A Night On the Floor | Sebastian Sallow x Fem Reader

In the Shadow of Rumor

You couldn't believe it. You managed to save all of wizard-kind from a goblin war last year, and yet you somehow had zero prospects for a Yule ball date.

Fortunately, or unfortunately in your case, professor Weasley announced at the beginning of the term that despite there being no triwizard tournament this year, administration had agreed that a Yule Ball would "lift some spirits". After the devastating loss of professor Fig last year, some spirits definitely needed lifting, including those of the faculty that were close with him.

You hadn't really thought of finding a partner for the ball at all. That was until Poppy brought it up 2 weeks before the event on your walk back from beasts class.

"Really, I was surprised when Amit had asked me. I've talked with him in class but I thought his head had been in the stars this whole time."

You looked over at your friend, surprised to find her grinning so wide. No one except her beasts made her this happy. A pink blush splashed across her cheeks. It was December and freezing in the highlands, but you had your suspicions on what was really making her blush.

Your decision was to keep your mouth shut and act happy for your friend. Time had certainly escaped you as the term had flown by. Days were filled with classes and nights were filled with late study sessions in the library with Sebastian and Ominis. At the time, preparing for your end of year assessments seemed more important than finding a date to a school ball...until Poppy began gushing about her gran sending her best dress in the mail.

You were content with just letting her jabber on until she asked you the question you were dreading since she brought up the ball.

"Which lucky wizard has the pleasure of accompanying you?"

Now your cheeks were the ones growing pinker by the second. You were surprised at how embarrassed the subject made you feel considering you never even gave it a thought until now.

"Erm, well - I actually don't have a date yet, Poppy."

Your friend came to a stop so quickly you were surprised she didn't end up skidding in the snow. She's always been expressive and not very good at hiding her emotions, especially if she was upset about poachers or missing her gran. Right now you could tell she was taken aback given her wide eyes and agape mouth.

"There better be a dragon behind me because I don't know why else you'd be looking like that right now" you sighed. It wasn't like you to get exasperated at a genuine friend like Poppy. She didn't do anything to deserve the attitude you usually reserve for Sebastian and Ominis, and yet something about this whole situation was really starting to bother you.

Luckily, Poppy gave a light chuckle at your joke. "I guess I'm just surprised is all," she began as you both resumed your walk back to the castle. "I was sure Garreth was going to ask you when you accompanied him to Honeydukes a few days ago."

Now it was your turn to stop in your tracks. "Garreth! Garreth Weasley asking me to the ball? Have you gone mad?"

Sure, Garreth and you had become acquaintances, even maybe friends since you agreed to help him out here and there with his less-than-school approved potion business. You mostly picked up random ingredients for him when you knew you'd be out exploring. You got to know him a little better through the process and made a sickle or two, but it wasn't like either of you got personal.

"Yes Garreth!" Poppy insisted. "You can't tell me you don't see him stealing glances in potions class. All of the sixth year girls thin-"

"Oh Poppy, don't tell me that our whole year believes this too!" You cried. Icy fingers flew to cover your mouth in disbelief as Poppy confirmed that you and Garreth were believed to be an "item" among the sixth years.

"Why would the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team even be interested in me?" As far as you knew, Garreth's time away from concocting brews was spent on the pitch as captain ever since professor Black reinstated quidditch. This made him not only the class clown, but also one of the most popular boys at Hogwarts. You were sure you had even seen him rejecting a group of third year girls the other morning at breakfast.

Poppy shrugged her shoulders. "Well, even if Garreth doesn't ask you, I'm surprised Sebastian hasn't... what's that face mean?"

If you were being honest, your feelings towards Sebastian had changed when you returned to Hogwarts this year. You couldn't put a name to how you felt when he was around, and you most certainly didn't have the time or energy to explore where those feelings stemmed from. You just knew that you got this nervous feeling when you'd look and him and find that he was already looking at you. And you hated how you couldn't hide your change in expression when anyone brought him up.

Damage control was in order so neither Poppy nor anyone could know how complicated your feelings for him had gotten. "Just surprised you'd bring him up, Poppy. Sebastian and I are best friends. We don't feel like that toward each other."

That's a lie because I definitely have imagined him with his shirt off, you thought.

Poppy just smirked and let out a humph. You needed to be more convincing that the suggestion of dancing with Sebastian didn't fill your chest with a warm feeling.

"Plus, he's so busy with quidditch. It's all he talks about; Ominis has almost cursed him for the amount of times we've sat through talks of gameplay and quidditch history during dinner."

Opening the Bell tower door, Poppy looked back and rolled her eyes. "Boys and their quidditch. I don't even hear Imelda ramble on as much as they do and she's Slytherin captain."

You nodded fervently, eager to leave the topic of Sebastian Sallow outside of the castle. Inside, house elves were busy hanging garland and tinsel around doorways and the handrails of stairways. In recent days, pines decorated with red and green baubles began popping up all around the castle. It was under one of those trees that you bid farewell to Poppy before heading back to your common room. You weren't interested in talking about the Yule Ball anymore, but that didn't mean you wouldn't write about your predicament. Your diary was about to get the full story.