Chapter 2
The picnic is truly the best thing to happen since my downfall after I killed Solomon. It feels like old times. Artemis and Ominis team up to push me into the lake, and when Artemis offers me her hand I pull her into the frigid water, too. Ominis casts warming spells over the both of us as we step out of the water, but he’s soon forced to cast one on himself when we bring him into a large group hug.
The picnic ends sooner than I would have liked, but the sun slowly sets and we make our way back to the castle. As we near the dungeons, Artemis’ smile falls and she spits out an excuse to head the opposite way. Ominis shakes his head disapprovingly but says nothing. I pull Artemis into a tight hug.
“Thank you”, I whisper, “for being there for me and pulling me out of my darkness before I drowned. Artemis?”
“Hm?” She seems more on edge than she did moments ago.
“You know we’re here for you, too? You can tell us anything.”
“I know that, Silly Seb,” She smiles wide as she steps back, but I can see how the glimmer in her smile doesn’t come close to touching her eyes. I may have not known her long, but I know more about her than many would learn in a lifetime.
Ominis and I stay in place as she walks away. Her steps are heavy but fast, as she heads towards the Great Hall. She’s hiding something, and I fear my mistakes have cost me her trust.
“We need to talk,” Ominis suddenly becomes deathly serious.
It’s a silent walk to our dorm, but my mind is buzzing with the endless scenarios that could be weighing on the girl I secretly love. I wonder if Ominis knows what it is, or if he is as lost as I am.
We reach our shared dorm and make our way to sit on Ominis’ bed since mine is still quite a mess. Thankfully we’re the only 5th-year Slytherins, so we have our dorm to just the two of us. I watch Ominis cast a silencing spell on the room before speaking.
“Never know who’s listening,” He explains.
“What’s going on with Artemis? She seemed so broken. Do you think she’s gotten thinner? Is she okay? Did something happen? Did-”
“Sebastian! Please, calm yourself. I don’t know, okay? I just don’t think everything is alright. She’s quite thinner. I’ve spoken to some of her other friends and they’ve told me they hardly see her. I know she doesn’t sleep in the Slytherin dorm anymore, and I’ve noticed a lack of her presence at meals. Unfortunately, spying on her goes above my skill set. I have a suspicion she may not even be in the castle at night or even some days. She’s missed a large number of classes. Professors give her detention, but I’ve heard she doesn’t show. It’s hard to reprimand someone you hardly see.”
“Why? Why would she be doing all of this? Do you think she’s in danger?”
“When have we known our friend to not be in danger? She’s been in harm's way since before even making it to the school. We have to remember, Sebastian, she has foes greater than either of us. I just don’t know how to get her to let us help her.”
“Well, have you talked to her? Surely she-”
“She won’t hear it! When she came to me about the picnic, I asked her about my fears. She said she was fine and perfectly capable of handling herself. It turned into a whole fight when I asked about her scar and eating habits. If we can find out what she’s up to, then maybe we can force her to let us help.”
I see the desperation on my best friend’s face. I see the fear spiraling in his clouded eyes. It ignites a pit of anxiety in my stomach. I can only imagine the atrocities Artemis is facing.
“I’ll see what I can find out. I just hope we’re wrong and she’s just going through a phase.”
“I fear this is deeper than we can imagine, my friend.”
Ominis pats my shoulder before I rise off the bed. I dress in simple black trousers and a deep green buttoned shirt. I throw on a plain black hooded cloak, then make my way toward the Great Hall. It’s past curfew by now, and quite dark outside. I cast a simple disillusionment charm, and silently slink through the halls.
I spend hours searching the halls. Artemis seems to have completely disappeared from Hogwarts. My heart clenches at the idea of walking these halls without her presence. About an hour before dawn, I see something I wish I could forget.
In a small alcove is my Artemis. Her auburn hair is pulled up into what looks like it was once a beautiful bun. She’s wearing a deep green jacket with a black buttoned blouse and black tight pants. Her clunky laced black boots are tucked under her, and covered in mud. If I could ignore the rest of the scene, then I would have been floored by how gorgeous and powerful she looked in such an outfit.
Artemis has thick blood running down her face from a wound at the top of her hairline. Her jacket is burned into the flesh of her shoulder, and a deep laceration on her waist is staining her fingertips. I gag when I see a shard of metal lodged into her calf. She only seems half alert, but I realize her pained eyes are staring at me.
“Sebastian?!”
“I’m sorry! I- What- How can I help?”
“Get me to the astronomy tower. I have a room that way. It will- It has what I need.”
Her breath comes in gasps and she bites back a scream when I lift her from the ground. I try not to jostle her, but I’m scared I’ll lose her if I don’t hurry. I have half a mind to run to the medical wing, but I know Artemis’ trust in me is already frail.
I try to keep the girl I love awake, as she bleeds out in my arms. She screams at me to stop as we pass a blank wall. I think she’s gone crazy from blood loss, but a door appears before I can speak. I rush into the room and only take a second to admire the beautifully crafted room.
Artemis points down a set of stairs, and I quickly oblige. There are rows of potion and herbology tables. I see a lined cabinet of vials and quickly set Artemis on a deep green couch. I’m concerned by the amount of Wiggenweld potions lining the shelves, but I file my concern away for later. I grab a handful and begin to tilt them into the bleeding Slytherin’s mouth.
I watch as color slightly returns to her ghostly skin and the bleeding stops as the wounds close. The burn mends to a point that looks more like a faint scar. The potions can only heal so much, which makes me worried about what the scar on Artemis’ face must have originally looked like. Once she no longer looks like the definition of death, I decide I can no longer hold my tongue.
“What the Hell happened?”