Picture

Livin' my life in a slow hell
Diff'rent girl every night in the hotel

"Seamus, darlin', come back to bed." Mary Lou's Texas twang rang out in the stale air of the small hotel room.

Seamus Finnigan stubbed out his cigarette and ran a hand through his light hair. "Yeah, I'll be right there." He glanced around. The rain beat against the window and the barely any light filtered through the drawn curtains.

I ain't seen the sun shine in three damn days
Been fuelin' up on cocaine and whiskey
Wish I had a good girl to miss me

Seamus looked at Mary Lou, lying naked in the bed. She was waiting for him. He took a swig from the whiskey bottle. At almost twenty-one, Mary Lou was hardly the first girl he'd ever been with. All Seamus did with these girls was screw -- and that was putting it nicely. There weren't any dates, except for a drink or two when they met up in the hotel bar.

Lord I wonder if I'll ever change my ways

There had only been one girl he had ever loved. When he had been with her, it was different than anyone else. Yet he had fucked it up by cheating. Now fucking other girls was all he did.

"Seamus, hon?" Mary Lou stretched out her arm and ran her fingers down his spine. He shivered and took one last gaze at teh photograph before stuffing it under the mattress and out of sight.

I put your picture away
Sat down and cried today
I can't look at you while I'm lyin' next to her

"Yeah." Seamus cleared his throat and turned back to Mary Lou. "I'm here."

"Good, was the reply and the last words spoken as the two succumbed to their passion.

**********************

I called you last night in the hotel
Everyone knows but they won't tell
But the half-hearted smiles
Tell me something just ain't right

"Did you know? My cousin Charlotte was in America last week," one witch was telling her companion, "and do you know she ran into none other than Seamus Finnigan?"

Lavender's head turned sharply at the sound of her old boyfriend's name. She strained to hear what the girls were saying.

"I heard he's gotten quite a reputation," the second girl was saying. "So when you say Charlotte ran into him --"

"Yes, she slept with him," the first girl replied. Both girls giggled.

Lavender's spirits fell as she listened to the two girls go on about Seamus. He had been her first boyfriend, when they were fifteen. And then they went out again at seventeen. He had been her first love, her first kiss, her first for many other things. They had been each other's firsts. By the time they were nineteen, however, they broke up again. Seamus, while he was dating Lavender, had the small problem of wandering eyes...and hands...and other body parts. He apologized, professed his love, and swore it would never happen again. Invariably, it would happen again and again.

I've been waiting on you for a long time
Fuelin' up on heartaches and cheap wine
I ain't heard from you in three damn nights

It still stung slightly to hear about Seamus and other girls, but it was just some old resentment coupled with the fact that he had been the first boy she had ever loved. But that was all long over. For the past eight months, she had been dating Ron Weasley. Some might say again, but a short sting of snogging in sixth year hardly counted. It was quite unlike what they were now, Lavender decided. Now, they were in a mature, adult, loving relationship. In fact, she was anxiously waiting for a ring to cement what she already knew.

Later that night, Ron was snoring loudly with his arm draped over Lavender's stomach. She lay awake, unable to sleep. Thoughts of Seamus kept drifting through her mind. She waved her wand and summoned the picture she had stuffed in a drawer, of herself and Seamus in a happy moment. The Seamus in the picture had his arm around Lavender and they were both grinning. Every once in a while they would turn to each other and kiss.

I put your picture away
I wonder where you've been
I can't look at you while I'm lyin' next to him

**********************

Seamus walked down the streets of London a bit unsteadily. Clutched in his left hand was a bottle of firewhiskey and stuffed in his back pocket was a picture of Lavender. He didn't look up as he bumped into a girl. " 'Scuse me, love."

Lavender looked up sharply. She knew that voice anywhere. "Seamus?!"

He turned to look when he heard his name. "Lavender," he returned with a slight slur.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him incredulously.

I saw you yesterday with an old friend

"I came for the weddings...Dean 'n' Neville..." He suddenly laughed. "They're not marryin' each other!"

"You missed them...Neville and Ginny was two weeks ago, and Dean and Padma have been married for over a month and a half." Lavender could hardly believe after all this time this was the conversation they were having.

"Oops." Seamus grinned. "So how were they?"

It was the same old same "how have you been"

"Seamus..." she trailed off.

"Heard you were datin' Weasley."

Lavender shook her head. "I was...we split up." Did she imagine it or did she a glimmer of happiness on his face? "I heard you were shagging half of America."

Seamus gave a small shrug, neither admitting nor denying. "Didn't work," he said quietly.

"What didn't work?" Lavender's breath hitched. No matter how much she had tried to convince herself otherwise, she had never really gotten over him.

"I really missed you." His voice was clear now, almost no trace of the alcohol. "I really did. I'm sorry, Lav...I'm sorry for..."

"I know," she replied softly.

Since you've been gone, my world's been dark and grey

He reached out to stroke her cheek as he had done so many times when they were dating.

You reminded me of brighter days

"Are you still living in the States?" she tried to sound casual.

Seamus shrugged. "Maybe."

I hoped you were coming home to stay

"I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Nothing important...you?"

I was headed to church
I was off to drink you away

Seamus held up the half-empty bottle of whiskey. "Pub," he said almost apologetically.

"You shouldn't drink so much," she chastised him lightly.

"It's the only way to get -- things off my mind," he said as an excuse.

I thought about you for a long time
Can't seem to get you off my mind

For what seemed like hours, they stood there, watching each other, trying to see if there was still a trace of what was once there.

I can't stand while we're living life this way

"I still have that picture of us," Lavender told him. "Taken right after school."

Seamus gave a smile and reached in his back pocket. "I could never seem to get rid of this."

I found your picture today
I swear I'll change my ways
I just called to say I want you
To come back home

Tentatively, Seamus reached out and took her hand. It still fit perfectly in his. "Do you think we could go somewhere...and talk?"

"I think there's nothing I want more right now," Lavender replied softly.

I just called to say "I love you"
Come back home.