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You stood with Sebastian and Ominis in front of the inmoving door, discussing how to open it. No matter how hard they pushed or pulled, it didn’t budge. “This is impossible, just look at this place!” Sebastian sighed, motioning to the locked door behind you. Someone had died in here, alone and with no escape. You worried that it would be the three of you to be stuck in there next, never found until someone comes poking their nose into the Dark Arts. Ominis stood in a corner, racking his brain for the answer. “There must be some way, why else would there be a door here?” You asked, walking back over to the dark door, and inspecting it. There was no keyhole, no way to wedge something into its side and pry it open.
You sighed again as you looked over to where Noctua, the person who visited before you, and died, had lay alone, noticing a piece of paper sitting on the ground. You looked at it curiously, crouching down and picking it up. “It says here that she was also trapped here, but there was a way out.” You read, walking over to the door once again as you kept reading. “Even if she was willing, she was alone and wouldn’t be able to use the spell to escape.” Sebastian’s face lit up and walked over to you. “What spell? Surely, she wrote it down.” You nodded, brows furrowed as you read on. Ominis had made his way over, hoping to leave the room as soon as possible. You reached the bottom of the page, eyes widening as you looked up at Sebastian. “Well? What spell?” You read the last line again, confirming what you had read. “Crucio.”
“One of the Unforgivables.” Ominis whispered, backing away. Sebastian furrowed his brow. “Why was she unable to cast it?” You read through the note again, putting the pieces together. “It has to be casted on someone, but not yourself.” Your eyes darkened, knowing that the only way to escape was to hurt someone, and you watched Ominis back away even more. “I won’t be a part of this, I refuse.” He says, returning to his original corner, shaking his head. You looked up at Sebastian, a look of sorrow filled his eyes. “That means one of us will have to cast it.” You nodded sadly, looking down at your feet.
“Cast it on me.” You looked up, shocked. Sebastian stood, his mind made up that he would be the one to go through whatever pain it may be. You shook your head, “Absolutely not. Do you know how painful that spell is? Who knows what will happen!” You argued, crossing your arms. Sebastian shook his head, “Clearly. But do we have any other choice?” You sighed, looking down at your hands. “We have another choice. You could cast it on me.” Ominis looked over, concerned. Sebastian’s eyes widened as he shook his head frantically. “No, I won’t do that.” “You must. Or else we’ll be stuck here until we die.”
“She’s right, Sebastian.” Ominis chimed in. Sebastian scoffed, turning to his friend. “Stay out of this, Ominis. You’re not part of this, remember?” Ominis hung his head, muttering something you couldn’t hear. Sebastian sighed, running a hand through his hair as he paced in a circle. “You won’t cast it?” He asked, looking at you, seemingly pleading with you. You shook your head, determined. “This is crazy. Insane. I shan’t.” “You shall.” Sebastian felt his eyes water, unable to break your determined stare. “You have to do it, Sebastian.” He sighed, walking over to you. “Are you sure?” You nodded, sealing the deal. Sebastian’s gaze softened as he wrapped his arm around you. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I know.”
Sebastian stood away from you, readying his wand. You prepare yourself mentally, trying to clear your mind of what you might go through, going through breathing exercises to calm your nerves. Sebastian took a breath in, giving you a look telling you that you could still back out. You nodded, squinting your eyes in preparation as he raised his wand. “Crucio!” You felt a wave of hot air wash over you, seeping into your skin and burning your whole body. You screamed as you dropped to the ground, your legs feeling like jelly as your blood seemingly boiled. It felt as if all your bones had been broken, only to be mended again and broken right after. Each beat your heart made went straight to your head, feeling as if nails were being driven into your skull. Your blood seemed to get hotter the longer the curse went on, lava seemingly coursing through your veins and out your eyes as you wept in pain. You felt as if you couldn’t breathe, the feeling of your lungs being squeezed caused you to gasp for air as you laid on the cobbled ground.
Sebastian stood there, eyes wide as tears slipped down his cheeks as he watched you in horror. Sebastian tried to cover his ears, unable to block out your screams. Sebastian whispers a string of apologies as he kneels, afraid to touch you in case it caused you more pain. Your ears ring as you feel the pain begin to subside, leaving you numb. Sebastian looked up to see the door begin to open, slowly and agonizingly. Red continued to travel along your body as the curse ran its final course, soon dissipating and leaving you there. Sebastian released the breath he was holding, placing a hand on your shoulder, smiling. “It’s over! The door opened!” Ominis walked over, standing beside Sebastian as he shook your shoulder once again. You stayed unmoving, the ringing in your ear causing your head to spin as you tried to gather your thoughts. When you felt that the pain was over, you tried to open your eyes, only to be greeted with darkness. Were your eyes even open?
The feeling felt familiar, as if you had experienced the situation before. You couldn’t move, unable to speak, unable to tell Sebastian that something was wrong. “Hey, come on, you need to get up now!” Sebastian said, his increasing worry turning to dread. Ominis felt his chest tighten, unsure what was happening, only hearing Sebastian as he began to plea with you. “Is she…ok?” He asked, grabbing Sebastian’s shoulder, and guiding himself onto the ground. “Does it sound like she’s ok?” Sebastian snapped, rolling you over onto your back. Panic only rose as he searched for a pulse, finding it as it faintly kept you alive. “The spell isn’t supposed to do this. That’s not how the spell was supposed to work!” He shouted frantically, moving his arms under you and lifting you up. Ominis stood, unsure what to do next. All he could do was dread, uttering a single sentence. “Is she dead?”
Sebastian didn’t respond as he hurried to the door they came in, now unlocked as well, and raced through everything they worked hard to get through. Ominis followed behind, cautious of his disadvantage while trying to keep up. Sebastian didn’t care if Ominis was behind him or not, his mind blurred as he raced his way to the infirmary, desperate to get you help. He turned into a nearby hall, nearly running into Professor Sharp, who looked at Sebastian in shock. “Mr. Sallow, what on earth are you doing?” Sebastian gasped for air, nearly dropping to his near in exhaustion. Sharp quickly noticed the state you were in and took you from Sebastian’s arms. “What happened to her?” He asked, speeding down the hall, Sebastian in tow. Sebastian could barely speak, uttering a few coherent words before gasping for breath again. “I don’t know…I don’t know.” “You must know something!”
You began to get feeling back in your face, specifically your forehead, with burned in pain. You twitched in Sharp’s arms, trying to say something. Sharp quickly looked down, examining your face as it contorted in a mix of pain and confusion. “We’re running out of time, hurry now!” Sebastian’s legs burned as he tried to keep up with the professor’s long strides, seeing the infirmary doors come into view. Sharp flew the doors open, startling the nurse on duty as she folded a sheet. Seeing a limp student in his arms, she quickly abandoned the sheet and pointed to a bed, grabbing her wand and a handful of potions. Sharp set you down, telling the nurse that something had happened, but Sebastian was unable to say what it was.
You struggled to move, feeling the nurse pouring different kinds of potions into your mouth, trying to listen to what was going on around you. “You need to tell me what happened, now!” You could hear Sharp begin to yell at Sebastian, and your mind began to fill with a painful panic. If Sebastian told him the truth, he would be sent to Azkaban, never to be let out. But if he didn’t, he would be in even bigger trouble; obstruction of justice was also a criminal offense. You could hear Sebastian stutter, and you mustered your strength to try and explain, the potions that coated your throat soothing your head and allowing you to finally feel your toes. “Dueling…accident.” It was the first thing you thought of, knowing that the consequences would only be detention, not imprisonment. Sharp and Sebastian looked over at you, Sharp moving closer to hear you. “Take it easy. What did you say?”
“We we’re having a friendly duel. Got out of hand.” You spoke, inhaling deeply and opening your eyes. Sharp narrowed his eyes, unsure if you were telling the truth. Sebastian nodded behind him, quickly backing you up. “Yeah, we were dueling. One of my spells hit something hanging on the wall, it fell and hit her in the head. Can’t you see the gash?” You furrowed your brows, slowly raising your arm and touching your temple. You pulled your hand back and stared at the blood that sat on your fingertips, warm against your cold skin. The nurse took your hand and quickly wiped your fingers, muttering not to touch your head until she could heal it. Sharp sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, turning to walk away. “I’ll deal with you two later.”
Sebastian watched as the nurse finished up her inspection, checking to make sure each limb was mobile and moving right, making sure your coordination was fine, and that you would overall be in near perfect health. She sighed as she left you, returning items back where they belonged and returning to her previous task. You sat up with a groan, looking up at Sebastian. He had tears in his eyes and a frown on his face, reaching down to take your hand in his. You tried to smile at him, hoping to break the tension. His gaze softened as he sat in the chair next to the bed, head hung.
“Why did this happen?” He asked, mainly to himself. You gave his hand a squeeze as he continued. “Why didn’t you just cast it on me? It shouldn’t have been you.” You furrowed your brows, “Why not? I wouldn’t cast it on you. It was the only way.” He looked up at you, a small trail of tears damping his cheeks. “But it wasn’t. You should have just used it on me.” You shook your head, “I would never forgive myself if I did. I would never put you through that pain.” Sebastian narrowed his gaze, “Why? Why are you willing to go through that pain instead?” You pursed your lips, looking down at where you were holding hands. “I did it for you.” “But why?” You glared at Sebastian, not believing that he could be that oblivious.
Sebastian continued to stare at you, confused, until you leaned over and kissed the top of his head. His face lit up as you turned away, trying to hide the pink that began to dust your cheeks. “Oh- I…you know?” He stuttered, and you couldn’t help but laugh. Eventually, Sebastian was able to get out a coherent sentence as he helped you out of the bed. “Me too. Uh, to…you know?” You nodded your head as you kept a hold of his hand, walking out of the infirmary.
Ominis met you a minute later, huffing as he tried to catch his breath. “Is…is she…okay?” He asked though gasps of air, and you tried not to laugh, knowing how hard it must have been to try and run over. “Yeah, I’m fine now.” You responded, watching as Ominis’ chest deflated in a sigh of relief. “Good…that’s good.” Sebastian patted his back as the three of you walked down the hall. “Let’s not do that again anytime soon.” Sebastian said, Ominis nodding in agreement. You pretended to be deep in thought, letting out a hum. “I was thinking that we go back tomorrow.” “Absolutely not!” “You guys do know you now have detention, right?” “How do you know that?” “Bumped into Professor Sharp, told me to let you two know.” “Dammit!”