Silver and Green with Envy: A Sebastian Sallow Story

Chapter Ten

"Over here, you two!"

Sebastian yelled for us, standing next to the fountain out front near the gate. I cast a sideways glance to Ominis. I knew he wouldn't see, but he must have sensed it, placing his hand on my back and urging me forward. "It'll be fine."

It didn't feel like it would be fine. Getting a good look at Sebastian as I walked closer I was sure of it. The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up to his elbows, and his vest was fitted, tight against a chest I wanted to feel pressed against me. 

I wondered for a moment when he gained such a sense of fashion, considering he used to run around with an undone tie and wrinkled robes.

"Elena, your face is scarlet. Are you well?"

I shook my head, snapping me out of my sudden daydream. "I'm fine. We should go."

I took off at a clip, Sebastian and Ominis behind me.

Hogsmeade was bright and lively as always, made so much prettier by the fact that fall was getting into full swing. Smells of mulled wine and cider permeated the air. The bright red, orange and pink leaves that stuck out against black rooftops, smoke from chimneys, and littered on the cobblestone road made me think of a fairytale. 

Speaking of which. 

Without much word to either of them, I disappeared into Tomes and Scrolls. Mr Brown looked up from the till as the bell above the door sounded, and smiled at me. 

"Miss Varris! Just the lady I wanted to see. I was about to send you an owl. Your book came in just this morning."

I walked up to the counter and heard the other two walking in behind me. Mr Brown sat my book in front of me. Bound in dragonhide, with a silver filigree embellishment, and a large 'G' embossed on the cover. I smiled widely. 

Mr. Brown laughed. "If only I could get my wife to smile at me like you do a book. That is limited edition though, so we're looking at two galleons for that."

It was a lot of money, to be sure, but I'd wanted this book since I heard it was going to be released, so I'd been saving every knut  and spare sickle I could. The Grimm brothers truly knew how to spin a story. I reached for my bag to dig for my coin purse, but Sebastian stepped up and handed the payment to Mr Brown. 

I turned toward him, my brow furrowed. "Sebastian it's too much, no."

"Yes. I've missed two birthdays now, don't argue."

He picked the book up from the counter and put it into my hands, turning me back toward the door and ushering me out so I couldn't argue the point. I put the book in my pack and went to get my purse out regardless. "Sebastian, thank you, but I am paying you back for-" 

He reached down and gently grabbed my wrist. "If you give me a single knut, I'm just putting it back when you aren't looking, so don't even try."

I chewed on my lip in lieu of an argument as Ominis and Sebastian got ahead of me. I heard Ominis hiss at him. "Sebastian, you've never had more than a handful of sickles in your possession since I've known you. Where did you get that much?"

Sebastian had a smirk across his lips as he looked toward Ominis and his thinly veiled accusation. "Don't worry about it. And no, before you get it in your head, I didn't steal it."

Ominis grumped, and even behind him I could tell the gears were turning full tilt in his mind.

We wandered a bit more. I had to keep Ominis from cleaning out the stock of Pumpkin Pasties from Honeydukes, and yanked Sebastian out of Zonko's by the back of his shirt for looking a little too longingly at some exploding pods.