Moments In Between

Secrets Revealed

A blast of cold air blew right through Andromeda as she stood on the outskirts of Upper Hogsfield. She had received an owl from Sebastian earlier in the day asking to meet him here in the middle of the night. He believed he may have found the location of a piece of canvas for the triptych that they had discovered in the Undercroft. She was walking in search of her friend, wishing she was back in her warm bed at Hogwarts. A voice called out from behind her.

"Andromeda! Over here!"

Turning her head to the sound of her name, she found Sebastian waving at her from what looked like to be a cemetery. A shiver traveled down her spine as she made her way over to her friend.

"Did you find it? I hope I didn't make you wait too long. It's bloody freezing!"

"If you think this is cold, wait until we are in the dead of winter." Sebastian shook his head. "I haven't found it yet but I did recognize this view when we were in the Undercroft. I sleuthed around before you showed up and I stumbled upon an abandoned mine! It's loaded with Ranrok's loyalists, which only means that they are looking for something. I think it would be a good place to start our search."

"I agree and we should not waste any more time. Should we head out?" Andromeda was about to turn around when Sebastian suddenly grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Actually...can we talk for a minute?"

Noting a change in his tone of voice, she stared at him for a moment and gave him a slow nod. "Alright. May I ask what is this about?"

Sebastian withdrew his hand and let out a slow exhale. "First, I wanted to apologize for how I reacted the other day when we were in the Undercroft. I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and lashed out at you. I did not mean that at all!" His eyes fell to the ground. "I'm sorry. I just felt that neither you nor Ominis were supportive of my findings in the spellbook."

This apology came to Andromeda as a surprise. Sebastian has avoided both her and Ominis after their quarrel in the Undercroft. Where was this all coming from?

"We are just both cautious when it comes to meddling with the Dark Arts, Ominis more so than me. I can understand that the relic has given you hope to find a cure for Anne, but I fear for what is to come." She could already feel her mind racing with endless possibilities. "What if the relic does not work? What if it causes more harm than good?"

"Andromeda! We simply do not know if any of that will happen! We need to at least try to find it. I would really appreciate your help. If it turns out the relic is completely useless, I promise to stop and find another way to help my sister."

She bit the inner cheek of her mouth, unsure if Sebastian was being truthful or not. He did the same thing with Ominis when he made the promise to stop pursuing the Dark Arts.

Why would he treat her any differently?

A long breath extinguished from her lips. "Alright. I'll help you. Should we go now?"

"Actually..." Sebastian paused for a moment and ran his hand through his hair. Andromeda could hear him muttering to himself. "How do I say this?"

She studied the tongue-tied Slytherin while he gathered the courage to ask her a personal question.

"What is going on between you and Ominis?"

Andromeda's stomach immediately dropped as her eyes grew wide in shock. Just the sound of Ominis' name sent a wave of warmth throughout her body. She tried to keep her voice steady when she asked, "What are you talking about?"

"How the bloody do I know Andromeda!? I thought maybe you could tell me!" Sebastian began to pace back and forth right in front of her. "I have noticed a change between the two of you ever since we found the scriptorium. When Ominis was in full panic over the Cruciatus curse, I watched you calm him down with such ease. And that morning in the Great Hall! Ominis ran straight after you when he found out you were writing those letters to him. I know the two of you have been spending more time together since I see the both of you come out of the Undercroft all the time. He was never like this before you came to Hogwarts!"

She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right words.

"And that's...bad?"

Sebastian stopped walking and stood in silence. He looked up to the sky and sighed. "No." He turned his head back in her direction. "Ominis is one of my closest friends and suddenly, I am seeing a side of him that I never knew to exist until you came along and changed everything."

"Oh..."

"Andromeda, I can say this with confidence. You mean quite a lot to Ominis."

A small blush blossomed across her cheeks. She knew her feelings for Ominis were becoming obvious, especially after her conversation with Natty and now, Sebastian. It seems that he was hinting that Ominis possibly feels the same way and that thought alone made her heart skip a beat.

"I need you to listen closely for what I am going to say stays between us. Do you understand?"

"Of course!" Sebastian placed his hand over his chest. "I shall not say a word to anyone."

Andromeda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Once she says these words out loud, it will only make it more real to her.

"You are correct. There is something going on..." She clasped her hands together, feeling the sweat build beneath her palms.

"I do have feelings for Ominis."

"I knew it!"

"Let me finish!" She took a step back and pressed her lips. "I know these feelings are more than friendship but I am hesitant to move forward at the moment. With everything that is going on, I cannot risk our friendship. At least...for now."

Sebastian moved in closer to Andromeda. "I can understand your hesitancy but don't you think it would be best to just tell him how you feel?" He lowered his voice. "I am aware that there is a lot going on but if you continue to suppress your feelings, I suspect you may actually explode. Besides, I believe Ominis would be rather pleased to hear what you have to say to him."

Andromeda could not help but laugh. "Sebastian? Are you actually trying to give me advice?"

"Well, if you don't explode first, I certainly will. I can only handle the two of you acting like baffling buffoons for so long. I may go absolutely mental and need to be sent to Saint Mungo's."

"Alright. I will most certainly think on it but at least allow me to have a bit more time."

Sebastian gave her a small smile. "Understood." He gestured in the direction of the mine and asked, "Shall we?"

As they started their trek together, Sebastian sighed, "And here I thought I had a chance with you."

"Are you upset that I did not fall for your charming personality and dashing looks?"

He casually shrugged. "Most girls do, which is why you caught me off-guard. But instead, you fell for my closed-off best friend. How peculiar."

"I guess I just prefer to be threatened to be expelled during my first few weeks at Hogwarts."

"Ha!" Sebastian burst into a fit of laughter. "I will have to remember that the next time I want to win over a girl. But in all honesty, you have my complete support for whatever happens. You are truly a good friend and I trust that you will take great care of Ominis. I have already seen it firsthand."

Andromeda smiled to herself. "Thanks. I hope everything works out in the end."

Sebastian glanced over at her with a playful smirk. "Oh, if only I could reveal how Ominis gushes about you when he and I are alone. Sometimes it's too much that it makes me almost want to gag. Too bad he had me swear to never tell a single soul."

Andromeda stopped dead in her tracks. "Wait...Ominis talks to you about me?!?"

Sebastian picked up the pace and made a run towards the mine. "I can't tell you all my secrets! Now come on, we got to investigate in order to find this piece of canvas!"

"You have got to be joking. Sebastian!" She cried out to him as she sprinted right after him to catch up. "You can't do that! You have to tell me!"