Sallow's Soft Side-10 Years Later

Chapter 20 - Never See It Coming

***Important: Please Read!***
The last two chapters were very spicy palette cleansers for the next couple chapters. I don't like to have spoilers, but I will warn that this chapter in particular is going to be pretty intense. This is a general trigger warning as I feel being too specific will spoil the story. I will put a brief TL;DR at the start of the next chapter in which I'll share the TW. If you'd like to skip ahead and don't mind a spoiler, feel free to do so. If the topic is safe for you, please come back to take in all the details of what happens next.

*Sebastian POV*

The perfect honeymoon is coming to an end. It's been a week of exploring, relaxing, and opportunities for Y/N to forage some new plants for her shop at home. I hope she can return to her shop soon. I'm sure she misses it and her plants terribly. We've packed up our belongings plus anything extra we decide to take home as a keepsake. Now, we must get the portkey out of the safe so we can return to the Hogwarts grounds. 

"Ready to go, love?" I ask her once our suitcases are both buckled tight.

"No." she says truthfully with a sad smile. 

I lean down and give her a kiss. "There will be plenty of time for exploring, love, we have the rest of our lives, remember?"

She nods, and I open the safe to find the portkey. To return home, Raven chose a chain metal rope tied into a knot. She had a knack for creating unusual things for this purpose. I slide the prop out of its cloth bag and onto the table. "Time to go," I say. We hold hands and grab either end of the portkey. 

Something is wrong, though. Typically, travelling by portkey is nearly as quick as a snap. This time, we are stuck. We're swirling aimlessly in some sort of...void? Has our travel been interjected? Is that even possible? I hear Y/N start to scream. She looks as if she's being pulled away. I feel horrified and helpless as I try to reach for her hand to pull her back in. However, by some terrifying force, she is pulled away from the rope, and everything goes black until I land on a wooden floor with a loud thud. I can hear crying...where is my wife? What happened?

That is when I hear a menacing laugh. The laughing voice is unfamiliar to me, but the crying I hear is not. That is Y/N crying. My stomach flips over and my heart could practically explode from my chest as I realize that this isn't some horrible accident-this is an intentional crime by a sinister being. 

"Crucio" I hear the voice say, still laughing that horrible laugh. I hear the love of my life shouting out in pain. I must run to whoever this is and make sure they terribly regret their choice today. I take off running as fast as I can, but I'm abruptly stopped when a man jumps down from an apparent higher level in front of me, but far enough away I can't quite make out his face.

"Ah, Mr. Sallow. This must be an awfully familiar experience you're having." the man says to me with an evil grin.

"Who are you and why have you done this? Why should I not kill you right where we stand?"

"Someone you loved is locked away and tortured, suffering from immense pain. Much like how you couldn't save your pathetic sister, you won't be able to save your pathetic wife." 

"Depulso!" I shout, but he narrowly dodges the spell. "Confringo!" I try again, but he counters my curse with arresto momentum. The anger boils inside of me as I stand temporarily unable to move.

He laughs at my obvious rage. "You see, I learned this fascinating curse from my mother, who says she learned it from my father. I only met my father when I was sixteen years of age, but he was murdered a week later by your ignorant wife. I have decided that your wife is the first woman I wish to try this curse on-just like my father did to your helpless, pathetic, young sister. Shame she never recovered. I'll sleep well tonight after I force you to watch me perform the curse on your precious little wife."