boiling up
I made my way through the halls quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of Sebastian. I wanted to know what was going on with him once and for all. It was only our first day back and we had already managed to have bitch-fight in front of the whole school at breakfast and then he acted like a jealous idiot in Charms. He could not hide whatever was going on from me forever.
"Willow?" a voice from the corner rang in my ears. Juniper was sitting on a bench in the corridor by herself.
"Juniper? What happened to you?" I looked at her face and realized that someone had used a charm to cause boils to pop up all over her body. I quickly moved to her, and by this time everyone was already out of class. Students swarmed around us as Everett and Ominis made their way through the crowd.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Juniper, hiding her face from Everett.
"Don't worry. He's cool," I whispered so no one would hear. "Everett, can you come here and help me take my sister up to the infirmary? I believe the nurses will be able to help her." Without saying a word, Everett scooped her up in his arms with little difficulty. I asked Ominis to go find Sebastian and check on him before I turned to walk with Everett.
"Why do you even care about what Sebastian is doing anyway? I just watched him be a complete jerk to you. What is with that guy anyway?" Everett glanced at me as I frowned.
"I have been asking her the same question," Juniper's muffled voice sounded through her robes, that she had placed over her face to hide the boils.
"Well, he and I have been friends since our first year, but there have been times when we were distant from one another. I know he has been through a lot in recent years." Everett shrugged.
"He does not seem like a friend. He seems like someone to steer clear of," Everett spoke as if he knew him. My heart hurt for Sebastian because I knew what a wonderful person he was outside of this place and outside of any of the drama in his life.
"Once you get to know him, I am sure you will be friends. You just caught him on a weird day," I lied. Sebastian can be many things in one day.
"Yeah, about that, I caught your little argument with him in the Great Hall. What was that about?" Everett whipped his head to get the hair out from in front of his eye.
"Like I said, weird day," I spoke with sincerity. Sebastian and I usually kept our little fights to ourselves, or at least we used to. Something changed over the summer. Everett did not need to know that I was sleep talking in the common room about my past.
We walked into the infirmary and got Juniper set down on a bed. Juniper begged Everett not to look at her hideous face. He agreed and told her to feel better before turning on a heel and walking out, but not before shooting me one of his warm smiles.
"Okay, you can come out of hiding now. He's gone," I said while rolling my eyes. She uncovered her face and I almost fainted on the spot. The nurse came running over at the commotion as I sat down on the next bed over from Juniper.
"Oh no, my dear! That is one of the worst cases of boils I have ever seen," she said. She looked Juniper over. "Not to worry though, my dear. I have just the thing. We happen to have lots of the necessary ingredients due to Professor Black."
"What do you mean?" I questioned her. She looked flabbergasted at herself for what she said.
"Don't mind that my dear," the nurse said as she raised an eyebrow at me. "You look absolutely dreadful yourself."
"Oh, I am okay. I haven't been sleeping well lately and the sight of those open boils made me a little bit woozy." Juniper gasped at me.
"How dare you say that when I am in such a state!" She looked at me, but I could not get myself to look at her back.
"Let's not fight, my dearies. I am going to have to keep both of you here until you feel better," the nurse turned to me. "I am going to go get you a proper meal with some sweets. I would be willing to bet you have not eaten on top of not sleeping."
Before I could protest and tell her that I had eaten breakfast, she was already leaving as another nurse came over to tend to Juniper. This was just what I needed on my first day back, to be stuck in the infirmary for however long until the nurse decided to let me go. I heard the door creak open, and footsteps started in my direction.
"Oh, Merlin! You look horrible," Sebastian said to Juniper, whom he always saw as a little sister.
"Thanks, Sebby. Just what a girl wants to hear," she spoke as she rolled her eyes at him. He started to move towards Juniper to comfort her. I wondered how he could always soften towards Juniper, it seemed so out of character for him.
"Wait, why are you here, Willow?" asked Sebastian, his eyes now on me.
"She obviously wanted to be here for her sister," stated Ominis. Sebastian looked down at me with sadness in his eyes and a glimmer of caring. Was that a glimmer of care? For me?
"No, Ominis, she is in a bed," Sebastian said. "She looks dreadful as well."
"What? What happened to you, Willow?" Ominis sounded so concerned for me. These were the moments that made me feel extremely guilty for my past decisions and not being able to be honest with him.
"Oh, I am all right. The nurse just saw me looking a little bit faint and wanted me to wait here until I felt better." My stomach still churned from the sight of my sister.
"I am going to kill her," Juniper said suddenly over us. I whipped my head towards her and looked at her for the first time since the nurse had given her the first potion. She looked much better, still covered in boils, but they were half the size now.
"Kill who?" I asked.
"Zenobia Noke! The cheeky little third-year thought it would be hilarious to cover me in boils so the new boy could see!" Juniper started to cry. Sebastian patted her on the leg as Ominis stood back, realizing why Juniper was here in the first place.
"What if I told you there is another way to get back at Zenobia?" asked Sebastian.
"Oh no, I can hear it in his voice. Sebastian, no! You cannot invite her." Ominis said too quickly.
"Invite me to what?" asked Juniper. Sebastian and I exchanged glances.
"Crossed Wands. It is a dueling club. Zenobia is in the club now but has yet to show her dueling prowess despite her efforts last year," I said with a smile. This was the friendship I had missed having with Sebastian. I missed getting into shenanigans with him and I missed that mischievous smile... that damn mischievous smile.
"I would, but I am not very good at dueling. How would that even be getting back at her?" Juniper's glossy eyes looked at me.
"Well, I could teach you a few things," Sebastian said assuredly. "Besides, all you need to do is knock her down a peg. I would tell you to steal her gobstones, but someone else already did that a couple of years ago." Sebastian laughed. He was thinking of his fifth year before his sister left Feldcroft and his friend decided not to return. I never got to know them, but I had heard good things about them saving the school from dark wizards and goblins.
"I would be willing to bet that Willow could get Everett to show up as well," Ominis said with a smirk. It was unlike him to be a part of such tomfoolery, but he seemed to approve in this specific instance.
"Wait. Couldn't we just tell Professor Black about the boils?" I asked. I killed the fun we were having, but someone had to act responsibly.
"I would much rather watch her lose," Juniper said. I sat and thought about it for a minute. She was just a fifteen-year-old girl who had been through a lot, including today's events. She deserved to have a little bit of fun, even if it might be about revenge.
"It sounds like we have a plan then!" Sebastian smiled and I longed to be the reason he smiled so big. Our eyes met while he smiled, and I felt my cheeks start to burn.
"Time to eat! Oh, it looks like you have already gotten some of your color back, dear!" the nurse said as she brought me a platter filled with all kinds of good food and sweets to choose from. I smiled shyly and took a bite out of a pumpkin pasty. I already felt better, but I didn't know if it was from the food or the company.
A few hours later, I walked through the doors to the common room to pick up my books for the next class when Sebastian caught my eye. He sat in front of the fireplace with a focused look on his face, reading a book that looked familiar. As he glanced up to meet my gaze, he shut the book quickly and shoved it into the chair so I could not see it.
"Reading romance novels again, are we, Sebastian?" I laughed. His face turned a shade of red I had not seen from him before.
"You caught me," he shrugged before looking at the fire. I sat down on the long sofa in front of the fire while he stayed in his chair. I sat awkwardly for a moment. I wanted to break the ice between us. I missed my closest friend.
"I am sorry for yelling at you earlier. I just get a little nervous about –" I tapered off. I didn't want to finish the sentence.
"I know. I'm sorry too. I promise I will not tell anyone about you sleep-talking again," he looked at me and I could see the reflection of the fire in his eyes. I would never tell him, but his eyes are something I could look into forever. Silence fell between us, and I scrambled to come up with another topic.
"Oh! Do you have Defence Against the Dark Arts next?" I asked stupidly. Of course, he will. He is in year seven like me.
"I would be willing to bet that I do, but I don't really feel like going," he looked down at his hands that were folded in his lap, seemingly lost in thought.
"Come on, Sebastian. Let's get our books and go. You are not allowed to flunk out during our last year." He groaned before pretending to get up off of the chair but stayed where he was. I grabbed the book from him and took off toward my room, he got up and ran after me and grabbed the book.
"FINE," he said, exasperated. "Let me go get my books and I will meet you in the common room."
We walked quietly through the dimly lit hallways just outside of the Slytherin dormitory. I could hear every breath he was taking. I felt my heart pick up as he looked over at me.
"So, what are you planning on teaching my little sister for Crossed Wands?" I questioned. She was young and inexperienced when it came to dueling. Juniper preferred to tend to her plants in Herbology more than anything else.
"I was thinking about teaching her how to make her throw up slugs." My mouth fell open.
"I knew it!" I smacked him with my book and giggled.
"Maybe I can teach her how to give Zenobia a pumpkin head," Sebastian said with a smirk. "I was thinking I would give her a choice between any of the most embarrassing spells I can teach her."
"Please remember she is much less level-headed than me. She will go all out during the duel if you teach her those spells." A surprised look spread across his face, and he stopped in his tracks.
"You? The one who just blew up at me in the Great Hall this morning? I am not sure I would call that level-headed." He smiled as he spoke, unable to keep in the joy that making fun of me brought him. I threw a playful elbow his way and smiled. Somehow everything felt like it would be okay in this moment. His eyes looked deeply into mine as we stood there smiling and my heart galloped in my chest. He looked down at the ground before continuing our walk to Defence Against the Dark Arts. We moved in comfortable silence, but my heart would not stop flittering.
"Sebastian?" I asked while I caught back up to him.
"Yes?" Sebastian's eyes met mine as we walked.
"Do you think Professor Black has boils?"