Closure (Sebastian Sallow x MC)

Chapter 9

I'm running.

Why am I running?

I turn my head to look at my back, and I see them. The dark wizards. They are chasing me. I try to run faster.

I don't remember how I ended up in this situation, but I am terrified. They are yelling at me as they throw curses at me. All kinds of curses. Unforgivable curses.

I try to lose them, but I'm at one of their camps and it's enormous. I keep running until I see two familiar bodies.

Natty and Poppy? What are they doing here?

I run to them to tell them to hide before the dark wizards see them. I reach Poppy and grab her so she faces me.

I scream.

Her eyes are empty, there is no life in them. The once happy and kind eyes she always had to me are gone. And so is she.

I watch petrified as her body crumbles and falls to the ground. Natty's body falls next. She's gone too.

I cry. I cry so much my chest is hurting and I have no voice left to scream.

I can't move my body. I'm so afraid I can't do it. But then I see them. Ominis and Sebastian. They are running away too. They are still alive. I have to make sure they remain with me.

With the last forces I have, I chase them into a cave. Without noticing, I end up in a corridor with a door at the end of it. I see Ominis, in the ground, hugging his own legs and mumbling something I don't understand. When he feels my presence, he points at the door, and I walk there. Where is Sebastian?

I try to open the door but it's locked. Alohomora does nothing to it. I try some spells until Bombarda allows me to break the door.

When all the dust from the explosion disappears, I see him. He is tied to a chair. His face is covered in blood, as his arms. I see cuts, and bruises all over his bare chest. One of his fingers is missing. He looks at me, panic in his eyes.

"April, run." He doesn't have the force to scream.

One of the men that are in the room with him turns at me, and with a creepy smile, he points his wand at me.

"Avada Kedavra"

***

I wake up in a cold sweat and screaming.

It takes me a few moments to realise that it was a nightmare, but that doesn't calm me down. I'm on the verge of a panic attack when I see a candle lighting up.

"April? Are you alright?"

Her voice allows me to concentrate on any other thing than my anxiety. With the clarity that brief moment gives me, I see Poppy's sleepy but worried face.

"Sorry... I had a nightmare." My voice is merely a whisper, broken from the yelling.

"Oh, honey." She wakes up entirely from her bed and sits on mine. "It's about what Professor Weasley told you?" I nod, not having the strength to talk. I already told her and Ominis about it some days after I heard the news. She gives me a sad smile. "Do you want me to sleep with you?" She grabs my hand.

"I don't want to be any trouble."

"You know you aren't. C'mon, scoop a little."

She lies with me in the bed and strokes my hair until I fall asleep again, like she had done so many times before.

***

Sebastian looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

"Good morning, gorgeous."

"Shut up." I let myself fall on the bench in front of the breakfast.

"Did you have a nightmare again?" Ominis asks, concern in his voice.

I nod as an answer, I don't have the energy to talk much.

It's been a couple of weeks since Professor Weasley told me about the rumours. Since then, I have not had a single night of good sleep. I have nightmares almost every day, and the days I don't dream is because I don't sleep at all. I spend every waking moment with anxiety. The other day I screamed at a first year student because he tapped my shoulder without making any noise and scared me. Not even the assignments or the prefect duty is keeping me distracted enough.

"She nodded." Poppy says by my side, informing Ominis.

"Thank you." Ominis moves his hand in front of his eyes, signalling his blindness.

I grab a toast and a cup of coffee, forcing myself to eat something, since I'm not hungry. The anxiety has my stomach closed.

"April?" Sebastian tabs in the table in front of my plate.

"Hm?"

"I asked you if you have a partner for the Herbology work." He grins, he finds it funny how dysfunctional I become with just a few hours of sleep.

I know my friends are worried about me, they all have told me one way or another. I prefer if they treat me like everything's normal, it's easier to forget my problems like this. But even if they treat me like nothing's happening, I still catch them looking at me with pity in their faces from time to time.

"Ah, no. Wanna be a couple?" Sebastian chokes on his breakfast and Ominis and Poppy snort. "What? What did I say?"

"Nothing." The three of them answer at the same time.

I roll my eyes. I'm too tired to figure out why they are laughing.

"Should we meet up today after classes to get it started?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

That cheers me up a little. It has been some days since I showed Sebastian the Room of Requirement, and we haven't had the chance to hang out. I miss him, though I don't want to think about it too much, as I have feelings that would complicate things.

I think about that moment before Professor Weasley came to the Room of Requirement. Was he about to grab my hand? Maybe something more? It haunts me more than I would like to admit.

"Attention, please." We all turn our heads to look at the Headmaster, Professor Black. As always, he looks like he would like to be anywhere but here. "As you all know, Halloween is next week. The faculty has decided that this year, there will be a costume party." He almost rolls his eyes. "We hope that you enjoy it. It will take place the night of the 31st." He makes a long pause. "That's it."

The Great Hall busts in noise. All the students are suddenly talking about the announcement.

Poppy is already planning all of our outfits, almost screaming in emotion. She looks at me with pleading eyes.

"Please, please, please, let me choose your outfit."

I try to hide my smile. She's so cute when she is excited about something.

"Hmm, I don't know..."

"Pleaseeee." She grabs my arm and moves it vigorously.

That makes me laugh, which makes me realise that I hadn't laughed in the past few days, since the nightmares started. I need to get it out of my mind, really.

"Fine. But don't go too crazy."

She gives me a devilish smile. What have I done?