The castle trembled in the distance, a low hum of war about to begin. You stood by the broken archway, eyes tracing the horizon. Everything felt like it could fall apart at any second.

Seamus found you there, dust on his robes and soot on his cheek, breathing just a little too fast. His wand was tucked into his belt, but his hands were empty when he reached for yours.

—"There you are," he murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "I’ve been lookin’ for you.”

You turned, met with the rare softness in his eyes—eyes that usually sparkled with mischief, now burning with something else. Something deeper.

—"I know we’ve been through a lot—Detentions, near-death in Potions, that time you pulled me out of a cursed hallway without even blinking—"

He laughed quietly, then sobered.

—“But this... this could be our last sunrise. And I can't go out there without telling you.”

He stepped closer, thumb brushing your wrist like he needed to memorize how you felt.

—“I love you. Not just in the ‘I fancy you’ kind of way. I love you like... if we survive this, I want to stand beside you for the rest of our lives. I want you in white—or in a suit if you prefer—walking down some grassy aisle with music and magic and everything we were promised before this bloody war.”

Your breath caught in your throat.

—"So if I don’t come back… just know you’re the best thing I ever had. But if I do—" he squeezed your hand, eyes glinting with something fiercely hopeful— “then you better get ready to marry me, because I’m not wasting another second.”

A loud boom echoed from the forest. The battle was calling.

He leaned in, forehead to yours for one final moment of peace.

Then he ran, and all you could do was whisper a prayer to the wind:

"Come back to me."