"I THINK I - I LOVE DEAN."

"You think?"

The confession comes out of nowhere, and Seamus is bewildered by Neville's response, who doesn't even glance up from the book he is reading. Seamus can only stare at him.

It's confusing for him. He has never felt this way toward anyone - least of all toward a boy. Perhaps the Carrows' detentions are taking a toll on him? At least, that is what he blames for the strange feelings that roar in his heart, but, bit by bit, he begins to understand more, and decides that the twisted feeling he used to have in his gut whenever he saw Dean kissing Ginny, was perhaps not the result of overeating the Honeydukes sweets.

A new fire burns inside Seamus, and he ceases caring about the detentions he earns. New scars brand themselves everyday on his skin, and he wears them proudly, usually refraining from treating them quickly in order to let the marks become permanent. Neville, of course, finds the idea utterly foolish and threatens to hex him if he doesn't apply the healing potions on time.

Seamus is proud to say that he is becoming quite adept at healing, and if all goes well, he would perhaps take up a job at St Mungo's. But he never allows thoughts like those to cross his mind, for he knows that a war is brewing and that he has every chance of not coming out of it alive. The only thoughts that he allows himself to think of are about Dean, and how he is doing, and where he is right now. Thoughts like these are what fuel the fire inside him, and propel him to fight for what he believes in.

However, good times hardly last, and Neville is forced to take permanent refuge in the Room of Requirement as the Carrows dub him as their personal enemy. The rebellious streak at Hogwarts is squished abruptly, and the DA remains inactive for far too long.

Until Seamus decides to continue what Neville has been doing. It is now him standing alongside Ginny, as they spray paint the walls and hurl the various Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products into the Carrows' classrooms. The fear that had been bubbling inside him since the beginning of the term evaporates, and he jumps right in to continue the fight against the death eaters, while at the same time, treating wounds and encouraging the younger students to fight.

Seamus keeps Dean in his heart all the while he does these things, promising to him again and again that he won't give up, that he will continue to fight and will see the end of the Carrows. He won't let Dean hide, ever again. He deserves to live and be happy like any other human being, and Seamus promises to himself that as long as he lives, he will do anything to keep Dean happy.

For the first time in months, he feels the tiny flicker of hope in his heart igniting.