Consuming Darkness: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 8

-Sebastian-

I couldn't believe what I was seeing! My eyes took a second to adjust but when they did... I gasped, I couldn't help it. It was like a whole new world. A beautiful meadow with trees and streams, a lake glistened in the distance. There were various creatures roaming about the field and flying in the sky. Puffskins bounced about and a family of hippogriffs trotted near a feeding trough to our right. They paused at the sight of me, eyeing me. The baby though, trotted right up to Ronnie. She softly pet its black feathery head with a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. I bowed myself low, as I had learned in Beast's Class, avoiding eye contact with any of the Hippogriffs. The old two, one black and one white bowed in response after a moment. I slowly rose out of my bow and held my hand out to them. The black one walked off and then flew into the air while the white one approached, gingerly placing its beak against my hand. My heart soared with excitement. I had only seen a Hippogriff once, flying above the Forbidden Forest, but to be able to interact with one was quite the thrill.

"What is this place?" I asked in amazement as the Hippogriff nudged my hand expectantly. Ronnie had pulled out a treat for the baby, who took it excitedly from her hand and ran off. She handed me one as well, which I gave to the Hippogriff in front of me.

"It's a vivarium. I have four of them, including this one. Deek and I used them to protect some of the mythical beasts that Poppy and I rescued from poachers last year. This is Highwing, and her baby, Puffy," she informed me.

I had so many questions, and I asked her every single one of them as she showed me around the meadow, introducing me to various animals, petting and feeding them. They all happily approached her and all seemed to care for her as much as she cared for them.

"Ronnie, this is amazing!" I remarked breathlessly.

She stood from her squatted position in front of a mooncalf who looked very sad to see that her attention had moved away from him. She smiled brightly at me, a mix of pride, and happiness. I had never seen this side of her. Ronnie was a lot of things, but she was never one to be very open about her feelings. She put on a very tough exterior so being able to see her in her element, dropping her walls and letting me, I knew that I was in trouble.

She brushed her pants off. "The Kneezles aren't in this room, I just wanted to show you it", she said, offering me her hand again. I took it and stood, following her out of the vivarium. She showed me two others. They contained beasts I had never dreamed I'd be able to see! She had a damned Phoenix land on her arm and nuzzle into her hair as if it were a puppy. She spoke to it like it was an old friend and fed it a treat before it flew off, looking like a fireball as it flew through the air. She had to pull me out of that room, because I would have been content to watch the Phoenix soar through the air and interact with Ronnie for the remainder of my days.

The second vivarium had an entire beach beyond the door. I stumbled back at the sight of the massive creature that patrolled the shore. "Veronica Underhill...! Is that what I think it is?" I asked. I had thought there was nothing that could have surprised me further but seeing a Grapplehorn prowl along the sand definitely left me in shock.

"He helped me complete one of the Keeper's trials last year," she confirmed. "A lot of the creatures that we have rescued I have released back into the wild after ensuring that they were in safe locations, but some of them are still at risk from poachers. I'm working with Ellie, Peck, and Poppy to help house and relocate the remainder of the beasts before our time is up at Hogwarts."

"Poppy knows about this place?" I inquired.

"Yeah, as soon as the vivariums started popping up I brought her in to help," she explained. I looked away from the Nifflers that weaved in and out of Grapplehorns feet playfully to meet Ronnie's green eyes.

"Do you get along with him?" I wondered, turning my attention forward.

She walked a few steps further before turning to me with a sheepish grin. "Yeah, he lets me ride him," she confessed.

I shook my head in disbelief with a chuckle, moving closer to her, needing to be closer to her. "Of course he does!"

   Our movement caught the massive creatures attention and it turned to us. It ducked its head in Ronnie's direction as I place my hand on the small of her back. The moment my hand touched her the Grapplehorn immediately turned its attention to me. It's face shifting into a menacing growl as it's body began to glow orange with power. I slowly moved my hand from Ronnie's body. She held her hands up and bowed her head, motioning for me to do the same.

   "Kneel," she commanded. I could help but smirk at the excitement her command elicited in me. Not the time you horny bastard. I obeyed and dropped to one knee in the sand, lowering my gaze.

   The beast watched us for a moment before returning to its predatory prowl of the beach. Ronnie offered me her hand and helped me up. "Poppy is still trying to win him over, so don't be too offended that he wanted to kill you for coming into his territory," she informed me.

   "Well, that makes me feel a little better," I laughed.

...

"I would never leave this place if I were you! No wonder you  are so hard to find sometimes!" I remarked as she took me into the only vivarium I hadn't been in yet. It was dark and the air was heavy, a baby unicorn trotted right up to me, its hoofs clopping quietly along the marshy grass. I held out my hand and it nuzzled my hand. Ronnie left to go pick something up off of the rock and then came back to me holding a tuft of Kneezle fur. I turned back to the baby unicorn as it pranced around Ronnie, ramming its head playfully into her legs. A baby Thestral joined pestering her and she laughed talking to them and summoned a ball for them to play with.

She watched them smiling, using her wand to toss the ball around the room. An adult Thestral trotted over to her and rested its head on her shoulder. She patted it, leaning her head into its face with a peaceful smile. The familiarity she had with this Thestral seemed similar to what she had with the Phoenix, almost as if they were old friends. Despite all of the magical beasts around me, I couldn't help but stare at her. She was practically glowing with happiness and pride despite the dim light of the vivarium. She hadn't even cast Lumos, just enjoying the atmosphere. Her silver hair shimmered in the moonlight and blew lightly in the soft breeze. I wanted to remember her like this for the rest of my life, and I don't think I could forget the feeling in my heart as I watched her.