Heart on Fire(Seamus Finnigan and Watty Awards 2013 Finalist!)

Chapter 15

"I don't know Hermione! All I know is that Lavender was there somehow! She just said 'Tell my family that I am happy and well. And Ailsa please continue to take care of him.'" Ailsa huffed.

"I just don't get it. I've never read about it before nor have I ever heard anything like that happening! Are you sure you weren't drunk? Because maybe it was just a hallucination. We all saw how drunk Seamus was last night." Hermione concluded.

Ailsa shot a glare at Hermione. "Well it didn't look like you were that much sober either. I did not drink. I did not do anything other then eat the damn cake!"

Hermione and Ailsa were sitting in Hermione's library in her and Ron's home which was only 10 miles from the Burrow and 7 miles from Ginny's and Harry's. Hermione and Ron eloped in secrecy 2 years before, only telling Harry of their plans who had tried not to tell Ginny but ended up spilling the secret to her. It was a cozy cottage with only two rooms(the second and largest being the one they were in now) and a small almost unused kitchen because they spent most dinners either out or at the Burrow.

Ailsa had always wanted a small home but one that had just enough space for her family. She grew up in a mansion and felt like there was too much space for only 5 people and 2 house elves. She dreamed of buying a cottage that faced the ocean but with a forest to explore on the other side. She had only recently told Seamus this and he had agreed that it sounded beautiful. He had grown up in Belfast in a small apartment that was too small for him and his 4 step siblings so there was never enough space to run and play and no yard to grow a garden and look for bugs.

If Ailsa could live in her dreamland forever she would, because reality was too frightening. She had learned when she awoke from her dazed state two days ago that Seamus had been taken to the Ministry for questioning and if they did find him guilty of setting fire to that home and the others that the Ministry suspected of being started by a wizard he would await trial.

"In Azkaban?!" Ailsa cried when she heard.

"No." Hermione had said in a voice that didn't exactly reassure Ailsa. "In the past couple years, myself and others have been trying to work out a new legal system so we wouldn't have another Sirius episode again. While he waits for trial he will be imprisoned but not in Azkaban, a smaller, less harsher place. The working title for it is Vinculum. There will be dementors there but only for the more serious inmates."

Ailsa wanted to scream and protest that Seamus didn't deserve it but she knew he was guilty. She tried to tell herself that at least it wasn't Azkaban but she was still brought to tears anytime she thought of it.

Hermione was busy scourging through a book when there was a light tap at the window. It was one of the Ministry's owls. Hermione scrambled up and opened the window and took the letter from the owl and sent it on it's way but not after she gave it a treat. She opened the letter quickly and her eyes moved over the letters faster then a cheetah.

"Well what does it say?" Ailsa asked.

Hermione looked up. "They need you at the Ministry. Seamus isn't cooperating."

~~

"Right over here Mrs. Finnigan." said a young intern who ushered Ailsa down into a hallway that led to the Auror Department.

"Ah no, just Miss Cunningham." Ailsa said as her cheeks turned red.

The intern let out a small forced laugh. "Oh sorry. Can you find your way from here? I have some more errands to run."

"Yes of course. Thank you." Ailsa said but the intern was already gone. She let out a big sigh and then stood as straight as she could and walked into the department. To say it was messy would be a compliment. Papers were scattered everywhere with stacks of files on different desks. People were scrambling around and were in such a frenzy that no one seemed to notice her. After a couple more minutes she went up to one of the desks. Behind it sat a middle aged woman with frizzy blond hair and glasses so low on her nose Ailsa thought it would fall off any moment now.

Before Ailsa could say something the woman looked up and smiled. "Ah! You  must be the Cunningham girl! We've been waiting for  you! Come with me!" The woman stood up and started walking briskly down one hallway. "I'm Lida Colingways, one of the receptionists for this department. Harry, Ron and Bob have been trying to get some information out of Mr. Finnigan but they can't seem to so they were hoping you could."

"Oh and where is Harry and Ron?"

"Oh there was a Death Eater sighting. We've been working like crazy to get them all rounded up and we almost have them all! So they went to scoop that out real quick, they'll be back soon." She said in a voice that was all too chipper for this setting. "Now in you go!" 

Ailsa was pushed into a room. She turned around and banged on the door, "What! What are you doing?!"

A little opening in the door revealed Lida's vibrant face. "I told you that you had to talk some sense into him! Just knock three times when you're done." And then she was gone.

Ailsa turned around, the room was so darkly lit that she hadn't notice a figure in the corner. "Seamus? Is that you?"

"I can't Ailsa. I can't tell them about her." He whispered. Ailsa walked swiftly over to the corner and sat down next to him. He looked at her with eyes that had wandered for so long and for so far  in the dark with no one to help them. 

Upon seeing her face Seamus broke down into tears. Ailsa wrapped her petite arms around his muscular frame and let him cry. "It's okay Seamus. We're going to get through this."

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

"For what?"

"Saying that I wished you had died instead."

"I know you didn't mean it." And they just stayed quiet and didn't talk. 

It wasn't until Ailsa had started to doze off that Seamus spoke. "I'm going to tell them."

"And what are you going to say?" Ailsa asked.

"I'm going to tell them the truth, from the beginning. The things I did were wrong and were the doings of a boy. But you need a man Ailsa, not a boy who runs and hides from his problems. So that's what I'm going to be." Seamus said.

"Thank you Seamus."

"I love you Ailsa. More than what you might think. More than what I have ever known. You are my light."

"And you are the rock holding me down from drifting off into space." Ailsa whispered.

"Marry me?"