Me and the Devil: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter TWO - Owls and Aurors

- One Month Earlier -

The dim lights of the library were always comforting. It was one of the first places that I had truly felt 100% comfortable after coming to Hogwarts earlier this year. Something about the smell of old parchment and ink, the sounds of flipping pages and scrawling quills, the corner desk nooks behind the towering wood bookcases, and the flickering light of the candles scattered about the space. There was nothing quite like it. It was a place to get lost in - physically and mentally.

Immediately after dinner was served in the Great Hall was my favorite time to shuffle into the rows and rows of books. Everyone was eating and chatting warmly over their food which meant the library was almost entirely mine. I could sit in quiet among the floating books and occasional ghost and work on my homework or study the class texts until the latest hour I could without getting in too much trouble. I didn't mind missing a meal - I was never very hungry these days and if my stomach did rumble after my session I could always make a quick stop through the kitchens before heading back to my room. The elves never seemed to mind much and recently had taken to pre-making me a little snack wrapped in a brown sack and tied with a little black ribbon. They would have it sitting atop a barrel near the front of the kitchen with a little drawing of an owl attached to it - a message just for me.

My first time wandering into the kitchen was a complete accident. I had skipped dinner one too many times and had followed my nose after a particularly long session in the library. It was around 9:55pm and I was supposed to be headed back to my room but a waft of buttery potatoes and corn tickled my nose and turned my feet all on their own. Creeping past the barrels I noticed a particular painting of fruit that was propped open a crack like a doorway - as if someone had just entered, or left, and forgot to shut it all the way. Stepping closer I pushed it open slowly. The air that curled around my cheeks as I walked inside was warm and thick with all sorts of different smells. Fresh biscuits, buttery potatoes, thick sausage gravy, corn on the cob and something excessively sweet I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Four long tables stood in the center of the room and thick stone pillars towered over and around the entire room. Barrels upon barrels of food and drink were stacked across every wall and a large hearth housed one of the biggest fires I had ever seen.

"Hello miss. Can Tooby get you something?"

A sweet little house elf tugged gently on the bottom of my ebony robes and I nearly toppled backward, my heart pounding in my ears.

"Oh! I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean to come in h- to intrude. I was just following this wonderful smell. I can leave!" I turned one foot but Tooby caught my robes once more.

"Terribly sorry miss. Tooby never meant to frighten. Only to offer you something to eat! Please don't leave." His incredibly large ears jiggled a bit as he spoke. "Here, let Tooby grab you a little something." Gently, he reached his hand up to tap on my fingers and I let him lead me to a little makeshift table in the corner. It looked like a large barrel topped with a precariously placed slab of wood and surrounded by two shorter barrels with folded towels on top for cushion. Tooby gestured towards the shorter stool closest to me. "Tooby will be right back." He scurried away only to return a couple moments later with a plate piled high with mashed potatoes and dripping butter. Corn had been added to the very top as if topping an ice cream with sprinkles.

"Here you are miss! Tooby doesn't normally see witches and wizards in the kitchens or on the grounds. Particularly this late. It's normally just the owls miss, but Tooby doesn't mind. Eat! Eat!"

I smiled - genuinely incredibly thankful for the elf's hospitality. "Thank you Tooby. Truly."

Tooby beamed and rocked back and forth on his feet.