Special A/N at the end!
We're just over the halfway point now, which means both the angst and the fluff will start ramping up in intensity! If you've stuck around this long, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Since wattpad is scrapping their DM feature soon, feel free to come hang out over on tumblr, where I like to ramble about Sebaura and Villain and post lots of cute game piccies: @morelikeravenbore
Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
-x-
Thanks to the sheer intensity of Sebastian's enchanted flames, the Undercroft was so sweltering hot that if Aurélie closed her eyes, she could almost fancy herself back in the south of France; the crackle of the flames nothing but waves breaking on the shoreline, the drone of Sebastian's voice as he pontificated about magic simply the ocean breeze humming through the dunes.
It may have been the October chill that finally drew her into the underground cavern, but it was the company that'd kept her coming back every day for a week.
Sebastian, who'd been pacing in front of a blackboard for the better part of an hour, was so excited by the obscure reference to Ancient Magic he'd found in an equally obscure old book that he seemed not to notice the heat — or at least, he'd gotten so used to it that his damp shirt and flushed skin no longer bothered him. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, tie long-discarded and top buttons askew, and wisps of damp hair were curled around his face in a way that endeared the still-youthful flush of his cheeks despite the dark circles under his eyes.
In spite of the mounting pressures of their seventh-year commitments, Sebastian hadn't wavered in his promise to help her. For a week straight, whether still in his Quidditch uniform, tracking muddy feet across the flagstones, or fresh from the infirmary, his eyes brightened by the thrill of having cured a head cold or mended a broken bone, he came armed with books and parchments and theories that might help them understand the nature of her gift.
Today they'd met earlier than usual, taking advantage of a double free period to squeeze in an impromptu study session before their extracurriculars separated them again.
Aurélie had to admit, watching Sebastian when he was caught up in his studies was quite a sight to behold. Curled up on the lumpy old sofa under the pretence of taking notes, she was free to observe his little unconscious mannerisms: the crease between his brows, the way he bit his bottom lip when he was concentrating —single-minded in the same way she imagined his Ravenclaw mother might've been.
She wondered about his family as she doodled idly on a scrap of parchment. Which of his parents did he take after most? Were his freckles his mothers' or his fathers'? Had Anne possessed the same unruly hair, the same honey-sweetened eyes? And what of his loyalty? His unwavering commitment to help someone in need? Ominis had told her that loyalty was a Sallow trait, but that Sebastian's tenacity took it too far:
When he wants something, he will go to great lengths to get it.
But was that really such a bad thing?
'Aurélie!'
With a little gasp, Aurélie jolted out of her reverie to find a pair of very annoyed brown eyes fixed upon her, their usual warmth made molten by the flickering of ten thousand or more magically potent flames above them; Sebastian had abandoned his frenetic lecture on the theories of Ancient Magic to glare down his nose at her, his arms folded across his chest.
'Are you even listening to me?'
She flashed him a sheepish grin. 'Yes,' she said, gesturing vaguely at her parchment. 'I'm taking notes. See?'
Sebastian took one look at the scruffy-haired stick figure she'd been doodling, made a sound that was both amused and incredulous at the same time, then threw himself on the sofa with a long, exasperated sigh. The deep-set cushions sagged under his weight, tilting him sideways until his arm was firmly pressed against hers, as warm and strong as it had been the night he'd held her.
He made no move to right himself.
'If you're trying to drive me absolutely bonkers,' he groaned, pressing his hands over his face, 'you're doing a very good job of it. Did you listen to a single word I just said?'
Something of Aurélie's resistance had crumbled the night the unicorns bore witness to their moonlit embrace; if not a wall, then certainly a few bricks had fallen away, leaving a hole in her defences through which Sebastian could stick his hand and give her reassuring little pats on the head.
Like a newly adopted cat, Aurélie was wary of this newfound affection - but not entirely adverse to it.
'Are you regretting your offer to help me?' she asked.
His firm and immediate, 'No,' had her barely suppressing a grin.
Perhaps it had been an error in judgement to let herself be drawn to him — if she'd known how pervasive her thoughts about his arms were going to be, she would've thought twice before throwing her own around him that night. Or perhaps she was simply starved of affection, desperate for the comfort of another body to curl into. Whatever it was, Aurélie was tired, and Sebastian was warm, and so — just for a little while — she allowed herself to lean into him.
'Well, you're awfully grumpy,' she commented, drawing two angry little eyebrows on her stick figure's face.
'I'm not grumpy, I just want you to pay attention.' He rubbed his eyes wearily and looked at her. 'This is important, Aura.'
'But what's the point?' She dragged a hand across her flushed forehead. 'We've been at it all week, but all this research has yielded nothing we don't already know about my magic. Not that I don't appreciate it!' she added hastily, cutting him off mid-scowl. 'But we're making no progress! And we still don't know who's after me!'
Sebastian massaged his forehead with his knuckles but said nothing.
'The Auror's have no leads,' she went on, wringing her hands together. 'Neither the French nor the British Ministry know what to do with me except to put me in lockdown and hope for the best. It could be anyone.'
'It doesn't matter who it is,' Sebastian said tightly. 'French or British, the Ministry is useless. You wouldn't believe the kinds of things wizards get away with thanks to the gross incompetence of our legal system. Besides...' He stretched out his long legs with a groan. 'They're all corrupt to the core, brought and sold. You can't rely on anyone but yourself. And me,' he added, nudging her lightly with his shoulder.
'And you,' she echoed, nudging him back. 'Expert on everything.'
''Bout time you recognised my brilliance.' Sebastian's smile eased some of the worry from his features, and, by effect, most of hers.
She averted her lingering gaze. 'I don't know... It just feels like we're just groping around blindly in the dark.'
To her surprise, Sebastian let out a mighty snort of mirth.
'You'd know all about groping in the dark, wouldn't you?' he said with a wicked grin.
Aurélie's mouth fell open, scandalised.
'Sebastian!'
'Oi!' He swatted her hand away as she aimed to smack his shoulder. 'All I'm saying is that next time, you only need to ask and I'd be happy to —'
Blushing furiously, she leapt to her feet and fixed him with a look that would've made even her formidable French mother quiver in fear. Sebastian, of course, being the most infuriating boy to ever walk the face of the earth, only laughed harder.
'Sebastian Sallow! Tais toi!'
Sweating under the blazing heat of his enchanted flames, she hastily snatched up her belongings while the scruffy-haired lunatic laughed himself stupid on the sofa.
'I didn't mean to —' she spluttered. 'It was dark and — I told you it was an accident — and anyway, you're the one who — never mind, I have to go, I have choir practice!'
But as she made to stalk past him, he caught her by the sleeve.
'I'm the one who what?' he asked, struggling to keep a straight face as she spun back to face him.
Almost kissed me.
Held me like nobody ever has before.
'Nothing.' She shook her head. 'And stop grabbing me all the time! Just because you're so big —'
She clamped her mouth shut, realising her blunder at the same time Sebastian's eyebrows shot upwards.
'Big?' he said gleefully. 'You think I'm big?'
'Sebastian, please.'
Swallowing the knot in her throat, Aurélie silently, and perhaps for the first time in her life, lamented her embarrassing lack of experience with boys. She should have kissed more of them in France. Merlin, she should have kissed at least one of them in France! Then maybe she'd know how to handle molten eyes and hushed words and — and Quidditch captain bodies —
'I'm only teasing you.' Rising from the sofa, he released her sleeve but not her attention as he sauntered closer. 'Skip,' he smirked, his voice low.
'S-sorry?'
He came closer, standing all tall and broad before her, his smattering of freckles on clear display beneath his open collar. She wondered how far down they went. Was every part of him freckled?
'Skive off. Don't go to choir practice.'
Stay.
Her eyes snapped up to find that look on his face again: soft brown eyes beneath dark lashes, lips slightly parted and wet — a look he only wore in the Undercroft.
A look he only wore for her.
She shook her head. 'Can't.'
'Why not?' His eyes flicked down to her lips, then to her neck, her collarbone. She had no freckles there to trace, but his gaze traced her all the same.
She shivered, for once not from the cold.
'Because... Halloween —' She cleared her throat. 'Halloween feast next week. We're singing. I've got... got the solo... Ominis —'
Unable to look him in the eyes a moment longer, she sought distraction from his unwavering attention by rummaging blindly in her satchel.
Was this how his Quidditch thing with Imelda started? With teasing remarks and lingering gazes? Had he asked her to stay with his silken voice? Made her shiver when his gaze lingered on her skin?
Sebastian, too busy scowling at the mention of his friend's name, seemed not to notice the way her hands shook when she extracted her chunky woollen jumper.
'Ominis,' he sneered, 'can shove his stupid choir up his—'
'Just because the two of you are quarrelling, doesn't mean I—'
'Oh, so you take his side?'
'What side?' Her voice was muffled as she struggled to slip her jumper over her head. 'You still haven't told me what you're arguing about.'
'He knows about you, he was there when you fainted!'
'I didn't faint,' she grumbled, wrestling with the neck hole — it took a moment to realise she was trying to put her head through the sleeve. 'And so what if he knows? He hasn't... mentioned it... Ugh, I'm stuck...'
Sebastian, rolling his eyes impatiently, pulled the jumper over her head in one swift movement and glowered down at her.
'So what if he knows?' he repeated, picking a piece of fluff out of her hair. 'He's a prat, that's what!'
Aurélie sighed and slipped into the waiting lift.
'Well,' she said distractedly, checking her pockets for her sheet music, 'he'll be even more of a prat if I'm late to rehearsals, but I'll be sure to let you know if he tries to kill me for my magic between songs.'
Sebastian's expression pinched as he squeezed in beside her, and when the lift clattered upwards, she thought she heard him mutter, 'not fucking funny,' under his breath.
Judging by the typical pandemonium that met them in the Defence tower, classes had just let out for the day. Halloween was fast approaching, but the horrors that followed Aurélie through the halls weren't the leering pumpkin carvings or the clouds of live bats fluttering around the high ceilings, but the whispers, the sideways glances, and the nasty sniggers that'd haunted her since she'd debuted as Hogwarts newest orphan.
The word was like a curse on the lips of all who spoke it — whether whispered in sympathy or meant as an insult, Aurélie felt every syllable in her heart as sharp as shattered glass.
Because that's what she was.
Orphan.
Sebastian, far more comfortable with the title than she, and seemingly immune to nasty jabs about his past, tried his best to act as a buffer, but not even his truculent presence was enough to spare her; even as they ascended a marble staircase headed for the music room, somebody nearby hissed, 'No wonder he likes her, they're both orphans.'
'Don't,' Aurélie muttered, yanking him by the sleeve before he could start flinging insults or hexes — or both. 'There's no point growling at them — they're right.'
'That's not why I like you!'
'I meant about being an orphan.'
'I know what you meant.'
-x-
On the morning Aurélie was due to rejoin her classes after her dramatic stint in the hospital wing, she'd spent so long in her dorm braiding and re-braiding her hair that the common room was empty by the time she made her way out.
Dreading the long day that lay ahead, she lingered uneasily at the tower's threshold, stomach churning at the thought of facing whatever lay beyond it. She could handle being the French girl — Merlin, she could even handle being Sebastian's (ugh) girlfriend, but being infamous for having no parents was simply unendurable.
The few Ravenclaw's she'd already faced had treated her kindly enough; her roommates had offered sympathetic smiles and condolences, but between Samantha Dale looking at her like she was a kicked puppy and Constance Dagworth bursting into tears at the thought of losing her own parents, Aurélie wasn't sure how much more pity she could take.
Thankfully, it wasn't sympathy waiting for her outside the common room. Before the enchanted door knocker could scold her for dawdling behind so late, Aurélie was taken by surprise when Poppy came bounding over, grinning from ear to ear, while behind her, tall and scowling, Sebastian threw his hands in the air with an impatient huff.
'Finally!' he groaned, rubbing his stomach and looking very put out. 'I'm about to drop dead!'
Aurélie shot him an alarmed look, but Poppy only rolled her eyes. 'He's hungry,' she explained, linking their arms together. 'He tried coming in to get you, but he couldn't solve any of the Eagle's riddles.'
'Oi, Hufflepuff, neither could you.'
'Well, I wasn't the one bragging about almost being a Ravenclaw, was I? Anyway, have you heard? Howin's just brought in two unicorns!'
It was Poppy's idea to sit with the Hufflepuff's for breakfast that morning. Sensing Aurélie's hesitation to enter the Great Hall, she gave her elbow a reassuring squeeze while Sebastian swept a menacing scowl across the room.
'I'll hex anyone who says anything,' he muttered darkly. 'Especially Weasley.'
'No hexes,' the girls said in unison.
'Come on.' Poppy tugged her arm. 'The Hufflepuff's won't bother you, promise.'
Whether the invitation explicitly extended to Sebastian or not seemed irrelevant to the tenacious Slytherin, who plonked himself squarely at the Hufflepuff table amid a sea of very bewildered badgers, looking as out of place as a troll at a ballet recital.
Aurélie tried to stifle a laugh: Hufflepuff's, she observed, were rather a small people, and Sebastian — well... When the girl next to him — a dark-haired seventh-year with a very kind face — had to crane her neck all the way up to gawk at his face, her suppressed giggles came out unbidden.
'Uh, hello...' he said to her. 'Leah, isn't it?'
'You know my name?'
The Hufflepuff table was a surprisingly homey contrast to the erudite Ravenclaw aesthetic she was used to; rather than scattered books and scraps of parchments crammed on every available surface, the badgers took their meals amongst an abundance of flowers and bits of greenery; a tiny potted Mandrake stood guard over a jug of pumpkin juice, while a collection of dancing cacti made the act of serving porridge fraught with spikey peril.
But perhaps the most surprising of all, if Sebastian's reaction was anything to go by, was the vast array of sweets and pastries on offer, piled high on golden platters, sugar-glazed and chocolate-drizzled.
Sebastian gazed upon the spread with incredulity. 'Why do you lot get chocolate eclairs for breakfast?' he complained, loading three of them onto his plate.
Before long, after the flowers were hastily rearranged to accommodate two extra guests, and the tea was poured and shortbreads distributed, and she'd politely refused the indulgent baked goods for a bowl of porridge (without injury), Aurélie was just beginning to feel at ease when—
'Oh. Oh!!'
A shrill voice made her jump so violently that if it weren't for Sebastian catching her at the last second, she would've toppled backwards off the bench. A few spots down the table, a girl with blonde pigtails and glasses brandished a brightly coloured cake tin in her direction.
'It's you!' cried she, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. 'You're the French girl!'
Before Aurélie could utter a startled 'oui?' in reply, another girl, this one with pink and yellow flowers woven through her ash-blonde hair, leaned across the table.
'Gibby...' she whispered, shooting a kind but shy glance at Aurélie, 'maybe you should give her some space.'
'But Siobhan, she's French!'
'Half-French,' Sebastian said around a mouthful of beans on toast.
'Half-French!' Gibby leapt up from the bench, rattling her cake tin with increasing urgency. 'Which means she'll be able to tell me whether my truffles are half-good or not!'
'T-truffles?'
'Gibby's parents are confectioners,' Poppy explained in an undertone. 'She's very, er... passionate about baking.'
'She force-feeds us,' Siobhan added, eyeing the tin with some apprehension. 'It's easier just to accept them than it is to argue with her, trust me.'
Gibby blew her a raspberry and upturned the contents of her tin onto an empty platter.
And so the morning was spent in surprising companionship, where, rather than navigating unwanted sympathy like she'd been dreading, she found comfort as an honorary Hufflepuff, discussing France and unicorns and trees while offloading a steady supply of truffles and sweets into Sebastian's enchanted pockets.
-x-
A week later, he was still snacking on truffles as they wound their way up the bell tower wing toward the music room.
There was far less grandeur to be found this high up in the castle; polished marble staircases were left behind for rickety old floorboards, and the smell of stale air and musty carpets replaced the malodorous scent of potions mishaps and British food that was distinctly Hogwarts.
Usually, her only companion on her lone trek to choir practice was the resonant echo of Ominis rehearsing his scales at the piano. Now though, having set off rather earlier than she'd planned, the only sound that kept her company was the creak of floorboards underfoot and the slow, measured breath of the boy beside her.
'So why then?'
Aurélie's question was so abrupt that it surprised even her when it came tumbling out. Sebastian blinked, seeming to rouse from some deep, truffle-induced abstraction to look at her curiously.
'Why what then?'
She opened her mouth, thought about clamping it shut for the rest of her life, then said, 'You don't like me just because we're both... You know...' she trailed off, unwilling to speak the word aloud.
But it came so easily to him, like everything did. 'Orphaned?' He raised his eyebrows. ''Course not, that's ridiculous. I didn't even know you were an orphan when we first met.'
'So...'
'So what?'
She rolled her eyes. 'Never mind.'
At the end of the hall, the door to the music chamber stood ajar, but the room beyond lay silent and still. In a castle full of nosy peers and ever-watchful professors, she wondered how Sebastian always managed to get her alone.
Or, perhaps more accurately, why she always let him.
'Wait, hang on.' He touched her elbow, and she turned to face him almost too willingly. 'Are you asking me why I like you?'
'N-no, not like that, I just —'
She caught the sweetness of chocolate truffles on his breath and wondered, fleetingly, if she'd taste it on his lips if she pressed up and kissed him.
'It's just... I just want to know if you — why you care.'
'Care?' Sebastian looked at her with a mixture of exasperation and tenderness. 'I thought you —'
But the rest of his answer died on his lips as a very out-of-place sound diverted their attention.
They turned toward the music chamber, listening hard.
'Is that' — Aurélie frowned, confused, — 'a snake?'
Several things happened in quick succession.
Two figures appeared at the doorway, both clad in black and almost identical in weight and stature, deep in what might have well-been conversation if it weren't for all the hissing they were doing. She recognised Ominis, but the other —
Sebastian swore under his breath. In the space of a heartbeat, he pulled her against his chest — and for one wild, unfathomable, completely insane moment, she thought he meant to kiss her. She gasped, lifted her face — but then a jolt and a trickle of magic rendered her suddenly stiff and invisible: Disillusionment was a familiar sensation by now, but Petrificus Totalus was new - and awful.
Whispering an inaudible apology against her temple, Sebastian had time only to prop her against the wall before an unnervingly soft voice had him straightening up.
'Ah, Sebastian...'
A Gaunt, undoubtedly, in both name and appearance. One of Ominis' brothers she'd heard so much about.
At first glance, he was virtually indistinguishable from his brother: elegantly dressed, fair-skinned and with that aristocratic curl to his lip that was doubtless a family trait, but the longer she observed him, the more pronounced their differences became. He was taller, a little older, his blonde hair a shade or two darker — and though he spoke politely and smiled easily, there was a lingering coldness beneath his facade as if his smile was pulled into place by invisible strings rather than genuine affection.
But worst of all were his eyes, so shocking a contrast to his brothers' that they might as well have been two black holes in a cadaverous face.
'How good to see you again,' he said, extending a gracious hand.
'And you, Malific.'
Aurélie wished she hadn't seen the shudder that rolled through Sebastian's shoulders as the pair shook hands. If only she could close her eyes, turn away.
If only she could run.
Because worse than being trapped in her own body was the dreadful realisation that Sebastian — fearless, dependable, unshakable Sebastian — was afraid.
'Not here for choir practice, surely?' Malific Gaunt's laugh was as cold as his smile, a sudden draught in a warm room.
'Me?' Sebastian choked, his voice constricted. 'Salazar, no, I sing like Mandrake. I only wanted a quick word with Ominis, but I can come back if —'
'Nonsense! I was just on my way out. Here on official business, actually.' He swelled with self-importance. 'I've just been to see Phineas.'
'The Headmaster?'
'Malific has been promoted,' Ominis explained, sounding bored. 'Undersecretary to the Minister for Education.'
'Youngest in history.' Malific's modesty was as false as his smile. 'Goes to show what hard work and commitment to one's future success can do. Something I trust you're focused on now, entering your final year.' His cold black eyes sharpened on Sebastian's brown ones. 'Staying out of trouble, I hope?'
Though the question seemed innocent enough, it froze every muscle in Sebastian's body, as if he'd hit himself with a full body bind. He unclenched his jaw to speak, but it was Ominis who answered for him.
'I can attest,' he began, stiffly, and without a hint of warmth, 'that Sebastian is so focused on his Healer training that it's a rare sight to see him anywhere but the infirmary these days. My promise remains as true as ever, brother.'
'A Healer?' Malific looked almost disappointed. 'An admirable vocation, I'm sure, but I confess... Given your experience, I had you pinned as a Curse Breaker.'
'No.' The resolution in Sebastian's voice was firm. 'I want to help people.'
'Yes, yes...' Malific sighed. 'I suppose that's for the best. After your last little mishap—'
'—That will never happen again.'
Mishap?
Malific dismissed this avowal with a sniff. 'Well, I ought to be going,' he said, suddenly disinterested. 'Business to attend to, you know how it is. Good to see you again, Sebastian.' Foregoing a second handshake, he turned to address his brother instead. 'As I was saying earlier, father will expect an answer before the year is out. You can't ignore him forever, you know how he gets. And Marvolo...'
As the brothers brushed past her, conversing once more in spits and hisses, Sebastian caught her eye. Even invisible, he was attuned to her, able to pick out her camouflaged form against the wall. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. Could he hear her heart smashing against her chest? Sense the fear clawing its way up her spine with cold, scratchy fingers?
Could he feel the prickling of magic beneath her skin, itching for release?
'Oh, and Sebastian?' At the end of the hall, an afterthought turned Malific on his heel. Sebastian spun around. 'Do keep me informed of your training, won't you? Should your N.E.W.T.s stand up to it, I'd be happy to put you in touch with some of my connections at St Mungos.'
Sebastian nodded stiffly, sweat beading at his temples. 'Thank you, but that won't —'
'Or perhaps a stint in France might be more... appealing to you?'
'F-France?'
Aurélie could only watch the colour drain from Sebastian's face. Panic rose inside her like a wave, but without an outlet, without movement to diffuse the energy, it could only swell and crash, over and over, drowning her in her own immobile body. And beneath it all, prickly and hot and painful, the thrumming of magic fought to free itself from constriction.
'Certainly!' Malific's smile grew wider, twisting into something sinister, a predator baring its teeth. 'The Gaunt's are well connected in France, as you know. I'd be happy to put you in touch with some of my associates there, should you wish to, uh — cross the channel after graduation.'
In just a few short weeks, Aurélie had witnessed Sebastian threaten a man's life in Hogsmeade like it was a daily occurrence, accept responsibility for her dangerous and unstable gift without any consideration for his own safety, and vow to defend her against the dark forces that were murdering and attacking without prejudice. He was a boy as defined by his impulsivity as his fearlessness. But now, as Malific bid his farewells and disappeared down the hall, she could see the cracks in Sebastian's facade: the sweat on his forehead, the simmering panic in his wide eyes.
For the first time since she'd met him, Aurélie was truly afraid.
A long silence met Malific's absence. It was Ominis who finally broke it.
'Sebastian, you idiot!' he hissed. 'What were you thinking!'
But it wasn't Sebastian he turned to. With an almost careless wave of his wand, he freed Aurélie from the constrictive binds of Sebastian's spells.
Visible now, she stumbled, the grateful expansion of her lungs sending a dizzying rush of magic through her body — but it was too late. Displeased at being trapped for so long, turbulent and roiling, it crashed over the walls of her self-control and took control of her body.
She straightened up, raised her arms.
'Aura, no —!' Sebastian launched forward, hands outstretched, but she couldn't stop it, couldn't hold it back...
The floodgates broke.
A shockwave of magic hit them full-on, blasting the two Slytherin's off their feet.
-x-
A/N: When I first started writing Villain, I was a brand new fandom bebe who didn't have a single friend in the community. Now, nine months later, this story has connected me with so many wonderful, supportive and talented people who never fail to inspire and excite me. In honour of these friendships, this chapter features a few cameos of some of my favourite MC's. Gibby is the protag of A Cruelty Vivid and Sweet by galaxiasgreen, Siobhan belongs to speedgriffon and features in many of her wonderfully written stories, and Leah belongs to our very own real life Poppy ginger_legacy07.