Under Your Scars || Sebastian Sallow x MC

Chapter 22 - Little Raven

Juliette POV

I took Rosalie as far from Hogwarts as I could, hoping to find some Ancient Magic sites that I hadn't already exhausted. We planned to spend the night in Cragcroft then continue our search in the morning, hopefully returning to Hogwarts in time for dinner on Sunday. After a long day of exploring ruins around the hamlet, Rosalie and I set up a charmed tent on a cliff overlooking the sea.We set up our respective rooms in our tent then headed outside to enjoy the sunset.

A biting October chill had settled in the air, which made for a cold evening when combined with the spray from the ocean misting our faces. I conjured some blankets and a small fire near the edge of the cliff. I sat on the edge, wrapped in a plush blanket and dangling my feet over the side. Rosalie stayed a little further back. 

"I'm afraid of heights." 

"Afraid of heights, or afraid you'll fall?" I asked, eyebrow raised. 

"Umm... both?" she chuckled nervously. 

"Here." I drew my wand and conjured a small railing on the edge of the cliff. She scooted herself toward the edge tentatively, slowly swinging her legs through the railing as she looked out over the cliff. She smiled and let out a deep breath, seemingly proud of herself. 

I offered her a blanket, which she accepted and wrapped around her shoulders. 

"See? Brave as a Gryffindor." I teased. 

"I'm a Slytherin, though?"

I shrugged, "People can be more than one thing."

She nodded and looked out toward the sea. The warmth of the sunset illuminated her deep-bronze skin, her long brown curls blew gently in the ocean breeze.  The silence was filled only by the sound of waves crashing against the cliff beneath us.

We would be spending the evening out here so I figured it was due time I got to know my charge a bit better. Intensive training sessions had left little time to chat, and she had always gravitated more toward Sebastian than to me when it came to personal matters. I wasn't the best with kids.

"So, where are you from, Rosalie?"

"I don't know, exactly" her lips pulled into a frown.

Merde. I've begun badly. 

"I'm sor-" 

"It's quite alright," she interrupted, "I've lived at the union workhouse in Carlisle since I was five. Before that, I have no idea. They said my parents just dropped me there one day, with nothing but my name. I barely remember them..." her voice trailed off as she looked out over the sea, a wistful smile tugging on her lips. 

This poor girl...

"When did you discover that you were a witch?"

She flinched. Apparently my line of questioning really sucked today.

"I kind of always had unique.. abilities. I could make things move without touching them. When I was angry, or sad, people around me would get terrible headaches. This Ancient Magic stuff only started maybe two years ago." 

I hummed to myself and gazed into our small campfire. 

Two years. The same length of time I've been feeling this pull back to Scotland. All that time I assumed it was some leftover repository magic, but it really was her drawing me here, after all. 

"The workhouse commissioners noticed pretty early that there was something wrong with me," she continued. "they kept me separate from the other children. They thought I was cursed, possessed, you name it. I can't even count how many visits I had from every manner of priest and exorcist to try to 'heal me'." she threw up her hands in air quotes, then sighed.