Sallow's Soft Side-10 Years Later

Chapter 16 - Rehearsal

*Sebastian POV*

It's getting late, and I'm up in the living room waiting for the two lovebirds to get home while reading a book to pass the time. Just when I start to wonder if I should be worried, I hear the door creak open. I stay as still and silent as possible while I watch their expressions. I watch as Phoenix stops Omi to touch his cheek and lean up on her toes to kiss him. I pull my fist down to the side as a little victory celebration and wait silently as Phoenix makes her way to her room and closes the door, never even noticing me sitting here. Obviously Ominus hasn't noticed my presence either, as he puts both hands up to his hair and over his face in a "oh shit all of that just happened" sort of way. 

"Looks like it went well," I say, smirking as he about jumps out of his skin at the sound of my voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Yes, you did." he says with a sigh and coy smile edging the corners of his mouth. "It did go quite well. Even better than I had hoped for. I took your advice and just acted like myself. I even got brave enough to take charge and kiss her first!"

"Atta boy!" I cheer. "I knew you had it in you. I told you she was just as into you as you were into her."

"It's all been such a rush. There was one odd thing about the date, though."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Well, not odd in a bad way, but certainly unexpected. When I touched her hand for the first time, there was no vision. Not even while kissing her, which is pretty damn close contact to have with a person, and no visions. Either I've gotten able to control when I get them, or she has a way of blocking such things from happening."

"That is interesting, I agree. It's hard telling. Maybe you grew able to control it since being out of captivity now that it's your power to use now, and not your father's or your brother's." I suggest thoughtfully. It would be nice for him to have control over when he does or does not have a vision. I could imagine that would be quite distracting.

"Let's test it out. I'll touch your hand, and mentally try to block it from happening." he walks over to me and reaches out his hand in my direction. I take it. He furrows his brow to concentrate before letting go. "I saw something for just a second, but once I concentrated harder, it went black." He reaches his hand for me again. The same thing, but he lets go sooner. "Nothing that time! I think I have more control over it now! I wished terribly for no distractions during my date with Phoenix, and that must have been enough to control it the entire time without me even knowing."

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It's now Friday, and we're having a typical "rehearsal" for our big day tomorrow. I was told to dress nice, but not formal. Alright then. I find a nice-looking pair of khaki-colored pants and a white button-down shirt. I wonder what Y/N is wearing? I have hardly seen her all day as she's been with Natty and Phoenix planning her clothing for tonight and tomorrow. Her parents will be arriving soon. It is one of the first times Hogwarts will be welcoming a pair of Muggles to the castle. I learned from Y/N that she isn't the first witch in her mother's bloodline. Her Great-Grandmother was a witch. She also has a few witches and wizards scattered sporatically throughout her family tree, as her Great grandmother married a muggle and had seven children. Of those seven children, only three of them were capable of magic. All seven of those children married muggles, causing a few cousins capable of magic for Y/N's mother, not including her who was born a muggle, and the mixed breeding of muggles and wizardkind continued with mixed results. It's all a lot less confusing if you're viewing her family tree. Since her mother is a muggle, and her father is a muggle with absolutely no magic in his bloodline at all, the two of them were shocked when their only child turned out to be a witch. I thank my lucky stars that she was, as I would have likely never crossed paths with this perfect woman had she been born without magic. I shudder at the thought of how my life could have ended up had she not come into it. 

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This is the first time I've gotten to see the setting that Emilia and Raven have been working so diligently on. They found a beautiful location on castle grounds for the ceremony. There's a field of bushes below the hill they set up the arch and chairs on, that lacewing flies glow and flutter around once the sun begins to set. A young willow tree shades the area from the sun, and you can hear the faint roar of a nearby waterfall. They did perfectly in choosing a spot, as expected. There are perfectly decorated wooden tables not far from where the ceremony takes place. I decide to have a seat at one of those tables while I wait for the others to arrive. I sit quietly for a few minutes before Ominus, Phoenix, Emilia, and Raven walk over and join me at the table. Not long after that, Professor Weasley and Professor Garlick join us as well. Professor Garlick is actually graciously officiating the ceremony for us. There are few people we know that are as graceful and well-spoken as she is, so she was a simple choice to make to do the honor. I had actually confided in her frequently about my feelings that lingered for Y/N all of those years while I worked as a Professor.  We all visit, joke, and laugh until everyone goes quiet. They are all looking over my shoulder, so I turn around to see what they are looking at.

There she is. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen. A green sundress hugs her body and flows down to her knees, her hair flowing in waves, and her striking eyes looking directly at me. She's followed by her parents, Natty, and Garreth who finally made it. Before another thought, I stand up, walk quickly over to her, wrap my arms around her, and scoop her up in a little spin. I hold her for a second, kiss her, and put her back down. 

"Hi." she says with a smile.

"Hi," I say back, blushing like a dork as if it's our first ever date.

"Alright! Before it starts to get dark, let's have everyone take their places, please." Raven announces, causing everyone to obediently find their places. I walk Y/N's mother, Laura, down the aisle and guide her to her seat in the front row and take my place in front of the flower laced arch. Ominus and Phoenix come down together next, with Ominus standing next to me and Phoenix standing next to where Y/N will be standing. Next comes Natty and Garreth, followed by Raven and Emilia, one going on each side to maintain the balance. Everyone else who has showed up by this time stands to turn their direction to the back of the aisle.

Y/N stands to wait with her arm grasping onto her father, Samuel's arm. Once they reach the end of the aisle, Samuel gives her a kiss on the cheek and goes to his seat next to his wife. Mirabel Garlick motions for everyone else to have a seat. She tells Y/N and I to join hands and make up fake vows on the spot as we are obviously saving our real, handwritten vows for the real thing. I don't have nearly the amount of writing talent that my future bride has, but I think I've done an alright enough job to make her swoon on our special day. We say a few goofy things to mock vows, Mirabel fake announces us man and wife, and instructs us to kiss. We kiss, join hands, and walk back down the aisle where we would then find our way to our grand table. Once everyone else makes their way back down, we cheer in celebration of one easy rehearsal. Emilia waves her hands over the tables in one long motion, and delicious smelling food appears in dishes on each of the tables. Her famous plant-based roasted chicken is giving a fantastic aroma, and everyone is pretty quiet as we all dig in.

Once we finish eating, we stand up to thank everyone for their help in making such a beautiful event happen in such a short time. With a few waves of our wands, the tables are quickly cleaned up and placed perfectly for the next day. We wait as everyone leaves and turn to face each other once we are alone.

"You may be staying in another room the night before our wedding, but you are not turning in without my help getting you out of this dress. I've been dying to help you out of it since you showed up to the rehearsal." I say, kissing her before we make our way back up to our room. I conveniently let her go ahead of me as we head up the stairs, thoroughly enjoying the view during the climb.

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