For this Fic, I'm not going to describe the MC physically as I'd like her to be able to be read as any one of our gameplay MC's, that way you can imagine her anyway you like. For storytelling purposes, I've chosen to call her Fiona. In this series, the characters are in their sixth year. I hope you guys enjoy! I am relatively new to this so please be gentle, but since playing HL I really wanted to write about Sebastian and Ominis. This one is more Sebastian based but I will be covering Ominis too*
"Ha! Come on Fi!" Sebastian laughed, snidely. "I know something's going on with you two! You must think I'm stupid! I've seen you two sneaking off into the undercroft together after hours…it doesn't take a genius to figure out what you're up to." He laughed again, his brown eyes crinkling in the corners, with anger, she realised, not humour.
"Oh for gods sake Sebastian!" Fiona sighed, running her hands through her hair in exasperation, "I told you already, Ominis and I are just friends, that's it! I don't know how many more times I have to say it!"
"Well it would only have to be one time if it sounded as if you meant it! Honestly, you two must take me for a fool!" Sebastian's brow was furrowed as he glared at Fiona, his hands curled into angry fists at his side. "Why do you feel the need to lie to me about it? If you two are…seeing each other…just say that! Why all the sneaking around, the lies?"
"There are no lies! It's in your head Sebastian, like it usually is! Have I not already proved to you I'm a good friend?! After all we've been through together, everything we've done?" She was furious, not just because of this unfounded accusation but the inference that she had been having casual sex with Ominis! "THERE. IS. NOTHING. GOING. ON!! Besides! What do you even care for anyway? What is it to you what we're doing?" Fiona's voice had turned accusatory now and upon hearing it, Sebastian's anger immediately turned to something else, a look Fiona couldn't quite put her finger on, if she had had to describe it, she'd have said he looked almost furtive.
"What? Nothing…" Sebastian said, a faint blush spreading over his cheeks "I don't care if you're…what I mean is…Look this isn't about that, it's about the secrecy! You two are hiding something from me and I want to know what it is!"
"Sebastian, we just TALK, we're FRIENDS, that's it! There's nothing secretive about it! There's nothing going on!" Fiona looked at Sebastian beseechingly, sick of having this same conversation over and over again. For months, Sebastian had been dropping hints that he thought she and Ominis liked each other, although he'd never come right out and accused them of sleeping together, until now.
"I…well…" He hesitated, looking at her in a way that could only be described as hopeful. "You promise?" He asked.
"YES!"
"Ok, ok I'm sorry! It's just something Imelda said…"
"WHAT, what did Imelda say?" Fiona asked, pouncing on his remark, instantly seething. Imelda fucking Reyes, that little troll! This wasn't the first time she'd been whispering in Sebastian's ears, causing all sorts of trouble! Everyone could see straight through her, after all she'd had a crush on Sebastian forever, it was blatantly obvious, everyone knew that! Everyone, that is, except for Sebastian of course, who insisted she was a 'good friend.'
"Wow, relax!" He exclaimed, holding his hands up to placate her. "Nothing really, she just said she'd seen you and Ominis spending a lot of time together and…" Sebastian's voice trailed off and he suddenly became very interested in polishing his wand. Fiona knew that look, he was afraid to tell her something.
"AND?" She demanded.
"And…look, ok, apparently she saw you and Ominis getting quite…cosy together on that little bench outside the greenhouses…" Sebastian's voice trailed off, his eyes roaming anywhere but at Fiona.
"She said WHAT?! That little bitch! When I get my hands on her...I swear to god Sebastian can't you see what she's trying to do? She's been obsessed with you for ages and…don't laugh!" Fiona shouted, as Sebastian instantly began to laugh dismissively, as if the very idea was ludicrous. "She has Sebastian! She might as well be wearing an I heart Sebastian Sallow t shirt at this point and you'd still be oblivious to it! She's trying to drive a wedge between us so she can have you all to herself!" Fiona's hands shook as she spoke, unable to control her fury.
"Oh come on!" Sebastian chuckled, "she's just a.."
"An old family friend, yes I know, you've said it enough!" Fiona interrupted, her hands itched for wand, the way they always did when she was this mad. "but what you don't see is that 'family friend' is in love with you Sebastian! She is!" Fiona insisted, as Sebastian began to laugh again. "She's in love with you! She'll do whatever it takes to cause issues between us! Why can't you see that?" She sighed, almost close to tears now. She hated when that happened. Ever since she was little, whenever she got too angry, or too emotional, she'd cry. "Makes me look weak." She thought to herself.
"Oh god Fi, you're being ridiculous! Look, just because she beat you at those stupid time trial things-" He began to say, but Fiona intercepted him before he could continue.
"Oh don't you start with that Sebastian Sallow, I mean it! You know as well as I do that little troll cheated, she jinxed my broom!" The memory still infuriated her. She'd beaten Imelda in the end, but at one point her broom had started to behave oddly and she was sure she saw Imelda slip her wand back into her pocket.
"Ok ok, ever since she 'cheated' at those time trials, you've hated her! It doesn't mean the girls out to get you! She's really nice, honestly, once you get to know her! And besides" he continued, "if Imelda was in love with me, as you say, why wouldn't she have told me?" He smirked, as if he had won a point in this argument. "I see her all the time and she's not exactly shy is she?"
"Oh Sebastian…" Fiona sighed, "you really don't understand woman do you? Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore ok? Let's just carry on with our homework…"
(THREE DAYS LATER, FIONA AND OMINIS ARE IN THE UNDERCROFT)
"…and then, if you can believe it, he told me that there's no way that Imelda is in love with him because if she was, she'd have told him!" Fiona said, half angry, half laughing.
Ominis burst out laughing. "Oh god, that's hilarious! Honestly, Imelda will have married Sebastian and had three of his children before Sebastian ever realises she likes him!" Ominis said, chuckling. "So, I take it we're to devise another hilariously wicked plan to get Imelda back for this?" He asked.
"Oh no, no need!" Fiona said, giggling at the look on Ominis' face. "I've already taken care of that one!"
"How intriguing!" Ominis said, his eyebrows raised, a smile on his lips, "Do tell me more!"
"Well, as you know I have potions with her. Let's just say her exploding potion might have been a little more powerful than she originally intended…with a little help from the Peruvian pepper seeds I got from Zonko's…" Fiona giggled helplessly, the memory was one she would savour for a very long time to come.
"Oh please tell me it backfired?" Ominis asked, a mischievous smirk on his face.
"Oh it did more than that…rumour has it Nurse Blainey is still trying to get her left eyebrow to grow back!" They both collapsed into fits of giggles, laughing hard until Fiona could barely breathe, still she continued to laugh wildly, her hand slapping down on Ominis' thigh…
The door swung open. They both turned, still laughing, to look. In the doorway stood Sebastian, a smile on his face…a smile that quickly died, to be replaced by a powerful fury, as his eyes slid from their grinning faces down to Fiona's hand on Ominis' thigh…
There was silence for a few seconds. Ominis may not have been able to see the look on Sebastian's face, but he could not miss the way the atmosphere in the room had plummeted to a frosty awkwardness. Fiona opened her mouth to speak but-
"You're nothing but a pair of fucking liars! I asked both of you, I- Ominis, I deliberately asked you not to…oh fuck this!" He yelled, turning and slamming out of the room.
"Shit!" Fiona cried out, scrambling quickly to her feet. "I better go after him, that must have looked like…I'll catch up with him!" She started to jog towards the door but before she could reach it, Ominis caught her hand.
"Fiona, don't bother! He's behaving like a child! We're not doing anything wrong! Potions homework and talking for goodness sake!" Ominis sighed, his hand holding hers tightly "All of this just because he can't control his emotions, all this just because he's.." he began, then blanched, stopping himself mid sentence.
"Just because he's what Ominis?" Fiona asked, confused. "What do you mean he can't control his emotions? What are you talking about?"
"Nothing I- I misspoke. I just meant he can't keep acting like this, you and I are friends, we were only talking!" He sighed, mentally beseeching her to stay. "Come on stay, we were having fun!"
"I-" she hesitated, her eyes darting between the closed door and Ominis. "I'm sorry Ominis, I'll be back, I just need to talk to him."
Ignoring the disappointment on Ominis' face, she tore her hand from his and headed quickly for the door. She flung it open, and climbed out of the entranceway, her eyes scanning the room for Sebastian. She couldn't see him anywhere. She peered over the staircase and spotted him just as he was about to head outside. "Sebastian! Sebastian, wait! Please!" He gave no sign he had heard it, even though he must have, she was directly above him. He ignored her calls and pushed open the door, heading out into the darkness.
She followed hurriedly, sprinting down the staircase and reaching the door before it had time to even swing shut. She stepped outside into the torrential rain, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold. Sebastian stood with his back to her, rain pouring down on him, though he didn't seem to notice it.
Fiona hesitated, thinking of what to say to him. She could see his shoulders trembling with anger beneath his robes. Tremulously, she reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but he shrugged it away, rounding on her.
"Sebastian listen-" she began, but he cut her off, his deep voice echoing in the empty courtyard.
"Just tell me one thing." He asked, fury etched into every line in his face. "Do you love him?"
"What?!" Fiona exclaimed "Of course not!"
She couldn't believe what she was hearing, her? In love with Ominis? Surely he must know by now they were just friends?
It was one thing when he thought Ominis and her were fooling around after hours, however offensive it was, it was slightly understandable. After all, that sort of thing happened all the time at Hogwarts in the senior years, but she now realised that he actually thought that she and Ominis were hiding a secret relationship from him. A secret relationship, that for whatever reason, he was furious about.
"Sebastian, I know what that must have looked like, really I do.." he scoffed, but she continued as if she hadn't heard him. "But there's honestly nothing going on with Ominis and I!"
"ENOUGH!" And despite herself, she startled at the anger in his voice, the disgust in his face. "STOP lying to me! I know you're together! I can't believe this!" He yelled, running his hands through his now sopping wet hair where it had fallen down over his forehead. "I asked you both to just give me the decency of telling me and you couldn't even do that! Why? Why are you continuing to lie to me?! Do you both hate me that much?"
"Hate you? Sebastian, what? I don't understand where any of this is coming from! You asked Ominis if we were seeing each other too? Where is all of this coming from? Imelda?" She asked desperately. Beneath the anger, she could see pain In Sebastian eyes. Bewildered, she reached out a hand to comfort him, but just as before, he shrugged it away.
"It's not just Imelda, I've seen it for myself!" He cried, now pacing back and forth over the old broken cobbles. "I've seen the look on his face when he's around you, seen you two whispering behind my back, the secret looks-don't deny it!" He yelled, as she had been about to do just that. "I'm not as stupid as you clearly think that I am! What I don't understand is why you won't just be honest with me!" He pushed his hair out of his eyes again, in frustration.
"Sebastian! There is nothing- NO, you WILL listen to me! For the last time, there's nothing! Nothing between Ominis and I! We are friends, that's it, nothing more, nothing less! I don't know what it is you're seeing but I can promise you it's in your head!" She shook violently from the cold, the rainwater seeping through her robes and down her neck. "Please.." she begged, reaching a hand out again to touch his shoulder and this time, he allowed it to remain there, his muscle rippling at her touch. "Please Sebastian, I swear to you, I'm telling the truth. I promise." She gazed into his brown eyes, mentally praying he would see the truth in hers.
There was a long moment of silence. Sebastian stared at her, his brown eyes almost black with emotion…and then finally he seemed to accept what she was saying. His body visibly relaxed and he nodded, almost imperceptibly. She breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"What I don't understand Sebastian," she began, "is why you care?" His head snapped up and he stared her incredulously. "Why do you care if something was to happen with Ominis and I? I know you two have had your differences after everything that happened last year but he's a good person. He wanted to help you and Anna, he just didn't want you getting hurt. You can't hold that against him surely?" She asked.
"It's nothing to do with that!" He snapped. "Ominis is one of the best guys I've ever met! He's like a brother to me!"
"So then, you feel left out?" She asked, puzzled. None of this made sense. "Look, we're a team us three. Nothing would ever happen with Ominis and I, but even if it did, you know we're all best friends we'd never leave you behind. Yes, we've been spending a little more time alone together recently but that's just because you keep getting detention and-"
"It's not that either!" He snapped, his eyes blazing. "Oh god don't you see?!" He took a step towards hers "It's nothing to do with Ominis! It's about you and me!"
"You and me? Sebastian I don't follow I-" Fiona began
"Oh for gods sake!" He cried in exasperation, he eyes darting over her face as if he was deciding something. Then his face set and in an instant, he grabbed both of her shoulders, his nails biting into her frozen skin, pushing her roughly against the coarse stone wall. Fiona stumbled backwards, a small, startled cry escaping her throat. Confused, she looked up into Sebastian's face, but before she could utter a word, his mouth was on hers.
She couldn't even breathe, let alone think. Sebastian's mouth was hot on her frozen lips as he kissed her urgently, his hands moving so that one hand was holding her around the small of her back, pulling her closer to him and pinning her there. The other twisted in her wet her, gently tilting her face up to his.
He pulled her closer, parting her lips with his and she felt his warm breath mixing with hers, her breath which was now coming in small gasps, not giving her the air she sorely needed.
Shock was coursing hard through her veins and something else, a feeling she didn't recognise, An unfamiliar trembling sensation in her stomach. With a flash, she realised it was that well known expression…butterflies in her stomach. She should stop him, she knew that, she should push him away. Why was he doing this? Was this the issue with Ominis? Jealously? He couldn't just kiss her! If this was how he felt they should talk!
But this thought gave way to these new sensations she was experiencing as she allowed herself to examine and enjoy it. How could she be expected to think rationally when his mouth was on hers, his body pressed up against hers, when he was so close she could smell him? His aftershave, mixed with a unique scent, that Sebastian Sallow scent…
She opened her eyes. He was so close she could have counted each one of his long, long eyelashes.
Sebastian moaned softly into her mouth, his lips moving over hers softer, sweeter than before. He kissed her lips lightly and then pulled away. Fiona thought that he had stopped but then he began nuzzling her neck, her collarbone, her shoulder…kissing his way up her neck to behind her ear, leaving her skin scorching where his lips had touched. He pushed a loose tendril of her hair aside, kissed her ear lightly and then-
"I love you." He whispered softly, his voice heavy with emotion, before bending to kiss her lips again…
Reality hit like bomb, exploding inside her. She pushed Sebastian away forcefully, still leaning against the wall. Her hand clutched her chest as she tried to catch her breath. Sebastian hasn't moved far, after all, even with all her strength he was much bigger than she was. He stood, staring at her looking bewildered. Bewildered and angry, his expression as if she'd slapped him.
"What?" He asked, his voice filled with confusion. "What did I do wrong? I didn't hurt you did I?" His expression changing quickly to one of concern.
Fiona took a few deep breaths, holding her hand out as if to block him coming closer, although he made no attempt to do so. He simply stood a foot or so away, concern etched into his face. After a few more moments to compose herself, she turned to stare at him.
"Sebastian…what the hell was that?" She cried, unwelcome tears springing to her eyes, she brushed them away impatiently.
"Oh god I knew it, I hurt you! I'm so sorry Fi, really I am, I didn't mean to, I promise, I'm really sorry!" His words spilled out in a rush as her begged imploringly.
"You didn't hurt me Sebastian." She said impatiently and he breathed a visible sigh of relief.
"So then…what?" He asked, seemingly genuinely confused.
"What? WHAT?! You kissed me! And You said…and you kissed me that's what!" She yelled angrily, her blush betraying her. He was smirking now, obviously finding her reaction amusing. He had noticed the blush, she knew, from the look on his face.
"It was the easiest way to- I wanted you to understand and I couldn't find the words! You kissed me back!" He said, a blush also spreading across his cheeks. "If you hadn't wanted me to, I'd have stopped straight away of course. I just wanted you to understand!" he said again.
"You said…" Fiona hesitated, trying to muster the strength to actually repeat what Sebastian had whispered so passionately into her ear. "You said that..you said you loved me!" The words burst out of her, echoing around the dark courtyard.
Sebastian's light blush turned red. He looked down at his feet and ran one hand through his hair nervously. He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Finally, He opened his mouth to speak but Fiona got there first.
"This? This is why you were so concerned that something was happening between me and Ominis? This is why you were more than happy to let Imelda whisper lies into your ear? This is why you can barely look me in the eyes nowadays?!" Her voice had risen to a shout and the thought registered in her mind that it was a miracle they hadn't been overheard by anyone but she cast it aside, she was too angry for to concern herself with that right now. "And you didn't think to TELL me?!"
Sebastian sighed with frustration, reaching into his pocket for a packet of cigarettes and his wand. Normally, she or Ominis would snatch the cigarette away before he could light up, lecturing him about the health risks. He looked up as if he'd read her mind, looking like he was expecting her to do just that but she was way past caring about a cigarette. He shrugged and lit the end with his wand, taking a deep inhale before he spoke.
"Fi, what would I have said? How could I have told you? I tried a thousand times, whenever we were together! I even wrote it out, a letter…but I couldn't bring myself to send it." He smiled sadly at her before continuing. "There was no point in telling you, deep down I knew it. I just…lost control tonight, I guess." He took another long drag on his cigarettes, blowing the smoke upwards into the night sky.
"What do you mean?" Fiona asked quietly. She was no longer angry. In fact, she didn't know what she felt anymore, she felt like crying with it all. She was confused, irritated and upset and she forced herself to admit, a secret part of her was half hoping that he would seize her again, that he would bring his lips back to hers…
"C'mon Fi!" He exclaimed, using the pet name that only he used for her. "Isn't it obvious? I knew…I mean, I know." He paused, taking another inhale on his cigarette, before tossing it to the ground and stamping on it. "I know I'm not…forget it."
"Tell me." She insisted. "You've kept all this secret for long enough Sebastian! Which brings me to my next question actually! How long?" She asked.
"What?" He said, looking puzzled. "How long what?"
"How long has this been going on? How long have you kept this from me?" She said furiously. She paused and then her voice softened. "How long have you felt this way?"
He gazed at her, smiling sadly. "I don't know when exactly it started." He said. "Or when I started to…when it became more serious I mean." He paused hesitantly. "I guess it first started not long after you came to Hogwarts, right after I introduced you to Anne…the way you were with her, it made me feel so…I guess around a month after you came to Hogwarts. So…18 months?"
"18…18 months?! You've felt this way for 18 months and..AND YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING?" Angry tears were now spilling down her cheeks, though she made no attempt to wipe them away. All that time they'd been friends, best friends! Sebastian, Ominis and her, the three of them always together, and all that time he'd been feeling this!
"Don't you see? Don't you understand?" He stepped towards her, seemingly to comfort her but she brushed his hand away. It fell despondently to his side. "I couldn't tell you Fi, because I knew…" He sighed heavily. "I know I'm not good enough for you."
There was silence. She stared at him, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. This is what he thinks, she thought to herself, this?
"How could you ever think that?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Sebastian smiled sadly. "Because it's the truth Fi. Look at you, you're beautiful, you're funny, you're clever! Look at all those things you did last year, all those people you saved! Then look at me." He laughed bitterly, without any trace of humour, his eyes desperately sad.
"I am looking at you, Sebastian." Fiona said, her voice cracking with emotion. "I looked at you during all the times you were right alongside me helping those people with me, fighting alongside me to find a cure for your sister." She said, taking one of his large hands in both of hers.
"Yes." He sighed heavily. "And you were right alongside me when I almost went insane trying to do just that. When I…" His dark brown eyes filled with emotion and his voice cracked. "When I used Crucio on you! When I… murdered my uncle." He looked down at their intertwined hands, examining his own with disgust, as though his hands past deeds were etched upon the very surface of his skin.
She placed a finger lightly under his chin, turning his face to hers. "I was right alongside you, Yes. Right with you when I asked you to cast crucio on me, to save yours, mine and Ominis' life. I was right with you when you were forced to protect both of us from your uncle." He turned to look away, but she forced him to continue to look at her. "You are a good man Sebastian Sallow. A good man who was forced to do some not so good things. That doesn't make you a monster. I've done things I regret to, I cast imperio on Ominis! Does that make me a monster? No. We were fighting a nearly impossible fight and we did things we didn't want to do, but that we Had to do!" She stroked his cheek softly. "You know what that makes us Sebastian? Human." She said smiling sadly at him.
Sebastian smiled back at her, a small hope blossoming inside him. A very small part of him, for the very first time, daring to believe that he wasn't as monstrously evil as he felt inside.
There was silence for a long time as they gazed at each other, neither moving. Finally, Fiona spoke.
"So, what now?" She asked hesitantly, she really had no idea where to go from here.
"I guess that would be up to you." Sebastian said, a smile brightening his tired eyes. "I believe I've made my feelings more than clear tonight." He said, laughing.
"I guess I need time to think." Fiona said quietly. "I- Sebastian I meant every word I said just now, you're my best friend and you are a good man. But…"
"But?" Sebastian said, trying to look casual, but failing miserably. Fear and doubt had crept into his voice. She had said so many wonderful things, she had kissed him back, passionately. What now?
"But, I don't know what I want. I don't know if I…if we can be more than friends. I don't want to hurt you, really I don't, but I just need time to think. This has all happened so fast." She sighed, her eyes weary with exhaustion. The clock in the courtyard told her it was almost 2am. They had been out here for almost 2 hours.
"You really had no idea?" Sebastian asked, disbelievingly. "None at all?"
"Well, I guess you did always…flirt. But you've been like that from day one Sebastian!" She said, chucking softly. "I really didn't know."
"I can't believe you had no idea!" He said, sounding genuinely surprised "I just assumed you weren't interested. I mean, even Ominis…" He stopped dead in his tracks, his face blanching.
"Ominis? Ominis KNOWS?" She asked angrily, pulling away from him, furious for what felt like the hundredth time this evening.
"Well…I mean…" he sighed heavily, sensing he had no choice but to be honest. "Yes. Ominis knows. I told him a while ago. He already knew of course, picks up on everything doesn't he? I had to tell him because I needed to be sure that he didn't…look." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I made him promise he wouldn't tell you ok? That's why I got so angry about the thought of you two. He knew how I felt." He reached a hand out to her, but she slapped it away, furiously. "Oh come on, Fi! We only just made up!"
"Don't you dare with the Fi crap, I know you do that to get on my good side!" She snapped. "I've had enough for one night! Secrets and lies, is that it now? Not just from you, but Ominis as well? I've had enough, I'm going to bed!" She turned and strode to door, all she wanted now was her bed.
"You're pretty when you're mad Fi!" Sebastian called after her, she could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Oh piss off Sebastian." She called over her shoulder, slamming the door behind her….