𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter Twenty-Four: Nobody's Son

Chapter Twenty-Four 

(buckle up because this is angsty 🥲)

Matty and Hope had snuck up to the Room of Requirement for some late-night studying. Hope was helping Matty with some Transfiguration homework. Transfiguration wasn't her favorite thing, but it wasn't her worst subject. Divination was definitely the subject she struggled with the most. But the Transfiguration homework given to them by Professor Weasley wasn't exactly easy either.

Matty groaned and shut her Transfiguration book, and let her head drop down to the table. "This is hard." She muttered.

Hope just chuckled a bit. "Transfiguration requires a lot of mental and magical discipline. So don't beat yourself up over it. You'll get it eventually." She said, giving Matty a gentle pat on the shoulder. She had had many more years of practice in Transfiguration than Matty had.

"You know I'm a perfectionist who hates things when I don't get them right on the first try." Matty said, her voice being muffled by the desk she was laying her head on.

"Well that's not going to get you anywhere, now is it?" Hope asked, shaking her head.

Matty furrowed her brows and lifted her head from the desk, looking at Hope. "How many times do I want to bet that Garreth has been helping you with Transfiguration ever since first year because his Aunt is the Transfiguration Professor?"

For that one, Hope didn't even have anything funny to retort back with so she just shrugged her shoulders. "He helps me so I can help you." She said although Matty could see the sides of her lips tug into a bit of a smile.

"I wonder how much of that help was you two just flirting with each other." Matty thought to herself, rolling her eyes a bit. Teasing each other was Hope and Matty's usual banter, ever since they were little.

After a bit more trial and error, Matty figured a few things out but wasn't still super keen on having to do the homework and possibly ended up getting it wrong.

"You know what? It's late, maybe we can try some more tomorrow." Hope suggested while closing her book. "And it won't come to you overnight—or at least, I don't think it will."

After the two stood up, Matty started to put her books away before they heard something outside the door to the Room of Requirement. It sounded like something was flapping around and scratching on the door. "What in Merlin's name?" Matty mumbled, walking over to the door.

With a bit of caution, Matty opened the large door and suddenly her owl flew straight into the room, causing Matty to lurch back in order not to be hit in the face.

"Eden!" Matty exclaimed at her owl as it flew straight above her face, barely missing her as it soared into the room.

"You named your owl Eden?" Hope asked with a raised brow.

Matty just glanced over to Hope and shrugged. Eden dropped a letter on Matty's desk before flying to her perch that was in the corner of the room that Matty had just set up a few days before. "A letter? I wonder who this is from. I wouldn't expect someone to send an owl so late." Matty said as she walked over to her desk.

She picked up the letter and opened it. "It's from Sebastian."

"What does it say?" Hope asked, walking over to Matty, and leaning over to see what the letter was about.

"He wants me to meet him in South Feldcroft. Says he wants to talk to me." Matty said, closing up the letter and pocketing it. Hope looked confused. Why would Sebastian want to talk to Matty this late and so far away?