The Prophesy of S

Chapter 17

The Hogwarts express came to a slow screeching stop at the Hogsmeade station. Out the window of my cabin, the Hogwarts castle stood proudly on the rocky mountain in the distance with the wanning moon overhead.

Over the course of the journey, I've been going over how quickly Christmas break ended. On Christmas Eve, Father and I were invited by one of the neighbors, Mr. Frank, who was a little older than my father and his elderly mother, to have Christmas dinner over at their place. They've invited us for Christmas dinner a year after we moved there when I was eleven since they found out it was only us living together like they were. We've become good friends with them since then, and they felt like an uncle and grandmother to me. I was glad to have them around—now that Father will be living by himself for most of the year.

It did get a bit awkward when Mr. Frank's mother brought up the boarding school I attended abroad. Father had to tell them that he thought it'd be best to send me to Scotland to have the best education and life experience when a made-up old school friend told him many times to reconsider homeschooling me.

"Selene, dear, how is that fancy boarding school you're attending?"

I paused in the middle of cutting my slice of ham. "It's quite magical. Almost like a castle in fairytale books," I replied with a smile.

"I bet it is compared to the homeschooling your father decided for you. I know how lonely that was when my parents homeschooled me. At least I was able to make friends with other girls when attending church." She ate a piece of ham before continuing. "And your father mentioned that boys also attend the school, is that right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Her eyes narrowed. "Hmm, must be a school ahead of its time to do that." She shrugged her shoulders. "At least it'll be easier to find a husband that way."

My fork accidentally slipped from my fingers as I was about to raise it to my mouth, making me flinch when it made a loud clank when it hit the plate. 

"Tell me, dear, have you found any suitable candidates, yet?"

Luckily, my father intervened by saying I haven't mentioned anything of the sort, which she scoffed and said, "Well, of course she wouldn't tell her father about anything of that nature." Still, she let the matter drop after that.

It wasn't like that question was anything out of the ordinary. Girls my age should at least have a few prospects before marrying when they are at least eighteen. My parents are an example of that, even if they didn't do so for the sake of social expectations. Honestly, I never gave it a thought until she brought it up and made me face the reality of the world we live in. The Wizarding and Muggle world aren't that different.

That brought me back to what I had decided on with Sebastian. I thought long and hard during my two weeks at home—every thought was of how being together would play out, how I would want it to play out, or play it safe and not let it happen because of so and so. So much going back and forth in my head made my father stop my overthinking and told me to focus on how either choice made me feel—the pacing and what happens during would be discussed with Sebastian if I went for it. 

Other than the awkward dinner, Father and I enjoyed celebrating Christmas and Boxing Day opening presents and reading the short stories of Beadle the Bard and muggle Christmas classics such as A Christmas Carol, Little Match Girl, and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The rest of the break was us spending as much time as we could together going out into the city.

When I stepped down from the train, I quickly spotted Sebastian standing up ahead in my line of sight. He waved at me when he realized I saw him. I smiled happily and rushed forward, wrapping my arms around him when I got to him. He seemed to be stocked at the eager greeting as it took him a few seconds to return the hug.