April, and with it spring, came to Hogwarts. Nature awoke from its slumber and, like every year, showed its most beautiful side. While the events of the past school year were nothing significant for nature, they certainly were for the wizarding world. The young 5th year students at Hogwarts in particular experienced a thing or two. It all ultimately boiled down to the fact that not only Hogwarts, but the entire wizarding community would have suffered under Ranrok's rule had it not been for one girl in particular. Her ability to see and use ancient magic made her both the Chosen One and a wanted target. Forced to follow this unpleasant path, a brave and loyal professor stood by her side alongside her new friends until the bitter end. A man with charm and wit and a great knowledge of magic. Terzia Siegbjerg was glad to have met Professor Fig, even if the pain of his loss grew a little bit with each passing day.

As the excitement and grief at Hogwarts died down and the student body slowly prepared for their annual exams, few noticed the girl's increasing absence from study sessions and trips to Hogsmeade.

Poppy Sweeting, a petite Hufflepuff, was very worried about her friend and housemate. The last few times she had seen her, she didn't seem in a good state. But still awkward in the human friendships, she didn't quite know what to do. Especially since all her attempts to help ended in rejection.

So after a Care of magical beasts class, Poppy went to one of her classmates with whom she got on relatively well, hoping to get help from him.

"Sebastian! Do you have a moment?" she called out to him as she quickly gathered her things.

The Slytherin boy turned to her as he said goodbye to a Ravenclaw boy.

"What's up?" he asked as the Hufflepuff girl caught up to him. With a tired look, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Have you seen..., you know who, today? I've already asked Garreth and Amit, but they've hardly seen her in the last few days, if at all. And I haven't found her in the dormitory either. Do you know where she might be? She didn't look well," asked Poppy, desperation in her voice.

Sebastian's lips formed a thin line and he drew his eyebrows together anxiously.

"We're not talking at the moment. There's... too much going on," he said. He realized, in part, that he had himself to blame. But it worried him that his former friend was hiding herself from people in her own house. He played anxiously with the strap of his shoulder bag.

The girl sighed disappointedly and said: "Oh, I see. Do you have any idea where she might be?"

The Slytherin just shook his head. How would he?

Poppy let out another sigh and walked down the short stairs. Sebastian accompanied her in silence. His mind wandered to all the events that had marked what must have been the most chaotic year so far and the people he had hurt through his actions. He was the last person she wanted to talk to, despite the years of friendship. He was sure of it.

"Ominis might know," came from Sebastian as he went through his brown hair. "He often sits in somewhat secluded places at school. He always says he can't stand the loud chattering of the others. Maybe he's overheard something."

The Hufflepuff suddenly grabbed his arm, causing the boy to flinch in perplexity.

She looked at him with wide eyes and asked: "Can you talk to him? Please!"

The Slytherin puffed briefly and replied, "Ask him yourself. I'm not an owl"

"But you're friends!"

"Yes, we are." 'Even though we've hardly spoken lately,' he thought further in his mind.

"Then please ask him. Besides, I've already tried, more or less. He always seems so... cynical. Do it for her, will you?"

He briefly wondered what his best friend would think of looking for her.

'If she withdraws, she obviously wants to be alone. So we should respect that,' Sebastian thought about Omini's statement.

"So?" Poppy asked impatiently. All she got in reply was a curt nod and they continued walking.

"But now you owe me one," he added quickly.

"Thanks. At least you're a better help than... Uh, Ominis. He was talking so weirdly cryptic and didn't seem like he cared."

The Slytherin boy stopped abruptly. He turned the small Hufflepuff girl around a little too harshly by her shoulders so that she could look him straight in the face. The sudden movement elicited a small squeak from Poppy, almost causing her to drop her books as well.

"What exactly did he say?" he wanted to know in a stern tone. After everything that happened, he knew better than to say Ominis didn't care. At least not when it came to her...

"I... Uh... Something... uh, about not wanting to be seen. I can't fully remember," the girl stuttered.

"That bloody snake," Sebastian growled, realizing how anger was rising in him. It let go of the Hufflepuff and stormed off, not caring to leave a more than irritated Poppy behind.

The girl took a short breath and murmured quietly to herself: "And what exactly was that? Did I say something wrong?" Still a little confused, she made her way back to the Great Hall. She would find out later what Sebastian could find out.

***

The angry Slytherin walked with long strides through the corridors on a direct route to the library. He was sure he would find his friend there. Ominis often spent the last few weeks thereafter classes to study for exams and avoid him for a bit. He was sure it was part of his punishment.

When Sebastian opened and closed the ornate wooden door into the library with too much momentum, many pairs of eyes stared at him, including the librarian, Miss Scribner. She gave him a warning look, probably still wondering whether she should throw him out.

"Sorry," he mumbled quickly and walked past the ceiling-high bookshelves. There were tables between them, which were always well occupied for the time of year. But the blond Slytherin wasn't at any of them.

Eventually, he found his friend in one of the 'hidden' corners of the library, who had commandeered an entire table for himself. Various books were stacked and an open one in front of the blond Slytherin. An enchanted scroll wrote notes in small instances on command. It still impressed Sebastian after 5 years that with a simple spell Ominis could read any book in braille.

"I hear you haven't been kicked out yet," came from the blind boy, who smiled a little spitefully.

"Where is she, Ominis?" Sebastian asked sternly, careful not to raise his voice too loudly. "Poppy told me she was talking to you. So don't try to deny it!"

"So after a month, you get the idea that you should look for her? Do you really think I'm going to tell you?" his friend remarked with a contemptuous undertone, the grin gone from his face.

"I thought you were looking out for her. You know what I have to deal with myself!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"Ominis!" roared Sebastian, visibly hurt by the words.

From the other side of the library, the two friends heard the librarian's stern voice: "Mr. Sallow! If I hear another wrong note, you'll have to leave!"

Annoyed, the Slytherin began to pace back and forth, running his fingers through his shaggy hair. In a quieter, but still quivering voice, he repeated his first question. The blind Slytherin raised his eyes towards his friend.

"Sebastian, she obviously wants to be alone. Why can't you keep your feelings to yourself for once and respect hers?" he groaned, annoyed, even if his face didn't hide his concern.

"Because Poppy Sweeting, the girl who prefers every animal being over humans, has come to me and is concerned," the other clarified, taking a deep breath. "Something's not right. So if you know something, tell me. Please."

A brief silence fell between the two before Ominis packed up his things with a wave of his wand and stood up.

"All right then. I'll take you there, but only for a quick check-up. Then we'll go straight back. Got it? She might be in Professor Fig's classroom. Apparently she can be alone there undisturbed, especially from rats like you," Ominis told his friend and made his way out of the library. The other Slytherin followed him impatiently, ignoring his last comment.

Even if he doesn't want to admit it, it would be better for Ominis to talk to her than him. He wasn't good with words. Thinking of how he had to beg his friend to spit out anything about the scriptorium she could vent in just a short conversation.

***

The two Slytherins didn't exchange a word the whole way back to the Astronomy Wing, which made Sebastian nervous. He realized that his oldest friend was still angry. On top of that, after a month of no contact, he would now meet the girl who had never left his side when he hit rock bottom. Also, the fact that his twin Anne cut off contact with him still hurt deep in his heart and will not go away easily. Even with her no longer around, he would continue to try and find something to help her. But this time in the right way, as Ominis had made him swear. He would not, he could not violate his friend's trust again. He had lost enough in the past few months.

As the boys climbed the wooden stairs up to the classroom, both their steps unconsciously quickened. As expected, the floor where the former professor's room was located was as quiet as a mouse. No one would be there at the moment, as it was almost lunchtime and most of the students were in the Great Hall.

The door to the classroom was only open a small crack. You couldn't see much, which is why Sebastian carefully pushed the door open as far as possible so that he and Ominis could sneak in.

When they entered, he noticed that nothing had changed. All along the walls were the heavy wooden tables with lots of books and other things on them. The blackboard on the other side of the room, where various magical theories were still written in chalk, was also untouched. Even the rows of benches were still lined up.

"Is she there?" asked Ominis.

"Doesn't look like it. She seems somewhe-" his friend began as he scanned the room with his eyes for anything unusual. He stopped as he spotted a strange, shadowy figure in the front row.

He tried to walk towards it slowly, but Ominis held him by the cloak.

"Let go," he hissed quietly.

"Where are you going?" the blind boy wanted to know, matching his friend's tone. His eyes wandered around the room as if he wanted to recognize something. Sebastian knew that he hated not being able to see anything.

"There's someone up ahead. But he's cast a disillusionment spell on themself. I just want to see who it is," he explained in a whisper. Ominis then let go of him with a nod.

He sneaked off again, careful not to wake the obviously sleeping person - otherwise they would have noticed them long ago. Through the enchanted figure, he recognized many papers with the familiar runes of ancient magic, but could not read the texts. He gently reached out his right hand and touched the figure. The touch suddenly lifted the spell and revealed the girl he was looking for.

"Ominis! It's her!" he whispered to his friend, who came to him with quiet steps.

"Is she all right?" he asked uneasily, leaning against one of the benches with his arms folded.

Sebastian frowned and said: "It's hard to say. She seems to be asleep."

He let his gaze wander over her a little more closely. She was wearing a somewhat casual form of the Hufflepuff uniform. The gold embroidered vest in particular stood out from the otherwise simple skirt and blouse. And yet the clothes looked a little too big. Her platinum white hair, which she usually wore in a loose and somewhat wild braid, was now in a neat bun. Only the strands of hair that framed her face were still in place. Looking closely at her face, he noticed that she looked paler and the dark circles under her eyes didn't make the overall picture any better. It reminded him too much of Anne.

"She doesn't look well at all. Poppy had good reason to be worried."

"What do you mean by 'not good'? Is she injured?" Ominis frowned angrily at the vague description.

"No, but she hardly seems to sleep. She has dark circles under her eyes. She's also pale in the face," Sebastian described the girl to him in more detail, without mentioning the resemblance to his twin.

"And exhaustion forces her to fall asleep," Ominis concluded, which was confirmed with an approving murmur.

"Do you think we should wake her up?" Sebastian asked for advice.

Ominis thought for a moment until he replied: "Normally I would be against it, but I'm getting more and more uneasy about the situation."

"I agree," he agreed with his friend. So he knelt down and placed his hand on her slowly rising and falling back. For some disturbed reason, he thought that she would awaken in pain at his touch. But nothing of the sort happened. He shook his head to chase away the memories of the Crucio door to the scriptorium, that slowly crept up in his mind.

"Terzia, hey," he tried to wake her up, but the words didn't seem to get through to her.

He began to stroke her back with gentle movements, as he had always done with Anne when she was having a nightmare. But the knot in his stomach only got stronger.

"Terzia. Can you hear me?" he whispered a little louder.

Her eyelids began to flicker slightly, opening a crack. The familiar icy blue of her eyes wandered lost until she met the dark brown eyes of the Slytherin. She blinked a few times until she lifted her head a little sleepily.

"Seba-ian?" the Hufflepuff mumbled languidly as she recognized the freckled face.

"Yes, and Ominis is here too," he said as gently as he could. Ominis often scolded him for being too harsh in sensitive moments, but now any harshness was gone for the moment.

"What are you doing here?" Terzia asked, still mumbling slightly, as she tried to turn her head towards Ominis, who was standing behind Sebastian.

"Looking after you. I hope you're not too angry with me for telling Sebastian where you are," the blind Slytherin replied in place of his friend.

It took a moment for the information to sink in and she shook her head.

"I'm all right. You can go again."

"You're not feeling well. When was the last time you looked in the mirror?" Sebastian immediately contradicted her, causing him to hear a warning "Sebastian" from Ominis.

The girl turned her gaze away from the two Slytherins and said quietly, "I'm fine. Really."

"Terzia, it's not just us who are worried. Our classmates and teachers, everyone close to you. Poppy Sweeting tried to find you in vain. And the teachers aren't saying anything either," Ominis began in a calm tone to hide his concern and paused.

As the Hufflepuff girl said nothing in response, he continued, bitterness growing in his voice, "We all know it hasn't been an easy year for you, even if we only know a small part of what's happened. You've had to carry so much on your shoulders alone, but you can rest assured that we're all here for you."

"Exactly. I know I haven't been a particularly good friend to you either, but I really want to help you," Sebastian admitted. He had hoped that this would trigger some kind of reaction from her, but she continued to look away. "I'm sure Professor Fig didn't want-"

"Don't you dare drag HIM into this!" Terzia snapped at the Slytherin next to her. Both Sebastian and Ominis were startled by the sudden outburst.

Now was one of those moments when Ominis wished he could see, just so he could give his friend a good slap in the face without missing 5 times first. But he left it at a little kick with his foot.

"Forgive me, bu-" Sebastian wanted to apologize, but Ominis interrupted him.

"Let's go to lunch together. Get back to socializing, yeah?" he suggested.

"Not hungry," was her reply. "Can you finally go?"

"We're staying here," the other Slytherin protested.

A powerless sigh escaped the Hufflepuff before she made all her loose sheets disappear into a paper envelope with a wave of her wand and stood up to leave. Sebastian did the same and noticed how her posture was not defiant with energy as he was used to when he saw her. The expression on her face was devoid of all emotion. She looked like an empty shell. With the envelope in her right arm, she squeezed past the boy and walked in small steps towards the classroom exit. She leaned on the benches with her left hand to hold her balance.

"If you want to stay, then I go... then..." Terzia spoke in a shaky voice.

Sebastian noticed her wobbly arm, which was struggling to keep the girl on her feet. The Slytherin reacted out of reflex as Terzia's legs and supporting arm finally gave in, making her fall.

"Levioso!" he spoke, wand pointed at her.

Ominis' gaze wavered between his friend and where he thought the girl was.

"What... what happened?" the more than confused Slytherin asked, releasing his arms from their entanglement.

"She's lost consciousness," Sebastian stated aloud as he nimbly approached her and carefully lowered her to the ground. He then put his wand away. At the sight of the limp and almost lifeless body, he had to restrain himself from throwing up on the spot. Omini's eyes widened in fear.

"We have to get her to the hospital wing immediately, Sebastian!" he said, now much more tense.

"You don't have to tell me. I'm not that stupid," he growled as he gave en Hufflepuff a piggyback ride, ignoring the envelope. He wasn't sure at first if the levitation spell was still active, but when he made sure it wasn't, he cursed loudly.

"By Merlin, she's light, too light if you ask me," he commented on his observation. "Are you coming?"

"You go ahead. Remember not to floo-travel, just to be sure you don't loose her. You'll be faster on foot if you don't have to wait for me. Oh wait, give me your bag," Ominis explained as he held his wand ready to guide his way.

"Okay," was the only other thing Sebastian said to his friend. He dropped the bag at his feet before leaving the room in long strides. Ominis listened to the footsteps moving away as he tried to run as fast as he could without breaking his neck. He thought about how big a mistake it was to keep his friend's location a secret just so she could be left in peace. Whatever the outcome, it was definitely on him.