DELGADO || Sebastian Sallow (Hogwarts Legacy)

Part 90 - Rhythm and On Guard

ꕀꕥ〡~𐀔~〡ꕥꕀ

❝But my chest still heaved as though I'd sprinted through the forest again❞

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Night had fallen when I slipped away from the summer estate, wearing just my white nightgown. The chill of the evening air wrapped around me, raising goosebumps along my arms. I hadn't bothered with a cloak, there had been no time. The light had come, and I had followed.

I trailed the faint hum of voices, male and female into the forest's depths. Guided by the soft glow of a floating orb of light. It drifted ahead like a will-o'-the-wisp. Shadows stretched long beneath the towering trees, their branches tangled into a canopy that devoured the moonlight. Each step crunched against the leaves, the sound far too loud in the hushed silence of the woods.

A sudden gust stirred a pile of leaves to my right, sending them spiraling upward and startling a group of bats into the air. 

I paused, heart pounding, and glanced over my shoulder. The estate's glow was long gone, swallowed by the trees. For a fleeting moment, fear crept in. What if someone had followed me, watched me leave? What if this light wasn't guiding me, but luring me into a trap?

Still, my feet carried me forward.

The orb shimmered faintly, humming with the same rhythm as the disembodied voices ahead. Sometimes they grew clearer, almost as if they were whispering my name. Other times they sank into the wind, elusive and distant.

I touched the ringless hand I had hidden earlier, now pressed against my chest. Marvolo would kill me if he knew I had left. And yet, something stronger than fear pushed me on, curiosity a longing.

The deeper I went, the more the forest seemed alive.

Rounding the corner between two narrow trees, I froze. Ahead stood a tall figure cloaked in black, his hood drawn low over his face. The guiding light I had followed so faithfully winked out the instant my eyes landed on him, as if it had only ever been leading me here.

A wand glinted faintly in his right hand. At his feet lay a body sprawled across the dirt.

My steps carried me closer, not out of courage but because deep down, I already knew who the man was. Even hidden in shadow, his stance, his very presence, was unmistakable. Sebastian.

I stopped at his side, my gaze falling to the form at our feet. The breath caught in my throat. Blood soaked the white nightgown clinging to her frame, strands of hair plastered to a pale face streaked with red. Recognition hit me like a blade to the gut.

It was me.

My own lifeless eyes stared up from the forest floor.

Slowly, I lifted my head to Sebastian. His lips curled into a wide, delighted smirk, one that made my skin crawl "What did you do?" My voice shook, fear clawing up my throat.

"It had to be done," he said firmly, almost casually, as though murder were nothing more than a necessity. "She thought being without me was an option."

"She had no choice..." My hands trembled as I instinctively reached for my wand, only to remember I hadn't brought it. I couldn't hide it in my nightgown.

"Oh, but she did," Sebastian countered, his eyes gleaming with madness. "And she chose not to listen."

Then he turned, his wand now angled toward me.

"It's your turn now."

Panic surged. I spun on my heel and bolted, my gown snapping at my legs as I tore through the woods. The trees blurred past, my boots crunching over fallen leaves, my breath loud in my ears. I didn't look back, I couldn't.