Exile || Sebastian Sallow

11 | Paper Thin Plans

11 | Paper Thin Plans

"Excuse me, sorry, sorry! Pardon me, just coming through, thanks," I mumbled, bumping over students as I tried to weave through the crowd out of breath, a letter clutched to my chest.

My bag strap fell down my shoulders a few times, and I even hit a girl by accident because I was in such a hurry to get to the library. She had glared at me and spat a curse. It must have been Adelaide Oakes but I didn't care enough to confirm.

Ethan and I were supposed to meet in the library at 6 p.m. sharp, and I was about three minutes late. Oops.

That had been my fault, and I felt guilty which was why I was rushing. The time was my suggestion too, and I was often never late. But a letter had come in for me while I was in the common room, and it took me a while to process it, too excited to finally hear from her.

My old maid, Mia, who was practically my mother now, had sent me an owl asking me to visit her in her summer home in Irondale, a hamlet in the Feldcroft region.

She lived in the manor with me in Godric's Hollow.

Er, well...it didn't look like a manor from the outside. More like a derelict, medium-sized cottage, but long story short, it had been to blend us in after I was forced to move away from Great Hangleton.

A story for another time.

Mia found someone else to tend to our garden—which she always refused to abandon for even a few days unless she was absolutely sure she could trust someone else with it—so it gave her a reason to be in Irondale.

A reason to be near me so I could visit while I was at Hogwarts.

I finally made it inside the library, pretending like my wild heart wasn't daring to jump out of my chest, my forehead glistening with sweat.

I waved and grinned to a passing Gryffindor student who was side-eyeing me leaning against one of the bookshelves while I tried to catch my breath.

I seriously needed to work on my cardio again. Damn it.

When I caught my breath again, I headed to the second floor where I knew Ethan would be.

Sebastian's voice suddenly echoed in my head from that detention night, when it had only been us who existed in the very space of this library.

"Ravenclaws and their wit, hm?"

I shook off the memory like raindrops on my skin. He wasn't even here and he was as intrusive as ever. Why was it so?

Picking up my speed to a brisk walk, fast enough so that Madam Scribner wouldn't yell at me for running, I turned to the left and found Ethan already studying.

Dishevelled dark hair and grey eyes found me just before I could plop down next to him.

I broke into a bright smile and sat next to him, placing my bag on the table along with my letter. "Ethan! I apologize for being late, I—"

He interrupted me with a chaste, harsh kiss, hand threading to my hair.

"Where were you? Are you alright?" Ethan asked, his words coming out in a rush. "Had you been five minutes late longer, I would've gone looking for you."

"I'm fine, why are you acting like I'm dying?" I almost bit my lip at my own words, and I suppressed to say more, hiding my momentary small slip-up with a chuckle.