Sebastian stood next to his friend, broken beyond repair. After all the painstaking research, all the sleepless nights, even after… after Solomon… and Anne leaving… somehow this ache hurt him in a way that none of the others did. Her words, endlessly repeating in his head, the word tortured slicing at him every time it came around. He knew that she was talking about the cruciatus curse, how he willingly cast her into a spell of absolute torment. But what ached harder was that he knew that wasn't all he did to torture her. Suddenly thoughts of every harsh word, every lie, every strain he put on her, came flooding to memory. How… how did it feel even worse than the unforgivables….
Sebastian momentarily snapped out of his thoughts as Ominis spoke;
"Who was she speaking to last?" he asked in a whisper.
And out of seemingly nowhere, a new hurt throbbed deep inside of him, unwillingly to give it a name as he responded with unsuspecting venom;
"It was you."
And Sebastian trudged away, tears pooling out as he did so.