The Turning of Time ~ Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Twenty- Five

*Playlist Song: Hold Me Like You Used To- Zoe West

Sebastian's P.O.V.

November 6th

I wake up here and there for brief moments of time. Once to be force fed a potion and some water, another to choke down some broth. After that I am out for a very long time.

"Sebastian, oh Sebastian. You need to wake up now. Please, it's been days. I-if you don't wake up soon, they're going to send you to St. Mungo's. And y/n she's-" I hear my sister talking to me through my hazy mind. I hear her start to cry. Ugly, forceful sobs.

Wake up? But I feel like I could sleep forever. I hear her choke on another round of sobs. I sigh internally making up my mind. I force open my eyes, blinking slowly as I start to groggily sit up. Wincing as I try. I squint as the bright Hospital wing skylight seers the midday light into my eyes. 

Hospital wing? I must have gotten hurt at Quidditch practice again. Once my eyes stop hurting from the sun, I look down to see Anne sitting in a chair by my bed... Anne? I thought she was at Beauxbatons.

"Oh, Sebastian! You're awake. Oh thank goodness." She leaps out of her chair, toppling it in the process. She rushes forward crushing me with a hug. I wince as a wave of pain radiates from all over my body. Before I can say anything she starts to ramble.

"I received an emergent Owl from Ominis saying you had been kidnapped and that y/n was going to give herself up on Halloween to try and save you. So I got permission and apparated here as quickly as I could. I've been here for about two weeks already, I wanted to visit y/n before she- before she left, but professor Weasley said it wasn't a good idea. You know with all the kidnappings and stuff, she though I might end up a target if those people knew I was here. Then Halloween came and I was left waiting. I watched y/n from the astronomy tower and saw her get taken. I waited there for hours, eventually I fell asleep. I only woke up when I heard yelling and panicked voices. And-and there you were, beaten, and bloody being carried by Professor Sharp to the hospital wing. So I sprinted to meet them here, I probably should have taken the floo powder fire but I wasn't think- " Everything comes rushing back in a wave of desperation. Y/n, my beautiful girl is gone. Into the clutches of those monsters. I interrupt her rambling, she was squeezing me more and more as she talked. Leaving me with little breath now and radiating pain from my ribs.

"Anne, I love you. But you're crushing me." She releases me immediately and I start to cough and try not show just how much pain I'm in as the coughing rattles my stiff bones and threatens to tear some of my stitches that haven't fully healed. She hands me a glass of water as the weight of what she said threatens to crush me almost as badly as her hug. 

"Anne- she said she loved me, and I didn't even get to finish telling her. " I bury my face in my hands, the shame of failing fighting the overwhelming feeling of despair, trying to see which makes me fall apart first. I feel a gentle pair of warm arms wrap around my body. Soaking in the fact that she no longer feels like a scarecrow. I breathe in my sister. My healthy sister, saved by my girlfriend. 

"I'm sorry Sebastian." She is still crying hard but her voice is surprisingly strong. She takes a deep breath and quietly starts to speak.

"I'm sorry you couldn't save me, I'm sorry you couldn't save y/n. But most of all I'm sorry that Uncle Solomon treated you the way he did and I did nothing about it. I'm sorry you weren't allowed in the house and that he made you feel so helpless. I-I was just scared. I didn't want him to hate me too. I'm a coward and-and I'm selfish. I'm so sorry." Her voice no longer strong fades out. I sit frozen, stunned. Memories of the tiny, moldy hut, next to Solomons house filter through my brain. Jealousy, hatred, and frustration follow. I try and articulate a sentence but don't know where to start. I take a deep breath and force the anger and pain down. I don't want to snap at her over the past, especially since we've both been hurt by it enough.