cris • tee • nuh (cristina_lacosa) wrote,
@ 2008-09-03 19:11:00

Entry tags:

+++sebastianflavors

sebastian ϟ goldstein

Happy • Angry • Sad • Concerned • Scared

Crying • Giddy • First Crush • Yule Ball • Innocent

Betrayed • Baby • Best Friend • Working • Traumatized

Wary • Drunk • Flustered • Bitchy • Paternal-Love

First Year • Graduating • Sorting • Hogwarts • Deathly Hallows

9/25

ϟ sad

"Just give me a minute, will you?"

Sebastian glared hard at Sturgis Podmore, who frowned deeply but nodded. He shut the door behind him, and Sebastian knew he would be standing guard outside waiting for the impending raid. Impending raid. He could hardly believe it, that there would be death eaters--excuse him, ministry officials barging down his door to arrest him for stealing magic. It was ludicrous, and if the wizarding world hadn't nearly done the same thing twenty years ago, Sebastian would've thought it to be one really, really good prank.

But the announcements were true; Scrigemour was dead, and Voldemort had control of the Ministry. Finally, an iron fist around the foundation of the wizarding world, and he was wasting absolutely no time. Muggleborns were dissappearing from left to right, being sent to Azkaban or running away to escape capture. Sebastian Goldstein wasn't ready to do either.

He'd immediately contacted his closest Order informant, Sturgis, and he was quick to announce that Sebastian's name was on a very short list of fugitives. It gave them little time to form a plan, and he was going to join up with the remains of the Order of the Phoenix and try to make one. He'd instantly agreed to helping the fight, but the strangling thought of leaving his family family behind was becoming harder to do with each passing second. Sebastian thought he would be able to just leave, because it would be safer, better for them, but all he'd managed to do was stall Sturgis with pointless questions.

"Papa?"

Sebastian turned sharply, and with the little light that was falling into the house from the open front door, he spotted his youngest. Peter Goldstein stared sleepily up at his father, rubbing his eyes. "Why are you up?"

"I---" Sebastian felt his throat close as more footsteps were heard behind Peter, and it wasn't long before his wife appeared from the darkness. Mackenzie had always had a sixth sense when it came to one of her children being awake or out of bed. He stared at her with a stoic expression as she ushered Peter back upstairs, and Sebastian felt before he saw Sturgis step out of the doorway and onto the porch. Suddenly he was quite alone with his wife, and she came forward with her hand clencing the front of her robes tightly. Sebastian couldn't bear to look at her and dropped his gaze down to the floor between them.

"Why is Sturgis here?" Mackenzie asked, but the shaking of her voice was more than telling. With how the war had been turning, the random messages from the Order of the Phoenix had not been surprising. Sebastian had adamantly refused to rejoin the cause, but he was not willing to completely stay in the dark. But to actually see Sturgis, to have him waiting patiently outside the door...Mackenzie had to know that something was terribly wrong. "What does he want?"

"Scrigemour's dead," Sebastian let out hollowly, and his heart throbbed miserably at his wife's gasp. "You-Know-Who's in control now, and he's capturing muggleborns---saying they're stealing magic--"

"That---that---" Mackenzie started, letting go of her own robes to grab onto Sebastian's, "That---that's--"

"I know, I--I'm going to join up with the Order," If he spewed out their plan as fast as possible, the pain would subside faster and then they will all be okay. "Sturgis is taking me to their headquarters, and I need you to get the kids to--the Corners." Sebastian couldn't believe how many of their allies would be in danger at this point, but at least they had one set of friends that were deemed respectable by the new ministry.

Mackenzie's hands moved from his robes to his face, trying to force Sebastian to look at her. He couldn't, he couldn't because then he wouldn't go. He wouldn't leave with Sturgis, and he'd stay with Mackenzie and their babies--his children were still his babies even though Anthony was a legal wizard now, even though Elijah could write pages upon pages of his own music, even though Ophelia had him threatening boys behind her back, even though Peter would be heading to Hogwarts in four--weeks--

Sebastian's chin began to shake as he finally looked up at Mackenzie, and he blanched at how depressed she already was. She knew what he had to do better than he, and to know that he could fix her by just staying was killing him. He could make all that pain go away by not leaving with Sturgis, but he knew that if he stayed..if he stayed, there was a good chance they would take no pity on the family that was defending him, that Mackenzie could be seen as a traitor, that his children might be subjected to horrors and Sebastian would rather die on the run with the Order than know he'd allowed it to happen.

"Please," Sebastian quietly pleaded, unsure of how he found his voice. Her hands were moving frantically over his face and he gripped at her elbows to make her stop, "Wake up the kids, and get---to the Corners--please, Mack."

"I don't---can't I--I can come," Mackenzie offered through her tears, "I'll come, and we can--we'll be together and---"

He kissed her before she could convince him. Sebastian's chest ached so terribly to allow her to come along, to be together, but it was too dangerous. He couldn't allow her to do that, and he couldn't take away his children's mother. Sebastian's hands grabbed the back of Mackenzie's head in the most heartbreaking kiss he'd ever given her; nothing had ever felt like this before, and he knew it was because it was most likely their last. She seemed to sense it to, and even as Sturgis stated urgently in the background that their sources were indicating that death eaters were close, the Goldsteins could not let each other go.

"Goldstein!" Sturgis finally shouted, grabbing Sebastian's shoulder and pulling them apart, "We have to go!"

"GO!" Sebastian shouted at Mackenzie, and with only a second of hesitation she ran back into the house, shouting up the stairs to wake up the children. Goodbye--

Sebastian grabbed onto Sturgis' wrist to side-along to the hideout, but let go as he saw the dark figures popping up on their front lawn. He shared a quick glance at Sturgis and without another word the two sent a loud volley of spells toward the death eaters, their location hidden by the over hang of the porch. Shouts were head and spells began to whizz in their direction, and Sebastian performed as many locking jinxes on the front door as he could before Sturgis grabbed his arm and disapparated away into what felt like oblivion.

ϟ giddy

As much as he told himself that he needed to stay quiet, Sebastian couldn't stop his laughter. Soft, short bursts of giggles coming from the back of his throat as they rushed through the corridors.

"Sebastian, Sebastian," Mackenzie was hissing as he pulled her along by the wrist, making sharp turns around the corners. He was out of breath, but it was definitely going to be worth it. "Where are we going!"

"You'll see!" that was the only hint he'd given her this entire time; a rapid race across the school was about to come to an end, but that didn't mean their trek was over. He'd been waiting all week for this, and he hoped that everything was still in place. It was hard to plan anything for your super secret girlfriend when all of your plans had to be super secret, but Sebastian lived for the sneaking around and the sideways glances--anything to make it work with Mackenzie.

For the first time in their rush, he let go of her hand, but just to open the front doors of the Entrance Hall. Not completely, but enough for the two to press through and into the moonlit night of May. It was the first really warm day, night, of the spring, and Sebastian couldn't believe how perfectly he'd timed things. Of course, a lot of it had to do with switching round times with other students, and now he owed Vinny a box of sugar quills, but. Definitely worth it.

Their pace slowed across the lawn, and Sebastian's hand had taken hers again. Some days he wished he could do just this in the corridors, but they both knew the trouble such a public display of affection would create. Sebastian said it was worth it, but he was quite aware that the stress it would put upon him and Mackenzie would ruin what they had and---if they had to be secret for a bit, then he wouldn't mind that at all.

"Can you tell me now?" she asked, still whispering even though they were quite clearly alone on the lawn. Sebastian turned to her and grinned, pushing forward for a quick kiss before hurrying into another burst of a sprint. Mackenzie let out a startled sound, but managed to keep up, and soon they'd entered the ridge of the Forbidden Forest. Whether she knew it or not, Mackenzie had pulled closer, arm pressed against his. He hated scaring her, or at least making her a bit wary, but it would definitely worth it. "What are we doing?"

Sebastian put a finger to his lips to silence all questions, but he was smiling the entire time. He'd discovered his surprise a few days ago during a Care of Magical Creatures excursion, and he hoped that his theories and what he'd researched was correct. He squinted his eyes, glad for the full moon not only because it was the reason behind the surprise, but also thankful for the light in provided through the dense trees. Strips of light through the canopy of the forest provided a pathway, and while they didn't need to go far, Sebastian was grateful for the help.

And there it was. Heart swelling, he let go of Mackenzie's hand to go behind her with his hands on her upper arms, positioning her into the proper viewing spot.

"What am I supposed to be looking...at..."

He pressed his face into the back of her hair as she spotted the vivid and beautiful display of wood nymphs dancing around the small patch of brush. Their colors were from every end of the spectrum, and a dazzling display trailed behind them as they flew and spun around in the moonlight that broke through the branches of the trees. Sebastian had discovered the little colony and had remembered the fact that they often did their mating rituals late in spring, underneath the full moon, and he was so very glad that he'd been able to time this right.

"They're singing," Mackenzie whispered, leaning back into Sebastian's chest. His cheeks were hurting because of how wide he was smiling, and his hands moved up and down her arm.

Definitely worth it.

ϟ first crush

She was either a master at her trade, or he had a thing for blonds.

Joy Diserafino must know the secret, the secret to making every boy in the room turn and look. He knew Graeme had been struck by her spell, was quite sure that Fabian had attempted to do something about her charm, and even Alex found it hard to avoid watching the swish of her skirt as she passed. Sebastian was never as vocal about the way Joy managed to make him loopy, fearing that if it came out, she wouldn't be as free to talk to him as she did. Girls got silly when they found out a boy fancied them, right? Right! So Sebastian took his supposed indifference to the shine of Joy's hair and the curves of her uniform to make her quite comfortable in spending time with him, like 'study' sessions in the libary.

"And then she told me that I had something in my hair and I was like 'EW GET IT OUT!' and then she was like 'Hold on!' and then I was like 'WELL HURRY UP' and then---Sebastian!" Joy snapped her fingers a centimeter from his nose, knocking the completely glazed over expression straight off his face. He blinked quickly for what felt like a minute, before cracking a smile and nodding for her to continue.

"What did she say next?"

"You weren't listening!"

"Sure I was! You had something in your hair, and told Dorcas to get it out for you!" He smiled smugly as her cheeks reddened, seemingly annoyed that she hadn't caught him in a lie. Sebastian felt pleased, and rolled his shoulders; maybe he could cut the story short, as Joy's beauty could only keep his patience for so long. "What was it?"

"A feather," Joy said loudly, far too loudly for a person siting in the center of the library. "A feather! Could you believe it? Who knows what disgusting owl it may have flown off of? I had to run back to the dorm and wash my hair three times, just to be sure!"

"That is rather gross, I had an owl regurgitate on my books, once," he said sagely, earning a strange, disgusted twist of Joy's lips in response. She let out a sound that--maybe she was choking on her own vomit at the thought, but she immediately silenced as her eyes caught something behind Sebastian. "Hello Madam Pince!" she squeaked.

"Who is making all of that noise?" the librarian snapped, striking her ruler onto the table. Joy's face deepened its crimson shade, almost turning purple at the thought of getting caught, and Sebastian found this to be his way into her heart. He raised his hand, twisting to look up at Madam Pince with a solemn expression.

"That was me, I pinched my finger in my bag's latch," he said with a shake of his head, sticking his finger in his mouth. He'd been expecting the librarian to simply whack him with the ruler, but instead she grabbed his ear, tugging him up and out of the seat in a fury.

"This is study hour! Do you know how many people you've disrupted! You're coming with me, Mister. Goldstein! I'm sure Professor McGonagall would love to hear about your finger!" Sebastian yelped and managed to grab his bag before it was left behind, and caught sight of Joy. She was pouting greatly, a small wave coming from her tiny hands as she watched him go.

Sebastian sighed inwardly; he'd totally just won her heart.

ϟ innocent

Sebastian scuffed his shoes against the floor, waiting in line to get his prefect duties for the night. Instead of just reading them out loud, which made sense, the group of them had to waste ten minutes in figuring out what they were to be doing tonight and who they were partnered up with. Now, Sebastian was relatively new at this prefect thing, seeing as it was his first prefect meeting ever, but he was pretty sure that this was highly unproductive. He couldn't be sure, but it may have been the fact that the head girl this year was a major bitch, and the head boy was too terrified of her to do anything about it.

"I hope we're together," Mary MacDonald whispered, and Sebastian nodded; he didn't know anyone outside of Gryffindor, and from the looks of the older prefects, they didn't want to deal with a fifth year who didn't know the ropes. Weren't prefects supposed to be the leaders of the school? They were supposed to want to help out, and everyone here was looking miserable and annoyed that they were actually getting duties.

Well, Sebastian was going to go into this at full, Gryffindor-optimistic speed!

Finally making it to the nailed up parchment, Sebastian pressed up on his toes to get a full reading of the list. He groaned in disappointment when he saw Mary was with another bloke, and found his name next to the first floor, west wing, and Mackenzie Loftus.

Now, he had no bloody idea what a Mackenzie Loftus was, if he wanted to be honest.

"Who's Mackenzie?" Sebastian said loudly, turning around and looking for someone who seemed like they'd just had their name shouted in a quiet room. No one seemed to hear him, however, as they all began to drift out. Sebastian stood by the list with a frown, watching the crowd slowly disperse, half heading out the front door, and the others out the back. It took him a second to realize that one person in the crowd wasn't going either way, and Sebastian'll be honest with you; it felt like Moses was parting the red sea and he'd just caught sight of the holy land.

Lord, he'd always wanted to use that simile.

For there she was, Mackenzie Loftus. He knew it had to be her, she was staring at him as if he had three heads and purple warts sprouting from his nose. That was Mackenzie, it had to be. And she was---Mackenzie. There was nothing else to be said. He couldn't describe her in any other way but that; at this moment Sebastian truly believed that everything anyone ever found to be breathtaking should be renamed to Mackenzie.

Sebastian stood dumbly, just staring. How do you behave when you've just met the love of your life? His roommates were always teasing him for being a romantic and falling so hard for a new girl every week, but never had he been struck this strongly, and oh. She was coming toward him. What was he supposed to do now?

"Are you sick," she muttered quickly under her breath. Sebastian's eyes began to blur at her close proximity, the smell of her perfume making his hands shake, "Or are you simply behaving like normal?"

Ohh, ouch.

He shook his head and grinned, sticking his hand out and hoping beyond hope that she would take it in return, "I'm Sebastian Goldstein, your partner for the evening."

Mackenzie's lips seemed to twitch, as if unsure whether or not to smile. In the end, her mouth tightened into a line and her eyebrows rose in a 'well then' sort of manner, and she did, indeed, shake his hand.

That was the first step into getting Mackenzie Loftus to fall in love with him. She'd acknowledged his existence, now that he knew of hers. This was going to go quite smoothly, Sebastian believed.

ϟ paternal love

"Come on, Ducklings!"

Sebastian stopped his trudging to turn around and look at his brood, all in a straight line behind him as they caught up. Sunday nature walks had been a tradition since Anthony and Elijah could walk, and now that Peter was old enough to keep his own (barely, but he insisted on walking), it was an afternoon of trails and hiking sticks. The days were encouraged by Mackenzie, who Sebastian knew took advantage of the completely empty house. Either to catch up on chores or to simply take the day to relax, he didn't know, but he was glad to take on the duty of traipsing the Ducklings along the countryside.

"Papa," Anthony groaned, jabbing his walking stick into the dirt with each step, "Elijah and me aren't Ducklings anymore!"

"Elijah and I," Sebastian corrected as he let the two older boys pass ahead of him, "And yes you are, you'll always be."

"Even when we're eleven?" Elijah chirped, not seemingly displeased at being related to a duck. Sebastian nodded, putting his hand on Ophelia's head as she stopped by his legs, a largely put out frown on her face. It seemed that the dandelion she'd plucked earlier on the path had lost all its seeds, and was now simply a tiny stem. While the boys began to duel with their walking sticks, Sebastian pulled out his real wand and created another blossom for his daughter.

"In my hair?" she asked, and Sebastian obliged and tucked the purple dandelion (it was her favorite color!) behind Ophelia's ear. She preened for a moment and then rushed up to demand that the boys stop fighting before they poked an eye out, providing a very good imitation of their mother. Sebastian remained squatted as Peter, the youngest at a year and a half toddled up tiredly, his hair plastered to his forehead from sweating. Sebastian had offered to give the boy a ride on his back, but he wanted to walk like his siblings.

"Are your legs tired, Peter the Great?" Sebastian asked, not waiting for an answer as he swept the baby up in his arms. Peter let out a short whine of protest that ceased once his head touched his father's shoulders. He'd given up this battle and was content with clinging to Sebastian's shirt.

"C'mon, almost there, guys," Sebastian said, one trained hand swiping both Anthony and Elijah's sticks away from them until further notice. That earned him some grumbles of annoyance (and one pleased purr from Ophelia), but they soon returned into a quiet chatter that consisted of gobstones, quidditch, and the muggle comic books Uncle Eric had brought over a few days before. Ophelia began to sing, her arms and feet dancing to the tune in her head, and Peter was asleep before they cleared the final patch of trees. Sebastian didn't need to announce their arrival; the sound of the waves crashing against the beach of the lake was enough to knock the older three out of their little worlds. The shrieks of joy woke Peter straight up, and he yelled in protest at being held back while his siblings rushed to the sand and water.

"Hold on!" Sebastian laughed, letting Peter wiggle and clamor his way down his body before completely letting go of the boy. Once his feet touched the sand, however, Peter realized how hard it was going to be to make it to the water, and immediately turned back to his father, arms outstretched with a panicked, you-must-help-me expression on his face. "Oh now you want me."

Peter was hefted under his right arm as his left set up his camera, and when they reached a good distance he let Peter down and plopped onto the sand. The wards around the lake were already set, the children unable to go but a few feet into the water, and Sebastian pulled his knapsack over his shoulder and retrieved their buckets and shovels. Anthony and Elijah were quick to run and assist with the unpacking, and hurried back to the little ones with their respective tools. Ophelia began ordering out the foundations of the sandcastle in her gibberish, and Peter proceeded to walk straight through the pile she had created.

Soon there was screaming, crying, then some laughter, them some complaints, and Sebastian made sure to get snapshots of it all, because even though he'd told Elijah that yes, they would always be his ducklings, he wouldn't get to have these kind of moments forever. That saddened Sebastian for a moment, as he realized in a few short years that Anthony would be off to Hogwarts, and that was the beginning of the end of his childhood, but a shovel to the face, courtesy of Peter the Great knocked him out of his solemn thoughts.

He'd just enjoy the beach for now.

ϟ first year

"So Sebastian!" His mother caught turned around from the front seat of the car, smiling widely at her boy. Sebastian could see his father's eyes watching from the rear view mirror, seemingly just as interested, "How was your first year at Hogwarts?"

Wiggling greatly between his two brothers, Sebastian's hands flew up into the air, gesticulating greatly and hoping that his waving hands truly emulated the magic that he had learned, because he had learned a lot.

"I can levitate a feather and I can brew a pepper-up potion that you drink when you're sick with a cold or something and it makes steam come out of your ears but it makes you feel so much better and I rode a broomstick but I'm not really good at it but my roommates are and they're gonna try out for the Quidditch team next year, that's a sport they ride on broomsticks and it's really cool Gryffindor lost the cup though stupid Slytherin won they're our enemies all of their people stink like literally smell because they live in the dungeons and---"

He was cut short by Robin's hand clamping over his mouth, and Sebastian squirmed under his grasp; his brother was awfully rough, and pushed him into the seat of the car.

"Robin! Let him go, he was telling a story!" his mother scolded, reaching back and pulling her middle child's arm off of the youngest. Sebastian sucked in a great breath of air and lolled into Eric's side, who muttered a laugh and shoved him away; he always had to sit in the middle, to keep Sebastian and Robin from fighting.

"That's okay, Mum," Sebastian chirped, sitting up and putting his hands on his lap. "I wrote everything down in a book!"

"You wrote in a diary?" Robin choked out, staring incredulously. Sebastian's brows furrowed and he nodded, but he felt his face grow hot. What was wrong with keeping a diary---journal! Girls kept diaries, he most certainly did not! This was a...it was a documentary about his first year at Hogwarts! Surely he would want to be able to read about his misadventures, and one day pass them onto his children! "You're such a girl!"

"Nuh uh!" Sebastian shrieked, lashing out across Eric and smacking Robin in the stomach. "You're just jealous!"

Robin had been in the middle of retaliation, but Sebastian saw a very new flash of anger cross his eyes and the punch in the arm was a lot harder than he had been expecting (and Robin hit hard normally!).

"Cut it out!" Eric tried to break them apart, pushing Robin's face away with his own big hand and grabbing Sebastian so roughly by the collar that he was nearly pulled onto his lap.

"CUT IT OUT!"

This time, it was from their father, and the boys stopped their tangled fight immediately, frozen in their twisted and awkward positions. They all caught their father's eye in the rear view now, and slumped back into their appropriate seats.

"Robin, stop calling your brother a girl, and you, young man---" Sebastian was mortified by the fact that his father's eyes were on him for this, "No one is jealous of you, you got that?"

He slumped low, trying to get out of his father's gaze, and nodded.

ϟ graduating

“I think---I think the Hufflepuffs would be more fun, its closer!” Sebastian Goldstein hissed, not able to keep up with the rest of his year mates. It was a strange turn of events; he’d been the one to try and get them up and out of their slumps to have one last hurrah before getting onto the Hogwarts Express tomorrow morning, and now—now he was trying to stop them from pranking the Slytherins because someone (Fabian) had thought it would be a brilliant bonding session.

“Oy, shut it, Goldstein,” Alex Smith said with a smack to the back of Sebastian’s head, making the other boy scowl, “There’s no greater deed a Gryffindor could do than torturing a Slytherin.”

“And if it gets Alex out of the dorm and some social interaction, we have done our good deed of the year,” Dorcas added with an annoyingly sweet smile, slinging her arm around Alex’s shoulders, who pushed her off immediately.

Fabian snorted, hefting the bucket of water balloons higher in his arms. A group activity, to Fabian, usually meant something fun and funny. And, fun and funny, to Fabian, usually meant making other people feel stupid. And, making other people feel stupid, to Fabian, usually meant torturing Slytherins or Gideon. And seeing as he’d already messed with his brother enough this year, Fabian had quite brilliantly come to the conclusion that the Slytherins needed to be pranked.

So when Sebastian had suggested getting up and doing something, Fabian had immediately pulled Alex and Graeme out of bed (Graeme still looking rather sleepy), and charged them all down into the common room. Thankfully, the girls had all been camping out in the common room, so Fabian had no need to start bellowing up the staircase for them.

“Aww, come on Sebastian,” Joy said happily, holding one pink water balloon delicately in her hands as if she was helping the greater good by taking care of that one, “It’ll be fun, and they probably won’t even be up anyway.”

“Yeah, and the dyed water will make sure they know who was up to no good,” Fabian cackled, nudging Graeme (who had teetered off down another hallway in his sleeping stupor). “Red and gold pride, my friend.”

“It---still. Not all Slytherins are mean---“

“Right, we knew you were a pouf, but who the hell are you shagging that’s made you say that?” Alex demanded, picking up a water balloon and tossing it threateningly up and down in his hand. Sebastian flushed a deep red and shook his head, muttering that it just wasn’t nice to vandalize.

Mary MacDonald, who’d been keeping Graeme upright for most of the way (and took charge of him again once Fabian’s nudges became too hard), flipped out her wand and summoned Alex’s balloon away from him before he could throw it at Sebastian, earning some glares and curse words from the other boy.

“Just do it, Sebastian,” she said, handing him Alex’s water balloon. They were mere meters from the Slytherin common room, and it was now or never. “Fall into peer pressure for the umpteenth time.”

“I guess you’re…hey!” Sebastian pouted, looking scandalized, but didn’t get to argue as Alex pushed him forward, just as the Slytherin door opened.

The Gryffindors stood in shock just a second shorter than the Slytherins did, not hesitating when Dearborn started teasing Dorcas (whose hand had gripped her wand so tightly that sparks flew)

“ATTACK!” said Fabian, and it didn’t take long for Joy’s water balloon to go flying, for Graeme to wake up and laugh loudly, and for Sebastian to wince as his secret girlfriend Mackenzie Loftus got pelted rather hard with the pink balloon. There was hooting and hollering as the attack seemed to be a success, until the Gryffindors remembered that the Slytherins could do magic and sent the mid-air balloons right at them.

The girls screamed (and so did the boys, but they wouldn’t admit it later) and then their wands were pulled and instead of spells, balloons were being shot back and forth, painting the corridor with an array of colors, but most obviously with wonderful shades of red and gold.

PART TWO!

ϟ mackenzie

"Is it true?"

Mackenzie's arm didn't stop its motions; waving the crowd in from the carriages after winter break was always a rough task. It seemed like the winter holiday always knocked all the sense out of the students of Hogwarts. First years headed toward the lake, thinking they had to take the boat over once more, third years thought they were ready to engage in another Hogsmeade weekend, and all the older students believed that meandering up the paths to the carriages was the best way to go about returning to the castle. Prolonging the inevitable drudgery of classwork.

She didn't flinch in her movement as Sebastian Goldstein crossed her view. He'd been her prefect partner since fifth grade and she was used to his constant presence. Not actually official, it just seemed that they shared the most rounds, they often got paired up for projects involuntarily and--voluntarily.

"Is it?"

"Is what true?" Mackenzie responded, acknowledging him for the first time, eyes not following his steps; not obviously, anyway. Sebastian Goldstein, as easy as it was to behave as if he didn't exist, was always in her sight. She felt him walk around her, his shoes crunching in the snow as he took his spot beside her.

"You and Dearborn, is it true?"

Her lips pursed in a rare expression of annoyance, and finally Mackenzie turned to face Sebastian, eyebrows high and ready to swiftly shoot down any more questions pertaining to...that. Her lips curved into her first scathing retort, but Sebastian's expression startled it out of her. He looked--was he excited? He looked excited, his blue eyes were--thrilled and he was breathing a little heavier than before, his hot breath creating clouds in the cold air.

Oh.

She turned away quickly, looking down and cursing her reddening cheeks. Her eyes cast down the trail the students were supposed to be following, and noticed that they all seemed to have passed, the wooded area quiet and empty. Suddenly, she was very hot, even though the snow continued to fall. Mackenzie didn't want to think about why her body was reacting this way, and it took her a moment to realize that there was nothing around them. The sounds of the chattering students were a distant echo up the slope toward the castle, and the only thing she could hear was the breathing of the Gryffindor prefect.

Who was terribly close right now.

"Sebastian," she said softly, eyes still dropped down onto the snow. She could see his hands, why he wasn't wearing gloves she couldn't understand; Mackenzie sucked in a breath when he took hold of her forearms. They couldn't do this, she wanted to do this, but they couldn't. It was too soon, people would talk, her family would find out and then it would be the end of everything.

He came as close as he could without touching her, and now the hot breath she'd been watching in the air was whispering into her ear.

"I'm glad," he said, and Mackenzie's eyes shut, "I'm glad it's over."

Her breath was sharp and she would have bet that her heart had stopped. He was glad, he was glad that she wasn't engaged anymore, Sebastian was glad that she wasn't getting married, he was glad. Mackenzie finally lifted her gaze from the snow and even though he'd been close for a while, still found herself startled when she looked him straight in the eye. Maybe it wasn't the closeness, maybe it was, once again, the excitement in his eyes. Sebastian was always excited about something, he was always optimistic and looking on the bright side of every situation, no matter who was involved.

"Me too." Mackenzie didn't know what possessed her to allow those words to slip out, but a low laugh escaped Sebastian's throat and for a split second she felt his lips graze upon hers, but the loud giggling of straggling students broke them literally apart. Mackenzie and Sebastian jumped nearly a meter apart, both taking on loud voices toward the fourth years that had decided to go on a detour.

The moment was gone, and the two prefects began trudging up the path behind the students. Mackenzie's eyes stayed straight ahead, emotions wiped clean to ensure that no one would be able to tell what had almost just occurred. Sebastian was walking right beside her, and not even his close presence could spring up any visual recollection of a few moments ago.

Until his hand gently brushed against hers, and Mackenzie was now sure that this boy was going to be an issue.

ϟ flustered

Sebastian was trying to figure out what he'd done to piss off God. He'd gone to Temple as often as he could when he wasn't at Hogwarts, he celebrated the holidays like a good Jewish boy should, he'd even worn a yamaka around a school that was full of people who found anything muggle a reason to taunt and pour pumpkin juice on you. So, what had he done to deserve this? What had he done to cause the fates to sit him between his current girlfriend and the girl who he was in love with but was engaged to another man?

His eyes narrowed at the thought. Sebastian was slouched low in his seat, his legs crossed at the ankles and arms tightly tucked around himself. They were waiting to meet with the head boy and girl about some new procedures, but the heads had decided that it would be more effective if they met with each prefect by themselves, you know. To build camaraderie. Fine, fine. Sebastian and Mary had made it to the meeting right on time (a last minute snog in the common room had been necessary), and Mackenzie had come a bit late because---get this---she'd been busy in the hospital wing helping crying first years get over their homesickness. So they had been the last three on the queue, and it had been an incredibly quiet, awkward forty or so minutes of waiting out in the hallway.

"Miss. MacDonald?"

They all turned to look at Vinny Gudgeon, the head boy, as the Ravenclaw prefect left the room. Mary smiled, turned quickly and kissed Sebastian on the cheek before she bounced up and left with Vinny. Now the hallway was completely silent, and Sebastian swore he could hear his heart in his ears.

This was the first time he and Mackenzie had been alone since this past summer. And they hadn't even been alone then, they'd just sat together at some pool party and discussed---things! Friendly things! They'd even arranged to meet each other for ice cream and a movie, they'd arranged a---Sebastian felt his stomach twist as the word 'date' came to mind, but obviously Mackenzie hadn't thought it to be that. If she'd been so keen to plan a date,

ϟ muggle

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