Hi everyone! I’m going to make a little introduction post and pin this post 🤗 my name is poxi3, I’m 33 (34 in December) and have three kids, all under three years old 🫠 I’m a stay at home mom, and live in the United States. My hobbies include, but are not limited to: writing (duh), video games, painting, reading, and crochet. Irl I’m pretty introverted, but tend to be a little bit more extroverted online, like most people lol. Anyway, if you read my stuff I hope you like it! If not, that’s okay, come hang out anyway!
My ao3
or if you would rather read them on here:
Teachers Pet (Complete overall, will be posting a new chapter every few days)
In Every Life (Complete, one shot)
Bloodwedded (Complete, will begin posting once Teachers Pet is done)
Teachers Pet - ch. 3 of 20
Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley
Rating: E
Status: Complete
Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again.
He was wrong.
Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated.
Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn
“You know, Weasley, there’s an actual Dueling Club here now,” Sebastian smirked down at Garreth, relishing the way he rubbed a hand over his face and blinked expectantly in return.
“Fascinating. Why do I care?” Garreth propped his chin on his hand, frowning at Sebastian.
“‘Cause you could come do a demonstration during the next meeting,” Sebastian vaguely registered that a couple of the students closest to them looked over, interest piqued at the mention of two teachers dueling. “Unless, of course, you’re worried you’d lose in front of an audience.”
Garreth sighed, a flicker of irritation settled in. He forced his face to remain neutral, not wanting to show just how easily he had been baited.
“Against you? Unlikely.” Garreth clenched his jaw, his face conveying the disdain—and interest—behind his words. “You were only the best because you were fighting teenagers,” a wry smile teased at his mouth. “I’d wager you can barely hold your own, now.”
When Sebastian began teaching at Hogwarts, he had gone directly to Professor Weasley to plead his case for making the unsanctioned dueling club from his years into something organized and official. Between dealing with Anne’s curse, and the year that Ranrok’s loyalists got much too close to the castle, Sebastian argued that students needed to be prepared for fights against adults. Professor Weasley had been hesitant, saying she wanted to see a trial run first. Sebastian expected this, and he had the perfect ace up his sleeve: Ominis. When he announced the first meeting, a large number of students attended. Some wanted to actually learn, and some wanted to see their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in action. So, when he introduced Ominis, a blind wizard, most of the students were skeptical.
Surely this is a joke, right?
That’s not a fair fight!
However, they were quickly proven wrong. They saw firsthand how Ominis anticipated spells in ways most would never imagine. Their disbelief deepened when Sebastian lost to Ominis, and did so gracefully. Afterwards, a student had jokingly accused Ominis of cheating. Ominis couldn’t help the small, amused smile that appeared.
“Believe it or not, your Professor is not immune to being bested—even by a cripple,” Ominis deadpanned. Sebastian snorted at the harsh choice of words. “If you focus, and listen closely, you can anticipate when someone is about to cast a spell. Magic makes noise. It’s quiet, but once you know what to listen for, it’s unmistakable.”
It was moments like this that made Sebastian proud to be Ominis’ friend. He had been hoping Ominis would beat him. It tied in perfectly with his first lesson: never underestimate your opponent. If only he had remembered that advice when he deliberately sauntered into Garreth’s classroom during one of his free periods. It had taken almost a month to get everything sorted for the first club meeting of the year, so Sebastian was anxious to start things off strong. And what better way to do that than putting none other than Garreth Weasley in his place.
As he entered the classroom, Sebastian noticed that the chalkboard had the information for brewing a shrinking solution, and the class was full of second years. Sebastian rolled his eyes. Of course Garreth was so confident in his skills as a professor that he felt he could teach something that advanced before they were ready. He reached the desk where Garreth was grading some essays and peered at him.
“You know, Weasley, there’s an actual Dueling Club here now,” Sebastian smirked down at Garreth, relishing the way he rubbed a hand over his face and blinked expectantly in return.
“Fascinating. Why do I care?” Garreth propped his chin on his hand, frowning at Sebastian.
“‘Cause you could come do a demonstration during the next meeting,” Sebastian vaguely registered that a couple of the students closest to them looked over, interest piqued at the mention of two teachers dueling. “Unless, of course, you’re worried you’d lose in front of an audience.”
Garreth sighed, a flicker of irritation settled in. He forced his face to remain neutral, not wanting to show just how easily he had been baited.
“Against you? Unlikely.” Garreth clenched his jaw, his face conveying the disdain—and interest—behind his words. “You were only the best because you were fighting teenagers,” a wry smile teased at his mouth. “I’d wager you can barely hold your own, now.”
Sebastian bristled, his fists clenched, but he quickly spread his fingers out and flexed his hands. “We’ll see about that,” his voice was slow, forcibly calm. “Meetings at four.” He strode out of the classroom, shoulders hunched as he ignored the whispers from some of the students.
The rest of the afternoon went by too slowly, in Sebastian’s opinion. His class dragged on as he resisted checking his watch every few minutes. By the time four o’clock rolled around, he was a ball of anxious energy as he watched the attendees file into the Great Hall. He told himself he was just eager to put Garreth in his place. That he wanted to see the usual arrogant look on his face vanish when Sebastian beat him.
When Garreth walked through the door, Sebastian bristled on instinct. He didn’t even have the decency to look worried, or focused. Garreth just strutted into the hall, not a care in the world. With his stupidly casual clothes. He walked up and stood next to Sebastian.
“Why are you dressed like you work on a farm?” Sebastian sneered. Garreth glanced down at his clothes: an off white button down, with brown trousers and suspenders. He gave Sebastian a once over.
“You’re wearing the same thing.” Garreth said flatly.
Sebastian looked down at himself, as if he had forgotten what he wore that day (he did) and turned away with a scoff. He walked and stepped up onto the raised platform in the middle of the hall.
“Good afternoon—settle down,” Sebastian's eyes skimmed across the students that had come. There were definitely more than usual. “I’m aware some of you are here to learn, while some of you are just hoping to see someone get knocked on their arse. If all goes well, we can manage both.”
A couple students chuckled, most just listened with blank faces. Garreth snorted quietly as he crossed his arms and shifted his weight.
“Dueling isn’t nearly as dramatic as you may think. Most of it is timing, and keeping a level head when someone’s aiming a spell at your face. So try to pay attention. It may prove useful.
“We’ll start today with a demonstration,” Sebastian motioned for Garreth to come up on the platform. “For those of you that live under a rock, this is Professor Weasley, our new Potions professor. Let’s give him a proper Hogwarts welcome, shall we?” Sebastian ended his speech with a pointed, sarcastic look at Garreth.
They each walked to opposite ends of the platform, turned to face each other, and raised their wands. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them dared look away.
Garreth narrowed his eyes a fraction of an inch before Sebastian flung a “Depulso!” at him, only a split second after Garreth's shield went up.
Quicker than Sebastian had anticipated, Garreth countered.
“Levioso!”
Sebastian barely dodged the flash of light. His eyes widened before he doubled down, reaffirming his stance.
The space between them was heavy. A subtle smell of smoke from where the spell hit the wall behind Sebastian wafted through the space. The crowd around them blurred, the only sound Sebastian could hear was his own pulse.
Garreth’s hand twitched with anticipation, and Sebastian took the chance to shoot a silent basic cast at him, which landed on Garreth’s shoulder.
He stumbled back, straightened out, and fired one right back.
From there, the duel turned into silent casts and wordless shields. The lights from the spells flew between them at breakneck speed. The hall was silent save for their shuffling and dodging.
Sebastian narrowly avoided a spell launched at his head. A couple students gasped at the near miss. When he looked at Garreth, he was taken aback.
He had never seen that look before: calculated, determined, and cocky. Like he knew exactly what he was doing. And that alone was irritating. It felt like Garreth was staring right through him—and it proved to be his downfall.
Sebastian barely blinked when Garreth followed up the basic cast with a “Stupefy!” and Sebastian was thrown back several feet.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs as he hit the ground with a dull thud. He blinked a couple times and scrambled to his feet, mind consumed with instant rage and a need to retaliate. Gasps and murmurs from the crowd rang in his ears.
“Is he okay?”
“Bloody hell…”
Garreth let his guard down for an instant too long after Sebastian was thrown back, providing the perfect opportunity for a counterattack. The gap in Garreth’s focus was minute, but Sebastian picked up on it. His desperation to prove himself won out in the end.
“Diffindo!” Sebastian aimed the spell directly at Garreth.
As soon as Garreth heard the incantation he froze. Not expecting Sebastian to cast something that could cause actual damage. He felt a sharp whoosh of air right next to his head. The commentary from the onlookers stopped instantly, everyone appalled at the intensity of the spell. He turned his attention back to Sebastian, stunned, only to see Sebastian was still in the fighting stance. Wand raised and a borderline crazed look in his eye. One that said he knew what he had just done.
Garreth didn’t react at all when Sebastian followed up with a well aimed “Expelliarmus!” He didn’t even flinch when his wand was ripped from his hand, clattering to the floor in the crowd next to him.
Seconds dragged by as Garreth and Sebastian stared at each other. Intense and unyielding. It wasn’t until the students' shocked muttering became louder that they were reminded of where they were.
A faint flush crept up Sebastian’s face when he realized what had happened, and how close he’d come to taking it too far. He cleared his throat and straightened himself out as he stepped down from the platform and wove his way through the crowd to where Garreth’s wand had landed. Sebastian picked it up, and handed it back to him.
“Professor,” Sebastian said, one brow raised as he held the wand out. Garreth eyed Sebastian suspiciously, tentatively taking his wand back.
Sebastian let his gaze linger before he spoke to the students.
“Okay,” he cleared his throat. “Now that you’ve seen how quickly a duel can escalate. Pair up and practice.” He nudged his way through the crowd and stood off to the side.
The students hesitated for a moment, thrown off by the sudden change in tone. Sebastian gestured to them to move along, and eventually they did. Some scattered around the room, others on the platform. Garreth stepped down from the stage, he couldn’t seem to shake what just happened from his mind. However, Sebastian seemed determined to not make eye contact. Garreth stood as his mood morphed from apprehensive to annoyed, then headed towards the door.
He didn’t notice Sebastian’s eyes glued to his back as he left.
~
The gnawing sense of unease did not wane as Garreth walked back to his room. He might have accidentally pushed a few students on his way up, he didn’t notice. All he could see was that look on Sebastian’s face. An intense, crippling need to win. By the time he closed the door to his room in the faculty tower, he was fuming. How could Sebastian be so reckless? Sending a spell like that in front of all those kids? What if his aim had been off and he hit one of them?
Garreth sat down at the desk in his room and stared unfocused at the wall. He had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that Sebastian would be okay with someone getting hurt just to maintain his image. If you could even call it that. Garreth's own words echoed in his mind: “I see you’re still lying to yourself.” He dug the heel of his hands against his eyes, as if he could stamp out the agitation that coursed through him.
At what point does it go from lying to something more precarious—delusion? Garreth wasn't sure who Sebastian thought he was fooling. It was plain as day that it was an act. He wasn’t nearly as put together as he wanted everyone to believe. If they had seen how unhinged he got when threatened by a simple duel, they would agree. The past few weeks of being back around him made it painfully obvious that not only had he not changed, he had gotten worse.
In Every Life
Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Ominis Gaunt
Rating: M
Status: Complete
Summary: Five lifetimes in which Sebastian and Ominis find each other.
And one in which they don’t.
Genre Tags: romance, angst, multiple timelines
“Sometimes, I wonder how we got so lucky,” Sebastian commented. Their next door neighbor greeted them as they went to get the morning paper.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I know it’s not completely perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. We got to stay close to each other, our wives were wonderful people, and now we get to pretend we’re just roommates.”
Ominis laughed. “You think people know?”
“No,” Sebastian shook his head. “I overheard Janice the other day. She referred to us as ‘those two old British widowers’. Whoever she was talking to just commented on how nice it was that we’re not alone.”
“Do you think they would even care if they knew?” Ominis asked. “We’ve got ten years left at best.”
“Probably not. But I kind of like keeping it a secret. It makes me feel like we’re young again,” Sebastian looked over and felt a lump form in his throat that he swallowed down. Ominis had aged so well. He still looked as handsome and distinguished as he did when they were in their twenties. When he smiled it was disarming, and purely happy.
“Yeah, you’re right. Me too.”
2025
“So, how did you two meet?”
“Oh, this is a great story. They met on that app for blind people… what’s it called?” Poppy leaned toward her friend, Hannah, with an excited grin.
“Be My Eyes,” Ominis said.
“Yeah! That one,” Poppy said.
“What? No way. Please explain,” Hannah said.
Ominis smiled as he took a drink from his cup. He liked telling this story, especially because he could feel Sebastian get embarrassed when he exaggerated certain parts.
“Well, it started when one day, I made a request for someone to help me find something at the grocery store. The guy answers, and he’s nice, helpful, whatever. We hung up and that’s it,” Ominis could practically hear Sebastian rolling his eyes already. “Then, I made another request like, two months later, I think. And the same guy answers, again. I didn’t realize it was him at first, but like halfway through the call, I recognized his voice. So I asked him, ‘Did you take a call from me a little bit ago?’ This man has the audacity to hesitate and say, ‘Maybe,’ as if he didn’t already know.” Ominis ignored the quiet grumbling from Sebastian right next to him.
“I didn’t hesitate on purpose, I got distracted. Besides, I barely saw your face the first time. How was I supposed to remember?” Sebastian protested weakly.
Ominis rolled his eyes. “You remembered. Anyway, for the next six months, every time I made a request, it was always him.”
“That’s crazy! What are the odds?” Hannah asked, her eyes wide as she listened to the story.
“I know, right? So, after, I don’t know, maybe the fifth or sixth call, Sebastian suggests just giving me his number,” Hannah gasped and shot a sly look at Sebastian. He shrugged noncommittally.
“I got tired of dealing with my finicky internet. The app didn’t have the best connection.” Sebastian muttered as Poppy and Hannah looked at him knowingly.
“He claimed it would be ‘easier’,” Ominis said. Hannah and Poppy giggled, which made the flush on Sebastian’s cheeks deepen as he tried to bite back a smile.
“After that, we started texting, and it just kind of spiraled from there. I would FaceTime him, but we wouldn’t hang up right after. The time we spent talking after just got longer, we stopped making up excuses to talk to each other. Then, one day we find out we only live like thirty minutes from each other.” Ominis reached over for Sebastian’s hand under the table and laced their fingers together, enjoying how Sebastian’s fingers curled over the back of his hand. He gave a gentle squeeze as he finished the story. “We met up, claiming it was just out of curiosity, as ‘friends’,” Ominis used his free hand to do air quotes. “Then, well, it just kind of went from there.”
Poppy was still grinning at them, and Hannah’s mouth hung slightly open.
“Oh my God. That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard! I’m going to go throw myself off the roof now.”
Ominis laughed quietly and Sebastian huffed.
“It’s really not that serious,” Sebastian commented, but the way his eyes lit up when he shot a glance at Ominis suggested differently.
~
1980
“Hi,” Sebastian pulled the mic away from his mouth a couple inches to check if it was on, before bringing it back close. “Uh, hi everyone. Uh, I’m Sebastian, I was the best man.” Sebastian cleared his throat, thankful he had that drink right before speaking. “I apologize in advance, public speaking is not my forté, but if you know Ominis, you know he drives a hard bargain.” There was some quiet laughter from the group of people. Sebastian glanced back at Ominis and his wife to find them smiling. Thank God.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say a couple quick words. First of all, congratulations. I’m so happy for you two, you guys make a lovely couple. However, when it comes to who knows Ominis best, I still think I hold first place for that one.” There were some more scattered chuckles at the comment.
“For those of you that live under a rock, Ominis and I met when we were children. We actually got in a fight the first time we met. We were at school, and he whacked me with his cane. He swears it was an accident, but the jury’s still out. I think he was jealous of me.”
“Bullshit!” Ominis called from his seat.
Sebastian grinned and rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we’ve been friends for our whole lives, and I, unfortunately, know him like the back of my hand. He’s one of the most important people in my life, and we’ve been through… basically everything together. School, relationships, good and bad times—he’s always been there. I don’t know where I would be without him, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have a friend like him in my life.” Sebastian ignored the nostalgic tug in his chest and fiddled with the cord of the mic. “He deserves the best. I hope that you and Pennie have a long and wonderful marriage.” Pennie’s blue eyes looked watery and she had that gentle smile on her face that she wore so often. “Congrats again, and uh, Pennie don’t play Monopoly with him ‘cause he turns into a greedy little fuck.”
The crowd laughed and some applauded as Sebastian put the mic back in its stand and scurried back to his seat. He looked over to see Pennie lean toward Ominis and whisper something that caused him to tilt his head back and laugh.
~
2010
To say Sarah was nervous would be an understatement. This was her first interview with people whose notoriety expanded beyond whatever city they lived in. She exhaled a shaky breath and reread her notes. They were written neatly in black ink on a brand new piece of paper.
Do not mention the conference from 2007.
Ask the next question if one of them starts to look/act more annoyed than usual.
Do not rush. Quality over quantity.
Ignore their reputations. They are NORMAL PEOPLE.
The last one she had to pay extra mind to in an attempt to not psyche herself out. She crossed her legs and checked the time. Five more minutes. Sarah stood up and left the room, notes in one hand and her recorder in the other. As she walked down the hall, she ran over their history—yet again—in her head. Today she was interviewing both Ominis Gaunt and Sebastian Sallow. They were the top in their field, and known for being rivals since day one nearly fifteen years ago. Everyone who followed them knew they were always competing, and always at each other's throats. Figuratively speaking, that is. No real academic would become physical with another. They went to the same conferences and meetings, worked at the same company (though she wasn't entirely sure why), and went to the same award ceremonies.
As she entered the room where the interview was to be held, she sat down in a chair in front of a table and waited. Sarah tried to distract herself while she waited, but it was short-lived because Sebastian entered the room only a couple minutes later. She stood to greet him.
“Mr. Sallow,” she extended her hand, which he took with a smile. “So nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” he replied as he glanced around the room. “I see Ominis isn’t here yet.” Sebastian looked off the side and shook his head. “Unprofessional. As always.”
Sebastian went and sat down in one of the empty chairs at the same time Sarah took her seat. She tried to think of ways to make small talk while they waited, but her nerves got in the way. Just as she was about to ask how his day was going, the door opened again. This time, Ominis Gaunt walked through looking a bit frazzled.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. The train was late and then—“
Sebastian scoffed and leaned back in his chair.
“Likely excuse. The train is always late. How are you going to live here and not know that?” Sebastian grumbled as he grimaced.
“Oh shove off. Anyway,” Ominis turned toward Sarah. She had to remind herself that he was just a regular man, because he was much more intimidating in person. “I’m very sorry. I hope I didn’t mess up your schedule.”
“N—no. Of course not, it’s okay!” She squeaked out. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Gaunt. If you don’t mind taking a seat we can go ahead and get started.”
Ominis walked over to the remaining seat, as he sat down, his cane accidentally whacked Sebastian on the shin. Sebastian yelped more out of surprise than pain and leaned down to press his hand against the spot.
“Ow! Jesus. Clumsy ding dong,” Sebastian glared up at Ominis.
“Oops,” Ominis replied as he sat down, the tiniest smile on his face.
Sarah sighed heavily and began asking her questions. It went well, but she had never seen such a bizarre dynamic between two academics. They clearly did not get along, and yet they would answer questions for each other, cut each other off, and Sebastian couldn’t seem to go longer than a few minutes without sneaking a glance at Ominis. By the time she got to the end of her list of questions, she was glad she had gotten this opportunity, but was also very ready to go.
“Now,” Sarah frowned at the comment. She didn’t want to ask this one, but her boss insisted. “There was a comment on social media. It said, ‘If those two didn’t hate each other so much, I would think they were married’. Any comments?” Sarah looked up to find Ominis leaning back in his chair with his hands over his face and Sebastian scowling at something to his side.
Neither man had anything to say.
~
1954
The sun was bright that morning. Ominis felt its warmth on his face as he relaxed against the chair on their porch. He could hear some of the neighbors' kids walking to school, and a couple said good morning as they passed the house. The front screen door creaked open then slammed shut as Sebastian sat down in the chair next to him and placed a cup of coffee on the small table between them.
“You were up early this morning,” Sebastian commented after taking a drink from his mug.
“Hmm. Yeah,” Ominis reached out for the cup and took a sip. “I had a dream about Miriam again.”
“I miss them,” Sebastian replied.
“Me too,” Ominis thought about his late wife, and he did miss her. But he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy to finally be able to live the life he had really wanted his whole life. To a certain extent anyway.
“Sometimes, I wonder how we got so lucky,” Sebastian commented. Their next door neighbor greeted them as they went to get the morning paper.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I know it’s not completely perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. We got to stay close to each other, our wives were wonderful people, and now we get to pretend we’re just roommates.”
Ominis laughed. “You think people know?”
“No,” Sebastian shook his head. “I overheard Janice the other day. She referred to us as ‘those two old British widowers’. Whoever she was talking to just commented on how nice it was that we’re not alone.”
“Do you think they would even care if they knew?” Ominis asked. “We’ve got ten years left at best.”
“Probably not. But I kind of like keeping it a secret. It makes me feel like we’re young again,” Sebastian looked over and felt a lump form in his throat that he swallowed down. Ominis had aged so well. He still looked as handsome and distinguished as he did when they were in their twenties. When he smiled it was disarming, and purely happy.
“Yeah, you’re right. Me too.”
~
1910
Ominis absently clenched his jaw as he let his mind wander. The crackling fire and the ticking clock were the only sounds in the living area as he thought about the man he had met years ago. It felt like ages ago, but in reality, it had been about six years. Yet, even with the passage of time, he still remembered every detail. It had been such a bittersweet moment. One last final attempt to feel something before being trapped in a life not his own. He had spent all of his time since working tirelessly to repair his family’s reputation. To try and create a life for himself despite everything and everyone telling him it wouldn’t work. Sebastian had been a way to experience everything he knew he would lose. True connection, unabashed intimacy, feeling alive in a way that would become foreign to him.
He thought about how, when the sun had risen that morning, they had barely moved from where they lay in Sebastian’s bed. The whole night had been spent talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company. Ominis bid him farewell knowing that if they ever met again, it would be as strangers, or mere acquaintances. In the years since, Ominis knew he had been everywhere. News articles, charity events, anything he could think of. His friends joked that he had become inescapable. Ominis wondered what Sebastian’s life was like now. Did Sebastian see all of his efforts to fix what his family broke?
Quiet footsteps pulled him from his reverie. His wife padded into the room, eyes still bleary from sleep.
“Darling, what are you doing up?” She came and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, nothing.” He placed his hand over hers. “Just couldn’t sleep.” He stood up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. Let’s go back to bed.”
As they climbed the stairs back to their bedroom, Ominis filed the thought away. Back to the far reaches of his mind. Not knowing that, yes, Sebastian had seen every single thing.
~
1903
Sebastian woke with a start. His heart pounding and his hands gripping the blanket. He blinked and swallowed thickly, glancing over at his spouse's sleeping form. The nightmare hadn’t bothered him in quite some time; he had almost forgotten about it. But that’s usually how it went: months, sometimes years would go by without having the dream, then suddenly it would return to taunt him. It was always the exact same dream.
He’s standing outside of a rundown manor. The windows boarded up, and the lawn overgrown. When he opens the massive front door, the creaking hinges echo through the empty rooms. There’s no one around, but he feels like he can almost hear distant whispering from somewhere in the house. When he steps through the foyer, the floorboards creak and groan under his weight. Wind whistles as it slips through the gaps of the rotting wood nailed across the window frame.
The further he goes into the house, dread consumes him. He knows there is something waiting for him. But where?
He sees a tiny shoe, at first. Discarded at the bottom of the stairs. Something, or someone, is beckoning for him to come up. He cannot see them, but he can feel the presence and it sends a chill down his spine.
He lets out a shaky breath and begins to slowly climb the stairs, worried that one might give out and send him plummeting below.
When he reaches the landing, all the doors in the hallway are closed except for one. A dim light shines out from the open door like a beacon. He doesn’t want to go in the room, but the same presence that called him up is now pushing him down the hall.
What he sees haunts him, even during his waking hours: a small child, barely school age, lying on the floor in an unnatural position. His tiny limbs are bent at odd angles and his head rests on the dusty floor.
He feels a bitter cold grip him from the inside as he draws nearer. As he crouches down to get a better look at the child’s face, it’s always the same. His skin is pallid and gray, his hair no longer has any type of luster or sheen. His eyes are the most harrowing of all. The light, pale blue framed by delicate eyelashes. No pupils to be seen, and lacking any spark or sign of life.
Sebastian brought himself back to reality and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to calm himself down. He must have had that same dream thousands of times, but it always left him feeling hollow and desperate. A warm hand found its way to his back, and he heard his spouse speak quietly, their voice thick from sleep.
“Same dream?”
Sebastian glanced back at them and a subtle warmth washed over the cold agony that consumed him.
Teachers Pet - ch. 2 of 20
Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley
Rating: E
Status: Complete
Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again.
He was wrong.
Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated.
Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn
Garreth let the door to his room slam shut. There was something satisfying about the loud wham when he was irritated. He stormed over to his bed and sat down, glaring at his half-unpacked trunk like it had caused all this. He felt stupid—he should’ve known better. His aunt had told him about how he would be working with Sebastian, as if that was something good, and he ignored her. He thought, surely after a decade, things had changed. Of course, Sebastian hadn’t. Sebastian was, as always, childish and petty. He had heard a Muggle saying about old dogs and new tricks. They weren’t old, and yet the statement held true. Garreth had matured quite a lot in the time since graduating Hogwarts, and yet something about him just made Garreth lose any sense of decorum.
A long-forgotten pit of discontent that reminded him of the last time he had been at Hogwarts twisted in his gut. It had been ages since he’d felt like this. Like he needed to break something. All the anxious, restless energy from the encounter in the Great Hall was eating away at him. He needed an outlet. So he got up, wrote a quick letter, and sent it off. It was the middle of the day, on a weekend. They’d be home. Sure enough, about five minutes later, the owl came back with a simple reply.
Come over.
The walk down to the apparition border outside the castle felt quicker than usual. A moment later he was standing just outside Leander's house.
Leander lived on a farm with his wife, Cora, a Muggle. She had a sharp mind and a sharper tongue. Perfect for someone like Leander, who had a tendency to be full of hot air. Garreth began to walk up to the door just as Leander was coming out. He was smiling, but it fell once he saw Garreth.
“Oh boy. What’s got your trousers in a twist?” he asked, meeting Garreth in the front yard.
“Sallow.” Garreth muttered. He crossed his arms and stared at the large patch of land behind the house.
“Got it. Come on, then,” Leander said as he turned around and led them toward the back of the house. Leander walked over to a shed, opened the door to reveal a gun rack.
One upside to being married to a Muggle was that they introduce you to Muggle hobbies. Like shooting guns. Garreth had come over for Christmas one year when Cora’s father and brother brought some rifles and showed Leander's family, including Garreth, how to shoot. Now, years later, it was a go-to whenever one of them was feeling particularly stressed out. It provided the same relief as blowing something up or smashing a window in. Leander handed Garreth a rifle, and Garreth rolled his sleeves up before taking the weapon.
Leander walked over to the fence that had some bottles lined up on the posts while Garreth loaded the weapon and snapped it closed with one hand in a fluid motion. He adjusted his stance, bracing the rifle against his shoulder. There was something steady in the way he held it, controlled, precise, like all that restless energy had finally found somewhere to go. He waited for Leander to take a seat on the stump near the fence before he took a deep breath, focusing on his target. The muscles in his forearms flexed and tensed as he braced himself against the recoil and fired. Each time he reloaded the chamber, it was practiced, it was clear that he had done this many times before. Five rounds later, Leander went to place more bottles on the posts.
After the bottles had been replaced twice, Garreth let the gun hang at his side. He faced Leander, who had been silently watching the whole time.
“How is it that after ten years, someone can be both just as immature and infuriating as they were at seventeen?” Garreth walked over and sat on the other stump next to Leander. The rifle rested against the ground while Garreth idly picked at the butt of the gun.
“I don’t know, mate,” Leander shrugged. “I think a more important question is whether you’re going to be able to work with him?”
Garreth sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he scowled at the wind chime hanging on the back porch of the house. “That depends. Do you think he can stop acting like a child?”
Leander shot him a pointed look, eyebrows raised, a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth.
“I’m not going to try to start anything!” Garreth huffed. “I don’t care enough to instigate anything with him.”
“Hm,” Leander bit back a smirk. “Okay. Sounds like a solid plan,” he said dryly.
“Shut up,” Garreth rolled his eyes. Just then, a flash of Sebastian’s teasing voice echoed through his mind, causing a pang of annoyance. Then his dumb, smug face followed. Then a sharper twist of irritation. Garreth felt his pulse quicken. He stood up and strode over to where he was standing before and bent down to grab some more ammo.
“Let’s go again,” Garreth said as he loaded another round and cocked the gun.
Two more rows of bottles were replaced before Garreth had finally calmed down. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Leander, chatting about anything that came to mind. Garreth had always liked visiting the farm. The distant clucking of chickens and the warm sun were peaceful in a way that he didn’t often find elsewhere.
When Garreth eventually left to go back to Hogwarts, he was feeling much better. As he walked through the castle and to his room, he hoped that maybe he could avoid Sebastian. The last thing he wanted was to ruin his improved mood. Luck seemed to be on his side: Garreth did not see him until the next evening, at the Sorting Hat Ceremony.
Garreth sat in between Professor Garlick and the charms teacher, Professor Smith, at one end of the table. It was still weird to be Professor Garlick's colleague instead of her student.
“Please,” she said to him yesterday before the meeting. “Just call me Mirabel.” Garreth had nodded in agreement, but knew it would probably be a while before he felt comfortable enough to do that.
Now, at the ceremony, as she told him about her venomous tentacula—affectionately named Snap—he vaguely wondered how long it would take to get used to it. They were silenced when the doors opened, and a swarm of nervous-looking eleven-year-olds started filing in. Garreth blinked as disbelief flashed across his face. They were so small. There was no way he looked that young when he started Hogwarts.
“They’re so tiny, aren’t they?” Mirabel whispered to him when she noticed the shock on his face. He nodded at her, wide-eyed, and turned his attention back to the new students. They gathered at the base of the raised platform, and stared at the wrinkly hat on the stool warily.
Professor Weasley walked up, plucked the hat from the stool with one hand, a long piece of parchment in the other, and called the first name.
“Charlie Talpin.”
A tiny, mousey boy with brown hair wove his way up to the stool. Everyone in the hall was silent as the hat was placed on his head, eager to see which house would get the first student. Barely two minutes went by before the hat opened its mouth and yelled.
“Slytherin!”
The table on the far right of the hall erupted in applause. Cheering and welcoming the new house member. Garreth glanced down the length of the table and saw Sebastian, a wide, closed smile across his face as he clapped. Garreth turned away with a scoff, lips curled slightly in disgust. Of course his house gets the first student. Just another thing to feed his ego.
Garreth went back to watching the students be called up one by one. Each time the appropriate house table cheered and welcomed their new students, and whenever Slytherin got a new student, Garreth’s focus lingered on Sebastian—longer than necessary. He acted so proud, as if it actually mattered.
By the end of the ceremony, Garreth had become so fixated on shooting contemptuous looks at Sebastian that he barely noticed when Gryffindor got a new student. He was eventually pulled from his scornful reverie when food appeared on the table in front of them. He had completely missed his aunt's welcome speech.
He tried to focus on his dinner. He tried to listen to what Professor Garlick was saying, but his eyes kept wandering down the length of the table. Always landing on Sebastian, that faint, self-satisfied smile still lingering on his face.
“Hello? You in there?” Professor Garlick teased, gently poking his arm with her fork.
Garreth blinked, a slight flush creeping up his cheeks as he looked back at her. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just… tired,” he mumbled as he focused on the table in front of him. Only seconds had passed before he was drawn back down to the other end of the table again.
