In the Shadows - Sebastian Sallow x reader (English)

Chapter 21

A month had passed since the Quidditch game. A month in which, for once, Hogwarts was quiet, as far as Hogwarts could be called a quiet place. Christmas was just around the corner and the whole school was in a cosy, romantic mood.

The five of us friends sat together in the tea corner on Sunday afternoon and played a few rounds of Asshole, a popular muggle card game. "No! You're not fucking serious, Nellie!", shrieked Cressida, who had just been called the asshole of the round for the fourth time. Frustrated, she threw her remaining cards on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not playing anymore! You all cheat!" "Now stop sulking." Nellie rolled her eyes. "You're just bad at the game and a lousy loser at that." "I'm not!" Cressida defiantly blew a strand of hair out of her face. "We could play another game", Poppy suggested. "Y/N, what else can you show us?" I thought for a moment. "I'm not very good at card games. Asshole is actually the only one I know the rules to. We could play Never Have I Ever. One tells what she has never done before and everyone who has done it before drinks. Usually, this is played with alcohol, but we'll just have a sip of tea." "Sounds fun", Natty smiled and the others nodded in agreement. "Okay then, I'll get started." I leaned forward a bit. "Never have I ever cheated at a game of cards." Cressida and Nellie raised their cups, looking guilty, and took a sip. "You both cheated and still lost?" Natty started laughing and Poppy and I got in. "Okay, it's my turn!" Nellie shifted excitedly in her chair. "I've never been in love." The other four of us took a sip. "Okay, it's nothing new with Y/N and Cressida, but Natty and Poppy? Into who?" Natty fiddled with her grey sleeve nervously. "Well, there was this one boy in Uagadou. He was so smart and incredibly nice. There was hardly a girl who wasn't in love with him." Natty's eyes glittered as she reminisced. "And what about you, Poppy?" I asked curiously. The Hufflepuff blushed bright red and tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. "I...um...well...I mean, I was in love with him. I'm not anymore. It was first grade and he was so... different from everyone else. So bright, smart and cheeky and I can totally understand why Y/N's into him..." "HOLY SHIT!" Cressida interrupted the black-haired. "Poppy, are you talking about Sebastian?" Poppy's face only got redder and my cheeks started to glow as well. "Oh well, yes. But like I said, it's in the past. All I want from him is that he doesn't break Y/N's heart." Poppy's words warmed my chest. How can a person be so kind-hearted? "Thanks, Poppy", I smiled at my friend. "I also wanted to tell you something. I... um... want to confess my feelings to Sebastian." The events of the last few months have given me a glimmer of hope that he might return my feelings. "WHAT?", all four blurted out in unison. "That's great!", Natty cheered. "Finally!", Nellie sighed. Poppy nodded wildly in agreement and Cressida seemed less than thrilled. "Just make sure he doesn't hurt you. Not like Garreth hurt me when I asked him out to the party." "If he breaks Y/N's heart, I'll break his neck." We stared at Poppy in disbelief. Hearing such words from Poppy's mouth was unusual. "What? You're my best friend. Anyone who dares to hurt you will have to deal with me." Then it's better that I didn't tell her anything about Leander's actions at the celebration. I just couldn't tell my friends about it. It was enough for me that Sebastian and Ominis knew about it.

Natty put an encouraging hand on my leg. "I wish you the best of luck, Y/N. Do you already have an idea how you want to do that?" "Yes", I nodded. "I wanted to take him out for a Butterbeer on Saturday. I still owe him one anyway. Then as we walk back to the castle I thought maybe we could take a detour to the lake. It's getting cold, I snuggle up to him and then..." "You two finally kiss!" Poppy squeaked, making me laugh. "That's the plan. And woe betide one of you disturbing us again." I glared meaningfully at Nellie, who immediately raised her hands apologetically. "Hey, that wasn't on purpose! I told you to pick up where you left off. It's not my fault that you didn't lick his face." The three others burst out laughing. "Nellie, your choice of words is a total disaster! Who's licking someone?" Poppy was clutching her stomach laughing. "Did you bother them at the moment they were about to kiss?", Natty asked. "Their lips were practically on top of each other. And it looked really hot if I do say so myself." I blushed and Cressida couldn't hold back. "Nellie, you cockblock!" My friends couldn't stop laughing. Meanwhile, Poppy wiped the tears from her eyes that had accumulated from laughing and I wished to sink into the ground. "A kiss doesn't necessarily mean that we sleep with each other." "But you wouldn't mind", Nellie poked me in the side. "No, definitely not." Now I had to laugh out loud, too. "I bet he's really wild when it comes down to the nitty-gritty." Nellie winked at me. "I don't even want to think about that!", Natty exclaimed. "Now I have images in my head. Thanks for that." She shook her head, looking like she'd bitten into something sour. "Let's get on with the game before Natty throws up on the table", I cackled. "I've never stared at the ass of anyone who's playing here before", Cressida blurted out, as if she'd been holding back that sentence for ages. We all took a sip and I choked on my tea. "Cressida, that's not how it works", I coughed. The blonde shrugged. "I just wanted to know if I'm the only one who likes to stare at butts. And apparently, I'm not. Who have you stared at the bum of? I did it to all of you." "Me too", Nellie and I burst out in unison and started chuckling again. "Well, if I'm being honest, so do I." Poppy scratched behind her ear in embarrassment and Natty pressed her lips together. "Well, I admit it! Me too." Once again, our laughter echoed through the halls of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower. We played and chatted all afternoon until it was time for dinner.