After All This Time// Sebastian Sallow x Reader Hogwarts Legacy Fanfiction

The next day came quicker than I wanted to, and upon arrival at my dorms after classes, I saw a new letter sitting on my pillow. Of course I already knew who it was from, but I was still a bit apprehensive to open it. 

he'd mentioned doing something to me if I hadn't complied with his demands, so I wasn't exactly excited to open the letter and find out what it held in store. 

Even though I'd spent the day with Sebastian yesterday which would usually take my mind off of things, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't fathom Charles doing something to Sebastian to get to me. I would do anything for Sebastian, and Charles knew that. The thought was eating away at me all night and caused me to tie myself up in knots, wondering about all of the possible ways he could get to Sebastian and I. I know Sebastian can hold his own in a fight, but if Charles were to catch us off guard again like the night he kidnapped me, there wouldn't be much room to fight at all. 

I popped the seal open on the letter and began to read its contents. 

My Dearest y/n,

Though I am sad to see that you didn't accept my offer, I do love to play games. Games are my favorite; I know who will win in the end, but it will be much fun to see you try and think that you can best me. 

As I have proven, every time you think you have bested me, I have come out unscathed. There are forces working beside me that neither you nor I could understand, which leads me to believe that my mission is one of great importance. 

So here is my game: 

You may decipher my message as you see fit (I'd love to see you twist yourself up over this one):

Sebastian Sallow

Poppy Sweeting

Natsai Onai

Ominis Gaunt

Nerida Roberts

Garreth Weasley

Matilda Weasley

Sirona Ryan

I hope this is enough to tell you that you should comply with my demands, even though I refrain from telling you what might happen if you don't.

Best Wishes,
Charlie XX

My heart raced as I read down the list of names. The thoughts swarming mind head were too intense to decipher; all I could wonder was how he knew that all of these people were tied to me. How did he know? Some of these people I don't even talk to on a daily basis. They're just people that I know. Still, it would hurt me to see these people get hurt in any way, and I think that's what he was getting at. 

Panic coursed through me, wondering about what to do. 

The only thing I could think of was to turn this letter in to Professor Weasley. Then, she could instate an order that none of these people were to leave the school grounds, or at least knew to watch out for shifty characters. My biggest worry went out to Sirona, as she would probably encounter the largest amount of people and she wouldn't know which ones to watch out for. 

I instantly headed out of the dorm room with a quickened pace and made my way through the commons to get to Professor Weasley. Sebastian caught me on the way and began to walk with me, keeping my pace.

"You look worried," he fretted. "What's happened?"

I said nothing, instead handing him the letter. He took a moment to comb through it, then handed it back to me. "So what are you going to do?" he asked. "Nothing rash, I hope."

"I'm bringing it to Professor Weasley," I replied. "The least I can do is give these people a proper warning, so that they know to keep themselves safe."

A wave of guilt washed over me as I thought about all of the names listed in the letter. This was entirely my fault for going after him in the first place. I should have just stayed out of it and let the proper people handle it. 

But no.

I had to go and play the role of hero again- but this time, it was completely out of my hands. Ranrok was scary, yes, but Charles? he was crafty. Instead of just trying to kill me, like Ranrok had done, Charles is trying to get me on his side, trying every method in the book to do so. Thinking about what he was capable of rattled me to my core. 

"I don't think I should do anything right now," I told Sebastian. "I feel that if I try anything besides working with him, he intends on going after the people on the list. And in case you missed it, your name was included as well."

"I know," he said, his expression darkened. "I just don't want to see you getting too anxious over this. A long as you turn the letter in and let the proper witches and wizards handle this, there's no way they can get to the people on the list."

"I know, I just always have this nagging feeling at the back of my head that if I'm not actively trying to stop the threat, it's going to happen anyways."

"That's not true," he said, stopping me. He grabbed my arms and looked hard into my eyes. "I know you're one to always be looking out for everyone else, but who's looking after you? I need you to be more careful with yourself. I- I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you, y/n."

I frowned, and turned away from him.

In my mind, it never mattered what happened to me. Self preservation was the last thing on my list. I would do anything necessary to protect those around me. I needed to stay sharp, and to be the very best I could be at all times in order to stop bad things from happening to the people around me. 

Whenever things like this happened, the thing at the very front of my mind was always Professor Fig, and how I was unable to stop bad things from happening to him. 

If I'd just gone it alone, then he wouldn't have died. He should have stayed out of it. Everyone should have stayed out of it. He'd be alive right now if I was able to do what I should've been able to do. 

Sebastian took my hand in his as we finished the walk to Professor Weasley's office. Even though he usually brought me peace, feeling his touch brought me nothing as I thought about the things that could happen in the future.