When Seamus walked into the common room with his hair conjured green and his face covered in painted shamrocks, all eyes turned to him at once.
‘What’s gotten into you, Finnigan, since when do you support Slytherin?’, Ron said.
‘Are you colourblind, Weasley, this is nothing like Slytherin green,’ Seamus said indignantly.
Dean, whose eyes had fixed on the slogan on Seamus’ t-shirt instead of on the colour of his hair, smiled brightly and with a ‘Don’t mind if I do’, he snogged his friend mercilessly.
It was only after he let go of Seamus, that the others could read the words ‘Kiss me, I’m Irish’ on the bright green t-shirt.
‘What in Merlin’s name is going on?,’ Ginny asked bewildered.
‘I tell you what’s up,’ Seamus replied, as his friends gathered around him. ‘We’ve been here five years and we’ve been forced to celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day every year. We’ve been subjected to masquerade balls and even had curses put on us on that blasted saints day, which isn’t even a National holiday, but not once in that time have we celebrated any other saints days, such as St Patrick’s Day, which is actually a National holiday where I come from and I am going to make sure that it is celebrated this year.’
To emphasise his words he conjured lots of garlands and with a flourish of his wand decorated the common room in green and orange streamers. He also lobbed an assortment of hats, badges, ties and ribbons at his friends, who stared at him bemused.
‘I think I read about this…’, Hermione started to say.
‘… in Hogwarts, a History,’ half a dozen voices chimed in.
‘Of course not,’ Hermione retorted exasperatedly, ‘why would the patron saint of Ireland be in a book about this school? It is not as if he attended here, did he?’
‘More the pity,’ Seamus said, ‘He famously banned all snakes from Ireland, I have you know. Maybe if he had gone here, there would be no Slytherin house and we would not have to worry about old Snake-face attacking the school all the time.’
A silence came over the room.
‘Way to kill the mood, mate,’ Ron said, as he planted the green top hat adorned with a black ribbon and gold buckle, Seamus had thrown at him, on his head.
‘You look like an oversized Leprechaun,’ Seamus laughed and the others joined in, recalling fondly the mascot of the Irish team at the Quidditch World Cup.
‘That one we have heard of,’ Dean said, pinning a huge shamrock badge on his chest, while Ron and Harry did a little jig accompanied by Hermione and Ginny humming a half remembered Irish tune and pretending to play a flute.
Seamus didn’t bother explaining that Irish traditional music was generally played on a tin whistle rather than a flute. One battle at the time, he reminded himself.
‘So tell us a bit more about what’s involved in celebrating this Irish National holiday, and how you are planning on getting the rest of the school to join in,’ Neville said.
The once shy boy, who was constantly looking for his toad, had become much more decisive and practical since his spell in Dumbledore’s army and nearly being killed in the Ministry of Magic last Summer, seemed to have awoken a new person in him.
‘It basically involves a lot of green food colouring, or at least that is what I told Dobby, so be prepared for all your food and drink to be green today,’ Seamus replied with a wide grin.
‘At home we have lots of parades and music and dancing, but I suppose I just have to settle for green food and lots of orange, white and green decorations,’ he said as he draped an Irish flag around his shoulders.
Despite all his bravado, his friends realised that all these years Seamus might have been more homesick than the rest of them.
The Weasleys were surrounded by most of their family members at school. Harry was more at home here than anywhere else, and even Neville was happier at Hogwarts than by himself with just his grandmother for company, but Seamus was in a different country, far removed from anything that reminded him of home.
‘Hey, I am game, Shay,’ Neville said, clapping Seamus on the shoulder and grabbing a hat and a large tie decorated with shamrocks. ‘Sign me up for this Irish party, and I am sure we get Dumbledore to colour his beard green in no time. I bet, Luna will even get some banshees wailing in the corridors, if you ask her.’
‘Jeez, don’t even joke about suggesting that to her. Me Ma would have a fit, if she thought I was encouraging blooming banshees. You know their cries foretell death, don’t you, and there has been enough of that already since we started school. No need to tempt faith more than we need to.’
He paused and then hastily added, ‘But she can help decorate the halls with singing shamrocks, if she likes, and wear one of her delightfully weird headdresses.’
He knew that Neville had developed quite a soft spot for Luna over the past year, and he did not want to upset his roommate. Especially not after being so supportive just now.
‘Are there any pyrotechnics involved?’ Dean asked, changing the subject.
Seamus’ sly smile, in reply to his question, told him all he needed to know and explained the series of owls his friend had been receiving lately with oddly shaped packages.
‘’Weasley’s?’ Dean mouthed silently and at the affirmative nod whispered, ‘Wicked.’
Then his eyes were involuntarily drawn to the message on his friend’s chest again and he couldn’t help grinning.
He was determined to act on those instructions a few more times before the day was over.
This was going to be the best St Patrick’s Day ever.