Disclaimer: If I owned them, the movies would be a hell of a lot better.

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat around a small table near the window of the Gryffindor tower. Hermione was reading from a massive book entitled, “The Big Ol’ Book of the History of Everything that Ever Happened Anywhere.” Actually, it was called something more like, “Magical History: the Golden age,” but Ron preferred the former title. Meanwhile, the two boys were playing a particularly ferocious game of wizard-chess. Ron cheered wildly and hooted and Harry shouted profanity as Ron’s queen tackled Harry’s bishop and threw the other piece across the room.

A moment later, a long shadow fell over the table, and the three looked up to find Dean Thomas glaring at them. “Is this yours?” he said grumpily, holding out his hand to reveal the pathetic form of Harry’s bishop, who was limping weakly across his palm.

“Erm…”

“Well watch where you’re throwing your chess pieces next time. Smacked me clean in the back of the head,” said Dean, rubbing the lump there.

“Sorry, Dean,” said Hermione. “They’re just being idiots again. I’ll try to keep them contained.”

Ron said “Hey!” and Harry folded his arms, looking insulted.

“Thanks, Hermione,” said Dean. He turned to leave but then swung back, remembering something. “Oh, I meant to ask —have any of you seen Shay?”

They all stared at him blankly. “Shay?” asked Ron.

“Yeah, Shay. Seamus. Seamus Finnegan?” They continued to look nonplused, so he elaborated: “You know… blonde kid. About yay high. Irish. Eats too much sugar.”

“Shay…?” repeated Harry blankly.

“Yes, that’s the one,” said Dean, growing irritated. “Have You Seen Him?” He said this slowly, enunciating every syllable clearly.

“Oh yes!” said Hermione at last, slightly breathless. “I just saw him in the library… Madame Pince was yelling at him for talking too loudly…”

“Figures,” smirked Dean. “Thank you,” he said. But as he walked across the common room to get to the portrait hole, the other three could distinctly hear him mutter, “Weirdoes…”

“Shay…?” said Harry once again. “Isn’t that what Lavender used to call him all the time?”

“When they were going out, yes,” said Hermione, frowning slightly.

“He always complained when she called him that. She insisted it was a pet name,” said Ron, raising an eyebrow. He and Harry exchanged a glance. “You don’t think…?”

All three of them exchanged another glance, then burst out laughing.

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A/N: Wrote this a looooong time ago… 0.o