19 years later
They thought they would be used to it this time. First year sending her off to school had been so difficult, but somehow second year was worse. Now they knew exactly how it felt to be without her for the entire year, not just every other week. A twelve year old stood bouncing between her fathers arms. Her dark hair braided on each side of her head, tied with light purple shawls.
The platform was eerily familiar in the mist, as if they had just stepped off the train themselves nineteen years ago.
”Nineteen years” Seamus muttered under his breath. Just as he had muttered eighteen last year.
He quickly ducked his head when he thought he saw Oliver Wood shoot past in a blur of red and gold. Broomstick almost hitting people in the face as he passed excitedly to get to a family of familiar redheads. Not that Seamus didn’t love talking to Oliver… most of the time. There was just so few same sex parents in their community and Seamus wasn’t in the mood for a firey speech about their solidarity. Or to be drawn into a campaign about parents for co-ed locker rooms. He was not about to relive last year's one hour long "casual" conversation.
There were familiar faces, now aged and sometimes hardly recognizable. Some he knew by face alone. They'd fought side by side and he still didn't know their names, yet bonded together by horror. They courteously nodded at each other.
He saw Harry and Ron, gave them a courteous nod as well but didn’t stop to chatt. He and Dean hadn’t kept in touch with them, the mood never really unsoured after Lavender’s death. They were still good friends with Neville and Ginny though. It was almost funny how they shared a room with the famous Harry Potter for so long and now he was just a footnote in their own lives, just the husband of their good friend Ginny. Seamus gave Ginny a more friendly nudge as he passed and gestured that he would call. Then they continued further down the platform. Realizing they were starting to get mixed up in the crowd they stopped. The twelve year old child beside them did not agree to this action.
”Lavender please stop pulling my arm” Seamus said and stopped searching the crowd for familiar faces in order to lock eyes with his stubborn daughter.
”I want to go to the front of the platform”
”We can, but we have to wait for the others”
Except for Neville, the only other person from their year they still kept in touch with was of course Parvati.
They soon heard her voice loud and clear over the crowd, pulling along a beautiful, tall woman with black shortly cut hair. Narrow eyes that calmly scanned the crowd and noticed Seamus and Dean long before her girlfriend did.
”Sweety, they’re over there” she said so low that Seamus could only read it on her lips.
Parvati’s head snapped up and she bulldozed her way over and grabbed Lavender in her arms and swung her.
”Beta! I missed you!” she said and kissed her cheek. Lavender guffawed and tried to wring herself loose.
”I saw you sunday ma, get a grip”
Parvati scoffed.
”My ma would have given me such an ear if I said that to her”
Seamus stepped in, hugged Parvati quickly and for good measure gave her girlfriend Anita a quick one as well. They were after all family.
”You’re late” he said cheekily and nudged Parvati’s side.
”London parking is a bloody nightmare Shay! And do you think you’re my ma now?” Parvati pulled her cardigan closer, car keys still swinging from an iron grip in her hand. They rattled as she moved.
”It’s bad enough you’re seeing a woman Beta, now you have to act like a common lad? Tardiness is ugly” Parvati said mockingly, imitating her mothers accent. Seamus pressed his face together.
“I don’t think I’m allowed to laugh at that” he said, leaning towards Anita, who nodded.
“Probably a good move, you’re still on thin ice for making that ‘a black man, an irishman and two asian women walk into a gay club’ joke on her 30th”
“It was six years ago, I was trying to tell a moving story about how we became a family”
Anita smiled coyly, which was as far to a good old laugh you got with her.
They first met five years after the war had ended. Walking into that gay club Seamus had been just barely surprised to see Parvati Patil there with a tall, vageuly japanese looking woman in her arms. He also learned that night that referring to someone as vaguely Japanese- looking wasn’t okay. Her name was Anita Inoue, a proper woman who wore well tailored suits with nothing underneath. And who by being nothing but calm and pleasant still wordlessly demanded respect from you.
After rekindling their friendship over a couple martinis and tequila shots, they pretty quickly decided they should have a child together. Co-parenting seemed like the obvious choice, and out of all the people at that club that night it seemed to make sense that these four would make a perfect family. They had history, they had Lavender in common. Perhaps it was a youthful, stupid decision, but one year later when they introduced Lavender Tomasine Patil-Finnegan to the world, it seemed like the smartest thing they had ever done. A mouthful for sure, but the things one loved tended to have many names. Not to mention that Seamus wasn’t about to leave Dean and Anita out of it.
Lavender looked a lot like Parvati did at twelve, except her skin allowed for it to freckle in the summertime. Her hair felt coercer, like Seamus own did, and her smile and stubborn stupidity was pure irish. She loved football more than quidditch, but she still played both. She loved to paint, and from the moment she could hold a pen had hung on every word Dean and Anita had told her about art and culture. She was sharp as a whip and studied well. Nothing like Seamus there. She argued with him though, as if he stood shouting at a mirror.
But one thing Seamus would never tell her, was how she had the glint in her eye, the same as her namesake. She always knew first, and she always took the opportunity to tell you she told you so. It almost made him cry every time.
But most importantly she was her own. Lavender liked to do karate, her favourite subject was divination and she couldn’t wait to take it next year. Which again, made Seamus think of Lavender Brown. She hated James Potter, with all her Irish stubbornness but mostly because he was better at Quidditch. She spoke pig latin fluently and she wanted to become a curse breaker or a book illustrator someday.
And yet, Seamus still had things to learn about her.
Last year she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, to the surprise of her three Gryffindor parents. And to the indifference of her one muggle mother who didn't understand this obsession with house pride, who had hated her own boarding school.
And to the great pride of her maternal grandmother and aunty. Who were hopeful for a new generation of clever Patil women, even if she was as her grandmother would say, unfortunately also part Finnegan.
Her explosive experimentations were at least deliberate.
They put her on the train, hugs and packed lunches being exchanged in a whirlwind of arms.
As the train departed, the four of them stood holding each other's shoulders, like a chain that blocked the way for several people. After a bit Parvati patted Seamus' shoulder and dispersed the chain.
“Alright lads, I need to see to my car” the key was still in her hand, keyring wrapped around her index finger like a piece of suburban jewellery.
Seamus was still looking after the train.
“Could we get another one?” he asked instead of acknowledging Parvati’s statement.
She froze and gave him a pointed look.
“Who’s gonna go through all that again?”
Seamus grinned and glanced towards Dean.
“Could be nice to have a Cadbury baby” he said and snaked his way back into Dean’s embrace. This time he wrapped his arm around his waist.
“I want them to look alike though, plus I like Seamus’ features” Dean responded, sickly sweet and nudged his nose against Seamus’ ear.
Parvati made a disgusted noise, yet said nothing as Anita took her hand. Seamus ignored her.
“I mean… Lavender has that dark skin anyway, and the soft curls… would they even look so different?”
“But… no freckles” Dean pouted theatrically and leaned his head down like a sad puppydog. Knowing full well Parvati would hate it.
“Aw babes” Seamus said, trying not to snicker.
“Gross” Parvati said, finally caving to their game.
Anita laughed and kissed her cheek which softened her. In the moment she looked a bit younger, like how she did when Lavender was alive. Seamus' amusement faltered into something more sincere.
“She would’ve loved this” he said softly, and without clarifying Parvati knew who he meant and nodded.
“She really would’ve” she agreed and hugged her girlfriend a bit closer.
The platform was starting to empty as there had been no train in sight for a good while now. The mist was starting to vanish and you could see people clearer now. No longer sheltered by the crummy fog, Seamus noticed they were being watched. His eyes met with Blaise, still handsome even in his thirties. He had a sad longing in his dark eyes, it made him look a little kinder. No longer that mean bully he was when they were children, and not the same young boy who had told him he loved him either. Seamus smiled strainly but Blaise didn’t return it. Still he seemed to bask in the attention, something breathless and intensely jealous. Seamus had to grab onto Dean a bit harder, just to make sure it was clear there was no chance. He had never really loved Blaise, but now he pitied him. Blaise still didn’t waver as he kept giving him that sad, longing, intense stare. That is, until a woman grabbed his arm and pulled him back into their conversation. Probably his wife. Seamus felt more pity as he figured he’d never escape that closet.
It did make him value what he had even more, he intertwined his hands with Dean’s, feeling the cool metal of their wedding bands merged in warmth. He smiled at Dean, who smiled back, a little surprised but still responding without question.
“So when are you two getting married?” Seamus asked, directing his question to the two women while not breaking eye contact with his husband.
“Oh my gods, fuck off Shay!” Parvati snapped and flipped him off.