Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Twenty-Nine: An Announcement from the Headmaster

My insides were liquid, my magic burning in anger, a trickle of fear flowing through me. Anger flared through me as Fig's name spilled from his mouth, anger that caused my magic to spike dangerously.

"You watch your mouth," I hissed, my hand plunging into my robes, pulling out my wand rapidly, aiming it right in his face. Poppy let out a yelp from beside me, her hand reaching out for mine when Arcturus spoke again.

"What? Going to Crucio me, too?"

I felt sick. There was no conceivable way he could know that I had used the spell on Sebastian, only days ago. Sebastian would never tell.

Would he?

No, that was a stupid thought. He would never betray me to Black of all people. I had to play it off. Leave it as a failed stab in the dark, and hope that it wasn't written all over my face. My magic burned through my veins, begging to be used begging for me to follow through on his question. I swallowed thickly.

"I don't know what you're on about, Black."

He laughed darkly, stepping closer to me and my outstretched wand, pushing it to the side with ease. I was in too much shock to hold steady.

"Sure you do, sneaking out of the common room with your little love sick puppy late at night? Like the entire house isn't buzzing with gossip every time you two are together."

"What? It's a crime to sneak off to the kitchens for food now is it?" I snapped, shooting icy daggers at him. He just smirked in response, still holding my wand away from him as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Crane, you must get it together. If not for your own sake, then for your Hufflepuff shadow over there."

Before I could say anything further, before Poppy could open her mouth to interject anything, another voice echoed up to us.

"Oi, Black! Got a problem, have you?"

Sebastian was rushing towards us, practically dragging Ominis along side him, his features calm and collected despite the white knuckles I saw clutching his best friends robes. He came to a stop right next to me, his eyes dark and storming, but his facial expression was curiously blank.

Unbothered.

"I'm not the one with the problem," Black responded smoothly. "Your little girlfriend here on the other hand, she's a loose canon."

"Oh? And what's my girlfriend, as you called her, done now?"

Black let go of my hand, which I quickly snatched back and glared at him with as much venom as I could muster. Poppy was standing next to Ominis, who I noted, was holding her by her shoulder. Perhaps he would learn soon enough just how short of a fuse she herself had.

"Dark magic," Black said coyly. Clearly, his confidence in calling out what specific spells he suspected me of using was shaken by my earlier denial.

Sebastian's brows shot up into his hair, a sharp chuckle escaping his lips, flatter than his usual laugh, but passable enough. "Where on earth are you getting your information, Black?"

"I saw you two sneak out of the common room a few nights ago. Dead of night!"

"Is that when we went to get more food from the kitchens?" Sebastian asked me, turning to look at me. I smiled.

"That seems to be his only evidence of anything," I said, voice more confident than I was. Black definitely knew something, and I was desperately concerned how.

Sebastian turned back to the Slytherin boy before us, his expression dripping with distain and boredom at this point. "Next time you're going to accuse someone of using the Dark Arts, Black, make sure you have some solid evidence. Or, if you're hoping for advice, just take a look at your own family for tips."