Legacy Disowned - Book 2

Chapter 4 - Enchanting to Meet You

Sleep hadn't exactly come easy to Sebastian that night after the first day back, but it had mercifully come, and once it had he slept much better than the night before. Since then things had started to feel normal again.

He shared most of his classes with Darling and Ominis, and it had been fantastic to wow their classmates with their new skills in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He'd single-handedly wiped the floor with Prewett and his little squad during Crossed Wands and the satisfaction he felt from that victory had been enough to override any embarrassment when Darling promptly made a fool of him in a one-on-one duel right after.

Sebastian had chalked up that awful feeling from their first day back to anxiety from the abrupt shift into the school term without having accomplished anything over the summer. But there was no point brooding, the only thing to do now was to redouble his efforts and make the best use of his classes.

While he was certain that nothing in the Hogwarts' curriculum would hold answers about Darling's abilities, he did think his Advanced Ancient Runes class might help him better understand Isadora's notes. And today marked his first Alchemy class.

He had always intended to take Alchemy. It was a highly advanced class reserved for only the highest achieving students but now he had all the more reason. There was no denying at this point they had exhausted their leads with the Ashwinders. It was back to either finding or developing a cure on his own and he was hopeful that there might be an alchemical solution.

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.

As he slipped into his seat, he quickly pulled out his book, quill, ink and parchment, eager to get started. His fingers brushed against a familiar texture, and his heart lifted - the bookmark that corresponded to the one he had given Darling at the end of last year.

When he first discovered that he and Darling would both be spending the summer at the castle, he'd thought it a bit of a waste, but this week they had proven to be one of his better ideas. They had been using them to exchange discrete conversation in classes which had greatly helped reduce the stress of their first week back, and for classes like this that they did not share they would be even more useful.

Taking his quill, he dipped it in ink 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, her response appeared: "Packing up my bag now– Oh fuck! Oh fuck! I'm going to be late!"

He smirked, suddenly reminded of the silly comparison he had made of her at the beginning of last year when he'd barely known her. Dipping his quill for ink again he wrote back, "Perhaps we ought to get you a pocket watch" and the words disappeared once more. Her next message was a rather crude drawing of a hand giving him the finger, and he chuckled quietly to himself.

"Do you mind if I take this seat?"

Sebastian looked up to see Samantha Dale, fidgeting nervously with the strap of her bag, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Not at all," he said, shifting a few of his things over as she slid into the seat next to him.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you in this class," she said. "I still can't believe I made the cut. I just hope I didn't enrol only to fail."

Sebastian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Samantha had always been a bit too self-deprecating. He never knew how to respond to comments like that. Still, he supposed she was better than her brother, who seemed to think even his most monumental blunders deserved a medal. Plus Anne had always liked her so he'd always made an effort to be friendly.