Blood Upon the Snow | Sebastian Sallow

CHAPTER 13 | The Sweet Taste of Cherry Wine

I had been staring at the floor for at least a couple of hours — the butterbeer stain, old and dried up, next to the couch had become so familiar to me I could draw its shape with closed eyes. In the two weeks that had passed since my failed attempt to unleash the magic in the Forbidden Forest, I had wished for nothing more than to be alone. At first, I had tried to spend most of my days inside the dormitory, but my insufferable roommate, a blonde girl I hadn't even taken notice of before the start of the year called Geraldine Ironwood, wouldn't stop pestering me each time I walked inside the room. She'd ask for help in every class possible, attempt to go through my wardrobe each time she had began a new courtship (which had forced me to put a locking charm over it to stop her), and not even when our other roommate personally asked Headmaster Black to move rooms, leaving Ironwood and me to share it by ourselves, had she taken the hint and become less intrusive.

The Hogsmeade Cemetery was also out of the question — both Sebastian and Ominis knew I used to spend a lot of time there and both had tried to approach me there in the meantime. I did not want to bring the whole messy situation anywhere near Professor Fig or Miriam, so I had simply stopped going.

The Three Broomsticks' private room, on the other hand, had become my new favourite after-class spot. Sirona had always been a kind hostess, but she had become quite the friend after Fig's passing. When I mentioned I had been looking for somewhere peaceful to catch up on my studies, she quickly offered the room — no extra charge for it, saying it was only fair after everything I had done for her in my fifth-year. Even if I could not remember helping Sirona at all, I had delightedly accepted her offer.

My homework papers were scattered all around the low table. The ink in my quill had already dried while I tried helplessly to come up with something to write in my twenty-inch paper on Gillyweed, something other than 'it helps you breathe underwater and that's useful'. I had hated Herbology ever since arriving at Hogwarts. I couldn't understand the enthusiasm around plants, at least not around these ones. The way I saw it, they were most useful in potion brewing, and that was usually once they were dead, dried, boiled or minced. Even with my knowledge of them as ingredients, doing my homework without Ominis' help had been a lot harder than I had anticipated. Still, I had no choice but to keep trying. I couldn't fail a subject in my last year.

Carefully, I closed the old book I had borrowed from the library and pushed it to the side. Under it, on top of the unused tickets for the Tutshill Tornados' match, was the letter Natty had sent me earlier that week, apologising for her reaction inside the library (not that she should have), and mentioning how her mother would travel back to Matabeleland during the winter holidays and she had convinced her to leave her here unsupervised, due to the Yule Ball. She did not mention Harlow's escape or the letter Sebastian had sent her, but I could only assume it wasn't the sort of thing she would want to talk about, all things considered.

Natty was very excited about the prospect of reconnecting with me. I, on the other hand, was rather terrified at the thought of it. Part of me believed she would be utterly disappointed soon — I had changed a lot during the year we spent apart. I knew I was a lot less fun to be around. I had crazy mood swings, could barely use any magic and, well, spending time with me had come to mean being alright with the possibility of getting covered in blood by the end of the day. Even then, I had replied, thanking her for being so understanding and saying I looked forward to spending time with her again. It was a good thing, I had told myself, to reconnect with old friends and regain some independence back.

The after-class talk with Professor Sharp, the one I owed him since the Hospital Wing incident, had gone a lot smoother than I had anticipated as well. As promised, I had been honest with him — I told him about the confrontation in the Map Chamber with Professor Bakar, though I did skip the part about me inevitably dying soon, and the fact that I had tried, to no avail, to go back there on the days that followed, only to be met with a completely empty room. I also told him about how I had felt good for five entire days and how it all went back to how it used to be. Professor Sharp had accepted my explanations and promised to keep it between us. Then, he proceeded to give me a three-hour long in-depth explanation on the origin, symptoms and post-usage consequences of the Drink of Despair — and in honesty, I couldn't complain, I did deserve the punishment. He had not taken back any of my books, which I was extremely grateful for, and had agreed to give me more focused extracurricular assignments, so we could work together trying to find possible cures that did not involve a student going to the Forbidden Forest alone and poisoning themselves. I now had a small study session with him twice a week, right after class.