The W stands for Weasley
Chapter 23/? - Chapter 1 - Next Chapter
Pairing: Auror!MC x Auror!Sebastian Sallow - Auror!MC x Ominis Gaunt
Summary: some promises are meant to be broken, and others should have never been made. A wizard's technique in Wizard's Chess can tell you much more about his character than a lifetime of friendship. Ominis was always the better player, but Sebastian was never afraid to meddle with the pieces.
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You ran into your common room, hoping Sebastian had already exited his dormitory. The room was empty, but that did not deter your excitement. You had a clue, you had something after ten days of nothingness. You walked up the stairs to the entrance of the boys’ dormitory and stood there in wait, vibrating with anticipation. As soon as the next familiar face came out, you shily approached them, asking if they could let Sebastian know you were outside. The sleepy boy reluctantly agreed and re-entered the dormitory, slightly confused by your excitement after everyone had been seeing you and the rest of your friends sulk around for days.
You tried to stay still as you waited. It is not like this was a perfect solution, but it was a start. You could only hope this glimpse of hope would lighten up Sebastian’s mood, that he would want to talk to you properly again. The door opened again, and you held your breath, waiting for the beautiful mop of brown hair and those sweet eyes framed by those freckles. Instead, your eyes met ash, quicksilver, and dark circles that matched yours.
“Ominis,” you spoke his name in an exhale. It hadn’t been just the two of you since your last conversation in the common room. Whether voluntarily or not, the two of you had avoided being alone. He didn’t want you to see how worried he was, and you didn’t want to think about all the remaining questions that lingered between you.
“Good morning,” he gave you a serene smile that reached his tired eyes, gifting you the glimpse of his dimples, “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” you shook your head slightly, rearranging your thoughts, “I have some news on the task. I wanted to tell you and Sebastian.” The door behind Ominis opened again, and almost as if you had summoned him with your words, Sebastian appeared, his gaze cold.
“Were you looking for me?” he asked as soon as he stood by his friend’s side, his lips tight.
You offered him a sweet smile, ignoring his disdain, “I have some good news. I know how I can win this task.”
The expression of both boys changed, surprise taking over their features. You looked at both of them and knew immediately what you needed to do, “Ominis, we can discuss this with the group during breakfast. Seb, can I talk to you in private really quickly?” You didn’t leave Sebastian’s gaze as you spoke, missing the way Ominis’ expression hardened.
“Yes, of course. I will let you two talk,” he replied, before clearing his throat and stepping aside.
“Let´s go to the undercroft,” you said to Sebastian before grabbing his hand confidently and guiding him out of the room, ignoring everyone’s stares.
***
“What is going on, Cecilia?” Sebastian finally spoke unimpressed, as you entered the undercroft, “You have to be at Hecatt’s before class, so we will need to have a quick breakfast.”
“Seb, Marguerite has given the key to subduing the nundu.” You smiled at him and waited for him to smile back, thinking this would lift a weight from his chest just as much as it had for you.
“Good. I guess Ominis sent her to you,” he replied instead, his jaw squared and nose up.
“No, no. He doesn’t even know. She just wanted to tell me.”
“I am certain that is the case,” he snorted out a cynical laugh, before shaking his head and turning away from you.
“I thought you would be happy…” You ignored the anxiety growing in your chest. “Listen, I am sorry for pushing you on the nightmare issue. I shouldn’t have expected you to know without telling you, and I am sorry for everything else. I don’t want to fight with you.”
“We are not fighting, Cecilia. We are okay,” he raised his chin before glancing at you.
“We are fighting, Seb. Look at the way you look at me,” you stepped closer, but he looked away.
“I don’t know what you want me to say to you.”
“Is this about last year’s Christmas and the nightmares?” You got into his space, not looking away, forcing him into discomfort, forcing him to face this head-on. He didn’t answer; he kept his gaze away, keeping the rawness of his emotions under control. “Because if this is about Christmas, you have no right to hold any of it against me. Yes, I thought it was you that night, and then it turned out not to be, but that is not all my fault. You were with some other witch in some broom closet, while I thought I was spending time with you. In any case, who are you to hold me to some impossible standard? I have seen you walk around with love bites all over your neck and have never held that against you. I also never hid my nightmares from you. You didn’t notice. That is not on me. You are punishing me with your distance and silence after you begged for me, so tell me why I should continue to try.”
Your breath had grown laboured as you continued to stare directly into the side of his face, noting the way his jaw clenched and released and his brow furrowed and unknit as he thought over your words. He was planning his next move; you had cornered his king, and he needed to get out of it quickly. You exhaled one final time, finally looking away, knowing well Sebastian should not be anywhere on the top of your list of priorities at the moment.
“You are right. I am just so angry at myself for not noticing, for not being there,” he called your eyes back to him with his words, “but as you say, you have done nothing wrong. You have not deceived me.” Your entire body relaxed at his words as your gazes met, until a pressure in your forehead forced you to look away and step back. “Are you alright?” Sebastian was immediately by your side, his hands on your cheeks.
“Yes,” you sighed, shaking the strange feeling away, “I just have not been sleeping. It is probably just a headache.”
“Let’s get you something to eat before you have to meet with Hecat,” he replied, as you opened your eyes again, and nodded softly. He smiled sweetly, letting the freckles of his nose dance, lowering himself until his lips brushed your cheek.
“Or…” you whispered as a sigh left your lips, “we could stay down here a little longer. I am not too hungry.”
He chuckled against your skin, not moving away, “We have a Nundu to subdue. I want to have you alive for longer than three more days.”
You groaned dramatically, “Fine,” and then turned your head and stole a fleeting kiss from him, “but you owe me.”
***
“That’s the plan,” you finished re-telling everything Marguerite had told you to your friends, noticing the way everyone had grown increasingly excited, including Sebastian, whose hold on your hand under the table was firmer than ever, except for Ominis.
“How did you obtain this information?” He raised an aristocratic eyebrow.
“My source would like to stay anonymous,” you replied dismisively and brushed it off, “it does not really matter, does it? What matters is that we have a plan now.”
“So, Weasley!” Imelda shouted, startling the ginger that seemed lost in his thoughts, “What incredible potion do you have under your sleeve to make the Slytherin princess fearless?”
In uncharacteristic fashion, Garreth’s shoulders tensed, closing his eyes before sighing loudly, seemingly deflating. “I don’t think I can manage that. Not in three days for sure.”
Sebastian seemed undeterred by the negative reply, brushing it off, “It is fine. Cecilia, you don’t need a potion. You should not be scared either way, the nundu cannot hurt you, you can literally disintegrate it with one flick of your wand.”
You nodded by his side, taking in the words. You just needed to control yourself; after all, Sebastian was right —you had technically little to fear.
“Don’t be daft, Sallow.” Imelda butted in in a nasty tone. She was not happy with him. She had seen the way his behaviour in the past days had affected you, and she was not quick to forgive. “Do you think fear is that simple? That binary? She will be fighting this creature in front of hundreds of students. Knowing Cecilia, the moment the nundu will even glance in the direction of any student, she will panic. The nundu cannot distinguish between fear for her own well-being and fear for others’ well-being.”
You took in Imelda’s words, feeling immediately discouraged all over again. She was right, it was not as simple as you had thought it would be. The adrenaline of the new discovery ran its course, and the feeling of dread and exhaustion flooded in almost immediately. You let go of Sebastian’s hand as you tried to centre yourself again, just to notice the clock at the far end of the room.
“I need to go. Please think of some type of solution,” you spoke up and stood, not waiting for Sebastian, who scrambled behind you, reaching for a final slice of bread to take with him before following you out.
***
Your meeting with Hecat was short, and Sebastian was not allowed in the room. One thing was for him to watch you train; another was to allow him to know more about the repository than necessary. After all, he was just a student.
“Any news on Drogomir’s movements?” Hecat asked without lifting her eyes from the parchment.
“Yes, I have been informed he continues to explore the gardens. Close to the sleeping quarters of the Beauxbatons students.” You stood firmly, your eyes scanning the room instead of focusing on the professor in front of you.
Hecat halted her writing, glancing up at you, “Is he closing in on the location of the repository?”
“I do not believe so, from the information I have received, he is searching aimlessly. The magic has not been disturbed; he most likely feels its presence, but thanks to the wards, he will feel the magic’s pull from all over the castle, just to be turned away by it whenever reaching its proximity. The seal is permanent. Fig made sure of it; even I struggle to sense it at times.”
“Good,” Hecat glanced down again, “anything else?” You hesitated, shifting the weight between your feet almost imperceptibly but just enough for Hecat to notice, looking back up. “Go on,” she encouraged you to speak.
“I need to know how to control my fear. For the task,” you spoke cuttingly, never breaking eye contact. It felt like you were begging for help even within the succinctness of your statement. Hecat didn’t reply, she let your words simmer, waiting for you to build the courage to ask for more, “Do you know any potion, spell, something to make me fearless? Just for a couple of hours, that would be enough.”
Hecat barely acknowledged your question; if it hadn’t been for the look in her eyes, you would have thought she hadn’t heard you at all. “I am not sure a potion of that kind exists, but Professor Sharp may be able to provide you with better guidance. The only alternative that comes to mind is Occlumency, but it is far too late to train you on it before the first task. Although now that I think about it, it may be helpful in case you are ever captured. I will discuss it with Professor Weasley.”
Before you could follow up with another question, the bustling in the hallway informed you that it was time to head to class. Professor Hecat cleared her throat, coming to the same conclusion, “I will see you this afternoon,” she added before returning to the parchment in front of her.
****
It was approximately two in the morning, and the undercroft was slightly more crowded than usual as you, Sebastian, Imelda and Ominis spread across the room, bouncing ideas off each other in between long sighs drawn from yet another dead-end you had explored.
Everyone’s face was buried between the pages of rare books, stolen from the Gaunt private library, most likely. That was an ignored conversation that had to be tackled at some point with Ominis on how he was all of a sudden able to access the funds and property of his family again, but you had no mental space to explore that topic for now, well aware that the truth behind it would probably bury you with regret and shame.
Garreth had gone missing again. No amount of candy was able to pull him out of the moody slump he had been experiencing since realising he didn’t have a potion already prepared among all of the different things he had been experimenting with that would help.
Imelda had offered to go look for him, but you had opted against it, noting that he had already lost enough sleep the last couple of weeks.
After another fruitless discussion, you had reached your limit, shutting your book far too forcefully for its age and ignoring the dust that had blown on your face. “That is enough, let’s head to bed. We will not come up with anything at this hour.”
Surprisingly enough, none of your friends refuted, sighing instead and following your lead, closing their respective books and stretching and groaning, exhaustion covering the features of every single one of you.
Sebastian walked to your side, rubbing his neck as he dropped the heavy book on the desk, “Do you need to meet with Hecat in the morning?” His fingers reached for your hand, tracing the healing scars. There were no new ones, thankfully, your professor had been wise enough to understand that three days before the first task, she couldn’t continue to injure you.
“No, I don’t have to train again until after the first task,” she wants me to rest. Sebastian nodded in acknowledgement, the tension in his shoulder melting a bit.
“We will find something,” he raised his voice to include your other two friends in the conversation. The other two nodded in acknowledgement.
***
You were not quite sure how you had ended up lying on the ground of the Room of Requirements, wearing your uniform lined with the rarest protective materials money could buy, eyes closed as the sound of classical Muggle music played in the background, but you decided that would not be the worst way to spend your last hours alive.
Not only had you not found any solution, no potion or spell to make you fearless, but also your friends had started fighting, blaming each other for the lack of progress or negativity and collectively blaming Garreth for disappearing on everyone for the past two days. So you had asked everyone to stop, to stop reading, researching, discussing, and talking altogether. You had not stayed to listen to their protest, to watch Sebastian and Ominis discuss whether to give you space or not and had instead fled to a place that belonged just to you.
You had fed your creatures, brewed some potions, and secretly hoped the room would provide you with whatever you had been looking for, but the only new addition that had appeared, giving a false feeling of hope, was a giant grandfather’s clock, which reminded you of your upcoming failure.
So after checking your uniform for the millionth time and running out of prayers (however ironic that may be, you had still been raised religious after all), you had resigned to your destiny, lying down and staring at the ceiling, which had turned into a beautiful starry night. As things stood right now, you had two choices: use the breathing charm and hope to be fast enough (in whatever they would ask you to do) to escape the nundu before it attacked you, or kill it. Sigh.
You had enchanted the clock to ring exactly 1 hour before the start of the task, giving you enough time to walk out and head towards the colosseum that now covered what once had been the Quidditch pitch. However, you couldn’t help but glance at it every other second, almost as if you tried hard enough, time would stop.
Time did not stop. It seemed that, after all, the Room of Requirements was nothing but a huge flop. As you were obviously in great need of help at the moment, and nothing was happening. You had almost given up on the whole ordeal, preparing to stand up and head out when the sound of bricks moving and stone shifting forced you to your feet all at once. All the drowsiness immediately left your body as you got into a duelling stance. The door that had only ever appeared for you materialised and slowly opened, and immediately, your eyes met a familiar grin and a pair of green eyes, surrounded by the deepest darkest eye bags you had ever seen on the boy. His hair was full of grey and white dust, but the red was still shining through.
“I got it,” Garreth Weasley bit his lip into a (slightly delirious) excited smile, holding up the brightest pink potion you had ever seen, “it is not what we wanted exactly, so you will need to trust me.”
You exhaled in relief, dropping the tension in your whole body for a second before running to your friend and hugging him, careful not to drop the vial, “I love you, Garreth Weasley.”
“That is exactly the spirit we will need for this experiment,” he replied in an awkward laugh, making you pull away from him, giving him a quizzical look. “I told you, you will need to trust me.”
---
Liv's note
First and foremost, I want to start by thanking @maddsinthemoon and every single one of you who has messaged me, commented, or shown love for this fic in any way. You are the reason I have been working so hard to get back to it and why I am able to post a new chapter today after all this time. Another special thanks to @meliaian , whose comment today was the final push I needed to finish this draft. Thank you <3
The last year has been full of change in my life, but I always found myself going back to this fic with a huge desire to finish it. You cannot imagine the relief I feel to be able to share this first new chapter with you guys. Simultaneously, I am going through all of the other chapters, fixing typos and smoothing the language and will let you know as soon as I am done with that process in case any of you want to re-read the whole thing.
Please let me know what you think of this new chapter, what your hopes are for what is to come or even just say hi. I have missed you all so much. Sending you all my love <3
Liv
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