Sebastian
I watched on in awe as Olive, on her first attempt, managed to get the curse to lift from the mandrake. My heart fluttered with an overwhelming amount of pride to see just how powerful of a witch she was.
The smile across my face became short lived as I watched her falter, the wand leaping out of her grasps and the curse snapping right back into the mandrake.
I went to run towards her and make sure she was alright, when I saw a crack begin to form in the pot.
"Olive!?" I called out as I covered my ears quickly. But my warning wasn't fast enough. The pot shattered into thousands of shards and the cursed, sickly looking mandrake was sent flying out, screaming as it landed.
Olive's body crumpled in a heap and as much as I wanted to run towards her, I had to stop the mandrake or I'd be right there with her on the floor.
All that ran though my mind at that moment, was the age of the mandrake. I was certain I had picked young ones, but I couldn't be sure. I had just taken the word of Beatrice Green at Dogweed and Deathcap. I didn't think it would really matter anyway. But how fucking wrong I was.
I sprinted to the mandrake, using my jumper to cover my ears as I conjured a new pot and soil and buried the cursed plant deeply to shut it up.
As fast as my legs would carry me, I ran back to Olive and scooped her up into my arms, praying she wasn't dead. A quick feel of her neck revealed a pulse and I knew she was just knocked out.
Tears welled in my eyes as soon as I knew she was breathing, realising just how close I was to losing her.
"I'm so sorry, Olive. This is my fault!" I sobbed, pulling her head into my chest as I knelt in front of her.
I looked over her limp body, and realised her dress was torn and beginning to stain with blood.
"Fuck..." I muttered to myself, laying her down gently.
I quickly lifted her dress up over her hips and first noticed she was without her corset and second, that she'd been sliced with a few stray shards of pot, some looking like they were still embedded in her.
"Fuck... no... no no no!" I scooped her into my arms again and stood up, shifting her dress down and running as fast as I could out of the Undercroft. I came without floo powder so my only option was to run. I booked it through the castle, thanking Merlin himself it was a Sunday morning and most people were enjoying outdoors, studying or sleeping in.
I burst into the hospital wing, Nurse Blainey startled by my sudden entrance, interrupting her rounds.
"Mr. Sallow!" He exclaimed, turning to see me holding Olive's limp body in my arms.
"Please! Help her!" I begged loudly.
Nurse Blainey pulled open the curtains on a free bed and I placed Olive on it softly.
"What on Earth happened?" She said, collecting all of her medical supplies.
"She was... uh, tending to a mandrake. The pot exploded and... it was a young one so I think she's just been knocked out but the pot... I think there's bits that have pierced her."
The nurse drew the curtains closed for Olive's privacy and tried to shoo me away, but I refused. I stood next to Olive's head as Nurse Blainey clicked her tongue at me, knowing we didn't have time for a fight right now. She lifted Olive's dress and noticed the deep wounds and pieces of shrapnel embedded in her perfect abdomen. Seeing her now my adrenaline had started to wear off had me on the verge of tears again. Once I heard her breathing, I thought we were in the clear but seeing her now, how deeply wounded she actually was... the fear that I was going to lose her again washed over me harshly.
"This isn't something I can treat here. She needs surgery. She needs to be transferred to St Mungos."
My heart sank as Blainey made the call to send her away and with a flick of her wand, two healers had appeared, large suitcase in hand.
I'd read about the suitcases before, in one of the books about healers when I was researching for Anne. They're used for the most ill of patients. Ones who can't travel by floo powder or apparition. They're enchanted to transport them safely.
"Oh my, what's happened?" One of the healers asked, eying Olive's bloody and bare abdomen.
Nurse Blainey retold what I'd said had happened in a slightly more concise manner and the Healers quickly pulled a stretcher bed out of the suitcase. I was shoved away as they moved her onto it and climbed inside the suitcase with her.
"I need to-"
"No, I'm sorry, Mr. Sallow. You can't go with her." Nurse Blainey held me back and I tried to follow them.
One of the Healers re-emerged and closed the suitcase, picking it up and leaving.
All I knew about Olive was she was going to St Mungo's for surgery.
I left the hospital wing a complete and utter mess. I couldn't stop the onslaught of tears from running down my cheeks, filled with guilt knowing it was me and my selfish reasons that she got hurt this bad. If she died, it was because of me.
Ominis.
I needed Ominis.
I left the castle, trying to hide the fact I had been crying with my head dipped low, my chest shuddering with every inhale. I calmed my mind just enough to focus on apparating and took myself straight to St Mungos and up to Anne's ward. I could hear their happy laughter from the hallway as I approached and while that normally would have made me mad, today I was grateful it meant Ominis was still here.
I knocked softly on the door and noticed they were both sitting on Anne's bed playing a game with a deck of cards, though Anne was leaning over to tell Ominis what he had in his hands and what to do next. So it really wasn't much of a game at all.
"Sebastian?" Anne asked, surprised by my sudden entrance and clearly dishevelled appearance.
"I thought you were with Olive today?" Ominis asked.
"I am, or, I was... she... she got hurt. And..." I felt myself getting teary again and tried my best to hold them back, but I failed. "She's here... Nurse Blainey couldn't do anything, she... needs surgery..."
"She's here? In St Mungos?" Ominis asked.
"Yeah. I didn't know where else to go or what to do... I'm... really scared." I choked out between panicked sobs.
"What happened? How did she get hurt?"
Anne placed a gentle hand on Ominis' arm and I watched him recoil and relax from her touch.
"Omi, maybe now is not the time to be asking that. Let's make sure she's alright and take care of Sebastian for now, yes?"
I nodded and Anne shuffled herself off the bed as quickly as her weary body would let her and pulled me into her arms. Though we were twins, I now towered over and she was arguably smaller than Olive was. She wrapped her arms around me and I buried my head into her neck, letting my arms fold around her body.
I realised this was the first time Anne had shown me any comfort or given me any sort of touch in years. Even before Solomon died, she had left Hogwarts and every time I did get to see her in Feldcroft, I was angry or Solomon was angry or she was in pain and the time was always cut short.
I held her tighter, remembering her scent and found the tears flowing down my face again and settling on her blouse.
"I missed you, Anne." I sobbed into her hair.
"I missed you too, Seb."
I couldn't be sure, but I was certain she was crying too.
Anne broke our hug first and wiped her eyes with her knuckles.
"Let's go for a walk. Up to the fifth floor and get something to eat while we wait." Anne suggested, placing her hand on Ominis' knee for him to take a hold of.
I knew I definitely wouldn't be eating anything, but decided a walk would probably help while we waited for news on Olive.
I walked behind Anne and Ominis who were holding hands as they walked, almost making me feel even worse than I already did. It was nauseating... but I remembered what Olive had said to me weeks ago. Anne looked genuinely happy. It just so happened to be Ominis that was making her feel that way. And why should she not get to experience the same things I get to? I found myself unable to stop a small smile from encroaching on my face as I watched the pair, leaning in close, laughing, smiling.
It almost made me jealous of what they had. Almost.
Anne seemed to be on friendly terms with the staff at the small kitchen for visitors, snagging us each a sandwich basically for free.
"What? They love me here!" She said, noticing the look I'd given her after I watched her take them without an exchange of money.
I nibbled a little on the sandwich but couldn't bring myself to eat much of it at all
"Sebastian, she'll be alright," Anne said gently, as if she could read my mind.
All I could form in response was a deep sigh.
I appreciated their efforts to console me, but the weight of my actions was still heavy on my conscience. I knew I needed to be strong for Olive, but the fear was overwhelming.
We took Anne back to her room and I wandered down to reception, approaching the Welcome Witch who unfortunately couldn't tell me about Olive yet.
"Sorry, sweetheart... you're Anne Sallow's brother, right?"
"Y... yes?" I responded, cocking my head to the side.
"I thought so. She'd spoken about her twin and well, you're the male version of her. I knew it was you as soon as I saw you. I'll send word up to Anne's room when I know about Olive, alright?" She spoke gently with a small smile on her face.
"Thank you. I'd appreciate that." I forced a smile back at her as I headed back to Anne's room.
I sat in a corner and shut my eyes, trying hard not to imagine worst case scenarios and avoided replaying the scene in my head a thousand times of Olive's limp body on the cold Undercroft floor.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a Healer appeared in the room, jolting me awake from my very light sleep. My heart pounded in my chest as I jumped up, waiting for news.
"Is she okay?" I blurted out before she could even say a word.
The Healer looked at me with a mixture of sympathy and concern. "She's stable. The surgery was successful, and we managed to remove the foreign objects from her body. She's still unconscious, but she's in recovery now."
Relief washed over me like a wave, and tears filled my eyes. "Can I see her? Please?"
The Healer nodded, "Yes, but only for a short while. She needs to rest and recover."
"Thank you," I said through forced back tears.
I followed the healer and wished she'd walk faster. I was almost going to start pushing her to make her move quicker.
We finally reached a very sterile looking area of the hospital and I was ushered into a dim room and then I saw her. Olive.
My heart ached at the sight of her in that vulnerable state. Her hair was a mess, she looked pale and her eyes were sunken. Her hands were laid by her side and I quickly approached her bedside, kneeling next to her and taking her hand in both of mine. They were cold.
"Hey," I whispered softly. "You're going to be okay, Olive. You'll get better real soon and you'll be back safe with me at Hogwarts... I promise."
The tears I'd been letting out all day appeared again, but this time I couldn't stop it. I held her hand to my mouth and kissed it as many times as I could, my tears falling all over her soft hand and onto the sheets below.
"This is all my fault. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I should have listened. I promise, Olive, I'll never let anything like this happen again. I'll protect you, and I'll never take you for granted. Please, just wake up and be okay," I pleaded, my voice breaking.
I stayed by Olive's side for as long as they allowed, talking to her, telling her how much she meant to me, and how much I loved her. I didn't even care if she could hear me and understand what I was saying. But I loved her. With everything I had. I loved her.
The hours passed, and the room grew darker as evening approached. The Healers firmly insisted that I needed to leave now so Olive could rest, promising to update me as soon as there was any change.
Reluctantly, I left the room. I knew I couldn't stay in the hospital all the time, and I had no choice but to return to Hogwarts and wait for news there. I stopped by Anne's room on my way out to collect Ominis and let them know how she was.
"How is she?" Anne asked softly.
"She's stable. She's out of surgery, and they removed the shards, but she's still unconscious," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
Anne hopped up carefully and hugged me tightly. I could feel her own tears on my shoulder. "She'll be alright, Seb. She's a fighter."
Ominis joined the embrace, and the three of us held each other. Despite everything, it felt nice to know we could still be there for each other and I held onto hope that despite this god awful situation that was my fault, that we'd finally be able to rekindle what the three of us had before, obviously adding Olive to the dynamic. But believing in that seemed useless. Because though Olive's recovery was my number one priority at at the moment, Anne's declining health was still lingering in the back of my mind. Dreaming of the four of us together at Hogwarts seemed like a fever dream. And with removing the curse with the wand and Olive's magic now out of the question... I didn't know what more I could do to help Anne.
I apparated Ominis back to Hogwarts and we returned to the common room, though it was useless as I tossed and turned all night, not even managing to get one lick of sleep.
Dawn had just started to break if my pocket watch served me correctly when a tawny brown owl dumped a letter on me and I launched myself out of bed as fast as I could, tearing the envelope marked with the St Mungos insignia as fast as my fingers would let me.
Mr. Sallow,
I've been asked to inform you that Miss Olive Raywood has awoken from her surgery and has requested your presence at your earliest convenience.
A reminder that visiting hours do not begin until 8am.
Kindest regards,
Polly Ashburn
Welcome Witch
St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
8am!? So why the fuck would they send me the letter now?
I dressed in my uniform quickly, battling with my own mind about whether I even go to classes today. Olive would want me to attend but she also said earliest convenience which is obviously right this very second.
So I paced the common room, annoying Imelda Reyes who was trying to write up her game plan for the first Quidditch match next weekend.
"Jesus Christ, Sallow, will you knock it off?" She barked, throwing a scrunched up ball of parchment at my head.
"Sorry." I mumbled, continuing to pace but making sure I stomped a little lighter, just for her.
"By the way, do you know where Olive is? I had assumed she was with you, but you're currently in front of me annoying the shit out of me. She didn't come to bed."
My throat tightened, realising no one else knew what had happened. I was about to lie straight to her face and say I didn't know, but she was Olive's best friend. I figured she deserved to know. So I bit my tongue and then explained that she'd had a Herbology accident with a mandrake and was in hospital.
"Why didn't anyone tell me? I would have seen her! I'm heading up there now." Imelda said, slamming down her quill and standing up.
"No, Imelda. Not the hospital wing. St Mungos."
"ST MUNGOS? WHAT KIND OF FUCKING ACCIDENT WAS THIS!?"
"Shut the fuck up, would you, Reyes? I'm certain she wouldn't want the whole school to know where she is. I'm sure she'll explain when she's back, alright?"
Imelda scowled and dropped her demeanor before nodding softly, "Thanks for letting me know, Sallow."
She collected her items anyway and headed back to her dormitory and I swore I saw her wipe a tear away with the sleeve of her robe.
I decided I'd waited enough and packed my invisibility cloak just in case, and headed straight out to London, battling all the regular commuters to get to the hospital.
I did manage to collect a few looks as I realised I had dressed for classes today and seeing a Hogwarts student in their full uniform in London on a Monday morning was probably quite strange... especially for a muggle. Whoops. I'm sure it will be fine, though.
The same lovely welcome witch I had spoken to yesterday that I now figured was named Polly was manning the desk again. She threw me a sympathetic look before reminding me of the visiting hours.
"It's 7:40am... surely-"
"Mr. Sallow, I'm under strict rules here and..."
I looked slightly confused as she paused mid sentence and stared at me.
"Alright... go. I could never say no to your sister either... I think it's the eyes. Don't tell anyone I let you in."
"Thank you!" I said, probably too loud as I resisted the urge to climb behind the desk and hug the poor woman.
I wanted to run, but walked as fast as I could to Olive's room and poked my head around the doorway.
She looked a thousand times better than when I saw her yesterday. Her colour was back and she had a smile on her face. I never realised how much I cherished that smile until I saw it again. I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me as I entered the room and closed the door behind me.
"Hey," I said softly, my voice still heavy with emotions.
"Hey," Olive replied, her voice gentle and warm.
I moved closer to her bedside, unable to resist the urge to touch her. I brushed a strand of hair away from her face and gently cupped her cheek with my hand. "I'm so sorry, Olive. This is all my fault. I should have been more careful, and I should have listened to everyone. I promise I'll never be so reckless again. I can't bear the thought of losing you."
Before I could even let her respond and argue that it wasn't my fault, like I knew she would, I leaned over and pressed my mouth to hers. My thumb stroked gently down her cheek and I felt dampness on her jaw. Tears. I was unsure if they were hers or mine. Probably both. I held her lips with my own as long as I could, until I was disrupted by a gentle cough from the other side of the room which had me whipping my head around quickly.
"A-Anne... I- I didn't mean for you to see that-" I stammered, realising my sister had been sitting in the room the whole time.
Anne held up her hand, silencing me.
"Sebastian, it's okay," she said softly, "I know how you feel about Olive. I've seen it in your eyes for a long time."
My brow furrowed in confusion. "You know?"
Anne nodded. "Yes, I know. I'm not blind, Sebastian. I can see how much you care about her and I can see how much she cares about you too."
My heart pounded in my chest, unsure of what Anne was implying. Was I that obvious?
I peered down at Olive who was sporting a wide grin on her face.
"Funny, is it?" I scoffed, taking a chair next to Olive's bed and sinking into it.
"A little. You're not subtle, Sallow." Olive smirked. Oh, how I knew she was loving this.
"I suppose subtlety has never been my strong suit," I admitted with a small smile. "But I'm glad you find it funny."
Anne, who was still sitting in the room, offered a warm smile. "You two are sweet together. I'm happy for both of you."
"Oh, we aren't together," I clarified quickly.
"Sure. For now." Anne smiled, standing up with a pained grunt from her chair, "I'll leave you both to it. I'll come visit you later, Olive."
Anne gave me a quick flick of my ear which made me yell out a loud profanity, so loud that even wounded Olive stuck her leg out from the bed and kicked me.
"You're in a hospital! Have some decorum!" She hissed.
I laughed and leaned in to kiss her again, making sure she knew how much I regretted everything I did and how much she meant to me. I don't even know how long we stayed together for, but she pulled away first.
"Sebastian, you need to go back to school. I want you to attend your classes." She instructed.
"I've already missed Charms, I-"
"I don't care," She cut me off, "I don't want you missing anymore."
I wanted to argue back, but the least I could do after everything I put her through was listen to her.
"Fine." I groaned.
"Good. Now that you've agreed, I'll let you know that they're moving me back to the hospital wing at the school this afternoon. So you can come and see me then, alright?"
"Oh, that's great! I'll be there the second you're moved. I promise."
She laughed a little and winced as she leaned forward to pull me closer to her by my tie. She pressed our mouths together once more and I could feel her smiling as she did it.
"Thank you for being here." She mumbled against my lips.
I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her slightly, "Of course. It's the least I could do after doing all of this to you. I'm sorry."
"Blame yourself again and you'll never get me into your bed again."
My eyes widened and I let out a small, disbelieving chuckle, "So you aren't mad at me?"
"Of course not! To be honest, your dedication to making sure I'm alright is kind of sexy. I can tell you haven't slept."
I rubbed the bags under my eyes with my knuckle as if I could wipe them away.
"Go to class, get some sleep, Seb. I'll see you later."
She kissed me once more before she was almost pushing me out the door and I obliged, if only to save her the hassle of having to drag herself out of her bed.
I smiled knowing she was alright and she was going to be back in my arms safely in Hogwarts soon. But I now needed to convince her and Anne I wasn't in love with her. I couldn't imagine going through all of this if she was actually my girlfriend. I probably wouldn't have survived. So I couldn't allow it to happen. Ever.