Him
In Sebastian's mind, fall was easily the most satisfactory season. It was not cold enough to freeze his ass off outside, nor hot enough to feel stifled in his robes. Fall was unassuming and overlooked. And, most importantly, how could anyone bear to neglect "All Hallows Eve"?. Light and crispy pumpkin pasties...The smell of the leaves...Trick or treating. "Treat" was always pleasant, but Sebastian couldn't help but be particularly tempted to "trick". The freckled boy schemed well in advance, and his best friend was well aware of this.
Ominis Gaunt prepared his fortress diligently. He warded his bed and pulled the curtains tight in the weeks leading up to the accursed holiday, bellyaching to anyone willing to listen. He walked the halls with the caution of a soldier, his beady, translucent eyes trained on the floor ahead of him with dignified restraint. Would his hair be turned into snakes, or the rug at his feet deform into a sickly jelly? What Ominis didn't know, however, was that Sebastian found the blonde's thinly-veiled dread rather entertaining on its own. At every corner, his face crumpled with the kind of suspense that far surpassed any old stunt. He revoked his original pursuit and instead opted to watch his friend endure those winding hallways anticipating a prank that would never come. After all, sometimes the best prank is one that never existed in the first place.
Sebastian wasn't one to sit politely in the library. He prided himself in never having checked out a book. After his most recent run-in with Scribner, he was astonished he hadn't been banned entirely. Obviously, he considered himself a model student. That being said, it wasn't as if he wasn't an avid reader. He just preferred to toy with a book binding with faux curiosity just long enough for the librarian to look away before slipping it skillfully into his robe. Only then did the books begin to pile up, his eyes scanning the yellowing pages under the low crackle of fire. He turned into a machine, parsing through book after book, his own homework sitting abandoned at his side. No, Sebastian was not an academic in the slightest. And yet, on nights like this, tucked away in a corner of the common room, he was a scholar.
In the morning, he would spill his ink and half-ass his homework right before class started. But for now, he had more important matters to attend to. This silent determination was not lost on Ominis, who found the constant flipping of pages to be rather magnetic in the otherwise silent common room.
Of course, his luck had to run out one day.
"Mr. Sallow." Scribner grated. "Did you really think you could get away with snatching up so many books without my noticing?"
The woman tapped her quill against the clipboard, sniffing about his various crimes through a scrunched nose. She pittered away about missing books and dog-eared pages with the ferocity of a mother about to pluck her son by the ear.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't checked out a book all year." He offered innocently, crossing his arms behind his back with mock piety.
"Don't think you can win me over, Sallow. I've got eyes in the back of my head." She sneered.
She pointed very violently at the back of her head, visibly fed up with his antics.
"Back. Of. My. Head." She reinforced, her quill snapping in her hand.
He shrugged casually but mentally prepared himself to receive a detention to rival the most hardened sentence in Azkaban. She continued to berate him, though he noted that some of her complaints were not his doing. But, of course, black sheep Sebastian took the blame with a prideful satisfaction. As her patience dwindled, she grew more audible until her racketing began to draw the attention of other students. However, an aging man balancing an unorthodox collection of books in his hands appeared before she could continue her tirade.
"What's the matter?" Professor Fig questioned.
The two acknowledged the Professor hastily. He simply smiled in return.
"Ah, Professor Fig," Scribner stressed, almost smirking at the boy. "I apologize if we interrupted your reading. Do you have any words of advice for a budding criminal?" She asked sweetly, and almost jokingly.
Sebastian's smile dropped, but Professor Fig merely laughed.
"I wouldn't know, since I don't think this young boy has such dispositions." He grinned.
"Mr. Sallow, you're to stay here and serve detention. I believe--" Scribner began to bubble once again, but Fig interrupted her before she could say anything more.
"Ah, apologies Agnes. Unfortunately, Sebastian and I already have arrangements made for this evening." Fig smiled, dropping his books into Sebastian's arms. "I need help carrying these up to my office, and Mr. Sallow must assist me."
The boy sank like a rock in the water at the weight of the books. He shot a confused look at Professor Fig, but he was smiling cheerily, as if a wonderful idea had just hit him.
"But--" She protested, surprised by Fig's sudden involvement.
"I've a bad back." He groaned, shooting a quick wink at Sebastian. "Care to join me for tea later, Agnes?"
She looked away with a harsh frown, but anyone could tell she was very clearly won over.
"Of course, Eleazer. That would be wonderful." She offered, before shooting a softer look at Sebastian with a sigh. "Simply let me know if you're interested in taking books out of the library. No need to make my job any harder than it already is, Mr. Sallow."
"I'll keep that in mind, Mrs. Scribner." He offered, a bit rattled by her unexpected lenity.
The woman rubbed her temple before looking back down at the list of missing books.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're quite the academic." She murmured before turning sharply towards her desk.
And then there were two.
Sebastian found himself in the corridor, arms full of Professor Fig’s books. Fig, sprightly despite his age, led the way. He shifted awkwardly under the weight of the books, unsure of how to interact with the professor. He didn't have any classes with him, and rarely saw him in the halls. In fact, now that he thought about it, he was surprised Fig even knew him by name. The two quietly made their way out of the library and into the corridor as Sebastian struggled to catch up to the suddenly sprightly Fig. Couldn't Fig just use a levitation charm? He couldn't see why the man would enlist him for such a simple task.
"She hates me," Sebastian remarked, hoping to break the silence. "...Scribner, I mean."
"...No, Mr. Sallow." Fig corrected gently. "I've known Agnes Scribner for a very long time and she certainly doesn't 'hate' you."
"Dislike, perhaps." He suggested, not intending to push the thought further. It was his fault for being so casual with a professor in the first place, he figured, but Fig quickly dismissed the thought.
"She knows you're bright." Fig twinkled with a knowing smile. "Too bright to be pilfering things for no reason."
The observation surprised him, but he mused over the possibility. The man was the definition of comfortable and homely in a way he hadn't anticipated. Maybe if the rest of his professors spoke so candidly, he'd retain the lectures more. He hummed. Maybe Professor Fig was right.
"What good is stealing something that would otherwise be free?" The professor questioned, and although he hadn't known of Sallow's numerous dalliances in the restricted section, he did had a point.
"Don't know." Sebastian admitted. "It's quicker."
Fig paused in the hallway, studying the boy with a thoughtful smile.
"Don't mistake a quicker solution for a better one, Mr. Sallow." He smiled with an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes.
He considered the professor's words seriously before the man twirled his wand. A faint purple glow surrounded the books as they lifted like feathers in the air, floating by the elder's head. Sebastian furrowed his brow as the books neatly folded into themselves until they were big enough to be carried in the professor's front pocket. He thanked and praised the professor mentally, deciding that Fig was his new favorite, though he didn't care to pocket any of his life lessons.
"Let this be a lesson to you." Fig offered, placing his wand in his pocket. "Now that you are detention-free, you're to spend your newfound freedom taking my student to Hogsmeade. There are a few school supplies I have neglected to provide her with."
Sebastian's jaw dropped as the Professor gave him a crooked smile. The new student? To Hogsmeade? But that would take all day! What was he thinking? What rotten luck. Of course, he wouldn't get out of his shenanigans so easily! Hogsmeade was quite the walk on foot, and with a wide-eyed, green witch it would surely take twice as long.
"Of course, professor." He smiled with ease, but on the inside he was fuming.
"Perfect. I will let her know to meet you here in an hour." The elder beamed, excited to get back to his own work.
Sebastian sighed.
"Oh, and Sebastian?" He asked suddenly in a quieter tone.
"Yes, Professor?"
"If she asks who sent you, tell her it was...Hm... Professor Weasley." He smiled before turning away.
Oh, so Fig was just pawning off his workload to poor, unsuspecting students. Sebastian was under the impression that professors had at least a bit of grace, shame, or tact. Lucky Fig, now he had the evening entirely task-free, and Sebastian was stuck with the new girl...what was it again...Y/N?....for however long it took him to drag her to Hogsmeade and back. He grumbled quietly about floo being disabled for a moment as he rested against a wall.
The clock on the wall read 3:30pm. Professor Fig ambled up the stairs as Sebastian waited with arms crossed beside the staircase. He reasoned if she didn't turn up after thirty minutes, he would sneak off to play some Gobstones with the group of Gryffindor girls he saw out by the Quidditch Pitch. Perfectly reasonable idea, he decided. But before he could even finish his luxurious daydream in which his winning shot burst into applause and girlish cheer, he noticed the flash of a blue scarf out of the corner of his eye.
"Hello, Sebastian." She smiled as she approached.
He froze, shooting a quick look back up at the stairs, where Fig's form was still making the last few steps up to the top. His eyes darted to the clock which read now read 3:31pm. The girl looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to accept her greeting as if nothing were amiss. He gathered himself, surely he was just losing his mind a little today.
"Ah," He smiled with a glint in his eyes, looking her up and down. "My new charge."
She didn't seem to react to his gaze, which made him frown as he folded his arms.
"I'm told you're in dire need of supplies and I'm to accompany you into Hogsmeade for them. Is this your first foray into the village?" He continued, not wanting to lose face in front of a new student. After all, he was practically a Hogsmeade veteran. Professor Fig couldn't have wished for a better tour guide.
"...It is." She said but hesitated long enough for Sebastian to raise an eyebrow. "I haven't left the castle...since I arrived." She spoke again, though this time, she seemed more sincere.
"Y/N, was it?" He tested, his gut twisting slightly.
This seemed to surprise her, but she quickly dismissed it.
"Yes, I'm surprised you know my name." She admitted.
"Of course, it's not often we get a transfer student." He smiled, although he wasn't entirely sure where he had heard her name either.
"Well," He offered, still a bit put off by her, "I shall endeavor to be the very best of guides." He punched, in case Fig happened to be listening still from the top of the stairwell.
"If you can keep up." He added quietly.
"You won't need to worry about that." She challenged. "I've got quite the stamina."
"Oh?" He smirked. "Do you intend to turn this into a race, witchling?" He joked.
"I'd prefer it, actually." She smiled, though her eye twitched slightly at being called witchling, "Let's get this out of the way, shall we?"
Now that got his attention. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
They ventured outside. Sebastian quickly caught a glance of the Gryffindor girls, who were now stretching in the unkempt grass and soaking up the sun. Before he had a chance to lament his miserable luck, a flurry of robes shot past him like a dart. His heart skipped a beat, and before he even realized it he was in hot pursuit of the girl. She kept pace just a few feet in front of him, hair blowing wildly in the cool breeze. Leaves crunched under their feet as they brushed past the crowd of students enjoying the fall wind. She looked back at him, periodically, as if to check if he was still there. His breath quickened into a sense of laughter as he pushed forward, fighting for the chance to pass her.
"I'm glad Professor Fi--Weasley asked me to join you today!" He yelled, hoping she would slow down and buy him some time to catch up.
However, she didn't let up for even a moment.
"As am I!" She yelled back through frenzied laughter at the race. "Thank you, by the way!"
As they just began to pass the castle grounds and onto the brittle, dusty pathway towards Hogsmeade, she began to slow. He grinned as he felt the distance between them begin to shrink. Her breathing became more and more laborious as she faltered. He grinned wildly, taking the opportunity to dash past her. He cheered, raising his arm in the air as she came to a halt, catching her breath through a racing heart. He stopped just a few paces ahead to gloat, overtaken by the glowing pride of having won over her in some little way.
"You're the only one who has ever bested me in a duel." He breathed, readjusting his robes. "The way I see it, it's best to keep an eye on you."
For a moment, there was nothing but labored breathing between the two of them.
"I wouldn't consider...myself much of a threat...considering...I got winded before we even left school grounds." She laughed through working breaths.
He chuckled, feeling the anticipatory urge to continue racing, and yet, the following urge to walk beside her until she caught her breath. He dismissed the latter thought, grimacing at the thought that he'd give in to such a meaningless task. But even he could (silently) admit he was having a lot more fun than he expected to. His heart felt lighter, excited even, for the first time in a while. He had walked to Hogsmeade many times before, but seeing it through the new student's eyes made it feel new somehow.
"Maybe, but you haven't won yet." He smiled, pointing in the direction of Hogsmeade. "I'd still say you have a fighting chance."
She laughed, breaking into a jog before slowing to a turtle's pace again.
"Maybe my stamina isn't as refined as I thought." She grinned, and if Sebastian didn't know any better, he would assume she was flirting.
"If you're suggesting I carry you the rest of the way, you might need to find a different companion." He smirked, watching her stumble past him at essentially a walking speed.
"No, no, I can do it." She promised, picking up the pace. "I got this."
Sebastian chuckled, falling behind her once again, this time by choice. He took the opportunity to observe her from behind as she was practically stumbling with exhaustion.
"You're quite stubborn, aren't you?" He muttered to himself as he watched her determined hobbling.
"I don't want you to think I'm unathletic." She joked.
Sebastian scoffed.
"Oh, definitely not. You're a veritable athlete, I can tell." He teased. "We've been at it for ten minutes and we're almost halfway there!"
She rolled her eyes.
"No one is good at everything." She remarked. "Besides, you have longer legs than me."
"It's true." He accepted with pride. "Though those little legs of yours didn't seem to affect you at all in our duel..."
He trailed off, realizing he may have insulted her without thought. He had grown increasingly comfortable on their jog. He glanced at her and was surprised to see her deep in thought.
"Well, in a duel I'm not moving around all that much." She pointed out. "It helps me to stay still and focus, anything else is rather difficult for me...Though I've been lucky to have a lot more practice than most."
He laughed at the admission.
"Practice at standing still?" He teased.
"Shut up, you know what I mean." She shot back.
He was joking but paused to consider the possibility.
"I suppose that's an effective tactic. Stand there long enough and your opponent will fall over from boredom." He offered.
His amusement grew as he watched her purse her lips in annoyance out of the corner of his eye.
"Clearly it was an effective tactic against you, Sebastian." She said, rolling her eyes.
His smile fell.
"Maybe I'll have to give it a shot sometime." He conceded.
There was a pause in the conversation, and Sebastian began to sense that he was acting a lot more coy than usual. In the last half-hour or so, he'd grown comfortable, that's true, but was he becoming... overly familiar? No... That wasn't it. It wasn't that he was too forward; rather, she was the one speaking with unexpected...No, unwarranted candor.
"Good at anything else?" He asked, glancing down at the girl. "Besides dueling, of course."
The question seemed to catch her off guard.
"It's hard to say." She admitted thoughtfully. "It's hard to tell what I'm really good at and what I'm not... Good at."
Her observation surprised him.
"How so?" He questioned as they slowed into a walk.
She faltered for a moment as if she were unsure of what to say next, but upon meeting his curious gaze, opened up a little.
"Well, I've had a lot of...time." She offered. "...Among other things..."
"Oh?" He questioned, urging her to continue that thought.
"Everyone keeps treating me like I'm... I don't know... gifted." The girl seemed to choose her words with care, something he noticed did not come naturally to her. She was cautious, but why?He laughed in disbelief, but he supposed it wasn't too unordinary.
"What, you mean to say you're too good at everything?" He snickered. "How terrible."
"No." She blushed in embarassment. "I mean, I'm terrible at potions. I brew them wrong all the time, and still somehow Professor Sharp thinks I'm the wizarding world's next top...brewer...or something."
He burst into laughter at the admission.
"I don't believe you." He laughed. "Sharp?"
"YES." She offered frustrated. "And then, in charms-- you were there, remember? That day we played summoner's court?"
"How could I forget?" He grinned. "You beat me then, too."
"Exactly! But I've never played!" She exclaimed.
"You're a natural talent, I suppose." He insisted slyly. "Not a bad thing to be."
"Yes, but in every single school subject? I'm downright terrible at flying and for some reason Imelda Reyes keeps challenging me for a race."
He laughed.
"Well, what did you say?" He questioned with curiosity.
"I don't have a broom!" She howled.
Sebastian didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell whether or not she was serious, but she must have been if he was guiding her to Hogsmeade on foot.
"I'm terrible at fishing, but my entire family thinks I'm a rare talent." He chuckled, the memory surfacing in his mind. "My uncle used to take me often. I thought it was all luck...."
She laughed, surprised by the sudden story. He hadn't thought about his uncle in a while, or that day at the lake. It was the first day he really experienced defeat.
"Except one day, all of a sudden, I caught twenty fish. There were so many we couldn't keep them all in the bucket."
"Maybe you're a secret fishing genius." She suggested with a laugh.
"Or--" He continued, "Maybe my uncle charmed the rod while I wasn't looking." He joked, but that wasn't far from reality.
Sebastian remembered learning how to wrap magic lures properly, with hippogriff feathers and charmed thread. However, the eleven year old wanted more. He kept insisting on making his own without help. He didn't like the way the lures only drew in one or two fish at a time, and had been experimenting for awhile on a better one. He remembered his uncle's mood shifting as the boy's make-shift spider thread and seashell lure dropped into the water. The bobber hung gently above the surface as the boy waited, right at the edge of the dock. He remembered the look on his uncle's face as the hours passed, their conversation slowly fading to nothing. And in that silence, he hugged his little hands to his chest, almost praying that the bobber would sink below the surface. Before he realized it, he had fallen asleep. He woke up later with twenty fish piled up in a bucket at his feet.
"...Lure worked." His uncle offered gruffly.
He recalled how small the fish looked inside the bucket, all crammed in a tight space. Most kids would feel pride, or maybe excitement at the prospect of catching so many fish.
At the time, he smiled gently, thanked his uncle for flying the both of them to the lake. Soon, his concerns were forgotten when he returned home and surprised the rest of the family. His uncle watched him as he was praised. He recalled how wonderful he felt. For weeks, his entire family told him how talented he was. He eased into the feeling, diving headlong into researching more elaborate materials. For the first time, it worked. He worked. Despite all the excitement at finding a new passion, there was one thing he couldn't get off his mind.
One night, he snuck one of the fish away from his uncle's cooling spell and examined it closer with his wand. He remembered how skeptical he felt looking at the fish, and wanted to look at them one last time. His wand casted a small white light over the fish's yellowed teeth until he saw it once again: a small hippogriff feather.
"Anyways." Sebastian shrugged.
"What if you really did catch all those fish?" She considered playfully. "I mean, how sure are you?"
"Ninety-nine percent sure. Though I suppose you're right, I'll never be one hundred percent sure." He smirked, moving in a bit closer.
"I see." She hummed, pursing her lips in thought. "I guess you could say that's a bit of what I'm experiencing."
Oh?
"What do you mean?" He questioned eagerly. "Are you trying to imply that Fig sits next to you in every class with an invisibility cloak doing all your spells for you?" He joked, before laughing at the sight of her genuinely considering it.
"Possibly. Not likely." She snickered. "All I mean to say is that... I've been so suspiciously lucky that I can't quite tell what I'm good at."
He accepted that. He certainly knew what that felt like.
"Also, it's Professor Fig." She added.
He scoffed gently at her correction.
"Apologies, I didn't realize you were such a model student." He teased.
"If I spent as long as Fig had trying to get his wizard PHD, I'd want to be called professor too." She remarked lightly.
"What do you mean?" He questioned, confused at the mention of a "wizard PHD". He hadn't heard of such a term before.
She noticed his confusion and backpedaled quickly.
"I mean, I'd..." She corrected, "I think that professor is a hard title to earn."
He hummed in response, a smile breaking across his face, not quite buying her words. She poked at him so cryptically that he considered for a moment whether or not she was ill. However, beyond his smile was something more scrutinizing. Their conversation, though slowed, was steady and comfortable. Sebastian found himself impressed that she was able to keep up with him, in more ways than one. The boy was quite at ease. After all, he couldn't recall ever talking to a girl without having to actively fight to be charming. She was strange, yes, but it was a different kind of strange.
"Well, let's see if you get lucky next time we duel. Then you'll be sure it wasn't a fluke." He tested, running on ahead.
She caught up to him quickly, working twice as hard to make sure she could keep pace. He nearly glowed at her determination, jogging beside her the rest of the way. Though, maybe not all the way. There may have been a few scenic stops filled with secret gasps of breath that Sebastian playfully ignored...And, perhaps there was a point on the trip when their jog turned into a leisurely crawl, but that was neither here nor there. He wasn't quite sure how he'd been convinced to play tour guide, but the truth was - he was glad he had.
Sebastian was sure of two things upon arriving at the gates of Hogsmeade:
1. He won the race (in a landslide).
2. He rather liked the new student.
The trip had taken a lot longer than they intended, as the sun was beginning to dip just low enough to adorn the little village in a blazing, golden light. He observed her resting at the very top of the hill. The yellow rays framed her from behind. He watched her glowing silhouette as she wiped sweat from her brow, the casting shadow nearly obfuscating her relieved smile.
"God, no matter how many times I do this, it never gets easier." She laughed quietly under her breath.
Unfortunately she was just loud enough for him to hear from his spot at the bottom of the hill. As if realizing a fault, she dropped her arm from her forehead, eyes secretly surveying Sebastian's face for a hint of recognition. Their eyes met, and she suddenly seemed empty, almost hollow. Every nerve in his body seemed to be yelling at him all at once, urging him not to move a muscle.
"What did you say?" He asked innocently despite her piercing gaze, and she relaxed a little.
All was quiet for a moment as he stared at her almost as if it were a dare.
"We made it!" She shouted at him from her spot on the hill, breaking the silence.
She turned back around and started towards the village entrance. He watched her from behind, her hair blowing in the now-cold wind. He adjusted his robes against the chill.
He didn't know what it was, but he felt it in his gut. He was bearing witness to something he wasn't supposed to, somehow. He thought about her odd words, her unexplainable appearance earlier. But most of all he recognized that her candid, almost playful attitude was being flanked by something else he couldn't bear to identify. He was annoyed, in a way. He didn't think anything serious or offbeat was happening, but he couldn't help but acknowledge the strange occurrences that were happening to him. And each time, this girl was present. Everything in him kept thinking, "strange, strange strange". And yet, he felt locked in a certain way, not willing to question the thought further. He had met many odd witches throughout the years, but something was not adding up.
He sighed as he tailed her into Hogsmeade, deciding to keep a much closer eye on her than he originally planned.