Me and the Devil: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter FIFTY NINE - Announcement

The large double doors to the Great Hall swung inwards and the sounds of hundreds of chattering students floated up to the candles. 

"Wow." Sebastian and I paused, side by side and looked around at the tables that were nearly filled for each house. "I wonder what's for breakfast." He laughed. "Must be good."

A sudden chill crept over my skin and I became profoundly aware of a few sets of eyes on us. Some of the students at the ends of each table watched with questioning faces, a few smirks, some scowls and even quite the glare from a curly black haired witch on a Ravenclaw bench.

I could feel his grin before his hand slipped easily into mine, noticing our onlookers. 

My heart thumped and my chest rattled. 

Sebastian held his head high and my hand tight as we walked directly down the center of the room. We passed whisper after whisper and I wondered why so many student's seemed so interested. Their eyes dipped down to our hands as we walked.

Growing uneasy at the attention, I ducked my head and kept my gaze on the laces of my boots. Sebastian noticed and ran his thumb in soothing lines - the familiar action calming my nerves and I glanced up to him. His face was lit in a beautiful, smug grin but he kept his eyes straight ahead.

Of course he would be enjoying the attention.

As we reached the end of the tables I was about to pull away and head to the Gryffindor side when Sebastian tugged me to the right, grinning devilishly and leaning in to whisper in my ear.

"Let them talk. I want them to see you with me."

I nearly coughed as my heart tripped and I blushed at the hiss of his words, at the sudden commanding presence about him. This was the Sebastian I had heard about when I first started classes, this was the top duelist I had met that first day. 

There was something exhilarating about it all and paired with the warmth of his palm and the soothing of his thumb, I felt a small grin creep across my face.

"Only if you want to of course."

There he is. My kind hearted Slytherin.

I nodded, squeezing his fingers and Sebastian's eyes seemed to glint in the candlelight.

Ominis was sat at the end of the Slytherin table frowning into a bowl of oatmeal.

"Nice of you two to grace us all with your presence." He hissed quietly as we approached.

"It is rather nice of us isn't it?" Sebastian gestured to the spot on the bench next to Ominis and helped me climb in, scooting in close beside me.

"Why are they all so concerned?" I mumbled, half to myself, and tugged over a bowl of chopped pears.

Ominis' grin was so small I nearly missed it but the slight humor to his words clued me in. "Atley, darling, they have been interested ever since the day you two started walking together."

I crinkled my nose and Sebastian bit his lip, collecting his own bowl and pretending not to hang on every word.

"Our boy wonder over here has been collecting admirers since at least our fifth year. And you, my dear, well... every wizard and witch in this place has had nothing but you on their minds since that first dual. Merlin, since the sorting ceremony truthfully." He smiled down at his bowl and tucked a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth, only speaking again after swallowing and dotting a cloth against his lips. "Can't say I blame them. Anyone who can teach this fool a lesson within minutes of meeting him deserves all the attention she has gotten."