Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Fourty-Seven: Castles Crumbling

"How does Ominis feel about you're snakes?" I directed the subject back to her, wondering what else they had discussed on the matter.

"He was surprised. Happy, but couldn't believe I would so boldly wear something connecting me to him."

"What I can't believe," the voice of Imelda Reyes chimed in, walking up to us and throwing her arm over my shoulder, "is that Sweeting here got Gaunt to smile."

"Oh shut up, Imelda," I chided, teasingly. "Ominis has always been nice."

"I know that," Imelda said. "He's always been pleasant enough to me. I only meant it was impressive that a Hufflepuff of all people could catch the attention of Gaunt."

"I always thought he would have been better suited to Hufflepuff," I said, a little offhandedly. "I think the only reason he's in Slytherin is because of his ancestry."

"Imagine being distantly connected to a founder," Imelda breathed, elation in her eyes. "The Gaunt's are one of the oldest families in the sacred twenty-eight."

I hummed thoughtfully, taking another gigglewater from Poppy's outstretched hand, downing it in one.

"Who'd you bring Imelda?" Poppy asked, in an attempt to get the attention off of herself and Ominis.I glanced at her curiously. Shaking her head a fraction he slammed back a third shot of gigglewater, passing another one to Imelda and I grabbed two mugs of mead for Sebastian and I.

I understood her nod. She wanted to talk to me about Ominis, not to Imelda. Anything else she could reveal would be spreading around the school in seconds, an unstoppable wildfire of half-truths that I knew Ominis and Poppy would not want to deal with putting out.

It was Imelda's turn to flush scarlet, avoiding my gaze for a minute, before she glared at us. "I actually brought Nerida. From the team."

Her eyes dared us to challenge her on this, to make any sort of comment about it. I had nothing but happiness at her words, despite what her look may have suggested.

"That's wonderful! Where is she?" I beamed at her, scanning the room for my fellow team mate, for any flash of her familiar blonde hair when I saw something that made my stomach twist uncomfortably.

"What are you- Hey, get off me!"

I could hear his voice despite the fact that he was across the very loud, very packed Great Hall. Sebastian was talking in a loud, but not shouting, voice to a man I did not recognize. The man was holding Sebastian's arm, his fingers clenched tightly around Sebastian's wrist.

"I- I'm sorry. I'll be right back," I said, repeating the words I had said to Sebastian no more than ten minutes ago, but this time, I didn't have any intention on coming back. Imelda and Poppy scooped up drinks behind me, following after in my wake immediately, both girls still talking excitedly, Imelda surely going on about the evening with Nerida.

I wanted to hear about it.

But I couldn't hear anything besides magic pounding in my ears, and I could only see the most direct path back to Sebastian.

I approached gingerly, the two flasks of mead in my hands, my dress flowing out behind me, my curls once elegantly twisted up, falling in messy ringlets down my back as I looked rapidly between Sebastian and the dark haired man in black robes.

He was a tall man, his hair sticking up in the back stubbornly, his skin tan. Glasses framed his eyes, and his hand was wrapped around Sebastian's wrist possessively. His wand was in his other hand.

I narrowed my eyes at the stranger. Imelda and Poppy were giggling lightly as they caught up to me, the pair of them slightly drunk from the free flowing drinks.