Against the dark Hearts

Before the final days

It was as if the wind had turned. Hogwarts seemed revived. The preparations for the ball were in full swing. As one walked through the corridors, one could see some students trying to find a partner for the ball.

I was glad that I didn't have to worry about that because Sebastian and I would, of course, go together. My dress hung ready in my closet, my hair clip lay in my trunk, ready to be used. I would wear simple, flat shoes. All that was missing was the ability to dance, as I had never learned.

I also had two left feet, as I recalled how Ominis and I had danced at the first secret party. I had stepped on his feet and he on mine.

"Hawkins," I heard someone call behind me, as I turned around, Leander Prewett ran towards me. "Hello Leander," I said and smiled at him friendly. "I'm on my way to lunch," I said, "What's up?"

"Oh, I'll accompany you," said the red-haired Gryffindor, so we went to the Great Hall together.

"So Hawkins, I wanted to talk to you about the ball," said Leander, I nodded, "Yes, I'm looking forward to it. Do you already have a dress robe?" I asked. Leander smiled, "Yes, I have one. I had it specially made, my great-great-grandchildren will wear it," he said confidently.

The Great Hall wasn't full yet, but my friends were already sitting together at the Slytherin table, chatting excitedly. I waved to them as they saw me and caught a glimpse of my companion, who looked confused when his eyes fell on me.

"So, what did you want to ask about the ball, Leander?" I asked, looking at the Gryffindor. He stood still, then straightened his shoulders and looked directly at me.

"I wanted to ask the heroine of Hogwarts -"

"You wanted to ask the heroine of Hogwarts what, Prewett?" a shadow stepped up beside me and put an arm around my shoulder.

"Sallow," Leander said curtly.

Sebastian looked as if he wanted to grab Leander by the collar, so I put a hand on his waist and held onto his vest.

"I think Leander just wanted to know if I know who Samantha is going to the ball with," I said, knowing fully aware that wasn't the real issue. "She hasn't found a date yet and has rejected some who asked her. I think she's waiting for someone special to ask her," I added. Leander looked at me gratefully.

"Yes, exactly, since you're in the same house! I'll go look for her," said the Gryffindor and quickly went over to the Ravenclaw table where Samantha was sitting.

I knew Samantha was waiting to be asked by Leander because she liked him. In the dormitory, there was chaos. Constance Dagworth had burst into tears when she found out that Arthur Abernathy already had a date. Meanwhile, Thallia McDowell, Violet McDowell's sister, could hardly keep up with all the invitations.

Evangeline and I were out of the situation, luckily our dates were set in stone, even if there were classmates who didn't care.

"That's why I don't like Gryffindor, they just don't get it when they can't have something,"

Sebastian gritted his teeth. I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"My love, I am a human and not a Golden Snitch," I said and got an apologetic look.

"Sorry, darling, I just want to make sure everyone knows you're mine," he whispered and leaned down to me. That was new. Sebastian only kissed me on the cheek in public before.

Now, however, he wanted to mark his territory, show that he would crush anyone who approached me in an inappropriate way. I allowed it, so the girls who couldn't take their eyes off him could at least see that I didn't belong only to him, but he also belonged to me.

When he pulled away from me, he had a sparkle in his eyes that I couldn't decipher.

"Shall we go to the others? I'm hungry," I said and we sat down with our friends at the table. Imelda looked at Sebastian as if she wanted to stab him with her fork.

When I told my friends that Sebastian was officially courting me, Imelda wanted to check if I had a fever and then watched for several days to see what drinks I was having and whether Sebastian was slipping Amortentia into them.

Poppy had asked me where Highwind was so she could fetch her and set her on Sebastian. I knew they were just concerned, but it was a struggle to keep them from going after him even though they had been friends with him as well. They had just sided with me because of how he had behaved.

"Where are Ominis and Evangeline?" I asked now, because the two of them weren't there. "Where do you think they might be?" Sebastian replied, but a glance at the entrance told me something else. Ominis was coming towards us. I pointed to him.

"I hardly think Evangeline is in the undercroft without Ominis," I said. "Maybe she's in the library," Imelda said, biting into her chicken. The undercroft was no longer a secret, but the only ones who knew where it was and were allowed in were Sebastian, Evangeline, Ominis, and me. Although Ominis had been quite a bitch last year when he found out that Sebastian had shown me the secret room, he had been pretty quick to join in when it came to showing it to Evangeline.

Otherwise, lunch went smoothly. I assumed Evangeline was too stressed about preparations for the ball to show up for class in the afternoon. Was I wrong? Yes. Was I aware of it at the time? No.

Evangeline wasn't in the library when I looked for her after lunch, and she didn't show up for class in the afternoon either. It wasn't until I returned to the dormitory in the evening that I found her already asleep in her bed.

While this was unusual for Evangeline, perhaps she was just sick. I had actually wanted to ask her if she could teach me how to dance, but that wouldn't happen that evening.

I laid down in my bed and read a little until I fell asleep on my book.