timeless // Sebastian Sallow

CHAPTER 32: Green Herring

I ran from the Potions class and didn't look back, taking the stairs down to the Long Gallery, and locking myself inside the storage room. I slid down to the floor, my fists clenching, trying to ground myself, but my fingers wouldn't stop trembling.

Breath in. Breathe out.

My brain was circuiting, but I mentally thanked Nurse Blainey, for without the Calming Draught that still ran on my system, I might have collapsed again.

I knew I loved Ominis.

It didn't make sense.

If I loved Ominis, why did I smell-

"ALOHOMORA!"

The door swung wide, slamming against the wall with a resounding bang as Natty stomped inside the tiny room. "Carolyn, what the hell is going on with you today??"

Her eyes darted around and she asked impatiently, "How do you even find so many secret rooms??"

I struggled to take a full breath, each inhales feeling shallow and insufficient. "I... I once found a demiguise here... for Mr. Moon..."

Natty rolled her eyes, sighed, and sat next to me. "Carolyn... It's okay. Listen, the heartbreak you went through is still recent... Each person has a different time to get over someone. It is completely natural that you still have feelings for him and, unsurprisingly, you would smell his scent on the Amortentia..."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Natty... You don't understand... I don't even understand it myself..."

Her concerned eyes found mine, and she spoke in a tender but concerned tone. "So explain it to me. Talk to me."

"Natty... Yes, I still love Ominis but... The Amortentia didn't smell like him. It was... Sebastian."

Natty's body stiffened instantly and her jaw dropped. "Wait, what???"

I pushed my fingers on my eyelids, then trailed them up my hair in frustration. "Yesterday you were there, I was just fine... Then I dreamed about Ominis, again... And this morning, at the greenhouses, I saw him and I panicked, but... the Amortentia scent was not his. It doesn't make sense..."

Her eyes widened with surprise flashing in their depths. Her mouth opened slightly as if she were about to say something, but no words came out. She blinked rapidly, trying to process what I had just told her.

Her hands pressed down my shoulders as she spoke in a tense but deliberate tone. "Carolyn, I need you to listen carefully. I am going to ask you a few questions, and you need to answer them with utmost accuracy. Do you understand?"

I nodded, confused.

"Carolyn. That tea you drank last night. It was gifted to you by Ominis' grandmother, is that correct?"

"Y-yes..."

"I understand. During your frequent visits to their manor, did they offer you that same tea?"

I stuttered, not really following. "Yes? No, actually... Not at first..."

She spoke with an assertive tone. "Did Lady Guinevere always drink from the same teapot as you, Carolyn??"

I squeezed my brain, looking for traces of memories. "No... I mean, Viper, the house elf... She would bring me my tea, and Lady Guinevere... She said once that she found the flavour too citric, so she drank a different blend instead..."

Natty's nostrils flared, and she nodded slowly. "I understand. Carolyn, you just mentioned that they offered you the same tea, but 'not at first'. When was the first time you drank it?"