Consuming Darkness: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 38

-Ronnie-

Why were there so many damned stairs in Hogwarts. It didn't matter how many times I ran up and down these stairs, they didn't get any less annoying. I walked down the stairs coming from Divinations and headed towards Charms. It seemed as if it was on the other side of the school, at least to my legs. I had also been running around far less this year than I had last year, so I was not nearly as well conditioned.

I felt someone drape their arm across my shoulder as they said "Well, well... if it isn't my favorite Slytherin."

I spat red hair out of my mouth, and rolled my eyes. "Hello Gareth," I grumbled, looking to my right to see the red-headed Gryffindor sidling up next to me. I heard more footsteps and turned to see Finnian walking beside me to my left. "Oh, hello Finnian," I added more cheerfully.

"Hello Veronica," Finnian greeted, his golden curly hair bouncing as he kept pace with us. He had become a much more frequent visitor in my life. I wasn't mad about it, he seemed like a welcome addition to my assorted group of friends.

"No one really calls me Veronica," I told him as I shoved away from Gareth. Except Ominis, who seemed to exclusively call me by my full name. And Sebastian did, but only occasionally, and more to tease me. It felt like their thing.

"No one really calls me Finnian," He teased.

"Oh get a room," Gareth called out loudly, causing heads to turn in our direction. "Or we could get a room?" He said to me with a laugh.

"Ahhhh... Leave the lass alone would ya?" Finnian mused before I could respond to him. "Plus I do believe she is dating Sallow?" he added.

I felt my cheeks get warm.

"Good for you Veronica! He was finally man enough to ask you out? About damn time!" Gareth exclaimed and pulled me tightly against his body once more, tousling my hair. The braid I had done this morning was sure to be a complete mess now. Had it really been so obvious to everyone that he and I were romantically involved with each other?

I shoved him off of me for a second time and rolled my eyes, dropping the books I'd had in my hands in the process. "Piss off Gareth," I retorted with a chuckle, and bent down to pick up my books. Finnian scooped them up quickly and handed them to me. I thanked him as Gareth eyed me with a suspicious smirk but said nothing, thankfully. Just because he didn't think to help me didn't mean that someone who did was into me.

"You've practically lived in the Infirmary with him for the last week," he pointed out. "When will Prison Warden Blainey release him from her clutches?"

"Tomorrow, hopefully. She wants him to have the weekend so he can slowly get back to normal life before starting classes back up on Monday," I told them.

"About time!" Finnian exclaimed.

"Agreed! The past few weeks you've been looking a little..." Gareth looked me up and down as he searched for the right words, "ghastly... lately-" His face was twisted with concern as he took in my appearance.

"Ghastly?" I asked, taken a back by his choice of words.

"You've been like a shade wandering the halls. In class, you hardly talk to anyone and you look like you haven't slept in months," Gareth explained. Where did he get off? It wasn't like it was true... sort of, but I did not understand why he was so concerned about me and what I was doing.

"But it's totally understandable... You've been through so much Ronnie..." Finnian added with a sympathetic smile. "You've done so much for everyone at this school, and it seems to be weighing on you." I barely knew Finnian and here he was, analyzing and reading me as if I were a children's book. Was I truly that easy to read that Weasley and a boy I'd only recently met were able to deduce my struggles?