Curses & Cries ; Sebastian Sallow

chapter 10: Amit Thakkar

"That was a bloody stupid thing to do," he kept saying once Letty was discharged by the nurses. "Don't you know how easily you could have died?" Distress and relief were charging Sebastian's anger. He was close to shouting. "You stupid girl. You could have been killed."

Letty fell silent. There was nothing to say; and worst of all because she had not been expecting any sort of aggression to come out of him when just last night he was so tame. They went along the corridors, Letty first, and Sebastian behind her. He had not yet spent his anger and was about to lecture some more till, as they went down the main staircase, he noticed the girl's shoulders trembling and her head down.

When she turned to face Sebastian he wasn't sure if she was trying not to yell at him or not to cry. He liked to think it was the first one, till he ran his thumb over a wet cheek.

"Letty, I didn't mean it. I was only scared, you know, especially since you hadn't told me. Wouldn't you feel the same if you were in my shoes?"

"Yes. Well, it was already frightening enough," she said. "And I can't have you yelling at me for it when I'd only gone so that Lucan wasn't off by himself."

Poor Letty, he thought, and took her by the hand then pulled her close, trying to smother her emotions into his chest, for it didn't sound funny to Sebastian, who kissed and caressed the upset girl in the tenderest manner.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's only the selfish part of me that goes and rants in this way."

And it was silly, Letty thought, for he had never been quite this angry and selfish with her until that day. While they went down the stairs she bumped his arm
amiably and Sebastian nearly missed a step, then in retaliation he pulled on her robes which caused her to trip and recoil into him.

The clocks were striking midnight and the castle so still once Letty and Sebastian left the library that night.

"Ominis can give you the notes for Advanced Arithmency seeing as I'm not in that class, but apart from that—well, there hasn't been much going on while you were away," he told her.

They walked quietly from hall to hall, passing the portrait gallery then into the West Wing; stealing sideways glances at each others' faces and to kiss one another when caught and smoothing out each other's hair for getting carried away.

"Going?" said Sebastian, red faced, as they reached the Ravenclaw Tower.

Letty idled by the eagle door knocker and said, "What else did you have in mind?"

"A walk outside would do you some good."

Here Letty moved toward him, as if going, but instead kissed him on the cheek and vowed to call it a night, for the lasting events of the weekend left her exhausted.

Sebastian hadn't stopped blushing since the hallways.

"Goodnight Sebastian," she said.

"Goodnight Letty."

After that, the little Ravenclaw slipped through the door into the great common room which was dim and barren, save for a tiny lamp in the corner where Amit Thakkar was reading to himself. He was at a desk surrounded by a cluster of manuscripts where he worked away early and late ever since the canister was brought back to Hogwarts.

"How goes it, Amit?" and she pulled up a chair to sit with him by the window.

"Wise to resolve, and patient to perform," he recited. "By the way, I've been meaning to tell you that you're very efficient. I say you do well sticking to instructions."

Letty beamed.

"Garreth admits he likes working with you and says it's a shame that you've no interest for potions. Even I was surprised you weren't all books and astronomy." And Amit, with his quill, wrote down a new idea on a piece of parchment. "Have you told anyone about this? We're not suppose to tell, you know."

"No," she lied.

"Good. I mean, we've no idea what was stolen—that fact alone can lead to expulsion or worse. All I know is when we first found it at the bottom of the lake—Garreth and I—something felt off when we left the place. Either we were going mad inside that garden, so leaving it felt good, or it truly had taken something away."

Letty was not sure how to start, in fact, she had no idea how to feel.

"'Course, when we went back to it the next day it was gone. That's when we figured it was of value and its removal could not have been a coincidence—being at the bottom of the lake, first and foremost. Garreth found it again when he spent the summer in Clagmar and we swore it would be ours come September. Thank you by the way. It's in our safe place now."

In the cold gray dusk of her room Letty slid into bed and lit up the tip of her wand, as to not wake her roommates, to read the manuscripts she smuggled off of Amit's desk. She did not know and could not guess what she might find, for most of the writing was ineligible and whatever words she could read were not written in English but Gobbledegook.

The shadow of a real trouble had come, for the little canister filled her with curiosity; and as she dressed the next morning, as she exchanged a smile with Amit in the common before journeying to breakfast, she forced herself to go on without anxiety and with an exhilarating air.

However, everything seemed very strange when she went down; so dim and still outside, so full of light and bustle within. Breakfast was odd, and even Sebastian wasn't his usual extroverted self.

Garreth was anyway, and she could not resist a glance at his table where he was entertaining a crowd of First Years with a potion that gave the drinker temporary fairy wings.

"You still haven't told us about it," said Ominis.

"You can read minds then?"

"I'm not an idiot. I can tell you're looking at Weasley. And as much as I'm glad of your recovery, I ask that you come clean with what it is you've stolen for them."

"A canister of some sort. Amit's trying to figure out what's inside," she said.

"Very well. So, I heard a rumour about you and Weasley," prompted Ominis.

Shocked, she turned to Sebastian, saying, "Is that why you're not talking to me?" Then: "I'm not even going to ask, but I'll have you know that whatever you heard about us is nonsense."

Sebastian looked away for a moment and when he turned back she thought she saw a touch of irritation. She was surprised that they would think she was raising the question of an affair with Garreth. Sebastian tried to behave, but it was obvious his jealously was being concealed by ambivalence. Letty knew him, and it wasn't long before she would call him out on it, for she feared they'd slip back into their old, petty ways.

"I think you two are very interesting," observed Ominis. "Annoying, most of all; for you both will not come out and admit it. My bet will be on Sebastian once it happens."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ominis," he said.

"I'm blind, you know, not deaf. Whatever it is you two had done upstairs at the manor is no secret. And I equally enjoy being with you both—just not at the same time after that."

They couldn't help laughing, and felt better about it, though Ominis shook his head at the prospect of officially being a third-wheel, but glad his best friend could finally find consolation in another person.