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THE NEW YEAR IS JUST as bland as the last one.
Seamus starts going to the library in order to read books on healing spells. He decides, since he isn't actively participating in Dumbledore's Army, he can at least help those who do after each torturous detention spent. It's a risky job, he knows. The Carrows have forbidden Madam Pomfrey from treating anyone unless they have a permission slip from the Headmaster - which is a rare event. Seamus prays he would get a grasp of the spells quickly.
The tension in the air of the Hogwarts castle is so tangible that one can almost taste it. Not a day passes without a drop of blood being shed, and not a day passes without a terrified first or second year breaking down into hysterical tears in the arms of one of the older students in the gloom of the common room. The Gryffindor room, once so warm and welcoming, has become just as desolate as Snape's dungeons. The fire no longer glows warmly, and instead the flames have transformed into venomous tongues that spit at passing students.
It is one freezing January weekend that Seamus, unable to take it any longer, sneaks out of the common room to take a stroll down the corridors. He is careful not to get spotted by any of his friends, as they won't allow him to venture out alone into the nest of the serpents. But he needs to be alone. He needs out, he needs to take a breath of fresh air.
"Hey there, boy. Shouldn't you be in your common room now?"
Seamus stops dead, his insides freezing as he thinks it is one of the Carrows who would now grab him by the neck and drag him over to a detention. But no, it's someone speaking from a portrait. He recognises the voice - it belongs to the knight who had replaced the Fat Lady after Sirius Black had attacked her - Sir Cadogan.
"I should," he answer in a quiet mutter, still trying to recover from his racing heartbeat.
The knight nods his head morosely. "Sit down, boy. Let me tell you a story."
And he does. Seamus's mind isn't there initially, escaping his body to roam across the dark, dank corridors. But the terribly ridiculous stories told by the knight about his adventures in different parts of the world, about how he had rescued a charming woman who had been locked up in a tower by a dragon, and about how he had found a tunnel that could lead you anywhere you wanted to go to, slowly pulls him in; and soon enough he finds himself listening to every word he utters, laughing along whenever the knight falls down on his arse every time he tries to do a particularly difficult stunt, knowing full well that none of his stories are true, but not caring at the very least.
Sir Cadogan is full of eccentricities, and always has a story up his sleeve. Seamus finds an escape in his company, and finds himself visiting him whenever possible. He sits down in front of his portrait, cross legged, and listens to whatever he has to say. He cannot help but notice how his stories change depending on Seamus's mood. If he is particularly miserable, he tries his best to cheer him up by telling him about his adventures where he has failed dismally.
Although Sir Cadogan has the remarkable talent of failing in stupid ways, he never fails to bring a smile to Seamus's face.
