The walk to Hogsmeade was not enjoyable, despite the buzzing atmosphere caused by the arrival of the tattoo parlour. Dan wrapped his (pink) scarf around as much of his face as he could, but the exposed part soon felt raw and numb. The road to the village was full of students bent double against the bitter wind. More than once, Dan wondered whether they might not have had a better time in the warm common room, but he, like everyone else, was too keen to see the new shop to turn back. He wondered if a wizarding tattoo parlour would look like the muggle ones; bathed in dingy light and filled with the whir of needles from a back room somewhere.
Come to think of it, what did they use for wizarding tattoos? Were they traditional tattoos – with ink and needles – that had charms placed upon them, or was the whole thing done with spellwork? Would it hurt? Dan had only ever seen the outside of the tattoo parlour in Diagon Alley, and he hadn't given it a second's thought due to how normal to him the shop looked in comparison to all the other businesses in the Alley.
"Does anyone actually know where it is?" Chris yelled, his voice barely audible above the howling wind.
"Nope," PJ replied, squinting almost blindly in Chris's general direction. "I was thinking we'd just, you know, follow everyone else."
"Yeah, good point. Ben wants us to meet him at Zonko's, so it can't be too far from there."
"Hey, there's the old apothecary two doors down from Zonko's. It's been boarded up for years, I bet it's that one." Phil said, and PJ nodded in agreement.
"I never went in there." He mused.
"Well, that's why it went out of business then. I used to go in there a lot when I was trying to invent a spell for watering my plants automatically whenever they needed it."
"Hey Phil, I just realised. You're actually pretty smart. Why weren't you in Ravenclaw?" PJ grinned.
"He's certainly crazy enough." Chris quipped.
"That's not even an insult." PJ pouted. "Ravenclaws are thinkers. We're creative, and we're always lost in the clouds of our own little worlds. That's Phil in a nutshell."
Phil shook his head with a smile. They were drawing closer to the centre of the village now, and the small cottages seemed to be sheltering them at least a little from the wind. "I'm very happy right where I am, thanks." He said. "Here's the question: how the hell did Mr Salazar Slytherin, the original blood purity fanatic, let in a muggleborn?"
Dan's cheeks, already pink with cold, flushed red. It was a question that had been asked of him pretty much incessantly since the day he was sorted. "I'm not the only one ever," he mumbled. "It's just really rare. I've researched it. Obviously. 'Cos people go on about it so much. The hat puts your choices above everything else, so sometimes muggleborns get in. Because it's the choices and actions we take that define us, favourite colour and ice-cream flavour of preference are a bit irrelevant."
"So did you choose Slytherin?" Phil asked, curious.
"No; at least I don't think so, but I knew nothing about any of the houses before I arrived. I knew nothing about anything. My head was exploding when I was getting sorted. Maybe I was looking at the Slytherin banners and thinking they were pretty just as the hat got put on or something. I don't know. I mean, I don't mind, if it wasn't for the blood thing I wouldn't think twice about it. Slytherin suits me. It just doesn't make sense."
"Yeah, that is kind of weird." Phil considered. "Kind of awful for you too, because if anyone is going to be a nob about blood status then they're probably going to be in Slytherin, as that was Sally's big thing."
"Word of advice, Phil," Dan cringed. "If you're at all attached to the way your face looks right now, don't refer to Slytherin as 'Sally' next time you're visiting me in the Slytherin quarters."
"What about Zar? Salz? Sal-star? Z-dog? Big S?"
"I think it's best just to stick to Salazar." Dan sniggered. "But hey, you're free to make your own decisions in life. I just won't be standing in between you and the wands of the die-hard Slytherin patriots."
By now, it was clear to see where the new shop was situated purely by the crowd of shivering students around the entrance craning to get a look. They carried on past the shop to spot Ben's flaming red hair like blood against the snow.
"Oi, inky," Chris called. "You nervous?"
"Not even a little," Ben said cheerfully. "C'mon, they're so busy I want to make sure I'm not late, even if I have to hex the eager little firsties out of the way."
With much pushing and shoving, they were finally able to get a glimpse of the shop front. It was a small building, about the size of Puddifoot's, and had a shabby look to it despite the recent renovations, which suggested it might be deliberate. Two large, bronze talons formed an archway above the door, and a rustic wooden sign had 'Talons' Tattoos' carved into it seemingly with a rock, or certainly a very blunt knife. It wasn't until they got closer that Dan could see that the seemingly jagged edges to the carving were actually a series of ornate, intricate and more importantly miniscule individual carvings of a vast array of magical beasts and plants, prancing and winding across the rough plank of wood.
"Cool," he breathed, and the other four nodded in agreement. "What does that mean?" Dan asked, pointing to a sign in the window that read 'no flash work'.
"It means they don't have like, a book of designs that you can just walk into the shop and pick from. You have to come knowing what you want, whether that's a design you've found or something you want them to make." Ben explained.
There was a sound like a tinny owl hoot as they pushed open the door, and warmth washed over them like a very welcome hug. The shop smelled like clean pine and rosemary.
"Well, first appointment I've had all morning who's actually of-age." The man behind the counter gave a small smile. He was very tall, with a scruffy beard and countless piercings all over his face and ears. He wore a large, jungle green jacket that looked like it might even be dragon hide, but every inch of bare skin was alive with swirling colour.
A snake curled up asleep just below the man's ear, it's belly moving ever so slightly as it breathed. Up his neck grew a thick vine of thorny, dark purple climbing roses with leaves that shivered in an imaginary breeze. His hands had been tattooed to look as though they were skinless, with muscles and tendons moving over chalky white bones. It was kind of macabre, and Dan quickly moved his eyes away to avoid feeling nauseous.
"The name's Sebastian. You must be Ben." The tattooed man came out from behind the counter to shake Ben's hand, and Dan wondered how he had known which one was Ben, but then he remembered Ben's bright hair and piercings and supposed it wasn't so difficult of an assumption to make, considering how completely au-natural the rest of them were. "You made it through the door, which means the one with the appointment card at least was of age, but you've brought quite an entourage with you. I hope you weren't intending to persuade me to ink your mates too...?"
Ben shook his head. "Nah, but none of them have ever seen a tattoo being done before, and I needed someone to hold my hand. Hands. All four of them."
"Fair enough," Sebastian chuckled. His voice was low and soothing, and despite the dark nature of most of his tattoos, his smile was warm. "Shall we go down, then?"
He led the quintet down a set of very steep, rickety wooden stairs into a dingy basement that was much like what Dan would expect a muggle tattoo shop to look like. The main difference however was that the walls were lined floor to ceiling with dusty volumes and spellbooks, and there was a cauldron bubbling on the hearth emitting a sweet vanilla scent.
Sebastian didn't seem to be much of a talker, and the five students stood in slightly awkward silence at the foot of the stairs while he rooted through a collection of cupboards, gathering supplies.
"Sit," Sebastian motioned at the reclining leather chair in the centre of the room, and Ben approached somewhat apprehensively, but then flopped himself down easily with a reassuring smile at the other four.
"So, this bat," Sebastian said, his head buried in a chest. "Did you have any particular characteristics in mind?"
Ben blinked. "How did you know I was getting a bat?"
"Oh yes, sorry. I dabble in Legilimency because of the work I do – so much is lost when a person tries to translate a vision they have in their heads into words, you know? Art never looks quite as good as you imagined, but even more so when you're translating it from one head to another." Sebastian clarified.
"So you're reading my thoughts right now?" Ben asked, a little unsure.
"Some of them, yes." Sebastian smiled. "I'm not very good. I don't need to be. I just ask my clients a few questions, to make them think about their vision. Then I can see it. That's all I need, so that's all I learnt how to do."
Dan wondered whether this was true or not, then remembered that, if not, Sebastian could probably tell what he was thinking and know that he was doubting him. Dan tried to focus back on Ben.
"So, you're thinking now." Sebastian carried on. "You just want a little bat, sensible really. To make sure you like the idea of tattoos before you get that hippogriff on your left arse cheek."
"Hey!" Ben said indignantly, but with a laugh. "I did not think that. It's going to be a centaur, actually."
"Ahh, so it is," Sebastian chuckled. "Make sure you come to me for that one. I don't think I've ever done a centaur before. They're too close to humans, it's not all that different from getting a random person's face tattooed on to your arm. Or, left arse cheek. So. A personality for this bat. You like the idea, but hadn't thought much about it. So now's time to think. Also to decide if there's any areas of your body that it's not allowed to explore."
Ben grinned. "Absolutely, categorically not. Batty roams free, wherever he wishes."
"Even your eyelids?"
"Sure."
"Gnarly."
~
It took them another ten minutes of talking to fully refine the design and personality of the small bat that would originate on Ben's collar bone, but roam free as it wished. Sebastian seemed to be in no particular hurry, despite the crowd outside of students trying to get through the age barrier he had placed on the door. Dan had to admire the level of dedication he put into his work. He took the permanence of tattoos very seriously, and wanted the finished product to be as close to what the client envisioned as physically possible.
The actual spellwork was anticlimactic. Sebastian pressed the tip of his wand to Ben's clavicle, but from then on no one could see much of what was going on because he leant right forward, concentrating and blocking the view. He seemed to be drawing the tattoo much like muggle tattooists would, just with considerably less pain on the receiving end. Ben winced a couple of times, but afterwards swore he felt nothing more than a light tingling sensation.
When Sebastian was done, everyone crowded round to get a good view while Ben grabbed a dusty mirror eagerly. It looked at first glance to be no more than a black dot about half the size of a sickle, but then, slowly as if waking up, the little bat opened its wings and blinked a couple of times. It took nearly a full minute for the bat to decide to take off, and when it did it flew straight up towards Ben's hairline, darting in and out of the tendrils of red. It was fast and Ben was struggling to chase it with the mirror, but a huge grin had spread across his face almost immediately.
"He's perfect." He said simply, and Sebastian bowed his head.
~
Sebastian slipped the handful of coins Ben had paid him into a leather pouch, but hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. "You're all of age, or at least, will be soon, right? No one's coming through that door any time soon. If any of you are considering tattoos, we might as well plan them out now."
That was all it had taken for the six of them to stay sitting in the gloomy basement for half an hour, avidly bouncing ideas off each other and coming up with beautiful designs and experimental ideas. Sebastian seemed surprised at himself for how quickly he had taken to the boys. He bonded with Ben instantly over their shared desire for traditional muggle body modification even in the wizarding world, and he fell head over heels in love with PJ's creative visions and neat little drawings. Dan couldn't blame him. PJ and tattoos went together like butterbeer and cold evenings. Peej liked to tell stories, he liked to draw, and he liked to combine the two and make the stories come alive. While he insisted he'd never have the spellmanship necessary to be a tattooist, Sebastian insisted that he showed promise.
"You have the art skills," he said earnestly. "And then some. But, more importantly, you have the preciseness. You're meticulous. Some people make art with big brush strokes and splatters and things that don't go right the first time but end up looking beautiful, and it's so great, but it's no good for tattooing. Many of the best artists in this world would be terrible tattooists. And you're a Ravenclaw, right? You can't be bad at charms and stuff. Do what I did, start as an assistant. I did the art and some of the simpler charms, but I got help whenever it was something complex. Just in case. But I kept studying. I'm still studying now. I always want to learn something new, some new trick that no other tattooist will have thought of, you know?"
"Sebastian, can I ask something?" Chris interrupted. He had been looking awe-struck through a volume of photos of Sebastian's work.
"Call me Seb. Sure."
"Do you do your own tattoos? If so, how?"
Seb nodded. "Diversion spell. My belly is the only bit of me that's bare, because it's easiest to reach. I draw on my belly and then send them to wherever I want them to go. I usually get help with my back, though. With positioning and stuff."
"What's the coolest one you have?"
At that, Seb grinned a wide, toothy grin. "I'll show you."
He shrugged off the heavy jacket and then pulled off his shirt in one sudden, fluid motion. Phil choked a little by Dan's side and Dan hit his leg, but privately he agreed. Seb's chest was incredibly beautiful, and not just due to the chiselled abs and rippling contours. A thick forest crept up one side of his ribcage, through which a whole pack of wolves roamed stealthily, beady eyes twinkling out at the onlookers through the trees. A moon hung a little above the canopy, glowing with what looked a lot like real moonlight. A murmuration of starlings formed endless, weaving, complex patterns in the space just below Seb's collar bone.
But it wasn't the front Seb wanted to show them. He turned around to reveal his back, and Dan's eyes bulged. Standing in the centre of Seb's back, staring steadily straight at Dan through dark, unblinking eyes stood – well, Dan supposed he would call it a horse, but it wasn't like any horse he'd ever seen. It was completely fleshless, its black coat clinging to its skeleton, and almost reptilian looking. It was so skeletal in fact that had it not been for the small undulations in its sides Dan might have assumed it was dead. Wings sprouted from each wither; vast, leathery wings that looked like they ought to belong to giant bats. It stood very still amongst all the movement of Seb's other tattoos, and there was something a little eerie about its gaze that sent chills down Dan's spine. It looked as though it were seeing right inside of him.
"Which one?" Phil asked by his side, and Dan blinked. To him, only the horse had stood out. He hadn't even looked at any of the other tattoos, but now he supposed they were all as beautiful as the others.
"In the middle," Seb said, with the half-smile that slipped so easily onto his lips. "It's a Thestral."
Dan turned curious back to the horse, but was surprised to hear Chris laugh. "Oh, very funny. That's neat, that. I'm sure it's the most beautiful tattoo the world has ever seen."
"It is, actually." Seb said, amused.
Dan frowned. He felt like there was a joke he wasn't getting.
"Are you being serious?" PJ asked. "I can't really tell with you. Do you really have a Thestral tattoo?"
Seb nodded. "The most complex spell I've ever cast. Because, you know, there isn't one in a spellbook you can just go use. No one has ever had any need, or want, to recreate Thestral magic. It took a lot of work. Wasn't exactly a fun adventure, either, but I'm pretty pleased with the outcome."
"Ok," Chris sniggered. "I'm sure it looks lovely, and no one will be able to prove you otherwise."
"Well, a few people." Seb smiled.
Maybe it was Dan's imagination, but he was sure Seb's eyes had darted towards him as he'd spoken. Dan gazed at the Thestral once more. It was a very quiet, gloomy presence on Seb's back, but it did seem kind of beautiful in a way. There was something about it. It had meaning to it, something ageless, but Dan couldn't quite figure out what it was. And what about the way the others were reacting? There was no way he was admitting he didn't know what a Thestral was, but he made a mental note to look it up when they got back so at the very least he could understand the joke.
~
A large group of seventh years had broken up their little basement party and, not really enjoying the cold now that the excitement was over, the five boys decided to call it a day and head back to the castle. Talk of the tattoos they were planning filled the walk home and, although no one would admit it, they were all secretly looking forward to the next chance they'd get to spend time with the mysterious and quiet but endlessly kind-hearted Seb.
"He was just, so cool, you know?" Ben said, and quietly everyone agreed.
One thing was certain, they all wanted tattoos from Talons' Tattoos, however unwise that decision might be.
xxx
A/N this and the chapter before were originally one chapter but it ended up 7k words because I am phan trash so I figured I'd have to cut it into two otherwise I would have been murdered I mean apparently these days anything over 4k is a really long oneshot iN MY DAYFICS WERE LIKE 100K AS STANDARd
Anyway. Comment question: what houses are y'all in? do you agree with the houses I picked for these four goons? I'm interested this is Research ok
Ps u guys are fab and rad and pleas keep being awesome ily <3