In the Shadow of Darkness | Sebastian Sallow

The Yule Ball

A/N: Long chapter ahead, but I really enjoyed writing it! The banter between Ominis and Sebastian is my favorite, but for those of you who love Garreth, he's here, too, with some shenanigans. I actually really like Garreth and wish he'd had more development in game, so you're going to see some of that starting in this chapter! I hope you enjoy!

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As the Yule Ball approached, the castle buzzed with excitement. In addition, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had recently faced off in a five-hour long match, with Hufflepuff ultimately being victorious. Poppy, my usually quiet friend, couldn't stop talking about how her House team had begun to lose hope when their Seeker spotted the Snitch.

Ominis, Sebastian, and I met several more times in November and December to practice Occlumency—and even learn the Legilimency spell so he could show us how to deceive attacks versus stop them entirely. He had a particularly convincing version of how his own torture with the Cruciatus Curse had ultimately swayed him to the Dark Arts. Though our attempts were weak, he said, the concept was the same.

It was different seeing inside Ominis' head. Those memories from before procuring his wand were merely instances of darkness and light. Perception with his wand was much different, with its connection to him able to form a sort of topographic map. He couldn't perceive color or visible light aside from the intensity, but he could see shapes of people and things. I still couldn't understand how it worked, but it was fascinating, and I made a mental note to ask him more at another time.

As the calendar year wound down, many of us were making plans to spend the holidays with loved ones. As Garreth Weasley explained in great detail to many of us one night at the Gryffindor table, his extended family was quite large, and every year they gathered at one member's house. This year, it would be his family's house near Ottery St. Catchpole, and he was truly excited to see all of his cousins. He even invited me, which I graciously turned down.

"What are you plans, Eleanor?" Nellie asked.

"I'll be here again," I said simply. "This is my home."

Nellie's face fell. "Oh, I'm sorry..."

Natty changed the subject, knowing that I nowhere else to go, "No matter, I can't believe the Yule Ball is tomorrow."

My holiday plans forgotten, Nellie gushed about the upcoming celebration, bumping Leander in the process. He had, in fact, asked her to the ball, but he almost seemed to regret it now.

I mouthed a thank you to Natty, and she bowed her head in response. "I'm sorry, I seem to have missed who you're bringing, Garreth?"

His eyes met mine, his usually mischievous smile in place. "It's a surprise."

No matter how much the table tried to convince him to spill the information, he wouldn't. We left the table that night full of questions and anticipation.

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Natty and I spent the next morning and afternoon preparing ourselves for the ball. The two of us and Poppy had chosen our perfect gowns weeks prior, but this would be the first time since trying them on that we would wear them. Natty was giddy with excitement, a feeling I found quite infectious. As she helped twist my hair into an intricate style, complete with ringlets that framed my face, I was positively bouncing in anticipation.

Natty had been asked to the Yule Ball by Brian McLaggen, a seventh-year and Gryffindor Prefect. I didn't know him well, but he had a wonderful energy about him, which I knew Natty appreciated. She'd always found him a little attractive, she told me as we applied powder to our noses and red-tinted salve to our lips—just enough to delicately bring out our best features and nothing more.