TW: swearing :TW
Sebastian Sallow doesn't consider himself a jealous man. However, this changes very quickly once you arrive. From the moment he first sees you, he knows he's in trouble. And he's right, but he's not the only one. Garreth Weasley has taken a liking to you as well.
That Gryffindor always seems to be near you, and despite how much Sebastian tries to deter him he won't leave you alone. At least Sebastian's made it so when he's with you Garreth will keep his distance but the moment the Slytherin leaves he pounces. And you being the sweetheart you are, you won't tell him to go away.
One day Sebastian's walking outside the castle looking for you. He wants to make sure you understand the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, not because he has no clue how to start it himself. He smiles at hearing your voice and rounds the corner. But his grin fades as he sees the Gryffindor at your side. Garreth has an arm around your shoulders and is close to you, talking about something. You're clearly uncomfortable and squirming slightly, trying to stand as far away from him as possible. Sebastian's face darkens and he rushes over, interrupting Garreth, "There you are y/n."
"Sebastian!" The relief on your face is immediate and you can shrug Garreth's arm off. "Let's go do the thing."
Sebastian knots his eyebrows, "what thing-" you tilt your head slightly to Garreth, "Oh right that thing! Yeah, let's go." He takes your hand and pulls you away, glaring at Garreth.
"See you later y/n," Garreth winks at you.
"Bye." You and Sebastian hurry away, speedwalking back into the castle. You both collapse on a bench, your head falling into your hands.
"You okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No, he just won't leave me alone."
"Do you want me to kill him? Cause I will."
"Sebastian no, it wouldn't be good for either of us to go to Azkaban and you're on thin ice already."
"I still might kill him."
You chuckle, "In that case, I'll help you hide the body."
Ever since that day, Sebastian has gotten even more protective, sticking by your side as much as possible. And he's gotten more touchy with you, either having an arm slung over your shoulders or holding your hand. You don't mind, in fact, you kind of like it. And Garreth has surprisingly stopped bothering you, he actually doesn't come near you at all.
But then one night Sebastian and you have plans to go and study together in the Undercroft. He's meeting you outside your common room. But when he gets up there someone else is already outside the door. Garreth is standing there, kicking the entrance. "Stupid barrel-"
"Garreth? What the fuck are you doing?"
Garreth swings around with a jump, "Jesus man!" Sebastian stares at him, noticing that he's holding flowers.
He puts two and two together, "You're here to talk to y/n, aren't you? I thought I told you to leave them alone."
"You don't control them! Maybe they want to be with me, not your weird Slytherin ass."
"They don't, trust me. So leave."
"No."
Sebastian pulls out his wand, his expression darkening. Garreth drops the flowers, "of course, wand fighting. Typical Slytherin."
"What? We're wizards, you jackass."
"Why don't you fight me like a real man? No magic, just fists. Unless you're scared."
Sebastian growls and tucks his wand back into his pocket. "Fine. Let's do this."
"Alright, how about a little wager? If I win, you have to stop talking to y/n."
"And if I win you have to leave Hogwarts."
Garreth pales for a moment but nods. "Deal, let's do this! Get ready to-" Sebastian steps forward and punches him in the nose. Garreth stumbles back with a yelp before lunging at Sebastian, football tackling him to the ground and pulling his fist back, punching the Slytherin right back.
"Depulso!" Sebastian thrusts his arm out and Garreth goes flying back, hitting the wall.
"Hey!" He stumbles to his feet, "That-"
"Alarte Ascendare!"
Garreth flies up in the air and slams back into the ground. He sits there, leaning against the wall as a small whine of pain escapes him. Sebastian hears rushed footsteps getting closer by the second.
The door to the Hufflepuff common room opens and you step out, "alright Sebastian-" you stop in your tracks, staring at the scene in front of you. Sebastian and Garreth stare back. "What the freak?!"
"Uh..."
The footsteps and voices get even louder and you facepalm before grabbing Sebastian's arm and pulling him through the door.
"Don't even think about telling anyone about this!" Sebastian threatens Garreth as the door closes. Once the entrance is shut fully you turn and punch his arm, making him bumble back a step. "The hell?"
"You dummy!" You shove him again, "what were you doing?!"
"Um, beating up Garreth?"
"Why!?"
He shrugs and you sigh, rubbing your temples. After a second you look back at him, seemingly just realizing that he's hurt. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Your nose is bleeding. Here," you hand him a wiggenweld potion. He takes a swig and downs the whole thing. He grunts as the potion heals his nose.
"How do I look?" He grins at you. Though the potion fixed his nose there's still blood on his face.
"Hold on, you've still got some blood," you pull a rag out of your pocket and reach over, wiping the blood off, "there." Sebastian coughs and looks away. You swear you see the faintest traces of a blush spread across his face, but just as quickly as it appears it's gone.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," you sigh and sit down, Sebastian following suit, "you better hope Garreth doesn't rat you out."
"Come on, the staff loves me."
"Despite that, I'm not sure how well they'll take you beating up another student."
"Eh, don't worry about it, I'll be fine."
You chuckle and lay your head on his shoulder, "you should probably go back to your room, if anyone else sees you-"
"Oh come on, you can't just do this and then ask me to move."
"Do what?" You smirk up at him. He snorts and looks away, shaking his head. "Seriously though, you should leave."
"And miss the chance to hang out with you? No way."
"Alright, but if you're going to stay you have to help me with my Divination homework."
"Ooh, maybe I will leave."
You smack him and stand up, grabbing your Divination book off the table. You grin and decide to see how much you can test him. You lie down on the couch, putting your head on his lap. He stiffens and you open the book, flipping to your page. "So, if I see a two-headed cat in my tea leaves, what exactly does that mean?"
"Uh," he buffers, still shocked. He gulps and shakes his head, "not sure, let me see the book." You hand it to him and he looks through it. You smile up at him, his face partially obscured by the textbook. You can't deny that he's extremely cute, nor can you deny that you have a huge crush on him. You have since the moment you first beat him in Defense Against the Dark Arts. "There's nothing on two-headed cats, are you sure that's what it was?"
"Man I don't know, it could have been a pig or something."
"Pig, pig, ah here it says a pig means a faithful lover but jealous friends."
"Huh," you grin lazily up at him, your eyes gleaming with compassion and love. Sebastian moves the book to look at your face and is momentarily stunned by the warmth in your smile. He still can't comprehend why someone as sweet and kind as you would choose to hang out with someone like him, but he sure as hell isn't complaining.
"Anything else you want to know?"
"Could you just reteach me about tea leaves? I don't get any of it."
"Sure, I don't understand them any more than you do, but I'll just read the chapter." Sebastian flips back to the start of the chapter. Before he starts reading, he takes a risk and reaches one hand down. He gently places it on your head, stroking your hair softly. You gasp quietly, melting into his touch and shutting your eyes.
Sebastian rubs small circles into your scalp as he begins to read. You can't help but feel safe and comfortable in his lap, his voice like a melody luring you to sleep. Within minutes you fall into a deep slumber, snoring quietly. Sebastian smiles and closes the book, placing it down while still playing with your hair. His eyelids droop and despite his best attempts he too falls asleep, his head lolling to the side.