Echoes of Emotion (Sebastian Sallow x OC)

Chapter 12 - The First Relic

I had never known a day to drag so long, and with the nerves of what was to come after, I debated whether or not that was actually a bad thing.
Thankfully, when it came to the final lesson of the day, I had Poppy distracting me as she told me every wonderful fact about beasts she could think of.
"You know, ever since you threatened that awful Slytherin last year, he hasn't dared to look at Persephone. Probably too scared to deal with Hogwarts saviour" she laughed as we fed the Kneazle.
I let out a hum in acknowledgement, my body feeling numb as the class was rapidly drawing to an end.
Poppy picked up on this, turning away from the pen to look at me.

"Did everything go okay last night?" she wondered.
I furrowed my brows in confusion, since she had been there herself.
Thankfully, she elaborated.
"Your talk with Sebastian. Ominis said something had happened before you got to Hogsmeade."
My expression softened as I recalled what she meant.
"Yes, it went okay... did Ominis say anything further?" I questioned, curiosity getting the better of me.
Poppy shrugged.
"He didn't say much. Only that you were both oblivious and it was getting annoying."
I laughed. It did sound like something Ominis would say.

"To be honest, I agree with him" Poppy added, to which I raised an eyebrow and she held up her hands, panicking as she realised what she said.
"Not the annoying part! Just that you're both being oblivious" she explained, which still didn't help the look on my face.
"We aren't oblivious, we just have a hard time communicating sometimes. Trust me, I find it frustrating at times." I grumbled, throwing food to Persephone as I briefly recalled the time he called me ignorant.

"That's not what makes you oblivious..." Poppy said, giggling slightly as she also turned back to the beasts.
"What is it then?" I wondered, which only made her laugh again.
"See, that's exactly what we mean. You can't see the way you look at each other. Or the way your voices change. For Merlin's sake, whenever one of you walks in the room you can barely keep your eyes off each other." It seemed like she wanted to go on, but she thankfully stopped when she saw my red face.
"That's not what you think it is. We admire each other." I simplified, trying desperately to not fall into this conversation again.
But Poppy didn't seem convinced.

"So what happened then?" Poppy asked with a grin, catching me off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean when we left. You're telling me it was just a normal conversation? No spark?" Poppy hinted.
I thought back to the night before.
A spark?
I had never really noticed anything major when we spoke.
However, when he told me how he couldn't lose me. The way his hand felt on mine.
It felt so right.
When I had leaned into him.
When I saw how pretty his eyes were.
When I had closed my eyes.
When all I could focus on was how he smelt like books and sandalwood.

"I'm taking your silence to mean that I'm right" Poppy giggled, taking me away from my thoughts.
I shook my head slightly, trying to shake away the embarrassment.
"I don't think Sebastian is really the type for that sort of thing. His mind is always elsewhere" I tried to think of another excuse, knowing that I wasn't in a position to deny whatever feelings I had.
"If you had said that last year, I probably would have agreed. But this year... something just seems different" Poppy observed, her smile becoming sincere as she looked at me.
My eyes widened for a moment, feeling my heart tighten at the thought of Sebastian in a new light.
I hung my head, the picture of his smile viewed through a dark lens as I remembered what had happened, and what was to come.
"With everything happening now. I think that it's the last thing he's worried about"

Poppy was about to say something else, when Professor Howin dismissed the class.
It was sudden, but the words shot through me like an arrow as the realisation of what came next sank in.
I immediately looked up at Poppy, who now also held a worried expression.
We nodded silently, trying to encourage each other.
We could do this.
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As we made our way to the map chamber, Poppy and I were almost completely silent.
All the bubbly energy from before was gone.
"I sure wish I had some liquid luck right now" Poppy eventually piped up, earning a nervous laugh from me.
"No matter what happens, we have strength in numbers." I tried to reassure both her and myself.
"Yes. I'm glad we have people like Natty and Sebastian there." She sighed, which I wholeheartedly agreed, given how they were both so advanced when it came to magic.
I knew I was the one with the ancient magic, but I had only been learning for a year.
"And if all else fails, maybe Ominis can use his sharp tongue" I smiled, earning a small laugh from Poppy.
However, as we opened the door of the bell tower entrance, we stopped in our tracks as we came face-to-face with Professor Black.
We both exchanged a worried glance as he glared at us.