Sins of the Father | Sebastian x OFC (Caroline Rookwood) | Ominis x Garreth

Chapter 25: A Lesson in Fire

CW: Rookwood business dealings a/k/a poaching and beasts. 

Sebastian

**

He could not have gotten out of there as fast as he could, remembering the other young workers giving him wide berth as he ambled past them, while the older workers gave him a sad smile and a clap on his back.

He was one of them now.

Sebastian was grateful it was near curfew with the corridors fairly empty as he skulked through the shadows. His blouse was scuffed, torn, and still stained silver blue and red as his wand was raised above him to hold the disillusionment in place. No use having the portraits or Peeves finding him in this state. There were a few places he had thought to go— his dorm, the Room of Requirement, or the Undercroft. But he didn't want to risk worrying Ominis or even step near the Room of Requirement anymore. And though the Undercroft lacked all the things he would likely need to stitch himself back together, it was away from prying eyes. At least he thought it was— he swore under his breath as he heard the creak of the gate, peering over his shoulder to catch the figure of Caroline pass through.

"Sebastian?" She asked tentatively, her voice rising as she took in his form, "What happened?"

Bloody hell— why did it have to be her? He was lamenting not choosing the dorms as he closed his eyes. Fate was a terrible mistress—the past few weeks after Hogsmeade had been going so well; Marvolo didn't press further when Caroline declined his invites citing her mother as an excuse nor did he try to surprise her at school. That had given Sebastian plenty of time to spend with her—enough that they were relatively getting along.

He sighed with a quiet yes as she stood to move towards him. He knew he looked worse for wear in the light, his feet shuffling further in the shadows realizing the stains and scuffs from earlier had reached down to his feet. His hair was messy, tangled, and drenched from the sweat. And the stench of him absolutely reeked of death.

"I— I don't think you should really see me right now," he exclaimed, pressing back against the wall.

"And why might that be?" She scoffed, "I'm inclined to think you've been up to something. And that really begs the question of what you've been up to."

"Please, Caroline— this isn't something you should see," he whined.

There was a deafening silence before she uttered, "You're clearly hurt. I'm not leaving until—"

"Can you for once stop and just listen to me? Just leave!"

The silence between them hung as he watched her face widen in surprise before darkening with a cold glare. No—bloody hell. Him and his mouth—His breath hitched as time moved slowly as she frowned at him, the turn of her heel scraping against the stone as she made her way towards the gate.

Why couldn't they just be back to how it was a week ago?

**

"You must be joking," he whined incredulously as she sat across from him in the Undercroft, "That's a ridiculous spell to review!"

Caroline sat before him, arms crossed as a book floated between them—Fundamentals of Transfiguration. NEWTs were around the corner and he had they had taken to studying in the Undercroft to account for the space to practice. Sebastian preferred the directness and consistency of Defense Against the Dark Arts, unlike the flowing change and thought Transfiguration required. So, it was a relief when Caroline accepted his request to review Transfiguration with him. He had thought they would begin changing items around the Undercroft but was surprised to see the fundamentals book taken from her bag and opened to the simplest of Transfiguration spells—the Bluebell Flames or otherwise known as cold fire.