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Early in the fall, during their seventh year at Hogwarts, the usual suspects found themselves on the path to Hogsmeade to enjoy a day outside of the castle. They were full of joy and anticipation for their final year at school. Having made a pact with each other to make the most of every moment, the opportunity arose for a spur of the moment trip into the small town. Poppy wanted to pick up some things for Highwing. Ominis followed Poppy wherever she went these days. The two had become a couple towards the end of the last school year and had practically been inseparable ever since. They had both invited MC to tag along. Not wanting to be a third wheel, MC had drug Sebastian with her. Although it hadn’t taken too much effort on her part to convince him to accompany her. She practically had him wrapped around her little finger and everyone knew it, except for MC that is.
Once the group had arrived at their destination, MC announced that she needed to go see Albie Weeks at Spintwitch’s. He was working on a new broom upgrade for her and she wanted to check on the progress. The others had offered to go with her, but she had insisted that they run their errands and she would meet them at the Three Broomsticks when she was finished. Sebastian had elected to head to Tombs and Scrolls instead of following the lovebirds around Hogsmeade. He watched as Poppy and Ominis walked off hand-in-hand to gather the supplies Poppy needed. He tried to ignore the envious thoughts he had of his best friend as he turned to make his way toward his preferred destination.
After coming up empty handed, Sebastian decided to make his way to the Three Broomsticks. He could at least get started on a few butterbeers while he waited for the others. However, as he turned up the street, he caught sight of MC. She was headed into Flutes and Lutes, which struck him as odd. In all the years he has known her, he has never once known her to go into the music shop. With his curiosity thoroughly peaked, he followed her.
Upon entering the shop, Sebastian was immediately hit with the sound of someone beautifully playing a piano. He had always adored that instrument. The tune playing was familiar to him. It brought up many fond memories, ones that he had not thought of in some time. Memories of sitting at the piano with his mother as she played that same song for him over and over. She had played it for him continuously, no matter how many times he asked for that same song in a row.
He momentarily abandoned his search for MC to locate the source of the music. As he rounded the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks, convinced his eyes were deceiving him. He rubbed his eyes just to be sure he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing.
At the upright piano, tucked into the back corner of the store, sat MC. She was completely engrossed in the music and had not noticed her audience. Sebastian’s mouth hit the floor! MC was the source of that hypnotizing melodic sound that was filling his ears! He was dumbfounded, mesmerized even. He watched her as her fingers expertly floated across the keys. Goose bumps formed on his arms. Sure, he’d seen her do so many impressive things over the years. Like watching her absolutely throttle four other students in a duel during crossed wands or skillfully dismantle a goblin camp. He’d even seen her best both Leander and Garreth in a competition to see who could eat the most cauldron cakes. The last accomplishment had secretly been his favorite. That was until today. This… Her ability to play the piano was quite possibly his new favorite thing about her.
As the song came to an end, Sebastian spoke, “You never told me you could do that…”
She jumped, startled, and whipped around on the bench to look at him, “Sebastian! What are you doing here?”
He smiled at her and took a few steps to cross the room to stand in front of her. “I saw you come in here and was curious. So, I followed you. Why have you never told me you can play like that?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know… I suppose it never really came up?”
“MC, you snuck in here to play without telling us…”
She sighed, “I know… I do it sometimes. I used to play a lot before… Well, before I started school here. Then, once I got here, there just didn’t seem to be time. It was nice to just do something for myself… You know?”
Sebastian nodded and took a seat next to MC on the piano bench. “I get it… I am sorry for intruding, but you do play wonderfully.”
MC shook her head and grabbed Sebastian’s arm as she met his eyes, “You are definitely not intruding, Sebastian. I do not mind sharing with you…”
While staring into each other’s eyes, they were quiet a moment too long. Sebastian cleared his throat, “My mother used to play that song for me all the time. She had tried to teach me to play, but I didn’t have the patience at the time…” He trailed off, a far off look on his face.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, MC squeezed his arm and playfully offered, “I could teach you now you know… I know your patience hasn’t improved much, but surely it has a smidge?”
Sebastian looked slightly shocked. He began shaking his head from side to side before he even spoke, “Oh… MC, thank you for offering, but I don’t think so. I don’t think it's really for me. I did enjoy hearing you play today though and I’d love to hear you play again.”
MC simply nodded and released his arm.
Sebastian abruptly stood and reached his hand out in an offer to help MC up from the bench. “Let’s go get some butterbeer,” he said with a question in his voice.
She smiled up at him and took his hand. Allowing him to lead her out of the music shop and down the street to the pub, where her other friends were likely already waiting on them.
A few weeks had gone by since MC’s offer to teach Sebastian to play the piano. Neither of them had brought it up again. MC had half expected him to blab to Poppy and Ominis that afternoon at the Three Broomsticks, but he had remained silent on the topic.
The four of them had been studying in the library all that afternoon. Poppy and Ominis had actually been doing more flirting than studying, effectively annoying Sebastian and MC both. They were in the middle of studying for a big potions exam and the two lovebirds were a major distraction. Even when they weren’t whispering to one another, they were constantly touching each other. Poppy caught MC rolling her eyes at her more than once, which did make MC feel somewhat bad. She was thrilled that her best friend was so incredibly happy, but also slightly jealous at the same time.
MC chanced a quick glance at Sebastian. She had hoped that their friends beginning to date would cause him to finally make a move on her, but alas, nothing had changed between the two of them. By this point, she was certainly convinced that he only desired her as a friend and nothing more, which secretly made her heart ache.
After the fifteenth time of Poppy squealing from Ominis tickling her under the table, MC snapped, “Will you both just get a room already! SOME OF US ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO STUDY HERE!”
Sebastian’s head popped up to look at MC as the rest of the students in the library shushed her. Poppy and Ominis blushed and apologized. They began to pack up their things.
“Wait.. You don’t need to leave. I am sorry for snapping at you both, I am just tense from this test,” Mc tried to explain.
Poppy shook her head, “No, you are right, MC. We are being inconsiderate of your time. We obviously aren’t getting much studying done. We will head out and stop distracting the two of you. Come on, Ominis.” She reached out and grabbed his hand.
“So, sorry. I will see you in the dorm later, Sebastian,” Ominis said as he nodded to the two of them and allowed Poppy to drag him out of the library.
“Well they certainly didn’t complain about being kicked out of the study group,” Sebastian joked.
MC shook her head with a smile, “They are probably just going to go make out somewhere.”
MC met Sebastian's eyes and then she casually glanced down at his lips. He noticed her eyes traveling and he blushed, “I bet you are right…” He quickly turned his attention back to his book and resumed studying.
Several hours later, Ms. Scribner started her rounds around the library, ordering students out of her library. MC began to pack her things up. She looked over to Sebastian, who was staring at her, looking like he was considering asking her something.
What are you contemplating there? You might strain a muscle if you think about it any harder,” she jested playfully.
He stood up from the table and they both began walking towards the exit. “I’ve been thinking about your offer…”
MC whipped around to him a bit shocked, “Oh Merlin, what offer!” She didn’t remember what he was talking about and was more than a little concerned about what might possibly come out of his mouth next.
He stuttered for a moment, “Oh.. oh well.. I… nevermind. It’s not a big deal.”
MC stopped and grabbed his hands, “No, tell me what offer, Sebastian.” She forced him to meet her eyes for a moment.
“Out! Both of you get going! Curfew is approaching,” Scribner yelled at the two of them.
He sighed and resumed walking out of the library. Once they were on the other side of the door, he reached into his bag and pulled out a book of sheet music and handed it to MC, not meeting her eyes, “This was my mother’s. I was hoping, if the offer still stood, that maybe you wouldn’t mind teaching me?”
MC could tell he was nervous, “Oh…. that offer. Of course I will, Sebastian! Meet me in the Astronomy Tower tomorrow after dinner.” She placed the precious sheet music in her bag. The pair walked mostly in silence back to their common room before parting for the evening.
The next day drug on perilously slow for Sebastian. He was excited and anxious to not only begin lessons, but also to spend time alone with MC. After dinner that evening, Sebastian finally was climbing the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. With each step he took, he couldn’t help but wonder why in the hell he was climbing all these stairs for piano lessons of all things. Why weren’t they going to the music room? As he rounded the corner, he saw MC leaning against the wall.
“Why did you make me trudge all the way up here again?” He asked as he approached her.
She pointed towards the wall across from her and a door appeared out of nowhere.
“THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT, MC!” Sebastian yelled a little too loudly.
MC shushed him and grabbed his arm, leading him through the door that had appeared. The room was different today than how it normally appeared for MC. Today it was relatively empty, with a large black grand piano in the center with several candelabras scattered throughout the room.
Sebastian’s mouth was on the floor, “I’ve read about this room in books, but never imagined that my best friend not only knew of its existence but was also holding out on me! How long have you been hiding this from me?” He playfully swatted her arm as he spoke.
MC blushed, “Well, since fifth year… Don’t be mad at me. I really haven’t been using it much the last year or so.”
He turned and made eye contact with her, “You mean to tell me that we could have been up here instead of the Undercroft! Any other secrets you’ve been keeping from me, MC?” He grinned and raised his eyebrows at her.
MC blushed a terrific shade of red. Her mind immediately raced to her feelings for him, but that was not something she was prepared to confess at this moment. Sebastian noticed her reddening cheeks, but chose to drop the issue for now. However, he did make a mental note for later.
MC moved toward the piano and sat down on the bench. She patted the spot next to her, “Come on, let’s get started.”
Sebastian took his spot on the bench next to her. MC began the lesson by teaching him scales and basic chords as well as helping him learn to read music. That was all that they worked on the first few weeks.
They had agreed to meet three times a week for an hour at a time. After all, they still had their school work to maintain. Frankly, Sebastian was growing bored with the basics, but any time she moved on to more complicated material, he failed miserably. Sometimes, he struggled with even the basics. It was as if he made progress one lesson, only to take two steps back during the next one. While her fingers gracefully flowed across the keys, Sebastian's felt harsh and uncoordinated. He had never been one to really struggle with anything. Everything he had ever tried had always come naturally to him. But music, the piano, they were proving to be a foreign language to him. When he thought he had enough and just wanted to be done, MC was always there to encourage him. She swore to him that she had struggled in the same manner, but he didn’t believe her in the slightest.
After a few months of lessons, Sebastian was feeling wholly defeated and he was ready to call it quits. Although, he had been enjoying the private time with MC. If he was honest with himself, that was mainly the only reason he had even continued these lessons. He lived for the moments when she would touch him by adjusting his hand placement. He’d never admit it, but at times, he purposefully mucked things up in hopes that she would correct him. Sometimes, she would rub his back lightly in encouragement, when he was especially defeated. So, he supposed he would stick out these awful lessons for as long as she was willing to tolerate them.
Then, out of nowhere, one day it just clicked. The music notes didn’t just look like blobs on the page. They actually made sense to him. Well, a little more sense anyway. That little bit of progress encouraged him to double down on his efforts. He wasn’t solely focused on spending alone time with MC. He was equally excited for the lesson itself. Soon, he was able to play full songs.
During the following lesson, MC reached down into her bag and pulled out his mother’s sheet music, “I think you’re ready, Sebastian.” She held the music in both hands, while wiggling it back and forth in front of his face.
He just stared at the music in her hand and nervously said, “Are you sure?”
She grinned and nodded as she set up the music for him. He took a deep breath and began to play and he played it perfectly. He was absolutely shocked and a giant grin spread across his face. He immediately began reminiscing of sitting on that bench with his mother all those years ago. Oh, how he wished he had the patience to spend that extra time with her while she taught him to play, but he would never complain about his current teacher. He didn’t think he would trade her, even for his mother. He had truly treasured this time with MC.
As he completed the song, a small tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. He never dreamed he would be able to play that song. MC noticed the tear and reached her hand up to wipe the tear away.
Sebastian turned to look at her, meeting her eyes. Her hand paused where it was touching his cheek. “Sorry, I just… I don’t know why I did that.” She went to pull her hand away and he reached up to grab it, holding her in place.
“MC, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Thank you for your patience with me and for being willing to spend your precious time on a lost cause like me.”
MC smiled at him and said, “You are not and have never been a lost cause, Sebastian Sallow.” She didn’t know what came over her then, but she freed her hand from Sebastian’ to caress the side of his face. She leaned in, pressing a light kiss against his lips.
Sebastian was caught off guard. He had harbored feelings for this girl since fifth year and had believed that she didn’t return the affection. He had flirted with her incessantly, but she had always remained oblivious to it. He had thought that was on purpose. His shock must have shown through in the kiss.
After feeling him stiffen at her kiss, MC sat back abruptly and said, “Oh Merlin, Sebastian… I am so sorry.. I don’t know what came over me! Please forgive me!” She should have known that he didn’t return her feelings. If he had, he would have already made a move. She only hoped that she hadn’t completely ruined their friendship.
Sebastian's eyes searched hers for what felt like an eternity before a giant smile spread across his face. “About damn time,” he muttered as he grabbed the back of her head and brought her face back to his so he could properly kiss her this time.