Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
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"Merlin's Beard," I hear Sebastian say under his breath as we cross through an opening that leads us straight to the Undercroft. He pulls away, letting my hand slip from his as he quickens into the space. "I haven't been here since..."
Even in the dim light I can see his face has gone wide with awe. Drawing his wand he utters "confringo" and alights the many braziers along the walls of the space, warming up the temperature and causing everything within to glow with soft, flickering tones of red, gold, and amber.
Sebastian meanders around the room, going nowhere in particular. He periodically shakes his hands, as if he were casting water from his fingertips. "This is fucking weird," he says. "I think the last time I was down here was...with you." His pacing continues. "When we spoke just before I left."
My stomach sinks a little to think about it. It was the worst non-goodbye I've ever experienced before the heart-wrenching amputation of losing him. As it dawns on me, I say "now that you mention it, I think the same is true for me."
"Really?" he asks. "You never came back?"
I shake my head. "I couldn't," I say simply, not wanting to explain how neither Ominis or I could bear the thought of coming down here without him. And with the way my body is positively surging with craving him again, almost beginning to ache with how badly I want him to take me and hold me and fill me, I really don't want to harsh the vibe.
Sebastian walks towards me with his captivating gait, looks into my eyes and genuinely says, "I'm sorry for that."
"It was a long time ago," I assure him with a smile. "Let's not put a damper on things," I say, coquettishly grabbing at the fabric of his shirt.
He lets out a light laugh and hesitates to search for words as a series of smiles perform subtly across his face: amusement, resignation, confidence. Then his hands slide to either side of my neck and he tips my face back and up at him with his thumbs on my jaw, saying "believe me when I tell you this: the wanting I feel for you is – quite literally – ever-present. A damper for it does not exist."
Good lord, he is sexy.
His words make my cheeks blush and fill me with excitement. It is captivating to see him here like I have in my dreams. But to also have spent so much time together here, back when we were such different people, is disorienting. It would almost feel like a past life except that the youthful intensity of my desire for the reckless, dangerous Sebastian I knew is at the forefront of my mind, demanded by the sight and smell of this place like a muscle memory.
His fingers are still around my neck, his thumbs slowly tracing along my jaw, and his eyes are bright – so alive – tracking my face. I slip my hands to his waist and enjoy the way the muscles of his torso dance through his shirt under my gripping palms with his slight movements.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask softly.
A slow, self-assured smile draws up the corners of his mouth as his thumbs slide to my lips. He continues inspecting my face as he says with fascination, "I would have called anyone mad – completely mad enough to be locked away – if they told me back we were students that I would ever be here like this, in the Undercroft with Gryffindor's own new star student, April Collins, and that she would–" he stops himself.
