Going Through the Motions

A/N: Well, please don\'t hate me too much... this chapter might not be exactly what you expected, but all will be revealed in the future.. I just felt that this was the best way to advance the actual plot.. Also, please give me an idea how you feel about the question at the end of the chapter.. Finally, there will be a lot less angst in the next chapter, as term starts..

Thanx to Demitria Miriam and Blu for their reviews!!!

Disclaimer: I don\'t own Harry Potter or anything connected to it; that would be JK Rowling and Scholastic Books. So don\'t sue; I\'m broke.. heh..

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Going Through the Motions
by Squall Thrawn

Chapter 6 - All the Twists and Bends

Not too far away from the Whomping Willow, an old oak tree stood; a tree some said was planted during the time of the Founders. Few Hogwarts students were familiar with it, and even fewer found themselves under its large branches. Up until two years ago, it had been one of the more popular locations used by Harry Potter when he wanted to think, or just to be alone. Or spend time with Cedric. After Cedric’s death, Harry had never again set foot under the tree. Until today. Seamus and he were now sitting under it, almost but not quite touching. After the confrontation with Malfoy, Harry walked right to this tree, lost in thought. Naturally, Seamus had followed.

Eventually, after about fifteen minutes of silence, Harry finally spoke up. “How did they find out?” asked Harry, barely audible. Malfoy had said quite a few things, but Harry’s mind wasn’t functioning on the higher levels at the moment. There was only one thought that repeatedly coursed through his mind: they know. They know!!

“I don’t know, Harry,” said Seamus sadly. “I was heading over to where you were waiting, and heard two Slytherin girls talking. They said that they found out from Pansy this morning that you preferred guys. No mention of Cedric or anything.”

“And it’s not a coincidence,” said Harry. “I told all of you last night, and now it’s spreading all over Hogwarts that I fancy boys?”

“This morning, Hermione was telling me that Neville, Ron, and Dean were having problems with this,” said Seamus hesitantly. “Especially Ron. I hate to say this, but it looks like Malfoy was right.”

Harry did not respond, but let out a small groan. Seamus silently got out his bag of food and opened it up. It was a tad jumbled up, since Seamus had run all the way from the Entrance Hall to Harry, but it was still food. Seamus quietly tugged on Harry’s robes and gestured towards the food.

Harry raised his head and sighed. He grabbed a single muffin and slowly ate it. Seamus grimaced as it became apparent that that was all Harry intended to eat.

The two of them spent most of the morning under the tree. Harry kept quiet the whole time, his eyes open but unseeing. Seamus spent most of the time contemplating his feelings for Harry, and worrying about how they could affect their friendship. He tried not to dwell on the Malfoy incident; it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Finally, around lunchtime, Seamus got up. “I’m going to grab some more food for us, Harry.” Harry looked up at him blankly. “You need to eat more than you did, mate. Also, I’m going to find Hermione. Maybe she knows something more about what’s going on.”

Harry merely nodded.

Seamus made his way across the lawn, and into the castle. He had just entered the Great Hall when Hermione and Ginny ran up to him.

“Seamus! Do you know where Harry is?” asked Hermione in a loud whisper.

“We already know, Hermione,” said Seamus in a resigned tone. “I found out this morning, right after breakfast. I managed to tell Harry just as Malfoy came along.”

“Let’s find a better place to talk,” said Hermione, looking cautiously around. “We don’t want to make things any worse.” The three of them made their way out of the castle, and sat near the fountain. Hermione explained that the noise of the fountain would prevent anybody from hearing them.

“One of the other boys spilled the secret,” said Ginny, picking up the story. “It had to be. Pansy Parkinson is the source of the original rumours, and neither Hermione nor I would tell her. We hate that stupid cow; and we love Harry.” Ginny briefly smiled. “And I know you wouldn’t do it; you and Harry seem to be attached at the hip. That just leaves Ron, Dean, and Neville.”

“Yeah, we sort of figured that too, Ginny,” said Seamus glumly. “Harry doesn’t want to believe that one of his friends betrayed his trust, though. I think he’s dwelling on that just to avoid the fact that soon the whole school will know that he’s gay.” Seamus made a face. “I know how I’d feel if that happened to me.”

Hermione coughed. “Um, Seamus,” said Hermione hesitantly. “In a way, it sort of is.”

“What do you mean?” asked Seamus, suspiciously.

“That’s a second rumour,” explained Ginny. “It started spreading later, which explains why you haven‘t heard it yet, but… according to the rumour, you and Harry are lovers.”

“What?!” yelled Seamus. Yeah, a part of him wished it, but this would actually make it even harder for him and Harry.

“Well,” said Hermione cautiously. “You have been seen with Harry an awful lot lately, plus you’ve never dated any girls. You might remember that you went stag to the Yule Ball two years ago.”

“Hermione!” exclaimed Seamus. “You know that I’m not Harry’s lover!”

“I know you aren’t, Seamus,” said Hermione in an odd tone. “Not yet, at least.” Seamus started to protest, but Hermione shushed him. “I’m just saying that although we all know why you never dated girls, it looks bad when coupled with these rumours about you and Harry.”

“Ron and Dean made it worse,” said Ginny, in a disgusted voice. “Somebody asked Ron how he felt sleeping in the same room with Harry, and he slipped and told them that you slept in Harry’s room last night. And someone managed to finagle those stories of you being dateless from Dean. He even told them that you never even talk about girls.”

Hermione snorted. “They may not have meant it that way, but now they’ve managed to convince even the skeptics that you two are together.”

Seamus buried his face in his hands. “I’m not hungry anymore. I think I’m going to go hide with Harry for a while.” Seamus raised his head up and put his hands in front of him. “I know that’s not going to look any better, me in a secluded spot with Harry. But I couldn’t stand sitting in the Great Hall with everybody looking at me with curiosity.” Seamus sighed and started trudging back to the oak tree, but Hermione stopped him.

“I’ll see you in the Great Hall in a second, Ginny,” said Hermione, waving the redheaded girl o“Mak“Make sure you find seats near Neville; maybe we can at least stop him from making things worse.”

Ginny looked from Hermione to Seamus, then shrugged and walked off.

“I hope you know what you’re doing about Harry,” said Hermione in a low voice. “I know it’s going to be very hard on you, when everybody thinks you’re boyfriends with the guy you want to be with, but can’t.” She looked at the Irish boy sympathetically.

Seamus merely gave her an unhappy shrug. “What else can I do? Harry’s me mate; I’m not going to abandon him just because my being around him caused me to be outed.” Seamus attempted a smile. “Maybe people will be so busy gossiping about Harry, they’ll forget about me.”

“I doubt that, when most of the gossip is about you and Harry together,” said Hermione. “In fact, there are more people around that know you’re gay than people who knew you existed beforehand.”

Seamus’ shoulders slumped. “Oh well,” Seamus said ruefully. “It was worth a try. I guess I’ll update Harry as to our new situation. We’ll be under that oak tree near the Whomping Willow. I’ll talk to you later, Hermione?”

“I’ll bring some food around in a bit,” said Hermione, smiling. “Take care till then, Seamus.” With that, she turned back to head into the castle.

Meanwhile, Seamus slowly walked over to the large oak tree. Harry was still there, and in fact didn’t appear to have moved since Seamus had left.

“Well, I’ve got news, Harry,” said Seamus, attempting to smile.

Harry raised his head. “Do I even want to hear this?”

“Probably not, but you need to know this,” said Seamus, losing his smile. He had fly fly toyed with the idea of presenting the news in a humorous way, but his inability to find the subject remotely amusing had killed that idea.

“Alright, then tell me,” said Harry, gesturing to Seamus to sit next to him.

Seamus gingerly sat down across from Harry, instead. “In a nutshell, Harry, the whole castle knows you’re gay, and now there’s a rumour that you have a long-time lover.”

Harry groaned. “I hope it’s not Ron; he definitely wouldn’t be happy if he heard that one.”

“You’re probably right about that one, Harry,” said Seamus, shaking his head. “As it is, Ron’s off the hook.” Seamus looked down at the ground. Now he had to tell Harry about the rumour that he wanted so desparately to come true. “I’m the one that’s named in the rumours. Between those and the answers Ron and Dean have been supplying, everybody now thinks that we’re together.” Seamus hesitantly looked up at Harry’s expression, afraid to see revulsion or digust.

As Seamus looked up, Harry looked searchingly into the boy’s eyes and found sorrow and buried pain. “I’m sorry,” Harry said with a sad look on his face. He gently squeezed Seamus’ shoulder with his hand. “I never meant to get you involved in this.” The dark-haired boy retracted his hand and looked down at the ground. “I’ll understand if you want to keep your distance from me for a while, until these rumours blow over.”

“Bugger that!” yelled Seamus, almost angrily. “Harry, you’re me mate. I bloody well don’t care what the others are saying about me; our friendship is more important to me.” Seamus’s voice broke. “I’m not like Ron; I’m not abandoning you, no matter what.”

Harry silently put his hand on Seamus’ leg. They didn’t say a word; somehow, they didn’t need to.

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“Are you sure this is a good idea?” whined Seamus as he followed Harry tgh tgh the castle.

“Of course it’s not, Seamus,” said Harry, calmly. He had his public face on, the one that showed little emotion. “Regardless, we have to do it; or at least, I have to do my part. You can wait up in the common room if you want to; you don‘t have to go through with this.” Harry turned to the Irish boy.

“You know I won’t abandon ya, Harry,” grumbled Seamus. “You’re stuck with me, mate. Besides, can you imagine the rumours people would start then? Hogwarts’ most romantic couple on the outs! Details to follow!”

“Oh, are we romantic?” asked Harry, slightly teasing. He was aware that the situation was hurting Seamus somehow, though he still wasn’t precisely sure how. But Seamus had still agreed to go through with Harry’s idea.

“Oh, definitely romantic,” said Seamus playfully. He put his arm around Harry and looked into Harry’s face with an expression of vapid adoration. “Oh, Harry, my love. Words cannot describe the perfection of your face, your beautiful green eyes, and your lickable nose.”

“Eww!” exclaimed Harry. They turned the cornnd and almost ran into two Ravenclaw first years. The two Ravenclaws, two young boys, looked from Harry to Seamus, noticing Seamus’ arm around Harry’s midsection.

“Umm, hi,” said one Ravenclaw, looking rather uncomfortable. His friend pulled at his arm, and they ran down the hall, turning down a side corridor.

“Looks like we’ve just confirmed ts a s a little more,” said Seamus, giggling. Earlier, he would have been annoyed, but after hearing Harry’s plan, this incident would be nothing compared to what they were about to do.

Finally reaching the Entrance Hall, Harry paused. “Last chance to back out, Irishman. This is it.”

“Not a chance, Wonder Boy,” said Seamus. He quickly brushed his lips against Harry’s cheek. “Just getting into character,” he murmured. He then clasped his hand in Harry’s.

Holding hands, the two of them made their way through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall where most of the students were eating dinner.

*Flashback*

“It’s quite simple, Hermione,” said Harry, sitting under the large oak tree. The brown-haired girl had arrived with a delivery of food; Ginny had come along as well. “These two rumours were sprung at separate times. As far as I can tell, there was a different purpose to each. The first one, about me being gay, was clearly designed to alienate me from the populace. It was obvious how much it hurt me last year when most of the school didn’t believe me about Voldemort.” Naturally, Ginny, Hermione, and Seamus flinched at his name, though Hermione was getting better at controlling her reaction. “They’re trying to repeat that. Therefore, whomever we’re dealing with isn’t that skilled at this sort of thing. Otherwise, they would have kept the rumour to themselves, to use against me more effectively. Also, with only a few days elapsed this year, I’ve already discovered that we now have an informant among us. Not the brightest of moves.”

“So you don’t think it’s Pansy?” questioned Hermione.

“No. Whoever arranged this is somewhat clumsy, but at the same time skilled, strangely enough. I’d guess it was somebody with some practice at it, probably at the direction of somebody else. But he or she hasn‘t had any experience running things for themselves.” Harry chuckled. “Pansy’s just a front for whomever is really in charge.”

“I still haven’t been able to figure out who the informant is,” said Ginny, shaking her head. “But I’ll keep trying.”

“Thanks, Gin,” said Harry. “Alright now, the second rumour, which you said started about midday, was about Seamus being my lover.” He nodded towards the Irish boy, who briefly grimaced. “That one was supposed to drive Seamus away from me.” ‘And if not for the iron will of Seamus, it would have worked,’ thought Harry. Soon after Seamus had returned with news of their suppocoupcoupling, Harry had blocked away all of his negative thoughts about who had informed on him, and concentrated on figuring out how to get back at them. Not for his sake, but for Seamus’. The sandy-haired boy had merely offered his hand in friendship and his shoulder for comfort, and had been alienated by people he hadn’t even met. That definitely deserved some payback. And thanks to an offhand comment by Malfoy that morning, he had just the idea.

“So I came up with a completely crazy idea that just might work, assuming Seamus here agrees.” Harry turned to the Irish boy. “Here’s what I propose: let’s show them that that second rumour not only didn’t hurt Seamus, but drove him closer to me.”

“You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend,” Seamus stated rather than asked. Harry nodded as he looked at Seamus to see how he reacted. To be honest, Seamus looked less than thrilled. Once again, Harry got the impression there was something Seamus wasn’t telling him, but once again, he buried the thought. They could explore it at leisure later; right now, it was getting close to suppertime and also the time to enact their plan, assuming Seamus agreed with it. “One question, Harry,” Seamus fin sai said. Harry nodded. “If I refuse, what would you do?”

“I would go to dinner, hold my head up high, and show them that they didn’t affect me at all.” Harry said simply. He sighed. “It’s not as effective, admittedly, but I’m fully prepared to do it anyway.” Harry looked into Seamus’ eyes. “Your friendship is so much more important to me than any amount of payback. And I’m not going to jeopardize that just to get one-up on them.”

Seamus averted his eyes from Harry’s gaze. On one hand, this would hurt more than anything else in the world. Not only would people think he was Harry’s boyfriend, he would have to act like it. The sheer mockery pulled rather hard on his heartstrings. On the other hand, this was the best wo geo get back that the people who had put them in this awkward situation in the first place. Not to mention that once they took care of those people, it might straighten things up between him and Harry and clear the way for a real relationship.

When Seamus spoke, it was so soft that only Harry heard it. “I’ll do it.”

Harry simply smiled at him. “Thanks, Seamus.”

*end flashback*

Harry and Seamus only managed a couple of steps into the room before a group of Hufflepuffs noticed them. Soon, the word spread and the entire Hall sat there silently looking as the Boy Who Lived stood there holding the hand of Seamus Finnegan.

Harry inwardly smirked. The look of consternation on many of the Slytherins’ faces was priceless; he almost thought about borrowing Colin Creevey’s camera. Only one Slytherin didn’t look disappointed that Harry wasn’t affected by their rumours; in fact, he smirked at Harry and almost nodded in approval of his idea, his grey eyes looking amused. However, when Harry briefly turned his head and then looked back, those same grey eyes were now scowling at him, as if he’d never smirked.

On the other side of Harry, Seamus was quietly trying to prevent himself from throwing up all over the Hufflepuffs. While the expression on his face was just as calm as Harry’s, Seamus’ hand, the one holding Harry’s, was very sweaty. He hated being the centre of attention when it was something as serious as this. He just hoped this idea would strike pay dirt.

Hermione waved the pair over. She was saving two seats between herself and Ginny. They made their way over, still holding hands. They briefly uncoupled so that they could sit down on the bench, but once they were sitting, Harry’s hand soon found its way to the small of Seamus’ back.

Sitting across from the supposed couple, Ron’s mouth was wide open. He’d never thought when... Ron banished those thoughts away. Ginny gently, but firmly, reached across the table to close Ron’s mouth.

Harry noticed Ron’s expression, and almost explained the entire charade to him, but then he remembered that Ron was still under suspicion of being the spy. Harry instead smiled at Ron pleasantly as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

However, sitting next to Harry was one boy who didn’t intend to let bygones be bygones. It was time to have fun with Mr. “I need some time to process things”. Seamus turned to the redheaded boy. “So, Ron, you planning on moving back into your room tonight?”

Ron immediately tensed up, as Seamus had expected. “Well, Seamus… You… I mean, I was thinking…” Harry watched the exchange with amusement. He had a feeling that Seamus was winding Ron up.

“After all, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your own bed,” said Seamus, innocently. Ron hurriedly took a swallow of his pumpkin juice. “I mean, it’s not as though I’d be sleeping in it anyway.” Seamus gave Harry a smouldering look. Ron started hacking and coughing as the pumpkin juice went down the wrong pipe. Colin Creevey, who was sitting next to Ron, pounded on his back to help. Hermione and Ginny were too busy fighting giggles to be of any help. Seamus had known exactly when and where to strike.

The rest of the supper was fairly mundane. Harry could tell that he and Seamus were subject to quite a few not so polite stares from time to time, but if anyone disapproved of their ‘relationship’, they kept their opinions to themselves, for now, at least.

Throughout the meal, Harry kept fairly quiet, enjoying his food for the first time in a long while. Occasionally, he would break his silence to answer a question asked by Hermione or Ginny. Or to flirt with Seamus, who couldn’t seem to keep his hands off Harry. After his initial teasing of Ron, Seamus calmed down a little. Beyond a lewd comment here or there, his remarks were generally mundane and general, as if he and Harry had been together for a while. And Harry could tell that Ron, Neville, and Dean were deeply confused at the sudden turn of events.

Eventually, Harry got up to leave, whispering into Seamus’ ear as he did so. Seamus nodded, and got up as well, putting his right arm around Harry and leaning his head into Harry’s shoulder. They ignored an “awww” from Ginny and made their way through the castle. Just before they got to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, Malfoy confronted them for the second time today.

“So, Potter,” said Malfoy, smirking. “I thought you said this morning that the Mick wasn’t your boytoy.”

Seamus merely clung tighter to Harry. Harry laughed. “After coming all this way, that’s all you have to say, Malfoy?” Malfoy, instead of responding verbally, nodded his head as if to gesture behind Harry. Harry turned his head to see if anyone was behind him, and saw a few of the younger Gryffindors heading towards them, followed by Ron and Dean. Harry briefly whispered in Seamus’ ear. Seamus considered it for a moment, and then nodded. Harry turned back to Malfoy. “You want proof that we’re boyfriends, Malfoy?” With that, Harry turned Seamus and kissed him full on the lips. Seamus stiffened for a second, and then allowed himself to be swept up in the kiss. It only lasted a few seconds before Harry broke off the kiss and smiled winningly at Seamus.

Despite figuring out what Harry had been planning to do, watching them actually kiss caused Malfoy to stand there dumbly, giving his best impersonation of a guppy in a fishbowl. “Well, Malfoy,” said Harry, a tad louder. “If you’re jealous of Seamus here, just say so. I shouldn’t wonder… I mean, a guy who picks Pansy Parkinson as a date… if you weren’t gay before, being around her is enough to turn any man.”

Malfoy’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Watch what you’re saying, Potter!” He spat out Harry’s name angrily. “You’ll regret that one.” With a dramatic flourish of his robes, Malfoy strode away with his head held high.

Harry turned to the small audience watching with mixed emotions on their faces, and then to the sandy-haired boy he still had in his arms. Seamus looked shocked, and incapable of independent movement. So Harry finally opened the portrait hole with the password (“Liberi Fatali”) and led Seamus up to his room- Ron had graciously decided to stay another night in Dean’s room.

As soon as Harry and Seamus reached Harry’s room, Seamus straight away made a beeline to Ron’s usual bed and laid down, curling up in a fetal position. Harry, immediately anxious, sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What’s the matter?” asked Harry softly. After receiving no answer, he tried gently rubbing the Irish boy’s back, just as Seamus had done for him the night before. As soon as Harry’s hand made contact though, Seamus immediately stiffened and flinched away from Harry’s touch. Harry started mentally berating himself. “I should never had brought the idea up,” moaned Harry. “I don’t understand, though. What’s going on?”

Seamus finally turned his head to look at Harry, and the green-eyed boy was shocked to see tears rolling down Seamus’ face. “It’s ok, Harry,” said Seamus, though he sounded everything but ok. “Really, I’m fine. I’ll be as good as new, and ready to continue pretending to be your boyfriend in the morning.”

“Come on,” pleaded Harry. “You know that, whatever it is, I’ll listen to you and support you.”

“Harry,” Seamunallnally said, “I know that you still have more things eating away at you inside, and I also know that you don’t feel like talking about them right now. And I respect that, and I understand that you’ll tell me when you’re ready. This is one of those times for me. I have a lot going on, and until I figure out what it all means, I don’t really feel like talking about it.”

“Fair enough,” said Harry, smiling briefly. “Just remember that when you feel like talking about it, I’m here.”

Seamus nodded his head. He could hear Harry getting ready for bed and realized that he was still fully clothed. At this point, however, he didn’t care. All he knew was that Harry had just shattered his heart into pieces. At long last, Seamus had finally received his first kiss from Harry… and Harry hadn’t meant it at all. Burying his face in his borrowed pillow, Seamus silently cried himself to sleep.

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Well, wasn\'t all that interesting? Don\'t you just feel sad for Seamus? Anybody think he deserves to be with Harry? At this point, the plot is flexible enough. And whether or not you think that, you\'ll still be seeing some Harry/Draco action regardless!! So give me an idea.. send a review, or send me an e-mail... XxSquallThrawnxX@aol.com

Thanx again!!