Aftermath | Sebastian Sallow

I wake up feeling more alive than I have in several months. I'm not sure if it's due to the potion Professor Sharp gave me, or the moment I had with a certain Slytherin right before bed.

I take my time getting ready this morning. I'm eager to shift my focus to my studies. The N.E.W.T. level classes I am taking this year require much more attention to detail, and a lot of extra studying outside of the classroom.

My black hair is smoothed back into a tight, French braid trailing down my back. I straighten my green tie and grab my favorite blazer to wear today, tan and grey plaid with the Slytherin emblem over my left breast. I notice my clothes are a little tighter than they were last year, but I ignore it. A trip to Hogsmeade is definitely overdue.

I head for the door to exit my dormitory, then I freeze.

I made out with Sebastian Sallow last night.

My Sebastian. My best friend. I felt his body against mine, I felt his arousal as he was on top of me. I had never even kissed someone before our day in the Vivarium. And now I can't stop thinking about how good his hardness felt grinding against me. How on earth am I going to face him today?

That warm feeling I get around him, when he stares into my eyes, when we kiss- I'm feeling it now more intensely than ever. I'm not prepared for any of this. He's Sebastian, I'm sure he's more experienced than I am with all of this. I surely could not be the first girl he's ever.. explored. I'm suddenly feeling extremely sheepish.

I take a deep breath. I've wielded ancient magic, survived through the trials of the keepers, fought an army of goblins and defeated Ranrok himself. How hard could this be? I smile to myself, I'm actually kind of grateful to be feeling this way.

The normalcy feels nice, with so much weight on my shoulders it feels nice to remember that I'm still a teenage girl.

Here we go.

I'm practically skipping my way through the castle to the Great Hall. I walk through the grand doors and look over to our table. Sebastian and Ominis are sitting side by side, Imelda straight across from them.

I take the open seat next to Imelda, locking eyes with Sebastian, the corners of his mouth upturned. I don't realize how long we're staring at each other until Imelda's graceful self cuts in.

"Oi, y/n." I turn to face her. She's rambling on about something, I don't know what. Probably trying to convince me to join the quidditch team once again. As if it wasn't all she talked about before, with it now completely reinstated she's obsessed. I love it though, no one has that kind of fiery passion like her. Out of the corner of my eye, Sebastian is still watching me. It's making me heat up, I'm sure my face is a deep shade of red right now.

"That's amazing Imelda." She looks puzzled, I must have missed the mark on whatever she was saying. "I should be off to class. I have some catching up to do." I stand up, totally forgetting Ominis was sitting with us. "Oh, and, good morning Ominis."

"Morning y/n." I hear him say as I'm turning to walk away fast. I probably look foolish to the other students passing by. I'm flushed and I feel the magic starting to hum deep inside me. Not right now. I decide to take a quick detour, watching the moving paintings on the walls. I'm distracted, for now.

I make it to Advanced Transfiguration, taking a seat next to Natty's desk.

"Y/n! It's so good to see you." Her smile is contagious. I'm so grateful that in my time here I've had Natty to show me what genuine, unwavering friendship looks like.

"Natty! It's good to see you too, I haven't seen you much recently. We should catch up soon."

"I would love to, unfortunately my mother is still keeping a strict watch on me. I'm unsure at the moment when she'll let me do much venturing outside of class." She says, clearly upset.

"Well, perhaps if we were to do some extra studying outside of class she wouldn't be opposed to it." I say to her with a mischievous grin.

She giggles in response, "Perhaps." I straighten my body and turn my head to look at Professor Weasley for the beginning of class. But my head doesn't make it past the person sitting directly in front of me, across the room.