Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Dear Sebastian, 

I miss you. I know I say that in every single letter that I send, but I really do mean it. I miss you more than I’ve missed anyone, really. Every day I wish to see you again, but you’ve probably already come to that conclusion, haven’t you? 

School begins soon and I cannot be more excited to see you again. 

From what I’ve heard from you, the summer has been treating you well and I am overjoyed to hear that you’ve had such a good summer despite the situation you are in. 

I hope this letter reaches you before school begins as it will be the last letter I send before we meet again. If it does; how are you? Are you excited about school or are you nervous? I’d say I’m a bit of both. But the idea of being able to see you, and of course our other friends, is enough to make me overjoyed. 

I know this is quite a short letter but I’d like to save my words for when I see you again. 

With all my love, 

Matty.” 

Matty sighed and placed her quill back into the ink cup before pushing her seat back and folding up the paper. She reached over to her vanity, grabbed her perfume bottle, and hovered it over the parchment slightly before giving it a simple spritz. She did this with almost every letter she sent to Sebastian after having read about it in her many romance books. Although they weren’t together, Matty thought it was simple and sweet.

She slid it into an envelope and sealed it with wax. Since returning home, she hadn’t been able to send out owls, not wanting to draw attention since it would be quite odd to see an owl leaving her home carrying a letter to any muggle passing by. So she had been taking them to the post office, which gave her some time to clear her head and go for a walk every time she went out to send a letter to him. 

She slipped on her coat and shoes, slipping the letter into a small pocket in the coat. When she leaned over to grab her clutch, she caught a glimpse of her friends, Hope, Eugenia, and Nora outside the window, waving to her. 

She quickly grabbed up her clutch and started heading down the stairs. The four of them had spent almost every day of summer together, besides the three and a half weeks between June and July that Matty had spent in her home country of Ireland. 

Eugenia and Nora had met Matty back when she first attended her muggle school in London, as they were all in the same year but they hadn’t clicked like Matty and Hope had. Instead, Eugenia and Nora were more of a pair but the four friends got along well regardless. 

“Mum, I’m heading to the post office. I’ll be out with Hope, Eugenia, and Nora for a bit if that’s alright with you.” Matty called out to her mother as she was coming down the stairs. 

“All right, be safe and back before sundown!” Ada replied. 

Ada had gotten quite used to Matty being out of the house now, whether it was when she was at Hogwarts or during the summer where she spent her days out and about in the streets of London. It was hard seeing her daughter grow up but it was also a beautiful thing to see as Matty matured and began to become a woman.

Matty headed outside, her letter to Sebastian tucked in her pocket as she walked towards her friends who were waiting for her there. 

Eugenia stood there with her arms crossed, having little patience for having to wait for Matty to exit the house. Eugenia came from a family that was in the upper section of middle-class London so a lot of her personality came from that. She wouldn’t be described as your stereotypical bratty child, as she did carry herself in a mature way but she was very demanding on occasion. 

She had dark brown hair that came just below her shoulders, pale skin, high cheekbones, and piercing blue eyes that would intimidate anyone if she were to just stare at them. 

Nora on the other hand, who was raised in the same class as Eugenia, was quite the opposite. She was quiet and reserved, only speaking around those she felt comfortable with. She had light brown, almost blonde hair that was often times pinned up. She had big brown eyes that were the kind that you just couldn’t say no to. 

Although all four friends were quite opposite in most ways they all got along quite nicely, even if they paired off occasionally. Matty and Hope were obviously more inclined to be with each other since they went to Hogwarts together for several months as well as them being neighbors and spending almost every day together. 

“Where to first?” Hope asked. 

“Well I’ve got to drop off another letter at the post office, so there first I suppose,” Matty replied as the four friends set out on the streets of London. 

Eugenia couldn’t help but roll her eyes a little bit. “You’re not writing to the boy you met at that school again, are you?” She asked. Her tone was filled with a bit of a tease there. “It seems as if you are writing to him every single day.” 

Matty just shrugged her shoulders lightly and kept walking. “It’s not every day, but most days. He just means a lot to me.” She replied simply. “I’m sure if you had some boy you fancy, you’d be writing to him every day too.” 

“Ha! So you admit you fancy him.” Eugenia said, pointing her finger at Matty briefly.

“It’s rude to point, Eugenia,” Nora mumbled under her breath, giving a bit of an eye roll. Although the two were close, Nora often had to correct Eugenia on her sporadic outburst of behavior that would be considered “rude”. 

Matty turned her head to Eugenia. “I’ve admitted I fancy him about a hundred times now, this is nothing new.” She stated. 

“So are you going to tell him then?” Hope asked, raising a brow at her best friend as they walked down the streets to the post office.

Matty took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. This was the question she got quite a few times from her friends but she never changed the answer. If she ever did, she wouldn’t want to do it over a letter and would want to do it in person but at the same time, she was horrified by the odd chance that Sebastian didn’t feel the same and that he may reject her. She’d rather keep her feelings a secret and keep her friendship than tell the truth and lose it. 

“I don’t know,” Matty answered. “I’d like to keep my friendship with him at all costs and if he knew I liked him, perhaps that’d ruin things.” 

“You’ll never get him if you don’t have the confidence to do it.” Nora chimed up as they neared the post office. 

Matty sighed. “I know, I know, Nora. But think of it as—well, back years ago when you liked Edmund Price, you were terrified of telling him how you felt.” She said, bringing up a story from years ago when Nora liked a boy from their school. 

Nora’s cheeks went a bit red at the embarrassing memory. “We were all young then, Matty.” She said, trying to counter what Matty had. “Besides, we’re ladies now. We have to be mature and confident about the way we do things.” 

“And the mature thing would be to not make things dramatic just in case he doesn’t feel the same way,” Matty said before opening the door to the post office. 

Hope, Eugenia, and Nora just stood outside of the post office, sharing confused glances. It was so obvious by the letters Sebastian had written to Matty that he had deep feelings for her but neither of them would admit it out of fear that it wouldn’t be reciprocated. 

The postal clerk saw Matty walk in and immediately knew where she was sending the letter. She stood up straight when she saw her enter. “Miss Ambrose.” She said, giving her a curt nod. 

“Good day, Mrs. Allan,” Matty said, walking up to the desk, pulling the letter out of her pocket, and placing it down. “I assume you already know where this one is going.” She said with an airy chuckle. 

“That I do.” Mrs. Allan said with a small chuckle herself before grabbing the letter. “I’m sure that whoever is these letters feels greatly appreciated by how many you have sent over the summer months.” 

“That’s the goal,” Matty replied. 

She finished up filling a few things out with Mrs. Allan before heading outside to her friends again. “All done, I’m free now.” She said.

“Good, I was getting restless having to wait out here for you,” Eugenia said. 

*** 

Sebastian’s POV:

I could hear the last of the customers leave as the door to The Three Broomsticks closed behind me. I was finishing up my job cleaning the tables when Sirona walked behind the bar to finish cleaning up there. 

For the past three months over the summer, I have been working for Sirona after she graciously offered me the job in order to keep myself busy. After everything that happened last year and knowing I’d be alone all summer long, I accepted the offer with a smile on my face. Sirona had always been one of the good ones. 

“Looks like that’s the last of them,” Sirona spoke up. “Thank you for coming in on such short notice today, Sebastian. I know you weren’t planning on working today.” 

“Oh not at all, I’m happy to help,” I replied. 

I didn’t see a reason why I would complain. What else would I be doing if I wasn’t working? Pace around my house endlessly while overthinking things? Probably. 

I finished up my work at The Three Broomsticks before bidding Sirona a good night and that I’d see her tomorrow morning before leaving Hogsmeade and setting off for Feldcroft. I often walked most of the way back to Feldcroft in the dead of night. Many would say that was dangerous but I enjoyed the feeling of being alone and it allowed me to clear my head. If I got tired I’d just simply apparate home. 

One may say that the entire walk was too long to simply just clear your head but it’s clear to me that those people don’t overthink or have ever felt like their mind was racing a mile a minute. 

This summer had been a particularly hard one. I had been alone in Feldcroft for three months. Ominis couldn’t come to visit due to his family being like they always were but I was happy to hear that he spent most of his summer up in France with Esme. He deserves a break after everything his family puts him through. 

He used to spend most of the summer at my home, back when Anne was still here and Solomon was alive. It was always a bit of a tight squeeze but those were possibly the best months of my life. 

But now I was all alone in Feldcroft. 

I know I can’t pity myself. I’m the reason why I’m alone. I killed my uncle and drove my sister away—it definitely wasn’t my finest moment and I have a lot of regrets. But you can’t turn back time and so I’ve been trying to accept the life that I’ve created for myself. 

I got to work almost the moment summer started. My days have been filled with sleepless nights, early mornings, and just dealing with people all day at work—most of them are charming people, so I don’t have to worry about much, but we get the occasional crook or two in there. 

Working helped me get my mind off of things and it made the summer more bearable. I had written to Anne quite a bit over the summer. And by that I mean, I’ve sent these letters to Ominis with the plea for him to get them to Anne since he and Esme were the only ones who knew where she was, and well, Esme still isn’t exactly happy with me. I’ve only received two letters back from Anne and they worried me. 

Her penmanship had gotten sloppy—and I don’t mean that in an offensive way. I mean that I could tell her hands were shaking the entire time when writing them. She had issues with trembling soon after she was cursed because she was so weak but it had never been this bad. Not to mention, her grammar was slipping too. Although I was extremely excited to see that she had sent letters, they soon worried me when I picked up on these things. 

I’ve begged Ominis repeatedly to at least tell me what her true physical state was but he always just told me she was doing fine. To be completely honest, I feel like he truly did want to tell me but Anne made him swear to lie about it just to make me less concerned—as if I would worry about my sister all the time, cursed or not. 

The walk back home was long and tiring but I just didn’t want to apparate back. There was this odd pull on my emotions that just made me unmotivated to do practically anything besides to just keep walking. 

It was almost pitch black and the sounds of beasts in the forest could be heard as I got further and further away from Hogsmeade and closer to Feldcroft. 

Speaking of Feldcroft, it had grown just a bit since it had been rid of Ranrok’s presence. A few people came back once it was safe and it was thriving just a bit more, which gave me some form of joy. But of course, I was asked a lot of questions. 

From the residents who presided there before Ranrok but left and came back or from the residents who stayed, I got a lot of questions about my uncle and sister.

Many still believed my uncle died in his sleep—a lie Anne had made up in order to protect me from being thrown in Azkaban. While others thought there was more to the story since Anne left and I stayed, but they never said anything about it. 

To anyone who had just come to Feldcroft for the first time, I was asked a lot of questions about what I was doing living alone at sixteen—which was a bit hard to answer. I always tried to answer truthfully by saying my uncle passed away and so I was left alone here but sometimes when I could tell they would threaten to put me away into a boy's home if they knew I was alone, so I would lie and say I was just keeping the house up while waiting for my family to return. 

Which—wasn’t a complete lie. I was waiting for Anne to return, even if I doubted it would ever happen. But for the sake of me staying out of some flimsy, broken-down boy's home, I’d lie about my parents being alive as well and just say I was waiting for them to return and it’d be a while. 

One of the biggest things that had kept me going was Matty’s letters and they were possibly the one thing I was always looking forward to. She wrote to me a lot, apologizing profusely about how many she had sent but I would never complain. Just reading the words she wrote and knowing it was from her was enough to make me happy. 

She’d always spray her letters with her perfume—the one that was so distinct to her. I remember she would wear it every day while we were at school. The distinct scent of pressed flowers, fresh linen, and parchment is the best way I can describe it. It wasn’t light and not overbearing and it fit her perfectly and every time I received a letter, I would always hope it would have the same scent, and it was. 

I arrived back in Feldcroft after a long day and the entire Hamlet was asleep. I checked my pocket watch (which was once my father's that I kept after his death) to see that it was a quarter past midnight. I hadn’t expected it to be that late, especially because I didn’t feel tired. Then I remembered my sleep schedule and instantly came to a conclusion as to why I wasn’t halfway asleep already. 

But it was as if it were my lucky day as I walked up to my home and saw a letter right in front of the door. I quickly picked it up to see it was from Matty and I smiled. 

She couldn’t send owls because she lived in a muggle city—explaining to me once that it would draw too much attention but she had found that she could send them through her post office to one that was run by a wizard who created his post office specifically for these kinds of situations. But even through all the trouble of trying to get it to me, she always sent them. 

I opened the door to the practically empty house before sitting down on my bed, which used to be Anne’s, before breaking the wax seal and sliding out the letter. 

Instantly, the smell of her perfume hit me and I let out a sigh. It was always calming to me and I could never understand why. I think it’s because when I’m around her, I feel safe and at peace. 

I quickly read over the letter, smiling as I did so. No matter what the letter was about, I couldn’t help but smile as Matty rambled on and on about what had been happening during the summer months. 

After finishing the letter, I slid it back into its envelope to put into my drawer later. I kept all of Matty’s letters there and I would often find myself rereading them all the time. I could read books over and over again and get bored but her letters never drove me to boredom. I would read then, imagining as if she were speaking to me. Sometimes I believed I was being delusional (which, I am to be completely honest). But what guy hasn’t been delusional over a girl he loves? All I would imagine was her being here and just being in her presence.  

As I lay in bed, staring up at the old ceiling, a wave of guilt overcame me. 

Why may you ask? Well, because I had been lying to Matty all summer long just to keep her from worrying. 

My summer had been dreadful if that wasn’t already painfully obvious. Besides the good times that I had talking late at night with Sirona on occasion after finishing work, the letters from Matty and my other friends such as Ominis and Esme, almost nothing good had come from the summer.

I was in a constant state of battling depression and unsettling thoughts that would surely land me in a place for mentally unwell people. From the guilt of killing my uncle and driving my sister away from me, it was almost too much to bear. 

The thoughts and feelings of knowing it was all my fault and that I could’ve stopped it from the very beginning if I had just listened—it had turned into something much bigger than I could bear. 

Several nights had passed where I'd stared blankly at my wand, contemplating doing the unthinkable. Of course, I would snap myself out of it and tell myself that if I did it, I’d only be punishing the people around me. Anne would be heartbroken as well as so many others and I wouldn’t want to leave this earth knowing that I somehow caused them even more pain even if that meant fighting my demons alone and oftentimes crying myself to sleep at night. 

I did that a lot, and not just recently. I cry a lot more than people would expect me to. Call me unmanly but I don’t know why feeling emotions like that could be branded as a feminine thing, not to mention that is massively offensive toward women. 

To me, after my parents died, it was just a way of coping although I did develop a rough relationship with it due to my uncle. Of course, as anyone would think, any time I cried as a little boy he would reprimand me and tell me to “be a man” when I was quite literally just a child mourning his parents. He and my father never got along well growing up, which is why he saw that no tears should be shed over his brother’s death. 

So you could say, my entire life had been a jumble of mixed emotions and being unsure of how I was supposed to feel until I just stopped caring. 

I hate keeping the truth from Matty. She’s such a kind soul whom I love very much but it's for that very reason why I can’t tell her how my summer months have truly been. 

It would break her heart and I don’t know if I could bear causing her that kind of pain, even if it were the truth. 

I had sent many letters to Ominis and Esme, expressing how I felt, and every time I begged them not to let Matty know about any of this. They were both sworn to secrecy and I continued to write back to Matty as if nothing were wrong. I fear she may never forgive me if she knew the truth but it was a secret I was willing to keep away from her. 

After all, it was only about a week until school began again and I had held out this long over the summer. Soon I’d be able to see Matty, Ominis, Esme, and everyone else again and go on with my life as if nothing had happened. 

Chapter Text

The sun beamed down on Ada and Matty as they were in the backyard of their home in London, tending to the overgrown rose bushes that had become quite the nuisance since they had begun to grow over the fence, crossing over to the neighbor’s yard. 

“These bushes really have become quite the nuisance, haven’t they?” Ada questioned as she tried to reach behind the bit of fence and clip the parts creeping over to the neighbor's side. “I had asked your father to help tame them weeks ago but I suppose he’s been so busy with work and having to get up and go that it’s been a little hard to find time.” 

Matty nodded knowing that her father had been a bit busy with work recently as the summer months were going on. After taking a few weeks off from said work to travel to Ireland, there was a lot to do when he returned home. They were grateful they even had the resources to visit Ireland again in the first place. 

Matty reached down to move some of the roses and almost pricked herself with one of the thorns. Those things were just getting in the way. 

“Oh, darling don’t prick yourself. You’ll bleed and it’ll ruin your dress.” Ada said, ushering her daughter's hand away from the thorns. “I suppose this can’t really be a two-woman job, can it?” 

It had been a bit difficult clambering over each other to try and tame the rose bush so she supposed her mother was right. “I suppose you’re right. I just don’t want you working out here alone.” Matty said to her mother. 

Ada shook her head. “Think nothing of it, I’m sure I can figure out how to do this on my own.” She said. “Oh! Can you go grab the post? I’m sure it’s been delivered by now.” 

Matty nodded her head. “Of course, mum.” She said, leaving the backyard and going inside to go collect the mail. As she did, she sifted through a few of the letters and one immediately caught her eye. One addressed to her from Hogwarts of all places. 

She immediately tore the letter open, setting all other letters aside on the counter as she checked to see what this letter was. Turns out, it was her O.W.L scores, finally! 

She went to the door of the backyard. “Mum! My test scores are here!” She called out to her mother. Ada’s head turned to look at her daughter before she stood up and rushed inside, wiping the sweat from her forehead. 

“Well, then what are you waiting for? Open it up!” Ada exclaimed, looking over her daughter's shoulder. 

Matty hurriedly opened up the letter, briskly reading over whatever was sent before finally making it to her test scores. She had hoped she had done well, especially in her core subjects. Those were often the ones you had to get good marks in to get jobs at the ministry, which is why she took her schooling and education so seriously—even through the hectic year.

She bit her lip as she read over the scores on the paper. 

Astronomy-E

 Care of Magical Creatures-O

 Charms-O

 Defense Against the Dark Arts-O

 Divination-A

 Herbology-O

 History of Magic-E

 Potions-O

 Transfiguration-E

A smile broke out on Matty’s face as she read her test scores. She was hoping to have high marks and she had succeeded, especially in her favorite classes. Seems like all the hard work paid off. 

Her lowest mark was in Divination—which wasn’t surprising at all. She honestly expected to get a lower mark than that but she was happy with the one she got. 

Ada, however, was unfamiliar with the way student's work was graded and so she looked at her daughter expectantly—taking her smile as some sort of good sign. “Well? Are you going to tell your old muggle mother what those mean?” 

Matty chuckled. “I got good marks, Mum, much better than I thought I would get.” She replied. She briefly explained what the marks were and what they meant and Ada wrapped her daughter up in a celebratory hug. 

“I knew it! I knew you were going to do so well.” She said, cupping Matty’s cheeks and peppering kisses all over her daughter's face. “Oh just wait till your father gets home! He’ll be so pleased to hear about how well you’ve been doing in school!” 

Just then, a knock at the door came and Matty went to go answer it. Hope was standing right outside the door, waiting for her. 

“Oh! Hope, come in.” Matty said, opening the door to let her in. “Did you get your O.W.L scores in the mail?” 

Hope nodded. “That’s exactly why I’m here.” She said with a small grin. 

The two girls went to the living room to view each other’s scores. Hope had gotten considerably high marks as well and it seemed like she was particularly flourishing in Transfiguration, Herbology, and Potions. 

“Thank you again for helping me and making sure I didn’t fail Transfiguration.” Matty chuckled, leaning back on the couch a bit as Hope went over Matty’s O.W.L scores. Needless to say, she was a bit surprised. 

“These are pretty high marks. Professor Weasley was right about you.” Hope said with a small chuckle, looking up at Matty. “I mean, you had to learn what takes most in five years in one. I’d say this is pretty impressive.” 

Matty smiled. “Thank you, Hope, that means a lot to me. Especially considering the work I put it.” She said with a grateful smile. 

Hope briefly investigated the envelope realizing there was another letter in there. She slid it out and read over the words. “Oh, this is quite convenient.” She said, reading over the piece of parchment. “They’ve given us a list of school supplies we’ll need in the same envelope so we’d get it at once. That’s smart.” 

Matty furrowed her brows before grabbing her envelope again, realizing that there was indeed another paper in there. She quickly grabbed out the list and began looking over it, looking a bit confused. 

“Perhaps I am truly still clueless about the Wizarding world but—where does one even get any of these things?” She asked glancing up to Hope. There were only a few familiar items that you could get in the muggle world—such as quills and ink but anything else would make everyone around you extremely suspicious. 

Hope seemed equally as confused as Matty but she was confused by her question. “Why do you ask that? We’ll just go to Diagon Alley.” 

“Diagon-what?” Matty inquired, quite puzzled. 

For a moment, they just stared at each other confusedly before Hope remembered that the prior year, the Ministry had provided Matty with all the school supplies she needed and then anything she had lost, she just got in Hogsmeade. She couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“Oh! That’s right. The Ministry provided you with everything last year.” She said, scooting a bit closer to Matty. “Well, Diagon Alley is sort of like a bigger version of Hogsmeade but much less enjoyable in my opinion. It’s practically where everyone goes to get their school supplies but there’s also a few places where you’ll want to avoid.” 

Matty nodded her head but she was still confused. She did remember briefly reading about a Diagon Alley as that’s where one of the Ollivanders wand shops was but she had completely forgotten about it. 

“We can go tomorrow; Mum is taking me anyway.” Hope spoke. “Everyone goes there around the last week of Summer. We may even run into a few friends on the way there!” 

“Sounds good,” Matty replied. “And you’re sure we can get everything we need there?” 

“Without a doubt,” Hope answered. “Wizards and Witches alike have been going there for years and years. There are some fun things to see there as well, I should show you around when we go.” 

"Mark me down as excited." Matty smiled. She was always eager to learn and experience new things and Diagon Alley seemed like the perfect way to do that. 

Chapter Text

It was bright and early when Matty had to get up to head to Diagon Alley. Mrs. McGowan wanted to get there early before everyone came for all the same reasons but she also mentioned something about wanting to get there before “all the loonies showed up”. Matty had no idea what that meant but she assumed it had to do something with the bad part of town that Hope had told her about.

But in no time, Matty was bidding her parents goodbye, promising that she’d be back later that afternoon with everything she needed for school.

Although Diagon Alley was in London, it was quite a bit away so Mrs. McGowan took the girls through a floo system to get there quicker, saying there was no “use” in walking all that way—which Matty wasn’t about to argue against.

When they had finally made it into Diagon Alley, it was crowded but Hope said it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it would be later and that they were lucky they got there early, which somewhat worried Matty.

“Now, girls,” Mrs. McGowan said, turning to face both of the girls. “You two get everything you need on those lists and then meet me back here when you are done. Be careful and don’t get mixed up with any trouble, you hear me?”

“Yes, mum,” Hope answered.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Matty said, giving Mrs. McGowan a nod.

Mrs. McGowan curtly smiled at the girls. “Alright, go off now, the both of you. Don’t take too long!”

Hope turned around and began to walk away and Matty just followed her, having no idea where anything was or even what she was doing. It was quite worrisome being in a new place that was so crowded so she stuck close behind Hope. “Where to first?” She asked her.

“Wherever the first shop pops up that has what we need.” Hope chuckled. “I’m not too fond of being here in Diagon Alley for too long so I know all the routes to get through quickly.”

“Wonderful,” Matty replied. The area getting crowded made her extremely grateful that she wouldn’t be here for too long.

They walked around for a bit of time before deciding that the closest shop would be Flourish and Blotts where they could acquire the schoolbooks they needed for their sixth year of school. Matty pulled up the list that had been sent to them so that they could see what books they would need.

“Okay, the only non-N.E.W.T level book is The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6.” She read off. “But if you’re going to take a N.E.W.T level class in seventh year, they’ve recommended Advanced Potion making, Confronting the Faceless, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Rune Translation, and… Flesh Eating Trees of the world…” Her voice trailed off a bit at the title of that last one.

Hope chuckled a bit. “Ironically, I’m hoping to take a N.E.W.T level class in Herbology so I know I am going to need that last one.” She chuckled. “And in Transfiguration.”

Ever since she was younger, Hope wanted to pursue something that had to do with Herbology—which ironically went hand-in-hand with potion making. Although she wanted to work independently and so the N.E.W.T classes were more for her own gain in knowledge.

Matty, however, was still questioning what career path she would pursue. Before last year, she would’ve been content being an author but with this new world, her mind began to change. There were so many different options, especially if she were to work for the Ministry and although she wasn’t too fond of them, a particular career had been calling out for her ever since she had started her fifth year.

And that career was ironically, an Auror. Working in Law enforcement was nothing Matty would’ve ever thought to do before this just because in the muggle world it was a male-dominated space and it was dangerous but here, she was confident in her abilities to defend herself and others.

But being an Auror was no easy feat and it only accepted the best of the best—and that didn’t just mean physically. It meant you had to be well educated as well; another reason why Matty had taken her education at Hogwarts so importantly thus far.

To even think about being accepted into the program, you needed at least five N.E.W.T level classes with no grade lower than Exceed Expectations so Matty was putting herself up for a challenge but it truly drew her in.

She briefly spoke to Professor Weasley about it and she recommended that good N.E.W.T level classes that would more likely get you into the Auror program were Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions—all of which Matty had done well in (except for her initial struggle with Transfiguration). But this meant that she could choose her fifth N.E.W.T level class just for fun and not really have to worry about it being too influential on her possible future career.

The two entered Flourish and Blotts and began to look for what they needed. Hope decided to look around for a bit longer as she wasn’t completely sure of what N.E.W.T level classes she was going to take besides Potions and Herbology and so she thought maybe she’d get an idea of what class she’d enjoy and then get what she needed.

Matty took her books to the front counter to check out and as the woman at the desk was going through the books, she glanced up at Matty. “I’m assuming you are going into your sixth year? N.E.W.T classes?” She asked.

“Oh, yes,” Matty said, nodding her head.

The woman chuckled. “You wouldn’t happen to be considering becoming an Auror, would you?” She asked, closing one of the books.

Matty took a deep breath. “Well, it’s definitely a career I feel I could pursue.” She said, letting out a breathy chuckle. “But even if I don’t, the N.E.W.T classes will do me well regardless.”

The woman nodded her head. “I completely agree.” She replied. “I’ve always been so glad that there are young women like you who want to go into a workplace like that. The future seems bright when I think of it.”

Matty smiled before collecting her newly purchased books. “Thank you, have a nice day.” She smiled.

The shop lady bid her goodbye and she waited by the door for Hope to get her books before the two left. But as she left the shop and turned the corner—just as anyone would do just innocently walking out of a shop—she accidentally slammed into somebody.

Immediately she felt horrible. She was able to catch her books before they fell but that was the least of her concerns. “Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She exclaimed; barely having gotten a glimpse of the person. She just felt horrible.

“Don’t worry about it.” The person said with an ever-familiar voice, bending over to pick up their wand. “It’s not like I could see where I was going anyway either.” That last part was muttered.

Matty furrowed her brows as the person turned around. “Ominis?” She asked, seeing her friend ironically be the one she had just slammed into. “Ominis!” She immediately threw her arms around him into a hug and he stumbled back a bit but he hugged her back as well the moment he realized who her voice belonged to.

When she pulled back, she looked up at him. “Esme told me that you were in France with her, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Yes well, I wasn’t exactly expecting to be here either,” Ominis replied. “I could’ve gone anywhere in France to collect my things for school and I planned on traveling there alongside Esme but of course, my mother loves to torment me by making me come back to hell, and by that I mean my home, insisting that I need to come here to get supplies for school.”

Matty grimaced a bit. She knew decently well the strain between Ominis and his family and how one of the biggest punishments for him was to simply return home. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like even nearing the Gaunt Home.

“I’m sorry. I wish you could’ve traveled with Esme and avoided that whole mess, I’m sure she would’ve enjoyed that as well.” She said to Ominis.

Ominis dusted off his robes slightly. “Don’t worry yourself over it. After all, there are only two more days until school begins and I’ll be able to lock myself away in my room where it's decently peaceful.” He said and surprisingly, he chuckled a bit with that last part.

“Now, sorry for a short interaction but I’m afraid I must go find my younger sister before I find half of Diagon Alley on fire.” Ominis continued.

At first, Matty thought he was joking but knowing his family, she just nodded her head. “Very well then, I’ll see you at school.” She said with a brief smile.

The two bid their goodbyes before Ominis disappeared into the crowd to go find Lyssa. Matty looked over to Hope, who had been staring off quietly during Matty’s conversation with Ominis. 

“Where to now?” Matty asked her.

“Well, the books were the most important parts. I’m assuming now we can just stock up on other mundane supplies like quills, vials, and other small things.” Hope said.

The two made their way to Scribbulus Writing Implements. (And much to Matty’s surprise, that is actually the name) A shop that sold quills, ink, and other writing supplies that any student would need regardless of what year they were in.

Scribbulus Writing Implements was right next door to Quality Quidditch Supplies but right next to it was a curious-looking archway that led down a dark path.

Matty, of course, was quite curious about where this led. “Ooh, what’s this?” She asked, peeking her head down the dark Alley only to be snatched back seconds later by Hope. She had Matty’s arm in a tight grip.

“Don’t go down there!” She said, pulling her away.

Matty looked confused, her head whipping back to look at her best friend. “What? Why? I mean I wasn’t going to go down there but now I’m intrigued as to what is down there.”

Hope sighed, letting go of Matty’s arm. “That alleyway leads to Knockturn Alley, the bad part of town.” She answered. “All the crooks and loonies mum was talking about? Yeah, that’s where you’ll find them. Not to mention the shops down there are dangerous too. Shops like Borgin and Burkes are down there.”

Borgin and Burkes—that sounded familiar.

Then it clicked. Matty remembered Professor Sharp telling her about his time as an Auror and how he was sent to keep an eye on Borgin and Burkes after suspicious and dangerous activity was reported there. Suddenly, Matty was glad Hope had stopped her.

“Perhaps it was best that you stopped me.” She said to Hope.

Hope gave a nod, suspiciously eyeing the dark alleyway before the two entered the writing implements shop to gather the supplies they needed.

But this left Matty wondering why Knockturn Alley was left so… unguarded. It was just surprising to her that it was right there, where any child could’ve just wandered down. Matty was sixteen and she almost found herself wandering down it.

The rest of the trip in Diagon Alley was mostly uneventful. They gathered what they needed before returning to Mrs. McGowan and returning home.

***

The next day, Matty had spent most of her time packing for school. She had about a day in a half before she would leave for Hogwarts once again. Making sure all her books and other supplies were packed carefully alongside other personal belongings. Her only hope was that she wouldn’t get her luggage crushed again like last year.

Of course, she placed her most prized belongings she would be taking with her inside her enchanted satchel so that they wouldn’t be lost alongside the other luggage just in case something unfortunate happened. She could never be too careful now.

As she was placing the luggage she had already finished packing by the door, she caught a glimpse of Mr. McGowan carrying luggage outside of his home alongside Hope and placing it into a carriage just outside.

She furrowed her brows before opening the door and walking outside. There were almost two more days until they would leave for school, so what was going on here?

“Someone’s packing early.” She said, walking over to the front lawn of the McGowan's home.

Hope looked over to Matty, not seeing her when she had walked up. “Oh, yes. Plans changed a bit.” She said, walking over to Matty. “Apparently Dad has business in Hogsmeade Station of all places so he figured I just leave with him and get to school a day early. I leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Which means you’ll have to bear the train ride without me.” Hope joked in a light tone.

Matty jokingly rolled her eyes. “Oh goodness me. How will I ever survive without you and your amazing company?” She exasperated sarcastically.

Truth was, she was a bit disappointed that Hope wouldn’t accompany her on the train ride but if it was more convenient for her to leave a day early, it was just what would happen. Besides, she was sure her other friends would be there as well.

“I know. It’ll be positively dreadful.” Hope chuckled. “I’m not entirely upset about it, to be honest. It gives me a day to settle in before all the chaos starts. I love my roommates but they are a tad crazy.”

“Well, then it’s convenient.” Matty chuckled along with her friend. “Although, I will miss you. Even if it is just a day away from each other.”

Matty glanced over to Mr. McGowan, who was seemingly waiting for them to be done with their conversation so he could finish packing things up with Hope. So Matty quickly hugged her friend tightly. “I’ll see you in a bit.” She said, giving Hope a small squeeze.

Hope hugged back before pulling away. “I’ll see you soon, Matty.”

Matty smiled brightly at her friend before walking back to her home. She herself had a few things to do as well. She figured that she should refresh on a few subjects and read—which she also planned to do on the train. The more she thought about it, the more she hoped that today would be completely dedicated to her studying and her academic achievements.

She still wasn’t sure if the career path as an Auror would suit her but she was still going to study as if it were what she was destined to do. The Ministry only accepted the finest applicants to be Aurors and if Matty went through with her decision to become an Auror, she was striving to be on that list of those chosen.

Quidditch was also another thing on her mind. She wasn’t completely sure if she would join the Gryffindor team this year but she thought it’d be something fun to do in her free time so it was definitely something on her mind.

Just like fifth year, sixth year brought many opportunities to experience things she hadn’t done before and she was striving to make the most out of it.

Chapter Text

It was August 29th, the day before Matty would return to Hogwarts. But today she found herself walking through a field of flowers close to her home, picking out the ones she thought were the most acceptable. She bent down, picking them at the bottom of the stem before collecting them and putting them in her other hand. 

She was fortunate enough to have this small piece of heaven away from the big city of London and often found herself here. But she wasn’t here to just get away from the world, she was here for a reason. 

After picking the flowers she found were desirable, she pulled two ribbons that she had cut at her house out of her pocket and tied them around the stems of the flowers before beginning to walk away from the field of flowers. 

It was a Saturday so the streets of London were awake and alive. Matty swiftly made her way through the crowds of people to her desired destination. 

She arrived at one of London’s cemeteries. The cemetery she knew all too well by now. She was sure to be careful when opening the old gate—and to be honest, she wished this place was being taken care of better. The problem with big cities is that small areas seemed to be forgotten about so Matty often found herself here cleaning up the area and keeping the gravesites presentable. 

Some long-forgotten headstones, many that had been overtaken by nature and many without flowers were present here. It was sad to see that these graves had been abandoned. 

But today she wasn’t there to help brush things up, today she was there to speak with a dearly missed friend. 

She made her way over towards the outer part of the cemetery and thankfully this part was much quieter and more peaceful. She stopped when she read the two headstones that were side by side that read “Miriam Fig” and “Eleazar Fig.” 

Matty placed one of the bouquets she had picked on Miriam's and the other down on Professor Figs before sitting down between the two graves. There was enough space between the two that she could respectfully have enough space to do so. 

She pulled her knees up to her chest and let out a small sigh. She often found herself here over the summer, mindlessly talking to her old Professor and his wife. The stories she had told here would never be forgotten. 

But today felt a little bit different than the others and that was because it was the day before she would leave for Hogwarts. One year ago today, Matty was packing up and preparing herself for her new school. One year ago today, Professor Fig was still alive. 

“It feels different without you.” Matty began to say, looking over at Professor Fig’s grave. “I know you would want me to have a positive attitude about this but I truly do miss you. It just feels different without you and I can’t help but notice. I’m excited to reunite with my friends after a few months away but knowing that you won’t be there waiting for me when I arrive—it just hurts.” 

Sometimes, Matty found it hard to express how she was feeling. Not for any particular reason, it was just difficult for her occasionally. But when she was here, she felt comfortable enough expressing herself and perhaps it was because she would say a lot of things she wished she had been able to tell him earlier. 

Through those months in her 5th year at Hogwarts, Professor Fig had always been there yet Matty had so many things she still wanted to tell him. Not one student in all of Hogwarts had a close relationship with their Professors like Matty had with Professor Fig. 

“Professor Weasley has already acknowledged that things would be different without you this year and she’s hoped that I’ll still enjoy my time there. Which I’m sure I will but…” Matty trailed off with a small sigh. “I suppose what I’m trying to say is, I miss you dearly and sometimes I don’t know how to deal with it. Perhaps I got too used to having you around and didn’t prepare myself for what could’ve happened.” 

“I know you wouldn’t want me to blame myself for your death, but every day I can’t help but feel even just a bit guilty.” She admitted. “Just promise me you’ll keep an eye on me through this year, will you?” 

Matty sat there in silence for a moment before pulling out a small pocket-sized journal she often kept on her. She found this cemetery a peaceful enough place to clear her mind and write down her feelings. 

Sometimes she would spend several hours just in one place, losing track of time as she got lost in thought but it allowed her a lot of mental clarity. She was grateful to have parents who understood how she felt and understood that even if their home life was amazing, she sometimes needed a moment away. 

Ada and Howard were always striving to be good and understanding parents. Often when they were teenagers they found themselves needing some time away from everything as well. Matty couldn’t have asked for better parents. They were supportive of everything good she did and encouraged her endlessly to be the best version of herself she could be. 

*** 

The Ambrose household was decently quiet, the only sounds were coming from the kitchen where Ada was washing and drying some dishes from an earlier meal. Howard came upstairs and saw her working but found that something was a bit off. She seemed worried. 

And for someone like Ada, who was almost constantly in a good mood, it worried him quite a bit to see his wife like this. He walked up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders as she worked, gently thumbing over the fabric of her blouse. 

“Are you alright?” He asked gently. 

He saw his wife purse her lips and let out a sigh before abandoning the dish she was washing and letting it fall back into the sink. “I’m just worried,” Ada admitted, turning around so that she could see her husband. 

“Worried about what?” Howard asked. He was trying to think of what could possibly be making Ada anxious. Had something come up that he didn’t know about yet? She wasn’t one to keep secrets at all and the two were very open with one another. 

“About Matty,” Ada replied. “I know she’s been doing well all summer but—I can’t help but notice a few things are different about her.” 

“I know she’s growing up and change is expected but that’s not what I’m worried about.” She continued. “I’m overjoyed that she still goes and visits her old Professor’s grave all the time, it’s the sweetest thing she could do. But what I’m afraid of is her still blaming herself for his death. After she told us just about everything that happened to her—I’d be devastated if she still blamed herself.” 

Howard listened intently to his wife’s words. Ada was a wise woman and not to mention often picked up on things he didn’t—especially when it came to their daughter so he knew it’d be wise to listen to her as she voiced her concerns. 

Matty visiting Professor Fig’s grave was nothing short of a good thing for her. It allowed her to have some peace of mind in things. But she also couldn’t deny that sometimes she walked away feeling guilty and Ada had seen that and naturally as a mother, she was concerned. 

“Well, I suppose we still just have to give her some time,” Howard said to Ada. “It’s only been about five months since his unfortunate passing but I do understand your concern, especially with her going back to school soon as well.” 

As if timed perfectly, the door to their home opened and Matty walked in. She caught a glimpse of her parents and paused. “Am I interrupting something?” She asked as she took off her coat, hoping she didn’t interrupt a serious conversation between her parents. 

“Oh, no, not at all,” Ada said, smiling at her daughter. 

Matty nodded, hung up her coat, and took her shoes off, placing them by the door. “I’ll be in my room if either of you need anything.” She said with a curt smile. She then started to go towards her room. 

“Oh wait, are you hungry at all?” Ada asked, hoping to get a few words from her daughter having known where she was just moments earlier. 

Matty shook her head. “No, I’m fine but thank you.” She smiled before walking upstairs to her room. 

Ada shared a concerned glance with Howard before taking a deep breath and just trying to ease her nerves. She was telling herself that Matty was fine and that she was just having her random motherly concern. 

Matty returned to her room and sat down on her bed with a heavy sigh. It felt as if the same feelings were replaying in her heart. Sadness, regret, anger, guilt, and so many other things she still felt over Professor Fig’s death. She knew it’d take time to get over, especially since they were so close but the feelings still hurt. 

*** 

Matty sat at her vanity in her bedroom. It had gotten decently late so she had decided to get into her nightgown and was now at her vanity trying to do something to her hair so it wouldn’t frizz up in the morning when she would wake up. She had to leave for Kings Cross Station early enough and didn’t want to have to fuss over her appearance. 

Unfortunately enough for her, she had never been too good at braiding her own hair—or rather she would get frustrated when her brushed-out curls would knot together while she was trying to braid and make everything even.

A subtle knock came from her door and her head turned towards it, “Come in.” She said before looking back at her vanity mirror. 

Ada peered her head inside Matty’s room before walking in, seeing her frustratedly struggle with her hair. She chuckled, then walked behind Matty and stuck out her hand, as if asking Matty to hand her the brush. 

Matty pursed her lips before reluctantly handing over the brush with a sigh. “I thought I could at least make it look nice this time by myself.” She said, giving herself an unamused expression in the mirror. 

Ada just chuckled and began to brush Matty’s hair, starting at the bottom. “Well, it’s a good thing you have a wonderful mother who’s always willing to help.” She said, working her way up to the top of Matty’s hair with the brush. 

When she had finished brushing it, Matty’s hair was now quite a bit poofy since her curls had been brushed out. Ada placed the brush back down on the vanity before grabbing a small vial of oil, putting some on her palms before running her fingers through Matty’s hair—a small trick they had learned years ago from Mrs. McGowan on how to help tame poofy hair. 

Then Ada began to braid it. “You know… When you were born, you were born with the curliest strawberry blonde hair I had ever seen.” She chuckled, giving her daughter a small smile as she watched her work in the mirror. “And I had no idea how to take care of that little mess but it was the cutest mess I had ever seen.” 

Matty chuckled, remembering the many times her mother had struggled to make her hair look nice. 

“Then all your cute strawberry hair fell out and now you just look like your father,” Ada said in a joking tone, tying off the end of her braid. 

Matty rolled her eyes and chuckled a bit. “Thank you, mum.” She said with a small smile. 

But she soon noticed that something was off with her mother. Instead of the genuine happy smile Ada constantly wore, she wore a smile that seemed as if it were trying to hide concern or unease—which was not like her at all. 

Matty furrowed her brows in confusion. “Is there something wrong?” She asked immediately after, wanting to know if her mother was okay or not. 

Knowing that it was quite obvious that she was bothered, Ada let out a little sigh. “Well, maybe. You tell me.” She said, looking down at Matty. “The thing is, I’ve been worried about you recently. And I’m worried about you leaving. Not that I think you’ll be in any danger or anything or that you can’t handle yourself… I just…” 

A few moments of silence passed by as Matty waited, not wanting to interrupt her mother, and wanting her to be able to say her piece. 

“The thing is, I can’t say that I’m entirely happy about you leaving,” Ada admitted. “I know it’s just me being a worried mum and all. But I missed you so much when you were gone and to know now finally all that happened to you. I—I just don’t want you getting hurt. I trust that you can protect yourself completely. I’m just worried because—well because I love you, of course.” 

Ada looked at her daughter intently, hoping she wouldn’t be upset by her anxiety over the situation. But how could Matty be angry? All Ada was doing was just expressing her concern for her daughter—as any mother would. 

“I appreciate the worry, Mum, I really do.” Matty smiled, leaning over to hug her mother. “To be completely honest with you, I’m a bit anxious myself. But I have high expectations for this year and I’m sure I’ll be completely fine.” 

She gave her mother a reassuring squeeze, not wanting her to worry about her. Ada hugged back tightly. “Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, you will be fine. You’re my daughter.” She chuckled jokingly. “And I am extremely proud of you.” 

Matty smiled, feeling loved and appreciated. She was going to miss her parents a lot this year but she was also excited to experience a new year at Hogwarts. 

“I promise I’ll be back for the holidays this year.” She promised her mother. 

“Oh, you’d better otherwise your Headmaster is going to get an earful from me.” Ada laughed. “Perhaps you’ll get a few of your friends to tag along as well. The more the merrier.” 

“Perhaps,” Matty replied. 

Ada glanced at the clock hanging from Matty’s wall and realized how late it was getting. “Alright, off to bed with you.” She said, playfully shooing her daughter towards her bed. “Tomorrow we’ll be getting up early to get to the train station, I hope you have everything packed.” 

“Yes ma’am,” Matty said, standing up and walking over to her bed. “Goodnight mum, I love you.” 

“I love you too, Matty,” Ada said, blowing a small kiss before leaving the room and shutting the door. 

Matty let out a deep breath before climbing into bed and getting comfortable. She had waited all summer long for tomorrow—the day when she would reunite with all her friends that she had missed so much. But of course, there was always that pre-anxiety and the worry about leaving home and missing her family. 

But she knew it’d all be worth it. In no time she’d be back at Hogwarts and with her friends and oh what a joy that’d be. 

Chapter Text

“Oh, excuse us! Excuse us please, sorry—oh, I’m terribly sorry.” 

Kings Cross station was crawling with people, everyone scrambling to get to their train at the right time and not be late. Howard, Ada, and Matty found it terribly hard to navigate the station without causing some sort of trouble. 

After several minutes of confusing navigation and a thousand times of saying “excuse me” and “sorry” they had finally made it to where they believed they’d need to go to get to the right platform. 

But… It just didn’t look right when they arrived there. Ada furrowed her brows, looking around. “Matty dear, let me see your ticket again.” 

Matty quickly handed her mother her ticket. Ada scanned over the words, reading “Platform 9 and ¾ .” which was right where they were. 

“Well, this is platform nine and that is platform ten,” Ada said, pointing the numbers out. 

Howard looked over to his wife. “Perhaps they got the ticket wrong. I’ve never heard of a platform nine and three-quarters. Seem’s a bit odd, doesn’t it?” He asked. However, his interest was still piqued because he had no idea where they were. 

“Our daughter is a witch going to a magical school all the way in Scotland, my love. Everything related to it is a bit strange.” Ada said. 

Matty couldn’t help but giggle at her mother's words. Although she wasn’t exactly wrong. When Matty had first come to the Wizarding World and gone to Hogwarts, everything shocked her as it was very strange. 

Howard nodded his head. “Well then, how do you figure we find this platform nine and three-quarters?” He asked, looking around. 

Ada stared between the two platforms nine and ten before walking over to them. “If I am correct, the distance between the two platforms…” She trailed off, stepping one foot in front of the other—completely ignoring any onlookers who stared at the strange display—as if she were trying to measure the distance between the platforms. 

“Well, if I’m correct—which I usually am—that would mean platform nine and three-quarters would be right here.” Ada gestured directly at a brick pillar. 

Howard and Matty exchanged confused glances before looking back at Ada. “Mum, that’s a brick pillar.” 

Ada placed her hands on her hips. “Thank you for that, Miss. Obvious.” She said to her daughter. “But do either of you have any better ideas as to where this mysterious platform nine and three-quarters could be?” 

Yet again, Matty and her father exchanged a glance before shrugging their shoulders. It seemed like all of them were clueless about where this mystery platform was. Well, that was until Matty glanced over to the right to see a line of gingers begin to walk toward the platform. 

After a brief moment further of investigation, Matty soon realized that those were the Weasleys as she recognized Garreth and Hector’s faces. 

Matty’s face immediately lit up at the sight of her friend. “Garreth!” She called out and immediately he looked over, instantly recognizing her. 

The two ran towards each other before embracing with a hug. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here!” Matty said, pulling away from the hug for a bit to look at him. The fact that the Weasleys were her made Matty feel like they were in the right place. 

“Well this is platform nine and three-quarters, isn’t it?” Garreth said with a chuckle. The rest of his family came walking over and Matty knew he had a lot of siblings but she was a bit shocked to see them in person. She had only ever met his younger brother, Hector and although he also had another younger sister at school, she had never met her. 

Four children were with whom Matty assumed was Mrs. Weasley—including Garreth but she had remembered him mentioning that he had older siblings and he was the oldest going to school. Which meant that somewhere else in the world, there were four more of Garreth’s older siblings somewhere, and to Matty, who had been an only child her entire life, it was almost shocking. 

“Good to know we’re in the right place,” Matty replied. As Mrs. Weasley walked over, she took the time to introduce herself. “You’re Mrs. Weasley, I assume?” She asked. 

Mrs. Weasley nodded her head, outstretching her hand to shake Matty’s. Mrs. Weasley seemed like a joyful woman; a big smile plastered on her face. “Yes, I am. A pleasure to meet you dear. You must be Matty.” 

“Oh yes. Pleasure to meet you as well.” Matty replied with a curt nod. 

Matty quickly introduced her parents to Mrs. Weasley and the rest of her children. Ada and Howard seemed to recognize Garreth more due to the letters Matty had sent mentioning his name. But it seemed like all was going well. 

“Oh, Mrs. Weasley, if you don’t mind—Is this platform nine and three quarters?” Ada asked Mrs. Weasley. Ada and Howard were still completely clueless as to where exactly this platform was since the brick wall seemed “too unbelievable.” 

“Oh yes! Right there!” Mrs. Weasley piped up, gesturing to the brick wall. When she saw the confusion on mostly Howard's face, she turned to Hector. “Hector darling, be a dear and show them how this works, would you? I could only imagine it’s a bit strange for them.” 

Hector—who had barely been paying attention the entire time—looked shocked that his mother had called on him for a brief moment. But he quickly nodded his head, took his luggage cart, and aligned himself with the brick wall. Then suddenly, he ran at it and Matty had the urge to stop him well—because it was a brick wall! Didn’t that obviously seem dangerous to anyone else? 

But Hector disappeared in the blink of an eye—seemingly completely fine and it clicked in Matty’s head that this must be some enchanted wall, much similar to the ones she had encountered her 5th year. She let out a sigh of relief, chuckling a bit. She had not been expecting that. 

And neither had her parents because they both looked terrified for a moment. “Well… At least I was right.” Ada said, letting out the breath she had been holding with a small chuckle. 

Mrs. Weasley just laughed a bit. She understood how this concept could be completely strange—and possibly even seem dangerous to muggles who didn’t know much about the wizarding world. But to Witches and Wizards, it was just like any other day. 

“You can simply walk straight through.” Mrs. Weasley stated. “Although it's easier to move the luggage carts with a bit of force.” 

She then turned to the older daughter—who Matty assumed was in her second year. “Alice, go ahead dear.” Mrs. Weasley urged. Alice, who seemed to be the more reserved of the Weasley family children, nodded her head and followed in the footsteps of Hector. 

Then Mrs. Weasley turned to her youngest daughter. “Millie,” She said as if telling her it was her turn but Millie just eyed the brick wall. 

“How do I know it won’t be solid and this is all just some trick?” The young girl, who Matty instantly knew was a first year, spoke—seemingly skeptical. “What if I crash into it?” 

Garreth chuckled, leaning over to Matty. “It’s her first year and she’s skeptical of everything.” He whispered to her. Matty just chuckled although she couldn’t exactly blame Millie for her skepticism since after all, it was a brick wall. 

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes, tutting her youngest child over to the wall. “Well, we will crash into it if we stand here waiting all day!” She said. Millie just gave her mother an expression of discontent before doing the same as her older two siblings, disappearing into the wall. 

“Alright, Garreth, you help your friend with this one.” Mrs. Weasley said, imagining that Matty was still pretty skeptical about this. 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Garreth replied simply. “All you do is just well—walk straight in.” He said with a small shrug but he still noticed Matty’s hesitancy. 

Then before she knew it, Garreth had grabbed her hand and dragged her through the wall. Instantly she was met with the view of hundreds of people, the Hogwarts Express, and hundreds of students ready to board the train to get to school. Matty’s jaw almost dropped. This entire place was hidden from muggles and the only way to get to it was through some brick pillar. 

“How—how do muggles not find out about this?” Matty asked with her mouth agape, looking over at Garreth. “I mean, how do they not see people disappear into the pillar?” 

Garreth shrugged his shoulders. “I asked my mum the same question during my first year and I never got a clear answer. I don’t think anybody really knows but it may just be enchanted to make them see something differently.” He replied. 

Soon, Mrs. Weasley, Ada, and Howard were in Platform 9 ¾ as well, right behind the children. The train horn could be heard behind them, signaling that it would soon be time to board the train and leave.

“Go ahead and get everything on, the train leaves soon.” Mrs. Weasley instructed her children. After all the luggage was packed up onto the train, it was time for them to leave. 

Matty gave both of her parents tight hugs, telling them about how much she’d miss them and promising that she’d be back in just a few months for the holidays. She bid her parents her final goodbye before making her way onto the train with Garreth, blowing her parents a kiss from the doorway before following Garreth in. 

Garreth, being the older brother he was, instructed where his younger siblings should go and got them situated in a seating compartment before moving down the train to an empty one. “You’re not going to want to be anywhere near my younger siblings while on the train ride, they’re loud.” Garreth chuckled as he and Matty entered the empty train compartment. 

The two got seated right across from each other as the train began to move, starting their long ride to Hogwarts. 

“So where’s Hope?” Garreth asked. “I was assuming I’d see her here with you.” 

“Well, that was the plan but her father had business at the Hogsmeade station of all places so they left a day early,” Matty answered. It was quite a bit disappointing that Hope couldn’t accompany her on the train ride but she was glad at least Garreth was here to keep her company. 

But as if it were like perfect clockwork, the compartment door slid open and Matty and Garreth saw the familiar face of their friend Leander.

“Garreth! There you are.” Leander said, moving into the compartment. “I swear I opened seven different compartments trying to find you.” 

He glanced over to Matty with a smile. “Good to see you here too.” He said. 

Matty returned the smile to Leander as he took a seat next to Garreth. “It’s nice to see you again.” She said to him. It was quite a crazy concept to her that almost every single student that went to Hogwarts went on this train but that was also because she had had a different way of travel last year—and well, that went a bit differently. 

Minutes later the compartment door opened and Nellie could be seen. It was almost like instinct that she knew her friends were in there. “Good, there’s a space in here.” She chuckled before seating herself next to Matty and giving her a big hug. 

“Nellie! It’s so good to see you.” Matty smiled, giving Nellie a tight squeeze. 

It was ironic that this train compartment was now all filled with Gryffindors—even more so when Eric Northcott, a boy from Gryffindor in their year opened the compartment door. “Oi, Garreth, Leander, scoot over.” He said without even a hello. The three boys were friends so Matty just assumed they were always like this. “Every other compartment is full or full of people I do not like,” Eric said. 

Matty just rolled her eyes and now the compartment was getting a bit cramped, more so on the boys’ side but they couldn’t help but laugh a bit at how cramped they were becoming. 

“We’ll manage like this, right?” Garreth said with a slight chuckle but it had already gotten quite cramped trying to fit three sixteen-year-old boys on one side of the seating compartment. 

For the first fifteen minutes, they were managing quite well as the five of them struck up a conversation about their summers and what they did. It was quite a lively conversation and Matty was enjoying hearing her friends talk about their summers, especially when she heard the stories they had told her in their letters to her. 

The compartment door opened again to reveal Samantha Dale, who wasted no time slipping inside the cramped compartment. “Nellie, scoot over.” She practically pleaded. “I got stuck in a compartment with Everett and all he’s doing is rambling on about Quidditch and I think he’s scared Amit out of his mind by now already.” 

Nellie and Matty moved over the best they could and now they’re side of the compartment was also cramped. “Perfect cart to choose, Samantha,” Nellie said sarcastically to Samantha. 

“Well if you’d like to trade places and go sit next to Everett and hear nothing but Quidditch for the next several hours, be my guest,” Samantha replied. 

The compartment now held six, sixteen-year-olds who were now all quite cramped—not exactly the traveling situation Matty had imagined but she was just happy to be there with her friends to be completely honest. 

“Well, this will be quite… interesting, right?” She said jokingly. 

“If you mean interesting as in we’ll all be cramped and sore after this, then yes, interesting,” Leander said, trying to readjust his shoulders so that they weren’t stuck tightly between Eric’s and Garreth’s. 

Matty just chuckled and looked out the window, thankfully she had been fortunate enough to get the seat next to the window so her view would be distracting enough to keep her mind off the cramped situation. 

In just a few hours, she’d be back at Hogwarts and reunited with the rest of her friends. 

*** 

The bright day had turned dark with the night as they neared the Hogsmeade station. The train ride—although cramped and uncomfortable—was quite enjoyable as the six friends talked and shared stories practically the entire way there. Matty enjoyed telling her friends about her time back in Ireland over the summer, which had been the first time she had gone back in a few years. 

Then after several hours, the train finally arrived at the Hogsmeade station, it stopped, and the doors opened, allowing the sea of students to exit the train, all scrambling to grab their luggage and other things they had brought. 

Matty exited the train alongside her friends through the sea of students. Gladwin Moon, the Hogwarts Caretaker stood on the platform, holding a lantern. “All first years follow me!” He instructed. 

Millie looked up to Garreth with a skeptical look on her face, as if questioning if she should follow the stranger or not. 

Garreth sighed and rolled his eyes slightly, a bit tired of his younger sister's skepticism. “Millie, he’s the Hogwarts caretaker. Just follow him.” He chided, shaking his head. 

Millie gave her brother one last look before reluctantly making her way over to the rest of the first years who were now surrounding Mr. Moon. The rest of the students began to load their things up in the magic carts and began walking up the path to the school. 

“So, why do all the first years go with Mr. Moon?” Matty asked Garreth as they walked up the dark path up to the school. It was dimly illuminated by the lanterns hanging off of the carts. 

“Every year, the caretaker of the school takes the first years to the school across the lake,” Garreth explained. “It’s honestly a way to let all the older students get settled and to the Great Hall before the sorting ceremony starts. So that the first years will come in and see everyone.” 

Matty nodded her head. That made a lot of sense even though she had a much different experience in her “first” year at Hogwarts. 

All the students, second through seventh year made their way up to the school and Matty couldn’t be happier when she saw the castle get closer and closer with every passing moment. 

As they entered the castle, the prefects, Head boys, and Head girls, all took the initiative to make sure everyone in their house was making it up to the common rooms. Matty followed behind Nellie and eventually Cressida found her way over to them as well and they walked alongside their fellow Gryffindors. 

When they reached their dorm room, Natty was already there unpacking. 

“Natty!” Matty exclaimed, rushing forward to hug her friend. The two girls embraced and Nellie joined in a moment later after setting her luggage down. 

“It is good to see you again my friends!” Natty said with a big smile on her face. Being back at Hogwarts was already feeling great. 

“I missed all of you so much,” Matty said, pulling away from the hug.

The girls began to strike up a bit of small talk as they unpacked as much as they could. The first years would arrive soon in the Great Hall and they had to make it down there before they did. So, most of the unpacking would have to happen later. 

The three of them spoke about their summer or just random things during the year. Speaking of things they were excited about or looking forward to doing in their sixth year. 

“Well, you made it to Hogwarts safely this year,” Nellie said, looking over at Matty. “We can check no dragon attacks off the list.” 

Matty chuckled a bit and jokingly rolled her eyes. “Thank you for being so kind, Nellie, and keeping track of that list for me.” She joked. But in all fairness, she was glad no dragon attacked them on the train. 

And soon enough, it was time to go down to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. The three girls threw on their school robes before making their way to the Great Hall where every student was now walking into. 

As Matty walked up to the doors of the Great Hall, she remembered exactly one year ago—the hall was empty as she and Professor Fig had entered, hoping they hadn’t missed the ceremony. Matty recalled the anxiety she felt before walking into those doors to get sorted. The only difference was that Professor Fig was gone and she was surrounded by friends but the anxiety was still there for some reason. 

They walked into the Great Hall and Matty suddenly concluded as to why she was anxious. There were a lot of people but mostly it was the fact that she was going to reunite with some of her most dearly missed friends. 

She greeted a few friends as she passed on her way to the Gryffindor table, such as Hope, Samantha, and Adelaide, but she was intently looking for one person in particular to see if they were there.

And that person was Sebastian Sallow. 

Her eyes intently scanned the room, mostly near the Slytherin table as she waited to see him. For a moment, it didn’t seem as if he was there until she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, and then their eyes met immediately. 

From the moment their eyes met, Matty wasted no time running across the Great Hall to embrace Sebastian and he was ready for it from the moment he saw her. He opened his arms wide and they embraced in a big hug. 

Sebastian’s arms immediately wrapped around her and he lifted her up, spinning her around for a brief moment. 

“Sebastian! I missed you so much!” Matty exclaimed, squeezing him tightly.

His embrace felt so comforting and she could’ve never imagined missing the embrace of someone so much until this moment. She had missed the feeling of his arms around her and he could say the exact same thing. Both of them had been counting down the days until they could see one another. The letters were never enough. 

“Don’t even get me started about how much I missed you,” Sebastian said, finally putting her down. He didn’t take his eyes off of her for a single moment and he was going to take any moment he had with her that he could get. 

Matty just had a huge smile plastered on her face. To even see Sebastian again was such a joy and it was making her heart flutter a bit. 

He didn’t look too much different but he definitely looked more mature than last year—as to be expected. After all, he’d be turning seventeen in just a few short weeks. But even then, Matty couldn’t help but take note of how handsome he was. 

When they realized the doors of the Great Hall were opening up and the first years were about to enter, Sebastian was quick to tell Matty where they could meet right after this. “Meet me in the Undercroft right after this and we can talk, okay?” He said, gently holding Matty’s hand in his. 

Matty nodded her head intently, promising that she’d meet him there the moment that the ceremony ended. Then they let go of each other’s hands and made their way to their house tables, although Matty’s eyes kept on Sebastian for the majority of the ceremony.

One by one the first years walked up to be sorted and then sat down at their designated house tables. Matty and the rest of her Gryffindor companions welcomed the new Gryffindors with cheers, making room for them at the tables. 

Millie, of course, was sorted into Gryffindor just like anyone else in her family and she took a seat next to Garreth and her other siblings with a satisfied look on her face that she had made it into the house of Godric Gryffindor. 

The moment that the sorting ceremony ended, Matty got up, telling Nellie and Natty she’d be in the dorm later and not to worry about her before quickly making her way out of the Great Hall. Nellie watched her go with a joke about how it was the first day of school and she was already sneaking away again. 

She found herself in the Undercroft, rushing in. The moment she saw Sebastian, the two embraced once again but this time it was much longer than the last hug. 

“I missed you so much,” Matty whispered again but this time it felt more meaningful now that they were alone. She had missed Sebastian so dearly and now they were in each other’s arms again and it almost didn’t feel real. Three months wasn’t actually that long but to them, it felt like an eternity. 

“I missed you too, Matty,” Sebastian whispered back. 

After what felt like forever, they pulled away from the hug and Matty couldn’t deny she got at least a little teary-eyed. She quickly wiped them away and looked up at Sebastian. 

“So, how was your summer?” Matty asked him. 

Regardless of what she knew about his summer from the letters, she wanted to hear it from his mouth. She had missed his voice (more than she’d like to admit) and was honestly desperate to hear him just speak again. 

“Why don’t you tell me about yours first? I’m sure it was much more eventful.” Sebastian said with a smile. There was something a bit off about his tone that made Matty worry for a brief moment. 

“Are you sure? After all, I asked first.” She said, trying to coax him into going first. 

“Deathly sure.” Sebastian grinned. 

Matty waited for a moment before sighing. “Well then.” She said with a small chuckle. The two sat down, leaning against the wall of the Undercroft that was right next to the triptych they had discovered last year. “Goodness, where do I even start?” 

“From June. From the moment you returned home.” Sebastian said, inching a bit closer beside her. He could hear her talk for hours and still could never get tired of her voice. So if he had the opportunity to just hear her speak, especially after so long of missing it, he was going to take it.  

Matty took a deep breath letting it out moments later. “Well, the first thing I did when I came home was obviously greet my parents—and my cat. I told them practically everything, well not everything but you get the idea.” 

Matty then began to ramble on and on about her summer. From returning home to London to visiting her home country of Ireland for the first time in several years and how enjoyable that was, to every other small detail she could remember. 

Sebastian just sat there next to her, looking at her with admiration and love in his eyes. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that this look could be easily detected and identified as love and what he felt for her. And obviously, it was easily detectable by everyone but them. 

The two were in constant denial that their feelings would be reciprocated by one another even though it was quite obvious that they felt a certain way about each other. 

Sebastian was snapped out of his daze when Matty looked at him. “So, how was your summer?” She asked with a smile. 

“Oh uh, it was fine,” Sebastian said, brushing off her question just a bit. 

Matty rolled her eyes. “Oh please, I just rambled about mine for almost an hour and that’s all you have to say about yours?” She asked, raising a brow. “Trust me, I want to hear about it more than you think.” 

“You heard everything in my letters.” Sebastian shrugged. 

“Surely you didn’t tell me everything.” Matty insisted. One part of her was confused as to why Sebastian didn’t want to speak about it but another part of her was telling her not to press him any further if he didn’t want to speak about it. 

Sebastian just chuckled. “I worked for Sirona over the summer, read some books, and wrote countless letters.” He replied. 

“If you say so,” Matty said, shrugging her shoulders. 

The two soon realized that it was getting late and they should head back to their dorms before they would get into trouble. They bid each other goodnight with a hug before leaving the Undercroft. 

That night, Matty lay in bed peacefully asleep. She was excited to be back at school and reunited with some of the people she cared about the most. The classes would be fun too alongside everything she’d get to learn. 

Sure, it’d be different. Professor Fig wasn’t there and that still hurt but Matty promised herself that she’d still make the most out of the year that she could.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Matty woke up early. She was a bit sluggish from staying up late but it was worth it talking with Sebastian. She put on her robes, smoothing them out before making her hair presentable and heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. She had almost forgotten how big the castle was but she was quick to remember the several times she got lost last year before she had gotten used to the castle and its size. 

Since she had woken up pretty early, the Great Hall was decently empty. The only people there were a few of the prefects who always woke up early and a few more students who had probably been awake most of the night anyway. Teenagers here were known to have horrible sleep schedules anyway. 

Matty sat down at the Gryffindor table, enjoying the bit of silence she could have before the hectic day ahead. Classes began today and they were going to be much more trying than the last year. For the next two years she’d be taking N.E.W.T level classes in order to prepare for the tests they would take at the end of 7th year and if Matty wanted to get into the Auror program, she would have to study hard. 

Although she was still unsure about her idea of wanting to become an Auror (in fact, she hadn’t even informed her parents of it yet), she still wanted to be prepared and ready as well as have high enough marks to be able to get into the program in the first place. 

But with the magic she had been gifted and all the good she had already done, her mindset was “What’s a little more?” even if that included going through an extremely taxing three years for the program. 

As she ate her breakfast, she rummaged through her robe pockets before finding her schedule for the day. Charm’s class was first, just like last year and Matty was excited to see what Professor Ronen would open up with this time. She remembered exactly a year ago she met Natty in Charms class. 

A while later as more students started to come into the Great Hall for breakfast, Matty was sure to finish up quickly and get out of there before it became crowded again. 

While she was walking down the hall, she bumped into someone—ironically, it was Sebastian. “Oh, Matty! There you are. I was on my way to find you.”

“Good morning, Sebastian.” Matty smiled. “I was just on my way out since I woke up early. Go ahead and get to the Great Hall and we’ll meet up afterward.” 

“I’ll just come with you now,” Sebastian said with a small shrug. 

Matty raised a brow at the boy in front of her. “Sebastian, you haven’t eaten anything this morning. Go get at least something small.” She said. 

“Or I could just come with you.” 

“Well, what if I was going to my dorm? What would you say then?” 

“Well, that would be a lie because you aren’t going to your dorm,” Sebastian replied. “Besides, if you couldn’t already tell by the amount of letters I sent, I missed you and I’d rather spend every waking moment I have with you than in the Great Hall eating.” 

“Don’t prioritize humans over your health, Sebastian.” Matty insisted. “We have Charms class together first thing after breakfast anyway, we can meet up there. Now go to the Great Hall before I drag you there myself.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes before reluctantly nodding his head. “Fine, fine. I’ll see you in class.” He said before walking towards the Great Hall. 

Matty watched him walk into the Great Hall just to make sure he was truly going to go in before turning on her heel and walking down the rest of the hall. That was a bit of strange behavior from Sebastian but she decided to brush it off and not think much else of it. 

*** 

Right before Charms class began, Matty walked in and sat down on the left side of the room. Other students started to file into the room and take their seats as well. The moment Sebastian walked in and made eye contact with Matty; he began to walk to her but Leander unfortunately disrupted that by absentmindedly taking a seat next to her instead. 

Matty glanced at Leander before looking back to Sebastian and giving him a small, apologetic shrug and smile. Sebastian let out a small sigh before reluctantly going over to sit by Duncan Hobhouse. 

Then, the door to Professor Ronen’s office swung open and he began his descent down the stairs. “Good morning and welcome class to year six of Charms!” He welcomed in his hearty tone with a big grin on his face. 

Matty remembered exactly one year ago him descending the same stairs with the same welcome to them in fifth year. It was a good memory. 

“This year will be a pivotal year in your time learning here at Hogwarts.” Professor Ronen continued as he finished his descent down the stairs. Leander leaned over to Matty to whisper something to her.

“Doesn’t he say that every year?” 

Matty chuckled a bit. “I guess so.” She replied. 

“This year we will be focusing on defensive charms and other useful spells that can keep you safe in the face of danger.” Professor Ronen explained. “Now, all of you have a chart on your desk that contains a list of spells we have learned over the past few years. Partner up with your table mate and practice these so I can see how much you all remember.” 

All the students began to stand up and walk over to open spaces in the classroom to practice. The spells were all simple ones such as Accio, some different jinxes, and then levioso. 

Matty grinned and looked up at Leander, who was standing a few feet away from her. “Remember when Professor Hecat used levioso on you in class last year?” She asked with a devilish grin. 

Leander rolled his eyes, remembering the embarrassing memory. “Yes, yes. I remember. No need to bring it up.” He said in an annoyed tone. It had been quite an embarrassing moment for him but he had learned a valuable lesson that day. Do not question Professor Hecat. She would make you regret it. 

 After practicing all their spells, Professor Ronen asked everyone to be seated again before he began with his lecture. It was mostly him rambling on about how Charms is one of the most important classes to take, especially in your sixth and seventh year as well as talking about how Charms was a good N.E.W.T class to take if you were thinking about working for the Ministry. 

Matty listened to most of the lecture with full attention but halfway through she did get a little bored as Professor Ronen just began rambling on and on. 

After a bit more of his rambling, a student in the back reminded the Professor of the time and he quickly realized that he had been rambling on and dismissed the class. Some students were quick to pack up their things and rush out, others taking their time. 

As Matty grabbed her things and walked out, Sebastian followed her quickly behind. “You could’ve at least saved that seat for me.” He said as they left the Charms classroom. “That’s why I wanted to stick around instead of going to the Great Hall.” 

“Well, I didn’t want to just tell Leander he couldn’t sit by me,” Matty said. “Besides, it was only an hour. That wasn’t so bad.” 

“I suppose you’re right,” Sebastian said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his robe. 

Matty took this opportunity to link her arm with his, elbowing him a bit. “Don’t be in a mood.” She said with a small chuckle. “It’s the first day of school and so far it’s been great! I mean just think of all the new things we get to learn this year.” 

If Sebastian were honest, he’d say that he didn’t care much about the classes and he was just glad to be back with Matty and the rest of their friends but he opted to play along. “I suppose that’s rather exciting.” He replied. 

Although Sebastian had already learned certain things that they wouldn’t teach until sixth year, such as apparition. He had found a book about it in the Restricted Section in fourth year and immediately took it to the Undercroft to learn and teach the spell to Ominis and Anne and then later to Matty. 

The young boy's thirst for knowledge would never stop. The want for knowledge and intelligence was something set in his mind by his parents. But of course, like many boys, as he grew older he wanted romance, and Matty being around was making it hard to focus on anything else other than her. 

“Oh, come now Sebastian, lighten up!” Matty said, giving his arm a squeeze. “Did you not get any good sleep last night? You seem off.” 

Sebastian sighed. “I’m fine, Matty. I can assure you of that much.” He answered with a small chuckle to brush things off a bit and to make her less concerned. “I suppose I just have a lot on my mind right now.” 

Matty showed a face of sympathy but with a hint of concern as well. “You know you can come speak to me any time you need, right?” She asked.

“I know,” Sebastian said with a smile. “But that’s irrelevant right now. Let’s just enjoy the day we have, shall we?” 

Matty nodded her head. “If you say so.” She said, trusting that Sebastian was okay and that he’d come to her if he needed help. After all, they had already been through so much together already it would be quite odd not to, right? 

“Thank Merlin, crisis averted.” Sebastian thought with an internal sigh of relief. 

He had a lot on his mind and it usually wasn’t the best of things. It was usually the grief and guilt he still carried with him. The pain from the long summer months spent alone grieving and hurting. But he would rather keep it a secret than hurt Matty with the way he was feeling. She was an empathetic person. If 

someone she loved carried grief, so did she and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. 

*** 

Meanwhile, Hope and Garreth were in Potion's class. It was moderately calm and nothing bad had happened…yet. Hope and Garreth were stationed at the same potions table and Hope was tending to her own cauldron while Garreth seemed to be doing something suspicious with his. 

Hope glanced over, looking confused. “Garreth, what are you doing?” She asked in a whispered tone, not wanting Professor Sharp to hear her. 

“Nothing, shh.” Garreth hushed her. But clearly, he was doing something suspicious. 

“That doesn’t look like it was on the instructions Professor Sharp gave us,” Hope commented, taking a closer look at the concoction in Garreth’s cauldron that was at least several shades of blue darker than her own. 

“Because it’s not,” Garreth said, glancing up at her. “But keep it quiet. I promise I won’t blow anything up.” 

Hope looked at the redheaded boy with skepticism. Out of all the odd promises one could make, this one seemed like the one Garreth simply couldn’t ever seem to keep. 

Then, Hope soon realized that Professor Sharp was about to look straight up their way right as Garreth was adding something suspicious to his potion. She reacted quickly and smacked it out of his hand. 

Garreth’s head snapped up as he looked confusedly at Hope but she was quick to reply. “Stop that! Professor Sharp is looking straight at us!” She whispered harshly. 

Garreth looked over his shoulder and indeed, Professor Sharp was looking straight at them, practically burning a hole into their backs with his gaze. He always made sure to pay extra attention to Garreth’s table, having learned his lesson several times knowing the Weasley boy could not be trusted alone with a cauldron. 

“Blast it,” Garreth mumbled. “I was so close to finishing this.” 

“What even is “this?” Hope asked, looking down at Garreth’s cauldron. 

“A new concoction of course. I thought of it a few days ago and thought I’d try it out when I came to school.” Garreth replied with much cheer in his voice. 

Then Professor Sharp stood up. “Alright, that will be enough for today. Class dismissed.” He said, looking over the classroom. 

Garreth sighed, knowing that his potion shenanigans would now have to come to an end. He reluctantly packed up his things and left the classroom alongside Hope. “This close, this close!” Garreth sighed. 

“Well, perhaps next time you shouldn’t do anything that could get you in trouble when Professor Sharp is looking directly at you!” Hope said as if it were obvious. “Garreth, I love you; I truly do but you have a horrible reputation for blowing up cauldrons on the first day and I’m not sure Professor Sharp wanted that on his record.” 

Garreth reluctantly nodded his head and it was silent between the two of them for a moment before he started grinning at her. “You still got me that mandrake root power thought, didn’t you?” He asked with a goofy grin. 

Hope sighed, pulling it out from behind her robe. “I wasn’t going to actually give it to you but I suppose I can’t not give it to you now.” She said, handing it to him. 

Garreth laughed and grabbed the jar of powder. “I love you!” He laughed, giving Hope a tight squeeze before pocketing the small jar. 

Herbology class didn’t start for a few more days which meant the Greenhouse wasn’t open for students to use yet so Garreth couldn’t grow any of his plants for his potions but Hope had a certain charm when it came to getting ingredients from either Professor Garlick or Professor Sharp—regardless of how stern he was. The girl was just too sweet for them to say no to. 

“Just don’t tell them I got it for you, okay?” Hope chuckled. “I’ll help with your potion delusions but it doesn’t mean I have to admit it.” 

“I promise your detention record will stay nonexistent,” Garreth said, his goofy grin still plastered on his face. 

Further up the hall, Matty came walking down towards the two without Sebastian since they had finished up their conversation and parted ways to get to their own classes and such. However, Hope, Matty, and Garreth had Transfiguration together in less than twenty minutes and so Matty had gone to find them right after Charms. 

“How was potions?” She asked while coming up to Garreth and Hope. 

“Well, I stopped Garreth from getting detention on the first day. So, I would say very successful.” Hope replied. 

Matty glanced over to Garreth. “What did you—or rather what were you planning on doing?” She asked, wanting to know what shenanigans Garreth had been up to this time. With the ones she saw in 5th year, she could only imagine Garreth’s creative liberty would’ve stretched further by now. 

“Practicing a new potions recipe but with my own twist,” Garreth replied. 

Taking creative liberty with your work was often encouraged by the Professors at Hogwarts… Except for in potions class. Potions had to be followed exactly how it was written, otherwise, you’d end up with quite the catastrophic explosion—as they had all personally learned quite a few times. 

“He tried to do it right when Professor Sharp was about to look!” Hope added. 

“He was behind me! It’s not like I have eyes on the back of my head or anything.” Garreth huffed in defense of himself. 

“Well, besides an almost catastrophic explosion in potions class, I’d say today has been quite peaceful.” Matty piped up. There was no Professor Weasley questioning her about her travels to the school, there was no having to examine portkeys or maps along with Professor Fig, just peaceful studying, and peaceful learning. 

Hope glanced up at Matty. “That must be nice for you.” She chuckled, remembering that the events of Matty’s first week at Hogwarts alone would be enough to scare any student off from coming for another year. 

“Yes, it is,” Matty replied. “Now come on, we have a transfiguration class to get to.” 

Chapter Text

Right after school, Matty made her way up to the Astronomy tower and then to the Room of Requirement. She was eager to see Deek again along with all of the animals in her vivariums as she had missed them all very much. 

She made sure no one was looking before she slipped into the room. Immediately, she was hit with the bright aura of the room. Books stacked; papers stacked neatly—exactly how she had left it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a house elf wandering around and thankfully, this house elf was Deek. 

“Deek! It’s wonderful to see you again!” Matty exclaimed with a smile. 

Deek looked a bit alarmed, not expecting anyone to come into the room but when he noticed it was Matty, he smiled. “Ah! Matty! Deek is very happy to see you again!” He said. “Deek forgot that the school term began today.” 

“I’m happy to be back,” Matty replied. “Everything has gone well while I’ve been gone, I hope?” 

Deek nodded his head eagerly. “Oh yes, of course! Deek has made sure all the beasts have been taken care of and that the room has stayed exactly how you left it.” He answered. After his reply, Matty felt extremely grateful for the house elf putting so much time and effort into keeping the room clean and the beasts taken care of. 

“Thank you so much, Deek.” She said. “I suppose this means I should go see all the beasts now.” There was a smile on her face as she thought of visiting all her beasts. Although there were definitely a few on her mind that she missed quite a bit. 

“Deek actually has something he would like to show you,” Deek stated. He waved Matty over as he began to walk towards the beach vivarium. 

Matty, who was quite intrigued at this point, followed Deek closely behind. As the two entered the vivarium they were met with the sight of all the beasts placed here. Most of the beasts here were the larger ones such as Graphorns, Hippogriffs, and Unicorns. 

The moment Matty saw Lord, more known as The Lord of the Shore, a Graphorn she had befriended last year during San Bakar’s trial, her face immediately lit up. For some reason, she had a particularly strong connection to this beast.         

“It’s good to see you, my friend.” Matty smiled, walking up to the beast, and placing a gentle hand onto the side of his face. 

When she turned, she was met with quite the surprise that made her gasp. A small hippogriff walking alongside Highwing. It was the cutest, dorky little thing Matty had ever seen. She looked over at Deek, wondering if this was what he was going to show her and he nodded his head. A huge smile graced Matty’s face as she slowly walked up to Highwing and her baby. 

“Oh, Highwing.” She said as she came closer to Highwing. She then put her hand out slowly to the young hippogriff and much to her surprise, the baby immediately rubbed their head on her hand. 

“When did this happen?” Matty asked, glancing over at Deek with a big smile. She continued to dote on the small, adorable beast. 

“Only two weeks ago,” Deek answered. “Deek was very surprised but very happy when he entered the vivarium and found the little fella.” 

Only two weeks? He was so young. “Does he have a name?” Matty asked Deek, wondering if the young best had gotten a name yet or not. 

“Not yet. Deek was waiting for you to return so you could name him.” Deek replied with a smile. He was the sweetest house elf Matty had ever met. 

“Oh Deek, that’s very kind of you.” She said. She turned back to the baby hippogriff then up to Highwing. “Poppy is going to love this.” Highwing looked rather proud, in fact, it was almost like she was showing off her son. 

Matty glanced over at Caligo, the male hippogriff she had moved to the vivarium shortly after moving Highwing here. “Congratulations, mate.” She chuckled before turning her attention back to the baby hippogriff. 

“What are you going to name him?” Deek asked, walking over to Matty and the hippogriffs. 

“Well, I have no idea. But I do have an idea of who can name him.” Matty replied.

*** 

“Matty, where are you taking me?” Poppy asked as Matty dragged her down the dirt path by her hand. Matty had asked Poppy to meet her by the beast's classroom before telling her she had a surprise and began dragging her down the same pathway Poppy had taken Matty when she met Highwing. 

“It’ll make more sense if you just see it.” Matty grinned, giving Poppy a little taste of her own medicine since Poppy had said something similar to Matty months ago. 

Poppy gave Matty a confused look before just following her down. Then suddenly Matty let go of her hand and slowed her pace down to a small walk. Poppy followed closely behind; a confused expression still painted on her face. 

When they came around the corner, Poppy was met with the sight of Highwing standing there with her baby prancing and playing around the grassy area. 

Immediately, Poppy gasped, her jaw-dropping. “Highwing!” She said, both in excitement and shock. “Is that—?” She looked over to Matty in disbelief, searching her friend's face for confirmation. 

“Yes.” Matty smiled. “I found out this morning and I just had to have you meet him.” 

Poppy then slowly approached the young hippogriff, still shocked but also extremely excited. As the young hippogriff came up to her, immediately becoming playful and affectionate. Poppy let out a laugh. “Does he have a name?” 

“No, actually. I wanted you to name him.” Matty replied. 

“You’re the best, Matty,” Poppy said. She took a good, long look at the baby hippogriff as she tried to come up with a good name for him. “Hmm… You look like an Oscar.” She said with surety in her voice. It seemed like Poppy took naming the beasts very carefully as she seemed completely focused. 

Matty laughed at the name choice, she thought it was quite the cute name for the little guy. “Oscar. I like it.” She smiled. 

“Well then, it’s settled.” 

And then before Matty knew it, Poppy was running around playing with the small hippogriff. She sat back, watching the adorable scene in front of her. She was proud of Poppy for opening up and finding friends while also not changing who she was. 

For the longest time because of her upbringing, Poppy was very reserved, and her only friends were the beasts around her but then after finding a good friend in Matty, she opened up to others in her house then even eventually made friends outside of her house and now had a decently large friend group. 

But no matter what, she was still her adorable loving self—a girl who loved the beasts and loved accompanying them. 

When it began to get late, the two girls figured it was time to wrap things up, but Poppy had a question for her friend. “Where have you even been keeping Highwing? I’d love to see her more.” She said curiously. 

Matty grinned—she had been waiting to show Poppy the Room of Requirement vivariums and now seemed to be the perfect time. “I’ll show you.” 

After getting Highwing and Oscar back into the knapsack, she began to lead Poppy back to the castle. As they were walking up to the Astronomy tower, Poppy grew more and more confused as they walked up the stairs. There was no possible way Matty had been somehow keeping Highwing and her baby in the castle, right? 

Then, they made it to the wall where the room door would appear and Poppy just gave a confused look to Matty. “It’s just a wall.” 

“It's not just a wall,” Matty said, flashing a grin to her friend. Moments later, the door began to form and Poppy’s face went from confusion to shock as the door formed and Matty opened it up. “Welcome to the Room of Requirement.” 

As she led Poppy in, she gave a brief explanation of how she even found the room. “Last year Professor Weasley showed me this room so I’d have an extra place to study and focus on my work so I could catch up to the rest of the 5th years. And it just so happens that the room made vivariums for me so I could place the beasts in there.” 

Matty gestured to the four vivariums around the room and Poppy looked shocked. “All of those are filled with beasts?” She asked, completely puzzled. 

Matty nodded and began walking towards the beach vivarium. As she led Poppy in, Highwing and Oscar could be seen there alongside all the other beasts. 

“So you mean to tell me all of this has been here the entire time?” Poppy inquired. “And you didn’t tell me earlier?” 

“I promise I was going to tell you! I was just waiting for the perfect time.” Matty laughed. “You can come up here whenever you need. Just think of this room exactly how you remember it and it should appear.” 

The rest of the evening was spent with Matty showing Poppy around the room, as well as introducing her to all the beasts she had rescued from poachers or even ones she had found injured in the Forbidden Forest. 

Needless to say Poppy was going to be back in that room quite a bit over the next few months. 

***

The next day at school, things were moderately calm. The classes were mellow and the school halls were generally all around quiet. This was the exact peaceful school year Matty had been hoping for and so far there had been no problems. She still dearly missed Professor Fig but she tried not to dwell on it too much. 

After school, Matty ran into Ominis on her way to meet Sebastian. It was a quick exchange but before she left, Ominis asked a favor of her. 

“Sebastian left his class schedule in the dorms today and I’m not sure if he has the rest of his classes for the week memorized,” Ominis said, pulling out Sebastian’s schedule from his robes. “I assumed you were on your way to see him so would you mind giving this to him?” 

“Oh, sure. I wouldn’t mind at all.” Matty said with a small smile, taking the schedule from Ominis’ hand. 

Ominis gave a small nod of his head with a thank you and turned to leave. Matty looked down at the paper that had just been given to her, curious as to what Sebastian’s schedule would look like. As she looked down, there was a specific class that caught her eye. 

Muggle studies. 

She didn’t recall Sebastian being in muggle studies last year or even showing any interest in taking the class anyway. So this made her very curious. “Wait—Ominis, may I ask you something before you leave?” She asked. 

Ominis stopped and turned around. “Yes? What is it?” 

“Has Sebastian ever taken muggle studies before?” She asked him, curious as to what the answer was. 

Ominis shook his head. “Not that I remember, no.” He replied. “He’s never had any interest in it and in fact, the class is probably the smallest in the school. Not too many people are interested in the class. Why do you ask?” 

Matty shrugged. “Just curious, thank you.” 

But in reality, she wasn’t “just curious”, she had a reason for asking. So with her new knowledge of Sebastian’s schedule, she went out to find him at the designated location they had picked out to meet up at before school started that day. They picked outside of the Great Hall, just shy of the Clock Tower courtyard. 

As Matty walked down to the benches that were there, Sebastian noticed her. “Ah, you made it.” He said, scooting over on the bench so that she’d have a place to sit. 

She took her seat right by him. “What made you think I wouldn’t come?” She asked with a small chuckle. “I would never pass up an opportunity to see you. I thought that was obvious enough by now.” 

Before Sebastian could reply, Matty pulled out his schedule that Ominis had given to her so she could give it to him. “Ominis said you left this in your dormitory this morning. He thought you’d need it.” She said, handing it to him. 

“Oh well, that’s where that thing got off too,” Sebastian said, taking the paper in hand and folding it up. He slipped it away into his robes. “I thought I had misplaced it somewhere and I didn’t want to have to ask the faculty for another one. But thank you for bringing it to me.” 

Matty nodded, going quiet but in the back of her mind, she was trying to press herself to ask Sebastian a question that had been on her mind since she had first looked on the schedule. She didn’t know if she was being delusional or if she had a genuine reason to wonder why Sebastian would take a class he had no interest in before this year. 

So, after a quick moment of telling herself it didn’t matter which one it was, she finally spoke up. “I looked over your schedule and I noticed you had muggle studies on there.” She spoke. “You never told me you were taking that class or had any interest in it at all.” 

The moment the words left her mouth, Sebastian’s expression changed and it began to confirm Matty’s suspicions. “Oh yes, um, I just thought maybe it’d be an interesting class to take.” Sebastian tried to reply in a nonchalant tone. 

Matty’s face broke out into a grin and she let out a small chuckle. “Sebastian, are you taking muggle studies because of me?” 

For a moment it seemed as if Sebastian was trying to come up with a response that would play off his reasoning for taking the class but then he just admitted. “Yes.” He answered. “I am taking it because of you.” 

Although she had already come to the conclusion that he was taking the class for her, hearing it out of his mouth was completely different and suddenly her heart felt full. “Sebastian, that’s probably the sweetest thing a boy has ever done for me.” She admitted. It may not mean much to others, but to Matty, Sebastian taking time out of his day to study the world she lived in just to understand it better made her almost tear up. 

In Sebastian’s mind, he was freaking out. “Is it obvious that I like her? Am I making it too obvious right now? What if that ruins things? I’m such an idiot!” were just a few of the thoughts running through his mind. 

“Oh, well that’s nice.” He said. “I mean—I’m glad that makes you uh, happy. You know I just thought it would be fair. You spent a year figuring out how everything in my world worked so I just thought it’d only be fair if I tried to find out more about yours.” He said, trailing off and getting quieter by the time he had finished talking. 

His cheeks were a bit pink and he looked embarrassed, looking away to try and hide his embarrassment from Matty.

“That didn’t make it much better, did it?” He thought to himself with an internal sigh. 

“Well, I appreciate it either way,” Matty said, now feeling a bit awkward. “It’s just nice to know someone cares, I suppose.” 

“Well of course I care. I care a lot.” Sebastian replied. “But not too much you know? Because that’d be awkward and it’d probably make things awkward between us, right?” 

Matty furrowed her brows, a confused expression coming over her face. “Right..” She said with a slow nod almost as confused as she had ever been. She just turned away a bit as an awkward feeling filled the air. 

Sebastian went silent as well, mentally cursing himself over making the situation awkward while he was desperately trying to avoid doing that In the first place. 

Esme, who had been watching the exchange from afar for quite some time, decided to walk over and try to help Sebastian out in the awkward exchange. “Hello, you two.” She said, walking down. 

Matty glanced over at Esme, an unintentional sigh of relief leaving her mouth. “Esme! It’s good to see you.” She said, truly meaning what she said. She was extremely grateful that she had shown up because she wasn’t sure how to handle the awkward situation. 

In her heart, she was a bit disappointed. From what Sebastian had said, it made her feel even further like she couldn’t express her feelings for him otherwise that’d ruin their friendship and make things “awkward.” Both sides were equally as confused as the other. 

“What are the two of you talking about?” Esme asked as if she already didn’t know. 

“Nothing.” Sebastian and Matty both replied instantaneously. Neither of them wanted to relive that awkward exchange. 

Esme pursed her lips, glancing between the two of them before speaking. “If you say so.” She replied. Then she looked over to Sebastian. “By the way, you have that Quidditch meeting with Imelda and the rest of the team this afternoon. You’re already late.” 

Sebastian’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. “You’re right!” He exclaimed, immediately getting up. The last thing he needed was Imelda scolding him for being even later than he already was. “I’m sorry Matty I completely forgot.” 

Matty couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction. “It’s okay! Now go before Imelda shouts at you.” She said, shooing him away with her hands. 

Sebastian was quick to leave after that and Esme slipped down to where Sebastian had once sat, turning her head over to Matty. “Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?” She asked her friend, shaking her head slightly. 

“Because I’m nervous,” Matty replied with a sigh. “Not even a few minutes ago he was talking about how he didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” 

“I heard the whole thing; it’s why I stepped in,” Esme stated. “Look, Matty, the only way you will ever get past this stage is if you tell him how you feel. If you don’t, you’ll never truly know if he feels the same way or if he doesn’t. Right now, all you are doing is worrying yourself over nothing.” 

Matty looked down at her feet because she knew Esme was right but in her mind, she was still so nervous about ruining the friendship she had built up with Sebastian. “I’ll think about it.” That was all she said after. 

Esme, although not completely satisfied with Matty’s response, understood why she felt the way she did. She had been in a similar situation and understood how Matty felt. But she could only hope that she didn’t run away from her feelings for too long.

Chapter Text

The Slytherin common room was peaceful. A few students sitting around reading, playing wizards chess, or just striking up some conversation with fellow students. Well, it was all peaceful until Imelda’s voice rang out through the entire common room. 

“Move it! Move it! We don’t have all day!” She called out. 

She could be seen moving the entire Slytherin quidditch team away from their dorms and towards the exit. She was wasting no time getting them all in shape for the new year of Quidditch after a year with none at all. And her main motivation? Beating Gryffindor just like Slytherin had done for the past two years before the quidditch shut down. 

“Look’s like Imelda is wasting no time,” Esme said from the couch where she was sitting with Ominis. 

As Sebastian was walking by along with the rest of the team. He turned his head towards Ominis and Esme, mouthing “Help me.” Esme started to laugh and shake her head before leaning over to Ominis to explain what Sebastian had just done, enticing a small laugh from him.

Sebastian found that Imelda’s constant push on the team to be perfect well before the season even began was his own personal hell, especially because he hated being told what to do. But at the same time, he wasn’t going to try and defy a girl who could probably give him a vicious right hook. 

Getting up at the crack of dawn to go practice hitting some flying balls around wasn’t ideal, but neither was getting punched. 

The team made their way up to the Quidditch pitch to practice and as they were passing by, they caught the eyes of Leander, Nellie, and Matty, who were walking through the flying lawn to get inside. 

“Ugh, look at them with a complete team going to practice early.” Leander scoffed, seemingly displeased with the team practicing earlier than any of the other teams. 

“What do you mean by that?” Matty asked, furrowing her brows. Did Gryffindor not have a complete Quidditch team? 

Nellie sighed. “Gryffindor doesn’t have all it’s team. And we can’t compete if we don’t have a complete team.” She stated. “Our Seeker back in fifth year was a seventh year and didn’t even get to play his last year. Now that quidditch is back on, no one wants to play the position of Seeker. They think it’s intimidating or something.” 

“Wait, so if Gryffindor doesn’t get a Seeker before the season starts, they can’t even compete?” Matty asked, having no idea that was even a rule.

Leander and Nellie both nodded their heads. “Mhm. The entire team has been searching for someone in our house to play the position but so far no one has even tried to get it.” Nellie answered. 

“Well, I hope you find someone soon. It’d be a pity if Gryffindor couldn’t compete.” Matty said simply. 

Leander and Nellie glanced between each other before both looking at Matty and then back at each other again. “You know, Matty, you could try out for the team. I’m sure you’d do great!” Nellie said, giving Matty a small nudge. 

“What? Me?” Matty asked, furrowing her brows. “I have zero experience playing Quidditch.” 

“You could learn!” Leander piped in. “It’s not too hard. Besides, you’re already good on a broom and everyone knows it. You beat Imelda in all those trials last year. You could be Gryffindor’s key to finally beating Slytherin this year!” 

Nellie nodded her head. “Gryffindor has lost to Slytherin for the past two years before Quidditch was canceled last year. We never hear the end of it and it’s absolutely killing us.” She huffed, crossing her arms. 

The rift between Slytherin and Gryffindor now seemed to be clearer but at the same time, it was a competition, it was meant to be competitive. 

Matty’s hesitancy about joining the team was still there, after all, she had never played quidditch a day in her life, only read some books where it briefly spoke about it—maybe one that went into detail. She wouldn’t want to join and let the entire team down—especially if they had high hopes of being able to finally win this year. 

“C’mon Matty, you can do it!” Leander said, shaking her a bit by her shoulder. “Everyone already knows you’re good on a broom.”

“How do you even get on the team?” Matty asked.

“It’s easy!” Nellie answered. “You just find Elliot, our team Captain. He plays as a chaser. You just find him; tell him you want to try out and you go from there. I’m sure you’ll get on the team with no problem.”

“Is it really that easy or are you just trying to sway me?” Matty asked, a tad skeptical about how “easy” this seemed. 

Nellie rolled her eyes. “Just trust me, Matty! Besides, no matter if it's difficult or not you’ll get on to the team, you’re great on a broom.” She said. “Not to mention, I’m sure Elliot wouldn’t care if you were the worst seeker in existence, we just want Gryffindor to be able to play.” 

“Might not have wanted to say that last part, Nel,” Leander whispered. 

Matty just brushed it off before letting out a breath. “Okay, I will consider talking with Elliot.” She said, not wanting to promise anything. 

“That’s good enough for me,” Nellie replied. “Anyway, Elliot is bound to be down by the pitch after school. You can meet him there and talk with him.” 

Matty nodded her head. She felt herself get a bit nervous since after all there was the pressure of two close friends wanting her to join, but she knew if she decided not to, they wouldn’t care too much. But in her mind, she was also thinking about how fun this could be. She was quite the competitive type but had never really gotten into anything as serious as this. 

But now all she had to do was wait until school ended to go find Elliot. 

*** 

After school was finished, Matty figured she should go talk to Elliot as she had concluded that maybe joining the Quidditch team would be fun. After all, without a seeker, Gryffindor couldn’t compete and she wasn’t looking forward to her house not being able to play in this year’s quidditch season after the entire season was canceled a year prior. 

She remembered Nellie telling her Elliot would most likely be down by the pitch after school so once classes were finished, she was on her way out there. 

As she made her way through the castle to the pitch, she was walking by the clock-tower courtyard when she heard some shouting and a bit of an uproar coming from inside the courtyard. Of course, being curious she went over to check it out.

A group of students came into view as if they were circling around something, all shouting over each other and Matty couldn’t make out what they were saying. She pushed through the crowd of people, trying to get a better view as to what was even happening. Eventually, through the sea of people, she saw a familiar face, Cressida. 

Now, Cressida was just about the last person Matty would expect to be in a crowd of people but she was the first person she recognized. “Cressida, what’s going on?” She asked, trying to speak above the hoard of students shouting over each other. 

“There’s a fight going on or something like that,” Cressida explained. 

Matty furrowed her brows. A fight? She had never heard of a physical fight breaking out at the school. What was going on? 

She stood up on her tip-toes and peered over some shoulders to see (unironically) a boy from Gryffindor getting into a physical altercation with a boy from Ravenclaw. Matty ducked back down to Cressida’s height after seeing this. “Why are they fighting?” She asked. 

Cressida shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea.” She replied.

“Shouldn’t we get a professor or something?” Matty tried to ask over the loud noise of all the students. Surely someone with authority would step in and stop this, right? 

The shouting got louder and louder and the crowd became more condensed before a voice rang out that silenced the crowd. “That’s enough!” The voice rang out. All the students went quiet and Matty was able to squeeze through to get a better view. 

A boy, maybe around seventeen or eighteen, pushed his way through the crowd. He was dressed in Gryffindor robes with brown hair, green eyes, and freckles dotting over his cheeks and nose. Matty had never seen him before but assumed he was someone important in the house since he was stopping the fight. 

“Both of you, knock it off.” He said in a stern tone, grabbing both of the boys by the hoods of their robes and pulling them apart. 

Matty furrowed her brows. Who was this guy? Was he a prefect? No, he seemed too old for that. Matty assumed he wasn’t the Head boy; she would know if he was. Or at least she was sure that she’d know. 

“What is this all about anyway?” The boy questioned, looking between the other two boys who had just been fighting. 

The two boys began shouting over each other, trying to make it sound like the other was in the wrong. It was utter chaos and finally, the older boy had enough of it. “Alright be quiet! The both of you!” He shouted at them. Some students exchanged glances, a few giggling at the embarrassment that was now painted across the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw boy's faces. 

“Now both of you get up to the headmaster's office and I don’t want to hear another thing about this again!” He said sternly to the both of them. 

The Gryffindor boy who was in the fight was dumbfounded that a member of his own house would send him to the headmaster's office. “But I’m in your own house, mate! You know how much trouble I’ll get into?” 

“I don’t care.” The other Gryffindor boy said. “In fact, you probably just lost Gryffindor several points thanks to you being such a buffoon.” 

He then looked over to the Ravenclaw boy. “And don’t think that Ravenclaw isn’t losing any house points either. I’ll make sure a suitable amount from both houses is taken away if the Headmaster doesn’t do it himself.” 

Both of the boys went silent before reluctantly dragging themselves out of the crowd and up to the headmaster's office. The other Gryffindor boy looked around the crowd. “All of you go back to what you were doing. Don’t encourage fighting, alright?” He said in almost a disappointed tone. 

“He’s got to be faculty or something.” Matty thought to herself. This entire display had been confusing, yet intriguing to her. 

She leaned over to Cressida, who was also watching the whole ordeal come to an end but she had quite the grin on her face. “Cressida, who is that?” She asked, trying to keep quiet. The rest of the students began to disband and go back to their day. 

“Who is that? Who is that?” Cressida asked as if it were obvious. “You don’t know who he is?” 

“Well obviously I don’t, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked,” Matty said flatly. 

Cressida chuckled. “He’s the Gryffindor Head boy, of course. Apollo Morgan. How on earth do you not know our own houses Head boy?” She asked Matty with a confused expression. It was a tad odd that one didn’t know the Head boy of their own house but at the same time, Matty was a unique student all around. 

“I hate to break it to you Cressida, but I didn’t really have much time for hellos last year and it’s barely the beginning of the new year,” Matty replied. She then fixed her eyes on Apollo. Something was different about him but she didn’t know what it was. But something about him pulled her in for some unknown reason. 

“You should go talk to him,” Cressida said with some urge in her tone. “I think you two would do quite well together.” 

The fact that Cressida was jumping to such conclusions further confused Matty and she shook her head. “I’ll pass, thank you.” She said. She had eyes for someone else already and no one could throw off that stride—even if she never admitted it. 

“I still can’t believe you don’t know him,” Cressida said in disbelief. “All the girls in Gryffindor think he’s the cutest guy in the whole school.” 

Matty furrowed her brows. “All girls is a relative term.” She said. He wasn’t an ugly boy in the slightest but Matty had her eyes on someone else anyway. “You can have him.” 

“That’s fine. Gives the rest of us a better chance anyway.” Cressida said before turning her eyes back to Apollo, who was walking away towards the direction of the headmaster's office, probably to check up on how things were going there. 

“Well, I’ll see you later,” Matty said to Cressida before turning on her heel and leaving the way she came from. She remembered she was going to go speak with Elliot about quidditch and she didn’t want to get distracted. 

Chapter Text

With the incident still on her mind, Matty made her way down to the Quidditch Pitch to go speak to Elliot. She only hoped that he would actually be down here and that this whole thing would be relatively easy. However, she had her doubts for obvious reasons. Why would no one else want to play the seeker position? Was it really that intimidating? 

Matty had read about the seeker position. Basically, all you did was chase around a golden snitch which, in theory, sounded easy but the snitch was small, fast, and you could blink and miss it. And perhaps it was the thought of letting your entire team down that made many hesitate to even think about playing the position. 

But with Leander and Nellie practically begging her to do death, it couldn’t hurt to at least see what she could be getting into, right? 

When she made it to the pitch, she saw a boy dressed in a Gryffindor Quidditch uniform down by the end of the pitch. She had seen him around with Leander, Nellie, and other members of the quidditch team so she assumed it was him. 

“Hello there, you must be Elliot, correct?” Matty asked as she walked up to him, trying to keep her tone polite. 

Elliot looked over to Matty. “Yes, I am.” He said, walking over, his broom being held in his left hand. “You must be that mystery student barely anyone saw last year, huh? I heard a lot about you but I’ve never really seen you around.” He chuckled. 

“Ha, yes um, that’s me,” Matty said with a curt nod. She knew she didn’t have time last year to really get around and make lots of friends but she had no idea other people had seen her as some “mystery” student. She wasn’t trying to hide, after all. 

“So what brings you to the Quidditch pitch?” Elliot asked, placing one hand on his hip while keeping his eyes on Matty. 

“Well, actually, Leander and Nellie convinced me to come here and talk to you,” Matty replied. “They told me Gryffindor doesn’t have a complete team and that you’re missing a seeker.” 

At the mention of the team, Elliot's face lit up. Was someone finally going to step up to the challenge? “I hope you’re here to try out.” He said. “We haven’t had much luck with even getting people to do so.” 

Matty nodded her head. “I told them I’d think about it and well—I’m here, so why not?” She replied, trying to keep herself lighthearted. 

“Perfect!” Elliot said. “Follow me.” 

He waved her over and began to walk out of the pitch. Matty looked confused but followed him anyway. Under the pitch towers, there were places you could obviously walk under in order to get on the towers to watch the game, and down there, there was a long rectangular case. Elliot grabbed the case before walking back out to the pitch, putting it down, and flicking up the clasps of the case. 

It opened up the reveal some quidditch equipment. The bludgers, the quaffle, and the snitch. “Let’s go over the basics first,” Elliot said. “This is the quaffle, you won’t have to worry about this at all. All the work is done by the Chasers—like me. Oh, and I suppose the Keeper but their job is to keep the ball out of those three hoops up there.” 

Elliot pointed up to the three metal hoops that were standing well above the pitch. “Then next up is the bludgers, and you do somewhat have to worry about these.” 

“They’re solid metal, enchanted to feel lighter sometimes but still. They have a mind of their own and have no problem coming flying at you full force.” He continued to explain. He clicked off the chains keeping the bludgers in place and picked it up like it was nothing—the bludgers were surprisingly calm. “Like I said they can either be light—,” 

He tossed the bludger over to Matty, expecting her to catch it. She barely did but then immediately she fell forward because the bludger was suddenly extremely heavy. She let out a yelp as she fell over, not expecting the ball to be this heavy. 

“Or heavy.” Elliot finished with a small chuckle. 

He helped her up and grabbed the bludger for her before swiftly placing it back into its holding place in the case before it decided it wanted to be violent. “The beaters, Nellie and Garreth, will be taking care of these as best as they can—and those two are pretty good. Just make sure you avoid the bludgers at all costs or you might end up with some serious injuries. We’ve had quite a few players inside and outside of our team end up in the hospital wing.” 

Matty furrowed her brows and in her mind was thinking “Remind me how this is safe again?” But didn’t dare say it aloud. “So, they just fly at people and the beaters have to hit them away?” She asked. “What if they hit someone in the crowd?” 

“It’s very unlikely that it would happen,” Elliot said. “If you’re quick enough you can put up a protective charm but usually the bludgers don’t go anywhere near the edge of the pitch anyway.” 

“I’ll take your word for it,” Matty said, taking his words with a grain of salt.

Elliot bent over to pick up the golden snitch, holding it with two fingers. “Now this, this is the one you’ll have to worry about.” He said, showing it to her. “No doubt you’ve seen one of these before. The easy part? All you have to do is catch it. The hard part? Same as the easy one.” 

“I suppose that’s why no one wanted to play this position?” Matty asked with a bit of a flat chuckle. In her mind, she was thinking “What am I getting myself into?”

“Yep. But I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Elliot reassured her. “Now, you want to get onto the team, all you have to do is catch this snitch. No pressure, just prove to me you can catch this in less than three hours and I’m sure we’ll be fine.” 

Matty furrowed her brows. Three hours? That was a really long time. Was he desperate for a seeker or was catching a snitch genuinely that hard? “Isn’t three hours a bit much?” 

Elliot just looked at Matty and chuckled. “Just trust me on this one, alright?” He said. He gestured for Matty to grab one of the brooms so she walked over and grabbed one and before she knew it, Elliot had already tossed the snitch up into the air and it was zipping around. He looked up at the snitch before looking at her. 

“What are you waiting for? Time’s ticking.” 

Matty quickly mounted her broom and went airborne, searching around for the snitch. On the ground, Elliot pulled out his pocket watch, marking the time.

For quite a moment, Matty couldn’t see anything but the clear sky ahead. Where in Merlin’s name had that snitch gotten off to? It wasn’t until she heard a low humming noise zip past her. Her head whipped around and the snitch was right behind her. She immediately reached out to grab it but the snitch moved so fast it practically zapped away. 

Her brows furrowed and a look of confusion came onto her face. “What the—?” 

Elliot, who was watching the entire thing from the ground just chuckled and nodded his head, knowing that Matty was about to find out just why he had given her three whole hours to catch the snitch. And he was completely willing to stay there all three hours and watch. 

As the snitch zipped by Matty, she tried to reach out faster and grab it but yet again, it zipped away faster than she could. She decided that now was the time to start putting in effort because this was going to be much more difficult than she originally thought. 

Soon, she was flying all around the pitch trying to even catch sight of this snitch. Time kept ticking off the clock and it was making her nervous. Every time she thought she was coming close to catching the snitch, it’d just fly away again before she could even process what had just happened. 

“This is getting really annoying!” Matty said loudly and frustratedly. 

Elliot heard her from the ground and laughed. “You got this!” He called out, rubbing his neck that was straining from looking up so long. 

“Do I really, Elliot? Do I really?” She huffed to herself under her breath. 

Then, as if mocking her, the snitch flew straight past her. “Sweet Merlin.” Matty groaned before going to follow the snitch. She chased it behind the pitch towers, through the hoops she barely got through without breaking something, and down to the grass of the pitch, almost slamming into it. She barely pulled up in time but quickly got herself straight again. 

“That was a close one,” Elliot said, sucking in the air between his teeth. “But that save was impressive.” 

After what felt like forever, Matty felt like giving up but she knew if Elliot hadn’t called her down yet, it meant the three hours weren’t up yet and she still had a catch the snitch.

The snitch flew behind the Hufflepuff pitch tower but this time, instead of following behind it, Matty went the other way and the snitch flew straight at her face. In a moment more of instinct than wanting to catch the cursed golden ball, Matty caught the snitch in order not to get hit in the face. 

When Matty realized what she had done and that the snitch was now in her hand, the shock came over her face. It had happened quicker than she could process it. She let out a laugh of shock before tightening her hand around the snitch and flying back down to the ground near Elliot. 

“An hour and twenty-three minutes, not bad,” Elliot said looking down at his watch. 

“An hour and twenty-three minutes!?” Matty exclaimed. It felt longer than that but a part of her also felt as if she should’ve done it in less. “Well, at least it wasn’t close to three.” She said with a slight chuckle. 

She tossed the snitch back to Elliot and he caught it before putting it back into its case, closing it, and flicking the clasps down again. He then looked up at Matty with a small smile. “Welcome to the team.” 

“Wait, really?’ Matty asked. “That’s all I had to do? I thought that was a pretty poor show—,” 

Elliot just chuckled again. “Trust me, an hour and twenty minutes is pretty decent, especially for your first time.” He replied. “Quidditch games don’t stop unless the snitch is caught and while it's preferable to not be there for several hours, you’re up there trying your best and the fact that you didn’t quit was enough to tell me you’re right for the team.” 

A grin broke out on Matty’s face and then she smiled. “Thank you so much, Elliot.” She said, feeling proud of herself.  

“Of course, now get out of here. You have better places to be than still at this pitch. I’m sure you’re tired of it already.” Elliot smiled. 

*** 

Nellie, Leander, Garreth, and a few other Gryffindors were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall upholding some decently normal conversation. They had all been waiting to hear if Matty had even decided to try out for the team in the first place since after all she had promised to consider it—not actually try out. 

Matty walked into the Great Hall and straightaway walked towards the Gryffindor table. “Gryffindor has just found itself a new seeker.” She said, coming up behind them. 

Nellie, instantly hearing Matty’s voice, turned around. “Did you make it?” She asked, her face immediately lighting up. 

“What do you think?” Matty laughed, sitting down beside her. “I just came back from the pitch. Elliot says I’m on the team.” 

“YES!” Garreth shouted a little bit louder than expected. Everyone’s head in the room turned towards him. He looked around embarrassed before chuckling nervously. “Heh, sorry about that.” 

“Finally, Gryffindor has a full team. I was beginning to worry we wouldn’t be able to compete.” Leander piped in. 

Nellie nodded her head. “You’re really saving us here Matty, per usual.” She joked, giving Matty a playful nudge. “Practices are usually every day after school unless Elliot says otherwise. And you’ll have to meet the rest of the team, of course.” 

“Who’s on the team besides the three of you and Elliot?” Matty asked. Last year, quidditch was only spoken about because of how it was cancelled and so she had never gotten the opportunity to meet many of the players. 

“Brenda Milton is a chaser alongside Leander and Elliot, then there’s Micah Lewis, he’s our Keeper. Generally a quiet guy but he’s good at what he does.” Nellie explained. “I think you’ll fit right in with the rest of the team. Besides, you’re already good friends with half of us. Now all you have to do is learn how to work with everyone as a team, it simple.” 

“I think it’s easier said than done.” Matty chuckled. “But I appreciate all of you supporting me, it definitely helped. 

“I’m just excited to get out there again,” Leander said. “Such a shame Black canceled quidditch last year. We can’t let anything like that happen again otherwise I think the entire school would turn on him.” 

“Doesn’t sound too bad to be completely honest,” Garreth mumbled. 

Matty nodded her head. “I agree with Garreth.” She stated. “But it’ll be fine. Gryffindor can compete now and I’m going to try my best. And if Black tries to—for whatever reason—cancel quidditch again well we’ll just have to keep playing anyway.” 

“I like the sound of that.” Nellie grinned. 

Perhaps it was the desperation to get out on the field again, or the teenage want to overthrow ridiculous adult rulings—but either way, all of them were determined to have this quidditch season make up for the last year. 

Chapter Text

Sebastian couldn’t sleep, he had no idea why. To be completely honest he had been barely getting any sleep for the past several weeks—maybe even months. He wasn’t sure, he had lost count. He had been kept up by his train of thought or the constant nightmares he’d have. 

The nightmares are always the same—or rather, they all have things in common. Like wanting to torment him with the worst possible thoughts imaginable. 

Soon after Solomon died, the nightmares were always about him. About how Sebastian had killed him and how he’d never be forgiven and to be honest, he believed it. Solomon may have attacked them; Sebastian may have been defending himself and Matty but he felt like there was no time for him to be forgiven for what he had done. 

After Anne left, the nightmares were always about her. About her dying because of the retched curse that ailed her. They were about her shutting him out because of what he had done to their uncle, saying she’d never forgive him. And she always died alone. 

After school ended and Matty returned to her home, the nightmares were always about her. They were always about her dying in battle, dying in his arms, horrible things. And no matter what he could never get the nightmares to go away. 

And soon, his nightmares became a mix of the three. It was just constant torment. Sebastian tried everything. From sleeping draught to spending hours trying to find something that would at least give him a night of good rest. He figured he should tell Nurse Blainey about that soon but he felt like a burden and kept to himself.

The nightmares had slowed down since Sebastian had returned to school but he was still finding it hard to deal with everything—all of the change in his life. Although he couldn’t say that some of it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t control whether Anne had left home, but his only hope was that she was still alive and well. Ominis updated him about her sometimes and as far as he knew, she was still alive. 

It pained him to even think that he had to worry about if his own twin was alive or not but he supposed there are some things you can’t control in this life. 

Knowing that he’d be spending the rest of his night staring up at the top of his bed, he decided to get up and wander for a while. Sebastian did this more often than one would think but it helped him clear his head. He quietly got out of bed, making sure not to wake up Ominis and Thomas—but more so Ominis. His hearing was sharper than one would expect. 

As he left his dorm seemingly successful in my endeavor to not wake either of my friends up, he made my way to the spiral stairs of the Slytherin common room. It was always so dark at night, that the candles barely lit anything up.

Sebastian left the common room and began to wander around the castle for quite some time before finding myself near the library. He figured since Madam Scribner wasn’t around, I’d go down into the Restricted Section. More often than not, Sebastian was down there just to be alone. He had already gone through almost every book down there so it was almost useless to him except for a place to be alone. 

No ghosts were lurking around like usual and he didn’t need to sneak around at all, it was just me freely walking through wherever he wanted. 

He picked up a random book from the shelf and sat down against the wall before opening it up. He was reading the words but wasn’t really putting much interest in it. The book was something on herbology—but he couldn’t quite remember what about. 

Suddenly Sebastian could hear footsteps just a few feet away from me and he bolted up. The book was forgotten quickly and he ducked behind a bookshelf. It was the dead of night, who on earth would be down here? 

“Sebastian, it’s just me.” Ominis’ voice said. 

Sebastian let out a sigh of relief and walked out from behind the bookshelf. “What are you doing here?” He asked him. “I thought you were asleep.” 

“I heard you leaving the dorm and decided to follow you,” Ominis replied simply. “I didn’t know if you were getting up to go off and get into trouble. Which, you’re in the Restricted Section right now so I don’t think I was entirely wrong.” 

Sebastian leaned against the bookshelf he had once been hiding behind. “Well luckily for you I didn’t plan on using anything I found in here for trouble. I guess I just wanted to be alone to clear my head.” 

There was a vast amount of silence between the two boys. Dead silence—as if neither of them knew what to say next. Or they were contemplating it. 

Then, Ominis broke the silence. “Why are you even awake?” 

“I can’t sleep,” Sebastian admitted. “I haven’t been able to sleep much for the past several months. What’s new? I wrote about it to you, figured you would’ve known it’s not just going to magically disappear the moment I attend school.” 

“Why haven’t you been sleeping?” 

“The nightmares.” 

“What nightmares?” 

Sebastian let out a huff. “We’re not playing twenty questions here, Ominis. It’s late and I’d rather not talk about this right now.” He said in a sour tone, crossing his arms. 

“Well neither of us are leaving this room until we talk about it,” Ominis said, not letting Sebastian simply cast aside his problems like he had been doing for months. He vaguely remembered Sebastian mentioning nightmares but he never went into detail about them, or that they kept him restless. “So get to talking otherwise we’ll be here until Madam Scribner catches us.” 

Sebastian just stared at Ominis for quite a bit, like a stubborn child not wanting to admit to his parents that he had broken something. When he realized Ominis wasn’t going to let up, he sighed reluctantly and began to speak. 

“The nightmares—they’re about Solomon, about Anne, and Matty. It’s horrible.” He admitted. “Some were even about you but they weren’t as common. Every time I’m being condemned, someone I care about is dying in my arms or in the cruelest way possible. I can’t take it anymore Ominis. It’s been nonstop for months and I’m beginning to lose my mind.” 

Ominis furrowed his brows. He assumed nightmares would come naturally after the events that had taken place last year but he never expected them to be this bad. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or Esme? Or anyone, really?” 

“I did—or I tried.” Sebastian sighed. “It’s not easy. I’m not exactly the kind to go talk about my feelings all the time. I try to say things subtly but I suppose that hasn’t really been helping me out much, has it?” 

“Does Matty know about this?” Ominis questioned. 

Sebastian shook his head. “No. She’s the last person I would want to know about this.” He answered. When he saw Ominis look even more confused, he figured he’d need to explain. “She cares a lot about me. She’ll worry herself half to death of it, that’s why. Not because I don’t trust her or anything, but because I do trust her a lot. I just don’t want to hurt her.” 

“Well Matty aside, you can’t just expect to get better without any help, Sebastian,” Ominis said, his tone getting stern. “It won’t just go away one day and in fact, it’ll get worse if you don’t try to get rid of it.” 

“I just don’t know how, okay?” Sebastian exclaimed harsher than he intended. “I—It feels like I don’t know how to deal with anything anymore, Ominis. So much has changed. I’m a sixteen-year-old boy living alone, lying to people about it so I don’t get put away in some boy's home. Pretending every day that I didn’t kill my uncle and drive my sister away.”

Ominis went silent. Sebastian was right. He had done all those things and had to lie about it if he didn’t want to end up in Azkaban. He then walked over to where Sebastian was sitting and sat down behind him. 

“I know what change is like.” He started off, keeping his tone calm. He understood that Sebastian was still going through a rough patch and needed a friend who was just there for him. “I know what it’s like to feel like you have no one. But it doesn’t get better until you realize you need help.” 

“When I decided to try and stay away from my home as much as possible, it was hard. Merlin knows my family tried to drag me back a thousand times. But when it was hard for me, you and Anne were there. And I remember the one thing you always tried to convince me to do was be open—to talk about how I felt and not ignore how badly I was hurting. It still hurts but I’m better now. So, I’ll now advise you to do the same.” 

Sebastian went silent after Ominis spoke. He did indeed remember telling Ominis that and he realized he needed to take his own advice. Although it was easier said than done, Ominis was right. 

His head fell against the bookshelf and he sighed. He knew his friend was right. “I’ll try my best.” He replied simply. 

“That’s all I need to hear,” Ominis said, patting Sebastian’s shoulder. “Now I have no idea what time it is, but I figure we need to get out of here before someone catches us down here and we get stuck in detention for the next week.” 

Sebastian nodded and the two stood up, making their way out of the Restricted Section. Sebastian could see the very slight sunrise through the window and was suddenly grateful Ominis had suggested they leave. Madam Scribner always showed up to the library early to get things in order and had made it a habit to check the Restricted Section every now and then because of students like Sebastian sneaking in all the time. 

Returning to their dorm room, Sebastian got back in bed and tried to get some sleep in the short time he had left before he’d have to get up for school. Hoping that blissful sleep would overtake him and give him some peace. 

***

Later that day, Sebastian was in the library, one book tucked under his arm as he was intently gazing over a few on a shelf in front of him. He figured with the extra time in his day he’d take some time to read something he hadn’t before but finding a book like that was quite hard for an advent book reader like him.

Matty, who had been looking for him to tell him the good news about her making it onto the quidditch team, came around the corner. “Oh! Sebastian, there you are.” She said, trying to keep her tone down. 

“Matty,” Sebastian said, giving her a small smile as he looked at her. “What brings you here?” 

“I have some news,” Matty replied, walking over to him. “Leander and Nellie somehow convinced me to try out for the Gryffindor quidditch team and well—I made it!” 

Sebastian looked surprised for a moment. Not surprised that she would get onto the quidditch team but that she’d even be interested in playing in the first place. In a part of his mind, it made sense but the other part just was a bit surprised. “Really? Congratulations. That’s amazing!” 

“Yeah, it was quicker than I expected but I’m actually quite excited!” Matty replied. “My only problem is that I don’t know one hundred percent of what I’m supposed to be doing and I’m nervous I’ll let the team down.” 

Sebastian pursed his lips for a moment, thinking. He remembered feeling the same way when he joined the Quidditch team back in his third year. But now they were in a library and he knew exactly how to help her out. “Here, follow me.” He said, waving her along. 

Matty followed him, regardless of having no idea what he was doing. He led her over to a bookshelf and looked over it for a moment intently. “Ah, here we are.” He said, picking up a book before walking over and placing it down on a table, opening it up. 

“This book should tell you all you need to know.” He said, looking up at her. “I read it when I joined the Slytherin team three years ago. It really helped.” 

“Reading and playing are two different things, Sebastian.” Matty chuckled. “I don’t even know what a Quidditch game is supposed to look like.” 

Sebastian flipped a few pages before he found what he was looking for. “We’ll you’re in luck because this book has moving illustrations. Nothing too detailed but it’ll help give you a feel for what it’s supposed to look like.” He said, pointing to the moving illustration of a chaser throwing the quaffle into the hoop. 

“Oh, well that’s convenient,” Matty said, not expecting that to be in the book. 

“Now that you’re on the team, I suppose that means we’re rivals now, huh?” Sebastian asked, leaning over the table towards her with a grin. 

Matty shook her head. “Our teams are rivals.” She corrected. “Imelda is apparently supposed to be my rival so that space is already filled. Sorry. Perhaps you can stick to being Leander’s rival.” 

Sebastian scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Prewett isn’t my rival.” He huffed. “Rivals are supposed to be on level and I’d blow him out of the water any day. On a broom or in a duel. At least you give me a challenge.”  

Matty rolled her eyes. “I suppose that just makes me the most desirable rival in the whole school, huh?” She joked sarcastically. She picked up the book Sebastian had shown her so that she could read it later. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hope waving her over. The two of them had made plans together prior to Matty coming into the library to find Sebastian. “I have to go, I’ll see you later, Sebastian.” She said to him. 

Sebastian nodded but then he remembered the words Ominis had said to him earlier. “Wait, Matty, I wanted to tell you something—,” He started but froze when she stopped and turned around. 

“Yes?” Matty asked. “What is it?” 

He stared at her like he had just gotten caught and his mind went blank. He glanced over at Hope, who was waiting for Matty and then just shook his head. “Never mind, I’ll you later. Hope’s waiting for you.” He said, backtracking. 

“Are you sure? I have a minute.” Matty said, her eyes searching him for an answer. 

He nodded his head. “Yeah, yeah go. It’s fine.” He said, trying to seem casual and brush it off. Matty stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding her head, bidding him goodbye, and heading off to go with Hope. 

Sebastian sighed as he watched her go, shaking his head. “I have to find a time to tell her.” He said, internally beating himself up. He had a lot of things to confess to her. How he had been feeling over the summer, his feelings for her, and a lot more but he never knew when any of them would come to light. 

When would the time be right? That’s all he desperately wanted to know. 

Chapter Text

A few days had passed and it was now September seventeenth. Sebastian was fast asleep in his bed for what felt like the first time in forever but was slowly awoken by a rustling sound. It sounded like someone was getting dressed—so it was probably Ominis or Thomas. He was going to roll over and just go back to sleep, but he soon realized that if Ominis and Thomas were getting up—he definitely needed to get up if he didn’t want to be late for any classes. 

He lifted his head groggily to see that Thomas and Ominis were indeed awake. Thomas was fixing himself up in the mirror and Ominis was on the opposite side of their dorm, slipping his school robes on. 

“Oh shoot, I think we woke him up,” Thomas said, looking at the now-awake Sebastian. “Either way, happy birthday mate.” 

Sebastian furrowed his brows. “Huh?” he asked, rubbing the slip from his eyes. He couldn’t tell if he was just disoriented or if Thomas was telling the truth. 

“What do you mean “huh?” Thomas asked with a small chuckle. “It’s September seventeenth. I would’ve thought you of all people would remember your birthday.” 

“We were going to let you sleep in, but I suppose you woke yourself up,” Ominis said, smoothing out his robes. “Nonetheless, happy belated birthday, Sebastian.” 

Thomas turned away from the mirror with a small chuckle. “I can’t believe you forgot about your own birthday.” He laughed jokingly. It wasn’t a hard one to remember. It was only seventeen days after they started school. 

“Yes well, I forgot. It’s not the most important thing in the world.” Sebastian grumbled, trying to pull himself from the drowsiness he was still feeling. It wasn’t just his birthday, it was Anne’s too, but she wasn’t there.

How he remembered every year was that he would wake up to Anne banging on the door to his dormitory, yelling at him to wake up. Then when he would pull himself out of bed and open the door, she’d hug him and tell him happy birthday—and then vice versa. 

And when his parents were still alive, he and Anne shared a room so she would get up and jump on his bed shouting “Happy Birthday!” until he would wake up—in turn waking up their parents from the shouting as well. But this year Anne wasn’t there. 

Last year, Sebastian had somehow managed to stay sane staying overnight at Solomon’s home in Feldcroft just so that he could spend time with Anne on their birthday. It wasn’t ideal, but he wanted to make sure Anne knew he still cared. 

What was once a joyful day he could spend with his twin; was now just a painful reminder that his sister wasn’t around anymore. He hoped he’d at least get a letter from her sometime soon telling him that she was okay. 

Knowing that he was just wasting time in bed, he pulled himself out of the comfort of his bed and dressed himself in his school uniform. He tried his best to tame his bedhead—it was horrible every morning that he woke up. Mostly from all the tossing and turning. 

After he deemed himself suitable to leave his dorm, he, Ominis, and Thomas left their dormitory out to the Slytherin common room. As they made their way to the stairs, there were a few “Happy birthday” comments made towards Sebastian, which he just replied to with a simple “Thank you”. And honestly, he was quite surprised that his fellow students had even remembered his birthday, seeming how he, himself had forgotten about it completely. 

The three boys made their way up the spiral stairs before the common room door opened. The moment Sebastian stepped out; he was met with a giant hug. He stumbled back a few paces, not at all expecting anything that had just happened. 

He quickly realized it was Matty, who had been waiting for him to wake up practically the entire morning. “Happy birthday, Sebastian!” she exclaimed, squeezing him tighter. 

He reciprocated the hug, wrapping his arms back around her. “Thank you, Matty.” He replied. “I had no idea you were waiting out here. It was definitely a surprise—but a welcome one at that.” 

Ominis and Thomas chuckled as they slipped by the two. Matty had a big smile on her face as she looked up at Sebastian, just barely pulling away from the tight hug she had him in. She and Sebastian had barely been friends by the time his birthday had rolled around last year—so this year she was overjoyed to be able to celebrate it with him. And perhaps she was even more excited about it than he was. 

As they hugged, Sebastian could see some of the Slytherin students eyeing Matty as they walked past. Not only was she a Gryffindor, but knowing her blood status they wanted her nowhere near their common room. It was almost unheard of for anyone else besides a Slytherin to come down here anyway. Thomas—who was a Muggleborn, knew how some of his fellow Slytherin students thought about him but couldn’t care less about what they thought. But he also noticed the looks they were giving Matty. 

Sebastian just tightened his arms around Matty—trying to ignore their gazes that were full of ignorance. Matty, who was blissfully unaware of the looks she was getting, was just glad Sebastian seemed so invested in their hug. 

“Sooo, how do you feel?” she asked with a grin. “And what do you want to do? After school, of course.” 

“Well, I’m sure he would’ve had many more ideas if he had even remembered it was his birthday today,” Thomas interjected. It didn’t seem like he was going to let Sebastian forget about that anytime soon. 

Matty looked from Thomas to Sebastian in shock. “What? You forgot your own birthday!?” she exclaimed, seemingly in disbelief. “How does one even do that? It’s one of the most important days of the year for you!” 

“It just didn’t cross my mind, that’s all,” Sebastian said with a simple shrug. Although Matty’s excitement and confusion did amuse him quite a bit. 

Matty raised a brow at him before just shrugging her shoulders and pulling completely away from the hug. “Okay, well Esme is waiting for you in the Great Hall. And if you don’t want to miss breakfast, we should go right now.” 

Sebastian nodded his head, and then he and Matty followed Ominis and Thomas by a few paces as they made their way to the lower grand staircase. The Great Hall was a bit of a walk away from most of the common rooms, but it made for good conversation as they were walking. 

Most of the way there, Matty was naming off all these ideas for Sebastian to do on his birthday. Sebastian wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying, more paying attention to the way she looked. She seemed so concentrated on trying to give him ideas and making him feel special on his birthday. 

To be completely honest, Sebastian couldn’t care less about the way he spent his birthday—as long as Matty was there. She had brought more joy to him in the past year than anyone else and he was desperate just to find a way to tell her. 

As they made their way into the Great Hall, Matty went straight to the Slytherin table. She had already eaten and thought that just for today, it didn’t really matter if she sat at her house table or not. 

When they were seated, Esme came up behind Sebastian, ruffling his hair and giving him a kiss on the cheek as a friendly gesture. “Happy birthday, Sebastian.” She said, before sitting down next to Ominis at the table. 

“Thank you, Esme,” Sebastian said. 

“How does it feel to be old now?” Esme asked immediately afterward. Sebastian had expected this question to come from her. She asked something along those lines every year—just to tease him. 

“Well, if my bones break when I stand up, I’ll give you your answer,” Sebastian replied to her after rolling his eyes. 

Sebastian and Anne’s birthday was the first of the year at the school, making them the oldest in their year. And every year, someone called Sebastian old just because he was the older twin. It was practically tradition at this point.

Matty giggled a bit at Esme’s comment, but her giggling was soon cut short when Sebastian looked at her and said. “At least I don’t have to wait till the end of the school year to get any older.” He grinned at her. 

It was a small, playful jab at her laughing at him since for some unknown reason, Matty was embarrassed about being one of the younger ones in their year. It didn’t matter much; they were all the same age within a few months of each other. 

“It’s not my fault that my parents were married in July!” Matty exclaimed. 

The entire table busted out laughing at Matty’s comment about her parents and she just crossed her arms—but still laughing a bit herself. Even a few other students sitting at the three other tables couldn’t help but chuckle a bit after they heard her. 

***

After school (it was a Thursday after all), they decided to go down to Hogsmeade and to the Three Broomsticks to celebrate Sebastian’s birthday. When they arrived and were seated, Sirona came up to the table to wish Sebastian a happy birthday—then proceeded to tell everyone about how hard of a worker he was over the summer. Sebastian sat there embarrassed, not knowing how to take a compliment while Matty just grinned at him. 

They all sat there and had some lively conversation. After a few hours, when they realized it was getting decently late, they decided it’d be best if they started to head back to the castle before it was too dark. 

When they arrived back at the castle, Sebastian stopped Matty before she could go anywhere else. “I know this is an—odd request, and I hope it’s not too late. But I needed to go by Feldcroft to get a few things and I hoped you could accompany me?” he asked in a slightly nervous tone. 

He thought that maybe she’d say no because it was late, but Matty was just happy to accompany him. “Of course! Why didn’t you ask earlier?” 

Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I—It doesn’t matter. We should probably get going then, shouldn’t we?” he asked, hoping to cover up his embarrassment with the urgency to leave before they were out way past curfew. 

Matty nodded and the two used the floo system to get to Feldcroft faster. Matty had no idea why Sebastian wanted to go to Feldcroft, especially at such an hour, but she was just happy to accompany him, especially not wanting him to be alone so late. 

They made their way into the old cottage at Feldcroft and Matty was quite surprised to see how good it looked. Over the summer, Sebastian had rearranged a few things to his liking—it made it feel more like a home than when Solomon was still alive and living there. It definitely went to show that Sebastian had cared more about it then when Solomon was around. 

Whether it was because felt like it or simply because he was looking for something to do. But it helped the old cottage feel a bit more like home. 

“I did some work on it over the summer—mostly just to keep busy,” Sebastian said, stepping into the cottage. “There were a lot of minor problems Solomon had refused to fix so I took it upon myself to do it. Not to mention a few other things.”

He walked over to the fireplace, lighting it to give the cottage some light. Immediately, the fire lit up and made it much easier to see. 

“I can tell,” Matty said, looking around. “But it looks good, I like it.” 

Sebastian smiled at her before walking to the foot of an old bed and opening up the case of luggage there. It had an assortment of things, mostly photos. “I meant to grab these months ago, but I mostly asked you to come with me so I could show you these.” 

Matty chuckled before walking over and sitting down by Sebastian on the floor. She assumed these photos were the ones Sebastian and Anne were able to get from their home before having to leave and come live with Solomon and well—that man was definitely keen on not having any pictures up in his home since the walls were completely bare. 

Sebastian sifted through a few of the photos before finding the one he was looking for. It was a picture of him and Anne when they were maybe around six years old. “This was from mine and Anne’s sixth birthday. The last one we spent with our parents.” Sebastian said, looking at the old, scratchy photo. 

He couldn’t believe he had already gone through ten birthdays without his parents. They had never felt the same since their death. 

Matty looked at the photo and smiled. “You were so cute.” She chuckled, looking at the small, freckled boy in the photo. Young Sebastian had the biggest smile on his face, next to his sister, who shared the same smile. 

She could tell the two other people in the photo were his parents—she had seen a photo of them before. But there was another man in the photo she didn’t recognize. It definitely wasn’t Solomon and in fact, the man looked more like Sebastian’s mother than his father. 

“Who is that?” She asked, pointing to the man in the photo. 

“Oh, that’s my uncle,” Sebastian replied. 

“You have more family outside of Solomon?” Matty asked, completely confused. If he did, why hadn’t he and Anne gone with them? Why had they been subjected to living with an abusive man for so long?

Sebastian nodded his head. “He was an uncle on my mother’s side. It was just my father and Solomon on his side, but on my mother’s—she had a brother and a sister.” He answered. “None of them are alive anymore. This uncle is the whole reason why I can even see Thestrals—not my parents. It was a terrible accident, but I don’t remember it quite well.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Matty said, gently placing her hand on top of his. “What about your aunt?” 

Sebastian let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “She was estranged—I never met her. Mum always told me her sister never got along with the rest of the family and left when she was eighteen. I never really knew what happened to her. Solomon told me she died of dragon pox when I was thirteen, but I never heard it from a reliable source.” 

“Sometimes I think he told me that so I wouldn’t go looking for her.” He continued. “When I was thirteen, I began to rebel against the abuse, and I threatened to leave a few times and find her. So, there’s a possibility Solomon lied to me about it for that reason—or maybe she really is dead. I wouldn’t really be surprised either way.” 

The way Sebastian was talking about his family in such a grim way made Matty’s heart hurt. He really didn’t have any family left. Anne was alive but not around anymore and every other family member was dead. 

This was something Matty had never really experienced before. She had lost her grandfather, Matthew, whom she was named after, but that was before she was born. The only other family death she had experienced was a cousin several years older than her that had been lost at sea when she was very young. Professor Fig had been the hardest loss she had ever gone through, and she still wasn’t sure how to handle it. 

But one thing she did know for sure was that Sebastian needed someone to be there for him. He obviously had wanted her there for a reason. 

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that. I can’t imagine what it was like,” she said, squeezing his hand. “

“It’s alright,” Sebastian replied. “I’m just glad you’re here. Sometimes it’s just nice to talk about these kinds of things.” 

He then stood up, holding his hand out for Matty to take. She took it and stood up with him. She was a bit confused as to why he was leading her outside but knew he had a reason. “There’s something else I want to show you.” He said. 

He led her to a small shed-like place away from the cottage. He opened the door and stepped into the tiny, cramped place. “I used to sleep here whenever I got into arguments with Solomon.” He chuckled. There were letters, books, and old candles strewn about the small place. “I always kept the more important things in here.” 

He reached under a small shelf and pulled out an old photograph of his parents when they were young—just about his age. “This was my parents in school when they were my age. My dad kept it in an envelope and told me and Anne to wait till we were seventeen to open it, but I got curious when I found it and decided not to wait.” He chuckled. “So, I figured now that I’m seventeen but have already looked at it—I would show it to you.” 

Matty looked a bit surprised but took the old photograph into her hands with great care, studying it over intently. As she did, she saw a lot of Sebastian and Anne in their parents. Sebastian definitely took after his father but had his mother’s freckles and Anne seemed to be a good mix of both of their parents.  

“Your mother was beautiful.” She said, looking at Sebastian’s young mother in the photo. 

“She was,” Sebastian said, nodding his head. “And my father never forgot to tell her that every day. They were practically the perfect couple—but perhaps I’m just biased.” He chuckled. 

“They seemed wonderful,” Matty said, handing the photo back to Sebastian. A part of her ached to know that Sebastian had such great parents but had lost them so young. She would be devastated if it ever happened to her parents. 

Sebastian nodded his head. “They are the reason why I believe in love. And the reason why I always wanted to have my own family someday.” He said, his eyes flickering up to Matty. “You know, one day, settle down with the woman I love and have kids.” 

His gaze on Matty seemed to keep up and thick tension filled the air as Matty stared back at him. The two of them instinctively leaned closer to each other and for a moment it seemed as if they were going to kiss but at the last moment, Sebastian second-guessed himself and pulled away, embarrassed. 

He played it off, clearing his throat. “It’s uh—it’s late, we should be heading back to the castle now.” He said, looking away. 

Matty nodded, swallowing hard. The tension in the air was then replaced by an awkward air of silence and both of them were internally beating themselves up for what they were about to do. “That was beyond embarrassing.” Matty thought to herself. Her cheeks were still burning but now mostly out of embarrassment. 

They then quickly left the shed and made their way to the floo system, desperate to shake away the embarrassment of the situation. 

*** 

When they returned to the castle, it was late, and no one was around. Sebastian decided to walk Matty up to the entrance of her common room to ensure that she got up there safely. But before she entered, she turned to him. 

“Thank you for walking me back, Sebastian.” She said, giving him a subtle smile. “And thank you for showing me all those photographs, I really enjoyed it.” 

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek—a vast contrast from the kiss they almost shared earlier. “Happy birthday. And good night.” She then turned and entered the common room and the portrait to it shut. 

Sebastian watched her go with his hands in his pockets. “Maybe next year.” He sighed to himself before turning on his heel and walking away from the Gryffindor common room. 

Chapter Text

The morning had no time to be peaceful and every student was all abuzz. Why, you may ask? Today was the date of the first Quidditch game of the season. And after last season was canceled, everyone was excited to see the players get back into action and have a great season. 

The only problem was that Gryffindor was playing the first game of the year against Ravenclaw. Which wouldn’t seem like a big deal—Ravenclaw students prided themselves more on their academics rather than their athletic abilities. But the problem was, out of all the Quidditch teams, Gryffindor had the least amount of time to practice due to just recently getting a full team when Matty was put on as the team’s seeker. 

“Pretty scummy of them to schedule us first when we’ve had the least amount of time to practice,” Leander grumbled as he walked down the hall towards the Great Hall with Nellie, Garreth, Matty, and one of the team’s chasers, Brenda. 

“Lighten up. At least we get to play.” Brenda said back to him. She was not a girl to deal with insufferable complaining, no matter how justifiable it was. 

“I just hope we’re ready,” Matty said in a concerned tone. She had had less than two weeks to practice, and it had been pretty rough. She had indeed been improving but she was her own best critic, and she was beginning to second-guess herself. 

Nellie looked at Matty. “Of course, we’re ready!” She exclaimed. 

Out of all of them, Nellie had probably been the most enthusiastic about this already rough season. It was good to have someone on the team like that. Matty cleared her throat. “Let me rephrase that.” She said. “I hope I’m ready.” 

Nellie rolled her eyes. “Oh, knock it off, Matty. Of course, you’re ready!” She stated. “We’ve seen you out there on the field. Sure, it’s different than actually playing in a real game but I’m sure there won’t be any problems. Keep your head high.”

The five friends entered the Great Hall and made their way over to the Gryffindor table. As they passed the Slytherin table, they could hear some of the students make some jeering comments. Some Slytherin students didn’t care who Gryffindor was playing against, all they cared about was if Gryffindor lost. 

“Just ignore them, they do that every year,” Garreth said when he saw Matty look at the Slytherin table with some concern in her eyes. 

A few laughs came from the Ravenclaw table since they were the opposing team of the day. The only table that was silent was the Hufflepuff one—excluding a few students who wished them good luck, which made Matty feel better. 

“Goodness, who knew the competition was so high,” Matty said as she took a seat. 

“It’s like that every year. You get used to it.” Brenda said with a small shrug. “Those Slytherins just want to see us lose. Every time Gryffindor wins a match, they practically rage over it.” 

“Some of those Slytherins.” Matty corrected. 

She didn’t even think about what she was going to say before she had said it. It had sort of just slipped out. Brenda raised a brow at Matty. “Matty, might I remind you that your little boy crush is on our rival team and has relished the downfall of us every year before you showed up?” 

“He’s not my crush.” Matty retorted, even though it was a huge lie, and they all knew it. 

The memory of her almost kissing Sebastian in Feldcroft flashed through her mind and she tried to push it away since it was a pretty big and clear answer that she did in fact like him. 

Brenda snorted and rolled her eyes. “Stop lying to yourself, Matty. It’s not healthy.” She said in a half-sarcastic tone. “It’s not like you liking him is a bad thing, anyway. Just don’t let it get in the way of you playing when we eventually do play against Slytherin.” 

“Alright everyone, settle down,” Elliot said as he walked over to the table. He was already wearing his Quidditch robes, clearly ready to take on the day. He fixed his glasses and looked over the table where the entire team was sitting. 

Micah quickly scurried over to be with the rest of the team, having walked in late. “First game of the season, tensions are high, and our entire house is depending on us.” He started. “But not to worry, if we play well and correctly as a team—we’ll sack Ravenclaw in no time.” 

A few cheers came from the Gryffindor table and Matty couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the cheesiness of the inspirational speech, but she was extremely grateful that Elliot cared so much about the team. He had already been an amazing and patient captain—especially since she was new to everything. 

Hope came walking over to the Gryffindor table, specifically right behind Matty. “How are you feeling?” she asked in a low tone, knowing her best friend was probably feeling very nervous right now. 

“Nervous,” Matty whispered back. “But eager, nonetheless.” 

Hope nodded and patted Matty’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, you got this.” She said, giving her shoulders a small squeeze. “Besides, Aaron’s not on the team anymore which means I’ll be rooting for Gryffindor the entire time.” 

“Wouldn’t you already be rooting for Gryffindor the entire time even if Aaron was still on the Ravenclaw team?” Matty asked in a bit of an amused tone. 

“Yeah,” Hope replied simply then she let out a small laugh. “I even rooted for Slytherin over Ravenclaw one time just to spite him.” 

“Traitor!” Garreth called out. 

Hope rolled her eyes and leaned over, flicking Garreth in the ear. “Hush it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I was just joking,” Garreth mumbled, rubbing his ear where Hope had just flicked it. 

“I’ll see you all at the match,” Hope said, giving Matty one last pat on the shoulder. As she moved back to the Hufflepuff table she gave Garreth an “apology” kiss on his ear and then sat down with her friends from her house. 

*** 

The school day had passed, and it was now time for the Quidditch game everyone had been waiting for. Everyone had already made their way up to the pitch, taking a seat in their assigned places. Matty was under the pitch getting suited up in her gear before the game. As she was getting ready, she heard footsteps behind her. 

Thinking it was just one of her teammates she didn’t put much thought into it until she heard Sebastian’s voice. “Nervous?” He asked. 

She turned around, realizing it was him. “A bit.” She breathed out. “But I’m sure they’ll pass when I get out there.” 

“You’re going to do great,” Sebastian assured her while walking up to her. He saw Matty struggling to get her left glove on, so he put his hand out, requesting to help her. Matty tried to get it on herself for a moment longer before reluctantly passing the glove over to Sebastian to help her. 

Sebastian let out a chuckle before helping her get the glove on. “You’ll do great, I promise. Just get out there and play, just how you practiced.” He said. “I’ve seen you out there in practice. You’ll be a force to reckon with once that adrenaline hits.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that.” Matty chuckled. “But I’m grateful you think that nonetheless.”

“Matty, time to go,” Leander called out from right behind the pitch curtain. 

Matty and Sebastian both looked at the pitch curtain before looking at each other. “Time for me to go.” She said, grabbing her broom from beside her. 

“I wish you the best of luck. I’ll be watching you up there and rooting you on.” Sebastian said, watching her begin to walk towards the curtain. “You’re too kind, love.” Matty grinned before walking out. 

The entire Gryffindor team was sitting up at the top of their pitch, making sure everything was set for the game. Checking brooms, gear, and more. Matty was standing at the edge, looking over the pitch at all the students. It was honestly quite a sight to see. 

Elliot came walking over to Matty, who was standing out at the edge watching everyone cheer and scream even before the game. Elliot pointed to a boy in Ravenclaw quidditch gear down on the field already. “See that boy? That’s Grant Harrison.” He pointed him out. 

“He’s Ravenclaw’s seeker and he plays almost as dirty as Slytherins.” He continued. “He’ll play rough, but you’ve got this. Just make sure you don’t get knocked off your broom and don’t get too close to him, he’ll certainly try it.” 

“Merlin…” Matty whispered under her breath. Since when did these players play so rough? But she just had to remember two things. Don’t get close to him and don’t get knocked off. Seemed simple enough… 

“Everybody ready?” Elliot asked, looking behind him at the rest of the team. 

Everybody nodded and stood up with their brooms, coming over to the edge where Matty and Elliot were. They all mounted their brooms and then took off. Cressida, who was ironically the announcer, began to speak. “Welcome everybody to our first Quidditch game of the season!” She said, her voice being amplified over the pitch. “Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!” 

Madam Kogawa walked out onto the field as the Quidditch players were all over her, waiting for the Quaffle to be released. She opened the case and first, the bludgers were released first. Garreth and Nellie glanced over at each other—a small way of them telling each other to be ready. 

Matty made eye contact with Grant, who had already been staring at her. She just shrugged it off the best she could and put her attention back on Madam Kogawa. Next, the snitch was released and immediately she tried her best to keep her eyes on it—but she couldn’t move yet. 

From the Slytherin bleachers, Sebastian and Esme were watching closely. Ominis was there as well and although he couldn’t see, Esme took it upon herself to tell him what was going on. Sebastian leaned over to Esme, seeing the small exchange between Matty and Grant. He knew from past experiences that Grant liked to play dirty. 

“I have a bad feeling about him.” He whispered to Esme. His brows were narrowed as he watched the scene in front of him. 

“I do too,” Esme replied back. “But Matty’s got this.” 

Back on the field, Madam Kogawa let everyone wait in suspense for a moment before releasing the Quaffle. Immediately the players took off from their waiting positions. “And the Quaffle has been released! They’re off!” 

With a reaction speed that Matty had possibly never seen before, Elliot swooped down past her on her broom and grabbed the Quaffle. She was honestly surprised but realized she needed to be focused on the snitch. She looked around quickly and even when she just caught the slightest glance of the snitch, she began to follow it quickly, knowing that Grant would be right behind her—or possibly even ahead. 

The chasers quickly put in the work, Elliot tossed the Quaffle over to Leander, who flew it over for a bit before tossing it over to Brenda. Brenda flew it over for a while, but it wasn’t close enough to throw it into the hoops, not to mention Ravenclaw’s keeper was on high guard and the angle would give him an easy guard. 

Brenda glanced at Elliot and then tossed the ball his way. The throw was going to be clean until a Ravenclaw chaser zoomed by, grabbing the Quaffle before it could reach Elliot’s hand. Immediately, she tried to fly it back to the opposite hoops. The moment Micah saw the other team with the Quaffle, he grasped his broom tighter, getting ready to defend his place. 

“You did not just—!” Brenda said, seemingly being offended that the Ravenclaw girl had intercepted her toss—even though it was a completely normal and clever move. 

“Just get it back!” Elliot called out to Leander and Brenda. 

Meanwhile, Garreth and Nellie were just doing their jobs to protect themselves and their other teammates from the bludgers—which were particularly aggressive today. “I don’t remember them being this aggressive!” Nellie shouted, smacking away one of the bludgers that had been coming straight at her. 

“Just keep them away from the team,” Garreth instructed, his eyes following the bludgers carefully. 

If one of the bludgers were to hit anyone—it would cause a pretty nasty accident and both Garreth and Nellie didn’t want that to happen at all—especially to their own teammates. 

Way on the opposite side of the pitch, almost outside of it, Matty was hunting down the snitch. Grant had already come close to catching it a few times and Matty was trying to tell herself to stop nerving out since it was throwing off her playing. She could hear Cressida’s voice announcing everything that was happening on the pitch. 

She caught a glimpse of the snitch and followed it quickly. It led her towards one of the pitches and when she went to follow it, Grant almost slammed into her—not out of malicious intent, but simply that he was coming up from the other side of the pitch. 

“Watch where you’re going or next time it’ll be intentional!” Grant shouted at her. 

“Rude,” Matty mumbled under breath. 

This was a quidditch game and apparently, there was no “playing nice” and she had learned that specifically by Grant’s actions. So, why was he complaining? 

Matty followed the snitch high into the air—she could see Grant out of the corner of her eye, but she tried her best to focus on the snitch. The snitch reached an altitude Matty had no idea it could but the moment they reached it, the snitch just dropped, almost as if it had never been enchanted to fly around. 

Grant followed it, although it was quite hard to change your direction from directly up to directly down like the snitch had. 

Matty’s eyes immediately dropped as she followed the snitch—although it didn’t actually drop. The moment it had lowered enough, it began flying again. When this happened, Matty realized she had an advantage over Grant, and she needed to take it. Unlike Grant who had immediately followed it down, changing the speed of his broom to be much slower—not to mention when the snitch stopped dropping it would yet again change the speed of his broom—Matty hadn’t followed it down and could now just follow the direction from above, making a more casual, but much faster descent. 

So, she did just that. And just as she thought, she was already way past Grant and much closer to the snitch. When Grant looked up and saw this, he let out a low growl of frustration. 

Back on the field, Gryffindor was neck to neck with Ravenclaw and the score was already thirty to thirty, but Ravenclaw had the quaffle. “And Amanda Springs has the Quaffle, she’s flying it over to the Gryffindor hoops!” Cressida announced from her place next to the Professors—keenly watching the game. 

Amanda threw the Quaffle as hard as she could towards the hoops and for a moment it seemed like it was going to go in, but Micah swooped it and knocked it away. Not only had he knocked it away, but he had knocked it away directly at Elliot—who quickly caught it and began to speed it back over to the other side. 

“And the Quaffle is blocked by Micah! Elliot catches the quaffle and it's back to Ravenclaw’s side of the field!” 

On the way over, one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, William, was trying to wrestle the quaffle out of Elliot’s hand. For Elliot, it was much harder to keep his grip on the quaffle when he was trying to fly it and score. 

William briefly managed to slip the Quaffle out of Elliot’s hands—but not for long. Brenda was there, and she wasn’t afraid to play dirty either. She swooped by and snatched the ball aggressively from his hands, immediately tossing it to Leander who was already down by the hoops. 

Leander quickly tossed the quaffle into the hoops and scored, the Ravenclaw keeper missing the block by a few inches. 

“Gryffindor scores! Upping the score to forty to thirty!” Cressida announced with much joy that her team was winning. 

“Good job, now keep that up!” Elliot encouraged his fellow chasers. 

Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor tower—and there were quite a few cheers from the Hufflepuff tower as well. “Good job, Leander!” Hope called out to Leander as he passed by. 

Meanwhile, Matty was pretty close to catching the snitch via the advantage she had gotten over Grant by simple thinking. She flew around one of the towers and she was suddenly back on the field chasing the snitch. As she came close, she reached out her hand and the moment she seemed like she was going to catch it—everyone held their breath. 

But before she could catch it, she was slammed into. Grant had followed her but from the other side and had purposefully slammed into her as hard as he could, keeping a strong grip on his broom, so he could knock her off but stay on his broom. 

Matty’s grip slipped from her broom, and she toppled over the right side. Esme gasped, seeing Matty about to fall off her broom and plummet to the field below. “What is it? What’s going on?” Ominis asked, concerned by Esme’s gasp—and Sebastian’s shouting, trying his best to ignore Sebastian’s shout and use of “choice” language. 

“Grant tried to knock Matty off her broom.” Esme said to Ominis, loud enough so that he could hear. 

Some of the Slytherin students were cheering about how Matty was now dangling from her broom. “Hey, knock it off you jerks!” Sebastian shouted down at them. 

“Sebastian, it’s a game.” Ominis chastised him. 

“Matty’s seconds away from falling! She could get hurt!” Sebastian said to Ominis the moment after. 

“And she signed up for this knowing what would happen,” Ominis replied. “She’ll be okay, she’s got this.” 

Sebastian went silent—knowing Ominis was right. But just because he knew Ominis was right doesn’t mean he couldn’t be upset about it. He continued to watch the game, mentally begging Matty to pull herself up back onto her broom. 

Matty was struggling to keep herself from falling. Her fingers felt like they were slipping but she got a bit of an “adrenaline encouragement” when she saw a bludger coming straight at her. Knowing she definitely did not want to be hit with that, she used all her strength to pull herself back up on her broom and take off again. 

The Gryffindor pitch tower erupted in screams, cheering her on. She immediately took off, finding Grant knowing the snitch would be nearby. 

As the game continued, the score kept upping but thankfully Gryffindor was ahead twenty points. But with the tension of the game and the frustration of being behind, Ravenclaw started upping their game and it became more a more difficult game. 

Matty knew that the game was stretching on and if she didn’t catch the snitch now—either Grant would catch it and Ravenclaw would win, or the game would go on and on for a long time. 

She was on one side of the pitch, seeing the Snitch fly towards the middle of it. She chased the snitch, noticing how Grant was flying at the snitch—straight at Matty as well. So, now it was just a race to see who could get there faster and catch it first. 

They came closer and closer to each other as the seconds flew by. “Ravenclaw Seeker and Gryffindor Seeker, Grant, and Matty are both flying after the snitch straight at each other!” Cressida announced. “Let’s see who can catch it first!” 

Matty was trying her best to ignore the game going on below her—as did the rest of the team, trying to ignore if Matty was about to catch the snitch or not since they had to focus on their own positions down below. 

As Grant and Matty continued to fly straight at each other to grab the snitch, both of them realized if one didn’t pull away, the crash would be nasty and put both of them in the hospital wing. But at the same time, both of them refused to pull away—far too stubborn to give this up. 

When the snitch was at arm’s length, Matty just barely tilted her broom to the side, setting others in a direction right past Grant, rather than right at him. As they both were about to fly past each other, where the snitch was going, Matty instinctively grabbed the snitch, barely just grazing Grant’s arm with her own. 

“Gryffindor’s caught the snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!” Cressida shouted from her post before just forgetting about announcing and jumping up and down in celebration. 

The towers erupted into screams and Matty looked at the snitch—a bit surprised that she had actually been able to catch it in such a high-intensity situation. Immediately, the rest of the team flew up to her. “You did it!” Nellie exclaimed excitedly as she flew her broom up right beside Matty so she could give her a bone-crushing hug. 

From the Hufflepuff pitch tower, Hope was practically losing her mind. “She did it! She did it! She did it!” She kept repeating, shaking poor Poppy half to death. Poppy just laughed and nodded her head—being quite excited herself that Matty had caught the snitch on her very first game. 

A round of congratulations came from her team as she looked at the snitch and then at them. After a few moments of celebration with each other, they all descended down to the field. Gryffindor students quickly left their pitch tower to get out onto the field. 

They rushed over their team excitedly and there was just a sea of Gryffindors on the field. Everyone began congratulating Matty on such a good game, telling her how well she had played. Matty felt overwhelmed with the support but would quickly thank all of them for their kind words. 

Hope rushed down from the Hufflepuff pitch tower before rushing over to where Matty was. She had to squeeze through the Gryffindor students who were practically mobbing the team, but she eventually made it to Matty, throwing her arms around her best friend. “You did it! I knew you could do it!” 

Matty wrapped her arms back around Hope, steadying her balance so that she didn’t fall over. She was still breathing quite heavily. “I did it!” She chuckled, almost in disbelief. 

“I knew you could do it. You won your first Quidditch match!” Hope squealed. “Mum is going to LOVE hearing about this! She’s not going to let Aaron live down that you beat Ravenclaw!” 

Matty laughed, only wishing that she were in London so she could see his reaction once he found out. “Okay, okay, I’ll see you tonight!” Hope said, referring to the afterparty Gryffindor always planned just in case they won a Quidditch game. 

“See you tonight!” Matty called out to Hope as she began walking off the pitch with her friends from her house. 

The sea of Gryffindor students began to clear up and Matty caught her breath, the adrenaline finally wearing off. Most people were now off of the field and Matty was about to head back with the rest of her team until she saw Sebastian coming up to her. 

In her mind, she just thought Sebastian would stop in front of her to speak with her—after all, she was sweaty and felt gross from playing such an intense game. But no, Sebastian didn’t stop at all. Instead, without a single second thought, he grabbed Matty up into a hug and spun her around with a laugh. “You did it!” He exclaimed excitedly. 

“Sebastian!” Matty said in a small protest but with a small laugh. “Put me down! I’m all sweaty and gross.” 

Sebastian ignored her for a moment before finally putting her down. “You were amazing out there! I will say it was quite impressive for this being your first game,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on her and never once looking away. “You kept yourself levelheaded and put Ravenclaw to shame—they’ll be remembering this game for quite a while if you ask me.” 

“Thank you,” Matty said with a hint of embarrassment in her tone—purely from the fact that her crush was complimenting her. “But the rest of the team helped, of course.” 

“But you caught the snitch.” Sebastian grinned. 

“You should come to the after-party. It’d be great to have you there.” Matty said, setting her broom down. “It’s in the Gryffindor common room. It’ll be fun!” 

“Not sure how fond your Gryffindor friends would be about having a Slytherin around,” Sebastian said with a small chuckle. “They may attack me the moment I come through the door.” 

Matty rolled her eyes. “Oh, enough with this dumb Gryffindor and Slytherin fight.” She said with a flick of her hand. “Could I convince you to come off it was celebrating me catching the snitch instead of just Gryffindor winning?” 

“Perhaps,” Sebastian replied. 

“Really? That’s what gets you there?” Matty asked with a laugh of disbelief. “Alright then. See you tonight—and don’t be late.” 

With one final smile, she walked off the pitch towards where her teammates were—hoping she had done enough to convince Sebastian to come. Sebastian, of course, was planning on going anyway. He was going to be there to congratulate Matty on her very first win. 

“Good job out there Matty, I’m impressed,” Elliot said, resting his hands on his broom. “You were quite the quick thinker out there against Grant and you kept your cool. Needless to say, all of us are impressed with this being your first game.” 

“Thank you, guys,” Matty smiled as she slipped off her gloves, relieved to have finally gotten them off. “I really do appreciate it. It was actually a lot of fun!”

Matty got all her gear off before beginning to return to the castle with her team. She had some time before the party that she was definitely going to use to freshen up. She had done it; she had won her first quidditch game and she couldn’t be happier. She couldn’t wait to write to her parents and tell them all about it. 

With this win—she was starting to feel like she was making her place on the team, helping Gryffindor win the very first game of the season and now hoping that they could keep this up all year when they had a match. 

Chapter Text

Later that night, the Gryffindor Common room was packed. Just about every single Gryffindor student was there, alongside several students from other houses—including some Ravenclaws.

Most of it was just friendly conversation—or some excited talk about the win. And of course, the small group of rowdy boys that consisted of Garreth, Leander, Eric Northcott, and a few others that were trash-talking the Ravenclaw team. This went on until Elliot told them to quiet down a little and that Ravenclaw was still a very good team.

Matty was sitting near the corner with Sebastian, Ominis, and Esme. Although Ominis and Esme were locked in a conversation of their own and so it was mostly just Matty and Seb chatting about a few things.

After a while, Hope came in to join the conversation and they talked about the few previous seasons before Matty got up to go get a drink. She slipped through the crowd of students in the common room and walked up a small stairway. Thankfully over here was a tad quieter than down with the rest of the people.

It was mostly silent until a voice behind her broke the silence. “Well, if it isn’t our prized Gryffindor seeker.” The voice behind her said.

Matty furrowed her brows. The voice sounded vaguely familiar but not one she had heard too recently. She turned around with a confused face and behind her was Apollo, the Head boy from her house that she had seen break up the fight weeks ago. She was a bit confused and surprised that he would come to talk to her, but perhaps it was because of the game.

“Oh, hello,” she said, trying to put on a polite smile. “You must be Apollo.”

“Yes, indeed I am,” Apollo replied. “It’s funny—I’m the Headboy and we’re in the same house but I don’t believe I’ve ever had a chance to formally meet you. Bit of a shame on my part that I didn’t introduce myself to you earlier.”

Matty shook her head. “It’s alright. To be honest, I was quite busy in my fifth year,” she said with a slight chuckle. “I’m Matty Ambrose. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She put her hand out and Apollo took it, giving her a firm shake before his hand returned to his pocket. “So, what brings you here to speak with me?” Matty asked, assuming it had something to do with the game.

“Well for one, I wanted to congratulate you on the win.” Apollo started off. “But, aside from that, there’s a bit more of a pressing matter that brought me to come to speak with you.”

Matty looked confused. What could’ve possibly happened that made the Head boy want to speak with her? “What is it?” She asked eagerly with a hint of concern in her tone. It had gone from a simple introduction to something more serious in a matter of moments.

Apollo looked around, contemplating telling her. He eventually decided that it was too crowded and that there were too many people around for him to tell her what he wanted to. “Look, right here probably isn’t the best place to speak.”

“Why not?” Matty asked, suddenly getting a bad feeling about this.

Apollo sensed her concern quickly. “I’m not going to hurt you—or do anything—if that’s what you’re worried about.” He promised. “It’s just… not necessarily something I can talk about in the open with people around like this.”

Although he was profusely trying to assure her that he wasn’t a threat to her, Matty had been through enough to have trust issues with the new people she was meeting. “I’m not sure… I’m sorry, Apollo.”

Apollo sighed. “It’s quite important but I respect that you’re not exactly comfortable—after all, you did just meet me.” He stated. “But, this is important so I’ll give you a few days to think about it. Meet me at the quidditch pitch on Monday after school. You’ll already be there for practice so it's quite convenient on your end. That gives you some time to think about it, deal?”

Matty looked hesitant before nodding her head. “I’ll think about it.” She answered. But she refused to promise anything. She was sure he didn’t mean any harm, but she would be quite skeptical of anyone who would randomly come up to her like this and say they needed to speak to her alone.

“See you then—if you choose to come, of course,” Apollo said with a small nod of his head.

He then walked off back down into the crowd of students, walking over to Elliot and striking up a conversation with him. It seemed so casual that Matty assumed the two were friends—after all they were both seventh years. As she watched Elliot interact with Apollo with seemingly no concern at all, she felt slightly better about possibly meeting Apollo later on Monday.

Elliot was a nice guy, and would certainly never associate himself with anyone harmful. Not to mention Apollo had a good record—practically spotless. And he was the Head boy. They didn’t just put anyone in that position.

Matty sighed, putting her drink down and forgetting about it as she walked back down and made her way over to Sebastian, Ominis, Esme, and Hope. Although, Esme and Hope were nowhere to be seen and she wondered where they had gone. But Sebastian and Ominis would just have to do for now.

“Sebastian, Ominis, I need to speak to you. In the Undercroft.” She said, trying to speak loud enough so that they could hear her, but not loud enough for the others around them to hear.

Sebastian immediately got up without hesitation. She said she needed to talk? He was ready to go, without a doubt. Ominis stood up as well, looking a bit concerned. “What’s this about?” He asked.

“I’ll tell you when we get there,” Matty replied.

The three of them slipped away from the party, hoping no one would stop them in the halls to talk. They went all the way from the Gryffindor Common room down to the Undercroft. When they made it in there, Matty didn’t waste a single moment.

“When I left, I ran into Apollo Morgan, you know—the Head boy? Well, at first I thought he just wanted to introduce himself to me but then after he did, he said he wanted to speak with me in private.” She explained.

“Immediately, no,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms.

Matty furrowed her brows. “You didn’t even give a moment to finish.” She said, looking confused.

Ominis rolled his eyes. “Sebastian isn’t particularly fond of Apollo—something that happened early on. Just ignore him.” He explained.

“I’d tell anyone not to speak with him,” Sebastian muttered. “What—he meets you for the first time then moments later he suddenly wants to be alone with you? That sounds extremely suspicious.”

Matty, momentarily ignoring Sebastian so that she could finish what she was saying, continued. “As I was saying—I didn’t immediately trust him. It may just be me being nervous for no reason but I told him I wasn’t okay with it.” She continued. “He said it was quite important but gave me the option to meet him on Monday at the Quidditch pitch so we could talk there. I suppose all I need is some advice on whether to go or not…”

“I’d say you have nothing to worry about,” Ominis answered. “Apollo has a clean record—in fact, he tries to keep the order. And if anything were to happen, we all know you are much more than capable of taking care of yourself.”

“Oh yes Ominis, let’s just advise her to walk into the clearly bad situation with no care!” Sebastian said with clear sarcasm.

“Ominis has given me his reason—so give me yours, Sebastian,” Matty said, crossing her arms. She’d hear both of them out, after all, she had gone to both of them for advice.

“You just met him, know almost nothing about him, and suddenly he wants to speak with you alone? That doesn’t seem safe.” Sebastian answered. “With everything that happened in fifth year, how can you really trust anyone you just met recently?”

Ominis yet again rolled his eyes. “Sebastian, I highly doubt that Apollo is up to some form of trickery or has any relation to anything that happened in fifth year—he probably knows little to nothing about it.” He said with a stern tone.

“She asked, I answered!” Sebastian said, shrugging his shoulders in an annoyed way.

“Well, this certainly isn’t going anywhere.”  Matty sighed internally.

One part of her was telling her not to go anywhere near him but the other part of her was curious and wanted to know exactly why he wanted to speak with her. Both Ominis and Sebastian were giving very good reasons but it just further confused her on how she felt about this.

“I’ll make a decision later—I still have until Monday,” Matty said. “Right now, I should be getting back. Thanks, boys.” She said, leaving without another word—feeling conflicted.

She left the Undercroft and began to make her way back to the common room. Sebastian and Ominis however, stayed in the Undercroft. “Why were you acting so possessive over her? It was a simple question, Sebastian.” Ominis scolded him.

“Posessive?” Sebastian asked in disbelief. “What about that was possessive in the slightest? She’s my friend Ominis, of course, I care about her and I’m worried about her! Does this situation not strike you as odd in the slightest?”

“Oh don’t even try to pass her off as “just a friend”, Sebastian. I know you think of her as more than that.” Ominis said.

“But she’s not more than that,” Sebastian said. Although his own words had hurt him a bit more than he had anticipated. “Look, I’m just trying to keep her safe, that’s all. I’m sure if some random guy had asked Esme the same question, you would’ve told her no as well. I’m just trying to look out for Matty because it seems like no one else is. My feelings aren’t getting in the way of this, I promise.”

Ominis went silent after this. Sebastian did have a point. If Esme had been asked the same question, Ominis would’ve advised her not to go at all. He let out a small sigh. “My apologies." He said, crossing his arms. "But Apollo Morgan? His record is clearer than almost any other student in this school—save maybe the Headmaster's own daughter.”

“A record is only as clean as a person says their record to be,” Sebastian replied. “I know I’m certainly not one to talk—especially about this but Ominis, I’m just looking out for her, I swear.”

“If you absolutely insist,” Ominis said. “I suppose it is a bit odd but I wouldn’t be too concerned over it.”

And after that, the two left the Undercroft. Sebastian had a sinking feeling in his stomach that something wasn’t right about this. But a part of him also realized that this was Matty’s decision and it wasn’t his position to in any way tell her what to do.

He just hoped—whatever decision she made, she was making the right one.

***

The next morning, since it was a Sunday and there was no school, Matty asked Esme and Hope to speak with her down at the boathouse. She hoped that she’d get more of a mutual answer from the two of them and have better luck than she did with Ominis and Sebastian last night.

When they all met there, they sat by the edge, close to the water. Matty wasted no time trying to explain what was going on, hoping to get good advice from them.

“Last night went I stepped away, I ran into Apollo Morgan. He introduced himself to me and it all seemed normal until he said he wanted to speak with me alone.” She explained. “I immediately felt weird about it and told him I wasn’t comfortable with it so then he said it was important but gave me until Monday to make a choice that I could either meet him at the quidditch pitch or don’t go at all.”

“I suppose all I need is advice. Part of me is suspicious and wants to stay far away from him but another part of me is extremely intrigued by what he may say.”

Hope and Esme shared a glance before looking at Matty. “So he asked you right after meeting you? That’s somewhat odd.” Hope said.

“Yes,” Matty replied. “My only problem is—I’m extremely intrigued because he said it was important—and he seemed sincere about it.” She sighed.

Esme thought it over for a moment. “Well, the pitch is relatively out in the open, you’ll have your wand on you and you’re also extremely good at defending yourself.” She said. “In my honest opinion, I say go. I have no idea what's so important to want to speak to you alone—but he may have learned something from the professors regarding you. Don’t you think that could be important?”

Matty hadn’t even realized that could be a possibility. But since he was Head Boy, it could very well be that he was trying to help her out and tell her something.

“Esme has a point,” Hope said. “I’d say go—just to see what he has to say.”

Esme nodded. “I agree. He could be right and it’s really important.”

Matty sighed but then nodded her head. They were right and had given her their clear answer—which was what she wanted. A clear answer. “Alright then. I’ll meet him on Monday and see what this is all about.” She said with a small nod.

The three of them left the boathouse but Matty’s heart was still heavy. She tried her best not to think of the worst possible things that could happen and instead tried her best to think about what could go right instead of wrong.

Who knew what Apollo wanted to tell her anyway? As odd as the situation was—if it was important like he said, she needed to know

.

Chapter Text

Sunday passed and Monday rolled around: it came time for Matty to speak with Apollo. She stood on the field of the Quidditch pitch after practice. As Elliot was congratulating the team on a successful practice, Matty was searching the pitch with her eyes for any sign of Apollo. 

Would he even show up? Or had this been some elaborate prank? 

Soon after Elliot finished speaking, the team began to depart from the pitch and Matty declared that she’d stay behind for a while. 

And it was at that very moment when she spotted Apollo right around the corner of the front entrance to the pitch. She made her way over to the boy briskly, not wanting to drag this out any longer than it had to be. As much as she was willing to be there, she still had her rightful anxiety over it. 

Apollo saw her as she came around the corner. “Ah, you’re actually here.” He said since he was wondering if she was even going to show up. 

“Despite strong protest, yes,” Matty replied simply. 

She was speaking to him as if this was a business matter rather than a casual one. Apollo quickly realized this and wondered why she was being so “hostile.” Did she not trust him? 

Knowing that he’d have to break the ice, he figured standing around here doing nothing wouldn’t help either of them in this situation. “Walk with me?” he asked, gesturing towards the grassy area beside the pitch. 

Matty gave him a look—unsure if him leading her away from where other people were was a good idea. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. In his mind, he had something important to tell her, yet she was so hesitant—and he had no idea why. It was frustrating for him. 

“If you insist,” Matty replied in a slightly flat tone. 

“Perhaps I should’ve listened to Sebastian. I have a bad feeling about this .” She thought to herself. 

The two began walking away from the pitch together as Matty intently listened, waiting for him to start telling her whatever that “extremely important” thing was that he swore he had to tell her in private. 

“So, why exactly did you want to speak with me alone?” She inquired as they walked further and further away from the pitch. 

“I wanted to speak with you about something I noticed recently,” Apollo answered, his hands still tucked away in his pants pocket. “It may sound odd but—I’ve come to a realization about what you were doing all of your fifth year.” 

This  is what he wanted to talk about? This was the so desperately important thing? 

If this was it, Matty just hoped he hadn’t found out too much about it. 

“Everyone was always wondering where you were. You’d leave in the middle of the night and not come back till later the next morning. You would make it into classes and then vanish the rest of the day.” Apollo continued. 

“For a moment after Fig’s death, I just believed it had to do with the goblin rebellion. But then I found myself wondering: Why you? Why the new fifth year that had no knowledge of the wizarding world before all of this? I found myself down a rabbit hole as I noticed something much different about you, but I couldn’t find out what just yet.” 

Matty couldn’t deny that she noticed a similar thing about Apollo when she had first seen him earlier that month, breaking up the fight between those two boys. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she also couldn’t deny that different feeling. 

“So, I did a lot of investigating. I figured with Fig’s teaching position in the school, the rebellion, and everything else going on, I could put the two together.” Apollo stated. “And then I got a clear look at you and figured it out.” 

“What are you trying to get at, Apollo?” Matty unintentionally snapped. 

Her nerves had been building up this entire time and for a boy who swore he had to speak to her about something important, he was rambling on for an awfully long time and it was stressing her out. Had he found out about something he shouldn’t have? What was she supposed to do if he had found out about the Keepers? Professor Fig wasn’t around to tell her what to do anymore! 

“Woah, calm down,” Apollo said, taking his hand out of his pocket to put it up defensively. “If you really want to know that bad without any explanation as to how I found out, alright then. You have ancient magic.” 

Matty’s heart sank. Only the friends she had told were supposed to know. Had someone let it slip? 

“Who told you?” she demanded, not even thinking about trying to deny it. 

“No one did. I found it out myself, I promise.” Apollo said, reassuring that whoever knew had indeed kept it a secret. “I found it out myself because I have the same connections to ancient magic that you do.” 

At that moment, it was as if the entire world around Matty stopped making noise. As if she had gone completely deaf. How was this possible? She could’ve sworn she was the only one. How could she not have noticed earlier? 

He had to be lying. He had to! “What do you mean?” Matty asked him, an extremely confused look painted all over her face. 

“I mean what I said, Matty,” Apollo answered firmly. 

“H-How is that even possible?” She asked. “I thought I was the only one.” 

Apollo chuckled. “The keyword there is thought.” He spoke. “And I thought I was the only one as well. Until a few weeks ago.” 

Matty looked away, her brows knitted in confusion. Finding out that Isidora and Percival Rackham had ancient magic was a shock enough to her—even when she herself found out she had magical abilities, in general, was a huge shock. Now there was someone else, in the same century, around the same age, and at the same school as her who had the same abilities?

“My mother was the same way. She taught me everything I knew.” Apollo said, almost a bit too casually for Matty’s liking. How could any of this be possible? 

“You keep dropping these serious revelations on me so casually,” Matty said, beginning to feel lightheaded. “A bit of an explanation would be nice.” 

Apollo took a deep breath, knowing that this would take quite a bit to explain. “According to my mother, this ability has been in our family for generations. I, like her, was born with the ability that was so familiar to my family. Almost like it's hereditary, although I doubt it is. My father didn’t have the same abilities and in fact, I’m sure he loathed them. He left my mother and I when I was just a boy, much too young to remember him.”

“From a single journal entry and a note passed down through several generations, we were able to know just from whom this ability came. But I’ll get to that in a moment.” Apollo stated. “My mother taught me almost everything I knew.” 

“She taught me about my magic, how to use it, and just about anything you could think about. You’d think the ministry would find out about it—and I’m sure they did. I have a vague memory of these men coming to the house, dressed up as if they were officials. But they always left the house, looking as if they had no idea why they were even there. Needless to say, we moved around a lot. My mother was desperate to keep the ability we had a secret.” 

“She believed it could be dangerous and that it should only be used to bring good—and even then, that was sparse.” Apollo continued. “My mother became ill—right before I attended school. As she was on her deathbed, I begged her to allow me to use my magic to heal her. But she relented entirely. She told me I had no idea the damage I could do if I did. She died to the sound of me crying and pleading with her to let me heal her.” 

Regardless of how confused and shocked Matty was now, she felt some sorrow for the boy who had lost his mother at such a young age. It sounded as if she was very dear to him. “I’m sorry. That sounds terrible.” 

Apollo nodded his head. “It was. I can never get the memory out of my head. I meant everything to her, and she meant everything to me. She stuck by me when my father didn’t. Deadbeat scum.” He muttered that last part under his breath. “That following autumn, I attended school, but I had never felt so alone. I had no one to share this with and the secret has been killing me for forever, always thinking that I was the only one.” 

“Pardon, but—why was your mother so keen on keeping this a secret?” Matty asked. She was very cautious about who she told but Apollo’s mother seemed terrified about letting anyone know. It seemed unusual. 

“I asked her the very same thing. She always told me it was because of who our ability came from—so to speak.” Apollo answered. He himself still seemed a bit confused. “It came from an ancestor from ages ago. Her name was Isidora. The journal entry and the letter were written by her.” 

“Isidora?” Matty exclaimed, not even giving a thought to it. 

She mentally cursed herself about how easily she was giving things away. “Act like you don’t know anything, goodness!” She scolded herself. 

“So, you do know who that is!” Apollo said with a bit of glee. As if he had been waiting for this moment. “This makes so much more sense.” 

“This doesn’t make any sense!” Matty exclaimed. 

“From my perspective, it does.” Apollo jabbed in a sarcastic manner. “My surname—Morgan. It’s a shortened version of Morganach. My mother shortened it in an absolutely unbelievable fear that someone would trace it back to Isidora. Although we were the only ones with any proof of her existence.” 

“But—Isidora didn’t have any children. Her brother died at a young age and her father—well, that still doesn’t make any sense.” Matty said in utter confusion, mostly talking to herself. None of this made any sense to her. 

Apollo grinned. Matty seemed to know a lot about Isidora, which made him feel as if his efforts hadn’t been in vain as he thought prior. “The letter passed down to us was a letter that entailed the answer to that.” He was answering Matty’s question. 

“In the letter written by Isidora, it explains that apparently, she had gone on some travels—trying to find answers to what I’m assuming is the same magic we hold as well. The letter entails that she met a man, the child’s father, who she was deeply intrigued by.” He continued. “Long story short, they had a child together—a son, but the father left, ironically.” 

That last part was said with irony as if Apollo was taking a jab at himself since his father had also left him at a young age. “Isidora then explained that she needed to return to her travels and gave the child up but left her entire name and occupancy for when the child grew up and ever wanted to find her. When the child grew up, they took Isidora’s last name and went looking for her—only to find out she had passed.” 

As Apollo explained the letter left by Isidora to her child, things started to make a little bit more sense in her mind. Although it was still a bit more unbelievable, Matty had a feeling Apollo was telling the truth and nothing less than that. 

“The journal entry entails something similar about the man she had her son with but nothing much,” Apollo said. “Apparently, she had some bad claims to her name and my mother was terrified someone would find out. As if Isidora didn’t live hundreds of years ago.” 

Matty took a deep breath. “So, you mean to tell me you have ancient magic because several other people in your family from what you know also have it? You’re also related to Isidora Morganach because she had a child she later “abandoned” and your mother was terrified someone would find out, so she took all these precautions and never wanted you to use it to its full extent. She died and you attended Hogwarts being unsure of what to do but then recently you somehow found out I had the same ability and that brings us to where we are now.” 

Since she had said it all in one breath, it left her gasping quietly. She looked up at Apollo as if waiting for some confirmation that she had gotten it all right. 

Apollo seemed a bit surprised but gave a curt nod. “Yes…” He said as if going through everything in his head to make sure it checked out. “I know it’s a lot to take in but it’s important to me that you know this.” 

“Why? Besides the fact that I hold the same abilities.” Matty spoke. 

“Because I need your help,” Apollo answered. “Much like you, I’m still confused about my heritage, or why this ability was so important to keep a secret. I also had a feeling that what happened with the rebellion last year had something to do with the rumors about ancient magic. And well—I figured you knew something I didn’t. I don’t expect you to tell me everything but I’m hoping you’ll at least help me find out more about my family. It’s terribly important to me.” 

Matty bit her lip. It seemed unfair to keep the information she did have away from Apollo but at the same time, how much could she give away without entirely exposing the secrets she was supposed to keep? 

“So… You want to know more about Isidora since you know I know about her?” She asked just for clarification. 

Apollo nodded his head. “Yes. I have a feeling that it will help answer some questions I’ve had for a very long time.” He spoke. “And in turn, I can teach you everything I know about this magic we both hold. You know, sort of like a trade of knowledge.” 

The offer did seem rather tempting. Ever since Professor Fig’s death, Matty had felt a bit lost in her own abilities. Confident enough to know how to use them but too afraid to accept what she could do with them. For better or for worse. 

She knew she couldn’t tell Apollo about Isidora’s part in the repository—or about the Keepers. But she figured she could give out some information that wouldn’t lead straight to those points. She also figured she could take him around those places she and Sebastian had found regarding Isidora. Although, she was sure to keep the Undercroft out of that. 

In fact, she was still questioning how Isidora found the Undercroft anyway. It was one of the many mysteries Isidora held with her name. 

Matty pursed her lips before coming to a small conclusion. “I can’t promise much right now but, if you meet me in the Astronomy tower on Friday after school. I’m sure I could tell you some of what I know.” She stated. “But I’d have to council with a few people first.” 

Apollo raised a brow. “Do you have some secret ancient magic council I don’t know about?” he asked with a small chuckle in a joking manner. 

“Something like that,” Matty answered. “Although I’m the only one there with any connections to ancient magic. The rest are just friends who know. I confide in them a lot.” 

Apollo nodded his head in understanding. He had also confided deeply in his friends. Although, Matty was the only one he had ever spoken to about his magic. 

“But Apollo—a question, if you will,” Matty said. “How come I couldn’t tell you had ancient magic? I should’ve been able to see traces of it around you long before now.” 

“Ah, yes,” Apollo said, as if he meant to address that earlier. “Another one of my mother’s hysterical attempts at keeping this a secret. A simple charm she created that would make it practically undetectable. But that feeling you got about me—I’m sure it was the nature of things trying to tell you what would’ve been obvious without that charm.” 

“Well, then how come you just found out about me now? I didn’t have any charms covering traces up.” Matty said in confusion. 

“Probably as simple as I never got a good enough look at you,” Apollo replied curtly. “I felt different about you when you entered the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony but that was practically the only time that entire year that I saw you. So, after the Quidditch game, I immediately knew.” 

Matty nodded her head. It seemed proof enough. His mother had seemed quite keen to keep all this a secret and clearly, she had reasons why. Although Matty wasn’t that cautious, she understood the caution. 

“Well then, that’s just about everything I have to say now,” Apollo said. “I suppose I’ll see you on Friday then.” 

He left without a goodbye as if the air had become awkward. Matty watched him go, her mind a muddle of confusion, shock, and disbelief. It was all so overwhelming she almost felt as if she was going to pass out, but she held herself up as she watched Apollo leave. 

*** 

Quickly after Apollo left, Matty raced up to her dormitory, tearing through the Common Room to get there as fast as she could. She grabbed out her diary from under her bed and flipped through the pages desperately, trying to find some about Isidora she had written from last year.

Nothing that she had found out about Isidora pointed to her having some secret son—or even meeting the man she was so infatuated with. But perhaps she had meant to keep it a secret. Only one journal entry and a letter that was purposefully given to her child before she left him. It made sense. 

Keep the child a secret from the Keepers and the child gets to live a normal life not knowing that his mother was a psychopath. 

“Merlin, this is so confusing,” Matty whispered under her breath as she now sat on her bed looking down at her diary. 

She flipped to the nearest blank page and scribbled down a few things Apollo had said to her earlier—as if keeping the key points fresh so that she could tell them to Ominis and Sebastian when she went to them for advice. She’d try not to give too much away to Apollo—for his own privacy. But she would tell them what she needed to.

Perhaps it’d be a good thing for her to refer to Sebastian anyway. He had been there helping her with the tryptic made by Isidora anyway. And with his sharp eye, perhaps he could help them find out more about her. 

She closed her diary and shoved it back under her bed before plopping down on her pillow. This was not how she expected the conversation to go but there was no avoiding the truth now. 

“If only Professor Fig were here.”  She wished silently. 

“He’d know what to do.” She sighed to herself, turning over in bed so she wouldn’t be suffocating via her own pillow. 

Almost everything she had discovered about her magic; she had discovered with him. Her mentor and one of her greatest friends. The anger and hatred towards Ranrok for taking Professor Fig’s life still boiled in her and it was apparent every time she visited the old man's grave. 

The once-thought-peaceful year had a chance of turning out even crazier than the last. 

Chapter Text

After Matty had collected her thoughts up in her dorm room, she grabbed some paper and wrote up an owl to Sebastian and Ominis, asking them to meet her in the Undercroft so she could speak to them about what Apollo told her.

As she handed the now sealed owl off to Eden, her messenger owl, she sat back down on her bed, trying to find out just exactly what she was going to tell them about. A part of her wanted to keep this completely a secret—for Apollo’s sake. But the other part of her desperately needed advice.

She felt a bit of guilt pooling in the bottom of her stomach as she had already planned on telling Sebastian and Ominis about what Apollo had told her so she could get advice as to what to do. She felt that it wasn’t her secret to share.

But after all, she had told Apollo she needed to speak with some people about this before meeting him on Friday and he had put up no protest against it. It slightly soothed the guilty feeling in her stomach and hoped that she wasn’t overstepping a boundary by simply getting some advice.

When she had felt that the owl had reached the boys, she made her way from the Gryffindor common room and down to the Undercroft, where Ominis and Sebastian were already waiting for her.

The moment they heard the Undercroft door click, they both turned around. Sebastian was the first to speak up when Matty entered. “You wanted to speak with us?” He asked.

Matty nodded in turn and walked up to the two of them. “I do but I honestly don’t even know where to start,” she said, promptly biting the inside of her cheek after the words had left her mouth. “Let’s just start from the beginning.”

“Earlier this afternoon, I went to go meet Apollo at the pitch—,”

“You actually went to meet him?” Sebastian asked, accidentally interrupting him.

“Yes, I did, now listen up.”

Ominis let out a short chuckle, almost like a snort at their small exchange. Sebastian just rolled his eyes and continued to listen to Matty.

“I went to meet him, not expecting anything important to come out of the conversation but then he asked me to walk with him, and then out of nowhere he started talking about how we had more in common than he initially thought and then explained how he came to that conclusion.” Matty rambled on. “Then when I was growing tired of him just rambling, I asked him to get to the point then he just blurts out that he has the same connection to ancient magic as I do.”

The moment after she had said that Sebastian and Ominis’ faces dropped from faces of intent listening to one of shock. When Matty had first told them about her rare ability, it was shocking enough. But now another student?

“Then, after that, he goes on to say he’s a descendant of Isidora Morganach.” Matty glanced over at Ominis. “You do remember her, don’t you?”

“What you told me of her, yes,” Ominis replied curtly.

“Hold on,” Sebastian said, putting his hand out as if to stop the chaotic rambling going on to try and collect his thoughts. “So not only does he have connections to ancient magic, but he’s also a descendant of Isidora? How is that even possible?”

Matty took a deep breath. “He says she had a child on her travels, which somewhat makes sense. He says he knows all of this because of a journal entry left by Isidora and a letter she left for her child. Which, makes it hard for me to doubt what he’s saying because if he didn’t actually have the journal entry or the letter—how would he have known she had traveled?”

Sebastian furrowed his brows, as if taking in what she had just said and thinking about it intently. “You have a point,” he said, nodding his head slightly. “Have you seen the journal entry? Or the letter?”

Matty shook her head. “No, only know that he claimed to have them.” She answered. “But it’d be hard to believe that he didn’t have them since he knew of Isidora’s travels. But he said he had no idea what the travels were about—so at least he doesn’t know about Isidora’s intentions.”

“Pardon the intrusion on the little Isidora adventure club,” Ominis said, a bit of a jab at the fact that he had not been included in the adventures Matty and Sebastian went on regarding Isidora’s tryptic in the Undercroft. “But Matty, wouldn’t you be able to tell if he did have ancient magic?”

“Somewhat, yes,” Matty replied. “Had the situation been completely normal, then yes. But his mother—who was seemingly terrified of having anyone find out about the magic, since apparently, she had the same abilities too—had created some masking charm to prevent anyone, on the odd chance that there was another, from being able to see any traces of said magic.”

“Apollo’s mother was the same way?” Sebastian asked, raising a brow. In all the years he had known Apollo, he had never heard a word about his mother.

A solemn look came into Matty’s eyes. “Yes, but she’s since passed,” she said in a quieter voice as if trying to respect the dead. “According to Apollo, all she wanted to do was protect him. The Ministry got involved a few times, he thinks, but she would always send them away confused. Perhaps she used a memory charm to make them forget why they were there.”

Sebastian nodded his head in understanding. His mother had passed when he was also young—it was seemingly the only thing he and Apollo had in common, as grim as that was.

“She tried to keep it a secret, I assume.” He then said. “Did Apollo ever mention anything about goblins coming to his home? Or his hometown? Perhaps his mother was afraid of Ranrok since he had started his pursuits around that time.”

“That could be possible,” Matty spoke. “But yet again—those “Ministry workers” could’ve been anyone. I have half a brain to know some of them were, but there were also others who knew about this lost ancient magic and perhaps made the connections back to the “more modern” Morganach’s. Perhaps that’s why Apollo’s mother was so terrified.”

“So, what was his deal in bringing this all up to you?” Ominis questioned.

“He wants me to help him find out more regarding Isidora,” Matty answered. “He knows I know who she is, but he doesn’t know just how much I know about her. I was thinking—if I did help him, that I could somehow tell him about Isidora without giving away too much.”

Sebastian suddenly looked concerned. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous? What if you accidentally let something slip.”

In truth, Matty hadn’t even told Sebastian about the repository’s location. She hadn’t told anyone. The only people who knew were the Professors, who swore not to breathe a word about it, and then Matty herself. It was something she eventually planned on bringing up to him, but that would be much later down the line.

And although she hadn’t told him the location, Sebastian did know about the repository, as did Ominis, Esme, and Hope. It was something she had told them in order to relieve some stress of keeping the existence of it a complete secret. And she trusted her friends enough to tell them so. All of them had taken an oath not to overstep any boundaries and ask questions about it if she wasn’t willing to answer.

“I was thinking about that,” Matty said with a sigh. “I’ll have to think of exactly what I want to tell him—just enough for him to know but not give anything away.”

“Although it’s a concern—I’d feel terrible keeping information about his own family away from him. I’d feel guilty to pieces.” She continued. “I know I don’t owe him anything… but it’s his family. I suppose all I need is some advice. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

Sebastian glanced over at Ominis before saying. “You go first.” Seemingly implying that he had a little bit more to think about before giving his opinion.

Ominis took a moment before giving his answer. “I’d say it’d be a good idea.” He answered. “Although I’m not particularly keen on ever learning anything about my family—I’m sure there are those out there like Apollo who feel desperate for it. Especially when they don’t know much about them at all.”

He had a great point with that one. Sebastian, Matty, and Ominis all came from drastically different families. Matty came from a stable, peaceful home where family was talked about constantly and stories of ancestors were shared regularly.

Sebastian came from a bit of a broken family. Death and abusive caretakers. Not an ideal home but he persevered through it with the memory of his loving parents, who had tried to give him and Anne the world before their untimely and extremely unfortunate death.

Ominis, however, got the short end of everything when it came to family. Terrible parents, siblings, aunts, and uncles—save Aunt Noctua. Every Gaunt besides himself and his aunt seemed to have bad blood in them. From torture to murder, to so much more. The Gaunts were the worst family to grace the wizarding world. And despite his protests and his desperation to get away—they’d drag him back.

Yet, regardless of it, he still understood that some people were desperate to know more about their families. And he truly wanted everyone to be happy with their families, regardless of his strained relationship with his own.

Sebastian, momentarily pushing away his distaste for Apollo, understood what Ominis was saying. There were still secrets of his own family that he wanted to know—like if his estranged aunt was still alive or if Solomon was lying about it. He tried to use this as a standing point to understand where Apollo was coming from.

Matty nodded her head in recognition of Ominis before turning to Sebastian. “Sebastian?”

Sebastian glanced down at his feet for a moment before looking up at Matty—a bit hesitant to give his answer, knowing it’d heavily influence Matty’s decision. “I understand where you’re coming from but—it’s risky to trust Apollo so easily.”

“I know, I know.” Matty sighed. “That’s why I gave it until Friday to decide. To pull together my thoughts and decide what I was going to truly tell him.”

“Do what you feel is right.” Sebastian then said, almost as if he was forcing the words from his mouth.

“Well then, thank you both for coming here and speaking with me,” Matty said.

After a bit more casual talk, it was getting late. Ominis left the Undercroft, but Sebastian stayed behind, wanting to talk to Matty alone. The moment Ominis was out of earshot, he began to speak. “How much do you plan on telling him?” Sebastian asked immediately.

“Not entirely sure…” Matty said with a sigh. “I suppose I was going to tell him about the house in Feldcroft—hiding the magic gateway to the Undercroft, of course. I thought maybe finding something in one of her studies she made and showing him that.”

Sebastian nodded. “I’m just worried he’ll catch onto something he shouldn’t,” he said, expressing his concern.

“You can come along.” Matty blurted out. “I mean, it’ll be nice to have you around. You know what we found out about Isidora, you’re smart and can make connections. It’ll be nice to have you around.”

“Are you inviting me along because you want me there are you worried that I’m upset or something like that?” Sebastian asked, raising a brow.

Matty sighed. “Maybe a bit of both?” She said with an awkward smile. “I know it’s asking a lot of you to help me, especially since I’m helping someone who you’re not exactly fond of. I just didn’t want to upset you—,”

Sebastian grabbed Matty’s hand gently to grab her attention. “First of all, I’m not upset that you’re helping him. I’d be a complete git if I was upset over something as simple as that.” He said, clearing the air and making sure Matty didn’t have any misconceptions and felt like she had upset him. “Second, I’m willing to help—more than you probably think. I’m just wanting you to be safe.”

Matty looked down a bit. “I just thought I upset you. I don’t know why.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes for a moment before lifting her head with his finger under her jaw. “You didn’t. Stop worrying so much about what I think.” He chuckled. “Advice is fine but don’t govern your life around me. That just makes me look like some—psychopathic control freak.”

Matty chuckled a bit. “I suppose I just value your opinion a lot.” She said, giving a small shrug. “I’m still weary of Apollo; I don’t entirely trust him. But that’s why I came to you and Ominis. I feel a bit better about this now, especially if I have your help.”

Sebastian gave her a small smile. “Smart girl.” He chuckled. “It’s getting late, you should get some rest.”

“You’re right. But that means you need sleep too.” Matty said. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a small kiss to his cheek. “Goodnight Sebastian.”

“Goodnight Matty,” Sebastian said with a smile on his face.

As Matty walked away, Sebastian watched her go. The Undercroft door clicked shut and Sebastian was left alone. It was the small conversations they had together like the one they just had moments ago that made Sebastian fall in love with her more and more every time they spoke. 

Chapter Text

It was a Wednesday afternoon. School had finished and the castle was enveloped in silence—aside from some simple chatter between students here and there. Matty didn’t want to be stuck with her thoughts, contemplating whatever could go down on Friday, so she was trying to distract herself from the thought of it. 

With not much to do after school when there was no Quidditch practice, Matty had taken it upon herself to come up with some entertainment. 

A few days ago, she had been reviewing a book Professor Ronen had recommended to her about simple charms, she had read about a color-changing charm. Extremely simple but could be used to have some fun. Slightly modifying the charm would also be just as easy as learning it. 

After reading about the simple charm, Matty got an idea. She crept down to the library, swiped some of the reading club badges right under Madam Scribner’s nose, and returned to her dorm with the badges stuffed in her pockets. 

She felt as if Madam Scribner would barely notice they were gone. After all, since everyone had found out the sour old lady was putting on the club, no one wanted to join. 

Then after a bit of time to work on modifying the color-changing charm, she got the hang of it. Within no time she had turned the boring beige-colored badges to a simple green—then with a simple tap of the tip of her wand, the badge turned red. 

Matty grinned as she saw that her idea had worked. And now in the present day, she was ready to carry out her entertainment. 

She had asked most of her friends to meet her down by the flying lawn, and that they could bring any of their friends if they wanted to come. There were more than enough badges to go around—a fortunate mistake made by the librarian who actually believed people would join her reading club when she treated the students quite harshly. 

When a surprising crowd of students had come to the flying lawn, Matty was ready to explain why she had gotten them all here. 

“I’ll be completely honest; I only made this game because I was bored but seems like a fun thing to do while we’re bored out of our minds.” She spoke. She handed Hope and Esme a considerable number of badges to hand out to every student on the flying lawn who had come to play. 

“Everyone gets one badge. You fasten it to the front of your robe where it’s completely visible—no hiding badges.” Matty stated. “Every badge is green, but with the simple tap of the wand, they become red.” 

Matty demonstrated with her own badge, tapping it lightly and the badge turned from green to red—only to fade back to green moments later. “When the badge is green, you’re in the game. When the badge is red, you’re out. The badge will stay red until the end of the game—I took it upon myself to charm it that way.” She said. 

She could see several students begin to pin the badges to the front of their robes, making sure they were all visible. 

“There will be two teams, a team captain for each but that’s just for selection.” She continued. “The goal of the game is to get the other teams badges red and to be the last team standing with green badges. If your badge turns red after someone on the opposing team taps it, you’re out. No exceptions—you come back to the flying lawn and wait till the game is over.” 

Matty looked around the crowd for someone who could be a team captain. “I’ll be a team captain for one team and—Thomas, why don’t you be the team captain for the other team?” she asked, spotting Thomas among the crowd. 

Thomas nodded his head and walked over to Matty. “I’ll give you first pick. We just pick whoever we want on our teams and go until everyone has an assigned team. Let’s just go with team one and team two.” She gestured to Thomas for one and herself for two. 

“You get the first pick,” Matty said to Thomas. 

Without skipping a beat, Thomas looked at Sebastian. “Sebastian.” He said. 

Sebastian chuckled, probably knowing that his friend would choose him first, and walked over beside Thomas. Everyone spread out a bit so that the teams had room to grow. “Hope,” Matty said when it was her turn. 

Then, the teams slowly began to form. 

“Ominis.” 

 “Esme.” 

 “Natty.” 

 “Garreth.” 

 “Zerena.” 

 “Amit.” 

 “Imelda.” 

 “Leander.” 

When every student had been chosen and everyone had been filed into their respective teams of one and two, they waited for Matty to tell them what was to happen next. 

“The team captains then count to exactly sixty seconds while everyone runs and hides. You can hide just about anywhere but inside the castle. The team captains are not allowed to get each other out. Also, no spells, the only magic allowed is the charm already put on the badges. I’m not wanting to be responsible for any injuries.” Matty explained. 

“The moment we start counting, everyone is going to want to run as fast as they can. We’ll try and be loud enough to make sure you can hear us. When it hits sixty seconds, you can start trying to get members of the other team out. Just make sure you don’t forget who’s on your team.” 

Everyone nodded in a mutual understanding of how this game worked. Some were even already in a competitive mood. Matty and Thomas looked at each other before giving a small nod and began counting together. “One…two…three…” They began. 

Instantly, the crowd of students practically disappeared, and everyone was dashing off to go find a hiding place. The name “Charm tag” didn’t exactly fit to the fullest, but who cared when you just wanted to have fun? 

Thomas and Matty made sure to count as loud as they could—hoping that everyone would be able to hear them from wherever they had gone. The game wouldn’t end until everyone from either team one or two had red badges and were out of the game. 

“Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty!” They both called out and immediately dashed off in different directions. 

Matty ran towards the path that would lead to the outside of the greenhouse, she knew there would be plenty of people hiding around there. She could already hear some people groaning—a clear sign that they had already been caught and their badges had been turned red. 

Matty was quickly searching for people, but also trying to keep a distance from any hiding place so no one could jump out and tap her badge. From a bit in front of her, she saw Garreth jump out from behind a bush and tap the badge of a Ravenclaw student she didn’t know the name of. The Ravenclaw boy groaned and hung his head as he stalked off back to the flying lawn. 

“Good job, Garreth,” Matty said, giving him a high five as she passed him. 

As she neared the greenhouse, she heard very faint shuffling and the rustling of grass. She concluded that there was someone hiding behind the shrubbery and was waiting for her to walk by so that they could jump out and tap her badge. 

She saw a hint of red between the shrubbery—another Gryffindor student. As she turned the corner, she dashed across it. 

The Gryffindor student, who ended up being Eric, sprang out but didn’t expect Matty to dash across the opening so he tried to stop himself midair to turn and hit her badge, but Matty was quick enough, swinging her arm around and nicking his badge. Immediately the badge turned from green to red and he groaned. 

“Well, that went sour.” He huffed. 

“Better luck next time,” Matty said with a triumphant giggle. 

Eric walked off back to the flying lawn and Matty continued her search. On the other side of the grounds, close to the outer walls of the school. Esme was stalking around the stone walls, hoping someone from the opposing team would turn the corner and she could get them. She had already gotten two students with this tactic. 

Unfortunately for her, Ominis was the one coming towards the stone walls. One would think because he was blind, he’d have a disadvantage but in fact—Ominis was probably the most fortunate for this game. 

His hearing was sharp and naturally, he had memorized the footsteps of anyone he had been around for long enough. The moment he heard Esme step forward—even if it was close to silent to the normal ears, he immediately knew it was her. 

He grinned—the irony of this situation was killing him. He knew this would probably make Esme go pouting on him for weeks because he foiled her plans, but he was completely okay with that. Every relationship needed a bit of competitiveness. 

Ominis turned the corner and before Esme could jut forward with her wand out, his was already out and he tapped her badge with a grin on his face. 

Esme quickly realized who had just taken her out—her own boyfriend. “Ominis!” She scoffed, crossing her arms. “You knew I was behind here, didn’t you?” 

“That I did, my dear.” Ominis chuckled. “Perhaps next time account for the fact that my hearing is better than most. I knew it was you by the sound of your footsteps the moment I heard it.” 

It was extremely impressive when one thought about it. Thomas had certainly chosen the right boy to be on his team. 

“We’ll talk about this later,” Esme said, obviously joking and Ominis knew it. But to anyone who was around and could’ve possibly heard it couldn’t have deciphered if she was being sarcastic or not. 

Up near the beast class hut, Zerena was on the lookout for anyone who wasn’t on her team. She figured a few people would be hiding up here somewhere. As expected, there was someone—none other than Amit—which was ironic considering he wasn’t too fond of beasts. 

They both turned the corner at the same time; Zerena put her wand up because she knew someone was coming around and she wanted to tap their badge first and Amit because it was a knee-jerk response, and he was quite anxious. 

They both had their wands pointed at each other. Zerena’s eyes were almost daring Amit to make the first move—and she could see in turn, his eyes turned quite anxious, along with his expression. “Go ahead,” she said, in a bit of a daring tone. 

A bit of red graced Amit’s cheeks at Zerena’s dare. He wasn’t exactly used to being “confronted” by girls like this at all. “I—uh,” He stammered, not daring to even move. 

Zerena sighed, rolling her eyes. She reached over with her right hand that held her wand and tapped Amit’s badge. Amit didn’t even attempt to tap hers before she could do it to him. He just froze in the exact position he was in. 

“You know, you didn’t have to just stand there, right?” Zerena asked him, eyeing him up and down. She had no idea why he looked so…embarrassed? Even before she had tapped his badge. 

“Right, right,” Amit said, finally unfreezing from his position, and putting his wand down. “I suppose I must go back to the flying lawn now,” he said, quickly leaving without another word. 

Zerena watched him go, finding herself chuckling as he scurried off to the flying lawn. She caught herself thinking “What a peculiar boy…” but not in a bad way. She had known Amit ever since they were first years since she was in the same house. But she had never really paid attention to him till now. “He’s kind of charming. In a foolish way.” She mumbled to herself as she went on the prowl for more students on the opposing team. 

*** 

Much time was beginning to pass since the start of the game and Matty was still in the game. She had made a tactic of searching for people and then going to hide once she had gotten a few out and so far, it was working. 

By the number of students filling up the flying lawn, she knew there were only a few left in the game—one of which was Sebastian, whom she hadn’t seen since he sprinted off at the beginning of the count. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, her wand pointed out in front of her. 

When she turned, ironically, it was Sebastian, his wand in the same position. 

“Speak of the devil.” Matty quipped, letting him know she had just been wondering where he was. 

“That would be me,” Sebastian said sarcastically. 

“Don’t tell yourself that too much,” Matty said with a grin. “It may just come true.” 

Sebastian glanced at Matty’s wand, at her badge, and then at her face. “So, who’s going to be the unfortunate one to strike first and lose?” he asked as if trying to tempt Matty to jab at him first. He had quickly learned that patience was key in a situation like this. 

“You tell me,” Matty said, not putting her wand down even for a second. 

Then, unexpectedly, Sebastian lowered his wand. Matty narrowed her eyes. What was he trying to do? She kept her wand up but didn’t make an effort to try and lunge at him and try to tap his badge. She knew that would put her closer to him and at a greater risk of getting out. 

“What are you doing?” She asked him as he was now beginning to just walk towards her. 

“You tell me.” He said, joking about the exact words Matty had used earlier. 

He was now close enough that she could just reach out and tap his badge—but that wouldn’t be fun. She wanted to see what he was trying to do here. She lowered her wand, but still kept it up enough that she’d have a split second to tap his badge. 

Then suddenly, he just leaned in. It shocked Matty for a moment—but she wasn’t about to lurch away, in fact, she was entirely sure she wanted it. 

His lips were practically ghosting over hers, stopping right before they connected. And then he whispered. “Check your badge.” He couldn’t help but break out into a mischievous smirk, knowing he had won this battle. 

Matty confusedly looked down to see that her once-green badge was now red and then her cheeks went red, and her jaw dropped. Sebastian moved away, giggling—actually giggling like some little boy who had just pulled off a successful prank. 

Matty didn’t even know what to say, she just stood there, staring at him with her mouth agape. “I’ll make it up to you later,” Sebastian said before disappearing to go find the remaining students. 

Matty stood there. She couldn’t even be mad at him—it was a smart move. But she was shocked. She couldn’t tell if she was more shocked that he was about to kiss her or if she had completely missed him snaking up his wand to tap her badge. Either way, she was impressed, embarrassed, and shocked. 

She had no other choice but to join the other students on the flying lawn. Leander, who had been on her team but had gotten out already, was sitting on the stairs and could see her walking up, noticing her red badge. 

“How did you manage to get out at your own game?” He asked her. 

“I… have no idea,” Matty said, her mind still on what had just happened moments ago. 

She sat down beside Leander silently. For a moment, she felt a pang of disappointment that Sebastian hadn’t gone through with the kiss. After all, it was the second time that year that they had almost kissed and Matty was starting to become confused. 

Either way, she had enjoyed their closeness, even if it had been for just a moment. 

*** 

After the game had ended, team one had won. Although all around, everyone seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the game and told Matty that they enjoyed it and should play more often. Regardless of her team’s loss, she was happy so many people enjoyed it. 

Students began to go back inside, satisfied with the way the game had turned out. Matty caught sight of Sebastian and caught up to him—wanting to speak with him. 

“What was that?” She asked him. 

“What was what?” he asked, trying to play coy. 

“What you did earlier,” Matty said. “It was quite the odd tactic.” 

Sebastian chuckled. “Well, is there anything in the rules that says you aren’t allowed to use your charm on your enemies?” he asked, clearly knowing the answer was no. 

This was much more than him just “distracting” Matty to get her badge—but he wouldn’t admit that. He saw the opportunity and took it, even if he was slightly embarrassed about it now and covering it up with sarcasm. 

“I think you already know the answer to that,” Matty said, crossing her arms. “Be honest. Were you actually going to kiss me?” 

Sebastian, knowing that this was a conversation he now couldn’t avoid, turned towards her. “Well, I wanted t—,” 

He was interrupted by Thomas, who walked over and put his arm around Sebastian. “Associating yourself with the enemy, hm?” He hummed teasingly, shooting a glance at Matty. 

“The games over,” Sebastian shrugged. “And I see no problem getting comfortable with your enemies. It gives you an advantage when you think about it.” 

“Ah yes,” Thomas said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, the real reason why I’m here is to tell you Imelda wants to see you down in the Common room with the rest of the team. Some meeting about the game coming up this weekend.” 

Sebastian sighed. “Again?” He sighed. He looked at Matty. “We’ll talk later.” 

“Of course,” Matty said, even though she knew both wouldn’t have the guts to bring it up later when they did speak. This was just another rather unfortunate interruption that seemed to happen quite frequently. Imelda’s timing was impeccable. 

Sebastian bid them both goodbye before stalking off to the Slytherin Common room, not particularly fond of having to leave. Thomas and Matty watched him go and Thomas leaned himself on Matty’s shoulder. 

“You know, you should really just tell him.” He said. 

Matty’s head shot up to him and he rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like everyone can’t tell.” He said, looking down at her. “And I saw what happened back there between the two of you. Both of you need to stop beating around the bush and just get to it. Then again, what do I know? I’m just his roommate, living in the same room he does where Qhe talks about you constantly.” 

Thomas shrugged and left without another word as if to leave his last words hanging in the air for Matty to think about. 

Matty didn’t understand. If Sebastian seemingly liked her so much, why didn’t he tell her? Why didn’t he do anything about it? It was confusing her beyond all belief. Was he nervous? Did he think she was going to say no? Or not feel the same way? 

Then the simple words left her mouth. “Boys are so confusing.” 

Chapter Text

The weekend was approaching, and Friday was now here. Matty had gone through all her classes with a pit of anxiety pooling in her stomach. She couldn’t exactly fathom why she was so anxious about later, but she was. 

She had every reason in the world to be suspicious of Apollo—so maybe that’s why it was so bad. But at the same time, with the information Apollo had already given her, it would be hard for her not to believe him. The fact that he even knew who Isidora was, was enough for her to start believing that maybe Isidora wasn’t as much of a secret as she thought she was. 

Friday afternoon, after classes were done, Apollo made his way up to the Astronomy tower. He was confused as to why Matty had asked him to meet her there because why the Astronomy tower of all places? It was quite an open place and if they were talking about things that they wanted to keep a secret, this may not be the best place. 

When he reached the tower, he stood a bit away from the empty classroom—well, empty beside Professor Shah who was just standing in the room, staring off at the windows. He looked around the empty hallway confusedly, stepping over a bit and peering his head up the staircase to see if Matty was coming down it. 

“Matty?” He called out in the hallway. 

It was completely empty. Had she not even planned on actually showing up? 

Then, he heard footsteps coming up from the stairs behind him. “Sorry, sorry. I’m here.” It was Matty, making her way quickly up the stairs. Her robe was nowhere to be seen and it seemed as if she had been preoccupied before this. “I got caught up talking with someone before I remembered I was supposed to meet you here, my apologies.” 

“No worries,” Apollo said, taking a quick glance around them. “But… why are we here exactly? It’s not exactly the most private of places. Anyone could hear us.” 

“Well, that’s where you are wrong,” Matty said with a quick, devilish grin. 

She walked over to the seemingly normal stone wall of the Astronomy tower and then suddenly, the door to the Room of Requirement began to appear. Apollo flinched back—out of complete surprise. 

Matty let out a small chuckle before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Apollo followed her inside slowly, his eyes full of caution. “H-How long has this been here?” he asked, dumbfounded. 

“Since the school was created,” Matty replied. “Sure, it didn’t look like this then but that’s the whole point of the room. It fits the requirements of anything you need. This is where I do most of my studying. Professor Weasley was kind enough to show it to me last year when I was much farther behind than my fellow fifth years.” 

              “So, this has been here the entire time?” Apollo asked. “How does one even stumble upon this? They just need it?” 

Matty nodded her head. “Basically.” 

“And that’s why you brought me here, isn’t it? Because it's private and barely anyone knows about it.” Apollo spoke, seemingly finally putting it together despite his total confusion earlier when he had been left alone in the hall. 

“Precisely,” Matty replied. “I figured since we needed a place to speak about all this Isidora stuff, why not go to the one place where practically no one knows about?” 

Apollo nodded his head. But there was another big thing on his mind. He wanted to begin their endeavors to discover things about Isidora. “So, when do we start? And where do we start? We haven’t really established that.” 

Matty sat herself up on her desk in the corner of the room while Apollo stood a bit away, his arms crossed. “I figured we could start with that letter you spoke about—assuming you brought it,” she said, letting her legs sway under her. 

“Oh, yes,” Apollo said, his hand flashing to his pocket. He had brought it on the prospect that he believed Matty was going to want proof of this. He grabbed the old parchment from his pocket and handed it to Matty, who reached out to grab it. 

The parchment certainly fit the story—it was extremely old and almost identical to the ones Matty had found with Sebastian last year. She unfolded it carefully and began to inspect it. 

As she looked at the handwriting, there was no doubt that this was indeed Isidora’s penmanship. “It’s identical to hers.” She thought to herself. Even if one had used magic to copy handwriting, there were always going to be a few slip-ups that were noticeable if you looked hard enough. This was definitely Isidora’s penmanship. 

As she read over the letter, it was almost exactly how Apollo had described it. It was indeed Isidora writing to her child—her son, about how she was leaving him with a different family in pursuit of something unnamed. And just as Apollo had said, Isidora had left her full name and where she would be so when the child grew up, he could find her. 

Although, the son’s name was never stated. “Why did she never say her son's name?” Matty asked, looking up at Apollo. 

“I couldn’t tell you because I have no idea.” He answered. “That’s one of the only things we have proving we’re related to Isidora in the first place. There are so many gaps sometimes it’s even hard for me to believe that I’m related to her.” 

“So, I assume that’s why you want my help. To try and get to know her better—to know more about her.” Matty said as if piecing it all together. 

“Yes, exactly that,” Apollo said. “I’d also like to know if my mother’s paranoia had anything to do with Isidora. I mean, I’ve had a hunch for years that it was—hence what I told you on Monday. But to know exactly what it was, it’d help reveal a part of my childhood that I was confused about.” 

That last comment got Matty thinking, trying to put herself in Apollo’s shoes. Raised by a single mother who was deathly paranoid of their magic being discovered, moving around constantly so that the Ministry wouldn’t be able to find Apollo, who was using magic at a young age illegally but unknowingly, and then feeling completely alone after his mother died. 

There was no question as to why he wanted to know everything he could about his family.

But one thing that Matty was still hung up on was how Apollo was seemingly showing signs of magic since birth—and had been able to use said magic since he could practically walk—unlike Matty, who thought she was a muggle, in fact, had no idea about the wizarding world, until she was fifteen. 

In Apollo’s situation, getting a wand when you were younger than eleven wasn’t unheard of. In fact, Ominis had gotten his wand younger than most—a suggestion made by his Aunt Noctua in the hopes that it may make his life easier. And thank goodness she had. 

“What do you know about Isidora?” Apollo asked suddenly, eager to know what Matty knew. After all, she had agreed to this, so she obviously knew something.

Matty pursed her lips, thinking about what she could tell Apollo without giving too much away. “Well, for one, Isidora was from Feldcroft—so not too far from here.” She answered. Isidora’s place of birth wasn’t too important—as long as she kept the secret passageway in her home a secret. 

Apollo’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Wait, really?” He asked, completely dumbfounded. 

Matty nodded her head. “Yes. She resided in Feldcroft. Shambles of the house are still there—I stumbled upon it last year with a friend who lives there, ironically while we were searching for something else.” 

“Sebastian, right? He’s the friend, isn’t he?” Apollo asked, recalling that Sebastian had been living in Feldcroft with his uncle. 

“Oh—yes,” Matty said. “I was just there meeting his sister and we got caught up in something else. Then later we stumbled across the house. Sebastian had told me it was rumored that a Hogwarts Professor lived there—we later found out Isidora was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor in her time.” 

“Fascinating,” Apollo said, figuring that her profession was one of the things she referred to in the letter and journal entry. Although, he wondered why Isidora had been so vague. “So, you said the house—or whatever is left of it—is still there?” 

Matty nodded her head. “Mhm.” She said, then quickly realizing that Apollo would want to go check it out soon. She would want to be there if he did since she didn’t want him stumbling upon the secret passageway to the Undercroft. “I could show you sometime. Explain a thing or two while we’re there.” 

“That sounds wonderful,” Apollo said with a bit of excitement in his voice. Even such a small revelation about Isidora had him feeling hopeful that he would find out much more about her and his ancestry—just as he had hoped. 

The two chatted for a bit longer after this, somewhat about the plans they would make to go visit the home in Feldcroft. Matty made a mental note to bring it up to Sebastian later so that he could tag along. Better safe than sorry—especially since Sebastian knew the area better than anyone. 

After they decided their time was done, both of them slipped out from the Room of Requirement, one right after the other before parting ways. 

*** 

The next day was Saturday, and seemingly everything had gone well between Matty and Apollo the day prior. They had agreed on what to do next, even if it took a while since there were still things, they both personally needed to focus on. Unlike last year, where the fate of the wizarding world rested on Matty’s shoulders, this was a simple matter, one that could be handled over a longer period of time. 

Everything seemed to have gone well—except for one small thing none of them had noticed. 

Professor Shah had overheard the conversation before they entered the Room of Requirement and had become extremely suspicious as to where the two teens had been sneaking off to. 

Matty was sitting at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall alongside Hope and Garreth. The three were chatting about quite a few things; upcoming plans, class details, and Garreth complaining about getting detention for fooling around in potions class. (You know, the usual). 

“All I’m saying is how do they expect students to flourish and grow if they can’t do anything else but what’s directed?” He complained, shaking his head. 

“As much as I agree with you, Garreth, potions class is probably the most dangerous class you could take in school. One wrong ingredient and suddenly the whole room is aflame.” Matty said, taking a sip from her drink.

Hope nodded. “And you still seem to have this mindset that Professor Weasley won’t give you detention just because she’s your aunt.” She chuckled. “And she tells your parents everything. That’s why you get so many howlers from your mother.” 

Garreth huffed. “They just don’t understand how much of a genius I am.” 

“I know,” Hope said with some fake sympathy, giving Garreth a pat on the back. Of course, she did know Garreth was in fact a genius in his own right—and of course, she encouraged that. But she couldn’t encourage the part where he got put in detention all the time. 

(But she would still continue to supply him with the herbology ingredients he needed, of course.) 

Before one of the three could say anything else, Zerena walked up to the table they were sitting at. “There you are,” she said, looking at Matty. “Professor Shah would like to see you in her office. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” 

Garreth, Matty, and Hope all looked at each other with wide eyes. Why could Professor Shah want to see Matty of all people? 

Matty’s heart immediately sank to her stomach. “What could I have possibly done this time?” She asked herself. The last time she had been called to a professor’s office was ages ago, for nothing more than some extra assignments to catch up. But she was already caught up now—what could Professor Shah possibly want? 

“If I were you, I’d hurry up there—she seemed in quite a pessimistic mood when she told me to go get you,” Zerena spoke again to Matty as if trying to urge her to hurry up. 

“Good luck,” Hope whispered to Matty as she quickly got up from her seat and left the Great Hall. 

When she made it to the stairs, she rushed up them so fast she almost tripped, barely catching herself before her nose hit the hard stone. When she caught herself, she stood up straight before scurrying up the rest of the stairs—hoping she didn’t look insane for trying to rush up them so fast. 

Professor Shah was the one Professor at Hogwarts she was intimidated by in terms of their attitude and appearance. Professor Sharp had at one time intimidated Matty. He was an ex auror, extremely tall, and if looks could kill—it’d be him. But once she had gotten to know him, she had learned he was really quite the gentleman. 

Professor Shah, on the other hand, was a tad harsh on her students, expecting nothing more than the best from all of them. Her no-joke attitude made many students stay silent in class and brave the cold to chart stars just to avoid any form of harsh communication with her. 

When Matty arrived at the front of the Astronomy class, no one was in sight. She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and walked into the classroom, then to Professor Shah’s office. 

“Professor Shah? You said you wanted to see me?” she asked, opening the door. 

Professor Shah looked up from the chart she had been reading, a plain white teacup next to her left, and three quills neatly placed next to ink on her right. She was quite the orderly woman, that was for sure. 

“Ah, yes, come take a seat,” she said, gesturing to the seat on the other side of her desk. 

Matty nodded and sat down in front of her professor, instinctively smoothing out her skirt the moment she sat down. Since moving to London, she had had to learn a lot more about manners and how to carry herself. It had become an instinct to do certain things when she was approached or speaking to certain people. 

“I am not the kind of woman to sugarcoat things, Miss Ambrose.” Professor Shah spoke, looking at Matty. “I have already spoken to Mr. Morgan about this, but I would like to know exactly why you were sneaking around with him yesterday outside of the Astronomy classroom. I heard the entire conversation and it sounded quite suspicious.” 

Matty’s face went absolutely red. This was already rearing up to be the most embarrassing conversation of her life. How was she supposed to explain that it was nothing more than a private conversation without giving away what they were speaking about? 

She had to think, quickly. Otherwise, they’re may be some rumors about her that she didn’t want floating around. 

“Oh—Professor Shah, that was nothing more than a simple friendly conversation—although, it was one of a personal matter that we wanted to keep private.” She said, trying to say it in the politest tone possible, even though in her mind she wanted to tell Professor Shah to mind her own business. 

Professor Shah raised her eyebrow. “Mr. Morgan said something along the same lines.” She said as if insinuating that they had “pre-rehearsed” an excuse. 

The first thing that came to Matty’s mind was “Well perhaps he said that because that was all we did.” But she knew she couldn’t speak to her professor that way without getting into trouble. 

“Professor Shah, in the politest way possible, Apollo and I were only talking,” Matty said. “But it was about—family issues, hence why we wanted some privacy. It was a simple and friendly conversation.” 

Professor Shah went silent for a moment before giving Matty an up and down. “You are dismissed.” She said right after. 

Matty let out a mental sigh of relief. Thank Merlin this was over. She politely stood up and left but the moment the door was shut, and she was out of sight, she rushed away from the Astronomy classroom as fast as she could. 

“That was the most awkward moment of my life.” She breathed out as she descended down the stairs away from the Astronomy tower. 

*** 

When Matty returned to the Great Hall, she had quite a sour look on her face. “How’d it go?” Hope asked, seeing Matty walk up to the table once again. 

“Not terribly. But the reason why she called me up there in the first place was terrible.” Matty huffed, sitting down. “She was insinuating that I was sneaking off with Apollo or something. I’m probably overacting but how could someone assume that of me—out of literally anyone in the school?” 

“To be fair, I did sneak out a lot in fifth year but that was to fight goblins and poachers. Not to—kiss boys or whatever gross things people do.” She huffed. 

Hope couldn’t help but snort and then bust out laughing. She couldn’t help herself. “I’m sorry but that last part was hilarious.” She said, trying to catch her breath. 

“That’s quite an odd thing to call a student up for, don’t you think?” Garreth chimed in, thinking it was odd that Professor Shah even wanted to involve herself in the situation. 

“Perhaps she was just concerned that students were fooling around where they shouldn’t be but honestly—me?” Matty asked in disbelief. “I’ve never even gotten a single detention in my life! The nerve—ugh!” 

Hope giggled some more. “Oh, calm down. Sure, I don’t think anyone would want to be confronted for something as simple as a private conversation but I’m sure Professor Shah meant nothing of it.” She said, giving Matty’s arm a gentle squeeze. 

Although it was quite upsetting, Matty did have to admit it was quite funny when she thought about it but only because of how ridiculous it was. But in Professor Shah’s defense, she didn’t know Matty all too well and was probably just trying to keep the order. 

But even if that were true, Matty was making some mental notes not to get too close to anyone around Professor Shah. 

Chapter Text

“Please turn to page seventy-two in your transfiguration books. We will start where we left off yesterday.” Professor Weasley said, her voice ringing out across the class.

Matty flipped through her book to the appropriate page, but her eyes glanced up to the door of the transfiguration classroom, waiting for it to open. Sebastian was late—very late. Which wasn’t like him at all. He was either up early and ready to go or rolling out of bed last minute, getting ready, and rushing to class, but even then, it was extremely rare for him to ever be late.

She thought maybe he was sick, but she would’ve heard about it by now if he was, so that wasn’t likely. Hope noticed how many times she had been glancing at the doorway and bumped her lightly with her elbow. “Focus.” She reminded Matty.

Last year, Matty had struggled quite a lot with transfiguration and had asked Hope to assist her and “keep her in check” so that she wouldn’t find her mind elsewhere when she was supposed to be paying attention.

Matty nodded her head and looked back down at her book, she needed to be paying attention so she pushed her worries aside.

But moments later, the door opened, and low and behold it was Sebastian. Although, he looked like a complete and total mess. His hair was a mess, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked as if he had just woken up barely five minutes ago.

A few students began to whisper amongst themselves, and Professor Weasley looked up from where she was seated at her desk to see what the commotion was about. “Mr. Sallow, you’re late.” She said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“My apologies, Professor Weasley,” Sebastian said, making his way to an open desk and sitting down.

Matty shot a concerned glance over at him. She had never seen him come into class this late and looking this messy. Sebastian didn’t care too much about his appearance, but he had enough manners to at least fix his hair before coming to class on the usual.

“Just don’t let it happen again.” Professor Weasley said before looking back down at her work.

Well, at least she didn’t give him detention.

The class seemed to drag on for forever—or maybe it was just because Matty was trying to figure out what was going on with Sebastian and sitting through an hour-long class with no answers was killing her.

The moment class ended, Matty turned to Hope. “I’ll see you in beasts’ class.” She said before getting up and walking over to Sebastian.

“What was that all about?” She asked him. “Why were you so late? This isn’t like you at all.”

“It was one time,” Sebastian said, packing up his things, seemingly trying to avoid answering the question. He slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder and looked at her as if he had already answered her.

“Sure, you were late one time but I’m talking about—all of this,” she said, gesturing to him. “You look like you just rolled out of bed.”

As they began to walk out of the classroom, Sebastian answered. “Well, maybe that’s because I just did.” He said with a shrug. “Last night wasn’t the best.” He trailed off a bit, confusing Matty further. He did know he could be honest with her, right?

“Did you not sleep well? What kept you up?” She asked.

“Nothing important,” Sebastian said, brushing off the question.

Matty wanted to ask him more questions, but she told herself she didn’t want to be too nosey or overbearing so she went silent. Perhaps she was being a tad superstitious by thinking something happened last night. She was just worried about him.

It wasn’t the first morning that something similar happened. Sure, it was the first morning he had been late to class like this, but she had seen him acting in similar ways since the beginning of the school year and she had no idea what was going on.

What was he not telling her and why? She thought that they had established over the summer through their letters that no secrets needed to be kept between them and that they could tell each other anything but something in the pit of Matty’s stomach told her that there was something he didn’t really want to tell her about, and she had no idea why.

“Is there something obvious here that I’m missing?”  she mentally asked herself.

She brushed the thought off quickly. Sebastian was most likely telling the truth. After all, they had promised not to keep anything from each other—so that meant something, right?

“Don’t be overbearing. Stop caring so much, it’s probably nothing,”  she told herself as they walked away from the transfiguration classroom.

She was sure this was only a one-time thing and that it wouldn’t be happening again. Even if it rubbed her the wrong way, she told herself it was nothing. 

*** 

 It wasn’t a one-time thing. 

For the next three consecutive days after Sebastian had dragged himself into class late, Matty had started to notice some extremely obvious things that were off about him. He was waking up late, showing up late to classes that were in the middle of the day, he wasn’t eating—or barely eating at all, and he was talking much, much less. 

It was beginning to worry her a lot. At first, she just told herself she was blatantly looking for these things, but she soon realized that others were noticing them too—it wasn’t even her. 

Sebastian had landed himself in detention for showing up so late to so many different classes and she had even overheard Professor Garlick and Professor Sharp talk about him in detention. Sharp, who had been in charge of conducting detention that day, had said Sebastian kept falling asleep through it. 

What on earth was this boy doing to make himself so exhausted? 

Well, that’s what Matty was going to find out. There were too many things going on for her to just avoid asking him about it. At first, she had told herself not to pry and that it wasn’t polite, but as one of Sebastian’s closest friends, she was worried and decided now was the time to get to the bottom of what was going on. 

She asked to speak with him alone in the Undercroft after school, which he agreed to, not much of a surprise since it was normal for them to meet down there. Sebastian wasn’t expecting to be interrogated or anything like that. 

So, that afternoon, Matty waited in the Undercroft for Sebastian to show up. She heard the door to the Undercroft click and Sebastian walked through. “You’re here.” She said, getting up and walking over to him. 

“Of course, I am. Were you not expecting me to show up?” Sebastian questioned. 

“No, I just—,” She cut herself off right there. She was going to say she expected him to be late, given his track record the past few days but she opted not to, not wanting to sound rude. “I just need to talk to you.” 

“I had assumed that’s why I was here.” Sebastian chuckled.

He noticed Matty looked nervous, having no idea why. It’s not like they hadn’t spoken down here alone a thousand times before. Truth was, Matty was second-guessing herself as to if this was a good idea or not. 

But she figured if she didn’t ask now, she’d never ask, and Sebastian would continue to be in this odd downward spiral no one could explain. 

“Why have you been so late to everything recently?” She blurted out before she could tell herself no. “It’s not like you. You’ve been falling asleep during class—detention even. Showing up late, missing or entirely skipping meals, and so much more. What is going on that you’re not telling me about? You know you can talk to me, right?” 

Sebastian furrowed his brows. “What? No. Nothing’s going on.” He said with an obvious lie in his voice. 

Matty shook her head. “Don’t even try to lie to me, Sebastian. Everyone knows something’s going on. Even Professor Sharp was talking about it for Merlin’s sake!” She spoke, not wanting to play a game of back-and-forth. 

“You’re one of the best students in the school, work-wise. You never showed up late, you got good marks, and you were extremely confident in doing so but now it seems like none of that was even real. What’s happening to you?” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sebastian said in a defensive tone. 

“Why are you being so difficult?” Matty asked, now getting heated. “I thought we promised not to keep secrets from each other. You know, those letters we wrote to each other over the summer? Everything seemed to be fine till now!” 

“You’re the one being difficult here.” Sebastian snapped, harsher than he intended to. “I already told you, I’m fine. Why do you care so much?” 

Ouch.  

That one hit Matty harder than she expected it to. “Because you’re my friend. Because I care about all my friends,” she said, biting back tears. “I can tell you’re struggling—everyone can. So, why can’t you just be honest with me? I can help you!” 

“You’re insisting on helping me with something that isn’t even a problem.” Sebastian huffed, crossing his arms. 

Matty wanted to raise her voice at him and continue the argument, but she realized it was going to get her nowhere. If Sebastian wasn’t going to say anything he didn’t want to, he wasn’t going to. He was stubborn that way. 

She was getting frustrated but knew this conversation was doing nothing but getting them both angry and she knew she needed to calm down. Without another word, she left the Undercroft, not wanting to continue on and get angry. 

“Why is he being so difficult? I’m just trying to help.” She mumbled to herself once the Undercroft door was closed. 

She knew not everyone wanted to be helped—and she knew they were going to stick to that, but this felt like so much more than him just not wanting to be helped—or even just having someone supporting him through a hard time. The thing was, she couldn’t put her finger on what was even going on. 

“Maybe I should ask Ominis and Esme about this later… perhaps they’d be able to give me an answer.” 

Chapter Text

Matty and Sebastian hadn't talked much since their small altercation in the Undercroft, which only made Matty more suspicious. If it wasn't anything that actually mattered, he'd just say that, and then Matty would apologize and move on. But something about this wasn't sitting right with her at all.

And then everything seemed to fall into place when she overheard Ominis and Esme talking about how worried they were about Sebastian. They spoke in hushed voices, trying to find a solution to whatever this problem was.

There was a feeling in Matty's gut that she just couldn't ignore, so she later asked the two of them to come with her to the Undercroft so they could speak. A part of her was worried that she had done something wrong and that's why Sebastian was acting this way—and why he wasn't being truthful with her.

All she wanted to know was why. And hopefully, she'd be able to get some answers from Ominis and Esme.

When they were in the Undercroft, she wasted no time. "Do either of you have any idea what's going on with Sebastian?" she asked immediately. "I'm worried about him, terribly. But he won't say why—or he's downplaying it. I suppose I just don't understand because we agreed no secrets, we agreed to tell each other when things weren't going so well. I'm just so confused."

Esme glanced over at Ominis, seemingly hesitant to speak. "How much did Sebastian tell you over the summer?" She asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Matty asked. "He told me everything was going well. That he was working for Sirona and staying in Feldcroft. He never went into detail, so I assumed nothing had happened."

Esme could feel her heart drop to her stomach and Ominis's expression changed to a solemn one. Matty looked between the two of them, confused. "What? What happened?" She questioned, now even more confused.

"I suppose those letters make sense now," Esme whispered to Ominis. "I told him to tell her—I knew she'd be upset."

"Sebastian is stubborn. He felt like keeping it a secret from her was a good thing." Ominis replied.

Matty felt herself getting slightly frustrated. "Can we possibly not talk about me like I'm not right here?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I'm so confused, and I just desperately want answers. If Sebastian didn't want to tell me something, it's really not my place to impose but he promised—we promised each other that if anything went wrong, we'd tell each other."

Ominis and Esme went silent. Esme then sighed, knowing that keeping it a secret from Matty would do them no good and Sebastian's reasonings for doing so were only going to cause more problems if this was all kept secret.

"Sebastian's summer was terrible. He was constantly alone, which you probably already knew but it took a toll on him. Everything did." Esme said in a low tone. "It was rough. He wrote to Ominis and I many times about it. He would talk about... contemplating certain things that I can't even bring myself to say. He didn't tell you because he didn't want you to worry. But now that I know what he had promised..."

Matty's heart sank and suddenly, she felt mixed emotions. Her heart broke knowing what Sebastian was going through, and what he had even dared to contemplate. But her feelings also conflicted because she was upset. Upset that he hadn't told her and broke his promise. Upset at herself that she didn't help him, even when there was no possible way for her to do so when she hadn't even known.

Suddenly, everything made sense. Esme's letters to Matty talking about Sebastian, questioning her about what he had told her. On the day they arrived at school and how Sebastian practically refused to talk about his summer. Suddenly it all made sense now and it broke Matty's heart.

Sebastian's nightmares were keeping him up. His past was haunting him like never before and he had considered ending his own life in the summer because of it. Matty could barely handle the thought of it.

"So... you meant to tell me all of this was going on and he never told me?" Matty asked. "I—I could've helped. Why didn't he tell me?"

"He didn't want to worry you," Esme said quickly. "I cautioned him against not telling you, but he was adamant about not telling you. He figured you had gone through enough with Professor Fig's death that you didn't need another thing to worry about."

"And what if he had gone through with it?" Matty asked, feeling herself begin to get angry, even if she wasn't trying to. "Was I supposed to just be told about it then? When he would already be gone? Can you not see my frustration?"

Ominis shook his head. "No, no, we completely understand." He said. "But he didn't tell you—not because he didn't want you to know. There were many times when he expressed to us that he wished he could write to you about these things, but he felt guilty anytime he thought of it."

"Forget feeling guilty. He felt like ending his own life!" Matty exclaimed. "And all this time I—I had no idea. And while we've been at school, he's kept his spiraling a secret too. W-Why can't he just accept help?"

Tears were forming in her eyes and when she blinked, they fell down her cheeks. Esme looked down, feeling her heart become heavy. The world was cruel. No children of any age should ever have the go through these kinds of things, yet they had. Sebastian had suffered in silence and Matty felt absolutely crushed because of it. She couldn't imagine how Sebastian had felt.

Her feelings were conflicted. With sadness and anger both tearing at her heart. She wasn't quite sure how to feel. Esme walked over and wrapped her arms around Matty, trying to comfort her.

Suddenly, the Undercroft door clicked, and Sebastian came walking in, having no idea that the three of them were down there. He had heard small sobs as he was walking in, but he assumed he had just been hearing things.

"Matty—?" He looked confused—stunned even. "Esme, Ominis, what's going on here?"

Ominis quickly stepped forward. "Perhaps now is not the best time." He said, knowing that Matty wasn't exactly in the best state to speak reasonably at the moment.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Matty asked him, without giving any thought to it. Her judgment was clouded and at that moment, she wasn't minding what was coming out of her mouth. "I could've helped you. We promised each other to help each other through things like this. Did—did that promise mean nothing to you?"

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Sebastian asked, extremely confused. He had no idea that he had just walked in on a conversation that had been about him.

He looked between Ominis and Esme. Esme refused to meet his eyes and Matty was the only one staring directly at him, tears in her own eyes. Suddenly, he had an idea of what was going on and his heart dropped.

"Matty I—," he said, looking at her. "I swear, I planned on telling you eventually. I just didn't know how, and I didn't want to worry you."

"You didn't think to bring it up yesterday?" Matty choked. "When I confronted you and you swore it was nothing? What Esme and Ominis just told me doesn't really sound like nothing, Sebastian. Is this true?"

Sebastian knew exactly what she was talking about, and he realized he couldn't just run away from his problems anymore. He quickly realized that when he was hurt and refused to help himself, it hurt the people around him who cared about him. He obviously had every right to feel the way he had, but he was regretting not getting the proper help for it.

Aside from the regret he had felt from this alone, his recent downward spiral made him wish he had gotten help for his well-being long before this.

He looked away, unable to look her in the eyes. He had tried to avoid hurting her in the first place but had ended up doing it anyway. He was mentally cursing himself over it.

Matty wasn't upset at him for the way he felt. She knew that with everything that had happened to him, he was in a lot of distress. What she was upset over was the promise they had made to each other being broken. All she had ever wanted was to help him—even from the beginning when she had barely even known him.

Matty knew by Sebastian's silence that it was true. She swallowed hard, feeling a wave of emotions wash over her. She felt guilty herself. Guilty that she had been so careless and that she hadn't seen the signs sooner.

She pushed Esme away gently. "I need to leave." She said, not wanting to become rash and say things she would regret. She didn't want anyone else hurting more than they already had.

Sebastian contemplated stopping her for a moment, but Ominis shook his head, knowing exactly what Sebastian was going to do, so he stopped himself. The Undercroft door slammed shut, leaving Esme, Ominis, and Sebastian in complete silence.

***

Matty had been sitting up in her dorm for quite some time after this. She didn't even know what to do so she just sat there, drowning in her own thoughts.

"Did he not trust me?"

"Did I react too harshly?"

"Could I have even helped him?"

She sighed and flopped back onto her bed, staring up at the top of her bed's canopy. She had already lost so much that the thought that she was completely oblivious to the fact she could've lost Sebastian was more painful than she could have ever imagined.

She knew she cared about him, in more ways than just platonic, and maybe that's why it hurt. Maybe it hurt so much because she cared about him in both ways.

She pushed herself off her bed and left her dormitory, making her way over to the astronomy tower. Eden had been left in the Room of Requirement and she felt like she needed to write a letter to her parents—more specifically her mother.

Matty often wrote to her parents while at school, at almost every chance she had gotten. But after a year of not being able to truly say what was going on, she felt like now could be a time, to be honest with her mother about how she felt. Ada had always given the best advice.

When she entered the Room of Requirement, she was met with the sight of Apollo sitting at the desk, looking over a journal entry of Isidora's that Matty had given to him. At first, she hadn't expected him to be there, but she quickly remembered she had opened the room to him at any time if he needed a quiet place to work.

Apollo looked over at her and instantly caught sight of her distressed expression and that her eyes were puffy from crying. "Woah, what's wrong?" He asked, quickly forgetting about the journal entry on the desk.

"I'm just a bit upset is all," Matty said, rubbing her eyes.

"It looks like a tad more than just being a bit upset," Apollo said in a comforting tone. He tilted his head and looked at her for a moment. "Did you get into an argument with Sebastian or something like that?"

Matty couldn't help but look up at him with a little surprise. "Sort of. Well, I did a bit ago but right now it's just a lot of things... regarding him." She said. "How'd you know?"

Apollo shrugged. "I have a way of knowing things." He said simply.

"Right..." Matty said, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself.

"I noticed Sebastian has been a bit distant recently. Showing up to classes late, looking rough, all of those things." Apollo said. "He seemed frustrated about something. Hopefully, he didn't take his frustration out on you, did he?"

Matty shook her head. "No, no, not at all. He's not like that at all," she said, shaking her head. "I was sort of the problem, to be honest. But I won't talk about it anymore."

Apollo nodded his head. "Alright. Take your time." He said, turning back to reading the journal entry that he had left on the desk.

Matty sighed, grabbing some ink, a quill, and some parchment before walking to a different part of the room. Apollo was left in the front room while she went to be alone. She slumped onto one of the conjured couches and placed the ink carefully on her thigh, leaning it against the couch so it wouldn't spill. Not that it would matter much if it did. She dipped the quill in her ink before she began to write.

"Dear Mum,

I'm in quite a predicament right now and I'm not sure how to feel. But you've always told me that I could write to you if I needed any help, so I am. I'm sure you remember Sebastian. I couldn't stop talking about him when I was home, I'd be surprised if you had forgotten about him.

Last year was difficult for him. He was left all alone for three months with no family or anyone to take care of him, really. He had a few people looking out for him here and there, which I appreciate a lot. We wrote a lot to each other over the summer. And in our very first letters, we promised that we'd tell each other anything we were struggling with.

I just found out Sebastian wasn't completely truthful about his summer, and I feel angry, but I don't think I should be. I feel a lot of things, to be honest. I feel sadness because I couldn't be there to help him. I feel angry because he didn't tell me. And I feel guilty for several reasons. I suppose my whole point is—I really don't know exactly what to feel.

I wanted to help him, I want to help him, that's all. He says he didn't want to worry or hurt me, but it happened anyway. I feel a bit bad because I sort of got angry at him for it and I have no idea what to do.

A little advice—any advice would be amazing right now. I love you and Dad, and I miss you both dearly. I can't wait till the holidays when I can come back home.

With all my love,

Matty."

Matty finished off her letter and folded it up, sealing it, and then gave it to Eden for her to take it to London. Eden had always been a faithful owl—a quick one too. Matty didn't know if there was some magic influence on the owl's witches and wizards purchased, but owl postage was always so quick, so she assumed there was.

"Now we wait," she said to herself, staring up at the ceiling of the room.

She still hadn't fully processed how she felt, and she knew it'd take a while, so she was trying to give herself some time. Part of her wanted to run back to the Undercroft and hug Sebastian, and the other part of her wanted to be upset about it. But she knew right now that the best thing for her to do was calm down and take some time before approaching him again.

The last thing she wanted was for her to say something harsh and hurt Sebastian more than he already had been. And Sebastian felt the same way about her.

He stayed in the Undercroft for a few hours, pacing, and ranting at Esme and Ominis for as long as they could listen. He was panicking and filled with anxiety. He had done the thing he so desperately tried to avoid, and he was frustrated.

Eventually, Ominis stopped him and told him they needed rest, especially Sebastian. School wasn't going to stop for four teenagers going through some things and they all needed some sleep, especially after what had happened that night.

Although Matty would lay awake most of the night. While Natty and Nellie were fast asleep, she was staring up at the top of her bed, her mind cluttered with everything that had happened.

"I wish I had noticed earlier." She whispered to herself before turning over in bed and finally trying to get some sleep. 

Chapter Text

“I feel like such a fool,” Sebastian grumbled, running a hand through his hair that had already been messed up from him doing it several times before. “I kept telling myself I’d tell her eventually, but I just never found the time. I feel like an idiot.” 

“Stop being so hard on yourself, Sebastian,” Ominis spoke. “I know you had promised her no secrets but, in your defense, it’s quite a serious topic to address. Matty doesn’t blame you at all. But she cares about you and when something like that happens to someone you care for, you panic and sometimes you don’t think straight. She wasn’t angry.” 

“I know that,” Sebastian replied. “But my whole point was to avoid hurting her, yet here I am, doing the very thing I was trying to avoid.” 

The boy’s dorm room had gotten quite quiet after that one. Ever since the conversation they had held in the Undercroft, things had been a tad rough. It was the next morning and Matty and Sebastian hadn’t spoken to each other yet. Neither of them knew how after such a conversation. 

Ominis sighed, trying to think of a way to comfort his best friend. Sebastian had gone through so much. His feelings had been valid, and he was allowed to feel how he had. But here he was, beating himself up over it. 

“Sebastian, we all feel very deeply for you. We just want what’s best for you.” He said, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible. “And the best thing for you right now is to seek help. Don’t continue being stressed—this will solve itself. Matty isn’t angry, just worried. I’m indefinitely sure that she would advise you to do the same.” 

“I know, I know I need help but it’s so hard to even talk about.” Sebastian sighed, slumping down onto his bed with a thud. “You don’t think about how everything feels after you decide to stay. The thought of it doesn’t go away… it just lingers and comes from time to time.” 

Ominis nodded his head, he knew the feeling. “Which is exactly why it’d be wise of you to seek help. No one is going to turn you down.” He said. “You went through a lot and then were immediately forced to be alone with your thoughts for three months. That’s a long time for someone so young to be alone.” 

Through the time they had been back at school, Ominis had always tried to make sure Sebastian wasn’t alone for too long. He knew if you were left alone with your own thoughts for too long, then your mind starts to go a bit wild, and you contemplate things that aren’t exactly the best. 

“I just feel guilty.” Sebastian sighed, putting his head in his hands. “Matty was one of the people who helped me through so much during the summer and she didn’t even know what was going on. She deserves the truth, but I couldn’t even bring myself to tell her.” 

“I’m sure she understands, Sebastian,” Ominis said in a comforting tone. “She’s a kind and understanding girl. She was probably just shocked and didn’t know how to react.” 

Sebastian nodded his head. He had assumed if he told Matty before all of this, she would be shocked and confused. But he knew for a fact she’d worry and be distraught, which was what he had been trying to avoid. He cared about her and didn’t want her to worry. But he also wanted her to know the truth, even if it was hard for him to say. It was a shame she had to find out in such an unfortunate way. 

*** 

 For most of the next day, Matty and Sebastian didn’t talk. Neither of them really talked to anyone. Matty still felt guilty and sad—not knowing how to even bring up a conversation with him until things had been sorted out. She was hoping that her mother would write back as quickly as she could so that she could get some advice from a wise person. 

A few people noticed the unusual behavior and asked about it, but Matty just told them it was nothing and that she just wasn’t feeling the best, then lied, saying that she’d go to Nurse Blainey later even though she knew nothing that the Nurse could give her would help. 

After school, she returned to her dorm, feeling quite down. But her spirits lifted with anticipation when she saw that Eden had brought her a letter. She rushed forward and snatched up the letter, seeing that it had been sent by her mother. 

She quickly ripped the envelope open and grabbed the letter, opening it up. 

“Dear Matty, 

It was wonderful to hear from you again. I enjoy getting your letters, no matter what they are about. Although I wasn’t expecting such a quick and grim one, I am still grateful you think of turning to me for advice when you are struggling. It makes me feel like a good and accomplished mother. 

Now, about your friend. I don’t know too much about what he had experienced, but it seemed pretty serious. You told me that the two of you had promised each other and I understand that it hurts a lot when a promise is broken. You seem to care about Sebastian a lot, and that’s a good thing. Everyone needs someone like that to let them know they are cared for. 

My advice to you would just be to just talk to him. It seems simple but that’s the only way you can find a solution to this. Miscommunication, or not communicating at all, does nothing but make things worse. His intentions were good. Your intentions were good. But both intentions just slightly clashed. 

Talk to him and be honest. Encourage him to be honest as well and hold a civil conversation—which I know you are very capable of doing. 

I may worry about you sometimes, but I know you are completely capable of taking care of yourself. But I’m glad you turned to me for help. Just be compassionate and understanding. Everything will work out; I can promise you that. 

And Matty, invite the poor boy over for Christmas. He hasn’t got anyone to go to for the holidays and it’d be terrible to let him spend them alone. 

With all my love, 

Ada.” 

Matty read the letter over a couple of times, trying to take what advice her mother had given her to heart. Ada was right. Sebastian deserved compassion and kindness. And even though Matty completely strived to treat him in such a way, things were a bit different now. 

She knew Sebastian was struggling and knew he needed someone to talk to. He had never intended to hurt her—or anyone else who was involved in that matter. He was just a boy, confused, struggling, and probably scared too.

Although the conversation wouldn’t be easy, Matty knew she had to speak with him. Perhaps working together, they could find a way to make things right and get some help for Sebastian. It’s what he needed after all. 

So, she picked up some spare parchment, a quill, and some ink and wrote to Sebastian, simply asking him if he could meet her in the Undercroft as soon as he could so they could talk. Then she closed it up, gave it to Eden, and sent her off. 

*** 

Matty had probably rehearsed what she was going to say a thousand times as she was pacing in the Undercroft. But she switched it up every time she spoke to herself. She wanted what she had to say to come out right, and to help the situation—not make it worse. 

“If you told me I’d be sitting in some weird dungeonesque room talking to myself about a situation like this, I would’ve never believed you.” She said to herself. 

Finally, after what felt like forever being alone with just her thoughts, she heard the Undercroft door click and Sebastian walked in. His eyes didn’t meet hers immediately and for a moment it looked like he was trying to avoid her gaze, feeling too guilty to do so.

Immediately, Matty forgot everything she was going to say, and her mind went blank. She began to get nervous. “What if I mess this up again?” She thought as he walked over to her. 

She tried to push the feelings as far down as possible and ignore them, remembering the words that her mother had written to her. 

“Uh, hi,” Sebastian said, not exactly sure about how to start this conversation. 

“Hi—uh,” Matty said before sighing. “Look… I’m just going to be straightforward—I don’t even really know what to say but I’m going to try my best. First of all, I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I know I was just shocked, but you deserved something better than that. I was hurt over a promise that didn’t really even matter when it came to things like this. You’re allowed your privacy, and I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I suppose I was just shocked and became really worried about you.” 

“Second of all.” She said before Sebastian could speak. She knew he’d try to justify the way she acted but all she wanted to do was just apologize first, discuss it later. “I do want to say, I’m sorry for the way you felt over the summer. I swear if I had known I would’ve done everything in my power to help you. It must’ve been terrible, and I want to say that I really hope you get help with it. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.” 

There was an air of silence between them for a brief moment. “Okay, we can talk now that I’ve formally apologized,” Matty said, letting out a small breath she didn’t know she was holding. Her consciousness felt much lighter knowing that she had apologized now. 

“Where do I even start?” Sebastian said with a small chuckle. “Well first, you really didn’t need to apologize. I understand the way you reacted and why. I’m sure if the roles were reversed and you were going through this, I would’ve reacted the same way.” 

“Second, thank you. Even though I don’t think you need to apologize, I really do appreciate it.” He continued. “I grew up with Solomon always picking fights with me, or accusing me of things I never did, and he never apologized so… I suppose it just feels very nice to be apologized to for once.” 

Matty smiled. She was glad that she could make him feel appreciated. Growing up, she was always taught to forgive or to apologize and she was glad those lessons were paying off.

“And I really could use your help,” Sebastian said. “You already helped so much over the summer without even knowing what was going on but now that I feel like I have to face the things that have been ailing me for so long but, I just don’t even know where to start.” 

He sat down on the cold Undercroft floor and Matty sat beside him, placing a gentle hand on his arm as if trying to reassure him. 

“Well, I suppose I’m a tad clueless too but I’m sure if you talked to Nurse Blainey about it, she could help you in some way. She’s really wise on basically anything, you know.” Matty said. “I’ve been told you’ve been having trouble sleeping and that’s been affecting you. Perhaps you could get some sleeping draught from her as well.”

Sebastian nodded his head. “That’s a good idea. I don’t know why I avoided it so badly before.” He sighed, shaking his head. “You’d think being one of the smartest people in school I’d handle this better.” 

Matty shook her head. “No, no, you’re handling this in the way you know how.” She said. “We aren’t just made to know exactly how we are to handle difficult situations or feelings. And you are only seventeen. There’s still plenty of time to figure things out.” 

“I guess you’re right,” Sebastian replied. “I had just never felt so alone. Every day felt like torture. When I wasn’t alone, I was working to distract myself. When I was home, I was avoiding people knowing I was alone and orphaned. I suppose a similarity between the wizarding world and the muggle world is that they don’t take chances with children being alone and I wasn’t about to be thrown into some dusty boy’s home.” 

Matty hadn’t even thought of it, but it made sense. She saw it happen several times in London and in fact, at one point, she had a really good friend who had escaped an abusive boy’s home three times only to be caught and brought back. She never saw him again after that and she thought about him sometimes. But she didn’t like to think of the grim reality of what would’ve happened to Sebastian if he was thrown into one, even if he was older. 

“Sirona helped the best she could. She didn’t really know what was going on, but she always checked in on me to make sure I was okay, and I really appreciated it—and everything else she did.” Sebastian said. “I suppose I felt a little selfish feeling like I needed help, even when I did need it.” 

“It’s never selfish to need help,” Matty said, trying to reassure him. “Don’t ever think that someone wouldn’t help you when you were struggling or that it’s even slightly selfish. There will always be people who will help you. And one of those people is me.” 

“I know we promised each other no secrets but if there are things you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. I suppose there are a few things that we should’ve excluded from that.” She said with a small chuckle. 

Sebastian chuckled along with her and nodded his head. “Yes, you’re completely right.” He chuckled. “But I did enjoy reading your letters about practically anything and everything.” 

“Don’t worry, those will still happen when the summertime comes.” She smiled. 

Sebastian’s nervousness was now replaced by a feeling of comfort and a warm smile. Although it hadn’t necessarily been easy, he had done it and he felt proud of himself. Something that he didn’t feel too often. 

He knew this wasn’t the end and he’d still have to persevere, but he felt much better and more confident about this. Especially knowing that he had the help of his friends who cared deeply for him. 

“Oh, and by the way. I wrote to my mother, and she wants you to come to London for Christmas.” Matty said. She had just remembered it and sort of blurted it out, not even bringing it up casually or anything. She felt a tad bit embarrassed doing it so suddenly. 

Sebastian seemed a bit surprised at the invitation, but grateful, nevertheless. “Oh, uh, really?” he asked, trying to hide the excitement in his voice. “I had no idea your family even knew about me.” 

“Of course, they know about you,” Matty said. “Even my family in Ireland does.”

That comment made Sebastian go a little red in the face. She was telling her family about him? Instant butterflies and he couldn’t help it. 

“Well, I’d love to come. And please, thank your mother for the invitation.” He said, trying to sound formal. But he looked away a bit after that to hide his face which was now a subtle shade of scarlet.  

Matty caught a small glimpse of his blush and smiled but stayed quiet about it. She’d be sure to write her mother and tell her that Sebastian had accepted her invitation. But she herself was also getting quite excited about the thought of having Sebastian over during the holidays. 

He’d be able to meet her parents, she’d be able to show him around London, he’d have a place to go to during the holiday season, and so much more. So, she would also be thanking her mother for the invitation she extended to him.

There was a small bit of hope forming in Sebastian’s chest. For so long he felt hopeless and that the struggle would last forever. But now he knew that things could pass, things would get better. 

He had Ominis, Esme, Matty—and his other friends to help him. He felt a kind of hope he hadn’t felt in a long time. And he greatly appreciated it. 

Chapter Text

Two days after the final conversation in the undercroft, Sebastian was slowly getting on the path of healing. He went to Nurse Blainey and acquired a few things to aid him with how he was feeling as well as some sleep draught to help in in the night. 

Matty was proud of him for taking such step-ins in his recovery, as were Esme and Ominis. Sebastian made an effort to get to classes on time and fix the damage he had done to his record for these few days that he had felt like a wreck. 

Although it would take a while and things would never be perfect, he was still set on putting in the effort to work on himself. 

“I’m proud of you,” Matty told him with the most genuine smile on her face. 

She was truly proud of him for the small steps he had been taking. It was heartwarming to see him care for himself and try his hardest. 

“Thank you,” Sebastian replied. “I’m proud of myself, to be honest. I never thought I’d be getting out of that feeling.” 

Matty squeezed his hand. “It’ll take time, but it will be worth it.” She assured him with another squeeze. 

Sebastian squeezed her hand back before going quiet. The two walked by the Quidditch pitch where the Hufflepuff team was practicing for their upcoming game that Saturday. The ambiance of the school grounds was actually quite calming as the two walked hand-in-hand. Students could be heard chatting, and the sounds of nature could be heard. The perfect setting for this. 

Both Matty and Sebastian were deep in their own thoughts. Matty was deep in the thought of what would happen during Christmas time with Sebastian coming to her home. She was hoping that it would all go well. 

Would he enjoy himself? Would he even like London? She was working herself up over something that was just shy of two months away, but she had her reasons. 

Sebastian on the other hand was overjoyed to be attending the Ambrose’s household around the holidays. Last Christmas, he had briefly dropped by Feldcroft to visit Anne and wish her a Merry Christmas before Solomon shooed him off back to the school. 

Christmas had never been the same since his parents had died but before the invitation was extended to him via Mrs. Ambrose, he was sure he would be spending it completely alone. But now he was finally excited. Even if he was spending it with a family that wasn’t his. 

Of course, he wanted to make a good impression on her family as well. Although he wasn’t courting Matty (Yet. And he hoped that would change later), he still wanted to make the best impression on her parents, after all, they were opening their home up to him during such an important time for many. 

Although their thought processes were both very different, the two were never far off from thinking the exact same thing. 

 ***

 On the other side of the school, Esme was rushing through the Clocktower courtyard to get across Hogwart's famous bridge that had been held up with magic for several hundred years. You may ask why she was rushing out of the castle across the rickety old bridge in such a manner. Well, here is your answer: 

Esme was sitting with Zerena in one of the faculty offices in the faculty tower. Something Zerena’s father, Headmaster Black, had allowed the two girls to do so that they could conduct their afternoon tea without being bothered. 

Most days the two sat and chatted about anything and everything but it was mostly talk about school. One could call it gossip except that it lacked the rude words and the spread of misinformation that gossip usually carried with it. Both girls held themselves in high regard, deeming their afternoon tea a time when such rude discussion would not take place. 

The chat was usual until Zerena brought up a transfer student from Beauxbatons who would be attending Hogwarts for their remaining days in school. Something that she had overheard from her father. 

The mention of Beauxbatons lightly intrigued Esme, as she had attended that school for three years before her inevitable transfer to Hogwarts by her parents who had wanted her to find a possible suitor there. Something Esme still pinned as very odd and somewhat desperate on her parents’ end. 

The mention of her old school didn’t catch her attention until Zerena named the student who would be attending Hogwarts. She named the student as “Isabella D’Angelo.” And that’s when Esme became interested. 

“What?” She asked. “When will she arrive?” 

“Today at one-thirty. About ten minutes from now.” Zerena answered casually. “Why?” 

“Why? Because I know her!” Esme exclaimed. 

How had she not been informed of this earlier? In her second year at Beauxbatons, Esme had met a girl named Isabella D’Angelo in class. Isabella was being razzed by two boys (who Esme later found out were Isabella’s triplet brothers, Matteo, and Alessandro) and she had quickly shut them down. 

Esme, who was particularly impressed by this, went up to talk to her and the two clicked perfectly. 

Afternoon tea was quickly cut short, and Esme was rushing through the castle. Thankfully, the faculty tower wasn’t too far from the Clock Tower courtyard, and she made it through quickly. 

Although she couldn’t comprehend why she hadn’t been told about Bella’s arrival before it actually happened, she was still extremely excited to be reunited with an old friend. Aside from school, Esme and Isabella had time to connect through other means. 

Isabella came from a prominent pureblood family in Italy and if there was one thing that purebloods loved, it was their circle full of other purebloods. Although the D’Angelo’s weren’t enthusiastic about most pureblood families’ ideals of pureblood supremacy, most purebloods were still tightly knit together when it came to social groups. 

Minutes after Esme had reached the end of the bridge, in the distance she could see a carriage being drawn by four Thestrals. The carriage smoothly flew down and landed right in front of the bridge. 

Isabella had instantly recognized Esme through the glass window of the carriage and the moment it had landed she threw the door open and practically leaped out. “Esme!” she exclaimed, rushing to wrap the girl up in a hug. 

Esme instantly reciprocated the hug, glad to finally be reunited with her old friend. “How come you didn’t write to me telling me you were coming?” She questioned.

“It didn’t cross my mind,” Isabella replied sheepishly. 

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re here!” Esme said, pushing away everything else and just focusing on the fact that her friend was here now. 

Headmaster Black, Zerena, and Professor Weasley came walking up behind them on the bridge. Professor Weasley was usually the one to greet students but because the D’Angelos were in the headmaster’s pureblood circle, he figured he should greet her himself. All for appearances of course.  

“Ah, Miss D’Angle!” He said in a proud voice while walking up to her, putting his hand out for her to shake. 

“D’Angelo.” Isabella corrected, shaking his hand. 

The headmaster nodded, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Yes, D’Angelo, right, right.” He said. “It’s a true pleasure to have you attend our school.” 

He put his arm on Zerena’s back, trying to push her up to Bella to properly greet her as if Zerena hadn’t already planned on doing so. “This is my daughter, Zerena.” Headmaster Black said. 

Zerena and Bella shook hands. “We’ve met before,” Zerena said, flashing a look up at her father. Although they had never spoken personally too many times, they had still known each other for quite a while. Clearly Professor Black didn’t pay too much attention to the people his daughter was hanging around at social gatherings. 

“Right…” Professor Black said, clearly embarrassed that he had been messing so many things up so far. “Well, follow Professor Weasley, she’ll get you sorted and situated with your house and room.” 

He passed everything off to Professor Weasley, no longer wanting to be involved in the situation he had made awkward himself. 

“Miss D’Angelo, it’s truly a pleasure to have you here.” Professor Weasley greeted her with a warm smile. She shook Bella’s hand with care and instantly Bella seemed to like her. Usually, it took her a moment to warm up to people, but Professor Weasley seemed to have a kind heart. 

Professor Weasley, along with Esme and Zerena who insisted on accompanying them, led Isabella up to the headmaster’s office where the sorting hat was. She didn’t see any reason to make Bella wait until that night to get sorted and figured if they did it now it’d give her more time to settle in and meet the rest of her peers later that night at dinner. 

Esme used this as a time to catch up with Bella. After all, she hadn’t seen her in quite some time. Bella also got to know Zerena a bit better as well and so far, things seemed to be going quite well. 

***

 The evening rolled around, and the many students gathered in the Great Hall for dinner. Bella was promptly seated at the Slytherin table in between Ominis and Esme since she had been sorted into Slytherin just hours before. 

Matty walked into the Great Hall and took a seat at her own house table next to Leander. Garreth was seated at the other side, turning around to try and keep a conversation up with Hope, who was sitting on the Hufflepuff table right behind him. 

“He’ll break his back doing that,” Matty muttered with a slight chuckle. It was so obvious that the two had feelings for each other. So much in fact that Matty wouldn’t be surprised if they randomly announced they were to be married right out of school. 

Dinner soon started after the headmaster said a few words welcoming Bella to the school. “A new transfer student? Those are more common than I thought.” Matty said. 

“Aren’t you considered a transfer student?” Garreth asked, raising his brow. 

Matty shook her head. “No, last year I was just considered a new one.” She answered. “I didn’t transfer here from another school. Unless you want to count that old muggle school, I went to which was hardly anything like this.” 

“I’d always imagined that would be odd,” Leander said. “Going from a muggle school to Hogwarts. What do they even teach in muggle schools?” 

“Subjects very different than what they teach here,” Matty said with a slight chuckle. “I could draw some similarities but it’s much different. Not to mention most of the connections I could draw I haven’t even experienced myself. For some reason, education isn’t pushed as a terribly important thing when it comes to young girls.” 

“That’s odd,” Garreth said. He looked down at two of his younger sisters who were eating at the other end of the table, chattering on with their young peers. “Suppose things really are different in the muggle world than here.” 

“Very different,” Matty said. 

“Does anyone know anything about this new transfer student?” Cressida pipped in, having heard them mention Bella earlier. 

Everyone shook their heads. Well, that was until Apollo decided to join in on the conversation. “She’s from Italy, I know that much. Sorted into Slytherin just earlier today after her arrival.” He said casually. 

“How did you know that?” Leander asked skeptically. 

“I’m the Head boy, Lee. You get told a lot.” Apollo said flatly as if the reason why he knew was obvious. 

“Italy.” Matty thought to herself. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from Italy before.” 

She made a mental note to meet Bella and welcome her to the school at some point, whenever that was. 

After dinner was over, Matty made her way over to the Slytherin table. First, she was going to greet Sebastian, but Esme immediately caught her attention by coming up to her. “Matty! I want you to meet someone.” She said, pulling her over to Bella. 

Matty’s eyes trailed over the unrecognizable face until she realized this must be the new student. “Oh! Hello!” She said, putting on a smile. “I’m Matty, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

She stuck out her hand for Bella to shake, which she did. 

“It’s a pleasure to be here and to meet you as well,” Bella said, a thick Italian accent leaving her mouth. 

Matty hadn’t expected such a thick accent, which honestly, she should’ve seeming how Bella was from Italy. But since Matty herself hid her natural accent, it was just an assumption she made about everyone, thinking everyone did that. But nope, it was just her. 

“I see you’ve been sorted into Slytherin. You’re in good hands.” Matty said, flashing a grin over to Esme, who was eagerly watching the exchange between her two friends. 

“Thank Merlin that I was. I already know a few of the people here.” Bella said with relief in her tone. “Besides I’ve already been told it’s the best house in the entire school.” 

Matty immediately looked over to Sebastian, who was hearing the entire conversation from where he sat. When he saw Matty looking at him, he grinned devilishly. “Really? I wonder who could’ve told you that.” Matty said sarcastically, knowing exactly who it was. 

“Well, I do hope you enjoy your stay here.” She said to Bella. “I’m still sort of new here as well, so I know the feeling. But don’t hesitate to ask if you need help with anything.” 

The two exchanged their goodbyes and Matty returned to her table. The conversation she had wanted to strike up with Sebastian was seemingly forgotten about now—he’d be sure to find her later just to speak with her. 

She returned to her table and Apollo, who was moving to exit the Great Hall, stopped right where she was and bent down. “If you could, meet me in the Room of Requirement later tonight, I need to speak to you.” He said before leaving. 

Matty watched him go in slight confusion but figured it just had something to do with Isidora, so she brushed it off as if it were nothing. 

“That was weird,” Leander said, making a face. 

“What? Why?” Matty asked. 

“I dunno… it just was,” Leander said, trying to shake off the weird feeling he had gotten by that simple interaction. “Since when have the two of you been friends anyway? It sort of just happened one day.” 

“Well, you just answered your own question,” Matty stated. “It sort of just happened and now I’m helping him with some… family thing. Nothing big, really.” 

“If you say so,” Leander said, deciding to just trust Matty. 

Now that Leander had commented on it, Matty’s ability to just brush off what Apollo had said became much more difficult and she began to think about what he wanted to speak about. She tried her best to just not think about it and enjoy the rest of her night until she’d eventually trudged her way up to the Room of Requirement. 

Hopefully without getting caught this time. 

Chapter Text

Fortunately, Matty wasn’t caught sneaking up to the Room of Requirement and was thankfully carefree the rest of her night after that. Apollo had wanted to discuss going to see Isidora’s home in Feldcroft—something that Matty had brought up prior to this. 

The plans were set that they would go the next day after school, but Matty said the only condition would be that Sebastian would accompany them. After all, he had lived in the area for ten years and knew it better than anyone else around. 

Apollo quickly agreed and the date was set to go out to Feldcroft. Matty approached Sebastian early the next morning to ask if he could tag along. 

“Sebastian, can I ask you something?” Matty asked as they walked out of Charms class together. 

“Yes, of course. Anything.” Sebastian replied. 

“Remember when I asked for your help with the whole Apollo thing?” Matty asked. “Well, I’ve been planning on taking him to Isidora’s home in Feldcroft and I was wondering if you could tag along. You know Feldcroft better than anyone else I know and not to mention I’d be much more comfortable if you were there with me.” 

At the words “I’d be much more comfortable if you were there with me.” Sebastian was already ready to say yes. “Oh yeah of course.” He said to her without missing a beat. 

Another reason why he said yes so quickly was because he didn’t exactly trust Apollo yet. He knew Matty could definitely hold her own but if she wanted him around for safety reasons regardless, he had no reason to say no. He had also been wanting to keep an eye on Apollo anyway so this fit in perfectly with his plans. 

“Thank you,” Matty said, a smile breaking out on her face. “We plan on going this afternoon. I’ll come get you before we do leave.” 

As Sebastian watched her walk away so she could attend her next class, he had a warm feeling in his heart. Even just the thought of the fact that she trusted him so much made his heart flutter and he had no idea why. “I’m not that in love with her, am I?” he asked himself. 

*** 

After school, Matty and Apollo met at the Flying class lawn. They chatted briefly before Matty said she was going to go get Sebastian so that he could accompany them. Apollo nodded and waited as Matty walked off to go get Sebastian. 

From afar, Esme had been showing Bella around the school. Bella caught sight of Matty and Apollo talking and made a face. 

“What is it?” Esme asked, noticing the look on Bella’s face. 

“I don’t like him,” Bella replied simply. She kept her eyes trained on the boy as if she was trying to search for a reason why she didn’t feel positively towards him. 

A confused look came across Esme’s face. “What do you mean?” she asked, looking baffled. “You just got here. You haven’t even met him yet. From what I know he’s a respectable guy.” 

Bella gave a small, careless shrug. “Something’s telling me I shouldn’t.” She answered plainly. 

“You were always a skeptical one,” Esme said, rolling her eyes before continuing to show Bella around. 

Matty was making her way to the Clock tower to get Sebastian. He had mentioned something about being there after school to participate in a few duels alongside a few members of the Crossed Wands Dueling Club, a club put together by the fourth-year Lucan Brattleby two years prior. 

As she walked towards the gate, she heard the sound of spells being cast and knew Sebastian would be there. 

She waited by the gate, watching the duel go down. It was Sebastian and Natty in a duel against Eric, Nerida, and Astoria. Of course, it was obvious who was going to win. Not only was Sebastian one of the best duelists in school but Natty was also extremely skilled as well. Matty would put her up there with the best duelists as well. 

After all, she spent a lot of time in her fifth year running around with Natty taking down poachers, so she had seen firsthand just how talented Natty was. 

Sebastian had shed his robe and vest for the duel, leaving him just in his button-up and tie with his sleeves rolled up. 

Matty had also switched her clothing up a bit, ridding herself of her school uniform and putting on something more casual and definitely easier to move around in than the thick skirt of her uniform since she was going to be walking quite a bit in Feldcroft. 

Matty caught herself staring at Sebastian for quite a moment before snapping herself out of it, telling herself there was no reason to stare and that it was rude. (Although she allowed her gaze to linger a bit longer than usual). 

Soon, the duel was over and Sebastian and Natty had taken the victory. After congratulating Natty on her part, Sebastian noticed that Matty was waiting for him by the gate and walked over to her. “You ready to go?” he asked as he walked over to her. 

“I feel like I should be asking you that question,” Matty said with a small chuckle, taking his disheveled yet still attractive appearance. 

Sebastian ran his hand through his hair to try and fix it up a bit but then shrugged. “I’m ready now.” He said. 

Matty rolled her eyes before turning to the exit of the gate, motioning for Sebastian to follow her. “Apollo is waiting for us at the Flying Lawn. I told him I wouldn’t be long so don’t dawdle.” She said, beginning to walk out. 

Sebastian quickly followed her and the two arrived at the Flying class lawn soon after. Apollo was waiting, leaning against the stone of the castle with his hands in his pockets. 

“I’ve got him. Are you ready to go?” Matty asked, coming up to Apollo. 

“Didn’t wait here for nothing.” Apollo piped up. 

Sebastian ignored his words of sarcasm. The three decided the Floo network would be the wisest decision since it was quick, and they didn’t want to walk all the way to Feldcroft. Apparating was on the list, but they ultimately decided on the Floo network. 

Within seconds they were in Feldcroft yet slightly covered in soot and dust. They quickly brushed themselves off. 

Apollo looked around the small hamlet. Ironically, he had never actually been to Feldcroft. He never had a reason too. He found himself at the Poidsear coast occasionally but never the Feldcroft coast. Especially since goblins had been overrunning the hamlet along with several others for almost two years. 

He was surprised to see that it was such a quaint little place. It had grown a tiny bit since the goblins had left the area and peace had been restored, but it was still well—small. 

“I expected Sallow to be from somewhere more posh. Not some small farm hamlet.” He thought as he took a look around. Sure, he knew Sebastian was from Feldcroft but seeing it with his own eyes was a completely different story. 

“Ah, Sebastian, it’s good to see you again.” Came the voice of Bernard Ndiaye, a small booth owner in Hamlet. 

“Mr. Ndiaye, it’s good to see you again as well,” Sebastian replied in a respectful tone. 

Mr. Ndiaye had been a great help to Sebastian over the summer. He kept the boy busy when he needed it, as well as keeping the fact that Solomon had died a secret from some of the newer residents so that Sebastian wouldn’t get thrown into a boy’s home. Although he was still under the impression that Solomon had died in his sleep, he knew Sebastian was a good kid and wanted to help out where he could. 

He often checked up on him and asked about Anne, although Sebastian never really had much to tell him about since he himself didn’t know much about how Anne was doing. He’d always just say “She’s doing well.” With the hopes that she actually was. 

Sebastian turned to the pathway that led out of the main part of the hamlet. “It’s up this way.” He said, beginning to lead Apollo and Matty that way. 

Memories from last year when Sebastian had shown Matty the plateau came flooding back into her head. She remembered him explaining that this was where Anne was cursed the night of the fire. Although they did know Rookwood was the one who had actually cursed her, there were still a lot of mysteries about that night that they had never solved. 

“Up on that plateau is where Isidora used to live,” Sebastian explained, mostly to Apollo since Matty already knew all of this. “It’s generally common knowledge that a Hogwarts professor used to live here but she was never named until recently. I never figured that anyone would find out until Matty showed up.” 

“Aren’t you just full of surprises? Some detective work going on here, hm?” Apollo grinned, looking over at Matty who just brushed him off with a small shake of her head. 

“I had an advantage.” She replied quaintly. 

The three traveled up onto the plateau and Apollo curiously looked around. He felt it was odd that so many things were just scattered around. Perhaps items of old homes that used to stand there years ago when Feldcroft was in its best state. 

As Isidora’s old home came into sight, Apollo’s heart dropped a little to see that it was barely more than ruins at this point but in all fairness, Isidora had been living in the era that muggles called “The Tudor period” and it had been four hundred years since. Not to mention the countless attacks on the hamlet since. 

“Here it is,” Sebastian said as they walked up to the home. 

The three stepped in and looked carefully over the ruins. Apollo noticed a scorched portrait in the corner of the room and knelt down to look at it. It looked almost as if someone had burnt the portrait deliberately. 

As he looked at it more, a thought came into his mind. “Was this supposed to be a portrait of Isidora?” he asked, looking up at Matty. 

Matty nodded her head a bit solemnly. “Yes.” She answered. 

A confused look came across Apollo’s face as he looked back at the portrait. “It looks like someone damaged this deliberately.” He said, his fingers gently tracing over where it had been scorched. “It wasn’t damaged on the night of the fire, was it? Someone did this on purpose.” 

“I’m afraid you are correct.” Matty sighed. “Apollo, I think you should know that there were some who didn’t share the same ideals as Isidora. They weren’t enemies but…” she trailed off, not knowing what more she could say without telling him about the Keepers. 

“Burning a portrait so that they can’t go there after death seems like a pretty enemy thing to do to me,” Apollo said, rising from his kneeling position. 

Matty sighed. Apollo wasn’t exactly wrong. But she couldn’t continue the conversation without giving away something about the Keepers. And they were something she wasn’t ready to bring up to him yet. 

“There’s more of the house to explore.” She said, changing the subject. 

She led Apollo down to the cellar and Sebastian followed quickly behind. It was almost exactly as they had left it (although Matty had pulled the curtain over the magic gateway to the undercroft so it would stay hidden) with things scattered all around the room. It seemed like they had left in a rush or that it had all just been left behind as if it were nothing. 

“What happened here?” Apollo asked with a bit of hurt in his voice. 

“We’re not sure… We can never be sure.” Matty answered. “We know so little about Isidora but when I first came here, I found two journal entries from her.” 

She slipped the entries from her pocket and handed them over to Apollo. He quickly took them in hand and read over them. 

The first journal entry spoke about Isidora being at a camp, seemingly one that had been set up to help fight the spread of the Black Death by bringing the victims of the illness there. She spoke about feeling powerless when it came to helping people. 

The second journal entry spoke of similar things. It mentioned her travels, which Apollo had already known about since Isidora had had her son on her travels, whom Apollo was descended from. She also mentioned that it felt like her magic wanted to heal the ones around her as if it were its own being. 

Apollo recalled feeling similar when his mother was on her deathbed. Sick and ridden with illness, she lay there forbidding him from healing her. But Apollo felt the same as Isidora had: Helpless but the magic inside of him yearned to heal his mother. 

“So, her travels were to study how her magic could be used to help people? To heal them?” Apollo asked, reading the last line of the journal entry that stated: “Surely it wouldn't hurt to help him? I could further my research, of course, but that would be a fortuitous consequence of doing something good with this ability.”  

Matty nodded. “Something of the sort.” She replied. She knew exactly why Isidora had been travelling but it wasn’t safe to tell Apollo what happened to her after yet. 

Apollo handed the journal entries back to Matty and took a bit more of a look around. Sebastian kept his eyes trained on Apollo, trying to make sure he didn’t get too close to the opening of the magic gateway that would lead to the Undercroft. Not only would Ominis wring his neck for allowing another to know of it, but also, he himself wasn’t fond of the idea of having Apollo know about the undercroft in general. 

Speaking of the Undercroft, Sebastian still wondered how Isidora knew about it. Had she discovered it? Had a Gaunt told her about it? He had no idea, but Isidora’s markings, as well as her tryptic, were in there. 

He made a mental note to study the markings with more intent when he went to the Undercroft next. So many things about Isidora were still unexplained and he wanted answers. 

After a while, the three decided to leave the home. But both of them had questions about the plague that had been ailing everyone at that time. Sebastian had read about the plague when he was younger, as well as recently in muggle studies but he figured Matty would be far better versed in the matter than he was. 

“The black plague—also known as the Bubonic plague was a terrible illness that spread over several continents but mostly in Europe and Africa, especially in Europe.” She began to explain. “There were several outbreaks, killing millions. It was terrible and almost impossible to survive but there were obviously some who did.” 

“Although the more major cases were around the fourteenth century in the thirteen hundreds, there were almost nine recorded outbreaks during the fifteenth century in the Tudor period. Although those were much smaller, at least one of them must be the one Isidora lived through.”

“No wonder she was so adamant about healing those inflicted,” Apollo said. As Matty had been explaining things, he could feel a shiver run up his spine. What a terrible illness. 

Matty nodded. “The plague eventually killed itself out for the most part. There have been very few cases here and there but not nearly as bad.” She added. “I don’t believe it would’ve affected witches and wizards nearly as bad as it did muggles, but we can never be sure. Isidora never wrote too much about it.”  

“I wish she had. It’d make all of this easier.” Apollo sighed. 

Sebastian shrugged. “We have to work hard for the things we want.” He stated simply. “Who knows, maybe we’ll stumble upon something else to do with Isidora.” 

Isidora had several other places where she conducted her studies and Matty remembered them. In fact, when she had found those places with Sebastian, she barely had time to go through any of them thoroughly. Perhaps they would find something there. 

After all, Isidora had spent years studying. Who knew what knowledge of her those places held? 

“Do these have anything to do with Isidora?” Apollo asked, gesturing to one of the many statues of Feldcroft. There were three of these hooded statues that lined the path to Isidora’s home. There had also been one in her cellar, which had provoked the question in the first place. 

Matty took a good look at the statue. She had seen them all over the place but never really thought of it. The statues were a greenish-teal color, it almost reminded Matty of oxidized copper, which may be the material of the statue itself. (She was never really good at guessing these things.) 

The faceless statues stood in several different places, such as the Korrow Ruins. They hadn’t really made Matty’s brain spin but now they were. 

“I’m not sure,” Matty replied. “But they are everywhere. I found some in the Korrow Ruins last year, as well as other places like Henrietta's Hideaway. I didn’t think much of them but now that I think of it, why would Isidora have one in her cellar?” 

“What were you doing at Henrietta's Hideaway?” Apollo asked, raising a brow. 

“Several reasons,” Matty answered. “One of which, was a niffler.” 

She let that last part linger a bit to further confuse Apollo. He had little to no idea what exactly Matty had been doing during her fifth year. Besides the conclusions he had already come to, he was clueless. 

“Well… Looks like I’ll be taking a trip to the Korrow Ruins soon.” Apollo said. 

He hadn’t ever been one to stray too far away from the places he knew, nor did he have any reasons to go to the Korrow Ruins before this. But he figured he should have his own explorations and studies aside from the things he did with Matty on this matter. 

The three returned to the school and Sebastian pulled Matty aside to speak to her in the Undercroft.

When she thought it was about to be about something Apollo did, it wasn’t. In fact, Sebastian had nothing to say about him at all. “I was wondering since Isidora used the Undercroft, these markings have to be from her. In fact, I recognize a few of the symbols here from things she’s written. Do you think studying these could be helpful?” Sebastian said, tracing his finger on the stone walls of the Undercroft, right over the symbols. 

“I do,” Matty said, moving in right beside him to see it. “I hadn’t paid much attention to them before, but I think now would be a good time to start figuring out what they mean.” 

Sebastian stood up, looking at all the markings on the wall. There were plenty, dozens in fact, and other things in the Undercroft that they would need to consider as something done by Isidora.

“Looks like we have our work cut out for us.” He said. 

“Yes, yes we do.” 

Chapter Text

Over the next week, Sebastian and Matty spent the majority of their free time in the Undercroft together. They studied the markings left by Isidora closely and tried their best to decipher them. They had deduced that the language she had carved into the stone was Middle English, a language neither of them were fluent in. 

Although Sebastian knew enough about the language to deduce what it was, he wasn’t fluent. So, he did what he did best and found a book in the library about Middle English that offered help with translation. 

The two of them spent hours reading this book and even more time translating the words. To keep suspicions down, they would often be in the library for the majority of the time so people wouldn’t always question where they were. 

But of course, with the amount of time they had spent together, people began to talk—as teenagers often do. 

“Remind me how they aren’t courting again?” Bella inquired of Esme one day. She had just watched the two shamelessly flirt with each other in the library (something Madam Scribner wasn’t too fond of). 

“It’s complicated…” Esme answered. She was still wondering the same thing. 

When everything had been properly deciphered, Matty would make copies of the translations and take them to Apollo. They would review the translations and try to connect the dots between everything they could find. And so far, it was coming along quite nicely. 

But almost every time Matty finished up the translation studies with Apollo if she had the time, she found herself back with Sebastian, telling him all about everything she and Apollo had discussed. At this point, it was a complete three-person effort. 

The two had spent so much time together when they could that they were practically attached at the hip. 

“The symbol is exactly like the portkey Professor Fig and I had that brought us to Rackham’s home in the Highlands, right before Gringotts,” Matty said as she looked over the symbol on the wall with Sebastian. “It’s always struck me as odd.” 

“Why?” Sebastian asked. 

“Well, we got the portkey from George Osric, who got it from Miriam Fig.” She explained. “From what Lodgok told me, I think she may have found it at Rookwood castle.” 

Sebastian seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. “How come Isidora carved it onto the wall in here then?”

Matty shrugged. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “It’s a possibility that the Keepers somehow found this place after Isidora’s death. They could’ve seen the symbol and taken inspiration for the portkey or something like that. And perhaps when they found the tryptic, they destroyed her portrait in Feldcroft to prevent her from returning in either place.” 

Sebastian’s eyes lit up. “I actually think you’re onto something.” He said. “Although that makes the Keepers sound somewhat malicious in a way.” 

“In all honesty, I don’t trust the Keepers nearly as much as I used to,” Matty stated. “They’ve returned once since Fig’s death and had nothing good to say anyway. The whole time I worked with them, they didn’t trust me either. I have a feeling they don’t care too much anyway. Even if I’m still the one responsible for the repository.” 

“I hate to say I told you so… but I did say something about the Keepers not being trustworthy,” Sebastian said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. 

Matty rolled her eyes. “I know, I know.” She said. “Not my brightest moment but you’ve had a few dim-brained moments too.” 

“Can’t deny it.” Sebastian chuckled. 

The two of them sat in silence for a bit, staring up at the stone wall. A few papers that had translations were scattered around them. The two had a lot to say to each other but neither of them ever knew how to say it. Why? Well, nobody knew why. 

“I should take these to Apollo,” Matty said suddenly, breaking the silence. She gathered up the pages. “Thank you for the help, I’ll see you later.” 

She couldn’t stand being in silence with him for too long. She felt like it made the air awkward between them or it made her feel nervous. Even just being alone with him sometimes gave her butterflies and she didn’t know how to handle it. 

She got up with her papers in her hand, leaving the Undercroft and leaving Sebastian alone with himself. “I’ve got to find a way to tell her.” He sighed, letting his head hang for a minute. 

He always knew exactly why she would leave in moments like these. He felt the same way. He felt so embarrassed that he could never get the words out. As if every time he even tried to say it, the words would just get caught in his throat. 

Perhaps it was time to talk to Ominis about it. 

*** 

From the Undercroft to the Room of Requirement, Matty carried the papers all the way. There were quite a few since they often messed up translation till they thought they got it right. She hoped Apollo would be in the Room so that she didn’t have to search half the school for him. 

She opened the Room’s door and walked in. “Apollo, you in here?” She asked. 

“Yeah. I’m over by the desk,” Apollo replied. 

Matty walked over, carrying the papers. “I’ve got a few more for you.” She said, placing them on the table. “Let’s just say I know more about Middle English now than I ever thought I would.” 

Apollo chuckled. “Good thing to know, I suppose,” he said, sliding the papers over to himself to get a good look. He would spend hours trying to piece things together and he would just sincerely hope that it would all make sense when pieced together. 

Of course, there were a few translations Matty would have to keep away from him since they spoke too much about Isidora’s plans. But for the most part, she was able to give him the translations in full. Besides, it helped when she did, it made more sense once put together. 

Matty waited on standby around the room as he looked over the papers. Not wanting to deal with silence, Apollo started some small talk. In fact, it had been something on his mind for quite a bit. 

“So, Matty…” He started off. “Is there anything going on between you and Sallow? You two seem pretty close and you’ve been around each other constantly. I’d be surprised if you told me no.” 

Matty wasn’t expecting the question, so she looked confused for a moment. But she figured it was a justifiable question because they had been around each other constantly this past week. 

“I mean, it’s just everyone has been talking about the two of you, so I thought I’d ask,” Apollo said after seeing her face. 

“Well… We’re not together if that’s what you're asking.” Matty said with a small sigh. “Although if I’m honest, I do have feelings for him. I just don’t know how to tell him—or if he even feels the same way. So, I’ve just kept to myself about it in hopes of preserving our friendship. I’d rather stay silent and be friends for the rest of my life than say something and ruin things.” 

Apollo nodded, “You know, I don’t mean for this to come off as shady or anything but… He has a bit of a track record if you know what I mean.” He said. “And you don’t come off as the kind of girl to… tolerate that if that makes sense.” 

Matty furrowed her brows. “I don’t mind his detention record. It’s usually for ridiculous reasons anyway because Madam Scribner is a strict fun killer anyway.” 

“I’m not even just talking about that,” Apollo said. “As Head boy you know a lot about students and just through the years Sebastian has done a few questionable things.” 

“Well, if he hasn’t told me anything that’s his decision.” Matty countered, seemingly beginning to grow frustrated. “I trust him a lot. He wouldn’t do anything or hide anything that would hurt me in any serious way.” 

Sensing she was beginning to grow frustrated, Apollo tried to backtrack a bit. “Look, that came out wrong.” He sighed. “What I’m trying to say is—I just want you to be careful who you trust, okay? You’re the only person I know who understands what it’s like to be like this, I just don’t want to lose you like I lost my mother and feel alone all over again.” 

She understood Apollo’s sentiment towards the situation. She felt similar in the way that she would feel quite lost if something happened to Apollo—she’d feel alone in the world of dealing with her ancient magic again. But at the same time, did Apollo truly think Sebastian would do something terrible to her? 

“I understand your concern but as I said earlier, Sebastian would never do such a thing,” Matty said. “I know him, and I know him well.” 

“I think I should go but you keep looking over the translations. I’m sure you’ll find something,” She then said, wanting to leave the conversation. She knew Sebastian and Apollo weren’t fond of each other anyway, but they could at least try to be kind to one another if they were going to be working together with all this Isidora stuff. 

“What was he even thinking?” Matty sighed to herself after leaving the room. “Does he honestly think Sebastian would hurt me like that or is he just being superstitious?” 

Needless to say, Matty was grateful it was getting late, and she had an excuse to go up to her dorm and not be disturbed. She felt as if the rift between Sebastian and Apollo wasn’t necessary but then again, she had no idea what had happened between the two that made them dislike one another. 

She just hoped this wouldn’t last for long and they’d all just move past their differences. 

Chapter Text

October passed and November was here. Talks of December and Christmastime were now becoming more common, and the warm weather began to get cooler and cooler by the day. Students bundled up with their house scarves and occasionally a thicker robe whereas some were enjoying the cooler weather. 

The leaves had turned or were already falling off, marking that winter would arrive soon. Most students were excited for the holidays when they could return to their homes and get some time off of school. Matty, of course, was also excited because Sebastian would be attending her home this year for Christmas. 

Matty was planning on asking Ominis if he would like to tag along with Sebastian—after all, having enough room wasn’t a problem since there was an extra bedroom in the Ambrose home and she didn’t want him going home and suffering with his family throughout the holidays but luckily, Esme had already planned ahead and he would be spending the holidays at the Greenwoods Manor in the French Highlands—much to the relief of all of them. 

Most students would be returning to their families and Matty was ecstatic that she’d be able to return to her family for Christmas this year. After last year when she was forced to stay at the school over the holidays in order to keep her family safe, she didn’t want to be away from them again.

Speaking of Matty and Sebastian, they had grown even closer through the past few weeks. And the fact that they hadn’t said anything about being official was well… less than pleasing to some. 

Esme practically stormed into the Slytherin Common room where Ominis was sitting peacefully reading, his fingers trailing across the braille pages of his book. The Common Room was relatively vacant but even then, she wouldn’t care much. Everyone basically had the same mindset as her about this. 

“Ominis, I simply cannot take it anymore!” she exclaimed, her heels clicking against the cold stone floor as she stomped over to the couch Ominis was sitting on. “How can they just sit there and shamelessly flirt constantly and then have the audacity to say, ‘I don’t know if they feel the same way!’?” She said in a high-pitched tone. 

“My love, who are you even talking about?” Ominis asked in a calm tone. 

“Sebastian and Matty! Who else?” Esme exclaimed. “I know I’m probably overreacting, but I do not care at this point. All I’m hearing from both of them is the dumb idea stuck in both of their heads that neither of them reciprocate! It’s killing me slowly. Genuinely killing me.” 

Ominis could only remember a few times when Esme had been this worked up since he had met her. Over something as silly as a relationship (or not a relationship?) of all things. 

“I think you’re overreacting.” He said with a small chuckle. 

Esme placed her hand on her hip, giving an unamused look to her lover. “Oh please, don’t act as if you were just complaining about how much Sebastian complains about this just a few days ago.” She huffed. 

“That must’ve slipped my mind,” Ominis replied curtly. 

“Well, it didn’t slip mine!” Esme said, sitting down next to him. “Nothing slips my mind. Which is exactly why I can’t get this out of my head. And it’s constant. I wish the two would just get over themselves and say something.” 

Ominis chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders. “Perhaps it's time for some Greenwood intervention.” 

Of course, he said that as a joke. But (also) of course, Esme didn’t take it as a joke. 

“Wait, that’s actually a good idea.” She said, immediately standing up. 

Ominis quickly regretted what he said. He knew Esme meddling around would probably not go the best. “Wait I was joking—!” 

“Shh, I’m thinking,” Esme said, putting her finger up at him to silence him as if he could actually see it. 

Ominis could hear her mumble to herself as she went through practically every single idea that came to her head, pacing back and forth. “Oh, this is going to go over well.” He sighed to himself internally. He loved Esme more than life itself but sometimes she was a handful. Unlike him, she had quite a bold personality when it came to certain things. 

“Amortentia class is in the first week of December… I can’t wait that long...” She muttered to herself. 

“You aren’t suggesting using a love potion, are you?” Ominis asked, overhearing her. 

“Oh, absolutely not!” Esme exclaimed, almost horrified. “That’s terrible. I honestly don’t know why they even teach us these things when teenagers are known to make stupid decisions or why love potions are even legal.” 

Ominis furrowed his brows. “Then why did you bring it up?” 

“Because Amortentia has a different smell to everyone,” Esme replied. “So, if we were to do the class, Sebastian and Matty would finally realize they both have feelings for each other and would finally not be able to deny it. Both of them actively deny the other feels the same when obviously that’s not true. It’s driving everyone up the walls.” 

“Just move the class closer,” Ominis said in a sarcastic tone. Obviously joking. 

But you couldn’t joke around with Esme, she’d take what you say seriously. “Ominis! My love you’re a genius!” She said. 

“Woah, wait a minute what?” Ominis asked, confused. How on earth did she think she was going to be able to move the class a whole two and a half weeks closer? “How in Merlin’s name do you think you’re going to manage to do that?” 

“I have the perfect idea.” 

*** 

Ominis walked down the corridor leading to the Potions classroom, on his way to speak to Professor Sharp. Hopefully, Esme’s plan would work and wouldn’t just blow up in their face and probably land the both of them in detention. 

“Professor Sharp?” Ominis asked, stepping into the potion’s classroom. 

“Ah, Mr. Gaunt.” Professor Sharp said, looking up from the paperwork on his desk. “What brings you here so late?” 

Ominis walked closer to the desk to speak with his professor. “Well, I was hoping to come to you and talk about getting more work for the potions assignments.” He said. “Since I struggle with it and all.” 

From behind them, a small white cat was slipping through the small entrance between the door and the doorframe of the potion’s classroom, sneaking into Professor Sharp’s office. To the normal student—or professor, they would just assume that this was one of the very many stray cats wandering around Hogwarts. Or possibly an escaped pet from a student themselves. 

What they didn’t know was that there was an unregistered Animagus (two if you counted Natty) running around the school and that would be Esme. 

The only people who knew were obviously Ominis, Sebastian, and Anne—and then Matty since Esme had followed her into the Forbidden Forest in her Animagus form. But besides those four, it was a complete secret, and thank Merlin it was otherwise Esme would find herself in a lot of trouble with the Ministry. 

So, while Ominis was out in the classroom distracting Professor Sharp, Esme, now back to normal, was in his office, jumbling around trying to find his lesson schedule. 

She hadn’t thought this through one hundred percent yet, but the idea was to use a penmanship charm to try and copy Professor Sharp's handwriting, replacing one of the lessons they had that week with the Amortentia class that was scheduled for the first week of December. 

Of course, there was the problem of other students questioning the lesson change or Professor Sharp himself realizing it had been swapped but Esme would deal with that later. Currently, she was in the mindset of act now think later. 

When she finally did find the schedule, she quickly pulled her wand out to use the charm. She could hear the muffled voices of Ominis and Professor Sharp from outside of the room and she was getting nervous that Ominis wouldn’t be able to keep up the conversation long enough. 

“And you suppose more work would help you get your grades up?” Professor Sharp asked Ominis out in the classroom. 

“Er—yes,” Ominis said. His hands were behind his back, but he was nervously fidgeting with his fingers. 

He didn’t even know how he managed to let Esme rope him into this. One moment he was calling her plan absurd (because it was) and the next he was walking to the potions classroom to make up some fake story that he wanted more homework for potions class to Professor Sharp, using his bad grades as an excuse. 

“If you insist.” Professor Sharp said, standing up. “I’m sure I have some extra work around my office. I can go get it for you—,” 

“Wait!” Ominis blurted out, hearing him get up from his seat. “I—I’m sure we can just discuss it out here, can’t we?” 

Professor Sharp furrowed his brows, having no idea why Ominis seemed so keen, or rather nervous, about him simply getting up to go to his office. “Mr. Gaunt, are you alright?” He asked. Ominis was just simply trying to make sure Esme didn’t get caught searching around the professor’s office. 

“Oh, yes, yes,” Ominis replied. “I just uh—get nervous with one-on-one conversations.” He lied, trying to come up with the quickest excuse he could. 

“Well then, I suppose I could just give it to you after class tomorrow then. Does that work?” Professor Sharp asked, having no idea that Ominis was really just making up excuses for this to work. 

Ominis nodded his head. “Yes, yes of course.” 

He then heard the small patter noise scurry across the floor and knew that was his signal to get out of there. “If you’d like to talk specifics now of what you’re struggling with—,” Professor Sharp started before he was cut off by Ominis. 

“I think I just heard someone call my name,” Ominis said, letting out a nervous chuckle. “Thank you, Professor Sharp, really.” 

He then turned on his heel and left the potions classroom, feeling both nervous and embarrassed. In all truth, he would’ve been perfectly fine speaking to Professor Sharp if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was distracting him so Esme wouldn’t be caught. 

As he came out into the hall, Esme was there waiting for him. “That was the most nerve-wracking moment of my life,” Ominis muttered as they quickly left the hallway. 

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve had worse,” Esme said, linking her arm with his. 

“How do you even expect this to work? Won’t someone who’s read the preparation work Professor Sharp gave us notice that the classes changed?” Ominis asked, still thinking that Esme’s plan was quite absurd and wouldn’t work. 

Esme shrugged. “Oh, I’m sure they will but it’s as easy as me telling them to go with it and not ask questions.” She said simply. “I’m sure if I tell Hope, she’ll go along with no questions—which of course means Garreth will do the same and then everyone would probably follow after that. Easy.” 

“What if Professor Sharp notices?” Ominis asked. 

“If the whole class thinks love potions are what we’re studying, he’s bound to think the same thing,” Esme said, putting possibly too much faith in this plan of hers that she had come up with barely a few hours before. 

Ominis couldn’t help but chuckle. “So, you’re subtly gaslighting our professor just in hopes that this may get Sebastian and Matty together?” He chuckled. “If I didn’t love you, I’d say you were crazy.” 

“Oui, bien sûr,” Esme spoke, shaking her head with a small chuckle herself.

The two walked away from the potion’s classroom, hoping that somehow this crazy plan would work. And who knows, maybe Esme was indeed a genius and that this plan devised in under thirty minutes would prove successful. 

Well, they’d find out tomorrow. 

Chapter Text

Esme was practically buzzing all the next morning while waiting for potions class to finally arrive. Did her plan even work? Would Sharp fall for the ridiculous attempt to change the schedule or would he notice? She hoped he wouldn’t, otherwise, she would be back at square one with ideas on how to get Sebastian and Matty to confess. 

She tapped her foot all through Charms class, all through Defense Against the Dark Arts, all through the terribly long History of Magic Class before finally potions class was arriving. 

She was extremely grateful that most of her peers she was closer to had potions with her. This would make it easier for her to convince them to go along with the sudden schedule change and hopefully make it so Professor Sharp would believe them. 

As students began to file into the potion’s classroom, Esme stopped Hope and Garreth right before they could enter. “Wait, I need to talk to the both of you.” She said, stopping them right before they entered. They stepped a few paces back from the classroom. 

“What? What is it?” Hope asked. 

Esme looked around. “Okay, so I may or may not have swapped a few dates on Professor Sharp’s class schedule, but I have a good reason for it.” She explained, looking between the two of them. “If anyone mentions that the schedule has changed, just go along with it and say today’s class is the correct one, okay?” 

Hope furrowed her brows. “Esme… What’s all this for?” 

“Yeah, why change Sharp’s schedule?” Garreth piped up. 

“Just trust me, please,” Esme said. “And spread the word, would you? Except—don’t tell Sebastian or Matty, okay?” 

As Esme walked into the classroom, acting as if nothing had happened, Hope and Garreth looked quizzically at one another, wondering just what Esme was getting up to. Esme was never mischievous or getting up to no good in public, she always did it where people couldn’t see her so she could keep up appearances. So, it confused the two of them greatly, but they just decided to play along. 

Sebastian and Matty walked into the room together, sitting beside one another at their potions table. Esme watched Professor Sharp’s office door intently, waiting for the moment he would come out. 

When he finally did, he walked out with a piece of paper in his hand—which Esme soon realized was his schedule. He was looking at it in a confused manner, likely because of the swap she had done. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t notice. 

“That’s odd…” The professor muttered under his breath. 

“What’s odd?” Amit asked, having heard him since he was at the closest table to Professor Sharp alongside Samantha Dale. 

Professor Sharp glanced over at Amit. “I believe my schedule is wrong.” He said and Esme’s heart sank. “I could’ve sworn the Amortentia class was put at the first week of December.” 

While Esme was quickly trying to think of a plan, Garreth was even quicker. “I studied for the Amortentia class yesterday.” He said aloud. “It was in the preparation work you gave us, per usual.” 

Professor Sharp looked confused; he had no recollection of putting that in the preparation work. “Does anyone have this preparation work with them?” he asked, looking around the room. 

Everyone shook their heads and the Professor sighed. “I could’ve sworn the preparation work was about Thunderbrew. If I remember correctly, we were supposed to work on perfecting that today.” 

“That’s so weird,” Matty said, leaning over and whispering to Sebastian. “Professor Sharp is right, I read over the preparation work, and it was about Thunderbrew. So, why is everyone saying that the class today is supposed to be learning about how to brew Amortentia?” 

Sebastian shrugged. “I have no idea. But Garreth is sort of the potions whiz around here and he said it was.” He replied in a whisper. 

“It’s still weird though. I remember studying it just last night.” Matty said, trailing off a bit. She briefly thought she was going crazy because she swore, she remembered studying it the night prior and Professor Sharp seemed to think the same but everyone else claimed that the Amortentia class was indeed supposed to be today. 

Professor Sharp still seemed confused, but the schedule and the class had spoken so they must’ve been right. “Well, I suppose this is what we’re learning today.” He said. “Although unfortunately, I do not have everything prepared so if I could have a handful of students go to the Greenhouses and get some of the ingredients for this class, I would appreciate that.” 

He wrote out a list of a few items they would need from the Greenhouses and sent a few students off to get them. 

“I didn’t think of that part,” Esme said under her breath, feeling somewhat guilty that she had thrown Professor Sharp into such a loop but at the same time, if this were to work, it’d all be worth it. 

After a few students went to the Greenhouses to collect all the necessary herbs, they came back and Professor Sharp made sure everyone had the appropriate dealing of everything before he began to teach the class. 

All the students began to brew their potions, paying close attention to the details, measurements, and everything else that went into the potions. For once, Garreth wasn’t actually goofing about and was following the instructions given to him. 

Of course, the faculty of Hogwarts weren’t idiotic and knew that teenagers could get up to quite a bit of mischief and questionable things, so years earlier a ban had been put on actually using love potions, which was completely understandable and in the eyes of most, a very good thing. 

Although they were exclusively taught to sixth and seventh years and none the younger, the faculty was always keeping an eye out for some extremely infatuated students who seemingly had no feelings for one another before that day. 

Unfortunately, that had happened quite a few times, but Nurse Blainey was quick enough to come up with a remedy to reverse the effects of the potions, and usually, the culprits were caught.

Pearl dust and rose petals were popular ingredients in these potions, as well as moonstone and peppermint on occasion. Matty carefully and equally measured out all the ingredients before placing them in her brew. She had learned from Garreth’s examples that even the slightest slip-up could result in quite the unfortunate explosion. 

Professor Sharp began to walk around the classroom, observing everyone’s brews while explaining a few things about Amortentia. He explained how it was the most powerful love potion to exist while also cautioning students against using it as any good professor would. He also explained how the smell of the Amortentia was different for everyone. 

The potion would smell like something that reminded you of the person you loved or were heavily infatuated with. Esme’s lips pulled into a bit of a grin when Professor Sharp mentioned this important detail, as it was her hope that Matty and Sebastian would catch on to what she had planned when the Amortentia was finished. 

The brews in every cauldron began to turn a deep pink color with a brilliant shine and Professor Sharp explained that that was how you could tell the potions were ready. 

Everyone carefully filled their glass bottles with the concoction and began to chat away about it. 

Esme held her small glass bottle of Amortentia right below her nose. The scent of it was that of pine, very slight mint, and the early morning air. Something very clean and relaxing. Immediately she knew it was Ominis—which wasn’t hard to tell at all. She grinned over at him slightly before leaning over to place a kiss on his cheek. 

But her attention was soon taken off her lover when she saw Sebastian about to smell the Amortentia he had just brewed. He was standing right next to Matty, so Esme hoped this would entice some sort of reaction from him. At least something she could go off of. 

She watched as Sebastian inspected the glass bottle before then looking confused. He glanced over at Matty and back down to the bottle. It was the clear scent of pressed flowers, parchment, and rain. Then he instantly recognized the scent. 

Matty’s perfume.  

The same perfume she had sprayed on all of her letters to him, the same perfume she wore every day and was wearing right now. He couldn’t tell if it was the actual scent of the Amortentia or because she was just standing right next to him, but upon further inspection, he deduced that it was indeed both and that his Amortentia smelled exactly like Matty. 

Immediately, he looked away, a deep blush creeping onto his freckled cheeks. Esme giggled, elbowing Ominis lightly to get his attention. “You can’t see this, but Sebastian has the biggest blush on his face right now.” 

Ominis chuckled, knowing exactly why. 

Matty saw him look away and laughed. “What? What does yours smell like?” She questioned. 

“Erm, nothing.” He replied, not looking back.

He hoped she would take his blush as a sign of embarrassment that his Amortentia smelled like nothing—which was a total lie, but he was quickly regretting standing right next to her. Although, he couldn’t help but feel his heart get light at the scent of it. Every letter she had sent him was practically intoxicating because she had sprayed her perfume with it. 

“If you say so,” Matty replied, secretly hoping he was lying. 

She felt an odd feeling wash over her when Sebastian had said it was nothing. Was he hoping that it would smell like her then it smelled like nothing? Is that why he was embarrassed? Because he swore, he had feelings but truly didn’t? 

“Stop overthinking it, you’re ridiculous.”  She thought to herself. 

She decided to smell her Amortentia and immediately smelled hints of smoke, cedar wood, and books. Recognizing it as Sebastian immediately, she too looked away embarrassed. She quickly shoved the cork into the top of the bottle and shoved it into her pocket. As if scared someone would somehow catch a scent of it and tell it was him, exposing her feelings for him even though it was quite literally impossible. 

“Alright class, that will be it for today.” Professor Sharp. “Please be responsible with the brews you have made today. And remember the rules of this school. Class dismissed.”

Matty turned to Sebastian, he was finally looking at her again. “I’ll see you later, I uh, I have somewhere to be,” she said, then quickly scurrying out of the classroom. 

Esme watched Matty go in frustration. How was this supposed to work out now? She bit her lip, trying to think of something quick. There was no possible way she could just let this go now! She was so close! 

After the students began to leave, Esme stopped Sebastian right outside the doorway, determined not to let them both continue to run away from their feelings. 

“I know you smelled Matty’s perfume in that Amortentia.” She said, immediately stopping him in his tracks. 

Sebastian’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?” He asked. 

Esme rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t even try to deny it and say it smelled like nothing,” she said with an annoyed sigh. “You’ve told me you loved her; I already know. And I saw you blush the moment you smelled it and made the connection. I know it’s her!” 

When Sebastian realized there was no way out of this, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know, you’re right. I looked like an absolute buffoon standing right next to her and saying it was nothing. But I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her. Especially in front of everyone.” 

“Then go tell her now!” Esme griped persistently. “You’re losing time, Sebastian. It’s either you tell her or some other guy will come her way and steal her heart while you’re sitting on the sidelines pitifully dreaming about what could’ve been!” 

That got Sebastian’s attention. He had never really thought of another boy trying to steal Matty’s heart. After all, it had always just been him and Matty. There never seemed to be another guy in the picture. In the back of his mind, she had been his the whole time. Completely and irrevocably dedicated to him.

But it was him living a lie. One he didn’t want to own up to and actually make it a reality because he was nervous. Although Matty was indeed dedicated to him already, a formal relationship or not, he had somehow made up some silly explanation as to how she was too good for him. 

“I’m serious, Sebastian,” Esme said, snapping Sebastian out of his thought process. “It’s now or never. If you don’t tell her today, you’re practically letting her walk away and eventually into the arms of another.” 

Sebastian sighed. “I know this, but I don’t know how to tell her.” He dragged, his shoulders slumping. “I feel like such a fool.” 

“You’d be a fool to let her go,” Esme said, her tone now calmer. “She loves you, Sebastian. It’s so clear to everyone else but you. She is in love with you. No one else. Just you. Sebastian Sallow. That’s who her heart belongs to.” 

Sebastian let Esme’s words sink in then nodded his head. “I trust you.” He spoke. “And I’ll tell her. Tonight. I promise.” 

“You’d better keep that promise,” Esme said. “We’re all waiting.” 

Sebastian nodded his head. “I know.” He sighed. “I should be off now. Thank you for the encouragement.” 

As he walked away, his mind was racing. How was he even going to tell Matty? How would it go? Would he mess things up? He turned into a wreak of nervousness, but he tried to keep up a stoic demeanor, he knew he could do this—that he had to one way or another. 

*** 

Matty found herself sitting against the stone wall of the Astronomy tower. Amit for once was not up here and so she was all alone. The chilly air nipped at her nose, and she pulled her robe around her tightly to help keep her warm. In her hands she held the glass bottle of Amortentia she had brewed earlier that day in potions, swirling the shiny pink brew around in its container. 

She let out a small sigh and leaned her head against the cold stone wall, pitying herself that she knew she had feelings for Sebastian, that she was indeed in love with him, but had no idea how to say it as well as being too nervous. 

“So much for being brave and courageous.” She grumbled to herself. 

“Good old Godric would be ashamed if he saw me sitting here pitying myself. Being such a coward.”  She thought to herself. But who was she to compare herself to a man who lived almost a thousand years ago and had practically coined bravery for himself? 

The stars gave her little comfort. She had once heard that some stars had pairs themselves, something she had learned in Astronomy class about binary stars. She found it sickening that the stars had found their own pairs before she had. 

“Good Merlin, what am I doing with my life?” She groaned, facepalming. “Becoming jealous of stars just because I’m lonely. Sounds like something someone crazy would do.” 

She heard brief footsteps coming from the lower part of the tower and stood up and soon, she saw Sebastian come into view. She had no idea how he knew she was up here, but she didn’t care. Although now she was quite nervous that he had overheard her speaking to herself. 

“Oh, Sebastian, hello.” She said, putting on a fake cheerful tone.

“Matty, hi.” He said, walking up to her. “Why are you up here all alone? Aren’t you freezing? My hands already feel numb.” 

“What? Oh, well my robe is keeping me warm.” She lied, pulling it tightly around her and holding the edges of her sleeves between her fingers so that they’d stay down over her hands to keep them warm. “Also, I thought I may just come up here to…well... think.” 

Sebastian nodded his head. The matter of telling Matty about how he felt was pressing on him and his heart felt as if it may explode right that second if he didn’t speak now. He opened his mouth, but his voice caught in his throat. 

When Matty realized, he was trying to speak, she furrowed her brows. “What is it?”

Sebastian opened his mouth but hesitated. An internal battle was going on in his mind, fighting himself to just speak up already. 

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.” He blurted out suddenly before he could second guess himself. “Something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a very, very long time.” 

Matty raised her brow. “Yes?” She asked. “What is it?” 

Well, there was no turning back now. 

Sebastian took a deep breath. “I like you.” He spoke. “No, that’s a lie. I love you.” He corrected. 

“I love you, Matty. More than I’ve ever loved anything else in my life and I don’t know how to describe it.” He continued, the words just rolling off of his tongue now. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in love before, so I didn’t know how it felt. But one thing I do know is that I am in love with you, and I’ve figured that much out. I’ve questioned myself so much over it, had so many restless nights over just the thought of you and I just can’t deny it anymore.” 

Matty stood there, her mouth slightly agape in shock. She had expected him to tell her something serious but not that. 

But he wasn’t done yet. He had been planning this confession for a year and he wasn’t about to leave it at a few simple words now that he had finally admitted it. 

“Truth is, I’ve loved you for a long time.” He stated. “I think I’ve loved you since the moment you beat me in that duel for the first time. At first, I just told myself it was because I was impressed with you. But as time went on and I got to know you, I saw just how beautiful you were. How beautiful your soul was. You never hesitated to help me, you never hesitated to comfort me in my time of need, and you certainly never pushed me away.” 

“For a boy like me who’s never experienced much love since my parents died, it was odd. But I know I love you and even if you don’t reciprocate. I’d rather you know, and we not be together than die knowing I never told you that I loved you.” 

Matty stood there, stunned. She thought if Sebastian were to ever tell her he loved her, it’d be a simple “I love you”. But his words, all the words that he had just spoken, made her heart burst and she didn’t even know how to feel for a second. 

Sebastian waited in silence for her to respond, praying in his heart that she would reciprocate. That she’d tell him that she loved him. His heart would ache forever if those words didn’t leave her mouth. 

“I love you too.” She said, swallowing hard. Those four simple words had been so hard to say and suddenly she didn’t know why. It was as if all the anxiety in her body had left, rushing out the moment he had told her he loved her. 

“I’ve loved you for a long time as well.” She spoke. “I don’t know exactly when I fell in love with you, but I think it started when you covered for me in the Restricted section. It made me trust you and feel safe alongside you. I think from there… that’s when it all started. Every minute that I’ve had those feelings and not been able to tell you has been a feeling of grief that I can’t describe.” 

Relief and absolute joy washed over Sebastian. She loved him. She loved him. A girl like her in love with a guy like him. Not just any guy but him. His heart soared and he didn’t think he had felt this much joy in years. 

The two had instinctively drawn nearer to one another as they spoke, so much so that they were practically chest-to-chest. 

“Does this mean we’re together now?” he asked, looking down at her, his eyes filled with total love and admiration for the girl in front of him. “Like, together, together. As in a couple.” 

“If that’s what you want us to be, yes,” Matty said with a small laugh that she just couldn’t hold in. It was very much what she wanted. She wanted nothing more than to be his, to spend her days wrapped in his arms, to be able to say I love you and for it to mean something. 

“Really?” he asked, as if stunned. “I mean—Of course, yes, yes. That’s exactly what I want us to be!” He had complete glee in his voice. A pure form of happiness that he hadn’t felt in ages. 

“Does this mean I get to kiss you?” he asked, letting the words just slip from his mouth. Immediately he regretted it and his cheeks turned red. He looked away bashfully. 

Noticing Sebastian’s embarrassment, Matty chuckled lightly. “Yes, Sebastian. It does.” She answered, knowing full well that’s what she wanted. 

“Wait what?” Sebastian asked, his head whipping straight forward to look at her. 

“You can kiss me,” Matty replied. “If you want to, of course.” 

After getting her consent and knowing she wanted it too, all embarrassment left his body instantly. “Oh, do I,” He grinned cheerfully. This could possibly have been the best day of his life. 

Truth be told, he had never kissed anyone before, but he was actually grateful that he hadn’t. He was grateful he’d get to share it with the girl he had loved for so long. Although he had no idea what he was doing, he was eager to do it. 

Gently, he put his hand behind her head and leaned forward. Both of them just followed their heart and what it was telling them to do. And suddenly their lips locked in a simple, but sweet kiss. 

It was nothing grandeur. Nothing terribly long or embarrassingly short but just right. A kiss that would show their love for one another through all time and one that could just about sum up all their feelings for one another in a single moment. 

When they finally pulled away from one another, they were practically breathless. Matty’s cheeks were so red they were practically on fire, but she didn’t mind. Her stomach and head felt so light she felt as if she were floating. It felt like absolute heaven. 

Sebastian was feeling almost exactly the same and he was sure he just fell in love with her all over again at that moment. He couldn’t describe the way he was feeling but he did know that he loved it, and it was the best he had felt in years. He finally had the woman he loved, and he was going to make it his mission to cherish her every day, even when they were apart. 

“That was the most magnificent moment of my life.” He said in all honesty, still holding her in his arms. He didn’t want to let go. 

Matty nodded her head, not wanting to let go either. She had forgotten all about the cold air and she was now filled with an indescribable warmth in her heart. For a moment it felt as if nothing else but them existed and neither of them wanted to leave that feeling. 

“Promise me we’ll stay like this? In love, forever?” Matty asked. 

She knew it was a lot, but she never wanted to leave him. They had already been through so much together long before this and not even the most terribly heart-wrenching things could pull them apart. 

“Forever,” Sebastian promised with a smile, leaning back in to kiss her once more. 

A pure, innocent kind of love was shared between them. But it was the purest kind of love that would indeed last forever. 

Soon, reality came back to both of them and they realized that it was getting late. They didn’t want their first expression of true love and the feeling that came after to be ruined by some prefect getting onto them. 

“I really don’t want to leave but we should be getting some rest,” Matty said quietly. 

Sebastian nodded. “I agree,” he said, still holding her hand tightly. “But I have one final request.” 

“Which is?” Matty asked. 

“A goodnight kiss?” Sebastian asked with a goofy grin. 

Matty scoffed and rolled her eyes but ended it with a giggle. “Fine.” She said, standing on her tippy toes to give him one last kiss for the night. “There, was that satisfactory?” 

“Very,” Sebastian replied. 

And then, it was time for their goodbye. Of course, until just the next morning but for two young people who were so in love it would feel like forever till the next morning. The two bid each other goodnight, of course with a lot of “I love you” in between. 

He walked her to the Gryffindor common room, waiting until she was inside to go to his own. 

They both slept with utter peace that night, knowing that their hearts now fully belonged to one another. They both knew that they loved one another and that was truly all that mattered. It was almost as if every painful thing, all the months they had been away from each other, it felt like all of that never happened. 

All thanks to Esme Greenwood and her seemingly “ridiculous” plan. 

Chapter Text

Matty stayed up late that night. Natty and Nellie were awake when she entered the dorm, asking her where she had been. So, she sat on her bed and recounted the events of the night to them. The explanation soon turned into giggles and “girl talk” as one may call it, even getting some of the other girls from the surrounding dorms to come in and ask what was going on when they had heard the laughs. 

Needless to say, Matty got to bed very late that night.

When she awoke, the first thing Matty did was grab some parchment, some ink, and a quill and began to write a letter to her parents. 

She wanted them to know about how happy she was and what happened with her and Sebastian—and how happy he made her. She knew these were the kinds of things her parents wanted to hear from her, and she knew they’d be delighted. 

Although being raised in a muggle society, this wasn’t exactly the way she imagined her relationship coming about since muggle relationships in this day and age had many different rules or “customs” as one may call it. But the Ambrose’s were never ones to conform to every ideal that society put out and so they would be happy for her regardless. 

She dipped her quill in the ink and began to write. 

“Dear mother and father, 

I’m doing wonderfully here at school. I’ve been doing well in all my classes, and I’ve been told I’ve been excelling at even my worst subjects. But that’s not really what this letter is about. 

I’m sure you’ll be overjoyed to hear about what happened with Sebastian and me. In my last letter I spoke to you about the progress he had been making and it was wonderful. And something else just as wonderful has happened. 

Last night, Sebastian and I admitted our feelings to one another. I felt a bit childish being so bashful about it at first, but it was absolutely wonderful. We’ve both decided that we want to be in a dedicated courtship, and I just couldn’t wait to tell you. So, I suppose things will be a bit different when Sebastian comes to visit for Christmas, but that gives us all another reason to be excited. 

Please let me hear from you soon. I miss you both dearly and I love you. 

With my whole heart, 

Matty.” 

Matty folded up the parchment and slid it into an envelope, sealing it, addressing it, and then giving it to Eden so that she could get it to her parents. 

She figured now was a good time to get up and start getting ready for her day. She changed from her nightgown into her uniform, making sure everything was smoothed out and that she looked good. 

She walked out into the common room, robes tidy, hair fixed, and ready to take on her day. She was almost certain that she hadn’t been this happy in a while. The thought of finally being in a committed relationship with Sebastian was enough to make her giddy. 

One thing she didn’t expect was to be immediately asked about what had happened the night prior the moment she stepped into the Common Room. Garreth walked up to her, eager to know if what Nellie had told him was true. 

Of course, Garreth, like many of Matty’s friends, was just eager for her and Sebastian to finally admit it to each other. 

“Nellie told me you and Sebastian are courting now. Is this true?” He asked curiosity in his voice. 

Matty nodded. “Yes. But word sure does spread fast around here.” She said with a slight airy chuckle. It was surprising how fast word spread around the school.

But from the nosey students, the ghosts, and the portraits who apparently enjoyed their fair share of gossip, she really shouldn’t have been surprised. Even the Professors had moments where they had overheard things and indulged in them. Such as Professor Hecat and Professor Sharp betting on Crossed wand duels.

With how strict Professor Sharp was occasionally, Matty was surprised to see him so okay with the Crossed Wands dueling club but then she had to remind herself that he was once a young boy himself in school probably doing similar things himself. 

“That it does,” Garreth said. “But it took the two of you long enough. I’m happy for you.” 

“Thank you. And I’ll agree, it took us a bit longer than it should have.” Matty said with a bit of embarrassment in her tone. After how wonderfully the confession had gone, she began to feel a bit embarrassed that she had been so dramatic over it and assumed the worst was going to happen. 

Garreth smiled. “But don’t let this little relationship of yours get in the way of our Quidditch rivalry with Slytherin. I still expect you to be playing your best against them in our game.” 

Matty rolled her eyes. “Of course. In fact, I’m sure I want to try even harder to beat them now,” she said with a small mischievous grin. 

*** 

In the Slytherin dorms, Ominis and Thomas were getting an earful about the night prior. Ominis thought that if Matty and Sebastian were to finally get together, Sebastian might stop talking his ear off about Matty constantly but no he was absolutely wrong. Although, this time, he was actually okay with hearing everything about it. He knew Sebastian was happy and that’s all that mattered. 

In fact, he actually ended up finding out quite a few things about his best friend. He wasn’t expecting Sebastian to be nearly as romantic as he was, or at least as romantic as he sounded from his encounter with Matty. So, that was surprising. 

Sebastian had never been one for wanting to be in a relationship before Matty showed up to school. Sure, he was an occasional flirt and pretty charming, but he never saw the value in getting into a committed relationship when he was so young. Now that he was seventeen and getting closer and closer to becoming an adult, he saw value in it, especially when he loved the person as he loved Matty. 

So, besides the two-week lasting crush he had on Violet McDowell in his second year wherein he was admiring from afar and she refused to even speak to him until the beginning of their fourth year, he had been focused on more important things. In his own words “Books, dueling, and school.” Which was better than getting into petty relationship drama that could’ve possibly come along if he had focused on girls at the time. 

Thomas listened to Sebastian talk about his encounter with Matty with a grin on his face. For so long, Thomas had tried to get Sebastian to just go for it. To be honest, everyone had. 

“Well, I will admit I didn’t think you had it in you.” He chuckled to Sebastian. “At least for a moment there when it seemed like you were refusing to even bring it up to her.” 

“I was nervous, alright?” Sebastian huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“And yet she still said yes and still reciprocated.” Ominis teased. “Sometimes I think you forget just how dramatic you can be, Sebastian.” 

Sebastian just huffed. “Well, I tried my best and now I’ve done it. Are you two happy now?” He asked with an expectant look on his face. 

“I think you already know the answer to that question, Sebastian,” 

***

Later, Matty made her way down to the Great Hall, sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. She sat down and immediately felt arms wrap around her. Instinctively she whipped her head around and saw that it was Hope and she was practically squeezing the life out of her. 

“I heard what happened!” She said in an excited tone. “I’m so happy for you! And it’s about time!” 

Now knowing it was her best friend, Matty turned to hug Hope back. “I know, I know.” She chuckled. “I’ve heard that last part a lot this morning.” 

Instead of sitting back down at her table, Hope slid in to sit by Matty, her friends at Hufflepuff could wait a few minutes to get her back. “How do you think your parents will react?” She asked Matty. 

“I wrote to them this morning about it. It was the first thing I did when I woke up.” Matty said. “I’m sure they’ll be delighted. I have a feeling my mother knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Although I’m sure she’s elated, along with my father.” 

Hope smiled. “I’m happy for you. I really am.” She said. 

“Thank you, Hope.” 

After breakfast, they had some time before classes began. As Matty was walking to Charms class, she caught Sebastian in the hall. Having not seen him in the Great Hall earlier that morning, she was extremely excited to see him. 

“Good morning!” she said, throwing her arms around him. 

Sebastian wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic hug, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her. He chuckled and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. “Good morning, Matty.” 

“Where were you at breakfast? I didn’t see you in the Great Hall.” Matty said, slightly pulling back from the hug. She wanted to make sure Sebastian was still taking care of himself and not losing the progress he had tried so hard to make. 

“I left my dorm late,” Sebastian admitted sheepishly. “But don’t worry, I grabbed something on the way to class, so I’ll be fine.” 

“If you say so,” Matty said, taking his word for it. 

The two walked together hand in hand to Charms class and sat down alongside one another. Professor Ronen dragged on with his lecture, getting sidetracked many times by sharing stories from his life, and then getting back on the lecture. 

Matty wasn’t even sure if several of the students were even paying attention, which she thought was somewhat rude because she knew Professor Ronen put a lot of effort into his lessons and tried to make everything fun. 

When Professor Ronen realized he was losing the attention of the students, he just sighed. “Finish filling out your review on simple charms,” he said before going silent. 

After class was done, Matty couldn’t help but see the slightly disappointed look on her professor’s face. “It was almost like no one was paying attention the entire time.” She explained to Sebastian in an annoyed tone. “Professor Ronen puts so much work into his lessons. Sure, they drag on but at least he’s not boring about it like Professor Binns.”

“I feel bad for the guy, honestly,” Sebastian said as he walked alongside her. “He’s always been one of my favorite professors. He doesn’t make us sit in that stuffy classroom all the time.” 

Matty nodded her head. “I agree, he’s one of my favorites as well. It’s a shame people don’t listen to him as often as they should. He’s really knowledgeable.” She said. 

After school was done, Matty and Sebastian found themselves sitting off away from everyone outside, wanting some time to themselves so they could discuss a few things. It had been late the night prior which rendered them unable to discuss much after their initial confession, so Matty suggested that they go and talk now while everything was nice and peaceful. 

“So, what are we even supposed to talk about?” Sebastian asked, being just as clueless as Matty was. 

“I have no idea,” Matty replied, shaking her head. “Everyone always makes this seem so easy. I don’t even know where to begin.” 

Sebastian nodded. “Seems so much easier in the books.” 

Matty furrowed her brows. “You read romance books?” she asked with a small teasing giggle. She knew he read just about anything, but had he read enough to bring that up?” 

“What? It’s fun.” Sebastian said sheepishly with a shrug. “Besides the only way I even knew how to kiss you last night was because I read romance, so you should be glad.” 

Matty busted out laughing. “It’s not a bad thing!” she exclaimed. “I just never took you for the kind of guy to read it and like it. I thought boys… hated romance or something. That they thought it was gross. Or at least that’s what the boys back in London would say.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “They are simply immature.” 

“Well, in that case, have you ever read Jane Austen?” Matty asked, wondering if they got that kind of muggle literature in the school. 

Sebastian raised a brow. “Jane who?” 

Matty’s jaw dropped. She shouldn’t be surprised. She really shouldn’t have since not only was Jane Austen muggle literature but also, she didn’t know too many boys her age who indulged in Miss. Austen’s writing anyway. 

“Jane Austen was a muggle novelist,” Matty explained. “She wrote the loveliest romances. I should have you read them. I’m sure you’d love them. I had always dreamt of having my own just like how she wrote them.”” 

“You know what, now that you say her name, I might have heard it in Muggle studies one time,” Sebastian said, trying to think of whether he had heard her name anywhere or not. But if Matty loved the books as much as she did, he was sure he was going to love them as well. 

“Well, you’re lucky you’ve got a Muggleborn girlfriend now to help you with all of that,” Matty said, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. She knew he had taken the class for her anyway but now that they were together and it was just another way of him showing his devotion to her, it made it even more meaningful. 

Sebastian chuckled. “Yes, I got very lucky,” he said, pulling Matty against his chest. “But not just because of that. I got lucky because I can now call the most beautiful, selfless, kind, and strong woman my own.” 

“Oh, stop it,” Matty said, looking away in embarrassment. She wasn’t used to all the compliments yet, but she knew Sebastian was more than happy to dish them out. 

“No, you’re wonderful and I’m going to let you know it,” Sebastian said, gently hooking his finger around her jaw and moving her head back so that they were looking at each other again. “I waited a year to call you mine. A year. And if Esme hadn’t intervened, I’m sure I would’ve waited longer. So, I’m going to cherish every moment I have with you to make up for the ones I lost.”

Matty could feel her cheeks heat up. The fact that he loved her so much already was foreign to her but made her extremely happy, nonetheless. Sebastian pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and pulled away with a small smile, hoping he had gotten his point across. 

Now that was something straight out of a Jane Austen book. 

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, Matty and Sebastian grew closer. They were finally beginning to figure out how to work things out, communicate with one another, and more. Matty didn’t know if it was just the early stages of the relationship (as she had heard) but she felt like this was all going really well. It felt like she had a whole new understanding of Sebastian, and it was nice to have. 

It felt like something unconditional. Like no matter what happened, she would still have Sebastian and his unconditional love. And he would always have her unconditional love. 

But of course, they couldn’t spend all their time together. They still had school, friendships, and other matters to attend to. 

One matter Matty had to tend to was the gathering of information about Isidora. The work she and Apollo had been doing had been put off for a small moment of time since they were both quite busy.

Alas, they couldn’t put it off forever. And it was getting closer and closer to the time when Matty would have to begin to start telling him more about Isidora. She would always tell him things spread out. She wanted to see how he’d take the news, how he’d go about it, his reaction was extremely important to the information he got next. 

Why? Well, because Matty wanted to make sure she could trust him. Had they been working together for weeks now? Yes. But was she completely sure she could trust him with everything? Absolutely not. Even if some things were related to Isidora, there were some that she would never tell him. 

She did think he deserved to know how Isidora died but that information would have to come later. She knew he wouldn’t take it well. Not to mention that meant she would have to explain the Keepers without giving huge amounts of information out.

There were very few on this earth who would ever know about the Repository. And with the Hogwarts Professors who had aided Matty and Professor Fig in the final batter sworn to secrecy, Matty was the person responsible for making sure the Repository never fell into the wrong hands. Which included keeping it a secret from those who weren’t worthy of knowing it. 

Even her closest friends didn’t get everything. Sebastian knew of the Repository, alongside Ominis, Esme, and Hope, but none of them had a clue where it was. 

So, Matty made her way up to the Room of Requirement where Apollo already was, looking over a couple of things. 

“Oh, there you are.” He said, looking over at her. “I was waiting for you.” 

“Sorry if I kept you,” Matty said, closing the door to the Room of Requirement. 

Apollo shook his head. “Not at all.” He said. “In fact, we won’t even be spending much time in here today so it’s not a problem at all.” 

Matty raised her brow. “And may I ask what that means?” She asked. 

“Well, when we first made our agreement, we agreed that if you told me and helped me discover more about Isidora that I’d teach you a few things I’ve learned. Whether that has to do with the magic we possess or magic in general.” Apollo replied. “And today is nice, not freezing cold, so I thought I should show you somewhere.” 

“Why wouldn’t we just stay at the castle?” Matty asked. 

“Can’t practice this kind of magic around, remember?” Apollo asked with a small chuckle. 

Oh, well that was embarrassing. “Right, right,” Matty said, feeling a bit dumb that she hadn’t made that connection earlier. She had been used to using her magic around since well, there was usually no one around she had to hide it from, but she remembered Apollo grew up a completely different way. “So, where are we going?” 

“It’s sort of hard to explain, so just follow me,” Apollo said, heading for the door. 

They left the Room of Requirement and took the Floo Network to Clagmar Coast, which was quite a long way from the castle, but Matty trusted that Apollo was going to be smart here. 

 The place they ended up at Matty instantly recognized. It was only a couple hundred yards off of where she had subdued the Lord of the Shore. She often took him here so that he could revisit his old home before tagging along with her. If she could have one best friend outside of humans, it’d be him. 

“Out here, we can practice whatever we want and not have to worry about anything,” Apollo said. 

It was a large field with no one in sight, so he wasn’t wrong. Of course, Matty had places like the Undercroft to practice magic, but she would never tell Apollo about that. So, this place seemed like a good one to be able to practice magic. 

“How often do you come out here? Doesn’t the faculty ever question where you’ve been?” Matty asked, thinking it was quite odd that Apollo could come so far out without being asked questions. After all, he was the Head boy, and she assumed the faculty would want to know where he was at most times since he was important to the school. 

Apollo shrugged. “I don’t worry about it. Professor Weasley sometimes questions where I’ve been but she forgets about it soon after. Besides, there’s a Head girl for a reason. The responsibility doesn’t just all fall on me.” 

“Well then, teach away,” Matty said, grabbing her wand out. In all honesty, she was quite curious to see just what he had in mind. 

“Oh Merlin, where do I even start?” Apollo chuckled to himself. 

He thought for a moment before coming up with something. “Let’s start with something simpler—well, I don’t know if one could call it simple but it’s a good spell to know.” He said. “Have you ever heard of the Patronus charm?” 

Matty nodded her head. “We briefly discussed it in Charms class.” She answered. “Although we never learned it.” 

“Well, then it's settled,” Apollo said, walking a few paces away, and pulling his wand out. “The Patronus charm is a useful charm to know. It can do quite a few things but it’s most known for its ability to defend against Dementors.” 

“So, you’re teaching me this spell on the odd chance that a Dementor will come around and try to suck all the happiness straight from me?” Matty asked, raising a brow. 

“You never know what can happen. Better to be safe than sorry.” Apollo said with a shrug. “I taught myself the charm back in my fifth year two years ago. I studied up on it a lot before attempting it. The books say the Patronus is sort of kind of an extension of oneself. It’s created from your happiest memories, hence why it’s so powerful.” 

“Which is why those truly unhappy and evil can’t produce one?” Matty asked. 

Apollo nodded his head. “For the most part, anyway. If a truly evil person was able to produce a Patronus, that would mean they take joy in inflicting pain and suffering onto others.” He replied. “So, I’d stay clear of those people for sure.” 

He then took a few more steps away. “Now, to produce a Patronus, you must be focused. Focused on the happiest memories you can think of.” He explained. “One simple distraction can keep you from being able to produce one. Which is why it’s important to disconnect yourself from everything around you and focus.” 

He looked straight ahead, pointing his wand the same. A few moments of silence passed by where Matty could tell he was focused on casting the charm. And then, “Expecto Patronum!” he cast. 

From his wand leaped a blue and white light, which quickly took the form of a snake. It landed on the ground, briefly slithering around in the dirt before striking the air with a loud hiss. Matty watched intently as the snake struck. She had never seen a Patronus before and even if it wasn’t in action, it was still fascinating. 

The snake hissed one more time before fading away and Apollo looked at Matty with a grin, noticing the surprise and slight awe. 

“That was impressive,” Matty said, looking at him. “But that’s a pretty ironic patronus for a Gryffindor.”

“Thank you. And yes, I was a bit surprised at first.” Apollo said with a small chuckle before pointing his wand at her. “Your turn.” 

“I feel like it looks simpler than it actually is.” She said, switching places with Apollo. She wasn’t exactly sure how this was going to work—or if it was going to work at all. She had learned that some people besides those who were truly unhappy or evil still struggled with producing a patronus just because it was difficult. 

“The incantation is Expecto Patronum,” Apollo explained. “Remember to focus.” 

Matty stood her ground, her wand straight ahead of her, gripped tightly. She tried her best to think of the happiest moments of her life. Some were of her time as a little girl in Ireland, being with her family, becoming friends with Hope, and meeting Sebastian for the first time, just to name a few. 

When she was sure she was focused, she said the incantation firmly. “Expecto Patronum!” 

And… nothing happened. 

Of course, she couldn’t expect herself to get it completely right on the first try but there was an air of disappointment that was certainly there. “Well, that was disappointing.” She said flatly.

Apollo had to stifle a chuckle. “Just try again. I’m sure it’ll come to you eventually.” 

Matty took a deep breath, she tried her best to focus, thinking of the happiest moments just as instructed. “Just focus.” Apollo’s voice came. 

“Well, perhaps I could focus more if you weren’t distracting me with your words.” Matty gritted out. 

“Sorry, sorry.” 

So, Matty tried again. But alas had the same results. She was beginning to worry that she may fall under the category of people who just couldn’t produce a Patronus. Of course, she didn’t have to know the spell, but she was determined to master anything that was put in front of her. Call her stubborn (she was) but that was her mindset since childhood. 

After the first couple of failed attempts, Apollo tried to give her some advice. When he had first learned the charm, it wasn’t exactly easy for him either and did take quite a while, so he understood the frustration with the situation. 

Matty just didn’t know what the problem was. Was she not thinking of her true happiest memories? Were they simply not happy enough? Well, that thought was depressing alone so she tried not to think about it that much otherwise that would set her even more far gone than she already was. 

At this point, she was ready to drag herself over to the Graphorn den and give herself to the mercy of whatever Graphorn had taken Lord's place. Although being trampled to death via her favorite beast didn’t sound too fun. 

“Come on, just try one more time.” Apollo insisted. 

Matty sighed. “If you insist.” She said, taking her position again. 

She planted her feet again and pointed out her wand, trying to focus as much as she could on her happiest memories and the ones, she was most fond of. Once she was sure she was ready, the incantation left her mouth. “Expecto Patronum!” 

For a quick moment, nothing happened, but then suddenly the same blue and white light began to form around the tip of her wand, and out of nowhere, the light took the form of a massive Graphorn that looked almost identical to Lord. 

Matty and Apollo both took a step back, both stunned at the sudden appearance of the large beast. The Graphorn took a few steps forward before letting out an ear-shattering roar straight into the air and Matty’s face broke out into a grin. Looks like all that work was worth it. 

The Graphorn then charged forward before disappearing, leaving Matty and Apollo standing there in awe and shock. For a moment, Matty thought she had imagined the entire thing. She looked back at Apollo. “Did you see that?” 

“So, I’m not crazy,” Apollo said, his eyes still fixed on the place where the Patronus had once been. He then looked at Matty. “That was amazing!” 

Matty let out a laugh. She knew a Patronus could take many forms but the fact that it was a Graphorn made it even more special to her. 

“Look at you,” Apollo said, knocking her shoulder with his fist playfully. “You thought you couldn’t do that and here we are.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Matty said with a slight roll of her eyes. “Thank you for not giving up on me. Honestly, even I was ready to give up,” she admitted. 

Apollo shrugged. “Think nothing of it.” He insisted. “Besides, that outcome was worth the waiting. A Graphorn patronus… I’ve never heard of that one before. But if I’m honest, I shouldn’t really be surprised, it fits you well.” 

Matty smiled. “Ironic that we’re right next to the Graphorn den I got Lord from.” She said. She would never forget when she had gone to the den, turning the corner and suddenly the Graphorn was right in front of her. It was a terrifying but exhilarating experience. 

“I will say, I’m still shocked to know that you have such a connection with a Graphorn,” Apollo stated. “How does one even subdue a Graphorn? Or why? I know you did several crazy things but getting a Graphorn was not one I was expecting.” 

Matty couldn’t exactly tell him about San Bakar’s trial, in fact, she was putting off saying anything about the Keepers till later, so she had to come up with a good excuse on the spot. “Curiosity got the best of me, and I got a friend out of it,” she said with a shrug.

Knowing Matty, Apollo actually took this as the truth. And when Matty seemed to notice that he took it as the truth, she felt relieved that he wouldn’t ask more questions. 

“Well, we should be getting back.” He suggested. “Don’t want people to get curious about where we are and quite frankly, I don’t want to be interrogated by Professor Weasley.” 

“Agreed,” Matty said.

That day had actually been quite successful. Although it was somewhat exhausting and a tad annoying from how many times she had to attempt it, Matty was impressed with herself and she was grateful for the opportunity to learn it.

Chapter Text

Ah wintertime, Hogwarts student's favorite time of the year (besides summer). November passed by and it was now the first week of December. Christmas was right around the corner alongside New Year's. The first snow of the year had come, and Hogwarts was covered in it. With snow of course came the terrible cold—which nobody enjoyed but they made sure to bundle up and enjoy it. 

Although Matty missed the look of London covered in a thick layer of snow, she had to admit Hogwarts was breathtaking in the wintertime. Although the trees had lost their leaves and some of the shrubbery wasn’t green anymore, it was still gorgeous. 

After school ended, students rushed to bundle up and go outside to enjoy the snow. Matty had made sure to bundle up in her thick winter coat to keep her safe from the cold, using her house scarf as well to stay extra warm. 

While Nellie and Garreth were off enjoying themselves in the snow, Natty was standing by the door, bundled up and still shivering. Matty noticed this and walked up to her. “Still not used to the cold yet?” she asked with a small chuckle. 

“No, never.” Natty said, “I am not used to this at all.” 

“It’s fun once you start moving around! You get warmer. If you stay, there shivering you’re just going to be miserable.” Matty said, trying to urge Natty to move around. “Besides, once people start throwing snowballs at you, you’re going to want to run.” She laughed. 

“I suppose you are right,” Natty said, pulling her coat tighter around herself. “But I do not think I will ever understand why you all love this so much.” 

Matty grinned. “It’s fun!” She said. “You should go take a walk around the Quidditch pitch, it’s super pretty and it’d do you well to move around a bit. It’ll heat you up.” 

Natty hesitated before reluctantly walking off in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to the cold weather or the snow, but she didn’t want to miss out on all the fun. She was usually always the first person to jump in and try something new. 

Matty spotted Sebastian off to the side a bit and walked over to him. He noticed her out of the corner of his eye and his face lit up. “There’s my favorite girl,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Enjoying the snow?”

“Yes,” Matty answered. “A little cold but fun nonetheless.” 

“Where’s Ominis and Esme?” She asked. 

Sebastian shrugged. “Somewhere around here, not completely sure.” He said, looking around for the two. 

Off in the distance, they could see Nellie, Garreth, a few of his siblings, and a few other students pelting each other with snowballs. Matty took immediate notice that Garreth was targeting his younger brother Hector specifically and laughed. “Looks like they’re getting into it.” 

Millie, the youngest of the Weasleys, was using Garreth as a human shield, protecting herself from her other older siblings Alice and Hector. “Garreth they’re trying to hit me on purpose!” She complained. 

“Don’t just stand there, fight back!” Garreth exclaimed, making another snowball to throw at his little brother. 

“Can’t wait to see the turnout of that one,” Sebastian said while he watched them attack each other with snowballs. “Someone’s going to end up in the Hospital Wing with a bloody nose, calling it now.” 

Matty rolled her eyes. “Are you just saying that, or do you want one of them to end up with one?” she asked with a brow raised. 

“Oh, of course not. I’d never wish that upon children.” Sebastian said. “Garreth on the other hand—,” 

Matty elbowed him on the arm. “Ow! Okay sorry, sorry.” Sebastian said with a light chuckle. “Go ahead and gut me for my sarcasm.” 

As they were walking, someone called Sebastian’s name and he turned around to see who it was. Matty kept walking before stopping to see who had called his name as well. It was Tom, trying to get Sebastian’s attention. 

Suddenly, Sebastian was hit in the back of the head with a snowball. His first instinct was to turn around and see if it was Matty—since after all she was behind him and it honestly felt like something she’d do but Matty had her hands neatly tucked behind her back, having been paying attention to his conversation with Tom. 

“What? It wasn’t me!” She exclaimed, trying to prove her innocence. 

The two looked behind themselves and saw Leander halfway across the field with a devilish grin on his face. Nellie, who stood a few steps away from him was also grinning, probably having helped him plan this. But she reacted quicker than Leander, knowing how this would go, and took off sprinting. 

Matty and Sebastian reacted just after that, scooping up snow in their hands. “Oh-ho, you’re on now!” Matty said, throwing one at Leander with all the might she had. 

Soon enough, the two were chasing him (and Nellie who was already several feet ahead of Leander) down the flying lawn. 

“GARRETH HELP! NELLIE TRICKED ME INTO THINKING THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!” Leander shouted. 

“You’re on your own! Sorry!” Garreth laughed as he watched Matty and Sebastian chase after Leander. “Also, this is why you don’t trust Nellie!” 

But what started out as just a few students suddenly formed a large snowball fight broke out on the flying lawn. Randomly students began to join in, forming teams at will. But it was perhaps some of the most fun Matty had had all year. 

Who knew hitting people with compressed snow could be so fun? 

First, five teams were quickly formed, which soon went down to three, and morphed into two. Then after people got bored with that, friendly fire suddenly became okay, and it was just an all-out war of throwing snowballs at anyone you could possibly see. It was sure to look like a mess from above, but it was a fun mess at that. 

But of course, the fun had to end somehow, and that interruption was from none other than a few of the prefects. “Everybody calm down!” One of the prefects shouted over everyone in the Flying Lawn, trying to get their attention. 

After a few moments, everyone seemed to be calming down to listen to the prefects (even if they didn’t want to). “Professor Weasley has requested that all fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years move to the Great Hall. There is an announcement she would like to make.” 

Everyone looked at each other, some slightly worried, but they all seemed to get the gist that this was important. “And for Merlin’s sake, don’t show up in your soaking wet robes.” The prefect finished up with. 

“I guess that means the fun is over,” Matty said, catching her breath. 

“Unfortunately,” Sebastian said. “I should run to my dorm and get changed; my coat is soaked.” 

“Same here.” Matty chuckled. “I’ll see you in the Great Hall.” 

She gave him a quick kiss before taking off inside and up to her dorm to get changed. Whatever Professor Weasley wanted to announce, she was surely wondering what it was. 

***

After running up to her dorm and throwing on her dry school uniform and robes, she rushed out of it and across the bridge to get to the Great Hall, not wanting to be late and miss this announcement, whatever it was. 

As she made it to the Great Hall, she sat down at the Gryffindor table, which had significantly fewer members as they were missing the first, second, and third years. Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, some wondering what Professor Weasley could possibly want to announce and others making suggestions as to what it could be. 

All the chattering calmed when Professor Weasley stepped up to the lectern. “Thank you all for coming.” She started. “You are all probably wondering why you are here.” 

“On behalf of the headmaster and the rest of the faculty, it’s truly a pleasure and an exciting moment to announce this year’s Winter ball. An annual event we have dearly missed.” She announced. “This event will be available for all the students in this very hall on the twenty-first of December. Your parents have all been informed and proper dressing robes are being sent here promptly.” 

Excited, hushed whispers began to be exchanged between the students at each table. 

“That will be all, don’t refrain from asking the faculty if you have any questions.” Professor Weasley said, ending her announcement. “You are dismissed.”

The Great Hall got much louder after that; students began to leave the Great Hall. Matty looked at Nellie. “Wait, Nellie, she said annual. But this didn’t happen last year.” She said, looking confused. She definitely would’ve remembered if this had happened before. 

“Headmaster Black cut the event out before it could even be planned alongside Quidditch,” Nellie answered. “That old git never wants us to have any fun. You’d think a petty socialite like him would enjoy something as fancy as a whole ball, but I suppose since his little clique of purebloods won’t be there, he’s not as interested.” 

Matty furrowed her brows. “Wow. So, they really just let him get away with getting rid of that many events last year?” She asked. 

Nellie nodded her head. “Well, he’s the headmaster so no one could really do anything.” She said. “But I’m sure the faculty tried to put their foot down this year and stop him from snuffing out events, thank Merlin.” 

Matty nodded her head in agreement with Nellie. She was certainly grateful things at Hogwarts seemed to be going back to normal and were overall pretty peaceful. It was a stark difference from her previous year, but she was happy about it. 

As they were leaving the Great Hall, Matty caught sight of Esme and Ominis and walked over to them. “There you two are. You weren’t out earlier; I was wondering where you were.” She said to them. 

“And get hit with practical ice? No thank you,” Esme said, shaking her head. 

“You missed out.” Bella chuckled as she walked past the three of them. 

Esme rolled her eyes. If there were any differences between the two girls, it was that Bella was definitely the more outgoing and adventurous one. Sure, Esme had her moments, but if she didn’t have to do anything that would involve getting dirty, she was perfectly fine with avoiding all of that. 

Sebastian made his way up to them and Leander was walking past. “Anyone seen Garreth?” He asked, looking at the group of friends. 

They all shook their heads, shrugging. They hadn’t seen Garreth since the giant snowball fight. Hope had overheard them mention Garreth’s name. “Oh, he’s in the hospital wing with a bloody nose.” She answered casually. “Got hit in the face with a snowball.” 

“HA! Told you,” Sebastian said to Matty. He just couldn’t help himself. He had called it. 

“Okay, okay, you were right,” Matty said. “Can we talk about the Ball now? I’m so excited, it sounds like so much fun. I’ve attended a few in London but those are always so boring and for old socialites who have a thing for wearing wigs.” 

Hope let out a snort, knowing exactly what Matty was talking about. “That sounds rather odd,” Sebastian said, wondering just what in Merlin’s name those muggles were doing.

“Well, unlike those odd muggle events you’re talking about, yes, the Winter Ball is quite enjoyable,” Esme said. “We’ve all only been once in our fourth year since Headmaster Black canceled the event last year. So, I’m looking forward to being able to attend again.” 

Ominis nodded his head in agreement and Hope nodded as well. They had both enjoyed their time at the Winter Ball in their fourth year. 

However, Sebastian had stayed silent throughout this exchange and Matty caught notice of this. When they were out of the Great Hall, she gently pulled him aside with his arm so that they could talk in private. 

“Are you okay?” she asked gently. “You got awfully quiet back there.” 

Sebastian sighed. “Well, I’ll be fine, but I had some rather unpleasant memories come back to me during that conversation.” He admitted. 

“In third year, we had heard from some of the sixth year about the Ball. Naturally, we were all really excited about being able to attend it next year. Of course, I wasn’t exactly interested in girls at the time so Anne and I said we would just accompany each other to the Ball.” He explained. “But then… well you know what happened to her. I didn’t feel up to going so I stayed in my dorm the entire night.” 

Matty frowned a bit. It had been sweet of Sebastian to think of accompanying his sister to the Ball but what had once been a sweet and exciting idea turned out to be terrible. She hadn’t heard anything from or about Anne in weeks and she was constantly worried about her. And every little detail she heard about Anne right before she was cursed or right after broke her heart a little bit more than it already had. 

“I’m so sorry, Sebastian,” she said, pulling him into a tight hug. “But I’m sure Anne would be happy to know that you’ll have fun this year. I promise.” She placed her hand on his cheek. 

Sebastian instantly melted into her touch, as he often did. “Thank you, Matty.” He thanked her gently, leaning in just a bit to press a small kiss to her forehead. 

“Besides, think of all the wonderful things we’ll get to do leading up to it! I’m sure there will be a lot of discussions about it. That ought to be fun.” Matty said, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Oh please, you sound like the same muggle socialites you were complaining about earlier,” Sebastian said with a slight snide chuckle. “The Ball is one thing but talks of the Ball? Oh, that ought to be interesting.” 

“Don’t make fun of me,” Matty said, knocking him on the shoulder. “In my defense, I was raised thinking I was a muggle for fifteen years. If I feel the need to act like a posh muggle socialite, I will. Now stand up straight and stop slouching.” She said, obviously joking. 

“Oh, dear Merlin. What have I gotten myself into?” Were the only words that left Sebastian's mouth. 

Chapter Text

It was the warmest day December had given. Some of the snow had melted and the slightly warmer weather made it more bearable to be outside. Matty, Sebastian, Ominis, Esme, Hope, Garreth, and their other friends were playing Charm tag out on the flying lawn. 

Suddenly, the beater on the Ravenclaw quidditch team, Calvin, came running onto the flying lawn, chanting loudly that he needed help. Immediately, the game of Charm tag was quickly forgotten about, and they all wondered what could’ve possibly happened. 

“What happened?” Sebastian questioned, taking imitative first. 

“Grant and I were out practicing at the pitch; I messed up and accidentally sent the bludger flying right at him. He barely missed it but smacked into the Hufflepuff pitch tower and fell. I—I think his leg is broken.” Calvin rushed out. “It was an accident I swear!” 

Matty remembered Grant as the Ravenclaw seeker who wasn’t the nicest player, but in this moment, it didn’t matter, what mattered was helping him. 

“Where is he?” She asked immediately after. 

“I’ll show you,” Grant answered, beginning to take off towards the quidditch pitch. 

They all followed him quickly. When they arrived at the pitch, they saw Grant on the ground, groaning and holding his leg. Imelda, who had been wandering around the pitch, per usual, had seen the commotion and ran alongside them. 

“Grant, it’s me, I got help,” Calvin said, sliding down to his friend. 

Everyone surrounded the Ravenclaw boy, trying to assess the situation. “Yeah, it’s definitely broken,” Sebastian said after a quick moment. It was so bad it didn’t really take a medical professional to tell that much. 

“We have to get him to the hospital wing!” Hope cried. 

“Wait, wait.” Imelda butted in. “Obliviously he needs medical attention. But you do all realize if we bring him there, Nurse Blainey will tell the headmaster, right?” 

“Yes, and?” Esme asked. “His leg is broken! Who cares about Headmaster Black?!” 

“If Nurse Blainey tells Headmaster Black, he’s bound to cancel quidditch again!” Imelda retorted. “We still have a few games left. Slytherin and Gryffindor haven’t even matched each other yet. This is risking it getting canceled!” 

“I don’t care!” Grant groaned from his place on the ground. His leg felt like it had been crushed. 

Calvin looked up from him and to Imelda. “We can’t just leave him like this!” He exclaimed. “He’s in pain. Why do you care so much about some stupid quidditch?” 

“Everyone calm down.” Matty insisted. “We’ll get him to the hospital wing, and we can try to talk Nurse Blainey into not telling the headmaster. After all, she’s sick of him and his dumb decision to cancel everything. I’m sure she’ll understand.” 

“This is bound to get to the headmaster anyway,” Garreth said. 

“We’ll get there when we get there,” Matty stated. “Now let's get Grant to the hospital wing. The more we wait out here the more time we’re wasting.” 

They all nodded. Calvin and Sebastian hoisted Grant up, supporting his arms on their shoulders. Sebastian was still mad at Grant for almost knocking Matty off her broom at their first quidditch game but for now, he wasn’t going to say anything since it was quite a dire situation. Garreth walked behind them to make sure if anything happened Grant wouldn’t pummel to the floor. 

They rushed him up to the hospital wing, hoping that not too many people would see them. After all, they didn’t want to risk Quidditch getting canceled again. 

When Nurse Blainey saw them come in, she was shocked. “What in Merlin’s name happened here?” She asked, watching the several students walk in suddenly. 

“He crashed into one of the pitch towers,” Sebastian said, shrugging Grant off onto one of the hospital wing beds. “His leg is broken, that’s for sure.” 

The nurse took one look and nodded her head, it was no doubt that Grant’s leg was indeed broken. “I’ll see what I can do.” She said. Nurse Blainey had mended quite a few things and more than just bones. She was the best Nurse that Hogwarts could ever ask for. 

“Nurse Blainey,” Imelda said. “Please don’t tell Headmaster Black about this. He’ll cancel quidditch simply because someone got hurt on the pitch!” 

“I’m sorry Miss Reyes but I’m obligated to tell the headmaster what goes on here, especially injuries like these.” Nurse Blainey said solemnly. 

She thought Headmaster Black was ridiculous for canceling Quidditch over a measly injury last year and so she definitely did not want him canceling again. But she was still obligated as a nurse working at Hogwarts to tell him about major injuries such as this one. 

“What if we made it look like it never happened?” Matty blurted out. “Or at least stalled the headmaster until you could try and fix his leg? I mean, I’m sure you could just tell Professor Weasley if it came down to it.” 

“How do you suggest we hide an injury like this?” Sebastian asked. “I mean, it’s not exactly easy to fix a broken leg that quickly.” 

“And the word is bound to get out to Black soon.” Ominis pipped in. “If anyone saw us bringing Grant in here, they’ll go straight to him.” 

“Then we’ll stall him until Nurse Blainey can get this fixed,” Imelda said impatiently. She looked over to the nurse. “You can fix this, right?” 

Nurse Blainey nodded her head. “But it won’t be too easy.” She stated. She went silent for a moment before scoffing. “Ah, blast. I’m sick and tired of that old man ruining everything at this school. You all come up with a way to stall the headmaster, I’ll try to fix Grant up as fast as I can, or at least make it look convincing.” 

“Looks like we have a lot of work to do,” Garreth said. 

“So, what are we waiting for?” Imelda asked. “C’mon!” 

Hope stayed behind with Nurse Blainey, offering her services to try and speed up the process of healing Grant's leg, or at least trying to make it so his injury wouldn’t be believable. Calvin stayed behind as well to support his friend. 

But Matty, Sebastian, Ominis, Esme, and Garreth were rushing out of the hospital wing. The headmaster was bound to have heard about this by now and they needed to find him before he reached the hospital wing and found out the truth. Nurse Blainey would be sure to tell Professor Weasley about the injury, after all someone in that part of the faculty needed to know. 

But unlike Headmaster Black, Professor Weasley wasn’t a total stick in the mud. 

“We have to find a way to distract him if he’s trying to get to the hospital wing and buy Nurse Blainey some time,” Matty said. 

It was quite an odd thing. A couple of teenagers tried to distract their headmaster so that their sport wouldn’t get canceled. But never underestimate the power of a bunch of determined teenagers. 

For a moment they were silent, trying to think of the best way to distract Headmaster Black. “Zerena.” They all said suddenly in unison. 

“I’ll go find her, she’s sure to help,” Esme said, running off. 

“While she’s going to get Zerena, in the meantime we need to make sure we don’t let Headmaster Black make it to the wing if we see him,” Matty instructed. “Garreth, you go with Ominis, and I’ll stay with Sebastian. If anyone asks what you’re doing, try to get them to help. I’m sure you’ll find Thomas or Leander wandering around somewhere and they’ll be more than glad to help.” 

“Got it,” Garreth said before walking off with Ominis. 

Sebastian couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re taking this pretty seriously, aren’t you?” he asked, finding it somewhat amusing. 

“Do you want Quidditch to be canceled?” Matty asked. “Because you know Professor Black won’t hesitate to do it even if we haven’t finished the season.” 

He shook his head. “I am completely on board with you, my love. I just thought it was amusing.” He said. “Now let’s go.” 

*** 

On her way to find Zerena, Esme had run into Bella. She quickly explained what was going on and Bella joined her in her search for Zerena. The moment they found her, they told her what was happening and that they needed her to distract her father. 

Oddly enough, this wasn’t the first time someone had asked her to do something like this. So, she just sighed and agreed to help. 

Unfortunately, Garreth and Ominis ran into the headmaster first. And what was even worse was that he was on his way up to the Hospital Wing, having heard from one of the prefects already that there had been an injury. So, the boys had to act fast. 

“Professor Black!” Garreth suddenly blurted out. “Where are you off to?” 

“To the hospital wing, I have been informed of a serious injury and I must make it there hastily.” Professor Black stated. “Now get out of my way, boy! This is a serious matter.” 

The thing is, they knew he didn’t really care that much. Since, after all, this was the very same man who ignored a giant war of goblins, poachers, and dark wizards and witches right around the school. Leave it to Headmaster Black to be ignorant of everything going on around him until he found it interesting. 

“Oh, that does sound pretty serious,” Garreth said. “But how do you know whoever told you wasn’t lying?” 

Ominis elbowed Garreth for his bad choice of words. “What Garreth means to say is—Who even was injured? I mean, I’m sure if it were real it’d be spreading around the school like wildfire, wouldn’t it?” he asked, trying to keep himself levelheaded. 

If he was honest, he never liked talking to the headmaster, even though he had to several times to keep Sebastian out of trouble. 

“Enough with your chattering!” Professor Black scolded. “Can you not see that I’m busy?” 

And then, Ominis just couldn’t help himself. 

“Well, headmaster, unfortunately, no. I cannot see at all, but I thought you would’ve known that by now,” he said, trying to hold back a grin. 

Garreth had to stifle a laugh. He had to admit, for a long time he thought Ominis had no sense of humor but turns out he was pretty good at this. 

Immediately, Professor Black looked embarrassed. He had truly meant nothing by it but if Ominis had the chance to poke back at him for his nasty attitude, he was going to take that chance. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was sort of petty in that way. 

“I—erm.” The headmaster stammered. “You know what I meant! Now out of my way!” 

He pushed past the two of them, not wanting to deal with their ridiculousness. Ominis and Garreth could only hope that Esme had found Zerena and come up with a good excuse for all of this. 

Thankfully, she had. She, Zerena, and Bella stopped the headmaster in the hallway. “Where are you going, father?” Zerena asked, trying to act as if she didn’t already know. 

Professor Black seemed annoyed that he kept getting interrupted, but seeing how this time it was his daughter, he felt slightly guilty about scolding her for stopping him. After all, he had no idea she knew and didn’t want to just leave her clueless and standing out in the hallway. 

He sighed, looking at her. “There was a student supposedly injured, I’m heading to the hospital wing as we speak. Or at least I was.” He answered. 

“Can’t that wait?” Zerena asked, crossing her arms. “Professor Weasley can go make sure everything is alright.” 

“No, it cannot wait—,” 

“You’re always so busy.” Zerena huffed. 

Usually, she’d never act this way in public, but it was a favor asked of her by two of her best friends and she still did have a sense of loyalty. Esme and Bella watched from behind her, hoping that this would go well. And a few other students had begun to stare.

The headmaster’s eyes began to dart around the room. “Zerena now is not the time.” He gritted out. 

“Fine,” Zerena said.  

Professor Black scoffed and then began his walk to the hospital wing again. “I don’t even know why I accepted this position.” He gritted out. The fact that he didn’t have complete control over everything going on in the school constantly upset him. Although, it was a relief to others who didn’t enjoy his annoying antics and terrible policies. 

Matty and Sebastian waited around for a while before realizing that the headmaster wasn’t coming their way, so they rushed back up to the Hospital Wing to see how things were going. “How is everything going in here?” Matty asked upon entering. 

“Decent, I think,” Hope answered. 

“The pain isn’t so bad anymore, but my leg still looks terrible,” Grant answered. “Professor Black is sure to see it. Quidditch will be canceled, and it’ll be all my fault for being stupid.” 

“I’ll take the blame. It was me who hit that bludger anyway.” Calvin stepped up. 

Matty shook her head. “Neither of you are getting blamed and Quidditch is not getting canceled. We’re all far too stubborn to let that happen,” she said with a slight chuckle. “We just have to think of something, quick.” 

They heard footsteps nearing the room and quickly had to think of something, anything! “Quick, Calvin, hold Grant up. Sebastian, get over here.” 

Quickly, Calvin lifted Grant up. Matty stood beside Grant, covering up any view of his leg and Sebastian stood by her. Hope also tried her best to conceal the view of any injuries. When the headmaster entered the room, he looked confused. 

“What is the meaning of all of this?” He asked. 

“Uh—we were just praising Nurse Blainey for all her hard work!” Hope blurted out. Matty played along and secretly swiped some flowers that had been left for a patient, who had seemingly forgotten about them. 

“Mhm! That’s exactly what we were doing,” she said, handing the flowers to Nurse Blainey, who quickly played along. 

She smiled at the headmaster. “Such darlings, aren’t they?” She asked. 

“I was informed that there was an injured student here.” The Professor said. “An injury on the Quidditch pitch no less. Another reason why I canceled that blasted game last year. If the faculty hadn’t protested me, this wouldn’t have happened.” 

Grant looked around, trying to act nonchalantly. “I don’t see an injured student around here, Professor Black.” He said, lying through his teeth since after all, he was the injured student. “We’re all just here to praise Nurse Blainey. She does an awful lot for us, you know?” 

Professor Black looked around and he didn’t see any injured students around. Then what in Merlin’s name had that prefect been talking about? He let out an exasperated sigh. “If you insist.” He grumbled. “But if I hear one more thing about this—I won’t hesitate to cancel that annoying sport again.” 

When he left the room, everyone simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. “Did that just… actually work?” Sebastian asked with a chuckle. 

“I believe it did,” Nurse Blainey said. Then she looked over to Grant. “Now back in that bed, boy. We still have a bit left to do to heal up that leg of yours properly.” 

Grant nodded and got back onto the hospital bed, happy that it had worked out. He and Calvin swore to be more careful on the pitch and that they would definitely keep this on the down low. When Sebastian and Matty left the hospital wing, they were both chuckling in disbelief. 

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Matty said. 

Sebastian nodded his head in agreement. “Same here.” He said. “Do you think Weasley will tell Professor Black that the injury was real?” 

Matty shrugged. “I don’t think so.” She replied. “Besides, Professor Weasley is Deputy Headmistress and oftentimes actually handles more things than the actual headmaster himself. Although, that’s not really surprising, is it?” 

“Unfortunately, yes.” Sebastian nodded. “But we’re lucky enough to have her here. She makes Hogwarts a lot more bearable.” 

There was a bit of silence between the two before Matty spoke up again. “So, now that quidditch isn’t canceled, are you ready for Slytherin to play Gryffindor?” she asked with a devilish grin on her face. Every relationship needed a bit of teasing here and there. 

“Let me get through the ball, going to London, and meeting your parents first. Then I can think of that.” Sebastian said with a dramatic tone.  

Later, Nurse Blainey was able to fix Grant up and his leg was as good as new. She told Professor Weasley about the injury and thankfully, she promised to take care of everything herself. And since Grant was already healed, it was going to be much easier. 

Thank Merlin for Nurse Blainey and Professor Weasley. 

Chapter Text

t was a perfectly peaceful and calm day for Sebastian. He woke up on time, his classes went well, his homework was finished, and he had nothing to worry about after school. Well, that was until Ominis mentioned something about how he had asked Esme to the Ball earlier that day and suddenly he was confused.

Why would Ominis need to ask Esme to the Ball? They had already been together for almost three years. It left him confused and asking questions. 

“Wait, why did you ask her?” Sebastian asked. “I mean, I assumed the two of you would already be attending together.” 

Ominis nodded his head. “Of course, we were going to attend the ball together regardless but it’s just common courtesy to ask.” He said nonchalantly. He just assumed Sebastian knew that even if you were already in a committed relationship, some girls still wanted to be asked. Almost like an expression of love. 

“Common courtesy?” Sebastian asked. “No one ever told me this!” 

“Probably because everyone assumed you already knew,” Ominis replied with a shrug. It wasn’t like he had been the only one to ask their lover to the ball, several others had already done it. So, everyone just thought it was public knowledge. 

“Wait does this mean I need to ask Matty now?” Sebastian asked. “If I don’t, is she going to think I don’t love her? Or that maybe I don’t want to go with her?”

Ominis sighed. “Now don’t overreact.” He said. “It’s a very simple question to ask her, Sebastian. And besides, I’m sure she won’t care much if you do or don’t. Asking her is simply a gesture and a way of letting her know you’re thinking of her.” 

“I’m always thinking about her,” Sebastian muttered under his breath. “Well, now this is making me feel like a bad boyfriend. How come I didn’t think about it earlier? Of course, she was going to want me to ask her.” 

Ominis stood up from his bed in their dormitory. “Don’t think too much of it, Sebastian. As I said, it’s just a simple question,” He reassured him. “Besides, you jumped to being quite dramatic over that one.” 

Sebastian sighed. “I’m new to all of this, Ominis. I have no idea what I’m doing or what I’m supposed to do.” He said, covering his face with his hands. “I was confident that I was going to be able to figure this all out immediately after asking her to be my girlfriend but apparently it's much harder than it seems.” 

“A word of advice,” Ominis started. “Don’t make things harder than they have to be.” 

“Oh, you know I’m the worst person to say that to,” Sebastian said in a half-joking manner. “You know I’m always one to complicate things.” 

“Yes, I know a bit too well.” 

*** 

At the request of Sebastian, Ominis agreed to help him out a bit with this. Sebastian being Sebastian didn’t want to just ask Matty a simple question and be over with it, especially after he found out it was also common courtesy to give the girl flowers with a note or something. He just wanted Matty to feel appreciated. 

“I just have no idea what I’m doing.” He said to Ominis as they were walking out from the Slytherin Common room. “I have zero experience.” 

“Besides that, flimsy two-week crush you had on Violet McDowell,” Ominis said with a grin. He just couldn’t help himself. 

“We don’t talk about that!” Sebastian hissed. “Besides, it was in my second year, and she didn’t even talk to me until the fourth. Honestly, I shouldn’t have even told you or Thomas about it. It was embarrassing anyway.” 

Ominis let out a chuckle. “Well, I think you’re also forgetting you’re Matty’s first boyfriend so it’s not like you’re the only clueless one.” He pointed out. “And thank Merlin you’re her first boyfriend otherwise you’d always try to find ways to one-up her previous ones.” 

Well, Sebastian couldn’t deny much of that last part. 

But there was somewhat of a sweet sentiment of Sebastian and Matty being each other’s first relationships. Although it was a tad difficult to figure out how things were supposed to be or just work around the relationship in general, it showed that they were extremely dedicated to one another. 

When the topic of relationships came about, Matty would occasionally tell him what she had learned about muggle relationships and if there was one thing, he had learned from muggle relationships was that there were a lot of rules. And a lot of things to remember. 

When he found out that if he were a muggle and in a traditional relationship with Matty they would always need to be chaperoned, could barely get close enough to hug her, and it would be considered shameful and a disgrace to Matty if they even kissed, he added another reason to be glad that he was not a muggle. 

But that did get him wondering why things were different in the wizarding world. But of course, he wasn’t complaining about it at all. But he was also wondering about how things would go when he went to London around muggles constantly. Hopefully, he’d be able to keep his head on straight. 

He also thought it was terribly unfair that women could be shamed more for something so simple as a kiss than a man could. First of all, it was a kiss. Who would get so fussy over that? And second, it was just downright unfair in Sebastian’s opinion. 

“True, but just because I’m her first boyfriend doesn’t mean I can’t make things special for her,” Sebastian replied. 

“Of course, of course. In fact, I highly encourage you to do so.” Ominis said. “You’re good to her and I’m sure everyone appreciates it. She’s a kind soul.” 

“I just feel like a fool,” Sebastian muttered. “I don’t even know her favorite flowers!” 

“Just get her any, girls like flowers,” Ominis said. “If there’s one thing, I’ve learned from being blind and getting Esme flowers is that she doesn’t care at all, she just likes the fact that I get her flowers. It’s really that simple.”

“What if she thinks it’s silly?” Sebastian asked. “Asking her to a Ball we’re already going to together?” 

Ominis groaned. “Then just explain nobody ever taught you anything about this? I don’t know! I don’t know why she’d think it's silly if half the school is already doing it!” He said. “Besides I’m sure she’ll find it sweet and charming. Now stop worrying!” 

Sebastian took a deep breath. “Right, right, it’s fine.” He said, trying to reassure himself more than anything. “I’ve got this.” 

*** 

Later, Matty was coming up from the boathouse after having a casual chat with Hope. She had in mind to go find Sebastian but what she wasn’t expecting was Sebastian up there waiting for her already. 

“Oh, Sebastian.” She said. “This is a pleasant surprise.” 

“A welcome one, I hope?” Sebastian asked. 

Matty smiled, “Always.” She said, moving forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. “But is there any particular reason why you were waiting for me up here?” 

“If you follow me, I’ll show you,” Sebastian said, offering his arm to her. 

Matty happily linked their arms, excited to see what Sebastian had planned. He walked her up from the boathouse to near where the Hufflepuff common room windows would peek out. There were a few stone benches there and the two sat down together on one of them. 

“So, what’d you bring me out here for?” Matty asked curiously. 

“Well, first,” Sebastian started. He leaned slightly over the side of the bench and grabbed a bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.” 

“Aw, Sebastian…” Matty said, taking the flowers. “You shouldn’t have. These are gorgeous.” 

Sebastian let out an internal sigh of relief knowing she liked them. Problem one solved. “I’m glad you like them.” He said coolly. 

Matty had a big smile on her face. She was a sucker for quite literally any small gesture such as this. Even if it was as simple as getting her flowers—not to mention they looked gorgeous. “I was thinking about getting flowers for you soon anyway but it’s sort of a special occasion, so it only makes sense to do it now, right?” Sebastian asked.

Matty furrowed her brows and a small sense of worry passed over her face. “What’s the special occasion?” She asked. “I didn’t miss anything, did I?” she rushed out, trying to think of anything she could’ve missed. 

It wasn’t his birthday, definitely wasn’t. It wasn’t hers; it wasn’t an anniversary of any sort; it wasn’t Christmas or New Year's. Had she forgotten something? 

“Well, you know… with the Ball coming up and everything…” Sebastian began. “And since you're my girlfriend I just thought I should ask you to be my date to it.” 

He frowned for a moment, that wasn’t as romantic as he had planned it to be. “What I mean to say is—would you like to accompany me to the Ball?” He practically blurted out right after that. “I know we’re already dating but I wanted to ask anyway.” 

“Really?” Matty asked, an immediate smile on her face. “Of course, I’ll go with you!” she said, throwing her arms around him. 

This was so sweet of him. She had never had a boy put so much time and effort into her as Sebastian had. Which only made sense, but it still made her feel so special. Sebastian wrapped his arms around her and mouthed “Thank you, Ominis.” Thankful that his best friend had brought this up and then helped him. 

“This was so sweet of you,” Matty said. “I can’t wait for the Ball. It seems so exciting and so much fun. And of course, you know how much I love dancing and it’ll be even better when I’m dancing with the person that I love the most.” 

“I really need to practice,” Sebastian said sheepishly. “I got some practice for the Ball in fourth year, but it wasn’t much. I have two left feet and I’m afraid that I may break your toes.” 

Matty let out a laugh. “Oh, I’m sure we can get you up to speed in no time. Besides, I don’t think your dancing could be that bad. I’m sure I’d still find something cute about it.” She teased gently. 

“Cute or embarrassing that you’re even courting a guy like me?” Sebastian teased back. 

Matty rolled her eyes. “Oh, stuff it. You know I’d never be embarrassed about courting you.” She said. “There’s a reason why I even said yes to you asking in the first place. Because I love you, even when you’re being stupid. Was fifth year not enough for you?” 

“Oh c’mon, that was a year ago,” Sebastian said. “Although I did do a lot of stupid things.” 

“And trust that I remember every single one.” Matty chuckled. “Besides, that’s sort of what charmed me to you anyway. Sure, I found you charming, witty, and intelligent and those are all really attractive features about you, but I did find you coming up with these extravagant yet somewhat stupid ideas very cute.” 

“And just when did you plan on ever telling me this?” Sebastian asked. 

Matty giggled. “Well, never until now.” She answered. “But I will never be ashamed of being with you—no matter what anyone says.” 

Sebastian smiled nonetheless and leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead, wrapping his arms around her again. It had been a rough ride in fifth year but despite all of that, Matty had still found ways to love him. When he had developed feelings for her, he didn’t think anything would ever come of it. We’re all our own worst critic and he always wondered how a girl like her could end up with a guy like him. 

Fast forward and a girl like her was with a guy like him and he still questioned it. Questioned why he deserved a girl like her. Even if he didn’t think he deserved her (no matter how many times she told him he did), he was still grateful for her more and more every day. 

He loved her and she loved him. 

That was all that mattered. 

Chapter Text

Matty was sitting out on one of the stone benches in the Transfiguration Courtyard. She had just finished with Transfiguration class a few minutes before and decided to catch up on some of the assigned reading for the class. She had her coat rightly wrapped around her to keep her warm since she figured she had been inside enough this month and needed some fresh air. 

A decent amount of snow covered the school, and the air was a bit nippy, but she figured she’d rather just get some fresh air now than dread getting it later. Besides, reading out in the snow wasn’t so bad. With her school robe, her winter coat, and her house scarf wrapped around her neck, it wasn’t too bad. 

She heard some footsteps come up and when she looked up, Elliot was standing a bit away, waiting for her to notice him. 

“Oh, hello Elliot.” she greeted, looking up from her book. 

“Hello, Matty.” He replied. “I was uh wondering if you’ve seen Bella at all today?” 

Matty furrowed her brows. “Yeah in a few classes yes. Why?” she asked, having no idea that Elliot even knew who she was. Why would he want to see her? Or talk to her? She wasn’t really sure, but this came as a surprise to her. 

“Oh, no reason,” Elliot replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “But if you happen to see her again—could you possibly send her my way? I’m sure you know where I’ll be.” 

“Sure,” Matty replied simply, ignoring the thousands of questions running through her mind at that moment. 

Elliot looked relieved. “Thank you! I’ll uh, see you later.” He scurried off out of the courtyard, leaving Matty sitting there in confusion. 

Bella had never mentioned anything about knowing him, speaking to him, or anything else. Elliot hadn’t mentioned anything about her either. It left her curious, but she was definitely more than willing to send Bella his way. 

In fact, she figured she had been out in the cold long enough and decided to go inside and find Bella herself. If she was correct, Bella would be getting out of Charms class soon, which gave Matty enough time to get up there and find her. 

She walked through the castle until she was up near the Charms classroom, but Bella was nowhere in sight, which was odd. The other students were still lingering around and Matty had just come from the only way up. Perhaps Bella had gone up the stairs to the Astronomy tower? 

So, Matty tried her luck going up the stairs. As she was passing by the Room of Requirement, the door suddenly opened, catching her off guard. She flinched and backed away for a moment before realizing it was just Apollo. Who else would it be? Poppy definitely wasn’t around at this time and Professor Weasley hadn’t stepped foot in the Room since last year. 

“Apollo, you scared me,” Matty said with a light chuckle as she held her hand over her chest. 

“Oh, apologies.” He apologized. “I didn’t think anyone was out here but I’m glad it was you. It wouldn’t be good if someone else saw me coming out of this place.” 

He paused for a moment. “Wait, why are you up here? I thought you were in Transfiguration.” He said. Not to mention Matty hadn’t mentioned anything about meeting him in the Room of Requirement anytime soon since things were getting busy. 

“I got out a bit ago.” She replied. “And I’m searching for Bella. Ironically, Elliot came up to me asking if I had seen her at all that day. Then he asked if I saw her again to send her his way, so I just took it upon myself to find her. The thing is, I had no idea they even knew each other.” 

“Really?” Apollo asked. “Elliot mentions her from time to time. They started talking to one another a bit ago. He says they’ve become good friends.” 

For someone who knew almost everything and more going on around the school, Matty was thoroughly surprised. Neither Bella nor Elliot had said a word to her about this. Which is strange because she was around both of them a lot. 

She also thought it was a strange pairing to be friends but also in another way, it made sense in her head. “Did he mention to you why he wanted to see her?” she asked, referring to why she was trying to find Bella right now. 

Apollo shook his head. “No,” He replied. “But I bet you he’s going to ask her to the Ball.” 

“Really?” Matty asked in a genuine tone. “Well, mark me down as surprised but it’s quite a welcome one, nonetheless. I just never thought the two were the type to get along so well.” 

“To be honest, I don’t think anyone did.” Apollo chuckled. “But here we are.” 

After some more brief discussion, the two parted ways, and Matty continued on her search for Bella. Thankfully—but also surprisingly, she found Bella up walking around the Astronomy tower with Headmaster Black and a man she didn’t recognize. 

She stood back a little as the three walked her way, chatting and not noticing her quite yet. Matty didn’t want to seem like she was trying to pry so she walked away and waited out in the hallway. When they came down, Bella was the first to notice her. 

“Oh, Matty!” She said, her Italian accent as thick as Matty had heard it sense. “I want you to meet someone.” 

Bella interrupted the headmaster’s conversation with the unknown man to bring him over to Matty. She stood there for a moment, confused, but with a polite smile on her face. However, Bella seemed excited to have Matty meet this man—whoever he was. 

“Matty, this is my father. Father, this is my friend, Matty!” Bella introduced hand gestures and all. 

Her FATHER!? Well, that was an unexpected one. For one, Mr. D’Angelo looked quite young but old enough to be Bella’s father. Matty didn’t know why it stumped her so much. She just wasn’t expecting Bella’s father to look like this. And she meant that in the best way possible. Seems like she had a lot of shocks coming her way that day. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She blurted out, realizing she had waited quite a bit of time after Bella introduced them. “I’m Matty as Bella said.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Mr. D’Angelo said, taking Matty’s hand and shaking it. He had a thick Italian accent as well; it was almost hard for Matty to make out what he was saying. “I’m Pietro D’Angelo. Call me whatever you’d like.”

 However, Headmaster Black didn’t seem very pleased that his conversation had been interrupted, even if Pietro didn’t mind introducing himself to one of his daughter’s friends. “Ahem. Mr. D’Angelo, I believe we’ve gotten a bit sidetracked.” He said, trying to hide the annoyance in his tone. 

“Oh yes, my apologies, Headmaster.” Mr. D’Angelo said. He looked over at Bella, who just gestured for him to continue. She’d stay here with Matty.” 

Then, the two men left, leaving Matty and Bella alone in the hall. Matty watched them go, wondering why it was somewhat difficult to stop staring. It was like she was unconsciously doing it. Eventually, Bella clearing her throat got her attention. 

“Matty,” she said, pulling her friend back into reality. “You’re staring.” 

Matty’s head snapped over to Bella. “Huh? What? Oh no, I was just watching them go.” She said, shaking her head before taking a breath. 

“Right…” Bella said, not really buying it. 

“What was your father doing here? Don’t you live in Italy?” Matty asked, wondering why her father would be visiting Hogwarts of all places now. 

“He’s just here to speak to the headmaster about my education,” Bella answered. “Came all this way from Italy—quite the dedication if I do say so myself. But he also said he wanted to see me and.”

 “Anyway, you looked like you were looking for me. Anything you came up here to tell me?” Bella asked.

Matty was now fully snapped out of her stare. “Oh, uh yes. Elliot was wondering where you were. He came up to me in the Transfiguration courtyard asking about you and wondering if I had seen you.” She replied. “He asked me to send you his way if I saw you, so I just took it upon myself to find you.” 

“Oh!” Bella said, her expression going from neutral to a smile. “He must be down by the pitch by now. I should go find him. Thank you for finding me and telling me, Matty.” 

Matty nodded her head. “Of course,” She replied. 

She almost wanted to ask Bella a few more questions about her and Elliot but for the sake of it, she just kept her mouth shut. She was happy that the two were friends and that’s all that mattered—she didn’t need to know any of the details. 

“I’ll see you later,” Bella said, beginning to walk down the hall. She got almost all the way down she turned around and looked at Matty again. “Oh, and Matty?” 

“Yes?” Matty asked. 

“You were definitely staring.” 

*** 

After that interesting exchange up near the Astronomy tower, later that afternoon, Natty, Nellie, Matty, and Hope were going up to the Gryffindor tower to go to their dorms. Most days, Hope practically lived in Matty’s dorm by now since three of her friends were in there. (Not to mention, she usually could catch Garreth around the common room, a little detail that did not go unnoticed by Matty.) 

On the way up there, they got into a conversation about the upcoming Ball. It had basically been the center of most conversations recently, especially as it got closer, and people got dates to the ball. They wanted to tell anyone and everyone about it. Rightfully so. It was an exciting occasion!

Hope was going with Garreth (obviously), Nellie was going with her boyfriend and Natty had yet to get a date. She wanted one but with her mother constantly being on her back about things and always keeping an eye on her, she didn’t feel like she had that free reign enough to even get a date to the Ball. But the other girls insisted that if she wanted a date to bring, she could get one and that they’d just deal with her mother. 

After all, Natty was sixteen almost seventeen in a few months from now. One single date to a ball wouldn’t hurt. 

Then they got on the conversations of dresses. Hope said she liked her last dress so much that she wanted to wear it again. She hadn’t grown much since her fourth-year height height-wise so all her mother would need to do was a few alterations. 

So, Hope had convinced her via owl to just alter the dress so that she could wear it again, “It took me a while, but she said yes.” Hope said. “Besides, I think I look lovely in yellow.” 

“You absolutely do,” Matty said. “Another reason why I think the Hufflepuff house fits well.” 

She gave her friend a small nudge on the arm with her elbow. “Wait a minute, Matty, what about you?” Hope asked. “And your dress?” 

“Oh, Mum said she’s going to send me something,” Matty said. “Although she was really inconspicuous about it so I’m wondering just what the dress is. I feel like she wanted it to be a surprise and that’s why.” 

The four of them made their way up the stairs of the common room up to the Gryffindor girl’s room. And right as they opened the door, their conversation was almost sick with the perfect timing. 

A package lay on her bed with a note. All the girls looked at each other for a moment before Matty walked over to the bed and undid the string around it, opening it up. The first thing she saw was a hint of dark green fabric. When she had opened it all the way (first she was confused about how it all even fit in there, even if it was a moderately big package) and laid it out, she quickly realized what dress it was. 

The dark green dress lying on her bed right now was the dress her mother wore the night that her father had proposed to her. Now she knew why her mother had been so secretive about it! She let out a small gasp. Her mother had told her about this dress and shown it to her on a few occasions. It was always tucked neatly away in her wardrobe. 

From a young age, Ada always promised Matty that one day on a special occasion she’d wear the same dress and Matty hadn’t forgotten that promise. 

“This is the dress my mother wore the night my father proposed to her.” She explained to her friends as she admired the dress. 

The dress was a deep green color, which was one of Ada’s favorites, with a high neckline, and puffy sleeves at the shoulders that went down into long sleeves with a pointed end that would go right to the back of her hand. 

The dress was breathtaking, and she couldn’t believe she would get to wear it. 

She took a moment to admire the dress and she had a big smile on her face. She then picked up the note and opened it up, it was from her mother. 

“Dear Matty, 

Surprised to see the dress? When I heard about the Winter Ball coming up, I knew I had to send it to you. I told you as a little girl that one day you’d wear it and I thought this would be the perfect occasion. It’s a shame I won’t be able to see you in it, but I can already feel the smile on your face as you read this note. 

I love you and cannot wait to see you soon,

Ada.” 

“Well, that solves the dress mystery.” Nellie piped in. 

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Matty asked. “Well, needless to say, I’m extremely excited now.” 

Their chatter resumed and their dorm room became a lively place. Matty made sure to hang up the dress and make sure it was going to be in good condition. She couldn’t wait till the Winter Ball. Sure, she had been to events like these before in London, but this was different. 

Something about this felt more magical and meaningful and Matty couldn’t wait. 

Chapter Text

In the day that followed, Esme and Matty had a few discussions about the upcoming Ball. One of which was dancing. The school had offered a couple of classes to help the students brush up on their coordination and footwork, but they weren’t nearly enough to help. The headmaster deemed the classes as “useless” because they weren’t a part of the formal education. Should we really be surprised? 

The problem was, that Sebastian was still worried about his self-proclaimed “two left feet” and was worried he’d embarrass himself in front of everyone, therefore embarrassing Matty as well. 

So, Esme offered her (and Ominis’) services, promising the two that she would help both of them. Matty had enough experience with ballroom dancing that she wasn’t completely new it all of it. The few socialite events she had attended in London gave her that experience. 

The Undercroft was a place suggested that they could practice but was deemed too dark and “depressing” for them to feel motivated. Of course, Ominis had to throw in a joke about how everything was always dark for him, yet he still got things done. 

Matty told them that she had a place where they could practice. She had briefly mentioned a few things about the Room of Requirement to the three of them but had never outwardly said anything specific about it. It had never been something that came to mind when she was talking to them. 

So that day after school, she led them up to the Room of Requirement. She explained everything to them from Professor Weasley showing it to her, and Deek helping her with it, to how the room worked. Needless to say, Matty’s random absences during the day made a lot more sense to them now that they knew there was just a secret room in the castle she could come in and out of at will. 

She led them to the second part of the Room of Requirement and used Evanesco to clear everything out. She’d be sure to just conjure them back up later. 

And soon, they had a completely empty room, perfect for practicing. 

“This place is huge,” Sebastian commented, looking around. “I have no idea how you kept it a secret, or how this can even work. Where would it be in the castle? It doesn’t show up on any of the maps we have.” 

Matty shrugged. “It’s a magic school, Sebastian, nothing here makes sense.” She chuckled lightly. 

“Fair enough.” 

The creator of the room was unknown, but Matty sometimes wondered if it was made by one of the Hogwarts Founders, Helga Hufflepuff. From the early days of Hogwarts, she was always taking in students and always trying to find ways to help them. 

Since other Hogwarts Founders like Salazar Slytherin also had their own place of creation, such as the Scriptorium, Matty liked to think that Helga had a hand in creating the Room of Requirement so that students from any house could find the room and use it to their best advantage. 

Although she’d never know if it was true or not, it was just what she liked to think. 

Esme got a feel for the room before she turned to Sebastian and Matty. “Are you two ready?” She asked. The two of them looked at each other before nodding. 

“Good,” she said, putting on a more serious expression. She conjured up a music box on top of a stand and turned to them. Ominis stood in the back, waiting for Esme to chime him in. He was just there happy to help. 

“We have exactly a week and a half until the Winter Ball.” Esme began. “Which means the both of you have exactly a week and a half to learn the basics of ballroom dancing, so you don’t embarrass each other and make absolute fools of yourself.” 

“Yes, thank you for the reminder,” Sebastian said sarcastically. 

“But first, before we begin, I need to know what I’m working with,” Esme said, putting her hands behind her back. “A simple box step will do,” 

With a wave of her wand, the music began. When Sebastian and Matty realized that was her asking them to try it, they quickly tried to get into position and begin. Sebastian ended up placing his hand not on her waist but more like on her upper rib cage and although Matty would’ve corrected him she was more focused on the fact that Esme was watching them with a very expectant look and that she had asked her to do this so there was no complaining or slacking off about it. 

As they tried to do the first few simple steps of a box step, they had already run into a few bumps in the road. Before this, it was a very easy step for Matty to do since she had done it about a thousand times, but the difference was that her previous dancing partners had all had experience. Sebastian didn’t and it made a huge difference. 

He stepped on her toes once, then twice, then by the time they had stumbled and added three extra steps, Esme cut the music and sighed. 

“Stay where you are,” She urged, walking over to them. 

The first thing she did was move Sebastian’s hand down to Matty’s waist, then she corrected their footing position, making sure that their feet were aligned. “If you’re going to lead, it’s going to be much easier with your hand on her waist,” she said to Sebastian. “Look at your feet if you need to but please don’t break Matty’s toes.” 

Matty let out a small chuckle and gave Sebastian a smile that said, “Sorry for roping you into this.” 

And although Sebastian was already regretting agreeing to this, he also had a feeling that he was going to enjoy this just a bit. Whether that was because he got to learn alongside Matty, he didn’t immediately give up. If there was one thing Sebastian Sallow refused to ever do, it was to give up. 

Then Esme paused. “Perhaps it would be good to give you an example of what this is supposed to look like.” She said. 

She walked over to Ominis, who figured this was his cue and he was more than happy to help. As almost as if it were instinct, the two fell into perfect form and as the music began to play, they began to dance. 

The difference was—well, they were good at it. Perfect essentially. The way the two flowed together was perfect, the way Ominis guided her was perfect and the way she just followed along was perfect. It made it seem much more elegant and graceful than just a normal box step. 

Esme and Ominis must’ve had a lot of practice dancing with one another because it looked as if they did it a lot. After about a minute of demonstration, Esme cut the music and looked back at Sebastian and Matty. “Think you can do that?” 

“As gracefully?” Sebastian asked. “Absolutely not. But I’m sure we can learn the box step.” 

“It takes time and practice,” Esme said. “And obviously trusting your partner.” 

She gave a quick but sweet and loving smile to Ominis before turning her attention back to Sebastian and Matty. “And I’m sure you two won’t have an issue with that.” 

“I don’t know, can I trust that you won’t break my toes?” Matty asked sarcastically to Sebastian. 

“Wouldn’t bet on it.” He joked back to her. 

*** 

Over the next couple of days, they began to get better. They spent a lot of time practicing with one another and things actually began to improve—just as Esme had promised. Speaking of Esme; she was dedicated, and they learned to appreciate it. 

If she hadn’t been so dedicated to getting them both to improve before the Ball, Sebastian was sure he would’ve stopped trying as hard by now. Even Matty struggled with a few things but both of them were beginning to enjoy all of this. 

“Posture is one of the most important things when it comes to ballroom dancing,” Esme said, her wand in hand. “Unless you want everyone seeing you look like an unevolved monkey, you will stand up straight, keep your shoulders up and back, chest out slightly. Got it?” 

“What a lovely comparison,” Matty said with a small laugh. 

As Sebastian and Matty began to practice their dance, Esme kept a good eye on them. She was taking this very seriously and honestly; they were thankful for it. Did it feel like a mother correcting their mistakes constantly? Yes. But it helped. 

“Stand up straight,” Esme said to Sebastian, coming around and putting a hand on his back to get him to straighten up. 

“Right, right, sorry,” Sebastian said, trying not to lose his footing. 

After what felt like spending several days and several hours (because it was), Esme and Ominis finally deemed Sebastian and Matty ready. Of course, Esme didn’t let them off the hook that easily and told them they should still practice but she also said she was proud of them, nonetheless. They had caught on much quicker than she initially thought, and she was proud of them for that. 

Sebastian was also particularly proud of himself as well. He wouldn’t be breaking Matty’s toes anytime soon (hopefully), and he actually felt like he had improved and learned a new skill—which he was always looking to do.

“Well, that was fun,” Matty said to him as they walked out of the Room of Requirement after Esme said they were ready. 

“I will admit, I had my doubts but that ended up being really fun,” Sebastian said. “I know I got critiqued a lot, but I can’t blame her, I needed it and at least she made it funny so I could laugh about it.”

“Yeah at least she made it fun,” Matty said with a laugh. “But I think this was really good for us. Obviously, for the Winter Ball coming up but also the New Year's ball in London as well.” 

Sebastian almost froze. “The what?” 

That made Matty freeze as well. Had she not told him? Uh oh. “Well, um, I was sure I was going to bring this up earlier than this…” she said awkwardly. “Every year on New Year's, socialites in London host a New Year's ball in celebration. It’s really not all that important but my family is expected to be there because of the person we’re invited by.” 

“Who is this person exactly?” Sebastian asked. 

Matty took a deep breath, this was going to be a long one. “When we still lived in Ireland, my dad and his work partner, Mr. Athy were doing well but “not as good as we can” as they would say it. My dad’s work partner had an aunt who was some rich English woman living in London. It was a long process, but he somehow convinced her to sponsor, as he’d liked to say it, him and my father so they could move the business to London.” She explained. 

“And that’s how we ended up in London.” She continued. “And because Mr. Athy’s aunt had sponsored the business move over, she somewhat feels… entitled to my family? I’m not really sure how to explain it but she wants to know what’s going on constantly. She has my family over once a month to ask us a bunch of questions and expects us to turn up to all these socialite events and we just go because without her we wouldn’t be where we are now.” 

Sebastian’s brows furrowed. “Well, that was certainly a long explanation.” He said, not expecting that. “So, where do I come in?” 

“Well, I was hoping since we’ll be at my parents in London until the second of January, that you’d accompany me to the event, but you don’t have to!” She stammered, not wanting to make him feel pressured to do it. “I know I sort of sprung this on you and I’m sorry, I really meant to tell you earlier, but I just got caught up in everything the school was doing I didn’t think about it.” 

“No, no, of course I’ll go with you,” Sebastian said, grabbing her hand. “I just wasn’t expecting to be told last minute.” 

Matty rubbed the back of her neck in a sheepish manner. “Sorry,” she said, “You don’t usually do all that much. If you haven’t gotten the memo, rich people events are sort of always boring.” 

Sebastian chuckled, “Yeah I’ve caught onto that by now.” 

“But my friends Eugenia and Nora usually attend, and Hope is there sometimes because of the work her father does,” Matty said. “So, we won’t be completely alone, and they make it much more enjoyable.” 

Sebastian hadn’t met Matty’s friends Eugenia and Nora yet, simply because they were muggles. But the two certainly sounded like they were fun—or at least interesting to be around. Matty had yet to mention any male friends back in London and it made Sebastian wonder if that had to do with muggles being strict on the opposite gender even being around each other, which was ridiculous. 

Or perhaps Matty just enjoyed the company of her female friends more, which is what it seemed like the majority of the time. 

“Thank you for not blowing up on me about it.” Matty said, “I was really worried for a second you’d be upset.” 

“Get upset over something like that? No!” Sebastian chuckled. “I’m glad your initial plan was to tell me earlier, but I know this probably means more to you than you’re letting on, so I have no problem attending the event with you.” He gave her hand a little comforting squeeze. 

Matty smiled, “If we weren’t in front of a bunch of other students in a hallway right now, I’d kiss you.” 

“That’s  what’s stopping you? Amateur,” He teased. 

“Alright, alright, I’m just trying to be considerate to the eyes around us.” Matty chuckled. “But if we leave, I have no problem with it,” 

Sebastian took her hand, ready to lead her away without a second more of waiting. “Well then, what are we waiting for?” He asked. “Let’s go!” 

Matty laughed as Sebastian pulled her away from the student-crowded hallway. It made her feel loved knowing that he wanted to show his affection to her. She knew she had scored a good one, that’s for sure. 

Chapter Text

The day of the Winter Ball had arrived, and the school was filled with chatter. Excitement could barely be contained, and it was the topic of a lot of conversations that day. Some girls were talking about their dresses and how excited they were. Some boys talking about how they “didn’t care that much” when in reality they did. But overall, everyone was excited. 

Potions class was the last class of the day for the sixth years, but Professor Sharp was finding it quite difficult to keep their attention on the lesson rather than the event later that night. 

But he couldn’t blame them. He was once a young teenager as well and although he was more introverted and antisocial as a teenager, he still understood the excitement that many of them were experiencing. 

Students were chattering about the event while brewing their potions. After everything was brewed and checked, he didn’t see a reason to keep them any longer even if there was still time left in class. He knew the majority of them were itching to get out and start getting ready. Merlin knew some of those students were going to take a lifetime to do so. 

“Class is dismissed,” he said, sitting back down on his desk. 

“Isn’t there seven more minutes of class left?” Amit asked. 

Zerena shot a glare at him. “Amit,” she said under her breath but just loud enough for him to hear. Amit quickly realized everyone else wanted to get out of class, so he just went silent, somewhat embarrassed. 

Students quickly packed up their things and left class. Sebastian walked beside Matty as they left the classroom. “Eager to get out, are you?” he asked her after noticing how she had a skip in her step and a cheerful smile on her face. 

“More like eager for tonight,” Matty replied. “It feels like December has just blown by us! I mean, the Winter Ball tonight, and then in two days we’re heading to London and it’s almost the end of the year. There’s still so much left to do!” 

“Well, at least you’re not having to worry about the end of the Wizarding World and O.W.L’s this year.” Sebastian joked lightheartedly. “Although I have to worry about making a good impression on your parents. That I am still very nervous about.” 

Matty rolled her eyes but in a lighthearted way. “Trust me, you just being you will be enough to make my parents love you,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Besides, my mother was the one who extended this invitation in the first place. Of course, she wants you there and she’s ecstatic to meet you. I’m sure my father feels the same way.” 

“But let’s just focus on getting through tonight first, shall we?” She followed up with. “And you might as well say goodbye to me for the rest of today until tonight because I’m going to be up in my dorm getting ready and helping Nellie and Natty—and whoever else just decides to crash in the dorm.” 

“So, you mean I won’t be able to see you at all until tonight?” Sebastian asked a small frown behind his words. 

Matty nodded. “Pretty much, but trust me, it’ll be worth it.” She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. She spotted Nellie and Natty out of the corner of her eye and figured that was her cue to go. “I love you and I’ll see you later tonight.” 

“Love you too,” Sebastian said as he watched her walk away to Nellie and Natty, who excitedly began to talk and head off toward Gryffindor Tower.

Sebastian wandered around for a bit, trying to pass the time. It wouldn’t take him that long to get ready and it was barely getting into the late afternoon, so he had quite a lot of time before he had to worry about getting into his dressing robes. But he saw that his other friends were taking things differently. 

Esme and Isabella were already in their dorm getting ready. Esme was getting ready so early so that she could help out the other girls with their dresses, hair, and makeup, something that she had taken upon herself personally and everyone else was just thankful for. 

Ominis had had Esme check over his dressing robes to make sure they were all ready for that night and he tried his best to make sure his younger sister, Lyssa, was all ready to go for the night as well—as requested by his mother. Of course, Lyssa was always difficult and stated that she was going to refuse to change her appearance for some dumb event. 

Ominis could’ve honestly cared less about what his little sister looked like—after all he couldn’t even see her. But it was more of the fact that his mother had repeatedly told him in letters that it was his responsibility to make sure she behaved in school. Although the two were barely around each other. 

While Ominis was being as normal as he possibly could, Lyssa was off somewhere in the dungeons conducting weird and unusually cruel punishments on the rats. An odd fascination she had since she was young. 

“And this is why I don’t ever say she’s my sister,” Ominis once grumbled under his breath after he asked about why Lyssa was so odd. 

But thankfully since they were barely ever around each other, he didn’t think about her odd shenanigans much. Besides, he was far too focused on Sebastian and his own wild shenanigans to focus on her. 

When Sebastian came down into his dorm, Ominis was already in there, feeling his jawline. “You’ve got a bit of a five o’clock shadow there, mate,” Sebastian said as he walked into the dorm. 

“I’ve just noticed it,” Ominis said with a small sigh. 

Keeping up with one’s appearance was quite difficult and frustrating when you couldn’t even see yourself. “I can help if you need it done quickly.” Sebastian offered. It wasn’t like this was anything new. He often helped Ominis with a lot of things since he couldn’t see. 

“Can I trust you won’t slice my face open?” Ominis asked with minimal sarcasm in his tone. 

“Ominis, please,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve done this a thousand times at this point and since when have I ever cut you?” 

“Quite literally the first time!” Ominis answered. 

Sebastian scoffed. “We were twelve! Besides I didn’t know what I was doing then but I do now.” He insisted. “And I promise since I know you want to look good tonight that I’ll be extra careful. Besides, if Esme even sees a nick on your face, she’d kill me.” 

“Fine but make it quick so I’m not standing there in terror please,” Ominis said.  

“It’ll be a cinch,” Sebastian replied.

Minutes later, the door to their dorm room burst open, causing Sebastian to drop the straight razor and Ominis to jerk away to avoid getting cut. “Sebastian, Ominis, my tie is missing,” Thomas said, walking into the room and digging around in his drawers, not even realizing what he had almost just calmed. 

“Thomas!” Sebastian exclaimed. “You almost just made me kill Ominis!” 

“What?” Thomas asked, finally looking over. “Oh shoot, sorry.” 

Ominis let out a displeased sigh. “Apology accepted.” He said in an unamused tone. 

“Where’d you leave your tie last?” Sebastian asked, trying to help Thomas and Ominis out at the same time. It was getting later and later and was beginning to come time for all of them to start getting ready for the Ball. 

“I swore I put it with my dressing robes after my mum sent them,” Thomas said, continuing to dig around in his drawer. He then looked over at his bed and realized it was laying neatly on there and then he sighed in embarrassment. “I’m an idiot.” 

“Tell me it’s not simply just laying on the bed. Tell me it’s not,” Ominis said in disbelief. 

Thomas dragged himself up and walked over to the bed, picking the tie-up. “It was,” He muttered under his breath. Out of the three of them, he was usually one of the more visually observant ones. He had no idea how he had missed that. 

“So, you mean to tell me I almost got my face sliced open for nothing?” Ominis exclaimed. 

Sebastian groaned. “Ominis for the LAST time I’m not going to slice your face open now hold still until you jinx it and do it yourself.” He huffed. “I’m almost finished anyway and you’re making this a lot more difficult than it had to be.” 

Ominis would’ve made a quip back that it was payback for all of Sebastian’s antics, but he realized it probably wasn’t the best time to do so. Although he hoped the rest of the time, they spent getting ready would be much less eventful. 

*** 

Meanwhile, up in the Gryffindor girl’s dormitory, Nellie, Natty, and Matty were having a blast. Nellie was sitting in front of the vanity mirror as Matty was doing her hair while Natty was in front of the other mirror, making sure her dress was put together well. 

“Matty, when are you going to get dressed?” Natty asked, looking over at Matty who was braiding Nellie’s hair. 

“Once I’m finished doing Nellie’s hair,” Matty replied. She had begun to get dressed but now stood in her tights, stockings, camisole, and a first-layer petticoat when Nellie asked her to help her with her hair. Which she happily obliged to do. 

“I appreciate you doing this, but your dress seems difficult to get on, Natty can finish my hair,” Nellie suggested. 

“I promise I’m almost finished.” Matty insisted. “Besides Natty’s still getting ready, I wouldn’t want to throw her off.” 

Natty shook her head. “Typical Matty, always insisting on helping others before herself.” she tsked. 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Matty chuckled. 

“Sure, it’s not like you haven’t risked your life several times and saved the wizarding world as we know it,” Nellie said casually while looking at her nails.  

Matty rolled her eyes. “We’re talking about hair and dresses, calm down the both of you.” She laughed, tying off the end of Nellie’s braid and then wrapping it around into a bun. “Besides, I just finished.” She announced. “You look stunning.” 

Natty grabbed Nellie’s hand. “I will take helping her from here, you go get ready.” She said to Matty. 

“If you insist,” Matty said. 

The glow outside of their dorm window began to get darker and darker, signaling to Matty that it was getting later and that the Ball was swiftly approaching. Unlike the dresses Natty and Nellie had that were stunning but a tad easier to put on and wear since it was wizarding fashion, Matty’s dress was a muggle dress with many layers. 

Ada had written an extra note just to try and help her daughter out with the ordering of the layers and how to do things and such, but Matty could only do so much to try and make herself look good and wear the dress properly. It meant so much to her that she could even wear it in the first place. 

She got all her underlayers on before finally slipping the dress on. There were still a few other details to tie the dress in, but it still looked stunning without it. Although Matty took after her father’s appearance, as she wore her mother’s dress, she could definitely tell the similarities between the two of them and it made her ecstatic. 

She decided to keep her hair on the simpler side, a half-up and half-down hairstyle, trying her best to make sure her natural curls looked good and that the part of her hair that was up wasn’t frizzy. Usually, she’d have her mother do her hair for events, so it was somewhat new for her to be doing her own hair for such an event. 

As she was fixing her hair up in the mirror, she heard footsteps behind her and glanced over to see that Esme was now in her dorm room. How Esme had managed to find the time to come all the way up from her dorm in the dungeons to Matty’s dorm in Gryffindor Tower, she had no idea. 

Esme looked stunning. Her dress was also a deep green color, but it was much different than Matty’s. It was sleeker and not as poofy but still had a bit of shape to it. Matty figured that this was to make it easier for her and Ominis to dance with one another since a big ballgown wouldn’t exactly be ideal when he couldn’t see anything. 

It was honestly very sweet everything that Esme always thought of when it came to Ominis. She went as far as to wear the same shoes every day so that he could hear her footsteps and know it was hers. 

Her long blonde hair was left down but was styled to make her look so elegant and classy. Esme was one of those girls that could make anything look gorgeous but when she was truly trying, she was so captivating. 

“Where have you been?” Esme asked. “Everyone is beginning to make their way to the Great Hall already. I was expecting you to be on your way already.” 

“Sorry,” Matty breathed out. “I was helping Nellie get ready and I forgot how difficult this dress was to put on.” 

Esme did one look over Matty and deduced that her dress wasn’t completely put together yet. “It’s not finished yet, is it?” she asked, stepping forward. Her heels made a clicking noise against the old wood of the dormitory. 

“I haven’t got the corset on yet,” Matty confirmed, pointing to the bed. “It’s right there. I figured it’d be too hard to get on alone, but I didn’t want to disturb a random student out in the common room since Natty and Nellie had already left.” 

Esme took the corset in hand, walking over to Matty. “Well, it’s a good thing that I came up here when I did then.” She said, putting the corset around Matty’s waist. Matty put her arms up a bit to help Esme get it around her. 

Matty had never been a big fan of wearing corsets on the outside of a dress just because she thought it took away from the overall captivating parts of the dress but in this case, the corset was one of the most captivating parts about it. It was a green color, about two shades darker than the rest of the dress with a lace-up front that made the dress look even more stunning. 

Esme pulled the strings firmly but not too tightly, not trying to suffocate her friend. She knew how annoying corsets could be, after all, she was wearing one that very moment as well. Once the corset was fitted but still breathable, she tied off the strings and slipped them away so that they could not be seen or fall out while Matty was enjoying her night. 

“There, all done,” Esme said. “You look stunning.” 

Matty smiled. “Thank you,” She replied. “And you do as well—sorry I didn’t say that earlier.” 

“Don’t think anything of it,” Esme said with a gentle hand on Matty’s shoulder. “Now be ready soon, we’ll be waiting for you.” 

Matty nodded her head. “Go ahead and go without me, I’ll be there soon I promise.” She said. There were just a few final things she needed to do before she could go. 

Esme was hesitant to leave Matty alone but nodded her head and then left as Matty had told her to. Matty sighed and turned back to the mirror. She reached over to grab a small package her mother had included alongside the dress which held a couple of jewelry items. 

The necklace was a pendant but instead of it being on a long, loser chain, it was on a lace choker in the middle. Matty had always found these items of fashion to be impractical but just for tonight she’d wear this proudly since after all it was her mother’s and was handpicked by her for this event specifically.  

After putting on the jewelry, she took one more look at herself in the mirror, giving herself a smile. “I look good,” she said, half in surprise half in a compliment manner. The turnout was better than she expected but deep down she was just hoping that Sebastian would like it. 

*** 

As she neared the Great Hall, Matty could hear the faint noise of beautiful classical music and the voices of students in the hall. She figured she was a tad late, but she seemed to have a thing for showing up late to big events—such as the first time she had entered the school for the sorting ceremony, being the last student to show up. 

Sebastian was waiting for her outside of the great hall, wondering when she was going to show up. He had seen Natty and Nellie come in without her, then Hope, and then Esme, each accompanied by their own dates, but Matty was nowhere in sight. 

Sebastian had tried his best to make himself presentable for the occasion. Esme had helped him sort out the situation with his suit since before this he had never had a proper suit to wear for an occasion like this and Thomas helped him with the other small less important details. He cleaned up well and looked quite handsome (if he didn’t look handsome enough already.) 

After what felt like an eternity of waiting just to see her, Sebastian turned his head to see Matty walking down the stairs. He almost froze for a moment if he were to be completely honest. He had already expected her to look absolutely stunning, per usual, but nothing like this. 

He had never seen Matty dressed like this. She was usually dressed in school uniforms or casual clothing on the weekends but to see Matty dressed up so elegantly looking so absolutely stunning took his breath away. 

He felt like he was entranced, just staring at her and he probably looked like a fool, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide. The only thing that he registered for a moment was the fact that Matty was giggling at his facial expression. 

When he finally snapped out of it, he walked over to take her hand and assist her with the rest of her descent down the stairs. “You look… I don’t even know how to say it.” He said, struggling to find the words. His cheeks had a light pink color to them that definitely wasn’t there before he had seen her. 

“Sorry, I’m a bit late and that I kept you waiting,” Matty said. She looked Sebastian up and down and smirked. “You look extremely handsome.” This was one of those moments where she would have no problem announcing to the world how lucky she was to have a man like him. 

Sebastian blushed a bit more and took her hand gently, leading her down the rest of the stairs. “I don’t even know how to describe it.” He said. “You just look so… stunning. That word doesn’t even begin to describe it though.” 

“You’re too kind,” Matty said, kissing his cheek. For once she didn’t have to lean up to do it all thanks to her heels. Sebastian smiled and led her into the Great Hall, keeping a gentle but firm hold on her hand. He’d be a fool to let her go anyway. 

The moment the doors opened, Matty was met with a wonderful sight. Beautiful decorations lined the Great Hall and the tables had been moved to open up a large space which many students had already taken the liberty to begin to dance with their partners. Elegantly sweeping over the dance floor, accompanied by smiles and laughter of joy. 

London socialite events were always so dull. There was a sense of happiness here that you couldn’t find at those events. Not to mention the majority of the teenagers here actually wanted to be here. 

Once they had made their entrance to the Great Hall, Matty could see Hope and Garreth making their way towards them. “Matty! There you are!” Hope said, pulling Matty into a hug. 

Hope’s dress was a bright yellow that complimented her skin tone well. Although it had more frills than Matty would expect Hope to like, she had mentioned something about her mother just altering her old dress for the ball, so it was clear that Hope really liked it. The biggest difference about her was the fact that her hair, which was usually picked out, was now in gorgeous braids. 

“Your hair is gorgeous,” Matty said. In the almost decade she had known Hope, she had rarely seen her friend’s hair in braids. 

“Thank you! And I know right?” Hope said. “They took forever but I had help.” 

“I thought were going to be late,” Garreth joked, and Hope elbowed him. “I told you I was going to be finished before we went. And look, I was here before Matty which is saying something.” 

Matty chuckled. “I seem to have a knack for showing up late to school events.” 

After a bit more conversation, Hope and Garreth went their own way. Matty looked around to try and see her friends. She spotted Leander first and to her surprise he had brought a Gryffindor seventh-year named Miranda McKinzie. Matty recognized her from the Crossed Wands duels—and recognized her as one of the girls Leander could never beat. 

She leaned over to Sebastian. “That reminds me of someone I know,” She whispered in his ear. 

Sebastian shrugged with a knowing look. “Some of us guys are completely okay living our life knowing that our girlfriends could totally beat us in a duel.” 

Continuing her search around the room, she saw some more of her friends. Already on the dance floor, swaying their hearts away were Bella and Elliot, which would’ve shocked Matty had she not figured Elliot was already going to ask her when he had asked Matty if she had seen Bella about a week back. 

Bella was adorned in a purple ballgown, one that definitely fit her taste, but her long brown hair that was usually put up in a bun was replaced with her hair being down with the ends curled and a few strands pulled back in the front. She looked simply stunning. 

Her other friends around the room together were Thomas and Violet McDowell, Everett, and Imelda (which was the most shocking one), and Andrew Larson and Adelaide Oaks. Matty didn’t think she was ever going to get over the fact that Everett had asked Imelda and somehow, she had said yes. She and Imelda had always clashed heads in a friendly rival way, but she knew Imelda well enough that she’d never think she’d say yes to him. 

Yet here she was and honestly, Matty was all for it. 

She felt a small tap on her shoulder, which got her attention. She looked over and Sebastian was offering his hand to her. “May I have this dance?” He asked, a smile on his face. 

Matty smiled back. “Of course,” She replied. 

Using the instructions that Esme had so graciously ingrained into their minds taught them, Sebastian began to lead her to the dance floor. Once there, he put his hand on her waist firmly but gently and Matty placed her hand on his shoulder. Esme had gone over a few basic dance sets that were more likely to be used at the school since they had briefly taught them in the school classes and so they had at least six dances memorized—which was impressive for the time they had. 

Other students around the room began to grab their partners and moved to the dance floor and suddenly the floor was full of elegant dancing and swaying. 

Matty just had the biggest smile on her face. There was something so joyful about this that she just couldn’t get by. These sorts of events were nothing new to her but the joy she felt was. “There’s just something so magical about this.” 

“Well, we are at Hogwarts, my darling,” Sebastian said with a small grin, keeping a firm hand on her while they danced so he could guide her. “Which some would say is the most magical place on earth.” 

“I know, I know.” She chuckled back. “But there’s something different from that too—I just can’t place my finger on it.” 

“Then don’t,” Sebastian said. “Don’t spend your night thinking about it and just enjoy it while it lasts. I mean, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” 

Matty nodded, trying her best to shun the thought—after all, it wasn’t important. “You’re right,” She said. “Besides I’d rather focus on the devilishly handsome man in front of me away.” A grin appeared on her face. 

*** 

Getting into the night later, everyone was still enjoying themselves. A few students had retired for the night and insisted their friends continue on without them. Matty was a few feet away from the Great Hall side doors. Esme had asked Sebastian to dance and so Matty was watching with a smile as the two danced with one another. 

But someone else caught her eye momentarily. It was Zerena. 

She was sitting all alone, her elbows propped up on her knees, her chin propped up on her hands. She had an unamused expression which also carried some sorrow. Her black dress made the scene look more depressing than it probably should’ve. 

“Zerena? What’s wrong?” Matty asked as she walked over, hoping to comfort her friend. 

Zerena sighed. “My date sort of stood me up.” She sighed. “Well, he’s still here but he’s refused to pay attention to me the entire night and won’t even dance with me. My father picked him out for me, so I’m not surprised—he always makes the worst choices.” 

Matty frowned, sitting down beside Zerena. “I’m so sorry,” She said, putting a hand on Zerena’s shoulder. “I’m sure Ominis and Sebastian would love to dance with you if they knew you wanted one.” 

For a brief moment, Zerena smiled at the offer. She was at least glad that someone wanted to dance with her. People were often too nervous to speak with her simply because of who her father was or because he made her hang out around a select group of people. “Truth is, there’s someone I wanted to dance with the entire night but I’m just too nervous to ask.” She admitted. 

“Who?” Matty asked, looking around the room. 

Zerena hesitated before sighing. “Amit,” She answered. “I—I thought that just talking to him was a one-time thing as in, I felt bad for him. And then it kept happening and… well I’m sure I really like him now and it wasn’t supposed to be this way.” 

That was true. Ever since that first game of Charm Tag, Zerena and Amit had seemed oddly close but very quiet about it. Matty smiled. “I’m sure Amit would say yes if you asked him.” She assured her. 

“It’s not Amit I’m worried about,” Zerena sighed hopelessly. “It’s my father. He’s had eyes on me the entire night and Amit’s a half-blood and you know how my father feels about anyone who isn’t like him. It’s terrible.” 

Matty smile turned into a frown. That old nasty man was back to ruining people’s nights but this time it was his own daughter? How ridiculous. “So, you’re afraid he’ll see and cause a scene?” She asked. 

Zerena nodded. “But sure, he hasn’t noticed that I’ve sat here moping around practically the entire time.” She said with resentment in her voice. 

Matty thought things over for a moment. This was completely unfair to Zerena, and she deserved to have a good night just like everyone else. Suddenly, she stood up. “I have an idea,” She declared, looking down at Zerena. “I’m getting you that dance.” 

Zerena looked confused. “Matty, if this is going to be another one of those elaborate schemes, that isn’t a good idea. It’s just a dance and I’ll live without it.” She said, standing up. 

“I am getting you that dance,” Matty said firmly, which totally caught Zerena off guard, but she quickly realized Matty was serious about this, and she came to appreciate how dedicated she was. She was known for pulling off the impossible anyway. 

Matty looked around, noticing that the Great Hall doors were just a few feet away from them. “Go out those doors and stay there. Your fathers not looking.” She instructed. “Just trust me on this one.” 

Zerena hesitated before just doing as she was told, slipping out of the Great Hall through the doors. Matty made her way over to where Amit was. “Amit, there you are.” She said with a smile. “Act like we’re going to dance.” 

Amit looked confused. “What?” He asked. 

“Just play along,” Matty said, taking his hand. But instead of leading him to the dance floor, she led him through it to blend in with the other students. “M-Matty, what are you doing?” Amit questioned nervously. Had he just gotten roped into something he was going to regret? 

“Trust me, this will be worth it.” She assured him. 

Amit just nervously followed behind her. Of course, he trusted her, but she also had a history of doing dangerous things and Amit had seen that firsthand. She led him to the doors and opened them while he looked on nervously. 

When the doors opened, Zerena was standing a few feet away, waiting for him. Matty urged him to go over to her. When Amit realized what was going on, his cheeks went red, and he looked surprised and nervous. “Oh—,” He said, looking between Matty and Zerena. He had already accepted the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to have a moment like this with her but clearly, others were eager to prove that wrong. 

“Go on,” Matty urged him. 

Amit nodded, knowing not to waste this moment. The music could still be faintly heard through the doors of the Great Hall, but it didn’t really matter. Matty could tell that they were both just excited to have this moment together. So, moments later, she slipped away to let them have their moment together in private. 

When Matty returned inside, the dance was beginning to end. She heard footsteps behind her and then Apollo was beside her. “Enjoying your night?” He asked her. 

Matty glanced over to him before nodding her head. “I am,” She replied curtly. “I don’t see anyone with you.” 

Apollo chuckled, nodding his head. “I came alone,” He explained. “I’m not one to bring people to events like this. Besides Professor Black asked me to keep a sharp eye out for any students who may be fooling around. A date would probably distract me.” 

“Look at you, always working.” Matty chuckled. 

“A date would distract me but… I don’t think a few minutes of dancing would.” Apollo said, looking at her. He offered his hand to her and Matty got the gist of things. She took his hand, and he led her onto the dance floor. 

Sebastian was walking back from his dance with Esme, looking around for Matty only to see that she wasn’t where she had been a moment ago by the doors. Confused, he looked around for her. He figured someone had probably asked her to dance and just waited where he was.

But then he spotted her on the dance floor with Apollo and an unsettling feeling came over him. If it had been any other boy, he wouldn’t have felt like this. It wasn’t a sense of jealousy—what was there to be jealous of? Matty was already his, they were already together. But when he looked at Apollo’s hand on her waist, or just him being so close to her, it made him unsettled. 

He tried not to pay attention to it. They were friends after all, and he couldn’t just let his unsettlement for Apollo get in the way of that. Apollo had respected Matty’s boundaries so far but Sebastian had felt uneasy about Apollo for years, not to mention his unpleasant past with the Headboy that he wasn’t fond of. 

“What’s got you in a mood?” A voice asked. It was Bella, walking right up to Sebastian. 

“Huh, what?” Sebastian asked, getting snapped out of his train of thought. 

“You’re face, your body language,” Bella said. “You’re upset about something.” 

Sebastian shook his head. “Not upset… Just unsettled over something.” He insisted, his gaze going from her back to Apollo and Matty on the dance floor. Bella stepped right beside him, trying to pinpoint just what he was looking at. 

When she had, she knew exactly why Sebastian was like this. “If it helps… you’re not the only one who doesn’t like him,” She said without even having to say Apollo’s name.

“It’s not like I dislike him.” Sebastian countered but when he saw Bella’s face that obviously showed she wasn’t going to be taken for a fool, he sighed. “Okay well maybe I do dislike him, but I have my reasons.” 

“I don’t,” Bella said flatly. “I just got a feeling I shouldn’t trust him.” 

“Aren’t you dating his best friend or something?” Sebastian asked, raising a brow. 

Bella threw a glare at him. “Elliot and I aren’t dating. First of all, don’t bring him into this, and second, he’s been around Apollo less and less so… there’s your answer.” She said, crossing her arms. 

Sebastian just shrugged his shoulders and went back to keeping an eye on Apollo. After the dance was done, Matty immediately made her way back to him. The night was getting later and later, and they could feel themselves grow more tired as it went on. 

“Have you enjoyed your night?” She asked him. 

“I have,” Sebastian answered. “And I’m sure you being here with me has made it all the better.” He said, grabbing her hand. 

Matty smiled. “It’s getting late, isn’t it.” She said, feeling a bit of drowsiness come over her. 

Sebastian nodded his head. “It’s about twenty till midnight.” He said, taking a quick glance at his pocket watch. “I can walk you back to your dorm if you’d like. I figured it was a tad difficult coming all this way in that dress.” 

“Oh, thank you but you don’t have to,” Matty said, shaking her head. 

“Matty, I have to,” Sebastian said, putting down any idea of her denying the offer. He was her boyfriend after all. 

“Well, if you insist,” Matty said with a shrug. But deep down she was secretly glad that he had offered to walk her back.

*** 

As the two left the Great Hall and neared the Gryffindor dorms, they were invested in some deep conversation with one another. Matty had expressed how much fun she had had that night and how much she enjoyed herself and the fact that she could be with him made it all the better. 

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” Sebastian stated, looking at her. 

But he could notice some discomfort in her step, it was quite obvious to see. “Do your feet hurt?” He asked. 

Matty nodded. “A bit.” She said. “I’m not used to being in heels this tall.” She said sheepishly. She bent down to undo her shoes but then Sebastian stopped her. 

“I got this,” He said, realizing it probably wasn’t super comfortable to bend over in a corset. Sure, she could, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t step in and help. Matty was about to ask if he was sure but then realized he was already dedicated to helping her so there was no reason to ask. 

She sat down on the nearest bench and before she knew it Sebastian was already kneeling down in front of her, reaching for the straps of her heels. She could feel her face heat up. How was such a simple act so attractive? 

Sebastian undid the straps of her heels and set them aside and Matty let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Merlin those things are finally off,” She said with a breathy laugh. 

Sebastian offered his hand to help her stand up but then his hand moved down to her waist. “What are you doing?” Matty asked with suspicion in her tone. 

“You think I’m going to make you walk back after all of that?” Sebastian asked, almost offended that she had assumed he’d make her walk back in such a state. “Brace yourself.” 

Matty looked confused. “What do you mean brace yourse—,” 

Before she could finish her sentence, Sebastian had lifted her up and was now holding her in a bridal carry. Matty let out a small squeal of unexpecting, latching her hands onto his shoulders as if she were nervous, he was going to drop her. 

Sebastian let out a laugh. “I’m not going to drop you.” He said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. 

“Isn’t it going to be difficult to carry me all that way back?” Matty asked, her grip getting a bit tighter on her man's shoulders. 

Sebastian shook his head. “No,” He said without a moment more of explanation.

And so, just as promised, Sebastian carried Matty in his arms the entire way back to her dormitory without as much as a simple struggle or complaint. And the entire way Matty had a hint of pink on her cheeks. If she wasn’t already completely in love and obsessed with him before this, she definitely was now.

When they were at the portrait doorway to the Gryffindor Common Room is when Sebastian finally put her down. “That was… extremely impressive,” Matty said with a chuckle. 

“And completely necessary.” Sebastian insisted. 

“I really, really enjoyed tonight,” Matty said, taking his hand in hers. “You made me feel so special—more than special. I think this is some of the most fun I’ve ever had and the most special I’ve ever felt, all thanks to you.” 

“Well, then I know I did something right,” Sebastian spoke. 

Matty checked around the hallway and the next room over just to make sure that they were alone. Did she care that the portraits could see them? No. What were a bunch of paintings going to do? Then, she turned to Sebastian. 

She leaned up and gave him a kiss—a long one at that. Sebastian’s arms wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her towards him. 

After a long and very satisfying kiss, Sebastian pulled away. “I love you.” He spoke. “It’s late, go get some rest.” 

“I love you too, so much,” Matty said then nodding her head. “Goodnight, my love.” 

“Goodnight, darling,” Sebastian replied, watching her leave. 

The moment reminded him of the one he had with her the night of his birthday after they had been in Feldcroft and almost kissed. After all the “almost kisses”, all the denying and pining, they were finally here and finally together. 

And Sebastian would never let that go. He knew he loved Matty and that she was the one for her without a single doubt in his mind. 

She was the one. 

Chapter Text

Christmas break had officially started, which meant Matty got to sleep in after such an eventful night. It was the most fun she had had in a while but sometimes having fun was exhausting. She stayed in bed till the sun was shining through her windows directly onto her face, waking her up. It appeared to be sometime around nine am. 

Reluctantly, she pulled herself out of bed and out from the comfort of her bed. She would’ve stayed in longer, but the thought of missing breakfast wasn’t a good one since she was practically starving. She also had to spend the majority of the day packing up her things for London. Tomorrow, she and Sebastian would take the train to London to stay with her parents till the 2nd of January. 

She got dressed as quickly as she could and pulled her hair back so it wouldn’t look as messy or like she had just rolled out of bed. 

When she made it to the Great Hall, there were barely any students there due to how late in the morning it had gotten. But Matty didn’t mind it. She had a simple breakfast in peace, the only noise was from the very few students in the room talking about their plans for Christmas break. 

The door to the Great Hall creaked open and Esme walked in right as Matty was finishing her food. She looked around the room before spotting Matty and walking over to her table. “There you are.” She said, sitting down across from her. “I was wondering why you weren’t in here earlier.” 

“Overslept,” Matty said, placing her chin on her hand. 

“Ah, well just know we were looking for you,” Esme said. “Ominis and I will be leaving later this afternoon. Mother insisted we come a day earlier than planned so I’ve spent all morning gathering my things and dreading having to spend an extra day at home.” 

Matty took a sip of her drink. “I thought you didn’t mind going home.” She said, a confused expression on her face. 

“I don’t, usually,” Esme said. “But my sister and her insufferable husband, along with their two children are going to be there. Same with my eldest brother and his wife. The issue is I’m bringing Ominis and all I’m going to hear about is how important getting married is and blah blah keeping the bloodline pure.” 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes at the sheer ridiculousness of the words she was saying, even if she was just mimicking her family. 

Anything was better than Ominis having to go back to his family for the holidays, that was truly insufferable. But it seemed like Esme’s patience with her own family was running thin as well, although her family’s home in the French Highlands had been a safe haven for Ominis during holidays simply because he wouldn’t have to return home. 

“Such an odd thing to be obsessed over,” Matty said, shaking her head. “Do they want you to get married right after graduation?” 

Esme sighed. “Sounds like it but you know Ominis and I are spiteful, and we’ll hold out for as long as we can.” She said with a small chuckle. “In a way going home doesn’t sound too bad. It’s good to get away from the school every once in a while.” 

Matty nodded. “Agreed,” She spoke. After not being able to return home for the entirety of her fifth year, that summer felt like a dream. And being able to reunite with her family for the holidays was even better. 

As for their other friends; Bella would be going back to Italy, Hope would be going back to London as well but a day after Sebastian and Matty. Garreth and Leander would also be returning home to their families. 

“I should get going, it’s already late and I have a lot to do today before I leave tomorrow,” Matty said, standing up. “Tell Sebastian and Ominis that I say good morning.” 

With a quick hug from Esme, Matty left the Great Hall and returned to her dorm. Nellie and Natty were nowhere to be found but that gave Matty some time to gather her things and not be distracted. Although she was excited to return home, there was a sense of anxiety that was slightly ailing her. 

She knew her parents would love Sebastian—there wasn’t a doubt about it in her mind. But she was anxious about him meeting them for some reason. It was more like she was anxious for him, even though he was probably anxious enough about it anyway. 

*** 

Speaking of being anxious. 

That’s exactly what Sebastian was being. 

The reality that he’d be meeting Matty’s parents tomorrow had finally hit him and he was pacing his dormitory. Confessing to Matty in the first place was hard enough and now he had to meet her parents less than a month later. He was going to meet them regardless if he and Matty had started dating but the fact that they were dating now made him even more nervous. 

“If you aren’t careful, you’ll wear out the floorboards with how long you’ve been pacing around,” Ominis said from his bed. 

“Sorry, I’m just anxious.” Sebastian sighed. 

Ominis raised his eyebrows as if he were surprised—he wasn’t. “So, I’ve heard.” He mumbled. “Why are you so nervous anyway?” 

“Because I’m meeting her parents, tomorrow,” Sebastian said, putting emphasis on that last word. “What if they don’t like me? What if they decide him not good enough for her? I can’t just disrespect their feelings and stay with her.” 

“Matty is completely capable of making her own decisions,” Ominis stated. “Which includes making the decision to stay with you even if her parents don’t like you. But there’s a very slight chance they’ll dislike you in the first place.” 

Sebastian sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I just want to make a good impression.” He spoke. “Sound intelligent but not like a know-it-all. Show that I love Matty through affection but not too much because that makes me look like some creep. Show what I’m interested in but not sound too passionate about it because that may make me seem like I’m not open to change—,” 

Ominis let out a sigh—one that was specifically loud enough to get Sebastian to stop talking. “You’re overthinking this.” He said. “It’ll only make it worse if you make yourself believe they’re just going to look for reasons to pick you apart.” 

“They’ll be glad their daughter is dating a know-it-all instead of someone unintelligent, someone who wants to show affection for her but still respects her boundaries, and someone who’s dedicated and passionate towards the things that they love.” He continued. “So, please, for your own sake, calm down.” 

There was a brief hint of concern in Ominis’ tone which made Sebastian realize that he was probably working himself up more than he should over this. He knew some of his anxiety was justified but he had to admit he did go a bit overboard there for a moment. 

“You’re right,” He said, nodding his head. “What would I do without you, Ominis?” 

“Die, probably,” Ominis said in a completely serious tone. 

Sebastian thought about it for a moment. “Probably,” He said with a bit of causality in his tone. Perhaps he should give Ominis a break every once in a while. 

“Which means while you are in London and I’m not around, please don’t do anything stupid.” Ominis pleaded.  

“With how anxious I am about this whole thing? You won’t have to worry about me at all.” Sebastian assured him. “Besides I’m going to be around muggles for almost two weeks which means no magic… as boring as that sounds.” 

Ominis let out a chuckle. “You practically living as a muggle for almost two weeks, sounds hilarious.” 

“I can function without magic just fine, I’m sure of it,” Sebastian said. “Although it’ll be tempting, I’m also trying to avoid getting in any more trouble than I already am consistently. But I’ll leave out the part about the detentions when I meet Matty’s parents.” 

*** 

Later that afternoon Matty went up to the Room of Requirement to grab some things, mostly things for Eden as she would be taking her back home as well. Most of the time Eden was either in the Room of Requirement or Matty’s dorm, making it easy to send owls when she needed. 

When she entered the room, Apollo was there. He had been spending more and more time trying to uncover anything he could about Isidora. Matty felt slightly bad for not helping as much in these past few weeks, but she had been caught up in other things that kept her from being able to focus her attention on it. 

“Oh, hello Apollo.” She said as she walked past the entryway and the desk where he sat. “What’s keeping you up here? Have you found something new?” 

Apollo shook his head. “No, I wish.” He sighed. “More like I’m desperately searching for something new. I’ve reviewed everything we found at least five times seeing if there’s anything we’ve missed.” 

“It’s okay to take a break every once in a while. Honestly, it’s probably better if you did.” Matty said. “There’s only so many things you can do with a few translations and some symbols.” 

“Well, what else am I supposed to do during break?” Apollo asked. “Most students are going home and so there won’t be much for me to look after while everyone’s gone.” 

It hadn’t occurred to Matty that Apollo would be staying at the school through the holidays. After all, he had no one to go to. The school was his home. A small feeling of guilt pooled in the bottom of her stomach, but she pushed it away. 

“I’m sure you can find something interesting to do that isn’t burning yourself out.” She said as if almost insisting that he take a break from all of this. 

When she came home from London, she made a mental note to be sure to help him out more. He was much more dedicated to this than she had initially thought. After all, why wouldn’t he be? Isidora was his family, and he was determined to know all he could about her. 

Hearing her silence, Apollo spoke up again. “Elliot is staying so I won’t be bored out of my mind if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

“Why would Elliot be staying back?” Matty asked. 

“Says he doesn’t want to miss a single day of practicing,” Apollo said, leaning back in his chair. “You know, with Gryffindor playing Slytherin next month and all. He’s determined not to lose this year.” 

Matty laughed. “Does he ever take a break?” She asked. 

Dedication like that was sure to get him going places in the future—which is why he was probably so dedicated now. Openings in Professional Quidditch teams just didn’t happen whenever and getting the job was even more slight. 

“He does not.” Apollo chuckled. “But it’s admirable in a way.” 

Matty nodded her head. “The dedication is impressive.” She grabbed a few things for Eden to pack—and she’d come back for Eden later tomorrow right before they left. “But even then, everyone has to take a break every once in a while, don’t they?” 

She kept eye contact with Apollo while she was saying that and then walked out of the Room of Requirement, letting her words linger in the air. Apollo realized those words were more about him, not Elliot in this situation. 

He shook his head a chuckled before finally getting up out of his seat and leaving the Room. Perhaps he had been spending too much time on this whole Isidora thing. Maybe it was time to give himself a break and just things come together by themselves. 

Chapter Text

Bright and early the next day, Matty awoke and got her things together. It was going to be a long train ride home back to London so she’d have to leave early to get there by late afternoon. She got dressed in something relatively warm for the weather, gathered her things, left a small note for Natty and Nellie wishing them a Merry Christmas since she was going to be gone, and then left her dorm. 

She would’ve swung by Hope’s dorm in and say goodbye to Hope but since it was so early, she left a note right outside of it saying goodbye and that she’d see her when Hope arrived in London. 

Sebastian was waiting for her near the door to the Flying class lawn. He was fidgeting around a bit, showing that he was nervous, but he tried his best to stay composed. “Good morning my love, are you ready to go?” He asked when she came walking up to him. 

Matty nodded silently, the sleep still in her eyes. There was no doubt she’d be taking a nap on the train after having to wake up so early. 

Since they weren’t the only students taking the train back to Kings Cross Station, the school had arranged some enchanted wagons to take the luggage up there so that the students wouldn’t have to carry it up all the way to Hogsmeade Station. 

After getting their luggage situated, Sebastian turned to Matty. “We have time to walk but if you want, we can take the Floo system.” He suggested. 

Matty shook her head. “We can walk.” She replied. “I don’t really feel like getting soot on the clothes I’m supposed to be reuniting with my parents in.” 

“Fair point,” Sebastian said, looking down at his own clothes. 

The air was cold and crisp. Matty’s cheeks were already tinted with a bit of pink from the cold. She tried pulling up her scarf a bit to cover her face, but it could only help so much. They began their walk up to the train station but halfway up there Sebastian could see Matty shivering slightly. 

“I dressed thinking about the train ride, not the walk up there.” She mumbled, rubbing her arms and trying to warm herself up. 

Sebastian slipped off his coat, gesturing for her to take it. “No,” Matty protested, shaking her head. “You’ll practically freeze to death without it. I’ll be fine.” 

“You are smaller therefore have less body fat and therefore retain less heat so take the bloody coat before I put it on you myself,” Sebastian said in a matter-of-factly tone. 

Matty glared at him for a moment before taking the coat, and slipping it around her shoulders. “Sometimes I’m not sure if courting someone smarter than me was a good idea.” She said, pulling his coat tightly around herself. 

“You know you love me,” Sebastian grinned mischievously, moving to grab her hand. “I do, even when you’re annoying,” Matty said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“I just saved you from freezing to death so thank me later I guess,” Sebastian said in a sarcastic tone. “We’re not too far from the station. We’ll be there in no time, and I will be perfectly fine and so will you.” 

“Well, I was just trying to make sure you were warm too,” Matty stated. “But thank you for the coat, I appreciate it very much.” 

A little time later, they had arrived at the Hogsmeade Station. They got their luggage situated and found a place to sit. One thing Matty and Sebastian had in common is their lack of riding the Hogwarts Express. Matty had ridden it for the first time earlier that year when she was coming to school and Sebastian never had to since he lived so close to the school. So, it was a relatively new experience for the both of them. 

But Matty was sure she’d fare much better than Sebastian. She was used to long trips whereas he wasn’t—only time would tell how that one was going to go.   

They sat opposite of each other and then the cart door slid open, and an older woman stood in the doorway. “Tickets please,” She asked in a kind tone. Sebastian reached into his pocket and grabbed the tickets, handing them to her so that she could punch them in. 

“Going home for the holidays, are you?” The old lady asked, looking at Matty. 

Matty nodded. “Yes ma’am. To London.” She answered. 

“I’ve seen quite a few students on this train going home as well. Glad to see everyone heading home to their families.” She said in a bit of a heartfelt tone. Then she looked to Sebastian. “And good luck, darling.” 

She stood back from the cart door and slid it shut. Sebastian looked at Matty with slight disbelief. “Is it that obvious?” He asked, referring to the fact that he was going to meet her family. The older woman easily assumed that he and Matty were in some form of a relationship. 

“Yeah,” Matty chuckled. “But that’s sort of a good thing. Besides she wished you good luck, that’s good!” 

“I sure hope so,” Sebastian said, setting his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on his hand. 

*** 

An hour had passed in the several-hour-long train ride and Matty was peacefully looking out the window, enjoying the calming scenery around her as it passed by. Sebastian, however, was staring down at his hands that were fidgeting around. 

Matty glanced over at him, noticing this. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, sensing something was wrong. After a few moments of silence, she frowned. “Are you nervous?” 

Sebastian nodded his head. With a sigh, he slumped back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “I know I shouldn’t be but I am.” He answered. It was just an anxious feeling in the bottom of his stomach that he couldn’t get rid of. 

Matty pursed her lips. She moved over her luggage from the side and patted the seat beside her. “Come here,” She urged him. 

A bit reluctantly, Sebastian moved over to be seated right next to her. Matty hooked her arm with his and laid her head on his shoulder. “I know nothing I say will make you any less nervous,” She started. “But they’re going to love you, truly. That’s something I can promise. My mother already speaks so highly of you, and do you really think that she’d invite you into her home if she didn’t like you?” 

“It’s not your mother I’m worried about,” Sebastian mumbled under his breath. 

It was just loud enough for Matty to hear. “My father? That’s who you’re worried about?” She asked, disbelief lacing her tone. 

She tried her best to think of why. There wasn’t a single thought crossing her mind as to why her father would be intimidating. He never looked angry—and almost never was angry. He did the dorkiest things and was always lighthearted about some things. There were very few times in Matty’s life where she could remember her father being upset about things and usually, he had a good reason to if he was. 

That being said, neither of her parents were quick to anger, nor did they ever seem unwelcoming. 

“Well, yeah…” Sebastian said hesitantly. “What if he thinks I’m odd? I never really had a strong male figure in my life to teach me these things. What if I slip up and say something?” 

Matty’s head tilted to the side as she looked him in the eyes. “Sebastian, if there’s one man you never have to worry about judging you for things like these, it’s my dad.” She stated. “His dad died when he was younger as well. Granted, not as young but it still stumped him a bit. He didn’t know who to turn to. He understands what it’s like.” 

She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze, hoping to at least soothe some of her lover’s nerves. 

It had never occurred to Sebastian that Matty’s father had gone through something similar as he had. Losing a father—or a parent in general was a terrible thing to have to experience, especially so young. But for a boy who was in the stages of life where he needed his father the most, he couldn’t have him, and it was heartbreaking. 

“I have an idea,” Matty said. “What if we come up with a few other things to think about to take your mind off of meeting my parents?” She proposed. 

“Like what?” 

Matty pursed her lips for a moment, trying to think of something quickly. “Oh! Like seeing the muggle world for the first time—and London no less!” She stated. “And when you come back to school you can tell the muggle studies class all about it. And being in London is sure to give you some hands-on experience to help you with your tests, right?” 

“I suppose that would help,” Sebastian replied. “But when I think of it, the muggle world seems slightly intimidating as well.” 

Matty couldn’t even counteract that one because she had felt the same way about the wizarding world. “Yeah… It is.” She said since there was no reason to deny it. “But I was also intimidated a lot by the wizarding world. I mean, after all, I was almost eaten by a dragon, was sent to Gringotts, almost killed by some statues, and sorted into a house by a talking hat all in the same day.” 

Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh a bit at that. “I’m hoping our journey to London is much less eventful than that.” 

“Well, you won’t have to worry about any of that happening in London,” Matty assured him. “The city seems crazy but, in all honesty, after being here for so long London feels like a breeze.” 

“Good to know,” Sebastian said before laying his head on hers. 

Distracting himself with this had helped a bit actually. Now he was imagining what London would be like. His life had been spent confined to the small hamlet of Feldcroft, Hogwarts, and the hamlets around them but never anything further. And well he loved to try new things so hopefully visiting London would end up on the list of new things that he actually liked. 

*** 

There was something about train rides that always made Matty so tired. Especially since she woke up early, she was hoping to get some rest on the train. And here she was, her head rested on Sebastian’s shoulder and his head on hers. Both were asleep soundly, just waiting for the train to stop. 

When the train did stop and a loud “hiss” could be heard, the two of them woke up. Sebastian rubbed the sleep from his eyes while Matty glanced outside of the cart window, confirming that the train had stopped and that they were at Kings Cross station. And seeming how the windows in the station were getting darker, it was late afternoon. 

“We’re here.” She said, standing up and stretching. 

“Getting off the train is going to take a while, I could’ve slept for a few more minutes.” Sebastian joked. Although secretly he was a bit upset that Matty had already gotten up. He enjoyed having her so close. 

“It won’t take a long time if we get out sooner.” Matty countered. 

The excitement of reuniting with her parents was beginning to get to her and she was eager to get out of the train and see them again. So, without another word of complaint (even if it would’ve been jokingly), Sebastian got up from his seat and grabbed his luggage. 

Thankfully, Matty knew what she was doing, and getting off the train and onto the platform was much easier than anticipated. 

The only problem now was actually finding her parents in the sea of people. When Sebastian stepped out of the train and saw the station for the first time, he was shocked. There were so many people here. Some were walking like they had all day, and some were running to get to their trains on time like they’d be punished if they didn’t. This was certainly all strange to him. 

From the several train horns around the station to the chatter of everyone around him, it certainly made for a rather noisy place.

“It’s loud,” He said, finding some discomfort in the amount of noise.

“Agreed, but you get used to it,” Matty said, looking around to try and see if she could see her parents. 

She began to walk around, looking intently at everyone to see if she could spot her parents. Sebastian followed closely behind, not wanting to find himself lost within this sea of people that he was so unfamiliar with.

“What do your parents look like?” Sebastian asked. 

“Uhhhh, one looks like me but a man, taller, and the other is slightly shorter and brunette,” Matty said, not really giving any specific details that may actually help them find her parents soon. She wasn’t thinking about it straightforwardly. 

“How helpful.” Sebastian joked, continuing his search around. 

But then, moments later, Matty’s eyes caught sight of her parents. They were standing near the end of one of the platforms, looking around—no doubt for them. Ada was peering around so hard, it almost looked like she was straining herself. Clearly, she was excited about seeing her daughter again. 

“Wait, I see them!” Matty said. 

And before she knew it, her luggage was dropped right where she once was, and she had taken off towards her parents as fast as she could. She didn’t care if it caused a small commotion. “Mum! Dad!” She called out, grabbing their attention quickly. 

Ada was the first to react, the moment Matty got within arm's range, Ada pulled her daughter to her chest as quickly as she could only to pull away seconds later and put her hands on Matty’s cheeks, peppering her face with kisses. “Oh, Matty we missed you!” She said, going back in for another hug. “I can’t believe you're finally home.” 

Howard took a moment to actually get a hug since it didn’t seem like Ada was going to let up anytime soon. “It’s good to see you, sweetheart,” He said, giving Matty a hug and a kiss on the top of the head. 

“I’ve been so restless and excited waiting for you to come home,” Ada said. 

“Oh yes, your mother has barely slept all week,” Howard said with a chuckle. It had taken him hours just to convince Ada to go to bed. 

“But it was all worth it and everything is perfect now that you’re here,” Ada said. Then she paused. “Speaking of being here, where is that boy of yours.” 

Sebastian was watching the reunion a few feet away with a smile. It made him really happy to see that Matty had such a good relationship with her parents and that they loved her a lot. But he was so focused on just watching what was in front of him, that he had barely heard what Ada had said. 

Matty waved him over and took his hand when he was beside her. Sebastian could feel himself grow more nervous and he just covered it up with an awkward smile. 

“Sebastian, these are my parents,” Matty said, introducing him to them. “Mum, Dad, this is Sebastian.” 

Without a second to lose, Ada grabbed Sebastian and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, catching him completely off guard. “Welcome to the family!” She said without a moment’s hesitation. 

She had been waiting for this moment and she was ready. 

“We’ve been so excited to have you here from the moment Matty told us you said yes.” She said, pulling away from the hug. 

“Well, I—uh, I’m ecstatic that you’re so happy to have me,” Sebastian said, stumbling over his words for a moment. He was not expected to be welcomed so… nicely? He couldn’t remember the last time he felt a hug so motherly and welcoming. 

When Sebastian looked at Howard, he had his arm outstretched for a handshake. “It’s good to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you from Matty.” He said. 

Sebastian quickly took Howard’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” He said, trying his best not to trip over his own words while talking to Matty’s father. If there was anyone, he wanted to make a good impression on, it was Howard. 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ada asked in an excited tone. “We’re all introduced now—let’s get you two home!” 

Sebastian helped Matty get her luggage that she had dropped when she went to go hug her parents, which Howard took a moment later. They made their way through the train station, through the crowd of people which Sebastian was still getting used to. 

As they neared the door, Matty looked back at Sebastian. “If you thought the station was loud, you might want to cover your ears.” She said in a slightly sarcastic tone. 

“Ha-ha,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. But when he realized Matty wasn’t joking, he furrowed his brows. “You’re joking, right?” 

Matty just flashed him a grin before following her parents out of the station. When Sebastian walked out, he was met with sights of the UK’s biggest city. There were people walking all over the streets, various sounds coming from all around that he couldn’t even make out. And the buildings? They were huge. 

For a boy who had stayed relatively strict to his own small hamlet his entire life, this was both awing and shocking at the same time. He was basically frozen in place for a moment. How could there be a world so different from his own? It was hurting his brain to think about it. 

“Come on you two, into the carriage,” Ada said. 

Howard helped her up in it, then Matty. Sebastian snapped himself out of his trance and got in the carriage followed by Howard. But he couldn’t stop himself from looking at the windows at the city outside. It was amazing, overwhelming, but amazing. 

The carriage ride to the Ambrose’s home was filled with a lot of conversation. Mostly Matty telling her parents about how her year was going and they asked Sebastian a couple of questions to try and get to know him better. He tried to answer all of them without getting nervous. After all, the way they had greeted him was a sign he didn’t have to be. 

But he enjoyed seeing how lively Matty was around her parents. It wasn’t like him how when he went home to Feldcroft when Solomon was alive, he was reserved otherwise he’d get into arguments because Solomon always picked fights. 

When they arrived at their home, Howard got the luggage, insisting that he could take care of it while Sebastian was offering his help. So, Ada took Matty and Sebastian inside. 

When Matty stepped inside her home again it was like a breath of fresh air coming back to such a familiar place. She loved Hogwarts but she missed her home in London. “Matty, be a dear and show Sebastian to his room,” Ada called out. 

“Yes, mum!” Matty answered. She looked back at Sebastian. “Follow me. It’s right up these stairs.” 

She took him upstairs and showed him to his room. “Mine’s right across the hall from it.” She said. “Speaking of which, I need to see how it’s holding up. Go ahead and put your things in your room, I’ll be right back.” 

Matty turned to go to her room. She opened her door and was met with a familiar sight. It was good to be home. It was exactly how she had left it although it wasn’t dusty, telling her that her mother had definitely come in here and cleaned a few times, which she was grateful for. 

She walked over to her desk. All of her stationery was there just as she had left it. She opened one of the drawers where she kept all of Sebastian’s letters. She had forgotten just how many he had sent to her. 

“You kept all of those?” Sebastian asked from behind her. He had peered into the room for a moment to see all of them in the drawer, catching his attention. 

“Of course I did,” Matty said. “I spent half of my summer waiting for them and the other half reading them.” She said with a small chuckle. 

“I kept all of yours too,” Sebastian said, rubbing the back of his neck. “They’re tucked away somewhere in the house in Feldcroft. I always loved reading them again too.” 

Matty smiled. It was good to know Sebastian was in the same boat that she was during the summer in terms of the letters. She closed the drawer and walked towards him. “Mum’s already gotten your room ready but if you need anything else just ask.” She said. “Go ahead and get unpacked so you don’t have to worry about it later tonight.” 

Sebastian nodded and returned to the room while Matty went downstairs. Ada was already in the kitchen working on dinner. Matty walked over and began to help. “Oh, darling you don’t have to do that. It’s been a long day you should be resting.” Ada said. 

“Mum, I was on a train for several hours and I slept for most of it while you’ve been cleaning and getting the house ready all week. It’s the least I can do.” Matty insisted. Not to mention it was the week of Christmas, which held a whole lot of other responsibilities and things that needed to be put in order. 

Ada sighed. “Well, if you insist.” 

Matty smiled before continuing to help. They worked in silence for a moment before Ada broke it. “That boy is very sweet.” She said, referring to Sebastian. 

Matty nodded her head. “He really is,” She replied. “He was so nervous about meeting you and Da, but I kept trying to tell him that you two were going to love him. But you know, sometimes nothing you say can reassure a person. They just have to go in and do it.” 

“I can attest to that.” Ada chuckled. 

When Sebastian came downstairs, Ada suggested that Howard bring him to the cellar downstairs to show him around his workshop. Matty had mentioned in letters to her parents that Sebastian had a brilliant mind and was good at figuring things out—a detail that did not go unnoticed by her parents and Ada thought it’d be good for Sebastian to look over all of this. 

So, Howard took him down to the cellar while Matty and Ada continued to work on dinner. Matty was silently hoping that everything would go well—of course, she knew it would but there was that small voice in the back of her head telling her to be anxious about it when there was really no reason to be. 

But soon enough, they could hear some laughter from them, and a smile appeared on Matty’s face. She was so glad things were already going so well. 

*** 

When dinner was ready, Matty called Sebastian and her dad up and when they did, the two were still kept up in a conversation. Matty couldn’t even tell what it was about, almost as if they were speaking a language she couldn’t understand. 

But nonetheless, it was so good to see the two getting along despite Sebastian’s initial nerves. When Sebastian sat down at the table, it reminded him of when he was younger. It had been a long time since he had a family dinner, but it was really nice to sit down and have one again. 

He was silent for the most part, but not because he was nervous to speak up but because he enjoyed hearing them talk together. Just wholesome and lively conversation—he needed a bit of that in his life. 

And after dinner was finished, they talked a bit more. Mostly things about school and Matty told them in detail the story about how she met Sebastian, aka being him in a duel in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Her parents got a good laugh out of that one. 

After a long while of talking, Ada announced that it was getting late and because they had such a busy week ahead of them and that they needed to get some rest. Even though Matty had slept through most of the train ride, she could feel herself getting a little tired. 

Howard and Ada said their goodnights and Matty and Sebastian went upstairs. “So,” Matty started, turning to Sebastian right at her doorway. “I didn’t hear any yelling, rude words, or anything along the lines of “You’re not good enough for her” so I think today was a success.” 

There was slight sarcasm in her voice, but Sebastian nodded his head. “Your parents are really nice. I appreciate it a lot, actually. It’s nice to be in someone’s home where they actually love each other.” He said. He had been to Ominis’ home once and he wanted that to be the last time he went. The Gaunt's home was definitely not a place anyone would want to be. 

A smile appeared on Matty’s face. She could tell Sebastian needed this. “Good.” She walked over to give him a kiss on the cheek and one small hug before bed. “Goodnight, I love you. Now get some rest. We have quite a bit to do tomorrow.” 

Sebastian nodded his head. “Goodnight Matty, I love you too.” 

They both turned and entered their rooms. Matty slept peacefully knowing she was back in her home, away from any nerves or stresses that ailed her at school and Sebastian slept peacefully knowing that he was safe here and knowing that these were people he could trust. 

He had only been here for a few hours but that was all it took for him to feel welcomed and accepted here. And that was all he needed. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, Matty woke up early. Light peered in through her sheer curtains right over her eyes. Callie, her cat, was snuggled up at her feet peacefully sleeping. She stayed in bed for a little while longer, staring up at her ceiling before finally deciding to get up and on with her day. 

She walked over to her wardrobe and opened it up. It was nice to see all the outfits that she had left behind when she attended school. She went for something warm since even with the fire going in the fireplace downstairs it was still quite chilly inside. She pulled a knit sweater over her blouse and put on a thicker skirt to keep her legs warm. 

When she came downstairs, Ada was preparing breakfast for the family. Matty assumed Sebastian was still asleep, perhaps he had had a late night, so she decided to let him sleep until breakfast was done. 

“Good morning, dear,” Ada said, looking up at Matty. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Wonderfully,” Matty said, stretching a bit. “Nothing feels better than coming home and sleeping in my own bed.” She stated with a light chuckle. 

Ada smiled. “Good.” She said. “Breakfast is just about ready. Be a dear and go wake up Sebastian, would you?” 

Matty nodded and returned upstairs, knocking on the door to Sebastian’s room. When no response came, she was sure he was asleep. So, she opened the door to see him very comfortably asleep in bed. She walked over and gently ran her hand through the top bit of his hair, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead. 

“Sebastian, it’s time to wake up.” She said quietly, hoping to wake him without much commotion, trying to save the peace that they had on this trip for as long as she could. 

Sebastian’s eyes opened briefly before he squinted, followed by a very sleepy “Hm…?” 

Matty laughed lightly. “I hope you got enough sleep last night, but my mum has breakfast ready for us downstairs and she wanted me to wake you.” 

Sebastian gave a drowsy nod. “I’ll be down there in a few minutes.” He mumbled, his morning voice decently scratchy. He always woke up with pretty bad bedhead so he definitely didn’t want to walk around with that problem on his head. 

Matty returned downstairs and sat at the table as her mother put the food out. A few moments later, Sebastian walked downstairs looking much more awake than he had a few minutes ago although there was still a hint of sleep in his eyes. 

“Good morning, Sebastian.” Ada greeted him with a big smile as he walked down the stairs. The boy was already growing on her. 

“Good morning Mrs. Ambrose,” Sebastian replied. He sat down at the table opposite of Matty. “Thank you for breakfast.” 

“Of course, darling.” After setting the food down Ada walked away into her room, presumably to get her husband while Matty and Sebastian began to eat. 

The food that the house elves prepared at school was good—better than what you’d get at any muggle school. When Matty briefly attended a boarding school when she was younger, the food was terrible. But there was nothing like her mother’s food from home. A sense of nostalgia and good cooking.

“Matty, your mother is an amazing cook,” Sebastian said, seemingly very happy with the food in front of him. 

Matty nodded in agreement. “I know, right?” She agreed. “I hate to admit it but it’s one of the biggest things I look forward to when I come home.” She chuckled. 

Minutes later, Ada and Howard exited their room. Howard was already dressed in his suit and coat and seemed like he was in a rush. Ada was slower but was also done up already. “Mum, Da, are you going somewhere?” Matty asked, raising a brow. 

“Yes, you’re father and I are heading out into town to run a few errands,” Ada said, slipping her coat on. 

“What about breakfast?” She asked, looking between her parents. She didn’t recall any of them taking a single moment to eat. 

Howard grabbed his hat and opened the door for his wife. “We’ll worry about that later.” He answered. “We’re in a bit of a rush, love.” 

Ada popped her head back in quickly before Howard could close the door. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours, early afternoon I’m supposing.” She said to Matty. “Oh, and Matty dear, while we’re gone you should show Sebastian around a few places. Don’t want to keep the two of you couped up in here.” 

Matty nodded and said goodbye as her parents left the house, leaving her and Sebastian alone. “Well, they left quickly,” Sebastian said, looking over his shoulder at the door. 

Matty had a confused expression on her face. “Yeah, usually they aren’t like that.” She stated. “Hm, perhaps they simply forgot and had to rush out the door.” 

After they finished breakfast, Sebastian and Matty cleaned up and washed the dishes together. Surprisingly they didn’t get the entire kitchen wet—knowing Matty if she didn’t have to clean it up afterwards, she would’ve splashed water all over Sebastian. But it was also a bit cold for messing around with water like that. 

“You’re going to want to bundle up a bit,” Matty said as she walked up the stairs to go to her bedroom and grab a coat. “I have a few things I want to show you but it’s quite chilly outside.” 

Sebastian nodded and went to his room to grab his coat. Before he left the room he moved one of the curtains of the window with his hand to look outside. The Ambrose’s home was decently close to the street and the city around it. He could see the people walking the streets all bundled up from the cold. It was so simple yet the idea of how this whole civilization had no idea about the world he came from was such an odd one to him. 

After he grabbed his coat, he and Matty left the house. She pointed to a house right across from her own, slightly down on a bend. “That house right there is the McGowans.” She said. “And Hope should be here sometime this afternoon.” 

“I knew you two were neighbors, but I didn’t know you two were that close,” Sebastian said. 

Matty nodded. “They were the first people to greet us when we moved here. I was sort of shy when I did since everything was so new, but Hope was so kind to me.” 

Sebastian looked over at Matty with his brows furrowed. “You? Shy?” He asked almost as if she had made a joke. “That’s rich.” 

Matty rolled her eyes, “I was nervous, okay?” She said. “Anyway, let’s go. There are places I want to show you and places we should be instead of just standing here.” 

Sebastian nodded and they took off into the street. He stayed close behind Matty just as he had done at the station. Usually, he wanted to be the one leading the way—since he was confident enough in himself to do that, but this was just so different. 

If he had been to any city before he felt like he would’ve been more used to this but not only was this a city, but it was also a muggle city, so everything was so different from anything he used to know. 

The city’s streets were so busy and bursting with life that it was almost overwhelming compared to the small hamlets he was used to. “How do you get used to this?” He asked, looking around with curiosity in his eyes. 

“You just do,” Matty answered with a small shrug of her shoulders, her hands digging into her pockets. “I mean, I was born in Dublin and didn’t live too far away from the city, but London is much bigger, and it took some time to get used to, but you get adjusted after a couple of years.” 

Matty began to show him around, pointing out all the places she often went or knew well of. “And over there is Mr. Hawthorne’s shop.” She said, pointing out the small shop that was right up against another with a small alleyway she used to take as her route cut in the city. 

Looking back at that alleyway reminded Matty of the days right before she found out she was a witch and her entire life changed. Back then, she was simply just a normal girl. She remembered cutting through that alleyway and accidentally knocking over Mr. Hawthorne’s crates just so that she could beat Aaron in a race. Those were much simpler times. 

“He and I… well, we have a complicated relationship.” She chuckled. “He sees me as a bit of a nuisance, and he’s gotten a lot of my friends around here in trouble but to be honest he’s kind of grown on me over the years. This street wouldn’t be the same without him.” 

“You and your muggle friends are a small bunch of troublemakers, hm?” Sebastian teased her with a grin. 

“Some of them.” Matty corrected. “I couldn’t imagine a few of them ever getting into any sort of trouble like that.” 

There was a stark difference between Matty’s friend group back in London. Some of them were socialites (the only ones she could stand), some were your average people, and others were troublemakers on the streets. Those last ones were usually the street boys Matty befriended throughout the years. 

Now those were the friends she often got in trouble with, but it was never anything serious. Usually, it was just the cranky older citizens telling them to grow up and be proper when they all were really just teenagers. 

As they continued down the street and got to a busier part of the city, Sebastian looked at Matty. “Where are you taking me anyway?” 

“Somewhere.” She replied simply. “Trust me, you’ll like it a lot.” 

Sebastian just decided to trust her and see where this was going. After all, she was his best guide throughout the next week that they were in London. 

*** 

They walked for a bit before they came to a certain part of the city, and then Matty told Sebastian to close his eyes. He hesitated for a moment before he finally did and she grabbed his hand, leading him somewhere. “No peaking.” She spoke, looking back to make sure he wasn’t peaking. 

Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut tighter. “I promise I’m not,” 

Once Matty was sure she was in the perfect place, she looked back at him. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.” 

Sebastian waited a moment before finally opening his eyes. When he did, he took in what was around him. Books and a lot of them. 

“Welcome to the Maughan Library,” Matty said with a smile on her face. 

Sebastian was speechless—this place was huge. When he was in his first year and walked into the school library for the first time, he had the same reaction but apparently nothing had changed over the years and his love for books except that maybe his love for books was even stronger than it was then. 

He looked at her dead in the eyes. “If we weren’t in public, I’d kiss you.” 

Matty grinned. “That’s what’s stopping you? Amateur.” She joked with a devilish grin, repeating what Sebastian had responded to her with after she said if she wasn’t in front of people, she’d kiss him. 

“Ah good one,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. 

He looked around at the huge library, eyes wide and full of wonder. “Goodness, where do I even start?” He asked with a laugh. There was just so much. He hadn’t expected his day to turn out like this but boy was he completely okay with it. 

“Anywhere!” Matty said. “We have a couple of hours before my parents get back, so.” 

“But if you want my opinion on what—I think I should get you started on some muggle classics.” She grinned. And now was the perfect time to do so. 

Sebastian seemed perfectly fine with that and let out a small chuckle as Matty grabbed his hand and led him off further into the library.

*** 

The two spent the majority of their time in this library throughout the day. Sebastian never got tired of it and he didn’t think he ever would and Matty would never get tired of his reaction or just his smile throughout the entire time. She thought it was adorable that he could get happy over something so simple as a book. 

Give this boy a book and he was content—so that’s what she did. Throughout the year that they had known each other, especially in these past few months, Matty had read to him some of her muggle books such as some of her Jane Austen books or other muggle classics. Romeo and Juliet was one she was eager for Sebastian to read.  

The heart-catching story with romance, tragedy, and sadness that either left you feeling satisfied or a tad empty. But Sebastian had mentioned that he needed to read it for one of his muggle study assignments, so this was one of the perfect excuses to do so. 

They found a table by the window that cast the rays of sun down onto the table. They sat there for the majority of the time that they were there, reading quietly to one another or themselves. 

Neither of them were keeping track of time and the hours simply slipped past them. It wasn’t until the sun’s position had changed to the latter half of the table did Sebastian think to check his pocket watch, realizing that they had spent several hours here. 

When they realized they should probably be heading back, they checked out a few books before beginning their return to Matty’s home. 

Matty’s parents were home from their errands that they had left in such a rush for. “Oh, there you two are,” Ada said, watching them come in. 

“Sorry that we were a bit long,” Matty said, hanging her coat up on the coat stand. “I took Sebastian to the Maughan library, and we got a bit caught up in reading.” 

“Good choice.” Howard said, “The Maughan Library is a stunning piece of architecture. Ooh, and the literature is good too.” 

Ada laughed. With her husband working in a department of architecture, she wasn’t surprised that that was the part he was focused on. “Well, tomorrow we’ll be quite busy preparing everything for Christmas, of course.” She said, looking at the two teenagers in front of her. “Oh, and the McGowans will be here tomorrow night after the vigil, so we’ll be up a little late.” 

Matty nodded and turned to Sebastian. “It’s sort of like a tradition some people around here do. On Christmas Eve we all get together and light candles—some people make lanterns. Yes, out in the freezing cold too.” 

“Sounds charming.” Sebastian chuckled. That seemed fun, regardless of the cold. 

*** 

Later that night when Ada and Matty were getting ready for bed and to end their night, Sebastian was up, pacing his room a bit. There was something he wanted to ask Howard—more out of respect than anything. 

He had learned that for most muggle relationships, the boy asked the girl’s father if he approved of the relationship. Since Matty had brought it up and talked about it, briefly mentioning that she saw it more as the boy was honoring her father rather than getting permission. And so, Sebastian wanted to ask, knowing that’s how Matty felt about the situation too. 

But it wasn’t just her father—it was her mother too. It had taken two people to raise Matty into the wonderful young woman she was today, both Howard and Ada. He was sure to talk to Ada about it as well, but he was a bit more focused on Howard since that’s what Matty had brought up. 

The only problem was—although he and Matty were already courting, he was still a bit nervous about bringing up his relationship with Matty to her father since it was just an odd thing to talk about. He also knew as much as Howard and Ada believed in giving their daughter free will, they were still protective of her. 

He stopped pacing and told himself that this was going to be fine and that this was his way of making sure Howard knew that he respected him and nothing less. To show that he was serious about his relationship with Matty. 

Remembering that Matty said Howard often worked late down in his cellar, Sebastian quietly made his way downstairs and into the cellar to talk to him. 

Sure enough, Howard was down there messing around with a few of his trinkets. “Uh, Mr. Ambrose,” Sebastian said, clearing his throat to get his attention. 

Howard turned around with a slightly confused expression before he saw who it was. “Oh! Sebastian. What brings you here so late?” Howard asked, not expecting to see him down here at this hour. 

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Sebastian said, swallowing the nervousness in his voice. 

Howard nodded and pulled up another chair so that Sebastian could sit down. When he did, there was a bit of silence that Sebastian was trying to snap himself out of so he could get his words out. Finally, he just told himself to go for it. 

“So, uh—A little while ago Matty and I were talking about uh…relationships,” He said, feeling the embarrassment already settling in. “And she mentioned something about how usually the boy asked her father for approval for the relationship.” 

“I know that’s probably what you were always expecting to happen—she’s your daughter after all. And I know that she and I are already courting but… I wanted to ask you anyway—more for your approval and to show that I respect you and your daughter, of course.” 

He was speaking a bit fast until that last part. He slowed himself down and calmed himself. 

Howard was silent for a moment, provoking some anxiety again. He leaned back, looking at Sebastian. “You know… you didn’t have to ask me that.” He started. “You come from a place where you know little to nothing about this world or how it works, and I didn’t expect you to do any of this because of it, and yet you still did.” 

He put his hand on Sebastian's shoulder and cracked a smile. “I know you respect me, and I know you will respect my daughter. And for that, you have my approval and support any day.” 

Sebastian let out a sigh of relief and then a smile. “Thank you, sir,” He said with a slight nod. “I promise I won’t make you regret any of this.” 

“I know you won’t,” Howard replied. Now this was a boy he trusted his daughter with. A boy he knew would respect her. “Now get upstairs and go to bed, it’s late. Ada’s bound to be down in here anytime soon and scolding me to get up there.” 

Sebastian nodded and stood up. “Goodnight, Mr. Ambrose. And again—thank you,” 

Howard nodded and watched Sebastian go, thinking of what had just conversed between the two of them. Howard never had a son, as much as he had grown up wanting one to give his own father's namesake. He instantly loved Matty when she was born, and she quickly became the center of his life—one out of the two things he cherished the most along with his wife. 

But becoming a father to a daughter, he was always cautious about the boys around her. What if they wanted to break her heart? Use her or even harm her? It was a constant anxiety in his mind as a father. But he was completely assured that Sebastian was not one of these boys. 

Most boys would’ve just asked Howard just to get it over with, just because it was “tradition”, but Sebastian had asked per Matty’s request and at the fact that he wanted to show Howard, he respected him no matter what. 

“That boy…” He trailed off for a moment, his eyes still fixed on the place where Sebastian had been moments ago. “Matty got herself a good one.” 

Chapter Text

Late on the twenty-third, Hope had returned home from school. Christmas Eve rolled around, and the locals came together that evening to hold their annual Christmas vigil. Most of it was candle lighting, sending lanterns off, and chatting about the new year that was to come. 

Children ran around and played in whatever snow they could find while parents stood and spoke with one another. Matty had to admit, as magical as Christmas at Hogwarts was, she had missed her little community of people back in London.

After the vigil, The Ambrose’s, and the McGowan’s headed back to the Ambrose residence to spend the rest of the evening together. It had been like this the past couple of Christmases, excluding last year when everything was thrown into a loop. 

Aaron, Hope, Sebastian, and Matty stayed in the living room around the fireplace, trying to warm up after spending time out in the cold while Edith and Ada were in the dining room chatting away. Matty figured Mr. McGowan and her father were somewhere around the house chatting as well. 

Sometime during the conversation, the four of them decided it’d be a great idea to play charades to pass some of the time. Hope and Matty decided it would be girls against boys and the losing team would have to stand out in the cold for ten minutes without a coat. (This is why we don’t leave teens unsupervised). 

Of course, Aaron and Sebastian being the boys that they were, took the girls up on their offer, confident in their ability to win the game. 

A list of random deeds to act out was drawn up and torn into strips so that they could pick it up and act it out. The first team to ten won. The first few rounds went by easily and the two teams were tied at two points each and that’s when Matty came up with an idea. 

“To make things more difficult, we should act out a wand motion and you have to guess which spell it is.” She suggested. 

“I like that idea,” Hope said, confident in her ability to remember the wand motions to all the spells she knew. 

Matty looked over to Sebastian. “And no using spells you’ve learned in the Restricted Section. You know we don’t know those.” She said, crossing her arms. She could tell by the grin on Sebastian’s face that that was exactly what he had planned on doing. 

“Aw you’re ruining my fun,” He joked. “But okay, okay, only basic spells everyone knows.” 

Then they wrote out new drawing papers with the names of several different spells. The girls went first. Hope acted out the wand motions to Descendo, which Matty got quickly and then it was the boy's turn. They went back and forth for a while, laughing and razzing each other when they didn’t get the spells quickly. 

Ada and Edith looked into the living room, seeing them all laugh and joke around with each other. “What on earth are they doing?” Ada laughed, viewing the scene in front of her. 

“At the end of the day, they are really just kids.” Edith chuckled. 

These moments were the ones that reminded them that they were indeed still kids and that they should enjoy life while they had the chance. Sometimes they got so caught up in the moment and with how fast life was going by they forgot to just pause and enjoy the present. 

When Aaron was trying his best to act out a spell that Sebastian was desperately trying to guess, and failing, it provoked a lot of laughs from the boys. Sebastian mainly laughing at his own inability to guess this spell. Matty looked at him and saw how much he was just enjoying himself. It made her really happy to see. 

For as long as she had known him, there was always something going on with him that desperately wanted to suck all of the joy out of his life. But it was the moments like these where he could feel true joy that brought a smile to Matty’s face. 

“What spell is this?” Sebastian laughed. 

“Arania Exumai!” Aaron exclaimed as if it were obvious. 

“That was not!” Sebastian countered. “You looked like an absolute buffoon waving your arm around and you expect me to think that was Arania Exumai?” 

Hope and Matty couldn’t hold back their giggles. They didn’t know if it was just the late hour that made everything so much funnier or not. But they spent most of the night laughing until their stomachs hurt from it. 

“That puts Hope and I at nine points and you two at eight,” Matty said. “Which means if Hope guesses this correctly, we’re the winning team and you two are going outside.” 

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Aaron said, crossing his arms. 

Matty grabbed one of the pieces of paper and read it to herself. “Incarcerous” was the spell she was supposed to act out. In her opinion, the wand motions for Incarcerous were sort of like an unfastened pretzel was the best way she could describe it. If the wizarding world wasn’t already weird enough, she just had to draw weirder connections. 

As she tried her best to act out the wand movements, Hope watched closely. Within moments, she was sure she had it. “Incarcerous!” She exclaimed with a sense of surety in her voice. 

“Yes!” Matty said, moving to high-five her best friend. Then she turned to the boys. “We win! Both of you, out, out. Go!” 

They began to push the boys out. Aaron was more protestant than Sebastian simply because he had lost to his little sister but Hope kept reminding him what they had all agreed on—in fact, the loser’s punishment was originally his idea anyway. And suddenly the boys were out on the front doorstep in the cold with no coats. 

“We’ll let you in in ten minutes!” Hope called out through the door with a laugh. 

Matty and Hope leaned against the door, laughing, and snickering about winning their game. “That was a close one, I’ll admit,” Matty said, trying to catch her breath. “For a moment there I thought we were going to be the ones who ended up out there in the cold.” 

“Oh please, even if you were terrible at acting those wand motions out, my intuition is so good I could’ve basically just read your mind.” Hope stated with a certain haughtiness in her tone. She then chuckled at the ridiculousness of her own sentence. 

John and Howard had come up sometime in those ten minutes. They watched as the girls opened the door, revealing a shivering cold Sebastian and Aaron. Having no idea what had just happened, the two older men watched in curiosity and confusion. 

“It’s freezing out there!” Sebastian exclaimed, rushing over to the fireplace with Aaron. 

Matty laughed, grabbing a blanket to drape over Sebastian’s shoulders. “Poor you,” She said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He wasn’t wrong though. It was freezing. His cheek was basically like ice against her lips. 

“Wonder how all of that happened.” Howard chuckled, crossing his arms, and watching the whole ordeal play out in front of him. 

“I have a feeling that’s what all the laughing was about,” John said. He had a feeling that his son was the reason for this happening in the first place and that he had somehow ended up losing at his own game. 

John took his eyes off of his two children and looked at Matty and Sebastian. He had met Sebastian before, very briefly, but he knew of the boy since he had attended school alongside Sebastian’s parents. He saw a lot of Sebastian’s father in him. But that wasn’t the only thing to catch his eye. It was the way he and Matty acted together. 

Hope had constantly kept her family up to date with everything going on at school, especially when it had to do with Matty. Anything Matty had forgotten to write about to her parents, they were finding out through Hope’s parents because of her letters. A big topic of Hope’s letters as of late had been about her best friend and her newly found love. 

“You know, Hope wrote a lot to me about Matty and Sebastian but just seeing it, it’s a lot different,” John said, leaning over to Howard. 

Howard nodded his head. He could’ve only drawn expectations about Sebastian from Matty’s letters and so far, Sebastian had exceeded all of them. “That boy has already made his way straight into Matty’s heart. I’m pretty sure it’s rubbing off on Ada and I as well.” He chuckled. 

“Ah I dread the day Hope tells me she’s committed to someone,” John sighed. “But only because I know it’s going to be that Weasley boy. His parents are wonderful but he’s quite the troublemaker and I don’t want that rubbing off on her.” 

Howard chuckled and put his hand on John’s shoulder. “If it’s been almost seven years since they’ve known each other, it’s probably rubbed off on her already.” He laughed.

The part where Howard had mentioned that it had been seven years since Hope had been at school seemed to hit John pretty hard. “Wow, time really does fly by fast.” He said, rubbing his forehead. He hadn’t even stopped to take a moment to think about how Aaron wasn’t even in school anymore and how he was already out there in the world. 

Howard nodded his head in agreement. “It does but that’s why you’ve got to enjoy life in the present.” He said, his gaze turning back to Hope, Aaron, Matty, and Sebastian sitting around the fireplace. Focusing on the present, even if the future was something to look forward to, was always worth it. 

*** 

The next morning was Christmas. Whereas most children would be rushing to their parent’s bedroom to wake them up at the crack of dawn, Matty and Sebastian were both fast asleep in their respective bedrooms because of the late night. A late night well spent but a late one, nonetheless. 

So, when the clock hit eight, Ada decided to wake them both up. After all, it was Christmas, they couldn’t be sleeping the day away! 

She woke up Matty first then Sebastian before bringing the two downstairs to the living room where Howard was already sitting, waiting for them. The first thing Ada did was hand out the knitted jumpers that she made every year. 

What stunned Sebastian was that there was one for him too. A dark green sweater with a gold “S” embroidered on the front. How did Ada even have the time to do this? How long has she had this planned to be able to pull it off? 

“I started working on it before Matty even told me you had said yes to visiting,” Ada said, a proud smile on her face. She was set on making him feel welcome and at home. 

Matty watched as Sebastian hugged her mother, thanking her repeatedly for the gift. For the Christmas that he had spent alone last year with no joy or hope for what was ahead of him, this year had changed the way he viewed it. He felt like he had found a place where he belonged. 

Gifts were exchanged, laughs were shared, and memories were made. Breakfast lasted much longer than usual since they were all talking and just enjoying their time. Sebastian shared a story of when he was young and still lived with his parents when he and Anne had somehow managed to knock the Christmas tree over while horsing around the house. 

Every story that Matty heard about Anne somehow confirmed what Sebastian had said about her being the more mischievous twin. Hearing about Anne made Matty hope that Anne was somewhere safe right now being taken care of and that when they returned to Hogwarts, there would be a letter from her. 

After breakfast all four of them were in the kitchen under Ada’s direction, cooking a couple of meals for a few families in the area. It had been a tradition on Christmas for their family to spend some time in the kitchen cooking for three families who lived nearby them and didn’t have much for themselves. A simple way to brighten up someone’s Christmas. 

“What are you staring at, hm?” Sebastian asked as he looked at Matty who seemed to be rather transfixed on him at the moment. 

“I’m trying to figure out where you got so good at cooking.” Matty chuckled. She knew Sebastian was good at a lot of things, but cooking was not one she expected. 

Sebastian shrugged. “I used to cook for Anne a lot. I guess it just comes with experience.” He said casually. 

“You know, that’s a good skill for a husband to have,” Ada said before looking over at her daughter with a grin, giving her a little wink. 

“Mummm,” Matty groaned. She knew at least one joke like that was going to be thrown out while she was back at home, and it seemed like now was the time for her mother to try and embarrass her. Of course, in reality, Matty didn’t mind it but she’d never admit that. 

Ada laughed alongside Howard and Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh a little too. “More hands make light work! That’s all I’m saying!” Ada said in defense of herself. 

After the meals were prepared, they bundled up and set out to drop them off at the family’s homes. To see the smiles on the people’s faces, to see how grateful they were for such a simple act—it was so worth it. 

Sebastian and Matty entertained the children while Ada and Howard talked to the parents or helped them set some things up for the dinner. Sebastian didn’t know why but every time he saw Matty playing with a child, he fell in love with her all the more. He didn’t know if it was because of his longing for a family or what but how gentle she was with them and how much she just naturally took to the role made his heart ache in the best way possible. 

It felt as if Christmas was over as soon as it started as the sun was setting and the world around them began to dim. Matty and Sebastian sat up in the guest room where Sebastian had been staying while they were visiting. 

The entire time he had been in London there was just an unexplainable feeling Sebastian had in his chest that just got stronger that day. He knew he had felt that way before, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was just yet. It was something he hadn’t felt in a really long time but being here had brought it back out. 

And then suddenly, when Matty was just simply rambling on about something as she often did, it hit him. 

His facial expression changed, and his gaze shifted from his lover to the floor. Matty noticed his shift in demeanor. “Sebastian?” She asked, moving her hand over his. “Is something wrong?” 

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Sebastian said, but he could feel himself getting choked up. He didn’t know why his emotions were hitting him so hard right now or why at this particular moment it was happening. “I just— There’s this feeling in my chest that’s been there ever since I showed up and met your parents. Ever since they welcomed me so warmly.” 

His gaze turned from the floor to Matty’s eyes. There were tears beginning to form in them. “I haven’t felt this way in ten years.” He said, getting the words out past his emotions. The last Christmas he could recall when he felt truly at home was when he was seven, just weeks before his parents had passed. He was seventeen now a decade later and the feeling had been so foreign to him by now it had taken him a moment to figure out what it was. 

Matty’s face shifted into a frown—but not a purely sad one. More like one where she was happy to hear what he was saying but at the same time, it made her sad that it had been so long. 

She moved and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. She didn’t say anything—she didn’t need to. Instead, she let the feeling hang in the air as Sebastian wrapped his arms back around her, letting his tears slip onto the fabric of her sleeve. 

Ada and Howard had come up to say goodnight to both of them, but the door was open so when she caught a glimpse of what was going on, she stopped. Howard looked over her shoulder to see what was going on. 

Ada put her hand over her chest, feeling her heart ache. There was a sense of pride she had in her daughter for finding such a wonderful boy while also being able to have an emotional maturity in her that most people he age lacked so that she could be able to comfort Sebastian in times like these. 

Her parents had seen enough in their lifetime to know that when young love happened there was always a sense of petty drama and people looking to cause drama. But not with them and it warmed their hearts to see that things were going so well. 

Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Ada and Howard retreated downstairs. There were still a few candles lit in the living room that they had yet to put out. But instead of putting them out and going to bed, Howard wrapped his arms around his wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

“The other night, Sebastian came down to see me. I didn’t know why or what I was expecting but he certainly stunned me a bit.” He said. “He asked me if I approved of him and Matty. Saying that one-time Matty had mentioned something about asking the father—but not for permission but out of respect. Every expectation about that boy I had has been exceeded. I just can’t help but feel so proud of Matty for finding him.” 

A small smile appeared on Ada’s face. Sebastian had asked her the same question. He knew Ada had raised Matty too and she deserved the same respect that he gave to Howard as her father. They loved this boy so much already and they never wanted either of them to leave. 

There was a small sense of sadness seeing Matty grow up but also a sense of pride that swelled in their chests. To see both Matty and Sebastian handle situations with so much maturity and together without just leaving the other to deal with it. 

That night, peace set over the home like there had never been before. There was no sadness, no dread of what was to come, just peace and a sense of assurance that they all needed. 

Chapter Text

It was December twenty-seventh and Matty and Sebastian had five days left in London before they returned to school. Matty deemed that it was time for Sebastian to meet some of her muggle friends. Eugenia and Nora were first on the list. 

Although Sebastian would initially meet them both on New Year's Eve, Matty wanted them to be well acquainted before then so it wouldn’t be as awkward. 

Eugenia and Nora came from families in upper-class London. So, Matty told Sebastian to not be intimidated by it but rather to just not think much about it since after all the two girls were never ones to treat others differently because of social status. Even if they did things differently. 

After a quick breakfast at the house, all bundled up to face the chilly weather, Matty and Sebastian set out to Eugenia’s home. 

Eugenia’s family, The Caldwells, lived a bit further away from the Ambrose’s than a simple walk like most of the places Matty had shown Sebastian. So, they took a hansom cab to cut down on some of the time. Matty hadn’t informed Eugenia prior to her arrival—only saying that she was visiting London but not giving specifics on when she’d visit her—so it was going to be more of a surprise. 

The hansom cab got them quickly from one end to the other and soon they were standing at the front door of the Caldwell’s large manor. Matty knocked on the door for it to be opened by one of the Caldwells’s many butlers. 

Having done this many times, Matty knew that the people employed by this family didn’t fancy long introductions and would rather just have you get to the point, she just got straight to it. “We’re here for Eugenia,” She said to him. “Please tell her I’ve brought a guest as well.” 

Recognizing who she was, the butler let the both of them in and sat them in the guest parlor. He then excused himself to go find Eugenia. 

Sebastian looked around the room, curiously inspecting the many fine things that adorned the wall. “You weren’t kidding when you said they were high class.” He said to Matty. 

She nodded. “Very,” She replied. “And this is just the guest parlor.” 

Up in the east wing, in Eugenia’s room, she was sitting in front of her vanity, fiddling around with her hair. She had been reading a book, but she had taken a simple glance in the mirror and saw something about her hair that bothered her. Usually, she’d just ignore this and continue on with her reading, but this was just enough to bug her. 

“I should just have someone else fix this,” she scowled mostly at herself and her lack of handiwork when it came to her own hair. 

A knock at the door pushed her out of her train of thought and then the door opened, catching her attention. Her head snapped over to the doorway. 

“Miss. Caldwell, my apologies for interrupting but Miss. Ambrose is calling on you. She has also brought a guest.” Said the butler whom Matty had informed of her arrival just earlier. 

“Really?” Eugenia asked with a smile on her face. She immediately stood up. Anything that had been on her mind prior to that moment was now forgotten. “Where are they? And go to Watson’s and call on Nora.” 

“In the guest parlor.” The butler said, answering her first question. “And of course,” with a small bow, he was gone. 

Eugenia raced downstairs, eager to see her friend. She wasn’t expecting to see Matty before New Year's Eve, but it was a very pleasant surprise and a welcome one at that. She opened the door to the guest parlor to see Matty and Sebastian sitting there. 

“Matty!” She exclaimed. She rushed forward and the two girls embraced tightly. “I wasn’t planning on seeing you until New Year's Eve! What a pleasant surprise!” 

Eugenia glanced over at Sebastian. At first, she didn’t give much mind to him—that was until she realized who he was. “So, this was that guest.” She said under her breath. “You must be the boy that stole Matty’s heart, huh?” 

Sebastian suddenly looked slightly embarrassed. “Oh, uh yes.” He said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You should know that I was the one constantly telling Matty to admit and confess her feelings to you while she was in denial. So, your welcome.” Eugenia said to him before turning back to Matty, letting Sebastian stand there a bit stunned. “I called on Nora so we should expect her here soon.” 

Matty nodded with a smile, excited to see her other friend as well. She thought for a moment that she needed to properly introduce Sebastian but figured she had talked about him so much in her letters that they probably knew more about him than she thought, and Eugenia didn’t really seem like she wanted a formal introduction. 

Soon after, Nora arrived at the Caldwell’s home. After hugs and unlike Eugenia, she insisted on formally introducing herself to Sebastian as it would be rude not to. After this Eugenia swore, she needed to get out of the “stuffy guest parlor,” and insisted that the other three come with her. 

She said that her room would do, and they all walked upstairs and neared her room. On the way up, she got a few weird looks because Sebastian was with them. For one no one around the manor had ever seen him before not to mention he was also a boy. 

But Eugenia wasn’t ignorant of their looks. The last odd look she got from a maid before entering her room, she turned to them. “He’s with her. Don’t make any assumptions.” She said in an amused tone before entering her room. 

After getting settled in Eugenia’s room, she had to ask all the burning questions. “So, how’s school going?” She asked. “And how is it trying to catch up with all the other people in your year? I mean, after all, you started awfully late.” 

“I had a tutor my fifth year to help bring me up to speed,” Matty replied, using the word tutor to make things more familiar to them. “And it’s been going wonderfully. Everything was caught up since last year and I’m at the top of some of my classes.” 

“Ooh, look at you,” Eugenia said. 

Nora, who was draped over one of the couches, looked at Matty. “What do they even teach at this school?” She asked. “Is it anything similar to our school? The one you used to go to with us before you left for this boarding school?” 

Matty shifted in her seat. Something that Nora had said somewhat made her feel guilty. She had left that school to go to Hogwarts, but this was different, right? She had to go to Hogwarts, it was practically like her third home by now. 

“You know, the same things as most schools. Reading, writing, arithmetic…” She answered, trying to make it sound casual so that they wouldn’t question her further. 

Nora furrowed her brows. “You go to some fancy boarding school all the way in Scotland for most of the year and that’s all they teach you? I would’ve expected something more interesting.” She said, not really buying what Matty was saying. 

“They teach other things, of course, I was just saying it's nothing special,” Matty said. She tried to remember what lie her parents were telling everyone about the “boarding school” she was going to so no one would get suspicious. She remembered that this was supposed to be a boarding school. 

“It’s just advanced work, to prepare me for university. You know, since not many women are admitted into them around here.” She followed up with, trying to make this sound believable. 

Sebastian looked confused for a brief moment but hid it quickly. Most women weren’t allowed to have further education after their initial schooling? He learned more and more unpleasant things about the muggle world every day which made him silently be grateful he was born into the wizarding world, regardless of his circumstances. 

Eugenia looked at Sebastian. Something about him just didn’t sell the lie that Matty was trying to tell them. He didn’t carry himself as someone who would have social status enough to go to a school like that. Nor did he speak like one. 

“So, how’d a farm boy like you end up in a school like that?” She asked. The words rushed out of her mouth before she could even think about what she was saying. And although it was indeed a genuine question and not one to mock, it sort of sounded that way. 

“Eugenia!” Nora scolded. 

Eugenia’s head turned to Nora. “Genuine question!” 

“The school handpicks the students,” Sebastian said, coming up with a quick reply so Matty didn’t have to. “They look for students across Scotland, Britain, and Ireland. Wales too. They spend hours finding them and picking them out. And since they want students to come to their school, they take care of everything else.”

Matty was surprised that Sebastian could create an elaborate lie and spit it out as quickly as he had. “Yes, that’s exactly right.” She said, hoping that they wouldn’t further question anything else. 

Eugenia still didn’t seem convinced but brushed it off. There was no use in trying to get information about someone who clearly wasn’t going to answer it. So, she moved on to the next set of questions. She obviously had been told that Matty and Sebastian had met at school, but she wanted details. “How did you two meet?” 

“In class, on our first day of school,” Matty replied quickly. “Just a casual encounter. Nothing special about it.” 

Except for that was a total lie; this entire conversation was. They hadn’t just had a casual encounter, Matty had beaten him in a duel but of course, they couldn’t just say that without raising some flags. 

“Boringgg.” Eugenia sighed. “C’mon Matty, you’re such an adventurous girl yet you met him so casually? I’m surprised but not in the way I want to be.” 

Matty shrugged her shoulders. “Well, school faculty keeps a good eye on us.” She said. “There’s no fooling around at school.” Another lie. And possibly one of the worst ones because there were certainly a lot of students fooling around in school and getting into all sorts of trouble. Sneaking into the Restricted section is one of them and Matty and Sebastian had both done that both separately and together. 

“Sounds like our school here.” Nora sighed. “Not many places to have fun when the faculty is practically breathing down your neck.” 

That was indeed one thing Matty did not miss about the muggle world or her muggle school. Everything was so strict here. If you didn’t fit into the societal norm, you were an outcast but if you lived the societal norm you were restricted to what they wanted. There was almost never a healthy balance between the two. 

Matty and Sebastian stayed at Eugenia’s home for a couple of hours before leaving. As soon as they stepped out of the home and the door closed, Matty looked at Sebastian. “Sorry for the incessant questioning.” She said with a sigh. “That didn’t go over nearly as well as I thought it’d did,” 

Sebastian shook his head. “No, no don’t apologize.” He reassured. “They were both charming in their own way and I understand they didn’t mean anything by it.” 

Matty let out a breath of relief. “Thank goodness,” She said, glad that he hadn’t taken anything Eugenia had said to heart. 

“Besides, those questions made for some pretty entertaining conversation, I will admit.” Sebastian chuckled. “Not to mention I was just happy you got to spend some time with some old friends.” 

Matty smiled, glad that Sebastian just wanted her to be happy. They decided to take the long way and walk back since they had some time before it got dark. They were just happy to be around one another. Their time there in London was beginning to go by faster than anticipated and both of them were sad about it but they were sure to enjoy the rest of the time that they had here. 

Although Sebastian would never understand the muggle world completely, he did enjoy some aspects of being here, but it was mostly because of Matty and her family. He had found a home he felt loved in, not to mention being around her family just gave him an excuse to be around her too. 

“So, you think you’re ready for New Year's Eve?” Matty asked him with a small grin on her face, referring to the event they would have to attend.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready,” Sebastian said. “But I am interested and for that alone, I say bring it on.” 

Matty laughed. “I’ll hold you to that one.” 

Chapter Text

The sound of Ada’s footsteps ascending the stairs to the upper floor of the Ambrose home rang out around the house. She was in a bit of a rush to get to Matty’s room, help her get ready, and get out the door. It was December Thirty-First, and the evening was upon them—which meant attending the New Year's Eve event. 

This event wasn’t just for the common citizens of London. A personal invitation was extended via the coordinators of the event. The Ambroses were invited for the past several years at the request of Alice Hammond, Mr. Athy’s aunt. Mr. Athy was Howard’s business partner and Mrs. Hammond, who sponsored the move of their business from Dublin to London. 

Alice Hammond was all around a stricter woman. As Matty had once told Sebastian, Mrs. Hammond felt an odd sense of “entitlement” to her family since she had sponsored the business move. She wanted to know all the details about their family and could be awfully intrusive at times but besides her intrusive nature, they were grateful for the help she had given. 

So now, as the New Year was almost upon them, they were getting ready for the event. Ada knocked on Matty’s door. “Matty? Do you need any help?” She asked through the door. 

“Yes please,” Matty answered. “The door is unlocked.” 

Ada opened the door, closing it behind her before approaching her daughter. “This is harder than I remember.” Matty exasperated. She couldn’t reach back to properly tie the laces of her corset and was just left standing in front of her mirror. 

“That is why you have me to help,” Ada said, standing behind Matty and grasping the laces. She tightened them a bit, but not too much. Just enough for Matty’s posture to be good but for it to also be comfortable. “Comfortable?” 

Matty nodded. “Thank you,” She breathed out. 

Ada then helped Matty into her dress. It was a tad different than the one she had worn to the Winter Ball at Hogwarts since obviously that dress from years before. This dress was a bit more modern. The sleeves of the blush pink dress were short but still puffed out a bit, it was not a ballgown, but the skirt flowed out slightly, and the neckline was down further. 

She sat her daughter down after helping her into her dress and began to do her hair. Matty was silently grateful that she was at her home so that her mother could do her hair. If there was one thing she always disliked, it was doing her hair. She’d have to grow out of it eventually but while she could have her mother do it, she was going to. 

A simple bun with two strands framing Matty’s face was the hairstyle Ada went with. Simple, yet a popular one for the young women of London. Fashioned with a pearl necklace and satin gloves that went up to just below her elbow, Ada did a final one-over of her daughter before deeming she was ready. 

Downstairs, Howard and Sebastian were waiting by the door. Howard feared they would be late; periodically he checked his pocket watch to see how much time they had left before they would need to leave. This wasn’t exactly an event they wanted to be late to. 

“Ada, darling, we’re going to be late!” Howard called out, hoping to get his wife’s attention. 

They could hear the shuffling of Ada’s footsteps upstairs. “We’ll be right down!” She assured the both of them. 

Just as promised, Ada and Matty were down a minute later. As Matty descended the stairs, it reminded Sebastian of how she looked the night of the Winter Ball. Effortlessly stunning, the perfect young woman who took his breath away. 

There wasn’t much time for long drawn-out compliments. He told her she looked beautiful out loud but as Ada and Howard ushered them out of the home and into the carriage that was waiting outside of their home, he whispered a few more compliments about how stunning she looked. 

On the ride there, Matty could tell her mother was nervous. She was always nervous. Although the family didn’t depend on Mrs. Hammond at all now that they had been in London for several years, being around socialites such as those who would be attending this event made her think twice about everything she did. 

She usually wasn’t one to care what people thought about her, or her family. She’d be the first one to go down defending them, but she also knew that what happened now affected Matty’s future if she chose to stay in the muggle world after her graduation from Hogwarts. 

Howard usually said something to her that soothed her nerves but even he felt intimidated at times. 

As they reached the location of the event, Sebastian was quite stunned to see how many people were there. He himself was also a bundle of nerves because he didn’t want to mess anything up. He had made several mental notes about what to do and what not to do during the night but there were so many he wasn’t sure if he could remember them all. 

As they stepped out, Sebastian helped Matty out before offering his arm to her as they walked in. They both followed closely behind Ada and Howard. 

The inside was even more lavish than the outside, one would think it couldn’t get any more expensive than it already was. 

“Why don’t we go greet Mrs. Hammond?” Ada suggested, turning to Matty and Sebastian behind her. “And get you introduced to her.” 

“Sounds good,” Matty said with a curt nod. She glanced over at Sebastian, noticing his slightly nervous expression. “It’ll be okay. Nothing that she can say or do will change anything. Her opinions should be the least of our worries.” 

Sebastian looked at his lover. “Didn’t you say she was important to your family?” 

Matty shrugged. “Somewhat. I will always be grateful for what she did for us but she’s quite intrusive and controlling so it makes being at events like these slightly less enjoyable when she’s breathing down my neck.” She said, although a bit quieter than her usual tone. 

“Right,” Sebastian breathed out. 

In the distance, they saw a woman that Sebastian could only assume was Mrs. Hammond. His suspicions were confirmed when Howard and Ada walked straight up to her. 

“Mrs. Hammond, it’s good to see you,” Ada said, her tone an overly cheerful one. 

Mrs. Hammond turned around. She looked to be in her mid-fifties and a firm gaze accompanied her expression. “Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose.” She greeted them with a curt nod. “Glad to see you two attending this year’s event.” 

But Mrs. Hammond seemed to be focusing on finding someone else rather than the two people in front of them. When she spotted Matty behind her parents, her gaze changed. “Ah, there’s the one I am looking for. Step forward, girl.” 

Matty was somewhat startled by not only the sudden change in tone but also the fact that Mrs. Hammond wasn’t even addressing her by her name. She quickly stepped forward, looking down a bit. 

“You were absent from last year’s festivities.” Mrs. Hammond said, trying to get an answer out of Matty although she had already been informed of why Matty was absent the year prior. 

“Oh um, yes ma’am.” Matty swallowed hard. “I was in Scotland, attending school. I would’ve loved to return to London, but my education required me to stay and focus.” 

That was a lie. A complete and total lie. But one couldn’t exactly just tell a muggle that there was a giant goblin rebellion along with a poacher empire threatening a world that they didn’t even know existed. Besides, this excuse was probably the best one to get Mrs. Hammond to pass her absence off. 

“Hmm,” She started, looking Matty up and down. “Well, your education is important. At least you had a good reason. Invitations to events like these are not just handed out at free will. One should cherish attending an event like this.” 

“Yes, Mrs. Hammond and we are extremely grateful to you for giving our family this opportunity,” Ada said, stepping in to slightly shift the conversation away from Matty, knowing her daughter was slightly nervous. 

Family. Hmm, that would be true except that there was one person accompanying this family that was not there before. Mrs. Hammond’s eyes met Sebastian’s and she knew he was accompanying them. So, of course, she had questions. Especially since he looked to be around Matty’s age. Now this piqued her interest. 

“And who is this?” She asked. 

“This is—,” Ada started but was cut off by Mrs. Hammond. 

“The boy can speak for himself, can he not?” She said. It was more of a statement than a question. She looked back to Sebastian, who was staring nervously at her. 

But regardless, he took a step forward, offering his hand to her. “Sebastian Sallow,” He said, trying to keep his voice calm and level. He wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to explain why he was accompanying the Ambrose’s or why he was even in London. Would explaining his relationship with Matty be out of line? 

“And where are you from, Mr. Sallow?” Mrs. Hammond questioned. 

“A small hamlet in Scotland, ma’am.” He answered. “In the Highlands.” 

“He’s staying with us over the holidays,” Ada said, not allowing Mrs. Hammond to cut her off again. She wasn’t exactly keen on explaining things to a woman she knew would have negative comments about it. She turned to Matty and Sebastian. 

“Matty, why don’t you go find your friends, hm? Take Sebastian with you.” She said. Her words sounded like a suggestion but her gaze on Matty told her that it was more of an order than anything else. 

Matty had no problem getting out of this situation. She and Sebastian left as soon as they could, off to go find Eugenia, Nora, or Hope. Howard excused himself from the awkward situation to go speak to Mr. Athy who was also in attendance. 

Mrs. Hammond turned to Ada, a brow raised on her face. “Don’t play dumb with me, Ada.” She said, using a first-name basis when they were alone. “That boy. He’s more than a guest, isn’t he?” She didn’t have to ask the question to know the truth. 

“And what if he is?” Ada asked, crossing her arms. She wasn’t trying to cause a scene, but she’d defend Sebastian if needed. 

For a moment, Mrs. Hammond almost seemed confused by Ada’s answer. “A boy, from a small hamlet in Scotland with a daughter like yours?” She asked, in a tone of disbelief. 

“Surely, she could do better. Getting accepted to that boarding school, and having opportunities to go to university—Matty has potential. And you are allowing her to waste it on some nobody boy from the Scottish highlands? Let alone letting them parade around with one another without a chaperone.” 

“There are people in almost every inch of this room alone,” Ada snapped, more aggressively than she intended. “And Matty is not wasting her potential. I know the boy, I know he cares for her and that is all that matters. In fact, he’s a brilliant boy with a bright future ahead of him.” 

“And I could care less about your idiotic ideals for what a relationship should be like. Move on. Not every youth needs to have a chaperone breathing down their necks at all times.” 

Mrs. Hammond seemed surprised at Ada’s response. Usually, she was more timid and reserved in their conversations. Not being used to being told off like that, Mrs. Hammond just composed herself. “My apologies for my assumptions.” 

Ada wanted to say, “As you should be,” but instead she composed herself as well and gave a small nod to Mrs. Hammond, but it was nothing more than an acknowledgment of her apology. “I should go find my husband,” was all she said before leaving. 

*** 

“I’m glad we got out of that,” Matty said with a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t expecting her to be so snippy tonight.” She could feel the sweat under her gloves, tempting her to strip them off and forget about them. 

“I’ll admit I was sort of terrified,” Sebastian admitted. “But it seemed like your mother was more than happy to swoop in and save the conversation.” 

Matty nodded. She was glad that she could rely on her mother for situations like these. Although Ada had suggested that they leave the conversation to go find their friends, Sebastian had a different idea.  

He held a hand out to Matty, and she stared down at it for a moment before looking at his eyes curiously. “I may still not be the best dancer, but I’d rather publicly shame myself in front of everyone than leave you without a dance for tonight.” He said to her. 

 She smiled and took his hand with great pleasure. His hand went to her waist, and he moved her to the dance floor, lining up with a few of the others who were enjoying themselves. The music was gentle and smooth as they danced along to it. 

“You know, if someone had told me last year that I’d be at a socialite event in London, dancing with a girl who’s a better duelist than I am, and is somehow also my lover, I would not have believed them,” Sebastian said. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Especially that last part.” He followed up with a small wink. 

“Well, if you told me I’d be going to a… Boarding school in Scotland and meeting the man of my dreams, I would also put that on my list of unbelievable things.” Matty said, being vague with that first part since there were people around. 

Sebastian chuckled, spinning her around gently. “Am I really the man of your dreams or are you just saying that?” 

“No, I distinctly remember dreaming of a brunette boy with big brown eyes, a big heart, and mighty intelligence as a child,” Matty said with slight sarcasm in her tone. “It’s an expression, Sebastian. But you’re the only one for me, I’ve made my mind up about that one already.” 

Sebastian blushed slightly, the pink on his cheeks making his freckles more visible. Matty never failed to make him feel hot in the face. 

Matty let out a small chuckle. She was honestly surprised about how the most simple of compliments could make him go red in the face. It really wasn’t all that hard, and she loved doing it. 

The dance ended and the two stood to the side together. Matty was looking out for Eugenia—or any of her friends for that matter. But Eugenia was looking for her as well and she found her first.

“Matty, Sebastian, there you are,” Eugenia said, immediately after spotting them. Beside her was a boy with short black hair, his cheekbones were strikingly similar to Eugenia’s as well. Matty had met him before. He was Eugenia’s brother, Benedict. Nora was trailing not too far behind from both of them.

“I’m glad you came, both of you.” She said, looking between the two. “Sebastian, this is my brother, Benedict.” She gestured to her brother, who gave a welcoming nod. 

“Benedict, it’s good to see you again,” Matty said, looking at the boy. He was fifteen, just a year younger than Eugenia, yet he looked much different than the last time she had seen him. He was much taller. Whereas the last time she had seen him, he was barely at eye level, now he was practically a head taller. 

“It’s good to see you too,” He replied. 

Nora walked up beside Eugenia and Hope was also coming into view. “A bit crowded tonight,” Nora said, looking around at the many people in just this room alone. 

“Very,” Matty said, shifting a bit uncomfortably. 

After a bit of searching, they were able to find a more open space in the room, one where they wouldn’t be terribly crowded in. Hope then said she needed to go find her parents but didn’t want to go alone, so Nora went back with her, saying they’d be back soon. 

Then Benedict and Sebastian offered to get the girls drinks, and they happily accepted the offer. The room was hot and something cold sounded wonderful.

When it was only Matty and Eugenia standing alone, waiting for the return of their friends, it got quite quiet between the two of them. However Matty noticed that Eugenia looked slightly lightheaded and didn’t move as swiftly as she usually did. 

Eugenia pulled out her fan to try and cool herself down but what Matty picked up on was that when two boys that they didn’t know simply walked past, Eugenia switched the position of the fan from her face, down to her chest. 

Matty’s brows furrowed. This wasn’t like Eugenia at all. “What are you doing?” She asked in a hushed tone. 

“Mother said I’m getting older and it’s about time that I start finding myself a husband,” Eugenia answered. Truth be told she had been internally begging to tell someone that all night. 

“You’re sixteen,” Matty said, thinking it was absolutely ridiculous that not only was Eugenia sixteen, but her mother had put her up to this. Putting her in a corset that was a size too small, telling her to look a certain way when boys passed by—couldn’t she just allow her daughter to live the life she wanted? “You’ll attract the wrong kind of man like that. And—did you even want to wear that tonight?” 

Eugenia was silent for a moment before turning to Matty. “No, I didn’t. And this corset is so tight I feel like I can barely breathe, and I’ve felt like I’m going to pass out at any minute all night!” She rushed the words out so fast she was out of air—and having the corset on didn’t help either. 

Hearing about her friend’s distressed state, even if it seemed a bit silly, Matty wasn’t going to leave her like this. “Is your mother around?” She asked, taking a quick look. Eugenia shook her head and then Matty took her hand. “If we’re quick enough, we can leave, fix this, and come back before anyone notices.” 

Eugenia hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. Swiftly, Matty grabbed her hand and began to lead her out of the room. She had barely navigated this building before, usually sticking right by her parents most of the night years prior, but she tried her best to find an empty room in which she could fix Eugenia’s outfit problem. 

When Hope and Nora returned, they were confused. “Where’d they go?” Nora asked, looking around. Hope peered out into the long hallway to see Eugenia turn the corner. “Down here. Come on,” She said, moving down the hallway. 

Then Benedict and Sebastian returned a moment later, somewhat hilariously missing the girls by a mere minute. Sebastian looked around, his brows furrowed. “Did they tell us to come back to meet them somewhere else?” 

Benedict shook his head. “I thought they said they would meet us right here.” 

“That’s what I thought they said too…” Sebastian mumbled under his breath. “I’ll go look for them,” 

Unlike Nora and Hope who had a head start by seeing Eugenia turn the corner, Sebastian didn’t. And so now he’d have to make his way through this big, crowded building in hopes of finding them. 

Meanwhile, Matty had found an empty room and tried to make quick work of fixing Eugenia’s corset. The dress had been extremely difficult, and she was trying to hold it draped over her own arm while loosening the corset, trying not to drop the dress. 

“This would be so much easier if I could just use magic,”  she thought to herself. Being in London did have that downside. 

So, you can imagine her relief when she saw Hope and Nora enter the room. “There you two are,” She said with a sigh of relief. “Catch this.” She tossed the dress over without a second thought. 

Nora reacted quickly, catching it before it could fall to the floor. “What are you two doing?” Hope asked, raising a brow. Why had they walked away so suddenly? 

“I can barely breathe!” Eugenia exclaimed. Clearly, she had been holding this in almost all night. 

Matty slipped her fingers under the lace to loosen them up, once she did, she moved the corset up slightly and Eugenia let out a breath of relief. She could actually breathe now, what a relief. Matty pulled on some of the strings but not harshly and retied the laces. 

Then suddenly the door to the empty room opened and Sebastian had barely just stepped in when all the girls practically screamed. “Don’t come in here!” Hope said dashing over and covering his eyes. It wasn’t like Eugenia was showing anything, but it still wasn’t necessarily the best situation for a teenage boy to walk in on. 

“What in merli—What’s going on?” Sebastian asked, flinching back a bit as Hope covered his eyes. 

“Nothing! Just go!” Hope said, shooing him out. “Go find Benedict, we’ll be out in a moment.” 

She practically slammed the door shut after Sebastian left. “Well, that could’ve been bad,” Nora said, glancing at the door. “Might want to be a bit faster, Matty.” 

“I’m trying,” Matty said. “Does this feel loose?” 

Eugenia moved around for a moment, “A little—but we don’t have any time to readjust the laces before someone’s going to walk in and see this mess.” She said, her voice already filled with embarrassment. Her once magical night had turned into something less than what she had expected, and it was disappointing. 

Matty was sure she could fix this quickly but then she got an idea. Her hand reached up to her hair and she began taking the small hairpins out of her hair, completely undoing the hairstyle her mother had done for her earlier. But it didn’t matter if it was to help her friend. 

She used the pins to just barely bring some of the fabric together, putting a snug but comfortable fit of the corset on Eugenia. “Thank you, Matty. What a relief,” She said. They helped her back into her dress and tried their best to restore her appearance to how it was right before they had come into this room. 

Matty’s appearance, however, would be different for the rest of the night. She didn’t mind it though. Seeing herself in such an elegant gown with her hair down was honestly quite a refreshing sight to see. 

When all was said and done, the girls came back to the social gathering, finding Sebastian and Benedict standing there. “There you are,” Benedict said. “You four had run off and Sebastian spent thirty minutes looking for you.” 

“Everything is fine,” Eugenia said. “Well, now it is anyway.” 

Sebastian was going to say something to Matty about earlier but when he took in her appearance, he forgot what he was going to say. Matty looked at him as he was staring, “What? Does my hair look bad?” She asked, hoping that it at least still looked a little presentable. 

“No, no, not at all,” Sebastian replied quickly. “It looks—good. Really good. You look beautiful.” 

“Oh, thank you,” Matty said, a smile gracing her lips. 

Sebastian would never get tired of that smile. He knew that much. 

***

The night continued on but near midnight, when everyone was gathering to celebrate the New Year, Matty took Sebastian’s hand and began to lead him away from the crowd. They had barely had a moment to themselves the entire night. 

Past the many people, Matty found an empty balcony with no one around—the perfect place. The air was cold but felt refreshing after being stuck in a room full of people for so long. 

“Is there any reason why you brought me out here?” Sebastian asked with a brow raised. “You know, it’s almost midnight.” 

“Well, it may just be a rumor, but I’ve heard that it’s good luck to kiss one’s lover when the clock strikes twelve. As I said, could just be a rumor but it doesn’t hurt to try.” Matty said but she couldn’t help but let a sly grin come through her words. 

Sebastian almost laughed. Matty could be sly when she wanted to, that was for sure. “Is that why we’re alone?” He asked. “Well, I suppose you’re right. It doesn’t hurt to try.” 

They could hear the people inside and listened closely for them to start counting down from ten. As the last three seconds ran out, Sebastian pulled Matty in for a kiss. One hand went to her waist while the other was gently placed behind her head. Their lips locked in a passionate but sweet kiss. 

Matty couldn’t help but smile. Her silly plan had worked. A couple of kisses were definitely shared after that—they could never leave it at just one. 

Their year had been sealed with a kiss, wishing the best for the new year that was to come.

Chapter Text

 As quickly as it came, it was gone. January 2nd had rolled around, which meant it was time for Matty and Sebastian to leave London and return to school. Matty had spent the night prior packing and thinking about how much she was going to miss home. 

Sebastian had similar thoughts. He realized just how much he was going to miss being in an environment like this. A week and a half was all it took to make him wish he could stay here. But going back to school was important. 

The home was already quiet as if preparing itself for the solemn feeling it would have when they did leave. It was quiet and a bit dull when Matty was gone for school and Ada wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for it to go back to it, or for her daughter and Sebastian to leave at all. Having them there just felt so joyous—she’d keep them there forever if she had the chance. 

Matty said goodbye to her home and went to the train station accompanied by her parents, Sebastian, Hope, and Hope’s parents as well. 

As they were saying their final goodbyes, Ada gave Sebastian a bone-crushing hug. She told him over and over how much she loved having him here and how he could come back and stay with them at any time. Then it was time for Matty to say goodbye to her parents. 

“I’ll miss you,” She said, hugging the both of them.  

“We’ll miss you too,” Ada said, returning the hug. “You’ll be back before you know it,” Howard assured his daughter. 

As she was walking to board the train, Ada and Howard stayed on the platform, watching her leave yet again for school. They didn’t think they’d ever get used to seeing her go. “Goodbye! We love you!” Ada said, waving to them as they boarded the train. “Don’t be afraid to visit whenever—the guest room is always open!” 

Howard couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at his wife’s words. She loved having Matty home more than anything. And she absolutely adored Sebastian. It was going to be odd having the house be so empty again. 

Hope, Sebastian, and Matty all sat together for the train ride home. Although most of it was spent sleeping to make up for the lack of sleep that week, they had some lively conversations about how much they enjoyed being in London. 

Matty could tell by the look in Sebastian’s eyes as he spoke, he loved being in a place like her home. It was a heartwarming sentiment she’d always be proud of. Even a simple gaze could speak volumes. 

After sitting for hours on the train, Hogwarts came into view. The sun was setting, and it made the school look beautiful as they were coming in. Then the train stopped. Some students had friends waiting for them at the station to get back, others just got off as quickly as they could. 

The three gathered their luggage and loaded it up on a Thestral-drawn cart provided by the school so that they wouldn’t have to drag their luggage up themselves all this way. As they were walking up the path a couple of feet away from the cart, something fell out. 

Matty didn’t rush up to get it though, instead, she pulled out her wand. “Accio!” She said, sending the item flying into her hand. “That felt nice.” She laughed, referring to being able to use magic again. 

“I’ll say,” Sebastian chucked. “London was amazing but not being able to use magic was really odd—perhaps even humbling in a way?” 

“Well, some of us can’t use magic outside of the school anyway because we’re not old enough,” Hope said, looking at Sebastian and Matty. Matty wasn’t old enough, but she was allowed to practice magic in London before her fifth year since the school was able to pull a few strings. 

“Oh, that’s one benefit of being the oldest in our year.” Sebastian started. “If we’re off somewhere and you two can’t just magic, you have to ask me to do everything.” 

“And trust that I will,” Matty said with a bit of an unamused tone. She was trying to think of a joke she could make about his age to hit him back with. 

As they were nearing the Hogwarts grounds, Matty had a smile on her face. It was so refreshing to see the school again. 

She got inside and went up to her dorm room, having the same feeling as she did when she saw her old room in London. She excitedly greeted Natty and Nellie with tight hugs, asking them so many questions about their Christmas break. She’d tell hers after, she loved to hear from them first. 

Sebastian entered the Slytherin common room, greeting a few of his friends as he made his way to his dorm room. He greeted Ominis and Thomas with a smile and a big hug. They chatted briefly about their breaks and Ominis gave Sebastian a letter from Anne and said she was doing well Which was a big relief to Sebastian. 

They talked on the way to dinner in the Great Hall and while sitting down at the table. Garreth and Leander were already sitting down across from each other, debating about something random. A usual experience that Matty missed seeing, she would admit. 

Garreth looked at Matty as she sat down. “Oh, Matty! It’s good to see you. How was your break?” 

“It was wonderful,” Matty replied. “London kept Sebastian and I busy, that’s for sure. But it is very nice to be back and with my parents again. How was it being back at home?” 

“Chaotic to say the least,” Garreth replied. 

Immediately, you could hear some stifled giggles further down the table. They were indeed Garreth’s three younger siblings, they knew how they had acted. “Mine was quiet and boring.” Leander sighed. “But how are you supposed to tell your parents you want to leave break early and go back to school? That’s practically a death sentence.” 

“My mum would’ve locked me in a room and only let me out when I had to leave.” Matty chuckled. She knew how much her mother loved having her home, which made her feel wanted and loved so there was nothing wrong with that. Especially since she wasn’t used to Matty being gone for extended periods of time like that. 

Elliot came walking over to the Gryffindor table, looking like he had something to say. Anyone who was on the Quidditch team immediately looked over—it was simply a habit to look at their Captain with their undivided attention when he was coming over. 

“It’s January and you all know what that means.” Elliot started as he walked over to take a seat, making sure he had their attention. “Early morning tomorrow, out at the pitch before school starts. We have to get good practice hours in if we’re going to win this thing.” 

A collective groan from the entire team rolled around the Gryffindor table. Early morning quidditch practices were not something that any of them wanted to do—but regardless needed to do it if they wanted a chance to beat the Slytherin team. No doubt Imelda had a few things up her sleeve that were going to give them problems. 

“Look, do you guys want to win this or not?” Elliot asked with a brow raised. He was serious about this. After losing to Slytherin so many times, he wasn’t willing to do it again. “And since you’re the newest on our team, I’m counting on you to give us everything we need as our Seeker.” He said, looking at Matty. 

“I’ll be there,” Matty replied with a curt nod. 

Leander looked at Elliot. “Elliot, how early are we talking about with early morning practice?” He asked, hoping it wasn’t at the crack of dawn. 

“Five am sharp, as soon as the sun is coming up. Don’t want to waste any daylight.” Elliot replied firmly. It sounded like he had planned this out with a strict plan in his mind. 

Another collective groan rolled around the room. Christmas break ending meant sleeping late was ending along with it too since they’d have to wake up earlier for classes anyway but they weren’t expecting early morning quidditch practice—not to mention getting up that early so soon when they had gotten used to sleeping in. 

“I’ll make sure you two are up and ready to go, promise,” Elliot said with a grin. But to Garreth and Leander that felt more like a threat than a reassurance. Elliot’s dorm was right next to theirs, which meant there was basically no escape from them and him banging on the wall to wake them up in the ungodly hours of the morning. 

Matty took a breath. “Well, if practice is early tomorrow, I’m going to get ready for bed.” She stated, standing up from the table. With a couple of goodbyes, she was gone, walking out of the Great Hall. 

She walked by herself for a while before she heard footsteps behind her, then the familiar voice of Sebastian. “Matty! There you are.” He said, coming up beside her. “Glad I caught you in the hall.” 

“Oh, I was just heading up to my dormitory,” Matty said, looking at him. “Elliot told us we have early quidditch practice for the foreseeable future to get us ready for the quidditch game against you guys.” 

Sebastian nodded. “I got a similar “speech” from Imelda about how we have to “put in the work” to win this. Which of course means rushing to the quidditch pitch the moment school is over and being out in the cold till we freeze to death.” 

Matty hadn’t even thought of how cold it was going to be the next morning. She groaned at the very thought of it. She felt Sebastian give her a reassuring squeeze on her hand. “Talk about freezing to death.” She muttered under her breath. “But Elliot is set on beating Slytherin.” 

“Well, his efforts are admirable… but in vain,” Sebastian said with a mischievous grin. 

Matty elbowed him. “If I’m out there freezing my toes off at five in the morning, you’d best believe I’m going put in the effort so that Gryffindor has a chance at winning!” She scolded. The two had been razzing each other about the game they would eventually have to play against one another for so long. A healthy dose of teasing that kept their relationship fun. 

“Gryffindor doesn’t have the best track record winning against Slytherin, just saying,” Sebastian said, saying that last part in a bit of a sing-song tone.

“Well, I—and the rest of the team, are dedicated to changing that record,” Matty said, gesturing to herself. “You saw our win against Ravenclaw, and it wasn’t even a close game. We definitely have a chance at beating Slytherin.” 

“If you say so.” Sebastian grinned. “What about when one of our teams, probably mine, wins? Do we get bragging rights?” 

Matty thought about it for a moment. On one hand, she would hate to hear Sebastian brag about it and not be able to stop him but on the other, she’d love to brag to Sebastian about it and he not be able to stop her. But That was the fun in competition, she supposed. 

“Yes,” She said with a nod. “So, don’t be surprised when I use them to brag about how good my team is.” She grinned. 

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Sebastian smirked. 

 Matty would cross her arms at him if he wasn’t holding her hand right now. “Well, not only am I determined to beat Slytherin because Imelda is on that team but also now, I’m determined to beat them simply because I get to brag about it to you constantly after.” 

“I could say the same,” Sebastian replied. “Bragging rights make everything more fun.” 

They heard a laugh as someone passed by them, it was Nellie. “You two sound like an old married couple.” She teased, walking past them. Then she made eye contact with Sebastian. “But Gryffindor’s going to win, Sebastian. Just saying.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “I’m not listening.” He said. 

Matty shrugged her shoulders. “She’s right, you know.” She chuckled. 

The entire way back to Matty’s dorm, the two teased each other about the upcoming game. They still had a week till it actually happened, but that week was going to be filled with this constantly, that much was for sure. 

Aside from the teasing, Matty was glad they were able to have playful competition without taking things too seriously, it made everything more fun and more enjoyable when there were no feelings getting hurt. 

They walked back to Matty’s dorm and Sebastian said goodnight to her, followed by a quick but sweet goodnight kiss, then he left to go to his own dorm. Matty smiled as she watched him leave before entering the common room, ready for a good night's sleep. 

Chapter Text

The next day, Matty met Apollo up in the Astronomy tower and the Room of Requirement. He said he had discovered something over break that he wanted to talk with her about before school started. 

As they settled into the room, Apollo began to speak. “As I was reviewing those journal entries of Isidora’s that you gave me, I noticed something that I hadn’t really made the connection to before.” He began. 

“In the first journal entry, she talks about being at a camp—presumably one overrun by the black death, which we knew. But in the second one, she mentions something about how “It’s as if the magic itself wants me to heal.” You know what that means right?” 

“That she was studying something there?” Matty asked. She obviously knew the answer, but she wasn’t sure if it was time to tell Apollo about what Isidora was truly studying or not. 

“Yes. But not just anything there.” Apollo said. “That magic she’s referring to? It’s ancient magic. She was studying there to see what her magic could heal! The same magic we possess. I always had a hunch this could be possible—it’s why I was even so confident I could heal my mother in the first place, but do you realize how big this is? Knowing that we can actually do this?” 

Matty didn’t immediately respond, instead, she was trying to think of her next words very wisely. Would he be ready to hear the truth of what Isidora was doing? Would he have the right intentions after hearing it? 

Noticing her silence, Apollo’s facial expression changed. “Why are you not ecstatic over this?” He asked. “I was sure you would be—,” 

He paused and then sighed. “Unless you already knew this.” 

“I did,” Matty said with a reluctant sigh. If it were that obvious, perhaps it was time to tell him. “I just wasn’t sure how I was supposed to tell you—or when for that matter. But I feel you deserve to know as much as I can allow myself to tell you now.” 

Apollo sat back, his arms crossed. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t a bit hurt that Matty hadn’t told him about this earlier. He thought they had reached a point of mutual trust and understanding but apparently, he had been wrong. 

“Isidora’s travels were set on her determination to study and find out just what this ancient magic could truly do. To find out the extent to which it ran. All because she wanted to help her father.” Matty began. “Her brother had died at a young age and her father, pained by the death of his son, was never the same again. He never spoke until the day Isidora healed him several years later.” 

“Somehow, with this magic, she was able to extract the pain from her father, supposedly healing him from the pain ailing him. And she took it much farther than that.” 

Apollo’s face broke out into a smile, and he stood up from his chair excitedly. “Don’t you know what this means? Don’t you realize?” He asked, his mannerisms portraying his excitement. “If we learn how to do what she did—we can help so many people.” 

Matty didn’t want to ruin his hopes over this, but he needed to know the truth. “Wait, Apollo, there’s more you should know about.” She interjected quickly. “Taking away the pain also rendered the victim emotionless. Isidora never managed to figure out how to separate the emotion from the pain, so it just took it all.” 

“Well, what if we figure out how to separate it?” Apollo asked. He was set on this. “We can learn from Isidora’s mistakes.” 

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” Matty replied solemnly. “Isidora’s results already show how difficult it is to learn anyway. And learning how to separate the emotion from the pain? That sounds near impossible.” 

Although Matty had a valid point, Apollo was insistent on at least getting her to give him a chance. “There are different kinds of pain. Physical—emotional pain. But at the same time, we feel emotions outside of pain. There has to be a way to separate the two.” He insisted.  

“What can be given can be taken away; that’s what my mother always told me.” He continued. “She was referring to the magic we held, but what if the same thing can be applied to pain?” 

“What can be given can be taken away?”  Matty thought. And his mother was referring to the ancient magic? Was she somehow implying that magic could be taken away? 

Matty sighed. She wanted to give Apollo a chance at this, but she wasn’t sure if she should. “Listen, when I asked the Keepers this same question, they turned me away, telling me that it wasn’t a good idea.” She stated. “I will admit I was frustrated with their answer but—,” 

“When have the Keepers ever truly told you something that helped you?” Apollo asked. She had briefly explained to him who they were. But nothing positive ever came out of those conversations and Matty was beginning to realize all the Keepers wanted was to keep this magic a secret. “And you told me they haven’t even spoken to you in almost a year. And they seem highly suspicious.” 

“Aside from the Keepers—think of how dangerous this could be,” Matty said. But she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself that this wasn’t a good idea. 

“Think of all the good we could do. Think of how many people we could help with this! If we find out how to separate the emotion from the pain—just think of it.” He said. “Think of Sebastian’s sister—Anne. You want to find a cure for her, right? This could be the way you end her suffering! This could be your chance.” 

That comment made Matty go silent. Sebastian had told her something similar in the Undercroft after viewing Isidora’s pensive memory. That was when she asked the Keepers and they told her no—then she proceeded to get upset about it, showing that she really did want to cure Anne this way. 

And in a way, Apollo had a point. If they could figure out a way to separate the emotion from the pain that would allow the subject to not be rendered emotionless, this could be revolutionary. And it might just be the answer to ailing Anne’s pain. Which was one thing she truly wanted. 

She let out a sigh. “Fine, I will give this a chance.” She answered. “But if I feel it is going too far—it ends. And no more after that.” 

Apollo was going to take any chance he could get. “Thank you. Say the word and it all ends. I can promise you that much.” 

“How do we even start something like this?” Matty asked, not even knowing where to start. 

Apollo shrugged. “Where we always start. From the bottom and work our way up. We research what we have and then start looking for more. There has got to be at least one book in the library on this. Perhaps even in the Restricted Section.” 

Hearing Apollo suggest that they get books from Restricted Section was not one that Matty was expecting, especially since he was the Headboy, but she had snuck in there enough times by now that she didn’t mind getting in and out as she pleased. 

“Alright… Easier said than done.” She said, referring to his plan. “But hopefully we’ll find something.” 

Matty made a mental note to ask Sebastian if he had ever found a book that could possibly relate to any of this. After all, he practically knew the library top to bottom after reading almost every book to ever be placed on those shelves. 

The clock was ticking on, which meant classes were suddenly approaching. After a bit more of a discussion of their plans, they bid each other goodbye and left to class. 

*** 

“And that is why we never stick our hands around the mouths of the Chinese Chomping Cabbages.” Professor Garlick said, ending her long story about the many students she had had in the past who had unfortunately thought that sticking their hands around the Chinese Cabbage's mouths. “Safety is always a priority here in this class. And with that, class dismissed.” 

Students began to get up from their seats at their respective gardening tables and began to leave the Greenhouse. Matty walked alongside Sebastian, her school bag slung over her shoulder. 

“You were going to tell me something you discussed with Apollo this morning before classes started, what was it?” Sebastian asked her as they walked out of class. 

Earlier, Matty had said she wanted to speak with him about something that had happened that morning—her discussion with Apollo. But unfortunately, classes had cut their conversation before they could even really start it and so Matty told him she’d tell him after school was done. 

“Well, early this morning Apollo asked me to meet him in the Room of Requirement. When I came up there, he said that he had found the reason why Isidora had been studying at those camps that were infested with black death.” Matty said, keeping her voice down a bit. Thankfully there were enough students around talking so that she couldn’t really be heard by anyone but him. 

“He found out that Isidora had been studying there so that she could learn what her magic could heal… and then I explained to him what we had seen in that pensive—about how she took the pain away from her father.” 

Sebastian furrowed his brows and looked at her. “You told him?” He asked. “How did he react?” 

Matty sighed. “He didn’t react in a bad way necessarily just… very eager. He wants to study more of what she was doing, to try and find out how to separate the emotion from the pain so that we can succeed where Isidora failed.” 

“Didn’t the Keepers tell you not to do that?” Sebastian asked. 

All in all, he didn’t really trust the Keepers. But when Matty had told him she couldn’t heal Anne it was because she didn’t know how, and the Keepers wouldn’t teach her. Instead, they told her to refrain from it. 

“They did but they also haven’t come back to their portraits ever since I defeated Ranrok and closed the repository,” Matty said with a tone of annoyance. “When I need them the most—when Professor Fig is gone and the responsibility of keeping this repository safe—they’re just gone. I’m not sure how much I can trust them after that.” 

Sebastian put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, letting her know that he was there for her. “I know it’s tough but you’re also the most capable girl I know.” He said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “If there’s anyone who can do it, it's you.” 

Matty gave him a small smile. A big part of their relationship was being there for one another. “Thank you.” She said. “I told Apollo that I was open to at least trying but if it went too far, I’m ending our research. He agreed to it but needless to say, I’m still a bit nervous. I don’t want to end up like Isidora.” 

“I might be somewhat biased due to my own personal quarrels with Apollo to give you clear advice but it’s really up to you,” Sebastian said. “You’re smart enough to know when things go too far and definitely confident enough to handle situations when they stray off.” 

“I know but I just can’t help but be nervous,” Matty sighed. “What if I mess this up? I mean, I have no idea what I’m doing anyway.” 

“The best part about the “what ifs” is the fact that they are just that,” Sebastian said. “There’s no assurance that they are actually going to happen. And besides, you’ve gone this long without anything bad happening so who’s to say something bad is going to happen now?” 

Matty thought about what he was saying. It was January and so far, nothing bad had happened, it had been a normal school year so far. “I guess you’re right.” She said. “And you can trust that I’ll come to you whenever I need help, just like you told me.” 

“Atta girl,” Sebastian said, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Now, since school is over, I’ve been thinking you and I could head into Hogsmeade—,” 

Sebastian was cut off by a voice behind him. Said voice belonged to Imelda. “Don’t you even think about it, Sallow!” She said, marching up from behind him. “You know good and well we have Quidditch practice in ten minutes and I told everyone to be there on time. We can’t waste a single moment that we’re given.” 

Sebastian groaned. “C’mon Imelda, the team won’t falter by me missing one practice.” He protested.

“You had all the time in the world to spend with Matty over the break. You joined the team, and you have to be loyal to it.” Imelda said firmly, crossing her arms. “Now go get in your uniform and get out to the pitch. Our game with Gryffindor isn’t too far out.” 

Sebastian looked at Matty as if asking to vouch for him and get him out of class but she just shook her head. “You’re the one saying Slytherin is going to beat Gryffindor and practice is the only way that’s going to happen.” She said. “Also, I’m not trying to get on Imelda’s bad side.” 

Seeing that Matty wasn’t going to protest Sebastian going to practice, she cracked a grin. “Well, what are you waiting for?” She said, urging him to go get ready for practice. 

Sebastian sighed then reluctantly turned to leave and go back to his dorm to get ready for practice. Matty turned to face Imelda right after Sebastian was out of sight. “Imelda, I want my boyfriend back after practice.” She said.

“Will do,” Imelda replied, chuckling as she walked away, leaving Matty out in the hallway. 

“Gryffindor is still definitely going to win.” She said under her breath with a small chuckle. 

Chapter Text

Today was the day. Slytherin versus Gryffindor. The one Quidditch game out of the entire year that the entire school was looking forward to. The two biggest rivals in the school. This was the game that each team was practicing for basically the entire year.

Both Elliot and Imelda made sure that their teams were putting in as much effort as possible. There was absolutely no room for fooling around when it came to practicing for today.

"Are you sure you're ready for today?" Hope asked as she walked down the hallway with Matty. Of course, she'd be rooting for Gryffindor that day.

Matty nodded her head confidently. She was completely sure that Gryffindor had a chance at beating Slytherin and breaking their win streak against them. "Completely sure." She said. "A little nervous but I'm still sure of myself."

"As you should be," Hope said with a nod of her head. "You've totally got this. And I'll be in the crowd cheering you on like a madwoman. You deserve nothing less, of course."

Matty's face broke out into a smile. She slung her arm over Hope's shoulder as they walked. "What would I do without you?" She laughed heartily. "But honestly, what would I do without you? What's a girl without her best friend?"

"Absolutely nothing if I do say so myself," Hope answered. "Both of us? Nothing before we met each other that's for sure."

They both laughed and continued down the hallway. They were going to go to the boathouse, one of their regular hangout places before the game started, it had somewhat become a tradition to go down there before Matty's games.

A couple of students wished Matty good luck while passing by her in the hallway, others were already cheering her on and telling her that Gryffindor was definitely going to win. And today was going to be a good day if they did.

***

Students were loaded up into the Quidditch pitch towers, cheering long before the game even started. Both the pitch towers of Slytherin and Gryffindor were all a buzz, each house rooting strongly for their team to win.

Matty was all suited up and ready to go. But while the rest of her team was getting ready, she slipped away for a brief moment. She and Sebastian had agreed to meet each other right before the game started and wish each other good luck. Although they were opposing teams, they were still in a relationship together.

Sebastian was already there waiting to meet her. Matty would never tire of seeing him in his Quidditch uniform. "There you are," He said. "I was waiting for you. Imelda will skin me alive if I get up there a moment too late."

"Sorry, I had to find the time to slip away." Matty apologized, walking up to him.

"We'd better be quick," Sebastian said. He pulled her in for a quick but sweet kiss, then he cupped her cheek with his left hand. "Good luck out there."

She smiled, then that smile turned into a mischievous grin. "I'm sure you'll be the one that will need it." She stepped away giving him a wink before turning and going back to her pitch, leaving Sebastian shaking his head.

Matty raced back up to where the rest of the team was finishing getting ready. Leander, who was already suited up was standing there. "Where were you?"

"Grabbing my gloves. I forgot them down there." Matty said, holding up her gloves and using them as an excuse for where she was.

"Yeah right," Leander said, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry I won't tell Elliot."

Matty rolled her eyes in response. That little git knew where she was all along. She playfully smacked him with her gloves as she passed by him to the flying platform.

Elliot looked back at the rest of the team. "Take your positions, the game is about to start." He ordered. The team lined up and waited for Elliot to signal them out. Matty mounted her broom and gripped it tight, mentally psyching herself up for this game.

Elliot's hand went down and suddenly they took off into the field, flying towards the middle half of the field to wait till the game began. The Gryffindor pitch tower erupted in cheers as the team left their platform. The Slytherin pitch tower was erupting in cheers as well as they saw their team enter the field.

Madam Kogawa entered the field. First, she released the bludgers. Then, the snitch. Matty's eyes locked onto the snitch the moment it was released. She would rely on her hearing to know when the quaffle was released and she could move, refusing to take her eyes off of the small golden ball zipping around.

Then, the quaffle was released and the moment Matty heard the release, she was off. "The quaffle has been released—they're off!" Cressida announced. She had taken well to her role as the quidditch game announcer.

Matty immediately went after the snitch, not giving the Slytherin Seeker, whose name was Elise, a moment to get ahead of her. She was set on catching the snitch and winning this game alongside her team.

Brenda and Elliot chased down the ball, Leander not too far behind them. But the other three Slytherin chasers were also neck in neck with them. Garreth and Sebastian were already going back and forth with the bludgers before Nellie swooped in and smacked it away.

"Don't focus on them, focus on the snitch," Matty told herself.

Every day through practice, Elliot reminded her that when she was up there in the air, catching the snitch was what mattered. The rest of the team would take care of everything else and the only thing she needed to focus on was catching that snitch.

She zipped past the Hufflepuff pitch tower, and she could hear Hope screaming, cheering her on from down below, showing her unwavering support. A smile graced her face as she briefly looked down to see Hope jumping up and down cheering her on.

As she swerved around the pitch tower, she could see Elise out of the corner of her eye. Elise was the seventh-year Slytherin seeker and had much more experience than Matty on the field. Matty knew this and knew she had to put in her all if she wanted to even get a chance at winning this game.

Then suddenly, Elise zipped straight passed her. Matty wasn't expecting it, so she jerked her broom back so as to not crash into her. "Gotta be quicker than that!" Elise shouted as she zipped by.

Matty let out a scowl and straightened her broom out before chasing Elise down. Meanwhile, Elliot was carrying the quaffle to the hoops, hoping to make the first score of the game. With a split-second opening, he threw the quaffle as hard as he could, and it went straight through. The Gryffindor pitch tower erupted into screams.

"Gryffindor scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Cressida announced, putting Gryffindor's points up to ten.

Brenda and Leander high-fived him as they flew by and the Quaffle was now in the hands of Thomas, who was a chaser on the Slytherin team. He quickly raced the quaffle back to the other side of the field.

High up in the air, several feet from the quidditch pitch, Matty and Elise were racing for the snitch. Going back and forth between who was in front of whom but suddenly the snitch dropped, causing them both to lose sight of it.

"Ugh, bloody snitch!" Elise scowled, her head whipping around to try and find it.

Matty didn't know where the snitch was, but she just began to fly towards the direction it had dropped. She could feel the air rushing against her face as she dived down to find it. She was flying back to the level of the field. She could hear Cressida shout "Slytherin scores!" off in the distance.

The other Slytherin beater, Logan, saw her out of the corner of his eye and took the first chance he had to launch the bludger right her way. That was his role in the game, after all, and she just so happened to be the closest Gryffindor player.

Nellie's head snapped over when she saw Logan hit the bludger. Matty was unaware of the bludger that was zooming straight at her. Nellie was trying to get down as fast as she could, trying to alert Garreth just in case he could get there quicker.

But both of them were too far away. Sebastian, however, was closer to her than anyone else. The moment he saw the bludger going straight at Matty, he acted before he thought about it. Changing courses to fly straight at her. "What are you doing?" Imelda exclaimed, watching him completely change his path of flying.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Sebastian shouted back. He didn't care. He was not going to let that bludger hit Matty if he could help it.

Completely oblivious, Matty continued her search. It wasn't until she heard Nellie screech and see the bludger out of the corner of her eye did she react. "MATTY! WATCH OUT!" Nellie screamed, trying to get her attention.

"What's going on?" Ominis asked, feeling the tension in the air.

"The bludger is about to hit Matty!" Esme told him.

Bella was on the edge of her seat, holding her breath. If someone didn't intervene Matty was surely going to get hit and the consequences would not be pretty.

The bludger was just feet away from her when she tried to jerk back but she knew it wasn't going to be enough. The bludger was going to hit her.

But then... it didn't. She opened her eyes to see Sebastian a few feet away from her. He had swooped in at the last moment to hit the bludger away. She looked at him in shock. She hadn't even noticed him. She could hear the cheers from others as he had saved her at the last moment possible.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly. He didn't have much time to spare.

Matty blinked, still not registering what had happened. "I—yes but—,"

"Be more aware next time, please." He begged her before zooming off again. He wanted to get angry at the fact that she had almost got hurt but he had to remember this was just a game and that she was perfectly fine. His team was still counting on him.

Matty was idle for a moment before snapping herself out of it. She couldn't believe he had just done that, but she was extremely grateful that he had. Otherwise, she'd be plummeting to the grassy field below.

She returned to her course to find the snitch. She could hear the snitch zip right past her and immediately she locked onto it. Elise was nowhere in sight. Maybe this was her chance!

The score was fifty to fifty, the teams tied and going at it neck to neck. "We can't keep letting them score, get your heads on straight!" Elliot reminded Brenda and Leander as he passed by, chasing after Thomas who had the quaffle.

"In other words, he just gave us permission to play dirty," Brenda smirked at Leander before zooming ahead.

"Don't get penalized!" Leander shouted after her.

Brenda zoomed up to Thomas before ripping the quaffle out of his hands, trying to turn quickly and fly the quaffle back to score. Instead, she slammed straight into Imelda, almost knocking the both of them off their brooms.

Elliot recovered the quaffle just to have it grabbed out of his hands by the other Slytherin chaser. Garreth smacked the bludger straight past the Slytherin chaser's head, catching him off guard which gave Leander the perfect opportunity to slip the quaffle out of his grip and into his own and fly it back to the hoops, scoring for his team.

"Leander scores! Gryffindor is up by ten points!" Cressida announced.

"Good job, Lee! Keep it up!" Elliot encouraged him.

The back-and-forth scoring went on for quite a while. Matty could feel the pressure of needing to catch the snitch now more than ever. She was trying her best to track the snitch and stay on it, while also trying to avoid Elise.

"You've got this. You've got this." She reminded herself. This was just like any other game, right? Just stay focused.

The snitch was in her sights, and she rushed to follow it. It stayed around the field and Matty could feel the eyes on her. At some point, Elise had ended up on the opposite side, which meant they were both flying at each other towards the snitch.

The wind was beating against Matty's face, but she kept straight on, trying to drown out the sound around her. The snitch was almost at arm's length for both of them!

They both reached out for the snitch, Elise's fingers grazed it, but Matty was quicker, smacking the snitch away instead of grabbing it with that hand, and grabbing it with her other hand as fast as she could. She almost lost her balance, but she had caught the snitch!

"Gryffindor has caught the snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Cressida announced.

The Gryffindor pitch tower erupted into screams and cheers. Gryffindor had won! They had actually beat Slytherin! They had just broken the several-year streak Slytherin had of beating them every year!

Matty landed on the field and braced herself as the rest of her team landed and rushed up to her, crushing her in a big group hug. "That was amazing!" Elliot said. "Quick thinking and absolutely brilliant reflexes might I add."

"We did it, we actually did it," Leander said in disbelief. A part of him wasn't actually expecting to win since after all since joining the team they had only beat Slytherin once.

Gryffindor students came flooding into the field to congratulate the team on their win. After it had died down a little, Elliot went up to Imelda to congratulate her on a good game. Slytherin had played well and gave them a run for their money in the first half.

"You did good," He said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

Imelda looked at him for a moment before reluctantly taking his hand to shake it in good sportsmanship. "You did good too, really good apparently." She said, referring to the fact that Gryffindor had won. "But we'll be back next year, better and stronger."

"There's no doubt in my mind about it," Elliot said.

Matty went to go find Elise—she had been really impressed by her playing and wanted to let her know. There was no room on the Gryffindor team for people who didn't care for being a good sport. "Hey, that was really good flying out there," Matty said to her, catching her attention. "And I mean really good flying. When you flew past me? I can't even be mad, that was awesome."

Elise, who had seemed pretty upset about losing the game moments prior, had a small smile on her face. "Thanks... You were pretty good too." She said with a curt nod before walking off with a few of her teammates.

As the field began to clear, Matty slipped away to get under the pitch. She had a feeling a certain someone would be wanting to see her.

And she was right, moments later, Sebastian walked in under the pitch, having seen her leave. He was still sweaty from the game—his hair was a bit of a mess but it looked attractive in a way. "Well, I guess you were right." He said, walking up to her.

"I'm always right," Matty laughed, pulling him in by his uniform to give him a kiss, which he greatly accepted. "Well, most of the time anyway."

Sebastian chuckled. "I'd say fifty-fifty is more like it." He corrected. "But you did do a really good job out there. But next time, try not to get hit by a bludger, will you? You almost gave me a heart attack. I thought you were going to end up in the hospital wing."

"It's a good thing I have an awesome boyfriend who cares enough about me to beat for the opposing side just long enough to save me," Matty said jokingly. "But in all honesty, I promise to be more careful next time."

"Good," Sebastian said with a nod. "I should go get cleaned up. I feel like a sweaty mess."

Matty nodded her head. "Oh, Sebastian, one more thing before you go." She said, stopping him. Sebastian turned around and raised his eyebrow. "Yes, love?"

"About those bragging rights we were talking about—,"

The rest of the weekend was going to be so much fun. 

Chapter Text

After searching the library for a couple of days and not having much luck finding anything he wanted, Apollo decided that the only way he was going to find information about what he wanted was if he went into the Restricted Section.

Of course, as the Head boy it was extremely unusual for him to break the rules, but he was beginning to pass the point where he cared about the consequences of some of his actions. Some detention wouldn’t hurt him.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Matty asked him.

Apollo had somehow managed to convince Matty to come along. After all, she had snuck into the Restricted Section before, and he hadn’t. She knew it better than he did. Not to mention Matty wanted to make sure he didn’t find the door that led her to where she found the book leading to the Map Chamber.

“Not really but I mean, anything to help us find out what we need, right?” Apollo said with a shallow breath.

“If I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever hear those words leave your mouth,” Matty stated, giving him a small look of disbelief.

Apollo just shrugged his shoulders. Normally he wouldn’t comprehend himself doing this but, in this moment, he sort of just—didn’t care? He didn’t know why. Was it desperation? He didn’t know why. “Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.”

He turned to look at her. “Your first time sneaking into the Restricted Section was with Sebastian and for the same reason—desperation to find something.” He said.

Matty’s brows furrowed. “How did you know about that?”

“I heard about it from just about any ghost or portrait around. You’d be surprised about how many people talked about the two of you.” Apollo answered.

His tone about the situation didn’t seem very positive and she guessed it was likely because Sebastian was involved.

She obviously knew the two didn’t get along very well, but she had never asked why. “Why do you not like each other?” She asked. “You and Sebastian. I’ve known the distaste for one another, but I’ve never asked why.”

“Usually, it was a matter of differing opinions,” Apollo answered. “He’s a troublemaker and I’m—well, me. Which is a bit ironic to say as I’m sneaking into the Restricted Section. But it’s that among other things.”

The “among other things” confused Matty but she just pushed it off for now. She’d get in, help him find whatever book he needed, and leave. She was becoming more and more unsure about all of this, but she also wasn’t sure how to express her feelings and thoughts about it.

They successfully snuck into the Restricted Section, getting past some ghosts, and thankfully Madam Scribner had left the library, so they didn’t have to worry about getting caught by her.

When inside the Restricted Section, Matty led Apollo over to the section mostly pertaining to old magic. She never understood why this stuff was locked up in the Restricted Section—it was valuable knowledge she believed everyone should have.

They began to skim through the books one by one, taking a little extra time on the passages that seemed somewhat promising but so far, they weren’t having much luck.

“This is beginning to feel pointless,” Apollo huffed, slamming another book shut.

“We still have another section to look through. There might be something there.” Matty said with a shrug. “And odds are, if there’s nothing here about it, we’ll probably never find anything about it in the school. The Keepers were good at hiding things.”

Apollo scoffed. “These Keepers. I bet they call themselves that because all they are good for is keeping secrets that could actually be beneficial to the wizarding world.” He scoffed. He refused to take the Keeper's side on anything. He didn’t know much about them, but he knew enough to have an extreme distaste for them.

Matty couldn’t necessarily disagree but at the same time, keeping the repository a secret was a good thing. It wouldn’t be beneficial to the wizarding world if that power fell into the wrong hands of some lunatic.

“Let’s just keep looking.” She said, opening another book to skim through it.

They were down there looking through books for almost an hour. Time ticked by as they were focused on finding something—anything that could help them. But alas they didn’t find much.

“We’ll have to look elsewhere, I suppose.” Apollo sighed, shaking his head. “We should get out of here before more ghosts come down and get us into trouble.”

Matty nodded and they began to walk out towards the entrance. But suddenly without a moment’s warning, Apollo clamped his hand around her mouth and practically tackled her to the floor, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Her first instinct was to fight back—what was he doing?!

“Shh, don’t make a sound. There’s a ghost right over there.” He whispered. 

Matty’s eyes turned from his face that was inches above her to the corner of the room where indeed there was a ghost floating by. She hadn’t even noticed it and had no idea how he had. When the ghost passed, he looked down at her. 

“Sorry, that was a close one.” He said. 

Matty scooted back a bit, not wanting to be in such a close capacity with him before finding some room to stand up and dusting herself off. That fall didn’t exactly feel good and now her back was throbbing. “Yeah. Thanks, I guess,” She said. “A little warning next time might be better than tackling me to the ground.” 

“Sorry. That was a bit intense of me to do, wasn’t it?” Apollo chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But let’s get going before that happens again.” 

They got out of the Restricted Section without another problem, but Matty walked out of there much further from Apollo than she had coming in. She knew he was just trying to save them both from getting detention but being so close to him in that moment didn’t make her feel good at all. It left a gross feeling in her stomach she was trying to shake. Almost as if she had done something wrong. 

After that, she quickly told him that she was going to go to bed. He offered to walk her back to the Gryffindor Common room since after all they were both heading over there but she politely declined and said she was going to make some stops on the way there. 

Relieved that he seemingly believed her and left her presence, Matty made her way to the Undercroft. There was no way she could sleep after what happened.  

“It wasn’t really that big of a deal.” She told herself as she paced the stone floor of the Undercroft. “Had it been anyone else you wouldn’t have cared. Why does it matter so much that it’s him?” 

It occurred to her that maybe she just didn’t trust him nearly as much as she thought. Was her conscious trying to tell her that this wasn’t a path she needed to continue down on when it came to working with him? 

He had changed somewhat since she first met him. He was more okay with breaking the rules now—which Matty was no stranger to breaking rules that didn’t harm anyone, such as sneaking into the Restricted Section or sneaking out at night past curfew, but Apollo had never seemed okay with any of this until recently. Was Matty being the influence?

“This is so confusing,”  She sighed, slumping against the wall. 

Something was trying to tell her this wasn’t a good idea, and she didn’t know if she needed to listen to it or not. Was she just anxious that this would all go wrong? Surely Apollo had good intentions with trying to continue Isidora’s legacy, right? 

Matty didn’t know how long she had been down there thinking about all of this before she fell asleep propped up against the cold wall of the Undercroft. She’d save the rest of her thoughts for the later morning. 

Chapter Text

The next day rolled around and while the other students were getting ready for their day, Matty was still passed out in the Undercroft. Time started to tick by, and classes began to start. 

Sebastian thought it was odd when Matty didn’t show up to Charms class. Was she sick? No, he’d know if she was. He would’ve heard about it by now. She hated missing class, so where was she? Had she simply slept in? 

But when he asked Natty and Nellie if she had, they told him she wasn’t even there in bed when either of them had woken up. This was when Sebastian began to worry about Matty. 

Natty later told him that Matty hadn’t shown up to Divination class either and when Sebastian attended Defense Against the Dark Arts, she wasn’t there either. 

Anxiety began to pool in the bottom of his stomach. A part of him was calm, assuring himself that Matty was okay, but the other part was screaming at him to go find her. So, immediately after that, he went to get Esme and Ominis and tell them what was going on. 

“What do you mean you don’t know where she is?” Esme asked after he had given a brief explanation. 

“She wasn’t in Charms. She wasn’t in Divination. She didn’t show up to Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Sebastian explained in a bit of a rushed tone. “And according to Natty, she wasn’t even in bed when they woke up.” 

A little panic went through the two of them. Matty had a record of sneaking out at night and not coming back until the morning but never this late. It was enough to start to worry all of them. 

Silently, they hoped that she was safe and didn’t get into any trouble. 

“We’ll check around the castle, just in case,” Ominis said. 

With a simultaneous nod, they all broke apart and went on their own ways to search for Matty. Sebastian searched everywhere he could think of until he finally found himself walking into the Undercroft. If she wasn’t here, that was when he was really going to start panicking. 

But as he entered, he saw Matty slumped up against the wall, unconscious. “Matty,” He whispered under his breath before rushing forward to her side, anxiety rushing through him. 

She didn’t have any visible physical injuries, which was a relief. “Matty,” He repeated, trying to shake her awake. “Matty wake up.” 

Hearing his voice through her deep sleep, Matty awoke. With a sharp breath, her eyes snapped open to see Sebastian hovering over her with a concerned expression on her face. Her mind felt fuzzy, and it took her a second to realize where she was. 

“Oh, thank Merlin,” Sebastian said with a breath of relief, pulling Matty into his arms. 

Matty sat there, confused. Why did he seem so concerned? Had something gone wrong? 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, her voice scratchy since she had just woken up. She swallowed to try and get rid of the uncomfortable dryness in her throat. 

“It’s eleven am, you’ve missed three classes,” Sebastian answered. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” A sense of relief came over him knowing that Matty was okay. It had worried him terribly, not knowing where she had been. 

At the revelation of how late it was and how many classes she had missed, Matty was suddenly wide awake. “What?” She exclaimed, trying to get up.

“Woah, woah, calm down,” Sebastian said, gently pulling her back down. He knew she was anxious about missing so many classes but what was done was done and he wanted an explanation. “First, tell me what happened. I was worried sick.” 

Matty sighed. “Well, last night I went into the Restricted Section with Apollo to try and find something for the research he was doing—or at least we tried to. We didn’t find anything, but we were down there for ages with no luck.” Her tone showed annoyance at those last couple of words. Clearly, she wasn’t happy with having no luck. 

She rubbed the side of her head, feeling groggy and disoriented. “I was so exhausted I barely even remember coming in here.” 

“You could’ve brought me along. I would’ve walked you back to your dorm.” Sebastian said. He knew the feeling of spending hours searching but never finding anything all too well, so he understood her frustration. 

“I didn’t want to be a bother,” Matty answered. “I was out pretty late.” 

Sebastian chuckled, lifting her chin with his finger. “You are never a bother to me.” He said with a firm but kind tone. “I just want to make sure you are okay, alright?” 

Matty nodded her head. She was still trying to get used to the fact that there was someone else besides her parents who would quite literally do anything for her. It felt amazing to be loved by this, but she just wasn’t used to it. 

“You go up to your dorm and get some rest, I’ll talk to Professor Weasley about getting some make-up work for today.” He said, helping her stand up. 

“I can make it to classes. I don’t want to miss any more than I already have.” Matty insisted. 

Sebastian shook his head. “You look and sound exhausted. Professor Weasley will understand. Not to mention how will you be able to learn anything in class when you’re practically half asleep.” He said, grabbing her hand. “Now, off to bed with you.” 

“Fine, if you insist.” Matty sighed. 

Sebastian walked Matty back to the Gryffindor Common room where she went straight back to bed to get some more rest. Sebastian was glad to see that she had listened to him and then he left to go to his next class. 

After his classes were finished, he went to Professor Weasley to explain that Matty would need some make-up work for that day, coming up with a story that she wasn’t feeling too well and couldn’t show up to classes that morning. 

Professor Weasley being the gracious and wonderful woman she was, agreed almost immediately to put something in place for Matty so that she could make up for the time lost. Sebastian thanked her graciously and patiently waited until Professor Weasley had put something together so that he could give the message to Matty himself. 

*** 

The next morning, Matty woke up feeling much more refreshed. The exhaustion had passed, and she had a lot more mental clarity much to her relief. She woke up fairly early due to how much she had slept the prior day, so she had some time to spruce herself up and make sure she was feeling good for the rest of the day. 

Sebastian had asked Nellie to put the instructions for Matty’s make-up work on her desk so she could see it in the morning. She tucked it away in her school bag and got dressed in her uniform, heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. 

When she entered the Great Hall, walking towards the Gryffindor table, Elliot was already seated there. He was a morning person through and through, always starting his day early. “Matty! It’s good to see you. Didn’t see you at all yesterday.” 

Matty sat directly across from him. “Yeah, yesterday was rough.” She said with a dry, sarcastic chuckle. “I was exhausted.” 

“Apollo turned up late to the dorm room the other night, does that have anything to do with it?” Elliot asked with a brow raised. “I don’t mean to pry but my curiosity has been piqued. I know you two have been helping each other with something. What was it—family related?” 

“Something like that,” Matty mumbled under her breath. “But no, me being out late had nothing to do with Apollo. It was uh—personal matters.” She lied. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Apollo just yet. Her attitude about him was slowly changing more and more and she knew she couldn’t avoid it but would rather not talk about it to his best friend. 

Noticing her change in attitude, Elliot changed the subject. But little did Matty know, Elliot had begun to feel the same exact way about Apollo—but in his own way. Because of the same attitude change that made Matty begin to question her friendship with Apollo, Elliot was doing the same. 

Apollo had begun to ignore him, always focusing his time on something else (which Elliot didn’t know but it was about Apollo’s research) or sometimes even snapping at Elliot for no reason, as if he was paranoid. This complete attitude change was beginning to concern Elliot and question his several-year friendship with Apollo. 

“So, how are those bragging rights going with Sebastian?” Elliot asked, changing the subject. 

A small grin appeared on Matty’s face. “Yeah,” She chuckled. Ever since Gryffindor had won the gain against Slytherin, she had been bragging about it—as they had agreed. Of course, she had never said anything she knew would hurt his feelings. She wasn’t that kind of person. Usually just a quick poke at him here or there. 

“How are things going with Bella?” Matty asked, the grin still tugging at the corner of her lips. 

Elliot was caught off guard by her question, his cheeks turning a bit pink. “Oh, uh, we’re doing okay I guess.” He stammered. Elliot and Bella had gotten extremely close ever since she had shown up to school. And it had basically happened out of nowhere. 

In ways, they were polar opposites so nobody could see them becoming best friends like they were today but at the same time, the dynamic made their friendship interesting. 

“You know, good friends. I really admire her.” Elliot said, composing himself a bit. 

Almost as if this had been planned, Elliot looked over to see Bella by the door of the Great Hall, waving him over. Elliot glanced back to Matty, who was two seconds away from laughing her head off. “Go ahead,” She laughed lightly. 

“See you later,” Elliot said, getting up and walking over to Bella, and then the two left the Great Hall together. 

Time had passed since Matty had first come into the Great Hall and students were beginning to come in for breakfast to start their day off. Matty got asked a lot of questions about where she was but she just used the same excuse that she had been out late accidentally and didn’t feel well the next day and seemingly it was pretty believable. 

Meanwhile, Bella and Elliot were striking up a conversation while walking away from the Great Hall. “It’s good to see Matty again,” Bella commented as they were walking together. 

“Yeah, I was kinda worried the other day when I didn’t see her,” Elliot replied. “She said she was out late that night and didn’t wake up feeling good. Apollo turned up late the same night and I can’t help but feel that had something to do with it, but she said they were completely unrelated.” 

“It was definitely related,” Bella said. “She probably just didn’t want to say anything because she doesn’t know you and Apollo aren’t really close anymore.” 

Elliot was surprised at how quickly Bella was picking up on things. She observed everything closely, which made a lot of sense, but it was almost scary sometimes. “I have a feeling that their friendship is also changing with the way he’s been acting.” 

Elliot sighed. “Yeah. What’s up with that anyway? He’s been acting so oddly. Snapping at me, or downright avoiding me as if we haven’t been best friends for years. He always seems to be somewhere else. Barely anyone sees him around anymore. It’s like he’s a completely different person.” 

Bella had her suspicions but because she didn’t know completely why Apollo and Matty were even around each other, she couldn’t be sure. All she knew was that she was worried for Matty and what she might be getting into. Or at least recently with this change in his behavior. 

Esme had been walking near them and had overheard all of this. She knew she had been meaning to talk to Matty about this for a long time since she had her own concerns. What started out as Matty just helping Apollo find out more about Isidora had turned into him trying to start what she finished, and it was concerning. 

If they weren’t careful, they were going to end up with another Isidora on their hands and well, they all knew that wouldn’t end well. 

Chapter Text

Throughout the week, Matty tried her best to keep up with the work and what was expected of her. She didn’t know why she felt so drained that week. Maybe she was just anxious—there was an annoying feeling of anxiety in the pit of her stomach basically the entire week. 

It felt like something bad was going to happen and her mind kept going to Apollo. She was sure it wasn’t superstition and suddenly she was regretting allowing him to continue the research of Isidora. Something about his obsession with making this work had completely changed him. 

He would press for answers that Matty couldn’t tell him since it would give too much information about the Repository—which she was never planning on ever telling him anything about. Although he had pressed information about what the Keepers were even supposed to be hiding, she kept her lips sealed about it. 

But that wasn’t just it. Whenever they’d sit together, he’d sit so close so casually it felt suffocating to Matty. 

She wanted to handle this in a mature way but something about his absolute disrespect to her boundaries both physically and about the research that she had stated before they started made her want to shout at him. And she felt sure she wasn’t the only one who felt this way. 

Elliot had almost completely stopped being around him. Apollo’s change in attitude had become unsufferable to him and he couldn’t stand it. The professors began to murmur about the Head boy and his sudden change. It had all happened so quickly it was almost unbelievable. 

Nearing the end of the week, Matty was up in the Room of Requirement, working on some homework Professor Shah had assigned. She enjoyed the bright and warm lights of the Room, unlike the dimly lit undercroft. Although she loved it there, it made studying harder. And here she could be alone—or so she thought. 

The door opened and for a moment, she was hoping it was just Poppy coming in to check on the animals in the vivariums but unfortunately, she heard Apollo’s voice and let out a sigh. She really did not want to talk to him right now. 

“I think I’ve made a breakthrough in our research,” Apollo said, barging in as if it were nothing. 

Matty didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking up at him and giving him her attention. Instead, she focused her eyes on the paper below her, hoping he’d take the hint that she was busy and leave her alone. 

But nevertheless, he didn’t. “I was just sitting around—wasting time really—but then it came to me: What if there’s some sort of bridge in between the pain and emotion we can somehow pinpoint?” He asked but in more of a statement form. 

Matty sighed, shaking her head. “Apollo, I’m sort of busy right now. If we could just—,” 

“It’ll only take me a moment to explain and besides this is important,” Apollo said, completely cutting her off. 

It was at that moment that Matty began to lose her patience. If she was to be completely honest, she didn’t think there was going to be any way to make this happen. Or at least not in the way Apollo wanted it to happen. And besides, he was getting so obsessed with this that even if there was a way, she wouldn’t want him to continue. It was becoming insufferable. 

She slammed her quill down on the table, crossing her arms. “Fine, tell me—what is this breakthrough in your research is.” She said in an unamused tone. She had no idea how he wasn’t taking the hint already. She had already said she was busy. 

“Okay, imagine we find this bridge—the bridge between where pain and emotion meet. Think of how if we found that how much easier this would be! How quickly this could move on!” Apollo said in complete disregard for Matty’s time. 

Matty sighed, rolling her eyes. “Okay so about this imaginary bridge you're speaking of—how do we even find that?” She asked, quickly losing her patience. “The thing is Apollo, none of this makes sense. In theory, it sounds possible, but it just can’t be done—not right now anyway. This would take years. Isidora didn’t just learn it overnight, you know. And even then, she failed in a way.” 

She grabbed her books and quill, getting ready to leave. She needed to find a quieter place to study away from him and all this craziness he brought along with him. 

“Hey, don’t just leave like that. I have more to say.” Apollo said, grabbing her arm without even so much as a second thought.

Matty hadn’t expected him to grab her so she kept walking forward. When he grabbed her arm, her books fell out and onto the floor. Matty just stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. “Well, have you maybe ever thought for a moment that I just didn’t want to hear about it? That maybe I’d rather be finishing an assignment than listening to your endless blabbering on and on about something that isn’t even going to work?!” She had lost all her patience with him at this moment. 

As she knelt down to pick up her books that Apollo didn’t even lend a hand to do—he began to try and defend himself. “This is important! Why are you being so weird as of late?” 

“I’m being weird?” Matty asked, looking up at him. “Maybe because you’ve been insufferable to be around! I can barely stand five minutes with you anymore!” 

“This is going to work, Matty, I swear it,” Apollo said, completely ignoring any comments that had been thrown his way. “As my mother said—what can be given can be taken away. This has to work! It can work and we can figure it out. Think of how much good it can do.” 

“If what your mother said applied to everything, why hasn’t some lunatic come through and stolen everybody’s magic?” Matty exclaimed. “The point is that this is well—pointless! Or right now at least it is. We’re not getting anywhere, we don’t even know where Isidora started and quite frankly, I’m not sure you having this ability is even a good idea anymore. Merlin knows what you’ll do with it.” 

Apollo furrowed his brows. “Are you insulting me?” He asked, his tone unamused. 

“I’m calling you immature!” Matty answered. “Take that as an insult if you’d like but I don’t think you should have this. As far as I’m concerned this was never a good idea in the first place and I’m tired of having to act like it is. I regret ever even enabling you to do this! Maybe at one point I really wanted it, to help Anne but as far as I’m concerned this isn’t a good idea.” 

She picked up her last book and began to head towards the door. She was done with this conversation and made her stance about this whole messy situation clear. She regretted allowing him to do this. “Maybe I should’ve listened to Sebastian ages ago.” Was the thought running through her mind constantly as of late. 

“Why are you giving up so easily?” Apollo asked. But in his mind, this wasn’t more of a question, more of as if he wanted to taunt her because he was upset. He wasn’t thinking straight—or about how his words may affect her. 

“I’m not giving up, I’m trying to put an end to something that should’ve never happened in the first place!” Matty exclaimed, looking back at him. “I should’ve never let you do any of this. I should’ve told you no and to forget about it. But you’re absurd dreams are NOT my fault!” 

“Absurd dreams?” Apollo asked. “What do you mean by that?” 

Matty rolled her eyes. “All you ever talk about is how badly you want this, but I don’t think you’re intentions are what you say they are.” She said. “You’re using a past experience to pass off everything! I get it, I made a mistake letting you do this but just please, know when to cut it out!” 

“Wanting to have the chance of healing others because I couldn’t heal my mother is somehow absurd? How can you even say that?” Apollo exclaimed in an offended manner. 

“It’s not just that!” Matty shot back, not realizing that he was just trying to get a rise out of her for the sake of it. “You always talk about this “new age” of ancient magic—as if that’s ever going to happen. You talk about it as if you’re going to be all high and mighty instead of a humble healer as we had promised! This is getting out of hand.” 

Apollo couldn’t deny that part but he for sure wasn’t going to admit it. His mind felt a blur and the only true emotion he felt like he could connect with right now was anger. He was angry at her for being right. 

But before he could respond, she left, slamming the door behind her. She wasn’t going to give him another second of her time. This was a bad idea, and she knew it now. “Some keeper I am.” She sighed internally to herself. 

She thought she could do things right without Professor Fig being here, but she felt as if she had royally screwed things up. 

She rushed up to her dorm, dumping her books at the side of her bed before throwing herself atop the mattress. She stared up at the bed’s canopy and let out a big sigh. “I have really got to do something about this.” She sighed out loud. 

She heard the door creak open and sat up straight immediately and much to her surprise, she saw Poppy standing there in the doorway, looking concerned. “Sorry if I’m interrupting but can I come in?” She asked. 

If she were to be honest, Matty didn’t want to be around anyone right now but reluctantly, she nodded her head. “Yeah, of course. Come in.” She said, scooting over to make room for Poppy on the bed. 

Quietly, Poppy shut the door and sat on the bed beside Matty. “What’s wrong?” Matty asked her, wondering why she had come to her dorm. 

“Well, I saw you were upset and followed you up here and—,” Poppy started but then she sighed, stopping herself mid-sentence. “I was in the Room of Requirement during your argument with Apollo. I had come in there earlier before you began to study and just stayed in the vivariums, not wanting to bother you. But I overheard the entire thing.” 

Matty paled and Poppy noticed this. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret, but I do want to say I’m quite surprised.” She said. “Not with you—I’ve known you can hold your own, but I’m surprised with the way Apollo treated you... It was quite rude and careless.” 

Matty sighed, her head falling into her hands that were propped up on her knees. “Tell me about it,” She groaned. “He’s completely changed from when I first met him. I thought I was sure about him but now I’m not. The only thing I’m sure of is how badly this is going.” 

Poppy looked at Matty, concern in her eyes and on her face. “You really need to do something about this. I mean—the way he cut you off and grabbed you for Merlin’s sake. No one in their right mind would do that.” She said, having seen everything play out. She had peaked out of the vivarium to see what was going on when she heard Matty slam her quill down on the table. 

“I know you’re not happy about it—about any of this—and quite frankly from what I’ve witnessed, I’m not happy about it either.” She continued. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I hope I’m not prying.” 

Matty shook her head. “No, no, you aren’t,” She assured her. “This really is a problem and I need to get on with ending it. I’m just not sure.” 

Poppy reached over and placed her hand atop of Matty’s, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be okay. Just do what you think is best.” 

“Thank you, Poppy.” 

*** 

Just about an hour later, Matty found herself walking around outside to find Sebastian. She wanted to talk to him about something. Not necessarily the whole mess with Apollo—she wanted to handle that first and Sebastian already knew to an extent how messy things were going—but it did have something to do with the argument she had earlier. 

She found him off somewhere outside, guessing he was out there because the weather was much nicer than it had been in a while. 

She walked up behind him and sat beside him. Having heard her footsteps, Sebastian didn’t look over to see who it was, but he did look over to give her a kiss on the forehead before looking down at his book. “I wasn’t expecting to see you out here. It’s chilly out.” 

“I know,” Matty said, laying her head on his shoulder. “But I wanted to talk to you about something.” 

After she said that, Sebastian closed his book and looked over at her, giving her his full attention. It always made her feel better when she realized just how much Sebastian cared and wanted to make her feel heard. 

“What is it?” He asked, looking over at her. 

Matty bit the inside of her mouth for a moment, trying to see how to word this. When she had argued with Apollo, she said this plan was never going to work—and she meant that in a way. He was trying to rush this while Isidora had years to do so but at the same time, deep down Matty wished there was a way she could find out how to do this to heal Anne, but she also realized when things needed to stop, even if it was difficult. 

“How badly—How badly do you want Anne cured?” She asked, looking at him with a serious expression. Deep down she already knew the answer. 

Sebastian, a little taken aback by the question simply because didn’t expect it, took a moment before answering. “Well, to be honest, I want her healed more than anything else in the world. It would be wonderful.” He said but then he saw her expression and added on to what he had said. “But that doesn’t mean you have to worry about or pressure yourself into finding a cure for her.” He said, practically reading her mind. 

“I know you, Matty.” He continued. “I know you’re selfless and want to help others, but you already put in the work to help me find a cure for Anne. I was the one that messed that up and some things have to be put on pause but that’s not your fault.” 

“But I promised—,” 

“I know you promised to help, and you did,” Sebastian said, giving her a sympathetic look. “And I will never forget how kind you were to me regardless of how much of a jerk or a stupid boy I was. You did your part, no need to keep stressing yourself out over it.” 

Matty looked down at her feet. Everything Sebastian was saying was right. Although it made her feel a bit better about shutting the research with Apollo down, it still pained her that she couldn’t find a way to help Anne. 

“I just wish things were easier.” She sighed. “Knowing Anne is out there, alone and in pain hurts me enough. I can’t imagine how it affects you and I just want to help.”

Sebastian nodded his head. “It feels terrible, if I’m going to be honest but everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.” He reassured her. But in a way, he was also reassuring himself that Anne would be okay. He hoped she was. 

They talked outside for a little while longer. Matty felt sure that she needed to make things clear with Apollo that this wouldn’t be moving forward. It was dangerous and getting to his head—he was beginning to act almost identical to Isidora and it worried Matty. 

This wasn’t just him finding out how to help and heal others—this was about him finding out that he had that power and finding out what else he could do. And although he was able to hide his true intentions for quite some time after figuring out that Isidora could do this, Matty could see straight through him now. 

Another reason why she was nervous beyond all belief was that Apollo had asked oddly specific questions that had some relation to the repository. One of his questions was “If Isidora did this, she’d have to store all that magic away somewhere. So, where is it?” To which Matty just said she had no idea, but she felt as if he was catching on. After all, she never expected him to even think about that. 

But the last thing she needed right now was somebody discovering the repository—especially Apollo. 

Chapter Text

“I came as soon as I got your owl,” Esme said, walking into the undercroft. Matty had sent Eden out to give an owl to Esme, asking her to meet her to speak about something important. 

Matty smiled. “Thank you for coming so soon.” She said with gratitude in her tone. Her friends had been so supportive and caring, it helped a lot. She had already discussed this with Hope and got her opinions on it. So, Esme was the next person Matty wanted to discuss this with.

“Start from the beginning, I want to hear everything to make a clear picture in my mind about all of this.” Esme requested. 

Matty nodded her head, trying to think of where to start. “Well, meeting him started after the first quidditch game against Ravenclaw, at the afterparty—when he asked me to meet him after that week alone.” 

Recounting that experience alone made Matty wish she had listened to Sebastian when he told her this wasn’t a good idea. Esme was also beginning to regret telling Matty to meet Apollo. Although nothing bad had happened then, had she known it would come to this, she would’ve advised Matty against it. 

“From then on, it seemed pretty casual. He was normal around me—I guess you could even say we were friends.” Matty continued. It was true that Matty once considered Apollo her friend. She had no reason not to until now. But the mere thought that Apollo may see her as much more than just a friend (as one-sided as that would be) made her stomach turn. 

Esme thought for a moment. “When exactly did you start to notice a change?” She asked. 

“Hmm… Late November, I think.” Matty answered, trying her best to recall everything. “That was when I began to notice slight changes. They always came about whenever Apollo would learn more about Isidora—more specifically what the ancient magic could do.” 

That statement made it pretty apparent what was going on. Apollo seemed to have good and innocent intentions at the beginning—simply wanting to learn more about his family—but as that had happened and he learned more, his motives had changed. Just like Isidora, his good intentions were slipping away. 

“And after Sebastian and I got back from London, that was when I began to see all the major changes,” Matty explained. Everything about Apollo had just gone downhill from there. “He became obsessed with learning more about the ancient magic and its abilities, but it wasn’t a healthy obsession at all.” 

“He became short-tempered, refused to listen to reason, and quite aggressive.” She said with a sigh, wondering why she didn’t raise these red flags to get her own attention earlier.  

His attitude from the beginning to now was drastic. Whereas early on he would never think of raising his voice at Matty or harming her in any way, now he had no problem shouting at her to get his point across and had no problem grabbing her if it got her attention. Matty was sick of it and ready for this to be over and done with. 

But the question was how? How was there any assurance that if she simply told him to cut it out and she wasn’t going to deal with this anymore that he would stop? Sure, she could find a way to close off the Room of Requirement, try and keep information about Isidora away from him, and tell him she wouldn’t be helping him anymore, but she couldn’t take any of the knowledge he already had. 

And that was the problem. Matty had already told him enough—he had already learned enough by himself and there wasn’t a way to reverse this. The entire year had gone so smoothly with only a few moments of stress compared to last year but now she had a problem on her hands. Specifically, with this and the thought that Apollo may find the repository. 

“Another thing I’m anxious about—Apollo finding the repository,” Matty said, bringing it up the moment she remembered it. 

Esme furrowed her brows. She didn’t remember Matty ever saying anything about telling Apollo about it. Not to mention Matty hadn’t slipped the location of the repository to anyone, not even her closest friends. The only ones who knew of the location were her and a couple of the professors who were sworn to secrecy. “What do you mean? Did you tell him about it?” 

Matty shook her head. “No, and I’d never tell him no matter what.” She replied. “But recently he asked a question that I didn’t think he’d make the connection to. He had somehow figured out that to extract pain with the ancient magic, there are traces of it that come with it and need to be contained. That was what the repository was for, and he asked me where Isidora would’ve contained it. I think he knows that I know because I was trying to be casual about it, but he kept pressing for answers.” 

With every word, Matty said it became more evident of what Apollo was after now. It wasn’t safe to allow him to keep on like this otherwise they’d have a terrible issue on their hands. 

Esme sighed, rubbing her forehead. Part of her felt guilty for telling Matty to meet him that time—maybe if she had advised against it, they wouldn’t be here, but she tried to remember that it wasn’t her fault, and it was only Apollo’s fault for the actions he made. 

“Anything else important you want to tell me?” She asked, wanting to make sure she got everything clear in her mind. 

“Well… I guess so,” Matty said, thinking about it. “When I came back from London, Apollo began to be… oddly obsessive? Not just with the research but with me as well. At first, I thought it was just superstition but now that I think about it, it makes sense. He’d always want to know where I was going, he’d get uncomfortably close no matter what, and he’d always get upset if I left to go see Sebastian.” 

Esme made a face of disgust. She had always known Apollo as a respectful guy but at this point, she couldn’t bring herself to be surprised by this because of what Matty had told her about Apollo prior to right now.  

“And it’s not just that it’s also he completely disrespects any boundaries I’ve set. I told him to cut it out and stop asking me questions about certain things because I simply wouldn’t answer them. Like certain questions about the Keepers—or the repository but he’d always press for answers.” She continued. “He doesn’t care about boundaries, physical or otherwise and I’m sick of it.” 

Esme sighed. “He’s delusional,” She muttered under her breath. “And I assume you’ve told him to cut it out several times?” 

Matty nodded her head. It was one of the reasons why she was so fed up with him. She always believed in giving people a second chance to change and get better, but he never did. He continued to get worse. His obsession with gaining power had corrupted him from the inside out and she had seen it slowly happen for months while not realizing what was happening. 

But the question was: Had he noticed and just not cared? Had he noticed how damaging this was to him but simply pushed it off? 

There wasn’t much left to think about—Esme already knew what she was going to tell Matty. It was obvious what she needed to do. “Well, I feel since you’ve given him enough chances and he keeps ruining them, you need to tell him you’re over this—all of it.” 

“And don’t feel bad. You helped him because you felt like you needed to like you had an obligation to because Isidora is his family. All your intentions were good.” Esme said, making it clear to Matty that none of this was her fault. She was simply trying to help. “But next time you see him, and soon, you tell him you’re done with all of this. The research—everything.” 

Matty nodded her head. She was still trying not to blame herself for this since after all, it wasn’t her fault, but she was still upset for not noticing things earlier. 

“He sent an owl this morning telling me he wants to meet me somewhere tomorrow morning. I wasn’t going to go but I think I might take that opportunity to set things straight about this. I refuse to let any of this go further any longer.” Matty said. 

Esme nodded her head then after a moment smiled and pulled Matty into a hug. She knew this wasn’t easy for Matty to do and it was going to bother her for a long time, but she was so proud of her for staying so strong through everything. 

“Just don’t blame yourself, alright? You were trying to do the right thing.” Esme said, hugging her tightly. Matty nodded her head and hugged Esme back tightly. 

After leaving the undercroft a little while later, Matty’s mind was clouded with what she would do—what she would say. This was an issue that could no longer be ignored, it had to be put to rest. A part of her hoped that if she didn’t allow Apollo to continue on like this that he would stop and try to reverse the damage he had done but the other part told her it was pointless. He wouldn’t change.

But deep down what she was really anxious about was if he could find the repository. He was more observant than she had initially thought, and she only noticed until she had said enough about Isidora or the Keepers. 

It was moments like these when she wished that she had Professor Fig on her side more than ever. He would know what to do and perhaps could’ve saved this entire mess himself. But she also remembered that he told her this was her responsibility now and she was set on making sure that she kept the wizarding world safe from any threats at all costs. 

Chapter Text

Dreading what was to come, Matty’s mind was clouded for a lot of the week. As Friday was upon her, she paced her dormitory thinking about what she was going to say to Apollo about ending all of this—the research, the obsession that was far too gone, everything. 

If she weren’t going to do this, she would’ve never even considered showing up to the coast where he had asked to meet her, especially after their argument. 

But regardless of her worries, this had to happen. That Wednesday, she had told Sebastian about everything that had happened, wanting there to be no secrets kept or secrets about the fact that she was extremely nervous. But he’d be there to help her if she needed it. 

Of course, Sebastian was fuming. He hadn’t felt so angry in such a long time. If he had his way, he would’ve put Apollo in his place the moment he saw him next, but he knew Matty wanted to handle it and he knew she could. And definitely in a more calm way that wouldn’t get the both of them into trouble. 

But Ominis definitely got an earful about how upset he was later. 

“I hope I don’t regret this.” Matty sighed as she stepped foot outside of the castle. 

She took the Floo system to the poidsear coast, where Apollo had asked her to meet him. The same place they had practiced the Patronus charm. She figured she’d walk the rest of the way instead of apparating so that she could have some time to gather her thoughts before the inevitable discussion happened between them. 

As she came nearer, she could see Apollo just over the horizon. The sun was beginning to set so Matty made a mental note to get this over with quickly so she could get back to the castle before dark. 

Hearing her footsteps, Apollo turned around and smiled when he saw her. “Ah, you’ve made it.” He said, walking towards her. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come.” 

Matty let out a dry chuckle as he got closer. “Sorry about that.” She said dryly. She wasn’t going to act like she enjoyed being here. In fact, she’d rather be anywhere else than here, but she had a reason. And she was going to get this over with quickly and leave.

But of course, Apollo’s blissfully ignorant attitude was oblivious to Matty’s tone and demeanor. Everything about her, from her body language to her tone screamed “I don’t want to be here.” 

“So, I wanted to talk to you—,” Apollo said but Matty cut him off. 

“Actually, I have something I want to say.” She said, her tone laced with a bit of nervousness. She was nervous because she didn’t know how he’d react. “I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, actually. I guess I just didn’t come to terms with it until recently.” 

Whereas to Matty, it was clear to her what she was going to say but Apollo was taking this a completely different way. His face didn’t fall into confusion as she thought it would—in fact, he looked… happy? 

“I was debating on if I should even say this, but I know I have to if it’s been on my mind and bothering me so badly,” Matty said, looking up at him. 

She hadn’t noticed he had gotten so close and suddenly she froze momentarily, realizing he was leaning in, Matty acted as quickly as she could, doing the first thing her brain told her to do. She raised her hand, and it came crashing down on Apollo’s right cheek with a painfully loud “CRACK!”, sending him stumbling back, cupping his cheek with a groan of pain.

Matty took a couple of steps back, shocked that he had even attempted to kiss her. Couldn’t he tell what she was about to say? What went through his mind to make him think that that would be okay or that she was going to be okay with it? 

Apollo also looked shocked. She had just slapped him harder than he had ever been hit before. He seemed to take her words a lot differently than she had meant them, which is why he looked so shocked. 

“What are you DOING!?” Matty shouted at him. 

“What do you mean “what are you doing?” Apollo asked, confusion and shock still plastered all over his face. “It sounded like you were going to confess your feelings for me. How else was I going to react?” 

Matty felt her stomach churn at his words. How could he possibly think that? Did he forget she was in a committed relationship with a man who WASN’T him? There was no room for feelings for anyone else but Sebastian. Recounting her words mentally, she realized she should’ve just spat it out but that didn’t give him an excuse to try to kiss her without her permission—especially since she’d never consent to something like this, ever. 

Realizing that she should’ve just spat the words out, that’s what she was going to do now except her words were much angrier. “No! What in Merlin’s name could get you to think that you idiot!” She shrieked. “In fact, I was going to tell you how all of this was over! This “research” if that’s even what you want to call it!” 

“I’m done with it, completely over with it. You’ve changed and it’s disgusting. Maybe there was SOME speckle of light that gave me some hope for you, but you just lost that chance with that stunt you just tried to pull.” She hissed, anger seeping through her words. 

Now Apollo’s face was pure confusion, but confusion seeped into rage and now he just looked angry. “What do you mean? We were so close to finding this out!” 

“No! No, you weren’t!” Matty shouted back. “And there is no we. I don’t condone any of this! You’ve changed and I’m done with it. I wasn’t “confessing my feelings to you”, you’re more delusional than I thought! Did you forget I’m in a committed relationship with someone I love more than anything else? Clearly, you did!” 

“But—,” 

“No, there’s no buts.” Matty interrupted. “I’m done with all of this. I’m done with it and in fact, I never want to see your face ever again. Not only are you going absolutely mental but now you do this. I’m done. All I can hope for is that the consequences of your actions catch up to you.” 

She quickly turned around and left, her hand going down to grasp the handle of her wand as if to leave a threat not to follow her. 

She could feel angry tears form in her eyes. She was angry, hurt, and had a handful of other emotions she didn’t even know how to describe. No one had ever attempted to violate her personal boundaries like he just had. Never once had she felt so upset over something like this. But she kept moving, not giving him a single chance to catch up with her. 

*** 

When she returned to the castle, she had a tear-stained face and she just wanted to go to bed and forget all about this already. She was upset and hurt—more than she had been in a while. Trying to get up to her dorm as fast as she could, she ran into Esme in Bella, who took immediate notice of her red cheeks and puffy eyes. Obviously, she had been crying. 

“Woah, woah, Matty what’s wrong?” Esme said, stopping her from rushing past. “What happened?” 

“Nothing,” Matty said quietly. 

Bella shook her head. “Obviously that’s a lie.” She said, not missing a beat. “What happened? You can tell us.” 

Matty looked around, mentally contemplating if she should tell them about this. She wanted to. But at the same time, she was afraid she’d choke up again. No one was around and she trusted Esme and Bella so she figured she should. Letting out a sigh, she sat back against the wall. Esme and Bella were quick to follow, sitting down next to her. 

Matty took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from crying again. “Well… I went to go tell Apollo what I had agreed to tell him. That I was done with all of this, just like I said I was.” She started, her voice wavering a bit. “And well, I guess he took my initial words the wrong way, and then…” 

“Then what?” Bella asked, her brows furrowing. 

“… He tried to kiss me.” 

Esme’s brows shot up. “He did what?” She asked immediately. “What do you mean he tried to kiss you? He took what you were saying as an advancement? What?” 

Matty nodded her head. “I guess he did,” she said dryly, her throat scratchy from crying. “I slapped him immediately, stopping him but it just bothers me so much. It’s probably not even that big of a deal but I feel so upset.” 

“No, no, it is a big deal.” Bella corrected. “Matty, he didn’t even ask for your permission. That was the first big problem. The second big problem is you didn’t want it. The third big problem is that you’re in a committed relationship with someone else. What did Sebastian do before you two kissed for the first time?” 

Isabella was clearly angry, her words showed it, but she was trying her best to keep her initial anger in so as to not upset Matty further. She had had a bad feeling about Apollo from the start and now her feelings had been confirmed. And now she was angry. 

“He asked me if he could kiss me,” Matty said, answering her question and realizing what Bella was saying. 

“Exactly. See the difference?” Esme said. “We need to do something about this. He can’t just get away with a slap on the cheek. Not to mention his other destructive behaviors deserve punishment as well. And just as I thought he couldn’t get any worse.” 

Matty nodded her head in agreement that he shouldn’t be able to get away with this but at the same time, she was hesitant to say anything about it at the moment to any of the faculty. She wanted to wait till she had processed this entire situation. 

“Can we maybe wait on that? I was going to talk to Professor Weasley about him anyway but now that this has happened, I think I need a little more time to process everything.” She asked, hoping that they’d be okay with that. 

And of course, they were. Their main concern was their friend. “Of course, of course,” Esme said. “But please don’t be afraid to talk about this. We’ll keep it between each other but know that you have our support no matter what.” 

Bella nodded her head in agreement, not wanting to speak any further for fear that she might become a little bit too worked up about this situation. She wanted to keep her cool and just let know Matty she cared. 

After a bit, Matty left and went up to her dorm room. She was so exhausted from crying she fell asleep almost immediately, much to her relief as she felt her eyes get heavy. That had not gone at all as she had expected. She would’ve rather had him get angry, scream, and shout at her over calling him delusional and that she was done with it but instead he did this. 

Bella, however, wasn’t going to let Apollo rest just yet. She’d keep her promise and not say anything about it, but she had an idea, and she was sticking to it. After Matty was out of sight, she stood up, her expression stoic. 

Sensing that she was about to do something possibly irrational, Esme stood up. “What are you doing?” 

“Going to give that git a piece of my mind,” Bella said, stepping away but Esme caught her wrist. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” She asked Bella, not wanting Bella to get into trouble for this. But Bella had no problem getting into trouble for this if she did. Apollo was going to get what he deserved one way or another. 

“We can’t just let him get away with this! Did you see how distraught Matty was?” Bella asked. “He needs to be shown that he can’t just walk all over people like that, especially not our friend.” 

Esme pursed her lips. She knew what Bella was going to do and was hesitant to let her go and do it but at the same time, her hatred for Apollo clouded her judgment. “Just don’t get in trouble.” She sighed, letting go of Bella’s hand. 

Bella nodded before walking off and disappearing, leaving Esme there alone. 

*** 

It took her quite a bit, but Bella finally found Apollo. He was sulking off in the dungeons alone. Bella found it sickeningly ironic that he was the one sulking over this. Over something bad he did. Well, he was about to meet the consequences of his actions. 

When he finally realized he wasn’t alone, he turned around to see Bella standing a couple of feet away. Bella immediately could see the red mark on his cheek from where Matty had slapped him. Even in the dimly lit dungeons it couldn’t hide the force she had used when she brought her hand down on him and Bella felt proud of Matty for reacting the way she did. 

“What do you want?” Apollo snapped, wanting to be left alone. 

“What do you think I want?” Bella snapped back.  

Apollo’s expression shifted when he realized Bella knew. Acting on his first impulse, he grabbed his wand, but Bella was quicker, whipping her wand out. “Expelliarmus!” She shouted, sending his wand flying out of his hand. She slipped her wand away after that. She had no intention of using spells against him any further. 

She took the moment that he looked back to find his wand to dash up and grab the front of his shirt, pulling him forward and allowing her fist to connect with his face. She let go of his shirt and he fell to the ground. Her fist was throbbing but the adrenaline she had made her barely notice it. 

“Did you honestly think you could just get away with what you did to her?” Bella asked, standing over him tauntingly. “You’ve got another storm coming and it’s not just from me. You’ll be lucky if you get off with just a slap on the wrist from the faculty because I won’t.” 

Apollo turned over, too dazed to fight back and his face throbbing in pain. “That first one was for Matty,” Bella said, referring to the punch. She raised her fist again and landed straight on the other side of his face. “And that one was so you don’t forget it.” 

And before he knew it, she was gone, leaving him alone on the cold floor of the dungeon. He hadn’t expected her to be that strong at all. His hands clutched his face, growling at the pain. 

Bella left abruptly after that. She didn’t care if she got in trouble for this. He deserved it and wasn’t about to let Apollo just get away with all of this. She hoped the faculty would actually do something about this.  

Justice would be served one way or another. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, there was a tense feeling at the school. Matty woke up and tried her best to carry it out as normal. At least until she’d have to recount the story of what happened yesterday to Professor Weasley and Sebastian. 

She sat down at the Gryffindor table, eating quietly. Many of her fellow students at the table noticed this but none wanted to ask about why. 

As Apollo entered the room, eyes were drawn to him. Two dark, sickly purple marks were visible on his face that stood out like a sore thumb. The left one covered his whole eye, and his eye was slightly swollen. On the right side, the purple bruise was right below his eye.

The moment Matty noticed Apollo had entered the room, she left, leaving the rest of her plate untouched. She simply just didn’t want to be anywhere in his presence. 

Garreth and Leander, who were standing on the other side of the Great Hall, noticed this. “Garreth, is it just me or did Matty purposefully leave the moment Apollo came in?” Leander asked, bumping Garreth’s shoulder. 

“I think so. And she looked uncomfortable too.” Garreth replied. He took a good long look at Apollo, noticing his injuries. “And that black eye doesn’t exactly look coincidental either.” 

“Should we ask her if she’s okay? Is that prying too much?” Leander asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He wanted to make sure she was okay, but he also didn’t want to pry. Matty usually wasn’t like this, so something must’ve happened. 

Garreth shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe we should just wait for her to say something… And avoid Apollo for the foreseeable future.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Leander said, agreeing quickly. 

*** 

“Mr. Morgan, I must inform you that due to recent events that I’ve been informed of the school is issuing you a four-week suspension from the school.” Professor Weasley said, looking at Apollo straight in the eye with a stoic expression. 

After going through a self-inflicted miserable morning, Apollo had been asked to meet Professor Weasley in her office. Immediately, he knew what it was going to be about but, in his mind, he had a way to get out of this. But Professor Weasley had a different idea in her mind. 

Apollo’s face dropped as he heard the words which his professor spoke. He was expecting something, but it wasn’t that. “Four weeks? That’s a whole month! This is outrageous!” 

“I believe this punishment fits quite well.” Professor Weasley said in a slightly matter-of-fact tone.

Apollo wasn’t having this, at all. “What about the girl who did this to me? That D’Angelo girl!” He asked frantically, raising his voice while gesturing to his bruised face. 

“An appropriate punishment will be set for Miss. D’Angelo as well. But your incident happened first, which means I carry out the punishment first. We are a school of order, Mr. Morgan as I hope you would’ve realized during your time as Headboy.” Professor Weasley answered. 

“This was a misunderstanding. I misinterpreted her words! Matty must’ve twisted the story or something!” Apollo said defensively, desperate to defend himself. 

Professor Weasley shook her head. “A misunderstanding could be revised. Something like this has left Miss. Ambrose shaken up. Not to mention your shift behavior recently has worried me alongside the rest of the faculty. We believe that this course of action is the best for not only you but the rest of the students at school.” She said. 

“What? What do you mean?!” Apollo asked, demanding an answer to the question that had already been answered. But Professor Weasley was right. This was behavior that couldn’t go unpunished, especially for someone like Apollo, who was in a position of power as the Headboy. 

And not forgetting his position in the school, Professor Weasley brought up the next section of his punishment. “And your position as the Headboy over the school will be revoked and another student will be chosen to take your place. Both this and the suspension are effective immediately.” She said. 

In that moment it was as if Apollo’s whole world went silent. Any advantages he had been given were now completely null and void. But he didn’t blame himself for his own actions and the consequences that followed, he blamed Matty. 

He blamed her for this. If she had just shut up and listened none of this would’ve happened! Or at least, that was his thought process about the situation. 

But before he could even protest his position being taken away, Professor Weasley shut him down professionally. “I’m sorry it had to come to this.” She said. Although in truth, she really wasn’t. In fact, she was disappointed in Apollo for several reasons. And this was just one of the big reasons why. 

Her words meant that it was time for him to leave. So, with gritted teeth and a scowl, Apollo turned around and left Professor Weasley’s office. His mind was racing but mostly with anger as he stormed out of the Transfiguration Courtyard, not caring who saw him. 

He couldn’t make the excuse that he was underage, so they had to keep him since he had nowhere to go. He was eighteen now and they could hold him accountable as so. 

And on top of that, someone would be taking his place as the Headboy! How could he even return to the school after his suspension at that point? The shame and embarrassment would be too much for him to handle with his ego. He blamed everyone—and anyone who wasn’t himself. 

Somehow, this was someone else’s fault. He refused to allow this to fall on himself. It was Matty’s fault for not listening to him and telling the faculty. It was Sebastian’s fault for simply being around and making him angry. It was Professor Weasley’s fault for carrying out the punishment, etc.

Anything that kept him from mentally holding himself accountable. 

***  

Word of Apollo’s suspension spread like wildfire throughout the school almost immediately. From the Gryffindor who claimed they saw Apollo grab some of his things and leave to the Ravenclaw who swore they overheard Professor Ronen and Professor Sharp discuss the suspension from Sharp’s office. 

Gossip about who the next Headboy would be was going to be accompanied it—along with the discussion about what Apollo could’ve even done to get suspended in the first place and to lose his position as the Headboy. 

Matty kept absolutely quiet about everything, not participating in any of it even if it would get more dirt on Apollo’s name. No one outside of her trusted friends and the Faculty needed to know what happened yesterday or about Apollo’s behavior in general. She was just happy that the faculty had heard her pleas and given Apollo the appropriate punishment. 

Now she could be at some peace knowing Apollo wouldn’t be around for the next month or so, nor would he have access to the Room of Requirement and everything they had studied there. She hoped that even if he was angry at her and hated her for the rest of their lives that he would at least quit it with his crazed obsession with the ancient magic and realize that he was going to a dark place with it.  

Bella had gotten off the hook pretty easily and gotten only a week’s long suspension—and it wasn’t even technically a week. Saturday and Sunday weren’t included in her suspension days and that was Professor Weasley’s way of showing she wasn’t necessarily upset with her, although she would never condone violence and Bella still did get the punishment. But it was that and a couple of weeks of detention afterwards, which she could handle with no issue. 

“Worth it,” She said with a smirk on her face as she left Professor Weasley’s office. 

When the word of Apollo’s suspension made its way to Sebastian, his first thought was to rush to the Undercroft where he was sure Esme, Ominis, and Matty already were to tell them, not knowing that they already knew. 

And thankfully, when he entered the Undercroft, they were in there. Sebastian walked in with a grin on his face. “Did you hear about Apollo’s suspension?” He asked, not realizing that there was most definitely a reason why Apollo had gotten suspended. And a lengthy suspension at that. “Four weeks. Four weeks. That’s a whole month!” 

But when he realized the expressions on his friend's and girlfriend’s faces didn’t change, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck while the realization hit him. “Unless… You three already knew that and know the reason why…” He sighed. 

He remembered Matty saying that she was going to meet Apollo to tell him that she was done with the research and anything else that had to do with him. And then it hit him that something had probably happened there that caused the suspension in the first place and his expression turned from sheepish to nervous. What had Apollo done? Was Matty okay? 

Esme gave Ominis’ shirt sleeve a tug, signaling that it was probably best to leave Matty and Sebastian alone so that she could explain things. Ominis had already been made aware of the situation. He nodded his head and the two exited the Undercroft together, leaving Matty and Sebastian alone. 

“Matty, you’re scaring me,” Sebastian said, his nerves getting the best of him. 

Matty shook her head. “I’m fine, Sebastian, I promise. They’re just being respectful.” She insisted. She patted the place beside her, wanting him to sit by her. She knew he’d lash out—not at her but just in general anger at this and anger directed at Apollo. But he had the right to know. 

Sebastian moved towards her, sitting down at the place she had patted her hand on. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, trying to calm himself for whatever answer she was going to give him. 

“So, as I told you the other day, I was going to meet Apollo by the poidsear coast as he had asked me to but not so he could speak to me, but so I could tell him I was through with all of this.” Matty started. “Before he could start really talking about why he called me there, I cut him off and told him I was through with this—or at least I tried to.” 

Sebastian’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean tried to?” He asked. Saying that insinuated Apollo wasn’t exactly getting the words she was saying or that she wasn’t explaining them well enough. 

Matty bit the inside of her cheek before sighing. “It’s the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard in my life but… Apollo somehow took my words the wrong way and assumed I was… confessing some sort of feelings for him.” She said, her facial expression was as if the words left a bad taste on her tongue. “And then… he tried to kiss me.” 

Sebastian’s heart sank to the floor of his stomach. His mind raced with a billion different situations. He knew Matty would never accept a kiss like that, especially not from Apollo but the anxiety filled to the brim immediately. 

“I stopped him. In fact, I slapped him harder than I thought I would, but he deserved it.” Matty said, following up with the next point. “Then I shouted at him and told him I never wanted to see his face ever again before I ran off back to the castle. He didn’t try to follow me or anything, I think I shocked him too much for him to even try.” 

Sebastian was still stunned, sitting there looking straight ahead. But the shock and confusion seeped into anger, and it showed. Even the mere thought of some creep trying to kiss Matty made him sick to his stomach, especially when it was without her consent, nor did she want it. 

“He tried to kiss you?” He asked in a slightly shaky tone as if he didn’t want to believe it was true. 

Matty nodded her head. “He did but I’m fine now, I promise.” She said, placing a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “Just a bit shaken up is all. But Professor Weasley was really understanding and obviously, she heard me out.” 

Sebastian stood up in anger and for a moment it looked like he was about to express just how upset he was but then he let out a sigh. This wasn’t about him or how angry he was, it was about making sure Matty was okay. Although he did have every right to be angry, Matty came first. 

He shook his head and sat back down. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, taking her hand into his. He tried to make his tone as gentle as he could even through his anger. If he had it his way he would’ve already been going to find Apollo and give him a piece of his mind, but he had to make himself realize it couldn’t always just be like that. 

Matty nodded her head. “It’ll be on my mind for a while but I’m okay, I promise.” She said, giving him a little smile. Although she still felt like her boundaries had been completely violated—which they had. Apollo had gotten punished for it, and it made her feel better knowing that people stood by her and supported her.  

“As long as you’re sure,” Sebastian said, leaning in to give her a small kiss on her forehead. He then pulled her into his arms, wrapping them securely around her. 

Inside, he regretted not going with her. It had crossed his mind to ask but he didn’t want to be seen as overbearing and so he hadn’t but now he was wishing he had. Perhaps he could’ve stopped everything before it had even started. But he was proud of Matty for handling it the way she did. 

If he had it his way he would’ve told her to go back in for another slap but shouting at Apollo and then leaving immediately was a good way to handle it too. 

“I love you, you know that?” He asked, looking down at her. 

“Of course, I know that,” Matty answered, looking back up at him, her brows slightly furrowed. “And I’m really glad you do.” 

He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself. I would’ve gone with you, but I second guessed it, but it looks like you had that handled completely by yourself.” He said, trying to cheer her up a bit. 

“Trust me, I would’ve preferred to have you there,” Matty said in all honesty. “It didn’t cross my mind to ask you though. It should’ve. I’m not sure why I always feel like I need to go through these things alone and as if I’m a burden to others when I include them in situations like these. Even if they want to help.” 

“You are never a burden,” Sebastian reassured her. “I love you and your safety is my priority. What Apollo did was disgusting, thinking you were even okay with that. But this isn’t a burden you have to hold alone.”

Matty nodded her head and laid it against Sebastian’s chest. Then Sebastian realized something he wanted to ask about. “Matty… When you asked how badly I wanted Anne to be cured, was it because you were going to tell Apollo you were done with all the research and were refusing to go any further with it?” He asked. 

“Yeah…” Matty answered. “I really wanted it to work, I really did. But he took it too far. I saw too much of Isidora in him and I just couldn’t let it continue. I’m sorry.” 

Sebastian shook his head frantically. “No, no, don’t apologize.” He insisted. “Remember what I told you? You don’t have to be the one to cure Anne, you’ve already helped so much. It’s just—it was very kind of you to value my opinion and wants in this even though I wasn’t directly involved.” 

“Well, the entire reason why I agreed to Apollo’s idea was because I wanted to heal Anne. Or at least give her some relief.” Matty admitted. “But I guess that’s a lost thought now. At least until we can find something else to help her.” 

“Don’t worry yourself over it.” Sebastian said to her. “This isn’t your burden to carry, and you’ve been through enough recently.” 

“But it’s also not your burden to carry alone,” Matty said with a sly little grin, using the words Sebastian had used on her earlier back on him. “I want to help. And whereas now might not be the best time to do so, I still want to.” 

Sebastian couldn’t help but chuckle at his lover’s slyness. He knew she’d refuse to not help him, but he would try to make it less of a burden on her no matter what. She was extremely gracious to even offer her help in the first place. 

All the nerves Matty had carried earlier had melted away and she forgot about the anxieties that had ailed her the previous day. Her anxieties went away with every laugh that left her mouth. Everything was going to be okay now. She was sure of it. 

Chapter Text

The days that followed were like a breath of fresh air for Matty. No Apollo to worry about and no anxieties about anything related to the research. Only having to worry about schoolwork was a dream and Matty never thought she’d be so happy to just do school. 

“Someone seems happy,” Hope said to Matty as she noticed how her best friend practically had a skip in her step all day. 

“Oh, I am,” Matty said with a tone of complete confidence. “I unironically feel like I’m living a completely stress-free life right now. It’s like a dream.” 

Hope chuckled. “Even when we have all of these tests coming up?” 

Matty nodded her head. “Focusing on studying for a test is better than what I’ve been dealing with for the past couple of weeks.” She answered with a hearty laugh. 

She heard some footsteps behind her and then she felt an arm slide around her shoulders. The moment she felt the person’s hand, she knew it was Sebastian. He then pulled her over to him a bit so he could give her a kiss on the cheek. “And how are you doing today?” 

A bigger smile than before appeared on Matty’s face. “Very good. Probably the best “boring” day I’ve had in a while.” She chuckled. When she glanced over, she noticed Garreth was now walking alongside Hope, already locked into their own conversation and it was now as if no one else was around them. 

“Ha, and those two swear they aren’t dating.”  She thought to herself with a grin. 

“Well, I’m glad your day is going so well,” Sebastian said, pulling Matty out of her thoughts and back into reality. “I have a herbology assignment to finish up. It’s the one Professor Garlick gave us where we have to identify a list of plants. So, I’m about to head over to the Greenhouse.” 

“Oh! I finished that assignment earlier today. I’ll come with you.” Matty said excitedly. “I promise I won’t give any of the answers away. I’ll just sit there and be good company to you. You know the Greenhouses can kind of get lonely sometimes.” 

Sebastian let out a noise of amusement. He knew she just wanted to be around him and that’s why she was saying that, but he had no problem with that. In fact, he’d rather her be around. “Of course, you can come along.” He said heartily. “I’d love to have you around.” 

Matty let out a small “Yay!” before Sebastian took her hand and led her off in the direction of the Greenhouses while she excitedly followed behind him. 

***

That evening after Sebastian had finished up his assignment in the greenhouse, he and Matty spent some time together just talking there. Sometimes moments between them like that were the most cherished that Matty had in her mind. Just sitting together somewhere, talking late into the night. 

She was sure Professor Garlick had seen them but didn’t say anything, instead allowed them to stay and talk for a while. What a wonderful woman she was. 

But as it got late and they both needed to leave, they gave each other one last kiss before parting ways. But instead of going to her dormitory, Matty found herself walking up towards the Room of Requirement. Now that Apollo was gone, there were a few things she wanted to do. 

She cleared out all of his things, using Evanesco to just get rid of them quickly. There were papers still scattered all over the table. She pulled them all together and began to sift through them, throwing most of them out. But as she came across a few that were related to the research that had been done regarding how Isidora learned to take pain away, she hesitated. 

She didn’t believe that it would work, or at least in the way Apollo wanted it to. But something told her that those papers were too valuable to throw away. She shoved them into her school bag before she could have another conflicting thought before clearing off the rest of the papers and getting rid of them all. 

When all of Apollo’s things and anything Matty didn’t want in the room any longer were gone, she let out a sigh of relief. Although Apollo was only suspended for a month, she knew he wouldn’t come around the room—or maybe even the school in general. His pride was too hurt to come around again, especially after losing his position as the head boy. 

But the things here were too valuable for other people to find it. After all, Matty only had a year left here at Hogwarts and she didn’t know what students would come after she left and find the room. Sure, it may present itself differently than it did to her, but she’d never know. 

When she was done, she left the room, closing the door behind her and watching as it faded away. This all felt like a nightmare that was finally over. One that had come onto her quickly but a nightmare, nonetheless. 

She was eternally grateful to the Professors for hearing her out and for helping her with so much more than this. Because of them, she was sure the repository was safe and kept away from those who may want to do harm with the power stored there.

***

A single candle illuminated the small room, wax dripping down from the heat. Apollo sat against the wall, journal in hand. He had found a small abandoned sheltered in upper Hogsfield where he would stay. But he didn’t plan on staying here for long. 

His mind had been racing with vengeful and destructive thoughts. Revenge was the only thing on his mind for something so simple as a punishment that he deserved. But this was so much more than that. His mind and judgment were clouded by a vengeful thirst. 

It was so much more than just the events of these past couple of days. He wanted Matty to pay for what she had said. To pay for not believing in him when he was trying to continue Isidora’s legacy. He had made up his mind and he was set on it.

After all of this had come crashing down, Apollo immediately began to think of ways to enact the revenge and to gain the power he so desperately wanted. Whereas he no longer had access to the Room of Requirement, he still had his journal where he had recorded most everything that he could remember of Isidora. 

He once remembered pressuring Matty to give him answers to where the location was of the magic Isidora would have to store every time she took the pain away from someone was. After he was made aware via Matty that Isidora had done this to several people, he knew that the magic traces that came from it would need to be stored somewhere large. But where? 

Well, that was the answer he tried getting out of Matty but she refused. Which is why he got the feeling this power was great enough for her to worry about it falling into the wrong hands. But he didn’t care if he was the person with “the wrong hands” so to speak, he just wanted it. 

So, to get what he wanted, he was going to put in the work to get it. He thought back to last year during the goblin rebellion and the poacher uprising. Back to the day when a handful of the Professors had left in a hurry and when they returned, suddenly Professor Fig was dead. 

He remembered how they closed off a small section of the school for “maintenance” and all the hushed whispers from the professors after that. Of course, as the former Headboy, he heard and saw a lot that the other students wouldn’t. But at the time he would’ve never even considered going behind their backs to see what they were hiding. But now he would, and he’d do it without a care. 

So, what did Ranrok and Rookwood want so bad that Matty was now hiding? Apollo had reason to believe that it was the location of the magic that was being kept away from him. 

He couldn’t know for sure, but he had a hunch that it was located somewhere near the school. And how was he going to get that confirmation? Matty. That’s right, she was going to give him the answers to what he wanted. 

She recorded almost everything of importance to her. He had observed her doing this several times. In his own twisted thoughts, she would’ve been ideal for him but now all he felt for her was hatred since she kept everything he wanted away from him. 

So, he was sure that getting the information he wanted was going to be as easy as somehow sneaking into her dormitory and grabbing whatever old journals of hers he could find. But he ran into a couple of issues. 

One, he was suspended from school and couldn’t be seen otherwise he’d be reported. Two, he couldn’t even get into the girls’ dormitory which made this simple plan a lot harder than it had to be. 

 He sighed as he thought of a way that he could make this work. He’d figure it out eventually but right now he was stuck. He slammed his journal shut and blew out the candle. None of this was ideal, staying here wasn’t ideal, but he was going to get what he wanted. 

He was going to find the repository whether Matty liked it or not. And he wasn’t going to allow her to stop him. 

Chapter Text

Thunder and lightning crashed outside as the rain beat down against the stone walls of Hogwarts. A perfect, sunny day had been replaced with a stormy, noisy evening. Students were comfortably sat up in their dorms or in other parts of the castle. Others were not as fortunate.

“It’s really coming down out there,” Sebastian said as he looked out the window.

He, Matty, Ominis, and Esme had gotten caught in up the rain while enjoying their day out in Hogsmeade. They had rushed into The Three Broomsticks to take cover from the rain where Sirona insisted they stay until the storm was over.

“When do you think it’ll be over?” Matty asked, sitting by the fire to warm up. Her skin still felt slightly cold from the rain that had beaten down on her just earlier.

“Not for a couple of hours at least. The clouds don’t seem to be moving very quickly.” Sebastian answered, looking out the window again to observe the storm.

It had already been late in the afternoon when the four friends had set out for Hogsmeade earlier that day. A couple more hours would put them far past curfew and Sirona wasn’t about to let them walk back to the school in this kind of weather.

Sebastian returned to his place by Matty on the floor by the fire. Opposite of them sat Esme and Ominis.

“Surely Professor Weasley will understand.” Esme chimed in. “We can’t be the only students caught up in this nasty storm.

They all nodded in unison. Professor Weasley was an understanding Deputy headmistress and always tried her best to make things fair and just for the students at Hogwarts. A stark contrast from the school's Headmaster, Professor Black. Although the Faculty never took breaking curfew lightly if you were caught, if you had a good enough excuse, or if it was a complete accident, they’d usually let you off the hook.

Getting back to the school well past midnight and in the dark and possibly still getting in trouble by accident didn’t seem ideal at all but neither did getting back to the school in stormy weather and being miserable on the way back.

Sirona then came walking in from downstairs. She had excused herself earlier to do something to one of the rooms. “Well, looks like you four will be stuck here for quite a while.” She said. “That storm is worse than anything I’ve seen in the past couple of years. Don’t know where it possibly could’ve come from. The weather was so nice out earlier.”

“We can probably make it back without much trouble if we’re fast enough,” Matty said to her.

Sirona shook her head. “There’s no need. I’ve already arranged one of the upstairs rooms for the four of you to stay for the night.” She said insistently.

“That’s so sweet of you but we really don’t want to intrude,” Matty said in an apologetic tone. Esme, Sebastian, and Ominis nodded in agreement.

“Nonsense,” Sirona spoke, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not an intrusion if I’ve offered it in the first place, my dear.”

Well, there wasn’t much to argue there. Matty gave Sirona a thankful smile. She could always count on her to have her back—even from the very moment she had met her, and she always appreciated it.

When it got late, Sirona led them upstairs to the room she had made ready for them. With several “thank you’s” her way, the four of them got settled in the room. The rain had let up a little bit but there was still a consistent patter of it against the outside wall with the occasional sound of thunder rolling by.

While Ominis, Esme, and Sebastian were lulled off to sleep by the sounds of the storm, Matty lay awake. Her worry-free attitude was slowly fading away and she didn’t know why. In the pit of her stomach, a feeling of dread was forming, as if something bad was going to happen but she didn’t know what.

Could it just be the weather making her feel this way? Was it her just second-guessing everything? She didn’t know but it made her feel sick. Constantly worrying about something she didn’t even know was going to happen or not.

***

The clouds had cleared up a bit, allowing just a bit of moonlight to peer through the window a couple of feet away from where Matty lay awake. She had been staring up at the ceiling for Merlin knows how long, thinking of all the possibilities of what could possibly be triggering this feeling. Overthinking it definitely wasn’t helping but she couldn’t not try and pinpoint this.

Apollo was away from the school, she doubted he’d even come back, not to mention he would no longer have access to the Room of Requirement. So, what was there to worry about?

She sighed, rubbing her face before getting up to look out the window. She didn’t know what time it was, but it was definitely past midnight and all she wished she could do was just go to bed. Esme was asleep, her head on Ominis’ chest and he was out cold. Sebastian seemed to be peacefully sleeping as well.

But it was the creaking of the floorboards that woke Sebastian. His eyes fluttered open to the dark room, his eyes adjusting before he could see the small bit of light peering in from the window and then he saw half of Matty’s face. He rubbed his eyes trying to rub some of the sleep away.

“Matty?” He asked quietly, his voice groggy. “What are you doing up?”

Matty looked over to where Sebastian was now sitting up. “Oh, I’m sorry did I wake you?” She asked quietly but apologetically.

“Doesn’t matter. Why are you up?” Sebastian asked, ignoring her question. He was awake now and it didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact that she was awake and didn’t look like she had gotten any sleep so far.

“I can’t sleep,” Matty answered, looking back out the window where the moon shone off of her eyes, illuminating them in the dark room.

Sebastian yawned, standing up with a stretch and walking over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and putting his chin atop her head. “Why?” He asked as he gently began to sway their bodies back and forth slightly. “Something bothering you?”

Matty sighed, enjoying the warmth of his body against hers but the comfort wasn’t enough to get her mind off of the thoughts that ailed her. “Yes, but I’m not quite sure what it is.” She answered. Her tone showed annoyance at the difficulty of this dilemma. “I just feel like something bad is about to happen and I can’t tell what it is. It’s terrible and it’s keeping me up.”

Sebastian’s brows furrowed. From what she had told him herself, she had felt great these past few days and it relieved him to hear that, so why did she feel so differently now?

“I thought you said you’ve been feeling great.” He said to her.

“I was…” Matty said in a bit of an unamused tone. “Maybe I’m just worrying about nothing and it’s keeping me up, but I can’t stop thinking about why. And usually, I’m right when I feel like something bad is going to happen.”

As much as Sebastian didn’t want to have Matty keep worrying, he knew the lack of sleep probably wasn’t helping either. “Let’s try to get some sleep and we’ll talk about this tomorrow morning, okay? I’m sure once you’re well rested you’re mind will be a lot clearer and that’ll help.”

With a small sigh, Matty nodded her head. Sebastian led her back to the bed and wrapped his arms around her once they were laid down together. Despite her worries, Matty eventually drifted off into sleep, finding comfort in being wrapped up in the arms of her lover.

Sebastian stayed up just a bit longer than she did just to make sure she had fallen asleep; and once he was sure she had, he pressed a small kiss to the back of her head before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep himself.

***

Bright and early the next morning, the sun peered through the window of the room in the Three Broomsticks, waking up Esme, Sebastian, and Matty. Esme rubbed the sleep from her eyes before gently shaking Ominis’ arm to wake him up. After they were all awake, they quickly realized that they needed to make it back to the school—especially since Professor Weasley was going to have some questions as to where they were.

They thanked Sirona for her hospitality, which she accepted with a smile, before leaving Hogsmeade and getting back to the school. Thankfully, they were able to make it back before any classes started but unfortunately, the moment a prefect spotted them, they were told to head to Professor Weasley’s office.

“It’ll be fine, we’ll just be honest with her. It wasn’t like we were trying to break curfew.” Sebastian said in a casual tone as their path was redirected to Professor Weasley’s office. But he wasn’t quite sure if he was trying to calm his friends down or himself.

When they arrived at Professor Weasley’s office, they all chimed in a bit to tell the story about how they got caught up in the storm and had to stay at The Three Broomsticks for the night to avoid getting further caught up in the terrible weather.

To their relief, Professor Weasley had no intentions of punishing them but rather wanted to see them to make sure they were alright. In her own words, “A few other students got caught up in the same storm and did not return to the school until sometime this morning. I am pleased to see you all have returned safely.”

After that, she sent them off to get breakfast in the Great Hall and then to classes, which they all complied without a second thought. They were lucky Professor Weasley was so understanding and they didn’t land themselves in detention for breaking curfew.

Later in the afternoon, Matty’s last class of the day was History of Ancient Magic class. Professor Binns was rambling on and on as he usually did. This time rambling on about a young wizard in the 1500’s who had a certain aptitude for having accurate feelings or thoughts about events that would happen in the future—almost like he was something of a Seer.

He rambled on about how this young wizard decided to be ignorant of these abilities and chose to ignore them. Matty found it quite ironic that Professor Binns decided to ramble on about this specific subject, especially since they were supposed to be learning about the history of Hogwarts for their upcoming end-of-term tests.

But at the same time, she wondered if she should take something away from this particular ramble from Professor Binns due to her current situation. Although the thought of something actually going wrong wasn’t a comforting thought at all.

Her thumb forcefully pressed against her quill as Professor Binns spoke, lost in her own thoughts. Hope, who was sitting next to her, noticed how dazed she looked and wondered if she should try and snap her out of it.

Matty’s thumb pressed harder and harder as Professor Binns’ voice came to her in his usual, monotone voice. “Not following his own cautionary feelings about this situation, he was murdered in cold blood by someone he once considered a friend. How unfortunate.”

The pressure of Matty’s thumb was too great against the quill and it snapped, causing Matty to be thrown back into reality. She startled herself at the sound of the snap, accidentally bumping her ink pot and knocking it over, causing it to spill.

She immediately apologized both for the mess and the disruption. “I don’t know what came over me,” She said with an apologetic tone, trying to get herself out of her dazed state.

A simple cleaning charm fixed the mess and class ended but Matty just couldn’t shake this feeling. She figured she needed a distraction to get her mind off of all of these things. But unbeknownst to her, being distracted was the last thing she needed.

She had no idea that this was her conscious trying to warn her about what was coming. And sooner than she thought.

Chapter Text

Later in that evening, Nellie and Cressida were walking around the Astronomy tower. Professor Shah had retired to her bedroom early and the Astronomy classroom was completely empty, as well as most of the halls. They casually chatted as they were walking about. 

Per usual, Amit was far up in the tower, charting his stars while a couple of other students were spread out around the tower, but most had gone to bed already. 

But as they were walking near the Astronomy classroom, Nellie caught a glimpse of a fellow Gryffindor, the seventh-year, Sophia Downey walking into the classroom, looking slightly dazed. And then she heard a familiar voice that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. 

“Cressida, look.” She whispered, bumping Cressida on the shoulder, grabbing her attention. 

Cressida looked over to the classroom and then she and Nellie began to slowly inch forward, towards it. They hid behind the doorway, peaking their heads into the room to see what was going on. It already felt slightly suspicious. And what they saw surprised them. 

There stood Apollo right in front of Sophia. He looked different—not physically different but there was definitely a difference in his countenance that made him look different. And it was definitely off. Nellie was shocked to see him at the school as he was still under his suspension and wasn’t supposed to be on school grounds, but she was more focused on what was going on here right now and why he was back in the first place. 

His voice was low as he spoke to Sophia so they couldn’t really tell what was going on, but what was clear to them was when he raised his wand and suddenly the tip of it began to glow green. What they could clearly hear was him say the incantation “Imperio,”.

Cressida’s eyebrows shot up, looking at Nellie who was right above her. “Did he just—?” 

“Yeah,” Nellie said, her tone neutral but she was just as surprised as Cressida was. 

Apollo thought he heard someone, and his head snapped their way, causing Nellie to pull Cressida back and stumble a little bit, trying to be as quiet as they could. Her hand clamped over Cressida’s hand in a small way of telling her to be quiet unless they were going to get caught and that wouldn’t end well. 

Once Apollo was sure he was just hearing things, he turned back to Sophia, whose eyes were now glowing green, and she was staring emotionlessly ahead at him. 

“Retrieve the journal and come straight back here.” He ordered her in a stern tone. “And do not let anybody see you, got it?” 

Sophia blankly nodded her head before turning around to leave the room. Nellie pulled Cressida further away from the door and to the stairs of the tower so Sophia wouldn’t see them. They caught a glimpse of her glowing green eyes under the influence of the Imperius curse as she walked the opposite way of them, down the stairs. 

“We should follow her,” Nellie said. “We need to figure out what’s going on here.” 

Cressida nodded her head, but she swallowed hard, clearly a bit nervous. But when you were with a daring friend like Nellie, there was no time to think about nerves. Nellie grabbed her hand and rushed past the classroom entrance so Apollo would have less of a chance of seeing them. They then quietly snuck down the stairs behind Sophia. 

They followed her all the way to the Gryffindor Common room where she went up towards the girl’s dormitory. Then Nellie realized Sophia was heading straight for her dorm room. “Wait a minute, is she heading toward my dorm room?” She asked with disbelief in her tone. Why on earth would she be snooping around in there? 

Nellie wasn’t about to just let this slide, about to step forward and stop Sophia but then Cressida stopped her by grabbing her wrist. “Wait, we should see what she’s going to do, right? Apollo sent her up here.” She said, reminding Nellie of why they were even following Sophia in the first place. 

Reluctantly, Nellie sighed and moved back, no longer going to confront Sophia about this. She hid away with Cressida while they waited for Sophia to exit the dormitory. And when she did, it looked like she had a book in her hand. Nellie squinted, trying to figure out what book she had taken before she realized it was one of Matty’s journals. 

Why would Apollo send Sophia to get one of Matty’s journals? What was so important about one of those? 

But even if she didn’t have the answer, Nellie had the feeling that she needed to get to Matty straight away, especially since Apollo had used an unforgivable curse on another student. She’d know what to do. 

“We need to get to Matty, now. Come on, come on.” Nellie said, pulling Cressida up by her arm. Cressida yelped but tried her best to stay close behind Nellie as they ran out of the Common room in search of their friend. 

*** 

Matty was out in the Clocktower Courtyard with Sebastian, Esme, and Ominis, trying to get her mind off of things as she had told herself she needed a distraction earlier. It was late but she didn’t feel tired but rather was enjoying her time with them quite a bit and it made her feel slightly better about how she had been feeling recently. 

But then suddenly from behind her, she could hear footsteps. When she turned around, she could see Nellie and Cressida rushing towards her, shouting her name. “Woah, woah, what’s all the commotion about?” She asked, furrowing her brows.

“We saw Apollo up in the Astronomy tower,” Nellie answered, trying to catch her breath. 

“And Sohpia was there,” Cressida interjected, while also out of breath. 

Nellie nodded her head. “Yes. And so, we watched them and—,” 

 “And he used the Imperius curse on her!” Cressida exclaimed, earning herself an unamused look from Nellie for cutting her off. 

Matty looked shocked and confused, The attention of Sebastian, Ominis, and Esme had been caught as well and they were now intently listening in on Nellie and Cressida blurting out their words. 

“So, we followed Sophia, and she went into our dorm.” Nellie continued. “We waited and she came out with one of your journals from last year. I didn’t know what to do so we just ran to find you as fast as we could!” 

Matty’s brows knit together again. What would Apollo want with one of her old journals? “What would he want with one of those?” Sebastian chimed in, asking the question that was on Matty’s mind. And why was he desperate enough for it to go and use an unforgivable curse? 

Then suddenly, Matty’s face paled. “The repository.” She whispered, her voice barely audible. 

“Huh?” Sebastian asked. 

Matty turned to him, her face deathly pale and her eyes wide. “The repository. I wrote about it and about the location in my journal. And I kept it around to prevent anyone from stumbling upon it.” She rushed her words out in a worrisome tone. It was sickly ironic that her efforts to keep this from happening had a hand in this happening. 

Sebastian now looked anxious. There was no doubt that Apollo was going after the repository and its power.

Matty turned to Nellie and Cressida. “Go find Professor Weasley. Tell her it has something to do with a repository. She’ll know what to do.” She ordered the two girls. There was no time to wait around. 

Nellie nodded her head, taking off towards Professor Weasley’s office quickly with Cressida stumbling behind her. “What about Apollo using an unforgivable? Why are we so worried about a journal?” She called out to Nellie, not understanding what was going on. 

“We’ll tell her,” Nellie said. “Just hurry up!”

Matty turned back to Sebastian, Esme, and Ominis. “I’ll need all the help I can get. There’s no doubt that Apollo is already on his way to the repository. If we’re fast enough we might make it just in time.” She said, trying to not let her anxiety show in her tone. 

Without questioning a thing, the three of them were instantly ready to help. “We have your back,” Esme said with a confident nod of her head. 

They began to follow Matty quickly as she took off towards the Map Chamber. “I should’ve been more careful.” Matty thought to herself as she ran as fast as she could. She was not only responsible for the safety of the repository, but she also felt personally responsible to stop Apollo.

On their way to the dungeons, Matty spotted Natty and called out to get her attention. Having Natty help would give them a huge advantage with whatever they may face when they got down under the school. Natty looked over at Matty and figured that the fact that they were sprinting down into the dungeons was pretty important and needed her help. 

So, without questioning a thing, she began to follow them. Matty had helped her without question for almost an entire year and now she wanted to help her without question. 

Ominis heard the change in the sound of their footsteps and realized that they were now in the dungeons. Since he was down here constantly, he memorized the sound of shoes over the stone and could tell where they were. “Why are we in the dungeons?” He asked, wondering just where this repository was. 

“The repository is under the school,” Matty said quickly. “Isidora found caverns under the school and decided to build her repository there. Last year Ranrok drilled into it to get there. I had a faster way, but Apollo took the same route which is why we have to be quick.” 

“Apollo?” Natty asked. “He is here? I thought he was suspended.” 

“It’s a long story,” Sebastian replied to her. It was a long story that he didn’t even know. He knew of the repository but sworn never to press for where it was. But now Matty was suddenly bringing them there—and that made it obvious to him that she was desperate to stop this. 

When they reached the stairs down to the Map Chamber, Sebastian looked surprised. It really had just been here this entire time and somehow no one had ever noticed it. Down the corridor and pushing the Map Chamber doors open, they were hit with the sight of the giant room, almost making Sebastian stop in his tracks. 

The first thing he noticed was the giant stairs leading down into another door—which was the entrance to the repository that meant Apollo was already in there but the first thing Matty noticed was that all four portraits now had charred black splotches all over them. 

“Oh no….” She breathed out. 

Apollo had burned the portraits, getting revenge on the Keepers and that wasn’t even the end of it. “He burned the portraits,” Matty said out loud, rushing down the stairs to the next set where it led to the doorway of the underground caverns. 

“The portraits to who?” Esme asked. Why were such large portraits needed? Who resided here in this chamber? 

“The Keepers. They were the ones that kept the repository a secret until Matty found it.” Sebastian answered Esme. Esme knew about the Keepers, but she had no idea that they had resided here. Now there was no way the Keepers could help Matty unless they could show up in their secondary portraits. 

Matty rushed down and pushed open the door to the underground caverns, revealing the large open spaces right under the castle. Sebastian, Natty, and Esme’s mouths gaped as they saw how big this place was. Although Ominis couldn’t see it, he could practically feel their mouths gaping from where he stood. 

“This is all down here under the school? How has nobody noticed?” Sebastian asked as Matty led them down the path to the repository. 

“Trust me, I asked myself the same question,” Matty replied. 

As she led them down the winding paths of the underground caverns, the memories of that fateful day rushed back into her mind. She hadn’t been down here since around this time last year when Ranrok had attacked and she had silently wished she would never have to return but unfortunately, not everyone got what they wanted, including Matty. 

At least they weren’t having to fight goblins on the way there—that would put them much further behind Apollo. When they arrived near the doorway, Matty practically skidded down towards it. Apollo wouldn’t need the wand to halt the Repository guardians—she had figured that much out after she did it and then Ranrok just walked in unharmed and unbothered. But those guardians not being able to stop him definitely worried her. 

Then, her heart sank practically to her stomach when she saw both giant repository guardians step forward, swords in hand. 

“What are those?!” Esme exclaimed, almost reeling back for a moment. She thought they were just statues and now they were moving?! 

“They’re supposed to guard the Repository and I assume they now see us as the enemy,” Matty said, taking a step back. She grabbed her wand and readied herself. 

“They move pretty slowly so we have that advantage over them. Just don’t get hit, stepped on, or be in the way when they fall apart.” She said to her friends, glancing behind them. Natty had a confused look on her face but she knew this was a “fight now ask questions later” situation. 

She and Matty took the one on the right while Esme, Ominis, and Sebastian took the other one. Thankfully, Matty was much more powerful and in touch with her magic than she was last year, and she had the help of her friends, and this would go a lot quicker. 

“Confringo!” She cast the fiery spell hitting the guardian right in the back, making it tilt forward before turning around, and swinging its sword down at the two girls. 

“Look out!” She shouted at Natty, launching herself forward to tackle her friend to the ground so that she wouldn’t be hit with the sword. Once the sword had been swung, barely missing them, she pulled Natty up and could hear Natty breathe out a small “thank you.” 

The fight was sweat-inducing and Matty could feel herself beginning to get out of breath, but she tried her best to preserve the energy she had left. She was sure the time was out, and Apollo had already opened the repository and she knew she needed that energy for when she would eventually have to fight him.  

She used one of the ancient magic techniques she had learned the year prior, using her magic to grab the sword straight out from the guardian’s hand and stab it straight through itself, sending the guardian stumbling back and crumbling to the ground. 

“Look out!” Sebastian said, getting the attention of Ominis and Esme who were in the way of the falling guardian. 

Esme quickly grabbed Ominis’ hand and ran out of the way. The second guardian was already weak and faltering. With a couple of spells like Bombarda, Confringo, and Diffindo, it was crumbling in seconds. 

The fight here was finally over. The fight for her friends was finally over but Matty’s fight would continue when she entered the repositories room. She turned to her friends. “This is where I go.” She said to them. “I’m not sure what else Apollo has in store, and I’ll need you all out here to make sure nothing happens and I’m not risking having you all get hurt in there.” 

The painstaking memory of Professor Fig falling dead at the hands of Ranrok flashed through her mind, leaving a burning feeling in the back of her throat. She hated remembering the look on his face as he left the world, leaving her to deal with this mess alone and scared. 

Sebastian stepped up to her, a concerned expression on his face. “You can’t face him alone, Matty. You don’t know what he’ll do to you.” 

“Which is exactly why I have to go it alone,” Matty replied, her tone firm and unwavering. “I don’t know what he’s going to do which is why I’m not allowing any of you to accompany me. He could kill all of you first and then leave me alive to suffer with it—I’m not allowing that to happen.” 

By just her tone, Sebastian knew she was serious and there was no use fighting on this. They were already losing time. He pulled her forward and pressed a firm kiss on her lips, pulling away moments later. “Please do not die. Swear on Merlin’s name that you’ll be okay.” 

“It’ll be okay,” Matty said, giving him a reassuring smile. 

There was no “I’ll be fine,” or “I’ll come out of this alive,” just an “It’ll be okay,” because she knew it’d be okay no matter what happened to her in there. She looked at her friends and gave them a nod before turning to the doors. 

Sebastian stepped back, Natty putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She knew how strong Matty was and had full confidence that she would come out of there.

The doors to the repository room opened and Matty stepped forward with a small inhale, trying to calm herself and get into the right mind before she faced Apollo. Sebastian and her friends watched as the door closed, sealing the fate of whatever was going to take place there and they could only hope that Matty would take the victory. 

*** 

The feeling of the room was cold and desolate, and the repository was opened, red and black seeping around the whole room, causing a shiver to run down Matty’s spine. The magic here was dark and powerful and she hated the fact that she had a connection to it. 

All the way down at the repository’s platform stood Apollo. His hair was disheveled, and his countenance was dark. He heard the doors and turned around, seeing Matty enter. He figured she’d show up eventually, annoying as it was. There was a red glint in his eyes, the magic had already taken him over and corrupted whatever bit of light that was left in him. 

“I figured you’d show up.” He said to her as he walked forward, his wand gripped tightly in his hand. “You just can’t leave anything alone, can you? You always have to ruin everything.” 

“You can go ahead and think that, but that’s the last thing on my mind and I could care less,” Matty said, in turn, her wand was also gripped tightly in her hand. Apollo could tell she was somewhat exhausted from the fight right before entering and a smirk tugged at his lips. 

“Those guardians came are pretty handy, I will admit. They were just about the only good thing the Keepers did for this world.” Apollo said, a slight hint of mockery in his tone. “Oh, and speaking of the Keepers—since you’re down here I assume you found that little surprise I left of their portraits. I figured since they burned Isidora’s that it was only fair.” 

Matty’s eyes narrowed, a strong glare now being held on her face. “This isn’t funny.” She said, already sick of his mocking tone. 

He let out a chuckle. “Oh, but it is fun. Who knew revenge was so fun? Had I known, I would have done this ages ago when you were least expecting it.” He stated, his maliciously annoying grin still plastered on his face. “But I suppose you did expect something to happen, didn’t you?” 

Well, she couldn’t deny that he was right about that. He knew her better than she thought, and she hated it. The more you knew someone, the more you could play with their mind, and Matty was never one for being able to resist mind games very well. 

“Revenge for an ancestor who lived hundreds of years ago and who you’ll never know sounds pretty pathetic.” Matty hissed out through gritted teeth. “Especially since Isidora wouldn’t have a care in the world for you if she knew her.” 

“You’re blissfully ignorant of it because this isn’t some rightful revenge. This is you wanting power. Your own magic has corrupted you and your thoughts.” 

Apollo’s grin turned into a tight line, his eyebrows slanting down into a glare. She was right but he didn’t like the truth. There was no sensible thought running through his mind at the moment—he couldn’t think straight. All there was in his mind was his magic clouding any judgment further than he already had himself and it was controlling him. 

His grip tightened around the wand until his knuckles were white. “I should kill you for that.” 

“I’d like to see you try.” Matty spat back, taking a stance. 

“I tried to give you a chance. I tried to make you listen to me.” Apollo said, glaring daggers down at her. “But you wouldn’t. You were so ignorant of what I was trying to say that you didn’t even give me a chance. You got me kicked out and shamed. I tried my best to help you and so many others, yet you killed it before it could happen!”

“You’re wrong,” Matty said firmly. “I gave you a chance and you blew it. Terribly too. I can’t give you any more chances. This has to end now.” 

“Then so be it,” Apollo spoke, raising his wand.

Knowing he’d show absolutely no mercy, Matty was ready from the moment she saw the green mist begin to form around the tip of Apollo’s wand. “Avada Kedavra!” He seethed, sending the bright green flashing light hurling towards her. 

Because she had noticed it before he cast, she was able to jump out of the way and point her wand back up at him. “Bombarda!” She shouted, sending a spell right back at him. 

He countered with Protego, causing the spell to explode on the shield rather than on him. The way he did it so effortlessly made Matty seem completely powerless against him, and a small feeling of discouragement passed through her. 

“Depulso!” He cast and Matty blocked it with Protego but then the moment the shield faded away, she was hit with another Depulso faster than she could block it. Since when was Apollo good at nonverbal casting? This was proving harder than she’d thought. 

She was sent flying into the wall with a loud grunt, feeling pain shoot up her spine. Her wand fell out of her hand as she slid to the ground, breathing heavily. Apollo walked toward her, having no intention of allowing her a moment to rest. 

Not having her wand in hand, when Apollo neared, Matty resulted to using physical forms to fight back. She swung her fist up at him as hard as she could, only for it to be grasped by Apollo. He twisted her arm and she let out a pained growl, trying to get her arm free. 

“I thought this would be harder. Honestly, this is kind of pathetic.” Apollo said, letting go of her arm. “Ranrok must’ve been really weak if you defeated him.” 

His taunting words fell on deaf ears. Matty wouldn’t give up, even if it was in her worst interest. She’d rather die trying than die being a coward. She lurched forward to grab her wand, whipping it up at Apollo. “Incendio!” 

The flames made Apollo stumble back, just barely missing the hottest part of the spell. The side of his face was rendered red but not burnt. But this act of defense just made him angry, especially since he was getting cocky. 

He raised his wand again and cast Crucio with a sickly evil look on his face. Matty could hear the crack from the spell and knew there was no time to get out of the way, so she braced herself from the pain she had felt before. 

 Hot, searing pain tore up her body the moment the spell hit her, and she let out a scream of pain before forcefully clamping her own hand over her mouth, not wanting to give Apollo the satisfaction of causing her pain. She groaned and twitched as the spell continued to wrack her body with unbearable pain. 

As it finally began to fade, she was losing some control over her body. She felt so weak and exhausted already. Whereas fighting Ranrok was much different, Apollo was a vessel for this magic and embodied it. And him already having control over the ancient magic made it so he had so much more control over the repository's magic than Ranrok did. 

Matty clutched her side, feeling the pain radiate on her ribs. She felt so weak, but she just couldn’t let Apollo win. If he did there was no telling what he would do. She was the last line of defense and couldn’t give up. 

Her vision was blurry, and her head felt dazed—from afar she could see Apollo walking up to her, hearing his footsteps get closer and closer. A thought slipped into her mind. She remembered a simple sentence that Apollo had told her his mother had said to him: “What can be given can be taken away.” 

An idea popped into her mind. Maybe Apollo was right. Maybe this did apply to magic but not in the way he thought. The repository was to hold that magic. It needed a vessel and if not a repository, it needed a living vessel to be in and if it could be given to that vessel, it could be taken away. 

As Apollo got closer, she mustered all the strength she had left to shove herself backward, turning on her knee so that she was facing him again and now standing up. She could feel the blood run down her knee now but the adrenaline she felt took away the dull pain. If this was going to work, all she needed was for Apollo to strike first. 

And he did but she quickly countered, the magic between their wand clashing. Apollo had a deathly look in his eyes, he was practically trembling at this point he was so bloodthirsty. He wanted Matty dead, and he wanted to be the one to kill her. 

Matty’s other hand went to grip her wand, feeling herself being slightly inched back by the sheer power that was clashing between the two of them. Both of them were filled with pure determination to defeat the other even if their motives weren’t the same. Matty was searching for that connection, the connection between two physical vessels. That magic needed a place to go, and she refused to let Apollo be that place. 

It would be difficult to fight off the deathly whispers of the magic that would always tell her to use the magic for malicious purposes, but she’d fight it to her last dying breath. Apollo had already succumbed to it and needed to be stopped. 

Her vision was distorted, and her ears were ringing but she still held her stance. Apollo had a malicious grin on his face as he realized she was getting weaker and weaker, the bright flashes of their magic clashing getting stronger and stronger—almost blinding. But then he felt something shift inside of him as if he suddenly had less control over the magic he was possessing. 

His grin was wiped off his face as he felt himself lose control, his brows narrowing in confusion. Matty could feel a surge that gave her all of the energy she needed to see this through. 

“What’s happening? What’s going on?”  Apollo thought to himself frantically. He felt his grasp on the magic slip from him and was now being overpowered. He was screaming internally at himself to not allow her to win but he couldn’t. Without the magic from the repository, he was powerless against her. 

Matty’s grip tightened on her wand. The magic was so powerful that her wand was beginning to crack up near the tip of it. “Only a few moments more. You can do this.” She told herself. 

Suddenly, Apollo felt any of the control over the magic from the repository rush from him and he felt weak. His wand dropped from his hand, and he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath as his hand pressed firmly against his chest. His body was so exhausted he fell unconscious right there. The repositories magic had been ripped straight from him. 

Matty stumbled back as her wand cracked the rest of the way down. A red hue appeared in her eyes as she felt the magic rush into her body. She let out a cry—not out of pain but mostly one just out of being overwhelmed by the sheer power that it held. 

Her vision went white and all she could hear was the ringing in her ears before she collapsed on the hard ground, unconscious. 

*** 

Matty didn’t know how long she had been unconscious before her eyes opened again. She was still on the ground, small rocks cutting into her cheek. With a groan, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking around now that her vision was coming back to her. She had never felt so exhausted in her life—she could barely get herself to sit up. 

She saw Apollo just a few feet away from her. For a moment, she thought she had killed him before she heard a small exhale from his mouth, his chest rising and falling ever so slightly. 

Straining to stand up, Matty clutched her side. “Sebastian!” She called out with whatever strength she had left, hoping he’d hear it. Or at least one of her friends would. 

And surely enough, they did. The door to the repository room swung open and she could see them. Sebastian, taking in Matty’s damaged appearance, rushed forward. “Matty!” He shouted, seeing her appearance. 

Ominis, Esme, and Natty rushed forward as well. Natty rushed forward and grabbed Apollo’s wand, snapping it and throwing it off into the cavern around them, not even taking a moment to inspect his body. 

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” Matty breathed out heavily as Sebastian rushed up to her. The skin around her fingertips was slightly shredded and blood was leaking from them, along with a few other places on her body. 

Sebastian let out a sigh of relief just to see her alive and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing a firm kiss to her forehead. He was so relieved to see her he could cry. 

Esme was the first to notice Apollo’s body. She could tell he wasn’t dead but what had Matty done to him? How had she defeated him if he had the repositories magic? Matty noticed Esme looking at Apollo’s body. 

“He’s alive.” She said, her chest rising and falling a bit slower now. “But he’s very weak and I suspect he’ll be weak for a long time.” 

Well, Esme wasn’t about to question anything. She was just glad Matty was alive, even if she had been beaten up quite a bit in the process. After making sure Matty was well enough to walk with a bit of assistance, they figured they needed to get out of there. 

Esme and Natty helped Matty walk while Ominis and Sebastian practically dragged Apollo’s body out behind them. On their way up, they ran into Professor Weasley, who was accompanied by Professors Ronen, Sharp, Hecat, Shah, and Onai. But when she saw that it had already been taken care of, she was pleasantly surprised. 

She led them up to the flying lawn, saying that she had informed the Ministry of a young man who had used an unforgivable on a fellow student and that Aurors should be there already. 

Apollo was semi-conscious as the sun that was beginning to rise hit his eyes. Matty saw a couple of Aurors on the field, who looked over, quickly assessing the situation and figuring out who they were here for. 

Two of them grabbed Apollo and took him away from the group, explaining to whatever conscious part of him that he’d be detained and put on trial. Another one of the Aurors came walking straight up to Matty, noticing her damaged appearance. 

“Excuse me, Miss. But do you mind explaining what he did?” He asked Matty, knowing she had something to do with this. 

“Is it not already obvious?” Matty said with a dry chuckle, trying to humor herself through the pain. It was pretty clear just by her appearance that Apollo had tried to kill her without any mercy. And that was now painfully obvious to the Auror. 

“If you want witnesses of him using the Imperius Curse, you’re going to want to talk to Nellie Oggspire and Cressida Blume. They were the ones that saw it.” She followed up with. Besides, she felt too weak to recount the entire thing back to the Auror. 

The Auror nodded and stepped off and Matty could see another Auror discussing something with Professor Weasley. Some students had gathered to see what the commotion was about but all they could tell was that some form of danger had been avoided and some cheered Matty on from the sidelines. 

Sebastian walked up to Matty, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “We should get you to the hospital wing, you need it.” He said. It was more of an order than a suggestion. Matty needed medical attention and he wasn’t going to allow her to just deny it. 

But Matty wasn’t going to deny it, she knew she needed help and honestly wanted it terribly in that moment. The skin near her fingertips was burning and she was in terrible pain. “Yes please,” She said, letting out a small, pained laugh. 

Sebastian nodded before helping her off to the hospital wing while Professor Weasley handled everything else. The nightmare was finally over. Apollo was being sent away and was without the magic of the repository. And now that the magic was using Matty as its vessel, there was no longer a need to worry about anyone discovering the repository. 

Whatever was built under the castle was now completely bare and now rendered useless. But in a way that was a good thing. Now nobody would go looking for it. Whereas Matty was anxious being the holder of the repository magic—after all, there was a reason why she had put it all back in the first place—she had confidence that she could fight off the temptations that it would bring. 

The wizarding world was safe as long as she could help it. And she was going to make sure of that even if it came to her last dying breath. 

Chapter Text

In the Hospital Wing, Nurse Blainey was patching up Matty. Sebastian had come up with her, having to sit out for a bit while Nurse Blainey treated some of Matty’s wounds. He just hoped some of them wouldn’t be too bad. 

When he came back, Nurse Blainey was tending to the wounds on Matty’s hands. “Good Merlin.” She murmured as she assessed the injuries. Matty’s skin on her fingertips had practically been shredded. Most of it was still intact but it did look rather painful. 

She applied some sort of soothing balm onto the injured area that made Matty’s hands feel tingly, but she appreciated it nonetheless. Her adrenaline was wearing off, making her wounds hurt much more than they originally did. Nurse Blainey told her to take it easy and to try and not to use her hands for a while, as hard as that’d be. 

When Matty was all patched up, she sawt in the bed, allowing her body to rest after such an exhausting fight. Sebastian took a seat beside her, a loving but slightly concerned look on his face. “How are you doing?” He asked, placing a hand on her upper arm so as to not irritate her hands. 

“Exhausted and barely awake but much better than I was before I came in here,” Matty replied in a slightly scratchy voice. 

Sebastian stood and grabbed the pitcher of water and poured some into a glass that Nurse Blainey had set out earlier. He helped the cup to her lips with one hand and with the other, slightly tilted up her jaw to help her drink it. He knew she’d have a hard time doing it on her own because of the state that her hands were in at the moment. 

Seeing her in a state like this hurt him but he knew she was strong and would bounce back quickly. “You were very brave going in there alone you know.” He said to her in a gentle tone. 

A small grin tugged on the corner of her lips. “They didn’t put me in Gryffindor for nothing.” She joked, coughing slightly as she laughed at her own joke. 

Sebastian rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit at her bad joke. “Well, overall I’m just glad you’re okay.” He said. He then looked as if he was thinking about something. “Although, I do have to ask—How are you going to deal with this whole magic thing? I mean, how do you feel about it is my real question?” 

Matty let out a small sigh, her lips slightly pursed before speaking. “I’m nervous. I’ll admit that much.” She replied. “But I’m sure that I can deal with it somehow. It’s better for me to go through this than to have someone else who can’t be trusted with this to be in possession of it. 

“I understand what you mean,” Sebastian spoke. “But please, never refrain from asking for help—with anything. You know I’m more than willing to help you with anything.” 

“Some things can’t be helped, my love,” Matty said to him with love in her eyes. She just didn’t want him to worry about her. She knew all he wanted to do was help her, but she wasn’t sure if this could be helped. She’d just have to fight off any dark urges that slipped into her mind because of the magic. She would not allow herself to become like Isidora and Apollo. 

Her mind still felt hazy and sure was sure that a part of that had to do with the magic, but she was fighting back for full control of herself. This was what Professor Fig would’ve wanted her to do. She couldn’t allow herself to become the person she swore to him she’d never become. 

The rest of the day dragged on quite a bit. Sebastian eventually had to retire to his bedroom for some rest, also leaving Matty to get some rest as well. Professor Weasley cleared up his, Matty’s, Ominis’, Esme’s, and Natty’s day to allow them all to get the rest they needed. 

Speaking of Professor Weasley, she came up to speak with Matty, hoping to get some of the details for a report to the Aurors and to also check in how Matty was doing. Matty tried her best to recount what she could remember to Professor Weasley about the experience. 

Throughout the day while Matty was awake, her friends would come up to visit, many bringing her flowers and good wishes hoping for her to recover soon. Andrew, Amit, and Everett were surprisingly the first ones there, wishing her the best. Poppy and Adelaide swung by to give her flowers and their wishes as well. 

Bella and Elliot were next, although the conversation was a bit more grim with them. Elliot learned the truth about his ex-best friend, someone whom he thought he could trust for so many years. Matty apologized to him, feeling bad that he had to hear about this, but Elliot told her he needed to hear this and thanked her for her work. 

A friendship ending would always hurt but Elliot was just glad that peace and safety had been restored. He had also had some time to feel the reality that he and Apollo were no longer friends several days before this. 

Late in the evening, Sebastian, Esme, and Ominis came to visit her. Natty had just left to get some rest. Esme walked over to Matty’s bed, setting down some flowers on her bedside table before pressing a light kiss to her cheek. “It’s good to see you looking a bit brighter.” She said to Matty, stepping back a bit next to Ominis. 

“It’s good to see the three of you here. And thank you for the flowers.” Matty replied, a genuine smile on her face. Seeing her friends always brought a smile to her face. Happiness was truly the best medicine for her. 

The four of them talked until Nurse Blainey insisted they all get some rest—especially Matty since she was still recovering from her injuries. 

Her recovery would be long and hard but just as Sebastian had said to her—she would get the help she needed with whatever trials she may face, and she had full confidence in herself that everything would be okay now. 

Chapter Text

In the next couple of weeks leading up to the first of June, there was a lot that had gone on. Matty slowly but surely began to heal and to slip back into her normal life. When she was released from the hospital wing, she was mostly still bedridden due to Nurse Blainey not wanting her to overdo it. Knowing Matty, she made sure to keep her in bed so as to not tempt her to do anything wild while she was still healing. 

Matty’s hands began to heal although it was difficult not to use her hands constantly and then to start using them again once they began to heal. She had to practice basic simple things such as writing with a quill or holding books open and flipping pages. Sebastian had no problem sticking by her side and helping her practice. He’d spend hours with her just helping her. 

Feeling her hands once she got her wraps off was an odd sensation, but she was just happy that her hands were healing, even if she was having a hard time doing basic things sometimes. 

Eventually, she got her wand fixed by Ollivander so that it was as good as new. She had worried it would be unfixable as the cracking was so bad you could see inside of the wand, but Ollivander had just the skillset to fix it and Matty was reunited with her beloved wand. 

A lot of her friends had offered to help her with her schoolwork—specifically Amit who was more than happy to help. Whether that was collecting her assignments and bringing them to her or taking notes for her in the classes that she couldn’t attend. Either way, he brought the papers to her with a smile each time. 

As time went by, Matty was informed of Apollo’s sentence. He had been sentenced to life in Azkaban just two weeks after the incident. She was informed via a Daily Prophet paper before Professor Weasley could even tell her. “Former Hogwarts Student sentenced to life in Azkaban.” It read in big, bold letters. 

Part of her was sad that it had to end this way but the other part of her was at peace with what happened. All of it was for the better of the wizarding world. 

She had not expected that year to go the way that it did with Apollo and she had her regrets, moments of mistakes and things she wished she could change  but if Professor Fig were here he'd tell her that was all apart of the process of learning. 

As June neared, end-of-term tests were held and talk of how excited students were for the summer began to become more and more common. Matty was excited to return to London and reunite with her family but at the same time, she was sad that she had to leave her friends. Leaving Sebastian was indeed going to be difficult, especially knowing how much he had gone through last summer. 

During this time, Matty had also turned seventeen which enticed a lot of jokes about her finally being able to do magic outside of Hogwarts as if she didn’t live around a bunch of muggles. But nonetheless, she was quite excited as it would make her life a lot better using magic where and when she could. 

Poppy had helped Matty make sure all of the animals in the Room of Requirement were taken care of and Deek was once again entrusted with the task of taking care of them throughout the summer. Which he happily obliged to. Poppy had often found him talking to the beasts as if they could understand him. And who knows—maybe they could. Deek was a house elf of many talents. 

On the thirty-first of May, the house cup was held. Everyone was a buzz and wondering who would win this year's house cup following Gryffindor’s win last year. Headmaster Black announced that Slytherin had won that year's house cup which enticed a loud roar of cheers to erupt from the Slytherin table. 

But when Sebastian made a joke about it to Matty, teasing her about Gryffindor not winning, she just reminded him that Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin in their Quidditch match that year and Matty had already broken Slytherin’s winning streak two separate times with the house cup and quidditch—which shut Sebastian up pretty quickly. Although he did laugh about it later. 

On the morning of June first, there was an odd air around the school. A mix of happiness and sadness was the best way to describe it. Many were happy to reunite with their loved ones while also being sad that they’d have to leave the school and their friends behind for the next three months. 

Packing up her things felt a little unreal. She had gotten so used to being at Hogwarts that to an extent, it was hard to believe she was even going home to stay for a while. What would next year be like? It’d be her last and she wasn’t sure if she had accepted that fact yet. 

Of course, Sebastian whisked Matty away to the outskirts of Hogsmeade, saying that they could walk to the train station together later just as they had done the year before. To spend their last moments with each other before Matty had to return to London for the summer. 

And speaking of the Summer, Matty couldn’t help but extend the invitation to Sebastian that he could stay with her family over the summer. They would be more than happy to take him in and house him until school began again and honestly Matty was a little surprised that her mother hadn’t practically begged her to ask Sebastian yet. 

“You know, we don’t have to be apart for three months. You know my family always has their doors open to you.” She said to him as they walked hand in hand on the cobbled paths right outside of Hogsmeade together. 

Sebastian chuckled. “Well, I definitely know that but I’m not sure I could survive London for three whole months. I’m not sure how you survived there for so long.” He chuckled. “Besides, someone needs to watch over that old house in Feldcroft. I have plans to fix it up too. I won’t be living at the school for forever.” 

“Fair but what will you be doing during the summer months? Won’t it get lonely?” Matty asked, looking over at him. 

“Oh, I’m sure it will.” He replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. “I’ll miss you a lot, but I actually have a job lined up as of a couple of weeks ago. I was going to tell you, but I supposed it slipped my mind.” 

Matty raised a brow. Was he going to work with Sirona again? She knew she’d have no problem employing Sebastian again, but Matty also knew if he was going to work for her again, she would’ve already heard about it by now. 

“Oh? And what are you going to be doing all summer?” She asked him. 

“Well, it’s a long story actually.” Sebastian chuckled. Obviously, he felt that the story was quite humorous. “Mr. Ndiaye reached out to Eddie Thistlewood, who lives in Brocburrow. Mr. Thistlewood then reached out to a friend of his who lives in Brocburrow and runs a small Blacksmith business there and he said it’d be a good job to keep me busy over the summer.” 

Matty remembered speaking to Mr. Thistlewood once, helping him return some Chinese Chomping Cabbages and get them Feldcroft to help defend them from the goblins. But a blacksmith job was honestly the last thing she expected Sebastian to be interested in. 

“Really? I never thought you were the type to be interested in that kind of stuff.” She said, although her interest was piqued. 

Sebastian just shrugged his shoulders. “I’m interested in a lot of things, Matty. Besides, it’s a good skill to have. I mean, if Curse-breaking doesn’t work out for me, I have a backup, you know?” 

A small grin tugged on the side of Matty’s lips as she leaned in a bit towards him. “My father didn’t happen to have any influence in this sudden interest, did he?” She asked in a teasing tone. Her father, who wasn’t a blacksmith but was an inventor and carpenter, had spent a lot of time talking to Sebastian about these kinds of things. The two pinged off of each other perfectly. 

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Well maybe.” He admitted bashfully. “I will admit he definitely got me more interested in stuff like this, but I promise that wasn’t the entire reason why. I think it might come in handy when I’m fixing up the house too. Mr. Laurier is going to be teaching me a lot of things outside of smithery.” 

“If you say so.” Matty chuckled. “But, I really am happy you have a job set up for yourself and you’re going to be keeping yourself busy. But don’t be too busy and forget to write to me, okay? I still expect owls from you.” 

“Oh don’t worry about that. I’ll write you more than I’ll work I promise.” He said, leaning over to press a kiss to the side of her head. “But what about you? Have anything exciting planned for the summer?”

Matty shrugged her shoulders. “Not particularly but I figured I might as well work if I can. Perhaps I’ll just get an internship somewhere or maybe work as a secretary. I have a knack for organization, so I figure that’ll be useful.” 

Matty wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with her life after she graduated from Hogwarts. Sure, marriage and starting a family were heavy on her mind constantly. That was something she knew she wanted but she also wanted to work at least for a while if not longer. But choosing between working in the muggle world or the wizarding world was a tough decision she hadn’t quite made up her mind about yet. 

Her options were very limited in the muggle world and managing herself would be much harder as she would be unmarried, and the law didn’t exactly play to her favor as a young woman. Whereas the Wizarding world opened up several more options to her and most of which she had a feeling she’d enjoy more. 

It would be a no-brainer if her parents weren't muggles. The thought of leaving them was always poking at her in the back of her mind which was why she hadn’t decided on a career she wanted to dedicate herself to quite yet. 

Being an Auror had been on her mind for quite a bit. She had the skill set she needed to get accepted into the training and so getting into the program shouldn’t be so hard. But at the same time, there was the matter of it not only being dangerous but also being corrupt. Knowing herself, she knew that getting fired for not following corrupt orders might be swift after becoming an Auror. 

But if she did become one, she wanted to be the change there. Aurors were there to protect people. She wanted to succeed where others failed. 

Sebastian had taken up an interest in Curse-Breaking ever since he studied so much about them after Anne’s unfortunate incident of being cursed. It wasn’t something he expected to do until last year, but he figured he’d do pretty well in it and had been studying for it all year long. 

“I can’t believe so much time has already passed,” Matty said suddenly as they were now walking on their way to the train station. “I feel like I’ve known you for forever yet when I think about it, I can’t believe it’s already summer.” 

“Time flies by when you’re defending the wizarding world.” Sebastian joked to her. “But I’ll agree with you that a lot of time has passed. Sometimes I still can’t believe we met in Defense Against the Dark Art’s and one of the first things you perceived of me was me almost crushing Leander with a dragon skull.” 

Matty let out a small laugh, recalling the memory of her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. “Well, actually it was a discussion between you and Ominis about whether you could use Accio on humans or not at the end of Charms class. Though, I don’t think you knew I had overheard that.” She said with a small chuckle. 

Sebastian’s face went a little pink. “Wait, you heard that?” He asked. “Well, that’s embarrassing.” 

Matty laughed again. “Everyone could hear you. Sometimes you think out loud when you’re talking to people like Ominis.” She teased. “What was that even about? It’s an odd subject that’s for sure.” 

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck. “You know what, I don’t even remember.” He chuckled. “I figure it had something to do with class since we were reviewing Accio that day. Although knowing that you overheard my stupid thoughts is quite embarrassing and it’s going to be bugging me for the next little bit.” 

Another laugh escaped Matty’s mouth. “I don’t even remember a thing.” She lied, trying to make him feel a bit better about the situation. 

In the distance, several students and carts were coming up the path. The reality that their time at Hogwarts was temporarily over was now settling in. The once loud and lively school was now close to silent and now whatever footsteps were there now echoed due to the lack of students in the halls. 

The house elves had fixed up a special meal for the students, ensuring that they wouldn’t go hungry on their train ride back to Kings Cross station. Oh, those house elves, Matty was going to miss them. She had snuck down into the kitchen occasionally just to visit with them and speak with them. She truly wished that more people cared for them the way that she did. 

As they reached the train station, goodbyes began to be exchanged. Ominis and Esme, although they would not be taking the Hogwarts Express back to their homes, still came to say their final goodbyes to their friends. 

Tearfully, Matty exchanged her goodbyes with her friends who would not be going on the train. Giving a bone-crushing hug to both Ominis and Esme and promising to write them often while she was at home. A promise which they both reciprocated to her. 

Lyssa, Ominis’ little sister, impatiently tapped her foot a couple of feet away with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression painted on her face as she waited for her older brother to stop being so “mushy” and to just get over with his goodbyes already. She just wanted to get home and away from this hellhole of a school where people were actually decent to each other. 

Which, after she bugged him enough, he just told her to be silent and patient because he wasn’t leaving until he had his goodbyes. She let out a scowl before walking away further off on the train station's platform, enticing a small laugh from Esme’s mouth that she quickly covered up with a cough. 

When it came time for Matty to bid her goodbyes to Sebastian, she almost didn’t want to. If she didn’t say goodbye, she wouldn’t have to leave, right? 

Their hug felt like it lasted forever, Sebastian wrapping his arms tightly around her and not wanting to let go knowing that this would be the last time he would be able to hug her for the next three months. The only thing he would have was her letters and the memories he had made with her over the past two years. Which would suffice, but he would much rather be around her than be so far away. 

“I’ll miss you,” She said quietly into his shoulder, trying her best to keep any tears from falling down onto the fabric of his shirt. 

“I’ll miss you too,” He said quietly, almost in a murmur. 

He didn’t want her to leave. He was still worried about her. About what she would now have to deal with as a result of the repository being opened and her now being a vessel for its magic. But he knew that she had to go. He himself was fighting the burning feeling in his throat as tears threatened to fall. 

“Promise to write to me about anything and everything. It could be anything, I just want to hear from you okay?” He rambled on, pulling away a bit. “And I mean anything—I love reading your letters.” 

“Just shut up and kiss me already.” Matty laughed tearfully as she pulled him into what she thought would be their last kiss for the next three months. She didn’t really care that people were around them and could see—something that she usually avoided doing when she was in public, but she was saying goodbye to her boyfriend, and it didn’t really matter who was around. 

Despite the fact that Ominis was blind and was no stranger to displays of affection, Esme still jokingly put a hand over his eyes, which enticed him to say, “They’re kissing, aren’t they?” to which Esme just giggled, answering his question without actually having to say anything. 

The train horn blew, which was Matty’s sign that she needed to go ahead and board the train. Hope, Garreth, and Leander were already sitting in a booth and saved a spot for her. 

“I love you and don’t you forget it,” Matty said for one last time, giving Sebastian a peck on the cheek and giving Esme and Ominis a wave before finally turning around and reluctantly entering the train. 

She made her way down to the booth where Garreth, Hope, and Leander sat. Luckily, it was right outside of where Sebastian, Ominis, and Esme were standing much to Matty’s delight. The train horn blew again, signaling that it was about to move. 

Matty opened the window so she could lean out and wave to her friends, who waved back at her when she began. What she wasn’t expecting was Sebastian to rush up and pull himself up onto the window slightly to give her one last goodbye kiss before the train began to pull out of the station. 

Matty wasn’t expecting it, but she kissed back with a smile on her face. Godric’s Heart did she love Sebastian Sallow more than anything else in the world. 

“Sebastian get back over here before you get run over,” Esme said with a light chuckle, prompting Sebastian to get down and take a place beside her and Ominis. 

The train began to pull out of the station and windows were opened for students to wave goodbye to those on the station. Matty waved for quite a while as the train began to leave, a small feeling of sadness growing in her heart that she would not see her friends for three months. 

But everything would be okay. It was always okay in the end. Matty didn’t know what these next few months would bring especially with the most recent changes in her life, but she believed in herself that she could handle them. 

She had everything she needed. Her family, her friends, and a boy who loved her more than life itself which in her opinion, was everything that was worth it in her life. 

And even through the hardship and betrayal that she had experienced that year, she was still looking forward to her next year at Hogwarts. She even began to wonder what threat she’d have to face as if it was some sort of ongoing joke now. 

Besides all the hardship, she knew Professor Fig was smiling down at her, proud of her that she kept going despite all odds. And the thought of him being proud of her was what she needed to get through any of the trials this magic brought to her. 

She was the Keeper and the one entrusted to keep the safety of the Wizarding World and she fully intended on keeping it safe for the rest of her life. 

Chapter Text

Hey guys, it's Matty :)

I just wanted to come on here and thank all of you for your support. Especially those who have stuck with me throughout this year of me writing. This is my third book I finished in just under a year after never being able to finish a book before no matter how hard I tried and I gave up writing for two years because of it.

But now I'm more encouraged to write than ever and it's because of wonderful readers like y'all who read my content and support me. I love you guys a thousand times over.

To answer a question a couple of people asked me, yes, there will be another book! Matty's story is a trilogy and so there will be one last book following this and buckle up because it'll be a lot!

Again, thank you all for reading and following along with Matty's story or even reading my other fic. Everything counts and I love you guys so much and I wouldn't have been able to do this without you all.

With so much love,

Matty ❤️❤️❤️