In the Shadow of Darkness | Sebastian Sallow

All Debts Paid

Anne and I were both released from St. Mungo's on Monday morning, and I accompanied her to the Sallow family home near St. Albans. The cottage in Feldcroft had been rickety and small, while the detached house in Hertfordshire was quaint and spacious by comparison. Its red brick was adorned with years of English Ivy growth and the house's green front door beckoned us in. It surprised me a bit that a pure-blood wizarding family would live so close to Muggles with no outside connection to them, but Anne told me their mother had been fascinated by the non-magical world, and their father had purchased the house shortly after their marriage.

"Uncle Solomon wanted to sell it, but our father left it in a trust until we—well, Sebastian—turned seventeen," Anne explained. "I hadn't been here for years until last summer..." Her face fell for a moment.

"It's beautiful, Anne," I said, trying to keep the mood light.

She sighed, and I could tell the smile she put on was forced. Still, she grabbed my hand and dragged me through the house and out the back so I could see the garden. "This is my favorite place. I was so happy to see it again."

It was a bit overgrown, but that wasn't surprising since she'd been gone for months. Most of the plants were still dormant, but a few bits of green were peaking through. A medium-sized tree, close to twenty feet in size, stood next to us, and I knew it would provide shade once it leafed out for the year. "I can't wait to see it in full bloom," I mused, but immediately regretted the words. I looked down at the ground, trying to keep my emotions in check. "Sorry, that was presumptive of me."

Anne furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry he doesn't remember. I know you were growing closer." She sat on the garden bench, a rueful smile on her face. "It was nice to see him happy."

I sat beside her, at a loss for words. What could you say to that, I wondered? I tried to keep the memory of his scent as his lips brushed gently against mine out of my mind.

"Ominis says he's been having flashes of memories, so maybe it's a good sign?" Anne offered hopefully.

I hadn't heard that, but I supposed it was a fair assumption on her part. She probably hadn't heard the desperation in Sebastian's voice as he'd, twice now, proclaimed that he was no good for me. I nodded in response to her question. "Maybe."

She reached for my hand, the smile turning completely happy again. "But nonetheless, you're always welcome here, Eleanor." She tilted her head, a look of concentration on her face. "Sebastian's here."

As if on cue, the back door opened and Sebastian stepped into the garden with us. I wondered with amazement how she'd done that.

As he approached, I noticed he'd taken off his school robes, simply wearing the shirt, waistcoat, and trousers. He stopped by the bench and looked down at us, eyebrow raised. "I see Anne has shown you around a bit." The lopsided smile on his face made my heart quicken.

"Of course, brother, I am the lady of the house and I must be a good hostess!" Her words were playful as she stood, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Though, I think I will rest a bit. The journey from St. Mungo's was a bit long." At his concerned look, she patted his chest, assuring him, "No worries, Bash. I am simply recovering."

Something nonverbal passed between them, ending with him placing a kiss on her forehead, before she walked back into the house. He watched her go before turning back to me and sitting on the bench beside me. After several minutes he finally spoke, "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded, but didn't move. "How were classes today?"

He made a noncommittal sound. "Pretty boring. Weasley blew up another potion. Made me glad I was across the room because it smelled of burnt slugs after."

I giggled, grateful for this semblance of a normal conversation with him.

"I must say, you seem to keep him in check." He seemed to sneak a glance before looking down at the clasped hands in his lap. I thought maybe he'd say more, but instead he changed the subject, "I wanted to thank you again for helping Anne. You can consider all debts to me repaid, and perhaps I still owe you."

I couldn't look at him. "I'm glad I could help." My words felt hollow, but what else could I say?

We fell silent again. He shifted beside me, his hands moving from his lap to either side of his legs on the bench as he leaned forward slightly, watching a bird flit between the bushes. I would never understand how sitting there beside him could feel both so intimate yet so empty. I moved my hand to his, but he moved it away just as quickly, standing up.

"We really must be going."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, knowing full well that nothing had actually changed. I stood up from the bench. Only then did he reach out his arm, which I had barely wrapped my own around before I felt like I was being forced through a very tight tube. We arrived just outside the Hogwarts grounds with a small pop!

Sebastian let go of my arm immediately and we walked in silence into and through the castle, only saying a curt goodbye when it was time to part ways at the Grand Staircase. I wanted to cry, but knew better than to do that where anyone could see.

As soon as I stepped into the Gryffindor common room, a pair of warm arms enveloped me. I could still smell the faint scent of burning slugs on Garreth's school robes, which made me wrinkle my nose. I pushed him away in disgust.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry. Had a little...mishap," he laughed, looking a bit sheepish. His brow furrowed, and I didn't know if my face had betrayed me or if he had some other way of sensing the turmoil I thought I'd been hiding. He tilted my head up slightly, green eyes meeting mine. "Is everything all right?"

The tears nearly sprang from my eyes then and there. "Anne Sallow is healed," I stated simply, hoping he'd think that was my reason for my tearfulness.

"I heard," he said simply, his eyes soft. "How are you, though?"

I almost lied and told him I was fine, but Garreth deserved better than that. "Tired. Exhausted, actually." I left out the bit about still being broken-hearted over Sebastian.

"Well, I would offer to walk you to your room, but alas, enchanted stairs," he cracked, probably trying to lighten the mood a bit. He seemed to know there was something I wasn't telling him, though. "I'll pass you off to Natty if you'd like to simply go to sleep, but may I ask you a question first?"

My eye caught Natty's as she approached, concerned smile on her face, nodding at Weasley.

"A few of us are going to the Three Broomsticks on Friday night, so I wanted to invite you along, if that's alright?"

I blinked. "Don't you have a Quidditch game on Saturday?"

He grinned somewhat mischievously. "Precisely."

I smiled gratefully. Perhaps, I thought, it would be nice to get off the castle grounds and away from Sebastian for a little while. "I'd love to join."

Natty chuckled as she laced her arm with mine and we both bid Garreth good night. "I hope you can hold your Butterbeer," she teased as we walked up the stairs and toward the girls' dormitories.

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A/N: In truth, I'm not terribly happy with this chapter, but it felt necessary to me as a filler chapter, if nothing else. It also made sense for there to be another house that Sebastian and Anne lived in with their parents since the one in Feldcroft does not appear to have a cellar, and would also explain the lack of Scottish accents with all three of the Sallows we met in-game. Hertfordshire seemed like a good estimation of where they could be from prior to living with their uncle. In any case, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. There are about 9 chapters and an Epilogue left before this story ends and we move onto seventh year (which is still in progress), so still plenty of meat while leaving some stuff up in the air for the next story!