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Elisa and Sebastian were exploring yet another eerie location in his ambitious hunt for something to help his sister. This time, it was another cave that supposedly contained something useful. Shadows flickered against the walls as their wands guided them through the dim and damp caverns. Sebastian walked on confidently with Elisa trailing behind, her keeping an eye out for any danger as well as keeping her eye out for any moonstone she could bring back to Professor Weasley for the Room of Requirement.
“Don't fall too far behind, now,” Sebastian called over his shoulder, his voice echoing off the walls. “Don’t want you getting lost. I know it’s awfully…scenic in here.”
She rolled her eyes, quickening her pace to catch up. “I’m not going to get lost. You are the one who always walks too fast.”
He smirked, his voice a teasing tone. “Excuses, excuses.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, mildly irritated by his tone, although it faded quickly. They continued, their conversations filling the air as they navigated their way around. It grew darker and darker as they went in, their wands the only illumination at this point. Elisa tried to stay close to him to avoid any risks of separation posing.
Without warning, a powerful gust of wind, so strong it could have been conjured by a Ventus charm, tore through them from the outside, sending their wands flying from their hands. In an instant, darkness swallowed them whole.
“Elisa?” Sebastian called out after a slight sigh of annoyance. “Where are you? Did you move from where you were?”
“I’m here,” her voice wavered, coming from just in front of him. It was a small, uncertain tone he’d never heard from her before. He took a step forward to follow her voice, but she had the same idea, and they bumped right into each other. “S-Sorry!” Elisa’s voice was closer now, just a breath away; Sebastian’s hands instinctively moved upon contact to where he presumed her arms were, steadying her.
“It’s alright, it’s not like you knew I was so close,” he said, his voice low and reassuring as he held her steady in the dark. “We just have to find our damn wands. How did so much wind even get in here?”
She tilted her head, not that he could see, and felt his hands move off her arms. “I’m not sure, I wonder if it was that phenomenon known as cave breathing. It felt like it was due to pressure.” She answered, more to herself than anything. “Regardless, I feel as though I am in a horror novel. Do you suppose Accio might work even if we aren’t holding our—”
She was cut off by a loud sound, causing her to jump and instinctively latch onto his arm in front of her. He felt his heart skip a beat at her sudden and admittedly tight hold on him. Her curls brushed against his neck ever so slightly, soft and sweet-smelling, and his mind went blank for a moment. He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t used to this type of contact with her—plus, she was always so cheerful, so steady. And now she was holding onto him like he was her lifeline.
“It’s… it’s alright,” he murmured. His chest grew tight as he became painfully aware of every point of contact between them. Merlin have mercy. He was suddenly grateful for the darkness, knowing his face was probably reddening a smidge. But admittedly, this was a little bit entertaining, too, so he had to have a little fun with it. “It was probably some kind of undiscovered beast here to eat our flesh off for intruding.” he added in an impish tone.
“I hate you, Sallow, I hope you know that.” She replied in an effort to sound flat, though there was still a playful edge in her tone. “And if something tries to eat our flesh off, I am sacrificing you since it was your idea to go here to begin with.”
“You don’t hate anyone. Besides, a loyal little Hufflepuff like you would never do something like that,” he quipped, amusement still evident in his voice. He knew he was right, and so did she.
But then, as if for comedic effect in a cartoon, Elisa’s body tensed once again as she felt a sudden tickle on her leg. She assumed it was nothing until the sensation was traveling, and tantalizingly slow—not going away. She finally registered that there were multiple tiny and spindly legs tickling her skin through the thin fabric of her tights as the sensation continued to make its way up her leg. A bug. “Se-Sebastian—”
“What now?”
As the bug made its trek higher up her leg, a startled shriek barely escaped her. In her panic, she instinctively backed into him—harder than she intended—her squirming and kicking only making things worse. Though he couldn’t see what was happening, he certainly felt it. Thrown off balance, he slipped, and with her still clutching onto him, they tumbled to the hard cave floor. She landed right on top of him as he hit the ground with a thud, landing right on his ass.
“Th-There’s something on my leg!” She squealed in horror, her hands clinging to his robes as if she didn’t just knock the poor boy down with him cushioning her.
He let out a groan at the harsh impact. “Bloody hell!” he yelped. Luckily enough somehow, in the seemingly chaotic mess he was now in, he shifted slightly and felt his hip land painfully on something hard. His wand. His mind snapped into action as he grabbed it and held it up. “Hold still for a moment—Lumos!” Light burst from his wand tip, illuminating the cave in a soft glow. His eyes immediately darted to Elisa’s leg, where a tiny, harmless beetle was crawling.
A beetle.
Elisa, who had bravely taken on Acromantulas as if it were just another day in her life, was now on his lap, tears streaming down her face, her expression contorted into the ugliest, most dramatic cry-face he had ever seen as she clung to him for dear life.
He didn’t mean to laugh—really, he didn’t. But the absurdity of it all hit him, and a wheeze escaped before he could stop himself, laughter bubbling up uncontrollably. “Are you—are you serious?” he choked out between laughs. “You—you were crying over a beetle?!”
Elisa felt her heart stutter for a moment as he leaned forward to flick the bug right off her leg, his face momentarily coming up right next to hers as his body pressed against her back, his laughter in her ear. Suddenly, her face turned to a bright red that was now visible under the glow of Sebastian’s wand as she realized what had happened—her mortified expression somehow managing to be both pitiful and hilarious at the same time. “It was—it was on me!” she protested, her voice cracking as she scrambled off him, shifting to sit next to him as she frantically brushed her leg as if the beetle’s mere memory was enough to send her into another fit. “I-I hate bugs!”
Sebastian lost it. Here they were, in a cave looking for clues to something as serious as uncovering the secrets of Isidora and a potential cure for Anne, and they had to halt because of a tiny beetle. Ridiculous. He was flat on his back now, his head resting on the cold stone floor as he howled with laughter. “Oh, Merlin’s beard, Elisa—” He continued to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all.
“Stop laughing!” she shrieked, her face going even redder as her fists clenched in her lap. “It’s not funny!” She insisted, but she quickly felt her features soften. She had never seen him laugh like that before, and it was kind of infectious. Cute, even, she thought to herself. She felt her panic dissolve as she couldn’t resist the urge to chuckle a little at it herself, realizing now how ridiculous she probably looked.
As he finished, Sebastian sat back up and looked at her, shaking his head. “Alright, alright…I’m done,” he promised, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry, that just caught me off guard. Now I know that next time a terrifying beetle attacks, I’ll be sure to save you,” he teased, his grin returning as he nudged her shoulder.
She rolled her eyes at him and swatted his arm. “If you tell a single soul, I’m not helping you with this whole search anymore.” She threatened, although both knew her words were empty.
“Okay, okay—you got it. Now come on, let’s find your wand.” He laughed, standing up and offering her his hand.
She hesitated, then took his hand, letting him pull her up with ease. “Thank you.”
He smirked, squeezing her fingers before letting go. “Anytime, crybaby.”
Sebastian Sallow was going to be the death of her, she swore.