Second Chance - Hogwarts Legacy AU
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Ciara had five cups of black tea at the Slytherin table and she still felt like she needed more caffeine.
It had been two weeks since the beginning of classes. On the first day, the head of Slytherin house (a jolly, round man with a constant smile that made Ciara’s heart lift knowing that the head of Slytherin was literally anyone other than Snape) handed her her timetable for the year and she had tilted her head at how empty it was. She knew that her course load would be lessened, but she didn’t expect it to be that empty. All she had for core subjects were Astronomy, Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her electives were Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, literally the two things she hated most. Maybe she could ask to change Ancient Runes with Care of Magical Creatures.
Today, thank the lord, was Friday, meaning she only had a double Defense class just after lunch. She appreciated the extra time to sleep in, no matter how restless it really was. Placing a glamour on her face to hide the eye bags was now just a part of her morning routine.
The Defense classroom looked nearly identical to how she knew it in her time. The main differences being the eyeball-stand things at every corner and door, and the Hebridean Black skeleton hanging above them instead of a Peruvian Vipertooth. Ciara took the seat at the far back since everyone else was too busy watching Sebastian duel with a red-headed Gryffindor boy named Leander Prewett. This was their fifth duel this week, though it was their first inside the classroom.
“Stupefy!” Prewett yelled and Sebastian threw up a milky Protego perfectly.
“Is that all you got?” Sebastian asked smugly. “I thought you said you spent the whole summer training?”
“I did!” the red-head’s face matched his hair.
“Are you sure? Sebastian taunted. “It feels like you haven’t improved since our first year, let alone this past week.”
Neon red crackled up Prewett’s arm and Ciara instantly knew his next spell. “Expelliarmus!” Prewett yelled.
Sebastian rolled under the cast and shouted, “Bombarda!” The Gryffindor boy’s shield spell was cast just barely in time, and the blast was redirected to the Hebridean Black skull hanging above his head.
Ciara barely felt herself react as she silently cast Arresto Momentum at the skull, causing it to get caught in a pale pink cloud and used her other hand to wandlessly Accio Prewett out of the way. Before the skull passed through her cloud, she waved her stick now that she had eyes on her and brighter pink strands repaired the skeleton.
“Excellent wandwork, Miss Black,” a voice said from the open door of the Defense office. “I see you learned non-verbal casting over the summer.”
“Thank you, Professor Hecat,” Ciara smiled before hiding a yawn behind her hand. If she wasn’t so tired, she’d laugh at how she was praised for her wandwork when she hadn't used a wand in the last three weeks. The rest of the class sat down, but Ciara, even in her tired state, noticed Sebastian’s eyes on her.
“It serves as the perfect segue into today’s lesson,” the old woman announced when the class was finally in their seats.
She began with a lecture of non-verbal casting and the difficulty of it and a step by step of how to do it. Ciara zoned out all of it. As she had learned this summer from Professor Figg, magic was all intent based. Every wizard had a store of energy within them and verbal incantations were simply a way to help direct the casters intent, just how wands were like eyeglasses – a way to more accurately focus their magic like how eyeglasses focus light into the eye. So now they needed to practice internally focusing their intent. Non-verbal casting was something that she had already learned and, if she did say so herself, mastered well before her peers. Ciara had been able to do wandless, non-verbal magic since age fifteen. She was only just now using it as an offensive method rather than just defensive spells or for mundane tasks.
In her zoned out state, she found herself staring at the back of Sebastian’s head while thinking of his somersault to dodge an Expelliarmus. He was a good dueller. His silent Protego casts were admirable. He was a smart dueller as well, she guessed. Wonder where he learned it. He said he was a reader on the train, and she had seen him in the library often, or in the common room reading some massive spellbook. She chuckled to herself when the term ‘nerd’ entered her brain.
Everyone got up from their seats, alerting Ciara to the end of the lecture. Students partnered up until Ciara and Prewett were the only ones left.
“Miss Black. Would you partner up with Mr Prewett here, please?”
With a groan, Ciara got out of her seat and let the teacher magically push it aside to make room for all the students to practice non-verbal casting. She stood across from Prewett, his face pinched in determination, his wand in hand. The complete opposite of what Ciara looked like. Her stick was in her pocket, her eyes half closed and her shoulders slouched.
“We’ll start with something simple,” Hecat said. “Now that you’ve all had practice with Levioso, I want you all to cast it non-verbally.”
Prewett didn’t even come close. Ciara just had to stand there, not even flinching as she never once saw the yellow magic of the charm glow any brighter than a firefly at the tip of his wand.
“Miss Black, let us see you try,” Hecat chimed, coming over to watch the two of them.
Ciara maintained her bored expression, pulling out her stick and aiming it at Prewett. She thought about suspending the boy in the air and with a flick of her wrist, the yellow magic sprang from her fingers and hoisted the boy into the air.
“Well done, Miss Black!” Hecat smiled. “Your father will be pleased.”
Ciara gave her a quick smile and a short nod before putting her stick away again and going back to standing there, bored, while Prewett kept trying to make her feet go off the ground.
Bored out of her mind, Ciara glanced at how the other students were doing. Ominis and Sebastian were paired together and both were doing quite well, getting the other off the ground a few inches before the magic wore off. Sebastian was the best next to her, able to get Ominis completely off the ground, a good five feet in the air before letting his friend down. Imelda, her roommate, got her Hufflepuff partner pretty high off the ground too, though in turn, the Hufflepuff girl got Imelda off the ground a good foot.
“How did you do it so easily?” Prewett huffed in frustration, having failed yet another time. “You made it look like nothing.”
“Maybe you just suck,” Ciara snickered.
“I do not!”
“Do it then,” Ciara raised her arms out tauntingly. “I’ve been waiting all class.”
He grunted in irritation and tried again, this time, his emotions fuelling him, his magic actually reached her and she felt herself get lighter but her feet didn’t leave the ground. She decided not to mention that little detail though.
She cast it on him one last time before the end of class, just to frustrate him more.
When class was over, Ciara had the rest of the day free. She decided to use it in the library and hopefully sneak in a power nap that wasn’t long enough to let her dream. She hadn’t gotten a proper night’s sleep since she arrived in 1890.
“Glad you see you’re back to normal, Carina,” Ominis said next to her.
“Excuse me?” Ciara raised a brow at him.
”Yes. Insulting everybody at every chance you get,” he clarified. “You’ve been very quiet lately and it has been unsettling.”
Ciara rolled her eyes but didn’t respond. She was just tired, and the Prewett’s were not friendly with the Black’s and vice versa, so it helped her blend in to tease the boy.
”What are you off to?” she asked.
“Potions. You?”
“I’m gonna hide in the library and take a nap.”
“Nap in the library?” Sebastian popped up next to Ominis. Had he been there the whole time? “Why wouldn't you read?”
“Because I wanna sleep.”
She ducked into the library before either boy could say goodbye.
She needed a nap, and nap she did. Ciara took multiple power naps until students started flooding the library to get their evening studying in, forcing her to wake up lest someone finds her behind her wall of books. However, even after all the extra shut-eye, she didn’t feel any more rested or energetic than when she chugged coffee at lunch. The fact she kept stirring at every flash of red or strike of snake teeth didn’t exactly help either.
The moment she stepped out of the library to grab some food from the kitchens, she ran into a body.
“Oh! There you are, I’ve been looking for you,” Figg’s cheerful voice told her who she had run into. “I have discovered something with the locket.”
Ciara perked up. The last two weeks have been boring for her while she waited for any news on the locket. This entire ’ancient magic’ side quest she’d been thrown into was puzzling her. Was this something unique to Ciara, or did Carina also go through all of this as well? If so, why didn’t Carina warn her about this ‘ancient magic’ that would plague her curiosity. Perhaps Carina thought it to be a distraction from her main goal of defeating Ranrok? Or maybe she couldn’t show Ciara more than Ranrok? Regardless of the reason, Ciara felt that she had to follow this trail. If this ‘ancient magic’ made her powerful enough to actually take Ranrok head on, then she was more than interested in following this through. She barely scratched his armour in Gringotts.
But more importantly, she wanted to know why those two men in the memory called conjuration ‘ancient magic.’ She had dwelled on her time in Gringotts over and over again, trying to figure out why they kept calling it ‘ancient magic’ when all she was seeing was just crazy advanced and powerful versions of regular spells.
Even if this trail led to her honing her magic and being powerful enough to beat Ranrok, the prospect of learning more about why she could see magic was more than enough to make her want to drop everything and do nothing but research this mystery.
Figg and Ciara head straight to his office.
“There is an inscription on the inside of the container. I think it’s Latin, but the words are too small to see even with spectacles. I was hoping you could give it a go.”
He handed Ciara the locket. Squinting her eyes, Ciara still had trouble reading the tiny inscription. Without a second thought, she conjured a strong magnifying glass.
“What is that you’ve got?” Figg asked and she raised the glass to read the tiny words.
“It’s a magnifying glass,” she explained. “A tool muggles use to look at things up close.”
“Ah, I see. Brilliant.”
Figg continued to ogle the magnifying glass while Ciara shifted around until the light from the window hit the words at the right angle.
“Ostende mihi viam,” Ciara read the Latin inscription. As soon as she did, blue conjuration magic seeped through the seams of the locket and pooled into a single drop. When it hit the desk, a map appeared.
“A map?” Figg wondered aloud as he looked closer at it. “Of Hogwarts!” He looked it over for a few seconds before turning to her. “Do you perhaps see anything that I cannot?” he asked.
Ciara put the locket down and scanned the map. It appeared to be regular blueprints of the castle until she found the library. There, thin wisps of forest green tracking magic danced around, through the library and into the restricted section.
She relayed this to Figg.
“Curious. Well, it seems that is our next step. Shall we proceed?”
“Yes, please,” Ciara smiled. Just as they were about to leave, the door burst open and in walked Phineas Nigellus Black.
“Figg, I have work for you. Come.”
“Headmaster, I’m with your daughter and my schedule is-”
“Your schedule will wait, indefinitely,” Black snapped. “And Carina has homework to do. Whatever extra Magical Theory work you have planned can wait.”
“But sir,-”
“I would think that after all the trouble you caused with Osric, you’d be eager to make amends. My office, five minutes.”
And with that he stormed out.
Ciara and Figg both groaned in sync.
“I have no words to express how exasperating that man is,” Figg complained.
“I had to deal with his bullshit in the future too,” Ciara added on. “Believe me, I know.”
“Language.” Figg tilted his head. “You’ve met him before? How?”
“Well, his portrait was in the Headmaster’s office in my time,” Ciara explained. “And it connected to Grimmauld Place, where I lived for a summer with my cousin and I asked him to keep tabs on my friend while he was on the run in my seventh year.”
“That… only gives me more questions,” Figg blinked owlishly.
Ciara shrugged. “Well, I’ll have to explain some other time. Right now, I would rather you not be berated for being a few seconds late.”
Figg chuckled. “Well, then. We shall go to the restricted section when I return.”
“If I don’t get bored and do it myself first,” Ciara joked, knowing full well that she was going straight to the restricted section as soon as Figg left.
He gave her a knowing look. “Until I return,” Figg bid her adieu and disappeared out of his office.
Ciara waited a single minute before grabbing the map and marching straight to the library. Both dinner and the rush of late night study sessions had long since passed, leaving the library blissfully empty. Apart from the prefects that she walked right by because she was one herself.
Ciara was so thankful that she was the Headmaster’s daughter. Normally, she absolutely hated nepo-babies, but now that she was one, it would be hypocritical of her to continue that hatred. Her status allowed her the benefits of being a prefect without actually having to do any of the work and she was grateful.
She walked right by the prefects, claiming she had to talk to Madam Scribner and they let her through.
When she entered the library though, she did not want Scribner ratting her out to Phineas, so she cast a shimmering Disillusionment Charm over herself and slunk around the shelves until she made it to the giant padlock. She was surprised to find that the padlock was dummy locked; someone was already inside. It wasn’t Scribner, so she assumed it was a student and pushed in, making sure to dummy lock the padlock behind her so Scribner didn’t get suspicious.
Ciara made her way through the restricted section, following the map all the way to the bottom level.
“Black?”
Ciara jumped, instinctively drawing her stick on the voice. It was just Sebastian, looking over the top of a book at her. What gave her the most pause was the wire rectangle spectacles resting on his nose. Ciara was not going to deny that he was a good looking boy, and those glasses really suited him. It surprised her that he needed reading glasses, but she supposed that he was a nerd and thus a nerd needed reading glasses.
“I like your glasses,” she said before she could stop herself.
Sebastian was taken aback by her comment, but carefully responded with an uncertain, “Thank you?”
She was thankful for the low lighting that hid the blush on her cheeks. Why did she say that? Seriously, what was wrong with her? To hide further from the embarrassment, she put her nose to the map again and took one step before he stopped her.
“What are you doing down here?” Sebastian asked, putting his book down.
“Looking for something,” Ciara answered.
“What are you looking for?”
“No idea. A book I s’pose.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “If I tell you what I’m doing down here, will you tell me what you’re really up to?”
She opened her mouth to say that she just told him what she was doing, but her curiosity got the better of her, so she nodded. “Sure.”
“I’m researching curses so I can find out what happened to my sister,” Sebastian told her. “No one can figure out what curse is afflicting her, so I intend on finding a cure by any means necessary.”
That was a lot to unpack and all new information to Ciara. She didn’t know he had a sister, let alone that she’d been cursed badly.
“I’m sorry,” was all she could think to say, feeling genuinely bad for the boy.
“Now what are you really doing down here?” He brought her back to the deal he made. “What’s the map for?”
“Following it,” she said with an obvious tone. “It’s what you do with maps.”
He pursed his lips. “What’s it leading you to?”
“No idea. I’m guessing a book, but I wouldn’t mind a trunk of galleons.”
His brows raised, clearly surprised that she was making a joke. “Where’d you get it?” He asked.
“Found it,” she shrugged.
“You’re being awfully cryptic, Black,” he huffed.
“Isn’t that the point of adventure?” She tilted her head slightly, a small smirk stretching her lips. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”
Sebastian stared at her, having no reply and no idea how to respond. So with a small wave, she went on her path, leaving him to his research.
She checked the map again, following it past the shelves of books and entered what appeared to be a storage area full of antiques and other old junk.
After finding a staircase hidden behind some broken armour, Ciara found herself at a fancy door with the swirling rune in place of a knocker. It glowed with the dark blue locking spell, so Ciara opened it the same way she opened the container. She could see the magic in her veins matching the colour of the locking spell, only a smidgen brighter, and overtaking the spell on the door. Her own magic beat out the enchantment easily. The door swung wide with a loud creak.
Appearing before her was a very long corridor. All made in the same architecture as the Gringotts vault. Golden and silver metal decorating and outlining dark swirling marble.
What was different here than in the vault was the large gaps between the doors. Whatever she needed to do, it seemed she had to solve some puzzles to get across.
Thankfully, they were easy. Just consisting of her casting at dials to make bridges appear and a few more knights to fight. The fights were hard and left her with some minor injuries that she barely felt, but a gash on her shoulder was too big, so she conjured bandages to stop the bleeding and moved on to the final room of this challenge.
The final room looked very similar to the fake vault she and Figg got stuck in, only slightly bigger and much cleaner. In the middle of the corridor was another pensieve. Above the pensieve, a large tome was floating in a cloud of pink and blue, like the candles in the Great Hall.
The moment her fingertips brushed against the leather cover, the tome flashed a sky blue and opened on its own, landing on the page that appeared to be a map. From between the pages, the silvery substance of a memory flowed out of the book and into the pensieve.
Ciara shrunk and tucked the book into her robe pocket then dunked her face into the basin. A few seconds later she materialised to witness the memory.
She watched as four people looked over a small hamlet. Two of which she recognised: Percival Rackham and his friend Charles (though she didn’t know which was which). The other two, she didn’t know, though the woman felt familiar to her but she didn’t know why. The hamlet was struggling, in the middle of a drought it seemed. A family of three – a father, a teenage daughter, and a young son who appeared to be sick – were trying to get water from their well, but only succeeded in pulling up dust. The poor little boy looked to be on the brink of death and Ciara felt for the family.
The group looked over the hamlet and shared a look. With a nod from each of them, the group raised their wands and that blue-ish silver magic swirled around and within them as they conjured silvery blue rain clouds, and plant life all throughout the hamlet. Greenery grew everywhere and rain poured from the storm clouds. The silver-blue magic falling like glitter among the rain and the flora magic dancing around the grass and flowers and trees that grew from the ground within seconds. It was mesmerising. Never had Ciara seen these spells cast with such power and beauty behind them. Though the monocolouration of the magic they were casting once again puzzled her. Floral magic should be green and the water magic should have been a much deeper ocean blue.
Ciara was drawn again to the family on the hill. The teenage girl was looking around, as if she could also see the swirls. But then her gaze fell upon the group responsible for restoring the hamlet. She looked between Rackham and her brother, silently asking the man to help her brother. But the man didn’t see her and merely turned and walked away. It made Ciara wonder, did he not see the sick boy? Could this powerful magic they were able to cast have been able to help him? Surely, if they were powerful enough to bring life back to a hamlet, they would be able to heal an illness, right?
The memory disappeared, but instead of being expelled from the pensieve, another memory materialised.
The same teenage girl walked into a room. She was wearing Ravenclaw Hogwarts robes. She must have been a fourth or fifth year student.
“You wanted to see me, Headmistress Fitzgerald? Professor Rackham?” The girl announced her arrival to the four people in the room. The same four from before. Closer up, Ciara actually recognised the woman, Headmistress Fitzgerald, from a portrait in Dumbledore's office. When Ciara mentioned she could see magic to Dumbledore, Fitzgerald perked up. Now Ciara knew why.
The Seer, Rackham, Ciara guessed, stood from the desk to address the girl. “Miss Isidora Morganach,” he greeted, gesturing for her to enter the office. “Welcome.”
“Professor Rookwood. Professor Bakar,” Isidora greeted the other two.
If Charles, the man she recognised from the memory in the Gingrotts vault, was Rookwood, then the man in blue robes and a turban must have been Professor Bakar.
“We understand that you are doing very well in your classes,” Headmistress Fitzgerald said to the girl. The woman had a heavy Irish accent.
“I am.”
“I am glad,” the headmistress smiled. “It’s not often a prodigy like yourself appears in these halls.”
“Miss Morganch,” Rookwood now stood from his chair. “When we spoke yesterday after class, you asked about the beautiful swirls you saw this past summer, when we visited your hamlet.”
Isidora’s face lit up at the mention. “I recognised you all immediately. I cannot thank you enough for what you did. We have been struggling for years now.”
“We were glad to help,” Fitzgerald nodded.
“And yes, I did see swirls of blue and silver magic - everywhere - that day,” Isidora continued. Ciara tilted her head, she only saw blue and silver? Like Ciara did at that age? “My father insists it was my imagination running wild. But,” she closed her eyes for a moment as if remembering that day in full detail, “it was certainly real to me.”
“It was not your imagination,” Rackham said, causing the girl’s eyes to widen in surprise.
Fitzgerald stepped forward to put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “The four of us can see the blue swirls too.” Wait, so all of them could only see the blue? That couldn’t be right. They were older, they should be able to see colours too.
Isidora tilted her head. “I don’t understand. What are they?”
Rackham smiled at the girl. “The whispers - or traces - that appear when a particular form of ancient magic is wielded,” he explained.
“Ancient magic?” Isidora asked, excitement growing in her features.
“Few are capable of seeing it and, therefore, able to wield it,” the man in a turban, Professor Bakar, said. “Hogwarts itself is a stronghold of ancient magic.”
That was what Figg said. But Hogwarts was a cumulative collection of magic from over the centuries it had been built. It’s not just this one particular form of magic, otherwise Ciara wouldn’t be seeing so many different colours when she walked the halls, she’d only be seeing one.
And what did he mean only a few can wield it? They were wielding the same magic a first year can, just far more powerful and intricate and advanced versions. At least, that’s what Ciara was seeing. Something wasn’t adding up here.
“So, if I can see traces of ancient magic, does that mean I can wield it too?” Isidora asked excitedly, bringing Ciara from her thoughts.
“With the proper training,” Rakcham answered, stating the words with severity.
“But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Miss Morganach,” Bakar added.
“Before we can train you to wield such magic,” Rackham began, “you must first master all that Hogwarts has to offer.”
“A magic this powerful can do great harm in the wrong hands,” Fitzgerald stated seriously. “It must be wielded by a select few.” She stepped toward the girl, her hands folded in front of her politely. “As such, we ask that you not speak to anyone about what we have discussed here today.”
Isidora didn’t respond. She only turned around and left the room with an excited smile on her face.
Ciara was sucked from the pensieve, her feet landing on the floor of the metal and marble room, the pensieve in front of her.
Isidora Morganach… That was a name that Ciara would have to remember. Same with the other four people.
She remained silent as she processed all the information thrown at her.
She thought of all the names she heard. Isidora Morganach, Precival Rackham, Charles Rookwood, Bakar and Fitzgerald. They had to be the people that left this path for her, if the memory she found in Gringotts was any indication. Why were these people talking about the magic as if it was something ancient and secret that no one but them could wield?
That’s… that’s not how magic worked. Magic was just a store of energy, a person’s soul, that could be expelled and manipulated and used however they intended as long as they had enough energy and focus to make it reality. At least that what Figg had taught her. The only magical abilities that were rare and specific to certain people were things like Parseltongue and being a metamorphmagus; hereditary traits that got passed down. Being super powerful, to have the energy and focus to perform the magic these people were able to was not a rare hereditary ability (if how diverse the group was any indicator), they were just really fucking powerful. How old were these people? When were these memories made? For all the answers she got, they raised ten more questions each.
After a few moments, Ciara began scanning the room for anything else. Just as she was wondering how she was going to get all the way back up to the library without being caught along the way, Ciara noticed a familiar sight. A wall that appeared to be transparent with a room behind and golden waves rippling across the surface. She recognised the room as a corner of the library, specifically the corner that showed the restricted section gate.
It must have been like the entrance to Gringotts in Rackham’s manor.
She touched the wall and Apparated; somehow it worked despite the anti-Apparition charms placed on the castle grounds. She felt the familiar tug at her gut and when she opened her eyes she was standing in the Library again.
“I can’t believe this!” A shrill voice immediately made Ciara’s guard go up. “Sneaking in the restricted section again!”
Ciara peered around a bookcase to see Scribner chewing out Sebastian as Peeves was dancing over his head. Peeves must have ratted him out.
“I am afraid I must report this to the Headmaster,” Scribner shook her head.
Not on my watch, you old fucking bat, Ciara thought to herself as she stepped out from her spot, throwing a quick glamour charm to hide the cuts and scrapes on her face.
“Report what to my father?” Ciara announced her arrival, using that sharp Black Family tone again.
“Miss Black!” Scribner’s eyes went wide. “My apologies. I was trying to-”
“I do not care what you were trying to do,” Ciara snapped at her, stepping slightly in front of Sebastian protectively. “I turned around for two seconds, only to find my study partner missing. Imagine how upset my father will be when I tell him that you are sabotaging my magical education!”
The old librarian had a weird obsession with Phineas Nigellus Black and subsequently let Ciara do whatever the hell she wanted in the library. Thus Ciara had been, and was going to continue milking that for all it was worth.
Scribner threw her hands up defensively, waving them around like a mad woman. “There’s- there’s no need for that, I assure you. I was not aware that Mr Sallow was studying with you.”
“We have been down there for hours now,” Ciara explained. “I did not realise the time until he was snatched away by Peeves.” Ciara turned her attention to Peeves and leveled him with the deadliest glare she could muster. “I know where your contract is, Peeves. If you ever bother me or my friends again, I will personally rewrite it.”
The poltergeist froze with fear, making both Sebastian and Scribner look at her in shock. No one was able to scare Peeves. Ciara thanked the Dumbledore she knew for divulging the contract details of Peeves to her that one evening during her private lessons.
“Miss Black, Miss Black, no need for that!” Peeves tried to amend. “Peevsie leaves his favourite girl beevsie!”
“Thank you, Peeves. You may leave,” she said calmly. Peeves flew off without another word. Scribner and Sebastian were speechless so Ciara threaded her arm through Sebastian’s and looked Scribner in the eye.
“We apologise for being here so late, but please, never threaten my study partner with my father again.”
Scribner nodded obediently and let them on their way. Ciara led the stunned Sebastian back to the common room. She stayed linked to his arm all the way until the snake-framed door, she thought he wouldn’t appreciate being on her arm as they walked into the common room just in case anyone was still awake at this hour.
Not really having anything to say, Ciara stayed silent as they walked down the stairs and was fully intending on leaving the entire situation with her heading to bed.
But Sebastian had other plans. He grabbed her bicep and dragged her to the roaring fireplace.
“What the bloody hell was’at?” he demanded.
Ciara raised a confused brow. “What was what?”
“You- you said- and Scribner- I didn’t-” Sebastian’s grip on her wrist was getting tighter but she refused to react, patiently waiting for him to find the words.
“Why did you cover for me?” he finally asked slowly after a deep breath.
“Why wouldn't I?” Ciara asked back. This only made Seabstian more frustrated.
“No, I mean… ugh… You never do anything nice. This afternoon you taunted Prewett relentlessly and now you’re covering for me with Scribner? Why?”
Ciara sighed.
“I saved you because I wanted to,” Ciara answered. “Do I need any other reason?”
Sebastian didn’t have an answer for that, just opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.
Gently, she peeled his hand off her arm and gave him a smile.
“Goodnight, Sebastian,” she said softly before stepping back from him.
“Wait-” he gently grabbed her wrist again and pulled her to him. His other hand reached up and brushed against her cheek, she winced at the slight pain. “What happened? Why are you hurt? Where did that map lead you?”
“To adventure,” she answered, pushing his hand away from her face. “I’m fine. Nothing I can’t handle. Goodnight, Sebastian.”
She pushed away from him again, this time he let her go, and she quickly darted up the step to her dorm.