awkwardauthorwrites

[awkwardauthorwrites]

My Stardew Valley event posters! Created these over the span of like a year and a bit. Did the Spirit's Eve one in November 2022, and finished off with the Flower Dance one earlier in Feb this year.

If you're interested, you can get prints of these over on Redbubble!

[awkwardauthorwrites]

The Long Way Home

Pairing: Penny x Male MC

Summary: Connor, a young man burdened by a tumultuous past, inherits his late grandfather's farm and seeks refuge there to escape his troubled history. Amidst the serenity of his new home, he reconnects with Penny, a village girl from his youth and his first love. Their rekindled bond becomes a source of solace and renewal for Connor, offering him a pathway to peace and a sense of belonging.

However, the shadows of his past refuse to fade completely. As Connor grapples with the lingering scars of abuse and seeks forgiveness for his own mistakes, his journey toward healing is fraught with challenges. Yet, through his relationships and friendships with the residents of Pelican Town, and the nurturing environment of the farm, Connor begins to understand the true essence of home—both as a physical place and a sanctuary within himself. With their help, he must learn to navigate the complexities of love, forgiveness, and self-discovery, gradually learning to confront his demons and embrace a future shaped by hope and redemption.

Major TW! (Non con, child abuse, SA, gun violence, drug use, alcoholism, underage sex, gang violence, emotional abuse. This is in no way safe for work. Minors DNI!)

Chapter One: A Fresh Start

Stepping out of his weathered car, Connor took a deep breath, savoring the crisp countryside air that filled his lungs. He cast his gaze across the vast fields of wheat and the scattered, charming houses in the distance. This was now his sanctuary—his late grandfather's farm—a refuge from the tumultuous past that had shadowed him for so long.

As he stood there, preparing to embark on this new chapter of his life, a rush of nostalgia swept over him. His mind wandered to his grandfather, the steadfast caretaker of this land until his passing some years before.

Connor walked through the fields, his steps tracing the familiar, uneven dirt paths. He gently brushed his hand over the tall wheat stalks, their golden heads swaying in the gentle breeze. Memories of his grandfather flooded his mind—the echoes of hearty laughter and the image of a wide grin while working the land. Those moments represented simpler times, before tragedy had shattered his world.

Closing his eyes, Connor took another deep breath, the air now tinged with a bittersweet sense of longing as he reflected on the past.

Connor approached the barn, its weathered wooden walls standing stoically at the edge of the field. Stepping inside, he was enveloped by the familiar scents of hay and machinery that instantly brought memories flooding back. He and his grandfather had spent countless hours here, their hands rough and calloused from hard work but their hearts full of shared moments.

Among the echoes of laughter and the quiet moments of companionship, one memory haunted Connor more than the rest—a painful reminder of the tragedy that had marked his life.

The memory of that fateful day remained vivid in Connor's mind. It had been a picturesque summer afternoon, sunlight streaming through the barn's rafters, casting playful shadows on the hay-strewn floor. Together, they had tinkered with a tractor, tools spread out in purposeful disarray.

The radio had played a familiar country tune, filling the air with warmth and comfort. Yet, beneath the surface of tranquility, an unsettling feeling gnawed at Connor. He couldn't shake the ominous sense that this peaceful interlude was fleeting.

Deep down, Connor knew that the solace of the farm was only temporary. Soon, he would have to confront the harsh reality of his abusive home life. The thought of returning to the torment and suffering he endured there filled him with a profound sense of dread and helplessness. It was as if the weight of that emotional and physical abuse bore down on him like a tangible force, threatening to crush his spirit.

In the quiet of the barn, surrounded by the echoes of happier times and the foreboding shadow of his past, Connor grappled with the turmoil that had shaped his journey.

As if reading his mind, his grandfather placed a hand gently on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"It's going to be alright, Connor," his grandfather said gently, his voice thick with emotion. "No matter what hardships come your way, always remember this farm, and know that I will always be here to support you. This is your home, son."

Connor closed his eyes, memories of his grandfather's futile attempt to gain custody flooding his mind. Despite all his efforts, the court had sided with his abusive parents, leaving his grandfather powerless to protect him. Shame and betrayal gripped Connor as he remembered the anguish on his grandfather's face that day.

Trying to suppress the overwhelming hurt and anger, Connor looked up at his grandfather with a strained smile.

"Don't worry about me, grandpa," he assured him, his voice tinged with determination. "I'll make it through. I'll find a way." His words were a promise, a fragile shield against the despair etched on his grandfather's face.

That day in the barn turned out to be one of the last times Connor saw his grandfather. In the weeks and months that followed, the old farmer's health declined swiftly, his once-strong frame now frail and worn. Connor made every effort to visit him, but their moments together became increasingly sparse.

The memory of their last conversations lingered in Connor's mind, fraught with unspoken emotions and reluctant farewells, leaving him haunted by a poignant mix of nostalgia and sorrow.

Life with his parents had become an unbearable nightmare for Connor. Endless cycles of abuse and neglect pushed him to the brink, and one frigid winter night, he made the desperate decision to run away from home. Lost and vulnerable, he stumbled upon a group of people who seemed to offer acceptance and protection.

However, they led him down a dark path, and he found himself entangled with a dangerous crowd involved in illicit activities. The thought of returning to the farm haunted him constantly; he couldn't bear the idea of putting his beloved grandfather in harm's way.

For years, Connor drifted through a shadowy existence, trying to survive while hiding from his past. It was only recently, upon breaking free from that destructive life, that he learned of his grandfather's passing. The news struck him deeply, awakening a long-buried longing for the sanctuary and unconditional love he once knew at the farm.

Standing in the barn, surrounded by the comforting sights and scents he had grown up with, Connor felt a surge of unease. Beyond the farm's boundaries lay the small town, its quaint houses, and possibly Penny—the person who had remained in his thoughts all these years. Since he left, thoughts of her had lingered, and now, the possibility of encountering her again stirred a tumultuous mix of emotions within him.

Penny had been Connor's first love, his first kiss, his first everything. Their youthful innocence had forged a deep and enduring bond that had flourished amidst the farm's sprawling fields. They had shared laughter and created cherished memories together. Her gentle smile and kind heart had captivated him like no other, leaving an indelible impression on his soul.

He sighed, unable to shake the belief that even if he were to see Penny again, she remained too pure, too untouched by the darkness that had consumed him. Her kindness and innocence had always stood in stark contrast to the troubled path he had walked.

The thought of reconnecting with her filled him with a mix of longing and apprehension, knowing deep down that he didn't deserve her light. As much as he yearned for her presence, he feared tarnishing the purity he admired in her, unable to shake the guilt that had plagued him for so long.

Connor closed the barn door behind him with a sigh, its familiar creak echoing softly in the cooling evening air. With the sun slipping below the horizon, casting a pale twilight over the land, he felt the weight of his regrets settling heavily upon his shoulders.

Memories of his past, the decisions he had made, and the loved ones he had abandoned swirled within him as he made his way back to the small cottage he now called home. The burden of his remorse accompanied him like a shadow in the deepening darkness, a constant companion on his solitary journey.

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Headcanon that pelican town thinks Sebastian is the yoba equivalent of the antichrist and he revels in it

[awkwardauthorwrites]

"How do you write such realistic dialogue-" I TALK TO MYSELF. I TALK TO MYSELF AND I PRETEND I AM THE ONE SAYING THE LINE. LIKE SANITY IS SLOWLY SLIPPING FROM BETWEEN MY FINGERS WITH EVERY MEASLY WORD THEY TYPE OUT. THAT IS HOW.

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Wildest Dreams - Part Two

Word Count: 4.1k

Themes: fluff, pining, tension

Summary: Ten years have passed since the events of Hogwarts Legacy and Y/N is invited back as part of a reunion to celebrate. 

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL. All characters are aged up and around 25/26 years old

Find Part One here

Sebastian apparted them to a quiet hillside with a beautiful, large cottage resting at the top. Although it was dark out, the faint light coming from the full moon allowed Y/N to see the intricate stonework of the L-shaped house and the garden that lay outside that was obviously well taken care of. She couldn’t see it, but she could hear the gentle swell of the ocean and smell the salt in the air. 

“Where are we?”

“Ominis and Anne’s house.” He turned to hold his hand out for hers before guiding them forward slowly. “I moved in so I could help Anne with her pregnancy and the first few months with the baby. They live in that section of the house, but they’re hopefully fast asleep.”

“Trying to sneak me in like a late night conquest?”

“First, you would never be a conquest to me.” The look Sebastian sent her sent a flash of heat through Y/N’s body that warmed her all the way to her toes. “Second, is it that bad I want you to myself for a while before my sister steals you from me?” 

“Ah yes, the infamous Sallow charm,” she gave him a teasing smile as he led her inside, a hand on the small of her back as he guided her through the dark interior and into the kitchen. With a slight wave of his hand the lamps that were dotted around the room came to life, revealing a figure sitting at the table. 

“Fuck - Ominis!” Sebastian glared at his brother-in-law. “What have I told you about sitting around in the dark?”

“Is it dark?” Ominis tilted his head to the side. “I couldn’t tell.” Y/N couldn’t help but laugh quietly at his words despite her heart still racing and he turned his head in her direction curiously. “Y/N? Is that you?” He stood up and made his way over to them, one hand skirting along the table to help him navigate. 

“It’s good to see you again, Ominis.” Y/N pulled him into a tight hug before releasing him and taking a step back so she stood next to Sebastian again. 

“I’d say the same but…” He chucked at his own poor joke and held his hands out to her, a silent request to trace her features. Y/N took his hands and placed them on her face, her eyes slipping closed as his fingers moved over the scar on her temple. “Still starting fights?”

“Does it really matter who started it as long as I finish them?”

“No, I suppose not.” Ominis released her face and took a small step back. “Why are you back so early?”

“It got boring,” Sebastian shrugged and leant against the kitchen wall, his gaze not leaving Y/N. 

“So you decided to steal the guest of honour as you left?”

“I’ve got to be a bad influence on her somehow for old times sake.”

“Hm.” Ominis didn’t exactly sound pleased, but Y/N could see the smile on his face. “I’m going to head to bed. I assume you’ll be spending the night, so I’ll see you at breakfast, Y/N.”

“That’s a bit presumptuous.”

“Am I wrong, though?” Ominis offered her a wry smile before making his way up the staircase located in the back corner of the kitchen. Y/N heard a soft click as a door closed and Sebastian came to stand behind her. 

“Do you want to get out of this dress?” Y/N turned to look up at him with raised eyebrows and watched his face turn red. “I didn’t - I mean, I wouldn’t mind but that’s not…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “What I meant was, do you want me to lend you something to wear?” 

“Yes, please.” Sebastian stopped to grab a bottle of firewhiskey from the cupboard, as well as two glasses, before leading her out of the kitchen and to the right, through what Y/N assumed was the living room. There was another staircase on this side of the house and Sebastian ushered her up and pointed her in the direction of his room. Y/N closed the door behind them as he walked over to his dresser and set their drinks down before rummaging through one of the drawers.

“I can’t give you anything of Anne’s without waking her up, is this alright?” Sebastian pulled out a long sleeved shirt and some pyjama bottoms for her. 

“Only if you help me out of this dress,” Y/N watched as Sebastian visibly gulped and his face and neck turned a brilliant shade of red. She turned her back to him and brushed her hair out of the way to show him the small buttons that ran up the back of the dress. “Please?”

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Save the theatrics for when I’m in your clothes.”

“Darling,” Sebastian groaned, his hands coming to rest on her waist from behind. “When I asked you to flirt with me I didn’t think it would be like this.”

“Like what?” Y/N brought her hands up to hold the bodice of her dress in place as Sebastian began to undo her buttons, his fingers brushing against every inch of exposed skin in a way that set Y/N’s nerves on fire. 

“Don’t play coy, you know exactly what you’re doing to me.”

“I did warn you,” Y/N laughed quietly as she felt him undo the last of the buttons.

“You did,” he agreed, voice low as he trailed a finger down her spine softly. “Is it later?”

“Give a girl the chance to get dressed first, Sallow.”

“Oh right. Yes. I’ll - hallway?” Sebastian stammered, one finger pointing at the door behind them. Y/N bit her lower lip to hold back a smile as she took in how flustered he was. It was a rare sight (in fact, she didn’t think she had ever seen it before) and it brought a sense of gratification knowing she was the one who had turned the charming man into a stuttering mess.

“Just turn around.” Sebastian nodded once before turning his back to her, resting his head on the wall gently. Y/N quickly shed the dress and pulled on Sebastian’s clothes, pulling a face as she tried to hitch the pants up as far as she could. “I feel like a child playing dress up.” Sebastian chuckled and turned back around to face her, his eyes darkening as they roamed over her. “I look ridiculous.”

“You look ravishing.”

“Oh shush,” Y/N turned her back to him so he couldn’t see her blush and poured out two drinks for them while he quickly changed as well. She picked the pins out of her hair while she waited for him and took a sip of the firewhiskey to steady her hands as she listened to him shuffle out of his clothing. She didn’t dare move until he came to stand behind her, his hand resting on her waist gently as he leant over to grab his glass. Y/N grabbed the bottle and her own glass before taking a seat on the bed and crossing her legs so she could face him. 

“To us,” Sebastian toasted.

“To later,” Y/N clicked her glass against his and took another sip of the drink. The liquid burned the back of her throat, but warmed the rest of her body and gave her the surge of confidence she needed. “You said earlier you always wanted to kiss me. How long have you felt that way?”

“Since fifth year.”

“Sebastian, that was ten years ago!”

“What can I say? I’ve always known what I wanted.” The look he gave her offered more heat than the drink and Y/N found herself drinking a little more to calm her nerves.

“Am I just a want to you?”

“No. Definitely not.” He brushed some hair from her eyes. “You are everything to me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“How long have you felt the same?”

“Since fifth year,” Y/N murmured shyly. She had assumed all of the under-the-radar flirting he had done back in school was just a part of his charm and that he was the same with all the other girls, but that hadn’t stopped her from thinking about him all the time. It had only gotten worse the more time she spent with him and she started to realise that not only was he charming to a fault, but he was also kind and smart and funny and flawed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Touché.” They sat in a comfortable silence, both absorbed in their own thoughts. “I wouldn’t mind either, by the way.”

“Mind what?” he asked. Y/N gave him a look and waited for the sickle to drop. It took him a moment to recall the words he had said in the kitchen, how he wouldn’t mind getting her out of her dress in a less than pure sense. “Oh. Oh.” He tilted her chin up gently, his fingers brushing along her jaw in a way that made it feel like every inch of her was on fire. “While I would love nothing more, we have all the time in the world for that later, darling. Plus, it would probably be better to wait until we don’t have to be quiet because my sister and best friend are sleeping a few doors down.”

“Silencing charms were invented for a reason.”

“And you call me the rake.” He took her empty glass and set it on the bedside table next to his, turning back around just in time to catch her stifling a yawn. “Oh I’m sorry, am I boring you?” Y/N nudged him and looked like she was about to snap back at him but instead let out another yawn before groaning dramatically and flopping onto the bed so she was laying down. Sebastian brushed some hair from her forehead, his fingers lingering on the mark on her temple gently. “Do you want me to leave you to sleep?”

“No, stay. Please?” The look on her face melted his heart and he couldn’t find it in him to say no. Instead he lay down himself and covered them both with the blanket before rolling over to face Y/N and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead.

“Get some sleep, darling. I’m right here.”

*~*~*~*~*

Sebastian woke up to the sunlight streaming in through a small gap in his curtains and looked down at Y/N, who was still fast asleep beside him. At some point in the night she had curled up to his side, her head nearly resting on his shoulder as she slept peacefully. He gently brushed some hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek for longer than necessary. He watched as she began to stir and her eyes fluttered open to look at him.

“Morning.”

“Morning.” Y/N smiled shyly and Sebastian was delighted to notice a faint flush on her face. He brushed her cheek gently, a teasing smirk on his face as her blush deepened.

“I could get used to this,” Sebastian trailed his fingers up her jaw slowly, moving round to the back of her neck before lightly running down her back. 

“Get used to what?”

“Waking up beside you.” He rested his hand on her lower back and gently pulled her closer. Y/N buried her face into the pillow and pulled the blanket up to cover her face. “Where have you gone?” he laughed, trying to tug the duvet away from her.

“It’s too early for you to be this charming.”

“I’m always charming.” He succeeded in getting the blanket away from her and was rewarded by her demure smile. “You, on the other hand, could do with being a lot less gorgeous first thing in the morning. How is that fair?” Y/N couldn’t help but laugh quietly at his response, her hand hesitantly trailing over his bicep. She watched his throat bob as she lightly traced her way over his collarbone and came to rest over his thundering heart. 

“Nervous?” she asked innocently, a coy smile playing on the edge of her mouth. “Pretty woman in your bed, and all that?”

“Darling,” his voice was considerably lower and he reluctantly removed his hand from her back to hold hers against his chest. “I thought we cleared up last night that you’re the only woman I want in my bed.”

“All you said was you wanted to kiss me since fifth year.”

“I’m pretty sure I followed that with telling you that you mean everything to me.” He narrowed his eyes at her playfully and tugged her closer, her body pressed against his in a way that set every nerve ending on edge. “Were you not listening to me?”

“My mind was occupied.”

“With what?” he asked. Her answering grin and raised eyebrow was nothing short of wicked and Sebastian felt his heart stutter in his chest. Y/N laughed quietly and wound her hand up his chest to play with the hair on the back of his head. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“I’d say I’m sorry but - ”

“Sebastian, are you awake?” There was a gentle knock on his door. Y/N froze, her eyes going wide as Sebastian groaned quietly, his eyes sliding shut.

“I’m up, Anne. I’ll be out in a moment.” His forehead came to rest on her shoulder and she could hear him mutter about his sister’s poor timing. 

“I’m about to do the washing, do you need anything cleaned?” Anne tried to open his door. “Why is your door locked?” Sebastian rolled out of bed, moving faster than Y/N had seen him before, waving his wand to unlock the door.

“Must have just been stuck,” he opened the door to greet his sister, his frame blocking her view of the room, and more importantly her still in his bed. “Nothing needs cleaning, I’ll be down in a moment.”

“Why are you being strange?”

“I’ve not long woken up, Anne, give me a break.”

“Is there someone in your room, Sebastian?”

“What? No. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Morning everyone.” Y/N felt herself physically cringe as Ominis joined the twins in the hallway. “Is everything alright?”

“Sebastian has someone in his room.”

“Anne,” he groaned and lightly banged his head on the doorframe, “no I don’t.” Y/N didn’t need to be able to see through doors to know Ominis was tilting his head to the side. 

“Good morning, Y/N.”

“Morning,” she grimaced and climbed out of the bed to stand by Sebastian, attempting to tame her hair as she did so. Anne looked surprised to see her and although Ominis was looking slightly to her right, she could still see the smirk on his features that was meant for her. “It’s good to see you both again.”

“A bit presumptuous, was I?” Ominis chuckled and placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder. “Come, my love, Sebastian can show Y/N where she can freshen up for breakfast before we accost them.” He pulled her back down the hall gently, shooting a glance at the pair before they both went down the stairs.

“Well,” Sebastian let out a breath. “There goes my plan to pretend I asked you round for breakfast this morning.” His face flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he looked down at her. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

“No harm, no foul. Although, I feel like Anne is currently assuming the worst of me.”

“She would never.” Sebastian’s voice was full of conviction, as if it was a ridiculous notion that Anne would ever think of her poorly. “By the time we make it downstairs she’ll be over the shock and will probably be telling me I told you so over breakfast.” He led her down the hall, showing her where she could freshen up before shutting the door quietly behind her. Y/N moved as quick as she could, splashing water on her face to remove the traces of makeup she had forgotten to remove the night before and tying her hair in a simple braid. She made her way back to Sebastian’s room when she was done and walked in without knocking, her eyes going wide at the sight in front of her.

“Sorry!” Y/N’s face burned as she turned around and pressed her forehead to the cool wall as she covered her eyes. Sebastian laughed from behind her and stepped close, his finger running down her spine gently before he turned her back around.

“All of those flirtatious remarks last night and you go the colour of a Gryffindor’s robes when you see me without a shirt on?” Sebastian teased, grasping her chin gently so he could angle her face towards his. “You’ve seen me like this before.” Y/N couldn’t help but look back down at his bare torso, his shirt unbuttoned and hanging from his shoulders. The fluttering in her stomach that seemed to appear whenever Sebastian was around had turned into a full-fledged swarm as a kaleidoscope of butterflies ran amok within her. 

“No I haven’t.” She made herself look back up and above his head so she wouldn’t have to see the shit-eating grin on his face.

“Yes you have,” Sebastian chuckled and tried to meet her eyes again. “Or do you not remember the day I saved your life in the lake?” The confidence he exuded with the sentence made Y/N eyes snap back to his, a glare on her features as she flicked him in the arm. 

“I think we remember that day very differently, considering I wouldn’t have needed saving if you had just trusted me.”

“You were swimming into a whirlpool in the middle of the lake, you’re lucky you didn’t drown.”

“There was a cave there! If anything, what nearly made me drown was some buffoon clinging onto me as we both went under.”

“This buffoon pulled you out into said cave.”

“And right into a spider den,” Y/N laughed as he shuddered at the memory and belatedly noticed that her hand was on Sebastian’s chest, her fingers tracing over a raised mark on his right pectoral. “What’s this?”

“Oh,” Sebastian chuckled nervously and placed his hand over hers, hiding the mark from view. “You’re going to laugh.”

“Probably.” She swatted his hand away and stood a little closer, her finger moving along the curved line slowly. “Is this…?”

“Yes,” he sighed in defeat and gave her a sheepish smile. “Ominis and I thought it would be fun to try and give each other tattoos when we turned eighteen after leaving school. You can probably tell we didn’t do a very good job of it.” That was the understatement of the year. The mark held no ink, and if anything, it looked more like an old faded scar than a tattoo. Y/N tilted her head as she traced the shape again, a sly smile on her face.

“So you both decided that out of all the things you wanted permanently etched to your skin you wanted the snake from the Slytherin crest?” Her lip twitched as Sebastian nodded bashfully and she repressed the urge to laugh. 

“Does Ominis have a matching one?”

“His took a little better because of his pale skin - the prick - but yes, he does. It’s faint, but it’s there.”

“What did Anne have to say about this?”

“Oh, she was furious. Kept telling us how only criminals and people in the circus marked themselves like this.” Y/N finally let the laughter bubble out as she imagined Anne reprimanding the pair and they both more than likely stood there and took it like scolded school boys. Sebastian’s features softened at her laugh, his heartbeat picking up speed as Y/N began to subconsciously trace shapes between the freckles that covered his chest. 

“You know, I’ve always wondered how far that blush goes,” Y/N commented innocently, her finger winding its way down his chest slowly. Sebastian gulped as she came to a stop at the bottom of his sternum and gave him a demure smile. “I didn’t think it would be here.”

“Where did you think it would stop?”

“I’ve always pictured you with a full-body blush.”

“You’ve pictured me?”

“Mhm.” The light movement of her fingers on his bare skin burned as she slowly trailed between each freckle on his chest. He knew she could feel how embarrassingly fast his heart was beating in his chest but he didn’t care. He was enamoured by her and he didn’t care who knew it. He brought a hand up to rest on the back of her neck, gently pulling her forward until there was little space left between them as he tangled his fingers through her hair. “Seb?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Are you ever going to kiss me?”

“Would you like it if I did?”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.” He laughed as she rolled her eyes at him and wound an arm around her waist to pull her closer. Y/N cocked her head to the side, remembering that smile on his face from their fifth year. More often than not it meant trouble, but sometimes, like right now, he paired it with the same look on his face that he had right now. One that was almost soft. 

“Use your words, darling. What do you want?” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip as he leant towards her, his forehead resting on hers. Y/N narrowed her eyes at him and tried to close the gap between them to kiss him, but Sebastian pulled back fractionally, amusement sparkling in his eye as her frown deepened and a gorgeous pout fell on her lips. “Have I told you recently how beautiful you are?”

“Apart from earlier when you had me in your bed?”

“I believe the word I used then was gorgeous.”

“Well, if you want to be pedantic about it. Not since last night.”

“You did look beautiful last night,” Sebastian nodded thoughtfully, his nose bumping hers softly, “I think this version of you is my favourite, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now, first thing in the morning. Barely awake and tucked to my side…” Y/N brought both of her hands up to rest on his chest as Sebastian’s grip tightened on her waist, her fingers brushing his collarbone delicately. “I meant what I said earlier. I could get used to waking up beside you. Every day.”

“For how long?”

“For the rest of our lives.” Y/N’s breathing stilled at his words, at the raw emotion and sincerity on his face as he spoke. She felt the back of her eyes burn and tried to look away but he held her in place and kissed her cheek gently. “Do you know what you do to me? How completely and hopelessly you enrapture me? You’re bewitching.”

“Was that a pun?” 

“Shall I use a different word?” he murmured. His thumb stroked her cheeks gently, her skin burning in its path. “You’re exquisite, flawless, downright ethereal.”

“Seb…” 

“From that very first day you smiled at me, you had me. I fell for you harder and faster than anyone I’ve ever met before. My heart was yours before I knew nothing more than your name.”

“My heart is yours too, you walnut. It’s only ever been yours. From the very first moment.”

“I adore you, Y/N Y/L/N.”

He finally closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to hers so gently that Y/N thought her heart would burst out of her chest. She wound her hands up and into his hair, pulling him impossibly closer as she kissed him back and he nipped at her lower lip. His grip on her waist tightened pleasantly, holding her body against his so every inch of them was touching, and Sebastian swore he had died when she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and ran her fingers down his back. They broke away as Ominis called for them from downstairs, both of their faces tinged pink as they took in each other’s swollen lips and tousled hair. Sebastian leant back in to press one more sweet, toe-curling kiss on her lips.

“I’m going to marry you one day,” he muttered against her lips, his mouth curling into a smile as he heard her breath hitch.

“I’ll be the one in white.”

Epilogue

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Wildest Dreams - Part One

Word Count: 6.6k

Themes: fluff, pining

Summary: Ten years have passed since the events of Hogwarts Legacy and Y/N is invited back as part of a reunion to celebrate. 

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL. All characters are aged up and around 25/26 years old

Dear Miss Y/L/N,

You are cordially invited to the ten year reunion of the events that marked you as the Hero of Hogwarts. We look forward to your attendance as our guest of honour, please RSVP at your earliest convenience. 

Y/N grimaced at the letter she had read time and time again, sorely regretting that she had allowed Poppy to talk her into attending. While it would be nice to see her classmates again, she wished it was under different circumstances - it didn’t matter how much time would pass since she defeated Ranrok and saved the school, she didn’t want to celebrate something that had taken such a significant piece from her that she could never get back.

She didn’t regret protecting Hogwarts, and inadvertently the rest of the world, but sometimes she did wish things had gone differently. Hogwarts had been her first real home and sometimes, in the middle of the night when she was alone with her thoughts, she just wished she had been able to attend as a normal student. From eleven like a regular first year with no ancient magic or goblins bent on wizard destruction. She still had people come up to her to thank her for her deeds and she hated it every time. She hated the handshakes, the tears, the praises they sang to her as they put her on a pedestal as if she were a Saint, as opposed to the terrified child she had been. She knew, of course, that they all meant well but Y/N couldn’t stand the constant daytime reminders of everything that caused her sleepless nights. 

“Are you excited?” Poppy asked from beside her, her voice soft as she broke Y/N from her thoughts. 

“That’s one word for it,” she muttered, stuffing the parchment back into her pocket. Despite her sour thoughts Y/N was excited for the reunion. Reminder of the worst time of her life aside, she was looking forward to seeing her classmates again, to catch up with them all and see what had become of their lives.

“I heard Imelda managed to get the night off from training with the Holyhead Harpies,” Poppy continued. “It’ll be nice to see her properly this time.”

“Without a dragon in between us, you mean?” Y/N smiled wryly at the memory. She didn’t think Imelda would ever forgive her for ruining one of the bigger matches of her career, but apparently saving a couple of dragon eggs from a group of poachers and returning them to their mother would do the trick.

“Yes, well, she did request we leave the dragon behind this time,” Poppy laughed as they made their way down the cobbled street. They dodged a few shoppers as they walked through Hogsmeade and expertly avoided the throngs of students who seemed to be everywhere but in class, considering it was the middle of the day.

“Sorry.” A tall, dark haired wizard walked by them, accidentally bumping into Y/N. He barely spared the pair a glance as he continued on, hands stuffed into his pockets.

“Sebastian?” his name fell from Y/N’s mouth before she could process it, and they both watched as he came to a stop and turned to face them. “Sebastian!” She shot forward, narrowly avoiding a student, and launched herself at him once she was close enough, her arms wrapping around his shoulders to pull him into a tight hug.

“Was that…?” Poppy trailed off, an unsure expression crossing her face as she watched the man walk away from them.

“Oof,” Sebastian had only just recognised the figure barrelling towards him before her body hit him. He took a step back to steady them and make sure they weren’t going to fall over before he wrapped his arms around her waist firmly. “Y/N, give a man a chance, will you?” he laughed, squeezing her affectionately.

“ShutupImissedyouyouidiot.” Her words were unintelligible as she mumbled into the crook of his neck, although he could feel her smile against his skin. His grip tightened in response, lifting her off her feet as he embraced her. 

“I missed you, too, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart?” Y/N pulled back fractionally and narrowed her eyes at him playfully. “I see you’re still the charmer you were back in school.”

“Only for those I hold in the highest esteem.” He grinned down at her and finally loosened his clutch. “Hello Poppy.”

“Hello, Sebastian,” Poppy had a sly smile on her face as she watched the pair ease their hold on each other but made no move to let go. “How’ve you been?”

“Great, although I hear you’re both doing better than me,” he glanced back down at the woman in his arms. “Did you really take down Ratcliffe, one of the biggest poachers in the country? You just can’t stay away from trouble, can you?”

“Trouble can’t stay away from me, you mean. Nothing changes,” Y/N offered him a teasing grin, finally (and reluctantly) pulling herself from his arms. 

“Some things clearly do,” he murmured, eyes roaming down her figure. Although they occasionally sent owls to each other, it had been years since the pair’s last meeting. The lanky limbs and awkward persona from the girl he knew before was long gone, only to be replaced by soft curves and a gracefulness he couldn’t quite explain. “Look at you, all grown up.” And rather gorgeous, he noted. He grinned as she nudged him playfully, but was delighted to see a faint blush on her cheeks. 

“I’m not the only one who’s done some growing.” He had always been a couple of inches taller than her, but now her head just about came up to his shoulders. Rather broad ones, Y/N thought to herself, which paired nicely with the muscles she could see despite the jacket he was wearing.

“Shall I leave you two alone and come back later?” Poppy asked, breaking the pair from their trances. It was now Sebastian’s turn to flush as he looked down at the former Hufflepuff, who had also grown into a beautiful young woman even though he still towered over her.

“Come here, Sweeting,” Sebastian rolled his eyes at her, tugging her into a hug as well. Poppy laughed and patted his back before extracting herself from his hold. “What are you both doing here? Are you here for the reunion as well?”

“We are,” Poppy nodded. “We thought it would be nice to get here early and check in on the shop. Maybe take a walk around as well.”

“You have a shop?”

“We do,” Y/N nodded. “We bought the Brood and Peck a couple of years ago. All the beasts we save - magical or not - go there. Ellie Peck still does most of the management and finds them all good homes.”

“I thought it looked bigger,” Sebastian looked impressed, “did I see a shop in Diagon Alley too?” His smile widened as both Poppy and Y/N nodded bashfully. “Who would have thought, Poppy Sweeting and Y/N Y/L/N, a beast’s best dream and a poachers worst nightmare.”

“It was mostly Y/N’s idea, she couldn’t bear to release the creatures just for poachers to grab them again.”

“Stop it, Poppy. You know I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without you.” Y/N’s face flushed at the praise and she turned back to Sebastian as her friend started to protest. “Please tell me you’re going tonight. I’m going to need all the friendly faces I can get.”

“Well now that I know you’ll be there, how could I say no? Should we make our way together?”

“We could, but I should probably warn you that we’re getting there ridiculously early. It seems I have the absolute pleasure of opening the doors to welcome everyone inside.”

“Ah yes, how could I forget I’m standing with our honorary guest?” 

“Don’t start.” Y/N was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes and he caught a flicker of emotion passing across her face before she could hide it. He remembered how much she had disliked the attention for saving the school in their sixth and seventh year, and even though a decade had passed since then it didn’t seem like that had changed much. “Where are you staying? I have a house on the outskirts of the village with more than enough room, if you want.”

“Ah, I’m over at the Three Broomsticks,” he nodded at the pub that was a couple of hundred feet from them. “I stopped by earlier for some lunch and when I told Sirona I was thinking of heading home in between to get ready she told me I had a room there if I needed and it was best not to fight her on it.” Although Sebastian rolled his eyes, the affection for the older witch was still visible in the smile on his face.

“Well, we can all meet for a drink before we go then,” Poppy suggested, looking so excited at the idea that Y/N and Sebastian didn’t have the heart to disagree with her. “Imelda and some of the others are going to be there before the reunion as well. Will Ominis be joining us?”

“No, he’s taking care of Anne. They both told me to say hello if I saw you. Anne said it’s been too long, and if I don’t bring you back for tea after all of this she will keep me away from my soon-to-be-born niece or nephew.”

“Oh, she told me she was expecting, but I’ve not had a chance to come see her yet. Are you excited to be an uncle?” Y/N grinned, her hand reaching out to squeeze Sebastian’s arm with such elation he could feel his heart flutter in his chest.

“I can’t wait to spoil them. I think Ominis has learned every child safety spell he can get his hands on,” Sebastian let out a quiet chuckle and slipped his hands in his pockets once more. “I still have a couple of errands I need to attend to for them, but I’ll see you both later at the Three Broomsticks?” The three of them made quick plans for when they were going to meet before Sebastian left them with a grin and a wave.

“That man couldn’t keep his eyes off you,” Poppy commented, nudging Y/N playfully. Y/N rolled her eyes and nudged Poppy right back, but couldn’t help to look over her shoulder at Sebastian, who was currently doing the same thing. Y/N couldn’t read his expression from this far away, but she did catch the slow smile that formed on his face and couldn’t help but to smile back, her heart thumping in her chest.

*~*~*~*~*

Y/N looked up at the Three Broomsticks, the hood of her cloak protecting her from the light rain that had started. She fiddled nervously with the lace of her dress as she waited patiently for Poppy - who had stopped to pet a cat she had seen - to catch up. She felt out of place, and not just because she was standing in front of the pub in a ball gown that was fit for a castle in one of the novels Poppy loved to read. Although, Y/N mused, she supposed she was on her way to said castle. She sighed and smoothed down the fabric of her forest green skirts, wishing she was in her usual attire of a tunic and light pants (fighting poachers while wearing a corset and heavy skirts did not go well the last time).

Y/N looked back down the street, the last of the light fading as the sun set behind the hills. At this rate she could make her escape before Poppy would even notice and she weighed the pros and cons of not attending in her head for what felt like the hundredth time. Imelda would likely hunt her down if she didn’t attend, and she didn’t particularly feel like battling the witch tonight. Sebastian would forgive her - in fact, she could even owl him to see if he wanted to scrap the whole event with her. Anne had been hounding her to come round for tea and she would much prefer to see her and Ominis than to be paraded in front of her old peers like a prized calf. With a low groan Y/N dragged her feet into the pub, deciding the least she could do while she waited for Poppy was to get warm and have a chat with Sirona. 

The Three Broomsticks hadn’t changed much since Y/N had first stepped inside all those years ago, practically glowing from defeating her first troll with Sebastian by her side. The smell of butterbeer and burning logs greeted her and a familiar warmth that had nothing to do with the fires burning in their hearths ran from her head to her toes. Sirona had added a couple of new booths over the years, as well as a particularly comfortable pair of armchairs that were placed next to one of the fireplaces.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” Sirona had a large smile on her face as she dried her hands. “Is that Y/N Y/L/N in my pub? Where’s your other half?” Y/N couldn’t help but laugh as Sirona rounded the bar and pulled her into a hug.  

“Poppy saw a cat. You know how she is,” Y/N released the older witch and let Sirona look her over as she removed her cloak.

“Well, I’d ask what kind of trouble you’ve both been in since I last saw you but…” she glanced at the still-healing scar that ran from Y/N’s eyebrow across to her temple. “Is that one waiting for you?” she gestured with her head to the man that was sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, and Y/N realised that it was Sebastian. He looked to be deep in thought as he stared into the flames.

“He is,” Y/N turned back to Sirona with a smile. “Could I trouble you for three glasses of firewhiskey?”

“On the house,” Sirona winked at her and made her way back behind the bar just as Poppy walked into the pub. She waved hello at Sirona and came to stand by Y/N’s side, her gaze landing on Sebastian as well. 

“Well, he’s certainly not the same boy we went to school with,” Poppy muttered. Y/N couldn’t help but murmur back in agreement. He had been considered attractive back at school (and knew it), but now…Y/N couldn’t help but appreciate how devastatingly handsome he looked in his dress robes, the warm glow from the fire lighting his face. Sirona placed the three glasses on the table next to him, breaking him out of his thoughts, and he finally looked up with a smile as he took note of both the girls.

“There you both are, I was beginning to think you had forgotten all about me.” He stood to greet them with a smile and looked between the pair, his eyes lingering on Y/N. There was an unreadable expression on his face as his eyes roamed over her dress slowly until he finally met her gaze. He was vaguely aware that his staring was bordering on indecent when the door opened again and a large, rather loud, group walked in. Poppy looked between the pair, a small smirk on her face when she caught the matching telltale flush on their faces. She filed the thought away for later when she could get Y/N alone and turned to look at the group who had just walked in, her smile widening when she caught sight of Imelda.

“Kneazle caught your tongue?” Y/N cocked her head to the side, a teasing smile on her face.

“It’s entirely your fault for looking so ravishing tonight,” Sebastian caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before handing her one of the glasses of firewhiskey. Y/N couldn’t help but laugh quietly and reach up to straighten out his tie. 

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr Sallow.” She gave him a coy smile as her hand lingered on his chest for longer than necessary, feeling the telltale thump thump thump of his heart. A voice calling her name from behind them broke their stares and Y/N let her fingers trail down his chest slowly as she turned to walk away. 

“Have you got nothing to say to me, then?” Imelda met Y/N halfway, eyebrows raised and arms crossed. 

“It’s good to see you again, Imedla,” Y/N pulled the girl in for a hug, who laughed in response.

“Yes, it’s much better seeing you here on the ground, instead of interrupting my match by riding a dragon. Honestly, Y/L/N, if you wanted to come see me at one of my games all you had to do was ask.”

“You rode a dragon?” Sebastian finally seemed to snap out of his stupor and took a couple of steps forward to greet his former housemate. 

“I had to get your attention somehow, didn’t I, Reyes?” Y/N shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as Sebastian stood by her side. 

“Showing up in that dress would have worked just as well,” Imelda’s eyes roamed over her appreciatively. “Green has always looked best on you.”

“I’ll bear that in mind for next time.” Even though the wink wasn’t aimed at him Sebastian felt his mouth go dry and quickly took a sip of firewhiskey to chase away the fluttering feeling in his stomach. He lingered by Y/N’s side as they caught up with Imelda and a couple of their former school mates, his arm brushing against hers every-so-often in a way that made his face burn. Sebastian decided he would blame the firewhiskey if anyone (especially Imelda) tried to call him out on blushing like a first year every time his hand brushed past hers.

“To our saviour!” Leander Prewett called out, raising his glass in Y/N’s direction. A couple of the others followed suit, not noticing how uncomfortably still Y/N had gotten as she glanced around the room. Y/N felt her skin prickle as a few people turned to openly stare at her, expressions varying between awe and gratitude. She offered them a tense smile as Poppy shot Leander a glare and tugged his arm down, whispering harshly at him as he sipped from his glass. 

She could feel her chest tighten at the attention and willed herself not to scream at them all that she didn’t deserve their praises. That she wasn’t a saviour, she had just gotten lucky. It had taken Y/N far too many sleepless nights to come to terms with what had happened to her under the castle, and even longer to fully grasp that it wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t save everyone. Moments like these - with people muttering about how she was a hero - made her feel like a fraud.

“Hey.” Sebastian felt Y/N jump slightly as he placed a hand on her lower back gently. “Come with me?” He set their empty glasses down before leading her to the door, only stopping to grab their cloaks as he led her outside. Thestrals were tethered to a carriage a couple of feet away from the pub, the Hogwarts emblem carved onto the side - no doubt meant to take Y/N up to the castle for the event. “Are you still with me?”

“Just about,” Y/N’s eyes flicked up to meet his as he draped her cloak around her shoulders and fastened it for her. “How did you know?”

“You had that look on your face you used to get in our sixth year.”

“I didn’t realise you paid that much attention to me.”

“How could I not?” The corner of his mouth lifted up in a barely perceptible smile as he brushed a stray hair from her eyes. His fingers lingered on her jaw before gently tilting her face to his. 

“You’re a rake, Sebastian Sallow.” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully, a smile falling on her painted lips. Sebastian had the overwhelming urge to close the gap between them and kiss her but managed to restrain himself and settled for pulling her body closer to his.

“You say rake, I say dashing rogue, who’s to say which one of us is right.” Y/N laughed quietly and brought her hands up to rest on the lapels of his jacket. “Either way, I can’t help but to be charming in the presence of such a stunning woman.”

“Is that what you say to all the pretty ladies you meet?”

“Just the one.” Y/N’s fingers tightened around his jacket at his words, at the look in his eye. She wanted nothing more than to pull him into a searing kiss she had imagined more times than she could count but refrained, unsure of his reaction. “What are you thinking about?” Sebastian brushed her cheeks gently, his face inching closer to hers.

“Whether we should make our escape or not.”

“Do you not want to attend anymore?”

“I didn’t particularly want to attend to start with.”

“Do you want me to get you out of here?” He looked so concerned for her wellbeing that Y/N felt her heart crack in her chest. How long had it been since someone had taken care of her? Of course, Poppy was always around to patch her up with things that went south against the poachers but even she didn’t know how deep the internal wounds went. Or if she did, she never commented on it.

“No, not yet. I think Imelda would hunt me down and drag me back, anyway.”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Y/N. I’ll fight Imelda myself if I have to.”

“You would fight Imelda ’The Muscles’ Reyes for me?”

“Darling, I don’t know how to make it any clearer that I will always fight anyone who tries to harm you.”

“My hero,” Y/N couldn’t help but roll her eyes, a laugh bubbling up as she took in his mock affronted expression. She leant up to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, mindful not to get any lipstick on his face. The arm around her waist tightened fractionally, holding her in place against him as he processed what had just happened. “Sebastian?”

“Hold on, I’m trying to remind myself that you’re one of my closest friends and if I kissed you like I really want to right now you would probably punch me.”

“You want to kiss me?”

“Always.” He made it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” The door flew open before Sebastian could question her further and both Poppy and Imelda came to a stop when they took note of how close the pair were standing.

“Are we interrupting something?”

“Not anymore,” Sebastian sighed. He brushed a thumb down Y/N’s spine gently, a silent gesture that they would be continuing this conversation later away from prying eyes, and reluctantly released her. “Is Imelda joining us up to the castle?”

“Someone had to come along so Sweeting wasn’t a third wheel,” Imelda shot a wicked grin at Y/N and made her way over to the carriage. The footman jumped down to help the women in first, only climbing back up when Sebastian insisted on closing the door himself. The carriage started to pull away before he could get fully seated which resulted in him falling into his seat next to Y/N, his body pressed against hers in a way that frayed his nerves.

“Oof. There’s no need to throw yourself at me like that, Seb. There are other ways to get my attention,” Y/N playfully pushed him away from her.

“You mean like earlier when you tackled me and nearly sent us both to the ground?”

“You weren’t exactly protesting when you clung into me like a niffler with gold.”

“What can I say, I seem to have a penchant for pretty women.”

“You’re both disgusting,” Imelda cut in. She tried to frown at the pair, but there was an obvious smile playing on the corners of her mouth. “If you both are going to flirt the whole way there I’d rather walk.” 

“At least you didn’t have to watch them earlier when we first saw Sebastian,” Poppy adds with a laugh. “I might as well have not been there.”

“You’re both welcome to walk the rest of the way to the castle,” Y/N raised her eyebrows at the pair and tried to fight the blush that was rising to her face.

“I’m sure you and Sallow would love it if we left you alone,” Imelda remarked dryly. 

“Alright you,” Y/N laughed and rolled her eyes. “I forgot how needy you two are when you’re together. I love all three of you equally, I promise.” Protests erupted from the two girls in front of Y/N and she listened in amusement as they started to bicker about which one she preferred.

“I’d like to add my own two sickles in to say I’m offended at being placed in league with Reyes,” Sebastian leant in, his voice low so as not to attract any attention. “We all know I’m your favourite.”

“Are you?” Y/N turned her head up to give him a teasing smile, only to jolt slightly when she realised how close his face was to hers. She heard his voice echo in her head, the pure sincerity as he had said he always wanted to kiss her. It could have just been one of his lines, but it still made Y/N’s stomach flutter and a blush rise to her face. She was thankful that the carriage was dimly lit and no one could call attention to her red cheeks.

“You’re a cruel, beautiful woman.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Y/N rolled her eyes at him and turned to look out of the window so he couldn’t see the smile on her face. The carriage rolled through the north entrance to the castle, skirting round the fountain that lay in the middle of the courtyard and came to a gentle stop outside the doors. Sebastian climbed out before the footman could grab the door for them and helped the girls out, his hand lingering on Y/N’s after she was back on solid ground. A small part of him had been worried he had gone too far when he told her he wanted to kiss her, but the small blush that seemed to appear on her face whenever he stood too close made him wonder. Could she possibly want him as much as he wanted her?

The doors swung open before they could step forward, revealing the inner halls to the group and Y/N felt a rush of warmth come from within the castle gently caress the magic inside of her. It felt like greeting an old familiar friend, as if Hogwarts was saying welcome home. Y/N looked at the entrance hall in front of her as a million memories flashed through her mind. From the first time she walked through these doors with Professor Fig by her side, to returning from her battle with Rookwood while clutching an injury she had sustained to her side (which had left her with a scar). She saw flashes of laughter with everyone she had been friendly with at school, from Poppy to Imelda to Natty, Garreth, Ominis, and finally Sebastian. Hundreds of moments with Sebastian flew through her mind - laughing with him, sneaking into the restricted section, sneaking out of the castle, meeting up in the Undercroft. She had heard people say it since she had left school, but Hogwarts was, and always would be, her home. 

“Are you coming, Y/N?” Poppy’s soft question brought her back to the present, where the three of them had already made their way through the doors and were waiting patiently for her. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking if she wanted to get out of there. She shook her head at him with a small smile and walked towards them, holding her skirts in one hand. 

“Yeah, I am.” The group made their way through the familiar halls in semi-silence and Y/N couldn’t help but remember how nervous she had been the first time, when she had been late to her own sorting. The ever-present pang of pain flickered as she thought of Professor Fig and how kind he had always been to her. 

“Ah, there you all are,” Professor Weasley stood in front of them, a large smile on her face as she pulled each of them into a hug. “It’s so good to see you all again.”

“Likewise, Professor,” Poppy’s excitement was infectious and Y/N soon found her dark thoughts scattering as she took a look around the Great Hall. 

“Matilda, please. You’re not students anymore.”

“Might take some getting used to,” Imelda pulled a small face but laughed quietly nonetheless, quickly excusing herself as she spotted their old flying teacher. Poppy trailed after her, unable to hide her eagerness to talk to Professor Howin. Professor Weasley (Matilda, Y/N reminded herself) looked between her and Sebastian casually, taking note of how close the two stood next to each other. 

“How have you been, Prof - Matilda?” Sebastian asked, saving Y/N from making awkward conversation. “Are the current students just as chaotic as we were?”

“I don’t think anyone could cause as much trouble as you did, Mr Sallow.” There was a teasing smile on the older witch’s face as she ran her eyes over Y/N, taking note of a few new scars that littered her arms (and the still-healing one on her face). “How are you holding up, Miss Y/L/N?”

“Y/N is fine, especially if we’re to call you Matilda,” Y/N forced a smile on her face and shuffled on her feet nervously. “I’m doing fine, no rest for the wicked as they say.” 

“Hm…I hope you’re making sure she’s taken care of, Mr Sallow.”

“Oh, we all try. I’m sure you remember how stubborn she was in school though.” Sebastian shot Y/N a cheeky smile in hopes that the teasing would loosen her up. She rolled her eyes back and nudged him gently. 

“I can take care of myself.”

“No harm in letting others help,” Matilda smiled to herself as she watched her former students interact with each other. It had been painfully obvious to all the staff that the two were meant for each other when they were back in school and it looked like they still hadn’t quite worked that out for themselves yet. “Anyway, are you ready, Y/N?” 

“Ready for what?”

“To dance. Surely someone has informed you that you would be opening the festivities tonight with a dance?”

“No…no they did not.” Y/N slid her eyes shut in annoyance, her stomach churning with nerves. Maybe it wasn’t too late to say she wasn’t feeling very well and just leave? Surely if she threw up like she wanted to that would buy some points in her favour.

“Oh…well now you know.” Matilda fussed with her hair and glanced around awkwardly. “I’m sure Headmaster Black wouldn’t mind being your partner for the evening.” I would rather battle Ranrok again, Y/N thought to herself, this night cannot get any worse.

“There’ll be no need for that, Professor Weasley,” Sebastian grasped Y/N’s elbow lightly, an easy smile on his face. “I’ll lead Y/N for the dance.” 

“Oh…thank you, Mr Sallow.” Y/N could have sworn the corner of Matilda Weasley’s mouth twitched up as she looked between her and Sebastian, but the smile was gone as quickly as it appeared. “It looks like others are starting to arrive so we shall start soon.” With that she quickly turned and walked away to greet some students who had just entered the hall, leaving Y/N and Sebastian behind. 

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” Sebastian shrugged and turned to face her. “It saves you from having to dance with Black and I get an excuse to hold you close. There’s no losers this way.” He bit back a smile as he watched her look away from him nervously, the same pretty blush coming to her cheeks. He didn’t know if she was flustered because she wasn’t used to the attention, or because the attention was coming from him, but Merlin did he hope it was the latter. 

“You won’t feel that way when I step on your feet. I’m a horrible dancer.”

“And here I was thinking there was nothing you couldn’t do.” He brushed his fingers along her hand subtly to get her to look back at him. “Lucky for you, I’m an excellent dancer.”

“There’s plenty I’m not good at,” Y/N disagreed and tore her eyes away from the crowd of students who had just walked in. Leander was amongst the group and if she looked at him for a moment too long all she could hear was him calling out a toast in her name and it simultaneously made her want to throw up and punch him.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He watched as she fiddled with her fingers anxiously, her eyes darting around the room as more of their former school mates began to trickle in and wanted nothing more than to whisk her away from it all. He didn’t understand why she was subjecting herself to this when she clearly wanted nothing more than to be away from here. 

“If I could have your attention, please,” Phineas Black stood at the top of the room where the staff table would usually be, an orchestra in its place. “I would like to welcome you all to the ten year anniversary of our very own Y/N Y/L/N saving our school.” He gestured towards her and Y/N wished the ground would swallow her whole as they all turned to face her. “If our Hero of Hogwarts would like to make her way over we can officially start this reunion with the opening dance.”

Y/N placed her hand in Sebastian’s and let him escort her to the middle of the dance floor, her heart skipping a beat as she squeezed her hand reassuringly. He turned to face her with a small bow, a cheeky smile on his face as he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Y/N narrowed her eyes at him playfully but couldn’t help to smile at his antics. 

“You can do this,” Sebastian murmured, pulling her close as the music started. She placed one hand on his shoulder as his own came to rest on her waist, eyes darting to the crowd that surrounded them.

“Everyone’s staring,” Y/N mumbled.

“Just keep your eyes on me, I’ve got you, darling.” Her eyes snapped up to meet his at the term of endearment only to see his eyes were already on hers, a teasing smile on his face. He started to lead her into a waltz, standing a little closer than needed so he could continue to speak to her.

“You’re being far more charming than you usually are.”

“How could I not when you turn the prettiest shade of pink every time?”

“You’re a rake.”

“You know, that’s twice you’ve said that now and I have to disagree.” He placed both hands on her waist as the music swelled and lifted her briefly. “If I were a rake, I’d be flirting with every woman I met.”

“You've been flirting this whole time? I never would have guessed.”

“Don’t start,” he rolled his eyes at her and tugged her closer, leaving no space between them.

“You could have given me some warning, maybe I would’ve liked to flirt back.”

“Now that I would pay to see.”

“What are you implying, Sallow?”

“I’m not implying anything,” he chuckled and span her in a gentle circle before tucking her back in place against him, “I’m just saying it’s usually me who flirts and showers you with compliments.”

“I didn’t think you needed me to tell you how good looking you are.”

“Probably not,” he shot her a devious grin, “but it would be nice.”

“Do you want me to start now?” Y/N lowered her voice considerably, her arm leaving his shoulder to wind around his neck and pull him impossibly closer. “Would you like to hear about the thoughts that ran through my mind earlier when I saw you in the Three Broomsticks?” she murmured in his ear. She felt him falter slightly as he led her and laughed quietly, her thumb brushing the back of his neck gently. “I don’t think you could handle hearing the way I think about you.”

“Think about me often, do you?”

“Always.” She pulled back slightly so he could see the serious look on her face as she repeated his early words with just as much conviction. The sound of applause startled them both slightly, and Y/N belatedly remembered there were other people in the room watching them dance indecently close to each other. Sebastian brushed a thumb down her spine again, signalling that their conversation would be tabled for later. He led her off the floor and towards Imelda, Poppy and Natty, who all wore matching wicked grins as the pair neared.

“Well I don’t know about you two but I feel positively scandalised at that display,” Imelda teased as they walked within earshot. 

“Jealous, Imelda?” Y/N offered her friend her own sly smile. “I’m sure I can make time for you later if you feel left out.”

“Depends, does Sallow share?”

“Absolutely not,” Sebastian tightened his grip on Y/N’s waist, which he had yet to release. “You’ll need to find your own dance partner, Reyes.”

“I’m sure Prewett would love to join you,” Y/N added. Sebastian shook in silent laughter from next to her as Imelda glared at the pair of them. 

“On that note, since I know how much you hate being the centre of attention - are you ready to accept your award?” 

“My what?”

“Imelda! It was supposed to be a surprise!” Natty chastised her.

“Well, I’m glad I told her because she looks like she’s going to be sick.” The Scottish witch wasn’t wrong, Y/N could feel her stomach start to churn and the lingering buzz from dancing with Sebastian disappeared. She didn’t deserve an award for what had happened. Poppy gave her a concerned look as Imelda and Natty started to bicker about ruining the surprise, although Y/N was too far gone in her thoughts to realise. Echoes of what she had been through flashed through her mind, but there were no good thoughts sprinkled within this time. All she could see was Ranrok in his strange dragon form as she fought him, followed by Professor Fig lying on the floor and dying by her side.

“Hey,” Sebastian took hold of Y/N’s elbow gently and leant in to whisper in her ear. “Let’s go. No arguments this time.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere. Everywhere. Just say the word and I’ll make it happen.” She looked up at him, panic still lingering in her gaze along with such pure agony that Sebastian could feel his heart shatter. 

“Let’s go.”

Part Two

[awkwardauthorwrites]

In The Middle

Word Count: 5.4k (this got away from me, whoops)

Themes: love triangle, pining, angst if you squint. Fem!Reader

Based on this request: Please could I request a Sebastian x Slytherin!reader x Ominis based during HL. After a few months of knowing the reader the boys suddenly realise one day they are falling in love with the reader and start to become a bit bitter towards each other and very jealous if another guy gives her attention. 

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL. I’ve also aged them up to 7th year (all 18+) so it’s been a few years instead of a few months. Also like two swear words?

Sebastian pretended to read from the book he was holding, but in reality he was watching Y/N and Ominis as they sat on the couch opposite him. His eyes narrowed as Y/N leant in to point to something on the textbook Ominis was holding, her fingers trailing over the braille words slowly. She was too busy trying to decipher the little bumps on the page to notice Ominis move a little closer to her, his face taking on a barely perceptible shade of pink as he brushed his hand against hers. Sebastian wouldn’t have noticed himself if he hadn’t been watching the pair so closely - if he hadn’t been watching Y/N so closely.

“Is that the time?” Y/N looked up at the clock above the fireplace and jumped up. Sebastian bit back his grin at Ominis’ disgruntled expression and looked at the words in front of him, feigning that he had been reading all along. “I promised I would meet Poppy ten minutes ago! Sorry boys, I’ve got to run.” She squeezed Ominis’ hand in apology before pausing in front of Sebastian, her head cocked to the side curiously. 

“Do you want to hold my hand to say goodbye as well?” Sebastian asked dryly. Y/N laughed quietly and shook her head before reaching out and turning Sebastian’s book the right way up. His face burned as her hand lingered on his before she gave them both a sweet smile and left the common room. Ominis turned back to his book, his fingers moving along the page to read what was in front of him.

“Just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I don’t know you’re staring,” Ominis looked in his general direction. “What’s the matter?”

“Do you like her?” Sebastian asked.

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Y/N, you prat.”

“She’s my closest friend after you and Anne, of course I like her.”

“Don’t play dumb, Ominis. You know what I mean.” Sebastian rolled her eyes at his best friend, not that he could see. “Do you have feelings for her?”

“I…I suppose so. Yes.” Ominis’ pale face flushed and he began to fiddle with the corners of the pages of his book. “Do you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well.”

“Well, indeed.” They both sighed loudly, a slight uncomfortable silence falling over them. Ominis drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch anxiously, his mind reeling with the information. He wasn’t stupid, he knew Sebastian had felt a certain way about Y/N ever since their fifth year. He hadn’t been able to talk about anything but her for weeks until Ominis finally met her sneaking out of the Undercroft, and had done nothing but flirt with her ever since. Sebastian was charming and (if the female population of the school was to be believed) quite attractive. He had heard Y/N laugh breathlessly at his best friend’s advances and even flirt back on occasion. How was he supposed to compete with that?

Oblivious to his friend’s internal turmoil, Sebastian skimmed the page of the textbook he was holding, not really absorbing anything as he went through the motions. As if he wasn’t nervous enough about trying to pursue Y/N, now he had to contend with his best friend. Ominis was smart, funny, and rich; he could offer Y/N so much more than Sebastian ever could and then some. How was he meant to go up against him for her affections?

“What are we going to do?” Ominis asked quietly, his focus still on the book he held.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian sighed again and closed his book. “Should we tell her?”

“You want to tell her?”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Any number of things, now that you’ve said that.”

“You’re free not to say anything,” Sebastian said. Ominis couldn’t tell if Sebastian was being sly or serious without seeing his expression. 

“Am I to believe that after two years of pining you’re finally going to tell Y/N you have feelings for her?” Ominis raised an eyebrow as he looked at Sebastian (or at least, he hoped he was) and closed the book he was holding. 

“Who says it’s been two years?”

“Sebastian, we’ve been friends for longer than I can remember, I know you better than you know yourself.”

“So you think I don’t have the guts to tell her?”

“I never said that.”

“You said after two years I’m finally going to tell her.”

“Sebastian,” Ominis sighed and carefully made his way around the coffee table to sit next to his friend. “Why are you trying to pick a fight?”

“I’m not! I’m just…” Sebastian ran a hand through his hair and turned in his seat to face Ominis. “What if we tell her and she chooses you?”

“Ah, so you’re jealous and insecure,” Ominis smiled without humour and nudged Sebastian. “What if we tell her and she chooses neither of us?”

“That’s not helping, Ominis.”

“I’m just showing you there are worse alternatives.”

“How can you be so calm about this? Would it not kill you if she chose me?”

“It would hurt for a while, sure,” Ominis shrugged. “But I think at the end of the day I just want Y/N to be happy - whether that’s with you, or me, or neither of us.”

“So we’re telling her?”

“Yes, I suppose we are.”

*~*~*~*~*

Y/N made her way to the Undercroft, clutching the note from Sebastian and Ominis had sent requesting they meet there. Why they had sent her a note was beyond her - they had all been sitting together at dinner and had left moments before her, only to send a first year to deliver the message. She glanced around to make sure no one was around to watch her and tapped her wand on the entrance to the secret passage before ducking inside. Sebastian and Ominis were both standing in their usual corner, talking in hushed, hurried voices. They stopped suddenly when they heard the gate close behind Y/N and turned to face her.

“Hi,” Y/N felt her stomach flip nervously, but wasn’t quite sure why. There seemed to be a lingering tension in the air that she couldn’t quite put her finger on and it set her on edge.

“Hey, you,” Sebastian grinned at her as she neared, his hand reaching out to brush the back of hers.

“What’s with the secrecy? Why couldn’t we discuss this at dinner?”

“Sebastian and I had something to talk to you about and thought it would be best to do it in privacy,” Ominis said.

“Okay…” Y/N looked between them both hesitantly. “Why does it look like you guys are about to tell me that someone stole from the repository under the castle?”

“It’s nothing that bad,” Sebastian chuckled. “We promise.”

“We hope,” Ominis muttered. Y/N looked at him with raised eyebrows (not that he could tell) before turning the expression on Sebastian.

“I’m starting to get nervous.”

“We both like you,” Sebastian blurted out. Ominis exhaled slowly and faced his friend with a look that seemed to say are you fucking serious?

“Well, I should hope so,” Y/N laughed awkwardly and tucked a stray hair away. “You’re my closest friends.”

“No, Sebastian means we like you. We both have feelings for you.”

“Oh…oh.” Y/N felt her heart stutter in her chest before it started to beat a little faster. “You…both of you?”

“Both of us,” Ominis confirmed with a nod. “We realise this isn’t exactly ideal but that’s why we asked you to meet us here so we could discuss it.”

“How - I mean. Why? I don’t - ”

“I think we might have broken her, Ominis.”

“The first time she’s ever been speechless and it’s when we actually need her to speak,” Ominis rolled his eyes, but there was a small teasing smile on his face.

“It’s a lot to take in!” Y/N protested. “I never thought one of you would admit to having feelings for me, let alone both of you.”

“Are you saying you’ve imagined one of us admitting we like you?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, Sallow, that’s not what I said.” Y/N pressed a hand to her chest to try and calm her heart, which was hammering away painfully fast. “How can you both…?”

“Is it so hard to believe?” Sebastian murmured. He itched to take her hand in his, to try and ease some of the anxiety she was feeling, but instead crossed his arms and leant back against the wall. He watched Ominis’ fingers twitch and knew he was thinking the same thing. Y/N fell silent, an uncertain expression crossing her face.

“Has she got a look on her face I’m going to be annoyed at?” Ominis asked.

“Without a doubt. What’s running through that pretty head of yours, Y/N?”

“How long?”

“Since fifth year,” Sebastian answered. He watched her eyebrows shoot up in surprise as her face flushed. “If you want full honesty I was entranced by you from the moment you beat me in our first duel in Defence Against the Dark Arts. I never really realised it until after everything went down with my Uncle though - you were the only one who stood by my side the entire time. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“It was last year for me,” Ominis answered before she could turn to him. “Around the beginning of sixth year. I can’t really pinpoint when I realised, but it was when we began spending more time together when I wasn’t talking to Sebastian. I woke up one day excited to be alone with you and that’s when it clicked.”

“So you’ve both had feelings for me for at least a year and you’ve chosen now to tell me? Together?”

“I mean, it took us a while to figure it out. You’re the smart one between us.”

“Speak for yourself Sebastian, I’ve known how you’ve felt for a while now,” Ominis rolled his eyes at his friend before turning his head in Y/N’s general direction. “Have you ever thought of us in that way? Either of us?”

Y/N would be lying if she said no. She had spent the majority of her fifth year pining after Sebastian, dropping everything the minute he sent her an owl requesting to meet up. She never realised he felt the same. After everything that happened with his uncle she decided to push her feelings aside and focus on being his friend, which was exactly what he needed.

Ominis on the other hand…she found herself drawn to him in their sixth year, and much like him started to relish the time they spent together away from prying eyes. She loved his dry, sardonic humour. She started to learn braille for him, mostly as a benefit for them both but also because she got to spend that much more time with him as he taught her.

“Has she run away?”

“No, she’s still here. It’s a shame you can’t see the blush on her face, she’s turned the most enticing shade of red.”

“I can imagine,” Ominis chuckled quietly. “She’s nervous, her heart is beating so fast.”

“Never took you for the shy type, Y/N.”

“It’s a little charming though, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Okay, can we please stop talking about me as if I’m not right here?” Y/N snapped.

“Are you going to answer our question?” Sebastian asked, a hint of amusement dancing on his features. Shy Y/N was a rare sight (one he enjoyed immensely) but the girl who had just snapped at them was his favourite version of her. The one who wasn’t afraid to say what she was thinking and often cut people into pieces with her sharp tongue. He may have been on the receiving end of it more times that he could count but he adored it. He adored her.

“No.”

“No? Darling we’re both putting our hearts on the line here.”

“I meant no I haven’t thought about either of you that way.”

“You’ve always been a bad liar.”

“Shut up, Sebastian.” She rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “I still don’t understand why.”

“Why? Surely you don’t mean why do we both have feelings for you?” Ominis looked at her sharply, a frown on his features. He couldn’t see her shrug uselessly or Sebastian send her a scathing glare, but the silence was answer enough. “Are you aware of how extraordinary you are?”

“I mean, the ancient magic is great, don’t get me wrong but - ”

“No,” Ominis shook his head, his voice rough as he interrupted her. “I don’t mean your abilities, I mean you. You didn’t know anything about magic - ancient or not - for the majority of your life and yet you’ve taken to it like a fish in water. You caught up on five years worth of schooling in less than a year. You’re hardworking, determined, ambitious - ” Ominis paused to take in a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.

“Not to mention, you did all of that and more. You juggled catching up on school around helping everyone and their cat in the Highlands, on top of having your life constantly threatened,” Sebastian continued. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, we haven’t even gotten down to how beautiful you are - inside and out. You’re fucking stunning and you don’t even know it.”

“I can’t say much for your outer beauty, I’m afraid,” Ominis gave her a sheepish smile, “but Sebastian is right about you being beautiful on the inside too. You have the kindest soul I have ever met and I will forever be grateful that you came into my life, no matter what happens after this.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do,” Ominis held his hand out for hers. Y/N slipped her hand into his after a brief moment of hesitation, her stomach fluttering pleasantly as he squeezed it gently. “You’re one of my best friends and that won’t change, regardless of what you decide today.”

“You’re my best friend too,” Y/N murmured. She caught Sebastian’s eye as he shuffled on his feet and couldn’t help but laugh quietly and grab his hand as well. “Don’t worry Sallow, you’re one of my best friends too.”

“Kind of hoping to be more than that, darling,” he winked at her and brushed his thumb across her knuckles, “but you’re one of my best friends too.”

“Have we made things better or worse?” Y/N asked quietly, looking between both of the boys.

“I’m not quite sure yet,” Omjnis chuckled and shook his head. 

“Imelda and Poppy would have a field day with this,” Y/N let go of both of their hands and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I can’t believe they were right,” she groaned and ran a hand through her hair.

“Hold on. You’ve spoken to Reyes and Sweeting about us?” Sebastian asked.

“Not technically,” Y/N grimaced and Sebastian watched as that beautiful blush rose to her cheeks again. “They’ve just been telling me for a while that you both have feelings for me.” She decided to keep to herself that Poppy was firmly on Team Sebastian while Imelda was Team Ominis, although it would have been wildly entertaining to watch Sebastian protest that Imelda was only Team Ominis so she could stand against him. “They keep pressing me to pick one of you.”

“Does that mean you have thought of one of us?” Sebastian asked. Y/N narrowed her eyes at him playfully and nudged his shoulder.

“Thought about strangling you, maybe,” she teased. They all shared a quiet laugh before Y/N looked between them thoughtfully. “In the spirit of honesty I should probably tell you guys I lied.”

“You don’t say,” Ominis gave her a sly smile. 

“I don’t know about you, Ominis, but I’m appalled.”

“Alright you two,” she rolled her eyes at their behaviour, “don’t make me regret saying anything.”

“I mean, technically you haven’t said anything yet.”

“Yes, care to enlighten the class on your abhorrent behaviour?”

“Well, I was going to tell you which one of you I’ve thought about but now I might just leave you both hanging.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Y/N asked innocently. The boys both let out quiet groans at her mocking tone and Y/N laughed quietly as they simultaneously ran their hands through their hair. She looked between the pair, from Ominis and his now dishevelled appearance to Sebastian as offered her a soft smile when she caught his eye. “I’ve thought about both of you.”

“What?”

“You have?”

“I mean,” her face burned as they both turned to her with surprised expressions, “physical attributes aside, you’re both two of the best people I have ever met in my life - before and after Hogwarts. My life quite literally would not be the same without either of you in it and that makes all of this so much harder. I don’t want to lose either of you because of this.”

“You won’t lose us, love.” Ominis reached in her direction, his fingers running down her arm until he could take her hand again. “No matter what we decide - what you decide - we’ll still be right here. Right, Sebastian?”

“Right.” Sebastian took Y/N’s other hand and kissed her knuckles gently. “You’re stuck with us for life, darling. You won’t be getting rid of us that easily.”

“I don’t want to come between you two either.”

“You won’t,” Sebastian reassured her. “Ominis said to me earlier that it might hurt for a while if you pick the other, but all he wants is for you to be happy, and he’s right. We’re both grown men, we’ll get over it. You could pick neither of us and we would respect that and move on. We just want you to be happy - to have a chance to be the person who makes you happy.”

“I don’t…I don’t know how to decide though.” Y/N pulled both of her hands out of theirs again and took a couple of steps back until she could lean against one of the pillars in the room. “This isn’t exactly something we can flip a coin on.”

“I do have an idea,” Ominis offered, his face flushing slightly. “It’s a very Sebastian one though.”

“I don’t know what it is and I’m already offended.” Sebastian nudged Ominis gently, who just grinned and nudged him back.

“What is it?” Y/N asked apprehensively.

“You could always kiss us?” he muttered, his face burning as he said the words aloud. Y/N felt her own face flame as she processed his words and blinked a few times in surprise. Sebastian looked just as shocked at his friend’s idea (and a little disgruntled that he hadn’t thought of it first).

“I - both of you?”

“It’s not the worst idea,” Sebastian said slowly, “and it wouldn’t be at the same time.” He chuckled to try and ease the tension in the room and tried not to sound too excited at the prospect of kissing the girl he had been completely enamoured by for the better part of two years.

“And only if you wanted to,” Ominis added quickly. He looked down at the floor and willed the cool air of the Undercroft to get rid of the blush he knew was on his face. 

“It sounds highly inappropriate.”

“No one would ever have to know,” Sebastian assured her. He stuck his hands in his pockets to try and fight the urge to take her into his arms to try and quell the anxiety she was feeling. “Again, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I…” Y/N broke off and looked between them both again as she chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. A part of her had wondered what it would be like to kiss them both, although she never thought it would be like this. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Do you want me to take it back?” she raised an eyebrow at Ominis, who seemed to have turned a permanent shade of red.

“I don’t want you to feel pressured into this. Especially if this will be your first kiss.”

“Who said it was?”

“What?”

“Who?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Y/N shrugged, a coy smile on her face. “How are we going to do this?”

“That depends; who would you like first?”

“I’m not picking which one of you kisses me first.” Y/N rolled her eyes and leant back against the pillar for support. “Flip a coin for all I care.” She watched as Sebastian dug into his pockets and pulled a sickle out, his shoulders tight with tension. Y/N couldn’t tell if it was because of the situation they had found themselves in, or because he was desperate to go first. “I do need to add for the sake of my sanity, whoever goes second needs to leave while this happens. I’m not having either of you watch like a hawk while I kiss the other.”

“I mean, technically I can’t watch, but if it makes you feel better.” Ominis shrugged, a small smile on his face as he heard Y/N laugh quietly. 

“You call it then, Ominis,” Sebastian flipped the coin in the air and caught it before covering it with his other hand. 

“Heads.” Sebastian uncovered the coin and Y/N could have sworn none of them were breathing as he took a look at which way the coin landed.

“Heads.” He looked between Ominis and Y/N and took a deep breath before sticking the coin, and his hands, into his pockets. “How long do I…?”

“Fifteen minutes?” Y/N suggested.

“Fifteen minutes?”

“Want me to make it thirty?”

“I’ll take a lap and see you both in fifteen,” Sebastian nodded and left the room quickly, sending Y/N a grin as she laughed at his reaction. The gate for the Undercroft echoed loudly as it slid shut behind him, leaving Y/N and Ominis on their own. She felt her stomach flutter nervously as he walked slowly over to her, his wand pulsing to lead him in the right direction.

“You don’t have to do this, you know?” Ominis murmured as he stopped in front of her. 

“I know. I just…” Y/N took a deep breath to try and fight the anxiety simmering in her veins and turned her head to look up at Ominis. “You both mean everything to me; this isn’t a bad idea. It’s the quickest way for me - for all of us - to work this out.”

“We could always raid Sharp’s potion store for some Amortentia and see what you smell.”

“I already know what I smell,” Y/N muttered shyly. Ominis gently reached for her arm and trailed his fingers up her shoulder and neck until he was cupping her jaw. “You both wear cologne that is too distinctive.”

“So, back to Plan A?”

“Plan A,” Y/N nodded and placed her hand on Ominis’ chest, right over his thundering heart. “Nervous?”

“Just a little,” Ominis admitted.

“You know this works both ways, right? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to either.”

“My love, without sounding too brash, there is nothing else I would rather be doing.” Ominis met her halfway, his lips brushing over hers gently. Y/N felt her breath get caught in her throat as she kissed him back softly and slipped both of her hands up his chest to rest on the back of his neck. Ominis wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer, his movements unhurried as he kissed her sweetly. He was kissing her as if this would be the first and last time and he wanted to take his time to savour and commit it to memory. He pulled away too soon for her liking and placed his forehead on hers as he caught his breath.

“I need you to know that you mean everything to me, too,” he muttered. “I don’t care if you pick Sebastian after this, you will always be my closest friend, and I will never let this come between us.”

“Ominis…”

“You don’t need to say anything, love,” he pressed his lips to hers again, his hands tightening on her waist as she wound her fingers into his hair. He let a small noise slip as she tugged at his hair gently and Y/N couldn’t help but repeat her actions to draw it from him again. “Vixen,” he groaned and rest his head on her shoulder. 

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Y/N ran a hand down his back and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “I quite like this dishevelled look on you.”

“I quite like you,” Ominis replied, placing a chaste peck on her neck. Y/N stilled at the sudden action and tilted her head unconsciously to grant him more access. 

“Ominis,” Y/N bit back a moan as he pressed his lips to the pulse point on the crook of her neck. He kissed the spot again, a little more firmly this time, and let his lips linger there as Y/N tightened the grip on his hair. 

“Your heart is racing,” he muttered against her skin. 

“It’s entirely your fault.” He grinned at her words and slowly ran his hands up her sides until his fingers were tracing the features on her face with a look of pure concentration. “What are you doing?”

“Seeing you.”

“How does it work?”

“A lot of imagination and practice.” The corner of his mouth twitched as he ran his fingers over her cheekbones. “Sebastian was right, you are stunning.”

“So are you,” she replied shyly. The sound of the gates for the Undercroft made them reluctantly pull apart, although Ominis’ hand lingered on her jaw gently as he stepped away. Sebastian came into view, his gaze going to how close they were standing. Something akin to jealousy flashed behind his eyes, but he shook his head and plastered a charming smile on his features as he neared the pair.

“Well, you certainly look like you enjoyed yourself, Ominis.” He reached out and ruffled his friend’s hair playfully. Ominis swatted his hands away with a mock glare and began to brush his hair back into its usual slicked back style. 

“I guess it’s my turn.” He squeezed Y/N’s hand gently before making his way out of the Undercroft, the gate sliding shut behind him.

“Dare I ask how that went?” Sebastian asked quietly.

“Do you really want to know?”

“No, not particularly.” Sebastian hooked his thumb under Y/N’s chin and tilted her head up so she could meet his gaze. “I guess the downside to going second is Ominis has already told you that we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to?”

“He did.”

“Did he tell you how beautiful you are before he kissed you?”

“He did after.”

“Well, while I wish I could’ve said it all first, you should know that you’re breathtaking.” Sebastian leant in and gave her a soft, sweet kiss. “I’m head over heels for you, darling.” He muttered before pressing his lips back to hers. The second kiss was more frantic, his lips moving desperately against hers as he caged her against the wall. Where Ominis was trying to savour the moment, Sebastian kissed her with a fierceness that lit all of her nerves on fire. Y/N was aware of every part of his body that was pressed against hers as he tugged her lower lip between his teeth gently and couldn’t help but to let out a low groan.

“Seb.”

“I’m here,” he pulled her tighter against him, his skin searing hers where they touched. Kissing Ominis made her feel warm inside, like climbing into a hot bath after a cold day, or sipping on a glass of firewhiskey. Sebastian, on the other hand, made every nerve ending feel electrified as he held her close. Y/N could feel the fireworks Poppy had once mentioned from a book of hers. Y/N found herself losing track of the time as Sebastian’s movements slowed, his kiss losing some of its desperation in favour of leaving her breathless. 

It wasn’t until she heard the gate for the Undercroft slide open that she jumped, pushing him away from her reluctantly as Ominis came back into the room. He seemed to pick up on the tension in the air as Y/N smoothed her hair and Sebastian fixed his tie, both of their faces bright red. The three of them stood in an awkward silence, none of them knowing how to continue through the uncharted territory they had stepped into. 

“So…” Y/N rocked back on her heels nervously and shot Sebastian a glare as he started to chuckle. “Shut up, Sallow.” He raised his hands in mock defeat, his eyes darkening as they roamed over her swollen lips and rumpled uniform. Y/N felt her blood boil at the gaze and quickly turned away from him. “I think I need some time to think.”

“Take all the time you need,” Ominis nodded slowly, oblivious to the scowl Sebastian shot her. He clearly didn’t believe that she needed time to think this over, to decide which one of them she was going to pick - if any.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve already decided for yourself.”

“No, I haven’t, I just…I just need a little time,” Y/N lied. She turned and started to make her way out of the Undercroft before they could question her further, ignoring them both as they called her name as the gate slid shut on her retreating figure.

*~*~*~*~*

Y/N had managed to successfully avoid both Sebastian and Ominis in the days that followed - a task that wasn’t the easiest, considering they were all in the same house. Luckily for her, boys were not allowed in the girls’ dorms, so Y/N had taken to hiding out in her rooms as soon as classes were over. Imelda and Poppy didn’t know exactly what had happened in the Undercroft, but had managed to piece together that both of the boys had admitted to having feelings for her. Needless to say, Imelda wasn’t too pleased at Y/N hiding out to avoid speaking to them but she still glowered protectively if either of them walked a little too close to her.

“How much longer do we have to watch you snivelling like a Gryffindor?” Imelda asked nonchalantly as she polished her broom.

“Imelda! We said we would be thoughtful about this,” Poppy gave the Scottish witch a reproachful look before turning to offer Y/N an apologetic smile. 

“Actually that was pretty nice for Reyes,” Y/N rolled her eyes and plucked at a few blades of grass. “I expected her to tell me at least a Gryffindor would be brave enough to face this head on.”

“Your words, not mine,” Imelda offered her a saccharine smile and laughed as Y/N flicked grass in her direction. “Look, we all know you’ve made your decision. Why can’t you just go tell them?”

“It’s not exactly easy telling one of my best friends I like the other better.”

“Sure it is. I tell Poppy I like her better than you all the time.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re a coward.”

“Didn’t they say they wouldn’t hold it against you?” Poppy cut in, trying to keep the peace between the two Slytherin girls. “They’ve both already prepared for the worst, Y/N.”

“I agree, if anything you’re just dragging out their misery.”

“That’s not what I meant, Imelda!” Poppy turned to her with a frown. Imelda laughed at the horrified expression on her face and reached out to pat her hand. 

“No, but it’s the kick Y/N needed to get moving, isn’t it, Y/L/N?”

“…yes,” Y/N groaned and stood up, brushing the grass from her robes before she bid her friends goodbye and walked away in search of one of the boys.

“Five galleons says she’s picked Ominis?”

“Imelda.” Poppy shook her head, but there was a smile playing on her face. “Make it ten, and my money is on Sebastian.”

“Deal.”

Sebastian's Ending

Ominis' Ending

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Protector

Based on this request: I was wondering if you could write maybe some angst with fluff about how you and Sebastian are fighting against a villain and he takes the blow for you? thank you so much

Word Count: 2.6k

Themes: angst, fluff. Fem!Reader

Warnings: All characters aged up to 18+. Potential spoilers for HL

“How are you not tired, yet?” Sebastian glared over his shoulder at Y/N, who currently had her back pressed up against his in a defensive position. They had severely underestimated the size of the camp, as they had been fighting the bandits for the better part of an hour and they were only just beginning to thin out. Y/N just let out a laugh and shot a well-timed glacius-diffindo combination at the Ashwinder scout in front of her, eyes meeting his briefly so he could see the mischief that danced in them. 

“Honestly, compared to what I usually go through, this whole situation has felt more like a leisurely stroll than a fierce battle.” Ancient magic surged at Y/N’s fingertips and she wiggled them experimentally, a sly smile on her face as she raised her hand in the air and called lightning down to hit the group in front of them. Sebastian would never admit it, but sometimes the sheer immensity of her power terrified him. It was breathtaking to watch, but seeing an Ashwinder disappear before his very eyes in nothing but a cloud of red mist was unnerving to say the least.

An Ashwinder duellist stepped towards the pair, waving their wand to cast a shield around themselves. A barrel flew past him, guided by Y/N’s ability, and smashed through it, stunning the duellist for a brief moment. Sebastian should have used the seconds bought to bring the attacker down, but instead he flung a shield up around Y/N as a spellbinder shot a spell at her. The duellist cackled, eyes narrowing as they took note of Sebastian’s attempts to protect Y/N, no doubt trying to find a way to exploit it.

“Reducto!”

“Diffindo!” Sebastian interrupted the cast with a severing charm, chuckling as the duellist was spun around and the curse hit a member of their team instead.

“You’re brilliant,” Y/N laughed, her hand reaching behind her to squeeze his arm briefly. 

“Next time you want to sneak out of the castle we’re going to the Three Broomsticks for a drink.”

“First rounds on me,” Y/N twirled her wand between her fingers expertly and narrowly dodged a disarming charm an Ashwinder executioner threw her way. “You’ll have to do better than that,” she taunted.

“Y/N, please do not antagonise the angry murderers who are attacking us,” Sebastian groaned. He couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement as she laughed and cast expelliarmus at the executioner, causing him to lose control over the lightning storm he was summoning. Y/N tugged them both aside as the lightning crackled too close for comfort and took cover behind a tent. 

“You’re no fun.” Her chest was heaving from exertion but there was a spark to her eyes he hadn’t seen in a while. 

“Wasn’t it you who told me fun was relative?” Sebastian, Y/N noted, looked unfairly wellkept considering how long they had been fighting. Her hair had fallen from its updo a while ago and she dreaded having to work the tangles out of it later. Meanwhile, while he may have been more out of breath than her, Sebastian looked as if he had exerted no more energy than he would on a pleasant walk around the lake that bordered their school.

“And this is relatively fun,” she shot him a sinful grin as she quoted him and ducked back into the fray. Although he tried to look annoyed, Sebastian couldn’t help but chuckle, unable to deny her contagious enthusiasm. He shot a particularly vicious confringo at an explosive barrel that was located coincidentally close to a handful of soldiers, taking them all down in one go, before turning to watch Y/N as she levitated three men at once and summoned them towards her before blasting them away again with a particularly powerful bombarda. 

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Sebastian let out a low whistle, eyes darting around to look for any more enemies. Y/N scoffed and rolled her eyes in response, looking across the quiet camp for any more Ashwinders who may have been lurking in the shadows. “Do you see Mr Pippin's chest anywhere?” 

“I mean,” Y/N looked around, taking note of several chests dotted around the camp. “Revelio.” The spell lit the chests up, not pointing to any of them in particular. “Yeah I didn’t think it would be that easy,” Y/N sighed and began to make her way to the closest container when a loud crack echoed through the air around them. 

“What have you done?” The Ashwinder boss roared at them, eyes full of rage as he took note of the destruction around them.

“Whoops?” Y/N offered. Sebastian grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose at her casual tone.

“Whoops?” he repeated, glaring down at her. “We have an Ashwinder boss in front of us, potentially ready to end our lives for what we did to their camp, and all you can say is whoops?”

“What do you want me to - ” Y/N started to protest, only to be cut off by the boss.

“Enough. You’ll pay for this. Both of you. Crucio!” The Ashwinder boss pointed his wand at Y/N, a vile grin on his features. Red sparks flickered at the end of the stick and time seemed to slow as a bolt of red lightning zigzagged its way across the field in her direction.

“No!” Y/N fell to the ground, her palms scraping the rough stone surface as Sebastian shoved her out of the way. She watched in horror as the curse hit him instead and could have sworn her heart stopped in her chest as he fell to his knees, arm clutching his stomach. 

“Sebastian!” The scream ripped out of Y/N’s throat as she scrambled over the gravel to reach him. The arm that had been holding him up faltered and he fell to the ground with a loud yell that echoed around them. Y/N felt her stomach lurch as the boss cackled.

“Avada - ” He never got a chance to finish the killing curse. White hot rage filled every inch of Y/N’s body and ancient magic lashed out, no longer in her control as it found its target. She was vaguely aware of the sickening crunch as their enemy’s body collapsed in on itself and fell limply to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Sebastian grunted in pain as he rolled over onto his back, the curse finally subsiding now that his attacker was dead. Y/N reached out for him hesitantly, only to recoil as his arm twitched violently - an after effect of the lightning coursing through his body. She wanted nothing more than to gather him in her arms and make sure he was okay but could still remember how painful it had been all those years ago when he had cast the same curse on her. How the pain had lingered in her bones, her very soul, far longer than she ever let him know. Tears spilled down her face as she watched helplessly as the spasms finally ended and he lay there breathing heavily, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“Sebastian,” she hesitantly reached out for him and gently pulled her head to rest on her lap when he didn’t flinch away from her. “Why did you do that?” she brushed his hair out of his face and used the hem of her cloak to wipe away his sweat. “How could you be so stupid?”

“I couldn’t watch you in pain,” he groaned. “Not like that. Not again.” A harsh cough left his mouth, followed by a wince, before he looked up at her. “Why are you crying?” he raised a shaky hand up, as if to wipe away her tears and she watched, heart clenching in terror, as it fell limply to his side.

“Sebastian? Sebastian!”

*~*~*~*~*

A small part of Sebastian was convinced he had died as he floated in and out of a painless sleep. He was having the strangest dream, he thought to himself as he looked at the dryad who was fast asleep at his bedside, clutching his hand in hers as if it were her lifeline. He followed the lines of her half covered face and itched to run his hands through her long, green tresses. She shifted, moving the light with her, and he watched in fascination and confusion as her features morphed and her hair slowly cycled through various shades of colour until he recognised the woman asleep beside him.

“Y/N.” He squeezed her hand with what little strength he had left and watched as she slowly came to.

“Sebastian?” she murmured, still half-asleep. The hand that wasn’t holding on his rubbed at her eyes tiredly and she suddenly sat up as she realised he was awake. “Oh thank Merlin, you’re awake - ” Y/N looked as if she were about to fling herself on him in an embrace, but stopped as she realised she would only hurt him more. “Are you okay? Do you need me to get Nurse Blainey?”

“I’m fine,” he gently tugged at her hand so she would sit at the end of his bed. “How did you get me here?” Sebastian remembered jumping in front of the spell, not thinking about anything except for protecting Y/N; he had watched her writhe in pain once from the torture curse and he silently vowed to himself she would never have to go through that again as long as he was around. He couldn’t remember much after the Cruciatus Curse had hit him, apart from the blinding agony he felt.

“I apparated us as close to the castle as I could get and levitated you the rest of the way. Blainey wasn’t exactly pleased - or surprised - that I woke her in the middle of the night. She’s going to talk to Black and Weasley first thing in the morning. I don’t quite have your level of charm, I suppose.”

“You’re plenty charming when you want to be,” Sebastian squeezed her hand gently before slowly sitting up in the hospital cot. “Did you tell her what happened?”

“I didn’t have to - she knew immediately. Apparently I’ve earned a reputation for having students jump in front of curses for me,” Y/N rolled her eyes and fixed him with a glare. “Which was a completely stupid thing for you to do, might I add.”

“Hey,” he gave her a reproachful look and watched as she stood up, “I technically just saved you. You could be a little nicer.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“Are you mad at me?” 

“Are you feeling better?”

“I…I guess I’m a little sore but all things considered, yes, I’m better,” Sebastian’s eyebrow furrowed in confusion as he watched her pace up and down. 

“Well then, I’m furious.” Y/N stopped in front of his bed, eyes blazing with anger. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

“Protect you?”

“I don’t need protection!” her loud words echoed in the too-quiet room and Sebastian watched as her chest heaved in annoyance. “What if he shot a curse that was worse than crucio? What if he - ” Y/N broke off with a sob and fresh tears fell down her face. Sebastian thought the Cruciatus curse would be the nastiest kind of agony he had ever felt for the rest of his life, but seeing Y/N’s tear-stricken face and knowing he was the cause sent a crack through his heart.

“Y/N…” he came to a shaky stand and tried to reach out for her, but she shook her head and took a step back.

“You could have been killed.” She turned away and buried her head in her hands, quiet sobs shaking her shoulders. Sebastian took a couple of apprehensive steps towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned and flung herself at him, her arms wrapping tightly around him as she cried into his chest. “I can’t lose you.”

“I’m here.” Sebastian felt a piece of his heart shatter and pulled her into a much needed, tight embrace. There was a burning sensation behind his eyes as he wound one arm around her waist and threaded the other into her hair, holding her in place against him. “I’m okay.” He kissed the top of her forehead as tears slipped out of his own eyes. 

“This time.” Y/N meant for her words to come out sharp, for them to sting, but instead he took one of her hands and held it against his chest, right above his heart. 

“I’m okay,” he repeated softly. “See? It’s still beating for you.”

“Don’t be cute at a time like this,” she glared at him but the blow didn’t quite land as intended when he caught sight of her tear stained face. He smiled gently at her and wiped her tears away, using the sleeve of his robe to dry her face.

“Okay.”

“And never do anything that stupid again.”

“I promise not to jump in front of a curse that will cause you debilitating pain ever again.”

“Sebastian.”

“Okay, okay. I promise. Anything else?”

“One more thing.” She used his tie to tug him towards her and placed a too-quick kiss on his lips. “If you ever, and I mean ever, so much as think about doing something so stupid again, I will make you wish you never taught me all three of the unforgivable curses,” she muttered against his lips. Sebastian blinked at her, his emotions torn between being frightened by her threat and flustered by the kiss. 

“Duly noted,” he nodded, nose bumping hers gently before he leant back in to kiss her again.

“I mean it Sallow,” she pulled away from him, a blush rising to her cheeks. “I don’t need you to protect me and I will not hesitate to crucio you myself if you do that again.”

“Y/N,” he groaned, head landing on her shoulder gently. “I will promise you the entire world if you want it, but for now would you please stop talking and just let me kiss you back.”

“Only if you kiss me like you mean it.” Y/N fiddled with the knot in his tie as she avoided his gaze, suddenly looking very unsure of herself. A part of Sebastian wanted to berate her for it - how could she not tell that was all he wanted since the moment she bested him in their first duel two years ago? That she was the only person he ever wanted to kiss, the only one he wanted to be with? He may have had a few dalliances since meeting her (and he knew she did too) but it had always been her right from the very first moment.

“Darling,” he tilted her head up gently so he could look her in the eye, “later I’ll tell you all about how you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, but right now I can definitely promise you that I mean it.” He closed the gap between them, trying to be a gentleman as he kissed her sweetly to convey how he felt about her, but Y/N was having none of it as she tugged at his hair and wrapped herself around him, her lips moving against his in frantic desperation. He groaned as she caught his lower lip between his teeth and tugged at it gently, causing Sebastian to reluctantly pull away from the kiss to look down at her, his eyes roaming over her tousled hair and swollen lips. “Easy now, we have the rest of our lives for that.”

“I like the sound of that.”

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Fighter

Based on this request: Can you please write one Sebastian sallow X Reader. where the reader is known to be the most powerful dueler in the school, so the school sets a match between her house and another house but no one knows before the match she had a fight with seb making her lose all focus during the match causing whispers between the students knowing she never lost one before, and seb regreting the fight immediately after seeing her getting hurt and unable to focus and try to make amends after she loses despite her pushing him away.

Word Count: 3.4k

Themes: fluff, angst if you squint really hard, bad flirting written by a tired yours truly. Fem!Reader

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL. As always, characters are in their seventh year and aged up to 18+. Physical violence (after a quick search, apparently the only form of fighting in a duel is magical, which means you can’t punch someone if you’ve been disarmed. There was however, no date to indicate how long this has been around, so I’ve taken some liberties). Also like one real swear word and a couple of everyday british insults I throw around daily

Also, if anyone’s curious, here’s the song I was listening to when the duel started

Y/N twirled her wand nervously between her fingers as Natty, Poppy and Imelda continued to speak excitedly from around her. She half-listened to them, throwing in a smile or laugh every-so-often when it called for it but her attention was elsewhere. More specifically, it was across the room watching the brunet man in green robes talk to a younger, animated Gryffindor next to an obscenely large blackboard. Y/N narrowed her eyes at Sebastian, who continued to talk to an overly-excited Lucan Brattleby as the latter collected money for the bets that were being placed tonight. 

Her eyes drifted to the board, satisfaction swelling in her once more as she looked over the tournament bracket which had eliminated more and more students until there were only four left standing, including her and Sebastian. She was due to duel Leander Prewett tonight, who sat on the other end of the hall from Y/N and occasionally looked over her way with a smug look on his face as if he had already won. He never did forgive her for calling him out back in fifth year and reminding him Sebastian was a better duellist. 

“Are you even listening to us?” Imelda waved a hand in front of Y/N’s face.

“Not particularly,” she offered her friend an overly sweet smile, knowing how to push her buttons. “Leander won’t stop staring.” The girls all looked at Leander in unison and Y/N didn’t have to watch Imelda to know she was sneering at him. She never did quite get over him badmouthing their house, or Sebastian (even though she would never admit it out loud).

“He’ll soon be sulking when he has to go up against you,” Natty nudged her gently, a grin on her face. “There’s a reason everyone has lost to you so far, you are a force to be reckoned with.”

“How positively Slytherin of you, I’m starting to think Imelda and I are bad influences,” Y/N laughed and shook her head. “I suppose Y/N the Invincible does have a nice ring to it.” 

Her gaze trailed to the opposite end of the room again as Natty and Imelda dove into a conversation about which title would be best for her when she won the Crossed Wands tournament, her wand still spinning in between her fingers. She caught Sebastian’s eye this time, her movements slowing as they stared at each other from across the room. He hardly acknowledged her before turning away and facing Ominis, who had come to support them both in tonight’s semi-finals. Sebastian had not long finished his duel against Charlotte Morrison and it came to no surprise that he had won.

“Are you both still fighting?” Poppy asked her quietly, trying not to attract the attention of the girls who sat with them. 

“Apparently,” Y/N sniffed in annoyance and looked away from Sebastian as he laughed loudly at something Ominis said to him. 

“What even happened between the two of you?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Y/N wasn’t being obtuse, she truly didn’t know how things had escalated so badly between them. Those who knew they weren’t speaking were surprised - Y/N had always come across as patient and understanding, and more than forgiving to those who didn’t deserve it. Only the people closest to her knew how quick she was to react behind closed doors.

She sighed and rolled her shoulders, itching for the duel for Leander so that she could release some of the pent up frustrations that had been brewing within her for the past few days. She supposed it was a little unfair to take her annoyance at Sebastian out on Leander, but every time the latter smirked at her she felt the guilt ease a little. Prick, she watched as he pretended to flex his muscles to the group of Gryffindors he was sitting with. As if she hadn’t already beat him in the very same tournament last year or the year before that.

“Duellists, take your positions!” Lucan called out. Poppy, Imelda and Natty all squeezed her arm in reassurance and wished her luck before making their way to the doorway of the bell tower clockyard where the gate would keep them safe from any errant spells.

“Good luck, Y/N,” Ominis grinned at her as she neared him and Sebastian. “I’d say I can’t wait to see you thrash Prewett but well…” She laughed and let him grasp her shoulder. “I’ve got a lot of money on you.”

“No pressure then.” Her eyes wandered to Sebastian, who was standing next to his best friend. He looked away as he caught her gaze, hands stuffed into his pockets.

“Come on, Ominis. We need to get behind the gate.”

“Are you not going to wish Y/N good luck Sebastian?” Ominis tilted his head in his direction, a small smirk playing on the corner of his mouth. Prat. Sebastian looked at her from the corner of his eye and let out a quiet sigh. 

“Good luck, Y/L/N.”

“I’ll see you in the finals, Sallow.” She watched as he rolled his eyes at her words and turned to leave without another word, tugging Ominis in the right direction gently. 

“Are you ready, Y/N?” Lucan asked her, his eyes darting between her and Sebastian’s retreating figure. Lucan, like everyone, was more than curious to know what had happened between the pair, but was smart enough not to ask her directly - there was a reason he organised her duels instead of battling against her. He couldn’t help but grimace as he looked over to Leander to check if he was ready, Y/N was going to eat him alive if he kept on sneering at her like that. “No funny business,” he looked pointedly at Y/N, who gave him an innocent smile in response, and turned to walk behind the barrier and closed the gate.

“You can give up now, Y/L/N,” Leander called out to her, “no harm in conceding.”

“I thought you Gryffindors loved a good fight. Not quite a victory if you win by default, is it Prewett?” Y/N laughed as Leander snarled and shot a disarming charm her way. She didn’t even need to deflect it with protego, she simply stepped aside and let the spell fizzle against the wall behind her. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to finally beat me.”

“Shut up!” he snapped, sending a barrage of spells her way. Y/N flung a quick shield up, gritting her teeth in concentration as a range of charms and jinxes were flung at her. He didn’t give her a chance to retaliate, going full on offensive due to his anger at her. Her shield finally shattered as he shot another disarming charm at her, a smug grin on his features as it clattered uselessly and rolled away behind her. “What are you going to do now? Can’t fight without a wand.”

“Can’t I?” Y/N smirked at him and levitated him with a wave of her hand.

“You’re not supposed to use your abilities!” Leander protested, legs flailing as he hovered midair.

“Oh, I’m not. It’s called wandless magic, Prewett. Something you’d be able to do if you actually paid attention in class.” With that Y/N cast a summoning spell on him, pulling him right up in front of her before punching him square in the face. Leander spluttered as he fell to the floor, one sleeve of his robe holding his now bloody nose. 

“You hit me!” he looked over at Lucan, who looked just as stunned by her decision. “Surely that isn’t allowed?”

“I…” Lucan looked at a loss for words. “I don’t know! No one’s ever resorted to physical violence before!” Lucan looked up at Sebastian, who just shrugged at him. 

“Disqualify her!”

“Don’t you dare!” Imelda, Poppy and Natty all glared at Lucan, who looked very uncomfortable with everyone watching him for an answer. Y/N shook her hand out and took the opportunity to grab her wand as she waited for Lucan to decide if she was disqualified or not. She wouldn’t apologise for resulting to physical violence (I literally just set him on fire, how is punching him any worse) she would be rather annoyed if she was removed from the tournament. She and Sebastian had a running tally over the past few years on which one of them was the best duellist in the school, and if she lost to him this year because of this…he would never let her live it down. If he decided to speak to her, that is.

She looked over at him as Lucan took a moment to deliberate her fate with Leander still whining in the background on how she might have broken his nose. He was already staring at her, arms crossed, and an expression on his face that she couldn’t quite read from this distance. Her stomach flipped uselessly as she refused to break eye contact with him, silently challenging him to look away first. She watched as Ominis muttered something to him, presumably asking what was going on, and he replied without looking away. 

She raised one of her eyebrows, silently questioning him if they were still arguing. He gave her a flat look as if to say what do you think before finally breaking away and turning to speak to Ominis. Y/N felt her eyes burn in frustration as she turned her back on him and instead watched the pendulum for the clock tower swing back and forth slowly. How was she supposed to fix things between them when she didn’t even know what she did wrong? She knew she wasn’t guiltless in their fight - they had both snapped some particularly awful things at each other - but she didn’t know how to approach him so they could settle this. For all of the good qualities Y/N could list about Sebastian (and there were many) he was as stubborn as a mule and refused to see when he was in the wrong.

“The fight will continue!” Lucan called out, breaking her from her thoughts. “Just…maybe don’t do that again, will you Y/N?” Leander protested loudly at allowing her to continue, but the noise was drowned out by the loud cheers coming from the group that had come to support her. She watched in amusement as Poppy pulled Lucan into a hug and his face went an impressive shade of red that revealed the colour of his robes. “I suppose I need to add that going forward all duels will be fought with magic only, and no physical contact will be tolerated.” He looked up at Sebastian again, who nodded in confirmation - not that he would ever lay a hand on her (or any woman for that matter). 

Y/N couldn’t concentrate as the duel picked back up and barely managed to protect herself from yet another disarming charm that Leander shot her way, as if he weren’t already aware that she could do wandless magic. She was thoroughly distracted by her silent interaction with Sebastian, the words from their previous fight clouding her judgement. She couldn’t believe this had all come from a stupid, simple misunderstanding.

Y/N felt her wand fly from her hand moments before she flew backwards and she collided with some of the training dummies Lucan had tucked into the corner of the room. She clutched at her stomach as she rolled into her knees, wincing slightly as pain lanced up her side. There was a loud ringing in her ears from the blast, and she could barely hear Leander cheering from the other end of the hall, boasting on how he had managed to beat one of Hogwarts top duellists.

“Y/N!” Her vision swam as someone in a green cloak pressed a Wiggenweld potion to her lips, their hand resting lightly on her back as more people crowded around them. “Give her some air, back off!” She would recognise Sebastian’s voice anywhere.

“I’m fine, give me a minute.” She tried to shrug him off, but only succeeded in tilting to the left haphazardly. She felt Sebastian grab her elbow before she could hit her head again and pull her towards him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as the room spun around her. “Why are you helping me?” She could hear Natty and Poppy shoo everyone off to give her some space and there was no mistaking Imelda’s angry voice from the other end of the room, berating Leander for his abysmal showmanship.

“Do you think just because we had a stupid argument I would stop caring for you?” Sebastian gently touched the back of her head, looking for signs of a welt or a bump. 

“I was horrid to you.”

“I wasn’t exactly the nicest myself,” he murmured. Y/N waited a couple of more minutes for the dizziness to subside, her fingers fiddling with Sebastian’s sleeve as she listened to his thundering heartbeat.

“Your heart is beating so fast.” 

“Yes well, I did just watch you get flung thirty feet across a room as if you were a ragdoll.”

“I’m okay,” Y/N tilted her head to look up at him with a small smile. The potion had made its way through her body and it no longer hurt every time she breathed. “You worry too much.”

“I think I worry about you just the right amount,” he scoffed, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’m going to have a conniption one of these days because of you.”

“Won’t that be a sight,” she teased, laughing quietly. She could feel him chuckle silently beside her and let her eyes slip closed once more. 

“Did the potion not work? Do I need to take you to Blainey?”

“No, no, I’m fine. I’m just enjoying the moment.”

“Here in my arms, you mean?”

“No, you prick,” she rolled her eyes at him and gently flicked his knee. “I meant without everyone breathing down my neck to see if I’m alright.”

“Ah, well, I think they’re a little scared of your reaction to be honest. No one’s ever seen you lose a duel before.”

“I can’t believe Prewett beat me,” she groaned, burying her head in the crook of Sebastian’s neck. “As if he wasn’t insufferable before. I shouldn’t have let myself become so distracted.”

“I saw the change in you when the duel picked back up; what were you thinking about?”

“You.”

“Me?” Sebastian looked down at her. “Don’t tell me you got hurt because you were too busy thinking about our fight.” He groaned as she shrugged casually and took her head in his hands gently. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“For the fight or because I got hurt during a wizard duel?”

“Both,” he replied seriously, brushing some hair from her eyes. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to approach you and apologise all day. I was going to do it before our duels but I let my pride get the best of me.”

“I’m well aware of the pitfalls of Slytherin pride, thank you very much.” Y/N took his hands from her face and held them between her own. “I’ve been doing the same thing. I tried to get here before your duel with Charlotte so I could apologise, but I was too late. You looked even more annoyed that I missed your fight so I stayed away.”

“We make quite a pair.”

“Don’t we?” Y/n smiled coyly at him before sighing loudly (and rather dramatically, Sebastian thought). “Leander fucking Prewett. I’ll have to go into hiding from the shame. Will you avenge me?”

“Of course,” Sebastian laughed at her theatrics, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “I’ll fight valiantly in your honour.”

“To the death?”

“If you want.”

“Hm.” She pretended to think about it, tapping her chin lightly. “No, not to the death. I couldn’t bear it if your pretty face was sent to Azkaban.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to talk them out of sending me there. You already have once.”

“On second thought, maybe I’ll let you rot there for the rest of your life just for the sheer audacity.”

“You’d miss me and my pretty face too much,” Sebastian grinned and pulled her closer until she was sitting between his legs. “If it helps, I think you’re rather beautiful too.”

“I didn’t say I found you beautiful.”

“Not directly to me, no,” he leant in so he could whisper in her ear, “but you girls aren’t as quiet as you think you are when you start discussing which wizards in the school are attractive. For the record, I find it a little offensive that you think I would be so smug about it.”

“Aren’t you?” Y/N pulled back so she could read his expression. “Anyway, you know you’re attractive, you don’t need me to tell you.”

“No, but it would be nice.”

“In your dreams, Sallow.”

“You? Constantly, yes.” Sebastian grinned at the blush that came to her cheeks and couldn’t help but press a sweet kiss to her face. “As much as I enjoy flirting with you while we sit here, I should probably let the girls come and check on you now.”

“This was you flirting? I never would have been able to tell.” She shot him a sly smile and let him pull her to her feet slowly, taking note of his hands that hovered cautiously in case she showed any signs of her previous lightheadedness. Y/N would deny it if anyone asked - especially Sebastian - but she may have clutched onto his toned bicep as they stood, feigning a slight wobble so that he would wrap an arm around her waist to steady her.

“You don’t need to fall to my feet, darling, you already have my attention.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“I think you meant to say dashingly handsome.”

“You’re alright.”

“Would it kill you to compliment me one time? I did just technically save you.”

“From Leander,” Y/N scoffed. She watched as he pretended to look put out with her and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “My hero, however will I repay you?” she batted her eyelashes at him playfully, and Sebastian could feel his heartbeat pick up at the smile that she was giving him, which was anything but innocent. He couldn’t help but look down at her lips, wondering if he would get a smack from her for even daring to take a glance.

Y/N was more than aware of what he was thinking, she had practically seen the words well I can think of a few things as he looked down at her mouth. A part of her was aware that their friends still lingered in the room after clearing everyone out, but she didn’t really care who was watching as she stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to Sebastian’s softly. She felt his arms tighten around her, pulling her closer as he kissed her back.

“You both disgust me.” Y/N heard both Poppy and Natty shush Imelda rather loudly and felt her face flush as she reluctantly pulled away from the kiss. Sebastian followed her, chasing her lips so that he could continue to kiss her, much to Imelda’s displeasure. With a red face, Y/N pressed her face to Sebastian’s chest, laughing quietly as she heard Poppy explain to Ominis what the fuss was about. 

“We need new friends,” Sebastian muttered in her ear. Y/N didn’t agree as she turned to look at the group watching them. Despite Imelda’s protests, all three of the witches had large grins plastered on their faces, and even Ominis looked happy for them (if a little red in the face at their public display of affection). Sebastian pressed a sweet kiss to her temple, muttering a request for them to sneak away together to continue their session away from prying eyes and as Y/N took his hand so that he could lead her away she found that she didn’t even care that she had lost the duel to Leander. Besides, she could always get him back next time.

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Jealousy, jealousy

Word Count: 5.5k

Themes: fluff, pining, Sebastian is a bit of an ass. I left Y/N’s house as ambiguous as I could so you can use whichever one you like :)

Warnings: All characters aged up to 18+. Potential spoilers for HL

“You’re staring,” Ominis murmured before letting out a quiet sigh. “Again.”

“She’s talking to Weasley,” Sebastian muttered back, his arms folded across his chest.

“Which one?” he asked, a wry smile slipping into his face. Ominis didn’t need to be able to see to know Sebastian was glaring at him. 

“Garreth, you prat.” A brief silence fell over the pair as Sebastian continued to watch the interaction between Y/N and Garreth Weasley. Y/N threw her head back and laughed at something Garreth said, and Sebastian felt something in his chest tighten as the sun caught on the natural highlights hidden in her hair. “He can’t be that funny.” Garreth muttered something to Y/N and she turned in his direction to catch his eye. He felt every nerve in his body as she smiled sweetly at him and waved her fingers to say hello before looking back at the wizard in front of her. “He’s just using her.”

“How can you be so sure?” Ominis’ eyebrows shot up in surprise as he turned his head to look at Sebastian (he hoped he was, at least).

“Isn’t everyone?” Sebastian asked. Ominis had been there with him that fateful day in the bathrooms. They had both heard what had been said, had both heard the chorus of laughter and agreement that followed.

“Everyone but you, you mean.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ominis,” he looked away from Y/N to narrow his eyes at his friend beside him. “You’re not using her either.”

“Aren’t I?” Ominis asked. There was a beat of silence between them before he laughed loudly at the lack of response from the brunet, and he could almost picture the incredulous look being shot his way.

Sebastian would blame the sun, he decided, if anyone asked why he was frowning in your direction. It had come out today, and the trio had taken advantage of the warmth it provided to sit in the gardens by the north entrance for the castle. It seemed they hadn’t been the only ones to have the idea and it wasn’t long before Y/N had leapt from her position in the grass next to him to greet Natsai Onai and the red-clad gaggle that seemed to follow. Sebastian couldn’t help but begrudge Natty (who was a wonderful witch despite being in Gryffindor) from stealing you away from him. He had been content with your arm pressed against his, your legs touching as you stretched out beside him, head almost resting on his shoulder as you watched the clouds drift by. 

Ominis twirled his wand idly in his hands, the sensor pulsing every-so-often to let him know Sebastian was still brooding beside him. Although he didn’t need it to, because if he listened carefully he could hear Sebastian mutter to himself occasionally as he more than likely watched Y/N from across the gardens. It wasn’t loud enough for Ominis to hear everything he was saying, but he did manage to catch phrases such as stupid Gryffindors and was just going to hold her hand. The latter made Ominis snort in amusement. Sebastian had been working up the courage to admit his feelings for the third member of their little group since the beginning of their sixth year, and now here they were nearing the end of their seventh and final year.

He had tried to tell Sebastian - time and time again - that there was nothing to fear and that he strongly suspected you returned his feelings, but he refused to listen. Ominis wouldn’t outright betray your trust and inform Sebastian of the late night conversations they shared where you voiced your concerns for the brunet, voice tinged with more than just friendly admiration. Instead, he subtly tried to push the pair together with flimsy excuses to explain his perpetual absence. Not that it did any good when either of you refused to acknowledge the Erumpent in the room. 

It could be worse, he mused, I could actually have to witness the pining between them, instead of just hearing about it.

“Get up,” Sebastian nudged Ominis gently and stood up. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to save Y/N,” Sebastian replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Y/N doesn’t need saving,” Ominis rolled his eyes, but stood up nonetheless, brushing grass from his robes. “In fact, I need to remind you that she has saved us. Several times.”

“Well, call this us returning the favour,” he tugged Ominis in the right direction softly before letting go of his robes and stalking over to where Y/N and Garreth were sat talking, set a little apart from the rest of the Gryffindors. “Y/N…Weasley.” He nodded once at the wizard and came to a stop right next to Y/N. Ominis, wand held aloft, offered the ground an awkward smile. “I can’t believe you left us for a bunch of Gryffindors,” he looked down at her, forcing a chuckle so he didn’t start an inter-house fight. “Are we not enough for you?”

“Don’t start,” Y/N laughed and rolled her eyes at him. “Garreth was just telling me about his newest potion idea.”

“Planning on getting her into more trouble by making her sneak into Sharp’s office for supplies again?” The comment earned Sebastian a nudge in the ribs from Y/N, but Garreth chuckled and shook his head.

“Actually, I was hoping Y/N would accompany me to the Forbidden Forest soon to gather some ingredients.”

“Not man enough to go it alone?” Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. The tips of Garreth’s ears were tinged pink as he looked between the three of them, before an easygoing smile fell across his features. 

“Is that why you keep asking her to join you on trips to spider caves?” Ominis let a laugh slip out at Garreth’s words, and Sebastian shot him a glare for it. Y/N shuffled nervously on her feet between them all, sensing some tension simmering under the surface. She wasn’t sure why they were both standing there, chests puffed out, and had a feeling she didn’t want to know. The only one who didn’t seem to be stancing was Ominis, who looked just as out of place as she felt. 

“I don’t mind going into the forest,” Y/N supplied quietly. Two pairs of eyes shot her way, and Ominis looked a little to her left. “I mean, I need to go anyway. Ms Bugbrooke asked me to go and check in on a unicorn she named Hazel and find a way to keep her safe.”

“I thought we were going to go do that this weekend?” Sebastian asked.

“You could all go,” Ominis supplied. He could feel Y/N relax from beside him, her hand reaching between their robes to squeeze his arm in gratitude. “Saves for multiple trips to the forest.”

“I don’t think that’s wise,” Sebastian frowned, crossing his arms. Garreth gave them all a half-hearted smile and shrugged.

“You let me know, Y/N. I’ve got to get to Charms, I can’t be late again or Ronen will tell my aunt,” he shuddered at the thought and waved goodbye to the three of them before turning to walk away. Y/N offered Garreth a forced smile as he left and waited until he was well out of earshot before whirling around to face Sebastian and hit him with her glove.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Sebastian. It doesn’t become you.”

“Sweetheart, everything becomes me,” he sent her a cocky grin, his body language loosening now that Garreth was gone. “Do you want me to walk you - both of you - to class?” He bent down to pick up her discarded bag and slung it over his shoulder. 

“Don’t change the subject,” she sighed in annoyance, her eyes narrowing. “You always seem to do this whenever I’m speaking to someone.”

“I don’t do it to Poppy, Natty, Imelda, or Ominis.”

“Please, leave me out of this,” Ominis muttered, looking away from them as they began to walk to the castle for class. Even though he knew he couldn’t see it, Sebastian still shot his friend a look as if to say way to back me up, help me out here and hoped he would get the message. The trio walked in silence until they passed the History of Magic classroom.

“Why don’t you let me talk to any of our classmates?”

“You’re talking to me, aren’t you? And you speak to Ominis all the time,” Sebastian gestured at his friend, who cringed internally at being brought back into this. He hoped if he kept silent that they would forget he was there, and perhaps he could sneak off and make it to class on his own. Not that it would do much good - he shared his next class with Y/N, and Sebastian was sure to follow. They had overheard a conversation between her, Imelda, Poppy and Natty about the chivalrous actions some of the wizards at the school took to get the attention of the witches and which ones in particular seemed to charm the girls the most. Ever since then Sebastian had held her school bag and walked her to every class. 

“Stop trying to be charming, Sebastian. I’m annoyed at you.”

“You think I’m charming?” Sebastian grinned down at her, earning a quiet whack as she hit him with her glove again. “Why are you so violent today?”

“Why are you so bothersome today?” she shot back. Ominis smiled to himself and walked a little faster. As much as he enjoyed hearing Y/N rip into Sebastian, he did not want to get caught in the middle. 

Y/N wrapped her arms around herself, trying to fight the chill that lingered in the stone walls after the warmth they had felt outside. Sebastian had been acting differently lately. Some days he was attentive, almost sweet; others like today, he was a nuisance, plain and simple. She never knew who she was going to get - the man who greeted her with coffee and a smile in the mornings, his hand lingering on hers after he handed her the mug, or the sulking mass walking by her. Her eyes fell on his back, watching as his muscles rippled through the white shirt, at her bag hanging on his shoulder.

He never aimed that gruffness in her direction, she realised. Even now, he was holding her bag for her and looked over his shoulder to see if she was still with them, a breathtaking smile falling on his face when he caught her eye. It was only ever when one of their male classmates spoke to her, standing a little too close that he began to act out, and despite his protests that she spoke to Ominis, she had seen him do it with him too. It was to a lesser scale, but even this morning he had placed himself between the pair as they all sat in the sun, his shoulder pressed against hers.

“Why won’t you let me speak to any men?” the words slipped out of her mouth before she could process them. Sebastian came to a stop and looked at her in confusion. She was vaguely aware of Ominis slowing as well from in front of them, a low groan escaping from him. 

“What?”

“That conversation you were having with Garreth wasn’t exactly pleasant, and it’s not the first time this has happened.” Sebastian watched as she twisted her fingers together nervously and longed to take her hand in his. “Don’t you want me to be happy?”

“You think Weasley is going to make you happy?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

“I-I don’t know! But how am I meant to find out when you keep…”

“When I keep…?” His casual tone infuriated Y/N, and judging by the amusement in his eye and the twitch in the corner of his mouth, he knew it.

“When you keep acting so possessive!”

“Maybe I’m just a good judge of character and know none of those simpering idiots who keep coming over are enough for you.”

“Enough for me - ” Ire flared at his words and she gave him a withering look. “You have some nerve, Sebastian Sallow. And you,” she glared at Ominis, who had the decency to look a little frazzled at her anger. “I expected better from you, you’re always by his side whenever this happens. Care to explain yourself?” Ominis shook his head slowly and backed away a few steps as Sebatian came forward.

“Don’t take it out on him, he had no part in this.”

“Good to know the stupidity started and ended with you, then,” Y/N snapped. She turned her back on him and walked a few steps away to calm down. “Why do you always do this to me, Sebastian? Give me one good reason why you keep acting out like this.”

“I’m only looking out for your best interests. You need someone who will challenge you,” Sebastian stood taller, annoyance flashing in his eyes. “Not a lapdog who will roll over every time you call their name. You need an equal.” Ominis grimaced at his best friend's words and slowly began to back away. He didn’t make it too far before someone bumped into him, pausing to listen to the argument occurring in the hallway.

“Who are you to presume anything about my happiness?” Y/N stalked forward to poke Sebastian in the chest roughly. “Who would even fit within your insane standards for me? Who would challenge me, make me happy, treat me as their equal?” she asked, all but spitting the words at him. “You?”

“Maybe.” Sebastian shrugged, not quite meeting her eye as he shuffled between his feet nervously.

“You…” Y/N let out an incredulous laugh. “You’re something else, Sallow.” In all the times Y/N had imagined Sebastian admitting he may return his feelings for her it never went like this, in a corridor attracting the attention of their classmates with their fight. “I have done nothing but wait for you to notice me for two years, Sebastian. And when I finally realise you’ll never see me the way I want and decide to move on, that’s when you’re determined to want me?”

“I don’t just want you,” his voice was hoarse with her declaration. Two years? How could she not see that I’ve noticed her, that I've only ever noticed her? How could this have gone wrong so fast. 

“You’re nothing but a jealous coward.” With one final poke to the chest, Y/N took her bag and started to walk away from him and the little crowd that had gathered.

“You think I don’t know how selfish I’m being?” Sebastian called out, suddenly finding his voice. He followed her path, near enough pushing anyone aside who stood in his way. “I would give anything - anything - to go back to that day we first met. Back when all you were was Atë personified, before I realised how absolutely breathtaking every inch of your soul is. You’ve ruined me, Y/N!”

“And that’s my fault?”

“I’m not saying that!” Sebastian groaned and reached for the sleeve of her robe to pull her to a stop. He quickly rescinded his hand when she shot him a menacing glare as if to say I dare you.

“Then what are you saying?” she asked. Doubt clutched him, stopping the words from leaving his mouth. He must have waited a beat too long to respond because Y/N sighed, and the disappointment on her face was enough to bring him to his knees as she continued to walk away from him, the students they had attracted parting to let her through. She had made it halfway down the corridor when sharp panic squeezed his chest tightly.

“I’m in love with you!” he shouted after her. His face flamed at the confession, at the sudden whispers of those around him as his words echoed down the stone corridor. Y/N stopped, and for a second Sebastian felt hope that she would turn around and say she loved him too. That it was him she wanted, who she always wanted.

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it.” He watched in despair as she walked away from him, slipping through the doors that would take her into another hall. There was a dull roaring in his ears, drowning out the sudden whispers that had started around him. A gentle hand landed on his shoulder and he looked over slowly to see Ominis, a grim look on his face. Sebastian couldn’t bear to see the sympathy in his gaze, to hear the voices around him talking about his rejected confession. 

“All right, show’s over!” he growled, shaking Ominis’ hand from his shoulder. “Everyone clear off.” He rolled his shoulders and stood a little straighter before stalking down the corridor. The younger students jumped out of his way, and he caught the looks of pity from those in his year. Poppy tried to step forward and speak to him, but he just shook his head at her and walked out of the hall and made his way to the Undercroft. 

*~*~*~*~*

It had been nearly a week since Y/N and Sebastian’s argument in the middle of the hallway and she could still hear people whisper about it as she walked by, as if she couldn’t hear a word they were saying. A group of Ravenclaws were sitting at a table in the library near Y/N, Poppy and Imelda, and every-so-often they looked over and started to giggle. 

“Just ignore them,” Poppy murmured to her.

“No,” Imelda glared at the group, who immediately quieted down and looked away. “They need to learn to keep their mouths shut, or I’ll do it for them.” She raised her voice just enough for them to hear her threat and they quickly packed their things and left in a flurry of navy robes. 

“You can’t threaten everyone in the school, Imelda,” Y/N said with a sigh, not looking up from her Charms textbook. Another group would soon come and replace that one, and the cycle would just repeat itself. 

“Watch me.” Her grin was unnerving to say the least. “What’s he doing in here?” Y/N looked up to see Sebastian walking up the stairs into the upper part of the library where they were currently sitting. He looked around, a little unsure of himself and Y/N’s heart clenched in her chest at the sight. He always looked so confident, even when he was utterly terrified, but now he just looked lost. “He better not come over here.”

“Imelda,” Poppy sighed and shook her head. “We don’t even know if he’s here for Y/N, he could be here to study.” Even though Poppy was right, Y/N couldn’t help but wish that he was here for her, that he wanted to speak to her.

“No you don’t, wipe that look off your face,” Imelda pointed her quill at Y/N. “Don’t go mooning over him after what he’s put you through. You don’t need someone who’s going to treat you that poorly.”

“He doesn’t exactly look great himself.”

“Who’s side are you on, Sweeting?”

“I didn’t realise there were any.” Y/N rolled her eyes as the pair continued to bicker, her gaze turning back to Sebastian, who had turned in their direction as he heard Poppy and Imelda arguing. He caught her eye and began to slowly make his way to their table, casting a weary glance at Imelda as he neared.

“What do you want, Sallow?” Imelda snapped at him, turning on him as he got closer.

“Hello, Sebastian, are you alright?” Poppy nudged her in reprimand and offered him an awkward smile.

“I-I’d like to speak to Y/N, if that’s okay,” he asked, not quite looking at any of them. 

“Come to shout more declarations of love in my face?” It was a low blow, and Y/N knew it. She watched as he flinched slightly and looked away from her, his shoulders slumped in defeat. She was vaguely aware of Poppy grabbing onto Imelda’s robes to pull her away while the latter protested as she stared at him. There were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days, and his shirt and robes were rumpled. “Sit down,” she muttered, closing her book. “You look like you’re about to pass out from exhaustion.” 

Sebastian listened, his hands running through his hair as he slumped down into a seat. He looked awful, Y/N noted, eyes wandering over his frame. It went beyond the creased clothes and the lack of sleep. He looked paler, and Y/N watched as he sighed heavily and rubbed a hand down his face. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I went too far.” There was a different level of weariness in his voice, it went down to his bones, his very soul. The man in front of her was not the one she had fallen for. Her heart ached as he looked up at her slowly with dull eyes. “I always go too far.”

“You do,” she murmured. His eyes slid shut at her words and he braced himself for a blow that wasn’t coming. “And yet, somehow, I always forgive you for it.” She hated admitting it out loud, but once her rage had simmered and the adrenaline had left her a few hours after their fight, she had forgiven him. She could never stay mad at him for long. Even after their only other argument that had happened in the Undercroft years ago when he had called her ignorant for trusting a goblin and stormed out she hadn’t been hurt or angry, just concerned for him.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“No, you don’t.” She waited until he looked at her before giving him a small, teasing smile. They stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, each drinking in the different ways the other had changed in the past few days until Y/N sighed and looked away again. “I’m not an object to be possessed, Sebastian. You can’t just stake your claim on me.”

“I never…I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be like this. I just…” he sighed and tried to sit a little straighter in his seat. Y/N waited patiently for him to finish his sentence, waited as the wheels turned in his head and he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, his heart constricting in his chest and he saw the matching dark rings under her eyes. 

“I’m not going to fight you, Sebastian,” Y/N said gently, reaching his hand. She stopped before she could touch it and instead started to fiddle with the quill Poppy had left behind. “You can say what you need to.”

“It’s not pleasant.”

“None of this has been.”

“No, it hasn’t,” he smiled without humour and finally looked her in the eye. “Ominis and I once heard a conversation in the bathroom. I don’t think they realised we were in there, and they were gone before we could confront them. They were talking about you. About how they wanted to spend time with you and ask you to accompany them - alone, might I add - to the Three Broomsticks so that they could be seen with the Hero of Hogwarts.” Sebastian all but spat the nickname out, hating it in that moment. “They all left before I could see who they were. Ever since then I’ve stood between you and anyone who looked like they were trying to express interest because I didn’t know who was genuine and who was just using you.”

“Garreth…” Sebastian hated himself for being the one to break the news, for putting that heartbroken expression on her face. Y/N felt her stomach churn in revulsion and grief. She wasn’t stupid, she knew there were people in the school who only wanted to be seen with her because of what she was as opposed to who she was. She knew some of the requests she politely turned down for company and a drink in Hogsmeade weren’t out of attraction, but rather a ploy to get into her graces. She never suspected Garreth would be one of them. She was hurt - not because she had feelings for him, but because she had thought they were friends. 

“No, I made a mistake with him.” He pulled a face as he admitted he was wrong. “It turns out he actually wants to get to know you - the real you.” Oh. Oh. Y/N felt her face flush and Sebastian looked away. He couldn’t bear to watch her blush over Garreth Weasley, or anyone, for that matter. 

“What about you?” 

“What about me?”

“Your delivery was less than ideal but…did you mean it? Do you mean it?” she asked nervously, her voice no more than a whisper. Sebastian hated the look on her face, hated seeing her so unsure of herself.  

“Y/N, I’ve been in love with you since our fifth year.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” he held a hand out for hers, letting her make the decision if she wanted to take it or not. A few seconds passed, and he was just about to rescind the offer, when she shyly placed her hand in his. He squeezed her hand gently, his thumb brushing her knuckles as he tried not to think about how perfectly her hand fit in his. “It means that I want you to be happy,” he murmured, “and if Weasley makes you happy - or anyone else who wishes to genuinely court you - I’ll take a step back.”

It hurt him to say the words out loud, to voice the possibility that after all this she wouldn’t want him anymore. Not the way she had once, the way he currently still wanted her. He let her collect her thoughts, watched as she chewed on her lower lip. 

“What if…what if I don’t want you to?” Y/N asked, voice so quiet he almost missed it. 

Sebastian’s heart stuttered at the blush that rose to her cheeks, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, to be the only one that made her blush like that ever again. For the rest of their lives. The thought startled him slightly, but he realised it was true. He wasn’t saying he wanted to marry her (although, a rather enticing image of Y/N floating down the aisle to him in a white dress did flash to mind), but he wanted to stay by her side. Whether that was in a friendly capacity or more. Merlin, did he hope it was more. 

“I meant what I said too, about waiting for you to notice me,” she continued. 

“Darling, I’ve not noticed anyone else since the day I met you.” He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand again and squeezed it gently before pressing a kiss to her knuckles. He watched in satisfaction as her blush deepened, and tried to read the flicker of emotions that passed across her face. “I’m more than aware my confession was…something, to say the least (Y/N rolled her eyes at this) but I meant what I said. I’m in love with you, Y/N Y/L/N. I have been for a while now.” She looked away, unable to handle the deep emotions swirling in his eyes, that are written clearly on his face for anyone to see. She didn’t doubt for a second that he was telling the truth. “I don’t expect you to say it back.”

“I…I’m not good with all of this. I can’t quite say if it’s love but…” Her face burns, and she feels as if it will be a permanent shade of red after this conversation. “I am entranced by you, Sebastian Sallow. I’ve never been in love before, never felt it in anything more than a friendly capacity, but with you…it’s different. It runs far deeper than I can explain.” She presses a hand to her chest, right above her heart that is beating so hard it’s a wonder he can’t hear it. “I can’t picture my life without you in it, whether that is as a friend or more.”

Y/N doesn’t know how else to put it into words. She can’t seem to say that it’s been him from the very beginning. From the moment she beat him in their first duel and he was thrilled instead of being put out she knew she was in trouble. She’d only fallen faster and harder since then, from their first trip to Hogsmeade where he flirted with her the whole way, until the day his uncle had died and she had talked Ominis out of sending him to Azkaban. 

“You don’t need to say it back,” Sebastian repeated, his grip on her hand tightening as he took note of the adoration in her eyes. “I mean, how could you not be in love with me?” Y/N laughed loudly before clapping her hand over her mouth suddenly. They waited with baited breath for Scribner to come and reprimand them, only relaxing when they couldn’t hear her making her way up the stairs. 

“You have to apologise to Garreth.” Sebastian groaned at her words, but there was a smile on his face that he couldn’t quite hide from her. Already he looked better. He still needed a good night’s sleep, in Y/N’s opinion, but life was returning to his eyes and he sat a little straighter, a little taller. 

“Where does this leave us?” he asked, shuffling his chair closer to hers so their knees could press together under the table. He hooked one foot under her ankle and tangled their legs together, enjoying the look on her face as he did so. 

“I’m still mad at you. But knowing you did this to be noble…to protect me. That lessens the blow.” She gently squeezed his leg between hers, grinning to herself as she watched him take his turn to blush. “I do hope you know I don’t need protection though.”

“My still-healing ego from our first Defence Against the Dark Arts class together remembers.” 

He’s rewarded with her laugh again, her real one, and he makes a silent promise to make her laugh the same way every day for the rest of their lives. Every muscle in his body loosens at the sound, and he feels like he can finally breathe again when she grins at him and tugs him a little closer by his tie.

“If you ever pull a stunt like this again…” Although there was still a smile on her face, the threat was evident in her eyes. He nodded quickly, throat bobbing as she twirled his tie between her fingers and let go. She watches as he looks down at her lips nervously and gratification shot her through as his face slowly flushed. A smirk falls on her face at this, and she raises an eyebrow at him when he finally looks up to meet her gaze. “Feeling a little warm?”

“What, no.” He leans back and rubs the back of his neck, his blush deepening.

“Ah, so you’re just blushing like a third year at the thought of kissing me.”

“I’m not blushing.”

“So you want to kiss me?”

“Darling, I always want to kiss you.” The look he gives her makes her stomach flip.  “Can I…”

“Not until you ask me properly.”

“To kiss you?”

“Sebastian.”

“Alright, alright, fine,” he grins, loving the way she rolls her eyes at him. “Will you do me the honour of joining me on a trip to Hogsmeade?”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

“Sebastian, it’s nearly curfew.”

“And when has that stopped you before?” he laughs and begins to gather her things into her bag before slinging it over his shoulder. He holds a hand out to her expectantly and waits until she grabs a hold of it before they leave the library, waving goodbye at Imelda and Poppy (who are doing their very best - and failing - to eavesdrop). They make it as far as the doors that lead to the greenhouses when Sebastian pulls her under the stairs, ensuring no one can see them as they dip into one of the shadows. She meets him halfway, pressing their lips together in a long overdue kiss. 

“Do you have any final demands for this? For us?” he murmurs against her lips. 

“Only one.” Her fingers run through his hair and his heart stutters in his chest. “I’m never going to make this easy for you. I'm going to challenge you every day for the rest of our lives.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Friends Don't

Word Count: 4.2k

Themes: fluff, pining

Summary: Y/N comes to a startling revelation when brewing Amortentia in potions class

Warnings: All characters aged up to 18+. Potential spoilers for HL

Meet me in the Common Room, midnight - S 

Y/N looked across the cauldrons at Sebastian and nodded once, a small smile on her face. He grinned back, before turning to face Professor Sharp before he could get caught not paying attention. 

“Is that a love letter from Sallow?” Imelda leant forward, a teasing smirk on her face.

“Come off it,” Y/N rolled her eyes and tucked the note into her textbook. “You know we’re just friends.”

“Friends don’t look at friends that way,” she shot a look over at Sebastian, who was standing over his cauldron with a confused look on his face. His brow was furrowed as he looked between his textbook and the potion he was making, which was supposed to be a teal colour, but was currently navy blue. “Point proven.” Y/N turned back to her with an unimpressed glare as she stirred her own potion (which was the correct shade of teal).

“You need a new hobby. Clearly Quidditch isn’t keeping you busy enough.”

“Watching you and Sallow pine after each other like lovesick Crup puppies is my new hobby.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“And you’re in denial,” Imelda smiled sweetly as Y/N and turned back to her potion as Professor Sharp made his rounds by their station. He stopped by Sebastian’s smoking cauldron with a sigh and quiet reprimand (You’re usually better than this Mr Sallow) before moving onto the next group of students.

“If you’ve been following the instructions in your books,” Professor Sharp called out, “your potions should start turning pink as you stir it. Once it’s the right shade you may place the final ingredient in.”

Y/N watched in fascination as the contents of her cauldron began to change colour with every clockwise rotation of her wand. Although she had now been attending Hogwarts for two years, magic never failed to amaze her. She couldn’t believe she had gone the majority of her life not knowing it existed. The colour eventually shifted to the pale pink that Professor Sharp had spoken about and Y/N added the crushed moonstone and watched it take on a pearlescent sheen. 

“Ten points to Slytherin, Miss Y/L/N. Would you care to share with the class?” Sharp loomed over her shoulder, peering into her cauldron. Y/N watched as the class looked over curiously and caught Sebastian’s eye. He raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed with her, and looked down at her potion as if to say well, go on then. She leant forward to smell the contents of the cauldron, trying to decipher the scents coming from in front of her. Petrichor, wildflowers and…oh. Y/N blinked and leant back so she could pick up the coffee beans Sharp had left on each station so they had a palate cleanser. After a quick smell of the bitter grounds she turned to her cauldron again. Oh.

“Well?” Imelda asked her.

“If it’s all the same, Professor. I’d rather not,” Y/N muttered, her face flaming. The class broke into a chorus of whispers, all trying to guess what scent had turned the Hero of Hogwarts a pretty shade of pink. Although it was hidden well, Y/N watched as Sharp’s mouth twitched up in amusement before he moved on from her.

“What did you smell?” Imelda whispered to her. Y/N shook her head, her heart thundering in her chest. She couldn’t tell anyone she had smelled Sebastian’s smoky cologne, the one that seemed to stick to him all day even though he barely used it. Imelda looked between Y/N’s red face and her cauldron before looking across the station to Sebastian and a knowing smirk fell on her features. “Sebastian…” Y/N shot her a warning look, which Imelda pointedly ignored. “What do you smell?”

“Nice try, Imelda,” he chuckled and stirred his own potion. “I’m not falling for that.”

“You’re both no fun.”

“Just because yours is probably something predictable like broom polish doesn’t mean we’re not fun for not wanting to share,” Y/N shot. Imelda let out a laugh and patted her friend’s hand. 

“Careful there Y/L/N, I’ve still got some cards up my sleeve for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Y/N glared at the girl next to her, stomach churning nervously. Imelda just grinned at her before adding her own crushed moonstone to her cauldron, signalling the end of the conversation. Y/N was vaguely aware of Sebastian watching them curiously from across the potions station and turned to face the raven-haired girl next to her, clutching the sleeve of her robes. “Imelda.”

“Calm down,” she laughed quietly and leant in so no one else could hear. “Your not-so-secret crush on Sallow is safe with me. I actually quite enjoy watching you two act like you don’t have feelings for each other.” With a wave of her wand, Imelda tidied her potions station and left the class swiftly, just as the bell rang outside. Y/N cursed the day she met the girl, and more specifically, became friends with her after completing all of her stupid broom trials, and quickly cleaned her own station before leaving the classroom. It wasn’t until she was halfway to the Great Hall for dinner that she realised what Imelda had implied with her parting words. 

Sebastian couldn’t have feelings for me, she wondered, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, could he? No, that’s ridiculous, she shook her head to rid herself of the assumption.

“Careful, Y/N,” a hand grabbed the back of her robes and gently tugged her back a couple of steps before she could fall off the Grand Staircase. “You’re usually more aware than this, where did you go?” Sebastian looked concerned and pulled her away from a crowd of students that was walking their way. Y/N looked up at him, craning her neck more than she used to when they met in fifth year. Sometime in the summer between fifth and sixth year Sebastian had really come into his own. He had always been attractive, but somewhere along the way, without her really noticing, he had suddenly shot up and filled out. The jumper he wore to fight the perpetual chill in the dungeons did little to cover up the muscle that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. 

“Dinner, I’m starving,” she lied, freeing her robes from his grasp so she could continue to walk towards the Great Hall. “How’s Ominis? I haven’t heard from him much since he went on his unsanctioned visit to see Anne.” Although he grumbled like he was annoyed, Y/N knew deep down Sebastian was a little pleased that his best friend and sister had finally started to court a few months ago. Apparently watching Ominis pretend he hadn’t been in love with her since they were children was sickening to say the least. 

Y/N was relieved when Anne reached out to Sebastian at the beginning of their final year at Hogwarts and extended an olive branch. She watched as Sebastian had read the initial letter, a wide smile on his face and unshed tears in his eyes before he brandished the piece of parchment at her excitedly. The twins weren’t as close as they used to be, but they were slowly mending the bridge that had burned down with their Uncle’s untimely death. 

“Where do you keep going? What are you thinking about?” Sebastian asked her. His hand came out to smooth the crease in between her eyes, lingering for a moment before he pulled away. 

“You.”

“Oh really?” he arched an eyebrow, a sly smile falling on his lips. “Is this where you finally admit I’m the most handsome student at Hogwarts?”

“I thought you had three years worth of self-imposed trophies to say just that.”

“Yes, but none of those mean anything without your agreement.” Something danced behind Sebastian’s eyes, a look Y/N couldn’t quite decipher. She was used to his charming nature and the confidence he seemed to exude, but every so often he said something and paired it with a look that was different. He looked…uncertain? Hopeful, maybe. 

“I didn’t realise my opinions held so much weight for you.” 

“And here I thought it was obvious that I hold you in the highest regard.” The air around them changed. Y/N couldn’t pinpoint it exactly - it wasn’t tense, but she felt a palpable shift in energy. She looked away from him and hoped he couldn’t see the blush that she felt rise to her cheeks as she walked into the Great Hall and made her way to the Slytherin table. She found Poppy seated with Imelda, heads bent together as they chatted quietly. They looked up as Sebastian and Y/N sat down, and a downright devilish grin was plastered on Imelda’s face. 

“The rumours about what you can smell in Amortentia and refused to share in class are already circling.”

“Don’t start,” Y/N groaned as Sebastian filled her plate with food. 

“The majority seem to think you can smell something that relates to Sebastian or Ominis,” Poppy added.

“Ominis?” Sebastian stopped filling Y/N’s glass with pumpkin juice, his tone incredulous. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

“How would you know?” Imelda shot at him. “Has Y/N told you what she could smell?”

“This whole conversation is ridiculous,” Y/N cut in, rolling her eyes. She grabbed the large bowl of mashed potatoes and spooned some onto Sebastian’s plate. 

“It’s not that bad, Y/N,” Poppy gave her a reassuring smile. “I think it’s sweet. What you can actually smell, that is.” Y/N paused, the piece of chicken intended for Sebastian’s plate wobbling precariously on the serving spoon.

“How do you know what she can smell?” Sebastian looked up at her sharply, though there was no malice in his voice.

“Imelda told me.”

“Imelda,” Y/N hissed at the girl across the table from her at the same time Sebastian gave her a reproachful look. 

“You told Imelda?”

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Y/N protested. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She could hear a few of her classmates around them mutter about her, all supplying options for what she could smell in the love potion. “I think I’m going to grab something from the kitchens instead,” Y/N stood and quickly made her way out of the hall before any of them could follow her. The moment Y/N was out of earshot Imelda leant across the table to hit Sebastian across the back of his head.

“Ow,” he rubbed his head and gave the raven-haired girl a disapproving glare, “what was that for?”

“You’re an absolute idiot, Sebastian Sallow.”

“Imelda…” Poppy nudged the girl gently before offering Sebastian a sympathetic smile. “What she means is - ”

“Oh, I have no doubt she meant it.” Later Sebastian would vehemently deny to anyone that he was pouting like a scolded child after being accosted by Imelda Reyes, but at that current moment all he could do was sulk as he pushed some peas around his plate. 

“I did,” Imelda offered him a saccharine smile and shrugged unapologetically at Poppy, who looked disappointed at the pair. “If you don’t go after what you want, Sallow, others are going to take it from you.”

“Y/N isn’t some belonging that people can just have, least of all me. She’s a person with her own thoughts and feelings.”

“Who said I was talking about Y/N?” Sebastian’s head shot up to meet Imelda’s self-satisfied smirk and let out a low groan. “My point is,” she continued as he (rather dramatically, Imelda thought) lay his head down to rest on the table, “you’re in Slytherin. We’re ambitious to a fault, and when we know what we want we strive to achieve and obtain it. What’s stopping you from going after Y/N?”

“We’re just friends.” The lie Sebastian muttered on a daily basis felt thin to even his ears, and clearly neither Imelda or Poppy was impressed either. 

“Why could you smell her in the Amortentia then?” Poppy asked.

“How did you know I - oh. I’m impressed, Sweeting. That was very Slytherin of you,” Sebastian laughed and shook his head in disbelief. “What would you both have me say then? Y/N I’ve been in love with you since fifth year when we fought a troll together in Hogsmeade?” he asked rhetorically. If his face wasn’t red with embarrassment before, it was now as the words slipped out of his mouth. “I don’t - I mean, I do? I think. I didn’t mean - ” His stammers were interrupted by Poppy’s quiet laugh. 

“Oh Sebastian, you don’t need a pair of working eyes to know that you’re in love with Y/N Y/L/N. I think the only person oblivious to your feelings is Y/N herself.”

“What if she doesn’t feel the same? What if I ruin our friendship?” he asked quietly. The girls shared a look, and if Sebastian would have looked at either of them he would have noticed a silent conversation happening between the pair.

“Okay, look. I told Y/N I wasn’t going to tell you this, but you’re behaving like a lovesick second year and it’s making me sick,” Imelda flicked a pea at Sebastian in disdain. “Now, I can’t confirm it, but I strongly suspect that her Amortentia did smell of you.” Sebastian gave her a disbelieving look and sent the pea back across the table at her. “I agree that it lacks proof, but I do happen to know for a fact that she does have feelings for you. She told me herself.”

“She what?” That caught Sebastian’s attention, and that of a few people around them as well. Imelda shot them all a glare and they quickly turned back to their own conversations.

“If you tell her I told you I will hunt you down like the animal you are and use you as target practice for the beaters. I know where you sleep, Sallow.”

“She…” Sebastian was at a loss for words as he looked at Poppy for confirmation, who nodded uncertainly in agreement. “I need to go speak to her,” he muttered, more to himself than the girls in front of him. He continued to murmur quietly to himself as he hauled himself up and out of the Great Hall, his expression wavering between surprise and bliss as he left.

“When did Y/N tell you she liked Sebastian?” Poppy asked once he had left.

“Oh, she didn’t. But I think we can both agree neither of them was going to do anything without a nudge, don’t you? Could you pass the pumpkin juice?”

*

Y/N let out a quiet sigh as she snuck back into the Slytherin Common Room. It was nearing midnight, and although she wanted nothing more than to fall into her bed she trudged through the silent room instead to sit and wait for Sebastian by the fireplace. After leaving the Great Hall, Y/N had trekked her way up to the Room of Requirement to spend some time taking care of the various magical beasts in her vivarium. The animals couldn’t pester her like people did, asking her questions she didn’t want to answer, and worst, ones she didn’t have the answers to. She couldn’t understand why everyone was pushing their way into her business; why did it matter what (or who, she thought dryly) she could smell in the Amortentia? So what if she could smell Sebastian, and who was Imelda freaking Reyes to tell her she had feelings for her best friend.

Well, Y/N chewed on her lower lip as she stared into the dying embers, he was rather handsome. Something he would take great satisfaction in if she admitted it out loud. And she supposed, if she was really thinking about it, he was quite funny, and charming, and smart, and possibly the kindest person she knew, and - oh Merlin, she had feelings for Sebastian Sallow. 

He was her best friend, and hadn’t her aunt always told her those made for the best life partners? Not someone who you just existed with, but someone who knew you, knew every part of you, and would still stand by you. Not that she was thinking about spending the rest of her life with him. Y/N felt a blush rise to her cheeks as an unwarranted image of her in a white dress and Sebastian looking absolutely striking in a suit came to mind. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” A low voice startled her, and Y/N pressed a hand to her chest as she took note of Sebastian sitting in the armchair next to her. He bit his lip in amusement at her shock, but was smart enough to keep his comments to himself.

“How long have you been sitting there?”

“Long enough to watch you groan to yourself twice and turn the most enticing shade of pink,” he teased. “Where do you keep going today?”he asked, a hint of concern in his eyes.

“I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

“Anything I can help with?” Sebastian offered. Yes, Y/N thought to herself, you can start by bathing in bubotuber pus.

“I’ll be fine, Sebastian. There’s no need to fret.”

“You battle trolls for fun, I think there is some need to fret.”

“You’ve battled more than one troll with me, too.”

“Ah, but there’s the obvious difference. You don’t worry for me the same way.”

“You can’t mean that,” Y/N sat upright in her chair, a withering glare on her features. “Of course I worry about you, you idiot.”

“Why is everyone calling me an idiot tonight?”

“Clearly it’s warranted,” Y/N sniffed in annoyance and sank back down into her seat. How dare he say she didn’t worry for him, all she’s done for the past two years was worry about him.

Sebastian could tell he had said the wrong thing. He knew - of course he knew - that she worried and cared for him. No one else would have witnessed and experienced everything they had together in their fifth year and still stood by him afterwards. It was never a question to Y/N whether he needed forgiving. Even Ominis, who had been with him since before he could remember, needed a while to come back around and speak to Sebastian again, but she didn’t. Granted, it had taken a couple of weeks as things had happened in quick succession, from the death of his uncle, to fighting Harlow, then Rookwood, to finally defeating Ranrok; but there Y/N was, sitting next to him at Professor Fig’s memorial, silent tears running down her face as she clutched his hand tightly for comfort. 

“I apologise,” he reached out to take her hand. “It seems I’m not quite done putting my foot in my mouth whenever you’re around.”

“Yes, it seems so.” Her words were flat, but she squeezed his hand back gently to let him know all was forgiven. Sebastian had the overwhelming urge to take Y/N into his arms and never let go, but also reprimand her at the same time. She was always the first to call him out when he was being a prat - which, he admitted to himself, happened more often than not - but she always forgave him for it moments later.

He took a moment to watch as she stared into the flames once more. His eyes roamed over her features, from her brilliant eyes, down the slope of her nose and rested on her mouth. Y/N could give any Ravenclaw a run for their money with the amount of wit she fired, and even though Sebastian was often on the receiving end, he loved it. He loved the way she rolled her eyes at him when she shot a particularly sarcastic or dry comment his way; he loved when she teased him and made him question his sanity and oh, he adored it when she would shoot him a rare, flirtatious comment.

He loved her.

The thought took his breath from him. He had said it out loud in the Great Hall earlier, but it was unintentional, and he wasn’t quite sure of it then, but now…now he was sure. He was in love with her. Every part. He wanted to share every day, every night, every moment with her. 

“You’re staring.”

“You’re beautiful,” he replied without thinking. He watched as a faint blush dusted Y/N’s cheeks and his heart stuttered in his chest. How could he ever doubt how he felt for her? “What did you smell in the Amortentia?” Sebastian asked, a sudden surge of confidence hitting him.

“Sebastian,” Y/N sighed heavily, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Y/N turned to look at him, a pleading look on her face. She was tired, so tired, at having to pretend she wasn’t irrevocably head over heels for the man next to her. She feared if he asked her any more questions he would see straight through her, and then their friendship would be ruined and he would want nothing more to do with her. No, the logical part of her brain replied, Sebastian is too nice for that. Instead he would let her down gently, with the soft tone one would reserve for an injured animal or a sick child.

“I could smell you,” he blurted out. Y/N blinked once, not quite sure she had heard him properly, before looking over at him slowly. “Your perfume, to be more specific. And the smell of rain, from the night we danced out in it. Also those strawberry tarts you love to eat at breakfast.” He stood from his seat before sinking to his feet so he could kneel in front of her on the stone floor. “All I could smell was you.”

“Sebastian…”

“What did you smell?” he asked her again, a hint of desperation in his eyes. She thought there was nothing more between them but friendship, that he could never look at her the way she wanted him t, but the look in his eyes right now…Merlin, how could she ever think that? Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked down at him and watched as his hands came to rest on her knees gently. She could feel the heat of his skin through the material of her trousers and all she could think of was more. She wanted more. “Darling? I’m putting my heart on the line here.”

“It was you,” she whispered after a moment, afraid to say it much louder. “You, when we danced in the rain. You, when you showed me the clearing full of wildflowers. Just…you. It was all you, Sebastian.” She met his gaze, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “It’s always been you, I just didn’t realise it until lately.”

“You’re supposed to be the smart one,” he teased lightly. He raised his hand to wipe away a stray tear, his thumb stroking her cheek gently. “Why are you crying?”

“I…” Y/N let out a sound that was between a sob and a chuckle and slid down so she was kneeling on the floor with Sebastian. “I think I was too scared to tell you before, so I pretended like it didn’t exist. These feelings have been bottled up for so long, only to be let out now…” she wiped away her own tears this time and offered him a rueful smile. 

“Oh darling,” he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, “it seems we’ve both been a little slow, hm? How could you not see I’m hopelessly head over heels for you?” He rested his forehead on hers, watching with slight satisfaction as her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation and longing. “You have been, and always will be, my one and only.”

“You’re going to make me cry again,” Y/N protested weakly. Sebastian chuckled quietly and brushed a stray hair from her eyes. He watched as the wheels turned in her head, and knew she was deep in thought when she started to chew on her lower lip thoughtfully. 

“Come back to me, what are you thinking?”

“It’s highly improper.”

“My favourite,” he smiled crookedly and ran his thumb across her lower lip. “Tell me.” Instead,  after a brief moment of hesitation, Y/N closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to his gently. She pulled away all too soon for Sebastian’s liking, her eyes darting across his face for any reaction he disapproved of - or worst, didn’t enjoy - their chaste kiss. He pulled her back in slowly, giving her more than enough time to pull away should she choose to do so, and pressed his lips back to her sweetly. 

From the other end of the Common Room, Imelda watched quietly as the couple kissed each other with stomach-churning sweetness, and as she turned to leave she made a mental note to boast to Poppy first thing in the morning that she was right yet again. 

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Violets and Verbena

Word Count: 3k

Themes: fluff

Summary: Two years have passed since the events in Hogwarts Legacy, in which Y/N has drifted away from Sebastian. What happens when she has to spend some time in the hospital wing and he comes to visit?

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL

Noreen Blainey, hospital matron at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, stood in front of the two witches, holding the curtain partition open slightly and blocking the view of the hospital cot and its owner.

“Someone’s here to see me?” Y/N shared a confused look with Poppy, who sat next to her bedside. “Do you know who it might be?”

“Natty and Garreth both have Charms right now,” she shook her head in confusion. “Maybe it's Amit or Adelaide?”

“I’ll see them,” Y/N agreed, still sounding uncertain. Nurse Blainey nodded once and left, the curtain fluttering closed behind her once more. “I wonder who it could be.”

“Maybe it’s Imelda, come to apologise for knocking you off your broom,” Poppy suggested. Y/N let out a quiet laugh and shook her head. 

“You know it was an accident, and she’s already apologised more than enough.”

“Chocolates make for a good apology.”

“I don’t come bearing sweets, but I could come back with some, if you want?” a deep, masculine voice came from the other end of the partition, before Sebastian stepped into view. He fiddled with his robes nervously and gave them both a small smile. “Hi, Y/N…Poppy.”

“Sebastian?” Y/N’s eyebrows shot up slightly in surprise. After everything that had happened in their fifth year Y/N and Sebastian had drifted and stopped talking to one another, with the exception of the occasional hello as they passed each other in the halls. She still spoke to Ominis at times, but they didn’t spend as much time together as they used to. She knew he missed the man that stood in front of her, but wasn’t sure how to approach him after the death of Solomon Sallow. “You know you needn’t bring anything,” she shook her head with a small smile and gestured to the seat next to Poppy. “Come and sit.”

“So there was no need for me to stop and steal these from the gardens?” He produced a small bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back, and Y/N picked out some violets and different colours of verbena clusters among the bunch that would definitely get him into trouble with Mr Moon. Poppy jumped up to get a vase for them, shooting a look at Y/N behind Sebastian’s back as she went.

“These are beautiful, Sebastian. Thank you,” Y/N reached over to squeeze his hand in gratitude as Poppy returned and set them by her bedside. “Are these forget-me-nots? A happy coincidence, or…?” Y/N trailed off slowly and picked out the different flowers she could see. 

“You told me they were your favourite once, I hoped they would help cheer you up.”

“How thoughtful of you Sebastian,” Poppy commented lightly. She turned the vase slowly as she took note of the flowers scattered within the bouquet. “Did you know one of the meanings for verbena is protection and healing?” Poppy touched the petals, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she looked over at Sebastian. “Amongst other things.” A faint pink dusted his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yes, well. The quicker Y/N gets back on her feet, the quicker she can get to doing better than me in almost every class,” he played it off with a nervous chuckle and avoided Y/N’s gaze. “It's getting a little boring being on top.”

“It’s been three lessons,” Y/N laughed quietly and turned to look back at him. “I didn’t think you would miss me so much, Sallow.” Sebastian didn’t have a response to this, and went silent. Y/N couldn’t read the look on his face; another testament to how long it had been since they really spoke. Ominis once joked she was a Legilimens, because she could practically read Sebastian’s mind and predict what he was going to say before he actually said it.

“Is that the time?” Poppy jumped up from her seat and grabbed her bag. “I’m going to be late for Potions, Professor Sharp is not going to care that I was on the opposite end of the castle.” She dug into her bag and pulled out a herbology book before handing it to Y/N. “Here’s the book I said I would lend you, you’ll find what you need in chapter seven.” With a quick wave at a confused Y/N and a still-quiet Sebastian, Poppy turned and left.

Y/N took a moment to study Sebastian, who didn’t seem to be in a rush to get to class. He had always been attractive, that much Y/N would admit to herself only, but he had really grown up in the past two years. The last of the baby fat had disappeared from his cheeks, and his jawline had become far more pronounced. His muscles had filled out as well. He had once mentioned to her, shortly after the death of his uncle and Anne had left Feldcroft, that he had taken to fixing up the house and garden there, and she couldn’t help but appreciate how he looked.

“You’re staring,” he murmured, breaking Y/N out of her train of thought. She felt her cheeks heat up and looked away from him as if he could read her thoughts plainly on her face. 

“Don’t you have class to get to?”

“Not one I care to attend,” he moved to the chair closer to her, the one Poppy had been occupying and leant back to stretch. “Not without you, anyway.” He shot her a cheeky grin and crossed his arms across his chest. 

“I didn’t realise you would miss me so much,” Y/N let out a quiet chuckle to mask the strange feeling in her chest. This was the Sebastian she remembered, the one who made her constantly question if he was flirting or not. “It’s not even been a day.”

“It’s been longer than that, Y/N,” he said seriously. “Far too long.”

“Sebastian, I’m so - ”

“You better not be about to apologise to me,” he shook his head with a dry laugh. “Not after everything I put you through.”

“You didn’t - ”

“I crucio’d you,” he interrupted once more, near hissing the word out as he leant forward. Y/N sucked in a breath at the sudden reminder of the excruciating pain. “Not to mention the path I started to lead you down. My uncle…” he trailed off, his eyes going glassy. “I didn’t - and still don’t - deserve your kindness. Anyone else would have reported me and let them send me to Azkaban.”

“Sebastian…” Y/N reached forward hesitantly and took his hands in hers. “I forgive you. I forgave you before you even raised your wand. I told you to cast the spell on me.”

“You have to mean it to cast an unforgivable, Y/N. It wouldn’t have worked - I wouldn’t have been able to hurt you if I didn’t mean it.”

“If you hadn’t we would have been dead a long time ago. You, me and Ominis. You did what you had to in order to get us out.”

“How can you still defend me after everything that I’ve done?” his grip tightened before he let go and leant back in his seat once more. “I came here to make sure you were alright and here you are, making sure I’m alright.” He let out another humourless chuckle and looked at the cards and chocolates by the bedside. “Looks like our whole house has stopped by to see you.”

“Sebastian…” Y/N trailed off, unsure what to say to him. His sudden change in topic signalled he didn’t wish to continue the previous conversation, but she couldn’t let him keep blaming himself for everything that happened.  

“Has Imelda stopped by?” He continued as if she hadn’t spoken and plucked one of the cards from the table. 

“Between you and Poppy you would think Imelda tried to actively kill me,” Y/N rolled her eyes and settled back against her pillows. “It was an accident, and she did stop by. The hamper is from her.” She gestured to the largest present on the table, a giant basket from Honeydukes. 

“Maybe I should let Reyes knock me off my broom, if that’s how she says sorry,” Sebastian let out a low whistle and picked up another card. “Is this from Ominis?” his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I didn’t realise you two still spoke.”

“Not as often as I’d like, but we chat occasionally when paired together in class.” She watched as he read the message on the card and cocked her head to the side slightly. “Have…have you spoken to him recently?”

“No. Not in a way that matters, anyway.” He sighed and placed the card back down. “I wouldn’t know what to say to him.”

“I find hello is always a good place to start,” Y/N offered. Sebastian laughed, a real laugh and leant forward once more so his elbows rested on his knees. “He misses you, you know.”

“I know. I miss him too. I miss you both. But like I said, I didn’t know how to approach you both.”

“All it took was me falling fifty feet to get us here,” she remarked dryly. “I missed you too. More than I realised.”

“More than you realised, eh?” he raised a single eyebrow and there was a coy smile playing on his lips. “Old feelings resurfacing?” he teased. Y/N’s jaw fell open and her face flamed.

“What? No,” she spluttered. “I never - I don’t - did Ominis say something?”

“No…but you did. Just now,” he grinned widely and took in her red face. “Did you used to have feelings for me, Y/L/N?”

“Shut up, Sallow,” she muttered, feeling utterly embarrassed. “You can go now.”

“No, don’t,” he laughed quietly and reached out to squeeze her hand gently. “Believe it or not, I used to have feelings for you too.”

“No you didn’t,” Y/N scoffed and pulled her hand out of his. Her heart leapt at the confession, even though she refused to believe he wasn’t just saying that to make her feel better.

“Yes I did. I thought I was so obvious about it. Ominis used to joke about how he was glad he couldn’t see because he didn’t have to watch me pine after you.”

“You’re not serious.”

“Y/N,” he sighed, but there was still a small smile on his face. “You’re hopeless. Give me that book Poppy passed you.”

“What?”

“The herbology book. I recognised it immediately. Turn to chapter seven like she said.” He set the book between them and let her flip through until she reached the right page. The chapter was titled Flowers and their meanings. “Do you recognise any of them?” he nodded towards the bouquet he had given her earlier as she pulled the book closer. 

“Some. The Forget-Me-Nots, verbena, dwarf sunflowers…” Y/N trailed off as she made her way down the page in front of her, reading the meanings behind the flowers he had picked for her.

“Now, I will admit, the forget-me-nots were because they are your favourite, but that doesn’t mean I respect you any less,” he leant forward, face tinged pink as he read respect and true love next to a picture of the small blue flowers. 

“I didn’t think…I thought you had just given me whatever you could grab from the gardens.”

“You didn't think I would put effort into something I gave you?” He gave her a teasing smile and watched as she found verbena on the list. Admiration and respect next to an image of the red clusters that sat in the vase next to them. 

“I’m sensing a recurring theme here.” That strange feeling had returned to Y/N’s chest in full force, the one she thought had disappeared with time and distance. Dwarf sunflowers, adoration & admiration. “Sebastian…” She looked up at him, catching sight of a flicker of emotions across his face. “Are these…do you still…?” Y/N wasn’t sure how to finish the question. 

“Do I still…?” he repeated quietly. His fingers brushed against the back of her hand gently and Y/N felt her heart stutter in her chest. “Have feelings for you? Yes.” He admitted, finally catching her gaze. “Unless you don’t think you could feel the same after everything that happened. Then no.” He added quickly. Y/N let out a breathless laugh, one that seemed to relax him. “I thought they went away some time last year, but when I heard you fell today…” he stopped and grimaced. “I felt like my own heart had stopped inside my chest. I couldn’t breathe until I heard from Poppy that you were okay.”

“Poppy?”

“It seems everyone knows how I felt - feel - about you. Except for you of course,” he paused to laugh and shake his head. “I thought you were meant to be smart.”

“When did you…how long?” To say Y/N was surprised was an understatement. She never would have thought Sebastian saw her as more than just a friend. To find out he returned her feelings from before - that he still felt the same - had left her speechless.

“I’m assuming you’re oh-so-eloquently asking when I first started to have feelings for you?” his eyes sparkled with more life than Y/N had seen in a long time, and she felt her heart swell for him. “I’ll only answer if you do as well and if you go first. I can’t keep putting my heart on the line without knowing anything in return.” His fingers brushed her hand again, a little more firmly as he gained confidence. 

“That night in the library. When you took the fall for me.” Y/N watched as he gave her a surprised look. 

“That soon?”

“You didn’t know me,” she defended her decision. “You had no need to get yourself into trouble and lie for me like that. I didn’t realise it until later, but that was the catalyst.” He mulled over her words for a few moments before standing and sitting on the bed, turning so he could face her.

“If I’m being fully honest, from the moment you walked in late to your own sorting I was intrigued. I needed to get to know you.”

“Is that why you were so snappy the first night in the common room when I introduced myself?”

“Not my finest moment, I’m sure we can agree,” he looked abashed. “I feel it's safe to assume I made up for it, though?” He watched as she nodded in agreement, a breathtaking smile coming over his face. “Looking back I started to fall for you when you beat me in our first duel in class. I didn't realise until later though, like you.”

“What do you think would have happened if we told each other back then?”

“Honestly, I don’t think it would have ended well. I think I needed to do some growing to become worthy of you.”

“You were always worthy,” Y/N took his hand in hers again and laced their fingers together. Her heart jumped as he squeezed her hand affectionately. “We both needed to do some growing, I think.”

“You still haven’t answered the most important question.”

“What’s that?”

“Are old feelings resurfacing? Can you get past everything I’ve done?”

“Sebastian,” Y/N used her free hand to gently cup his face, her thumb running over his cheekbone. “I already told you, I forgave you a long time ago.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Y/L/N. If it's alright with you, I would love nothing more than to kiss you right now, but I won’t unless I know you feel the same.” He turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand and leant towards her slightly. “And if you consent, of course.” His eyes darted to her lips briefly before locking back with hers. Y/N felt her heart stutter in her chest as her hand slipped from his face to rest on the back of his neck. It wasn’t even a question she needed to think about. She thought her feelings for the man in front of her had disappeared, but if her thundering pulse was any indication, they had just lay dormant until now. 

“It's okay with me,” she said quietly. He muttered a quick thank Merlin under his breath and let go of her hand to reach up and cup her face in his hand. He closed the gap between them slowly, giving her more than enough time to pull away if she wanted to, and paused right before his lips met hers. She looked into his eyes and saw he was already staring at her, a small smile playing on his features. “What?” 

“Nothing,” he shook his head gently, his nose bumping hers. “I just…I adore you,” he said quietly, before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers gently. Y/N felt her heart leap out of her chest and wound her hand into the hair at the back of his head as he kissed her sweetly. He was right earlier, she realised, when he said they wouldn’t have lasted had they started seeing each other in their fifth year. They both had to go through some much needed growing. It hadn’t been their time back then, and as he pulled away from their kiss, Y/N could only hope that now was. 

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Hey all!

So I know I said I'd be posting Heartbeat sometime this week but there's been a slight change of plans. It turns out today is this blogs birthday! AwkwardAuthorWrites is officially a year old today

So in light of this I'm going to postpone Heartbeat and pay tribute to the work that got me to where I am. Every few days I'm going to reblog one of my older pieces (starting shortly with Violets and Verbena) as an homage to this blog and to all of you for all the love you've shared. I genuinely would not have kept this up as long as I have if it weren't for all of you

[awkwardauthorwrites]

NATURE'S STRENGTH LIES WITHIN ME

[awkwardauthorwrites]

God, two of the best men in one post, I love them so much 💘

[awkwardauthorwrites]

*the gang steps into baldur’s gate*

halsin: they’re making people pay for flowers?? for fruit?? things that silvanus gave to us for free?!

astarion: omg why are you yelling at me? i didnt make the system

astarion: wait

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Larian should definitely give a raise to whoever's in charge of their social media