Seamus hurried to keep up with Nev, feeling a surge of hope for the first time since he'd returned from Easter hols. As upset as he was at what he'd found out at home, he'd realized once he'd come back that things at school really were infinitely worse. Over the past week, he'd made a habit of testing the Carrows - finding that he was no longer able to stand their "lessons" for even a moment - and had borne the brunt of their wrath.
He'd served two detentions this week. The first, with Amycus, had taken the pain of the blood quills to a new level. He'd been made to draw straight lines on long pieces of parchment over and over, until his back was a mess of bleeding lines. His second, with Alecto, had been even more direct. Cruciatus, straight out. His writhing had, of course, opened up the wounds on his back. It was putting it mildly to say that he could do with some good news.
"That's brilliant, Nev," he said, flashing a grin at his friend. "Did y'have t'ask it for anythin' in particular?"