Shadow of a Grave ✧ Sebastian Sallow

chapter twenty-six ✧ empty without you

If You're Lonely by Citizen

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Most of December had been spent recovering from the events at the catacombs. It turned out that growing older also meant taking longer to recover. Achy bones and tried arms finally were allowed to rest in the safety of the castle. And more importantly, Sebastian got to spend time with Bella Sallow.

By the early snows of January, he planned to spend the winter break at Hogwarts researching everything that he could find on Ancient Magic. However, the Headmaster had other plans for him. The break ended up being spent with Sebastian spending most of the time researching lesson planning and basics of teaching in preparation for taking over spring courses. 

It was either figuring out teaching or finishing his sentence by serving time in Azkaban, so lesson planning it was.

Teaching was supposed to be just standing in front of the room and telling everyone listening what you knew, or else that was what he thought. Instead, it turned out that he needed a curriculum for the year to prepare them for OWLs and NEWTs. There was a lot that he learned that month as he prepared for a new change in his life.

It had given Sebastian a lot of time to think about how his life had turned out. Mostly it was his family that had come to mind, the memories of playing in his parents' study with his sister as they worked, now he looked around never expecting to be in their spot at the desk. Anne had tried to convince him to be a teacher before they graduated, but he never thought he'd be any good at it. It seemed like there had been a guardian angel watching over him to make sure he ended up there. Now he found himself on their side of the desk, planning lessons, while his daughter sat across drawing and playing carefree. Often reminding him that it was boring in the study, just like he used to tell his own mother. 

Not every day that month had been spent in the total boredom of schoolwork. On the twenty-third of the month, he discovered that he had another favorite day as he celebrated Bella's fifth birthday.

He had been looking forward to the day for weeks and there wasn't a request that he didn't feel obligated to fulfill. Although Bella hadn't made her requests easy on him and for such a young child, she had been stubborn when she wanted something. "Dogs aren't allowed in the castle," Sebastian had to try to explain over breakfast, "What about a cat instead?"

"I don't want a kitty. Let's just get a puppy and just not tell anyone." She pouted back over the stack of pancakes.

That had made him laugh, but he wasn't ready to risk losing the job over the promise of a dog. "Fine, what about a rat?" He teased, "They can be just as smart as dogs and the school allows them as pets."

He expected the little girl to be grossed out by the idea of a pet rodent, but instead, her eyes lit up a bit more excited than he intended. That was when he decided to back-peddle.

That chilly winter morning, after much debate, the first gift had been bringing the young girl to pick out her first pet. In the end, it wasn't a dog, a cat, or even a rat. But a small speckled coated tawny owl joined the family and Bella had decided on the name Puppy for the bird, as an ode to her original pet request.

The little girl had a wide smile, already planning out all of the letters that she would send off with her new pet. She had been very brave about holding all of the birds before deciding on the small tawny. But it had been love at first sight when she saw Puppy.

"What if I get you a dog later, then what would you name it then?" Sebastian had raised at the time.

Bella only giggled and told him, "Then I'll name them Birdie!"