Chasing Time (Seamus Finnigan)

forty

Lavender

It was already late when me and the others left the Room of Requirement. Chantry and I walked back to the common room together, whispering to each other and watching our steps closely.

'Wait, I saw something.' Chantry held me back as she glared around the corner. She gasped before running back to the boy lying on the floor. I followed her quickly whilst she kneeled down beside him. 'It's Seamus. Full body bind I guess.'

'Wow.' I took out my wand. 'Finite.' Seamus seemed to live again, God thank. He sat upstraight. 'Thanks. Been here for hours and hours,' he muttered, getting back up, a worried expression on his face. I thought Chantry had seen it, too.

'Who did this you?' Chantry asked him, frowning. 'Do- A Slytherin probably,' he stuttered. Chantry raised her eyebrows, but didn't ask any more questions. 'Come on, should head back to the common room.'

'What time is it?' he asked as we climbed the stairs, on our way to Gryffindor Tower. 'About twelve o'clock,' I replied. The whole way Seamus said nothing. It seemed like he was somewhere else in his thoughts, but I decided not to say anything about it.

When we arrived in the common room, the most students were still awake, but it was silent. Only then we noticed the Carrows were there. Crap.

'Where do you three come from?' Alecto Carrow snarled as she approached me and Chantry. 'The uhm - toilet,' Chantry lied. Without hesitating, she lifted her hand and hit Chantry in the face, hard. The entire common room was staring at her. 'You sneaked out again, didn't you?'

'Well, yeah, actually,' Chantry said confidently, which didn't seem to be smart to me, but it just wasn't in Chantry's nature to keep her mouth shut about things like this. Alecto hit her again, because violence was the only way she knew, and her brother approached her. 'Calm down, Alecto, that's not why we're here.'

'Right.' Alecto took a step back and peered at the students, an angry look in her eyes. 'From now on, there will be only one house left. From this day on, all students of Hogwarts will be Slytherins. Whether you silly children like it or not. And now, follow us.'

Everyone started muttering to eachother, much to the displeasure of the Carrows. 'Shut up!' Amycus Carrow yelled, but nobody listened to him. 'Slytherin? They can't be serious,' Dean told Seamus, who didn't seem to pay attention to his friend. There was so much chaos, and in that moment I wondered how we got in this place. How had it ever come to this? Hogwarts, all of our safe places, a place filled with not only magic, but also friendship and love, a safe community. What were we now? 

Students started to cast spells, trying to find them, but of course it had no use. Neville Longbottom was even duelling with Amycus Carrow, something I admired, but would never do myself. 'To the Room of Requirement,' Ginny suddenly whispered in my ear and I nodded in reply, as she went on and spread the word.

Seamus

As students were leaving the common room, I told myself to get to senses again. Neville was fighting Amycus and as there were almost no other students left and I didn't wanted to leave him alone with those two, I turned towards Alecto Carrow.

'Stupefy!' It was so hard. She didn't even have to say the spells, so I never knew what was coming, I could only desperately try to come up with something better. All kinds of spells were running through my head, but none of them were good enough.

'Stop it!' someone shouted through the room, but none of us felt like we had time to  turn around. Ducking to avoid a spell from Alecto, I saw a grin grow on Amycus Carrow's face. 'Have you come to join us?' he replied to the voice, but turning to look would be suicide. I knew I couldn't. 

'Oh I'd love to, if I didn't have unfinished business here. You're not going to give your life for these foolish students, right?' My heart dropped as I recognised the voice. Her voice. What was she doing here? What was she talking about? Unfinished business at Hogwarts? Foolish students. Was that really how she thought about me? I wanted to believe that wasn't what she meant. But I had no idea anymore what to believe. She left without telling me anything, came back only to jinx me and leave me behind to suffer without a word, and now she's here, talking with the Carrows like they were equals and talking like she wasn't one of us anymore. But she was wrong. She, herself was one of these "foolish students" as she herself called them. Us. Or wasn't she anymore?

'What'd you expect me to do then?'

'Get them to the dungeons?' she suggested, making me frown even deeper.

'Why would I trust you anyway?'

I heard footsteps; she was moving, and then I could finally see her: she was wearing a long, gothic dress with a cloack and in her hand she carried a box. A box with the logo of Ravenclaw on it. What business did she have with anything related to Ravenclaw? She glared at me and I thought I could see a twinkle in her eyes for a second, but maybe I just imagined it. The moment was over before I could blink.

'He trusts me.' The way that word was proncounced by her, disgusted me. Amycus chuckled. 'He trusts you?'

He took a step back and Neville backed off before pulling at my arm, pleading me to come along, to go to safety, but for some reason I just couldn't leave. So I stood still. Just watching. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I was stunned.

'He does. Or I would not be here. Actually I need your help with something, Amycus,' Dora said, and those words, too, sounded weird coming from her. They were filled with so much confidence, arrogance, even. This wasn't the Dora I knew, neither the one I fell in love with. But yet I felt I still loved her, despite everything that had happened. How could I not?

'What's he doing here?' Just then I noticed he was looking at me. So far for trying to be forgotten.

'Don't worry, I'll obliviate him,' Dora said plainly, without even looking at me. 'Dora?' I let out finally, the word I had been wanting to speak all this time. Finally, her cold eyes landed on mine. Then I knew for sure I'd lost her. Her eyes were so dark they were almost black and the sparkles they usually had weren't there. She was empty.

'Go inform Snape He is planning on doing it tomorrow. I'll handle this one,' she spoke to the Carrows, to what Amycus raised an eyebrow at her, but he seemed to be intimidated by her words and left the room. 'Both of you,' Dora hissed, to my suprise, and Alecto growled and went after her brother.

'What did you do?' she asked me dryly, no emotion sounding through in her voice. 'What? I think I could better ask you,' I answered. I couldn't believe what she was doing. Why would she act this way? This... heartless?

' I got to go.'

For a second I saw a bit of light again in her eyes as she spoke those words. She took a few steps closer, making my heard pound harder in my chest, and then wrapped her arms around me. What the hell was happening? Before I could even hug her back, she ended the moment, turned around and left the room without obliviating me like she had said she would. As she went, she didn't look back. Not once. And I wondered then what I meant to her now.