Work Text:
Sebastian first finds out about your little preoccupation when he innocently stumbles upon you studying with a group of your fellow Slytherin girls in a quiet corner of the library. Or at least, it was quiet until Nerida Roberts had started to derail your entirely legitimate conversation about the uses of Dittany for an upcoming Potions exam by bringing up Professor Sharp himself.
“He’s just so handsome,” she sighs dreamily. “How am I supposed to focus on what’s going on in my cauldron when he’s standing right across the room looking all brooding and roguish?”
Violet McDowell giggles and adds, “I could listen to him talk all afternoon and I wouldn’t learn a single thing!”
“I suppose that’s why so many seventh-year girls are still taking Potions even if they don’t need it for their N.E.W.T.s,” you murmur.
“Can you blame us?” Violet sighs. “You must admit, he’s quite nice to look at.”
“Of course I think he’s handsome,” you say with a scoff. “Just because I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I can’t see the man.”
As if on cue, Sebastian comes around the corner carrying a large stack of books on defensive magic and spots the three of you huddled around your Potions notes.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he says with an easy smile.
Sebastian sets his books on the edge of the table and leans down next to you to steal a chaste kiss while he can. He’s seen relatively little of you this week while you both prepare for exams in classes the other doesn’t have, so not even your late-night study sessions have overlapped.
“Speak of the devil,” Nerida teases.
“Shh!” you whisper. “Enough now.”
“Not keeping secrets from me, are you?” Sebastian asks teasingly as he snags one of the empty seats.
“Of course not,” you demur. “By the way, have you got my Potions notes from last week? I think I mixed them up with yours from Ancient Runes.”
Sebastian chuckles and asks, “Trying to change the subject? I must have walked into something quite scandalous.”
“It’s nothing bad,” Nerida says teasingly. “We were just chatting about Professor Sharp.”
“Oh?” Sebastian asks, surprised. “What’s he done now?”
“Nothing,” Violet McDowell answers. “We were just saying that he’s easily the most handsome professor at Hogwarts.”
“He’s certainly your girlfriend’s favorite,” Nerida says with a smirk.
Sebastian raises a skeptical eyebrow at you, and sure enough, you’re blushing.
“Really?” he drawls. “You have a thing for Sharp?”
“No!” you whine. “I just – I really like Potions class, that’s all.”
“Of course you do,” Violet taunts. “So you can moon over Sharp during his lectures!”
You shoot Violet a threatening look and not-so-gently kick the toe of your boot against her shin underneath the table. She yelps and curses under her breath before indignantly burying her face behind her Potions textbook, and Nerida wisely avoids eye contact and doesn’t offer anything further.
After a beat, Sebastian clears his throat and says, “Well then, I, er… suppose I’ll leave you girls to it.”
He helps himself to one more kiss goodbye and you can tell by the significant look he gives you before leaving that this is not the last you’ll hear from him about your crush.
Sure enough, a few nights later the two of you manage to claim a loveseat by the fire in your common room where you can curl up against his side and revise your Potions notes one last time before your exam while Sebastian dutifully transcribes runic diagrams onto lengths of parchment.
“Are you feeling prepared for your exam tomorrow?” he asks you casually.
“I think so,” you answer. “It’s not a practical, so I can’t imagine it will be too challenging.”
“You’re sure you won’t become too affected by Sharp’s dulcet tones and neglect something important?” he asks with a smirk.
Annoyed, you huff and abandon your notes at your side.
“You’ve been waiting several days to bring this up again,” you grumble. “I should’ve known I wasn’t safe.”
“What?” he laughs. “I’m just teasing you, love.”
You narrow your eyes at him skeptically. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Well, it’s just… I don’t really know what you see in him, that’s all,” he murmurs, lazily turning a page in his Ancient Runes textbook.
You frown. “What do you mean?”
“I just think he’s rather foul,” Sebastian says plainly. “He’s impatient, meticulous, he’s clearly got a dark past and I truly don’t understand why all you girls think he’s obviously the most handsome man at Hogwarts. To me, he’s simply average.”
Merlin’s beard, you think. You knew Sebastian wasn’t a fan of Hogwarts’ Potions master, but you had no idea his dislike ran so deep.
“I think he’s a good professor,” you offer quietly. “He’s always been quite helpful to me, especially when I needed to master healing potions, and he saved my life in the Repository.”
“How generous of him,” Sebastian mumbles.
Angrily, you sit up a little straighter and pluck Sebastian’s quill out of his hand so he’ll look at you.
“And what about you?” you demand indignantly. “While we’re on the subject of good-looking professors, I happen to know that you turn into a stammering, blushing fool whenever Professor Garlick is nearby.”
You know for a fact that Sebastian Sallow is not an idiot, which is why it’s all the more frustrating when he tries to deny something you’ve known about for months.
“I do not!” Sebastian protests. “That’s – that’s ridiculous.”
You scoff and roll your eyes. “You are not a subtle person, Sebastian, nor are you particularly good at being punctual, yet somehow you’re never late to the greenhouses.”
“W-well, I’m rubbish at Herbology so I like to make sure I won’t miss anything important,” he lies.
“Maybe you wouldn’t be quite so rubbish if you actually listened to the professor instead of staring at her chest for the entire lesson,” you grumble.
Sebastian goes bright red. Clearly, he had no idea you could see him doing that.
“Look,” he whines. “It doesn’t mean anything, I just think she’s nice to look at is all.”
“And I’m not allowed to think Professor Sharp is handsome?” you counter.
“It’s different,” he insists. “You actually like him, it’s not just an attraction.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” you hiss.
“It means he’s a powerful wizard, a brilliant duellist and he’s a former Auror for Merlin’s sake,” Sebastian angrily confesses. “I couldn’t possibly measure up to that.”
You feel your heart break a little when you realize what this is truly all about – your love’s relentless insecurities, the same ones he’s battled for many years now.
Softly, you ask Sebastian, “Do you actually feel threatened that I might leave you for a professor? We’re seventeen, Seb.”
“It’s preposterous, I know,” he sighs. “But I just… I feel like I could never compete with him.”
“Sebastian,” you croon as you take your hand in his lap. “I want you to listen to me very clearly, alright?”
You wait patiently for him to meet your gaze before you continue.
“As you said, Professor Sharp is impatient,” you agree. “He’s also meticulous, and maybe he does have some darkness in his past. But you also said that he’s a brilliant duelist and a powerful wizard. Do you know who else has all those traits?”
Sebastian swallows nervously and squeezes your hand a little tighter.
“You do, love,” you say softly. “So perhaps the reason I’m fond of him is that he reminds me of you.”
“I’m not an Auror,” he points out a little sullenly. “And I’ve never saved your life.”
“Not yet you aren’t, but we both know that’s why you’re studying for Ancient Runes so much lately,” you say with a fond smirk. “And since I’ve saved your life plenty of times, I’m sure you’ll return the favor someday.”
Wordlessly, Sebastian tugs you against his chest and presses a soft kiss to the top of your head.
“I love you so much,” he murmurs into your hair. “I’m sorry for being such a prat.”
“Apology accepted,” you whisper into his chest. “And I love you too, you fool.”
He holds you close for a while after that, nose buried in your hair while you listen to his slow, even heartbeat through his uniform shirt. When he finally lets you sit up so that he can kiss you properly – not one of those chaste ones from the library – you find yourself halfway in his lap before you even realize you’ve shifted.
For Merlin’s sake, your notes are in a messy pile on the floor now.
You huff and try to climb off of him to gather them up, but Sebastian coaxes you back to him with a single finger on your chin, his eyes firmly fixed on your lips. By the time he’s kissed your frustration away, you can’t even remember what you were supposed to be studying for.
“We should bicker more often,” Sebastian says with a satisfied grin, his lips slightly swollen.
“On that subject, I was just wondering…” you ask him with a teasing smile. “Is there anything Professor Garlick has that I don’t? Should I be worried?”
“Absolutely not,” he murmurs as he flicks open the top button of your shirt. “Truthfully, you both have two very nice things in common.”
“You’re foul,” you tell him simply.
“I meant that you’re both kind-hearted and beautiful,” he says smoothly.
You’re positive that you know exactly what Sebastian meant and appreciate the compliment nonetheless. In fact, he’s being so sweet that you even let him undo a few more buttons while you can take advantage of your seclusion.
The next day during your Potions exam, while your female classmates are undoubtedly slipping in and out of pleasant daydreams about your alluring professor, all you can think about is Sebastian’s lips on your neck and his hand inside your shirt as he’d whispered all sorts of electrifying promises about what he’ll do to you after you turn in your parchment.
It’s a fierce struggle to focus on Dittany of all things with that in the back of your mind, but Professor Sharp is nevertheless pleased when you end up being the first to submit your completed exam and then promptly excuse yourself from the dungeons.