Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
My mind is heavy with fatigue, making it feel even stranger to realize how strange it feels to be standing in the Magical Theory classroom. I spent so much time here with Professor Fig, and the office up the stairs has, technically, remained mine during Kai's time here. Though I haven't used it much. Haven't needed to.
Somehow this classroom feels foreign to me, now – as if the last few weeks have been a whole lifetime. It will feel empty without Kai here. I've enjoyed observing the way the students have learned to interact with centaurs. More than that, I've enjoyed hearing his deep, bellowing laugh in the hallways.
But, indeed, the Magical Theory class schedule will be entirely mine once again, starting next week. And Kai will be back to the forest. His temporary help has come to an end.
"The passing of time is an elusive muse, like the wind, "do not succumb to the allure of trying to understand it or control it," Kai says in response to my disbelief about it all.
"I knowwww...." I whine and he chuckles at me while he makes his way around the classroom, putting desks and chairs back into place.
"For being a forest-dweller, you keep a particularly tidy room," I observe. He grins and shakes his head, saying simply, "everything has its place. It is the way of nature."
After a moment, Kai asks, "you are not yourself, I can see. What are the clouds that hide the sun from your sky?"
I know it would be fruitless to try to avoid the question.
So much feels fruitless today.
And I don't dare try to cover anything up. But I'm not exactly sure how to answer him, either. So I proceed as honestly as I can, "well you know about the poachers. That still weighs on me. Keeps me up at night – I haven't been sleeping well. So I've been –"
God, how to summarize what it is I've been up to in the late hours of the night. 'Fuckin' around in the repository and room of requirement?' Not going to go over well without further discussion. Best avoid it.
"–well, I've been finding ways to distract myself. And then there's the prophecy..."
"A curious omen, indeed," Kai confirms, squinting slightly at my unceremonious diversion.
"And lately...I feel inexplicably low. Especially at the end of the day. I'm just depleted and...hopeless? Everything feels...so hard."
"Inexplicable, you say?" His tone is inquisitive, prodding, but not invasive.
"Yeah, it's like a pendulum. Large portions of my day, I feel fine – or even good. Sebastian too. But then there are these moments where things just don't make sense. It feels off. It feels...hollow."
"How very confounding. I am sure you are frustrated. But tend to yourself, and this will improve, I am sure. Sleep. Water. Food. Yes? Restore the cycles the way nature intended them to be," he kindly suggests.
