Seamus Finnigan (approbation) wrote in vrrpg, @ 2016-11-04 22:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | !backstory, !complete, char: hannah abbott, char: seamus finnigan, location: hogwarts, time: 1998 |
Backdated
Battle of Hogwarts
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It was utter and completely terrifying chaos! But this is what they had trained in the DA for. Months and months of learning how to defend themselves in secret. Learning from one another and having each other’s back. They’d kept so many younger students safe and now they were defending their school - and for the most part, their home! Rubble was flying every which way as Hannah dodged falling columns of stone. Tripping over pieces of their classrooms, and even more horrifying, their classmates. Hannah fired hex after hex and cast shield charms, even bloody well physically hauled off and punched someone when she could. A good poke in the eye never went amiss. Scrubbing a hand over her filthy face, her forehead stung and her shirt was bloodstained. If that’s all that happened, she’d be damn lucky. She’d seen Harry run toward the staircase toward Ravenclaw house out of the corner of her eye before dodging a rather nasty hex. The noise was deafening, each missed spell that hit stone rang in Hannah’s ears. Her feet carried her backward and she’d bumped into someone. Startled, she’d turned to find it was Seamus. “They’re everywhere!” she yelled, panicked, and gripping her wand with both hands. “Keep it together, Han!” Seamus called over his shoulder with a supportive, but serious tone. He was quickly and skillfully blocking and hexing in quick succession via his immediate 180 field of view. “Aim small, miss small! Remember to breathe!!” “Right!” She said in answer, thankful for the small reminder to keep it simple. Hannah disarmed someone just then, calling out a bone-breaking hex to another. In that same moment Seamus sent two flying backwards into falling debris with a well placed flipendo. “Watch it! Your nine o’clock!” Hannah reached back and pulled Seamus’ arm to turn him. Not turned in time to cast, the piercing hex grazed the young man’s left shoulder and a pained, gurgled scream followed as he stumbled backwards from the blow. “Seamus!” Hannah cried when she felt his body move away from hers. Her hand reached out and helped him catch his balance. Steadied by his comrade, Seamus’ wand instinctively changed to his right and he let out a string of hexes in angry approach. He landed a cascading jinx and took out 3 more in a blue explosion. There was no time for her disarming charms anymore. Seamus was bleeding and she had to help him. Hannah had turned violent when faced with three other Death Eaters closing in. In quick succession she fired off a slashing curse, which sliced off a wand hand. Next was fire in the eyes of the second bastard… and finally a binding curse on the neck of the last of the trio. The blood from Seamus’ arm seeping freely down to his fingers. The pain beginning to affect his vision and a need for first aid became prominent in his mind. He cast a brief dome of defense around them. The opaque white shield erupted just inches over his head and what attacks had been flying their way bounced back to their caster. They both turned their heads on instinct to shield their eyes from the bright light and sparks. Hannah then reinforced their shield with her own - buying a few more seconds. This gave Seamus time to grab Hannah’s arm and pull her a few yards down the hall, behind a dilapidated column for cover. His body slammed against the stone and a groan of pain left him as he finally looked at the wound. “FUCK ME!!! MERLIN’S FUUUCK!!!” A sharp pain radiated from the spot when he touched it. He averted his eyes from the bloody gash to find Hannah’s. His shaking right hand landed on her shoulder, “I need you to close it!” Hannah held her wand in her teeth and ripped the jagged opening of Seamus’ sweater and shirt open to get a better look. Wand in hand then, she spoke as comforting as she could. “I’ve got it! Don’t worry, just stay still. It might burn...” A quick - albeit advanced - sealing spell was cast, the wound being cauterized and cleansed as she did so. Seamus let out a yell of pain to the night sky as tears escaped the sides of his closed eyes. It felt as though thousands of knives were expanding the already pulsing lesion. “Almost done…” Hannah said softly, her hand on his cheek as the wound closed up neatly. “I’m sorry.” she offered placing her forehead to his as he breathed heavily to keep conscious. The pain slowly subsiding after the sealing charm, his brain still foggy from the physical trauma. “Here…” she reached inside her vest, having stashed as many phials as she could inside the breast pocket of her shirt before they’d gone into the fray. “This should help regain your strength. Drink it.” Downing the potion Seamus instantly felt the haziness lift off his mind. His body no longer trembling, and his skin no longer on fire. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Hannah was panting and gazing around at the carnage, still casting shield charms when she could so Seamus could recover enough for them to move. Eventually his mind and body calmed and he looked at Hannah. A Finnigan smile escaped his lips, “You’re a bloody gift, you know that?” As he sat up to meet her at eye level his hand pulled the front of her shirt toward him so he could land a thankful kiss to her forehead. Pulling back eye to eye to her, Seamus asked, “Ready for more?” His colour and energy restored like new. Hannah caught her breath and swallowed drily. “Yes...let’s go. They need us.” she’d said with a raspy voice and stood, helping Seamus to his feet again. She thought it best that they stick together, not knowing who else would need their help and not wanting to be on her own again. They’d fought their way through corridors and clouds of dust. Hannah’s own ears rang and it was a miracle she could hear anything after several explosions left the hearing in one of her ears non-existent. Hopefully it wouldn’t be permanent but they’d carried on. “Wait!” Hannah cried to Seamus, pulling him back to where they’d just passed. A couple of first years had been huddled under a toppled statue with their eyes covered. “I’ll cover you,” Seamus confirmed and stood without another word. The hall wasn’t particularly fresh with attackers. But the sounds further into the castle echoed the illusion that trouble was coming. Hannah’s small hands shook one of the first years to get their attention. “Get up!” Regarding their surroundings, she heard Seamus talking across the hall to Dean Thomas. He was leading a few others into a relatively safe area. Hannah pointed, making her directions perfectly clear to the pair while Seamus covered them. “Follow Dean! Run quickly and keep your heads down.” When the two young ones joined the other group, Seamus and Hannah set off again, hearing explosions in another part of the castle. Seamus’ footsteps picked up in pace and ran toward the noise - Hannah followed. The one hour armistice hadn’t been expected, but it was certainly needed. For a time Seamus and Hannah parted ways to help where they could. Seamus had taken the time to find his 5th year brother. Desmond Finnigan had joined Dumbledore’s Army during the year and had lived in the room of requirement with the rest of them. At the start of the battle, Seamus had tasked the boy with helping younger years get out. “Do not engage! Just protect!” had been the last thing Seamus had said to the kid. Thankfully… he’d listened. The Finnigan brothers reunited in a familial embrace at the Hog’s Head where the younger students had been hiding for further instruction. The two had been close since as far back as they could remember. Brothers by blood and friends always. Frankly, if anything would have happened to Desmond… Seamus’s mother would never forgive him. The reunion was a heart filled one that seemed to lift an invisible, yet heavy, burden from Seamus’ shoulders. Made his breathing calmer, his head clearer. “Are you alright?” Seamus asked quickly examining the 15 year old. “I’m fine- What happened!?” Desmond pointed at the other boy’s injured shoulder a frown of disgust present.. “Ran into an ex-girlfriend,” Seamus joked. Desmond fought back a chuckle and failed. “You’re so stupid,” the younger boy finally chuckled and pushed Seamus away - who was grinning wildly. “So look,” Seamus started speaking mostly to his kin, but loud enough for others around them to hear. “We need to get water and clean bandages back through to the castle.” He pointed to Des and added, “Get your friends that are old enough and capable to help search the place and the surrounding buildings.” “Right,” Desmond nodded as a few of the older students who’d retreated stood to join and help. Desmond took the role of delegating to specific people and they split into groups to find supplies. While she knew that Seamus would be going to check on his younger brother, Hannah stayed in the Great Hall to track down her ‘family’. There were injured everywhere and Hannah searched frantically for her Hufflepuff friends and anyone else she could find from Dumbledore’s Army. She’d found Megan Jones sitting with Susan Bones on a pallet and sighed in relief for two reasons. One being they weren’t bickering with each other - as they sometimes did, and the other being that they were both relatively uninjured. “Oh thank the Gods.” she’d hugged Susan first, because she looked more shaken than Megan. She’d stayed longer in an embrace with Megan, just because she was the closest to family that Hannah had. “I’m so glad you’re alright! Are you hurt at all?” Giving Megan a once-over she found that her sister was still one tough cookie. “I’m fine, really Han. Susan’s a bit shaken up, but we’re unharmed.” Spoken in low tones. Hannah really wanted to stay with them, but she had the urge to keep moving. Like a shark, she felt as though she would die if she didn’t keep moving. “I’m going to get you both some water, see if Madame Pomfrey needs any help.” “Get some for yourself too!” Megan told her sternly and Hannah nodded, giving both Megan and Susan another hug. Walking off toward Madame Pomfrey to ask if she needed assistance, she nearly walked right past Ernie - who she attacked immediately with a hug and a concerned look. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you!” she’d hugged her best friend probably a little too tightly, she could hear him wince which made Hannah even more concerned. “I’m ok. Bump here, scrape there… nothing to be concerned about.” Watching as his eyes moved to the cut on her forehead, Ernie’s face fell and he shook his head. “Stop!” she said in warning. “This is all there is, I promise. I’m going to see if Madame Pomfrey needs any help, she’ll fix me up.” Hannah gave him a bright smile and hugged him one more time, whispering. “Don’t you dare go trying to be a hero please? Please?” Hannah had to repeat herself, knowing full well he may not listen. “Find me after everything. You’d better be alive, or I’ll kill you myself.” The bright smile dissolved into a more worried look and Hannah pressed a phial into his hand. “It’s a recovery potion, for energy or injury. Just in case.” Then she turned and walked off, leaving Ernie staring after her. “Madame Pomfrey? Can I help at all?” If her Matron had said no, she would busy herself handing out water. “Hannah! Goodness girl! Your head!” she exclaimed, finishing a bandage on a boy with a large cut on his upper arm. “Keep still.” Hannah’s bangs were moved with a careful hand and she winced as the wound was closed up by the same spell she’d used on Seamus. “Thank you. Please can I help?” she pleaded. “Possibly later, I will need all the help I can get. Watch yourself.” Madame Pomfrey got back to work and Hannah only nodded, grabbing what water she could find and handing it out. She had to make sure that everyone was actually drinking it and not just holding it for comfort. Making her way back to Megan and Susan, Hannah spied Seamus rejoining them with his train of supplies. What was left of the Great Hall had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. Seamus had enchanted an invisible train of floating boxes and crates full of supplies to follow him as he returned through the passage of the Hog’s Head. He and the younger years had salvaged a fairly large amount of clean linens, water, potions, and whiskey from Hogsmeade. It helped of course that other adults had taken the armistice to do the same. It had been well into the hour when Seamus had spotted Hannah. With a box of supplies in hand he offered them to her. “Have you drank anything?” he said in a sort of greeting and a genuine question for her well being. “Not yet. I’ve been handing it out, making sure everyone is alright.” With the look on Seamus’ face pretty much mirroring Ernie’s worried glare, she started drinking water right there on the spot before taking the box of offered supplies. “You’d better have some as well. The hour is almost up.” Seamus checked his wristwatch and Hannah looked to the windows as if a growing dark would appear on the second the armistice ended. As the flurry of Neville’s head ablaze, and then the attack from the forest from the centaurs, people rushed back into the castle to finish the battle off. With the emotion high on losing Harry Potter and the desperate realization that they might actually lose this fight - Seamus’ dueling and energy had become one you’d see from an animal backed in a corner. Violent, unrepentant, and incredibly skilled in staying alive. He’d found himself in situations far beyond anything he would have ever imagined. It was a strange sort of thing being so energized by adrenaline. Half the time he was certain he’d blacked out and was only conscious as his body was running to the next opponent or safe place. As he blew up a statue to divert an attack on an injured defender Seamus spotted Hannah a few paces away with a two on one situation potentially ending very poorly. Leaping over fallen debris and dodging jinxes flying in every direction Seamus joined the Hufflepuff in the fray just off a third floor staircase. Blocking a hex with a shield charm he aimed forward and blasted the ground beneath the opponents with an explosive curse. The two death eaters flew a few feet in the air and landed in painful positions a number of paces away. A hand fell on Hannah’s arm and he asked, “You alright there, Han?!” Hannah flinched at his touch, surprised, and watched the death eaters fall away and the relief of no longer being in imminent danger washed over her like a wave. “Yes, I am now. Thank you.” she said to Seamus and nodded, gaining her bearings again. Just in case the two bastards on the ground came to, Hannah shot binding charms to their arms and legs. Somehow, Hannah thought this bit was worse than the beginning of the battle. The fatigue was starting to set in and her lack of remorse over the things she had done was unsettling. There were two potions left in her pocket. Quickly, she downed one during a quiet moment when they had cover and saved the last one for an emergency that she hoped wouldn’t happen. “Let’s take them out, yeah??” A fire in her eyes flared when the potion took effect, but there was something else. She had grown so violent. Maybe it had been the presence of so many Death Eaters, and a want to avenge her mother, but Hannah wanted them all to meet a sticky end. By her hand, or another’s. It took quite a while to even the field. Both of them had been dodging and diving for cover amidst all of the crumbling parts of their precious school. Shooting off hexes and jinxes, trying hard to spare life even to those who didn’t value it. At one point she was physically grabbed by the arm and she’d yelled for Seamus, but he was in a grapple himself. Something inside Hannah had snapped. She gritted her teeth and whirled around. In one swift motion, she gripped her wand around the middle and stabbed her attacker in the eye. The brute screamed in pain, grabbing her arm even harder. “FUCKING BITCH!!!!” he snarled. Hannah stomped on the wand he had dropped. It snapped easily as the tip had landed on top of a jagged stone brick. With as much force as she could muster, Hannah brought her knee up square to his groin. When he’d finally let go of her arm, groaning and falling to his knees, she ripped her wand back, taking the bastard’s eyeball out with it. It hung there grotesquely and Hannah spit in the socket before kicking him in the throat to silence his wailing. “Burn in hell, you fucking prick!” With one more brutal heel to his head, Hannah turned to see that Seamus had come away from his skirmish unscathed, but he was nowhere to be seen. Hannah had been trembling and wild-eyed as she wiped the blood dripping from her wand on her skirt. It was beyond ruined at that point and ripped in some places as well. Her stomach churned at the stench of fresh blood and she became feverish. Fighting off the urge to be sick, and growing much too warm, Hannah removed her vest and tossed it into a small, random fire - most likely the remnants of one of the explosions they’d heard before. A few of their classmates ran by but they took no notice of the pair. There were bodies here and there, from both sides, strewn about the floor. Hannah thought it was eerily quiet in the moment she’d knelt down to close the eyes of a young girl that she’d found. Taking the student’s hands, she folded them gingerly into a position that made her look at peace. Hannah’s actions were so tender after having been so vicious. Hannah rose as she heard Seamus call after her in his approach. She turned to face him with a pleading stare. “Tell me this will all be worth it?” Hannah’s wand hand twitched from shock and she drew in close to Seamus, still not trusting the abrupt silence. He’d pulled her into an embrace, unsure of what to say. Throughout the fray it was uncertain exactly what would come of all this - what the worth of life really was. The silence, having surrounded them, played stage to the sound of movement behind them. It was in that moment that everything seemed to slow and speed up at the exact same time. There were hurried footsteps that was cause enough for them to turn. A whooshing black cloud and a hissing echo of a curse being cast. Hannah’s terrified scream echoed loudly on what little stone walls remained when she’d tried in vain to push Seamus to the ground, out of the line of fire. The scorching red beam of Avada Kedavra was upon them as a darkness tunneled both their visions. Seamus’ body fell to the ground with his grasp on Hannah’s collar so tight she came to the floor with him. There was a ringing in his ears that vibrated at a high pitched scream fogging his head. The world for a brief moment continued in slow motion as he blinked back into existence. His surroundings rapidly returned to the chaos of the fight as the silence was gone and the battle raged. “Hannah?” he groaned as he awkwardly moved to a sitting position despite the dizzy spell that caused him to shake his head to focus. The sight of his dear friend unconscious next to him was adrenaline inducing enough to snap him back to the situation. Settling next to her lifeless form, Seamus hesitated unsure of what to do. His heart began to race at the sight of the bloodied Hufflepuff unresponsive. “Hannah! Wake up--” he requested as he patted her dirty cheek. No response. His eyes darted about her form, his hands too shaky to check for a pulse. The only thing he could think to do was shake her shoulders hard and yell, “HANNAH!!” With a deep, shuddering breath, Hannah came to, terrified and shaking. “What happened?” Without an explanation Seamus pulled her into a hug of relief - a few stray tears escaped him. His body still trembling at the thought of losing her to a curse sent by an unknown assailant. Her fingers dug into his arms as he pulled her abruptly forward. It seemed her whole body was shaking along with his. As he pulled her shoulders away from him to quickly examine her, she did the same. “Are you alright!?” he asked. “Seamus…” she said, watching his eyes and her hands searching his body for injury. Hannah gulped and was breathing hard. “...thank Merlin you’re alive!” That was all she said before grabbing him by his sweater and pulling him into a hard, urgent kiss. They had no time for it, but Hannah needed to feel something again. She needed to make sure Seamus was whole and breathing and they hadn’t woken up in some never-ending Hell.. The kiss was certainly not one that Seamus expected, his mind completely elsewhere. But what tension was present immediately melted into the caress of her lips. He instinctively pulled her close, and what violent rumblings around them disappeared for a few sweet moments. His heart rate perked at a new rhythm as he pulled away from her, forehead to forehead. One hand at her mid back, the other tucked along the back of her neck and along her hair. “We have to keep moving. Can you walk?” Hannah was breathless when the kiss had ended but Seamus’ arms still held her steady. “I think so.” With his help she got up and no sooner than she’d placed weight on her leg did she cry out and lose her balance. He held onto her tightly as they booth looked at her leg. It was scraped raw. “Where’s my wand?” she asked frantically searching the ground in her awkward position. “Here, I have it here,” Seamus had absently grabbed it during the attempt to help her stand. With a muttered spell the raw expanse on her leg bubbled and then settled back into a smooth, pinkish surface. Not without a cry, but Hannah clung to Seamus for a moment - clutching his hand for support. He waited for her to regain her posture - casting a protective dome around them just in case. He said nothing other than tilt his head expectantly for her. As she caught her breath and nodded. “I’m alright, it’s done.” His hand took hers and they ventured down the hall - back into the fray. It had taken some time for the adrenaline to dissipate. The victory of Harry Potter against Voldemort for the final time had rang through the halls. And as would be expected the exhaustion settled in. The body aches appeared and…. the memory of a kiss lingered. Amidst the body count, gathering injured, and checking in on friends and family… Seamus had lost track of Hannah after the victory cheers. Despite the battle having come to an end work still remained - and Seamus helped where he could. It was a few hours after Voldemort’s fall that the Gryffindor spotted Hannah tending to the wounded. Reaching out to tug at her sweater just below her elbow, he offered her a bottle of water and motioned his head toward what remained of the hall. “Can we talk?” The small tug at her sweater caused Hannah to turn away from a freshly-bandaged second year. It was a good thing she’d had a chance to get cleaned up - she was a bloody wreck before. Hannah managed to find a clean jumper, a new skirt and she’d washed away the battle grime and blood from her skin. When faced with Seamus once again, there was a flash in her mind of what she’d done in the heat of the moment. Hannah took the offered water and smiled. “Of course.” A touch of nerves in her voice, mixed with fading adrenaline. They walked through the hall and Hannah hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until she’d finished half her water in one go. “Is your shoulder alright?” A genuine concern broke a slight tension she was only barely aware of. He chuckled at her concern as they made it far enough from the crowd to talk privately. “Yeah, it’s alright,” he offered a demonstration of a brief roll of his arm. “Your leg doing okay?” “It is. Madame Pomfrey said it shouldn’t scar.” She smiled to herself remembering the impressed look their Matron had given her after saying she’d healed herself. “About earlier…” Hannah said, a little nervously. “...I’m sorry, about the kiss. No, that’s not true, I’m not sorry at all.” She worried at her lip slightly before speaking again. “I was so happy you were alive. I wanted to show you, and to feel alive again myself.” Hannah was fiercely blushing as she looked away. He sensed her nervousness radiating off of her at far more power than his own nerves on the subject. He placed a hand on her shoulder and offered a tilt of his head, “Hey… it’s fine…” Seamus offered a reassuring shrug, “Heat of the moment and all that, yeah?” Retracting his hand from her shoulder he nervously ran it instead through his hair and rested his palm on the back of his neck. “I just…. wanted to make sure we were alright. Never thought of you as a passionate snogging sort-” he teased then bashfully smiled. “You’re pretty good at it.” If Hannah could turn any darker shade of red, she just had. “Thanks. So are you.” Hannah wondered something as she moved closer to him in the hallway. “Could have another go...if you want?” After all, they’d nearly died. Hannah still couldn’t remember everything that happened but she was sure Seamus was the only other person who would understand how she felt. His arms dropped to his side and his eyes widened a bit. “Yeah...okay…” he glanced around quickly and spotted a door to what he hoped was still a classroom. Taking her by the hand he led the way. The classroom was relatively untouched save for a new, unplanned, skylight in the far corner of the room. He gave the room a scan before pulling Hannah inside - door closed behind them. Pinning her gently to the wall he searched her face a moment. A brush of her soft pale cheek against his finger as he leaned in… for another go. Hannah leaned in and smiled, kissing Seamus back and opening her mouth just slightly. She played along with his rhythm, letting her tongue tease his. Holding each other tightly, the time that passed couldn’t really be measured. They kissed and smiled, laughed when they’d bumped noses once. It was like they hadn’t been fighting for their lives for most of the day...hell, the year!! For a few minutes they were just two teenagers. Sometimes kissing, a touch here and there that brought on a thrill and a blush, a hushed name being uttered. Seamus’ hands were in Hannah’s hair when Hannah hugged him tightly and then gave him one last soft kiss. There would probably be no repeat of their little classroom tryst. Still, Hannah wanted to make sure he felt the same. “We’re okay, right?” she looked up at him and smiled. There was no way she ever wanted to ruin their friendship, but on that day, she wanted to be with him, to have a moment just for them. Something inherently good amidst all the chaos. “Course,” he smiled at her with a nod. Before he could say anything else Desmond Finnigan burst into the room. Seamus instinctively jumped as though he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t allowedto be doing, “FUCKSAKE DES!” The younger boy scrunched his nose at the realization at how disheveled the pair were. “Gross,” he declared before pointing over his shoulder, “Pomfrey’s looking for you, Hannah.” He eyed them up and down before grinning a Finnigan grin and boldly moving to ask, “Were you two---” Seamus whacked the boy on the head and shoved him out the door. “Get outta here!” Desmond managed to giggle a devilish noise at the brotherly aggression before the door slammed. Seamus turned to Hannah and he couldn’t help but hide his amusement and a laugh left him, “Sorry…” Hannah had been trying to hold back a giggle that seemed to bubble up at their being somewhat caught in the act. “It’s alright.” she’d said, biting at her thumbnail and still smiling. He didn’t close the gap between them, instead he asked, “This is probably the first and last time that we’ll ever… do this, huh?” He motioned a hand between them. His tone wasn’t particularly sad, instead a very adult simplicity seemed to settle - his grin still present. There was a small smile on Hannah’s face when she’d nodded. However, in the back of her mind, she wouldn’t completely rule it out. “I think so but, who knows...yeah?” Without warning, she’d grinned wildly and pulled Seamus to her. “One more…” she’d said to him in hushed tones and kissed him with all she had left. Pulling back, Hannah tried to remember how he looked just then with her hand on his cheek. “Thank you, for always having my back. I hope you know I always have yours?” That hand moved to the shoulder she’d just healed that day and lightly ran her fingers along where the scar would be. He smiled at her and nodded, "Same." Knowing fully that she was needed, and really should be going, Hannah only lingered at the door to smile at Seamus. Finally, maybe they’d all be smiling a bit more often. |