Longing for You - Deamus

To Hell and Back

They set off early the next morning, well fed and well rested. Fleur let go of all her resentment towards Dirk as she pulled Dean into a motherly hug whispering, "You must come back, okay" into his ear. He just nodded, feeling slightly emotional and teary-eyed.

Once they were back on the beach, outside of the protective barrier, they apparated away. The image of the beautiful cottage by the sea filled his mind as he hurtled into the unknown and he vowed to himself that he'd go back there someday with Seamus.

In a matter of seconds, Dean's feet hit hard, crunchy ground. Autumn leaves surrounded his body as he tumbled to the ground rather inelegantly. He took from this that he must be in some sort of forest and the trees that stood around him confirmed that theory. As he stood up, he realised he was the only one who had fallen over and his face flushed. He quickly decided that he should probably work on his apparating skills to avoid further embarrassment or even a possibly dangerous situation.

The morning sun poured blissfully through the cover of golden branches above him. Autumn was definitely Dean's favourite season, not quite hot and not quite cold with sunny days and rainy days alike, the tingling feeling of magic in the air as Halloween came closer and the comforting smells of cinnamon and chocolate were all intoxicating to him. He would gladly spend days on end cuddled up with blankets, cups of tea, his sketchbook and, of course, his best friend. So, as he stared at his beautiful surroundings, Dean almost forgot about his dangerous situation, he almost forgot about that he was on the run from the ministry but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, forget that he was miles apart from Seamus Finnigan.

He heard Ted and Dirk putting up protective spells around the clearing they were stood in and he was snapped back into reality. He ambled over to where the two goblins were sat.

"So where are we anyway?" He didn't recognise it but then again, it was a forest.

"Just outside of Bolventor," replied the shorter goblin. Dean made a mental note to learn their names if he was going to be travelling with them for long. "We can't go straight there, if they know we're coming, they'll prepare for us. We have to make it look inconspicuous, move around a bit."

Dean didn't exactly know what he meant by 'they'll prepare for us' but his grave face didn't make it seem too positive. He tried not to think about it as he plonked himself down between the two goblins.

"Sorry what are your names? I wasn't listening very well at the cottage." He said, light heartedly. Dean had never been very good at making friends but after years of watching Seamus do it so successfully, he picked up a few things.

"I'm Griphook," the greenish looking goblin answered with a sneer, "and this is Gornuk. However, I would suggest that you pay more attention when discussing important information, we wouldn't want anyone to miss anything." He said it in a way which was vaguely reminiscent of Professor Snape and Dean felt a shiver go down his back. He was starting to dislike these goblins almost as much as he disliked Dirk, this wasn't going to be a fun trip.

Before he could reply, Ted bounced over towards them. "We're done with the charms now! Come on, let's go collect some wood to set up some tents!"

Dean smiled and hurried to his feet, Ted's positive attitude somehow always made him cheerful. They scurried off into the trees and came back with large piles of sticks in their arms. Dirk sneered, eerily similar to Griphook's expression earlier. "You want to make tents out of sticks Ted? Did neither of you come prepared?"

"Awh come on Dirk! This is fun! We learned how to do this in Boy Scouts, it's a great life skill!" Ted beamed, resulting in an amused chuckle from Dean.

He had taught Seamus how to make these tents (or huts as Sea liked to called them considering he was small enough to fit inside comfortably) out of sticks back in the summer of their second year. They were staying in the Irish countryside and decided to go 'camping' in the woods behind the garden. They had spent the day climbing trees and playing hide-and-seek before deciding that they needed somewhere to sit and chat. Dean, having gone to Beavers during his youth, instantly began gathering twigs, much to Sea's bemusement. Seamus watched in awe as Dean stood the sticks up against each other, interlocking them together. Artfully, he weaved big leaves between the sticks, creating a barrier from the rain that would most probably fall even on a sunny day in Ireland.