Passionate Professors || Sebastian Sallow

Part 1 | Ch. 42 - Blackmail

The whipping wind and heavy mist outside was enough to send Sebastian and I using floo powder instead of flying on our brooms to get ourselves to his manor on the Cape. One dusty throw of the green smokeless flame took us to the bottom of the hill where the manor grounds began. We trudged up the stone path, our hair dampening with the light rain.

Sebastian's house elf, Waymon, was already opening the large wood carved front doors before we reached the top of the final staircase. "Master Sallow, how wonderful to see you."

We stood in the foyer, catching our breath and shaking off the moisture from our skin and clothes. "Waymon, is either Willow or Ominis here?" Sebastian asked the small house elf, who was extending his bony arms up to take our bags.

"No, Master Sallow. Waymon saw Willow leave for work this morning and Ominis had to run some errands." The creature bowed his head.

"Thank you. If anyone asks, we were never here." We brushed by, headed straight for the basement which housed both Sebastian's elaborate ingredients and potions workshops. I guess he didn't want Ominis and Willow to find out we had paid the manor a visit. At least not until he was able to confront them both about what I uncovered in my dreams.

The cool potions workshop was pitch black until Sebastian muttered an incantation, illuminating the space instantly. Torches lining the walls lit in dancing flames, flickering off the dingy stone. Nothing was out of place, each worn cauldron sat in the same spot as last time I had been down there just five days ago. The vials on the shelves remained untouched and the overstuffed bookshelves were as neat and orderly as they could be. Sensing my observations, Sebastian said, "if either of them poisoned my ingredients, they wouldn't dare touch anything in here."

I silently nodded, still gawking at the sheer professionalism of the workshop. Even though I had seen it before, it still amazed me how much care and effort he put into all of it. Of course Matilda Weasley offered him the Potions Master after seeing this space, who wouldn't? His passion clearly bled through his work. He may not have opened his potions cart but this...this was so much better.

Sebastian busied himself at a bookshelf, thumbing through texts, presumably looking for something to help him test his ingredients. He flipped through a thick book before shelving it again, reaching for another one. I watched as he licked his finger to turn a stuck page, something he typically did in concentration. A tingle went down my spine at the sight of his tongue.

"Ah, yes here it is." He said to himself, walking over to an empty cauldron nearby, brows furrowed. "Yes, I thought that's what it was."

"What is it?" I joined him at the table, peering over his arm, which was leaning on the surface with the book splayed open.

"I need to take the presumably tainted ingredient and brew it with what's called a stripping potion...no G, not like that." He rolled his eyes as I snickered at the name of what he was about to make. "Anyway, you add what you want to test into a mixture of boiling molasses, water, and frog legs, don't ask me why you need the frog legs."

I loved watching his knowledge hard at work, solving problems with what he learned over the years. He habitually rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.

"The mixture isolates the poison somehow and if it's present, the molasses and water will burn off, leaving just the frog legs. If there's no poison in there, nothing will happen, the concoction will remain unchanged." Sebastian ran his finger along the words on the page, rereading them again under his breath. "I should have some molasses upstairs in the kitchen. I'll be right back." He was about to run up the stairs before he stopped himself, kissing my forehead lightly. "Thank you for coming, it means a lot to have you here."