Endgame (Sebastian Sallow x F!MC)

Endgame

The end of term was quickly approaching, and for seventh years this meant that they'd soon sit for the N.E.W.T.s that would determine their futures. Despite his penchant for adventure and occasional trouble-making, Sebastian had always been an excellent student with high marks, but even he had been taking time to study for the impending exams. That evening, he had skipped dinner to make use of the library while it was at its quietest, tucked away in an upstairs alcove with his nose buried in a textbook. It wasn't until Madam Scribner's scolding pulled him out of his concentration that he realized he had lost track of time and was about to miss curfew. Not that it really mattered-how much of his time at Hogwarts had been spent exploring the castle after hours when everyone else was asleep?

Nevertheless, he packed up his books and hurried along so as to not give the librarian another opportunity to send him to detention-he was already close to beating his previous year's record. On the way to the Slytherin common-room, he recounted the day in his head, reminding himself of all the upcoming assignments he still needed to complete: thirty inches on Occlumency for Professor Hecat, another twenty on antiderivatives for Arithmancy, and...he was forgetting something. Was the potions work due tomorrow, or the following week? Perhaps Sloane could refresh his memory.

Sebastian suddenly stopped in his tracks, realizing very suddenly that he had gone the entire day without seeing her. They (regrettably) only shared one class that semester, and Professor Sharp had been keen enough to separate them as soon as he became privy to their relationship, not wanting 'young love' to distract them from their studies. He did not recall seeing her that morning at the potions station with her house-mate Poppy Sweeting, but had been distracted by another one of Garreth Weasley's experiments gone wrong. Come to think of it, Sloane had not met him for their usual lunch rendezvous on the flying field either-he had chalked it up to her being equally busy with preparing for the N.E.W.T.s.

He cursed his preoccupied mind, disappointed he hadn't noticed her absence earlier. Was she sick? Maybe he could sneak up to the Hospital Wing and check. He hoped she was not off on another adventure, without him. The more likely scenario was that she was already tucked in bed, safe and sound within the Hufflepuff common-room, a place in which he was absolutely prohibited from entering. Or maybe she was elsewhere-the greenhouse? The Undercroft? The problem with living in a castle was that it was a maze of never-ending and ever-changing corridors. There were literally a million different places Sloane could be. Sebastian pondered her whereabouts for another moment before deciding to listen to his gut, and made for the Astronomy tower.

Once in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, Sebastian closed his eyes and concentrated, thinking only of finding Sloane. He thought about the Room of Requirement in which she had shared with him the previous year, and how much quality time they had spent there ever since. He paced in one direction, smiling at the memory of when she had kissed his cheek for the first time in front of the mallowsweet plants. Turning on his heel, he crossed back in front of the dancing trolls and thought about when one of her many Nifflers stole his pocket-watch, never to be seen again. On his last pass along the corridor, he remembered when he confessed to Sloane that he loved her, and how the room around her changed in reaction to her emotions.

The door appeared, taking up space on the otherwise empty wall as if it had been there all along. Sebastian wasted no time, the entrance disappearing behind him as soon as he crossed the threshold. He expected Deek to greet him at the end of the short hall, but the house-elf was nowhere to be found. He craned his neck to look up at the somewhat infinite sky of the main room, somewhat surprised by the change in ambiance. It was usually sunny and bright, the sound of songbirds echoing throughout-it fit Sloane's personality perfectly. Tonight, however, the room was dark, moonlight spilling through floating clouds and casting long shadows across the walls and floor. Even though it was late-spring, there was a chill to the air, causing a shiver to crawl up his spine.