With You? Always.

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

"Andromeda! Wait up!"

Andromeda spun around as she made her way down the path from the owlery after making the trek to send a letter to her mother. She initially thought she was alone, given that no one else was in the owlery until she heard the sound of her name. Her eyes searched for the source while taking in her current surroundings.

Suddenly, Imelda dove right next to Andromeda, jumping off her broom and landing right on her feet. Andromeda let out a small squeak with her hand flying to the center of her chest, startled by her friend's appearance.

"Sorry!" Imelda gave Andromeda a sheepish grin as she caught her breath. "I've been meaning to talk to you in private, but it's kind of hard when you and Ominis are almost attached to the hip. I saw you from above and took the chance since you're finally by yourself."

A soft blush grew across the surface of Andromeda's cheeks, shifting her gaze to the ground. "I think he still feels guilty after the events with Sebastian, but he's in arithmancy right now so I thought it was the best opportunity to send an owl to my mum."

"Ah," Imelda answered with a slight nod. "I guess he also tore up that detention slip that he gave you?"

"Stole it right out of my hands, ripped it to shreds, and tossed the remains into the fireplace. A bit dramatic, I do say myself"

Imelda laughed and asked, "Do you mind if I join you on your way back to the castle?"

"Not at all."

Andromed and Imelda walked side by side down the winding path. Imelda carried her broom over her shoulder while Andromeda tugged on her cloak, pulling it against her after feeling a gust of wind blowing right through her jumper, and glanced over at Imelda. "Were you out practicing again for the upcoming match against Hufflepuff?"

"No." Imelda shook her head, her lips tugging into a hint of a smile. "Sometimes it's nice to just fly about and not worry about any assignments that are due for class or if our team will perform well at the next match. I find that flying helps to clear my head and relieves any stress. Besides, our match against the Puffs is in a couple of weeks, but I did make our team aware that we will be attending the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw match in a few days. We need to gauge how well those damn lions are playing this year."

"Oh."

"You should come! And bring Ominis with you. It's fun to watch a game when you don't have ties to a particular team."

"I'll ask Ominis, but I know he will be hesitant to go if Sebastian's there."

"Actually..." Imelda's voice trailed off for a minute before saying, "That's who I want to talk to you about."

"Sebastian?"

Imelda nodded and gestured to a nearby bench that was overlooking the castle. While Imelda set her broom aside, Andromeda sat down and peered over her shoulder to make sure there weren't any students nearby to hear their conversation. Imelda muttered a muffling charm underneath her breath to prevent anyone from eavesdropping and took a seat right next to Andromeda.

"I noticed after practice the other day that Sebastian seemed off and asked if he wanted to go for a fly. He agreed, so we flew around for almost an hour before we ended up near one of the cliffs over by the train station. We sat together for a while, and I asked if something was bothering him, and he sort of...let it all out."

"How much did Sebastian tell you?"

"That he regrets everything..." Imelda closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. "Sebastian said he had a discussion with both you and Ominis before practice and how it finally came to light how he's really struggling with losing his parents, uncle, Anne, and potentially, Ominis. He did say despite his outburst at the end of the conversation and abrupt exit, he does appreciate the both of you coming forward and offering to help."