Passionate Professors || Sebastian Sallow

Part 1 | Ch. 4 - The Undercroft

The door to the Undercroft swung open and I crept inside, the metal gate rising to let me in. It closed with a clank after I stepped through. The room looked exactly as we left it 10 years ago. Dust gathered on the stone floor and the torches hung coldly, having not been lit in a long time. Wooden crates, barrels, and bottles littered the outskirts of the room. The empty triptych of Isadora Morganarch must've fallen off the wall at some point. I hurried over to it, levitating the broken painting back into place.

Sebastian, Ominis, and I spent most of our nights on the floor, sharing stories, reading, or practicing spells. In my seventh year, Sebastian and I would sneak there after Ominis went to bed, tangling ourselves in one another. I could almost feel his breath on my neck and his arms wrapped around my waist if I imagined hard enough. Time stood still when we were together.

The silk pillows and blankets we left behind were once bright greens and grays, were now faded and piled in a heap in the center of the floor. I knelt down, stroking the fabric, realizing the last time I spoke with Sebastian was here, lying together on our last day at Hogwarts. It was hours before graduation and we were soaking in the last time we'd have in the Undercroft together.

"I love you, Gianna Eversley." He propped himself up on his arm, his big brown eyes locking with mine, full of hope. No matter how many times I gazed into them, they still stole the breath from my lungs. My heart wholly belonged to Sebastian.

I smiled before saying it back, messing with his moppy brown hair, "I love you too, Sebastian Sallow."

He kissed me softly, holding my the back of my head with his free hand. I placed my hands on the sides of his neck, playing with the collar of his shirt. He smelled of evergreen and dittany and I breathed in his earthy scent. Our bodies pressed up against each other, leaving no space between, just how we preferred.

Sebastian pulled away first, "come with me to Feldcroft." He kissed the tip of my nose. "We can live together, open that potions cart I've been dying to have, and just take care of Anne. It'll be so quiet and happy." His tone laced with unease because he already knew the answer. No matter how many times we went over the possibilities, or the different ways we would try to make it work, it wasn't an option. We'd spend late nights mulling over how we could continue our relationship outside of Hogwarts, always coming to the same conclusion.

When I told him I wanted to become an Auror working alongside my other best friend, Poppy Sweeting as we eradicated poachers across the Highlands, he was so proud of me. He'd sit with Poppy and I at lunch while we brainstormed how we would start, mapping out camps, fantasizing about where we would be in just a few short months. But when he realized it would take me far away from him, sometimes for months at a time, he changed his tune. He'd always supported me but once it involved upending his life, he couldn't do it. We'd argued night after night, talking in circles.

"Seb-" he didn't let me finish, kissing me again, harder. This time, I pulled away, "I start my job at the Ministry in two weeks."

He furrowed his brows playfully. "You can still do that from Feldcroft, silly!" He jokingly punched my arm. Another possibility we ran through and failed to find an answer for. Because the reality was that I'd need to be ready to infiltrate a camp at a moment's notice and apparating was dangerous as an Auror. Most of my missions would be on foot, following groups and gathering intel. If I apparated, I'd risk my magic being detected which could comprise the whole operation. The Ministry also required special housing for classified positions, homes that were highly protected and warded from enemies.

"You know why I can't Sebastian. I thought we talked about this?" I stared into his forlorn eyes, brushing a strand of hair off of his forehead. All his attempts to sway my plans fell on deaf ears but for some reason this one hurt the most. It was one last ditch effort, one final try to keep us close.