In the Shadow of Darkness | Sebastian Sallow

The Great Sallow

On Sunday morning, I opted for a simple tan plaid skirt and waistcoat over a linen blouse and a yellow ribbon tie. Best to blend in, I thought with a smile as I adjusted the long skirts to lay over my petticoats. This had been one of my most worn outfits before discovering I was a witch, and even at present it remained one of my favorites—though I noted I would have to let out the hem again soon as it was becoming a bit short. I hummed to myself as I walked through the corridors and off the Hogwarts grounds, trying to dispel the bundle of nerves I felt in my stomach. I wasn't anxious because of Anne—quite the opposite, in fact—but because this would be my first time Apparating without the supervision or accompaniment of someone else.

I took one last steadying breath before I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, picturing the ivy-covered brick and welcoming green front door of the Sallow home as clearly as I could in my mind. Solely focused on it, I reached for my magic and willed myself to be there with everything in me. The familiar sensation of being squeezed through a slightly-too-small tube from all sides overcame me and the picture in my mind became the one physically in front of me. I couldn't stop the sigh of relief that escaped my lips as I looked around the deserted street. I had done it!

Knowing that Anne was expecting me, I walked up the three steps and opened the front door, calling out her name as I did so. When she didn't answer, I entered the small foyer and closed the door behind me as I looked around. She wasn't in the parlor to my left, and the study door to my right was ajar with no one on the other side. I walked past the stairs and dining room, into the kitchen and warming room with still no answer to my queries. I thought she might be upstairs, but before turning back to the front of the house, I noticed the garden door was slightly open. With the warmer temperatures, perhaps she was outside tending her flowers.

Just as I was imagining how beautiful the garden must be now, my hypothesis was confirmed when I heard her say my name outside. With a smile, I reached for the door, but my hand froze on the knob when I heard another voice.

"Well, technically, no, she couldn't."

Anne made a sound of disgust or frustration; I couldn't be sure which.

"It's true, and you know it."

"Why? Because she's unmarried? Are you truly that afraid that Ominis would take advantage of the both of us? Not that he was taking advantage of me, in the first place." I stifled a chuckle. Anne was quite the firecracker when she was angry.

"Stop it," Sebastian hissed, and I recognized some jealousy in his voice. I could hear him take several deep breaths, likely trying to calm himself down. "It's bad enough that I can't even look at our kitchen table without... I don't need another image in my mind."

"Sorry." If the ensuing silence wasn't awkward for them, it certainly was for me. "Ominis tells me you remember," Anne asked after a few seconds.

"Some of it."

"Then why don't you go to her?"

"I would love nothing more," he sighed heavily, "but I can't act on any of those feelings. Not only do I not deserve her, she's with Weasley now." The words sounded as if they gave him so much pain.

"Perhaps if you weren't so emotionally unavailable she wouldn't have found someone else. Or is that what you wanted all along, Bash? To wallow in your own self-pity?" I winced at her tone: a hybrid of sarcasm and admonishment I'd heard her brother use before, but not her.

"Have you forgotten the part where all I could remember was how awful I was to her last year? How I used her as a means to an end instead of actually becoming her friend." He paused, letting out a rueful laugh. "And yet she still writes me this letter telling me she will never forget how I made her feel, and I..."