How could I ever forget you?
Sebastian Sallow/Professor Sallow x f!MC / reader
Slow burn/fluff/angst, aged up characters 18-mid 20s 🌿
I haven’t written or posted fics since I was a teenager so I’m v excited to be writing/posting this for u!!
//: Somehow it had taken until your final day at Hogwarts to finally show Sebastian how you felt, and by then it was too late. Years pass and your distance grows stronger, despite your many efforts for him. A surprise encounter at a new job could change things forever. Finding each other once again at the very place you first met, Hogwarts.
Chapter 1: “I guess this is it”
A blushing pink sunset fell upon the castle, it was your final night at Hogwarts. Although only having been a student for 3 years, it truly did feel like home, and saying goodbye would not be easy an easy task. Especially saying goodbye to a certain Slytherin student, who was sat beside you on the grass, looking out upon the glorious hillsides that surrounded the school. His head resting upon yours in a subtle embrace.
“I think I’ll miss this the most,” he muttered quietly, with such warmth you could have melted away.
“Alright, don’t get too soppy on me, Sallow,” you teased back at him in an attempt to ease the tension. After all, playfulness was your love language, and you were undoubtedly finding the emotion of leaving him extremely hard to face.
“You know you can’t survive without me,” he said with a smirk. You gasped at the sheer audacity of his comment.
“We’ll see about that,” you replied, oozing with sarcasm. But you knew it was true, you couldn’t. He was practically the reason you got up every morning, aside from the risk of detention, which he seemed to get you into anyway. The both of you spent a moment in comfortable silence, reminiscing on your time here at school. Truthfully, he couldn’t survive without you either. His life had turned upside down the moment you stepped foot in the great hall. In Sebastian’s mind, from that moment onwards, you were his. The two of you were inseparable, best friends, yet always edging the line of something more. That reality always felt so close, yet so out of reach.
“I, um, have something for you,” he turned to you, once again radiating that same warmth he did just moments ago.
“Oh?” You gazed up to him, meeting his eyes. Oh how you’d miss those perfect brown eyes, and the freckles that resided around them.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver ring. The band looked like it was formed from tiny vines and leaves, as if crafted by fairies.
A sudden panic came over you. He’s not proposing is he? I haven’t even told him how I feel, that couldn’t be possible, right? Why would that even be possible?!
“Sebastian… this is all happening so soon!” You playfully gushed, as a last attempt to save yourself from embarrassment.
“Don’t be daft, I’m not proposing,” he chuckled as he reached back into his pocket. As much as you felt relieved, you kind of wished he was.
“Not that you wouldn’t love that,” he winked. You shook your head and stared him down, holding back a smile. If only he knew.
From his pocket he pulled a delicate silver chain. You watched his hands as he so carefully looped it through the ring, creating a beautiful necklace that he let hang from his finger tips.
“I was looking through the undercroft, I suppose to… say goodbye, and I found this ring in one of the chests. I was hoping you could have it, as something to remember me by.”
Sebastian leaned towards you holding the necklace at each end, and gently fastened it at the back of your neck. His scent loomed over you, the heat of his body met yours. You felt yourself take in every millisecond of his closeness, gripping at each moment before he slips away.
“How could I ever forget you?” You said softly through a smile. Your eyes were beginning to get heavy as tears blurred your vision. It took everything in you to hold them back, you couldn’t let him see you like that, you were just not ready to be vulnerable.
Regret was becoming you. This was all you had left. Your time together was running shorter by the second. Memories of your adventures together flooded your mind, all the missed opportunities to tell him how you felt, all the times you held back. And now here you were, closer than ever, but far too late.
A single tear fell from your aching eyes, but before it had even reached your cheek, a gentle touch had wiped it away. The same hand softly stroked the back of your head with such care and delicacy. Sebastian leaned in, and planted the most gentle of kisses upon your forehead, and held it there for a few moments. You had always imagined that his affection would make you burst with excitement, but this… this was different. This was calm, this was right. This was home. This was where you belonged, and you both knew it.
He pulled away and looked back onto the view, taking it in for the last time.
“Try not to be too sad. I mean, an apprenticeship at the Ministry? That’s exciting, right?!”
“Yeah.. I really do owe it to Professor Weasley for writing me that reference, I’m surprised she even wrote it after all the trouble you got me into these few years,” you replied.
“Hey, don’t go blaming me for your own antics, you bad girl!” He teased. Why must he do this to you?
“And what about you, Quidditch champion? Hm?” You teased right back. “I never thought I’d see the day you opted for a career in sport.”
“Neither did I,” Sebastian sighed. Imelda Reyes had practically begged him to join the team after Professor Black brought back the game. Sebastian made a fine Chaser, as much as it pained him to admit it.
“We should probably be getting back,” you suggested, as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
“Right, Ominis is probably wondering where I’ve gone off too,” he stood up and reached to your hand, pulling you off the ground. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your common room, one last time,” he said with a smile, not letting go the whole way back.
The next day you stood at Hogsmeade station, for what may be the last time. You didn’t want to go, the idea of adulthood was terrifying. Pacing up and down the platform, you waited for that one person you wished you’d never have to say goodbye to. Students dashed past you in an aim to get the best seat for the long journey home, but that was the least of your worries. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around you from behind and gave you a tight squeeze, it was Poppy.
“Just in case I don’t get another chance to say goodbye,” she said with her usual beaming sweetness. This was her fourth goodbye of the day. She had grabbed you twice in the common room and once again at breakfast.
“Oh Poppy!” You turned to her, pulling her in for yet another hug. “You know I’ll write, every day!”
“There’s my favourite Hufflepuff,” an all too familiar voice appeared before you. Your eyes gazed up over Poppy’s shoulder. It was him.
Poppy swiftly pulled away, raising her eyebrows. She knew he certainly wasn’t talking about her.
“Goodbye Sebastian!” She said running at him with a hug. He was certainly taken aback by this, the look on his face was priceless.
“Uh, thank you poppy. Good luck, and everything,” he awkwardly patted her head giving you an uncomfortable smile. It seemed that Sebastian didn’t take well to anybodies physical affection, apart from yours of course.
Poppy gave you both a smile and a wave before disappearing into the crowd. Sebastian approached you, he looked so good. Too good. Was this to be some torturous goodbye? The wind caught his brown locks perfectly, and the sun kissed his skin letting his freckles beam at you. The green jumper he was wearing hugged his perfect physique. And yet for some reason, during the height of summer, he wore the same Slytherin house scarf he had every year you’d known him.
“I guess this is it,” he spoke so softly, removing the scarf and placing it around the back of your neck. He held both ends and tugged you closer to him, until your foreheads touched. You looked at each other, for what felt like forever and nothing all at once. The chaos around you faded away, nobody else in the entire world existed but you. Painful, peaceful bliss.
“I don’t want to go-“ your voice cracked. It was unlike the both of you to let your guard down like this, but it felt so dire, so desperate. There was nothing else. Gently, your eyes fluttered shut. He was so close. His warm breath flushed your cheeks as the tip of his nose gently nudged yours. Was this how it was meant to feel? So heavy, so… hopeless. Like you are gasping for your last breath, with the lingering knowledge that within moments.. he will be gone. Anticipation for his lips to meet yours grew closer. A soft touch soothed you as his hands cupped the edge of your jaw. Closer..
“Get a bloody room you two!” Snapped you back into reality in an instant. You felt Sebastian pull away, before slowly opening your eyes to see him facing Ominis. “A little help would be appreciated,” he gestured towards his bags on the ground beside him. You couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to notice the two of you, he couldn’t see you after all. But then it occurred to you, he’d been standing there the whole time. Perhaps you weren’t so subtle after all.
Sebastian helped lift yours and Ominis’ bags onto the train, and he looked so good doing it. After slamming down the final bag in the doorway, he wiped the sweat away from his forehead and took a breath. Ominis had already said his goodbyes, and left to find you both a seat, leaving you and Sebastian alone again for a brief final moment. By now the platform was practically empty, aside from a few onlookers to wave you all off. You stood in the doorway of the Hogwarts Express, towering over Sebastian who looked up at you from the platform edge. A loud whistle pierced your ears as the conductor waved, signalling the trains departure. Without a second thought you grabbed each other. It was instant. Your arms so tightly wrapped around his shoulders, and his gripping your waist. With a final squeeze you pulled each other closer, but you needed more. More time. More Sebastian. The conductor approached, breaking your grasp. He closed the door in front of you, and you peeked your head out of the window. Looking down at Sebastian as if he was your Romeo, with the scarf he had left around your neck floating in the wind. His fingers clasped the edge of the window pane, pulling himself up to your level, barely balancing himself on the edge of the train.
“I think you owe me a kiss,” he smirked, leaning in towards you. You collided, your lips meeting in perfect harmony. This was it. This was excitement. This was everything it was meant to be. This, was perfect.
Another whistle interrupted your euphoria. Sebastian stepped back onto the platform, a smug smile plastered across his face. The train slowly began to move, pulling you away from him with every second that passed. You leaned out of the window, and waved, as the glee you once felt was being dragged down by dread. The further you travelled, the murkier it became. He was disappearing into the distance, just as you feared he may disappear from your life. The smoke from the train began to fog your view, only making it harder to hold on to him. Soon enough you could barely see the smile on his beautiful face, and then even his face at all.
And with one final wave, just like that, he was gone.
