House: Gryffindor
Position: HoH
Category: Standard
Prompt: Gold
Word Count (excluding header and AN): 890
Betas: Tigger, Shiba, Aurora
AN- The title is taken from 'Gold Digger' by Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx. Does anyone recognize which TV show this style of intervention is from? Enjoy!
Seamus was exhausted. He had been working extra shifts at Weasley Wizard Wheezes to earn some extra Galleons. Lee and George just couldn't get enough of his highly explosive pyrotechnics, and were willing to pay out the nose for his research and development expertise. And he needed every Knut that he could manage to please Romilda.
Flickering street lights cast an eerie, gold glow on the night. Instead of feeling warm and comforting, the inconsistent gold felt cold.
Arriving at the stoop of his flat, Seamus glanced around to see if there were Muggles about. Living in a run-down Muggle community meant that he had additional security measures that needed to be accounted for. Spotting no one, he removed the multiple concealment and anti-burglary charms, cast a quick Alohomora, and let himself in.
All he wanted to do was head to the fridge, crack open a beer, and put his feet up. Rounding the corner to the kitchen, he pulled up short when he spotted some of his friends gathered around his small table. A large banner was hung from the ceiling: INTERVENTION.
"What the bloody hell is this?" he asked.
Dean rose and quickly glanced around at his other friends. He received several encouraging nods before he spoke. "We're here because we care about you, Seamus. This is a safe place and we only want to help you."
"Have you all gone looney?" Seamus asked.
"Not at all, Seamus," Hermione chimed in. "We just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I'm much better about controlling my explosions now than I used to be. You don't have to worry about me blowing myself up while I make fireworks!" Seamus laughed.
"We know you are, Seamus," Hermione said. "And we're so proud of you for that."
"How do you think I'm going to be hurt then?" Seamus asked.
Hermione searched for the words. "You are—You are—" She looked to Dean for help.
"What she's trying to say is, um..." Dean trailed off.
"You're dating a bloody gold digger!" Ron exclaimed. When Hermione smacked him upside the back of the head, he yelped. "Well, you guys weren't going to say it."
"Have some tact, Ronald!" she hissed.
"Romilda is not a gold digger!" Seamus declared. "You all are bonkers if you think that."
"Mate," Dean said, "You're working yourself ragged to spoil her rotten."
"So I like treating her nicely from time to time," Seamus defended.
"And that's wonderful," Hermione said. "But not at the cost of your own livelihood. You live in this shabby flat, and pay the rent on her gilded penthouse."
"I won't be living here for too much longer. She said that I could move in with her soon."
"She's been telling you that for two years!" Dean declared. "And in the meantime, you've furnished the flat that she barely spends any time in. You keep paying for these extravagant holidays for her and she empties out your Gringotts accounts every time!"
Seamus flushed red with indignation. "Well I—"
"And don't think we don't know about all of the jewelry that you buy for her." Dean summoned the safe that Seamus kept underneath his bed.
"Hey!" Seamus cried.
Hermione waved her wand and unlocked the safe. Glittering gold burst onto the shabby table. The expensive diamonds and precious stones shined—the entirety of his savings laid out in beautiful gold and shimmering gems.
Ron whistled. "Wow, mate!"
"Seamus," Hermione let his name out as a sad breath.
Seamus looked at the elegant gold in stark contrast to his run-down flat. He saw the pitying looks on his friends' faces.
"I just want to make her happy," he said. "She expects all of this."
"You shouldn't have to shower her in jewels and fund her entire life to make her happy." Hermione added, "A gift means so much more when it's a surprise, rather than being obligatory."
"But if I just stop, she'll break up with me."
"If that's the case, your friends will be there for you to help you out."
"I love her."
Dean stood up and slung a comforting arm over Seamus's shoulders. "I know you do, mate. Maybe she loves you too and doesn't really expect you to spend every last Knut on her. Maybe she doesn't want a new gold necklace every week and a diamond for every holiday. But if she does? She's not the witch for you."
Seamus allowed Dean to guide him over to the table. He stared at the pricey gold in front of him. "If she rejects me, what am I going to do with all of this? It's all I have."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Hermione promised. "I'm sure that we will be able to figure out a way to get the money for you to be able to build up your own life."
"Thanks guys," Seamus said. He glanced at the ceiling and saw the banner. Laughing, he asked, "Who's idea was it to hold an intervention?"
"Hermione's, of course," Ron chuckled. "She saw it on a Muggle telly program she loves. A group of friends get out the intervention banner whenever one of them goes a little bit off the rails."
"If it helps out Seamus, then what does it matter what my source was?" Hermione pointed out.
They all laughed.