𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter Seventeen: Feldcroft

Chapter Seventeen

Matty had received an owl from Sebastian to meet him in Feldcroft that day after school since that's when he was heading over to see Anne and of course, she was more than happy to do so. She spruced up a bit in her dorm room before heading out to Feldcroft, excited to meet Sebastian's sister. 

Later, when Matty arrived in Feldcroft, it definitely wasn't what she was expecting. Feldcroft had its own region yet the hamlet of Feldcroft itself was small, a result from all the mess with the goblins that had been going on. It only had about three or four houses, it was almost a bit depressing. Was the goblin problem getting this bad?

She spotted Sebastian at the top of a watch tower and headed over. "Sebastian, there you are." She said. "Enjoying the view?"

Sebastian turned around. "Oh, you made it." He said with a curt smile. "Keeping an eye on things actually. Feldcroft isn't what it used to be. No one has felt safe here since Ranrok's Loyalists took a peculiar interest in that castle over there—Rookwood Castle."

Matty remembered seeing a castle not far off from Feldcroft when she arrived. She assumed it was once the place of living of Charles Rookwood—one of the keepers.

"My uncle Solomon is a former Auror and refuses to look into it, even after Anne was cursed by one of them. Possibly with a wand, no less." Sebastian continued, looking frustrated—and almost angry about the situation. He felt like no one else but him even had a care about how Feldcroft was struggling. It had struggled before, but never this bad.

"I heard a goblin refer to wizardkind as 'wand-carriers'. Are goblins forbidden from carrying wands?" Matty asked. It seemed peculiar, obviously other species from wizardkind had magic.

Sebastian nodded his head. "Precisely. That's why I'm on the hunt for answers. If I'm to cure Anne, I need to understand what happened to her." He explained. "Anne was always the most mischievous of the three of us. Which is saying something knowing me and Ominis. I'm hoping a surprise visit from me and a new friend form Hogwarts like you will help lift her spirits. Bring back the Anne I used to know."

Matty nodded her head. "Glad I could help. Anne seems like a sweet spirit."

"Come along then. I'll take you to my uncles." Sebastian said. He hoped Anne meeting Matty would somehow cheer her up a bit. After all, the only people who visited Anne were Sebastian, Ominis, and Esme. So hopefully meeting a new student would be nice.

Sebastian led her down from the watch tower and towards the Sallow home. "Feldcroft used to be a lot livelier." Sebastian said. "With Ranrok's lot wandering about all the time, everyone stays out of sight."

The predictions Matty had about Feldcroft were correct—but honestly she felt bad and didn't want to be right. These people were suffering because of the actions of others, and it was taking a great toll on them.

"Here we are. My sister should be just inside." Sebastian said as they arrived at the small cottage.

Sebastian opened the door to the cottage and Matty could see Anne sitting down at the table. Sebastian walked up and gently tapped Anne's shoulder. Not knowing who it was, Anne turned around in confusion before she saw him.

"Sebastian! Where did you—." Anne got up to hug her brother but he pulled something out of his pocket and she looked surprised. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked, looking up at Sebastian.

But before Sebastian could even answer—before he could even react, Solomon, who Matty hadn't even noticed was walking in, grabbed it from Sebastian's hand, immediately getting angry. "Hey!" Sebastian said, clearly confused about how fast this was all happening.