A Cruel Fate of Endless Devotion

Chapter six: The Undercroft and the Truth

As Sebastian paced, his mind was filled with a blend of excitement and confusion. He couldn't understand why he felt the need to impress Melody, or why she consumed his thoughts. All he knew was that whenever he was around her, his heart raced and he felt a strange sense of happiness.

"Why the bloody hell are you wet?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth as she walked up to him.

Her long wet hair clung to her face, little droplets of water dripped from her dark emerald cloak leaving a trail behind her. Her usually happy face had an irritated look, as if the rain had dampened more than just her physical appearance. 

"Hello to you too, Sallow" Melody grumpily greeted as she shivered from the cold night air.

"Did you fall off your broom while flying over the lake or something?" he wondered, utterly baffled at her appearance.

"I was doing a favor for Nerdia Roberts, a fellow Slytherin of yours. I had to retrieve a gift the merpeople left her"

"Why couldn't Roberts go get it herself?"

He knew of Nerdia Roberts, she was in his house after all, he knew she was obsessed with being a liaison between wizards and merpeople, but he didn't know she had actually been making progress, communicating with those who lived under the water.

"She can't swim,"

"How ironic," Sebastian scoffed. "Why didn't you use the drying spell before coming here?"

"Gee, Sallow, I simply felt like walking over here with the cold air nipping at me nearly freezing my arse off" she sarcastically said. "Obviously I didn't know there was a drying spell!" she huffed.

"You are absolutely hopeless, Sterling" Sebastian chuckled as he twirled his wand around her, immediately drying her clothes and hair as if she never went into the water.

"Strawberries?" he randomly asked as he pulled out another neatly tied napkin filled with strawberries from the pocket of his robe.

"Yes!" Melody groaned as she took the food from his outstretched hand, her mouth watering at the sight. As a result of her quest to retrieve the item for Nerdia, she missed out on dinner, leaving her stomach grumbling.

"Better now?"

"Thank you" she gratefully said.

"Now, follow me" Sebastian's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm and caution as he tugged Melody towards the clock cabinet. His secretive demeanor made her heart race, wondering what secrets lay hidden within the mysterious contraption.

"You aren't planning to kill me, are you?" Melody asked him as he glanced over his shoulders once more to ensure with absolute certainty that no one was watching.

"Now why would I do that, Sterling? Believe it or not, I like having you around. No need to kill you... yet," he laughed, winking at her as he pulled out his wand.

Melody smirked and sarcastically replied, "Oh, so you're saying you're sparing me for now? How generous of you"

Sebastian tapped the tip of his wand to the clock. The hands and dials spun, the gears within the clock whirred and clicked in a mesmerizing display of precision. Each movement seemed to align with a hidden mechanism, as if guided by an unseen force. Finally, with a resounding click, the front of the clock swung open, unveiling a secret passageway.

"Ladies first" Sebastian smugly said as he held the door open.

**********

"This is not what I was expecting" Melody mumbled as she emerged from the secret tunnel.