Chapter Text
The owl arrived completely unexpectedly.
It had been a typical early morning for you, the sun had barely risen above the horizon, painting the small kitchen of the flat in a comforting light. At first, you had mistaken it for an owl from Poppy, who had been sending letters for the last few months, catching you up on what she had already done for multiple magical creatures around the UK, freeing them from horrid poachers. Her last few letters had been quite amusing, with her recalling how she had struggled to catch a moon calf that she had just freed from its cage. You had just been preparing to leave the small flat you had been renting ever since your auror training had begun a few months ago.
Ominis had already been waiting for you near the front door, ready to leave for another busy day. Ever since graduating from Hogwarts a few months ago, you two had been living together in London. It had been the most sensible idea to both of you, the friendship you had formed only having become stronger after the events of your first year in Hogwarts. After you two had been the only ones left. After turning in Sebastian for what he had done. You knew it had been the right thing to do, but even now, three years later, there wasn’t a day where you didn’t think about him, when the snow falling on the streets didn’t remind you of all the adventures you had together, the carefree snowball fights you had had between classes, before everything went wrong and Sebastian had gone mad with his desire to cure Anne, no matter what.
You had wanted to help him, to help Anne as much as he did. But when he had crossed the line and killed his uncle, your head had finally won over your heart and you and Ominis both had done what was right and turned Sebastian in. Even now, you can’t shake the look of betrayal and hurt that had been in his eyes when they expelled him and escorted him out of the castle to face trial for his actions. The sound of his wand being snapped into two was still ringing in your ears. The officials from the ministry had carelessly discarded it, fully focusing on pointing their wands at the fifteen-year-old boy who couldn’t even have done anything to fight them with no wand and no fighting spirit left in him. He had been white as a ghost, still in his Slytherin robes. It had been late in the evening when they had come to take him away. Thankfully, not many students had still been out. The ministry had probably wanted to make this affair a quick and quiet one.
You and Ominis had been hiding behind a corner. Even though you had known you had done the right thing, at that moment, seeing Sebastian being escorted outside and his wand laying in pieces on the ground, you had wanted nothing more than to free him from their clutches, re-awaken the ancient magic you had just previously sworn to forever lock away. Ominis had gently squeezed your shoulder then, seemingly sensing the turmoil within you. He had probably felt the same emotions as you at that moment, even though he hadn't been able to see what had been going on. With his sense of hearing, he must have known.
“Let’s go,” He had whispered then. “There is nothing we can do now. We must believe this is what’s right.”
You had nodded slowly but then, just before the door to the outside had fallen shut, Sebastian had looked up and his gaze had found yours. Instead of rage, there had been nothing there, as if the Sebastian you had known had been already gone. You had inhaled sharply and had felt your eyes fill with tears but then the door had fallen shut and that had been the last time you and Ominis had seen Sebastian for the next two years until your would graduate. When there had been no one around anymore, you had stepped away from your hiding place slowly.
“Ominis, wait, just a moment.” You had said, almost scared at how lifeless your voice had sounded.
When you had looked at him, you had been able to see in his face that he had already known what you had been going to do. He hadn't stopped you. Instead, he had only sighed and had walked with you to where the broken wand had lain. With trembling hands, you had picked up the wooden pieces, the beautiful green handle you knew so well glowing in the light of the torch nearby. You had known then and there that you would keep it with you. It was the only thing reminding you of him. You hadn’t known if you would see him again and what they would do with him now, if he would rot away in Azkaban, or if they would be more forgiving to a boy still underage. You had begun to shake, the whole weight of the situation crashing down on you. As if he had been sensing it, Ominis had kneeled next to you and had slowly put his arms around you in an effort to comfort you. Coming from him, someone who didn’t trust easily and didn’t cope well with physical touch, you had known it had been a testament to how deep your friendship had progressed this year. The tears had flown freely now.
“I’ll miss him so much.” You had whispered with a heavy heart. “I don’t know if we did the right thing, Ominis.”
He had shaken his head slowly. “We did the right thing. He’s my best friend, but what he did is unforgivable. We know that.”
But when you had looked up and had seen that his cloudy eyes had filled with tears as well, you had known that both your hearts were telling you differently. You two had lost Sebastian and everything that could have possibly happened to whatever had been progressing between you and him. It had been a pipe dream that would never happen now. You had been mourning what could have been ever since that evening. A few weeks later you had received an owl from Anne and your worst fear had become true. They had sent Sebastian to Azkaban.
You and Ominis had immediately dropped everything and had traveled to Feldcroft. That day, neither of you three had slept. Since then and for the rest of your time at Hogwarts, you three had grown close, comforting each other. You had sworn then and there, looking at Anne when she had opened the door to their small home she was now living in alone, still in pain from her curse, that you would look after her and save her somehow, no matter what. You owed Sebastian this. You would continue his search for a cure but you wouldn’t dabble into the dark arts for it as he had done. Over the years you had found ways to lessen her pain but a cure was still unreachable, for now. You would find a cure and if it was the last thing that you’d do. After graduating, you had offered Anne to come live with you and Ominis but she had politely declined, wanting to stay in Feldcroft. She had been able to visit Sebastian a few times and every time she had returned, she hadn’t wanted to talk about what she had seen.
“He’s alive.” Was all she had been able to say. “And he doesn’t want to see you two.”
When you had graduated and moved to London to start your auror training, you had had enough. The next time Anne had been allowed to visit Sebastian, you and Ominis had come with her, with Anne officially requesting your presence by telling the ministry she wanted to feel protected in a space full of dementors. With you and Ominis having officially started as aurors, it had been approved.
When you had only taken a few steps into the first corridor of the prison, you had wanted to do nothing more than turn around and flee. How Anne had managed to stay here to visit Sebastian multiple times now you hadn’t known. You had been able to see your breath in the air, that’s how cold it had been, even Ominis had pulled his coat closer in an effort to stay warm, and you had wondered briefly how anybody was able to survive in here for longer than an hour. But that hadn’t been the worst part. Azkaban’s guards, the dementors, had been patrolling around the corridors and even though they had seemed to keep their distance from you three as you were only visitors and not prisoners, their mere presence had made you grip your wand a bit tighter. Anne had turned around to you two, her wand’s light eliminating the dark corridor and giving it a bit of warmth.
"Come, he’s just up ahead." She had said as you had slowly made your way down the corridor, passing empty cells left and right or what seemed to be empty cells, as the inhabitants hadn't seemed to move, only the sound of chains dragging on the stone floor being heard from time to time.
Would he be chained up as well? The mere thought had almost made you puke. As if being in the constant presence of dementors wasn’t enough of a punishment already. Again you had wondered if you and Ominis had made the right decision. Anne had come to a halt next to a cell near the end of the corridor.
"Sebastian, it’s me," She had said in a voice way too bright to be genuine. "And I brought two of our friends."
She had lifted her wand and there he had been, chained to a wall, sitting on what might have had resembled a cot once. Even though you had known he was the same age as you, merely eighteen, he had looked about twenty years older, his body too thin and his face a former shadow of himself. You hadn’t known what to expect but seeing him for the first time in more than two years and seeing him in this state, your heart had still almost stopped beating. Even though Ominis couldn’t see him, he had seemed to sense his state as well. Sebastian had finally looked up at them and when you had seen his eyes that had been full of life and warmth before, they had been lifeless and cold. But when his gaze wandered from you to Ominis and back, his face had twisted into something ugly and unlike the Sebastian you knew.
"How nice of you to finally join us," He had spat and his voice had sounded dry like sandpaper. "Did you want to check if I'm dead yet? Sorry to disappoint you there."
You had bit your lip so hard it had started bleeding but all the words you had wanted to say to him just hadn’t come out.
"Sebastian, we are sorry for-" Ominis started, but Sebastian had interrupted him.
"You can stop right there, Ominis. How I have ever considered you a friend I don’t know. You and her seem to be just fine without me, not caring if I'm dead or alive."
"How can you say that?" You had finally found your voice. You wouldn’t just stand by and watch him insult your mutual friend. "You must understand that your actions were too grave to be forgivable. You killed your uncle, Sebastian!"
And with a much quieter voice, you continued. "There hasn’t been a day where we didn’t talk about you and wanted to reverse our decision from then. We have missed you so much."
Sebastian had just shaken his head. "You don’t get to say that. I needed to be there for Anne and I couldn’t because of you two. I thought you especially would be able to understand, that we had grown closer over the year but now I can see it. You two have been working together all along. I was nothing more than a third wheel for you."
You had wanted to deny it, to tell him how confused you had felt about your own feelings, that your heart had wanted nothing more than to burst open the cell door and hug him, ask for forgiveness, and start over. You had known that all these years there had been no one else for you. Yes, you and Ominis had leaned onto each other for support, and become the closest of friends, but there had never been anything more than that.
"Anne told me you two are becoming aurors and have started living together. Congratulations. I hope you’ll send me a wedding invitation if I make it that long." Sebastian continued and the smile he wore on his face was almost sickening.
"No Sebastian, there’s nothing between her and me. She likes y-" Ominis tried to explain.
"I hope you’re happy." Sebastian had looked at you. "Can’t believe I have ever considered you as more than a friend."
Before you had been able to respond, a couple of dementors had slowly made their way toward you. Your visiting time had been up.
You shook your head, trying to focus on the words that were staring back at you. The letter was from Anne.
I hope you two are doing well.
Feldcroft has been covered in snow for a few days now and there are many children having snowball fights during the day.
How I wish I could join them but don’t worry about me. Thanks to your efforts the pain is less severe than when we first met.
I have just received an owl from the ministry. It concerns Sebastian.
You could see that her handwriting got a bit wobbly from here on out.
They have reached an agreement on what to do with my brother.
You stopped breathing for a second, holding on to hope. Maybe they had decided to let him go on parole? Your heart gave a timid flutter at the possibility of seeing him again as a free man. But then, you read the next words and it was as if your blood turned to ice.
“Ominis,” You said and he heard everything he needed to know in that word. Within a few seconds he was next to you, his whole body tense.
“What is it? What does it say?”
“It’s Sebastian,” You whispered, not wanting the words written in Anne’s beautiful but wobbly handwriting to be true. “They have decided what to do with him.”
Ominis seemed to know even before you spoke the words out loud.
"They are going to perform the Dementor’s Kiss."