Against the dark Hearts

Chapter 53

"What are you talking about?" Ominis asks, looking at me as if I've gone insane.

Evangeline looks at me in shock and shifts uncomfortably, as if feeling very uneasy. I expected nothing less. That's exactly the reaction I would have had if someone had told me something like that.

What else am I supposed to say? I don't know much more than that myself. Ominis looks helplessly past me. Evangeline's gaze is distant, somewhere far away.

"You mean to tell me he's back at Hogwarts and hasn't contacted me?" Ominis asks. The question is rhetorical, of course, it's exactly what I'm saying. He appeared at Hogwarts first, and if I hadn't told Ominis, it might have taken him a long time to find out. His expression is now filled with disappointment. I can understand it. They were like brothers once, and he didn't even send him an owl. I would not only be disappointed, I would be angry and sad. I am angry and sad because it seems he was well enough to reach out. He just chose not to.

"I don't know, Ominis. I've been avoiding him. He's changed, there's something different about him, and honestly, I don't know if I should be near him," I reply. I am a danger to myself, and to some extent, to the people around me. Someone like Sebastian can throw me off balance to the point where my magic goes haywire. After all, I am the only living Keeper, and while I have more control over the ancient magic, emotional outbursts can be dangerous.

"So, he's at Hogwarts right now? At this moment?" Ominis asks. I nod hesitantly, but of course, he can't see that, so I quickly add, "Yes." Ominis gets up and goes into the house. I look at Evangeline with concern, but she's still staring into the distance.

"Eve?" I ask cautiously, gently stroking her arm. She breaks her gaze and looks at me. Her eyes are full of worry. She tilts her head and reaches for my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine.

"I thought he was dead," she whispers. "How can he still be alive?" She says it in a way that no one nearby would hear, not even Ominis when he comes out of the house again. I stroke her hand with my thumb and look at her encouragingly.

"Eve, I cried myself to sleep every day for two years, and even afterwards, because I thought I would never see him again. It's as if a ghost has come back to life before my eyes," I say the words without emotion in my voice, because otherwise, I would start crying again. I cried for him every day. I was eighteen when he was taken from us. I wasn't an adult. I was still a child. Back then, I thought I had lost my childhood, but today I know that's not true. I was a child. A tormented child covered in scars. Of course, I cried. My first great love was snatched away from me, and I didn't waste any last words on him because I thought he wanted me to choose him and let our friends die.

"Why is he still alive, Elisabeth?" Evangeline asks insistently. Her gaze is warning. Why is she looking at me like that?

"I don't know."

Why is he still alive? Why didn't Margaret Grimward kill him? Why is he at Hogwarts?

"Elisabeth, the fact that he's here doesn't bode well," Evangeline says.

"I don't understand what you mean," I reply. Sebastian would never hurt me or any of his friends, no matter what happened. He wouldn't betray us, would he?

"Be careful, don't let him manipulate you again. He's good with words, and he doesn't even have to use them on you," she says. I furrow my brow. Evangeline is right. Sebastian just has to look at me, and I crumble like a house of cards blown by the wind. Back then, he just had to send an owl, and I dropped everything to help him. He almost threw me off the Astronomy Tower, and not even half a year later, I slept with him like a cheap whore.

"I'll stay away from him," I reply, but Evangeline vigorously shakes her head. "No, if you do that, it's like an opiate addict constantly passing by opium dens to test if they can still resist. Eventually, you would give in. I remember how you cried at night because you saw him kissing Nerida Roberts."

I recoil and look at her guiltily. I truly was the epitome of an unhappily in love girl. I probably still am.

"I'll try to be normal and see his presence as a habit?" I ask, and Evangeline nods. "It's been seven years. You're an adult, so act like one."

Before I can respond, Ominis steps out of the house. He's dressed to go out.

"Where are you going?" Evangeline asks when she sees him. "Beth and I are going to Hogwarts, we're reuniting the old trio."

I stare at Ominis. He looks determined. He won't engage in a discussion, and I don't want to argue with him either.

Sebastian owes him an explanation. If anyone deserves answers, it's Ominis.

I stand up and say goodbye to Evangeline. I go back into the house to say goodbye to Elisa as well. Ominis and I ride in a carriage instead of flying. Ominis doesn't fly on brooms. He looks like he's preparing to give someone a beating. His jaw is tense, and his hands are clenched into fists. I hardly dare to say anything. He's angry. His best friend didn't even contact him, and he's been at Hogwarts for days.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," Ominis says after a moment of silence. I stare at him. Ominis can be cynical and mean. Sarcasm is his third language, but he only says something like that when he's truly, truly disappointed.

"Maybe there's an explanation," I say, but Ominis dismisses the sentence with a wave of his hand. "Please, Beth, don't start defending him. You're not a brainless Hufflepuff blindly following your master's every command. Behave like a Ravenclaw and be smart."

I snort indignantly and cross my arms over my chest. "I don't know any brainless Hufflepuff," I reply. "Besides, it might be good for you to think and not act impulsively like a Gryffindor, pushing courage aside."

We do the other Hogwarts houses an injustice. Hufflepuffs are not brainlessly loyal. They are loyal friends, reliable, hardworking, and fair, but certainly not brainless. And Gryffindors are not always hasty. They dare to do more than most, which is why they often find themselves in stupid situations.

"Why didn't he even send me an owl, Elisabeth? Am I irrelevant to him now?" Ominis asks desperately, and there's pure sorrow in his eyes. What am I supposed to say to that?

"I don't know. I don't understand any of this anyway. He just showed up out of nowhere, and no one seems to find that strange," I reply.

"He used to be my best friend. Why doesn't he think it's necessary to send a sign of life?"

"I'd like to know that too," I reply as the carriage comes to a stop. We're here. "What are you going to say to him?" I ask.

"I don't know."