Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
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"So you're trying to apologize for momentarily disappearing for a few weeks because – and do correct me if I miss anything –" Ominis begins with his proper accent and a strong air of apprehension. "Headmistress Weasley replaced herself with you at Hogwarts, resigning you from your – what is it, now? – seven-years long position with the Ministry? Which you had a week to prepare for. And now you're living at the castle in our Room of Requirement again. And a team of some kind has been tasked with...I'm not exactly sure what...but it resulted in an unexpected tour of our repository – which you need my help with. And His Royal Highness King Sebastian – who, as it turns out, is very much alive and well – has finally deigned to grace us with his presence yet again?"
Comparing Ominis' sarcastic description with Sebastian's humility makes me tense, but I pause to consider Ominis' rehashing of events and keep it light, saying, "well when you say it like that it sounds a lot worse than...actually, yeah it's been a bit of a mindfuck."
"Honestly, April, the way you swear like a common sailor," Ominous says with his thick tone of judgment, as he always has.
"Sorryyyyeeee," I say through an impish grin, squeezing Ominis' arm which is linked through my own.
"But..." he says reluctantly, "I grant you that if anything ought to be described as a 'mindfuck' it very well might be what you've just told me."
The word sounds so foreign in his classy voice that it makes me chuckle. We're walking along a path that weaves us along the edges of Feldcroft's rolling hills and Ominis guides me up a small incline of a field where we drop to sit near the center of the grassy clearing. It's a spot we've navigated to many times before: one of his favorites.
It's comforting to sit amongst the familiar sounds of the earth and I close my eyes to hear what he hears. The grass sweeps. Birds sing. Branches creak and trees sway. Leaves rustle.
I think about how much has changed so fast. How much Sebastian has changed. I wonder if, perhaps, Ominis and I have changed just as much but I haven't noticed with the incremental passing of time. I look at Ominis' long, impressive legs stretched out next to mine in the grass, elegantly crossed at his ankles. His arm wrapped around mine is thicker than when we were students. Muscular. The bones and knuckles of his hands are more pronounced. Shoulders broad.
Admittedly, I've always wondered if he knows just how handsome he is, being unable to see his face. Can he feel how striking his prominent cheekbones, long, slender nose, and impressive brow line are? Do his eyelashes feel long, dark, and thick to him? Can his fingertips sense that his thick, sleek hair has gotten lighter over the years, perhaps from all the time he spends outdoors in Feldcroft?
"How are you feeling?" I finally ask.
"A bit strange. For all the times I've imagined it – what I might do or say – I'm realizing I never really paused to consider how it would feel." He inhales. "It feels appropriate to be discussing it, just the two of us. Almost like we're back where we started."
