realization
"Willow, do I look okay?" asked Juniper while she looked in the mirror.
"I think so. You look almost as good as new!" I smiled. She had missed her afternoon classes, but in one afternoon, she was able to heal most of the boils thanks to the speedy work of Nurse Blainey. Nurse Blainey had given a note to her for her professors, and she was sent on her way.
Juniper was the talk of the school as she walked down the hallways with her head held high. She was always able to move past things quickly, like the events of the spring, without much trouble. She heard someone laugh at her and stopped in her tracks. She moved her mouth as if she was going to say something but decided against it and we continued our walk to the Great Hall for dinner. As we were turning a corner, I walked directly into someone.
"Again?" Everett said with a smile, a dimple showing in the middle of his right cheek.
"Ugh! I am so sorry. I need to be more careful. We were just on our way to the Great Hall for dinner." I felt my face shape into a dopey feeling smile as we locked eyes.
"And I was on my way to check on you, Juniper." He motioned to her before continuing. "You look like you've improved." Juniper's face turned bright red at the attention and the realization that he had seen her covered in boils after all.
"I feel much better. Thank you for helping me get to the hospital. By the way, I am going to duel the little troll that did this to me, if you want to come." Juniper smiled up at him, hopeful for his presence at the duel.
"I would not miss it! Do you need help getting ready for it?" Everett smiled down at her as Juniper blushed. I suddenly felt a small bit of jealousy build up in my chest watching them smile at each other. Was it just Everett's nature to flirt with every girl?
"She doesn't," a voice sounded from behind us.
"I don't know. I might need his help too, Sebastian," Juniper said with the blushing smile on her face.
"No. You won't. I reclaimed the top spot in Crossed Wands last spring. I am your best bet at winning." Sebastian sounded annoyed. Sebastian stood so close to me that I could feel the slight brush of his arm as he spoke. The skin on the back of my hand tingled at his light touch, just like it had in Feldcroft.
"Guys, I am so hungry. Can we table this for later? I haven't eaten since breakfast," Juniper said, feeling the tension in the air, no longer enjoying the attention.
"Let's go," I said while grabbing Juniper's arm and leading her past the two idiots.
"That got weird."
"Yeah, I will say," I said before letting out a snort. I glanced back at Sebastian and our eyes met, but I turned and kept moving despite the flutters in my chest. I could not help but wonder about the jealousy I had felt watching Juniper flirt with Everett or the tingles that ran their way up my arm as Sebastian stood close.
*Sebastian's POV*
I watched as Willow and Juniper walked away from Everett and me. He huffed and walked away as Willow glanced back and, for a moment, I felt like we were back in Feldcroft in the summer. I remembered the way I held Willow as she sobbed into my chest, my hand on hers at the dinner table, and my smile as she flew in for the second time.
"Well, hello there. I didn't expect you today,' I said while running my hands through my hair.
"I thought I could help you out. I brought a few things." Willow placed her broom against the house. She was weighed down by a large satchel that was almost half her size.
"A few things for?"
"For cooking!" She smiled and threw a bag of different vegetables at me. I laughed and followed her inside. She seemed so comfortable in Feldcroft and at the cottage that, just last week, had felt like a cold and dark place. Her smile made everything feel warmer.
"Sebastian?" Ominis said behind me in the corridor, which pulled me away from the thoughts of summertime.
"Oh... Hey, Ominis," I said, still distracted by the memory.
"What are you doing just standing here?" Ominis questioned.
"Thinking." I loved to think of the times that Willow visited Feldcroft. Those moments brought me peace. The truth is that it was the best part of my year, but she did not know what I had done. She did not know that I had killed my uncle, and it wasn't because he was going to kill me or my sister. It was all because of me. I could not ruin the warmth that she held within her with my dark past. I could not let my feelings get the best of me, even if it might have hurt her at first. She seemed to have moved long past the summer and onto the tall new boy, which was fine. It was fine.
"That's dangerous," Ominis laughed. We agreed to go to the Great Hall and get some dinner together. Our walk started quietly, but the more I thought of Everett smiling down at Willow and then at Juniper, I could not stand to hold my frustration in any longer.
"That beastly creep was trying to get in with Juniper and Willow," I scoffed.
"What beastly creep are you mumbling about? I hope you are not talking about Duncan Hobhouse, or I might look as angry as you do... Puffskein Dunkein," Ominis said while looking annoyed.
"Everett," I huffed. Ominis cracked a smile of relief and chuckled.
"Look who remembered his name this time," Ominis said.
"He was flirting with both of them! I swear that there is something wrong there, and I want to figure it out."
"Honestly, I have been feeling a bit off about him. He seems disingenuous."
"I knew it! He is an ass!" I spoke too loudly as we walked into the Great Hall.
*Willow's POV*
I said my goodbyes to Juniper as she ran off to her table of friends, showing them her vial of potion and whispering about Professor Black's possible boils. I walked over to the end of the Slytherin table and plopped down by myself. I had grown used to sitting alone at the table over the last year of school. I was comfortable being by myself.
"Hey Willow," Everett stood in front of me. "May I sit?"
"I think it is generally frowned upon, but there isn't a rule against it for everyday eating. I will allow it," I said and shrugged, trying to make it look like I did not mind if he stayed or went. Everett sat down across from me and grabbed a roll from the center to snack on. I heard the Great Hall go quiet and looked up to see every girl at Hogwarts looking at me. Juniper giggled with her friends and pointed at me. My face turned bright red. I looked down at my food and tried to hide my red face from Everett.
"Wow, it really is frowned upon, I guess," Everett laughed. He knew why the girls were all staring, but it did not seem to bother him the way it bothered me. I pushed out a fake laugh and continued to pick at my food.
"So, Willow, I was wondering if you could help me. I heard that you might be the person to go to. I have also seen you in class and you seem to have a real understanding of everything, as long as it isn't Charms class." He laughed again as I chuckled too.
"Charms has never been my strongest from the beginning. It takes me a little bit, but once I have it, I have it."
"I specifically need help with Defence Against the Dark Arts, if you would be willing to help me out," Everett smiled at me as I thought. With the school year just beginning, it was hard to fit in someone else's work on top of mine, but I could not deny a chance to get to know him a little bit.
"I think I can help you, but, really, you should talk to Sebastian. He is probably the best we have in class," I said.
"Yeah, I-" Everett said before being cut off by someone loudly shouting in the Great Hall.
"I knew it! HE IS AN ASS!" Sebastian yelled. Everyone looked over at him, at least it wasn't me this time. Sebastian scanned the crowd and found me. He saw the Gryffindor sitting across from me and turned red.
"What I was about to say is, I don't think he will help me, but thanks. We can talk about it later," he said as he got up and walked past Sebastian to get to his table. As he was passing Sebastian, he bumped his shoulder into him hard enough that it made Sebastian stumble. My heart pounded quickly as I watched Sebastian put his hand on his wand. The boys stood there for a moment, each one daring the other to make a move toward them.
Before I could think about what I was doing, I moved quickly to where Sebastian stood and grabbed his hand. I looked into his eyes and saw a hint of something. I could not put my finger on it.
"I don't need you to come to my rescue, Willow. I can handle myself," Sebastian said lowly.
"Please stop this. I am your friend. The same one that visited you for most of the summer. The same one that taught you how to cook chicken stew with dumplings. I am not someone you need to be giving the cold shoulder to," I said as I looked at him in desperation. His eyes softened for a moment before he turned on a heel and stomped out of the Great Hall.
I turned around to see everyone staring at me, yet again. Ominis sat expectantly at the end of the table. I let out a sigh as I sat down.
"You know, I knew something was up when you both could not get along at all." Ominis sat, waiting for me to say something, but what was I supposed to say? I knew things had changed over the summer. I knew that something had shifted between us, but what was it? Sebastian hated me now, but I could not hate him. It did not matter that he hurt me. Instead, I sat in limbo between needing him near me and wanting him to be as far away as possible.
"Nothing is up," I lied.
"After that display, I know for certain something is. You both saw each other over the summer multiple times but came back enemies. Did you guys... sleep together?" asked Ominis. I spat out my pumpkin juice onto my plate.
"What?! No. We are just friends. You have to know that he is lonely in Feldcroft. He has no one left there," I said. My face was burning a bright red. I could feel myself getting frustrated with Ominis being pushy.
"I know that is not just it, Willow. I know you have stared at him for years. I can hear you get distracted whenever he comes into the room. I know you. Don't forget that we spent the whole year together last year and I listened to you go on and on about Sebastian and what could be wrong with him." Ominis sounded exasperated. He sounded like he was trying to convince me of a truth I had long denied.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, feeling nauseous.
Ominis got up and moved to my side of the table, got extremely close, and whispered to me.
"You love him," he breathed into my ear.
"I- No. No, I can't. I don't," I said, my face getting even hotter. Goosebumps rose on my arms as Ominis' words rang in my head over and over again.
"It is okay to feel that way. Why is it a bad thing?"
"I could hurt him. I can't do that," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. The hair stood up on the back of my neck as the goosebumps kept flowing like waves down my body.
There was darkness growing inside me after what I did. I did not want to hurt him. I can't hurt him. I got up and ran from the Great Hall. I sprinted out of the side doors, escaping into the cool autumn air. Hot tears were streaming down my face, some from embarrassment and some from realization. I heard footsteps behind me and looked back to see Ominis making his way toward me, but he didn't stop as he got close. Instead, he wrapped me in the biggest hug that I had ever gotten from him.
"It will be all right, Willow. If it's any consolation, he is an idiot if he does not feel the same way." A muffled giggle escaped my mouth before I pulled back and walked over to a nearby bench with Ominis. I sat still for a moment and calmed my breathing. My chest grew heavy again while we sat in silence as Ominis waited for words to fall from my mouth. Something in my chest grew so heavy and tight that I felt like I could not breathe.
"Ominis, I think I need to tell you something. The guilt has been eating me alive," I said with my heart pounding in my chest.
"I already know," Ominis said.
"Did Sebastian tell you?" I said, ready to find him and kick his ass.
"No, I heard from... my family."