DELGADO || Sebastian Sallow (Hogwarts Legacy)

Part 37 - Whiskey and The Necklace

ꕀꕥ〡~𐀔~〡ꕥꕀ

❝ You are definitely something else, not someone who worships me at my feet.❞

______________________________

I made my way back to Mr. Gaunt's office, my mind swirling with the weight of what had just happened.

Was this really my final goodbye to Sebastian?

A lump formed in my throat, and I forced myself to take a deep breath. You hate him, I told myself. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

My body squeezed between the moving bookcase and the solid one beside it. I had left the candle in the other room, and the darkness pressed in around me. I didn't have my wand.

I leaned my head against the bookcase and exhaled deeply. Tears gathered in my eyes.

I had told Sebastian I loved him.

This time, there was no alcohol clouding my mind. No excuses. No way to take it back. I had never said I love you to a man before—at least, not in a way that mattered. Not even when I had whispered it once to Marvolo.

But what I felt for Sebastian... it was beyond my control.

Maybe there was a difference between hating someone because you despised them—

And hating them because you loved them when you wanted to hate them.

Sebastian was like a mirror, a reflection of my own stubborn, reckless, insufferable nature. Passionate when we were close, unbearable when we were apart. We tore each other down, but even in the rage, we still cared. No matter how much we tried to push each other away, we kept being pulled back in.

"Did you find what you were looking for, darling?"

The voice sent a jolt of fear through me.

I wasn't alone.

A dim light flickered on to my left, revealing Mr. Gaunt seated at his desk, a glass of whiskey in one hand, a cigarette in the other.

"Since you and Mr. Sallow disappeared from the event downstairs, I suspected something was amiss," he mused. "It wasn't difficult to confirm once my second-in-command informed me you both had left together. But I must say, I didn't expect to find you alone, Miss Delgado."

His gaze was heavy, unreadable.

"I needed some—"

"Save it, Angelina." He lifted his hand, silencing me instantly.

Then, he stood and leaned over his desk, motioning toward the chair in front of him. "Sit down."

I obeyed without hesitation, lowering myself elegantly into the seat. His expression remained blank, unreadable. I wondered if he even had emotions.

He exhaled smoke slowly. "I'm starting to think I didn't make myself very clear during our lovely dance—"

"I know about your past, Mr. Gaunt," I cut in.

A deep chuckle escaped him. "Oh? Enlighten me, darling. What exactly do you think you know?"

"I know about your time at Hogwarts. With my mother. With Sebastian's father. I found the pictures," I said firmly. "I know you were there together."

He poured himself another drink, then took a second glass and filled it as well.

"Every witch or wizard has passed through the halls of Hogwarts," he said, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "Some, of course, chose to study at Beauxbatons or Durmstrang instead. But yes, I attended. As did many others."