Under Your Scars || Sebastian Sallow x MC

Chapter 4 - A Bit of Light Reading

Sebastian POV

I took my position in the front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, ready to commence the first class of the term. It happened to be a Friday, so it was set to be an easy first day.

This morning's class was a particularly boisterous bunch of Slytherin and Ravenclaw seventh-years, most of whom had found their seats and were fussing with quills, parchment and textbooks.

Ironically, the seventh-year curriculum focused heavily on the study of curses and curse-breaking, which I had not planned to get to until closer to the holidays. However, I decided to make some last minute adjustments once I returned to my room last night. I was scribbling the curriculum changes on the chalkboard when the class suddenly fell silent. I turned to find that Juliette Fontaine had appeared in the doorway to my classroom.

She wore a white button-down shirt under a navy blue blazer and a matching blue skirt that fell to her knees. She had a blue and gold silk scarf wrapped around her neck and tucked into her collar.

I pondered whether it was intentional that she consistently represented her house with her wardrobe.

"Good morning, Professor Sallow" she said as she stepped into the classroom.

"Good morning, Miss Fontaine. Students, as you know this is Miss Fontaine, our guest professor from the Ministry. She will be joining us for class today, please treat her as you would any other member of our faculty.....On second thought, please treat her better than any member of our faculty."

Juliette gave a polite wave but stayed in the back of the room. I realized I had not prepared a seat for her.

"Erm, you may take a seat at my desk if you like," I offered as I moved from behind my desk.

"Oh no, that's quite alright." She strolled over to an unoccupied table at the back of the class and took a seat. I appreciated that.

My students had trouble focusing in the first place, and now we had a celebrity in the room.

Once class started, it became evident that I was the one that would have trouble focusing, with Juliette watching me intently from the back row. I was as frazzled as I had been at dinner last night. I sat on my desk in an attempt to appear casual as I gave an overview of the expectations for the term. 

"Please note that I have adjusted the curriculum. We will actually start the term with dark curses and curse-breaking, as we have an expert to assist us." I winked at Juliette before I remembered I was standing in front of a class of teenagers.

A few giggles ensued. My face felt hot and I hoped it was not noticeably red. I cleared my throat.

"With that in mind, I'd like you all to read the first three chapters of Curses and Counter Curses for Tuesday's class. You're all dismissed." a few groans of protest were quickly drowned out by the shuffling of parchment and books as the students dispersed.

I rose from my desk, weaving my way through students to reach Juliette. When I finally reached the back of the class, she was gone. Perhaps she had escaped to avoid being interrogated by my students about her adventures.

I was disappointed, I still had questions for her. 

Maybe she was avoiding being interrogated by me. 

I couldn't exactly go track her down. I had three more classes to teach this morning, so I hoped she would be back for the next class. My questions could wait, for now.

The rest of the morning dragged by, and Juliette never returned. After dismissing my last morning class, I fetched some lunch from the Great Hall and returned to my office.

I had solidified my lesson plans over the summer, so I settled myself into my plush green armchair, kicked my feet up on the table and prepared to read for the afternoon. I reached for my newest haul from the Restricted Section : Magick Moste Evile. Gone were the days of sneaking into the Restricted Section. I was now able to check out books at-will. Being a professor certainly had its perks.

No sooner than I opened the book to start reading, there were three quick knocks on my office door. I hesitated to respond, mildly annoyed by the interruption. 

Why would someone come to my office hours?

On a Friday?

On the first day of school?

These nerds.

I slammed my book shut, eliciting a faint cry from the book,  and set it on the table along with my glasses. I reluctantly got up and trudged to the door.

I opened the door and was surprised to see an energetic Juliette Fontaine on the other side. The dark circles I had seen around her eyes the night before had faded somewhat. 

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. May I come in?" She asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Absolutely, Miss Fontaine." I stepped aside to allow her into my office. I offered her the armchair where I had been reading while I cleared books off of another chair. "Can I put on some tea for you?"

When she did not respond I looked over to find that she was casually sifting through the books on my table, most of which I had procured from the Restricted Section. Her eyes widened as she gingerly picked up the book I had just set down.

"Magick Moste Evile?  You're reading this?!" She was almost shouting. She looked both enraged and hurt, as if I had betrayed her by having the book in my possession. I could have sworn her eyes were glowing.

I shrugged, trying to diffuse the tension that was building. 

"I spend a lot of my time reading, I've almost exhausted the library's resources so I've been using my professor privileges to borrow from the Restricted Section." I pointed to the book in her hand, "That one is particularly ancient, from the Middle Ages I'm pretty sure. You don't encounter a lot of those spells these days, but I like to be prepared for anything, even if I'm not an Auror anymore."

The fire in her eyes died down as she appeared to relax at my words. She returned the book to the table carefully before she finally leaned back and settled into my armchair.

"Gone are the days of sneaking into the Restricted Section, eh?" she said with a smirk.

"Well let's just say if you need something out of there while you're here, we don't have to do any sneaking around" 

She giggled. She fiddled with her scarf for a moment before placing her hands in her lap. 

"So, what brings you to my office hours Miss Fontaine? In need of some tutoring?" 

"Ha. No. Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to The Three Broomsticks this evening, if you're not otherwise engaged. We didn't really get to catch up last night, as I'd hoped." 

Fuck. 

I avoided that place like the plague, for several reasons. I'd always turned down invitations from other professors, but I couldn't turn her down. 

I can handle it for one night.

"Absolutely! I could take a break from being a hermit for the evening. Would you mind if we walked? Its a beautiful day." I paused a moment before adding, "Perhaps we can spend the walk discussing what you've got planned for my students," I raised an eyebrow.

She winced, it was subtle but I'd developed a knack for picking up on these things during my career. I wasn't sure exactly what she was keeping from me, but I was determined to find out.

"Alright!" She sprung up from my armchair and headed for the door. I panicked and got up to follow her, worried I had upset her.

She stopped in the doorway to my office, "Meet you in the Bell Tower Courtyard after classes let out?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Yes. That's perfect," I said. She nodded and vanished out the door.

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What beef does our boy Sebastian have with the Three Broomsticks?