Part 47

 Sebastian stood in the kitchen, holding a knife in his right hand and a potato tuber in his left. He had to cook food, but he felt too lazy, as if he was so tired that he couldn't even hold a knife in his hands. His brows furrowed; he couldn't concentrate on one thing. The thought flashed, maybe he was sick? Although his head didn't hurt, and he didn't have a fever. He tried to shake off this obsession, but it didn't help. With a sigh, he put off cooking and decided it would be better to take a nap.

 Lying in bed, he also didn't think about anything. Earlier, he would have grabbed some book and started reading, forgetting about time, but all he did was stare at the ceiling. There was a black spider sitting on a web in the corner. Sebastian remembered that his uncle had always kept the house clean before, but now the house seemed orphaned, just like himself.

 Thoughts of his uncle now brought neither anger, nor remorse, nor sadness. Sebastian was only surprised at how easily you can erase someone from your life with a wave of a magic wand. He felt sick of himself. He lay on his side and saw the black book that Noah had given him for his birthday. He had not read a single page yet. Pulling the book to his chest, he closed his eyes. He was filled with bitterness; no matter how much he wanted to hug Noah right now. How stupidly they had parted in the last meeting; he did not want to hurt him at all. With such thoughts, he fell asleep.

 He felt a cold wind blowing, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was standing in a vacant lot. The ground underfoot was snow-white, and the dead trees around were completely black. Sebastian broke out in a cold sweat; it seemed that even breathing was difficult in this place. He was completely disoriented until he heard the loud cry of a crow. Immediately recovering, he looked up and saw that the sky was covered with dark clouds. A white raven was sitting on a tree right above his head, and it had precious stones instead of eyes - emeralds. Sebastian realized that it wasn't real; it was definitely a dream.

 Lowering his head, he turned and ran blindly. The only thought that was spinning in his head was danger. It came from this raven, from this place, from everything that surrounds it. It was necessary to get out of this mess as soon as possible! The blood was pounding in his temples, his legs were getting heavier with every step, as if he was running through a swamp. The cry of the raven, which circled over his head, drove animal terror into him every time. When his strength had already left him, Sebastian fell to the ground and sat up in bed with a sharp movement.

 "No!" He shouted, taking a deep breath. A few minutes later, having already recovered from the nightmare, he trudged into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. Judging by the fact that it was pitch dark in the house, he fell asleep late into the night. After emptying the glass, Sebastian took matches out of the cabinet and went to make a fireplace; the night was cool.

 Having finished with the task, Sebastian wanted to drink hot tea. The fire crackled pleasantly in the fireplace, and he began to feel sleepy again until he heard strange footsteps around the house.

 "Are you sure this is the right house?" A rough male voice broke the silence.

 "Yes, I'm sure; I was watching him. This brat is alone here," an evil female voice tsked in response.

 Sebastian froze in fear, "Who are these people?! What do they want from him? Robbers?". The most terrible thing was that they were right; he was completely alone, and if these people came after him, then he was like a cornered mouse.

 "Make sure no one interrupts us; I'll deal with the boy quickly," a female voice ordered and headed towards the door.

 Sebastian knew that the locked door would not hold them and ran to the bed with a jerk; the wand was lying under his pillow. The moment he grabbed it, "alohomora" was whispered softly in front of the door.

 Sebastian turned towards the door and stared at the floor. "Who are these people? What are they here for?" These thoughts flew by in a split second; the door slowly opened, and someone else's foot stepped inside, touching the creaking wooden floor. The intruder tried not to make much noise, but from the rustle of her clothes, you could tell that she was looking around.

 A terrible crash was heard outside; the burglar did not even have time to turn around, as a huge wooden barrel flew at her, and she crashed into the wall. Sebastian flinched at the sudden noise but did not move from his place. There was silence in the house for a few seconds, which was broken by the sound of another uninvited guest.