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The sky got much darker, but the day had been pretty grim, anyway. The grey clouds turned to black and continued to rumble past, unaware that everything was changing beneath them. I couldn’t see it that well, anyway, as my left eye was swelling up even more after the retort I’d made to a Carrow a few weeks ago. Even though they’d hit me with their hand, I think there must have been some kind of magic in it, as it just wouldn’t go away, no matter what I did.

Some of the girls tried to help, but even though we were staying in the room or requirement it wasn’t perfect; if you didn’t know how to fix something, then the room couldn’t produce the equipment you needed to fix it unless you knew what it was. It means you have to think outside the box, which is something I’m slowly getting better at.

Things had changed for me a long time ago. I may have shared a dormitory with Harry Potter for six years, but I still went against him in fifth year and there’s little I regret more than that. Apart from maybe loosing contact with Dean. He was my best friend, he still is my best friend, and I missed him so much.

When Dean came into the Room of Requirement, everything seemed right again for a moment. I’d tried to convince myself that he was dead so I wouldn’t waste time in shock if I had the misfortune to find myself face-to-face with his dead body, but there he was. Alive, fairly healthy and smiling. What more could I ask for?

After a quick reunion, we were apart again.

There wasn’t time to reminisce, though. This was war. I felt like I had to be everywhere at once, just to make up for my past. One second I was trying to cast the most powerful Patronus I could, when before I’d only been able to do little more than silvery wisps. This time it was different, though. I think it was the adrenaline of actually being face to face with hundreds of dementors rather than a Boggart which did it. Ernie helped, too.

“Come on Seamus; focus!” He had yelled at me, and I followed his instruction. Luna was there with us, too, but I’d never seen her shout and I doubt I ever will. After that, everything started to blur together. I fired a curse here, knocked out someone there and protected Luna from an oncoming stunning charm. I felt like I should show my gratitude for helping me before, so I saved her life in a way. Though I doubt death eaters would bother casting a killing curse on someone unconscious as they would assume they were already dead, but I still helped.

Then Voldemort’s voice rang out around the Great Hall when I was shooting stunners at a retracting death eater. Everyone just stopped. The voice sent shivers down my spine and I couldn’t believe how I had thought he was dead once. He was real, and ready to kill everyone here, no matter if they were on his side or ours. He had no mercy to show.

That hour was worse than the previous one. At least before I knew what I had to do, but coming to terms with the bodies that had been carted into the Great Hall was too much. I cried. I wasn’t the only one, not by a long shot.

No one knew where Harry was, either, and that worried me. He was a far better man than any of us; he could be handing himself over or trying to kill himself just so we wouldn’t have to suffer. There was no point in me trying to find him, though. He wouldn’t trust me anymore.

After the hour was up, I was almost relieved. But the sound of Voldemort was like a charm, drawing us out of the castle and into the grounds to see what we had feared the most; Harry Potter’s lifeless body.

It all seemed to pass in a blur; I didn’t know what I was doing and I didn’t know how to stop or focus. I’m pretty sure there was some spell on us, but I didn’t realise it at the time. I don’t think anyone did.

Finally I came to my senses, but we were all acting as one again. One unstoppable, determined force to bring Voldemort down. Back inside it was chaos. You never knew where a spell was going to hit you from, and you never knew where to aim it in case it hit a friend instead of a foe.

Two spells were coming at me a once, and I could only block one. Suddenly the other was blocked too. I looked for the source of the spell, but there was no-one there. I could have sworn I saw a hand turning invisible as it withdrew within something that turned it invisible.

I may not be the brightest grape in the bunch, but I can put two and two together. I worked out that Harry Potter had saved my life. Somehow, he had found it in him to forgive me, and I will never forget it.

I still owe him.