It was your seventh year at Hogwarts, and you and Sebastian hadn’t spoken in over a year. After everything that happened with Anne, his uncle and a certain unforgivable curse, your friendship went from inseparable to nonexistent. You both had somehow come to the mutual conclusion that ignoring each other would be the best way forward, even if you two hadn’t verbally communicated this plan. But that’s how it went. Fifth year ended, and your relationship with Sebastian had dissolved to the point that it was like you never met. If it weren’t for the whispered rumours floating about the halls and the theories your classmates had devised about why you’d suddenly stopped interacting, you’d genuinely believe that everything that happened with him was all a dream.

You thought that this was how it would continue through your final year at Hogwarts: the two of you dutifully ignoring each other, holding grudges about all that transpired last year. As far as you were concerned, Sebastian Sallow was simply a manipulative, self-serving snake who was never truly your friend. He wasn’t the charming, butterfly-inducing boy who came to the forefront of your mind every time you saw him smile.

Sadly, your plan seemed to have some holes this year. It seemed your classes were starting to align as you finally reached your potential after missing the first four years, and now you were thrown into almost every class alongside Sebastian. If this wasn’t bad enough, the way you discovered your plans demise was worse.

You’d gone out searching for animals to rescue from poachers in the forbidden forest before class, and totally lost track of time, causing you to practically sprint down the hallway in order to make it to class without missing too much of it. You’d had to rush to your dorm before to grab your books, and they’d disrupted your view so much that once you actually got into class, you’d been so blinded by the stack that you’d smacked right into a hard wall of chest, causing yourself to topple backwards. Whoever it was reached out to grab your waist to steady you, which unfortunately led to you pulling them down with you.

“Merlin!” The deep voice says, and despite your clenched eyes, you can feel how close he is due to the warmth of his breath against your face. Your eyes flutter open, and when you see Sebastian, you feel as thought you’re seconds away from combusting into a ball of flames.

You expect him to move, but he seems to be lost in thought, a trance of some kind.