Passionate Professors || Sebastian Sallow

Part 1 | Ch. 30 - Imperio

The dream startled me, sending waves of nausea up and down my body. How could I possibly have had access to a memory that I wasn't present for, something not even Sebastian remembered and see if from a perspective of an onlooker. I shook off the fitful sleep as he snored peacefully next to me. At least I wasn't thrashing around like I normally did. Carefully climbing out of bed, I wandered into the bathroom, splashing water on my face, cooling my fiery cheeks.

I grasped the side of the sink with my palms, steading myself. If what I saw was true, Ominis had put Sebastian under the Imperius Curse to destroy my letters, rendering him oblivious that they even existed. No, there's no way that could be how things happened. Ominis spent his entire life defying his dark past, refusing to be dragged into his family's ways. But something tugged at my gut, something pierced through my body and somehow, I knew it was real.

I asked myself again, how could a memory reveal itself to me if I wasn't there? Had my ancient magic powers given me the ability? I hadn't used them in a while, not needing to wield the familiar burning glow. The room spun and I held the porcelain harder, bile rising in my throat. I retched in the sink, unable to fully process what I had just seen.

Sebastian scrambled into the room, his sleep-filled, concerned face appearing behind me in the mirror as I continued to empty the contents of my stomach. He put a warm hand on my back, rubbing in circles.

"Are you okay?" He asked when I finally stopped.

I rinsed my mouth out and dried my sweat covered face with a towel. "Just another nightmare," I half-lied. What I witnessed was dreadful and even worse than anything my mind could've come up with on its own.

"It's been a while since you had one." He took my hands and guided me to the bed, sitting down next to me on the edge. The moonlight made his worried eyes sparkle and he wrapped his arms around me. I squinted at the clock which read 3:21 am. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I just want to go back to sleep and forget that it happened." I didn't mean for the words to come out harshly but they did.

My tone must not have bothered Sebastian because he climbed back into bed and pulled me close, my head pressed against his chest and his cheek on my head. Thankfully the dream didn't continue when his steady heartbeat lulled me back to sleep.

——

Thursday and Friday breezed by as I got more comfortable with teaching and my schedule. I was surprised at how naturally it came to me despite how nervous I had initially been. After my final class on Friday, I wanted to sneak off to the Restricted Section and do more research. I wasn't sure where to begin with the memory I had witnessed or what kind of magic that was. Instead, I decided to start on learning more about the Imperius Curse. As much as I knew about the three Unforgivables, 'Imperio' stumped me the most. Sebastian had taught me in the Undercroft late one night, hoping I'd never have to put it in practice. Unfortunately, I did use it once.

The suffocating catacomb was dusty with dried mud as Sebastian and I stood in the center of a large opening, the relic from Salazar Slytherin on a nearby decrepit table. Sebastian had read about it in his ancient texts and begged me to come looking for it with him. I had protested at the start but ultimately gave in, his determination for his sister was contagious.

He lingered nearby, debating on whether he should pick it up with his bare hands.

"I'm not sure, Sebastian, this seems dangerous, this is really dark magic," I paced the musty floor.

"We need it to save Anne, I have to try everything, she needs me." He pleaded, his eyes narrowed on the triangular golden artifact.

"Stop!" Footsteps approached from a nearby tunnel and a red-blinking light gave away who's they belonged to. Ominis Gaunt. He had followed us down here. "You told me the Scriptorium was the end of it, you said you were done with trying to find answers!"