Cursed (Hogwarts Legacy fanfiction - original in German)

Chapter 61 - Don't mess it up

[Screenshots of my trio made by me]

Before Sebastian bid farewell to Clarissa, he had promised her that he would indeed approach Phina about the Yule Ball on that very day. It was actually a bit early to be thinking about it, but perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea to do it anyway, because then Ominis probably wouldn't have beaten him to it. 

Unfortunately, hardly any suitable opportunity had arisen to broach the subject, as the three of them had gone straight to the undercroft after class to work on their spells throughout the evening.

It was truly impressive to watch how well Ominis harmonized with his new wand and how dangerously fast and accurate he had become, as if the wand somehow took over his sight in a supernatural way, aiding him in aiming. 

After a while, Phina seemed somewhat demotivated and eventually sat down with a soft sigh on one of the sofas in their small seating area to take a break. Sebastian was just finishing a combination of attack spells, constantly changing his position as if simulating evading counterattacks. When his gaze wandered to Phina, he somehow got the impression that she was sad or at least extremely dissatisfied with something. 

These were not good conditions for his intention to ask her if she would accompany him to the Yule Ball this year. He didn't want to act on it in Ominis' presence anyway. And if she was in a bad mood, she might not really feel like thinking about the ball. Sebastian therefore decided to interrupt his training as well and sit directly beside her. Phina was in the process of pouring herself a glass of water and immediately looked sideways at him.
"Do you want some too?" she asked, already pulling a second glass towards herself as Sebastian nodded.
"Yes, please."

Suddenly, from Ominis' direction, there was a tremendous, sustained crash, and immediately Sebastian jerked his head around to see what had happened. One of the practice dummies had been torn into countless pieces, which now one after another partially burning crashed onto the floor of the undercroft. Some disintegrated into even smaller pieces due to the force of the impact. Ominis took a deep breath and abandoned his attacking posture to straighten his back. 

Something about him seemed completely changed to Sebastian. It wasn't just his spells, which had become much more aggressive overall, but also something about his appearance that Sebastian couldn't quite pinpoint. Was it perhaps the black shirt he wore today instead of a perfectly fitting shirt? Was it his hair, which was a bit wilder than usual? Overall, his entire aura seemed somehow darker and more daredevil than usual.

"Not bad, Ominis. But I hope you still have a decent grasp of the Reparo spell to clean up this mess!" Phina said with laughter in her voice, almost making Sebastian jealous that Ominis effortlessly seemed to improve her mood, even when he didn't actively intend to. Ominis only grinned in response and waved his wand with an elegant arm movement above his head.

"By now, even nonverbal," he said then, as the fragments of the practice dummy lifted off the ground and gradually pieced themselves back together, as if nothing had happened.
"Show-off," Sebastian grumbled, then took a sip of his water. 

He was aware that it was foolish to constantly compare himself to Ominis in terms of these spell exercises. Unlike him, he couldn't devote every free minute to improving his dueling skills and spells, as he also had to manage the rigorous Quidditch training. On top of that, there was also studying for classes, and of course, he absolutely did not want to neglect his friendships. At times, it was really becoming too much for him.

He seized the moment while Phina was still looking at Ominis, quickly pulling a small glass vial from his pocket to add a few drops of his new wonder potion to his water. He had found the recipe in one of the more obscure books on potions in the library and, of course, immediately enlisted Garreth as his assistant to try out this potion. Together, after a few failed attempts, they had finally succeeded, and the elixir was a success. Although Sebastian considered it absolutely harmless, he had Garreth swear as a precaution that he wouldn't tell anyone about their little brewing experiment. He didn't want any discussions, and after all, he knew what he could subject his body to. Besides, he could stop using this potion to give himself a little boost anytime he wanted. And he would do just that once his body and mind had adapted to his new workload rhythm.