Chương 17: The Almost Father
"Mmm," William hummed to himself as he awoke from sleep. He squinted his eyes before opening them entirely. Sebation's bedside lamp lit the room with a warm green light, making the transition from sleeping to awake even easier for William. Despite the incredibly comfortable bed underneath him and the warm blankets trying to lull him back to sleep, William sat himself up and pushed his feet off the bed. "God," he said with tiredness as his soles touched the cold floor, sending shivers down his back.
"Good morning," Sebastian said, looking towards William. He was lying on his bed with a stack of pillows behind him. He held his legs up as he read William's book from the comfort of his sheets.
William looked to Sebastian, the light on his nightstand temporarily blinding him. "What time is it?" William questioned as he rubbed his eyes.
Sebastian looked at the clock on his bedside table. "6:23, approximately two and a half hours until your detention starts," he said, his eyes immediately locking back onto the book.
William stood from his bed before falling face-first to the ground. As soon as his arms stopped his fall, he started to do push-ups.
A few minutes passed before Sebastian pried his eyes away from the book. He looked at William quizzically before he exclaimed, "You, the other day, were covered in sweat and woke me up! I thought I was dreaming, and when I woke up, there was no trace!"
William looked to Sebastian as he continued working out, "Yeah, you just ignored me. Though, I can't say I blame you; it was early morning."
Sebastian furrowed his brows as he looked at the seemingly useless movements. "Okay, so what exactly are you doing? You didn't tell me much of anything the other day," Sebastian said with curiosity as he put down the book and crossed his legs.
William sighed as he pushed his legs through the arch of his arms and then sat. "They're exercises I learned from a friend: sit-ups, squats, and this right here, push-ups."
"Hmm, I've only heard of sit-ups; what are these exercises supposed to do?" Sebastian said in a questioning tone.
"These exercises help build muscle in certain areas, such as squats for legs, push-ups for arms, and sit-ups for abs. My friend I mentioned taught me all of these, and believe me, his physique makes mine look like a prepubescent boy." William said with pride etched into his voice.
Sebastian looked away momentarily before asking, "And it makes you strong, the exercises?"
"Oh yes, Abraham, my friend, he's in his sixties or seventies, but he can lift nearly 600 pounds. If I could just go back and see him in his prime, it would be an amazing sight to see." William couldn't help but give a gleeful smile as he thought of the one man he could consider his second father.
"That's truly amazing," Sebastian paused, "I've never known that the human body can be pushed that far. Could you tell me more about Abraham?"
"Sure," William said, his smile disappearing, "but the truth is, I don't know much about him; he doesn't really like sharing his past. So I'll tell you what I do know…" William looked to the ground and ran his fingers along the stones of the floor; the lights of the room gave them a green hue.
William looked up to Sebastian and said, "I met Abraham in the military. I was stationed as his, sort of, assistant, due to my age. He fought as a sniper in the 'Third Anglo-Burmese War,' he was one of the best, and he killed a lot of people…"
Sebastian raised his palms as a worried expression appeared on his face. "Woah, I didn't mean to go from exercises to war and death, William. You don't have to share if you don't want to."
William raised his hand and bowed his head slightly before saying with a slight chuckle, "No, it's okay; we fought a troll together; some silly history isn't that big of a deal."
Sebastian's face only showed concern. He looked down at William from his bed and said, "Only if you're sure; I know how hard it can be to share the depth of your grief."
"I'm okay; it's been years since then," William said. He then put his hands behind his head and fell to the ground. He stared at the ceiling as if trying to remember all his interactions and experiences with Abraham. "Anyway, he was a sniper, and I was his assistant. We got to know each other over the months, and as he took a liking to me, I opened up to him and told him my story. We developed a sort of father-son dynamic, him being the only one I could ever see replacing my father. It was the little things that mattered to me: him turning my head away whenever he made his shot, defending me from officers, or his adamance that a kid shouldn't be in a war. He was, and is, a warrior, a father, and my protector."
"...He sounds like a great man. If I may ask, what happened after the war?"
"We didn't see each other for six months. I was sent home, and he was stationed in Burma for another five months. When he finally came home, he arrived to see his daughter became sick, really sick. He arrived at my doorstep asking for help, so I used all the influence I could muster to get the best doctors in the nation. He asked for work, and I gave it to him; he asked for help, and I gave it to him… Together, we saved each other."
Sebastian laid back on his pillows and said, "Well, at least the story has a happy ending."
William shut his eyes as he spread his arms out. "The best it can be," he said happily, concealing a hidden sorrow.
—-------------------
The library had more students than there had been in the previous Friday, again mostly Ravenclaw, but Slytherin definitely takes second.
As William walked around the people-filled tables, he finally reached his destination. "Your turn," William said, dropping the palm-sided tome on the table.
Sebastian looked at the book with a sense of dread, his hands avoiding it like the Plague, "It's my turn already? But it's only been 10 minutes."
"Heh, try 30," William said, pulling a chair out and sitting down.
"But we've been recording books all day, even after Professor Ronen freed you from your detention," Sebastian said, his voice whiny like a child's.
"Hey, you're the one who volunteered. It's your own fault," William said, slowly sliding the book over to Sebastian.
"Ugh," Sebastian scoffed before grabbing the book and sighing, "How about we just call it quits for today?"
Sebastian turned his head to the second floor as he gestured his hand. "Excluding the restricted section, we only have a fourth of the library left to assimilate."
"Sure, with our constant work, I wouldn't mind taking a break." William paused, "Though, I want to get this over with so we can move onto 'bigger things.'" As he finished, he gave Sebastian a wink, a subtle hint at their deal.
"With the both of us, it will probably take us two more hours to finish up here. As for the more restricted areas," Sebastian said, eyeing the area around them, "it may take upwards of four hours. It's big down there, and ghosts haunt its hallways."
"Wow, I've never seen ghosts before," William said, voice laced with wonder.
"You should have?" Sebastian said as he raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair.
"What do you mean? I haven't had any interaction with any type of ghost before."
"During the sorting ceremony, ghosts were flying around the great hall, and there's always at least one ghost in the hall for every dinner." Sebastian looked at William's blank face and empty blue eyes as he talked.
Looking back, William could only remember the anxiousness he felt as the hat chose his future at Hogwarts, the roar of the crowd, and the fantastic food he ate. That was all he could remember from his time in the great hall.
Outwardly, he stared blankly for a moment before shouting, "I don't know! I've only been to dinner twice. Once during the ceremony and the other was yesterday, when I got in a fight. So cut me a break because every day something has happened!"
"What did we have yesterday for dinner?" A small smile appeared on Sebastian's face as he asked.
Again, William's face went blank. "Hahaha, you have the memory of a goldfish. Ahh, that's great! At Least I know I have you beat in that department," Sebastian said. A chuckle bellowed out of William's mouth as he laughed incredulously.
The only thing to interrupt their fun was the loud growling of William's stomach. "Man, I could get something to eat," William said, rubbing his belly after they finished laughing.
"We could sneak into the kitchens," Sebastian said, and as if leaning in to share a secret, he said, "It's locked behind a secret painting underneath the great hall, stuffed full of house elves, who make mountains of food." A smile lined their faces as they planned their moves carefully.
The students around the two had no clue what they were planning. It was going to be the grandest raid the kitchen had ever seen, and the only ones who knew about it were William and Sebastian, quite possibly the biggest troublemakers the school had seen in a decade. One could only wonder what the two could accomplish in their time here at Hogwarts.
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