A Ballad of Snakes and Shadows // A Dark Sebastian Sallow Romance

Chapter Two: Meet Me in The Pale Moonlight//Rhinestone Eyes

Meet Me inThe Pale Moonlight - SAINt Epico

Rhinestone Eyes - External Signal

Thankfully, this year had started without a hitch.

It had gone so well, in fact, that I had not realized that a month had already flown by.

The only indication was the time between the first nightmare and the last - they didn't seem to creep up on me as much as they had last year. In all of that time, I was finally letting the demons of my past stay where they belonged.

Back in fifth year.

I had found I owed a lot of thanks to the friends who had remained by my side since the tragedies of my first year here. They never looked away from the damage that had been left behind inside my heart, but rather, did their best to ease its pain.

Poppy, Natty, and Ominis had quickly taken to keeping me and my mind occupied during and after classes. The time I spent alone, without anything or anyone to distract my fractured mind from going insane, was always unbearable. It impeded any possibility of returning to what one would call a normal life.

But they took to pushing me, making me go outside and making trips to Hogsmeade so that I would not lose my gobstones cooped up in the castle. However, there were times where I could barely get out of the bed, and they would often come to the Room of Requirement to spend some time with me.

Whether they admitted it or not, I suspected the three of them were also content to be in a quiet, safe space where nothing else could interfere.

Especially Poppy, who would take just about any chance she could get to see her friend Highwing. The Room of Requirement had become a place we enjoyed hanging out in.

Without the three of them, I wasn't sure if the road to mending my broken heart and mind would have been an easy one. I wouldn't know the warmth of my own smile if Poppy hadn't been there to cheer me up. I would feel alone without the comfort of Natty, a lifelong friend, who I considered a sister.

And the curious feelings in the pit of my stomach that were interested in my best friend, Ominis.

They each held my hand and supported me every step of the way on that uneasy path, and now they were an integral part of my day to day.

The Room of Requirement had become my safe haven, thanks to Professor Weasley.

She had known a little of my inner turmoil after the first year, and was well aware that I might have needed a space of my own after I had caused... Well, a few disturbances.

Sleep hadn't been easy after the end of fifth year. There were too many nightmares and too much darkness in my shattered mind, which leaked out into the world. The screams of my unconscious anguish did not soothe my roommates to sleep. And I believed that my incessant pacing, when sleep refused to come to me, did not help either.

I felt so guilty for it. I'd never intended to become such a nuisance to others because of my inability to find peace.

So, I tried numerous charms, spells, and draughts alike to put my irritated mind at ease. All I wanted was for it to sleep so that I would no longer feel the exhaustion of my past.

But nothing ever quenched that chaotic darkness that loomed in the shadows of my subconsciousness.

Professor Weasley had decided, for the sake of myself and the unfortunate students who slept near, that other arrangements needed to be made. I had protested the idea.