back to hogwarts
I awoke to the sound of clinking pots and pans in the kitchen area. My eyes shot open quickly and I sat straight on the bed, effectively waking Sebastian out of a peaceful slumber as well. I gasped and thirsted for air for a moment after waking up.
“You okay, Willow?” asked Sebastian as he sleepily sat up, kissed my shoulder, and then looked at my face.
“Y-yeah. I am.”I avoided getting into my nightmare as I looked over at the kitchen and saw Ominis and Anne cooking breakfast together. Ominis was doing most of the lifting as Anne directed his movements. They made a perfect pair. I could smell bacon frying in the pan as I went to get up, realizing I only had Sebastian’s shirt on. I looked at him awkwardly and laughed. He grabbed some pants for me to put on for now and I laughed with him as I put them on quickly. My heart was finally calming down after my aggressive morning wake-up.
“What’s going on over here?” asked Sebastian as he neared the kitchen.
‘What does it look like, Sebastian?” Ominis said with an attitude.
“We are making breakfast for all of us,” Anne said. I smiled over at them as I got up from the bed and walked over to Sebastian’s side.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
“Keep Sebastian away from the kitchen at all costs. He will eat the bacon before it even makes it to the table,” Ominis said.
“I think I can do that,” I laughed as I took Sebastian’s hand and walked over to the couch with him.
He plopped down on the couch right next to me with a huff and looked over at me. My gaze met his as we sat there on this lazy Sunday morning. My heart started to leap in my chest as his hand landed on my thigh. He immediately laughed upon seeing me react.
“Shut up,” I said. He smirked at me as if he wouldn’t react. I put my hand on his thigh in response and watched his smirk get wider. In response, he moved his hand higher on my thigh and my eyes went wide.
“Make me,” he said. My heart pounded in my chest. He obviously woke up feeling extra… cheeky.
“You wish I would,” I responded. He chuckled lowly and leaned in to kiss me. His soft lips met mine very gently at first, but his hand moved to the side of my face and pulled me in deeper, his other hand on my thigh, moving higher. I could feel my breath getting quicker as we kissed.
“Breakfast is ready!” Anne shouted from the kitchen area. Sebastian pulled back slowly, gave me one more soft kiss, and then yanked me off the couch and toward the table. I giggled as I walked behind him after being pulled from the couch. I helped Anne carry the food to the table as Ominis and Sebastian brought out plates and silverware. This moment felt perfect to me. As I sat down, I looked around at each of us where we were sitting, and I wanted to take a picture in my mind. Things were not necessarily happy for all of us. Things were difficult, but I felt like in this very second, everything was okay. Life felt beautiful at this minute, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful to have all of us together again.
“Are you crying?” asked Sebastian.
“No, shut up,” I said, trying not to let the tears out of my eyes and giggling.
“Aw, why are you crying Willow?” asked Ominis.
“It has just been,” I paused for a moment. “It’s been so long since we were all together. It feels like old times. I missed this.” I said while sniffling, the tears rolling down my face. I didn’t think of myself as an extremely emotional person, but this instance brought real tears to my eyes. I felt Sebastian’s hand back on my thigh now, gently squeezing as if to comfort me.
“It has been a very long time, and I am happy we are all together again,” Sebastian added. Anne sat back in her chair.
“I can’t help but blame myself for the fact that we were not together. I can see the hurt I caused now.” I looked at Anne as she said this, knowing it was not just her fault. I knew what had happened was hard to navigate. She did what she had to do in order to allow her brother to live a free life outside of Azkaban.
“It wasn’t just you, Anne,” I said. “Sebastian played a part in that too, but so did I. I could have been more insistent and come after you. I could have written to you sooner. There is no reason for us to point fingers at anyone during any of this. Let’s just enjoy our time together.” With that, Anne reached out for my hand and squeezed it. We spent the rest of the morning enjoying our breakfasts and catching her up on all of the drama. Before we knew it, it was time to make it back to Hogwarts and say our goodbyes for the time being.
“I love you, Anne,” Ominis said, wrapping her in a big hug, and then he kissed her. I smiled and looked away, trying not to get involved in their sweet moment.
“I love you too, Ominis,” Anne said with a sweet smile while gazing at him, her eyes taking in each feature.
“Bleh,” I heard Sebastian say in my ear as we stood there near them. I giggled at him and rolled my eyes.
“It was about time,” I said. Sebastian stood there studying my features for a moment. He seemed to be searching my face for something.
“And, Willow, how do you feel about… us?” asked Sebastian. My eyebrow went up at this, my heart pounded in my chest.
“Hmm, I am not so sure after all,” I said trying to make a joke, but I realized he was serious. “I guess the real test will be when we get back to Hogwarts.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Sebastian.
“Well, will you actually tell people…” I trailed off, realizing we had not even talked about what we were, a dreaded conversation in my mind. Before he could respond, Anne had moved toward us to give us her goodbyes.
“I am so thankful for you, Willow,” Anne said as she pulled me into a hug.
“I love you, Anne. I’m glad we could bring you back home.” I smiled into her shoulder as I spoke.
“I love you too,” she said after she let me go and walked over to her brother who was standing there staring at me as if I could still finish my sentence. I felt an awkward air between us now. I gave them their own moment and stepped away to say thank you to Miriam, who was waiting patiently for us.
“Thank you again for your help. I don’t think you realize how much this means to all of us.” Miriam just looked at me and put her arm around me.
“I lost my sister when I was around Sebastian’s age. It is the least I can do so he can spend some more time with her.” I felt my heart sink when she said it that way, the impending loss was still not quite accepted in my heart.
“We don’t know anything for sure, though, right? We might have more time.”
“I sure hope we do. I hope the doctors are wrong,” Miriam said, squeezing me tightly with her arm around my side. Sebastian finished saying his goodbyes to Anne and we went to start our journey back to Hogwarts by carriage.
By the time we made it back to Hogwarts, the sun was just starting to caress the tops of the trees as we moved past them. We started to head inside, but Sebastian hung back.
“I’m going to talk to Willow for a moment if you don’t mind,” he said to Ominis. Ominis responded with a pat on Sebastian’s back as he walked into the castle.
Sebastian grabbed my hand and led me to a bench by the fountain near the entrance of the school and sat down.
“I wanted to finish,” he paused and took a deep breath. “I want to finish our conversation from earlier.” He held onto my hand tightly still, squeezing it gently as if to encourage me to speak. My heart was moving at a record speed.
“I,” I paused a moment to gather my thoughts. “I guess I was wondering exactly what all of this means. We obviously have feelings for each other, and we seem like we might be… “ I trailed off.
“We might be… together?” Sebastian asked. I nodded in response as I looked at the fountain and the sun going down behind it. I nodded, unable to really speak. My heart was in my throat as he moved to face me more directly on the bench next to me. “I... I really want that.”
“Y-you do?” I asked, shocked because for months he had seemed shut off completely, no matter what had transpired between us during the summer. He brought his hand to my face, bringing my gaze to his gently by placing his fingers along my jaw and chin.
“I do. I know I wasn’t clear before and I know things have been messy. I don’t want to go another day without you by my side completely. I want to be yours.” My heart fluttered as he spoke and was pounding through my chest so hard that I felt he might be able to hear it.
“I want to be yours,” my voice said, shaking as I spoke. He used his hand to lean me forward and kiss me gently on the lips. I couldn’t help but smile against his soft mouth. I was overwhelmed with emotion to the point that I was not able to hold my smile in. I started to giggle as we pulled away.
“So… I guess that makes you my,” he paused and took a deep breath. “My girlfriend.” I smiled and kissed his cheek as it seemed to be a struggle for him to get those words out.
“You all right over there?” I asked playfully. He nodded with a smile and leaned in to kiss me again, but this time, his grip was a bit more forceful and his lips hungrier. I could feel waves of tingles spreading throughout my body as he moved his hand to my neck and gently caressed it as we kissed. A breathless sigh escaped my lips as the feeling overwhelmed my senses. I could get used to this.
Just then, as if on cue, Everett Magnus approached with a face twisted up in anger. We broke away from our kiss and I looked up at him, confused.
“So, I was right after all then,” said Everett. Sebastian stepped up. Everett never seemed to be able to decide if he wanted to love me or if he hated me.
“What are you trying to say, Everett?” Sebastian challenged him.
“That she is nothing but a whore.” As the words left Everett’s lips, I felt Sebastian’s hand leave mine. The two were hitting each other before I could even react. Sebastian hit first, a punch landing on his jaw. Everett tackled him to the ground at this. I had no idea what to do in this instance. The boys were rolling around hitting each other over and over again when I heard Professor Weasley yelling behind me at the boys. A crowd had formed behind me without me realizing it and someone must have run to grab her.
“Levioso!” Professor Weasley cast. Both boys hung in the air, hands still on each other, but they were shocked enough to stop hitting each other. “You two have fought for the last time on these grounds. You will both be serving detentions together for the next month.”
“No! You can’t do that. I have to be able to take care of my sister on the weekends,” Sebastian pleaded. Professor Weasley put the two down and took him aside. I could see Sebastian quietly pleading with her about the detentions due to the short timeline he had left with his sister. Everett looked on… smiling all the while. Why was he smiling? He looked happy that Sebastian and his sister were suffering. That is when any semblance of respect or care for him left my body. Instead, a flame of hatred was caught in my chest as I stood there and it took everything in me not to walk over and punch him straight in the nose. I watched as Sebastian took a deep breath at something Professor Weasley said and he walked over to me.
“Looks like my early mornings during the week will be spent in detention,” he said as he walked over. His eye was already swelling up. I immediately wrapped my arms around him.
“That’s too bad, but maybe you shouldn’t have fought him,” I giggled into his chest.
“Hey, I was fighting for your honor. No one talks about my girlfriend like that," he said confidently for the first time.
Girlfriend.