Author's Note: It can be said that I have a slight obsession with Seamus Finnigan… So I've decided to write him a story because he doesn't get enough love! He's Irish, come on people! This is the first chaptered story I'll have put up for Harry Potter fanfiction and I really hope it's good! Please give me some feedback, any kind will do! =D Thank you!

Disclaimer: I only own Delilah Longbottom, everyone and thing else belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter One: Gotta Get Back To Hogwarts

Platform 9 and 3/4 had never looked so good to the students of Hogwarts. The year prior, no one had wanted to get on the Hogwarts Express and return to the school, but things were very different.

Delilah Longbottom ran through the barrier, closely followed by her cousin Neville and then their grandmother. The familiar looking steam train glistened before them and Delilah almost ran at it out of gratitude.

She had spent way too long with Augusta over the holidays. When her father was setting up his new shop and Delilah hadn't been allowed to help, she was usually stuck with her cousin and grandmother. Sure she was old enough to be at home alone; she just valued any opportunity to spend time with her family… Until she had spent almost every day with them.

"Dean!" Delilah shouted over the voices of everybody in the area, hoping to get her friend's attention. She shouted again as she ran away from Neville and Augusta. The boy hadn't heard her calling his name so when she jumped on his back from behind he almost fell over.

"That has to be Dee!" he grabbed her legs and supported her, "You excited?"

"Yes! I'm actually really happy to be going back to school!"

"Yeah, you and Hermione." he laughed and began to walk around with Delilah on his back, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"Say what you wish, I get to be with you guys for another year!"

"Oh god, I know! That almost caused me to stay away!" Delilah lightly hit his face in response before sighing and resting her cheek on the back of his head.

"I just wish Shay was coming back, too…"

"Then it's a good thing mam almost had a fit when she found out I'd told McGonagall I wasn't coming back to Hogwarts."

Delilah's high pitched squeal caused Dean to scold her quite angrily as it had been right in his ear. She jumped off of his back when the Irish accent filled her ears and ran straight toward Seamus Finnigan.

"I hate you!" she told him half heartedly, "You had me believing all summer that I'd only get to see you on our trips to Hogsmeade and you never once thought to tell me when I was complaining about it?" despite the fact that she was growling at him, she had a huge smile on her face and her arms were around his neck as she hugged him tightly.

"I thought about it…" he said offhandedly, "But Dean and I agreed that it should be a surprise." he was hugging her back, his arms around her waist, and spinning her around in small circles.

"I still hate you." she pulled way from the Irishman and turned to his best friend, "And I hate you, too, for being in on it." Delilah continued to smile as she spoke and watched the friends greet each other.

"Dee, Gran wants to say goodbye." Neville called to his cousin as he boarded the train, pulling her owl, Hoot, on with him.

She disappeared from the boys' view and smirked because she knew she was leaving them to take her luggage onto the train.

The usual goodbyes took place - along with an extra message as Gran told Delilah to make sure Neville behaved himself - and a tear fell down the teenager's face as she hugged her grandmother tightly.
The grey eyes of the school's best Charms student shot from her head as the train screamed and began to move. Even with her grandmother close by, Delilah Longbottom swore loudly and ran towards an open door, the one with a black hand stretching out and a loud voice yelling at her to run.

"Come on, Dee!" Seamus helped in encouraging her because he knew just how much she hated physical exercise. She felt as though she was definitely going to miss the train back to school as the end of the platform neared and she still hadn't been close enough to grab Dean's hand.

"Fuckin' hell, Dee! Run!" Seamus was almost as panicked as Delilah and even had his hand out the window, too. Just the encouragement she needed.

She lunged forward in utter desperation, her left hand grabbed Seamus' and her right grabbed Dean's and she actually felt her feet fall off the edge of the platform as the two boys pulled her violently into the carriage making her land on top of them.

"Merlin." Dean breathed heavily, "I was sure you weren't going to make it."

"You? What about me? I actually reached the end of the platform! I was pretty sure I was a goner!" she heaved, her chest rapidly rising and falling, "Neville! You couldn't have told me sooner? Say, not JUST before the train was set to leave?"

"I didn't bloody know it was gonna leave so soon! What am I? Psychic?" her cousin shot back as the three rose to their feet - Delilah needing some help from the boys - and Neville was slapped on the arm.

"I think I need a nap." The lone female said dramatically.

"Let's find a carriage first, I don't you want to be trampled by the trolley." sure enough, the food trolley was making its way down the passage that the four occupied and they all had to move quickly.
Left and right they looked only to see full carriages. That was the problem with accepting back 7th years who had lost a year of their education and still accepting 1st years, the Hogwarts' Express was assured lack of space for everyone.

Eventually - right down the end of the train - they found a carriage with only two people in it.

"Mind if we sit here?" Dean asked hesitantly, "There's no room anywhere else."

"Sure, come in." Ginny Weasley, his ex-girlfriend, said as she moved from one side of the compartment to the other. She didn't feel awkward at all when she was around Dean.

Taking advantage of Ginny moving to sit next to Hermione Granger, Delilah jumped and landed face down on the empty seat.

"Dee, move." Seamus ordered to no avail.

"Just give her a small push." Neville suggested as he bought up his foot to kick Delilah's behind.

"There's not enough bloody room for you to have a whole seat to yourself." Seamus told her what she already knew but she pretended not to hear him.

With a sly smile, Seamus lifted her head just enough for him to be able to slip in underneath and then he let her head rest in his lap. Dean did the same thing with her legs.

"Oh, Dee! I wasn't sure you were going to make it!" Hermione sighed.

"Neither." Delilah responded, turning to face Hermione. She was trying to keep her cool, trying not to freak out, but with her head in her crush's lap that was proving difficult. "I've never run so hard in my life." a chorus of laughter filled the compartment because they knew it was the truth.

Conversation soon turned to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, both the boys had gotten positions working as Aurors in the Ministry almost as soon as they had gotten back to The Burrow because of new proclamations by Kingsley Shacklebot that if you fought at the Battle of Hogwarts you didn't need to pass any exams - something Ron thought was brilliant. According to Ginny, Hermione and Ron were so sickeningly in love that it was near impossible to be in the same room as the two without vomiting, but Hermione said the same about Ginny and Harry.

Dean recapped the story of him being taken into custody by the snatchers after Hermione had shared hers.

Neville had only come back because Gran was making him, he would have been quite happy to take a job at the Ministry but Augusta was dead-set on Neville completing his schooling.

Seamus - the person Dee paid most attention too - told of how his mum had threatened to send him to his grandma's house for the year if he didn't go back to Hogwarts.

Delilah told the carriage that her father had taken over Eeylops Owl Emporium because the previous owner was killed when Death Eaters were raiding Diagonal Alley and his wife couldn't keep it. Her father had been offered the store because beforehand he was Eeylops number one provider of owls - he had been a breeder for many years and was the first choice to take over.