Unrepentant

"Merlin's Beard, If you've not left that bathroom in twenty minutes Sebastian I'm kicking down the door, it's been an hour!" She stood outside of the bathroom door.
"Leave me."
" As much as I would really love to do that, I'm under strict orders to not let you out of my sight."
"Orders that you've already broken. Leave me."
...
"Twenty minutes."
She returned to the kitchen and continued to stir her soup, flicking her wand to release the needle on the gramophone near the window.
"Two drummers they were seated, in a grand hotel one day." She sung softly under her breath as she continued to fix the meal.
"While dinning they were chatting, in a joyfull sorta way."
The door of the bathroom creaked open. Out walked Sebastian Sallow, hair wet and face blushing red.
"How hot did you run the water?"
"Hot enough."
He walked into the kitchen. The shirt was not a good fit by any stretch of the imagination, it was far to big and hung loosely off his chest. Revealing that too was incredibly red.
"You've burnt yourself." She simply stated before opening a glass cabinet above the stove. Out came a small, spherical, glass jar. The contents a bright orange.
"Come here." The boy didn't move.
"Sebastian don't make me use magic, that's utterly embarrassing, you're not a child." He took a few steps forward, his reluctancy was evident in his face.
"Burn-healing paste. Put it were you've hurt." She handed him the jar. As soon as it was in his hands he turned to walk away.
"Be quick, the food will go cold."
When he returned, looking much more his usual shade, she gestured to the large wooden table. She'd laid it out neatly, the bowl of tomatoe and pepper soup was garnished with cream and basil. A plate of hot buttered bread sat to its right, a wonky metal spoon balanced on the edge of the plate. She had provided him a tall glass of fresh lemonade and decorated the humble dining space, with a cracked vase filled with yellow peonies, Anne's favorites.
He looked down at the table, then back up at her, before returning his focus to the table once more, swinging himself into the old oak chair. He began to eat as she poured herself a bowl.
They sat in silence for a while, eating the soup and bread.
"You have alot of pictures."
She had expected him to talk, Sebastian Sallow had never been good at staying quiet. What she hadn't expect was what he said.
"Yes, I like to keep my memories close to me."
Silence again. The song on the gramophone changed.
"Ominis became a healer?" She didn't expect that either. She'd expected him to comment on Anne.
"Yes, he started studying legitimacy in 7th year, now he's become an empath at St. Mungos. He is very good at it." He hummed in response."Did you want dessert? I made a pie."
He didn't respond. Still she rose from her seat and bent over to check the oven.
"Hello ma baby, hello ma honey," She hummed along with the song again.
She cut him a slice of the fresh pie, swaping his empty bowl with a new clean plate. He ate like a dog.
"Whose the Gryfindor?" The question was sudden, unprompted and left unexplained.
"Excuse me?"
"The quidditch player." He answered almost to quickly.
"Timothy Cooper. He was Captain of the Gryfindor quidditch team in our 7th year."
"Why do you have a picture of him?" Why did he care. Why was he still not mentioning Anne. And of all the other photos, why Timothy.
"We dated for a while. Imelda nearly had my head for it."
He was silent.
"A Gryfindor Quidditch Captain. Wow". Was he judging her? What room did he have to judge, he'd never had a girlfriend, let alone the captain of the quidditch team. She didn't like the smug look on his face.
"Yes, a Gryfindor quidditch captain. In fact the most desired man in all of hogwarts. Why are we still talking about my teenage boyfriend?" His face fell and he dropped the subject. Silence fell over them again. As the sun set and the gramophone continued to play.
"You should sleep." She turned to the boy, who had been studying the view outside the window for the best part of two hours.
"Where?" The question confused her, she had shown him the room, left his clothes there for him. Why was he still asking.
"In the bedroom."
"Your bedroom."
"Yes."
"Where will you be?" The constant flow of questions was starting to agitated her. She wish he could just stay quiet and speak when spoken too. Maybe there was a charm for that?
"In my office."
He looked at her for a moment. She felt vulnerable under his gaze, like she was being scrutinised for every scar or blemish. He studied her whole face before turning and shrugging. Off he headed back into the room, leaving the girl alone in the messy kitchen.
'Daisy, daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you.' She stopped the music with a harsh flick of her wand and left the kitchen. She past through her living room, the mess a testimony of her dedication to her job, and into another, equally messy yet half the size.
"Inflamare" a small light purplish flame shot from her wand, lighting the oil lamp on the dark oak desk infront of her. She say herself down in the plush emerald green chair and began routing through her papers. Something, anything that might allude to the origin of this cure. She'd read every book on dark curses the ministry could provide her. Nothing. All she had were source-less hypothesis about ancient magic and Ranrock and all the turmoil of 5th year. She slammed her head against the desk releasing a heavy sigh. Should she have waited to release him, found some solid evidence before she thrust herself back into it. No, now she was stuck between an unsolvable case and an unfixable boy. And she'd have to live with that.