TW: A heads up, there's gonna be a lot of talk and depictions of death, terminal illnesses, suicide and other really heavy topics coming up soon in the next few chapters. If this is something that you might find a bit confronting or scary, please take care reading and feel free to skip over ❤️
I woke up in Sebastian's bed, still sweaty, naked and fucking sore.
Angry Sebastian was insatiable Sebastian. He took out every inch of frustration on me and apparently got one up on Ominis for marrying his sister because he fucked me for the third time that night on his bed. He didn't even use scourgify on the sheets.
Disgusting. But also hilarious.
But instead of being tucked safely in his arms, Sebastian's own sweaty back was pressed against mine, his warmth seeping into my skin. I sat up and looked over at him and his arms were folded across his chest, his eyebrows furrowed.
The sight made me wonder what was on his mind. I carefully untangled myself from the sheets and sat up, stealing a moment to observe his features.
I snapped myself out of my daydream when his eyelashes started to flicker and he opened his tired eyes, turning to see me sitting upright and looking at him.
"Oh. You're still here. I half expected you to go back to your own bed." Sebastian said with a yawn.
"Why would I? You rendered me nearly unconscious last night. There's no way I was walking that far."
"Hah. That I did. But you're mad at me." He said.
"And you're mad at me." I said.
"I'm not mad at you, Olive. I'm mad at the situation." He corrected me.
"Well, how can I help you fix that?" I asked.
"You've already helped enough. But I swear on Merlin's beard if you tell Ominis we fucked on his bed-"
"Sebastian, why would I tell him that? I'd rather him think we not fuck at all but you make that rather difficult." I cut him off.
A smirk grew on his face, knowing damn well he did make it quite difficult to hide our activities from not only Ominis but everyone else around us.
I scowled at him and he recoiled a bit, scooting back across the bed away from me.
"So where did you go?" I asked, now calm enough to actually take Sirona's advice and speak to him.
"Around. Didn't really stay anywhere in particular. Spent a lot of time on benches in the hamlets or at inn's." He said casually.
"Sebastian! That's so dangerous!" I said, shocked he admitted that he'd lived basically homeless for a month.
"Well consider dangerous my middle name then. I didn't mind. I liked being away from everything. No one knew who I was, no one had any opinions of me. I actually enjoyed it and I haven't enjoyed anything in a long time."
"Well, Sebastian Dangerous Sallow, I'm glad you were happy... but I was miserable. You're supposed to be my boyfriend and I thought you were dead somewhere. It was the worst month of my life. Are you even still my boyfriend?" I asked, genuinely unsure of where we stood despite last night.
Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, then sat back and closed it, looking at me with a strange look.
"What?" I said.
He pulled me into his arms and squeezed me tightly, nuzzling his face into the nape of my neck.
"I'm sorry I made you feel like that, Olive. Of course you're my girlfriend. I would never dream of you not being. I promise, I won't leave again."
I sighed a breath of relief and hugged him back, holding onto him as if he might disappear again.
"I missed you so much, you idiot," I muttered into his bare, warm and comforting chest.
"I missed you too, Olive," he replied as he delicately kissed the top of my head.
Unfortunately the rest of my Sunday was spent helping Sebastian study in the library to catch up on the things that he missed in his absence and Sebastian was not pleased I was actually there to study. The man was truly insatiable. He'd study for half an hour then start kissing my neck. Then he'd read for another 30 minutes, then he'd run a hand up my thigh.
"Sebastian, I need a break. Was last night not enough?" I sighed, yanking my leg back to myself.
"Clearly not." He said.
He took my hand and placed it in his lap and I felt the tent in his pants fully grown, the seam threatening to bust.
"Sebastian, no. I am sore. When we are done here you can use your hand or something."
"But where's the fun in that?"
I groaned. Loudly. Loud enough that I'd prayed Scribner would hear me and come and tell me off for being too noisy. But she didn't.
But Sebastian must have heard my internal desperate pleas to be left alone because he finally actually began to study. And we made great progress until Ominis located us and sat directly across from us.
"Ah, if it isn't my favourite brother-in-law." Sebastian said, sounding half-sarcastic.
"Yes, hello Sebastian." Ominis replied.
He took out a few of his own textbooks and laid them on the table, immediately getting to work using his wand to read.
Sebastian looked at me and I looked at him, we both shrugged.
"How's Anne?" I asked.
"She's fine." He replied, keeping his focus.
The afternoon continued in mostly silence with Sebastian occasionally flicking a look at Ominis.
"Alright, I think I've tortured myself enough with studying for today," he declared, stretching his arms above his head and causing his shirt to untuck and ride up slightly, revealing a tantalising strip of his abdomen. I tried my best to ignore it.
"Good, because I was about to lose my mind from the constant tension in the air," I replied.
"Tension?" Ominis said, finally lifting his head up from his work.
"Yes! You two! It's driving me absolutely insane!" I said, probably too loud for a library.
Sebastian chuckled, "Oh, come on, Olive. Tension is healthy. Keeps things interesting."
I shot him a glare. "You're so annoying, you know that?"
He leaned in, his lips brushing against my ear. "That's part of my charm, isn't it?"
"Sure, let's call it charm..." I said with an eye roll. "But I'm serious. You and Ominis have some serious shit to work out. What's done is done and you can't be mad that he married your sister forever. You gave it your blessing, if you recall."
Sebastian and I exchanged glances. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, Ominis, I know we've had our differences," Sebastian began, "But Olive's right. I can't keep carrying around this resentment forever. You're Anne's husband now, and I have to accept that. I gave my blessing, and I need to honor it."
Ominis studied Sebastian for a moment, clearly as shocked by Sebastian's genuine tone and words as I was. "Sebastian, I appreciate that. And I understand your reservations. But know that I care deeply for Anne, and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her."
Sebastian nodded, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. "I know, Ominis. And I'm sorry for being such a stubborn prat about it."
Finally...
As the evening wore on and the library began to empty out, I could see the exhaustion in Sebastian's eyes, his lids drooping and struggling to stay open. Our very sleepless night the night prior probably didn't help the cause. Much to Sebastian's displeasure, I announced that I should probably head back to my own dormitory to get some rest.
Sebastian pouted playfully, though his eyes were clearly heavy with fatigue. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with me?"
I chuckled and gave him a gentle shove. "As tempting as that sounds, I think a good night's sleep is in order. Plus, I've been a terrible roommate to Imelda lately. I should spend some time in our dorm."
"Ugh. Fine. You know I don't sleep well without you there." He whined.
"Hm. You seemed to do just fine while you were gone." I said. I probably shouldn't have said it and it was clear Sebastian thought I shouldn't have either based off his scowl.
"Come on. You can walk me back," I said, "Ominis, are you coming?"
"Not quite yet. I have a few more inches to write for Herbology." He said, his attention not moving from his work.
"Alright then. I guess we'll see you back at the dormitory," I said, giving him a nod before turning to Sebastian.
He held my hand the whole way, right up to the pesky stairs that once injured him.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" He said, almost begging as he laid a trail of hot, fiery kisses down my neck.
"Yes, Sebastian. I'm sure. I'll see you in a few hours, alright?" I laughed, pushing him away from me, "I love you."
He sighed, giving me another playful pout. "I love you too, even if you're rejecting me."
I rolled my eyes with a smile and gave him a lingering kiss before heading up the stairs to my dormitory. As I entered the room, Imelda looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow.
"Wha? Who is this new girl?" She said, incredibly sarcastically as she put her book to the side.
"Shut the fuck up, Reyes." I said with a smile, jumping on top of her on her bed and peppering hot, wet and sloppy kisses on her head.
"Ew! Get off me! You kiss Sallow with those lips! And I don't want to know what else!" She squirmed beneath my grasp.
I relented, rolling off her and flopping onto the bed next to her. "I missed you, you know," I admitted, catching my breath.
Imelda gave me a warm smile, "I missed you too. It's been too quiet around here without you."
I hummed softly and wrapped my arm around Imelda, "I'm sorry I've been a shit friend lately."
"You have. But it's understandable. I know Sallow's been through a lot with his sister marrying his best friend. Must have been a kick in the guts."
"Yeah. He's been trying but I can tell it still makes him uncomfortable."
"That's Sallow for you. If it doesn't align with what he wants, he won't even acknowledge it. So I'm glad to hear he's trying." Imelda said.
We caught up on each other's lives until I felt the weariness from the long day start to catch up with me.
"I should probably get some sleep," I yawned, stretching my arms above my head.
Imelda nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too. You already disturbed me from my book."
"You're welcome." I said, kissing her on the head once more before changing into my nightwear and sliding into my own unfamiliar bed.
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
I woke up early, feeling cold and lonely in my own bed. I had hoped Sebastian was as keen as I was to start the day and gave myself a quick shower and dressed in my robes ready to get to breakfast.
But he wasn't.
He's probably enjoying all of his bed without you in it, you twat.
I waited in the common room for a while, trying to distract myself with books and study... which was entirely unsuccessful and a huge waste of time.
So I went to breakfast, maybe he got there before me.
But he hadn't.
Maybe he was sleeping in.
So I went to his dormitory.
But he wasn't there. And neither was Ominis.
Odd.
Maybe they went to study.
I continued my day as normal as I could, trying to force the intrusive thoughts of just where the fuck the two of them could have gone without telling me and why it was all my fault.
By the time I was done with Arithmancy, the seat normally taken next to me by Sebastian notably empty, I was getting worried.
I went back to the dormitory and scoured it again before I jumped to conclusions but they were nowhere to be found.
"Are you looking for Sebastian?"
I spun on my heels and matched the voice with the face of Grace Pinch-Smedley.
"Yeah? Have you seen him?" I asked.
"I heard he rushed off early this morning at some ungodly hour like 3am. Dragged Ominis with him too."
He left? At 3am? And with Ominis? Why?
"Right. Thanks, Grace."
Nothing was making sense, and my imagination started to conjure up all sorts of worst-case scenarios.
Hurriedly, I made my way back to my dormitory, my heart pounding in my chest. I needed to figure out what was going on. As I entered the room, I found Imelda sitting at her desk, engrossed in her studies.
"Hey, have you seen Sebastian?" I blurted out.
Imelda looked up. "No, I haven't. Is everything okay?"
I quickly recounted my morning's events and the information Grace had shared. Imelda's brows furrowed as she listened.
"That is odd," she said, tapping her fingers on her chin. "But maybe there's a reasonable explanation. Maybe they had an emergency or something."
Emergency?
Fuck.
Anne.
"I... I have to go. Right now. I- I don't know when I'll be back."
"Where are you going? Do you need me to come with you? Olive!" Imelda's voice trailed behind me as I ran. I fucking sprinted. I was in such a state I almost forgot my floo powder.
"L-London." I said, trying to be as clear and concise as possible before becoming engulfed with the green flames.
I made it safely to the alleyway beside the hospital and ran straight into the building.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry. Visiting hours are over."
"No, please, you don't understand! I need to see Anne, Anne Sallow."
I watched as the Welcome Witch's face drained of all colour.
"Oh... uh, as I said. Visiting hours are over and I-"
"I don't care, I need to see her!" I said, trying to barge past her desk.
"N-no. Y-you can't." She stuttered, struggle to keep me back.
"Why?" I questioned.
"I'm afraid I can't disclose patient information..."
I damn near pushed the witch over and ran as fast as I could away from her and made my way up the levels, reaching the long term care ward.
But her room was empty. Her bed was made.
Had they discharged her? Had Ominis just decided to take her home? Maybe she never went back after their wedding.
With the remaining floo powder I had left, I ran back to the floo point and spoke the words Feldcroft.
The hamlet was cold. It was well and truly nighttime now. And I knew someone was in the Sallow home as the lights were on inside.
I approached the cottage as calmly as I could and knocked on the door gently. It was ajar. But no one answered.
"Hello? Sebastian? Ominis? Anne? It's me. Olive." I spoke through the crack in the door.
No answer.
I pushed open the door softly to be greeted with... nothing. There was no one inside. The fire was crackling and warm, recently topped up. But there was no other sign of anybody here.
I stood there in the cottage, my heart pounding against my chest as a sense of dread washed over me. It was eerie how quiet and still everything felt. The emptiness of the room only heightened my anxiety, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong.
"Sebastian? Anne? Ominis" I called out again. No response came, only the crackling of the fire and the distant sound of the wind outside.
Fear gnawed at my insides as I cautiously moved further into the cottage. I checked each room, my heart sinking with each empty space I encountered. There was no sign of Sebastian, Anne, or Ominis. Panic threatened to consume me as I realised that the worst may have happened.
With my heart racing, I hurried back outside, my breath coming in short gasps. As I approached the edge of the hamlet, I recognised a figure in the distance, heading towards me.
It was Imelda.
"You followed me?" I spoke between panicked breaths.
She saw the distress on my face and rushed over. "I did, what's going on?"
I struggled to catch my breath, my words tumbling out in a jumbled mess. "Sebastian... Anne... they're not here. I went to the hospital and her room was empty. I came here, and the cottage... it's empty too."
Imelda's eyes widened, and without hesitation, she grabbed my arm and I felt the familiar pulling and tugging of my body as we apparated.
We were back in London. We quickly made our way back to the hospital, our hearts pounding as we approached the entrance. The Welcome Witch was still there, and her expression turned from surprise to concern quickly as she saw us.
"Look, we need to know where Anne Sallow went," Imelda said urgently.
"I... I can't just give out that information," the Welcome Witch stammered.
Imelda hesitated for a moment before her wand was out and she muttered an incantation I never thought I'd hear out of her mouth. "This is an emergency. You will tell us where Anne Sallow is."
The Welcome Witch's demeanor changed, looking more relaxed as she nodded. "She was discharged earlier today. She left with her husband."
Relief washed over me at the confirmation that Anne was no longer in the hospital and was with Ominis at the very least. But where?
"Where did they go?" Imelda said sternly.
"I don't know."
Imelda let her spell go, ensuring the witch wouldn't remember the encounter and dragged me out of the hospital.
"Imelda! Did you cast Imperio on her?!" I yelled, in absolute shock at what had just happened.
"You needed to know. She wasn't going to give it up. I know you've used them so don't lecture me."
"I-I'm not... I just... didn't expect you to. Especially for me." I stammered, not doing a great job at hiding my shock.
"Forget about it. I'd do anything for you."
I couldn't even stop and dwell on her comments as I realised where they might be.
"We need to go back to Hogwarts." I blurted out.
"Hogwarts? You said you'd checked there already." Imelda said.
"I know. But I think they've moved. You can't come with me. I'm sorry."
Imelda nodded, knowing now wasn't the time to argue with me.
She apparated back to the Hogwarts grounds and we split up. Imelda promised me she was going back to the dorms and I ran straight to the place I knew meant a lot to the three of them.
The rusty old gate slammed shut behind me. And I was right.
"Sebastian?" I said, seeing his brown hair right at the very back of the Undercroft in the corner.
No one responded.
I ran over to them quickly.
Ominis was sitting on the floor with Anne tucked in between his legs, her head buried on his chest. Sebastian was next to them, his head low and a hand on Anne's back.
"Seb?" I said softly.
This was bad.
"They told us we had months... even years..." He muttered. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he had been crying. Heavily.
My eyes flickered to Anne. She was breathing. But slowly and it looked laboured.
There was no way. They told us we'd bought her time. That she had longer.
"Seb..." I said, not really hoping to gain his attention... but more to let him know I was there.
He finally looked up at me, his eyes red and swollen. "Olive... I don't know what to do."
My heart sank, and I moved closer to them, kneeling down beside Sebastian and letting him fall into my arms. "Should we take her back to the hospital?"
Sebastian shook his head, "No... she didn't want to go back. She wanted to be here... with us."
I glanced at Ominis, his own tears falling down his face. "We need to make her comfortable," he said quietly. "I've been trying to ease her pain, but... it's not enough."
Sebastian let out a shuddering breath, his tears falling onto my blouse. "I can't lose her, Olive. I can't..."
My brain couldn't find the words to say to make Sebastian feel okay. Nothing I said would ever make him feel okay. There was nothing more to do. And I think he knew that. There were no words that could truly console him or Ominis right now.
I don't know how long we sat for in silence, but Ominis began to hum a song softly. I recognised it. Ominis and Anne had danced together to it at their wedding.
Thy Beaming Eyes.
I cried along with them all, the love Ominis held for his wife coming out through the gentle melody he was singing.
As Ominis' notes echoed softly, Anne's hand reached out and Sebastian reached out his own, grasping tightly onto his twin. I peered down and her gaze was weak but it was still her.
Sebastian and Ominis noticed too, and there comfort in the fact that she was still with us, fighting against the inevitable as the determined Anne Sallow we knew she was.
Sebastian's grip with his other hand on my arm tightened as Ominis continued his gentle hum.
As the night wore on slowly, we took turns sharing stories and memories of Anne's life. Laughter mingled with tears as we reminisced about her impeccable sense of humour, her mischievous spirit and how much trouble she caused for the two boys at Hogwarts, how grateful she had told Ominis she was for finally finding a sister in me and that I made her brother truly happy only mere days ago. I was as inconsolable as the rest of them at this point.
Anne's eyes fluttered closed from time to time as we spoke, but she held on.
The first rays of dawn began to filter through the small, dusty window on the roof of the Undercroft, casting a soft, golden glow over us. Anne's breathing grew shallower, her energy fading with each moment.
And with a final, contented sigh, Anne's hand slipped from Sebastian's, and her breathing ceased.
"Sh—she's gone..." Ominis spoke between gutteral sobs and he gripped his wife tighter and tighter, his hand bound with his wedding band taking her own.
"No... no!" Sebastian's grief overwhelmed him, and he collapsed to the floor beside Anne, his body trembling with sobs. The guttural cries that tore from his throat were filled with pain and desperation. He clutched at Anne's lifeless hand, his fingers intertwined with hers as if trying to anchor himself to the reality he so desperately wished to deny.
"Anne, no! Please, come back," he wailed, his voice cracking as he rocked back and forth, his tears falling onto Anne's still form. "You can't leave me. Please, don't leave me!"
I knelt beside Sebastian, placing a hand on his back, but he recoiled as if my touch burned.
"Sebastian..." I managed to choke out.
But Sebastian's cries continued, grief consuming him entirely.
Eventually, as Sebastian's cries began to subside into exhausted, hiccuping breaths, he collapsed onto his side, his body shuddering. I joined him on the floor, folding his body into mine.
"I... I can't believe she's gone. She was supposed to have more time. We were supposed to have more time!" Sebastian said between forced breaths.
"I know, Seb... I know..." I whispered, my hand soothing him as I ran it through his hair.
"I need to leave."
Sebastian jumped up abruptly and left the Undercroft, leaving us alone.
Ominis continued to hold Anne's lifeless form, his tears falling onto her still face as he whispered his words of love.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, Ominis gently lowered Anne to the ground.
He lifted his head in my direction, his eyes red and puffy. "I'll stay with her for a while longer... to say my goodbyes."
"Of course."
I made chase after Sebastian, but he was quick. He wasn't outside. He wasn't in the common room.
I had one more space to check before I went out of the castle checking Feldcroft and the other hamlets.
As I made my way through to the Astronomy tower, the door was already there for me. I stepped into the Room of Requirement. And I found him.
"Sebastian." I said, noticing he was sitting on the floor, his head dipped low.
As I stepped on the other side of the lounge, I noticed he had his wand in his hands, pointing right in the middle of his forehead.
"Sebastian, what are you doing?" I said, my voice shaky with fear.
"Avada..."