starting over
A cold tingle ran down my spine as I got ready to cast it. I had no choice but to. This man was trying to hurt my sister. Tears welled up in my eyes and I could only see through a tunnel, as if there was a glaze over my eyes. I heard myself yelling AVADA-.
My eyes flickered open at the touch of my sister. I could feel slight rocking back and forth as the carriage raced to its destination. I wiped my eyes and looked out the window to see Hogwarts in the distance.
"You were talking in your sleep again, Willow," My sister Juniper said, looking concerned.
"I'm fine," I said through sleepy eyes.
"Yeah, that is why you haven't slept in months." She rolled her blue eyes that matched mine. Before I could even answer her, she was talking about her classes this year and a rumor she had heard from one of her friends about a new student joining Hogwarts mid-schooling. She had resigned to leave the events of last year behind her before the summer was through. She truly seemed as if none of it had ever happened. I found myself jealous of her ability to forget.
We got out of our carriage and walked through the castle walls. I realized that this was my last year walking through the doors as a student and a veil of sadness washed over me. I stopped at the sight of a dark blonde Slytherin waiting expectantly just inside the main entrance.
"Ominis!" I smiled and walked over to him. Ominis was not huge on affection, but I hugged him anyway.
"Willow Starling, you know I hate hugs... but I will let this one go. I missed you this summer." He said as he squeezed my hand.
"I missed you too." Juniper quickly protested the stop at the entrance and demanded that we continue our conversation inside the Great Hall so she could get to her friends.
I led Ominis into the Great Hall where most of the second through seventh years had already been loudly enjoying the first night back. That was when I spotted him. My heart dropped in my chest. Sebastian Sallow looked up at me and quickly glanced away before getting up to come to greet Ominis.
"Ominis, look at you, you handsome devil. Did you get even better looking over the summer?" Sebastian laughed at the sight of Ominis' face getting red from the attention.
"Hello, Sebastian. Yes, I have. Thank you for noticing," Ominis said, cracking a smirk across his face before taking a seat at the table. I turned to Juniper and told her to go grab her seat with her other fifth-year friends before I plopped down next to Ominis.
"Hi, Sebastian." I looked at him across the table from us. He looked as exhausted as I felt but looked better than ever. I felt a nervous twinge in my stomach thinking about the things we had talked about over the summer.
"Hey, Willow. Welcome back," He said flatly before turning to Ominis and talking about something they had likely started speaking about in a letter over the summer. I half-listened to them chatting about a new broom upgrade that Sebastian wanted while Professor Black made his way to the front of the Great Hall.
"Attention! AHEM. Attention!" Professor Black stood behind the podium and looked out at the sea of students until we quieted. "Welcome back to the returning students. We will be getting a move on with the first-year sorting ceremony in just a moment, but we wanted to welcome a new transfer student this year. We have a new seventh year starting with us." He looked down at a scroll and studied it closely before clearing his throat again. "Everett Magnus! Make your way to the stage please." Professor Black stood and stared out at the students in the Great Hall frantically before he heard the doors at the back of the hall open. Professor Weasley rushed through the rows of tables before making her way up to the stage. She whispered something inaudible to Professor Black.
The door creaked again, and all of the attention was on Everett Magnus. He walked into the Great Hall with such confidence. The student had dark brown hair that was brushed back off of his face with an almost black strand of hair falling onto his forehead. His stride never broke as he made his way to the front of the room. There was a rush of noise between the tables of students as they watched. I could not take my eyes off of him. His tan skin was complimented by the white of his shirt and his smile was so warm but also exuded strength. He was beautiful. I blushed and looked down at the table. Suddenly, I became aware of a set of eyes on me. I looked for the culprit and found Sebastian's eyes on me. I quickly shifted my focus back to the new student, unwilling to give him attention after the 'warm' welcome.
"Lovely to meet you, Everett," Professor Weasley said, motioning to the stool at the front of the stage. She placed the sorting hat on his head after he took his place at the front of the Great Hall. He looked comfortable being the center of attention as he listened to the sorting hat deliberate on where he should be placed without argument or pleading.
"Gryffindor!" the sorting hat finally said. Everett smiled as he got up from the stool and made his way over to the table, joining his fellow Gryffindors. I doubted that he ever had trouble making friends and that the Gryffindors would have him feeling at home in no time.
The first years all got a turn at the front of the room. The ceremony flew by and soon, it was time to eat. Ominis and I spoke about his summer as we ate. Sebastian sat in silence and continued that way through the dinner unless Ominis spoke to him directly. I kept glancing over at the Gryffindor table as I sat quietly, listening as Ominis explained what he studied over the summer to keep away from his family. I happened to catch Sebastian's eye as he glared at me, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Was he going to tell others about what I had done? Did he hate me because of it? I stared at the leftover food on my plate after suddenly losing my appetite. Sebastian eventually got up and said goodnight to Ominis before glancing at me and walking away.
"Okay, what is wrong with you two?" Ominis asked while giving me a quizzical brow.
"Nothing. I- I don't even know what happened. We wrote to each other a lot during the summer and even met up a couple of times but about a month ago, he just stopped." I immediately felt like a weight was being lifted off my shoulders for the first time in a month.
"Sebastian is a complex creature. He likes to act goofy, but we both know that he tends to use that to hide his true emotions. Sometimes he cannot hold them in and refuses to truly express himself. He will come around, Willow," Ominis said knowingly. I trusted Ominis' opinion. He and Sebastian had been best friends since our first year. No one knew him better than Ominis other than his twin sister Anne.
"I don't know. I had just shared something personal, and I thought he understood, but I am starting to think he didn't." I shrunk into myself after realizing that I had just shared too much. I took one last sip of my pumpkin juice. "Anyways, it's getting late. Shall we?"
Ominis and I walked to the common room talking about small things like the weather and whether we would have a Quidditch season this year. It wasn't that I had not believed that he would keep my secret, but I knew he would not approve. A small part of me believed that we would never be friends ever again if he knew the truth. After Ominis went to his room, I decided to go get my book out of my bags in my room. As I stepped through the door, I realized each of my roommates were asleep. I quietly grabbed my book and headed back out to the common room and sat by the fire with my book. Soon, I felt droopy-eyed and sleep took over me.
* * * * *
"NO!" I scream, waking myself up from a nightmare. "Shit!" I whisper under my breath, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I glanced at the watch on my wrist to find that it was already 6 in the morning. I sat up and looked for the book I had fallen asleep with, only to find someone else holding it.
"Moooorning. Someone was doing some light reading I see." Sebastian Sallow looked at me with a smirk on his face. He focused his attention back on the book and opened a marked page. I rolled my eyes and quickly yanked the book away from him. If there was one person that I did not need in my business, it would be Sebastian Sallow, especially after this summer.
"Do you have to make this experience more embarrassing for me, Sallow?" I say with a raspy voice, indicating that I had been sleeping deeply. My cheeks flushed thinking about how many people probably saw me sleeping and heard me talk in my sleep. I had been talking in my sleep for as long as I can remember, but I didn't have so many secrets to keep back then. Sebastian looked through me, acting as if he did not know everything I was dealing with. He brushed the hairs back that were dangling on his forehead.
"Aren't you the one who called me a thorn in your side from first year on? I would not be fulfilling my duty if I did not give you a hard time." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes for the second time in one minute. Sebastian had ignored me all night in the Great Hall but suddenly decided he wanted to be friends again, a change that I could only pinpoint to be the work of Ominis.
"Who can argue with that logic? How long have you been just standing here staring at me? Couldn't talk to me last night, but you are willing to stalk me?" I stood from the chair I had been uncomfortably sleeping in and walked towards my room to change into fresh robes.
"No, I was walking through to go to the Great Hall when I saw you lying here. I was about to wake you up," He said through a veil of frustration in his voice. He knew what I had been dreaming about since we had met up this summer. I told him everything that had happened during our sixth year, but despite this, he smiled at me like I had just woken up from a dream about winning the Quidditch World Cup.
"As stimulating as this conversation is, I need to go get ready for breakfast," I said, annoyed with the whiplash brought on by his ever-changing attitude toward me. I walked into my room before he could even respond.
Maybe I was right to call him a thorn in my side all these years. He had been this way since we were young due to my close friendship with his sister, Anne, who had gone away after their uncle passed away. Sebastian had not said much about it since the day it happened, but I knew both of their relationships with their uncle were not the best. He was an angry man who was not prepared to take on two children when he did. He was emotionally abusive at best, even when I was around. Anne always found it easier to listen to him, especially after she had been cursed. She did not take his death well, but I had not expected her to flee from the places she knew while she was so sick. Why would you move away from your brother who was still here?
After getting ready for the day, I made my way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I was lost in thought about Anne and Sebastian when my sister waved a hand in my face.
"Hello? EARTH TO WILLOW!" Juniper said. She was still so small, despite her being a fifth year. Her red hair fell to her shoulders as she wrinkled her freckled nose, laughing at my shock.
"Oh, I am so sorry, Juniper. I got very little sleep last night and a rude awakening," I said, running my hand through my long black hair and glancing over my shoulder.
"Sebastian?" I stopped and looked at her quizzically.
"How did you..." My blood immediately boiled after this morning.
"He told me. He was talking to Ominis about it over breakfast and I heard him say something about you and I went and asked where you were." Before I could think, I walked quickly through the grand doors of the Great Hall and stormed to where the boys were sitting.
"SALLOW!" I shouted.
"Ah, Willow. What did I do this time?"
"I was about to ask you that, Sebastian. Why do you have to make things harder for Willow? There was no reason for you to ignore her last night and now she is obviously upset at you for something you said this morning." Ominis spoke in his motherly tone. I squeezed my fists tighter.
"Listen, Sallow-" Trying to get a word in before being interrupted by either of them again.
"You know what? I don't like that name very much, Starling." I could feel my jaw clench. If there was one thing that I couldn't stand, it was being interrupted.
"Sebastian," I said, taking a seat at the table next to Ominis, "why do you feel the need to tell EVERYONE about this morning?" I said a little too loudly. Poppy looked over at me from her spot at the Hufflepuff table and raised her eyebrows. She would want to know what I was talking about later. She had been telling me since our third year that Sebastian had a crush on me. I did not believe it. He makes it obvious every day how much he hates me.
"It wasn't everyone. It was just Ominis. No need to get your panties in a twist, darling." He smiled a smile that made me want to turn him into a rat here and now. I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I made my plate for breakfast. Ominis had a concerned look on his face and patted my hand.
"This isn't over, Sallow," I said to him after I gathered myself and took my first bite of food.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Starling." He winked. I ignored him and finished my breakfast in peace.