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- 08 -
It had taken days of begging, but I finally found myself walking down Diagon Alley on New Year's Eve. It was quickly getting suffocating in Grimmauld Place, and despite Mrs. Weasley's protests, Sirius had given me permission to escape for the day. Fred was meant to be accompanying me, something about safety in numbers, but he apparently had secret business to attend to and promised to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron for a late lunch. It had taken a while for Fred to convince his mother to let him go, even George tried, but he didn't have any luck.
I ducked into Obscurus books, hoping to find a book on Healing that Madame Pomfrey had recommended to me before the holidays. As I glanced over the cover of the book in my hand, then up and out the window, I see a familiar face walking past. Sebastian, with his hands in his pocket and eyes turned down at the ground, attempts to blend into the holiday crowds. His dark coat, however, stands out against the bright colours of wizards who haven't yet abandoned their Christmas cheer. Hastily dropping the book in my hands back on the shelf, I dart outside. I couldn't ignore the feeling that something wasn't right with the boy, that his sudden aversion to me was part of something much bigger.
"Seb! Hey," I exclaim, catching the boy off guard as he leans against the side of a building, a cigarette balanced in his hand. I resist the urge to scold him for the death stick. "How have you're holidays been?"
"Merlin Elora, how many times do I have to tell you. We aren't friends, we can't be friends." He groans, his eyes glancing quickly around the street. "You need to leave me alone."
"I don't think you realize that as a Hufflepuff, one of my favourite pass times is figuring out why people are acting weird," I state, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring stubbornly. "I just don't understand your sudden aversion to this friendship."
"Exactly, you don't understand," He nearly shouts, making me step back slightly at the volume, his eyes soften at the shocked look on my face. "Merlin, there's just so many things you don't know, that I can't tell you. That I don't want you to fi-" his voice falters, and he runs his hand over his face. "I can't care about you when I know you're going to hate me eventually." Taking one last drag from his smoke before crushing it under his foot. He turns quickly, trying to stalk away from me. As he turns I grab desperately at his arm, not wanting to let him walk away from me again. Though my grip isn't that tight, he winces inhaling quickly in pain. My eyes widen in realization, thinking back to the alleyway at Hogsmeade when he reacted the same way.
"You- you..." I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I had to see his arm. If I was wrong, I couldn't let myself think it longer then I needed to. He looked at me with scared eyes, he pulls me into a deserted side street. "I don't believe... I need to see it." I say, gaining the little confidence I could muster back. "Show me Sebastian."
