What Follows | Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 7: More Time

Adalinda finally stepped back from examining her face in the mirror while adjusting her necklace. She brushed a stray piece of lint from her white top as she inspected her outfit one last time. For what felt like the first time in forever, she was finally wearing a skirt. Over the course of 5th year, she had stuck to trousers to get the job done when it came to flying or running around the highlands. Now, she didn't need to think about dressing with such practicality. Adalinda figured that even if the worst were to occur, she could just tear a slit into the side of her skirt for more mobility. It's what she had done on the outskirts of Lower Hogsfield the first time Ashwinders had ambushed her.

Despite having such an encounter the first week of school, postponing her skirt-wearing days, it didn't stop her from wearing all different sorts of attire that were easy to move in. She fondly recalled the day she frolicked the school halls donning a new set of pyjamas, leprechaun hat, right ballet slipper, slightly scuffed left boot, half-torn cloak from a poacher camp, and spectacles that enlarged her eyes to appear three times its size. She would drop an unbelievable amount of galleons to see the look of utter horror and disgust on Headmaster Black's face again. She had been forced to scrub the floors outside of the Hufflepuff common room and scolded to "think about the example you're setting for the younger students before dressing in such a ghastly outfit!" Adalinda thought that maybe her dress-up days were finally over. That was until she had tickled the pear portrait, bounded into the kitchens, and scared the living daylights out of the house-elves.

Some house-elves feared her, others respected her, while the rest adored her. It was only a matter of time before all of them would come to appreciate her spontaneous appearances. Headmaster Black got off her case when he thought that Adalinda had learned her lesson when she showed up to school in traditional Slytherin robes after the whole incident, but the truth was that she continued to traverse the highlands in bizarre outfits, especially in the dead of night.

Satisfied with her current, but rather bland appearance, she turned away from the mirror and headed out the bedroom door.

Her footsteps slowed to a stop as she neared the Fig's Study. Just like the Fig's bedroom, all three of the Slytherins had silently agreed that these two spaces would be left alone until Adalinda decided to do something about it.

Before the boys had gone to set their things down when they first arrived, they had all glanced at the Study together. Sebastian's eyes had filled with that burning hunger for knowledge that Adalinda easily remembered clocking whenever he would ramble about needing to find a resource that might provide a cure for Anne. She knew the only reason he was holding back from scouring the entire space from ceiling to floor was because of his respect for her.

She momentarily placed her hand on the doorknob before letting her hand slide along the walls as she continued her way to the garden.

Later was always her excuse.

If it weren't for Ominis and Sebastian's constant presence, Adalinda didn't think she would've made it to the end of summer. She probably would've ended up asking Poppy to stay with her and her Gran. Everything in the house, from the crafts on the walls to the way the linen smelled reminded her of Fig Tree.

If the scent wasn't prominent enough in the house, it sure was outside.

The lavender bushes and lemon trees at the back enveloped the house in a sweet scent. It would've almost been sickening if it wasn't so comforting. Adalinda washed all of the sheets the day after they arrived, to find that they still smelled like Eleazar and Miriam, thanks to their yard.

She felt her cheeks flush as she heard Sebastian call out to her, although she brushed it off as the sun warming up her face. "Look at you all dressed up! You'll be the height of fashion." Sebastian's tone was half-teasing, as he looked over his shoulder at her, grinning. "Doesn't she look splendid, Ominis?"

"I'm blind."

Adalinda plopped down on the quilt, between Ominis and Sebastian. While she was changing, they had gone ahead and laid it out on the grass with a few glasses of water and plates consisting of ham and cheese sandwiches, plump grapes, and two biscuits to evenly share the best of their efforts.

"Would the kind lady fancy an exquisite, delicately crafted, handmade ham and cheese sandwich?"

"Why, yes." She snatched it from him, feeling the corners of her lips curve upwards. "Thank you very much, Sirbastian."

He winked at her before flopping onto his back, hands extended up to the morning sky. Adalinda watched as Sebastian tried to match the outline of clouds with his hands while Ominis looked at the sun with eyes closed, basking in its warmth. She set down her half-eaten sandwich and quickly brushed her hands off on the grass.

"Before I forget, we need to discuss something. No running in the house."

Sebastian turned his head to look at her with despair, arms still stretched out. "You said no running?"

"Correct."

"There's so many rules! First, no shoes around the house, and now there's no running!"

"That's only two." Ominis pointed out, giving him a sidelong glance.

Sebastian placed the back of his hand on his forehead with a heavy sigh. "Two many." He snuck a peek at Adalinada, "But I suppose I'll have to compromise for Adalinda's sake."

Ominis rolled his eyes as Adalinda bit her bottom lip, trying not to smile. Sebastian reached for a biscuit, not bothering to share as he popped the whole thing in his mouth.

"Where did this "no shoes" rule even come fro-" He promptly sat up, choking from trying to eat lying down. Ominis reached past Adalinda's back to roughly pat Sebastian on the back to help clear his airway.

"My parents. My mother always used to say, "The less dirt you track in from out there, the less we have to clean." And she was right, since the floors weren't constantly dirtied by shoes, we didn't have to sweep and mop as much." Sebastian gave a thumbs up of acknowledgement as he downed a glass of water.

Adalinda looked out at a lemon tree that swayed by itself in the distance. Miriam and Eleazar were laid to rest underneath that specific one. It was where he had taken Miriam for their "first real date" as he had put it. They had gone on several group dates with other friends at Hogwarts, but the lemon tree was where he had taken her on their first date alone.

"I was so embarrassed. I had already gotten us lost for twenty minutes during the two hour hike, and we ended up missing the view! I felt like crawling to the nearest cave I could find to curl up in a ball and cry. Miriam, sweet angel that she was, reassured me that everything was alright. We ended up staying longer on that hill to watch the stars that night. Before we left, we traced our initials in a lemon tree, as all sentimental, young couples do. As I was grabbing the snacks we had brought for the trip, Miriam mentioned that she found a lavender bush when I had gotten us lost. She placed a lavender twig in my satchel, took my hands, kissed my knuckles and said, "Eleazar, I would miss every promised sunset if it meant that I could spend more time with you.""

"Adalinda, is everything alright?"

She snapped out of her trance, blinking away tears she hadn't known were there as she glanced at Ominis.

"Yes, I'm quite alright."

Sebastian's eyes trailed to where Adalinda had been staring, his eyebrows knitting together, expression matching Ominis's. "She was looking at the tree."

The wind rustled the leaves as they all sat in silence. They waited for her hands with an open one. When she finally reached out, they gently squeezed and held her hands with as much love and reassurance as they could offer.