"It's fine," Faustus said shortly as he started to disentangle them so he could get to his feet. "It's just a knock. I didn't bang it hard."
He gave the boy a startled look then shook his head, his face clouding over. "No, it's not because of you and Bob." He sighed and sat back against the wall, a miserable look growing on his face.
"I had a fight with Dad," he admitted. "He wants us to eat in the Great Hall at dinner and I hate doing that. Everyone stares at me and whispers and I hate it. But Dad wouldn't even listen to me. He hasn't ever since we got here. He's always somewhere else. He's teaching or he's in meetings or he's patrolling or something. I liked it better before we came here. He spent time with me. I see more of Stephen than I do of Dad now."
He wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. "I wish we were back at Uncle Draco's." He sighed. "I told Dad I hated him but I didn't mean it and now he's going to be angry when he finds me."