Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
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The enchanting, amber glow of sunlight rises through the massive windows around me and wakes me gently with the feeling of warmth across my face. I can tell by the angle of the light that it's early enough for me to meander slowly into consciousness before my brain needs to be functional.
Remnants of a dream ignite and fade in my mind as I stir in the blankets and sheets. A familiar memory from my early childhood that my mind revisits often begins to fade into the background of my consciousness. I can see Benjamin and Cora, our family's dear friends who lived next door whom my father hired – Benjamin to assist with my father's work, and Cora to assist my mother around the house.
Before it fades away, completely, I see Cora's beautiful hands – long, slender fingers of a rich, dark black – take a magical salve of my mother's creation and apply it to her husband's back while my mother's caring hands carefully hover with magic above his thickly scarred, mutilated skin – deep, old wounds that would regularly flare up and cause Benjamin pain.
My stomach clenches at the thought of the sight, and a familiar stinging overtakes me behind my eyes and nose to think of the injustice of it. In the memory, my father rips apart a clean, white cloth into strips and passes them to me to hold as he shakes his head and paraphrases his favorite writer, "man can be the fiercest and cruelest animal, April"
I wonder where they are. How they are.
As the memory fades away completely into the morning's sunny greeting, I stretch my arms out and note how renewed my body and mind feels. It makes me smile to think of why.
Sebastian. My Sebastian.
I almost can't believe the circumstances of my present reality. He's home. He's here. And he's mine.
He is so good to me. So attentive. I sense a reverence in the way he holds me and cares for me that feels excessive and unnecessary. I'm just me, after all. I don't feel I warrant such treatment. But when I remember what he said last night it sends a shiver through me. 'It's only ever been you, April.'
Could it be true?
I can't help but smile about it. I believe him, of course. But it feels...so big. So extraordinary. My logic says it's possible he could feel about me the way I feel for him. I recognize how real my feelings are. How deeply I cherish him. How I crave him and want him to feel the depth of the ways I adore him. The ways I love him. But it still feels extraordinary to have it returned to me. Sebastian is extraordinary to me.
Where is he and why am I alone in this bed?
To my right, I see a lightly steaming, warm cup of chai on my nightstand thoughtfully waiting for me.
Bliss.
I take it and inhale the scent of it, sipping at the rim. It isn't too hot, so it must have been sitting here for a little while. As I slide out of bed, I swish my wand up my body to procure some loose, comfy clothing as my eyes wander to the main living area and see a mess of wavy hair tied into a loop peeking out the side of the sofa.
