Tempest // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 36

CW: Contains references to substance abuse.

"Why is Sebastian talking to Garreth so much? I thought they didn't like each other?" Poppy asked, scratching the side of her head as she watched the two boys exchanging something over breakfast.

Rosie knew.

Sebastian had been taking the dreamless sleep potion for weeks now and Rosie refused to make him anymore. She had been spending all her time on it, neglecting her school work so she told Sebastian to visit Nurse Blainey for more, but he refused.

"She'll want to know why I need them." He rebutted.

So, rather than brew them himself, he was paying Garreth Weasley to do it for him.

Sebastian swore paying him was a lot cheaper than buying the ingredients himself, and he'd be damned if he went out foraging for them... or stealing from Sharp's stocks.

"They don't." Rosie responded to Poppy, watching her boyfriend flash Garreth a smile and stuff the potions into his pocket.

Sebastian walked to the Ravenclaw table and took a seat right in front of the two girls. "Morning."

He was chirpy.

A far cry from the Sebastian Rosie had comforted for three days and nights straight while he struggled to come to terms with what he'd done. But now, he was positively beaming and hiding away his feelings with ridiculous potions.

"What?" He said, piling a heap of scrambled eggs onto his plate.

Obviously his appetite had returned.

"I didn't know you were friends with Garreth." Poppy said.

Rosie was glad Poppy had taken the reins and was quizzing Sebastian because she was growing too frustrated to do it herself.

How could he simply forget so easily and carry on like nothing had happened, using potions to numb himself.

"Really? Garreth and I go way back. Can't believe you forgot, Poppy." Sebastian dismissed her.

The rest of their breakfast was an uncomfortable silence until Poppy finished and left to visit her other Hufflepuff friends.

Rosie immediately drew her attention back to Sebastian, a look of frustration aimed right at him. "You can't keep relying on those dreamless sleep potions. It's not a solution, and you know it. You need to face what happened and deal with it, not bury it under a pile of potions."

Sebastian's earlier casual demeanour faltered for a moment, and he looked at Rosie with a hint of sadness in his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by a casual shrug. "I'm am dealing with it, Rosie. These potions help me sleep, that's all."

Rosie leaned a little closer. "Sebastian, I'm worried about you. You can't just pretend everything's fine."

"Don't be." He snapped. "I'll cope how I want. I'm not harming anyone."

Sebastian took a piece of toast in his hand and stood up too, leaving Rosie alone and sad.

His demeanour towards Rosie shifted after the awkward breakfast encounter significantly. While he did still sit with her in classes, he did nothing more than answer her questions about the course material.

The days that followed were filled with more and more distance between Rosie and Sebastian. She tried to give him space, understanding that he probably needed time to process what had happened, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was slipping further away.

To an outsider, they looked normal. Sitting together for meals, classes and talking to Ominis, but they hadn't spent any time together in private, certainly not sharing anything romantic.