Run Away ✧ Hogwarts Legacy

*chapter eighteen

Francesca by Hozier

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Mature Content Warning

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Six-eyed. It had to be one of the most nonsensical nicknames that Antheia Wynters had ever heard of in her short life. The list wasn't very long. But this one is undoubtedly the best on the list of the absolute worst.

At first, the Ministry had gone mad upon Sebastian's return. Most of the Aurors had marked him as a traitor, many assuming that when he'd be found, it would be only to return him straight to Azkaban for abandoning his team on a mission. Lock the door and throw away the key. For no sin could ever be as great. No redemption would be great enough to forgive that type of crime. Sebastian managed to get one very good night of sleep at their home, explained everything to each other, and decided on their stories, before they set off to the Ministry the following day. Obviously, the committed murder was a far greater crime than abandoning his colleagues, but he felt safer walking in with some bargaining power. For once, he was not so afraid that today would be his last.

Antheia had known it would take hours of questioning. She had been prepared to wait. It hadn't occurred to her that they would hold him for over a day. Her back was still aching from when she ended up falling asleep at her desk waiting throughout the night.

Someone must have found her sleeping at some point. She woke in the morning with a blanket draped over her shoulder, one she had never seen before, although she wasn't sure who had brought it to her. It seemed too finely made to belong to the Ministry, making the suspected list short.

The Ministry had questioned everything endlessly. Veritaserum was given to him, which was why they had decided on their plan ahead of time. They considered having Sylvie take away any damning memories, but Sebastian didn't like the risk of that idea. There were too many important details that he didn't want to lose or get muddled. So they decided on the most truthful answers that he could give without directly lying. Emery filled in the gaps of the story when they hadn't accounted for him in their plan. While it wasn't easy, after thirty-six miserable hours, Sebastian was released. Not just as an Auror who kept his job. By then, word had spread about the recovered amplifier.

By the following day, he was a hero.

'Six-eyed' was the nickname that the other Aurors had given Sebastian Sallow when he had come back with a genuine, proven, working amplifier. First, it was the relic, then the repository, and now he was credited with finding the painting and the watch. No one else had found one amplifier, awhile Sebastian had returned proof of at least four. And more kept a secret. It turned into a joke among the department that the only way to find such a piece would be if you had eyes in the back of your head. Then someone replied that wouldn't be enough, that you'd need at least six eyes.

Why six? Why not seven or eight? Neither had been sure about the origin, but the name stuck like flies to shit.

The only thing with six eyes that either could attribute anything to was a spider. And those were more lurking in presence than actually helpful in discovery.

Now that the department had fondly crafted such a ridiculous name, Antheia had to hear it each time they walked around the office. Although she had not been thrilled about the amplified pocket watch, she decided to let Sebastian figure out his own way of correcting the error.