Hello my lovelies! I'm back, finally! I would also like to announce I'm still taking requests and commissions. Just PM me if you would like one!

Disclaimer: If I owned any of these characters, I wouldn't have had to stay up twenty four hours straight to register for Pottermore. Justsayin'

Cries of triumph rose, one after another until nearly everyone was yelling and carrying on, mood an odd mixture of celebration of winning and mourning those who died. Dean Thomas didn't take place in the noise, as his dark eyes were already scanning faces of both the living and the dead, looking for sandy hair, bright blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles.

He didn't find who he was looking for, and couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

People were now slowly trickling back inside, and Dean caught Parvati Patil's arm as she passed, praying to a God he didn't believe in that she knew something. He paused, before asking finally, "Have you seen Shay?" He's almost scared to hear the answer, his heart is beating so fast in his chest it hurts.

"He's up with Pomfrey." At Dean's startled look, Parvati quickly amended, "With Lav. That werewolf got her, heard she's pretty bad. You know how close those two are." But he didn't. He hadn't been there, hadn't known anything in a whole year. He doesn't say this, because Dean never says what he's thinking, and only Seamus has ever called him on it, and instead he nods at her and lets her go.

The journey to the sick wing seems to take simultaneously too long and not long enough, and soon he's lingering in the doorway, looking in at a sea of injured students and a harassed looking Madame Pomfrey. He saw Seamus first, pale and covered in blood and soot, clutching Lavender's hand. The scared look on his face absolutely broke Dean's heart. He had a deep gash across his forehead, and looked tired beyond belief but was in much better shape than Lavender, who had deep, long ruts of skin missing from various parts of her face, and her neck was a bloody mess, but she was breathing, steady and constant.

Seamus looked up at Dean approaching, and after a brief moment of eye contact was up and in Dean's arms, warm and solid and alive. His face is hot pressed against the darker boy's shoulder, and he's shaking in Dean's embrace.

In that moment, Dean decided to hell with subtlety, and pushed back Seamus by his shoulders just enough to kiss him for the first time since they left Hogwarts the year before. He didn't care who was watching anymore, because he was there, kissing Seamus who tasted like home and smelled like freedom, and felt like life. Eventually they pull apart, but don't let go of each other.

Silently, because they didn't need words, not anymore, Dean led the smaller male over to the single chair next to Lavender's bed, and sat down, Seamus settled effortlessly in his lap. Voices low, they quietly discussed their year, eyes occasionally straying to Lavender, to make sure she's still breathing.

This is war, and people die in wars, but they didn't. They survived and found each other, and that made everything okay in that moment.

"Now I know it ain't easy
But it ain't hard trying
Every time I see you smiling
And I feel you so close to me"