star-crossed | s. sallow & o. gaunt x reader

chapter three | twigs & dog's breath

september 4th - 12:00pm - professor's weasley's office

"you'll need to go to hogsmeade to obtain some of the necessary items for your classes," professor weasley found you a couple days later after class, "a wand, some seeds, potion ingredients, books, and a variety of uniforms are things you'll be able to find there. i've arranged for mr. sallow and mr. gaunt to escort you there to assist with this, i noticed you seem to be friends with the two of them".

friends? you weren't sure you were officially on that level with the two boys, but they'd been relatively nice to you the past couple days. there were certainty worse people she could have chosen to escort you.

"sounds good, professor, thank you".

"i spoke with the boys earlier today, they've agreed to meet you in the sytherin common room after classes today. i trust that three of you will stick to your tasks and avoid getting into any kind of trouble," she gave you a look of warning.

"of course, professor," you gave her your most promising smile, but only time would tell what kind of events would unfold in hogsmeade that evening.
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5:30pm - hogsmeade

the small wizarding town south of hogwarts felt like a place you'd only read about in fairytales. cobblestone roads winded through the alleys of shops and inns, warm lights glowing from the inside of each one. faint music was being played somewhere deeper into the town, the cheerful melody floating through the streets alongside fragrant wafts of baked treats and savory meals.

"hogsmeade really is the heart of hogwarts — it's hard not to feel at ease when you're here," sebastian mused, eyes wide as he scanned the different shops, "what do you think?"

"it's charming," you smiled, "definitely very welcoming".

"where must we take you first?" ominis seemed much less enchanted by the storybook town, pulling you and sebastian back to the task at hand.

"can we go to olivander's first?" you turned to ask him, "i have to admit that i'm most excited about getting my own wand. i'm not sure how much longer i can stand using this measly twig".

you held up your poor excuse of a wand which earned a warranted snicker from sebastian.

"don't laugh too hard," ominis said bluntly, "you lost in a duel to that twig".

sebastian didn't seem to take much offense, "i'd like to think that i lost to the holder of the twig, not the twig itself".

the playful bickering continued as the three of you navigated your way through the streets, finally coming to a halt in front of a small dingy shop with the name "olivander's" plastered above the door. anticipation boiled in your stomach as you entered the shop, a friendly older man greeting you with a warm smile. he asked the two boys to wait near the front of the shop, bringing you deeper into the tight walls lined with boxes of wands.

the first wand he handed you was made of light poplar wood with a unicorn hair core, the carving of the wand very sleek and straight. your fingertips felt as if they were burning when you picked it up, and the floorboards began to vibrate underneath you. within seconds boxes were flying off the shelves and your hand felt as if the flesh was about to melt off the bones. you practically threw the wand back into the box, eyes wide as you looked at the wrecked state of the shop.

"no worries!" mr. ollivander gave you a shaky laugh, "let's try another one, shall we?"

the next wand was carved from hawthorn, irregularly shaped and covered in knobs and bumps. the core was dragon heartstring, and you could practically feel like wand pulsing with power as he opened the box for you.

"try not to kill us this time!" sebastian shouted from the entrance, him and ominis snickering over your failed first attempt.

you tentatively reached out and grasped the wand, an immediate bolt of electricity striking through your body. the wand quickly fell from your hand to floor, smoking from the electrocution. you could feel strands of you hair sticking straight up, and the muffled laughter coming from behind you confirmed it.

"i'm sure this next one will do the trick!" the wand-smith left out another breath of awkward laughter.

the third wand was a dark twisted wood, made of blackthorn with a phoenix feather core. you knew before you touched it that this was the one, your heart hammering inside your chest. a soft white glow emanated from the wand as you picked it up, your fingers curling perfectly around the spiraled shaft. a gust of wind stroked over your head, smoothing out your electrified hair and then returning all of the scattered boxes back to their homes on the shelf. something strange began to surge within you, similar to a heartbeat but much deeper and much more powerful.

"ah," mr. olivander gave you a soft smile, "there we go. quite a rare wand indeed, difficult to tame but immensely powerful — be sure to wield it with care".
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7:30pm - j. pippins potions

"i dare you to drink the dog breath potion," sebastian taunted ominis, the small vial of liquid in his hand.

the three of you had been exploring j. pippin's stock of potions for the past few minutes, trying to find the most ridiculous ones. dog-breath — a potion that caused the consumer to breath fire for a short period of time, was at the top of that list.

"absolutely not," ominis scrunched up his nose.

"i'll give you a galleon if you do it," sebastian wigged his eyebrows, trying to sweeten the deal, "unless you're too scared to try it".

"i'm not scared," ominis shook his head, "i just don't feel like feeding into this childish game you're playing".

"you sound pretty scared to me," sebastian shrugged his shoulders and turned to you, "doesn't he sound scared?"

"you sound terrified," you did your best to keep a straight face, "i expected a little more bravery from you, ominis".

"god, you're almost as annoying as he is," ominis snapped and reached out his hand, "give it here".

sebastian shot you a winning smile as he placed the small dogs-breath vial into ominis' hand. the blonde-haired boy threw the thick liquid back in one gulp, his mouth twitching downward at the taste. he held up his wand, undeniably trying to find out where you and sebastian were standing, and then leaned forward and blew out a hot breath of fire. you and sebastian let out a yelp, each diving to the side and just barely missing ominis' torrent of flames. you let out a small giggle as you stared over at sebastian, a small patch of his fluffy hair charred and smoking.

"i'm going to feed both of you slugs in your sleep tonight," ominis crossed his arms, his eyebrows pressed together in annoyance.

before you could reply to his threat, mr. pippin was bolting towards you from the back of the store, "you three! what are you doing?"

the three of you simultaneously bolted from the store, laughing as you sprinted down the cobblestones. cool autumn air hit in you in the face, making your cheeks red and your lungs sore — but in the best way possible. once you felt like enough distance was between you and mr. pippins, the three of you stopped to catch your breath.

"i can't believe-," sebastian started, cut off by a blood-curdling scream from just up the road.

the three of you turned towards the source of the noise, noticing a group of dark wizards stalking down the road and seemingly heading straight for you. one of them raised his wand and pointed it at you, muttering to the others.

"what's going on?" ominis had a tinge of fear in his voice, his wand drawn and ready.

"there's a group of ashwinders walking straight toward us," sebastian answered, "and they don't look like they're here for a nice chat".