The Marked

I´m tired

From exploring you

I´m sorry

You´ve had some scary days

-Dark Blue No Doubt

Seamus finished his shower, hardly taking his eyes off of the strange marking. For the time being, he decided not to share this latest development with anyone else, and when he did, he would make sure the Trio was clear on the other side of the grounds. He knew this was sort of thing they would pounce on like wild animals.

After his shower, he went directly to bed, closing the drapes and lay in bed for some time, silent as the other boys came in went to their respective beds. He half-way wanted to join Dean and Neville in their discussion of his "condition" as Neville called t, almost provoking a laugh from him. Ron and Harry were oddly quiet, he noticed. Normally, the five boys would lay around and talk about this and that for close to a half an hour before dropping on to sleep. That bight, however, it seemed that Neville and Dean were doing most of the talking, with Harry and Ron adding a comment every now and then.

"He´s sure out tonight," Dean noted. "Normally Seamus wakes at the drop of a pin during the night." He paused to laugh. "´Course it´s a different story in the morning."

"Quite a spill he took, though," Harry added casually. "He really remember doesn´t anything?"

"Not a thing," Dean answered quickly. Neville, not knowing the true story, added his agreement. "Pretty weird, huh? Not to mention creepy. I hate think how he´s feeling about the thing."

"Yeah," Ron´s voice sounded. "I´d hate to be in his shoes right now." They all were quiet until one by one they said goodnight and the lights in the room went out. Seamus didn´t get to sleep for awhile.

***

His first day back to classes wasn´t too bad, he later reflected. McGonagall went right to scheduling him make-up lessons, and Trelawney swore she´d seen his incident while crystal gazing, but hadn´t had the heart to tell him. Other than that, it was pretty easy. And he didn´t blow anything up, which was always a plus with him.

All in all, he was feeling like things were getting back to normal by dinner, not counting the strange mark on his chest. Several Slytherins had some choice comments they felt needed to be shouted across the Great Hall as he crossed to the Gryffindor table, but he shrugged them off without too much difficulty.

"So, Dean," he turned to his best friend as he sat down. "Had anymore steamy encounters with Padma?" The entire table burst out laughing as Dean spit pumpkin juice all over the tablecloth in front of him.

"Shut up, Seamus!" He grumbled. "Just because you were practically in a coma doesn't mean you can be all high and mighty," to which Seamus just laughed.

"You know Dean," Parvati spoke up, a wicked smile lighting up her pretty features, "I´m sure I can set up some time in a broom closet with my sister for you. It can be your Christmas present."

"Would you all let me eat in peace?"

"Oh," a disdainful voice came from behind Seamus, "is the ickle Gryffindor upset? Try not to cry, Thomas, we couldn´t have you embarrassing your House anymore than your friend Finnigan here already did."

"Shove off Malfoy!" Seamus turned around to see this pale haired boy standing behind him, his cronies not far off.

"When I´m ready." He grinned maliciously at the group. "You know, I spend so much quality time with Potty and his gang that I never get around to the rest of you." He looked around at them. "Of course the group of you is almost sorry enough to make the others look good."

"Malfoy!" Seamus and Dean were both on their feet. "Leave."

Draco´s eyes gray eyes narrowed. "Make me."

Without really thinking about it, Seamus reached up and shoved Malfoy back by the shoulders a ways. As he did so, Draco pushed his hands away with his own. The second their skin made contact, Seamus´s world faded around him and was replaced with a pain that seemed centered directly in the center of his brain. For a few moments, all he could see was a hazy gray, but it slowly faded into a scene much different than the Great Hall at dinner.

Two figures stood in a room void of light except that of a crackling fire. Both were of the same build, tall and slender. One was in full out robes, his face covered by a mask and hood, the other in fine Muggle clothing with a head full of silvery blonde hair. The second one didn´t seem much older than Seamus, hardly two years his senior. The figures seemed to be arguing.

"You will bear it and be proud!" The robed man exclaimed, reaching out to grasp the other by the wrist, but only catching hold of air as the boy leapt back.

"No! I refuse! I will not be branded and serve that filth!"

"You will not speak of the Lord in that tone! Now stop arguing. You have been destined to this since you were born. Give me your arm!" The robed man advanced. The boy had nowhere to go.

"No! Father, please! Stop!" The man, this boy´s father, was already upon him. "Father, nooooo!!!" Screams filled Seamus´s head, and he quickly realized his own had joined the boy's and the scene melted back to Great Hall. He found himself kneeling on the ground where he had stood, clutching his head in hands, screaming loudly and nonsensically.

"Get out! Get out get out get out get ooooouuuut!"

Suddenly, he stopped, gasping for breath and realizing every set of eyes was on him, but not caring. Something was inside his head! He did the first thing he thought to do.

Run.

***

He took no notice of where he was going, only wanting to rid himself of the horrid feeling of whatever it had been crawling inside his head. The sound of the blonde boys screams echoed through his mind, dulling quickly while the pain seemed to sharpen.

Suddenly, he found himself back in the hallway he´d collapsed in the week before. The painting of Hundley still stared out with unconcerned eyes. At least, it did until he noticed Seamus. Then, his eyes opened widely and his mouth gaped open.

"You´re still alive?" Seamus started as he heard the voice. While all the paintings within Hogwarts moved, few would openly speak to the students.

"Er...pardon?" The pain began to fade slightly.

"You´re alive! No one...no one else has ever survived it! Well, no one but me."

`What are you talking about? What did I survive?"

"The Curse! Of course, you´re young...that could be it, I wasn´t much older when I stumbled across it. But then, I knew what to do about it and surely...surely...have they started?"

"Have what started?" Seamus was suddenly feeling quite stupid.

"Goodness, boy! Don´t you know anything about it?"

"Wait...curse? What curse?" His eyes flashed with shock. "You don´t mean the Delving Curse the Trio was talking about, do you?"

"Indeed! You´re the first person that it´s passed on to that hasn´t died! Of course, I suppose that´s only a matter of time..."

"What?! What do you mean only a matter of time? How did it...pass on to me in the first place?!"

"Ah, you wouldn´t know that would you, well-"

"SEAMUS! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Dean´s voice broke through, interrupting Hundley.

"Oh man..." Seamus didn´t exactly feel like being poked and prodded and gaped up. "I´ll come back some other time, then tell me everything!" Without waiting to hear Hundley´s reply, he took off in the opposite direction as Dean´s nearing pace. He went as fast and as cautiously as he could, not wanting to be seen by anyone. In the end, he went to one place no one would expect a Gryffindor to go. The dungeons.

He´d seldom been in the dungeons, other than for Potions. He wondered how the Slytherins could stand having their dorm down here, as he could barely see his hand in front of his face. It was very drafty, and Seamus felt he might need a cloak just to walk around.

After having several close calls with strolling Slytherins, Seamus found a small nook behind a faded tapestry to sit out of sight. For twenty minutes he sat there, listening to the passing Slytherins as they made their ways to their Common Room, wherever it may be. Eventually, the traffic slowed until a solitary figure was out in the hall, pacing and muttering. It wasn´t hard to figure out who it was. Snape.

"Stupid boy..." he was saying, causing Seamus to scowl. "More important things to worry about..." A second pair of shuffling feet halted his complaints.

"Professor Snape?"

"Mr. Malfoy. If I´m not mistaken, you should be in your dormitory."

"Yeah...I know..." Malfoy sounded strangely....subdued.

"Is...something the matter Draco?" Snape's tone almost made Seamus gasp aloud with surprise. He knew Snape favored the Slytherins, Malfoy especially, but he almost sounded as if he cared.

"Er...no! Nothing. I just...wanted to get away from all the commotion for awhile."

"Draco? What´s going on? What happened down there?" Malfoy didn´t say anything. "Mr. Malfoy?"

"I...I don´t know what happened! I pushed at his hand and then...it was like I had performed the Cruciatus on him, sir! His eyes went all glassy and then he started screaming and fell to his knees...and he kept saying, `get out get out,´ over and over."

"Yes...we all saw that. Are you sure that´s it?"

"Sir...I know why he was screaming that."

"What do you mean, Draco?"

"Why he was screaming `get out.´ For a second down there...I wasn´t in the Great Hall! I mean...it was like I was dreaming but...Sir...I-I think...I think was in Finnigan´s thoughts."

"You...were in his thoughts?"

"Well...maybe not his thoughts but...something! I felt like I was intruding! But...I think he did too. He didn´t seem happy to be there."

"You saw Mr. Finnigan?"

"Only for a second! It was really dark wherever it was. He didn´t see me, he was staring at something else. But then I was back! As quick as it had happened! I almost thought I imagined it but..." Malfoy trailed off.

"But what?"

"It...it burned."

"What do you mean, it burned?´

"My arm. When I was back, it was burning like someone had touched it with a hot poker."

"Did...did you have anyone look at it?" Snape voice sounded uncharacteristically faint.

"No. I mean, it stopped after Finnigan left, and it looked alright to me-"

"Let me see your arm."

"Sir-"

"LET ME SEE YOUR ARM."

"Su-sure!" There was a brief rustling of clothing as Malfoy pulled back a sleeve. "See? There´s nothing there. It´s not even red."

"Hmmm..." Snape wasn´t paying any attention to Malfoy now. "Nothing. But..." he trailed off. "Mr. Malfoy, I want you to go back to your dorm. If your arm begins to burn again I want you to come directly to me. Not to Madame Pomfrey, not to Professor Dumbledore, to me. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good." There was a fading patter of feet and Seamus knew Draco had left. Snape began pacing once more, but it wasn´t long before more footsteps once again joined his, this time, more than one person. "Ah, Headmaster. Lupin. Any sign of Mr. Finnigan?"

"Not yet. Have you had any luck?" Dumbledore´s voice, normally so carefree sounded strained.

"No, however...Mr. Malfoy came to me with some...interesting information.´ He then went through the conversation he had just had with Draco, omitting nothing.

"He said...he was in Seamus´s thoughts?" Professor Lupin spoke up for the first time.

"What he assumed to be Finnigan´s thoughts but...it almost..."

"It almost sounds like a vision," Dumbledore finished.

"So then..." Lupin seemed to be thinking aloud. "Headmaster, I think we search him, once we find him."

"Search him?" Snape sounded as confused as Seamus felt. "For what?"

"Are you sure, Remus?" Dumbledore and Lupin appeared to be ignoring Snape.

"It´s for his own good. If he is Marked..."

"Yes, yes...I know," Dumbledore sounded worried. "I just pray he isn´t."

"If you´ll forgive my interruption," Snape sounded perturbed. "What are you talking about? Marked? Marked for what?"

"All in due time, Severus. Now, I believe Mr. Finnigan wishes to be left alone and not found, so perhaps we should all retire for the evening. He will turn up when he feels like it."

"Are you sure that´s wise, Headmaster?"

"Even we do not yet know if he is Marked yet, Remus. I think Mr. Finnigan will be safe until he decided to turn up in his dorm later. And perhaps he already has. Goodnight." Three pairs of feet began walking off until finally, Seamus was alone. After a few moments of quiet, he stood and peaked out from behind the tapestry. The coast looked clear. With a small sigh, he walked out from his hiding spot and began to make his way back to Gryffindor tower.

He was just rounding the last corner when a voice rang out through the empty hall.

"Everyone´s been looking for you, Mr. Finnigan." Seamus´s halted. It was Lupin.

"Yeah," he answered. "I figured that out on my own." After hearing that Lupin wanted to search him, Seamus didn´t know whether or not to trust him.

"What happened down there, Seamus?" As his teacher spoke these words, Seamus recognized them as the exact words Snape had said to Malfoy, minus Seamus´s name.

"I dunno."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You can tell me the truth, you know."

"That is the truth. Now, can I go to bed?" He would have been glaring at the man had he not been his teacher.

Lupin sighed. "I suppose." He looked a bit disappointed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Seamus grumbled as he made his way to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was awfully curious as to why he had been out that late in the first place. After a few moments of arguing, she finally opened up, revealing an empty Common Room, much to Seamus´s liking.

He halted outside his dorm room door, hesitant about the questions that would surely be thrown his way. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to go back to Hundley portrait and tell him to take back the Delving Curse, what ever it may. In the end, he swung the door open and stumbled in to the room, realizing just how exhausted he was and that he had the worst headache he´d ever experienced.

The four boys already in the room turned to look at the door. They were all still dressed and sitting on their beds, curtains opened and obviously discussing what was going on with their yearmate.

"Seamus!" He groaned.

"Please don´t holler, Dean, I´ve got the world´s worst headache right now, and all I want to do is get some sleep." Wearily, he shuffled over to his bed, flopping down on to it fully dressed.

"Are you-" Ron began, but Seamus halted him.

"I´m fine. Ok? Fine. Now leave me alone." With a swift movement he closed to curtains around his bed, ignoring all attempts to talk with him. Before long, the lights were extinguished and the sound of the other boys bed drapes closing came. Seamus, however, had quickly fallen asleep and didn´t hear as his dorm mates all bid everyone goodnight.

***

He awoke early, and not just early for him. The sun hadn´t even begun to rise when he was roused from his sleep. It didn´t take him long to figure out what had stirred him.

"Shhh! Ron, you´ll wake everyone!´ The voice definitely did not belong in the boys dormitory.

"Hermione! What do you think you´re doing in here? This is a boys dorm!"

"Gee, I had no clue!" Seamus could picture Hermione rolling her eyes. "Did Seamus come back?"

"Yeah," this time, it was Harry that spoke. "Listen, let´s go down to the Common Room before we wake someone." The rustling of sheets could be heard, and then the soft patter of bare feet leaving the room. When he was positive they were down the stairs, Seamus hopped out of his bed and crept silently down the stairs, not wanting to miss what they were saying.

"It has to be the Delving Curse." That was Hermione.

"How though?" Harry countered. "It hasn´t been seen since the first outbreak, you told us that yourself! Where would he have come in contact with it? Besides, didn´t everyone that was Cursed die within twelve hours?"

"I don´t know how, but it must be it! Maybe Seamus wasn´t fully hit by it, I don´t k now! But it must be it!"

"But," Ron sounded skeptical. "How can you be so sure? We don´t know anything about the Curse except that it gives someone the power of sight. And pardon me but, it didn´t look like Seamus was seeing much with his eyes cinched shut while he was screaming his head off."

"Ron, you idiot!" Hermione was practically shouting. "It didn´t literally mean seeing with your eyes! It was talking about visions! Honestly, you´re in Divination and you didn´t figure that out? It was obvious that Seamus was having a vision down there." She paused to take a deep breath. "And not a very pleasant one by the looks of it."

"Maybe..." Harry still seemed reluctant to the idea. "But, we really need t find out more about this Delving Curse."

"Tomorrow night?" Hermione asked. "We don´t all have to go. I´m the quickest at finding this sort of stuff, so why don´t you just give me your cloak for the night, Harry."

"I don´t Hermione, I think we should all go. Three are still quicker than one."

"Fine, but there´s more chance we´ll get caught by Filch with all three of us." Hermione seemed a bit put off that her idea had been knocked down.

"Ah, we use the Invisibility Cloak all the time, `Mione! We´ll be fine." Ron yawned. "Let´s get back to bed. I´m beat." The others agreed and Seamus sprinted quickly to the door room door and leapt back into his bed, closing curtains just as Ron and Harry came back in. They stopped in their tracks right in front of his bed.

"You really think he could be Cursed, Harry?"

"I don´t know Ron. I hope not. I just don´t see how he could be. I mean, who would have done it? Delving´s dead. And his portraits not too lively either. I just don´t know."

***

Seamus slept on and off after that. When morning came, he sat up and opened his curtains a whole half-hour earlier than he normally did. Dean, Neville, Ron, and Harry were all still just getting up. Dean clumsily mumbled a hello and Seamus made a mental note apologize at breakfast snapping at him the night before.

Shoving his blankets away, he moved to get up but stopped as pain ripped through his head and a dull ache settled in his limbs. With a groan, he laid back down.

"Tell the professors I couldn´t get out of bed will you guys?"

"I don´t think Snape would take that very well," Dean grinned before realizing his friend wasn´t joking. "Hey, you´re head still hurting?"

"More like my entire body. I feel like a full grown skrewt ran over me."

"You want me to help down to the Hospital Wing? I´m sure Madam Pomfrey can give you something." Dean hesitantly sat down at the foot of Seamus´s bed.

"No. I´ll lay here for the day. If Snape has a problem he can come up here and yell at me all he wants.".

"You sure? I don´t think you should be alone up here all day. What if...you know..."

"What if I freak out again?" Painfully, Seamus pulled himself into a sitting position. "Don´t worry, I figure that as long as I don´t make any contact with Malfoy, I´ll be fine."

"Dean´s right," Harry leaned against one of the posters of the bed. "You should go to Madam Pomfrey. Not to sound like a worry wart but something could be seriously wrong."

Seamus groaned again. "She had an entire week with me to see if something was seriously wrong! But," he put a hand to his throbbing temple and wiping at a thin sheen of sweat that had formed. The room seemed strangely warm. "I think I need some sort of pain reliving potion so, I´ll give in and go down there." He threw his legs over the side of his bed and pulled himself to his feet. He hadn´t walked more than a couple of steps, however, before his knees gave out and Dean had to move fast to catch him.

"Whoa! I think we´ll take you," he said, sliding and arm under Seamus´s shoulder while Harry did the same to the other, both supporting him down the stairs. No one was in the Common Room yet, thankfully, and the only trouble they had was getting through the portrait.

The heat Seamus had felt in the dorm room increased as they finally reached the open hallway. His robes, still unchanged from yesterday, stuck to his back as sweat began to drench them.

"Anyone else hot?"

"Hot?" Dean and Harry looked at him like he was insane, then Dean put a hand to his forehead. "Yeouch! You´re burning up! You didn´t hide outside last night did you?´

"No, the dungeons." His vision was getting a bit hazy, and he began to worry that he going to have another `vision´.

"Hm," Harry shook his head as they started for the Hospital Wing again. "The dungeons are chilly but...I don´t think you could have gotten sick down there."

"Don´t feel too sick." Stringing words was beginning to get difficult. The haze in his vision had seemed to also take up residence in his head. `Just feel...strange." Suddenly, another wave of pain, not quite as intense as the night before, washed over him and he yelled at, tearing himself away from Harry and Dean.

They were hollering at him, he knew they were, but he couldn´t make out any words they were saying, and it sounded like they were yelling from a great distance. After a bit, a new voice joined them and Seamus felt a cool hand place itself against his forehead.

"Seamus, open your eyes. Come on Seamus." It was Professor Lupin again. With great difficulty, he forced his eyes open and found himself cowering at the base of the wall, hands clutching his hair. He was breathing very heavily. "That´s it, come on now, come out of it." Slowly, the sharp pain dissolved, leaving only the dull aches from before. He became aware the Lupin was kneeling in front of him, Dean and Harry standing behind him, eyes wide with fright. He tried to say something, but couldn´t get his mouth to cooperate.

"Don´t try and talk," Lupin removed his hand from Seamus´s forehead. "I´m going to take you down to see the Headmaster. Do you think you can walk if I help you or do you need a stretcher?"

"No stretcher," he mumbled, leaning against the wall.

"We´ll help," Harry offered. "It took two of us before. One on each side."

"Alright. Here, give me your hand Seamus," Lupin stood, gently grasping Seamus´s hand and pulling him up as well. At once, Dean and Harry took their former positions again. "Follow me."

His vision was blurring worse than before, and he couldn´t make anything out as they walked through the halls very quickly, passing many people on their way to breakfast. Harry and Dean were more or less dragging him, as he couldn´t get his limbs to work properly, and before long, he found himself standing in front of a stone gargoyle. Lupin muttered something and it hopped aside. A short while later, they were with in Dumbledore´s office, the Headmaster sitting behind his desk and looking very concerned.

"He had another...attack, I suppose you would call it," Professor Lupin supplied as Dean and Harry settled Seamus into a chair before the Headmaster. "Thank you Harry and Dean. Go on up to breakfast."

Dean didn´t want to seem to leave, however. "But-"

"Go." Professor Lupin had never once spoken to a student in that tone, or indeed anyone, and Dean quickly followed Harry´s retreating back. It wasn´t long before Seamus was alone with the two men.

"Mr. Finnigan. You do seem to be having a rough couple of weeks." Dumbledore seemed to be taking in his weary form. "Was there another vision?"

"Pardon?" He didn´t know what made him act like he had no idea what the Headmaster was talking about, but for some reason, Seamus didn´t want to share the extent of his condition with anyone. "Vision?"

"You seemed to be having some sort of vision last night," said to him, sitting in the chair beside his. "And Mr. Malfoy seems to have had a brief on himself.

"No, no vision. I haven´t had any visions." He wished they would just let him sleep some more. Every time someone said something to him his head pounded.

"You don´t need to lie, you know." Lupin´s voice was back down to it´s normal, gentle tone. Somehow, it irked Seamus more than if he would have yelled at him.

"Do you always assume students are lying? I told you, I didn´t have any vision! I don´t know what you´re talking about!"

"Now now, Mr. Finnigan," Dumbledore interrupted. "Calm down. You must understand your...condition has put in an awkward position. If you say you´ve had no vision, then I believe you." It should have made him feel bad, lying to the Headmaster and the nicest teacher in the school, it really should have. But it didn´t.

"Now then, I sent Professor Lupin here to find you this morning, for a reason."

"You mean," Seamus looked up. "You didn´t bring me down here because of...whatever that was?"

"No," Lupin shook his head. "I was already on my way to catch you before you headed off to breakfast."

"Mr. Finnigan," Seamus knew what was coming. "We need to test you for...clarification."

Ah. So they were going to lie about it. "Clarification?"

"To make sure you aren´t afflicted by a certain...disease."

"Disease? Shouldn´t Madam Pomfrey be doing that?"

"It´s a rather...complicated procedure," Lupin offered. "And well...in most cases quite painful."

"Painful?" Seamus leapt to his feet, then crumpled back down in his chair as his body screamed at him. "I don´t think I can handle anymore painful today!"

"If we don´t run the test now," Dumbledore told him gently, "and you are afflicted, the pain you are feeling will only increase everyday. It´s best to get it over with."

"Well, what happens if I have it? What then?" Somehow, Seamus doubted there was an easy way over the Delving Curse.

"Well...you would have to leave Hogwarts as to not c- afflict anyone else." Lupin stumbled over the words.

"Leave? But...I could come back, couldn´t I? Once I was cured?"

"You see Seamus," Lupin sighed and drooped his shoulders. "It all occurrences except one, the c-" he paused, taking a deep breath. "The afflicted...have died."

"Died? So...you mean...you´ll just kick me out of school and ship me off somewhere with no people so I can die alone?!"

"No!" Dumbledore looked shocked that he would suggest this. "We would send you to the best...doctors the magical world has to offer. Professor Lupin was merely warning you that...well...the outcome is more often than not bleak."

Seamus couldn´t say anything for sometime and when he did, his voice was wavering. "But...but I don´t necessarily have it, right? I mean, you still have to test me!"

It was strange. He knew he was Cursed or Marked or whatever they called it. Delving, or rather Delving´s portrait, had as good as told him so. But he still had hope.

"Right!" Lupin nodded. "So...that is...if you´re ready?"

"Yes!"

"Alright then." Lupin and Dumbledore stood, motioning for him to stay sitting as they conferred quietly with one another briefly. Lupin turned to him when they were done. "As I told you, the test is supposed to be quite painful, but it´s brief! No more than a couple of seconds." He raised his wand. "Ready?" Seamus, unable to find his voice nodded, all the while saying to himself in his head, "Don´t let them find it, don´t let them find it! Please don´t let them!"

His wand readied, Lupin uttered a few words, strange to Seamus´s ears and before long a silvery light shot forth bathing the room with it glow and bringing Seamus what seemed to him like an army of needles attacking every part of him for a brief moment before the light went out and the world went black.

***

"Are you sure he´s alright Albus?"

"He´s fine. It was recorded that when Delving tested people for the Curse that it would be as they were dead for a few moments afterward." Two figures, dark and almost shapeless swam before Seamus´s eyes. He tried to pull himself up in his seat a little, but found he couldn´t even blink.

"The test..."

"I know."

"But...it makes no sense!"

"I know."

"He has all the symptoms-"

"Yes but the result was negative. We should be grateful." The figures began to take shape, two men stood before him. Dumbledore and Lupin.

"I am, I´d hate think of him just rotting away like all the others."

"Except Delving himself."

"Yes but, no one actually know what happened to Delving.´

"Ah, true." Finally, Seamus could move his arms enough to pull himself up. "Mr. Finnigan! I see you are back among us."

"Yeah...I think," he rubbed the base of his neck. His skin felt like it was crawling, but his headache seemed to have died away for the time being.

"Well, the good news is you may stay at Hogwarts as the test came back negative," Lupin patted his shoulder lightly. "The bad news is...we still don´t know what wrong with you."

"How do you feel, Mr. Finnigan?" Dumbledore´s eyes were twinkling behind his glasses.

"Fine." He wanted to leave.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup!" He tried to grin at them, but all he could muster was a half-smile. The professors were looking doubtful so added, "I reckon I could get to class today even."

"Well, if you´re sure," Lupin still looked doubtful but Dumbledore shrugged. "But at least go lie down until the next class starts. I´ll excuse you to Professor Flitwick."

"Thanks!" Without waiting for them to say anything else, he hurried out of the office and back out to the hallway, actually feeling what he had said once he got walking, but he wasn´t going to object to extra sleep.

***

When he awoke, Seamus found that he had twenty minutes before the start of Potions. There wasn´t enough time to take a shower, but he felt refreshed enough finally slipping into clean robes.

He was slipping his supplies into his bag when a slight burning crept out on his chest. His hand slid over it and he realized immediately it was the Mark, burning. It wasn´t unbearable, mostly a discomfort. It was gone almost as quick it came

He shoved his bag over his shoulder hastily, almost running out of the dorm. In his head he silently cursed the fact that he had ever seen the painting of Hundley. Surely it had something to do with the Mark and the Curse. Anger towards Delving surged through him as the words of Dumbledore and Lupin came back to him. The test might have come back negative, but he knew he was Marked, he knew he was Cursed. Maybe something had gone wrong.

Whatever had happened, according to Lupin, he didn´t have much chance of living much longer. But, Hundley, or Delving, had led him to believe there was a cure, or a countercurse or something. He´d have to go back and ask him, loathe as he was to go back to that hall.

He had reached the main staircase when the first class of the day let out, students streaming out into the corridors. He was a long ways from the Charms hall, so he didn´t encounter any of his fellow Gryffindor fifth years until he got to the dungeons.

"Hey Seamus! Feeling better?" Harry was the first to see him, obviously trying to be as casual as possible.

"Yeah! A lot!" He looked down as he started to walk with them. "Um, guys? Sorry about being such a jerk, I ju-`

"Forget about it," Dean patted him on the back. He began to say something more, but was interrupted as a large water bomb exploded on his head. Cackling followed as they all looked up to see Peeves turning somersaults in the air.

"Peeves!" Parvati glared up at the little poltergeist. "I´m sure the Bloody Baron´s around. He´d just love to hear about you mucking up his dungeons!"

Peeves blew a raspberry at her. "You´re no fun! I ought to-"

"PEEVES!!" An enraged voice hollered out, and everyone turned to see Filch storming down the hall. "YOU´VE DONE IT NOW!"

"It was just a water-bomb!" He turned upside down, grinning. "No need to get-"

"I´M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT! I´M TALKING ABOUT THE PORTRAIT!" Filch reached them. "Dumbledore will be quite angry to see you´ve ruined that painting of Fredrick Hundley! I don´t even want to know how you melted it!"

"Melted it?" Peeves looked genuinely confused. "I didn´t melt any painting!"

"Oh, this will be good!" Dean grinned over at Seamus, who merely staring into space. "Seamus?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, good." He tried to smile, but couldn´t. He could only think about the painting. Peeves never denied anything, why should he deny this? It was fine last night. What could have happened to it?