Risk // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 18: Recovery

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.