Magicis Par // Sebastian Sallow

26. An Even Bigger Fool

            We were two weeks from the end of school when Natty finally tracked down Harlow. He was the last threat for the wizarding world, albeit the smallest one. I almost considered trying to convince Natty to leave him to the aurors. I was so distracted by trying to keep Sebastian on track that I had little energy for anything else, but I owed it to Natty. Harlow was supposed to be the easiest.

That was far from the truth. Harlow was prepared for us, like Rookwood was for me. He had not only an army but fearless usage of Unforgivable curses. I would have been able to handle the Cruciatus that he cast at me, but Natty...she dove in front of it. It left her in a wheelchair, unable to move her body from the waist down. Nurse Blainey said she'd make a full recovery over the course of a few months, but I blamed myself so greatly for her injury.

Natty didn't. She said it helped her come to terms with her father's decision in protecting her the day he died. She'd recover. She'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Her mother was less forgiving, and I understood. I was just happy she still let me visit Natty daily.

Sebastian was showing improvement. Slow improvement, but improvement. Our relationship was healing. That little bud of affection that I had shoved away since Christmas had started to blossom again, so much so that we found ourselves in the stacks of the library after Ominis went to bed instead of studying for our last OWL. It was the first time we'd kissed since we agreed to be friends, and I was just as intoxicated by it as I was before.

Ominis, Sebastian, and I agreed to spend the summer traveling to places we wanted to see across Europe. It was a way to get Sebastian's mind off everything and in locations that would provide him a chance to heal. There was nothing reminding him of Anne in places like Spain and Italy. We had a small problem funding the trip. Ominis was only given a small yearly allowance from his family, and the Sallows had very little. Sebastian briefly entertained selling the cottage for money, but he couldn't bring himself to in case Anne came back.

So, I agreed to an interview with the Daily Prophet for money. They sent the inquiry to me with a very generous offer. It would be able to fund our summer and my remaining years of school here. I would have been a fool for dismissing it.

As it turned out, I was an even bigger fool for accepting it.

I sat in Headmaster Black's office in some of the best clothing I could come up with. There was a camera perched on a tripod in front of me, snapping a few pictures for the article. Of course, Headmaster Black had to pose with his prize student in a few of them before the interviewer, Randolf Davies, started asking me some questions. They were typical interview questions—how did you do it? What's it like knowing you took down the largest forces in the wizarding world? Did you have any help?

I was prepared for them all. Between Professor Sharp, Professor Weasley, and Ominis, I was well versed in tactful and political answers. I wasn't prepared for the way the interviewer started asking about my friends. Natty made sense, as she didn't try to hide her involvement in searching for and taking down Harlow, but I didn't like how they tried to ask about Sebastian. The interviewer said that he had heard of ex-auror Solomon Sallow's passing and that reports from villagers in Feldcroft claimed he had a rocky relationship with his nephew, who I was often seen with.

I challenged him in return. I wanted to know who he had talked to, who he had asked, and what he had asked them.

He didn't have answers for me, but he'd apparently had enough of my resistance.

"Bring them in," he ordered the photographer. The photographer nodded and opened the door to Headmaster Black's office.

Five men in auror uniforms filed in. No one answered my pleas to explain what was happening. The chair I sat in sprung bindings that fastened my wrists and my legs to the chair, and the harder I struggled, the tighter they got. I screamed in retaliation until magic started pricking at my fingertips. I couldn't reach my wand, but I had started to understand that I didn't always need it. Thanks to Natty, I was able to perform small acts of wandless magic. It was one of the things we passed our time with while she was in the hospital wing.