Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Written for Lo as bribery for fluffy Johnlock :P

Beta'd by - Sophy, Sam and Amber. I love you ladies.

Word Count - 3135

To Break The Rules (To Fall In Love)

"Are you ready for your first solo assignment?"

Seamus blinked. "Huh?"

"We're sending you down to earth. We've a VIP that needs looking after. With the war brewing, it would not be sensible to leave him to his own devices."

"Is he young?"

"Eleven. You'll be attending Hogwarts with him."

"Solid." Seamus grinned. "When do I leave?"

"Today. We've a family prepped and ready to take you. Your name will be Seamus Finnegan, you live with your mother. You're a half blood. There's a packet here for you to take and familiarise yourself with, with all the details of your life on earth, along with some information on your charge. We're relying on you, Seamus. This boy must live."

Seamus nodded. "I can do this."

The Leader of the Guardian Angels patted him on the shoulder. "I have faith in you."

…

The house was homely, and Seamus' new mother was sweet. The magic of the Guardians made her believe he had always been her son, and she doted on him.

The packet had been a trip to read through. Dean Thomas was to be Seamus' charge. He looked like a nice boy, but Seamus had no idea how this kid was supposed to change the world.

Still, it would be interesting, and as Seamus' first run as a Guardian on Earth, he was determined to make a success of it. There were only two main rules about being a Guardian Angel. No falling in love with a mortal, and no allowing the mortals to find out about his wings.

He could do that.

…

Seamus found Dean easy enough; the slight tug he felt towards his charge guiding him to a mostly empty compartment.

"Mind if I join?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

Dean looked up at him, slightly wide eyed, but nodded. Seamus lifted his trunk up onto the rack and sat down facing Dean.

He held out his hand. "I'm Seamus Finnegan."

"Dean Thomas."

"Are you an artist?" Seamus asked, nodding to the sketchbook on the table.

"I wouldn't go that far," Dean replied, looking embarrassed. "But I like to draw. It helps relax me."

Seamus nodded, his eyes on the sketch that Dean had been working on. "It's good."

"... Thanks."

Seamus smiled widely at the other boy. "So. What house do you think you're going to be in?"

"I... um. I'm a Muggleborn. I have no idea."

"Ah. Well. Are you brave? Or kind? Or Ambitious? Or… Smart?"

"I'd like to think all of the above," Dean replied slowly. "How do they sort?"

"A hat pokes around inside your brain apparently," Seamus replied, shrugging. "Sounds a bit… dodgy to me, but I'm sure it's fine."

Dean stared for a moment before he snorted. "Okay."

Seamus grinned.

…

Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head.

"An Angel… It's been a while since I've had one of you here. Who is your charge?"

Seamus thought about Dean, showing the hat.

"He appears to be a lion," the hat said slowly.

"I need to be with him," Seamus thought hard.

"Yes, yes, I'm aware," the hat grumbled. "Better be… GRYFFINDOR!"

Seamus made his way to the table, smiling at Dean as he passed. He couldn't relax until Dean was beside him though. Heaven only knew how Seamus was supposed to do his job if they were in separate houses.

He sat on the edge of his seat as Dean sat down on the stool, the hat slipping down to cover his eyes. The sorting seemed to take forever, seconds taking hours to pass in Seamus' mind.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Oh thank heavens," Seamus whispered, grinning when Dean practically ran across the hall to drop into the seat beside Seamus.

"Looks like we're both brave," Dean commented, his grin wide.

"Looks like it."

…

Looking after Dean was harder than Seamus expected. The boy seemed to attract trouble without even trying.

Potions class became a minefield, with Seamus blowing up more than one potion in his face to stop the mixture turning into something toxic.

It quickly became something that he was known for. Seamus and his pyrotechnics. Dean found the whole thing very amusing.

…

Flying lessons was another thing that Seamus had to get used to. Not so much because of Dean, but because he was an Angel. With wings. With a broom that wouldn't even contemplate jumping into his hand.

Rude.

Seamus glared at the broom.

The end of it lit on fire.

Dean almost fell over as he howled with laughter.

For some reason, Madam Hooch was not appreciative of his efforts.

…

The Basilisk in their second year caused Seamus all kinds of untold stress. Dean was a Muggleborn, and swiftly placed on the hit list for the creature. Seamus had to come up with all kinds of ridiculous reasons to check around corners before Dean.

His being an Angel meant he wouldn't be hurt by the overgrown snake, but Dean didn't know that. Nobody knew that.

If, at the end of the year feast, Seamus partied harder than any of his roommates out of sheer relief, nobody said anything.

And that explosion was on purpose. Totally worth the detention.

…

Seamus felt like he'd aged a decade in the space of an evening. Sirius Black, notorious mad murdering fellow of peculiar breeding (The Blacks were an odd bunch on a good day, from what Seamus' fellow Guardians had told him) had broken into Gryffindor Tower.

Where Dean was sleeping…

Heart attack for Seamus of course, who'd woken up to Ron screaming about a knife wielding madman.

Knife wielding.

If Seamus pushed his sleeping bag slightly closer to Dean in the Great Hall that night, it was only to stop his hair from turning grey prematurely.

...

The Quidditch World Cup was brilliant. Seamus was so happy that he could give Dean the experience of it, and the two of them had a lot of fun.

If only the aftermath hadn't happened.

Never had his inclination to let his wings show been so strong. All he wanted was to pull Dean from the danger - to fly them up over the tree's and away from the Death Eater's who'd chosen a really bad time to have a reunion.

Thankfully, Dean had been just as eager to hide as Seamus was, and the two of them made their way into the woods and stayed there until the danger was passed.

That night, staring up at the sky, Seamus had asked for the guidance of his superiors. Dean was more than a charge to him now, and it was making his job difficult.

Dean was his friend now.

The only reply he got was a single feather floating through the air to land on his face. It smelled like home.

…

Being mean to Harry hadn't been in the plan. Seamus cursed himself silently when Dean eyed him with reproach.

He needed to keep Dean separate from Harry, because while Harry was their friend, he was also the main target of Voldemort, and that wasn't going to be a happy ending for anyone close to him.

Only… Dean was supportive of his friends.

Seamus knew that. He'd ballsed that one right up.

…

Dean had a girlfriend.

Seamus didn't know how to feel about that.

Since he'd arrived on earth, he'd managed to keep Dean close - and keep him safe. Now though, it was harder. Dean was off having a dalliance with Ginny, leaving Seamus alone to have a panic attack about his safety.

A few times, Seamus had followed them, but he couldn't get away with that every time. Even he knew it would bring suspicion to him.

People would think he had a jealousy problem.

And he wasn't jealous. Was he?

He thought about Dean with Ginny… about what they could be doing right at that moment… and the pillow on his bed exploded in a puff of feathers.

Okay. So maybe he was a little jealous.

…

"I'm not coming back," Dean whispered, his eyes on the castle. The two of them were sitting under a large tree in the shade. Dumbledore's funeral had not long finished, and there were still a lot of people milling around the grounds. "It won't be safe now. Not without Dumbledore."

Seamus sighed. "I feel like I should've expected that. Where will you go?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe camping somewhere in the countryside? Keep out of sight, you know? It's… I don't know if I'll make it through but. I'll try. You're my best friend, Shay. I'll miss you."

"I'll come with you."

Shaking his head, Dean replied, "You're half blood. You'll be safer at Hogwarts."

"But -"

"No. I can't. You can't. You need to be safe."

Seamus grumbled quietly but didn't reply. He didn't particularly relish chasing his friend around the British countryside in secret.

But. It was his job. And if Dean was going to be stubborn about it, he didn't have much of a choice.

…

Too late to save Ted, Seamus dived in front of Dean, knocking him to the ground as a spell shot over their heads.

"What the fuck," Dean gasped out, the wind knocked out of him. "Shay?"

"Hi. Yeah. Let's go."

Wrapping his arms around Dean's waist, Seamus let his wings take the strain, pulling them both up above the tree's and away from the spell fire still coming their way.

Seamus was impressed that Dean managed to keep himself quiet until they touched down in a more covered area.

"That was, that was, erm, what was that?" Dean managed to gasp out, staring at the white wings protruding from Seamus' back.

"Well what did you think we were going to do? Run? Probably would've gotten us killed, let's be real."

Untying the jumper from his waist, Seamus concentrated on flattening his wings to his back and pulled the jumper on over his head.

"How… how?"

"I'm your Guardian Angel," Seamus replied, sitting down on a broken tree stump. "But you're not supposed to know that. I fucked up."

"I still don't…"

"You don't really need to understand," Seamus shrugged. "You just need to maybe stop putting yourself in dangerous situations. That would be helpful."

"It's not like I can help it, being a fugitive and all," Dean snapped, running a hand through his messy hair. "Bloody wings. How did I not know?"

"You weren't supposed to know, ever. Like I said, I fucked up. I'm gonna be in trouble for that, most likely."

"In trouble from… who?"

"My boss. Obviously. I can't… it's not a thing I'm allowed to talk to you about. But. I'm still Seamus, you know? Still your friend. Just with a bit… extra."

Dean snorted. "You've always been extra."

Seamus stared at him for a moment, before he shrugged. "True enough. I, uh. I'm sorry I couldn't save Ted. I know you liked him."

Dean sighed. "Yeah. Me too. And I did. He looked after me a bit, you know? It was nice to have some company."

"I'll stick around now. You already know I'm here, seems stupid to try and hide now. Besides, trees are uncomfortable beds."

"You've been sleeping in trees?"

Seamus nodded. "Uh huh. Bark in uncomfortable places is not… fun."

…

"Are you… Shay, that's a bit not good mate."

Seamus froze mid cartwheel, his hands still held aloft. "Why?"

"You're probably not supposed to be doing handstands in a graveyard. Just going to throw that out there."

"I have a lot of ENERGY!" Seamus replied, finishing his cartwheel with a flourish. "And besides, it's nice to give the audience some entertainment. Lying so still for so long has to be boring as shit, right?"

Dean shook his head. "I have no words for you right now."

"Pssh, go back to your painting. I wouldn't be being so 'inappropriate' if you'd let me take you for a ride."

"Once was enough. Ta though."

Seamus huffed, but looked around the graveyard. There was no one around. Well. No one living, anyway. Shrugging to himself, he continued rolling and flipping around the grass, the pent up energy in him stopping him from being able to just sit down with his friend while he painted yet another flower.

That might be good recreation for some, but Seamus was bored. Who knew being on the run was so dull?

…

Seamus was flying under a disillusionment charm, keeping an eye on the surrounding areas. Dean was sleeping; the only time Seamus felt safe to leave him, even under a blanket of protection spells.

There was nobody around that Seamus could tell, and so he flew back to their little warded corner or the woods they'd taken residence in, hoping for some rest himself for a few hours.

Only… it was empty.

Seamus tore apart the tent, looking for evidence of who could have taken Dean. He almost missed the torn paper from the sketchbook, resting on Dean's pillow.

Seamus,

I know you're going to be mad at me, but I can't just sit here while our friends are fighting. The war is heading for Hogwarts - a place we both call home.

I'm sorry.

Dean.

Swearing up a storm, Seamus left the tent, Apparating to the limits of Hogsmeade. From there, he cast another disillusionment charm on himself and flew towards the school, keeping himself high enough in the sky that he wouldn't alert the charms he could feel blanketing the village.

Flying up through the open Astronomy tower, Seamus slipped through the school. He could sense Dean in the castle, and followed the connection, finding himself at the Room of Requirement. Entering, his eyes caught on Dean immediately.

Dean had the grace to look sheepish as Seamus approached him.

"Shay -"

"Later," Seamus snapped. "I can't… Not now. Just."

He shook his head, turning his attention to Harry, who was asking questions and giving orders to those gathered in the room.

When they split into groups, Seamus kept Dean close by. As mad as he was, he knew he couldn't let anything happen to Dean. And that was nothing to do with his job.

…

"Are you mad at me?" Dean asked, gently cleaning up a cut on Seamus' bicep.

He'd intercepted a slicing spell heading straight for Dean's carotid.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Seamus replied, tiredly. "I'll get over it."

…

He'd expected to be recalled after the war.

He'd thought his job would be done, that Dean could carry on with his life and create whatever amazing thing he was born to create, and Seamus would be able to just…

Well. Okay, so he knew he'd never be able to forget Dean. But he'd hoped for some kind of closure. Some knowledge that he'd done his job well, that he'd done right by Dean.

Instead, he was left in the Mortal world with nothing but time on his hands, a forbidden love in his heart, and a strong worry that Dean was about to meet the love of his life and Seamus would be left out alone in the cold.

Seamus hit himself upside the head. He was being dramatic. To Dean, they were best friends, and Dean wouldn't just forget him. Hell, they'd gotten a flat together.

But still. Waiting on a recall was worse than trying to keep Dean alive; and since Dean often chose to run headlong into battles, that was saying something.

Ah. Maybe Seamus was still slightly salty about that then.

…

"You're beautiful."

Seamus blinked, his head rising from the position he'd been sitting in for over an hour. Dean's pencil had stilled against his sketchpad. He'd been drawing Seamus' wings for the umpteenth time.

"Um. Thank you?"

"You know that I love you, right?" Dean asked, biting his lower lip lightly. "I mean. I think you must know? But you haven't made any kind of… move, so I wasn't sure if… Well, I mean."

"I. Um." Seamus paused, not really knowing what to say. It wasn't allowed. Angels were not allowed to fall in love with Mortals. Not ever. And even if he did, he wasn't allowed to actually interfere in Dean's life in such a way. For balance-y reasons.

Opening his mouth to explain that to his charge, Seamus blinked. Dean was frozen in his seat. Actually frozen. Like not even breathing. Looking up at the clock on the wall, Seamus saw that all movement on it had stilled.

A bright spot in the middle of the floor appeared, and in an instant, a man in long flowing white robes stood in front of him, a long strip of parchment in his hands.

"What -" Seamus began but he was cut off immediately.

"I am a Messenger. There's been a slight miscalculation made and the Fates have sent me to ensure you follow the new destined place for you. Dean Thomas will not reach his full potential without the love of the one he deems his soulmate. That would be you, Mr Seamus. Love will be Mr Thomas' motivation."

"I can't do that," Seamus argued. "What about when I get recalled? Then what happens to him? What happens to me?"

"You will not be recalled to service during Mr Thomas' natural lifespan," the Messenger replied.

"And when Dean dies?"

"He will be brought along to the guardianship with you."

Seamus nodded slowly. "So. I'm not… on duty anymore? I can… with him?"

The messenger nodded. "Indeed. Have a nice day, Mr Seamus."

In the blink of an eye, the messenger was gone, and Dean was looking at Seamus expectantly. Letting his hidden feelings for the dark skinned boy fill him up, Seamus moved without thinking, his lips reaching Dean's lips as his hands rested on the arms of the chair, caging him in.

When he pulled back, Dean was staring up at him, looking slightly dazed. Seamus grinned. "I'm allowed to love you!"

Dean blinked. "Huh?"

Laughing gleefully, Seamus pulled Dean to his feet, the sketchbook and pencils falling to the floor. "I'm allowed to love you!" he repeated, dancing happily, his wings fluttering behind him. He kissed Dean again. "I'm allowed to love you!"

Dean's lips tilted in a confused smile, happy to see Seamus so happy, but clearly curious about what he'd missed.

"I'll explain some other time," Seamus said, waving his hand negligibly. "We should go out and do something!" Seamus skipped to the door, looking back over his shoulder impatiently. "What are you waiting for?"

Laughing, Dean picked up Seamus' discarded shirt and threw it at him. "Put your wings away, huh? Don't want to have to share you, do I?"

Seamus caught the shirt sheepishly. "Good point."

Dean shook his head as he approached Seamus. Ruffling his hair, he said, "Let's go… and no graveyards!"

Written for;

Character Appreciation - 13. First Love

Disney - S3. A moment where things change forever

Buttons - O2. Feather / W4. Dalliance

Lyric Alley - 22. In the graveyard doing handstands

Ami's Audio - 10. Jealousy

Sophie's - 4. Write about a flying lesson.

Showtime - 16. Fugitive

Geek Pride, S2 - Teen Wolf - "What did you think we were going to do? Run?"

Geek Pride, S4 - Fanart - Drawing / Recreation / Artist

Debate Club - OTP - Trio Era.

Cooking Corner - Almonds - Painting

Scavenger Hunt - 20. Slash Pairing

Insane House - 971. Jealous