Passionate Professors || Sebastian Sallow

Part 1 | Ch. 45 - Flying Lessons

Another student collapsing in less than 24 hours sent the castle into a frenzy. We all decided it was best to send Gryffindor's poisoned Keeper, Grayson Holmes, to St. Mungo's immediately, wasting no time with the Hospital Wing. Thankfully, after talking with some of his distraught teammates, I learned he also happened to be a pure-blood.

Garreth apparated the two of them with a clap of his hands while Professor Kogawa and I stayed behind on the field to calm the students down. They were panicking about their teammate and rightfully so. We walked them all back to the castle from the Quidditch pitch, urging them to take a breather in the Gryffindor common room. Staying calm in the midst of chaos tested my strength as a professor. These students looked to us for answers and reassurance, even if we didn't have any.

Professor Kogawa invited me into her office and I followed her up the stone staircase off the front lawn.

"I feel absolutely terrible." She stated, sitting down at her desk with a sigh.

"You couldn't have known." I plopped in the armchair that sat in the corner of the room. The office was a tidy mess, full of Quidditch knickknacks and memorabilia. Clutter lined the bookshelves, which were dusty and untouched. A pile of mud covered robes sat beneath the only window. She likely spent most of her time outside flying and teaching, not needing her office for more than a secluded space to work occasionally.

"With the Headmaster's orders to avoid the potions from the closet in the dungeons, I assumed the small reserve we had in the Hospital Wing would be safe. Those were brewed last year and I always have a few on hand for practice." Chiyo scratched her head, the worry plastered across her face.

"I think anyone could have made that mistake." I reassured her, even though I probably wouldn't have. After the first incident last night, I think I could go the rest of my life staying away from consuming potions of any kind for myself and for my students.

Someone in the castle was tampering with Sebastian's supply and they obviously found out about the leftover potions in the Hospital Wing that Madam Francis kept handy. Nothing was safe anymore. If anyone needed healing, they'd have to do it the traditional way, slowly and without medicine.

"I could lose my job over this." She got up from her desk, frantically pacing around the room.

"I'm sure that Garreth's biggest concern right now isn't to blame you but to find out who did this to the potions and why." Nodding my head, I watched as she trudged back and fourth, a hand on her hip. Chiyo always had an antsy demeanor about her, people who loved flying as much as she did possessed the same characteristic. They could never sit still, their bodies needing to be frequently moving throughout the sky. It was like they experienced withdrawal if they went too long.

I noticed how her once deep black hair had faded, now peppered with silver strands, tied up in a tight bun. The tattered Gryffindor sweater she sported was rolled up at the sleeves and accompanied by scuffed leather elbow pads. A long and sweeping oak colored cape followed her hurried footsteps.

She looked almost identical to how she did when I had my very first flying class, just a bit older now.

"Alright everyone, we will be using today's class as a refresher on flying basics and agility." Professor Kogawa told us fifth years that stood out on the front lawn, the hot sun beating down through our robes. Everyone began shedding the extra layer and I followed suit, tossing mine on the grass behind me. "I know you all weren't practicing over the summer, I can tell by those stiff legs."

As if it were an unspoken rule, the class gathered at the loaner broom rack, each picking one off the wooden display.

"Psst, hey fifth year." The Slytherin boy I beat in a duel during Defense Against the Dark Arts earlier that day caught my attention. I awkwardly grabbed a broom and walked over to his side. "You've never ridden one of these, right?" I couldn't tell if he was being snide or genuinely curious.