How to Make a Villain - [Sebastian Sallow x F!OC]

[four]

By the end of her first Defence class, Aurélie found herself overcome by several new revelations: the first — and certainly the least surprising — was that being a seventh year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was going to be far worse than she could have ever imagined.

The second was that Sebastian Sallow hated her.

'Your Defence is strong, Miss Collins, very strong indeed,' Hecate had told her after she'd finally conceded their duel as a tie, 'but your offence needs quite a lot of work. Mr Sallow, you ought to know how to break through her defences. Miss Collins has demonstrated that not all opponents will attack you directly. Therein lies your weakness.'

Judging by the impressive scowl he'd given her, Aurélie had the distinct impression that Sebastian didn't appreciate being called weak - though she had to admit, the sight of him looking so put out by a so-called "pushover" gave her such a thrill that she'd had to fight to keep the grin off her face for the rest of the class.

-x-

After a hurried lunch in the Great Hall — over which she'd been enthusiastically congratulated by several people she didn't know — she was met by an equally enthusiastic Poppy Sweeting who had come to escort her to their first Herbology class.

'You're famous!' Poppy said in a tone that suggested offending Sebastian Sallow was the greatest achievement anyone could ever aspire to.

'Am I?' Aurélie grumbled, keeping her head low as they pushed through the giant greenhouse doors.

Overflowing with vines that wiggled and plants that chomped, and flowers that honked and strange little pollinators that whizzed about her head on iridescent wings, the Herbology greenhouses were undoubtedly some of the largest and most impressive she'd ever seen — but it was the smell that hit her the hardest: the familiar scent of warm, damp earth reminded her so forcefully of her father that she half expected to spot him elbows-deep in soil, excitedly calling her over to inspect whatever rare or unusual plant he'd managed to germinate.

Having spent countless hours in her father's gardens back in France, she'd come to associate nature with home — with peace.

But peace there was not —

Only him —

Him with his smirk and his freckles and his stupid sleeves rolled up to his stupid elbows.

Of course Sebastian took N.E.W.T Herbology.

No sooner had she taken her place at an empty potting station did he swagger past to knock a pot of fresh dragon dung onto her new school shoes.

Aurélie's palms tingled worse than ever, the magic in her veins flaring to life again as Sebastian muttered some vague half-apology and hurried back to his station.

Let me take care of him, her magic pleaded. I'll make sure he never does that again.

Taking a deep breath, she willed the surge of power to recede back to wherever it lived inside her. But it was like trying to force a vast ocean back into a tiny pond; eventually, it was going to overflow, and when it did -

'What is he, twelve?' she muttered darkly, glaring at the back of Sebastian's stupid head and imagining what it would be like to give him just a tiny zap of her power.

'Actually, he's already nineteen,' Poppy told her in an undertone as she magicked bits of dung from the floor back into the pot. 'Which just makes his behaviour even worse, to be honest. He's old enough to know better.'