3
A Hippogriff dozed lazily in the middle of a small, moonlit clearing. Evangeline had to blink away the disbelief, making sure she wasn’t seeing things. It looked exactly like the drawings in her books, except, seeing it right in front of her was unlike anything she could have imagined.
“Pretty impressive, isn’t he?” Sebastian kept his voice low, seeing to match her awe. “I figured you'd like to see this.”
“How did you…?” Evangeline tore her eyes away from the Hippogriff, turning to Sebastian. “Please tell me you didn’t discover him whilst galavanting in here, practicing those dreadful spells?”
He scoffed, and Evangeline wasn’t sure if it was meant to cover up the fact that he was offended by her question. “No, actually. I am quite capable of doing things with integrity.” He paused. “I just prefer to do so otherwise, most of the time.”
Evangeline narrowed her eyes at his comment, but said nothing, allowing him to continue his explanation. “I was just conversing with a fellow student. Poppy Sweeting. A Hufflepuff who can’t keep a secret to save her life. Apparently, she saved one of these things from poachers. She knows where a bunch of the herds congregate now.”
“And she decided to tell you, of all people?”
“Despite your beliefs, I am really quite likeable.” He gave her a pointed look before returning his gaze to the Hippogriff. “I don’t think it’s very common for Hippogriffs to have dark coats. Maybe you should try to befriend it; the two of you can be peculiar together.”
“I am not peculiar,” Evangeline snapped at him, to which he only responded with a one-shoulder shrug.
“Your loss,” he backed away from the brush, making his way back to the entrance of the woods. “Hippogriffs can be quite loyal beasts, if you take the time to respect them, of course.”
She pondered his words, following him back the way they came. “Do you think it will stay in the area? In case I want to study it?”
Sebastian laughed. “Only you would want to study a creature like that, rather than interact with it. But, it’s been staying in this general area for the past few weeks, I’m sure it won't go anywhere.”
Evangeline nodded, more to herself than in response to Sebastian’s explanation. Perhaps it would be good for her to do something…different. Merlin knows the schoolwork would never end this semester, but a little bit of outside distraction could be good for her.
“And you don’t want anything to do with this? If you’re so caught up on the beast, why don’t you try to…I don’t know, tame it?”
“I have other obligations, unfortunately.” He didn’t look back at her, only continued walking, facing forward.
“Other obligations?”
Sebastian stopped, looking straight up and sighing into the sky. Evangeline rolled her eyes. He was acting like she was the problematic one. Was it really that difficult for his to elaborate?
“Yes, Barlowe, other obligations.” He turned to her. “My sister’s sickness? Does that ring a bell? Maybe hiding the fact that I’ve been practicing forbidden magic at school?”
Evangeline figured he would be on the defense about those topics, but she was ready for his outburst. “I haven’t forgotten about your sister’s sickness, Sebastian. As for the magic, that is your problem. A choice you made. It was a rather poor decision, on your part, but all the same, you have no one to blame but yourself.” She crossed her arms, unwilling to let his temper lead the conversation.
He opened his mouth, as if to answer, before closing it in defeat. “Fine. Points to you, Barlowe. Right as always.” His words held playful sarcasm, but it was clear that he wasn’t feeling it. Perhaps she’d been a bit harsh.
Sebastian turned to walk away, casting lumos to light the path.
“Thank you,” Evangeline said, and he stopped, turning his head a bit. “For showing me the Hippogriff.”
He didn’t say anything, but Evangeline could’ve sworn she saw a smile begin to grow as he continued to walk back to the school.