A Bouquet Of New Beginnings Chapter 19: Forget-Me-Not

A Bouquet of New Beginnings Chapter 19: Forget-Me-Not

Floriography: Clinging to the past. Remembrance. True love.

Summary: A lil' trip to Feldcroft to meet the Sallow family.

[AO3]

Excerpt of the chapter is below the cut, and the full chapter could be viewed through the AO3 link above!

With a small wave, Artemis made her way to the Common Room. Sebastian stood near the waterfall in a pair of dark grey trousers, plaid beige button down and dark brown button-down vest with his school bag. Each piece of garment looked well-loved; it suited him.

“Good morning Sebastian. You look nice.”

Sebastian turned, his eyes widened slightly as he gave a cheeky grin. “Why thank you. Wakefield’s work?”

She nodded. “Mm. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

“No, you’re just in time,” said Sebastian. “Come on; Feldcroft isn’t too far, and you haven’t explored the area much right?”

“Not really, no,” said Artemis as she kept up with Sebastian.

“Well, we could walk there since we’re so early. It’d be a bit pricey but we could take a carriage part way.”

Artemis hummed. “What about flying part way instead?” 

“I don’t exactly own a broom,” said Sebastian.

“I do.”

Sebastian whipped his head around. “You do?!”

“Well, technically, I don’t own it yet,” started Artemis as she tapped her legside bag. “Mr. Weekes needed someone to test his upgrades, and I needed a broom. The broom will officially be mine at the end of the school year, upgrades included.”

Sebastian’s mouth fell agape for a few seconds before morphing into a smile.

“First of all, you need to tell me how a broom fit in there. Second, broom sounds fine except for one thing.”

“Oh?”

“There’s only one,” said Sebastian.

Artemis blinked twice.

Sebastian sighed as he lifted his finger.

“One broom, Artie,” repeated Sebastian as he moved the finger between himself and her. “You’re okay with riding with me?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? It’s just a broom,” said Artemis.

Sebastian let out a noise. “Have you ever ridden with another person?”

“Twice,” grimaced Artemis. “Thought if I flew it this time, it could be different. Unless you mind?”

“No, of course not,” answered Sebastian too quickly. He cleared his throat. “Alright. Let’s walk to Keenbridge then fly. I can help steer.”

Sebastian filled the air with excited conversation the entire way to Keenbridge. He spoke of how Anne was excited to see them today, of how they used to run around the hamlet and jump into the ocean during the summers. His warm chocolate eyes sparkled under the October sun. Artemis listened and responded whilst carefully concealing the nerves of going to a new friend’s house.

Keenbridge was a humble but lively hamlet. A potioneer was busy manning her stand, villagers chattered away with their tea and children played in the hamlet centre. A nostalgic smile spread as she watched a girl being playfully chased by a boy. Her gaze lifted to Sebastian, who looked wistfully at the same pair. She averted her gaze as she proceeded to pull out the Moon Trimmer.

Sebastian leaned in as he appraised the broom.

“Moon Trimmer? Reliable, but not speedy. Why didn’t you go for the fastest one?”

“This one has bags,” pointed Artemis before expanding the Cushioning Charm.

As she mounted the broom, she looked toward Sebastian who remained standing where he was.

“Sebastian?”

The freckled boy took another moment before he made his way behind her and mounted the broom.

“Pardon me,” said Sebastian as he leaned forward.

His left hand wrapped around the broom handle right above hers, and his right arm circled her waist, holding her steady against his chest. She could smell the cinnamon from his cologne mixed in the wind.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “The broom’s going to tend downward. Give it a few laps low before we go up.”

His breath tickled her ear, and suddenly she wondered if this was why Imelda asked of the attire choice.

“Right.”

The broom was reliable and steady; it didn’t fail her when she wore armour, and it wouldn’t fail her now. Soon, they lifted into the softly lit sky and leaned forward.

“Libro.”

“What did you just cast?” Sebastian asked.

“Sensory Balancing Charm,” answered Artemis.

“Why?”

Artemis hummed. “I get motion sick. This helps me to… not.”

Sebastian let out a laugh. “Huh, so you do have some weaknesses.”

Artemis chuckled in lieu of a response. As they flew, the foliage painted the lands below in their myriads of colour. The crisp autumn air caressed her cheeks like a long-lost lover.

“Wow, this is … breath-taking,” breathed out Artemis.

Sebastian chuckled low behind her, his hand carefully guiding the broom toward Feldcroft.

“Yeah, it’s nice to just… get away from it all sometimes,” sighed Sebastian.

She hadn’t heard him sound this relaxed before.

“I take it you like flying?”

Sebastian nodded. “Anne and I used to chase each other around with the school brooms. Even got Ominis to join once or twice. Granted, he was the one clinging onto me.”

“Were you on the Quidditch team as well? Imelda mentioned Anne was a Chaser.”

“Mm. Played Beater. We were back-up our second year and starters in our third but after Anne got cursed,” paused Sebastian as he sighed. His warm breath tickled the back of her neck. “Anne was much more into Quidditch; I prefer casual flying.”

“Hopefully she’ll be able to come back soon,” said Artemis.

“She will,” said Sebastian. “I know it.”

She heard the faintest crack where the parasitic frustration snuck beneath the optimism. It was the same frustration that turned her father into a near stranger. She slid her left hand up just enough so her fingertip ghosted his wrist.

“You aren’t alone,” murmured Artemis.

She thought she heard Sebastian’s breath hitch. She began retracting her hand - perhaps she overstepped. Instead, his hand wrapped over hers and gripped tightly.

“Thank you,” whispered Sebastian.

She gave a small hum. Only the sound of wind flitted for a few minutes, and he made no attempt to move his hands away.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “Your hand is freezing.”

“And yours is burning,” countered Artemis.

“I admit, I run hotter than most, but your hands are colder than Ominis’,” chuckled Sebastian. “Ah, we’re almost there.”

Feldcroft appeared below with blankets of grass and scattered little homes. There was a centre circle and farms for each home, but not much else. The air filled with a haze of dust as they dipped lower, and she sneezed quietly into her chest.

“You alright? Not catching a cold are you?” Sebastian asked. His arm tightened around her waist.

She shook her head. “No. But it’s a bit dusty, isn’t it?”

“Thanks to Ranrok’s lot,” muttered Sebastian.

The blood froze in her veins. “What?”

“Yeah,” said Sebastian bitterly. “See that castle to our right?”

Artemis turned her head; in the not too far distance stood a castle. Even from this distance it was clear the castle was past its glory days.

“Ever since last year, Ranrok’s Loyalists took a peculiar interest in it. Rookwood castle. No one has felt safe here since.”

“Wait, did you say Rookwood?” Artemis asked. “As in, criminal leader Victor Rookwood, Rookwood?”

“Could be. As far as I know – or rather from what Ominis gathered – there’s at least three Rookwood’s alive. I don’t know if it’s Victor Rookwood that owns that castle now but, either way, it’s overrun with Loyalists,” gritted Sebastian. “This dust, and all the debris is coming from that plateau to our left. There’s an abandoned estate up there, and the Loyalists have been digging for something… Anne was cursed there by them.”

Artemis tilted her head. “But why would they want to curse a child?”

“Dunno, Anne wasn’t going there for tea,” said Sebastian darkly. “We smelled smoke in the middle of the night, and there was fire shooting from that estate. Before we could stop her, Anne rushed out – racing toward the fire, worried someone’d been hurt.”

The grip around her hand tightened as his arm around her waist shook. She didn’t need to see his face to know he was furious. At the goblins or himself, she didn’t know.

“She came face to face with a horde of goblins frantically trying to stamp out the flames. Suddenly, an icy voice drifted out from somewhere in the smoke; ‘Children should be seen and not heard.’ A blinding blast followed. They didn’t even give her a chance to run. Even worse, my uncle refuses to investigate, even though he was an Auror.”

Rookwood castle. An abandoned estate. A quaint hamlet.

On a hunch, Artemis dipped further until they both hovered above a lookout, and it clicked.

“Sebastian, this view… it’s the one from the pensieve!” Artemis exclaimed.

“What?”

“The memory in the Restricted Section. The hamlet they revived – it was Feldcroft!”

Sebastian gasped. “Damn, that hamlet? Wait, so the girl –”

“– Isidora. The estate must’ve been her home. This – this can’t be a coincidence, Sebastian.”

Sebastian leaned forward as his cheeked touched her ear. Her cheeks warmed at the contact.

“Wait, you mean those goblins could be digging for something to do with ancient magic?” Sebastian asked loudly.

Artemis averted her gaze as she gave a nod. It took a moment before Sebastian slowly leaned back, at least, his cheek was no longer against her ear.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “Do you think Anne’s curse could be ancient magic related? You’d be able to see it then, right?”

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I can definitely check,” agreed Artemis.

Sebastian hummed. “Come on, it’s high time you met Anne. Land us there.”

i love the way you draw your sebastian !! i don’t know if this is weird to say but i can definitely imagine him having some stretch marks on his stomach or arms

THANK YOU! ♥️ and oh my god I love this little detail YES 😭 I had to implement this in a drawing

Sebastian fresh out of shower and wondering where the f are his clothes (his wife hid them)

Oh my gosh the way his spine curves? the bones? I'm. This is gorgeous 😭

AAAAA @quackwizardry thank you for the tag 😭🩵

This was, truly, an incredibly difficult exercise to do, and even typing it makes my skin feel strange at the same time it felt nice?

Five things...

I put in time and effort to maintain strong relationships; I will ride or die for all of them. The longest is a 24-year long friendship that I treasure beyond measure.

2. I'm comfortable in being alone, and hardly ever experience FOMO.

3. I can make decisions definitively and don't dwell too much into the 'what if's'.

4. I have a sense of 'spontaneous' adventure, where I want to go somewhere particular, then build the plan to make it happen.

5. My family doesn't have to worry about me (too) much; they can focus on their best life.

No pressure tags:

@betheckart @sallowslove @lyworth @dom1re @thefeatherwrites

Once you get this, you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly. Then you have to send this to ten of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) 💜💜

😭😭😭😭 the fact that I’m anyone’s favorite follower is insane to me but thank you dear! ❤️

Okay five things that I like about myself!

1. I’m a supportive friend. I always go to bat for my friends and I’m always willing to lend an ear whenever they need support.

2. I’m a strong person. I’ve been through a lot in my life and I’ve done a great job at pulling myself out of some dark places and remaining resilient.

3. I’m a friendly person who loves talking to and getting to know people, even though I can be a little awkward about it at first.

4. I’m cute as heck! I have a cute face and I love my hair lmao 😂

5. I’m versatile and adapt to new things quickly and eagerly

Gonna tag my favorite followers instead of sending cause I’m pretty sure a bunch of my followers have already gotten one of these so I don’t want to make them do it again (plus tagging is easier anyway!)

@ellivenollivander @damn-it-a-hogwarts-legacy-blog @margottheviking @little-emerald-snake @skittish1807 @applinsandoranges @rgbbutnoy @eternalremorse @cuffmeinblack @slytherin-paramour 💚

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Casual trip to Forbidden forest for some ingredients....but then you...found yourselves at Black lake..and...🫦

"In the Shadow of Our Ghosts" by @betheckart.

Chapter 13. "The Haven" (English ver.) Audio Excerpt.

Full chapter located here on Wattpad.

Thank you for giving me permission to once again bring this scene to life, and I hope that I did some justice for your beautiful writing of Beth's tale 🩵

*Note: I own absolutely nothing except from the undying love for this tale and the hyperfixation upon HL.*