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THE FIRST FLICKER OF HOPE shines sometime in the beginning of the second month, that, dim though it is, is enough to show that there is still a way out of this hellhole.
Dumbledore's Army - Still Recruiting
The words are like a light at the end of a long tunnel, like the first twitter of birds at dawn, like the blossoming of the first flower upon the approach of spring. The look of pure anger and distress on the faces of the Carrows, for the first time, does nothing to deter the moods of the students, and they go about with their daily routines just like every other day, except with a small smile on their lips and a light spring in their steps.
The message is small, nothing much, but it is enough to lift the crushed spirits, just enough to allow the hopes to slip back inside the castle, bit by bit, slowly, but surely.
Seamus feels, for the first time, a pleasant soaring inside his heart. He knows who has written the message, and he is filled with a mixture of pride and guilt. Pride for Neville - the boy who had grown remarkably over the years - and guilt at himself for having disbelieved all of his friends and sticking to his opinion that Harry Potter is a liar. He had joined the DA late, but he had joined, and he is glad for that. Dean was generous enough to forgive his foolishness, and he wishes he could see him now, just once, and tell him how much he misses him.
But he can't. And the only time he sees Dean is when he goes to bed. When his eyes close and welcome the darkness. When the nightmares grip him hard and he sees Dean being captured by the snatchers and taken away somewhere far from human reach. He wakes up, sweaty and agonised, and when he looks over and finds Neville sitting on his own bed, looking just as much distressed as he is, he knows he isn't the only one experiencing nightmares.
He sees his mother too, his poor mother who is terrified beyond wits for him. She had asked him to stay back, not to go to Hogwarts, but how could he not? He doesn't care much of the new rule that mandates all non muggleborns to attend Hogwarts, but how could he leave his friends behind?
Even though he doesn't partake much in the small rebellious actions as Neville and the others do, he still feels that it would be traitorous of him to leave.
And thus, he grits his teeth and wills himself to survive through each painful day.
