Risk // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 29: Fort

While we enjoyed our time with Anne for Christmas, we had sadly end our time together early. We had planned to stay in Feldcroft for the whole two weeks, but Anne took a slight turn and insisted we take her back to St Mungo's.

The three of us travelled together with her and I could see the pain in both boys eyes as they had to say their goodbyes with promises to visit as often as they could.

"So, to Hogwarts or Feldcroft?" Ominis asked Sebastian as we left the hospital.

"I'm going back to Hogwarts. I can't bring myself to stay in Feldcroft without her but you can stay there if you like, Ominis."

"No, I'll go back with you."

Sebastian apparated us both back to the castle and we went back to the common room feeling sad. Ominis went straight to their dormitory, but Sebastian chose to sit with me on one of the lounges in the common room.

"I'm sorry we had to take Anne back." I said, lowering his head into my chest and running my fingers through the soft brown locks.

"It's no one's fault, Olive. This happens. It's just a part of her condition."

"But I am sorry. I'm sorry it happened at all."

"You don't need to apologise. Ominis has said it before, we can't change the past as much as we'd like to. I think if I've come to accept my sisters fate after everything... then so should everyone else."

I felt a sharp twang of pain in my heart listening to Sebastian speak. The determined boy who had vowed to never give up on his sister had exhausted all his options and obeyed his sisters wishes. He'd stopped. There was no more research, no more reading...

"Sebastian... please don't get mad with me when I tell you this..."

He lifted his head from my chest with a slightly confused look on his face.

"I want to try the wand again."

"Are you mad, Olive? Look what happened last time! I simply cannot allow you to put yourself at risk! I broke my promise to myself when I let myself be in a relationship with you... I told myself it would be alright and I could do it because I would protect you and keep you safe."

"Sebastian, you saw how close we were... if I could only get goblin metal, I could contain the curse, and-"

"NO! I... I can't risk losing you. Do I hope and pray every single night that a cure will come up for Anne? Of course I do. But I won't risk you on the off chance that it may happen. I might have let you do that last year but this... this is different. We are different. You are my future. With Rookwood dead, we will never, ever know what sort of curse Anne is riddled with. Anne's condition is a given whether I like it or not, I've had to accept that she will be gone. But you... you won't be. And I simply will not let you do this! I can't lose Anne and you too!"

The dim light of the fireplace highlighted the tears that had begun to well in Sebastian's eyes. And I am certain he probably saw the ones in mine too.

Was he really that protective of me that he was going to let Anne die? We were so close that day... I had almost extracted the curse from that mandrake, had I not been distracted.

"Please," Sebastian's voice quivered, "promise me you won't use that wand again. Maybe I need to take it back to the tomb."

"Sebastian, you don't need to do that. Hold onto it. I won't."

"Promise me!" He desperately begged, his voice still shaking.

"I promise."

Sebastian pulled my head towards him and pressed his lips to my forehead, his hands wrapping around my neck tightly. I could feel the wetness from the tears he had now let go rolling down his chin and streaming down my face.