Part 33

When Sebastian opened his eyes, he found himself standing in Hogsmeade next to Pepin's shop.

"What are we doing here?" Sebastian asked in surprise, still holding Noah's hand.

"I wanted to show you a place. Come with me," Noah replied, gently pulling Sebastian towards the cemetery.

"If you've decided to arrange a test of courage, I'd rather decline," Sebastian remarked, releasing Noah's hand.

"No, this is a different place," Noah laughed. He casually mentioned that one day he found a crypt in the cemetery that led to the dungeon where he had met the infamous peplumbs.

"Timophylls and toadstools? Did you know that the shops close in the evenings?" Sebastian frowned at Noah.

"We're almost there," Noah said as he walked past the store on the right. He began to climb up to the roof and didn't stop there, going a little higher up the hill with a ledge.

"But why this little adventure?" Sebastian looked at Noah, puzzled.

"Ominis told me that it's your and Anna's birthday tomorrow," Noah revealed, smiling warmly as he put his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and turned him towards Hogsmeade. The view from their vantage point revealed the entire city, with Hogwarts' spires towering in the background. The lights of the city and the school looked so beautiful from afar that Sebastian was left speechless.

"I wanted to do something nice for you," Noah said, pulling a small tablecloth and some food out of his bag. Sebastian watched him in surprise.

"Please join my picnic, Mr. Sellow!" Noah playfully curtsied and held out his hand.

"Alright," Sebastian laughed, taking Noah's hand. He couldn't stop smiling; it all felt like a wonderful dream. When they sat down, Noah took out a blueberry pie and stuck a small candle in it.

"Here's your cake," he said, handing the pie to Sebastian. Then, he took out his wand and lit the candle. "Make a wish!"

Sebastian looked at the burning candle, and then his gaze slowly flowed towards Noah. Noah's amber-colored eyes seemed to radiate light from within, with the fire reflecting in them. He probably didn't realize how beautiful he looked at that moment. Sebastian smiled, closed his eyes, and blew out the candle.

"Here's your present," Noah said, handing him a package.

"It wasn't necessary," Sebastian expressed his surprise, as everything that was happening right now in front of his eyes was, in fact, one big gift for him. The bundle contained a multicolored scarf and a book with a black cover.

"I think you'll find this book interesting to read," Noah said, sitting down closer to him, their shoulders touching. Sebastian immediately began to blush.

"Thank you very much. I'll definitely read it," Sebastian replied, trying his best to calm his racing heart and distract himself from obsessive thoughts. When he opened the book, something fell out from between the pages.

"What's this?" Sebastian picked up a dried dandelion.

"Ah, I dried it and completely forgot. We can put it back," Noah reached out to retrieve the dried flower, but Sebastian quickly placed it back in the book and closed it.

"I'll use it as a bookmark. Besides, it came as a gift along with the book," Sebastian said, wearing his characteristic, self-assured smile.

"Whatever you say," Noah laughed.

"So, that's where you went today, to surprise me?" Sebastian was sitting with his head down, not daring to raise it.

"And how did you celebrate last year?" Noah wanted to know how they celebrated with Anna together. Sebastian thought for a moment.

"There were three of us, Anna, and Ominis. He always spent his holidays with us at Feldcroft. From the very morning, Anna woke us up at the crack of dawn, and we all started cooking a cake for breakfast together. You see, she was born eight minutes earlier, so she asked for a birthday cake for breakfast. And mine, as you already guessed, is in the evening for dinner," Sebastian paused for a moment, as if those memories were flashing before his eyes.

"Let me guess, your favorite cake is blueberry?" Noah looked in his direction.

"What? No, I'm sorry, I just... I can't believe it was our last birthday that we celebrated together. Will this never happen again? Am I really never going to see her?" Sebastian drooped, as they had never been separated from their sister for such a long time. There was silence in the air until Noah took his hand and pulled him along.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian, not understanding what was happening, got to his feet.

"Today, I will fulfill your wish," Noah smiled at him and gathered their things with one wave of his wand.

"My wish?" Sebastian was taken aback by his words. Noah turned to him and took a handkerchief out of his bag, blindfolding him.