Hogwarts Legacy X Reader || One-Shots ||

Arranged Heartbreak • Act III // S.S. • ღ☂

Ominis was awake already, and looking in his direction with the same concerned expression he grew accustomed to lately.

"I'm okay. Just a nightmare." Sebastian quickly got ready, not bothering to do his tie properly or wear his perfume. And that, he never forgot.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

When he reached the Great Hall, he couldn't help but search for her in the crowd of students. He needed to see that she was still with them. Still safe.

"Sebastian."

He turned around with a jolt and she jumped slightly in surprise.

"Are you alright?" She asked, examining his exhausted face.

"Of... Of course." He replied, rather unconvincingly, but he hoped she wouldn't ask any more questions. The last thing he wanted was to worry her any further. So he diverted the conversation. "How about you?"

She shrugged, holding up a piece of neatly folded parchment. "Post." She simply said. "I'll read it later."

He nodded, his lips dry and an uneasy feeling in his chest. Post this early?

"I'll see you later, all right? I'm starving." She waved and turned in the direction of her table.

"Wait, who... Is it from Anne?" He stopped her, holding onto a glimmer of hope. Maybe he was reading too much into it and it was only his twin reaching out to greet her and ask her if she would spend Christmas with them in Feldcroft. His sister could do with some more company after all.

"My father, actually." She turned the letter in her hands.

He swallowed thickly, that glimmer going out as soon as it ignited. He forced the words out. "You— You don't think it's about... that, right?" He asked in a feeble voice, choking on his words.

She narrowed her eyes a bit, just as she did the first time they met. "Is that why you look so... dishevelled today?" She tilted her head. "I don't want to worry you, Sebastian. Promise me you won't think about it anymore."

He faltered, and it took a while for his neck to move in what biasedly resembled a nod, for which he appeared totally unconvincing. She sighed deeply and averted her eyes before walking away.

Sebastian's gaze followed her figure and his breath quickened. For some reason, he was panicking, more than usual.

"Why is your breathing ragged? Is it because of the nightmare?" Ominis asked, furrowing his brows.

"Yes... Probably." He replied, not taking his eyes off the girl.

He tried not to let his mind wander too much, taking a deep breath and following Ominis to the table — not that he was hungry anymore. In fact, the mere sight of food made the pit of his stomach close painfully.

Sebastian spent a few minutes staring at his eggs, before he ran his hands through his hair desperately. His eyes searched for her at her House table, then in the crowd of students leaving and entering the Great Hall, but her figure had vanished before his eyes in a heartbeat. His face fell.

"She... She's not there anymore." He whispered to Ominis. "What if this... ruins my chances? What if I broke her trust? What if, now that she knows I'm worried sick, she won't ever want to see me again to spare me?"

Ominis' breath caught in his throat at Sebastian's words, but he forced himself to calm down, to give Sebastian a pillar to lay on as his mind already braced itself for the worst.

"I'm sure... I'm sure that if you explain yourself, she'll understand." He tried to comfort his friend.

Sebastian didn't say anything and instead stood up abruptly to go find her. He needed to find her. There had to be a solution, anything he could do for her while also not showing that her condition made him suffer. He didn't want to lose her, neither her friendship nor her future to some aristocrat. He wanted to court her, to be with her, to openly love her.