Into The Dark: Sebastian Sallow

Teasing (Sebastian)

Chapter 6 Notes:

I listened to greedy by Tate McRae while working on this chapter! If you'd like to give it a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To4SWGZkEPk

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Chapter 6:

I was waiting in the corridor outside Slytherin's common room when Ominis came breezing out with Ginny's arm linked firmly with his own.

Ginny had on her new Slytherin robes. The green and black looked divine against her pale skin and red hair. However, they would have looked better if my best friend hadn't been attached to them.

Initially, I was confused but soon became furious as I watched Ominis gently kiss Ginny on the cheek.

Ominis was my best friend, he clearly knew how I felt based on last night, even if I denied it. There had to be another reason Ominis was getting so close to Ginny. Confused and still upset, I tried to remain calm while Ominis said goodbye to Ginny, and then started walking in my direction.

I called out for Ominis and asked him as he got closer, "Care to explain yourself?" The words spat out-- my tone curt.

"Well if she's going to survive the year she's going to need a friend that isn't a total ass to her all the time and I figured you would prefer me to fill the role over that flirt, Weasley."

I was taken aback by his quick and genuine-sounding response. I relaxed a bit, though I was upset with myself for so quickly assuming the worst of Ominis.

He was right though, Ginny needed friends-- and not ones like Weasley. The thought of Garreth Weasley flirting with my gingersnap summoned vomit to the recesses of my mouth. I shoved it back down.

"I'm hurt Ominis. You think I'm an ass?" I joked, trying to sound more jovial.

"I don't think. I know. Sounds like you were quite the welcome party this morning." He responded, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

I hadn't realized it was Ginny when I turned around and snapped this morning. It had been a long and fruitless night in the restricted section. I had only found one book worth my attention, and it had nothing to do with curing Anne. I was exhausted and when I heard the sound of footsteps I assumed it was Imelda Reyes coming up to offer her unsolicited advice again. I tried to recover from my blunder, but the way my little gingersnap was sassing me towards the end of our conversation made me think I may have pushed my limits.

Looking across the room I saw Professor Weasley leading Ginny down the hall towards the Kelpie statue. She glanced over her shoulder and made eye contact with me. I was on thin ice-- but I was not wasting this opportunity.

"Watch this." I said to Ominis before loudly exclaiming, "Have a good first day of classes little gingersnap!" I paused, winked, then ended with "Stay out of trouble."

Her face grew red with frustration as she whipped her head around and hurried to the professor's side.

Too easy.

Chuffed with myself, I took a moment to bask in my pride when my thoughts were interrupted when Ominis rhetorically asked, "You do know I'm blind right?"

Always ruining my fun that Ominis.

"Well, that's too bad. The look on her face was priceless"

Feeling like Ominis and I were on good terms, I told him I would meet him in Charms class. Then I was off to find an empty classroom. I wanted to study the book I had taken from the restricted section last night in a space without prying eyes.

Aside from curing Anne, the only thing I could think of was Ginny. I knew she was safe in her dormitory, that night, I knew she wouldn't stay there forever. I had to think of a way I could watch her at all times. Ensure she was safe. Based on the rumors surrounding her trip to Hogwarts, it seemed like she could easily find herself in dangerous situations.

And now that Ominis mentioned it... the map could help ensure no miscreants were getting too close to Ginny for comfort.

As if the restricted section had heard my thoughts, I promptly came across a book detailing the uses of the Homonculous Charm. From my brief overview of the book, it appeared that by charming a map of the castle I could track the movements of everyone in it.

This. This will allow me to track both my gingersnap and any potential threats to her.

Reading more about it this morning, the charm seemed advanced, but I had previously discovered, practiced, and mastered spells and charms far more difficult. This would be a breeze. The hardest part of the entire charm was finding a way to map out the entirety of this monstrous castle. I realized I might still have a map of the castle from when my parents were professors here-- even staff needed help from time to time with navigating the grounds.

I decided that evening I would see what I could find and if successful, try my hand at this Homoncuous Charm during my nightly trip to the restricted section of the library.

Checking the time, I saw that I needed to get to charms class. I closed the book and headed towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower. I had to beat Ginny to class.