The Keeper's Snake // Sebastian Sallow

His Last Three Years

The past three years had been hell for Sebastian Sallow. In the summer of 1886 his parents died in an experiment gone wrong. Sebastian was too late to the cellar to save them and watched them take their last breaths. Just a day later his frigid uncle Solomon ordered him and Anne to pack a bag and make their way to his cottage in Feldcroft. The twins hastily tried to pack all of their important items. In the rush, Sebastian accidentally left behind his treasured copy of Gulliver's Travels, with his picture of Fiona and him still inside of it.

When he arrived in Feldcroft, he noticed how small Solomon's cottage actually was. There wasn't necessarily a proper bedroom, a huge departure from the 4 bedroom house in Surrey. Solomon set up two twin beds separated by a sheet. Sebastian wondered where Solomon would sleep before it was clear he would be the one sleeping on the floor. The first week in Feldcroft went by in a blur. Sebastian and Anne spent most of their time crying and holding on to each other. After a week of nightmares of his parents' death, Solomon finally had enough.

"Boy you need to pull yourself together and be a man. Just like you father you are." Solomon spat.

Sebastian looked for his favorite book amongst his belongings, hoping to find a source of joy. But he soon realized he left the book behind, and Solomon would not allow him to go back to the house in Surrey. Sebastian sank further into grief, losing his grip on many of his happy memories, including meeting Fiona.

The following school year brought relief, as he was back at Hogwarts, but seeing his parents' offices empty filled him with more sorrow. He spent most of his free time with Ominis and Anne in the Undercroft, playing gobstones as a distraction. One afternoon while playing gobstones, Anne asked randomly,

"Where did you even get these gobstones Sebastian? They are the perfect Slytherin green!"

Sebastian had to think for a moment. His life before the death of his parents seemed like such a long time ago. He was fairly certain he bought the gobstones in London, Diagon Alley to be exact, but he wasn't sure how he found those exact gobstones.

"Honestly Anne, I can't recall. It must have been Diagon Alley." He said.

With that, he briefly felt a moment of warmth. His grief had clouded his happy memories, but he felt a particular happiness thinking about his purchase of the gobstones, and that feeling was more than welcome.

The following summer was just as hard as the summer before, with Solomon having little to no patience for his teenage niece and nephew. Sebastian once again slept on the floor and tried his best to stay positive for Anne. He dedicated much of his time to reading anything and everything.

Another year at Hogwarts was yet again a respite from his personal hell in Feldcroft. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, he finally learned about dementors. He chuckled in self pity at the thought of Solomon being his own personal dementor, sucking the joy out of his life.

Through DADA he learned of a secret dueling club called Crossed Wands. He quickly became one of the best duelists at Hogwarts. He only came close to losing once, when he was paired against a fifth year Gryffindor, Sean Moriarty. Sebastian had grown accustomed to a bit of heckling before matches. As he prepared to face Sean, he said to him,

"I doubt you'll even get one shot the whole duel."

To which Sean replied simply,

"Catch yourself on, Slytherin!"

For a short moment Sebastian was overcome with a feeling of deja vu. Where had he heard that phrase with that accent before? Why did it make him feel a hint of happiness? In the time he was distracted, Sean managed to land a shot on Sebastian. He quickly snapped back to reality and ended the duel with depulso. While he was happy he won the duel, he was confused as to why that phrase distracted him so much.

The summer of 1888 was slightly better, as Ominis had been staying at the cottage in Feldcroft. Sebastian loved having his sister and his brother with him. He noticed a growing presence at the once abandoned Rookwood castle, close to Feldcroft, but he thought better than to investigate it as a mere 15 year old. He mentioned his observations to Solomon, an ex Auror, but Solomon ignored him.

Once his fourth year at Hogwarts started, he was somewhat happy again. He kept refining his dueling skills, and kept up his record of getting detention. He finally thought his life was getting better when his nightmares seemed to stop. He was actually excited for Christmas break at home with Anne and Ominis.

The break had been relatively drama free, until a fire broke out not far from Feldcroft. Sebastian rushed to get Solomon and other adults, whilst Anne rushed to the scene to see if anyone needed help. When Sebastian finally reached the fire, he found Anne on the ground passed out. He brought her home and took care of her. He thought she just overworked herself. It wasn't until she woke up and recounted her experience, that he learned she was cursed. His twin, his best friend, was cursed with some sort of dark magic. He vowed then and there to find a cure.

Ominis, Anne, and Sebastian returned to Hogwarts after the break, where Sebastian made a habit of sneaking into the library restricted section. He had no luck in finding answers for Anne. Three months after Christmas, her pain episodes became too frequent, and Solomon made the choice to take her out of Hogwarts and back to Feldcroft. Sebastian once again fell into a depression. By the time summer came around, he felt numb. Numb to his emotional pain, numb to Solomon's vitriol, and numb to any joy.

He arrived the following September on his 17th birthday at Hogwarts for his fifth year. He sat next to Ominis in the Great Hall, expecting a normal sorting ceremony, like every year before. He quickly heard whispers of a new fifth year starting at Hogwarts, but the sorting ceremony was basically over, and the new fifth year had not presented themselves. Sebastian felt annoyance that this lucky fifth year got to be at Hogwarts whilst his sister rotted away in Feldcroft, and they couldn't even be on time. He began to eat, when the doors to the Great Hall opened, and he saw the new fifth year. There she was with green eyes, reddish brown hair, and fair skin. He almost choked on his food at the sight of her. Sure he thought she was beautiful, who wouldn't? But there was something more there. He stared at her as she was being sorted. He felt confused about the feelings the sight of her evoked in him. She briefly made eye contact during her sorting, and he felt his soul leave his body for a moment. The moment passed, and he was promptly brought back to reality by Ominis beside him.

"What does she look like Sebastian?" Ominis asked.

"She's um kind of on the short side. But she is cute. Looks a bit scratched up though." Sebastian replied.

"Oh dear perhaps there is a nefarious reason as to her tardiness. It might explain her scratches." Ominis noted.

"Well I'm sure she will be good as new in no time. She's probably soaking up all the attention." Sebastian scoffed.

"Sebastian, I don't understand your contempt for our new fifth year, but I won't press further. Let's get to the common room. I want to be well rested for the first day of classes."

Sebastian simply nodded in agreement. He got up to leave and caught another glimpse of the new fifth year. What was it about her he wondered. She quickly left his field of vision, and he headed to the Slytherin common room. He tried to get the thoughts of the new Ravenclaw out of his head. He needed his entire attention dedicated to finding a cure for Anne. He drifted to sleep with a nightmare about when Anne was cursed, but the nightmare turned positive as he felt a warmth and saw a face, her face.