New Troubles, Old Temptations

She didn't want to be overdramatic, but she was fairly sure her life was over.

One thing was clear - she couldn't stay in England. She was going to have to go the America, or something, because there was no way she could face anyone ever again. The party had been last week and she had not been seen since. She had claimed she was sick in the hospital wing and had asked Victoire to collect her work for her. Her professors had been kind in handing her work off, though few had attempted to track her down and drag her out.

Her dormmates had been inquisitive, but Lily just pretended to be asleep around the clock. Casey had come in a fee times, demanded she speak with her. But Lily remained quiet, eyes clamped shut. Her cousin even socked her in the ribs, but Lily clamped her jaws shut and waited it out. Casey would have probably been the most comfort to her, in all honesty, but Lily couldn't face her. She simply could not look her in the eyes after all of this time.

But with graduation approaching, she knew she couldn't stay hidden forever. They had sent Dom to try and flush her out, but she had managed to sneak out. She knew the castle well, as it was a Weasley tradition to pass down knowledge of secret passageways and hidden rooms. Unfortunately, the Weasleys had never been a subtle nor silent group, and most students and teachers knew these places. So she went somewhere no one would expect.

The history of magic classroom was rarely used. Hell, it was probably the most ditched class of the lot, and Lily knew that no one would think Yes, that’s where Lily Potter would have run off to. It was safe, it was quiet, and she could wait the day out here. She had wrapped herself in one of the shirts Stewart had lent her, way back when he had been her savior. It was a stupid decision, one that just made her feel all the more alone and uncertain. Stewart had been a promise of comfort and acceptance… and then he left. And not even the way that gave closure, with an explanation and a good bye. He had just stopped coming round, stopped checking on her.

So she gave up.

But there was something oddly comforting about the flannel that belonged to the man who had left her high and dry. She rubbed her nose with the heel of her palm and pulled the collar more tightly around her neck. Her hair fell about her shoulders and she stuck her hands into the pockets of the shirt, when she felt something a bit… unsettling.

She pulled out the contents. A stout, short bottle of whiskey. A bag of Spice. She had not worn the shirt since her days when she needed the substances on her person to keep herself from falling back into bad habits. She stared down at the items, her breathing feeling strangely hollow as old temptations hit, hard and fast.

Even a week after, Sebber was pretty sure that the fatigue he felt every morning when he woke up, was just post-hangover effects, big ones. He woke up every day with dry lips, clinging for water and barely being able to open his eyes. Either it was a long effect drug or just partying too much .. Of course, Seb is inclined towards the second option. He was quite the party boy, in fact he had been doing it since his fourth year at Hogwarts, organizing or just participating.

He had zero memories of the party from a certain point onwards. All he could recall was waking up in the middle of the shrieking shack with three other girls from different houses and a friend from Slytherin. Oh dear Sebby, how did you end up in there? Atleast he was happy he didn't end up in the hospital wing, he felt pretty sure every bed was full and he would have to lie on the ground with the amount of students going in an alcoholic coma or with a really big hangover .. hell, even jinxed students ended up in there by the end of the night, a bit of everything that's for sure.

Graduation was coming, and with every student almost recovered from the big party, Seb didn't even bother checking the Hospital wing to see who was there still and who wasn't. He had been preparing a surprise, laying some fireworks all over the castle, that way the parting students would have a great memory of their last day in school. Or so he thought, of course, it was just a way for him to have some fun and enjoy the night that posed on Hogwart's sky at later hours. He had been checking every classroom in Hogwarts, to see which classrooms to place fireworks on and which one's not to, specially on the teacher's offices or storage rooms.

Last room of the day to be checked was the History of Magic classroom, though he wasn't quite sure about this one. He rarely went to that class, and he couldn't remember quite well if there was any good place to lay some on, or even if it was worth it, thinking about the fact it was so underpopulated that people would actually miss the party going on inside it. Despite that, he went there, checking every closet, the storage room and finally the teacher's office. It was not what was inside that surprised him. What surprised him and startled him at the same time, was the girl that had arrived outside the teacher's office without him noticing.


"Following me are you?"

He knew her. Lily .. Potter. She was quite the little rebel, everyone knew she liked to steal this and that, or act a bit crazy sometimes. Bipolar, for sure. Or atleast Sebber thought she was. He smiled a bit at her, that big trademarked charismatic smile he had going for him, showing her he was friendly yet arrogant at the same time, expecting no less then a polite response to him.

(I find it cute we did the exact same number of words in our post <3)

Lily felt every hair on her body jolt up and her hand immediately thrust into her pocket as she spun, looking for the person who had just stumbled upon her. And there was the Rosier boy, lounging in the doorframe of the professor's office. She was surprised Binns wasn't just relaxing in the office, as he couldn't have anywhere to go. What pressing matters did a ghost have to attend to after all?

It was, however, just your luck. If there would be anyone with a strong desire to make a mockery of her, it would be a Slytherin with dark tendencies - especially one who had struggled against her all year to make top of the class. It had been easy for her, before she had to struggle with addiction and lycanthropy and secrets and loneliness. But the fact that she had kept up despite all of this could not settle well with someone with the classic Slytherin pride.

Her instinct had always been survival. And seeing a Rosier, as a Potter, threatened that sense of survival. So she wasn't about to muck about him.

"Thought this was empty," was all she said, turning round to leave.

The look of surprise on the girl's face was quite noticeable, especially since Sebby was quite a sharp guy, always looking out for every detail. He couldn't however manage to take a glance of what she hid in her pockets since he was lost looking at her face and imaginating what was going on in the girl's head. The curiosity that filled him though was not because of what she hid in her pockets, it was in fact, because he was dying to know what she was doing all alone in the classroom, especially when there's rarely anyone here, she most have surely been hiding for some reason.

The problem here was his bloodline. Being a Rosier, and her being a Potter, there was no possible way this could end well, or so he thought. They were pretty much pre-destined to hate each other, but something about the girl's simple, monotonous look and expression ignited a spark inside his heart to make her stay in the room and keep him company. Hell, it was the last room of the day to check for fireworks, he had nothing else to do, why not spend it with her? It was worth the shot, despite the fact she was what she was.

"I didn't say you had to leave. Nor I want you to."

Just as Lily was turning around and walking towards the door to leave, Seb got there first, smiling a bit at her in a warm way, like he knew her for ages, and waved his finger at her. He thought he would probably regret asking her to stay with him, but it was an impulse reaction, he just did it, not overthinking it.

"You're staying here. Keep me company Potter-girl."

He called out to her, but that was very unlikely to make her change her mind on the course of action to take. As a child, she had been contrary. As an adolescent, she had been rebellious. And moving slowly and steadily towards adulthood, she was apathetic and wholly indifferent to the wants and desires of other people. She could barely provide herself with happiness. Why seek to help it in others?

Lily blinked heavily as the boy's smirking face suddenly filled her vision, cutting her off from her escape route. Regardless of what he was doing or why he was doing it, Lily did not see someone just wanting to catch a few more minutes of her time. An instinctive step back revealed how trapped she felt, even if her stony expression remained unreadable. Her dark gaze lifted up to the boy, and if looks could kill, he'd be nothing but ash at that moment.

The thing was, from her perspective, she had just lost everything. The notoriety she tried to escape as a Potter had come back full fledged in a wolfish form, her family was appalled she had kept up a secret for so long and not told them, and she was probably in trouble with the Ministry for never registering as a werewolf. So, with nothing to lose, this Rosier had better rethink just how brave he felt he could, smirking into her face like that.

Never threatened a cornered dog. When they bit, they bit to cause pain.

"I don't respond well to demands," she spelled out, her biting words short and pointed.

The spike of tension in the air was immense, and Seb could feel it. He meant no threat to the girl, at least, he didn't have motives for it, but the whole lineage problem was in fact a big issue between them right now. He felt her dark gaze pierce him like a bullet straight to the heart, but that just made him smirk a little bit more and laugh a bit, finding it cute that the girl was trying to scare him away just so she could go out and leave him there alone. There was just one problem. Sebby wasn't used to this type of response from girls, so he'd be stubborn now, real stubborn.

"No need to feel threatened my lady, I'm just a gentleman seeking your lovely company."

He laughed a bit at her remark. Seb was in no way demanding anything out of her. Not at all. In fact, he was asking her, as polite as he could and his personality allowed him. But he would take a more docile and friendly approach then, make the extra effort for her. Surely she should feel special after it.

"Allow me to reformulate myself then, I did not mean it as a demand. Will you please keep me company for a little while since I have nowhere to be and I could use such a lovely lady by my side on this boring afternoon?"

He chuckled a bit and gave her his hand in a formal greeting form, hoping to get a more friendly response from her this time. The look on his eyes was of arrogance, that look he always had when talking with everyone, the I am superior look. In a way, he was being as ironic as sincere, but he could not tell her that, it'd be a sign of weakness.

Rosier thought he was hot shit. Lily wanted nothing more than to assure him that he was not getting special treatment. If anyone cut off her exit strategy, they would suffer her dark wrath. She was wolfish, not just just once a month, but naturally. She had a natural distrust for her fellow human beings, and she did not like feeling as though someone was trying to exert dominance over her. She had never done well with things like authority, but she did even worse with people who acted as though they had authority, when they did not.

"A gentleman acquiesces to the comforts of a lady," Lily growled, in a most unladylike manner.

He tried again, and she looked up, staring deep into his eyes. She took a step closer, nearly nose to nose with the Slytherin. "Get the f*ck out of my way, or I'll wreck you. Got it?"

Sebby could feel that she was getting way too uncomfortable way too fast, and this was a potential situation that could end up in a meltdown and with her trying to annihilate him. Seb was hopeful that she'd calm down, so he decided to take the chance and stay in the room with her anyway, perhaps even change her mind and make her want to stay too. After all, he loved challenges. He could see her frown, her mouth almost ready to bite his head off out of anger.

"Of course a gentleman does that. And I'm one myself, but this is a rather special situation, where I'm actually eager for your company and will not agree to that request. I'd rather persuade you to staying here with me."

When she stepped towards him, facing him straight in the face, nose tips almost touching, he wanted to laugh a bit, but not wanting to trigger any reactions, he decided not to do it, at least not on her face. After she threatened him, Seb actually touched her nose with his slightly , on purpose of course, and backed a bit, laughing.

"Come on now, what's up? Why the hate girl?"

(omgomgomg, new word for my vocabulary : "acquiesces", thankssssssss)

((She can be a bit pretentious sometimes. Hence, acquiesces.))

He wasn’t going to leave her alone. She was trying everything she could internally to stay calm, but it was becoming a struggle. This was just too reminiscent of her times out in the streets when Roxi had lent her out to her gentleman friends, so that Lily could have a place to stay and food in her belly, if only for a night. By that point, Lily had become much too apathetic to actually care what was happening to her. But the few lucid moments she had, she had tried to get away, tried to stop herself from continuing down such a path. But men had this nasty habit for blocking the exit when they had their own plan for the evening.

She didn’t know Sebber well enough to know what kind of person he was, or what exactly he was trying to do with her. He really could just be a big enough prat to fail to recognize a girl with nothing to lose when he saw one. He could have thought he was dealing with one of the girls who enjoyed persistence and weren’t threatened when they had their means of escape blocked off – you know, base idiots. But he didn’t know her well either, and that was where he failed.

He stepped forward, spoke, and backed away. It was in that newly found space that she was able to draw her wand and point it at him, backing out of his arm’s length, putting her at the advantage. “I know nineteen hexes that severely damage someone’s looks, each more devastatingly than the last. Would you like me to demonstrate?”

((And you can be quite a great quality writer, hence the appraisal))

Sebby could notice in the apathetic look she had that deep inside she was struggling to maintain her calm and cool and not attack him just for being around her. He knew much of it had to do with the whole house rivalry, the bloodlines, all that crap. But he was finding fun in the challenge of keeping the girl with him in the classroom, with her wanting to stay and actually have a conversation with him. The way she gave Seb her menacing looks and expressions were amazing.


It was the most beautiful menacing look he had seen all bloody year.

When he gave her a little space after backing away a bit, she immediately thrusted her wand straight at him and aimed at him, threatening to hex him if he didn't let her go out. The way she threatened him was cute nonetheless, numbering the hexes she knew and their capabilities. It was fun.

Sebby laughed a bit and came up with the best reply he could, at least in his head it sounded great.

"I know nineteen words that can make you blush, change your mind and make you stay with me, one more effective than the last one. I can demonstrate it too." - Seb was just able to draw a little smile and gazed at her, confident she wouldn't dare hexing him in the end.