Legacy Disowned - Book 2

Chapter 4 - Enchanting to Meet You

Sleep hadn't exactly come easy to Sebastian that night, but it had, mercifully, come. And once it had, he'd slept like a stone. Since then, things had begun to feel normal again.

He shared the majority of his classes with Darling and Ominis which made things more enjoyable. Defense Against the Dark Arts was an especially good time. He could still picture the look on his classmate's faces when he'd finally been given the opportunity to show off his new and improved dueling skills. Nobody stood a chance. Especially not Prewett and his little squad who Sebastian had taken care of single handedly on their very first day at Crossed Wands. The satisfaction from that tasty victory had been more than enough to override any embarrassment he may have felt when Darling promptly dethroned him in a one-on-one duel immediately afterwards.

That awful feeling from their first day back now seemed like nothing more than a cold he'd needed to shake off. Sebastian had decided to chalk it up to anxiety from the abrupt shift into the school term without having accomplished anything over the summer. But he was back to himself and there was no point brooding. No, the only logical course now was to redouble his efforts, and that started with making the best use of his classes.

While Sebastian was highly doubtful he would find anything in the Hogwarts curriculum relevant to Darling's abilities, he did think his Advanced Ancient Runes class might help him better understand Isadora's notes. And even more promising, today marked his very first Alchemy class.

He'd always intended to take Alchemy. It was a highly advanced subject, reserved only for the highest achieving students. So the question of whether or not Sebastian would be admitted was like asking whether or not the sun would rise the next morning. But now, he had all the more reason.

At this point, there was no use denying that they had exhausted their leads with the Ashwinders. The gang had all but vanished, there were simply no more organized bands left. That meant Sebastian was back to square one. Either finding or developing a cure on his own, and right now, an alchemical solution was his best bet.

Sure, creating a sorcerer's stone was a long shot at best, only one person had ever successfully done it. But he wasn't interested in everlasting life. If he could just find a way to relieve Anne of her pain and return her to health so that she could live out a normal happy life, he would be more than satisfied.

Sebastian slipped into an empty seat, pulling out his quill, ink and parchment, eager to get started. As he was fishing around for his textbook, his fingers brushed against a familiar texture, and he smiled. It was the bookmark. His corresponding half to the one he'd given Darling at the end of last year.

Initially, when he'd discovered that the two of them would be spending the summer at the castle together, he'd thought the nifty little charm he'd cooked up would go to waste. But this week, it had proven to be one of his better ideas. They were perfect for exchanging discrete conversation during lessons, and for classes like this, when they were not together, they would be even more useful.

Sebastian inked his quill and wrote:

"Looking forward to your first Binn's lecture of the year?"

He watched as the ink dissolved into the paper and vanished. A moment later, Darling's response appeared:

"Packing up my bag now. Oh fuck! Oh fuck! I'm going to be late!"

Sebastian smirked to himself. The phrasing, albeit coarse, strongly reminded him of the silly comparison he'd once made of her to the white rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He'd barely known her back then, but oh what an apt analogy it had turned out to be.

Dipping his quill again he wrote back:

"Perhaps we ought to get you a pocket watch."

The words disappeared once more. Her next message was a rather crude drawing of a hand with only one offensive finger extended, and Sebastian chuckled quietly to himself.