Cursed (Hogwarts Legacy fanfiction - original in German)

Chapter 37 - Enjoy the silence

"Somehow, I'm only just realizing that we won't see each other for a whole two months," Phina sighed as she left Hogwarts towards the northern exit, levitating her packed suitcase behind her. Sebastian and Ominis accompanied her beyond the outer walls, where a few Thestrals were already harnessed to the carriages, ready to take those students back to the Hogsmeade Station who intended to travel to London on the Hogwarts Express. 

Phina still hadn't gotten used to the sight of these magical creatures. She found them uniquely beautiful in their own way, yet they always reminded her of why she could see them – by now, she had witnessed several individuals die with her own eyes. Sebastian, too, quickly averted his gaze from the Thestrals, which Phina noticed, and she gave him a brief, understanding look.

"Time will pass faster than you think," Ominis tried to cheer her up in the meantime. He wouldn't depart for Feldcroft with Sebastian, Nathan, and Clarissa for a few more hours, so they had enough time to properly and calmly bid farewell to Phina. He knew he would terribly miss her, but he also looked forward to his time in Feldcroft and was confident that Phina's journey to London meant a lot to her, where she intended to try and find out who her parents were and why they had left her at an orphanage back then.

"And we'll definitely write you back as soon as your first owl arrives with us," Sebastian said now, wrapping an arm around Phina as they continued slowly toward one of the carriages that wasn't fully packed yet. He drew her so close that Phina once again caught a whiff of his incomparably alluring scent, one she had always adored. That didn't make saying goodbye any easier for her.

"I'll miss you both so much," she said softly, allowing herself to lean against Sebastian for a brief moment before attending to lifting her suitcase onto the carriage with an elegant wand movement.
"But once you're in London, you'll have to lug the suitcase yourself," Sebastian reminded her with a broad grin. Phina didn't miss the slight mischief in his tone and playfully returned his look. 

In Feldcroft, they could use minor spells freely, although they were forbidden for underage witches and wizards outside of school, as the town had enough adults and, apart from that, no Muggles lived there, so the Ministry didn't pay much attention to these minor infractions. In a city like London, it was an entirely different story. Phina would mostly be among Muggles, and even the smallest everyday spells would come at a cost and result in penalties from the Ministry.

"I can hardly wait," she finally said, then laughed along with Sebastian. Ominis suddenly seemed quite nervous when the coachman indicated to Phina that he was about to depart. She asked the man for another brief moment so she could bid farewell to her friends and then turned back to Sebastian to embrace him tightly once more.

"Please take care of yourself," he said softly, holding her close as if he didn't really want to let her go again. Phina nodded demonstratively as she gently pulled away, looking at him with assurance.
"I will," she assured him, then turned to Ominis, who seemed a bit lost in thought at that moment. Despite this, Phina didn't hesitate for a second and wrapped her arms around him for one final hug.
"Have fun in Feldcroft," she whispered to him, and only when Phina felt the pressure of his arms around her did he seem to snap out of his reverie.

"I don't have a good feeling about letting you go to London alone," he finally said softly, his voice wavering as if a part of him hadn't wanted to say that at all, not wanting to unsettle Phina or make her feel incapable of managing on her own. Phina smiled faintly, closing her eyes momentarily, as it felt oddly comforting to know that he cared about her well-being.

"Your family won't find me there. I can easily blend in among people on my own," she tried to reassure him a bit, but Ominis didn't seem entirely convinced.
"I wish your bracelet had a longer range, but it seems it didn't even reach from here to Little Hangleton," he said, stroking her back so tenderly that Phina briefly considered abandoning her plans and going with them to Feldcroft, just to be with Ominis and spare him the worry. However, in the next moment, she remembered that she needed the distance from both Sebastian and him to perhaps eventually provide Natty and Poppy with a clearer answer about where her heart truly lay.