Echoes of Emotion (Sebastian Sallow x OC)

Chapter 22 - Christmas in Feldcroft

However, after a moment, he began to adjust himself, looking away and rubbing the back of his head, his smile dropping slightly.
"It was actually my mothers. My father gave it to her not long after they met." he admitted, looking at the floor.
My eyes widened as I looked between him and the necklace.
This wasn't just any regular piece of jewellery, it was something irreplaceable to him.
So why was he giving it to me?

"Are you sure you want me to have it?" I squeaked out, panicking slightly.
What if I lost it? Or broke it?
I wasn't exactly gracious.
It would probably get caught on something during a ridiculous adventure.
Even just holding the box was making me anxious.
But Sebastian just nodded his head.

"Anne was never really one for jewellery, so it's been collecting dust for years." he explained, looking back at me.
"Besides," he continued, the grin playing on his lips once again.
He took the box from my hand, picking up the necklace.
"I think it would look nice on you."

Before I could respond, Sebastian had walked behind me, and was placing the necklace around my neck.
A blush rose to my cheeks as I felt his hands brush against my hair, his breath softly moving it as he leaned in close, trying to shut the clasp.
After he managed to put it on, he walked back around so he was facing me.
The smile was now back on his face, and I could only imagine it was because of how much of a mess I probably seemed right now.
"And as usual, I was right." he said, putting his hands on his hips again.
I was surprised by the comment, and glad that I was already blushing so he couldn't see how much that affected me.

We stared at each other for a while.
I struggled to compose myself, wondering how to react next, especially with such precious cargo now wrapped around my neck.
Yet, as my thoughts began to clear, I remembered something.
"I got you something as well." I said, quickly getting up from my chair and making my way over to my suitcase.
"Oh?" he seemed intrigued by the sudden statement, sitting down on the chair as he waited.
It took me a moment to dig through my bag, but soon enough, I spotted what I was looking for.

"I will be honest, the whole concept of christmas got away from me, but our escapade in the vivariums the other day got me thinking..." I trailed off, picking up the gift.
A small smile made its way onto my face as I turned around.
Sebastian's eyes trailed down from my face to my hands, before they widened dramatically as he saw that I was holding a Phoenix feather.
I walked closer to him before holding it out towards him.

"This fell off my Phoenix a while ago, and I know it has quite powerful magical properties, so I thought you would like it, just in case it helps with your search." I explained.
Sebastian gently took the feather from my hand, inspecting it.
His expression hadn't seemed to change, and it was starting to make me panic again.
"Sorry, I know it isn't much." I apologised.
Compared to the necklace, this felt insufficient. Like I should've just given him the Phoenix itself.

However, Sebastian slowly began to smile.
"Actually, I think this is the best present I've received in a long time." he looked away from the feather and back to me.
"Truly, thank you." His voice was sincere, putting my mind at ease as I returned his smile.

He put the feather down and got up, looking like he wanted to say something else.
We held each other's gaze for a while, waiting for one of us to talk.
It felt like we were just waiting to see who would give in first, like we were scared to say something else.
I knew what I was afraid of.
The thought of telling him how much he meant to me crossed my mind, how having him in my life was the true gift.
But now, I was curious as to what his conflict was.
What was he so hesitant to tell me?

After a while, I finally broke our gaze, giving in as I looked around.
"So what do people usually do on Christmas?" I changed the subject, genuinely curious.
He seemed to snap back to his senses, blinking in surprise at the sudden change.
"What do you mean?" he wondered.
"I've never been told what happens after. My parents didn't believe in 'nonsense' like christmas." I explained, rolling my eyes as I mentioned their stance on the matter.
"Okay. So what do you know?" he asked, folding his arms.
"I know about the presents. And about the decorations... I saw there was a feast at Hogwarts too. That's about it." I shrugged.