Promises & Reunions

“Harry, can I ask you something?”

Harry looked around at Hermione. He, Hermione and Ginny were seated in the back room of Fred and George’s shop, waiting for Dean to show up with Seamus. “Sure, what is it?”

“I was wondering…” Hermione glanced around nervously. “Well, here it is; Pansy has been a lot easier to deal with lately, at least for those of us who are giving her a chance. I’m not sure why, but you saw in the kitchen today. I feel like at some point in the distant future I might even consider liking her.” Harry and Ginny grinned. “So I was wondering…Pansy’s here because she wants to help Draco Malfoy. What are you planning to do about him?”

Harry leaned back and sighed. “Honestly, Hermione, I have no idea. Right now I don’t think there’s anything we can do; it’s not like we can just owl him or something. We don’t know where he is or what he’s doing, or even if he’s still alive. Actually, you know how I’ve wondered whether Draco was having second thoughts about joining the Death Eaters?” Hermione looked dubious, but nodded. “Well, if he was having second thoughts, then he’s almost definitely dead.” He smiled sadly at Hermione’s and Ginny’s puzzled looks. “Voldemort is an excellent Legilimens, remember? If Draco lied to him, he’d know.”

“Oh…of course,” Hermione said. “Well, you know my opinion about that .”

“Yeah.”

Ginny had been silent, doing nothing but tapping her wand lightly against her thigh. “You know, Harry,” she said into the silence, “it’s very odd to hear you call Malfoy ‘Draco’.”

“Uh…right.” Harry shrugged. “I don’t think I can see Draco as completely evil any more. I’ve been thinking in terms of good and evil my whole life, but I never really accepted that maybe there’s a middle ground. I don’t think we can afford to take it for granted any longer. After all, if we hadn’t been willing to bring Pansy in she probably would’ve stayed completely out of the war, even with Draco in danger.”

As if their words had summoned her, the fireplace flared and Pansy came out of the Floo. Picking herself up, she took one look at the three of them and said sourly “So sorry to interrupt your discussion of me.”

“Actually we were talking about Draco,” Harry said quickly, making a decision. “Pansy, sometime in the next few days I want to sit down with you and talk about Draco, so we can decide what we can do for him.”

Pansy’s eyes had widened at the first mention of Draco. “Of course,” she said faintly. “Whenever you want.”

“We’ll do it when we both have the time,” Harry concluded. “Er…what are you doing here? Not that you can’t be, but I thought you said the potion would take eight hours…”

“It’s got to simmer for the next forty-five minutes,” Pansy answered. “And you said you wanted me to see your little Veritaserum interrogation from the other side.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, you’re welcome to stay; just don’t be surprised if Seamus is a bit put off by you being here at first.”

“Just like everyone else was, you mean,” Pansy concluded with a bit of a sneer.

The door swung open and George Weasley poked his head through. “Hey, Dean and Seamus are here,” he said with a grin.

“Great,” Harry said, standing. “Can you and Fred come back here? Strength in numbers and all that? Unless I’m letting leadership go to my head…”

George flushed. “Oh, Ginny mentioned that little comment, did she?”

“Of course I did,” Ginny answered mildly.

“Fred and I prefer not to have both of us out of the store, but I’ll come back with Luna; and Neville’s around so I’ll grab him too,” George said before disappearing.

“Wands out,” Harry said – needlessly, since everyone was already drawing them. After a moment Neville walked in with George and Luna. They all smiled greetings and stepped aside, drawing their wands. “We haven’t had to do this for a bit,” Harry said, “but I doubt any of you forgot how it goes.”

“Not bloody likely,” Pansy muttered with a shudder. “Veritaserum is repulsive.”

Just a few seconds later the door opened again. Dean and Seamus walked in together; Dean was talking animatedly, and Seamus was laughing uproariously in response. The door swung shut and Seamus’ laughter died away as he took in the circle of wands. “What the hell?” he exclaimed, his eyes traveling over the faces around him.

“Hi, Seamus,” Harry said. “Sorry about this, but we need to talk to you about whether you want to rejoin the D.A.”

Seamus’ head had snapped around when Harry started talking. “Harry,” he said in shock. “What do you mean, rejoining the D.A.?”

“We’re all of us working together to fight You-Know-Who, mate,” Dean told Seamus. “But we have to do it in secret or he’d come after us.”

“We’ve been trying to contact you about it since we left school,” Harry said, “but I guess you were up in Scotland. Seamus, we all want you here. Do you want to help?”

“Okay, sounds-” Seamus hesitated for a second. “Sounds good. Where do I sign up?”

Dean grinned and slapped Seamus on the back, but looked embarrassed when Harry raised his eyebrows. “We just need to ask you some questions,” Harry said to Seamus. “Let Hermione put three drops of that potion on your tongue.”

Seamus eyed the bottle Hermione was carrying warily. “What is it?”

“It’s Veritaserum, Seamus,” Hermione said. “Truth Serum. We just have to ask you-”

“Truth Serum?” Seamus interrupted hotly. “I’m not taking that!”

“All we’re going to ask is whether you are really against Voldemort,” Harry assured him. “We won’t ask anything personal-”

“Forget it,” Seamus said flatly, crossing his arms. “I’m not taking it.”

“Seamus, mate-” Dean said, confused. He placed his hand on Seamus’ shoulder, but Seamus slapped it away.

Harry exchanged a glance with Hermione. “Seamus, if you won’t then we’re not going to make you. But we can’t let you know about what’s going on then, either. I’ll have to Obliviate you.”

Seamus looked absolutely enraged. “I can’t believe this!” he exploded. “I’ve known you for six years! You know I’d never serve that bastard willingly!”

“It’s not a matter of trust-” Harry began.

Seamus grabbed Dean’s arm and tossed him forward, so Dean fell against Harry and Hermione. Before anyone could react Seamus’ wand was out and pointed straight at Luna. “Kistacollabi!” he shouted; just at the end of the spell his wand hand jerked, but George still barely pulled Luna out of the way.

Seamus’ wand whipped around and Dean tried to get out of the way, obstructing Harry’s and Hermione’s aim. Seamus stopped with his wand pointed squarely at Pansy, who froze, her eyes wide with fear. “Kidenei Enflaumen!” he cried.

Neville tackled Pansy sideways into a shelf, and another jerk of Seamus’ hand caused the curse to graze Neville’s robes, scorching them. Seamus began to turn towards Harry when Ginny launched herself at him. All of Ginny’s weight slammed into Seamus’ legs and he collapsed with a yell, his right arm flailing as it refused to let go of the wand. Dean threw himself onto Seamus to try to grab the wand, but Harry, not willing to risk fighting any longer, simply pointed his wand and shouted “STUPEFY!” and Seamus, Ginny and Dean all collapsed, unconscious.

The silence that followed was broken by a sharp whimper; Luna was clutching her ankle, her face completely white. “Luna!” George cried, dropping to his knees beside her.

Neville staggered across the room as Harry looked around. “Is anyone else hurt?”

“Oh no, I’m just perfect,” Pansy snapped, her voice strained. She was clutching at her wrist and gritting her teeth.

Neville cast a few charms on Luna’s ankle. “It’s broken,” he said. “She needs to go to St. Mungo’s.”

“I’ll take her,” George said, lifting Luna completely off the ground.

George got in the fireplace. “Wait, George!” Harry said quickly. “Don’t tell them how it happened; just say Luna fell!” George nodded his understanding and Flooed Luna away.

Neville checked Pansy’s wrist, which wasn’t broken but badly sprained. He cast a quick Healing Charm and the swelling immediately began to subside. “Thanks, Neville,” Pansy said with a wry grin. “I prefer my skin un-charred.” Neville flushed.

Meanwhile Harry and Hermione had dragged Seamus away from Ginny and Dean. Harry cast “Enervate,” and Ginny’s eyelids flickered open. “Harry? Is everything-” Ginny spotted Seamus across from her. “Oh, you Stunned us all.”

“Sorry,” Harry said.

“Forget it, it was a good idea-”

Harry dropped to his knees, grabbed Ginny and pulled her against his chest, clutching her tightly. “Bloody hell, Ginny, don’t fucking do that to me!” he whispered.

Dean was staring at the recumbent Seamus in utter disbelief. “I can’t believe it!” he shouted. “My best mate! He tried to bloody well kill us!”

“It wasn’t his fault, Dean,” Harry said, releasing Ginny and rubbing his eyes.

“Not his fault?” Pansy snapped. “I know that first curse he threw, Potter! If it had hit Lovegood her ribs would have collapsed and crushed her lungs! It’s an Unforgivable, and they didn’t teach that at Hogwarts!”

“He’s under the Imperious Curse,” Harry said calmly, standing and helping Ginny up. “Didn’t you notice how his wand hand jerked when he cast those curses? Seamus was fighting it; he didn’t want to attack us, he was forced to.”

“He stuttered before agreeing to join the D.A.,” Hermione pointed out; she was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, breathing slowly and evenly. “The part of him that’s still him was probably fighting so he wouldn’t betray us.”

“Hermione? Are you okay?” Ginny asked.

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled tremulously. “I’ll be fine. That was just…very scary. I mean, this is Seamus. I met him on the train to Hogwarts our first year.”

Harry nodded his understanding. “I know; it’s hard to accept.” He turned to Neville. “Neville, do me a favor and tell Fred what happened, al right? Tell him it’s all over and no one’s badly hurt; then tell him to tell the others, and come right back.”

Neville nodded and ducked out the door. “What should we do with him?” Dean asked, staring down at Seamus. “Do we turn him over to the Ministry?”

“Or we could just lock him up downstairs with Snape,” Pansy growled sarcastically. “Oh, for Merlin’s sake, if you’re so sure he’s under Imperious, why don’t we just break the Curse?”

“Break the Curse?” Harry gasped. “You can do that?”

Pansy threw up her hands in disgust, but jerked her injured arm down with a hiss of pain. “How the hell do you intend to beat Death Eaters if you don’t even know it’s possible to break curses, let alone how to do it?” she asked sharply.

“Fine,” Harry said shortly. “Show us right now.”

“It takes two people,” Pansy grumbled. “Give me a hand, Granger.”

Pansy quickly taught Hermione the incantation and which part was hers. Neville ducked in and nodded to Harry, indicating that he’d told Fred; Harry nodded back and gestured for Neville to be quiet. “All right, ready?” Pansy asked Hermione, taking a position in front of Seamus. Hermione nodded. “Fine. Here we go.”

The incantation seemed far too simple, and far too quick. “Is that it?” Harry asked when Pansy lowered her wand.

“It’s enough,” Hermione said, sounding exhausted. “But it worked; I could feel the Curse break.”

“So it’s safe to wake Seamus?” Harry asked. Pansy nodded. “All right, stand back. Dean, you have Seamus’ wand just in case?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Harry pointed his wand at Seamus. “Enervate.”

Seamus’ eyelids flickered. He blinked dazedly, and peered up at Harry in confusion. “Harry?” What-”

“It’s over, Seamus. We broke the Imperious Curse on you,” Hermione said from beside Harry.

“Seamus, what happened to you, mate?” Dean asked bluntly.

Seamus stared up at them, shock and horror registering in his eyes. Then suddenly he leapt to his feet. “They’re going to kill them!” he shouted in fear, grabbing the front of Dean’s robes. “They’re gonna kill me mam and da!”

Seamus made to run out the door, but Dean restrained him. “Who, Seamus?” Harry yelled, grabbing Seamus’ arm. “What happened?”

“Death Eaters!” Seamus cried, still struggling to get free. “They showed up at our cabin! They cast Imperious on me and sent me here, and they have me mam and da! I have to help them!” He shoved roughly at Dean, clearly growing more and more desperate.

“Seamus, stop! I can get you there in a heartbeat!” Harry shouted.

That caused Seamus to stop fighting. “Do it, Harry!” he pleaded. “Please, I have to-”

“One minute,” Harry said. “Give me one minute, and we’ll all go, Seamus!” Ignoring Seamus’ panicked look, Harry spun to Hermione. “Hermione, go into the shop and tell Fred where we’re going. Then go to the Ministry. Tell them we ran into Seamus on the street and he attacked us under Imperious, but don’t mention Pansy, George or Luna; just me, Ginny, Neville, Dean and you. Tell them where we’ve gone and why.”

“I am not going to be left behind!” Hermione snapped.

“Someone has to, Hermione!” Harry shouted. “Demand to go with the Aurors if you have to, but they have to know now! What if there’s a dozen Death Eaters there? We can’t beat them without help!”

Hermione was clearly terrified, and torn between her instincts and what she knew made the most sense. But when Seamus grabbed Harry’s arm and practically begged “Come on!” she gave in. “All right,” she said, hugging Harry tightly. “Be careful, Harry…I c-can’t lose you too!” Wiping tears from her eyes, Hermione ran out the door.

“Everyone come here,” Harry ordered, and everyone crowded around, except for Pansy. “Pansy? Are you coming?”

“Her?” Seamus asked sharply. “But she’s a Slytherin!”

“That Slytherin just freed you from the Imperious Curse!” Harry angrily retorted. “Pansy. Are you coming?”

Pansy hesitated a second longer. “All right,” she said finally, stepping over. “When I threw in with you lot, I meant it.”

Harry reached into his robes and pulled out a beautiful feather – Fawkes’ feather that he’d gotten from Dumbledore. “Everyone touch this,” he said, holding it out in the middle of the group. Once everyone was touching it, he turned to Seamus. “Think hard about where we’re going,” he said. “We want to appear close to your cabin but not inside. Picture it in your mind, okay?” Seamus nodded tightly and closed his eyes to concentrate.

Bloody hell, I hope this works the way I think it will, Harry thought. He raised his wand and tapped the feather firmly. The Finnegan’s cabin!

*****

Harry and Seamus appeared in a clearing in the woods. Harry’s head jerked back and forth as he realized none of the others had been transported with them. Damn, he thought. Seamus was thinking of the place and I activated it, so we were the only ones it worked for! He turned to Seamus. “I have to go back for the others,” he began. “I think I can Apparate them here one at a time…”

Harry’s voice trailed off as he realized Seamus wasn’t listening; all his attention was on something behind Harry. Harry turned to see a small, quaint little cabin; it was shaded by overhanging trees, and a low stone wall surrounded a small garden in front.

And the Dark Mark was glittering over the roof.

Seamus whimpered, and before Harry could stop him he was running all out towards the cabin. Cursing under his breath, Harry followed right behind, unwilling to leave Seamus alone to deal with what he knew was inside. Seamus pounded up the dirt path, calling out to his parents. Harry hung back slightly, just in case any Death Eaters were still there, but when Seamus threw open the door and disappeared threw it, and Harry didn’t hear any curses thrown, he cautiously stepped inside.

The large room seemed almost cozy. There were the remains of a fire in the fireplace, and a few wizards’ lights shone softly in the corners. A dish-cleaning charm was working at the sink, but Harry noticed absently that the dishes it was washing were completely bare; the charm had been active so long it’d rubbed the decoration off the plates.

Seamus had frozen just inside the doorway. Harry followed his gaze and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw the top of a sandy-haired head poking above the armchair in front of the fire. There was a thin curl of smoke coming from the pipe in the hand on the armrest. “Seamus?” he whispered.

The single word was enough to break Seamus out of his stupor. “Mam!” he shouted and ran across the room, Harry right behind him. The two boys skidded to a stop in front of the chair; “Mam!” Seamus cried. ”Mam, what-” but whatever Seamus was going to ask died on his lips.

Seamus’ mother’s eyes were wide and unseeing, staring blankly in the direction of the fire. In some cruel joke, her killers had propped Seamus’ mother in her chair, as if she were enjoying a moment of quiet contemplation. Her pipe had even been charmed to give off smoke. “Mam?” Seamus whispered. He fell to his knees and clutched at her arms; the pipe slipped loose and fell to the floor. “Mam! Mam ! Wake up!” he shouted, shaking her, causing her head to loll to one side. “MAM! WAKE UP!”