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A leg swung around the seat beside you before a body heaved itself onto the spot, jolting the bench slightly as the person settled in. Glancing to your side, you nodded your head in greeting as Sebastian joined you for breakfast, your mouth too preoccupied with a bite of bacon to say anything.
“Morning,” Your friend greeted as he began to help himself to the spread. Sebastian took a cursory glance at you and your outfit for the day and raised a brow over the bowl of beans he was holding. “Going somewhere today?”
Gone was your usual Hogwarts uniform this Saturday morning, replaced with your outdoor robes, a white jumper, and beige trousers. You normally wore a simple long-sleeve shirt paired with loose pants during the weekends you stayed within the castle and its grounds, opting for comfortable casualware you could laze around in. Today, however, you could not afford to be lazy.
You nodded again as you finished your bite and reached for your goblet of apple juice. “Yeah, I have some things from my trips outside the castle that I needed to sell at Hogsmeade. I figured I might as well go and do all the chores I’ve been putting off while I’m there.”
“Oh. Sounds like you’ve got a busy day ahead of you then,” Sebastian commented, his nose wrinkling at the thought of all the running around you would no doubt have to do. Dressed in casual, simple clothes, your friend seemed to have little to no plans for the day — at least none that would take him outside of the castle’s walls. You envied him and wished you could stay in as well, but these chores of yours needed to be done. Your storage in the Room of Requirement was already filled to the brim with the amount of loot you’d found around the castle and inside the bandit campsites you’d cleared out. If you continued to put it off, you’d have a hard time finding someplace to store new loot.
“Yep,” you sighed, not looking forward to the mind-numbingly boring activities you had planned for yourself.
No, wait a minute.
A mischievous grin grew on your face as a wild thought popped in your head. “What if you join me for today?”
Sebastian choked, dropping the fork with half of bite of sausage onto his plate as he began to pound against his chest, trying to dislodge the bite he’d accidentally swallowed down the wrong tube. With a start, you quickly poured him a glass of water and slid it towards him, waving off the grateful look he gave you as he accepted it and began to gulp it down eagerly.
“Er, I suppose that’s a no? I swear the chores aren’t that bad—“
Sebastian placed the glass onto the wooden table roughly, eyes wide as he croaked out, “Join you around Hogsmeade? Like on a date?”
“Huh?” Your brows furrowed in confusion as you picked up your fork to continue eating, trying to keep your tone indifferent as you replied. “No? Just chores.”
You wondered if your friend — and crush, but thank you brain for the reminder when you were trying very hard to ignore that along with the flutter in your chest when he said the ‘date’ word — was still suffering from a lack of sleep. He’d acted odd a few days back then too, when you’d arrived at the Great Hall with Imelda after a close race. Ominis had explained it away as Sebastian having recently had trouble sleeping. It makes you wonder again if, perhaps, the same thing happened again.
With a frown, you turned concerned eyes towards him, scanning his body thoroughly and looking for any signs of fatigue. There didn’t seem to be any, at least none that you could see on the surface. When you noticed the way Sebastian was shifting awkwardly in place, you stopped and met his gaze. “How’s your sleep been?”
Sebastian’s own brows furrowed in confusion. “Just fine, thanks for asking. What brought this on?”
“Well…you’re acting kind of weird. You did the same before, too, with Imelda and Ominis and you guys said it’s because you had trouble sleeping,” You responded, gesturing at all of him and smirking when he frowned and glanced down at himself.
When he found nothing wrong with his outfit, he rolled his eyes at you, bumping his shoulders against yours gently. “Slept fine, like I said. That day was just a one time thing, don’t worry about it happening again.”
Your lips curled upwards. You watched as he motioned to take the bite of his sausage and, gleefully just as his lips wrapped around the piece, you asked, “Oh? It’s got nothing to do with wanting to take me out on a date, is it?”
Eyes widening, he coughed and pounded against his chest once more, taken aback by your words. You couldn’t help but chuckle, even as you retrieved his glass and poured him more water. Sebastian recovered faster this time, giving you an unimpressed glare as you handed it back to him.
“Don’t worry,” you drawled, tapping your fingers against the wood of the table. “I’m only teasing. Of course, it’s not a date.”
A brief look of relief entered his face, but you only smirked.
“A date is only a date if both parties are aware of it and agreed to take part in it,” you said confidently. Twisting the fork in your hand, you pointed it at him with a grin. “Am I correct?”
Sebastian nodded without hesitation, and your grin dropped into a pleased look. “‘Course. I admit it is a bit silly for people to view a simple hangout between two people as a date. If that were the case, then Ominis and I would be considered dating, or you and Imelda with how often the two of you fly together.”
“Exactly,” you said as you placed your fork down onto the side of your plate. With a sigh, you pushed your plate away and moved to get up, only pausing when Sebastian caught the edge of your sleeve. You raised your brow at him. “Mhm?”
“I’ll come with you to Hogsmeade,” he confirmed. His dark eyes met your own, holding it for a brief moment before his gaze switched back to his plate, his grip on your sleeve dropping as he began to scoop more food onto his plate. “Meet you at the entrance in an hour?”
You tilted your head, calculating just how much time you would need to get everything you had stored in the Room, harvest your plants, and transfer your brews. An hour seemed plenty enough. “Sounds good. I’ll see you at the place we met up at last time.”
“Yep. I’ll see you there.”
“See you,” you waved off. You made your way down the aisle and out the massive doors of the Great Hall. As you made your way to the seventh floor, the words Imelda had whispered into your ear previously came to mind.
“Easy to fluster, isn’t he? You should try being more blunt about romance around him — might be a nice exchange from you getting flustered by him all the time. Who knows? He might eventually quit getting flustered and give back as good as he gets. That’s when the real fun starts. See you around, fifth year.”
You groaned, slapping your hand over your forehead as you climbed the stairs, recalling the words you had uttered to him earlier. Still, it was nice to know he wasn’t one of those people who thought it was a date just because two people went out together. You had heard awful things about the time one of your roommates had gone for a butterbeer with another student and ended up having to disperse the various dating rumours that the other student had spread as a result of the hang out.
Really. You understood being excited at being alone with the person you like — and indeed, you were very much looking forward to hanging out at Hogsmeade today with Sebastian despite the intentions of the trip — but spreading gossip and dating rumours like that was uncalled for.
And in any case, it’s only been two months and autumn has only started to crawl in and paint everything in crimson and gold. It’d be foolish if the two of you jumped the wand with assumptions and ended up destroying your close friendship.
You’re not even certain that he’d started to feel something for you in return. Imelda could quite possibly only be teasing you about Sebastian liking you back when the two of you meet up for a race to try and get you off your game. It would be underhanded, yes, but quite Slytherin of her to do it.
As you paced up and down the seventh floor corridor, you tried to ignore the way Ominis seemed to have been smirking towards you and Sebastian lately. You’re not sure if he’s quite forgiven you yet after the whole Undercroft debacle, but at least he was friendly with Sebastian again. Things had been frosty between the two of them a week after your conversation with Sebastian — and, you suppose, him confronting Ominis about it — but after that, well, you’re not sure what exactly had happened but they went back to being friends as if the week before hadn’t happened.
Despite your curiosity, you chose not to dwell on it any further for now. The door to the Room had appeared and you had loot to sort through, plants to harvest, and brewed potions to collect if you wanted to make it back in time to meet Sebastian.
“There you are,” Sebastian’s voice greeted you as you set foot into the courtyard, your hand raised to your face to try and shield your eyes from the bright light of the sun.
“Merlin, the difference in brightness inside the castle and outside of it is annoying,” you grumbled as you stepped up beside him, adjusting the strap of your bag to get it to lay flat on your shoulder. “They could at least try and get some more windows around the entrances.”
“I mean, it’s a magical castle that may be, according to some rumours and texts, sentient and filled with ancient magic. It’s possible that it’s capable of doing that but no one has ever tried.” Sebastian commented as he reached around you to help you with the bag strap. Your hands dropped, allowing him to tug on it freely until it finally laid flat, his hand patting your shoulder when he finished before he pulled away.
You thanked him for the help then began to lead him towards the path to Hogsmeade, wanting to make your way there by foot like the two of you had when he’d first lead you to the village. You had both of your brooms in your bag — you needed to bring them both to Mr. Weekes anyway for another upgrade — should the two of you need it to get back later on, but you were hoping to try and keep the trip as close to your first one as possible but without the troll attack or Rookwood’s confrontation. Maybe it was a way to pay Sebastian back for the trip and for taking time out of his day to bring you there, or maybe you just wanted to try and replace that trip with an ordinary one to get some semblance of normalcy in your chaotic life.
Who knows.
“Well, I’ve got insider information that the castle is able to change it’s interior to follow a person’s wishes, so I wouldn’t say that theory is far from the truth. Sentient though? Not sure about that. I guess I could try and explore and, I don’t know, send magic to it? See if it responds,” you mused. From what Professor Weasley had mentioned, the Room of Requirement operated separately from the castle and was the reason why it could change forms to fit the person’s imagined space. Still, it had to have been created using the same enchantments that now fill the castle — it’s not too farfetched to think that there’s a way to change the castle’s interior and exterior too. Maybe you could try using some of your Ancient Magic in the Map Chambers and see if it does anything?
“Insider information?” Sebastian raised an interested brow, his eyes brimming with curiosity. “Now this, I’ve got to hear.”
You smiled, thinking of the Room of Requirement and the unexpected solace and peace it’d provided amidst all the chaos and flurry of activities surrounding you. “Perhaps next time. I want to keep this one to myself for now, I think.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll leave your secrets be and you can tell me in the future if you so choose,” Sebastian promised, and placed his hand on his chest solemnly. Changing topics, he gestured towards the village you were both drawing near to. “Where do you want to go to first?”
Your head tilted slightly as you mentally reviewed the map of the village to try and find the most convenient route to complete your errands. “Er, Tomes and Scrolls first, I think. I need to grab some recipes for conjuration spellcasts.”
“Whatever could you be using those for?” Sebastian turned curious eyes on you, but you simply smiled and held up an index figure in front of your lips. His eyes flickered with understanding even as he shook his head with a sigh. “I suppose it’s something I’ll find out later if you choose to tell me.”
“When I tell you,” you corrected. You were under no impression that you wouldn’t tell him about the Room. Sebastian had grown to know more about you than anyone in the entire castle. To say you trusted him wholeheartedly with this was an understatement. “Soon, but not now.”
“Alright, but you know you don’t have to tell me, right? You deserve to have your own secrets,” Sebastian brought up with a frown, looking mildly uncomfortable at the thought of possibly coercing you to spill your secrets.
In response, you pat his arm comfortingly with a shake of your head, feeling a surge of fondness for your friend at his words. “Seb, if I didn’t want to tell you, I wouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place. I know more than anyone, I think, how important it is that secrets remained as secrets and the dangers that can follow if it no longer stays as one. Still, I think this is a relatively harmless one. I’m not quite finished with it, though, and that’s why we need to go to Tomes and Scrolls.”
“Oh, alright, if you say so.”
“And I do,” you confirmed as you both passed through the village’s gates. Turning towards the shop, the two of you pulled away from the small crowd of shoppers to enter Tomes and Scrolls, the store’s bell ringing above you upon your entrance.
Thomas Brown set down the scrolls he’d been examining as you approached the counter, Sebastian lingering behind you to examine the other wares and give the two of you some privacy. Greeting you warmly by name, the man in front of you adjusted his spectacles as you came closer. “Hullo, there. Back for more spellcrafts, I presume?”
Your lips pulled into a smile as you nodded, tugging your book bag to the front of your body and opening it as you explained, “And to sell some old robes and gear, if that’s okay Mr. Brown?”
“Oh, of course! Certainly,” Mr. Brown peered at the items you’ve laid on the counter, picking up a few to set aside and a few to hold up and scan closely under the shop’s light. Turning from the cloak he was holding up to send you a curious look, he asked, “I have the first pick of the day, do I?”
“Yes, sir,” you nodded. Clasping your hands in front of you, you gently rocked back and forth on your feet as you waited patiently for the man to finish picking from the lot.
It didn’t take long and soon you were sweeping the rest of your loot back into your, thankfully expandable and charmed to be lightweight, book bag. Then, it was time for Mr. Brown to bring out the spellcrafts he had.
You didn’t take more than a minute or two to pick out the ones you wanted — you already had an idea of which ones you wanted to add to the Room — and before long Mr. Brown was calculating how much was left owed after your exchange of goods and sliding you the amount.
Pleased at the the $260 galleons you had made, as well as the spellcrafts you’ve bought, you parted ways with Mr. Brown, promising to stop by his place first next time again as you did so.
Sebastian appeared right beside when you started for the door, a curious look on his face. His eyes followed the scrolls you stuffed into your bag somewhat messily as he tilted his head in question. “Do I get to find out what you got?”
“Nope!” you replied, popping the ‘p’, “Not until later.”
You waved your hand at him distractedly as you exited the shop and began to make your way towards Spintwitches Sporting Needs, your friend taking care to keep close to avoid losing you in the crowd. Hopefully, Mr. Weekes wouldn’t be too busy and would be able to upgrade your brooms today. If not, you might have to come back tomorrow, which would mean having to reschedule your afternoon and that was something you really didn’t look forward to having to do.
Thankfully, the shop was empty when you arrived, Albie Weekes perking up as soon as he saw you enter through his doors.
“Ah, my favourite customer!” he greeted kindly, setting down the quaffle he had been polishing to the side. Bracing his arms against his counter, the man leaned in, eyes sparkling as you pulled out your shrunken Yew Weaver and Silver Arrow from your bag and enlarged them. “How’d the last race with Ms. Reyes go?”
You set your brooms onto the counter carefully and brushed a few stray twigs sticking up from its tail-end, patting them down to join the others of its kind as you responded, “It went well, Mr. Weekes. They flew wonderfully, though I did notice the speed start to stutter the higher in altitude I got. My turns weren’t as sharp either and I had a hard time rounding a cliff on one of the courses, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t manage.”
“Hm, I see, I see. I’ll have to tinker a bit more with the upgrades, but I think I know where to start regarding the stuttering problem,” he murmured thoughtfully, pushing his glasses up his nose and squinting his eyes as he examined the tail end of your Yew Weaver.
You clasped your hands behind you and peered closer as well, watching as the man fiddled with a few of the bent twigs on the broom that you hadn’t managed to smooth out. “Ah, yeah, I think I’ll need to purchase a broom servicing kit too. The broom races are a bit rough on the twigs,” you said, motioning towards the ones Albie was fixing down and feeling a bit abashed at presenting your unkept brooms to an expert like him.
Albie waved you off, however. He didn’t seem too bothered at the state you had brought them in. Maybe he’d expected this result from your broom races? “I’ll have one ready for you to pick up when you come back later to grab these. It’ll be free — think of it as additional payment for testing out my upgrades for me,” he said, glancing back up at you with a kind smile.
“Really? That would be lovely, Mr. Weekes.”
“I’ll have it ready in four hours, then. Now, I don’t suppose you have anything to sell today?”
Your lips curled into a grin. “You know me by now, Mr. Weekes. I wouldn’t stop by Hogsmeade without anything to sell.”
“Wonderful! Let me just set these brooms aside and you can deposit your wares onto the counter,” Albie said, moving to do just that. You reached into your own bag and readied to pull out your loot once more, already familiar with the process of selling to Albie. With his shop being one of the closest to the floo in Hogsmeade, his place was the one you frequented every time you needed to sell a few things. Suffice to say, the two of you had developed a sort of friendship from this arrangement, making him one of your favourite shop owners in the village.
It also probably helped that he had believed you were a better flyer than Imelda when he hadn’t even seen you fly in person.
Before you and Sebastian knew it, you’ve traveled to J. Pippin’s Potions, The Magic Neep, Dogwood and Deathcap, and Gladrags Wizardwear, finishing your chores without further trouble. With your bag empty of your loot and your pockets noticeably heavier with galleons, the two of you made your way to the Three Broomsticks, eager to finally sit down and rest your feet.
“That wasn’t too bad,” Sebastian commented as he held open the door to the pub, gesturing for you to go first. You nodded your thanks and slipped past him, pausing briefly to inhale the sweet scent of butterbeer and shepherd’s pie in the air.
“It’s because the village isn’t as busy today,” you responded. Heading for one of the small tables by the bar counter, you sent a wave towards a currently occupied Sirona as you passed by her, Sebastian following right behind you.
The two of you settle onto the chairs, both of you letting out twin sighs of relief as you were finally able to rest your feet. You hadn’t kept track of time, but you thought you’ve both been in the village for about three hours now judging from the height of the sun outside. It should be right around noon, actually, which meant—
“Let’s have lunch here,” you suggested. Placing crossed arms on the table, you leaned forward and grinned at your companion. “I’ll treat you, and before you protest think of it as my way of saying thank you for accompanying me all around Hogsmeade today.”
One side of Sebastian’s lips quirked upwards as he smirked. “Then I suppose I can’t say no to that offer now, can I?”
You let out a short laugh and leaned back to rest against the back of your seat, eyes crinkling with satisfaction. “No, I suppose you can’t.”
“So, tell me,” Sebastian leaned forward, setting his own arms against the table. He lowered his voice conspiratorially, his amused dark eyes trained on you. “Is Professor Sharp aware you’ve been brewing potions for yourself in the classroom, or do you just have a penchant for breaking the rules?”
Chuckling, you shook your head. “He was actually the one who recommended I find someplace to brew my potions.”
“And I’m guessing you found it?”
“I did! It’s actually connected to that secret we were discussing earlier. The one I’ll show you once I get everything ready.”
Sebastian hummed. “Can’t wait then. I just know what you’ve got planned is going to blow my mind.”
“I think so,” you agreed, thinking about the Room and your reaction when you’d first walked inside it. “It certainly won’t be anything you’ve seen before.”
“Then I look forward to seeing it,” Sebastian said sincerely, a small but brilliant smile gracing his lips. He pulled back, eyes scanning you with an unreadable look on his face. “You know,” he began nonchalantly, “I think this year might be my favourite year at Hogwarts thus far, and I’m certain the reason for that is you.”
Your brow rose. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve had as much fun and excitement in a year since my first year here. Of course, I miss my sister a lot and I wish she’s here to enjoy everything with us but I still think this year has been a lot better than I anticipated it would be. I don’t feel as alone as I thought I would and I’m learning and experiencing so many good things I haven’t had the chance to before.” He reached over and poked your shoulder gently, gaze soft as he did so. “So thanks for that, new kid.”
You smiled at him gently. “I think I should be the one thanking you. You became my first friend here and kept me from feeling like I’m all alone in Slytherin. I’ve felt welcome and supported since we met, so thank you for that.”
It suddenly hit you that you hadn’t ever told him how impactful his presence and his friendship had been to you. In a way, you were glad he’d been willing to lead you around Hogsmeade that first day, and that he’d been willing to reach out to lend you a hand and offer you his friendship after that. Yes, you would’ve probably still flourished as a student in Hogwarts without him but it certainly wouldn’t have been an enjoyable school life for you.
You had gotten on that thestral-drawn carriage knowing that everyone your age had already met their friends and had been anticipating a lonely three years, but Sebastian Sallow had changed that.
Sebastian simply gave you his own quiet smile in response. On any ordinary day, maybe that smile would’ve caused butterflies in your stomach, but as it stands, it’s the words he followed with that caused your heart to flutter instead. “I’m glad, then, that we met each other. I think we’re really good together.”
“Yeah,” you whispered softly as Sirona appeared at your table with her notepad and quill to take your order, drawing Sebastian’s attention elsewhere and away from you. “Yeah, I think so too.”