Between Comfort and Chaos

Dragon Claws

Lessie's POV

I looked up with a start, sweat dripping into my eyes as Poppy let out a triumph yell. She had just taken down the last of the remaining poachers. As much as she refused to admit it, she was a damn fine duelist, taking to new spells like a frog to water. The bodies lay strewn about in various positions, some intact, some less so. We had all learned, throughout our various upbringings, to view casualties like this as objects. It made it easier on the conscious not to look at the corpses as human. It was something I still struggled with, but I had to push it down, there was a time and place for everything.

Sebastian jumped down from the top of the carriage he was on, landing gracefully with a thud. There were some wayward splatters of what appeared to be blood peppering the bottom of his pant legs. His fighting style, compared to Poppy's, was more reckless. He didn't care necessarily for an easy win, he liked to drag it out like a sport, taking pride in his ability to toy with his opponent. The dark look in his eyes vanished as they set upon our triumphant Hufflepuff. Tucking his wand into his pocket once more, he ran full kilter towards the girl, scooping her up and lifted her off her feet, swinging her in a wide circle.

"That was amazing! Where did you learn Confringo?" He set her down gently before grabbing her face in between both of his large hands laughing in his post-battle haze. It was a genuine throaty laugh, that seemed a bit out of place amongst the carnage. His eyes searched hers. Even from a distance I could tell the girl was struggling. She wouldn't be the first to fall into the enigmatic vortex that was Sebastian Sallow. I had been there once myself, before I learned about his true nature. Poppy was breathing heavily and very red and I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't from the fighting.

"Lessie taught it to me." She gulped audibly, looking down at her feet but not pulling away. It was like watching a fawn trapped in front of a wolf. Unable to run away, from curiosity or fear one could never tell. Sebastian dropped his hands and spun towards me with a wicked grin, the small brunette all but forgotten. His grimace was almost predatory. The edges of his mouth turnt up like that of the Cheshire cat, green eyes glinting with some unknown emotion.

"Ah, my pupil has finally become the teacher. I'm so proud" He mocked wiping a tear from his eyes before starting to clap alternating between both us girls.

I rolled my eyes, and walked towards them, exhausted but knowing we were only halfway done with our little venture. There were still the dragons to attend to. Wiping the sweat from my eyes with the inside of my loose undershirt I approached the pair.

"We shouldn't be celebrating just yet; we haven't even gone into the caverns. I would be shocked if there weren't at least a half dozen more poachers in there." My voice was firm and commanding as I attempted to impart how dangerous the situation really was.

Sebastian was stretching, arms in the air as his back gave a few popping sounds as he twisted side to side. His once tucked in traveling shirt had come loose from his pants and was revealing the nicely toned v-line and the beginnings of some abs. He had lost a lot of his baby weight over the summer due to his refusal to eat during his more extreme depressive episodes but had been trying to get into a routine of calisthenics to get his strength back.

Poppy's eyes were the size of a Mooncalf's, as they raked over his form. Her face was now the color of a tomato. I couldn't blame her, he was a handsome lad, with half the school flocking towards him regardless of his mood swings. Sebastian finally put his arms down swinging them instead in circles while looking between the two of us knowingly, choosing not to comment on our Hufflepuffs' condition.

"Well, I don't know about that." He commented, beginning to tuck his shirt back in while looking at Poppy. "I forgot to mention one tiny little detail, before this one decided to ambush us." He smirked and finally settled his arms to his side, giving Poppy a reprieve. The poor girl.