Like Moths to a Flame // Sebastian Sallow [Book One]

Chapter Thirteen: Championship Round & Anne's Response

They had apparently missed Eric being pulled out of the match. He was now pacing the back of the room with a fellow Gryffindor, gesticulating wildly. Someone was a poor loser.

Unfortunately, Leander was still going strong, but Nellie was on her last legs. She struggled to keep up with Damien's volleys. He was quite quick with his casts, almost as fast as Sebastian, which was certainly saying something.

Damien pulled Nellie to him and pummeled her with a forceful Incendio. It would have completely incapacitated her if it was Confringo. Too bad Sebastian and Damien weren't meeting until tomorrow night. Confringo would have come in handy in Crossed Wands. Ah well. It wasn't as if Damien really needed it. 

Leander successfully hit Damien from behind a few times as Damien continued to target Nellie. It didn't seem to bother Damien in the slightest. He pelted Nellie one more time with Incendio and she flew back against the wall, out of the match.

One more to go.

Sebastian couldn't wait to see Damien destroy Leander. It was going to be glorious.

Leander and Damien both shouted, "Levioso!" in unison, somehow managing to cancel out each other's spells. The room burst into titters of laughter. Sebastian narrowed his eyes. Dueling was a serious affair; laughter was entirely inappropriate. Damien's playful wink didn't count. He probably just had something in his eye. 

Damien tried again, this time landing a hit successfully. Leander was back in the air, looking quite put-out. Good.

Sebastian knew Leander hated being trapped mid-air. Leander muttered something to Damien, riling him up. That was apparently a mistake. Damien's expression clouded over and he assailed Leander with an endless barrage of Incendios. Even Sebastian was taken aback by the sheer volume of spells Leander had to dodge, and mostly unsuccessfully, at that. 

Well, whatever Leander had said, he probably deserved it.

When the levitation spell lifted, Leander crumpled to the ground, panting. Damien, confident in his victory, turned away with a triumphant grin, his back now to his opponent.

But Leander wasn't finished. In a last-ditch effort, he sprang to his feet, wand clutched tightly in his trembling hand.

Everyone else was watching Damien. No one had noticed but Sebastian, who always kept a wary eye on his enemy. Damien wasn't aware. Sebastian had to do something, anything.

"Mind the wand!" he yelled, just in the nick of time. 

Damien whipped around, wand still, thankfully, raised, and blocked Leander's attempted Confringo, blasting Stupefy at him. Leander stumbled backwards, his eyes widening in shock, and crashed onto the cold stone floor with a loud thump. He lay there for a moment, dazed and disoriented, before slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. As he sat up, his eyes flashed with anger, glaring first at Damien, then Sebastian.

No matter. It was done. Damien had won.

As the crowd erupted into applause, Natty locked eyes with Sebastian. "You should go congratulate him." She shoved him in Damien's direction, where he was chatting with Lucan in the corner of the room.

Sebastian hesitated. Should he interrupt? Would that be too forward of him? He wasn't even sure what to say, but he knew he had to do something to show his support. That's what friends were for... right?

He hesitated some more. He rubbed at the back of his neck. 

Natty cleared her throat. "Really, Sebastian?"

"I'm going, I'm going." He weaved through the crowd, his heart pounding in his chest. 

He decided against interrupting Lucan and Damien's conversation, though it didn't take long for Lucan to finish. As the shorter boy walked off, Sebastian swallowed, his nerves suddenly hitting him like a ton of bricks. He awkwardly patted Damien's back and said, "That was impressive."