Dean Thomas

“It’s not hard,” Seamus assured Dean as they squeezed out of their row of seats. “There’s really nothing to it, the fireplace does all the work.” Seamus had been Flooing on his own basically since he was old enough to talk in full sentences. His mother could apparate, but really didn’t care to, and despite her love of Quidditch, wasn’t willing to go anywhere near a broom. Their flat was one flight of stairs up, and that was about all the heights she could handle. Thus their dependence on Floo.

“Who says you’re going to be invited back?” he continued, teasing Dean as they got out of the seating area and continued into the shops. Apparently, Dean was going to be quite the demanding guest this week, if he was already expecting return trips!

They popped into the first shop, which seemed to be, for some reason, a strange combination of sunglasses and perfume. It didn’t seem like anything Dean’s sisters would be particularly interested in, but then again, he’d thought his suggestion about the broomstick would be a far-and-away hit, until Dean shot it down. “Well. Would they like any of this?” 

“You’re right,” Dean snickered. “I might end up being a really terrible house guest and you’ll all never want to see me again. I might just get banned from Ireland altogether. You never know.”

Of course, they both knew that was highly unlikely. But, Dean did know that he was much more excited about visiting Ireland than he was about Seamus visiting him. Any break he got from his sisters was a good break, so far as he was concerned.

Why anyone would be overly interested in sunglasses and perfume was a baffling idea to Dean, but still, it must sell things or it wouldn’t be there. He looked around for a few minutes.

“They do have some in Diagon Alley you can use,” Seamus told Dean, who admittedly may have already known that. “It’s like public transit. I think there’s even a few in different parts of muggle London.” A thought struck Seamus. “You have Flooed before, haven’t you?”

It was possible he’d never, which was exciting. He wanted to show Dean as many new things as possible this trip, so he’d be thoroughly impressed. He was worried that Dean might be disappointed, might regret agreeing to this trip, which he hated to think about. And Seamus quite liked travelling by Floo, and expected Dean would as well. They did have awfully similar tastes after all.

 “We can go now!” Seamus announced excitedly, rising from his seat. To be honest, he’d never particularly poked around any of the shopping on the ferry, and didn’t much care for shopping in the first place, but he was willing to do if Dean was interested. “But just so you know, if you save your money, we can get them a toy broomstick at the Cup. It’ll work for them, and it really flies!”

“I haven’t,” he admitted. After all, he’d never flooed to Seamus’s, and he couldn’t think of anywhere else that he’d go that involved the floo network. “It freaks me out a bit, if I’m honest, but I’m game to try.”

He was usually game for new experiences, after all, and this was a very new one. “I’m sure I will get good at it as I go. I can’t take the ferry every time I come to Ireland, now can I?”

He got up from the bench to follow Seamus inside the ferry. Just like his father had told him, there was a cafe, a few duty-free shops, and he saw the arcade the Seamus had mentioned.

  “Great,” Seamus said happily, glad to hear that Dean had come prepared for swimming. This summer had been intensely hot, and he was sure it was only going to get worse. Not that the river by his house was any huge, giant river or anything, but it would be nice to go down there and splash around a bit.

“There’s an International Floo Station,” Seamus explained, making sure to drop his voice so they wouldn’t be overheard “but we weren’t sure if you had one of those. A magical one, I mean. That’s how we got over this morning. But we like taking the ferry, too, when we have the time.”

As if on cue, the ferry started to move, propelling itself from the dock. Seamus eagerly looked out the window to watch it take off, and while he was doing so, his mother found the two of them and told them she’d be sitting a few rows up, and to find her before they got off the boat. Interruptions finally over, Seamus finally got around to addressing Dean’s last comment.

“Oh yeah, I forgot you’ve got a different kind. That’s good he got it changed.” Seamus had bought things in muggle London before, and knew they had a different currency. It just slipped his mind, he supposed. It was strange, sometimes, going to a school and having a group of friends that pretty much all lived in a different country than him. Sometimes he mentioned things and they had no idea what he was talking about, and likewise with them. It did make for some great holidays, though!

Dean nodded along with Seamus’s discussion of the floo station. It sounded like a really reasonable thing to have. Especially with the UK Wizarding community spread so far apart, sometimes.

“We don’t have a floo at all,” he admitted with a shrug. “I’ve told my parents about my eventually learning to apparate, and the Ministry sent us a pamphlet on how to get hooked up to the floo if we want, but we don’t have a fireplace, so we’d have to build that and it honestly just seemed like too much effort for everyone, so we aren’t going to do it.”

Once he got old enough to apparate it would be a lot easier. Then, there were portkeys and stuff. He didn’t really need the floo, realistically.

Seamus was curious where Dean’s father would’ve gone on a ferry. It must’ve been somewhere for fun; as far as he knew, Dean’s father mostly just worked a stuffy desk job. Talking of fun, though, Seamus wholeheartedly agreed that the two of them were never short on it.

“Class!” he cheered. He was relieved to hear that he wouldn’t need to bankroll the whole week – not that he wouldn’t have, of course, only it would severely limit the scope of their activities. “We’ve got to save some for the Cup, we can change it at the border. But there’ll be plenty to do in Abbeyfeale, as well.”

The opening of the gate to allow travelers aboard thankfully prevented Seamus from doing something uncouth, like asking Dean exactly how much money his parents had given him, and he excitedly grabbed the edge of Dean’s sleeve to tug him aboard. He directed the two of them up a few flights of stairs, to a bench where they would have a good view.

“We can go explore in a bit, but you’ve got to watch it get underway, it’s great. Talking of water, did you bring your swim trunks? I live by a river. We can go for a swim.”

“I definitely brought a swimsuit, yeah,” Dean nodded. “You’d mentioned the river before, so I figured we might. Plus, my mum says you should always take a swimsuit on holiday. Seemed like sound advice.”

He followed Seamus up to the bench. He had to admit that it did sound pretty amazing to watch the ferry leave. “Have you taken this a lot? Like, isn’t there a better magical way to do this?”

“Not that I mind a ferry,” he quickly added. “I just figure that the wizarding world would have... y’know... their own way. I like boats.”

Dean liked the water. He liked it a hell of a lot more than learning to ride a bicycle, anyway. Swimming sounded considerably more fun to him. Far less chance of a skinned up knee, in any case.

After patiently waiting for Dean to say goodbye to his mother, Seamus lead his friend to the edge of the dock, where they could watch the ferry come in and be among the first to board.

“A little one, yeah,” Seamus answered. “We’ll be on the ferry for about two hours — sorry, I should’ve told you.” He worried now that a two-hour-long boat ride wouldn’t be the best way of starting Dean’s trip; he didn’t want his bestfriend to be bored. But him and his mam liked to take the ferry, and she thought it would be better. They weren’t sure if Dean had a wizarding indentification, and Seamus mother thought his parents would be more comfortable with a form of travel they were more familiar with.

“They’ve got some arcade games, too, but usually those are taken by a bunch of snot-nosed little kids,” he reported sadly. Arcade games, though, gave him another thought. “Did you bring any money? I’ve been saving mine up.”

“Sounds fun,” Dean offered with a shrug. “My dad went on the ferry once. He said there’s duty-free and all sorts. Seems like we’ll be able to entertain ourselves,” he snorted. “It’s not like we’ve ever had a problem before.”

He nodded enthusiastically to Seamus’s question. “Yeah. I’ve got my money. I brought everything I could scrounge, plus my parents gave me some more. They were terrified of me running out since they don’t really know how wizarding currency works.”

“You can’t ride a bike?” Seamus interrogated, positively scandalized. “How have I known you all these years, and didn’t know you can’t fucking ride a bike?” That would definitely be their project for the week, Seamus decided. Dean would just have to learn, plain and simple, and then he could head back home with a valuable skill under his belt.

“And I’m not going to kill myself! I’m good, actually!” He defended, realizing a bit belatedly that he’d been insulted. From someone who couldn’t even ride a bike, no less!

But, as the bigger man, Seamus was willing to let bygones be bygones. That and, he was just as eager to get back to his home as Dean was. The ferry was pulling up to the station as he and Dean spoke, so be stepped back to his mother and told her and Mrs. Thomas that he and Dean were going to board. She was alright with it, so he turned happily to Dean.

“Are you ready to get on, then?”

“Just never learned,” Dean shrugged. “Not in my skill set, like.”

He had a feeling that he was about to be taught to ride a bike, and that it was going to be a nightmare. “And I don’t think I’m cut out for it, if I’m honest.”

Seamus probably was good at riding a bike. Particularly on ramps. It suited his adrenaline junkie lifestyle and sounded like the sort of thing he would do. “I was always too busy with football to worry about bikes.”

He gave his mother a hug and a kiss while pretending that he was annoyed at the prospect. He actually didn’t mind, but he figured that he was supposed to. So, he rolled his eyes and sighed a bit dramatically before turning to follow Seamus towards the ferry.

Seamus nodded politely along with Dean’s comment, but inwardly, he had trouble imagining anyone who didn’t care about Quidditch. Especially this year, when Ireland had made it into the World Cup! Well, maybe it was just because they’d never seen a match in person. That had to be it.

He was thrilled to hear that Dean was already planning on Seamus making a trip to visit him in return, and he hoped that now that they were older, their mothers would let them spend more time in the summers at each other’s houses. Summers could get boring for Seamus, especially the further he drifted from his old muggle friends, which seemed to get worse every year he was away at Hogwarts.

But who cared about that now that he had his best friend coming to stay with him?

To answer Dean’s question, Seamus looked up towards the station clock, which let him know that Dean and his mother had arranged just in the nick of time.

“Should be any minute now,” he informed his friend, and figured they could kill time by continuing their planning. “I’ll take you to the fish monger as well, they’re great. And we can have dinner at our favorite pub. And go to the music shop. Oh! And some of us have some ramps build for our bikes.”

Truth be told, Dean had his doubts as to how great a fish monger could be. However, he was sure that if Seamus said that they were great, then they were. Besides, it was an Irish fish monger, wasn’t it? Maybe they had something different there.

“Music shop sounds good. And bikes. I mean, I can’t ride, but I’m more than happy to watch you risk your life on a ramp,” he sniggered. “Especially if it’s for my entertainment.” 

He was always up for pub grub. Patricularly if the chips were good. He could live on chips, he was pretty sure. To be honest, they didn’t even have to be all that good.

Seamus was pleased to hear that Dean was finally entering the 20th century, so to speak. He hadn’t thought muggle houses could even get the Daily Prophet, but after Dean said it, he realized that they must be able to, if they could get owl post and all.

He was glad to see Dean was caught up on the extremely important situation, and proud to hear that his analysis was dead-on. It was hardly a surprise, though, Seamus wouldn’t go and be friends with an idiot, especially on a subject as holy as Quidditch. 

“We’ll have to pick your sisters out something at the Cup,” Seamus promised, as they walked over to his mother. He’d met Dean’s sisters on a few occasions, and was a lot more amused by them than he suspected Dean could be at times. Of course, he was smart enough to realize that that was probably because he was an only child, and sisters, therefore, were an exciting novelty.

As soon as they were able to slightly peel away from their mothers, they did so, and Seamus set about answering Dean’s rapid-fire questions. 

“Sure,” he started out with. “It’s not a very big town or anything, so it won’t take much to see it all. It’s not like London or anything.” It wasn’t like Seamus cared for London much, or anything. It was loud and busy and different. But he couldn’t deny it was impressive and all that that Dean lived in such big town. He hoped Dean wouldn’t be disappointed by how little there was to do in his town, by comparison. 

“And it’s not a whole house or anything,” he continued, figuring now was as good as any time to set Dean’s expectations right. “It’s just a flat. Kind of a small one. But we live right in the middle of town. You can see my old school if you want!”

“Oh, I have already been given instructions to pick them out something brilliant,” Dean rolled his eyes. Getting a week out of school, but also without sisters was certainly a bonus in his mind. “I don’t have the heart to tell them it’ll all be quidditch stuff that won’t mean anything to them, really.”

“Yeah, we can go and see your old school,” he agreed. “That sounds excellent. I haven’t ever shown you mine, but I can do next time you’re in London.”

It just always seemed as if they found so much else to do when they were in London, and going on tours of schools didn’t really seem that riveting. But, he realized that he really wanted to see Seamus’s old school. It sounded like fun.

Seamus turned when he heard his name called out, and the roar of excitement he let out when he saw his best friend was a lot less distinctive words as it was incomprehensible joy. He ran to meet Dean halfway across the station, despite quite a few travelers telling him to knock off the running, and immediately launched into Quidditch talk the moment he got their, without even stopping to say hello.

“Did you read the newspaper clippings I sent you?” Seamus interrogated. As antsy as he’d been waiting for the Cup, he couldn’t imagine how much worse it must’ve been for Dean, who couldn’t listen to matches on the wireless, or even read about the sport in the newspaper. 

“They’ve pulled Ryan at the last minute,” he continued, without so much as waiting for Dean’s response. “And brought in Mullet instead. Now, she’s not bad, but she was out most of last season on an injury, and some’ve said her elbow didn’t heal completely right. Hi, Mrs. Thomas,” he greeted politely, when Dean’s mother had caught up with the pair. “We should go talk to me mam, she wanted to speak to you before we left.”

“I did. Finally, I just took out a subscription to the Prophet myself so that I wouldn’t miss anything else,” he said with a grin. “Besides, my sisters are obsessed with the idea that we get a newspaper delivered by an owl.”

He nodded along with Seamus’s assessment of the Irish team’s decision. “I can’t believe they pulled Ryan, to be honest. I mean, Mullet is a fair choice, but there’s a chance that her arm’s going to be well finished after this. If I were her, I wouldn’t do this for anything less than the world cup, that’s for sure.” 

He couldn’t blame Mullet for thinking that it was worthwhile to risk jeopardizing an entire career to wear her country’s kit. He’d do it. 

tagged by :  no one just felt like doing it tagging :  

BODY.

Long legs. Short legs. Average legs. Slender thighs. Thick thighs. Muscular thighs. Skinny arms. Soft arms. Muscular arms. Toned stomach. Flat stomach. Flabby Stomach. Soft stomach. Six-pack. Beer belly. Lean frame. Slender frame. Beefy/muscular frame.  Voluptuous frame. Petite frame.  Lanky frame. Short nails. Long nails. Manicured nails.Dirty nails. Flat ass. Toned ass. Bubble butt. Thick ass.Small waist. Thick waist. Narrow hips. Average hips. Wide hips. Big feet. Average feet. Small feet. Soft feet. Slender feet. Calloused feet. Calloused hands. Soft hands. Big hands. Average hands. Small hands. Long fingers.Short fingers.  Average fingers. Broad shoulders.  Underweight. Average weight. Overweight.

HEIGHT.

Shorter than 140 cm. 141 cm-150 cm. 151 cm to 160 cm. 161 cm to 170 cm. 171 cm to 180cm. 181 cm to 190 cm. 191 cm to 2m. Taller than 2 m.

SKIN.

Pale. Fair. Rosy. Olive. Dark. Tanned. Blotchy. Smooth. Acne. Dry. Greasy. Freckled.Scarred.

EYES.

Small. Large. Average. Grey. Brown. Black. Blue. Red. Green. Gold. Hazel. Doe-eyed. Almond. Close-set. Wide-set. Slanting. Squinty. Monolid. Heavy eyelids. Upturned. Downturned.

HAIR.

Thin. Thick. Fine. Normal. Greasy. Dry. Soft. Shiny. Curly. Frizzy. Wild. Unruly. Straight. Smooth. Wavy. Floppy. Cropped. Pixie-cut. Short. Shoulder length. Back length. Waist length. Floor length. Buzz cut. Bald. Jaw length. Mohawk. White. Platinum blonde. Golden blonde. Dirty blonde. Ombre. Light brown. Mouse brown. Chestnut brown. Golden brown. Chocolate brown. Dark brown. Jet black. Ginger. Auburn. Dyed red. Dyed any “unnatural color”. Streaked. Thin eyebrows. Average eyebrows. Thick eyebrows.

TATTOOS / PIERCINGS.

Full sleeve. Thigh tattoo. Shin tattoo. Wrist tattoo. Hand/finger tattoo. Foot tattoo. Neck tattoo. Face tattoo. Chest tattoo. Back tattoo. One tattoo. A few here and there. Multiple. No tattoo. Monroe piercing. Nose piercing. Septum. Nipple piercing(s). Genital piercing(s). Industrial piercings. Earlobe piercing. Prince Albert piercing. Eyebrow piercing(s). Tongue piercing(s). Lip piercing(s). Tragus piercing. Angel bites. Labret. Stretches out ears. Navel piercing. Inverse navel piercing. Cheek piercing(s). Smiley. Nape piercing(s). No piercings.

COSMETICS.

Light eyeliner. Heavy eyeliner. Cat eyes. Mascara. Fake eyelashes. Matte lipstick.Regular lipstick. Lipgloss. Red lips. Pink lips. Dark lips. Bronzer. Highlighter. Eyeshadow. Neutral eyeshadow. Smoky eyes. Colorful eyeshadow. Blush. Lipliner. Light contouring. Heavy contouring. Powder. Matte foundation. Shiny foundation. Concealer. Wears make up regularly.Wears it from time to time. Never wears make-up. (Depends on verse)

SCENT.

Floral. Fruity. Perfumes. Aftershave. Cocoa. Moisturizer. Natural soap. Shampoo. Cigarettes. Leather. Sweat. Food. Incense. Marijuana. Cologne. Whiskey. Wine. Fried food. Blood. Fire. Metal. Gasoline. Rain. Grass. Ocean. Autumn leaves. Baked bread. Freshly baked cookies.Smoke. Campfire. Lavender. Trees. Pumpkin Pie. Musk. Rose. Gingerbread. Peppermint. Oak. Honey. Lemon. Vanilla. Coffee Cake. Mint. Raw hide. Cinnamon *but it’s not his fault lol).

CLOTHES.

Jeans. Tight pants. Overknee socks. Tights. Leggings. Yoga pants. Pencil skirt. Tight skirt. Loose skirt. Tight/formfitting dress. Leather jacket. Cardigans. Blouse. Button up shirt. Band-T-shirt. Sports-T-shirt. Sweatpants. Tanktop. Cut off t-shirt. Designer. High street. Online stores. Thrift. Lingerie. Long skirt. Miniskirt. Maxidress. Sun dress. Tie. Tuxedo. Cocktail dress. Highslit dress/skirt. T-shirt. Loose clothing. Tight clothing. Jean shorts. Sweater. Sweater vest. Khaki pants. Suit. Hoodie. Harem pants. Basketball shorts. Boxers. Briefs. Thong. Hotpants. Hipster panties. Bra. Sports bra. Crop top. Corset. Ballerina skirt. Leotard. Polka dot. Stripes. Glitter. Silk. Lace. Leather. Velvet. Chemise. Patterns. Florals. Neon colors. Pastels. Plaid.  Black. Dark colors. Fur. Faux fur.  

SHOES.