The Mystery of You

"See you in Charms, Willow," Ominis said to me as I left the table to go talk to Juniper and Poppy. As I approached the Hufflepuffs table, Juniper spotted me and walked over from her spot with her friends.

"What was that all about?" Poppy said with a knowing smile. Juniper raised her eyebrows as I let out a sigh.

"Not this again, guys. We just had an argument because that man-child wants everyone to know my business." I glanced back at him sitting at the table. He was laughing at something Ominis said, and my heart thumped in my chest. Why did I have to get attached to the closeness we had over the summer? I missed being able to talk to him.

"I am sure you are right, Willow. Why else would you constantly have your eyes on him?" Poppy said while looking at Juniper like they just cornered me. Juniper snorted into her pumpkin juice which made me giggle.

"I actually might have my eye on someone else," I said while making sure no one else was listening.

"Is it the new boy? Join the club!" Juniper giggled. I knew that he was too gorgeous to be without a line of hearts following him.

"I heard he transferred from Ilvermorny. His dad just packed up all of their things one day and brought Everett with him," Poppy said.

"How could we know that already?" I asked. I felt behind.

"Oh, come on, Willow. If you want to be in the running, you need to keep up. Imelda Reyes has already introduced herself. That's where my sources got the information." I snorted at my sister. Juniper had 'sources' at fifteen? She was way ahead of me.

"Maybe he would rather tell me those things himself. Anyways, I need to get to the library and then down to Charms class before I receive my first detention of the year already."

Poppy and Juniper continued talking about the new boy as I was walking out of the Great Hall. I had taken some time to get ready before breakfast, but the main reason I had been in a hurry was the need to get a book at the library before class. After what happened last year, I felt the need to find more ways to protect myself and the ones I loved or protect them from me. I felt as if I was inches away from breaking. The secret was eating me alive more than ever, especially with Sebastian's behavior.

I walked quickly into the expansive library to swap out the books. I took the notes I had stuffed into the old book and tossed them into the new one. My thoughts went to Sebastian and a memory overwhelmed me.

"I could write some thoughts in the margins of that book for you if you want," Sebastian said, sitting next to me in the grass outside my little hamlet.

"You would dare do that to my book?" My mouth fell agape, trying to act like it was the most appalling thing he could have offered. "No. You must write your thoughts on paper for me and bring it back."

"Hmm," He looked at me as one eyebrow raised stubbornly on his forehead, "I will agree to these terms, but only if you promise one thing." My heart pounded in my chest.

"Uh – yeah, of course," I spoke shakily with my heartbeat in my throat.

"You must promise to keep these notes secret. They are only for your eyes." My heart did a backflip in my chest as I laughed and agreed, but he never returned the book nor any notes to go with it.

Suddenly, I was back in the library walking up the stairs to leave the paper paradise behind for now. I had resolved to let the whole thing with Sebastian go after my outburst. He would not ruin my last first day at Hogwarts with his sudden changes of mood. I had been quick to anger with him earlier, but I was having issues trusting him with my secret. The last thing I needed was to lose Ominis too. I was so lost in thought that I turned the corner and ran directly into someone and fell over.

"Oh, I am so sorry... I was just-" I said while still on the ground when I finally saw who I ran into. The new student looked down at me, offering a hand to help me up.

"Don't worry about it. I have done my fair share of running into people today. I just cannot get my bearings here yet. I'm Everett," he said while bending down to grab my books that had scattered on the ground.

"I know. Er- I meant to say that I saw you get sorted last night. My name is Willow." I blushed at my own stupidity.

"It is nice to meet you, Willow," he said with a big, warm grin. His eyes were a golden-brown color that looked straight into my soul. It felt like he knew what I was thinking at any given moment. A silence fell between us, and my cheeks turned a bright red color. What was wrong with me?

"Well, I am heading to Charms class. I don't know if you might be heading in that direction as well. I could show you the way if you would like, of course," I said, still trying to get my tongue to stop feeling like it was paralyzed.

"I actually am heading that way. That would be lovely." He motioned for me to lead the way. I walked us through the hallways the best way that I knew to Charms but still ended up making a mistake and going down the wrong hallway.

"I swear I have been here before. I think I am just a little off because it's my last first day here," I spoke. How stupid! There is no way he believed that at all.

"So you have been here since first year?" He questioned with a genuine look on his face.

"I have. It has been like home to me, especially after my sister and I lost our parents in my third year," I breathed. "I have never felt more comfortable than I am within these walls. They have always been the safest and happiest place for me."

"Wow. So, I have a lot to look forward to this year, huh?" he took a deep breath before continuing. "My dad yanked me out of Ilvermorny this summer and told me we were moving here. So far, I think you are my first friend here." I smiled at the thought.

"I cannot believe no one helped you to your classes today." I laughed. Aren't Gryffindors supposed the be loyal, especially to their own? We walked into the classroom and Everett pointed at the redhead sitting in a chair nearby whispering to himself as he wrote with his quill.

"He tried to help me, but honestly, I was a little nervous to trust him after some of the stories I heard last night about his shenanigans. I didn't want to end up in the pen with the beasts outside or something." We laughed together as we took our seats.

"Garreth means well. He just... struggles at making the right decisions sometimes." I stated. I looked around at the long tables and right as I had given up my search, none other than Sebastian Sallow walked in through the door. He looked up at me and then to Everett, and quickly changed his mind about the seat he had originally picked. Ominis followed him as they both moved toward us.

"Well, well, well, looks like Willow has made a new friend. Sebastian Sallow," Sebastian spoke in an arrogant tone.

"I'm Everett," He spoke confidently, reaching his hand out behind me toward Sebastian for a handshake. Sebastian ignored it and plopped down in a seat right next to me.

"Oh, I know. We all know. The big American," Sebastian said, watching Everett's face closely for his reaction.

"Ignore him, Everett. Sebastian has recently decided that friends are beneath him," I snapped. Ominis chuckled at the jab, enjoying the drama.

"I do not believe that that's true. My best friend is right here," he said flippantly, throwing his hand toward Ominis, whose wand went flying out of his hand.

"Really, Sebastian? I want no part of this. I am just trying to read the textbook so I know what we are learning this year." Ominis sounded rightfully annoyed, but he could not hide the slight smile on his face. I got up and grabbed his wand for him. Within that time, Sebastian moved seats to sit next to Everett, leaving me the seat between Ominis and him. I rolled my eyes at his childish behavior but decided not to fight it. I quickly took the seat that Sebastian had assigned me. Professor Ronen made his way to the center of the room.

"Welcome, welcome! I am so happy to see all of you at the beginning of your seventh year. I remember when you all started in your first year, a handful of excellent new and transfer students excluded, but even so, I am very proud of each of you. Do not think that the difficult spells have already been learned. We will be starting with how to expand a space with Capacious Extremis and the spells will only get more difficult as time moves forward."

"Think you can keep up, Emmette?" Sebastian said with a sly look in his eye.

"Everett," I corrected him. Everett looked at Sebastian with a flat look on his face and rolled his eyes.

"I already know the spell. My father taught me this summer as we packed our house. It really came in handy." I smiled at him. Sebastian looked disappointed that his poke did not have the effect that he wanted.

"In front of each of you now is a bag, but before we get into it, we are going to learn the proper wand movement. Does anyone know it?" Professor Ronen looked at the class. Everett raised his hand.

"I do, sir," Everett said, getting up from his chair.

"Please, show us!" Professor Ronen said excitedly. Everett stepped out from his chair and walked toward the spot Professor Ronen was standing in and showed us the movement of his wand.

"Very good!" exclaimed the professor. "You must be very experienced with this spell. Would you like to do the honors of showing everyone the full spell?" Everett agreed and grabbed his bag that had been placed on the desk for us. Without even trying, Everett cast Capacious Extremis perfectly, storing multiple books, and any other item he could pick up in it without it being full.

"That spell cannot be that difficult," Sebastian said under his breath. I held back a laugh as I realized that Sebastian Sallow was jealous of the new boy. Could it have been from the number of girls that had their eye on him already? Sebastian must have felt threatened.

"Now, I would like all of you to try the Capacious Extremis charm. Feel free to help your neighbors after completing the spell."

I made many attempts to cast the spell before giving up. Everett looked past a struggling Sebastian to offer me help. I accepted. Everett came over to my chair and wrapped his hand around mine that was holding my wand. I could smell his cologne because he was so close to me. He smelled like evergreen and sage. I felt my heart skipping multiple beats as he moved my hand in the shape that I needed to be able to cast it correctly.

"It should be something like that," he said, holding onto my hand for a second longer than he needed to. As he let go and stood up, I attempted to cast it once more.

"Great job!" Professor Ronen said as he saw me successfully cast the spell. I looked up at Everett who was smiling down at me and thanked him. Sebastian quickly got up and walked out of the classroom without saying a word. I watched every step he took out of the classroom and felt when he was no longer near me. My heart dropped to my stomach as I looked over at Ominis, who was still struggling with the spell.

"What is his problem?" I asked Ominis.

"After seven years of knowing Sebastian, I still do not fully understand why he does what he does," Ominis said. It felt like he knew something that I did not. Everett stepped in to help Ominis with his cast and I was excused to my next class since I had successfully cast the spell and Ominis was one of the final students trying to cast it. I grabbed my books and walked out on a mission to find Sebastian Sallow. The first stop was the library.