Exile || Sebastian Sallow

47 | 'I never let you go'

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"Will our memories survive?"
—Whitney Houston

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47 | 'I never let you go'

Sebastian Sallow

"You've been awfully quiet, Sebastian," Ominis observed before swallowing a spoonful of chocolate pudding into his mouth. "Is something the matter? This isn't like you at all."

Sebastian twirled a fork on the Slytherin table, a heavy sigh escaping his lips, and barely paying any attention to the first years currently being sorted into their houses. Only one thing had been on his mind since arriving at Hogwarts—or rather, someone.

I miss her.

"I know you do," whispered Ominis. "I miss Anne, too. How is she?"

That startled Sebastian, breaking him out of his inner wallowing. He hadn't meant to blurt it out. If only Ominis knew who he truly meant by "her."

Not that he didn't miss his sister being in school, but it was a different kind of missing puzzle piece with Belle. At least with his sister, he could see her whenever he wanted. It was wishful thinking with Belle.

"Right, right." Sebastian cleared his throat, adjusting his posture on the bench and letting the fork drop on the plate. "She sends you her best, Ominis. Told me so right before I left."

That earned him a rare smile from Ominis Gaunt.

On and on, the names of the first years were called. But on and on, just one name echoed in Sebastian's mind. His friends kept chatting in whispers around the table—Imelda Reyes, Ominis Gaunt, Ethan Rosier—all of them attempting to lure him in to the conversation. Sebastian did not bother paying attention to any of the other girls either, not even when they said hello at the train platform, because they weren't her.

He never took their bait. He kept imagining Belle. He was itching to send her a letter about his first day at school, even though nothing eventful had happened yet. She'd insisted on it so much over the summer weeks they'd exchanged letters.

In her absence, Sebastian found other ways to occupy himself, especially on days when Anne and his uncle were off visiting St. Mungos. He delved into local bookshops and libraries, hoping to find anything at all about his sister's sickness, perhaps a cure. It had all been fruitless, but it was a good thing he was back at Hogwarts. Sneaking into the Restricted Section as soon as the feast was over could prove rewarding.

He kept thinking it over and over. Those summer days and sunsets. He couldn't let it go. Without Belle as a buffer to his despair and desperation, the feeling clung to him like thorns digging into his flesh more and more with each sunset.