Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
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The smell of cinnamon overwhelms me, bringing my senses alive. Intuitively, I reach for April but the realization dawns that I not only don't feel her near me but I am alone in this bed. And the scent isn't April, it's–
Where the hell am I ?
Panic sets in. Fear prevents me from opening my eyes to find myself again in Ladakh. Alone.
Before my logic can catch up, a primitive sense kicks my body upwards with a shock, and I frantically inhale with the rush of anxiety that has thrown me so harshly into this new day.
"Woahhh heyy," I hear April sweetly call from across the room, "you okay?"
Thank Merlin.
I shake my head to speed up the arduous process of waking. I grunt an "mm" sound in response. As my mind begins to activate, my eyes come into focus.
Bloody. Gorgeous.
April is walking towards me, paying very close attention to the almost-overflowing steaming mugs she carries in each hand. Her disheveled hair is in a messy, giant bunch that flops at the top of her head. Her toned legs peek through the break in the totally ludicrous, completely cheeky – and fucking fantastic – Slytherin robe she's wearing. I hate how much I love it. And I hate how much I love that she put it on in the first place. Or that she's still wearing it. Only now, she's fashioned a tie around the middle to hold it together like a traditional morning robe – though the front of it plunges deeply and exposes the skin of her chest and I'm not sorry to see it. It physically aches to feel how beautiful she is to me.
My mind floods with the memories of last night and a confounding blend of emotions begin to simmer in their familiar undertow through my veins.
Did I go too far? Should I apologize?
::Sorry for the best fuck of her life?::
Shit.
::Bloody animal.::
"Okay, so I went out on a limb!" April says, excitedly. "If you hate it, I won't be mad." She puts down a mug on the nightstand next to me. "I'm not sure how you take it, or if you even–" her face registering instant regret at attempting a sip, "–nope! Still too hot!"
"Alright, give me that," I pester as I reach for her mug and her free hand. "Is this chai?" I ask as I set the beverage down next to mine.
"Yeah," she begins as I begin to pull her on top of me. My groggy mind finds a foothold of clarity with the sound of her laughter as she fits perfectly into place. She explains, "I think it's from India, right? I thought you might–"
Selfishly, I kiss her. I wrap my arms around her. I pull her into me and cherish that the first thing I get to do this morning is kiss her. As we part, April smiles widely and simply says "hi," in a definitive way that pulls at a handful of long-forgotten, loose threads in my heart that seem to begin to sort themselves with the sight of her biting her lip as she beams down at me.
