A Change of Heart // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 14

When they arrived at the Clagmar Coast, Sebastian immediately began heading to the camp. Florence had no idea how he remembered which one it was as they had raided many of them that day. They approached the large camp quietly which seemed to be more guarded than it was before presumably because of their raid and subsequent escape. Florence was skeptical at first thinking that Natty and Professor Onai would still be there, but now she was certain he was correct as she eyed the amount of goblins, counting them in her head. At least 20 outside. Florence noticed Poppy's breathing was getting louder and faster as she took in the scene in front of her. She had taken down poachers before, but not an entire goblin army that knew how to use wands and had managed to knock both Sebastian and Florence out, the top two duellers at Hogwarts during their time. Florence took her by the hand and rubbed it gently as Sebastian explained the plan.

"Alright, Poppy, go left. Florence, you go right. Take out as many as you can. Silently. Then I'll come through the middle and take the rest." He explained.

"Hm, unlike you to want to take the silent approach." Florence giggled softly, remembering the time he almost got them killed barging into a goblin camp because he was mad at her all those years ago.

"People can change, McCallister." He said, scoffing. Florence rolled her eyes.

The trio split up, going to their designated spots given to them by Sebastian. Poppy and Florence casted disillusionment on themselves, waiting for Sebastian's signal. He stuck his hand up in the air and gave a soft wave, telling them it was time to go. Florence silently approached a small group of goblins who were talking about their plans in the tent tonight. She successfully managed to knock all of them out with petrificus totalis remaining unseen, Poppy flawlessly doing the same. Sebastian then came through the middle, taking out the last two. Perfect.

They rendezvoused in the middle of camp, removing their charms and entering together, silently. They took in their surroundings. Goblins covered every corner. It was like they had taken all of them from each camp and put them inside the one tent. It was overwhelming.

"What do we do?" Poppy whispered nervously.

"We fight. Take out as many as we can and we'll meet near those stairs." Florence said, standing up and arming herself with her wand, pointing at the lower staircase that led into the basement. "If any of us gets into trouble, cast Periculum. Good luck."

She leaned across and grabbed Sebastian's face, pulling her closer to him. She quickly pressed her lips to his, taking Sebastian by surprise as he jumped a little before leaning back into the kiss. She kissed him hard, just in case she wasn't able to do it again.

"Ok, revolting." Poppy said, prying them apart. "Let's go."

They split up, Sebastian and Florence going downstairs to the larger area, Poppy taking the lesser amount of goblins on the upper level.

"Confringo!" Sebastian yelled, blasting a few goblins from their standing positions, alerting them all to their presence.

Florence separated from Sebastian, running to the other side of the tent, casting protego as she ran. She turned around to see three running right at her, wands raised and ready to cast.

"Bombarda!" she yelled, the three being blown away to the ground. She continued to hit them with basic casts, finally casting glacius and slicing them with a follow-up diffindo, defeating them. She inched closer to the stairs that lead deeper into the tent, panting to catch her breath, taking out goblins with ease. These ones weren't as strong as the ones at the Ministry, despite the wands they had. It was clear they weren't trained well.

Sebastian and Florence reached the stairs at the same time, Florence running into his arms and looking around frantically for Poppy. She suddenly saw red sparks flying from the top level. Poppy. They both ran back up and saw her overwhelmed with five goblins casting simultaneously at her while she casted protego on herself, unable to get a reprieve to fling any other offensive spells at them. Sebastian and Florence worked together with a few spell combinations, getting the goblins away from her. Florence grabbed her hand and they ran quickly back to the stairs.