing down his own homework. He's a solid presence next to her, relaxing her as she works. It's close to midnight by the time she's finished.
"You going to turn it in?" he asks as she bundles up her books.
"I don't know."
His hand reaches out, holding on to her elbow. She leans into the touch, resting her hip on the table. His hand squeezes her arm as he says, "Either way, you did it and you'll know it."
"Thanks," she responds and touches her hand to his. His fingers entwine, squeeze and release hers before she can even think about it. Bemused, she makes her way to the room she shares with Lavender and stashes her books in her trunk.
"You finish the essay?" Lavender asks from the bed next to hers.
"Yeah."
"Can I copy it?"
"It's not the one they want," Parvati says as she wonders if she has the courage to turn it in on the morrow.
"I don't care." Lavender sounds fierce. "I'm tired of hiding behind everyone else, letting them get hurt while we do nothing. It's time we start doing our part. If Loony Lovegood can do it, so can we."
"All right, you can copy it."
"We can do this, Parvati." The fierceness is still there but Parvati hears the fear underneath it. Maybe this is what Colin was talking about, maybe it's time that they, she, starts to confront her fear.
"Yeah, we can," she agrees as she places her hand over where Colin had held her arm.
~December~
"You'll write?" Lavender asks as she steps off the train with Padma and Parvati. The DA is careful not to be seen too much with one another. It's a small attempt to avoid detection regardless of Umbridge's notes from back in Fifth Year. She barely acknowledges Luna as Luna skips off. The wink she gets in return is quick enough that no one should've caught it.
"Of course we will."
Lavender watches Neville and Seamus step off the train with Colin firmly between them. She wants to say goodbye one more time but they've already done that in the privacy of their own common room.
"You think they'll be safe?" At Parvati's question, Lavender looks away from them to catch an odd look in Parvati's eye. The spurt of jealousy as she looks from Parvati to the trio of boys to Parvati once more surprises her. "Which one?"
"Which one what?" Parvati asks at the same time that Padma asks, "What're we talking about?"
"Come on, Parv, don't play stupid with me. Which one has you worried?" Her tone aggressive, Lavender asks as she watches Seamus turn and wink at them before splitting from the other two.
"None of them," Parvati finally answers after a long pause that tells Lavender that she's lying.
"Fine. You want to lie to me, fine, but I thought we were better friends that this." Lavender starts to walk off but Parvati's hand on her elbow stops her.
"Colin," Parvati whispers into her ear. "And it's either Seamus or Neville for you."
"Seamus," Lavender whispers back.
~January~
Neville's stomach turns as he watches for Luna. She hadn't been at the lines, hadn't been anywhere on Platform 9 ¾. When she hadn't answered his owls, he'd worried but thought, perhaps, it might have something to do with Luna being, well, Luna and not with the idea that she'd been taken. He'd been stupid. Absolutely and completely and utterly stupid and it'd got Luna captured.
He resists the urge to punch the wall or the glass of the window. That's something more like Seamus and he refuses to lose his temper the same as Seamus. The DA members all need someone that keeps his cool, can think through a situation. Thinking will keep them alive.
"Hear from Dean?" Neville asks after casting the privacy charms.
"Not a word, mate, not a fucking word. You think…" Seamus's voice trails off.
"I think he's fine," Lavender says from her seat next to Seamus. She grabs his balled-up fist and smoothes his hand out, palm on his thigh. Neville watches the exchange, the quick, intimate smiles, and wonders if either of them realise what's between them yet.
"From your mouth to God's ear," Seamus says as he flips his hand over and entwines their fingers. Neville wants to be happy for them, wants them to see the way that they're falling for one another and act on it but… but if they do, then the rest of them are going to have to plan for it and overcome the liability. It's a shit day when he thinks of a friend falling for a friend as a liability. It's just that, in this world right now, any sort of intimacy is something that the Death Eaters are going to see and hold over everyone else's head.
"What about Luna?" Neville asks in a bid to distract himself from his thoughts.
"She's not on the train. I looked," Parvati says from beside Neville.
"I didn't see anything in the Prophet or the Quibbler about it, though. Don't they normally announce who they're holding like it's some sort of contest?" Colin asks.
"I think it's got something to do with the fact that the Quibbler was publishing the truth and then they stopped. I don't think Luna made it home from the train," Padma whispers.
"I just watched her skip off," Lavender says. Her words bring Neville's attention back to her and, by extension, Seamus. He watches as Seamus shifts about so that he can sling an arm around her shoulder and pull her in close, entwining his opposite hand with hers now. They're wrapped around one another; they have to know what they're feeling. Don't they? They have to but they don't seem to have a clue, yet. It's not all friendship there. After all, Padma and Parvati seem just as upset and Neville isn't wrapped all around either of them.
He wonders if, maybe, he should be offering some sort of comfort to them, especially Padma who seems even more upset than Lavender. Feeling socially awkward, he concentrates on what he's been doing best all year. "We'll have to have a meeting with all of us. Get an idea of what we can do to protect all of us better. Should we step up the resistance or back off?"
"Back off? You serious, mate?" Seamus looks up from Lavender to glare at Neville. "We've just been playing up 'til now. We need to make it worse for 'em, show 'em that we're not just a bunch of little kids to be snatched out from under our parents' noses. Show 'em that they need to fear us."
"They're not going to fear us - " Padma starts to say but Seamus interrupts her.
"They will, we make it hard enough for 'em. Keep striking at their weak spots, show 'em that they're just as human as the rest of us. Show 'em that they aren't ever going to cow us or break us."
"And how are we going to do that?" Parvati asks.
Before Seamus can answer, the train whistle sounds. Tension and tempers still there, they look at one another. Neville moves to break the silence by saying, "We'll meet tomorrow night. Come up with a plan."
He releases the privacy charms and then grabs his trunk before making his way to the carriages. They're proof that they've all been robbed of their childhood. One more reminder that they've had something stolen from them. They can all see the Thestrals now.
~February~
Seamus runs along behind Ginny, breath puffing in his chest. She's the only one that's just as rash as him, just as brazen. He thinks, in a rare moment of insight, that they're both fueled by the same fear and worry. He's got Dean out there somewhere and she's got her whole family running. They're similar in their reactions, both taking worse and worse risks, going beyond what the group's suggested.
"Hurry up, Seamus," she whispers as she ducks around the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor.
"I'm going as fast as I can. Some of us don't have brothers to run from, you know," he whispers back as they race up the stairs to the Fourth Floor.
"Sh, they're gaining on us." She takes off and Seamus pumps his legs harder to catch up.
"Hurry thee hence, my fair lady and gentleman! The brigands approach from the rear!" Sir Cadogan gallops into a landscape as they run past it. Dodging the trees, he paces them before turning on the reins and sending his fat, little pony back towards their pursuers.
"We're not going to make it," Seamus pants as they race up another flight of steps.
"We will if you'd shut your gob and hurry your legs!"
"Fuck off, Weasley, I'm going as fast as I can."
"Which isn't fast enough. Come on, we're getting close!" The Fat Lady is just up another flight of steps and Ginny calls out the password as she hurries, "Dimpled Algorithms!"
The Fat Lady swings open and they leap inside. Sitting on the floor, they exchange a look and then start laughing. They have to look like loons with the way that they're bent over trying to catch their breath from their sprinting but the laughter feels good, just what they need.
"The fuck is an algorithm and why's it dimpled?" Seamus asks.
"Gotta have the 'd' and the 'a' in there somewhere and it's not like it's a word that the Carrows would know."
"Point. Then again, I wonder if they'd know anything about any sort of word larger than a grunt." They'd been sobering until Seamus starts his impression of Amycus. Then the insane laughter starts once more, so loud and hard that they lean on one another.
"Keep it down, they're still looking for you," Lavender says from the sofa.
"We lost 'em on the fourth floor. Got Cadogan to thank for it, too. He - "Seamus doesn't continue as the sounds of an argument outside the door start up.
"Cut you up, you fat cow, if you don't open up!" It sounds like Amycus threatening the Fat Lady.
"I can't let you in without the password," she says and Seamus hears the quiver in her voice.
"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Ginny whispers as they silence themselves, hurrying to stand and get to their rooms.
"I know they're in there. I'm a teacher and you'll open when I say you're supposed to open!"
The three of them exchange a look. Ginny runs up the steps and Seamus gestures for Lavender to hurry too. Hanging back, he listens to the Fat Lady.
"I'm afraid without the password - "
"Just what is going on here?" McGonagall joins the group outside the doors. Seamus leans in so that his ear is pressed to the back of the Fat Lady's portrait. The feel of Lavender next to him startles him for a brief moment. He doesn't even think about it, just reaches out and entwines their hands.
"Chased a bunch of your brats up here after catching 'em defacing the school." Seamus looks over at Lavender and mouths 'defacing' with a questioning look before aping Amycus's movements. She grins briefly before sobering.
"It's the middle of the night. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to interrupt the students. There are multiple exams on the morrow and they require their rest. I'm certain that my students wouldn't be so imprudent as to deface the school. Have you looked at any of the paths you've discovered? Perhaps there are intruders in the school."
"Done by your students and none of them intruders."
"I insist you show me this defacement before I allow you to interview my students."
"Down by the Great Hall, come on. I'll show you," Amycus says and their voices trail off.
Seamus breathes a sigh of relief and looks at Lavender where she presses against his arm. As he twists his head, their mouths brush. She's too close and it's accidental. At least, the first brush is accidental. The second, third and fourth are on purpose. Seamus can feel her lips against his, darts his tongue out to taste her, licking at her closed lips.
"Seamus?" Her voice has almost the same quiver as the Fat Lady's and it sobers him completely. He's stepped over the line on this.
"Sorry," he mutters. "I, just…I'm sorry. I know you don't want it."
"I do," she whispers back and then kisses him. It feels even better, her taking the lead. His hands thread into her hair while her hands grasp his shoulders. She tastes like Honeyduke's, sweet and creamy chocolate that drags him further into the kiss and away from the danger they're both currently in.
His hands shake when he pulls back and touches her face lightly, giving her a moment to breathe and think. They both need to think. Now's not the time, of course, not with the Carrows barely distracted by McGonagall. They've got to get upstairs but he can't concentrate on anything but the way that Lavender tastes. He leans in, lips brushing across lips as his nose rubs against hers.
Her hands fumble at his shirt, unbuttoning it and then touching him lightly. They're soft, softer than anything he's felt before, while her nails are hard and cool against his flesh. Leaning back against the portrait, he allows her to touch him however she wants as his cock hardens and he arches into her touch. Her nails graze across his skin, leaving little red marks that he can't see in the dark. He can feel them, though, as she does it again, this time dragging them across his nipples.
"Lav," he murmurs as she pushes his shirt from his shoulders and off his arms, fingers brushing across his biceps and tracing the muscles there. His voice shakes as he speaks, "Lav."
"Seamus," she responds with a cheeky grin as she traces his arms and back down his sides, raising gooseflesh and tickling him. Snatching her hands away from his ticklish spots, he holds on to her hands and leans in, kissing her once more.
"We should stop," he says after he pulls back. "You should go to bed and so should I."
"Do you want to stop?"
"Not really, no. But we should."
"I don't want to, either."
Her admission has his pulse pounding in his ears as he leans in, kissing her and walking her backwards towards the sofa. Letting go of her hands, he pulls her nightgown up, touching her thighs and running his hand along her waist and belly. Her flesh there is even softer than her hands, something he'd never thought possible. When the backs of her knees bump the sofa, he tears his mouth from hers and lips along her jawline, down her neck to suck in the flesh at the juncture of collarbone and neck. His mouth traces a path along the neckline of her nightgown as he pulls it up just a bit further, fingers delving just inside her knickers.
He's rushing this, going to fuck it up, but he can't get enough of the way her flesh is so different from his. The softness pulls at him, tempts him into faster touches and strokes. He's gentle, though, almost too gentle as she reaches between them and pushes his hand against the outside of her knickers.
"Touch me," she moans as he freezes. Helpless to resist, he does, tugging her knickers down so that he can feel her against his palm. She's wet, wetter than he'd thought she would be with the way that he thinks he's fumbling. His thumb pushes her open, searching for that nub he'd read about. He wants to get this right, give her pleasure to show how much he cares about her.
Her hands fumble at his belt and he stills, letting her open up his trousers and push them down his hips. He can't believe how utterly erotic it is to watch her grab the bottom of her nightgown and tug it up and over her head so that she's absolutely bare to his gaze. And gaze he does, taking in every aspect of flesh that he can see in the dim glow of a banked fire. He'd left his wand back across the room, dropped in that first kiss, else he would cast a Lumos.
Getting his mind back to where his hands are, he brushes across her clit. He grins when she moans and bites her lip. The way that her head falls backwards turns him on even more. Her neck's right there and, never one to resist, he leans in and nips at her skin just as he thrusts his index finger up and into her core.
"Oh Merlin," she moans as she arches into his thrust.
He's torn between running his fingers up the back of her neck, into her hair, and holding her head in place so he can keep kissing her or touching her breast. Either one sounds just about right for the moment. If only he had two more hands, he could do what he wants, touch her every where she deserves to be touched. He decides on both, holding her in place to kiss her before letting go and touching her breast and then going back to kissing her. His other hand doesn't stop its rhythm, thrusting a finger in while his thumb rubs across her clit. She's panting and moaning, little breaths that barely make a noise but go straight to his cock anyway.
His pants chafe, too rough for what he wants. He wants her smooth, soft hands on him, except he’s too much of a gentleman to ask her to do it. Dean would laugh at the idea of Seamus being a gentleman (hell, his mam would too, but then he'd much rather not think about his mam right now with the way that Lavender's wet and warm around his finger) but it's true, he just wants Lavender to feel good about this, now and later.
He wants to rub against her, get some sort of sensation on his cock other than just the rough cotton as it shifts with his thrusts. As if she could hear his thoughts, her hand drifts down his chest and then cups his cock, lightly and tentatively. It's his turn to moan, his mouth opening on her neck as he does.
"Squeeze me," he begs. When she does, squeezing and then releasing before squeezing again, he loses control, bucking into her hand and coming. This is definitely not something he's going to ever discuss with Dean. Ever. Never ever ever.
When he comes back to himself, he gently pushes her backwards so her arse is still on the arm of the sofa and then he kneels between her legs, licking where his fingers had touched. Her thighs close and he gently urges them open once more, thrusting his tongue into her and curling it.
He wants to see Lavender, see if she glows or if her hair is tangled, if her hands were playing with her breasts or her hair as he tastes her but with the sofa in the way, he has to imagine it. He thrusts his tongue deep inside her again and again. Her legs start to convulse around him so he pulls out and licks across her clit. Opening his mouth over her clit, he licks across it before nipping it slightly, just a slight catch of his teeth on her.
Her hand thrusts into his hair and pushes him against her tightly, her scent all around him as she comes, thighs tensing around his shoulders and neck before releasing and shaking.
"They're not going to be gone for much longer, you might want to hide," Neville says from the stairs, making Seamus fall on his arse as Lavender screams and scrambles for something to cover herself. They gather their clothes and, with one last look at one another, rush into their respective dormitories just before the portrait swings open to admit McGonagall and the Carrows.
~March~
Colin's the second one into the Room of Requirement and the first one to discover the Curfew. They're low on supplies, Neville and him. They've been in the Room of Requirement ever since Ginny hadn't come back from the Easter break. Neville because he's Neville and the Carrows have finally wised up to the fact that he's the leader. Colin because he's Muggleborn and someone finally told them.
Considering that he's beyond hungry - and lonely - he volunteers for the mission to get supplies. Aberforth's his normal, grumpy self as he walks about the pub and assembles what they need, vowing all the time that this is the Last Time he'll ever help them. Tired of the complaining, Colin steps out back of the pub and a screeching alarm sounds. Colin looks left and right before running back into the pub.
"You little idiot, I told you to stay put, didn't I? Hurry up and get into the portrait! Here, take this, don't forget it!" Aberforth pushes the bundle of food into his hands and then shoves him towards the portrait path. Colin hurries along it, cursing himself along the way. He risks a look back and he watches the tunnel collapsing behind him for just a moment before racing for the Room of Requirement.
"You get the food?" Neville asks as he bursts through the opening. "What's going on?"
"They've got some sort of alarm. I accidentally tripped it, made Aberforth really mad at me." He takes a look around the room and realises that they're having a meeting. "You meeting without me?"
"We were waiting for you, honest," Parvati says from her seat.
"Oh, ok. Well, I have food if we want to share." He holds out the package in his arms.
"Looks like we can't sneak out onto the grounds anymore. I think they've finally figured out that it's us out there, too." Seamus looks around the room and then continues, "Someone has to be feeding 'em with information. There's no way they're getting this smart all on their own."
"Or maybe we're making it too obvious," Padma responds, her meaning obviously about Seamus. Ever since the Potterwatch where they'd announced that Dean's missing, Seamus had taken progressively worse risks. Colin worries about him, that he's going to get all of them hurt or killed.
"What are you saying?" Lavender demands, standing protectively in front of Seamus.
"Let's all calm down. This is what they want, us turning on each other. Calm down, we're smarter and we'll still work around all of their plans." Neville is still placating them as Colin hurries over to sit next to Parvati. Untying the package, he offers her one of the apples. She grins in response and her fingers brush his as she takes it. His fingers tingle where they'd touched and he wants more. It's not something he'd ever thought possible, but since their talk in the middle of the night months ago, he's not been able to resist watching her, protecting her.
When Seamus's voice joins the din, he thinks that Seamus feels the same about Lavender. Good for them, he thinks to himself as he reaches out to brush a tiny drip of apple juice off Parvati's lip. From the way that she watches his finger as he brings it to his mouth, he thinks that, maybe when this is over, he might be able to find that much vaunted courage he'd told her about. Until then, he's stuck biding his time here in the Room of Requirement and looking forward to her visits.
~April~
"We have to save her," Padma says as they all huddle in the Room of Requirement.
"No shit. How do you suggest we do it?" Seamus says, making Lavender want to smack him.
"Seamus! Back off," she orders and he turns his glare on her. As if his glare could intimidate her into silence.
"Weren't you close to Parkinson?" Colin asks Padma in an obvious attempt to get back towards the main conversation of how to rescue Parvati from the Carrows.
"You think could get some of her hair?" Lavender sees his plan and grins at the simplicity of it. They've been using Polyjuice to move around the grounds for some time, normally impersonating staff members so they can patrol on their own. It's what saved Michael Corners from an even worse session when he'd rescued that First Year.
"I think so." For a Ravenclaw, Padma's being awfully dense right now, but who could blame her? She's got enough to think about with Parvati being in the Carrows' clutches.
"Maybe Bulstrode, too?" she asks.
"Yeah." Padma still sounds unsure of what anyone is thinking.
"Since you know Parkinson better, you can be Parkinson. I'll take Bulstrode since it's easy enough to act like a brainless cow," Lavender says, and she sees Padma figure it out. "Then we'll walk in and ask to punish Parvati. Practise for our NEWTs and all that."
"And just where will I be?" Seamus demands, stalking over to stand in front of her. If he thinks that he gets the right to cow her, tell her what to do and sideline her just because they're snogging on a regular basis … well, he has another think coming. She's not the same girl that started off the year.
"You'll be outside watching for the real Parkinson and Bulstrode."
"Me too," Colin says.
"Me too," Neville echoes.
"How soon you think you could get their hair?" Lavender turns to Padma.
"Lunch? I'll catch Pansy outside the Great Hall and snatch the hair then."
"All right, then we should head to class."
Lavender finds it hard to keep from fidgeting during Divinations, her only class in the morning. It feels weird to sit at the table with just Padma. She's so worried about Parvati and the fact that she's been with the Carrows since last night. She hasn't a clue why Parvati would've snuck out last night. They'd been safe enough in the dormitories at night since most of the boys had started hiding in the Room of Requirement. It helps that the Carrows think of the three of them - Padma, Parvati and Lavender - as stupid and ineffectual. They're going to learn just how effective they really are, though.
By the time class is done, Lavender's having a tough time sitting still. Thankfully, Professor Trelawney has decided on an easy day. It helps that Seamus makes the craziest predictions she's ever heard, making her laugh and distracting her from her worries. They finish the class and hurry to lunch, the three of them walking in tandem down the stairs.
The lifting of the hair is so subtle that if she hadn't known to watch for it, she would never have caught Padma stealing Parkinson's hair. A simple compliment, making Parkinson preen, followed up by another compliment to Bulstrode - Parkinson's hair in the right hand, Bulstrode's in the left - and Padma has enough to make the Polyjuice potion work. They're in and Parvati'll be saved soon enough.
They eat as quickly as they can, escaping back to the Room of Requirement. Lavender pours two cups of the Polyjuice and then Padma adds in the hair. They clink their glasses together in a toast and then choke down the drinks. Lavender hates the way that the Polyjuice feels even more than the taste, the way that she can feel herself becoming Bulstrode. Her robes get tight and bulge unattractively, pulling up at her belly and stretching her sweater across her chest.
"Ugh," she moans as she looks down at her changed body. "Next time, you're Bulstrode."
"No way," Padma responds as she looks at her own hands. "Pansy is bad enough."
When they exit, they're ready for their Dark Arts class. This is the best time, right before class, to volunteer for extra credit by practicing their Unforgivables.
"Can I help you girls with something?" Amycus looks up from his desk.
"We wanted to work on our Cruciatus, sir," Padma simpers as she approaches the desk. "We're still not certain on the way to get it just right. I don't want to fail. My father would be ever so disappointed."
"Of course, over here. It happens that we caught someone last night that you can use as a target." Amycus gestures them closer and they see Parvati bound to a chair in the corner of the room. Lavender's surprised at how quickly Amycus agrees to their disguises and the weak excuse.
"Sir! Sir!" A Slytherin student bursts in the classroom. "Longbottom! Fifth floor!"
"Really?" Amycus rubs his hands together before looking at the girls. Lavender cheers him on, mentally, urging him to go haring off after Neville so they can get Parvati out of here before the Polyjuice wears off.
"Sir, it's a perfect opportunity, you should go and we can use him to practise. I'd really like that," Lavender says in her best imitation of Bulstrode's deep voice.
"You're sure you'll be fine in here? Don't need someone helping you?" Amycus asks as he looks towards the door.
"I think we have it. We just want more practise and since you've a volunteer already…" Padma's voice trails off suggestively.
"Practise, girls! Practise while I'm off taking care of something. We'll get him yet!" he crows as he hurries out of the room, leaving Padma and Lavender alone with Parvati.
"Just try it, Parkinson," Parvati says while she glares.
"It's us, Parv, we're here to get you out." Lavender says as she forces her larger than normal body across the room.
"Us?"
"Padma and me," Lavender says. "Lav."
"Oh thank Merlin!" Parvati looks ready to collapse in relief. They hurry with her bindings but the first charm and then the second don't work. The third charm works but it takes far too long to free her. Parvati stumbles as she stands up, legs going out from under her.
"Hurry it up," Seamus says as he pokes his head in the door. "Cadogan says the Carrows are coming back. And Vi saw Parkinson and Bulstrode down near the Great Hall heading this way."
"We're trying! She's been bound all night, her legs won't work." Padma tries to pick up Parvati but her weight drags both of them down.
"I'll carry her, go on and get out of here," he insists.
Colin's head appears next to Seamus. "I'll help."
"Colin! Isn't it too dangerous for you to be out here?"
"I had to come," Colin says simply. Lavender catches a look between them, but before she can put the thoughts together, Parvati's speaking and distracting her from them.
"Go on, they can get me out of here. If either of you get caught looking like that…"
Lavender and Padma exchange a look and then a nod. "We'll be the lookouts, then."
Seamus and Colin hook Parvati's arms over their shoulders and carry her out of the room, Lavender and Padma looking for anyone that might impede their way to the Room of Requirement. A suit of armor bursts into song just as they start up a flight of stairs. Considering that it's April, there's no reason for God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs other than the warning system. The five of them don't bother with looking around. Instead, they take off running, Seamus pulling Parvati onto his back and hunching under the weight to speed them up. Lavender drops back to watch for anyone coming behind them while Colin and Padma run in front of them.
"Stupefy!" Padma casts as they reach the top of the stairs. Alecto barely casts her spell before she falls to the ground while Colin raises his wand and casts his own spell, "Protego!"
Amycus's spell rebounds off the shield.
"Stupefy!" Amycus collapses under Neville's spell.
"Hurry!" Neville cries out as he kicks one and then the other. "There're others on their way!"
Lavender's features twist back into her normal look and the stretched-out clothing is now too big. They hadn't thought to plan the escape part; they'd been too fixated on the rescue itself. The door appears with little pacing and they all hurry through it. Seamus drops Parvati in the first available hammock.
Braced for someone coming in, they stare at the door and wait, breathless and quiet. A minute feels like an hour while the next fifteen minutes feel like a day. They look at one another while keeping their wands trained on the doorway. Umbridge had proven that the Room of Requirement wasn't ever completely safe.
When fifteen minutes have gone past, Lavender's arm trembles under the slight weight of the wand and the tension in her shoulders.
"Thanks," Parvati says. "Thanks."
Lavender drops her wand hand to her side and hurries over, hugging Parvati tightly while Padma holds on to the pair of them. "Oh Merlin, Parv, I thought… I … why'd you run out? Why didn't stay in bed?"
"I had to see someone," Parvati answers. There's an odd noise from behind Lavender and she puts two and two together. Of course. Parvati had snuck out to see Colin.
"I understand," Lav whispers into Parvati's ear. "You should talk to him about it."
"You don't think it's weird?"
"After this year? Nothing's too weird," Padma says as she pulls back and tugs Lav with her.
"Looks like we're moving in. The Carrows had to have seen who we are." Padma looks around at the room.
"They didn't see me," Seamus says. Lavender's heart twists as she looks at him, sees the resolution in his face.
"They had to have."
"Bent over in half carrying Parvati - " he starts to say but Parvati interrupts him.
"You calling me fat, Seamus Finnigan?" Parvati says threateningly.
"Just saying that I'm a small bloke and you're taller than me is all. You're no fatter than anyone else."
"Not helping."
"What I meant to say was that I was bent over with Parvati on my back so they couldn't see my face."
"You're going back out there," Lavender says, hand coming to her mouth as she stares at him.
"I am, yeah. There're still plenty of things needing doing."
"You can't."
"I can and I'm going to."
"Don't you dare," Lavender threatens, stalking close to Seamus. "Don't you even think about it."
"I'm going and that's final."
She barely resists the urge to throw something at him to make him wake up to the dangers he's rushing towards in his impetuous Seamus way. Merlin but she can't stand that man, can't stand his bullheadedness and rashness. He's going to get himself killed and then where will she be? If he thinks that she'll go out there and save him, he's got another think coming. Her temper flares and she yells, "Don't think we're going to come and save you if you walk out that door, Seamus Finnigan."
"Fine, then," Seamus says and turns on his heel, stalking towards the door. The temper disappears and she's left feeling mixed up and confused.
"Seamus?" Neville calls out, and Lavender is relieved to see Seamus pause. "We'll come if you need us, you know that."
"I know."
He's still not looking at them but he's not walking towards the door. What's he waiting for? He's leaving and he should go, dammit. He needs to leave so she can yell and scream and cry. Her pride keeps her standing there for a moment before she runs up to him and hugs him from behind, holding on tightly.
"Don't go."
"I have to."
"You don't."
"I do."
"Fine." She lets go only to tug him around to face her. "If you're going, then I'm going, too."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not," he says and pulls her hands from his arms. "You're going to stay here safe and sound. I need to make sure you're safe, Lav."
"I hate you, Seamus Finnigan," she says but she doesn't mean it.
"I love you, too." He hugs her and then walks out the door.
As Lavender stares at the disappearing door, she can only think: it's not supposed to end like this.
As always, I'd love to hear what you thought.