7
Evangeline was cautious when she walked to their meeting spot. She couldn’t help but be on edge. It was like she was nervous for him. Despite their differences in values, she did enjoy his presence, or at least the banter that came with it. He was already there when she arrived, his worried, pacing steps echoing quietly.
She took a breath before descending the stairs. He snapped his head up to look at her, clearly relieved, and a bit surprised, that she had actually come to meet him. No going back now; she averted her eyes, gaze to the floor as she approached him. Only when they were facing each other did she look up.
“Hi,” he said first, edgy and breathless; nervous.
“Hi.”
He ran a hand through his hair, brown strands falling messily back down. “I’m so sorry.”
Evangeline shook her head. “I don’t want apologies, I want an explanation.”
He paused, mouth open, thinking, before the words spilled out. “My sister is sick. She’s- I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. She was attacked by goblins, Merlin knows why- anyway, she’s hurt. It’s not like a normal sickness, she’s in pain, and there is no cure that anyone knows about. But I’ve been trying to find one.” He took in a breath, gauging her reaction. Evangeline’s lips were pursed, but other than that, gave no indication as to how she felt, which was uncommon for her. “I’ve been looking for answers, following legends and stories, coming up short so far. It’s- it’s not safe, the places I’m going. The Forbidden Forest, traveling to places I’ve never been. It’s dangerous- hell, I’m scared half to death every time I leave to find answers. So, I did some extra reading. The spells they teach here are not nearly enough when I’m against enemies that could kill me in an instant. I’ve been responsible, only practicing with Ominis or on my own. But as you saw…well, it was an accident, but it’s never happened before."
Evangeline couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. What he was doing was against the rules and completely wrong, but…he wasn’t doing it for a bad reason. “I…you know that’s not an excuse. Those spells, they’re…” She looked away from him.
“I know,” He muttered, moving his head to meet her eyes. “I know, but my sister, she’ll die if I don’t find something.”
She simply looked at him, seeing the cocky, self-assured Sytherin in a different light. He was still an arse for sacrificing her to the librarian, and she certainly didn’t trust him, but at least he had something good that he was fighting for.
Evangeline nodded, turning to leave.
“Wait, hold on- that’s it?”
She stopped, still facing the staircase. Her bones were still thrumming with uncertainty and a hint of adrenaline. “What else is there?”
“I- well,” he paused. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve said that already. I told you-”
“No,” he cut her off, softly though, unlike his usual sharpness. “No, I mean about the library. You- I didn’t know you and it seemed like it wouldn’t matter. I know that makes me sound like a jerk, and I was. It’s a horrible excuse. Even after that, you still covered for me. So thank you, and I’m sorry.”
Evangeline was glad she was facing away, hiding her shocked expression from him. Surely he would gloat seeing her face right now. “I accept your apology.” She paused. “Though, it’s going to take more than that to make it up to me. You owe me now, Sallow.”
“Anything you want,” she could hear the smile in his voice, “I’ll make it happen, Barlowe.”
She laughed, turning to send him an amused smile. He seemed pleased that she was willing to look him in the eyes. “Oh,” he startled, remembering something. “I forgot about this. Wasn’t sure if you’d leave the conversation angry like me or not, but I figured I’d bring it just in case.”
He dug in his pocket, pulling out a small blue box. She couldn’t help but be surprised at the gesture. “It’s a more…tangible ‘thank you,’ for covering my ass. And a late Christmas gift, I suppose.”
She walked up to him, taking the box gently from his hands. He looked pleased with himself, Stuffing his hands into his pockets as he waited for her to open it. The box was just about the size of her palms, and had rounded edges lines with bronze etching. She lifted the lid, pulling away a thin piece of paper to reveal the gift.
It was a necklace, with a small bronze raven hanging from it. The bird was hollow and emitted a dim, green glow. “It’s beautiful,” she gave it out of the box, examining the gift more closely.
“I got it on the way to Feldcroft,” he paused, as if not wanting to say the next words. “To visit my sister.” Evangeline looked up at him, sending a supportive smile his way.
“I figured, since you’re such an avid follower of the ‘Ravenclaw lifestyle,’ that you’d like the trinket. Plus, it holds Wiggenweld. Helpful little sorcery; it holds quite a bit of it, just condensed down to fit in there. It’ll work whenever you’re injured, so you don’t have to carry a bunch of those bottles on your excursions.” He watched as she examined the necklace in awe, not able to stop the smile gracing his features. “Plus, I thought the green glow would give you a little reminder of yours truly.”
She scoffed at his remark, but Evangeline was grateful; it was a thoughtful gift. “Thank you, Sebastian.” His expression faltered, as if surprised to hear those words from her.
“You’re welcome.” He shrugged, turning away from her. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow in class. Have a good night, Barlowe.”
“You too,” She turned away as well, putting the little box in her pocket and putting on the necklace as she walked back to the Ravenclaw common room. Long shadows slashed through the columns of moonlight shining through the windows.
It was dead quiet in the castle as the last of the students turned in for the night. Evangeline took one last look at the necklace before entering the common room, trying to hide her smile from her fellow Ravenclaws as she walked to her dorm for bed.