Duello D'Amor // Sebastian x Reader Hogwarts Legacy Fanfiction

Chapter 3 - Friends, and Friends of Friends

I didn't tend to the garden that day. It was still too strange and new for me to even fathom that I somehow discovered that I had a green thumb, to begin with. Sebastian told me he'd water the plants but again reiterated the fact that he was in no way, shape, or form qualified to care for the plants beyond that. I thanked him anyway. 

While he was outside tending to the plants, I took the alone time presented to me to look around the home for clues as to who the person I became was. The house was oddly barren of pictures, only some taken back in school being present on the bookcases. I was hoping that I might find some of me from the last five years--some kind of saving throw that might have jogged my memory in some way. But I didn't find anything. 

I was scared to venture beyond the living room, so I stepped out the front door to see the land around the home. I didn't recognize the place, and I couldn't see a neighboring house from the porch where I stood. It was perfectly isolated, which I supposed wasn't a bad thing. I always liked my privacy and was happy to find another thing about me that hadn't changed. 

I didn't even want to look at the garden, so I stayed away from the back of the house. Part of me knew that seeing it would make me feel even more out of my depths than I already was. I just wasn't ready for that yet. 

When Sebastian came back inside, I was seated on the couch in the living room, sifting through a stack of books piled on the end table by the armrest. There was a book on curses, herbology, and a few pieces of fiction among the stack--all things I could find myself reading if given the time. 

That was another thing that bothered me some; there were so many books I could have read in the last five years that I now knew nothing about. There was so much knowledge that I could have gained--so much experience--and it was all gone. I had supposedly been working as an auror for seven years at this point, but I still felt like I was only in my second year on the job. It was a terrible feeling, knowing my knowledge had regressed that much. 

"I can see the smoke spouting from your ears," Sebastian commented as he sat down on the adjacent armchair. "What are you thinking?" 

"Just how much I've lost," I replied solemnly. To this, he didn't reply. He only nodded his head in agreement. "What would I normally be doing now, after the gardening and whatnot?" I ask, trying to shift the heavy mood that had settled itself on my shoulders. 

There were so many feelings I was feeling about the whole thing, and it felt as if I had nowhere to set them. My head was on fire, and I only wanted to pretend as if nothing was wrong, if only to ease the burning in the base of my skull. 

"It depends, really," he replied. "Sometimes we see friends; other times, we just spend the day at home reading or something similar to that." 

"We?" I asked. 

He phrased it as if he and I always spent our days off together, and from what I knew, that didn't sound like something I would do. I've always been a pretty independent person, and it didn't make sense to me that Sebastian and I had grown that close at all. 

"It might be good for you to see your friends," he said, ignoring my question altogether as he rubbed at his chin. "They've been worried about you." 

"What do my friendships look like?" I asked. The only friendships I was aware of were Sebastian, obviously, no matter how little sense it made, and Poppy. It would make sense that Poppy and I were still friends; she was my best friend during my time at Hogwarts and the years after that, I did remember. 

"Well, there's Poppy, of course," he started, "and my sister, too. You and her got pretty close after you and I became friends again."

"Anne?" 

I'd only met her a few times in my fifth year. During that time, she'd never actually attended Hogwarts along with us because of the curse placed upon her before I started there. 

"Ah, yes," he said. "You wouldn't know, I suppose, but you and I actually figured that one out. Her curse, I mean."

"We did?" 

"Couldn't have done it without you, honestly." He shot me a small smile. "I think it brought closure to all of us, not just Anne. I don't know that we would have gotten on as well as we did if we hadn't been able to get over everything that transpired during our school years."

That's where my thinking had been as well, and this puzzle piece definitely helped answer some of the questions I had. I couldn't see myself being friends with Sebastian again after Hogwarts, but if we could work through things and bury the proverbial hatchet, it could have worked. And it obviously did, for apparent reasons. 

"I won't get into too much detail with that. It was a rather difficult time for everyone, and it's more of Anne's tale to tell," he said. "She'll be happy to see you if you let her, though I understand if it would be too much. You and her have gotten rather close." 

I didn't feel like it would be fair not to invite her over if we were to see friends. Even though I didn't remember her, we had obviously connected, and I couldn't ignore that--at least for her sake. I understood that I couldn't return to how I was living five years ago if I wished to regain my memories. I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone if I wanted to attempt to jog my memory in any way. If I were best friends with Anne Sallow, I would need to meet her again. 

"I'd be willing to see her," I replied after a short silence. "It wouldn't be fair to her if I didn't."

Sebastian shifts in the armchair. "You don't need to do anything just because it doesn't feel fair for them." 

"I know," I said, waving a hand dismissively. "But if I want my memories back, I must at least try." 

"Alright," he said, clasping his hands together. "I'll call them through the floo and let them know you'd like to see them." 

He stood up and started toward the other end of the house where the study is, which houses the fireplace. 

"And one more thing," he said, turning back to look at me with his hands in his pockets. "Ominis will want to see you, too. He's your friend again, too." 

"That's fine," I replied, rubbing my temples. Sebastian nodded and continued his path toward the study. I leaned back against the couch and let out a breath, wondering if it was a bright idea to do this so soon, but I didn't want to take it back now. If they were worried about me, I at least owed it to them so they could see that I was doing fine, regardless of how weird it would be.