The Mystery of You

I awoke from my slumber far too early. The sun was barely peaking into the window as I sat up on my bed. I stood up and felt the weight of the past few weeks on my shoulders. My fear had only continued to grow since I arrived at Hogwarts. I got ready for the day and decided to take a walk to the lake. The quiet morning hours always felt so peaceful despite any anxiety or exhaustion that I might have been facing.

I stood at the mouth of the lake and took a deep breath. The morning air was so cold that I could see my breath flow from my mouth and dissipate in the air with the colors of the sunrise behind it. I could not put into words why I was so nervous about more attacks from dark wizards, but there was something in my gut that would not settle and seemed to get more and more potent as time went on.

A shiver ran down my spine and I wrapped my scarf around my neck so I would not feel such a chill. I heard footsteps approaching me as I rubbed my hands together to make them warm.

“Hi, Willow,” a voice said from behind me.

“Hi, Everett.” I stayed where I stood without moving toward him or turning to face him.

“I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. I shouldn’t have fought Sebastian or grabbed your arm. I am sorry for all of it.” He waited for my response, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. My heart hurt knowing that he had the capacity to treat someone the way he did.

“I-I guess I am still a bit shocked. I didn’t expect you to get as angry as you did. You seemed like a completely different person than I believed you to be.”

“I know and I am sorry about that,” he said as he stood next to me while looking at my face to see if I would forgive him.

“I just am not sure how I feel about you or anything anymore.” I showed no emotion on my face as I spoke.

“I-,” Everett said before being interrupted. Instead of being interrupted by Sebastian, my owl flew in and passed off a letter to me. The writing was Anne's.

“I have to go. I have been waiting for this!” I ran off to the Slytherin common room and waited at first. I eventually became so impatient that I knocked loudly on the door to Ominis and Sebastian’s room, effectively waking up each student inside. The door creaked open.

“Starling?” Sebastian said while wiping sleep from his eyes.

“I have it. I got the letter from Anne!” I said with tears filling my eyes. I had not realized just how much I was hoping for a response. I did not know if I would get one but I had only hoped. Sebastian quickly shut the door and grabbed Ominis. By the time the two of them were out of their dorm, I had found a cozy spot on the couch in front of the fireplace.

“Took you long enough,” I said while I rolled my eyes.

“Sorry, Ominis decided he needed to look perfect before gracing you with his presence.”

“Hey! Who was it who fixed his hair five different times in the mirror before deciding it was good enough?” asked Ominis. I laughed as they both sat on either side of me. I went to open the letter and Sebastian looked at me nervously.

“It will be okay,” I said to the boys as I continued to open the letter.

“I hope she is doing all right. It will be nice to hear more about how she is faring.” I positioned the letter so that Sebastian could easily read it over my shoulder as I read the letter aloud.

“My Dearest Willow,” I read. “I cannot tell you how much I miss our laughs back in Feldcroft during the hot summer months. I hope that you are taking care of our boys. I know that you must be. Sebastian has been writing to me for months on end and your name has appeared many times.” I stopped and looked at Sebastian as his face turned pink with embarrassment. I smirked and continued. “I know that you must have a lot of questions for me now that you know. Please know that I love my brother despite any issues or shortcomings. He means the world to me. I do feel I would benefit from a visit with you. I would not mind seeing my brother and Ominis as well. If you all are free this weekend, would you like to come up and visit St. Mungo’s? It has been too long since we have seen each other. Give my love to my brother and to Ominis. I know you must be alluding to my brother somewhere in the comment about ‘dumb boys’. I knew it would happen. I cannot wait to hear it in person.”

I put the letter down on the table in front of us and slouched back onto the couch. I let out a huff.

“She wants to see me?” asked Sebastian.

“It sounds like it,” I said as I smiled at him. He kissed my cheek and smiled the biggest smile that I had seen on his face since she left. I looked over at Ominis who was beaming from ear to ear in a way that I had never seen.

“Are we all up for a trip to St. Mungo's this weekend?” I asked the group.

“I would drop anything to go see Anne for the first time in a year and a half,” Sebastian said.

“This weekend it is,” I said with a smile.

* * * * * *

The smell of cleaning supplies greeted my nose after the three of us had made our way through the window of an old, condemned department store. It was not as welcoming as I had pictured. The place seemed very sterile and clean, but not somewhere I could see Anne enjoying. Sebastian had a bouquet of flowers in his shaking hands and I patted his back as we approached the front desk.

“Uhm,” Sebastian cleared his throat before continuing. “I am here to visit.”

“Who are you here to see?” asked the woman at the front desk. She looked at Sebastian like he was up to no good.

“Anne,” he cleared his throat. “Uh, Anne Sallow.” The woman took a look at the sheet she had in front of her and quickly walked away. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach as she walked behind a door and left us standing there. Sebastian stood back and huffed for a moment. I looked back at him and his eyes were filled with anxiety. I stepped toward him and looked into his eyes before lacing my fingers through his and squeezing his hand.

“Thanks for this, Starling,” Sebastian said while squeezing my hand back and placing a small kiss on my cheek. I felt flames lap their way to my cheeks. A smile spread across my face. Before we knew it, the nurse came back out to where we stood and led us back to a visitation room for long-term residents.

There were windows lining the room on the far end. The walls were covered in grey wallpaper and my eyes traveled over each picture hanging on the wall.

“Anne has been working on pictures and paintings the past couple of months. She seems to really enjoy it. Has anyone updated you on her progress?” asked the nurse as the door opened again. A nurse rolled Anne in on a wheelchair. Anne’s face was sunken in as if she had not eaten in a very long time.

“Anne,” Sebastian said as he dropped my hand and moved quickly to where the nurse settled her. He handed the beautiful bouquet to Anne and she sniffed them with a smile.

“Oh, Sebastian,” Anne breathed as she wrapped her arms around him while staying in her chair. I looked on as they whispered to each other about how much they missed one another. My eyes started to well up with tears. Ominis sniffled standing next to me.

“Uh, he-hello, Anne,” Ominis said as he wiped the tear from his eye.

“Ominis! I have missed you so much. I hope these two have been behaving for you,” she said while raising an eyebrow my way.

“I think I will let them tell you what they have been up to.” I playfully pushed him.

“Oh yeah? What have my best friend and brother been up to?” she asked as if she already knew.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Here, let me give you a hug,” I said, trying to change the subject.

“Ah-ah. Tell me first.” Anne sat back in her chair and stared directly into my eyes. I grew more and more uncomfortable with her gaze on me. Sebastian and I exchanged stares, unwilling to share anything that had happened. We were reminded at that moment that we did not know what was going on between us.

"I might have kissed her a couple of times, but we are just friends,” Sebastian said. Ominis laughed as he listened to Sebastian squirm.

"Ha. Yeah, I know plenty of friends who have broken up their friend's first chance for a good relationship," Ominis said.

“Well, technically, nothing is really happening. So far, Sebastian has managed to cause chaos and confusion, as per usual.” I smirked at him. Anne looked at him as he stood next to her and pinched his arm while giving him a look of disapproval.

“Ouch! Hey, it isn’t my fault I am so irresistible.” Ominis immediately let out a scoff. Anne smiled as she pushed herself out of her chair and stood up. She moved feebly across the space between us and gave me a big hug.

"Thank you for taking care of these two," she said with a smile.

"I do as I am told," I said as I smiled back.

"I'm sorry my brother is so..." She trailed off as she spoke and we both started to giggle. Suddenly, Anne seemed very weak and I helped her back over to her chair and helped her get settled in. As I stood there, I took a moment to look at each painting on the wall.

“Are all of these yours?” I asked.

“Not all of them, some of them are from fellow patients, most of them have been able to go home though.” Anne looked sad and she fiddled with her hands in her lap.

“They are beautiful,” I said with my eyes fixed on a painting of the most beautiful painting of pink roses in a vase. I recognized the background in the photo. It wasn’t the old cottage she lived at, though. At that moment, I realized that she had painted a vase of flowers that sat in the window of their neighbor’s house. Miriam flashed into my mind, smiling as she served us stew. Anne pushed herself over to the table sitting in front of the windows.

“Please come sit!” she said with a smile. We all moved toward her and took seats around the table.

“How have you been doing, Anne?” Sebastian looked at her with concern.

“I have been okay. I miss Feldcroft,” she said as she looked at him. My heart felt heavy as I sat there and I searched for the words to say, but was unable to come up with anything to say to her.

“You could come back, you know?” Sebastian offered as he shrugged.

“I can’t,” she said matter-of-factly.

“What do you mean?” asked Ominis. The nurse moved toward the table as Anne grabbed her chest and let pained sighs escape her lips.

“She is too sick to live on her own,” the nurse spoke. "We should speak later."

“It doesn't matter. I can take care of you. I can move back to Feldcroft,” Sebastian answered, ignoring the nurse.

“I don’t think that will work. It is your seventh year, Sebastian.” Anne shot him a look of disapproval. Just then, an idea came over me. I knew the answer to all of the issues that might arise with Anne being back in Feldcroft. Anne could live back at home.