In the Shadow of the Summer

A.S.

You dodged as an inferi bounded toward you, blasting the beast with Confringo as soon as you found your footing again. At the other side of the catacomb, you saw Sebastian, firing hexes at his Uncle in a fit of range, completely unaware of the corpses surrounding him. You tried to call out his name, but he couldn't hear you. Solomon retaliated and knocked Sebastian backward, right into the arms of an infiri. You raced to help him, not noticing Solomon's wand pointing in your direction. The spell hit you hard and sent you flying into the hard stone wall with a pained cry. It took a moment for you to recover, but you forced yourself up again.

"Incendio!" The inferi let out a horrific screech as their bodies began to burn, and Sebastian managed to escape their grasp. You blasted through as many of them as you could to be by his side, watching him maniacally send curse after curse at the old man. A bright red light erupted from his wand and Solomon let out a loud cry, before falling to his knees. The cruciatus curse. Sebastian had used Crucio. You watched in horror as his face became almost unrecognisable with pure, unbridled rage. You called his name again, but he ignored you, his attention fixated on his uncle and his iniquitous intent incredibly clear. You knew then that he was past the point of no return.

Solomon struggled to his feet again and stumbled about slightly.
"She cannot be healed, Sebastian! You must stop!" he cried, clutching his ribs in agony. Sebastian fired another spell, and then another. You knew what was about to happen. Just before you could make a move toward either of them, you felt a red hot, boney hand wrap tightly around your wrist. The burning inferi pulled you back with such force that you were sure your arm had been dislocated and you fell to the ground with a loud thud. Your head spun wildly from the pain and your eyes burned from the tears. The inferi clawed at your skin with its flaming hands and you could feel agonising blisters forming on your arms and your face. The pain was too much to bear, but it was enough to summon the ancient magic. With a piercing scream, the room lit up with a blinding light and the inferi disintegrated until it was nothing but dust.

Breathing heavily, you attempted to stand, but your head was pulsating in agony and you stumbled to the ground again. As you tried desperately to focus your vision, there was a bright flash of green, and the first thing you saw clearly was Solomon's limp body falling into a heap on the ground. You stared up at Sebastian in disbelief, and after a moment, he met your gaze. His eyes were void of humanity and for the first time since you'd known him, he was the most terrifying thing you'd ever seen.

You jolted awake with a scream and kicked your legs about frantically, trying to kick the sheet off from above you. You felt as though your whole body was on fire, and you were desperate to feel the air against your skin, so you could prove to yourself that you were really here and not there. Sweat clung to your forehead and your back, and your fingers ached from how hard you were gripping the mattress beneath you. Before you could process the room around you, the door to your room swung open and a panicked-looking Sebastian stared at you, wide-eyed and red-faced. Your breaths were laboured and shaky as you tried to calm yourself down, but it was too late, he'd already seen you.

"What happened?" he whispered, rushing over to your bed and taking a seat beside you. You squeezed your eyes shut, wishing that he wouldn't be there when you opened them again. "Hey, hey... it's alright. I'm here."
"I'm okay," you lied, breathlessly. "I'm fine. Sorry. You should go back to bed." You took a deep breath and pushed yourself up until you had your back against the wall and your knees tucked against your chest.
"It didn't sound like you were okay."
"It was just a bad dream."
"About what?"

You didn't know if it would be a good idea to tell him the truth. It would most likely kill him to know that you were still being terrorised by your memories of him. You weren't sure what had brought it on. At first you'd been relieved to dream about something else for a change, but this was no better.
"I... don't really remember anymore." He furrowed his brows pitifully and you could sense that he didn't believe you at all, but he didn't press you any further.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes, don't worry. It was just a dream."
"Alright. Good." He smiled weakly. "You gave me a good fright, you know."
"Sorry, I don't usually- I mean... I don't think I've ever woken up screaming before."
"Must have been a scary dream."
"Must have been."