#theo devlin

SUMMARY: That's right. Exactly what it sounds like.

In which - Ominis's theory about Accio is finally used on clothes. Inspired by: this beautiful fanart here (preview in the fic for reference- but pls give love to this most delicious work by @yoshitsuno)

Ominis, Theo, and Sebastian find ways to pass the time during a rainy day. Including some Ominis Fluff. Naughty Banter with Sebastian. Theo being a lady in the streets but a freak in the sheets like the Hufflepuff SHE IS.

Lots of banter, with hints of smut (that I may actually expand on later on when i'm feeling more determined), but in the mean time just got carried away with giving them a little banter moment :3 (ERM...esp since I'm working on more angsty one shots, and keep avoiding the hurt with more mindless goodness like the below but anywhooooo)

Enjoy!

It had been a rainy, uneventful, day at Hogwarts that spring afternoon.

Because of the storms happening outside, Theo, Ominis and Sebastian had found most of their usual activities had been cancelled. 

The usual ones…quidditch, beasts class …as well as the other extracurricular types they had been dabbling in recently..i.e hunting down poachers, killing spiders, trolls..fighting goblins... In other words, most of the things that cured them from insufferable boredom. 

So…they certainly had to find some other way to pass the time didn’t they? 

Theo had already been bothering Ominis all day to do something, until he finally convinced her to join him in the library. As much as Theo wanted to attempt to be responsible and catch up on their assignments for Professor Binn’s class, she was finding it near impossible not to nod off. 

They had hunkered down in the corner of the library just adjacent to the spiral staircase, and far away from the librarian - thank Merlin. Theo balanced her heavy head on her hands, casting annoyed looks in Ominis' direction. 

“You know…I don’t have to see you to know you’re not actually doing your work, Theo.” 

Ominis drawled as his hands continued to move along his own texts, not pausing even to scold her.  “Get back to work.” He commanded.

So she grumbled, but tried again…for the next few minutes. Until eventually, she became bored again. 

“Ominis..” She urged in a hush tone, with no reaction from him. She eyed the immediate vicinity for Scribner, and the old librarian was, luckily, still no where near their little corner.

“Ominis..” She hissed again. He had officially gotten into the zone, and was so focused on the way his fingers had trailed over the text that he, again, made no acknowledgment of her insistent pressing.

She rolled her eyes. She swore when Ominis got this focused on a subject, he might as well have been miles away. He had no sense of anything around him, especially his partner who was becoming increasingly unfocused. 

She reached over suddenly, her attacking fingers assailing a ticklish grab at his sides to get his attention.

The blonde’s body jerked in shock, falling against her and letting his book fly right out of his hands. 

“MERLIN'S BLOODY BALLS” 

His alarmed scream erupted across the room as his text landed with an unceremonious thump. 

Theo stifled a snort of laughter. She had forgotten that Ominis tended to startle easily, when in focus mode. But she hadn’t expect that to fly out of his mouth. 

 His shouts had echoed painfully through the library, with several students turning to look at them. 

He huffed briefly in frozen terror, before sliding a devastating glare towards Theo’s direction.

“People are staring ….aren’t they?” He hissed, as the color rose to his cheek. Theo felt instant remorse at her teasing, her own face flushing in shame. He was more apt in picking up sensitivities, lacking the one sense he didn't have…but he didn’t need it to know what was going on. 

“I do hope you have the decency to at least look ashamed, Devlin.” He hissed at her, knowing she was already feeling the need to make it up to him. 

She picked up his book for him, placing it back in his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder in attempt to get back in his good graces.

“OH. I am so sorry Ominis…I promise I’m very, very ashamed. Picture the absolute definition of shame and that is my face right now…but at least your glorious exclamation saved us all from the threat of falling asleep from the boredom of these assignments…” She teased gently with a more loving tone, attempting to make amends.

The silver haired boy’s face allowed a small smile at her jest, despite himself. He always seemed to have a most annoying soft spot for her, and Sebastian…. And Anne. 

When he was lost in thought, it was often about Anne. So, yes, he let himself get lost in his thoughts a lot, as if it was some pathetic attempt to get back at her. 

And no…he hadn’t cared too much about Binn’s assignment, but Theo had shocked him out of a rather long train of thought he had been lost in about when he might see Anne next. He missed her so much. And even Binn’s assignment couldn’t distract him from that. 

“It is is a rather tedious lesson isn’t it? The assignment?” He lamented finally. 

“Yes it is…” Theo confirmed, wondering curiously where else his mind had went at that moment.

“…But apparently not tedious enough for you to not even hear me trying to get your attention…?” 

Ominis poked her forehead with his finger, effectively throwing her off balance in retaliation. 

He deflected, naturally. 

“You can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes” He scolded. “I swear you’re worse than Sebastian. I’ve had to train myself to ignore you both out of necessity or else I would never get anything done.” 

“Ouch.”

Despite the jests, they both chuckled at in comfortable, quiet laughter. 

“Where is our dear old boy, by the way? Aren’t you the one that’s supposed to be keeping an eye on him this week, hm?.” 

Ominis said playfully, knowing very well that the reason there had been so much less angst between the three of them lately had been because his two friends were, essentially, banging out that angst every moment they could.

 Everything he knew, he knew against his will…but he had heard the tension in his friends voices, that were only to be replaced by senseless rambling after they had returned from a ‘session’ in the undercroft. He could tell in the way Theo lovingly called Sebastian a fool, or the way that Sebastian said her name... unnecessarily, and often, as if just to hear the sound of it. 

While he could do without the mental images- he was at least happy to no longer be their referee. 

Theo sat up suddenly. 

“Merlin’s Beard - I am such an idiot. I was supposed to meet him in the Undercroft 30 minutes ago.” 

Ominis made an exaggerated sigh. 

“Back to the Undercroft again? What a surprise.” He exclaimed, dryly…really not shocked at all. 

He sighed. “I’m sure in those 30 minutes he was alone, he probably has somehow found himself some other dark artifact to keep himself entertained, while also threatening all of our sanity in the imminent future.” 

Theo laughed nervously as she hastily gathered her books.

“Wouldn’t put it past him actually now that you mention it…he has been particularly infatuated with something called Pandora’s Box lately…?” She said breezily, pressing a quick his to her dear friend’s forehead.

Ominis stuttered. “Devlin! What did you say? Are you …hey..get back here! You BETTER be joking…” 

She just laughed as she called out. 

 “Don’t worry Ominis - like you said... my week to chaperone. I’ll send you an owl later to compare notes before Binn’s class?” 

Ominis grumbled as his friend went. They were going to exhaust him before he even graduated.

Reluctantly, he returned back to his books, but despite his best efforts, distraction never came, and his mind kept going back to that one thought.

That he wished so badly that he could be the one rushing late to meet someone. And that that someone was Anne. 

Instead, they were separated by hundreds of miles, and words left unsaid. 

So…he did all he could do. He turned to the book again for more useless reprieve.

~~~

Theo stumbled into the Undercroft to find a particularly annoyed Sebastian waiting for her.

“Forgotten about me already, have you?”  He sulked dully, his arms crossed and full lips pouting. Theo sighed. He could be so dramatic. 

“Sebastian - don’t be greedy. I was studying with Ominis and lost track of time.. I have things to do outside of being summoned here by you, you know.” 

“Well. …” He said, with false affront, “Now I’m definitely starting to feel left out….”

He came up to her suddenly, grabbing and pulling her to him. His mouth lifting at the corner in a way that made her want to kiss it. 

“You’re always welcome to join us...” She murmured as she settled in his embrace. He seemed to raise an eyebrow at that. 

“As much as I love spending time as the three of us…sometimes I want you all to myself.” He leaned forward, giving her a sharp nip on her ear. “Can you blame me?” 

She shivered, but pushed him off of her. 

“You’re incorrigible. Barely here five minutes and you’re already trying to leave more snake bites on me..” She teased him as he crossed his arms proudly. 

“It’s one of my favorite pass times, yes.” He confirmed smugly. 

She drew out her wand then, and he eyed her curiously. 

“I think it’s been making you slightly rusty on your other spell work, Sallow. You’re too…distracted…” She swished her wand, and the next thing he knew she had cast Leviosa and flipped him upside down. 

Despite the disgruntled sound of protest, Sebastian still kept his arms crossed as he glared at her in her hold. 

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” He mumbled, his hair askew and robes hanging down around him. She stifled another laugh. 

“Can you blame me? I am the school dueling champion after all…and it seems like that’s a title I won’t have to defend from you anytime soon.” She leaned closer to him, helpless in the hold, giving him a nip on his lips. Despite hanging in midair, he released a small groan. 

“Seems a rather confident claim, Devlin.” He growled, before drawing out his own wand, realizing himself from her cast. 

On his immediate reunion with the ground, his wand whipped out at attempt at Expelso, but not before Theo could beat him to it. 

“Accio!”

She shouted as he shifted just slightly at the most inopportune moment. Her spell cast missed his wand, hitting Sebastian’s robes instead.

 Next thing she knew, he was shirtless, and she was holding his robes. 

His face looked up to her in shock, and all she could manage was a very dignified giggle.

“Erm..” 

She blushed suddenly, as she eyed his bared and muscled (and also gloriously freckled) abdomen. At the blush AND the giggle, he threw a dangerous look in her direction. 

That was it….

“Now, Devlin. Nothing you haven’t seen before…” He chided her lightly, prowling closer to her. 

“…Accio? On clothes? How original.” He continued towards her, knowing full well whose that idea might have been.

“Guess you and Ominis really have been spending time together…” He said as cornered Theo, who was still frozen with his clothes in her hand. He reached her suddenly, using her distraction to back her up against the wall, placing one of his arms above her as he peered down at her. “Remind me to thank him.” He muttered dryly as she let out a small squeak, eyeing the shifting of his muscles as he leaned towards her.

“…You can thank him for both of us.” She muttered as her eyes pointedly dragged down his abdomen. 

His eyebrow raised quizzically again, as his chest continued to rise and fall underneath her gaze, and despite it all, her eyes on him gave him a jolt of electric intensity. 

“Hm. Are you planning on giving those back to me, Devlin?” He asked, as smirk spreading across his lips.

Her blush turned even deeper at that gaze. She knew where that look usually led.

“You know…I don’t know if I will.” She mused, leaning back further from him, robes firmly clasped in her grasp.  She smirked giddily, not totally upset at the fact that she could currently admire a shirtless Sebastian Sallow, like she had many times before. She knew his body was surprisingly fit - his arms and chest toned from all the dueling he had been doing….but she never got tired of looking at it.  And…the smattering of freckles and fuzz that led south was very tempting to fixate on. She forced her eyes upwards to him again, those brown eyes glinting with amusement. 

 He seemed to know the effect he was having on her, with the way he let his trousers hang lower beneath his hips, where the indentations of his muscle directed her attention further to what was beneath them. He rocked his hips against hers, using them to pin her place.

“…Is that so?” He questioned.

“Mhm. You know in fact…I have been learning how to draw together constellations lately….perhaps I can practice on those freckles of yours…with my tongue.” 

Sebastian froze, before his mind reloaded and he managed to huff a laugh.

“Merlin’s Beard. You Hufflepuffs do like to surprise don’t you? You’re mind is becoming dirtier than mine, Devlin. I’ll have to be on the look out for you.”

“What gave that away?” She teased. 

He continued to press towards her, not expecting today’s lesson to be all about the ways Hufflepuffs were apparently horny deviants, but also always loving that she surprised him. And she was his horny deviant. So yes…he was enjoying this game immensely. And he wouldn’t be lying if his thoughts weren’t going down the same damn path hers were.

“Hm. So how do you intend to keep me from my robes, then, Devlin?” He said in warning. 

“Hmmm.. maybe I’ll just try them on for myself. I’ve been told I look good in green…” She pushed him away suddenly as he froze.

In the next second, her own robes dropped to the floor. Sebastian took a step forward, involuntarily, and for a split second, he drank in the site of her delicate body, unable to remove his eyes from it. 

Just as soon as he was loosing himself in it, he found himself even more intrigued by the picture of her slipping on his shirt and his robe. His tie and jacket were clearly too big for her...somehow it was a delicious site to see.

“You’re a devious little thing, you know that?”He smirked, a sly glint in his eye as he moved closer, leaning until he was inches from her lips. 

“Entertain me, Devlin... What must I do to ever get my clothing back?’ He mused sarcastically. 

She watched his muscles shift as he moved towards her, a rise now straining against his trousers - the only article of clothing he still had on. She swallowed. 

“Well… I suppose you could try and take them off of me yourself..” She whispered in delight at his face sparked in interest.

His smiled widened as he took in the sight of her, his eyes taking their time wandering around her body. The idea of being the one to take them back off of her, well…it was definitely something. As much as he enjoyed them on her, he’d enjoy them much more on the floor. 

He smirked right back at her as if accepting her challenge, slowly backing her further and further against the wall. 

”Hm. That shouldn’t be a problem…” He murmured.

She was slowly starting to lose the upper hand at the sight of those eyes, looking at her as if she was a meal and he was starving. 

“You’re quite something when you’re putting me right where you want me.” He murmured, as she allowed him to press her closer to the wall until they were a breath apart, and his hands had found hers again, slowly raising them above her head. 

“Well…”She breathed, raising her eyebrow. “Now you have me cornered, Sallow. You better hope I don’t cast Accio again and confiscate what’s left of your clothes.” She teased, her eyes darting down to his trousers threateningly. 

“That doesn’t sound like quite a bad plan to me.” He brought his lips to her ear and whispered. “Maybe I’ll just go ahead and take them off myself.” He rubbed his hardness against her thigh as if she didn’t know what was begging there for her already. 

The brush of his lips against her ear sent her into overdrive, as she whipped her eyes back to his. She was definitely breathing harder. 

“Mm..maybe I’ll take them off first.” She flicked her want back out, ready to cast the spell. 

He raised a brow at her, and his grin widened to a cocky smile as he almost went to still her hand again with his own. But instead, he lifted both of his hands up in surrender. 

 He glanced back down at her wand.

“Go on, then.”

His encouragement had her pulse fluttering, but she didn’t hesitate. 

In one decisive movement, his trousers and anything underneath them were now marvelously out of the way. 

She looked down and appreciated the gracious, and demanding,  sight.

“Hm. Mr. Sallow…you seem to be lacking in patience today.” She teased with an edge of wanting and curiosity in her voice, her mouth watering at exactly what waited so impatiently. 

He had no shame. He enjoyed her eyes on him as he stood there proudly, taunting her.

“On the contrary, Devlin, you made me wait 30 whole minutes…then proceeded to torture me with your spell casts…so remind me how I haven’t been patient?” His voice replied roughly, his arms still raised as his eyes roaming all down her body. “I’m quite at your mercy.” 

She huffed a small laugh.

“Mercy? Who said I had any of that? Incase you’ve forgotten…I’m still wearing all your robes. And you haven’t done much to try and get them back.” She teased him again, as she leaned forward to nip at his neck, as his arms still remained raised.

“Well..” He smirked, allowing his arms to slowly lower themselves and trail down her arms. He leaned into kiss her, but stopped barely a breadth away from her lips. “You know… I was thinking, why don’t we just forget about the spells for now, and see if there are some other, more fun, ways to get you out of your clothes?

She swore she had to fight back a small gasp at the way he teased her. Instead, she swallowed slowly and tried to remember how to breath. It was hard to do at his nearness. “I…like the way you think..” She said, her voice shaking. His robes were slightly…large on her…and the way she shifted, it suddenly slipped off her shoulders. She let it stay as she watched his lips.

“Oops..” She murmured.

 He smirked and brushed his thumb over her exposed shoulder in a gentle motion. 

“Oh, no. What a tragedy.” He huffed, sarcastically. 

She watched the way his thumb brushed against her skin, leaving goosebumps. She arched into him at the words he whispered alongside her ear. She had been effectively been melting under his touch for quite some time now. His hands were flitting over her abdomen now, his searching touches telling her how much more he wanted.

“Such a tragedy…” She murmured. “ I think the only way to fix the situation would definitely be for you to kiss me. Now. And good.” She gasped, pleading. 

He didn’t’t hesitate. He grabbed her waist, and pulled her against him. His kisses were hungry. As he held her, he brought one of his hands up to cusp her cheek, as if to tell her that he would always give into her, in any moment of weakness or strength. 

His other hand suddenly drifted down, and in the next instant his deft hands had pulled the robe off of her completely, revealing her bare figure to him. She gasped, and he gave her another devious grin, triumphant.

“Oh…look at that. I win…. Looks like you lost your title of dueling champion at last”  He deviously breathed into her lips as she huffed a laugh. 

“Damn you, Sallow.” She dragged him down to the floor then, despite his sounds of protest, showing him exactly what his prize would be. 

~~~

Later on, while still laying on the robes they had fought over earlier, they jumped at the sound of footsteps entering the Undercroft - followed by a quite disgruntled exclamation from none other than the third part of their trio: 

“MERLINS Beard. Why does it smell of sex every time I come in here now? You’re both savages…”

She made her way to the kitchens, her heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and trepidation at the risk of getting caught. Reaching the portrait of the fruit bowl, she tickled the pear, and the painting swung open to reveal the entrance. Inside, the house-elves were asleep, a rare moment of peace in their busy lives. Eva moved with practiced stealth, her disillusionment charm rendering her practically invisible. From within her robes, she withdrew several vials of a thick murky grey potion, its contents swirling ominously. She approached the vats of pumpkin juice, carefully pouring a vial and a single hair into each, giving them a quick stir before replacing the lids.

With a satisfied grin, she slipped back to her dormitory, her heart racing with anticipation. Halloween morning arrived, and Eva was the first to arrive at the Great Hall, taking her usual seat at the Slytherin table. She poured herself a cup of tea, and waited with anticipation for the inevitable chaos.

Theo unceremoniously tosses him a parcel of sweets from Honeydukes, and clumsily plops next to him on the bench outside of Binn's classroom.

"Thought you may want those - heard Binn's planned a particularly...dry...lesson for us today. Merlin help us all stay awake." She chuckles by way of explanation.

Theo managed to appear in front of Meech just as he was in the middle of his hundredth yawn that morning. Caught off guard, his reflexes ever so sharp, the Gryffindor almost dropped the parcel in front of the bench after uselessly flailing his arms around, disoriented. He was up all night trying to finish up an essay and his body was demanding retribution: now he is certainly paying the price of double the amount of confusion and triple his regular quota of awkwardness. Demetrius blinks at the sweets in his hands for a second, then groans as Theo's words finally register in his mind.

‘There is no way it can possibly be anymore dry!’ he whines, hands none the less wasting no time as he opens the package and shoves the sweets into his mouth. Demetrius passes the sugary goodness to the Hufflepuff next to him assuming it is meant for the both of them.

"He strode up to them slowly and threateningly, hands in his pockets, his eyes never coming off Garreth as he came up behind Theo. Her dark shadow."

oh look at that....i had too much free time today... but really....TG for reference photos that let me be a gremlin and obsess over Theo some more...

A little doodle for you all based off of my fic Snake Bites

There was something about Autumn...

Something in the way the wind blew just brisk enough to hint at the absence of summer, yet still warming you for some particular reason, even when you knew the cold was just around the corner.

Autumn reminded him of many things. Of change...maybe more specifically, transformation.

Of the finality of an age, finally slowing down to give way to a new one. Of life moving slower in response to its finality, if just for a moment, gilded in a moment of endless gold, and burning red.

And it...mostly reminded him of her.

Her hair. The fineness of it, as it burned in his vision in all its copper glory.

If he was a shadow, she was the fire that created it.

And like a shadow to the flame, he clung to her through it all. Through their years at Hogwarts. Through his life on the run. Through her struggle to understand the power she fought so diligently to keep. Through the future they had earned together.

Through losing it all, only to find it again. They were two halves of an entirely, imperfect, whole.

"Are you ready?" A voice cut through his brooding as he looked up to find his dear friend of many years - though the years would never show on his face. Ominis still looked like he had been an angel carved from stone, even after all this time.

Sebastian laughed gruffly.

"I think I've been ready since she knocked me off that damn duelling platform." Ominis chuckled, giving him a knowing smile. "The best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we'd ever had, I'd say."

Ominis simply came over - straightening Sebastian's already mussed shirt, although he only wore a simple shirt, suspenders and trousers. It seemed right, that in the wake of such love it could be seen in simplicity.

Though he blushed, he let his friend look after him - as he had been all these years.

"Don't take too long now. I'll see you soon...Anne's waiting for me anyhow." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes. You love to remind me how in love you are with my sister."

Ominis just gave him salute as he walked out of the tent. "She made me promise to keep reminding you...she swore it's probably the only thing that might make you behave."

Ominis turned one final time, smiling at his friend.

"But...I think it all ended up all right - don't you?"

Sebastian smiled, begrudgingly, at his friends words. It was partly Ominis that was responsible for the reconciliation he had with Anne. And he had seen the way they had looked at each other, even long before the events of their 5th year, and before curses. They had always loved each other - Ominis and Anne. And because of that he had his sister back. But...there was someone else had also been equally responsible for that. A person he was almost late to meet.

"No..I don't suppose it turned out too bad...after all." Sebastian muttured, as Ominis nodded, leaving him to get ready.

Sebastian took a deep breath, walking down the valley to the great willow tree, where a few of their old classmates and friends waited.

Professor Weasley, Natty, Amit, Poppy, Garreth, Imelda...even Deek. And of course, a few empty seats left open for his parents, her parents...Professor Fig. Miriam.

He attempted to steel himself, as he said his hello's with encouraging smiles thrown his way.

Finally, get got up to the end of the aisle, where Ominis stood waiting on one side, and Anne on the other.

"Glad you're on time for once..." His sister chided with a teasing smile across from him.

He gave her a quick glare, but not before everyone turned and time completely stopped.

When he looked up, the sun was in his eyes.

And there she was. Like the sun. Blinding, and yet obvious, as if there could never have been a moment in his life where she had not been there.

Her dress was yellow. He smiled at that. He probably took it in for far too many moments, and the realization had a smile drawing across his face. Nothing about them had ever been traditional, anyhow. She was perfect. And she would always be the flame his shadow followed.

Autumn was a begging reminder of all the moments that had led up to it, as well as the one that would come after.

There would always be light, and dark for them. Whichever way the two twisted together in the future, he was okay with. Because he'd never be more changed than by the light she'd given him.

She strode up to him, those grey eyes promising so many possibilities.

"Sebastian."

She breathed.

"Theo."

He answered.

What happens to gentleness when it's touched by violence?

The same thing that happens to carbon when it becomes a diamond, compelled to transfiguration by pressure.

It remains, though under a different form...and it becomes very hard to be broken again, afterwards.

Theo likes flowers. Or more specifically - the gentleness she can find again within herself through them. Her father used to leave them in her books as reminders of different messages throughout the day. Now she keeps a grove of them to feel closer to him. When she finds she has no words to say, she lets the flowers speak for her instead.

Love seeing these around <3

Finally put one together for my girl, Theo

SUMMARY: Sebastian's been missing and something feels wrong - an unexpected update on Anne's condition has set something darker into motion. WORD COUNT: 2.9k (buckle up)

[mostly angst, and some fluffed up plot for more realistic motivations as to why Sebastian decides to take things into his own hands. (no smut for once, I KNOW SRY building up the tension for later lolol) Takes place right before MC battle with Rookwood/ In the Shadow of the Relic]

It wasn’t hard to feel the balance of power tipping in the other direction. But she wouldn’t let that happen. Not so long as she had the ability to keep it at bay. 

These last few weeks, Theo had felt it stirring in her bones and in her magic like a warning siren…as if whatever tied her to the ancient pools of power were trying to alert her that it was compromised.

The pull of darkness felt stronger. As it tipped in that direction, she felt herself trying not to do the same.

She had been avoiding sleeping because of it. In her sleep, the dark found her, and dug it’s nails in, tinging a red aura at the edges of her blue magic.

She wanted to believe it was a warning...and not Isadora herself finding another way in. She didn’t know what was a dream, what was reality. When she woke, she swore she saw the flicks of magic still lingering at the edge of her vision, and her fingers.

But…even in her waking hours, she knew the poacher, goblin and troll attacks were all increasing at such a pace she couldn’t pretend like they weren’t related to the same struggle of balance she was feeling internally.

In short - it meant she was running out of time. And she wasn’t the only one. 

She hadn’t seen Sebastian in a few days, which was unusual for them. They had been clinging to the moments of respite they found in eachother, but those moments had become more and more frenzied. She'd be a fool not to notice the rising hunger in Sebastian's body, the way he claimed her and touched her as if he never may again.

There were demons lurking in the shadows, and they seemed to be waiting for the right moment to make themselves apparent.

Ominis knew it too.

He had been waiting for her in the transfiguration courtyard, looking just as concerned as she was. 

His eyes clouded as they found her in the crowd of students, somehow always being able to zero in on her arrival. 

“Theo.”

She didn’t like the sound of his voice. She noted the tension in his jaw, the was his graceful hands were now curled in fists, as she came up to lean against the ledge where he stood.

“Ominis.” She murmured in return, as a greeting and a question. He connected the dots for them both.

“So - I take it you haven’t seen him either?” He whispered, strained. Theo shook her head, pulling her dragon hide cloak tighter against the chill in the air, that had creeped it's way into her bones.

“No..not since two days ago. I was hoping you had come across him in the common room - has …has he not been going to sleep in his own bed?” Her heart was constricting. Ominis and Sebastian had barely 5 feet between where their bunks were situated in the dorm….he couldn’t have possibly missed him. 

“No…but I thought that’s because he was spending nights in the Room of Requirement with you. If…he’s not been with either of us I’m afraid of what he’s getting himself into. He’s only disappeared like this once before…” 

She stiffened at the worried tone that was growing in his voice. 

“When?” She pressed. 

“…It was after Anne. After she was cursed. He ran through the highlands for two days straight trying to track down the goblins who attacked her. Wouldn’t speak of what he did or what he saw when he came back…” He swallowed as realization dawned across his face.

“Ah, Fuck…”

“What is it?” She hissed.

Ominis took a deep breath, his head settling against his hands. “I..I got a letter from Anne that she's been feeling worse. Solomon is considering leaving Feldcroft. If Sebastian got the same one..." Worry etched the statement he didn't finish.

“He ..he hadn’t said anything to me.” Her chest hollowed out…had she been so busy with Fig that she had been missed something?

She never allowed herself to miss anything. She couldn’t afford to. Especially not know.

“How long?” She demanded. 

Ominis looked down. “This week."

“Dammit. I need to find him. He can't do anything reckless. Not now. Not when we’re so close..” She hated Solomon for not believing in Sebastian. She hated him for trying to kill any kind of hope for both of the twins.

Ominis looked at her skeptically.

“Are you? Close?" He breathed, "I.. I don’t like the idea of her being taken away any better than you, I promise…but Sebastian won’t speak to me about what you two have been involved. Can I …trust you?”

She paused momentarily, as she took in the seriousness and fear in his voice. She knew he didn’t trust others easily. Especially not after what he’d been forced to do in the scriptorium. 

“I promise you.” She took his hand in hers, looking him in the eye. “I know I’ve promised you a lot before, after…after the scriptorium, but just know as much as I have Sebastian’s interests in mind I also have yours, and I have Anne’s. I will do everything in my power to protect you all…and I’ll explain everything. But first we need to find Sebastian.”

He took her in for a moment as he processed her words, before placing his hands over hers as well and nodding. 

“Fair enough. Whatever we’re in for …seems were in it together. Where do we start?”

“You search the castle grounds…you know them better than I do. I’ll fly to Hogsmeade and work my way through the hamlets from there.”

“Theo - You can’t possibly take on the entirety of the Hamlets alone…that will take all night.” 

She was already moving, despite his protests. 

“If it takes all night, if it takes all week I don’t care…we’ll find him, Ominis.” 

He grimaced, nodding darkly. 

“Perhaps. But what state he’ll be in... we cannot say.”

~~~

Theo could hardly feel the ice in the wind as she raced on her broom across the valley, towards Hogsmeade. She was so numb anyhow. Numb to anything until she found him.

She pressed on, using her spell casts every few miles, searching for any sign of him. Each moment that passed she became more desperate. 

But she kept moving, dipping down closer to the land, close enough that the branches of trees whisked against her cloak. She simply held the lantern higher against the wind, its light shining in an infinite dark night, reaching for any sign of him. 

Finally, her magic picked up on the pulse of his own. It seemed familiar, but different somehow. Tinged with a darker glow. But it was still him, all the same. And she rushed towards him with everything she had. 

Her heart hammered as she veered her broom against the wind, in the direction of the Hogsmeade graveyard. 

She deftly swooped down, managing a slightly graceful landing before she started sprinting past the tombstones, the snow crunching beneath her feet where the bones of many laid bury deep underneath.

She followed those traces of his magic until she finally came upon a cloaked figure with his legs drawn up, curled up at the bottom of a mausoleum, cradled at the base of a statue of a skeleton. Sebastian.

The stone figure looked down upon him like he was death’s hand itself, with almost an expression of sadness - if skeleton’s could have expressions.

In his hands he clutched Salazar’s spell book. He didn’t look up at her arrival. 

Her voice shook as it broached the space between them.

“...Out of all the places you decide to hide out in - curious this is where you choose to find solace.” 

She was treading carefully, afraid of what was going through his mind to be holding on to that book so desperately. 

He didn’t even look up as he responded. His voice crawled out from underneath his hood as if he was a specter himself - low and haunted. 

“Is it so curious? This is where we all end up, Devlin. Maybe I’m just becoming familiar with the idea of that.”

Her brow furrowed.

“And why is it you would need to become familiar with it, Sebastian? Think we’ll end up here soon, do you?” 

His head snapped up at hers then, the shadows under his eyes deep and the gleam desperate.

“No. Not ‘we.’” He said pointedly, even despite his state he was still trying to keep her at an arms distance.

“I heard about Anne, Sebastian. Ominis told me…”

A flicker of pain ran across his expression, before it turned to steel determination again.

“So then you know why I have to do something, and it has to be done now.”

“You don’t have to be alone in this - I swore I would help you. Ominis can help you, let us both- “ 

“No. I forbid you two to get anymore involved in this than you already are.” 

He cut her off, before slowly jumping off the statue, coming towards her in an almost lethal way until she could see him up close. 

She winced. Closer, she could feel the darkness seeping off of him like a fog, enveloping him so that he was just barely visible underneath it all. She hissed.

“You’re in no position to be making demands. You’ve been looking into the dark arts again haven’t you - I.. I can feel it Sebastian. I can feel it all over you.” Her voice caught in her throat, at the sound he made an involuntary step towards her, before freezing and looking away. She grabbed his face to force him to. 

“This isn’t you. This isn’t what’s going to help Anne. Let me do it. Before you go too far.” 

His eyes slowly slid back towards her, a pained look breaking through at last and a pained cry erupting from his throat as he pulled away, leaning himself against the statue again as if it was the only thing to hold him up.

“This has ALWAYS been me Theo. Whatever makes you think we ever had a choice in all this?!” He shouted, his chest heaving. 

“I have lost everyone that would ever make me anything but this. Except Anne. Except Ominis….” His voice was strained and breaking as he finally looked up at her again.

 “Except. You.” 

He shuddered as he took her in, as if imaging the possibility of his worst fears coming true. 

“As long as that one last shred of goodness remains, I won’t risk it. I will do what it takes so you don’t have to.” 

She was shaking her head over and over at his words. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it Sebastian.” She said, running up to him again, willing her voice not to shake. He refused to look at her again.

She pushed him, he let her. 

“It’s absolute BULLSHIT.” 

He had been so fiercely protective of everything. She saw it in his eyes as he looked at her. This was his way of protecting her now. 

It only made her more angry that she pushed him again.

 “You think you’re the only one who has people they care about? I haven't had a damn family until you three - I care about Anne. I care about Ominis. And you’re a bloody fool if you think I don’t care about you. What makes you think I'm not going to do everything to protect that myself? How dare you not let me do that. No. Not when we’ve come this far together. Don’t shut me out now, damn you.”  

He still didn't look at her words, but winced at her anger.

As if in response, her magic sparked erratically around her wrists. She ....was just having trouble keeping it under control…and after these past few days…she had been trying so hard. She was exhausted. That had to be all it was. 

He seemed to notice the same thing, before giving her a pointed and knowing look. She let out a broken groan at his ability to never miss anything. Even the things she didn’t want him to see.

 She yelled out again. “Don’t. Do this. Don't Shut. Me. Out. Please.”  banging her fists against his chest, all the while sparking with blue magic, beating against the odds that were stacked against them both, that she couldn’t stop. 

“Theo. Thee, for Merlin’s sake - stop it and come here.”  He grabbed her wrists even as she struggled against him, “Come here, you fool.” He sighed exasperated before roughly pulling her against him. Using that codeword for the one things they wanted to say, but couldn’t. 

Their chests heaved together as she found she was crying. 

He continued to hold her, brushing her hair back. “Calm down. Breathe Theodora. Breathe for me.”

Slowly but surely she came back to herself, finally forcing herself to peer back up at him. 

His eyes searched hers desperately. He brushed his thumb across her cheek to wipe away the tears. 

“Thee….” His tone had become more serious, searching, “Do you think I haven’t thought of all the possible options?" The words rasped out.

".. That I haven’t been rolling the thoughts in my head, over and over again for days? Look at what I’m doing to you. Do honestly believe that you care enough about me that you’d risk loosing control of your own magic? At the expense of all those others you just mentioned? You focus on me and you’re going to end up hurting everyone anyhow. That’s all that’s going to happen the longer we ever act like this was a thing that could happen between us.” His voice broke. “I only bring out the worst in you - how can you not see that?” 

Her heart froze at his words. She whimpered weakly and he winced. 

“What are you trying to say? Haven’t you already sacrificed enough? Haven’t we both? Let us have this. We are stronger together - the scriptorium, the poacher camps… the troll at Hogsmeade…I couldn’t have done any of that with out you.” She rambled, reaching for anything desperately. 

He shook his head softly, tucking a loose curl of hers behind her ear. 

“That’s where you’re wrong. You are strong. You always have been.” 

He gave her a kiss on her forehead, stilling her so that she didn’t see the way his wand snaked out from his robes, and rested against her tempe at the same time his lips pressed against hers.

“Stupefy.”

 Sebastian murmured against her. 

Her eyes widened momentarily as she felt the spell freezing her muscles, pulling her to unconsciousness. 

Faintly she heard him promise,

“I’ll come back for you.”

But it was already the promise of a shadow.  So she let the darkness take her.

~~~

He apparated them back to the Room of Requirement, his hands shaking as he held her limp and unconscious body. 

He would never forgive himself for doing this to her, but it was the only way. As much as he didn’t want it to be. He needed to get to the catacomb, and he needed Theo as far away from him as possible. 

Even unconscious in his arms, her magic sparked in erratic ways up and down her limbs, just as his touch. He knew why. The last few days…he had made sacrifices to call the power of the dark arts. It was the only way to get the triptych to work. It had shocked him, at first,  the darker magic had seeped so seamlessly in with his own, almost as if it was always meant to be there. And now it called to hers.

He trembled, forcing the fear from his heart. 

Maybe this was always who he was. And…if that was true they would be better off without him anyway. Because it wasn't her. Where he was dark, she was light.

If this was the only way to save Anne, and keep his friends safe then he would gladly let the Dark Arts take him. 

Friends. 

He looked down at Theo again, before slowly laying her gently on the chaise lounge, pulling a throw blanket over her shivering form. 

“You’ve always been much too good for me, Devlin.” 

He whispered, rubbing her fiery hair in his fingers like it was the last time he would touch it. He leaned down to press a kiss to her temple, and a small black circular object around her pinky finger. 

“To remind you, that I’ll always be your shadow. Always behind you.” 

His voice whispered against her ear, as he let his forehead lean against hers one moment longer. 

One moment more in a string of a million moments he’d probably never deserved with her.

Gruffly, he forced himself away and charged out the door, not allowing himself to look back at her.

As he exited the room of requirement, he started towards the spiral stairs - but not before a steel voice shook him. 

“I heard you carrying her in there Sebastian.” Sebastian froze, his head turning in Ominis' direction, where he found his friend looking at him with fearful cloudy eyes, unseeing and yet piercing through his soul. “What have you done?” He hissed.

Sebastian didn’t respond. Ominis’ face twisted into anger.

“You think I don’t know you’re there? What you’ve done? I can sense your magic. Both of you. It’s different. So - I’ll repeat myself once more. What. Have. You. Done.” 

His friends hands shook in fists. Sebastian sighed. 

“Please, Ominis. It’s for Anne - Theo cannot be involved. I can’t explain now - but I have a way to save her. Meet me at the catacomb’s tomorrow.” 

They stared at each other a moment longer in silence, as Ominis froze.

Anne.

“You…you found a way to save her”

Sebastian nodded again. 

“Yes. But this will only work if you come alone.” He repeated solemnly, desperately.

Ominis nodded in reluctant agreement.

“Don’t make me regret this, Sebastian.”

There was no response. Only the brush of capes as Sebastian disappeared back into the night.