A few days had passed since mine and Sebastian's venture to the restricted section, still keeping it a secret from Ominis, we started devising a plan in the undercroft. The dark cold walls were now laced with parchment covered with our thoughts and theories in a desperate attempt to get one step ahead.
I sit on the floor of the undercroft drawing out my new found family tree, looking for other connections that could possibly give us a lead on Harlow.
"It's no use! This book is useless" Sebastian sighs, slamming the dark curses book shut.
I look up from my parchment for a moment "we have it narrowed down to three possible curses Sebastian, it's a start" I respond, before focusing my attention back down.
"Well it's not good enough" he grunts, now pacing back and fourth. I bring myself to my feet and head over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.
"We'll figure it out" I say calmly, he offers me a short smile before we both turn our attention to the wall of parchment, staring at it intently hoping for something to jump out at us.
"When we catch him, we'll make him reverse the curse, that's a promise" I say softly, breaking the long pause of silence.
"I knew it!" Ominis shouts, standing behind us.
"Ominis?" I ask, quickly turning around to see his figure before us, flickering with the low lit candles that barely light the room.
"You broke your promises" he replies, his jaw clenched as he walks towards us.
"We're sorry Ominis, but we had to" Sebastian adds, his head hangs low in disappointment of letting his best friend down again.
"You had to? No, you wanted to there's a difference" Ominis responds bluntly.
"Ominis, Harlow is my uncle, this is a lot more serious than we thought" I interrupt.
"Your uncle?" he replies.
"Yes... We found an ancestry book whilst browsing the restricted section the other day, he's my mothers brother" I continue, passing Ominis the book, he runs his fingers over the braille of the page.
"Please understand Ominis, I have to get a step ahead if I want to stop him, but not just for me, for Anne too, he can reverse the curse that Rookwood put on her" I continue.
Ominis pauses for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "You two aren't going to stop are you?" He asks.
Me and Sebastian glance at each other before shaking our heads at him "no, we're not" I reply.
"Fine, I suppose you best fill me in with everything you have. Someone needs to be the voice of reason in all of this" he says, giving in to our plans.
"Thank you Ominis" I say smiling at him. "We don't have much but we've narrowed Annes curse down to three possibilities, as for Harlow and my family tree there is no information there, unfortunately none of my family is still alive to help us" I continue.
"This is a lot to take in Y/N" Ominis replies.
"It is, and we've been down here for hours, shall we go and grab some dinner and take a break?" Sebastian asks.
We all agree to leave the undercroft and take a break, giving Ominis time to process everything and us a moment of fresh air before bringing our heads back together. As we leave the undercroft and walk past the staircase to the defence against the dark arts classroom I see Poppy running towards us.
"There you are!" She shouts.
"Poppy! What's wrong?" I question.
"We need to go to the great hall now, there's a new student joining us and they're a sixth year!" She exclaims, dragging me by the arm towards the main doors.
"A new student? In the middle of the year?" Sebastian asks.
"That doesn't make any sense" Ominis adds.
***
We take our seat at the Slytherin table, a loud mummer of people whispering to each other about the rumours of a new student. Eye's instantly lock on me.
"Another late entry, ugh, the last thing we need is another one of you Y/N" Imelda says rolling her eyes at me. I simply shake my head and ignore her comment.
"Attention students. As I am sure you have all heard by now there is a new student joining us today. They are transferring from Durmstrang and will be joining the sixth year class. Please be welcoming, and no we are not going to make a habit of late entries, the student has recently moved here so it is a special exception" Headmaster Black says, quickly shooting a look at me before continuing to address the hall.
"Theodore Riddle, can you please make your way to the front for the sorting ceremony" he continues. The doors of the great hall swing open as a male figure is assisted down the aisles alongside Professor Weasley, as he approaches my eyes widen.
"That's him" I whisper.
"Who?" Sebastian asks.
"The one from the alleyway" I respond. As our eyes lock onto the familiar face, he turns to look at me, our eyes now fixated on each other as he walks towards the podium. He flashes his teeth at me before turning his attention back to the front. The whole room is silent as we watch him take a seat.
"Slytherin!" The sorting hat shouts, cheers start bellowing from around the room as they welcome Theodore, he makes his way over to our table, taking a seat at the end, his eyes back on me. Students gather around him as he introduces himself to his classmates.
"Let's go" I say in a low voice, dragging both Ominis and Sebastian away from the table, sneaking out of the hall.
"You've got to be fucking joking!" I let out, my hands pressed against the side of my head as I throw it back in anger.
"What is he doing here?" Ominis asks.
"Merlin knows, it's probably something to do with Y/N" Sebastian replies, pointing at me.
"This is a lot worse than we thought" I say in a panic, my breathing now becoming quick and heavy as I press my back against a nearby wall.
"What are we going to do?" Ominis asks. Before any of us can reply, the doors open and students start flooding out, heading towards their common rooms.
"Archer, nice to see you again" I hear a voice say, I slowly look up to see Theodore standing in front of us with a cheeky, devious smile on his face.
"Fuck off Riddle" Sebastian snaps, pushing him against the wall. Without thinking I draw out my wand and press it against his chest.
"You better tell me what the fuck you're doing here or I'll end you right now" I say through my teeth.
"Expelliarmus!" Professor Weasley shouts, disarming me instantly.
"Miss Archer, this is no way to welcome a new student" she says. I take a step back, a crowd now formed around us. "I will see you all in detention, and 10 points will be taken from each of you" she continues.
"Mr Riddle, please will you come with me and we'll get you settled in" she says, now looking at Theodore. He nods back at her and they walk away, he gives me one last glance smiling at me. I feel anger rise inside of me, my fists now clenched down by my side.
"Jealous are we Y/N?" Imelda laughs.
"Piss off Imelda, now's not the time" I reply bluntly.
"Can't be the popular new kid forever" she replies shrugging her shoulders before walking off.
This situation just became a whole lot worse...
YOU ARE READING
In The Shadow of Love // Sebastian Sallow x Reader
RomanceAfter a perfect end to 5th year and a fantastic summer, the Slytherin trio is stronger than ever, you kept in touch during the holiday whilst you headed off on some solo travels. You are heading back for 6th year and all is well, until you receive a...
