#hl fic

The stadium was hushed, save for the thud of a Quaffle against leather and the faint rush of broom bristles through cooling air. Twilight draped the stands in long shadows, the last threads of sunlight slipping down behind the towers. The Slytherin team had already trudged back to the castle, their laughter fading into stone corridors, but Valentine Black lingered, circling the pitch in stubborn arcs.

She pressed forward, jaw set, each pass through the hoops a dare against her own fatigue. Her lungs burned, her arms ached, her palms stung where the Quaffle bit into skin. But she wasn’t done yet. Not when she was still the newest Chaser on the roster. Not when every clean shot was proof she belonged, not a fluke, not a replacement waiting to be cut loose.

The silence pressed in, so thick she could almost hear the ghost of the crowd—roars, jeers, the phantom echo of what it might be like to matter. She chased that echo the way she chased the hoops, sharp dives and narrow throws carving determination into the dusk.

A clean arc, a sharp snap through the center hoop. Val exhaled, pushing sweaty strands of hair from her cheek, already angling for another run.

“Merlin’s pants, you Slytherins really don’t know when to quit.”

The voice cut through the quiet like a stone through glass, rich with amusement, too loud for the settling dark. Val didn’t need to look; only one person bled confidence that thickly into every syllable.

Her grip tightened on the Quaffle. She threw anyway, deliberately ignoring him. The ball smacked through another hoop, defiance echoing in the hollow clang.

“Say something interesting,” she shot back, dry, “or shut up. Please and thank you.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw him swagger closer, broom tucked lazily beneath one arm, the last streaks of sunset catching in his hair. Jake Jenkins, grinning like he owned the whole bloody pitch.

“Wow. So polite of you, Black,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Been practicing your manners? Or saving that sharp tongue just for me?”

Val’s lips twitched before she crushed it flat, keeping her eyes on the hoops, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a smile. His voice still vibrated in her ears though, annoyingly warm, like it could take root there if she wasn’t careful.

Jake lingered at the edge of the pitch, his smirk widening with each perfect throw she refused to let him interrupt. When at last she slowed, sweat cooling against her skin, he tilted his head and called out, voice dripping with mischief.

“May I fancy you with a scary story?”

Val raised a brow, Quaffle balanced in her grip. “How scary?”

Jake’s grin sharpened.

“Scary enough you might start disliking humanity more than you already do.”

That earned him a pause. Against her will, her pulse skipped. She hovered a moment longer, then sighed and guided her broom down. Dust rose around her boots as she touched down, dropping the Quaffle with a dull thud.

“You’ve got my attention, Jenkins.”

“Of course I do.” He sprawled across the grass like the pitch belonged to him, eyes glinting with that infuriating sparkle of challenge.

Val leaned back onto her hands, stretching her legs across the grass. The night air cooled her skin, tugging away the heat of training.

For once, Jake didn’t immediately fill the silence with noise. He tipped his head skyward, letting the moonlight slide across his face. The smirk never fully left his mouth, but something in his expression sharpened: still, deliberate, almost ritual.

“You’re really setting the mood for this, huh?” Val muttered.

His grin curled slowly. “That’s the point, Black. A good story’s got to crawl under your skin first.”

And then his voice dropped, threading smooth through the chilly night air.

“Let me tell you,” he said, “the tale of a boy who borrowed someone else’s life, and wore it so well, no one remembered the face he buried to get it.”

The words seemed to thicken the air. Val’s fingers curled unconsciously into the grass.

“Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived underground. Not in comfort, not in secret, but in chains of soot and hunger. A miner’s son. The dark was his cradle, the earth his tomb. His nails split before he could write, his lungs filled with black dust before they could fill with laughter. His parents didn’t look at him, not really. To them, he was another tool. A shovel with bones.”

Val’s throat tightened. She imagined the reek of smoke, grit grating down her throat, the press of darkness so total it could smother thought itself.

“One night, the mine screamed. The timbers snapped like bones, and fire poured down like rain. The ground opened its mouth and swallowed everything. His sister’s cry. His mother’s face. His father’s silence. All of it smothered in ash, smothered in smoke. And the boy crawled out, blistered and choking, reborn in flame and ruin.”

Jake’s smile twisted, too sharp.

“But the world above didn’t care for ghosts. He wandered the streets with coal still in his hair, and the city did what cities do—it chewed him up. A rat among boots. A shadow that stole crusts from bins and coins from pockets. He learned fast that hunger is louder than pride, and sharper than fear. Still, hunger doesn’t stay quiet long.”

Val could almost smell it: sour rot of bins, piss-slick stone, the copper tang of blood where teeth gnawed skin. She swallowed, hard.

“So one night, the boy was caught. Cornered in an alley, piss and rot thick in the air. A knife pressed against his throat. The man wanted blood. Wanted to see a rat bleed out on the cobblestones. And then—” Jake’s hand flicked through the air like smoke escaping fingers, “—the boy slipped free. Vanished. A miracle, they called it. A curse, more like. He walked away untouched, and from then on, they whispered of the Lucky Boy. But luck, Black…” his grin curved razor-sharp, “…luck always comes with teeth.”

The pitch was deathly quiet now. Even the breeze stilled, grass bending as if to listen.

“And sure enough, luck drew the eye of a man too rich to starve and too broken to live. A man with coffers overflowing but no heirs left to bear his name. A man who saw in the boy a blank slate. A vessel. A mask.”

Jake’s voice slowed, reverent, like a priest uttering a curse.

“So the boy shed his skin. Washed the soot from his hands until the water ran black and red. He practiced a new smile in broken mirrors until it fit his face like a blade in a sheath. He learned to laugh at the right moments, to talk like he belonged in parlors and not in pits. He became what they needed him to be. And soon, no one remembered the rat. No one remembered the screams in the mine. No one remembered the boy at all.”

Val’s stomach churned. Her nails dug crescents into her palms, grounding herself in the cold grass. A shiver threatened to climb her spine, but she refused to give him that victory.

“They only remembered the mask. And somewhere, beneath all that polish and shine, the boy waited. Still waiting. Still clawing at the inside of that skin, trying to get out. And if you listen closely—” Jake tilted his head, voice dipping to a whisper that crawled between heartbeats, “—you can hear his fingernails scratching against the bone. Wondering if the mask will crack… or rot with him inside.”

Silence.

It stretched long, heavy, pressing on her ribs until she could hear her own heartbeat too loud in her ears. The moon had climbed higher, spilling cold silver across the grass, hollowing Jake’s grin into something wolfish.

Val sat very still, heart drumming against her ribs. Her palms pressed into the damp grass, grounding her, as though movement might break the fragile line between story and truth.

“Do you always tell stories like you lived them?” she asked at last, voice steady but low.

Jake tilted his head, moonlight cutting his grin into something smug and dangerous.

“I’m just that good.”

“Or just that insane.”

Before he could retort, a familiar voice cut through the night.

“Oi, Jenkins! What’s got you out here, practicing your brooding face?”

Finn Moran strode out of the shadows, broad-shouldered, gait loose as if he owned the night. Beside him, Ellie Crawford kept pace, her scuffed boots crunching over the grass. She shot him a warning glare sharp enough to slice through the dark, as if daring him to charge headlong into trouble anyway. Arms folded, chin tilted, she radiated that quiet defiance only she could pull off.

Jake didn’t flinch. If anything, his grin sharpened, like he’d been waiting for this.

“We were sharing a ghost story,” he said, eyes flicking to Finn with something heavier than the words themselves.

Finn slowed, his expression flickering for just a heartbeat; something sharp and knowing flashing through before his usual mischief slammed back into place.

“A ghost story?” he echoed, throwing his arms wide with mock horror. “Merlin’s beard, Jake, you’re scaring the poor girl.”

Val scoffed, tossing the Quaffle into the air and catching it with a snap. “Please. I’ve heard scarier sounds coming from the Slytherin lavatories.”

Ellie snorted. “Not a high bar, Val.”

Finn laughed too loud, too easy.

But Jake leaned back into the grass, eyes never leaving Finn’s. In the silver wash of moonlight, the glance they shared said more than words ever could.

Because only the two of them knew—sometimes the scariest ghosts are the ones still wearing a heartbeat, clinging like smoke in your lungs until every breath feels borrowed.

And in the hush that followed, Val couldn’t shake the feeling that the Quaffle lying forgotten in the shadow of the hoop wasn’t the only thing abandoned on this pitch tonight.

[additional notes:]

🔥 thank you so much for reading! i hope you got the chills! 😏😆❤️‍🔥

🔥 non-native english speaker here, so advance pardon for the errors 🙇🏻‍♀️

🔥 i'm adding links to the mentioned ocs above, just in case you want more info! (Jake, Val, Finn, Ellie)

🔥 shout out to my platonic wife @accio-bagel for letting me include her beautiful children! (Finn ♥️ and Ellie 💚)

You hurried out of the Undercroft, your face red with embarrassment. You were glad to not run into Sebastian on your way back to the Potions classroom. You were also glad that there wasn’t a class immediately after yours so your unmoved stuff wasn’t bothering anyone. 

“I’m sorry, Professor,” you said as you entered the room. “I didn’t expect the Amortentia to be that strong.”

Professor Sharp looked up from his desk. “That’s alright, Ms. L/N. You seemed to take it worse than anyone I’ve ever seen… Are you sure that you are okay? It may be wise to go to the hospital wing and take the rest of the day off.”

You sighed. “I think I’m alright now. But if it takes a turn for the worse, I will visit Matron Blainey. Again, I’m sorry.”

“If you are feeling alright, then I won’t worry. Just make sure to get the rest of the notes from another student,” he told you. “Oh, and Mr. Sallow seemed very concerned at your departure from class. Might want to check in with him.” 

You felt your face go bright red. All you could do was nod before turning to gather your things and then leave the classroom as quickly as you could so you wouldn’t be too late for Charms. 

---

Ominis did tell Sebastian. He hadn’t said he wouldn’t. 

“Y/N was… down there today,” he said casually at dinner. 

“What? When?” Sebastian set down his fork and fully turned toward his friend. 

“Potions. I found her asleep afterwards since I had a free period… She asked me to not tell you.”

Sebastain frowned. “She’s determined to avoid me forever, isn’t she?”

“It is very possible. Maybe Lucan can pair you against her in Crossed Wands or something. A duel might be good for you both.”

“And get myself knocked on my ass?” Sebastian laughed. 

“You insult, you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter. Sounds fair,” Ominis reasoned. 

“Who’s serving Sallow’s ass to him?” Imelda asked. “Better not be anyone on the Gryffindor team. We need to beat them tomorrow. Be at the pitch on time, Sallow.”

“No one, at this rate. My ass is my own,” Sebastian said with a sigh. 

“Out of curiosity, have you tried talking to her at all this term?” Ominis asked.

“Well, no, technically,” Sebastian said, earning an irritated look from Ominis. “But she positions herself as far away from me as she can!”

Ominis shook his head. “For a master of mischief, you certainly are not putting all of your effort into this. Maybe if you talked to her, instead of beating up anyone who shows interest in her, we wouldn’t be missing her friendship.”

Sebastian didn’t respond. He seemed completely focused on moving the food around his plate but not eating.

“If it makes you feel any better, we were not the only ones unable to reach her over the summer.”

Sebastian’s head snapped up, staring at Ominis intensely. “What?”

“She said she was unreachable all summer. Even her other friends could not reach her.”

“She said?” Sebastian repeated slowly. “When did you speak with her?”

“Wednesday,” he said calmly.

“You spoke with her two days ago and didn’t tell me?” Sebastian sounded frustrated. 

“She cornered me outside the library and wanted to know why you were beating up anyone who asked her on a date. Oh, and she wanted me to remind you that you two are not dating.”

“What did you tell her?” he asked, sounding more scared than frustrated now.

“Well, I thought it had been obvious why you had been doing that; she did not like the answer,” Ominis said with a smirk. “Then I tried to explain your implied relationship with her, which, again, she did not like.” 

“Gods, maybe a Crossed Wands duel is what I need. Then she can just kill me and we’ll call it even.”

“She could. Or you could talk to her, regain her trust and friendship, and then ask her out? Certainly both are better than sending any more potential suitors to the hospital wing.”

“Someone said he had his hand up her shirt!” Sebastian hissed. “He deserved it.”

“I heard she was on his lap and letting him. Sounds consensual.” 

Sebastian groaned. “Fine, I’ll talk to her.”

---

You didn’t want to go to the quidditch game, but Natty made you promise you’d go. You grumpily put on one of Natty’s extra scarves and stood between her and Garreth in the stands. You planned to endure their cheers for Leander Prewett for the game and then you would disappear into you room until the Gryffindor party, assuming they won. Natty also made you promise that if Gryffindor won, you would at least come to part of the party.

Like the week prior, the crowd cheered as the teams exited the locker rooms and did their warm up laps. Once again, you swore you made eye contact with Sebastian. You scowled.

“Got some distaste for Slytherin finally?” Garreth asked, nudging you with his elbow. 

You rolled your eyes. “Something like that.”

Slytherin was definitely the better team in this matchup. They took the lead right away and kept it. Sebastian’s aim was as perfect as it had been. Without Sebastian getting distracted and launching a bludger into the stands, the team was flying circles around the Gryffindors. The Gryffindor seeker saw the snitch first, but the Slytherin seeker had been closer to it and managed to swiftly catch it, ending the game. It felt much shorter than the game against Hufflepuff. 

“Damn, no party,” Natty said dejectedly. 

“I like how that’s the part you’re sad about,” you said with a laugh. 

“Not all of us got to go to the Hufflepuff one!” Garreth reminded you. 

“Have you considered just having a party on the weekend? Like next week, there’s no quidditch. Just have a party.”

“Prefects won’t stand for it,” Garreth said. “Trust me, people have tried.”

The stands emptied and students filled the Great Hall. It seemed much calmer without Sebastian starting a fight in the corridor. Without a party to go to, you planned to spend the rest of the day in your dorm. You’d get homework done and if you had time to spare, you’d maybe go to the Room of Requirement to brew potions and tend to plants you had growing up there. 

Laying on the ground in your room, you worked on a Transfiguration essay. You were proud of the progress you were making, until a first year knocked on the door.

“Excuse me, are you Y/N?”

You looked at the young girl, blinking in surprise at someone other than Constance or Samantha at the door. “Yeah. That’s me.”

“There’s someone asking for you at the common room door.”

You blinked again. “Who?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say and won’t come in either.”

“Was he wearing green? Yellow?” you asked, trying to guess who it was.

“I don’t know,” the girl repeated. “I’m just delivering the message!”

“Okay, I’ll go see what’s up.”

You got up, leaving your homework spread out on the floor, and followed the first year down the stairs to the common room door. You half expected to see Elias there, trying to make the previous week’s snog into something more. Instead, Sebastian stood there, looking semi-nervous.

“Thanks,” you told the first year before closing the door behind you, leaving you alone with Sebastian in the stairwell. 

You took a moment to look over Sebastian, something you had both been meaning to do and avoiding. You now understood what Constance and Samantha had meant by puberty doing work on him. He was at least a full head taller than you were, his shoulders more broad. His face seemed slightly slimmer and his jaw more square. Quidditch had also been doing him well in addition to the exercise one gets in intense dueling; although part of his physique might be accentuated due to losing weight. Ominis’s words about how Sebastian was over the summer still sat with you. But Sebastian still had his warm brown eyes, casually messy hair and almost excessive amount of freckles. 

“You sent a first year for me?”

“Obviously I can’t go in myself.”

“Constance or Samantha have to be around too. You know, my roommates who aren’t afraid of you?”

“But she got you here. I… I’m not sure Constance or Samantha would’ve helped me.”

“Okay. So I’m here. What?” you asked impatiently.

“Can we talk in the Undercroft?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay. Um,” he muttered, looking a little uncomfortable. “I guess we can talk here.”

“Then talk. I was working on Transfiguration homework.”

“How are you?”

You blinked at him in surprise, like you had done to the first year. “I’m fine?”

“You ran out of Potions rather unexpectedly. I wanted to know if you were okay.”

“So you waited twenty four hours to do so. So timely.”

“You’ve become rather good at making yourself scarce.”

“My friends know where to find me.”

“I don’t like that I’m not included in that.”

“Darn. Sucks to be you then, doesn’t it?”

He pressed his lips together. 

“So… was that all? Can I go back to studying?”

“No! Please, Y/N, I’d really rather do this somewhere more private,” he practically begged. 

You shook your head. “This is private enough. Talk if you’re going to talk or I’m going back in. And then you can go to your party where I’m sure you’ll be worshiped like a king. Good game, by the way.”

“I-I… I’m sorry. I need you to know that I’m sorry,” he said, stumbling over his words.

“For?”

“I’m sorry for calling you a mudblood last term. It was idiotic of me and I spent all of summer beating myself up over it. And then you didn’t get my letter and you’ve been avoiding me since we got back. I miss you and I’m sorry.”

“What about Andrew and Elias?” you asked curtly, although pleased that he had finally apologized. 

He didn’t respond right away. “I don’t know if I am sorry for that.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Then answer me this. What are we?”

“Hopefully friends again.”

“And we are not…”

“Not dating.”

“Ah, good” you said with a chuckle. “You do retain some things that aren’t in books from the Restricted Section!” 

“So we can be friends again?”

“Maybe. I accept your apology but I’m not sure if I’m ready to forgive you and go right back into how things were.”

“Would you consider coming to the party?” he asked, trying to gauge where your friendship might be.

“The Slytherin party? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really want to go if you’re not there.”

“To see if you can get what Elias did last week?” you asked with a sneer.

His eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed. “I-I was not… I didn’t mean to imply… I just meant…”

You laughed. “What’s the password? I’ll consider going if you can promise that Ominis will be there.”

“Treasure. And he’ll be there for a bit. He’ll sometimes go back to our dorm early since it does get loud. But I’ll make sure he stays around, especially if it means you’ll come.”

“I’ll come,” you said with a sigh and turned to go back into the common room.

“It’s already started,” he said meekly.

“I said I’ll come. I didn’t say when. I have a Transfiguration essay to finish.”

You then entered the common room, leaving him alone in the stairwell. In your dorm, you laid back on the floor and tried to get back into the flow of homework. It took you longer than you intended to get back into the essay, but once you were in a groove, it was finished quickly. If only that first year hadn’t interrupted you… You sighed and cleaned up your homework off the floor. You left your dorm and passed Samantha on the way down.

“Oh, are you going to dinner already?” Samantha asked.

“No, actually. I’ve been invited to the Slytherin party.”

Samantha paused, looking at you to see if you were joking. “And you’re going?”

You shrugged. “I kind of made it my mission to see all the common rooms this year,” you lied, before jokingly saying, “Maybe I’ll get some action again.”

“From who?” Samantha scoffed, crossing her arms. 

“Not sure. We’ll see who’s all there.”

You left Samantha dumbfounded on the stairs. You made your way to the Slytherin Dungeon, following a pair of giggling Hufflepuffs who seemed to have also been invited. They gave the password to the door and it was still there when you reached to open it. After you opened the door, you were greeted with blasting music and the stern face of a seventh year Slytherin. He was talking to the Hufflepuff girls before gesturing them down the stairs.

“Hold it,” he said to you as you tried to slip past him. “This party is invite only for other houses.”

“Sebastian invited me.”

His eyes narrowed. He held up a finger and yelled something down the stairwell. You waited for something to happen. After a minute, Sebastian strolled up the stairs, his face lighting up when he saw you standing there. 

“Lestrange, she’s good,” he told the seventh year, who looked annoyed at you. “You came!”

You sighed. “I did say I would. Where’s Ominis?”

“Follow me!” Sebastian said, taking your hand and leading you down the stairs. 

The music only got louder as they descended into the common room. As much as you loved Ravenclaw Tower, the Slytherin Dungeon was breathtaking. There was a certain green hue to everything, but it was beautiful and fitting. Like the Hufflepuff party, the center of the room was filled with students dancing with the outskirts of the room more mellow. Sebastian pulled you towards a student who appeared to be in charge of drinks. 

“Two firewhiskeys,” Sebastian told the student. 

The boy nodded and handed them cups. 

“I’m not really a firewhiskey girl…” you said to Sebastian. 

“You are tonight.”

Sebastian led you to another part of the common room and your jaw dropped. You hadn’t been expecting tall windows that showcased the Black Lake. To your delight, he kept walking towards one of the windows. As you approached one of the windows’ alcoves, Ominis came into view. He was sitting on the ground, clutching his own cup with his head pressed against the wall behind him and eyes closed. 

“Ominis! Guess who showed up!” Sebastian said cheerfully, nudging his sitting friend’s rear with his foot. 

“I would love to guess Y/N but we both know you do not have the courage to apologize to her.”

You sat down across from Ominis. “We need to document this. Ominis is wrong for once.”

Ominis sat up straighter, opening his eyes. 

“Y/N?” he asked. His head turned towards Sebastian. “You actually apologized?”

“Well, no need to sound so surprised. I said I would.”

Ominis shook his head. “You said you would talk to her. I half expected you to return one night begging me to help you reverse one of her hexes.”

“It’s the beginning of the night, Ominis. There is still time,” you said with a smirk.

“But you said he apologized?”

“I did.”

“For what he said. Not what he did.”

Ominis nodded, understanding what you meant.

“It is good to have you here. It will make this much more tolerable.”

Imelda appeared next to Sebastian, barely giving you a glance. She had her hand on his shoulder and was jerking him back into the party.

“Come on! Team’s doing shots!” she yelled as they disappeared into the crowd. 

After a moment of silence between you and Ominis, he spoke. 

“Do you forgive him?”

“I’m working on it. I don’t know if I really have a choice.”

He gave her a quizzical look. “How would you not have a choice?”

Sighing, you moved so that you were sitting next to Ominis instead of across from him. You looked up at the tall window, its lights dancing across your faces and the floor. It was peaceful. 

“If I tell you, you cannot tell Sebastian.”

“He would find solace in knowing you will forgive him eventually.”

“Ominis, this is… more than forgiveness.”

He tilted his head like a confused puppy. “Go on.”

“Say you won’t tell Sebastian.”

“Sebastian will know nothing of this conversation.”

You took a deep breath. “What did you smell in the Amortentia?”

Ominis was taken aback by your question, although he felt he knew where the conversation would lead. 

“Uh… Warm hay, vanilla, and cooking garlic,” he listed off. “How is…”

“But when you smelled the potion, it was just scents, right?” you asked, cutting him off.

“Yes.”

“I… I didn’t smell anything. Not really. I saw things.”

“That’s why you left so urgently?”

“I saw memories of everything I’d ever done with Sebastian. Each memory felt more vivid than when it actually happened. So, yes, there were smells, but it wasn’t like… distinct scents.”

Ominis reached his hand out to search for yours, but they weren’t next to your side so he settled with gently resting it on your knee. 

“Y/N,” he whispered, barely audible over the music. 

“I should have smelled smoke from a woodfire and fresh cookies and lemons. I love those smells. But I didn’t. I think I could be mad at him forever, but I would always forgive him.”

“Is that why you agreed to come tonight?”

“Maybe? I think it was hearing him say he missed me. Something just… clicked.”

“My word was not good enough for that?” he asked, mirth lacing his words. 

“You can explain how much of a wreck he is oh so eloquently, but there is nothing like hearing him say it. Hearing him acknowledge that he liked having me in his life. Hearing him say he’s sorry like he means it.” 

Sebastian stumbled back over to the alcove where they were sitting. He used the wall to keep him standing up.

“That was… more than one shot,” he said, gagging slightly.

“If you are going to vomit, you can do that elsewhere,” Ominis told him in a stern voice. 

Sebastian slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting across from Ominis and you, where you had been sitting when he was dragged away by Imelda. 

“Has the world always been spinning?”

“Technically,” you laughed. “But if the room is spinning, that’s because you’ve drank too much firewhiskey.”

“And vodka,” Sebastian added. “So. Much. Vodka.”

You placed your head on Ominis’s shoulder. You were holding your cup between your legs, having barely had any of it. 

“So what have I missed in this quiet corner?” Sebastian asked, looking from Ominis to you.

“Just talking about you,” Ominis answered. 

Sebastian smiled wickedly.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” you confirmed. “You’re a decent quidditch player when you aren’t aiming bludgers at fans.”

Ominis laughed while Sebastian turned a shade of pink. You smirked at his reaction. 

“I wasn’t aiming for you.”

“I know, but you still came damn close. You’re lucky Poppy values my safety.”

“I value your safety!” he defended. “Just not… his.”

“Clearly.” 

“Please, Y/N. He’s the reason that Hufflepuff is in the hospital wing,” Ominis said, still laughing. 

“What did you do?” you snapped, sitting up straight. 

“Couple of hexes. Nothing Blainey can’t fix,” he said with ease. 

“Maybe I should have held out until you did apologize for what you’ve done to the boys.”

“Larson just got a little shove. He’s fine,” Sebastian said. 

“Plus, he did not get anywhere with you,” Ominis added, not helping Sebastian’s case and he knew it.

Your gaze moved to glare at Ominis. “And what does that mean?”

With a cheeky smile, he said, “You know your snogging session with the Hufflepuff is no secret. His hand, up your shirt?”

You turned bright red. You looked down at your cup, remembering how Elias had felt you up. Then, realization dawning on you, you looked up at Sebastian.

“Is that why he’s in the hospital wing?”

He nodded, not making eye contact. You threw your head back with a laugh.

“Elias won’t be able to look at you without wetting himself,” you said. “You nearly kill him with a bludger, you throw punches at him and break his nose, and a compilation of hexes. Merlin, Seb…”

Sebastian smiled at your old nickname for him. You were the only one who had ever called him that, besides Anne. 

“Have you ever considered being, I don’t know, less violent?” you asked.

“I’m not that violent!”

“You literally put the first guy I’ve kissed in years in the hospital wing, Sebastian!” you scolded him. 

He rolled his eyes. “It happens.”

“Only with you, Sebastian. Only with you,” Ominis muttered, earning a laugh from you. 

A girl you somewhat recognized approached their alcove, looking mildly nervous. She looked from Sebastian to you with a wary look. 

“Hey Sebastian,” she said. 

He looked up at her. “Oh, hi Violet.”

Violet McDowell. That’s who it was. You vaguely recalled her being in your Potions class last term. Violet shifted her weight, casting a nervous glance at you and Ominis.

“I was wondering if you’d want to dance?” she asked, her voice soft with femininity. 

“Oh, I’m not-” Sebastian started to say.

“Go on, dance,” you interrupted. “We’ll be here.”

“Oh… Okay. Sure, I’ll dance,” Sebastian said, giving you a confused look but standing up to follow Violet to where people were dancing.

Ominis shifted his body as if he were using his full body to look at you. 

“Excuse my profanity, but what the fuck was that?”

“He should be having fun. This party wouldn’t be happening with him,” you said coolly. 

“And you think he was not having fun with us? With you?”

Rolling her eyes, you replied, “He could be having more fun.”

“Y/N, he does not want to dance with Violet. She’s a fine girl, but he would rather dance with someone else. Or talk with someone else. Or sit in silence with someone else.”

“What are you getting at?”

“That he’s been the happiest I have heard him in a while since you walked into this common room. And it is not the firewhiskey.”

“It’s the vodka,” you said definitively. “OW!”

Ominis had smacked your shoulder harder than a playful shove. 

“Don’t be so dense.”

“So he’s happy to have me around. Why does that mean he can’t dance with a pretty girl like Violet?”

“He has his eyes set on someone else.”

“Who?”

“Do I need to hit you again?”

“Please don’t,” you said, rubbing your shoulder. 

“Then put two and two together.”

“I’d… I’d rather not right now.”

“Why not? Now is a perfectly good time,” Ominis said, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. 

“Because I’m not ready to, Ominis. I need more time.”

His face softened at the intensity in your voice. He gave your knee another squeeze. 

“But you do know?”

“I won’t believe it until I hear it from him.”

He sighed. “Are they dancing?”

You scanned the dance floor, but it was so crowded that you couldn’t really recognize anyone. 

“Not sure. I can’t see him. Why?”

“Let’s go to my dorm. There’s something I want to show you.”

Ominis stood up and held out his hand to help you up. Then you made your way through the throngs of people enjoying the party. Ominis led the way with his wand pulsing red as he made his way to the boys’ dormitories. You were a little baffled to see that the dorms were arranged in a circle, all on the same level. Being sixth years, his and Sebastian’s dorm was in the center of the circle. 

Once in the dorm, you sat down in one of the chairs around the edge of the room. You watched Ominis dig through the drawers of one of the desks. 

“What are you looking for?” you asked.

“Sebastian’s letters to you.”

You gave a dry laugh. “He kept letters he never sent to me?”

“Sort of. He kept the ones you never got because the owl came back with them. And a couple of ones that he started and never finished. They have circled sentences, which I think means he liked how he phrased something but thought the rest of the letter was rubbish.”

“How do you know he has these?”

“I am a nosy bastard.”

That got a real laugh out of you. “Of all the things to call yourself,” you said. 

“Aha!” Ominis stood up straight with a decent pile of parchment in his hands. Some were crinkled and others torn. One or two seemed to be nicely folded with a string attached. 

Ominis walked over to where you were sitting and handed them to you.

“Read them,” he demanded.

You flipped through the pages quickly.

“There has to be at least twenty pages! Ominis, this feels like an invasion of Sebastian’s privacy.”

“He wanted you to read them at some point. Or he wouldn’t have written them.”

He could feel your hesitation.

“You can at least read the ones tied with string. He actually tried to send those to you. It is, well, your own fault that you never got them.”

You separated the two tied in string from the rest of the pile. You twirled the twine in your fingers, causing it to unravel.

“I don’t know… It still feels wrong.” 

“If everything goes wrong, you can blame me. Say I forced you. Because I am. You are not leaving this dorm until you read the letters.”

“Ominis, I-”

“Read them,” he urged. “You need to.”

You looked at the letters in your hands and sighed. You pulled the string on the one with the earlier date scrawled on the corner in Sebastian’s messy handwriting. You unfolded it and then paused after seeing your name. 

“Have you read these?”

Ominis’ cheeks turned light pink. “Yes. He wanted me to make sure they made sense… And they do, for the most part.”

“Okay…”

Dearest Y/N,

I hope you are safe and alive, wherever you are. Where are you? It didn’t feel right that you left without saying goodbye. I don’t like how we left things. I didn’t mean what I said. I was just caught up in what you were planning - which I still think is a bad idea. Did you go through with it? I hope you didn’t, for your own sake. 

Ominis and I made it to Feldcroft fine. My uncle’s house isn’t in the best shape, but we’re making do. Will you visit us? I want to spend part of the summer with you, my dearest friend. The summer is too long to be apart. Kindred souls should not be apart for so long once they have known each other. 

Please write back that you are okay and when you hope to visit. We miss you.

Love, Seb

You folded the letter and set it down on the table next to you, in a different pile than the rest of the scrap parchment. Ominis was sitting on his bed, seemingly watching you with his unseeing eyes. You unfolded the second letter.

Dearest Y/N,

Unfortunately, my first letter never found its way to you. I cannot explain how much I miss your presence. The world doesn’t feel right. I struggle with It is impossible to say how much I hope you are okay. I need to know that you are alive. Please, write back as soon as you get this letter. I lost Anne and Solomon. Don’t let me lose you too.

Where did you go to? You left so suddenly without saying goodbye. That hurt me and I wish you hadn’t so I could fix things. I didn’t mean to push you away from us. While I disagree with your plans, I regret how I expressed it. I never meant to hurt you. 

Ominis and I are at my uncle’s house in Feldcroft. Please visit. I need to see you before the end of summer. Or let me know where you are and I will come to you. Please, I need to see you. Every day gets I miss you.

Please write back. I need to know that you are alive and well.

Love, Seb

You folded the second letter and placed it on top of the first. You sighed. 

“I read the letters.”

“He signed them ‘love,’” Ominis said matter-of-factly. 

“I know. I read the letters,” you repeated. Your hand reached for the scraps but then you stopped yourself. “Have you read all of them?”

“No. Only two more of the unfinished ones.”

“I don’t know what the point of me reading these is. To show me that I should’ve been reachable over the summer? That I shouldn’t have left the way I did? Although I was, am, deeply insulted at what happened, I still stand by what I did.”

“Read between the lines a little bit. See how much he cares for you. How he cares for you as more than a friend.”

“Ominis,” was all you could say before Sebastian burst through the door, his face flushed under his freckles. 

While you had been in the dorm, reading his letters, he had been trying to find you both. He put up with one song while dancing with Violet before excusing himself to get a drink. Sebastian was already quite drunk, but he needed a valid excuse to get back to his friends that was better than “I don’t want to dance with you.” He grabbed a drink for you, assuming you must’ve finished your first by now. He was confused when he didn’t see you or Ominis sitting in the alcove by the window. He scanned the room and did a lap, trying to find you. He finished his drink while looking for you, weaving through the crowd, hoping that you just moved somewhere else in the common room. He started to drink from the cup he had grabbed for you and asked everyone around him if they had seen either of his friends. Another boy from his dorm said he saw you head for the dorms. That sent Sebastian’s head spinning: the dorms. 

You had looked comfortable resting your head on Ominis’s shoulder earlier. Would his best friend really betray him like that? Surely Ominis knew how he felt about you. He had read the letters he tried to send to you over the summer. Ominis was blind, but it only made him ten times more perceptive to the little things. Ominis couldn’t be getting what you had teased Sebastian about outside the Ravenclaw Tower when he practically begged you to come to the party.

His mind was racing as he made his way to the dorms. He burst through the door to see you and Ominis sitting on opposite sides of the room, much to his relief. But then he saw the pile of crumpled parchment, two folded letters and discarded twine on the table next to you.

“How much did you read?” 

For once, he wasn’t upset with what his mind had chosen to say. He had wanted to say “There you are!” and “What are you doing going through my things?” What he had said was an agreeable medium, although the words were laced with fear.

You turned pale. “Only the ones you had tried to send me. Ominis insisted.”

“Sure, blame it on Ominis,” Sebastian scoffed, moving to grab all of the letters. 

“It’s true, Sebastian,” Omins said. “I brought her in here. I got them out of your desk and put them in her hands. And then told her I would not let her leave until she read them.”

“And why would you do that?” he growled, turning towards his friend. 

Ominis knew he couldn’t tell Sebastian what you had told him in the alcove.

“I thought… I thought it would help her forgive you.”

Sebastian moved closer to Ominis, crumpling all of the parchment in his hands. “These are not yours to show people. I don’t go through your stuff. Don’t go through mine.”

He threw the letters on the ground and pointed his want at them. “Incendio.” 

The parchment burst into flames before quickly dying out and Sebastian stamped them into ashes. He felt emotion beginning to swim in his eyes. He squeezed them shut. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, before turning to look at you. 

“You can go, I guess. Sorry I made you come.”

“Seb,” you said before he cut you off.

“Save it. I’m not in the mood anymore. It’s best if you leave before I make an ass of myself.”

You bit the inside of your lip. Then you nodded, standing up from your chair.

“Goodnight,” you said as you disappeared through the door. 

You lingered in the corridor after the door closed behind you. You tried to listen through the door, not sure what you were trying to hear. When you heard nothing, you sighed and walked out into the party, which was still in full swing. Only a few students seemed to have disappeared. You decided your plan of action would be returning to your own house. Sebastian had been the one to invite you and Ominis was your leverage to come; both were in their dorm. You briefly considered seeking out Imelda, but decided against it since she was likely enjoying the party to an extreme extent. 

Once again, Samantha was in the common room waiting for your return. Only this time, she managed to stay awake. She was reading on a couch when you came up the stairs. 

“You’re back!” she exclaimed, immediately closing her book and patting the couch next to her. “Tell me everything!” 

You sat down and tucked your legs under you. 

“Synopsis! First, they had a seventh year acting as a bouncer. No invite, no entrance. He literally called Sebastian over to confirm that I had been invited.”

“So that’s who invited you!” Samantha interrupted.

“Yeah, but that’s a whole other mess that I have to deal with later,” you continued, ignoring the look Samantha gave you. “Anyways, they had someone in charge of drinks like Hufflepuff. Lots of dancing in the center of the common room. I spent most of the night with Ominis in a little alcove. Their common room has these great big windows that show the Black Lake. So breathtaking. Sebastian would sit with us for a little bit until someone would drag him away. He’d come and then get dragged away again. I expected that to happen since he’s their superstar beater.” You paused, taking a breath. “Ominis did take me back to his dorm, but it’s not what you think!”

Samantha’s eyebrows shot upwards and her mouth dropped open. 

“He wanted to show me some letters from him and Sebastian wrote me over the summer, but never made it to me. That’s it. I read the letters and then I left.”

Her eyebrows returned to their normal resting position. “So you drank, talked and read? Does that even count as a party?”

“Other people were dancing and doing shots. I just had different reasons for being there than the rest of them.”

“Well, did you see anything gossip worthy? Besides you going back to the boys’ dorms.”

“Oh my Merlin, nothing happened between me and Ominis. I expect you to tell that to anyone who says otherwise. He was across the room while I read the letters.”

“Fine, but gossip?”

“Not really, I didn’t pay attention to other people. Best I can tell you is that Violet McDowell asked Sebastian to dance and I don’t think he would’ve gone if I hadn’t told him to.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“So what happened to whatever went down between you three last term? Suddenly all buddy buddy with them again?” Samantha asked, leaning backwards into the couch. 

“They finally got the courage to apologize. I wouldn’t say it’s buddy buddy, but we can talk now.”

“Hmm… Oh! Constance was right. They did try to write you over the summer!”

You hummed. “Don’t say it’s my fault for being unreachable. I had my reasons.”

“Whatever!” Samantha laughed. “People tried to communicate but you cut the world out!”

“I talked to Mr. Pippin and Sirona. Mr. Brown, Mr. Teasdale, Ms. Green.”

“You talked to shopkeeps in Hogsmeade, but none of your friends?”

“I had my reasons.”

“Really?”

You could tell that Samantha was a little hurt with knowing that you had talked to people, but not any of your friends, including her. 

“Sammy, I only talked to them when I needed supplies. I couldn’t have anyone know where I was. I need you to trust me on this.”

“What were you hiding from?”

“The world,” you muttered.

“Oh, Y/N, you don’t need to hide from the world.”

“Sometimes it felt like I was protecting the world from myself, you know? It was just better for me to be in solitude. We’ll see how it is in the spring, if I have to do that again.”

“Say goodbye at least, if you’re going to disappear.”

You smiled. “I’ll try. Now, let’s get to bed.”

---

While you were glad that there weren’t rumors about you and Ominis, you were concerned that there really weren’t any rumors from the Slytherin party. Everything people were talking about seemed to be old news. You saw Ominis walking down the corridor. You hurried up to him and pulled him into the nearest broom closet.

“I am going to hex whoever just grabbed a blind-” he said threateningly before you put your hand over his mouth.

“Shut up, it’s me.”

“Y/N?” he mumbled against your hand. You removed your hand. “Why are we in a closet?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“And you can only do that in a closet?” he asked, making sure he understood you.

“I… I… um. Just hear me out.” You paused to see if he wanted to say anything before you continued. “Why is no one talking about the party?”

“They are,” he said coolly. 

“No? I haven’t heard about the party?”

“That’s because you’re not a Slytherin,” he said with a chuckle. “I forget how new you still are to everything. People don’t spread rumors about what Slytherins do at Slytherin parties. If you want to keep your invite, you keep your mouth shut. But in the common room, we talk.”

“Oh… What have they been saying?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said teasingly. “You are not a Slytherin and this is not our common room.”

“Ominis!”

He laughed and leaned back against a shelf gently, as if making sure he wouldn’t knock anything off of it. 

“The most you’ve been in anything is people confused on why you were there. You know, being that you really haven’t been seen with us since last term. A younger student had said he thought he saw us heading towards the dorms together, but I corrected him.”

“Okay.”

You stood in silence.

“Can I go to class now?” Ominis asked.

“Yeah, go,” you responded, giving Ominis a light shove towards the door.

You closed it behind him and sat on the ground in the dark closet. Every time you thought about the party, you started to think deeply about Sebastian’s letters. You could picture them in your mind so clearly. Your thoughts traced over his messy handwriting, the certain phrases that stuck out to you.

 I want to spend part of the summer with you, my dearest friend. The summer is too long to be apart. Kindred souls should not be apart for so long once they have known each other. 

We miss you.

Love, Seb

That hurt me

I never meant to hurt you.

I need to see you. 

I need to know that you are alive and well.

I miss you.

Love, Seb

His word choice was all you could think about and you knew that you were overthinking it. You smiled at his calling you kindred souls again; it had just been something he said offhandedly when you were first getting to know each other. Apparently, he had remembered, as you did. The change between the first letter to the second wasn’t unnoticed. It changed from what could be a joint letter with Ominis to one that was only from him. A ‘we’ turned into an ‘I’ and that made all the difference. A simple request for a response turned into a need. And then there was his sign off. Love. 

You wished Sebastian hadn’t burned the rest of the letters. The more you thought about it, the more you needed to know what he had written but never sent. You hadn’t glanced at the scraps to see if he had dated them like he had dated the finished letters. Had he been attempting to write to you while you were just across the classroom? Had he written an apology with Ominis-level of eloquence that he scrapped in favor of an in-person one? Had there been more said in the scraps as Ominis implied? 

You were abruptly brought out of your thoughts by the closet door opening. Mr. Moon was standing there, looking down at you confused.

“Ms. L/N, you don’t appear to be a broom. What are you doing in here?”

“I was just… hiding.”

“Well, I found you,” he said, giving her sarcastic jazz hands. “Go hide elsewhere.”

You stood up quickly and squeezed past him as he didn’t move out of your way. 

“Yes sir,” you muttered. 

You headed to Professor Hecat’s class. You weren't sure how much time was left in your free period, but you figured the earlier you got there, the more likely you’d be able to talk to Sebastian. He usually showed up early, making it the only class he had never been late to. Despite his fascination with the dark arts that he claimed to be trying to get rid of, Defense Against the Dark Arts was clearly his favorite class. You assumed that was because the class was essentially Dueling 101. Professor Hecat knew about the students’ “secret” Cross Wands and ensured that you participated last year. You assumed it was at Hecat’s request that the other teachers turned a blind eye to the unsanctioned club. 

The class in session was just letting out when you arrived. If you went in right away, you’d have to pick a spot and then possibly move when Sebastian arrived. And you didn’t feel like making small talk with your professor. So you waited outside the classroom, leaning against the wall and watching students pass by. Leander and Garreth said hi to you as they entered the classroom. And then the person you were waiting for arrived. 

Sebastian gave you a soft unsure smile before heading into the classroom. You immediately followed him in and sat down on the bench next to him. You didn’t understand why your heart was beating so quickly. You had sat next to Sebastian hundreds of times before. You’d been physically closer to him before and never felt like this. But something about this interaction had your heart going into overdrive. And he was just taking out his supplies to be ready for class. 

“Sebastian,” you finally said. 

He stopped moving and looked at you. “Hi Y/N.”

“Why did you burn all the letters?” you asked, not caring for your bluntness.

His face turned pink. “They were my letters. Doesn’t matter why.”

“But you wrote them for me. Right?”

“I… I was getting my thoughts down on paper.”

“Thoughts you wanted to say to me?”

“Yes.” He looked away from you. This was not a discussion he thought he would be having before your Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

“Seb,” you said gently, placing your hand on his shoulder. “I wasn’t going to read the others. You have never sent those.”

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have read the letters. They weren’t yours to read.”

“They technically were addressed to me!” you corrected him. “But can we put that aside for a second? I need to know something.”

Sebastian still wasn’t look at you, but he nodded.

“Ominis said I needed to read in between the lines and that the unfinished letters, well, were more. Should I be reading into what I did read?”

He looked at you, his face fully red at this point. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. And then he looked down at his hands. You bit her bottom lip. Despite telling everyone you weren't ready for anything, you decided to take a leap of faith.

“Do you want to know why I left Potions during the Amortentia lesson?”

His eyes met yours. “I assumed it was what you smelled. Surprised you or something.”

You let out a soft laugh. “Shook me to my core is more like it. There wasn’t a wave of scents like I had expected. It was a series of visions that were all more vivid than the actual events. It was so intense that I almost blacked out and that’s why I left. But the visions, the memories. They were all of you. Every single one. Everything from my first day here. Just you.”

You could feel your heart pounding in your chest. It was all you could feel. Sebastian was staring at you with his mouth open, not saying anything.

“So, ahem, should I be reading into your letters? Or should I adjust how I go about life?”

He abruptly stood up, grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the classroom, leaving his stuff on the desk. He didn’t say anything but within seconds, you knew that he was taking you to the Undercroft. It was too close and provided privacy. Sebastian didn’t let go of your arm until the door closed behind you with a loud clang. 

“You tell me all of that right before class?” he asked, sounding breathless. He ran a hand through his hair. “Merlin, Y/N, your timing!”

“I… I had to do it while I still had the nerve to.”

“The nerve to,” he repeated, pacing around the Undercroft and continuing to run his hands through his hair like he didn’t know what else to do with them. “So instead of just smelling… me, you saw me? And that sent you running?”

“I ran because the visions were so intense, not because they were you.” You paused and looked at your feet. “I had thought I was beginning to get over you, but apparently that’s not possible.”

“Get over me?”

“Gods, Seb, how could you not notice?” you said with an airy laugh of disbelief. “How in love I was.”

“Was?” He walked closer to where you were standing.

“I tried to get over you during the summer. Your words cut so deep. I had tried to get over you when you called me ignorant,” you said, spitting the last word out bitterly. “But I couldn’t. My heart forgives you faster than my brain wants to.”

He took another step closer to you. “Do you know what I smelled?”

“Pot roast and butterbeer?” you offered. 

“No,” he answered with a chuckle, shaking his head. “Cherry blossoms. Poppy flowers. Palo santo. Ebony.” He had taken another step closer to you with each item. 

You felt your face burn. He had just listed off the scents of your perfume. You looked up at his face now that he was standing directly in front of you. 

“That’s all I could smell. And it’s all that I smell right now.”

“So I should read into how you signed the letters with ‘love,’” you said nervously.