A/N: Written for St. Patty's Day, one of my all time favourite holidays (right behind Christmas & Hallowe'en)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but an awesomely green pair of pants and no sore arms!
Luck of the Irish
Chapter the First
All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck –who keeps right on going- is the man who is there when good luck comes –and is ready to receive it.
~Robert Collier
A defeated sigh escaped his slightly parted lips as his umbrella was flipped inside-out once more by the strong winds wreaking havoc on the British capital. He attempted to wrestle the umbrella back to its proper position but before he was able to, it ripped down one of its seams and became utterly useless. The young man scanned the area and, assuring himself that he was alone, performed a shrinking charm before shoving the useless implement into a pocket of his coat.
Popping the collar of his muggle rain jacket and hunching his shoulders, the sandy haired twenty-something trudged on through the gale that had engulfed the entire British Isle. Much as he would have loved to turn back home where it was warm and dry, he had promised his best friend that he'd meet him for lunch. No matter how miserable he was at the moment, his friendships were more important to him. So he persevered through the inclement weather and just hoped that whatever topic the two would be discussing would be worth the hassle of getting there.
When he was only a few steps from the door of the muggle restaurant that was the meeting place, the young man quickened his pace, imagining the warm dishes and comfortable atmosphere that awaited him inside. He had his hand on the door when he was plunged straight into, what could only be described as, an ice bath.
At the very moment he had been about to open the door, a car had driven by on the road behind him, speeding through a puddle and sending the frigid waters within all over the sidewalk and, as a result, all over him. Wrenching the door open in frustration, he wondered what he had done to deserve this streak of bad luck.
For months he had been plagued with, what most would consider, small annoyances. The tip of his quill would break when he didn't have a replacement, or he'd knock over his ink well onto a paper he'd been working on for the past few hours. He'd loose his wand, or the left shoe of his favourite pair. Another time he'd sleep through his alarm and be late for work or have a hole in his pocket and lose the money he'd planned to spend on lunch. All in all, they were not terrible, life-altering events, but when the same thing went on for months and months, these small provocations would start to drive even the sanest man batty.
No matter what he tried, be it buying rabbits' feet or looking for lucky four-leaf clovers in the field behind his parents’ house, he couldn't change his luck. Instead, he chose to persist through the storm of bad luck and hope, unlike the storm currently overhead, that it would end soon.
"Seamus! You made it!" a voice called, breaking him from his thoughts, "Why are you soaking?"
Dean Thomas' face was contorted into a look of concern for his friend's wellbeing. Not wanting to cause his friend any more issue, Seamus plastered a reassuring smile on his face and waved off the wetness. That one little aspect may not have caused much worry, but Seamus had the sinking suspicion that if he were to tell Dean the root cause, that it would indeed cause much consternation.
"Forgot my umbrella," he stated with a wave of his hand. Seamus then peeled the sopping rain jacket off his equally drenched self and excused himself to the bathroom to try and dry himself off and make himself a little more presentable. He was pretty sure that even if this wasn't a five star restaurant they wouldn't appreciate someone dripping all over their table settings.
Upon reaching the bathroom, he pushed on the door and found it locked. Checking to make sure it wasn't a single stall type room; he exhaled a frustrated breath and turned to find someone who could help him. It took him much longer than he would have liked and when he finally did, it was to find the entire room trashed and no usable paper to dry off with. Finally, ten minutes later, he left the bathroom and scanned the busy eating area for his friend. He located him and saw that he wasn't alone, though he couldn't see who it was that was joining them. The figure was definitely female but other than that, Seamus couldn't discern anything else.
He approached the table with the caution he had begun to use as a result of his current misfortune. Something, and he wasn't sure what, was telling him that approaching that table was a bad idea. He continued on though, assuring himself that nothing bad could come of having lunch with his friend. He had known Dean for more than ten years; surely whoever Dean chose to associate with couldn't be all that bad.
Seamus was stopped in his tracks when he came close enough to see the other occupant of the table set for three. He couldn't believe his eyes. This couldn't be happening. His luck could not be this bad! He was debating turning and simply leaving and explaining to Dean later about why he hadn't stayed, when she looked up and caught his gaze.
"Seamie! Dean told me you'd be joining us!"
'Ah crap!'
To be continued…
A/N: Ok, so I had originally planned on just doing a oneshot exploring Seamus having a whack load of bad luck and then meeting a girl and having that change but my original plan sort of got away from me. As I contemplated everything I wanted to write I came to the realisation that it would be one hell of a long oneshot and so decided to do it in chapters.
I know this one ended on a bit of a cliffie but I wanted the mysterious female to remain a surprise because I'm evil like that! Muhahahaha!
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