Echoes of Emotion (Sebastian Sallow x OC)

Chapter 14 - The Hufflepuff Cup

It was finally Friday.
The day we had all been dreading.
I had decided to arrive early, practically leaving Divination halfway through.
It was partly to avoid any mishaps like the map chamber, but mostly because I couldn't seem to focus on anything else.
As I stood at the edge of the village, pacing up and down, I could feel a sense of dread growing in the pit of my stomach, consuming every inch of my body until I felt numb.
I wanted to just go ahead and do it myself before anyone else arrived.
But that wouldn't make me any better than Sebastian.
Not to mention the ear-full I would get afterwards, if I made it back at all.

However, that plan was eventually put to rest as I saw all four of them approaching together, which ruined my chances of a quick getaway.
I was surprised to see them all turn up at once, but it seemed they were even more surprised to see me here already.
"How long have you been here?" Poppy asked, skipping the greeting.
"A bit. Wanted to get a feel for the place before we went in" I lied, since I hadn't looked beyond the gate.
"Honestly I half expected you to go in by yourself" Ominis commented, to which I let out a nervous laugh.
Didn't know he knew me that well.
"And leave you all to come looking for me? Never." I joked, looking behind me to take a look at the village.

"It seems quite quiet here..." Natty observed, stepping closer as she peered round to see if she could spot anyone.
"They're probably asleep. These parts are usually occupied by retirees enjoying a schedule-free life" Sebastian shrugged.
"Good. We should take that as our opportunity then. If whoever has the cup is asleep, we have a lower chance of getting caught in their cellar." I turned back to them all "Is everyone ready?".
They all nodded quickly, wanting this over with as quickly as I did.
And with that, we made our way into the village.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After wondering about the village for a while, I realised that I barely had an idea of what we were actually looking for.
Each of these houses seemed to have a cellar, and I wasn't about to go looking in every one for a cup.
The others seemed to be getting restless too, following me aimlessly.

"Is there something in particular we should be keeping an eye out for?" Sebastian asked, folding his arms as he kept a lookout for villagers.
"I have no idea" I replied bluntly, scanning around for any sort of traces of ancient magic.
"Well how did you find the entrances to the last trials?" Poppy asked.
"Usually a trail of ancient magic would appear to guide me. But I don't see anything now..." I explained, continuing my search.
"Maybe we're too far away?" Natty suggested, but I shook my head.
"No. This feels different..." I muttered, twisting my face as I thought of a solution.

The word feeling in my stomach was still there, but it felt like it was trying to tell me something, like it had taken over my body to guide me.
But I honestly just felt like it wanted to guide me back to Hogwarts and never return.
Sebastian seemed to catch this look as he came closer, grabbing my hands and holding them up in front of me.

"Close your eyes." he instructed, causing me to look up at him in confusion.
"Whatever it is you're feeling, focus on it" he explained.
I nodded before doing as he said.
As I closed my eyes, I let the feeling in my stomach consume me, letting my body translate it to my brain.
I squeezed Sebastian's hands as I felt it get stronger, like his hands were the only thing grounding me.

It felt like a map appeared, telling me where to go, but it wasn't my brain that knew where to go, it was my body.
I started to walk forward, Sebastian's hands still gripping onto me as I heard him walking with me, backwards, as though he were the one leading me.
It felt like I was walking aimlessly, like I would open my eyes and there would be nothing.

But eventually, I came to a stop.
I opened my eyes, seeing Sebastian looking behind him, a grin making its way across his face.
I followed his gaze and gasped slightly.
There, behind his feet, was a cellar door.
And it was practically covered in traces of ancient magic.