𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂 || 𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖

Chapter Twenty-Two: Unexpected terror

Chapter Twenty-Two 

slight tw: talks and mention of dead bodies and blood

The weather was chilly and brisk. The leaves had fallen off of the trees, leaving them bare. The grass had turned and now the only green was the evergreen trees that were soon to be decorating the Hogwarts castle for the holiday season.

Ominis was bundled up in a winter coat and scarf, ready to leave. Every month he would check up on Anne to see how she was doing and today was that day. It was a Saturday so he had plenty of time to talk with her and catch her up to speed with everything that had been going on.

She lived just outside of a little muggle village about three hours away from the school. For the past two years, she had been living in that area. First living in a local inn but after her condition worsened, the mother of the innkeeper, Mrs. Aves invited Anne into her home so that she could live there and be taken care of. Since then, Anne had been staying with Mrs. Aves and her condition had gotten slightly better due to Mrs. Aves being a wonderful caretaker.

When Ominis would come, Anne would give him a stack of letters to give to Sebastian and a few other friends. Since it was a very small muggle village, the postage didn't go to the school so there was no way for her to get letters to Sebastian. He could send her owls as it was as simple as her walking outside to get them but unfortunately, she couldn't send them back. But even if it took her long, she replied to every single one of them.

Not too long after Anne had left, Esme told Ominis that he should bring flowers to her and Mrs. Aves whenever he went to visit. So, every time he'd visit, he brought flowers for the both of them to try and brighten up their day. A small but thoughtful way to let them know they were appreciated.

Walking through the quaint little village always gave Ominis good peace of mind. There weren't many houses or people for that matter, but it was a lovely and charming little community. The house was just outside of the little village, a narrow, cobbled path led up to it. As the sounds of the village faded, the sound of his shoes against the cobblestone and the nature around him could be heard.

He stepped up in front of the door and knocked on it. Usually, he'd get a reply right away or the door was opened soon after but nothing happened. Ominis furrowed his brows and knocked again. "Anne?" He called out through the door.

Same thing, no answer.

Hesitantly, he turned the doorknob and pushed it open. Something felt wrong. Very wrong. "Anne? Mrs. Aves?" He called out, a bit louder this time. When no reply came, he stepped forward with slow and cautious steps through the house. It was when he stepped into what he thought was a puddle of water, he froze.

He lifted up his foot and his fingers grazed the edge of his shoe. It wasn't water. It was way too thick to be that.

It was blood.

His eyes widened and he grabbed out his wand, trying to figure out what was going on here. The mess around him was terrible—portraying signs that a struggle had taken place here. There was glass on the floor, the table was overturned, and the curtains were on the floor. "Anne? Anne?!" Ominis exclaimed with a bit more panic in his voice. What on earth had happened here?

He tried to make it to the stairs but stumbled on something while trying to get there. When he turned around and tried to find out what it was, he reached his hand down and felt something cold. It was skin. And even worse, it was Mrs. Aves, who was lying in a pool of her own blood.

***

Sebastian was reading peacefully on his bed in his dorm room. It was a nice moment of peace where he could just sit down and not have to worry about anything. Until seconds later when the door to his dorm room burst open, causing his head to snap up and see what was going on. Ominis was there, looking horrified and breathing heavily. "Sebastian," He breathed out in a panic.