The Keeper's Snake // Sebastian Sallow

An Invitation

"Sebastian!" Ominis said. He was clearly startled. He didn't expect any company in the Undercroft. He sniffled a bit and wiped his tears away. "I thought you would be at the Slytherin after party?"

"I would be there if our dearest friend Fiona didn't feel ill. Do you know how she is doing now?" Sebastian's voice was laced with anger and sarcasm. Ominis knew Sebastian knew he had lied to him.

"Did she tell you?" Ominis hung his head with guilt. Sebastian was getting red in the face. Ominis couldn't see that, of course, but he could sense his friend's pulse rising. He heard his heavy breathing. His wand alerted him to the dark aura Sebastian was giving off. He was a bit frightened.

"She didn't have to tell me. After the game I immediately went to go make a healing potion for her, and I found her passed out and bloody body on the bloody floor!" Sebastian yelled. Ominis had to know what Fiona had planned to do. Why didn't he stop her?

"Where did you find her? Is she in the hospital wing now? Is she ok?" Ominis worriedly asked.

"I took care of her. She is fine now. Back at Ravenclaw." Sebastian spat out. He was strangely proud of himself when he spoke the words. He had taken care of her, of his Fiona. She was doing better because of him.

"Why did you lie to me Ominis? You're meant to be my brother!" Sebastian's anger had turned into sadness. He wanted to understand why Ominis would betray his trust.

"Because she asked me too, Sebastian." Ominis sighed. He felt tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Does she mean so little to you that you didn't think about her running off to danger? Do I mean so little to you that you withheld important information about the girl I l—" Sebastian caught himself about to admit his feelings to Ominis. "About one of my best friends? Do you even know what she did?"

Ominis had a rough idea. He thought Fiona was just going to try and spy on Rookwood, but obviously something more sinister happened.

"She said she was just going to Hogsmeade. I thought she just wanted to spy on Rookwood." Ominis felt a tear run down his cheek.

"Yeah, well she had an altercation with him. He took her to one of his camps and threw that nasty curse at her." Ominis felt his heart stop. He knew what it felt like to love someone with such a curse. Anne had been suffering for almost a year.

"You said she was ok? Tell me Sebastian! Is she cursed like Anne?!" Ominis practically yelled, overcome with fear.

"No." Sebastian sighed. He still was so relieved that her plan with the baby mandrake worked. "She used a baby mandrake to stun Rookwood and his Aschwinders. It blocked and absorbed the curse for her. I'm holding the repotted cursed mandrake in my hands right now." Ominis let out a huge sigh of relief. Fiona was ok. He started to let tears roll down his cheeks. He felt so emotionally charged.

"She was lucky," Ominis spoke through his tears.

"It wasn't totally luck. She hypothesized that mandrakes can absorb curses meant for humans. Ever the Ravenclaw she is, she just had to test her hypothesis. She was lucky she was right." Sebastian finally put down the plant near the triptych. "She thinks the mandrake now has the same curse as Anne. She wants to experiment removing the curse with her magic."

Ominis broke out into a sob. He was happy Fiona was ok. He was even happier that they were one step closer to helping rid Anne of her curse. He fell to his knees, overwhelmed.

Sebastian sat down beside him.

"Why did you lie to me for her? You know how much she means to me. She could have died or come back cursed like Anne." Sebastian's voice was now calm. He saw how upset Ominis was.