(I'm reposting this because I can and I want too) This is the full first chapter of my fic, which if you'd prefer, you can read it here on ao3.
After All These Years (S.S)
Summary: After Anne's death and Sebastian's disappearance, Devzik absorbed himself into the study of Ancient Magic. Something that had gotten the disapproval of most of his peers due to the clear toll it was putting on his soul. But that mattered not to him, he refused to allow what happened to Anne to happen to anyone else if he could help it.
Chapters: 5/?
Word Count (of the whole fic thus far): 13,674
CW: Blood, torture, killing, dark magic, angst/anger, slow burn/build, romantic fluff, friendship fluff, mild smut. Things will be added as it goes on.
Chapter one
The night was cold outside as Devzik sat hunched over a desk in the Feldcroft area. It'd been 10 years since he conjured this building after graduation, 11 years since Anne had passed. Having lost her fight in their 7th year. Sebastian disappeared that week without finishing the year and no one has gotten even the slightest inkling as to were he was or if he was even alive. To Ominis's displeasure, Devzik stayed in Feldcroft to learn how to use his Ancient Magic the way Isidora should have. Ominis didn't approve of his decision for selfish reasons, insinuating that this would just cause him to go down an even darker path just as Isidora had. Devzik had told him everything in their 6th year but once he was told what she'd done, how she was using students as test subjects, he wanted nothing to do with his research.
The wind whipped heavy against the shutters of each window, causing them to rattle in an overly distracting way; as if there was someone knocking on every window at once. Devzik pushed back from his desk and ran a hand through his hair. He'd been organizing his research into a single book for over a week by now, hadn't slept properly in over 2 months. He was getting so close to understanding how to extract curses, however taxing getting that information had been, it would all be worth it in then end. Isidora would probably be proud of him and that brought a smile to his face. With the shutters rattling he couldn't focus on anything at the moment so he stood to pour himself a drink. He downed it in one go and noticed that the wind had finally died down. The whistling indicating that it was still strong outside but he'd take that over the rattling.
The couch was more comfortable then his bed these days, although he hadn't been sleeping more then a couple hours so he couldn't really be a good judge. There was a single, dimly lit, lamp illuminated over his desk, it was enough for Devzik to see throughout the whole house. Keeping it this dark meant he never had to wear his tinted glasses which made it easier to write. A sudden shift in the wind outside gave Devzik pause and then a slight cracking noise echoed against the mountain side, making him sit up from his lounged position on the couch. Someone was here. Someone powerful he noticed. His study into Ancient Magic had made him more attuned to how capable the Witches and Wizards were around him. So he grabbed his wand from his desk and headed to the door. With his wand raised, he swung it open swiftly then felt as though all the air was knocked out of his lungs.
Sebastian Sallow stood in front of him with his fist raised as if he was about to knock on the door. Devzik noted how very much alive he looked. Within an instant he had Sebastian by his collar, pushing him away from his door.
"Why are you here!" The anger in his voice made the other wince but when he got no answer he shook him and repeated himself. "Sallow, why are you here?!"
"Devzik, please, I was looking for you."
Wrong answer. He threw him to the ground harshly and walked back into his cabin, slamming the door shut.
Sebastian laid there, knowing he deserved that. Knowing that leaving the way he had, without telling anyone and on the night of Anne's funeral, was a worse pain then the way his back felt as several small rocks jabbed into him. No words could form an apology capable of mending that type of betrayal but he had to apologize. He had to try to mend their relationship, a relationship he hadn't stopped thinking about since he left. It wasn't fair to show back up into his life unannounced, neither knowing what part of their lives they were in at the moment. But he didn't care because he wasn't going to give up till he was let into that house. Having no intention of leaving, Sebastian stood and brushed himself off, slowly walking up to the door once more; this time his knuckles connecting with the solid wood.
"Devzik, please." He spoke loud enough for the other to hear but still sounded meek.
Devzik had went inside and poured himself another drink and by the time the knock sounded from his door he was on his 3rd.
"Quit your insipid pleading. You sound pathetic and I assure you I am too busy for this right now."
Sebastian had leaned against the door, wishing he could simply just pass through the solid wood as if he were a ghost. Instead he pulled out a silver watch from his pocket and checked the time.
"It's four in the morning, what ever could you possibly be so busy with?"
Devzik realized that Sebastian had checked the time accurately as he looked over to the clock that stood adjacent to his desk. He knew, however slim the chance was, that he might still have the pocket watch he gifted him at the beginning of their 6th year. His curiosity compelling him to open the door and as he did Sebastian stumbled but his suspicion was confirmed. In the other mans hand held a silver pocket watch of which was engraved with a single serpent. Devzik was practically speechless.
"You..." He trailed off but Sebastian finished it for him.
"Kept it. Precisely. Your father, however his muggle status, was an amazing craftsman." He clicked it closed before putting it back into his pocket.
All that was heard for the next passing moments was the whistling of the wind and the faint sound of the river rushing down in the canyon. Devzik closed his eyes and stepped aside, silently inviting Sebastian into his home. He took his hat and coat off, placing them on the rack near the door, then turned to face the other. Though the lamp was dim he could still see him well enough to notice how exhausted he seemed. His shirt was only slightly tucked in with his sleeves sloppily rolled up past his elbows, his trousers having distinct wrinkles around the knee from having been siting for an abhorrent amount of hours. The style his white hair is in was shorter then when they'd been in school but his eyes still shown like embers in a fireplace, piercing orange with specks of red throughout. They took his breath away just as they had when they'd first met in the Slytherin common room all those years ago.
Devzik averted his eyes. "You're staring."
"I know." A smirk slid across his lips.
"27 years old and yet you still haven't learned self control."
"When it comes to you, I've always let myself indulge a bit."
His words made Devzik heat up.
"So, how'd you find me exactly? I charmed this post of the mountain. You have to Apparate here just to be able to see this cabin."
Sebastian had moved over to his desk, looking over at the papers strewn about across its surface, making sure to keep his hands to himself at first.
"I accidentally intercepted one of your owls. I had been flying for a bit but was checking my map, he'd apparently recognize me and perched himself on the front of my broom." He was reading something as he spoke, turning it over before finishing his answer. "He held a letter to Ms. Onai. I'd been looking for you for around a year till then, so I changed my course and followed your owl. She told me what I wanted to know without fuss. Said something about relieving the pressure you'd put upon yourself since Anne."
The light was hitting Sebastian in such a way that Devzik couldn't help but fixate on the scar that trailed up his neck from his shoulder blade, his black shirt was buttoned all the way to the top making it hard to see but it was there. Regardless of the scar, Devzik noticed how good he looked; his shirt neatly tucked into his deep green pinstriped trousers, a dark gray vest unfastened over top and shoes of worn black leather. He'd almost looked as though he never aged but the slight lines around his eyes gave it away.
"Now who's the one staring."
Devzik averted his eyes before asking the only question that mattered in this moment.
"Is that why you're here? To alleviate the pressure."
"Actually." He put his gaze back upon the other. "I'm here because I missed you."
"You don't get to say that, Sallow." The annoyance in Devziks voice was palpable, causing Sebastian to slightly flinch. "After all this time. After all these years. You don't get to miss me."
Sebastian slouched, sitting on the edge of the desk with his back toward the lamp light.
"I know. But this just can't be helped." His voice was distant, as if he was addressing the floor and not the other man in the room.
"Merlin's beard, Sebastian. I'm in Feldcroft, if I was hiding from anyone it wasn't you. At least that wasn't the case when I first got here."
Sebastian perked up at the sound of his first name, it having been the first time Devzik said it since he'd arrived. He hoped this meant he was getting through to him. Softening the case he had clearly put around his heart when he never came back in their 7th year. The silence was deafening but he was afraid to respond. Afraid to ruin the progress by trying to explain himself. He knew Devzik didn't want to hear his excuses, even if they were reasons. But what the other said next surprised him.
"You're not even going to defend yourself?"
"Would it even be enough?"
Devzik crossed over to the couch and fell into it with an exhausted sigh.
"No, but it's a bloody good way to start."
"Alright, I suppose I'll simply start from the beginning."
