Enchanted by freckles - Garreth Weasley & Sebastian Sallow x female MC

23rd chapter

The coming weeks passed quietly. It was now late November and significantly cooler. The trees had lost almost all their leaves.

Every now and then I ran into Sebastian in the crypt, who was still busy deciphering texts from Slytherin's book, so I was his pressure valve from time to time to vent some frustration. We harmonized quite well, even if we weren't as close emotionally as we were that night in Feldcroft. Sebastian was currently rather distant. I didn't know if it was me or because he was very stressed. After all, we almost always saw each other during class, and couldn't really interact with each other without arousing suspicion.

I spent most of my time with Garreth, as usual. Since we didn't see each other very often during class, we spent almost all of our free time in the Room of Requirement. It was wonderful. We cooked together, sometimes just lay around and listened to the music, bathed together and loved each other intensely.

However, during the school week we had to sleep in our dormitories, which frustrated us every night.

It was a late, rainy Sunday evening. We were laying on our couch in the Gryffindor common room. Garreth had been looking a bit sad all day, but he couldn't tell me what was bothering him."Oh man. I don't feel like sleeping alone anymore," Garreth said annoyed as the other sixth years went to their dormitories. "Neither do I, but what choice do we have?" I asked morosely.

"Let's just sleep here," Garreth said casually, "what's supposed to happen? Two students are sleeping together on a sofa in the common room. It's not as if we're fucking here," he said, becoming quieter towards the end. "Yes, but what if a teacher walks in here? Doesn't that cause a lot of trouble?" I asked. "I don't know. I really have no idea, but I wouldn't really care," Garreth said.

I took his hand and looked at it while saying, "Then we should sleep in our beds. I really don't want you to get expelled from school. How am I supposed to go on without you for more than a year and a half?". He hesitated a little before answering, "Then you would have enough time to catch up on what I denied you by keeping the others away from you. You could really live your life at Hogwarts freely for the first time and after the two years you would know whether you really want me by your side at all, or whether you just thought you did." Garreth answered coolly, his eyes on the fire in the fireplace.

I looked at him in surprise and flicked his forehead. "Ouch, why are you-" Garreth wanted to complain when I cut him off: "Garreth, I know that I want you. Even though you didn't give me any real choice, my feelings for you are real. You didn't forced me to love you, you were just there, and you were better for me than anyone else. And even if I can't turn off my feelings for Sebastian, he will never be to me what you are to me. When I picture my wedding I see you as the groom by my side, when I think about what my first child looks like, it has red hair and freckles, and when I picture old and graying on a bench sitting by a lake and watching the ducks, I see you next to me. Yes, I have feelings for Sebastian, but that doesn't change the way I feel about you in any way."

He continued to look into the fire, but his facial expression was a little more relaxed again.

"Garreth, why are you doubting me so much?" I asked, confused. He turned to me and stroked my cheek with his thumb. "I'm not doubting you, Caelie, I'm doubting myself. I've always been so insecure, and I've done so much to make you feel the same way about me as I do about you. And now I'm just afraid that someone will come along, even if it's Sallow, who can make you happier. Someone who can offer you more. Someone who is smarter, better looking or more charming than me. Someone to show you that your feelings for me aren't as deep as you might think, someone who-"

I put my fingers to his lips. His eyes were teary-eyed. "Everything will be fine Garreth, don't let your self-doubt get you down. I would give you the unbreakable vow right here and now, unfortunately I don't know how to do it, but I won't leave you. Not for Sebastian, not for, I don't know why you saw THEM as a risk, Leander or anyone else. I want to spend my life with you. I don't know where Sebastian will be. Maybe I want him near me too, but first and foremost I remain your friend."