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HOGWARTS LEGACY PRIDE WEEK

prompt: community

Lineart by me, render by @traceyc-uk

Before meeting Sunan, Chris and NFY, although talented musicians, were better known for getting into trouble and for the striking contrast of their personalities, for which they were nicknamed "Dandelion and Burdock" by the local music community.

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HOGWARTS LEGACY PRIDE WEEK

prompt: modern AU

The Grumpy One, The Smiley One @traceyc-uk and The Flirty One @itsame-domi 🤨😃😏

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Pride Week Prompt: Crossover - them crossed with Sk8 the Infinity is always so fitting. Reference to official art

Nfy x Chris @diana-bluewolf

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Day 4: Domesticity

On AO3!

Title: The little dragon who couldn't breathe fire

Relationship: Tori Lewis x Poppy Sweeting

Summary: "“Mamma, leggi la storia del drago?”

Tori looks down to her four years old son sitting on her lap with great surprise. It isn't new that Eleazar peppers his speech with snippets of Italian, her second language, but the request itself is."

AKA

Eleazar asks his Mamma to read a dragon tale in Italian

Theme song: Per te by Jovanotti

Huge thank you to Celeste for beta-reading it 🥺

@hogwartslegacyprideweek

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✨ Morally Colour-Coded Characters + Neurodivergence & Personality Traits 🧠

Hogwarts Legacy Edition 🪄

* DISCLAIMER: This analysis isn’t meant to be an absolute truth, but rather a personal and SPECULATIVE interpretation of these characters. You’re welcome to share your own perspective too! ❤️

🩶 MORALLY GREY: Sebastian Sallow

Driven by devotion and desperation, ruined by impulse. Deeply compassionate and empathetic at heart, but his inability to regulate his impulses and accept limits make him dangerous.

He unconditionally protects those he loves (especially Anne), even if it means defying every rule, law, or moral boundary.

🧠 Sebastian's Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), but predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive type): his restless energy is reflected in his quick mood swings and impulsive tendency to act without full consideration, especially during confrontations or tense situations. His hyperactivity isn’t only physical but mental as well: he’s constantly thinking, researching, and driven by an insatiable curiosity, especially about the Dark Arts and forbidden knowledge. This impulsivity also affects his relationships: when overwhelmed or frustrated, he sometimes dismisses his best friend Ominis and his advice, prioritising using MC as a means to achieve his own goals rather than showing consistent loyalty. These behavioural patterns are commonly associated with ADHD: due to lower sensitivity or availability of dopamine receptors in some brain areas, he tends to seek novelty and intensity as a form of compensation, often manifested as impulsive decisions, risk-taking, and nonstop mental activity.

- CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) features: rooted in his traumatic family background and personal losses. Also, the curse affecting his sister Anne fuels his deep-seated and sometimes irrational hatred towards the goblins he believes responsible. This trauma might manifest in intense emotional reactions, guardedness, and difficulties fully trusting others.

- Mild Oppositional Defiant traits: occasionally resists authority or social expectations.

- Possible Giftedness?: demonstrates strong magical aptitude, intellectual curiosity and problem-solving skills.

Fandom whisper: “He’s a red flag you’d proudly wave at the Quidditch Cup”

🟢 MORALLY GREEN: Ominis Gaunt (to me, he’s the most psychologically complex character, so grab a drink, this is going to be a long one)

On the surface, he is polite, ethical, composed, but beneath that lies a fierce moral conviction, deep compassion, and the quiet courage to stand firm for what’s right and against violence and dark paths. He's determined to break free from his toxic legacy and refuses to become like them.

His introversion is a shield, but also a prison. Blindness isn’t just a physical limitation, he fears his own helplessness, his limits, and how easily he could be manipulated when left behind by the ones he truly loves.

🧠 Ominis' Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- *ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1) ❤️: he presents a strong attachment to a strict moral code and routines. His communication style is direct and serious, he rarely engages in sarcasm or jokes. He reacts with visible anxiety to unexpected changes or tense situations, often accompanied by repetitive self-soothing body language. Some of his behaviours (like sitting alone on the floor in a busy area deeply absorbed in his thoughts) might be perceived by others as disruptive or socially atypical. But despite his rigid mindset, he’s not emotionally invulnerable. He also shows signs of emotional shutdown under relational pressure. When it comes to his best friend Sebastian, all that structure collapses, choosing emotional self-preservation (connection) over his values and principles (convicion), e.g., when he allows MC to cast Imperius on him to avoid damaging his bond with his best friend, or when he breaks down crying over the decision to turn Sebastian in or not... he’d rather lose control than lose Sebastian (did you notice Ominis’ face during the end-of-year ceremony when you choose to turn in Sebastian? The sadness in his expression makes the whole scene truly devastating).

* While some behaviours could also be linked to childhood trauma (CPTSD), the consistency and subtle rigidity in his responses (along with self-soothing actions, deep moral conviction, sharp emotional intuition, difficulty with social flexibility and emotional shutdown under pressure) hint to me at possible neurodivergence as well (ASD). - CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder): including symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, hypervigilance, difficulties trusting others and problematic attachment patterns with his elitist family due to a childhood marked by coercion and fear tied to dark magic and an obsessive belief in blood purity) 😭

- Possible GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder): body language signs during the Scriptorium quest: he paced nervously in circles, eyes glued to the floor. Though he can’t make accurate eye contact because he’s blind, he usually turns his face toward whoever is speaking. However, when he lost control at the Scriptorium door, he didn’t focus on anyone. He kept bringing his hands near his mouth and nose throughout the quest, fidgeting with his fingers in a self-soothing gesture. His voice cracked as he begged them to stop, visibly distressed and in rising panic.

Fandom whisper: “He’s a cinnamon roll… unless you're Duncan. Then, run. He’s entering berserker mode”

🔴 MORALLY RED: Ranrok

He presents himself as justice for the oppressed (vengeance masked as revolution), but his true drive is fuelled by hatred, bent on domination and destruction. He is the very definition of "the ends justify the means".

🧠 Ranrok's Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- ASPD (Antisocial Personality Disorder): a trauma-driven sociopath with psychopathic traits.

- Paranoid Delusional traits.

- Complex Trauma Response (identity-based).

Fandom whisper: “He had a point... until he started incinerating everyone”

🔵 MORALLY BLUE: Solomon Sallow

He is the tragic disciplinarian, a man who outwardly upholds order, sacrifice, and tough love. Beneath he does care deeply, but his affection is buried under control disguised as protection. He relies on cold rationalism and mistakes emotional distance for maturity.

Rebellion (especially from Sebastian), isn’t seen as a cry for help, but as a threat to the fragile order he clings to.

🧠 Solomon's Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- OCPD (Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder).

- Possible CPTSD? (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Fandom whisper: “He gave up on the cure but became another symptom”

🟣 MORALLY PURPLE (deluxe): Phineas Nigellus Black

He's a pragmatic loyalist. His surface morality is conservative and defined by complex loyalty. He is a cunning strategist who carefully navigates social and political webs with subtlety and precision.

Beneath this façade lies his true morality: driven by self-interest and elegant manipulation, he never dirties his own hands. His ruthless pragmatism means his decisions are cold and calculated when necessary. Arrogant and elitist, Phineas is too proud to care about anything outside his own priorities. He values bloodline and power far above personal relationships or moral ideals.

He embodies the grey areas between loyalty and self-interest and pride (a man who probably polishes his Slytherin badge daily). His sharp remarks may sound cruel, but they come from a desire to assert control rather than a need to hurt (manipulative, yes, but not cruel for the sake of it).

🧠 Phineas' Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder).

- Giftedness with Social Detachment (non-clinical trait).

- Mild Machiavellianism? (strategic manipulation, not cruelty).

Fandom whisper: “No need to raise his voice, only his eyebrow. Evil, a misunderstood genius or just insufferable?”

🟡 MORALLY YELLOW: Duncan

He’s cautious and self-protective, often avoiding confrontation or risky situations. He tends to stay in the background and prefers others (like MC) to take the lead or face challenges, while he seeks approval to cope with his insecurities and fear of being singled out. He never takes risks and opts to stay uninvolved, seeking validation from others to compensate for his lack of self-worth, partly driven by fear and insecurity.

Introverted and socially awkward, Duncan experiences bullying and exclusion, which makes him hesitant to assert himself or confront others directly.

🧠 Duncan's Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder): evident in his intense fear of social situations and tendency to avoid attention or judgment from others.

- Specific Phobia (Puffskeins): irrational fear of puffskeins after a traumatic incident where one stuck its tongue up his nose. He has been unable to overcome despite efforts from friends like Poppy.

- ASD? (Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1): more evident in his social reservation and avoidance than in sensory or communication issues.

Fandom whisper: “Wants to be remembered. Not involved... just remembered. Not a villain. Not a hero. Just… there”

🩷 MORALLY PINK: Garreth Weasley

Pink, but only after 3 butterbeers and a terrible idea (don’t trust his decisions -or his potion skills- after drink #2).

🧠 Garreth's Neurodivergent & Personality SPECULATIVE profiles:

- ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), Combined type.

- Risk-Seeking behaviour (non-pathological).

- Mild Oppositional Defiant traits (playful, not hostile).

(Sorry, I’m just too drained right now, so I’m leaving Garreth to you 😉).

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🌈️ Hogwarts Legacy Pride Week: Day Four!

Prompt: Crossover

"Rogue Ones, Found"

[ AO3 Link ]

Synopsis: Cassian Andor died for the Rebellion… or so he thought. Now, in a world far from any star he's ever known, he and his partner, Jyn, are faced with two teenage boys who, oddly enough, remind them a little too much of themselves. What could possibly go wrong?

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 1933

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Male MC (Damien Evans), Cassian Andor & Jyn Erso (from Rogue One)

Tags: POV Cassian Andor, Crossover, Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso Live, Hogwarts, Banter, Humor, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Protective Sebastian Sallow, Protective Cassian Andor, Hurt Cassian Andor, Arguing, Chaos

Author's Note: While writing this one shot I realized that Jyn and Cassian have a very similar dynamic to Sebastian and Damien, so I, uh, leaned into that, obviously. As one would. LMAO.

@hogwartslegacyprideweek

Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso were still locked in their final embrace when something very strange occurred. One moment, they were literally on fire, engulfed in the scorching flames of a massive explosion on the beach of Scarif, the world crumbling around them. The next, Cassian felt a cool breeze ruffling his tangled mess of hair as a surreal calm settled in.

Kriffing hell, could this… could this be the afterlife?

Cassian was about to open his eyes when he heard a strangled shout.

"You're not D…" The voice trailed off, then said, "What are you two doing Apparating on my picnic blanket?"

Picnic blanket? Appa—what? Jyn's tight grip loosened on Cassian's shoulders. She was… laughing. And, apparently, so was he. They both collapsed to the ground, completely overcome. Who knew death could be so hilarious? 

Well, Cassian's eyes were open now. Amidst his guffaws, he somehow managed to process their location and the idyllic scene before them: a brisk day, a green mound of grass—a hill, definitely—flowers to the right of them, budding trees to the left, and a scratchy blue and bronze blanket under his very bloody knees. 

Ah yes, and Cassian's back and leg were still fucked. Very, very fucked. 

The voice spoke again. "Is this some sort of joke?" it said, sounding extremely out of sorts. 

Luckily for Cassian (and Jyn, he supposed), it quickly became apparent that the person speaking was a teenage boy, drowning in freckles. He was also quite short, at least in Cassian's estimation. If the boy attacked them—it was always a possibility, at least in his unfortunate experience—Cassian and Jyn could dispatch him easily, especially together. The boy looked laughably harmless. He was even holding a wooden stick in his right hand for some inexplicable reason. But you never knew. Appearances could be deceiving.

Another wave of laughter hit Cassian like a blaster bolt to the chest. Speaking of blasters… Cassian patted his side. Yes, he still had his blaster on him. He let out a slow exhale, his shoulders loosening a fractional amount despite the aching pain that radiated through every nook and cranny of his body, from the top of his head all the way down to his toes. Would he be able to stand in his current state? Debatable. And what about Jyn?

Out of the corner of his eye he observed Jyn laying on her back, clutching at her stomach, taking huge gulps of breath, likely trying to calm herself. Her laughter had died down, but every so often a soft chuckle escaped her lips. 

Cassian realized he was still laughing too. He needed to stop. They couldn't both be completely useless in a potential fight, even if he was correct and the boy had more bark than bite. 

Jyn mumbled something that Cassian didn't quite catch. 

"What?" he said, completely ignoring the teenage boy's earlier question—something or other about whether or not this was a joke.

"We're alive," Jyn rasped, while the boy huffed indignantly above them. His hands rested on his hips as he glared, a murderous glint in his eye. He looked like an angry Ewok. Less hairy though. 

"Is someone going to explain what's going on?" the boy asked. 

"I don't know, kid," Cassian replied. "We're as in the dark as you."

"You're the ones who Apparated here! Are you telling me you didn't know where you were headed?" He stomped forward. "You didn't visualize this location?" 

Cassian shrugged. There was that strange word again. Apparate. He debated asking what it meant, but ultimately decided against it as the boy's cheeks had flushed a brilliant red. Rage, most likely. He certainly didn't seem embarrassed.

Jyn eased up from the ground and completed her own careful inspection of their surroundings. As she did so, she drew her hair up in a small bun at the back of her head. Neat, out of the way. Good, they might need to make a run for it. If Cassian could run. 

He rose up, slowly, stifling a groan. Well, he'd definitely been in better shape, but at least he could stand. He took a small step forward with his injured leg. Shit. It was definitely broken. That wasn't good news. He may need to reconsider his response to the situation. 

As Cassian considered their other options, Jyn worrying away at the kyber crystal necklace around her neck—which Cassian assumed was a nervous tic of sorts—another teenage boy appeared, strolling down the hill directly ahead of them. 

"Sebastian?" he called out. He was larger—taller, too—with long blond hair tied back in a low bun, identical to the style Jyn arranged her own hair into mere moments before. Cassian blinked a few times, then shook his head.

So, the first boy's name was Sebastian. A good, strong name. Cassian could appreciate a name that ended in -ian. For obvious reasons.

"Damien!" 

Jyn snorted. "Sebastian and Damien," she said through a laugh. "Both your names rhyme. How sweet." The sarcasm was hard to miss, unlike a stormtrooper's aim. 

Cassian waved his arms at her, hoping the implication was clear: Be more discreet, dammit! It would be just their luck that Jyn's sharp tongue would get them in trouble. And anyway, couldn't she tell he was still attempting to assess the situation? It wasn't the best idea to anger the strange new kids, which was seemingly what she was doing.  

Kriff, was she doing it deliberately? He sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. He wouldn’t put it past her.

On any other day, Cassian could appreciate the snark, but not today, not after whatever they'd just been through. For the love of the Force, he was still recovering from nearly being blasted into stardust. Quite literally. 

Although he supposed he'd been through worse. Much, much worse. In fact, Cassian still winced whenever he caught someone mutter the words "on program." He was honestly shocked by how often it came up in daily conversation. 

Cassian clenched his jaw. He flinched as Jyn spoke again, this time addressing the boys. Unfortunately, she also had her blaster pointed directly at them. That didn't bode well. 

"Where are we?" she asked, her eyes narrowed. 

Sebastian and Damien just stood there, blinking back at her. They didn't look frightened at all.

Damien raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" he said, pointing at her blaster. 

Didn't he know what a blaster was? Either he was extremely dumb or Cassian and Jyn had ended up on some outer rim planet that hadn't reached the same technological prowess of the rest of the Empire. Perhaps a planet similar to Kenari, pre-Imperial invasion? It certainly seemed idyllic enough, especially with what Cassian just noticed seemed to be a castle in the distance. 

Well, wherever they were, he needed to do something. Immediately. 

Cassian stepped forward, blocking Jyn's sight line. "Nothing," he said. "If you don't mind, we'll be on our way."

Jyn mumbled something under her breath, but slipped her blaster back in its holster. Cassian wished he felt even an inkling of relief, but he definitely didn't. He may not have known Jyn all that long, but he already knew that that had been far too easy. 

Damien didn't seem convinced by Cassian's answer or Jyn's deescalation, but he didn't press further. Sebastian, unfortunately, had other ideas. He leaped forward, the stick in his hand outstretched, pointing it menacingly at Jyn. 

"That didn't look like 'nothing'!" he hissed. "Who are you people and why are you interrupting our picnic?" 

Damien threw out a hand, grabbed Sebastian by the shoulder, and yanked him back. 

Cassian sighed, again. Sebastian was far too much like Jyn. Argumentative, quick-tempered, too curious for his (their) own good. But at least Damien was acting appropriately. 

Jyn leaped forward. Cassian blocked her again, taking a page out of Damien's holonovel by making steady contact with her shoulders and shoving her back. "Don't," he hissed as she scowled at him. "Let me handle it."

Damien nodded at him approvingly. The two sensible males exchanged a look of exasperation. It was nice to know that at least one of the boys understood, and presumably, could be reasoned with. 

Did either of their two mischievous partners listen though? 

… No. They did not. 

Jyn squirmed and ducked, escaping from his grip, which, Cassian admitted to himself was somewhat hindered by the horrific pain still lancing through his body, while Sebastian did exactly the same, barrel rolling out of Damien's embrace and pulling out his stick, which he trained once more on Jyn as he shouted out some unrecognizable word, only for Jyn to immediately freeze in place. 

Wait. Wait one kriffing moment! 

Jyn was frozen in place.

"Jyn!" Cassian yelled, blaster in hand. Arming himself was so instinctual that he didn't even realize he had the blaster out until he glanced down. 

Damien spun on him, pulling out a stick very similar to Sebastian's, although it had a different design. Sebastian's was checkered, and Damien's was covered in what appeared to be a trail of... vines? 

Sebastian's stick had done something to Jyn! What were these powerful objects? Could they be imbued with the Force somehow? Was Jyn alright? Was there a way to counteract whatever Sebastian had done to her? 

"Why did you do that?" Damien barked at Sebastian, flicking his strange stick. There was no mistaking it; Damien was angry, and the look in his eyes was far more menacing than Sebastian's earlier expression. 

But! Jyn was suddenly returning back to life—thank the Force—although she was clearly disoriented. Cassian wasn't sure what to do. Sebastian had been the aggressor, but Damien had reversed whatever he'd done. Jyn seemed uncertain about how to respond as well. She still had her blaster out, but it was pointed down, and her hand was uncharacteristically shaking. 

It was a good thing Damien and Sebastian were currently distracted. In fact, they were arguing now ("I was trying to protect you!" "I don't need protecting!" "Right. Next time I'll let you handle it." "That's what I'm saying!" "That was sarcasm!" "I know! I'm not an idiot!"). 

Cassian and Jyn exchanged a glance with each other, assessing the situation through each others' eyes. Situation assessed, they nodded at each other, then… bolted. 

There was a lot more arguing as they ran off to who knew where. Unusual, really, but Cassian and Jyn didn't know that. 

("Look what you did! They're gone now!" "That's your fault! Don't you even think about blaming me!")

Well, no matter. Cassian and Jyn did not hear the rest of Sebastian and Damien's heated conversation, since they were too busy running away, but it went a little something like this:

"Wait," Damien said, his eyes narrowed. "Isn't their leaving a good thing?" 

"Oh," Sebastian replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I suppose you're right. Although—"

"We never found out who they were, did we?" 

"Correct." 

"Do you think they're going to be a problem?" 

Sebastian shrugged. "Who knows? If they are, they're not our problem."

(Cassian would have agreed, if he had still been there.) 

"Back to our picnic then?" 

"Yes, splendid!"

Damien clapped his hands and skipped over to the picnic blanket, plopping down with a grin. "What's for lunch?"

Sebastian dropped down beside him, pecked his cheek, murmured, "Marmalade sandwiches, but you're the appetizer," then tackled his partner to the ground with roguish delight, all thoughts of their earlier visitors gone in a flash. 

Rogue ones, lost? Oh yes, most certainly. But also: rogue ones, found.

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hogwarts legacy pride week: die mad about it

greetings, this is quick lee. I've seen that my pals and comrades have been brigaded by sad, pathetic people who refuse to get off their high horses. so, let me clear a few things up and give some reminders.

(1) Liking a piece of media should NOT be construed as support of the author.

Because it's simply not the same thing. I don't know how to break this down any further. It's called having nuance and critical literacy skills. This is not even in defense of the "problematic fave". JKR is no one's fave. but there are some good things you can come away from her literature with. and if you're too narrow-minded to admit that, then… have fun censoring and killing literature lol.

(2) Chasing queer people out of the HP/HL fandom is quite literally what JKR wants.

You're doing her dirty work for her. Please read this post by another tumblr user for more. Without any queer people in the HP fandom who are willing to interrogate the text and sit with the uncomfortableness of the literature, JKR will be allowed to continue her reign of terror. It is only by starting the difficult conversations and acknowledging that JKR is, in fact, an asshat, that we can create a fandom that hates the hell out of her and reclaims the world for our own use. Some of us are unwilling to see the world die a horrid death because its creator is awful.

This video by hbomberguy delves into adapting H.P. Lovecraft for the 21st century. I feel that a lot of this video can be applied to Harry Potter and JKR. I implore you to give it a watch and let me know what you come away with.

You know who you should be railing against? The literal bigots in this fandom. There's a lot of them; I've seen them. Instead of kicking the queer fans out, how about you chase the anti-trans and anti-queer people? They aren't quiet about it.

(3) caring about JKR is a rather Western perspective.

Yes, JKR is doing real harm with her legislation. Your average US/UK queer fan is aware of this. Guess what? You can hold more than one thing in your head at the same time! Wild, I know. See point 1.

But, a lot of countries outside the US or the UK don't give a shit who she is or know much about her bigotry because it doesn't affect them or they don't speak English or they don't know. It reeks of r/USdefaultism energy to assume everyone knows what you know and everyone should do what you do. News flash, anyone outside of the US/UK can't do shit about what JKR's doing. Why the fuck are you stopping them from FREELY (read: without profiting JKR) interacting with the intellectual property (IP)? Do you realize what a waste of time this is? If you're recycling tired talking points and you don't live in the US/UK… dude, go find better use of your time.

(4) Creating fanwork does not equal "promoting" the game.

Many people read fanfic or look at fanart/edits instead of interacting with the canon work. There is an assumption that seeking fanwork means they will seek out the original media as well. This is not the case, a lot of the time, and no one considers fanwork promotion of the original text. Fanwork is inherently derivative, and both the creator and consumer is aware of that.

My friends and I frequently shit-talk the game. But the blandness of the plot and the characters is what makes a great canvas to impart our own perspectives, ideas, goals. The rules of the world are malleable in the best way. Same with the original Harry Potter world as well. It's a blank canvas, and that means it has great potential to be molded into whatever anyone wants. We have the right to take what we want to keep from JKR's IP. Again, see the hbomberguy video for more on this point.

Not to mention, Harry Potter has been a mainstay in Western media (and even non-Western media) for decades. I promise you that our fanwork is not convincing anyone to go out and buy the game.

(5) Yes, the game was financially backed by JKR and she receives royalties from it. No one is denying this fact.

However, there are literally thousands of other people involved in this game that have explicitly stood against JKR's bigotry, and they deserve to have their work celebrated too. Not to mention, a lot of people pirated this game, or bought it secondhand, or waited for the sale, or donated an equal amount to a queer nonprofit. Before you disparage a queer fan for engaging in the world of HP, please ask yourself… what have you done as far as real activism or praxis?

Most fans don't buy anything HP other than this game. In fact, I have said in the past and will continue to say: we don't need to be buying that shit any more. Merch? Books? Other random knickknacks and memorabilia? Don't need it, useless consumerism anyway. But interacting with the IP for free is a whole different thing. You just know it makes JKR mad that a bunch of queers are twisting her work into something better. Enjoy it, lads.

End of the day, you can be a fan of HP IP without putting a single cent into JKR's pocket, or little cents as possible. If at least you are aware of this fact, then move on. There's bigger fish to fry.

(6) Listen, I don't agree with the Bible on a lot, but I like a few of the lines on hypocrisy.

Matthew 7:3–5, NIV:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

John 8:4–9, NIV:

…and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

I am sure you are actively supporting a shitty person by using social media, or listening to music, or participating in organized religion. Trying to play the Morality Olympics with some hobbyists who want to queer up HP IP as much as possible… is a waste of goddamn time. No one gives a shit that you attacked some queer people. Fat lot of good you've done. Get off your high horse before you are flung off.

Quit being an armchair activist. Go outside and interact with some real life people. Like it or not, Harry Potter is a part of the international lexicon. It's baked into our society. Do you want the fandom to be an accepting community, or do you want to actively usher in yet another un-safe space?

I understand that in the world it is a difficult time right now. A lot of people feel powerless in the face of such outright fascism rearing its head. To the queer people out there, let me remind you—attacking your fellow queers is not the right move. This is what the oppressors want, for us to fight each other instead of collaborating and unifying. You should be directing your energy to assisting your local community, starting conversations about trans rights, standing up for your local trans members, and participating in praxis. If you feel so strongly about this topic, good! I'm glad you feel that way. Go donate your time or resources to a nonprofit—they need your support. Go to protest or riot. Start a coalition. Why tear down a thriving community when you can build up your own?

There is no shame in stepping away from HP because JKR's real life words are too vile for you to consider. But there's also no shame in sticking around in an act of reclamation or spite.

To the queer HL community; thanks for being you. Thank you for having the tough conversations. Thank you for making space. Thank you for being nuanced. Keep up the good work. You're one cool cat.

I'll leave you with some links to nonprofits and organizations that make an actual difference.

Stonewall (public policy campaigns, UK)

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) (LGBTQ advocacy, USA)

The Trevor Project (youth suicide prevention, USA)

Queerwell (queer mental health and wellness, UK)

PFLAG KOREA

Trans Liberation Front (트랜스해방전선)

Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea (행동하는성소수자인권연대)

Beyond the Rainbow Foundation (BRF: 비온뒤무지개재단)

KQTx (Korean Queer & Trans National Network) (Korean American queer community)

If you live in the North Carolina area, here are some local links.

One Voice Chorus

Time Out Youth

PFLAG CHARLOTTE

Equality North Carolina Foundation

The Plus Collective

RAIN

[ps-cactus]

🌈️ Hogwarts Legacy Pride Week: Day Three!

Prompt: Friendship

"I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends"

[ AO3 Link ]

Synopsis: Sometimes all it takes is a little help from your friends to get you out of a sticky, relic-induced mess. Or into one. Either way, Sebastian's friends mean well. (Probably.)

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3461

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Male MC (Damien Evans)

Tags: POV Sebastian Sallow; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; In the Shadow of the Relic Quest; Timeline Shenanigans; Bisexual Sebastian Sallow; Pining Sebastian Sallow; Sebastian Sallow Is Bad at Feelings; Crush at First Sight; Friendship; Developing Friendship; Humor; Banter; Short Sebastian Sallow (yeah, I made it a tag; you're welcome)

Author's Note: I wrote this one shot eons ago, and it has gone through a fair few iterations (LOL). Thank you to the HLMCU for their patience and for letting me borrow their MCs again. Y'all are the best. Love ya! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Sebastian Sallow had gone quite barmy.

Not that he knew it. 

Yet.

But the more he shook the damned relic in his hand, which didn't seem to be doing anything at all, the angrier he became. 

Well, at least Anne was here. Although, to Sebastian's great frustration, so was Ominis, since he'd been lurking in the shadows, as he was so often wont to do. Never mind that Sebastian had to incapacitate them both. Cheers to Petrificus Totalus for that. At least something proved useful. 

"So, did you have a plan here, Sebastian, or what?" That was Adelia, naturally. Sebastian and Adelia butted heads a lot. Today was no exception. 

"Right?" said Jane, standing to the right of her. Jane and Adelia were, to put it kindly, the most unhinged of his friends, so, naturally, they tended to band together when it came to teasing him. "He clearly has no idea what that thing does." 

Sebastian could clap back too, though. "Would you two shut it?" he snapped. He was trying to think. If only he had lost them before he reached the catacomb. But he hadn't. So, here they were. 

And so was literally everyone else—because, of course, Alyn, Cal, Theo, Val, and Ale had also decided that sticking their noses in other peoples' business was a brilliant idea. Having so many friends was great and all, but it also had its downsides. Three heads were better than one, sure. But eight? Eight was just ridiculous. 

Friends, ugh!

So much for being stealthy. So much for getting this done quickly and pulling the wool over everyone else's eyes. So much for all of Sebastian's sly planning.

Merlin's beard, the Sorting Hat must have been having a laugh when it placed him in Slytherin, for cunning, he was, apparently, not. 

"Have you tried, I don't know, setting the relic on fire?" Cal suggested, ever so helpfully, with a casual shrug. 

Sebastian glared. "As much as I enjoy the concept of fire, and all of the spells that conjure it, I'm not convinced that's the best method of approach."

"I was just throwing it out there." Cal sidled over to the cavern wall, then slid down it in a leisurely way, crossing his legs when he reached the bottom, looking far too relaxed. 

Sebastian would have laughed if he hadn't been so damn frustrated. The relic was supposed to be the answer to curing Anne! So why did it seem so worthless?

It certainly looked powerful enough—its jagged triangular shape, ominous red glow, and human skeleton design practically screamed Dark Magic.   

And yet here he was. In a dark, damp catacomb. Holding the blasted thing aloft in the air. And nothing. 

Sebastian had had enough. With great aplomb, he chucked the relic at the ground. 

There! The relic deserved it. 

Val and Ale flinched at his sudden movement, while Alyn and Theo let out a pair of perfectly synchronized yelps.

"Whoa," Adelia said, stepping forward. "That was… dramatic of you. I suppose I'm not surprised."

Sebastian dropped to his knees in the dirt and groaned. "Not now, Adelia." Head in hands, he tugged at his hair. What next? Surely this wasn't his last option. Surely there was another way. Anne had to be well. She simply had to be. Sebastian would make it so. 

"Everyone, look!" Theo whispered. He sounded oddly concerned. 

Sebastian's head shot back up. 

The relic was trembling. And glowing much brighter than before. 

Jane, who had been closest to its new position on the ground, took a quick step back, then said, "Should we, erm, do something about that?" 

Sebastian locked eyes with Adelia. 

"What are you looking at me for?" she asked. 

"You're the one who takes the most risks of all of us," Cal answered for Sebastian. He rose from the floor and strode toward the relic. He leaned down to peer at it, then leaped back when it let out a hiss reminiscent of a steaming teapot. 

"Yeah, Adelia, I'm gonna let you sort that out," he said as he made his retreat.

But, as it turned out, there was no time, for a heartbeat later the relic exploded in a blinding flash of light. 

//

Sebastian awoke to screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. So, uh, that wasn't ideal. 

And what was that smell? An acrid heat snaked its way through his nostrils… Oh. Fire. He knew that scent all too well.  

The air was too thick, choking. His eyes watered, blurring his vision, and he couldn't see anything past his own hands, which he had extended before him, fumbling for his wand. Ah—there. He clasped it like his very life depended on it. Which it probably did. 

Sebastian's head throbbed, and something warm trickled down his face. Blood, mostly likely. But he had little time to dwell on it, too focused on steadying himself and reclaiming his bearings. 

Someone was shouting in a different language. Hm, it sounded vaguely Latin-inspired. Italian, perhaps? Sebastian wasn't quite certain.

He staggered to his feet, his knees threatening to give way beneath him. Someone grabbed him by the shoulders, righting him. Sebastian swiveled around to find Val. Her blonde hair, tinged faintly pink, was a tangled snarl. Her face was covered in scratches, no doubt sliced by flying debris from the… Explosion. There had been an explosion! "Welcome back to the land of the living," Val said. "Though I might need to revise that statement."

Sebastian blinked. "Meaning what, exactly?" Val didn't have a chance to respond. Before she could get a word in edgewise, an Inferius—of all the damned things!—lurched toward them, growling and hissing, its decaying arms outstretched, reaching for them, a menacing look in its beady black eyes. 

"Incendio!" someone shouted from Sebastian's immediate left. The Inferius burst into flames, only for another to take its place. 

Shit. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dim, smoke-filled catacomb, he came to a deeply unfortunate realization: it was positively swarming with Inferi. 

More shouting. More spells flying. Sebastian shook his head— ow —and dropped into his usual fighting stance: confident and assured, despite the incessant pounding of his heart and the sharp, needling ache in his skull. First priority: the Inferi. Then he could figure out what in Merlin's name was going on. 

For the next few minutes, survival took precedence over curiosity. He and Val carved through horde after horde, until they finally managed to make a dent in the crowd of undead. Only then did Sebastian risk a glance around the room. 

Half of the people here he did not recognize. At all. 

Well. That was new. 

Perhaps they were people from the nearby hamlet? Yes, that must be it. Until Sebastian noticed one of them—a girl with long, springy golden curls cascading down her back. She raised her wand, and in one fluid motion, she cast a spell. Except it was no ordinary spell. 

Sebastian was familiar with that kind of magic, but he thought it was rare, to a certain extent that is. Not so rare among his friend group, but rare in the greater wizarding world. The unfamiliar girl was using ancient magic, and she pulled a move which Jane and Adelia, who were the two of his friends who used it most often, fondly called an "Ancient Magic Throw." 

And then, another one of the strangers cast the exact same, wordless spell. A handful of Inferi burst into smithereens before Sebastian's very eyes, which were now somehow even wider than before. 

Sebastian's palms grew slick. Was he imagining this? No. No, he wasn't. Val had gone still beside him. She was staring, agog, at the unexpected scene unfolding before them. 

They weren't the only ones.

The fighting had all but stopped. At least for everyone but the newcomers. Jane and Adelia stood off to the side, backs pressed against the wall, panting. Across the room, Alyn and Theo had frozen, Theo holding a vial of Wiggenweld to his lips but not drinking. Cal leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, smirking like this was all some elaborate joke. Beside him, Ale looked as though he wanted to say something; his mouth gaped open until he noticed Sebastian was watching and he snapped it shut.

Val leaned in, whispering something in Sebastian's ear.

"What?" he said, completely missing what she said amidst his confusion and the spells being slung this way and that around them. 

"Who are all these people?" she, allegedly, repeated.

"Haven't the foggiest." 

Sebastian's eye snagged on a tall young man at the back of the room. His blond hair was drawn into a low, twisted bun, more akin to a woman's hairstyle than a man's. He was almost painfully thin for his height, as if he subsisted on nothing but air and water, yet his spellcasting was nothing short of masterful. His wrist-flicks were razor sharp, so precise it cut Sebastian to his core. He needed to duel whoever this stranger was, to see what more he could do. 

But later. Obviously.  

For now, Sebastian could only watch as the young man moved with such elegant grace that, for a moment, it didn't seem like combat at all. It was a dance—an unfamiliar one, sure, but swift and fluid, totally mesmerizing. Sweat poured down the stranger's forehead and into his eyes, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. Not one bit. 

"Sebastian!"

"Sorry, I was…" He hesitated. No way in hell was he admitting that he was distracted. 

Luckily, Val didn't press the issue. 

And then Ominis was bellowing in his face.  "What in Merlin's bloody name were you thinking, Sebastian?"

Ominis shoved him. Hard. Very hard. Sebastian nearly fell backward on his arse, but managed to catch himself. Somehow. Ominis was so much taller than him. Not that now was a great time to dwell on such an infuriating fact. 

"Ow!" 

"You fucking deserved that, and you know it." Ominis clenched his fists at his sides; his face turned a bright tomato red. "How could you? How could you do that to your sister? To me?"

"I was trying to help her," Sebastian shot back, an edge to his tone. Bitter, but also… apologetic? No, not that. Never that. He had nothing to apologize for, after all. 

Speaking of Anne, where was she? 

A spell sliced through the air from behind him. Expelliarmus. 

His wand wrenched from his hand and flew across the room. Sebastian whipped around, his expression darkening.

Who dared strip him of his wand?

Oh. 

It was Anne. 

That… made a lot more sense than he cared to admit. But still. Still.

"Hey! In case you haven't noticed, I was using that." He gestured at the Inferi still swarming the room as another spell whizzed past him, striking down one that had been mere seconds away from pinning him to the ground.

"You're welcome for that," Adelia called over her shoulder as she bolted past him. 

The tall blond boy was now casting alongside another young man with wavy black hair. Their movements were strikingly similar, almost as if they'd spent years dueling together, although Sebastian had the oddest feeling that wasn't actually the case. The dark-haired one was just as graceful, but for some reason, Sebastian couldn't tear his eyes away from the blond. It was utterly perplexing. 

"Watch out!"

The warning came from a girl with short brunette hair, deep shadows under her eyes, and a prominent scar slicing through one of her eyebrows. 

The warning was for him.

Sebastian yelped and ducked to the side, slamming straight into yet another strange girl, this one with dark brown hair and a pale complexion. To his immense surprise, she apologized to him. 

How many girls were in this catacomb? If he were a different young man, there would be far too many girls to choose from. WHOA, don't get there, Sebastian. It wasn't as if they were prostrating themselves at his feet. Although… hm, there was an image. 

But alas, yet another completely different girl snapped him out of his pleasant imaginings, shouting, "Vaffanculo!" 

Oh yes. That was definitely Italian. And Sebastian knew a curse word when he heard one. 

And then the Inferi were on them again. When would this end? And where had the Inferi even come from in the first place? 

Everyone was fighting them now, which was a good thing. And when the last Inferius burst into flames and dissipated into ash at Sebastian's feet, they all paused, breathing hard, forming a giant lumpy oval, gawping at each other in stunned silence.

"Who are all of you?" Jane asked. 

The curly-haired girl raised a perfectly contoured eyebrow. "I could ask the same of you." She turned her nose up, sniffing in indignation.

The girl with the scar spoke next, directing her words at Sebastian, her eyes narrowed. "Did someone cast a Shrinking Charm on you?"

"What?" 

"You're positively miniscule. It suits you." She brought her free hand to her mouth, as if to stifle a laugh, but then seemed to change her mind, dropping her hand back down and letting out a loud, unladylike snort. 

"I am not!" Sebastian shot back, extremely offended. 

Ominis, who Sebastian hadn't realized was still standing nearby, muttered something under his breath. Anne must have heard him because she burst into laughter as well. 

Was everyone out to get Sebastian today? Even his own sister?

The dark-haired girl with the kind eyes cut in: "I really don't think now's the time to be insulting people—"

"I wasn't insulting him! I was just making an observation. It's not my fault that it was funny."

Someone cleared their throat. At first, Sebastian thought it was the blond boy, but then he realized it was, in fact, the other one that had been fighting alongside him. "She has a point. Do you not know who I am?" he asked Sebastian, his brow furrowed. "Obviously not," Sebastian scoffed back. As his dark-haired interrogator stepped back, seemingly affronted by Sebastian's attitude, an unreadable expression crossed the face of the blond boy standing next to him. And yet he still hadn't uttered a word. Sebastian wasn't sure why, but he really wanted to hear his voice. Why wasn't he speaking? 

By then, of course, the Italian girl was muttering obscenities again. All of the strangers had spoken aloud except for the one Sebastian most wanted to speak. Typical. 

You know what, he was going to have to say something, wasn't he? 

"Kneazle got your tongue?" Sebastian said, narrowing his eyes at him. 

The boy brought his hands to his chest, gesturing with a "Who, me?" look on his face. "Yes, you! Are you mute or something?" 

He shrugged. 

Oh, for Merlin's sake!

"Fine, don't talk. There are enough people in this catacomb for me to have conversations with for days."

Well, maybe it turned out that wasn't true. For the moment the last word slipped out of Sebastian's lips, he realized that everyone had broken off into small groups and they were all chattering amongst themselves. He and the blond boy were the odd ones out. 

He glared. 

The blond boy glared back.

"Do you have a name?" Sebastian said, holding back a sigh. 

"Evans. Damien." "He speaks! I'm Sallow—"

"Sebastian," Damien cut in, rendering Sebastian speechless for once. "Sebastian Sallow. I know."

"How? I've never seen you before."

He nodded, frowning. "Yes, I realize that now. I think we might have a problem."

//

It soon became clear that Damien was correct. They had a rather large problem. 

And it was looking like it might very possibly, extremely unfortunately, be Sebastian's fault. But, erm, playing the blame game wasn't ever productive, so it didn't really matter all that much. Or so Sebastian told himself. 

If only the rest of the people in the room thought similarly.

"Sebastian! What is wrong with you?" That was Alyn. She didn't usually yell at Sebastian in such a manner, so it was a tad bit concerning. 

"I didn't know that the relic was going to do whatever it did!" Sebastian yelled back. 

In fact, no one was even sure what had happened. All they knew was that the strange new people had been fighting Inferi—and, to his horror, his uncle—alongside another Sebastian Sallow. Some tall, dark, and handsome imposter, apparently. Something had then yanked them all out of the battle and dumped them unceremoniously into the catacomb with him—the real Sebastian—and all of his fellow… schoolmates. Friends. Loads of them. So many that sometimes he wondered how he'd managed to make so many. 

And hm. It seemed as if Sebastian might also make some new friends out of whatever this was. Some nicer ones even, like Jo. She appeared to be the most friendly of the lot, although it didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian that she stayed as far away from him as physically possible when introductions were being made. 

Perhaps Matty? Although she was acting a bit awkward too, eyeing him quizzically. 

Tori appeared annoyed, although she seemed to have found a friend in Val. They stood shoulder to shoulder whispering something or other to each other. He had a mind to shout at them to share whatever they were saying with the class, but he held his tongue. 

"Sebastian…" 

Sebastian shook himself back to awareness, wincing as he remembered his head still ached horribly. Damien blinked back at him. 

"This is, erm, going to sound strange, seeing as, uh, everyone seems to be cross with you right now—"

"What's new?" Sebastian interrupted. Friends were allowed to be cross with each other. Better that than silence. "Get on with it."

Damien narrowed his eyes. "Forget it." 

Sebastian sighed. Perhaps he should let him speak. At this point, there was nothing he could say that would surprise him any more than he'd already been surprised today. 

"Sorry," he said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "It's been a day." He paused, then added, "As I'm sure you're very aware."

Damien laughed. It startled Sebastian entirely. Not just because he didn't expect it, but also because the timbre of it enchanted him. Too much. Damien's laugh was deep and low, throaty, but also sweet, like clotted cream spread across a piping hot scone, Sebastian's favorite. 

Sebastian had a mind to slap himself. Now was not the time. And anyway, what even was this feeling? He wasn't entirely sure. Whatever it was, he hated it. It made him feel weak, vulnerable. His skin was even tingling! How positively revolting.

"You're different," Damien said, "than my Sebastian, that is. But you have his sense of humor." 

Sebastian's eyebrows raised involuntarily. "Do I?" Why did his voice sound so high-pitched? He coughed, then repeated the question, lower this time. Yes, that was better. Much better.

"Mhm. Anyway, as I was saying, are you alright?" 

Sebastian's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Did you hit your head when you fell from…"—DON'T SAY HEAVEN, SEBASTIAN. DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT—"...wherever you came from?" Phew, that was a close call.

Damien laughed. Again. "I did, actually. It hurts rather a lot."

"Oh," Sebastian mumbled, remembering he had a Wiggenweld in his robe. "Here!" Making contact with the vial and pulling it out of his pocket, he thrust it at Damien, shortly before recalling it was the only one he had, and his head hurt too. Oh well, Damien probably needed it more. 

Damien's lips curled up into a shockingly genuine smile. Sebastian noticed he had a dimple. Just one. 

Stop noticing things, Sebastian, he internally screamed at himself. This was stupid. 

"Thanks," Damien said, his eyes sparkling. Golden-brown, deeply hypnotic, absolutely breathtaking. Quite literally. Sebastian was suddenly very light-headed.

Dammit.

"Are you two done?" Cal cut in. "Salazar's beard! You literally just met."

What was Cal insinuating? Never mind, Sebastian still needed to find a cure for Anne, assuming whatever nonsense that occurred with the relic didn't also miraculously heal her in the process. Wouldn't that be quite something though? 

Speaking of the relic, where was it? It must be around here somewhere…

Anyway, Sebastian supposed the more pressing issue was that they needed to figure out what to do with all the new people. How were they going to get everyone back from their place of… origin? From where they… began? From… whence they came? 

This was a fine mess they'd all landed themselves in. Well, there was nothing for it but to set to work. Whatever that entailed. But where to begin? 

He supposed the first step was to gain their trust. Make some new friends. He was good at that for some reason. Friends, then. That was simple enough.  

//

MC tag list: @accio-bagel @girl-named-matty @savingsallow @espressoristretto-patronum @leaping-toadstool-caps @freddiestheproblemchild @ravenwind-75 @ps-cactus

[ps-cactus]

authors note: hey guys, this one is a little spontaneus but here it is! My entry for the third prompt, found family!

extra mcs belonging to my amazing friends @girl-named-matty @accio-bagel @theladyofshalott1989 @freddiestheproblemchild @ps-cactus @savingsallow @ravenwind-75 @espressoristretto-patronum

"I'm bloody boiled!" James exclaimed, rolling over. He wasn’t sure if the heat that was almost suffocating him was due to the weather or the anticipation of what he was about to do. His head was in Val's lap and she was meticulously applying some sort of diamante gems to the corners of his eyes. 

"Take your jumper off then, idiot" Ellie rolled her eyes, popping a grape in her mouth, grinning in a way which assured James she was teasing. 

"Ah, Ellsie lellsie my dear, if you wanted to see my beautiful arms, all you had to do was ask" James said with a grin, stripping off his jumper (to Val’s protest as the gems hadn’t had time to set yet) and leaving him in a vest shirt. Ellie threw a grape at him. 

James had decided to organise a picnic in an area just off the side of Hogsmeade due to the weather being absolutely beautiful over the past week, a new record for the Scottish Highlands, complete with melted chocolate and crackers, marshmallows and various fruits (organised by Jo due to her better organising skills.)

"Nobody wants to see your noodles, Jamie" Ale helped himself to one of Cal's crackers. James looked scandalised. 

"I'll have you know-" 

"Ladies, please," Tori drawled, a huge grin on her face. "We all know I'm the buffest of them all." 

Sebastian snorted. Tori rolled her eyes, then shot a glance directly at Seb. "You're barely the same height as Poppy's mooncalf, Sallow, your opinion doesn't matter to me." 

Now it was Sebastian's turn to look scandalised. However, instead of making a quip back, he simply crossed his arms and leaned against Damien, who was busy trying to see how many crackers he could build a semi-stable tower with on his knee. 

"Have you tried gluing them with chocolate fondue?" Ale piped up.

 Damien shook his head. "I'm disappointed, Salvatori." 

Ale frowned. "It's a plausible idea!" 

"You're a plausible idea."

"Now that doesn't even make any- ow!" Ale was cut off as Matty prodded his shoulder. 

"Behave yourself, Alejandro." She said firmly with a sigh, and Ale pouted. 

"Yes Mother" he mocked, laying back in the grass and letting Val settle a dandelion crown on his head. 

"You know, guys, we should do this sort of thing more often," Jo said from where she was peacefully braiding daisies into Wren's hair. 

"Agreed." added Cal through a mouthful of olive breadstick, causing Mads to wrinkle up his nose and hand Cal a tissue for the crumbs he was dropping every so often. 

Cal then called out, “Oi, join the party, nerds!”

Theo and Ren looked up from where they were annotating books together, Ren with a scowl on his face, Theo with a sheepish smile and a murmured apology.

“Leave them be, it’s a miracle Blondie showed up anyway,” James grinned, only to immediately hold his hands up in surrender when Ren shot him a death glare. 

“Oh, crap, I almost forgot!” James stood up as if he was about to make a speech, and Ren tapped his palm to his forehead with a muttered ‘idiot’. 

“I organised-” James cut off with Matty’s Jo, “we organised today for a reason, guys.” 

“So it wasn’t just an excuse for you to stuff your face?” Tori called out, to which everyone laughed. 

“I can’t believe you guys aren’t taking this seriously.” James frowned, fighting back a smile. He huffed, then moved to where Ren was sitting on the picnic blanket. Ren raised an eyebrow warily, to which James let out a soft huff of laughter. 

“Florence Janel Chateaux,” James grinned, kneeling Dramatically in front of Ren. “Uhhhh…” 

Great. Perfect time for his mind to go blank. Alyn held up her thumbs in a show of support. 

“Oh, right. Ren. Will you…” he held out a cute little box, “be my boyfriend?” 

Ren’s mouth was slightly open in awe, his eyes shining with something that looked suspiciously like unshed tears. He immediately launched himself into James’ arms, setting his elegant fingers on James’ face and kissing him, hard. A loud cheer erupted from everyone watching, and Ale let out a wolf whistle. 

“Well,” James murmured with a grin, out of breath. “That went better than I expected.” 

hope you enjoyed my silly lil ficlet! i also hope all of this is in character!

[ps-cactus]

On AO3!

Title: You'll be in my heart

Relationship: Tori Lewis x Poppy Sweeting

Summary: 'She has expected anything, from a trap to a distressed beast.

Anything but a baby.'

AKA

The story of how Tori and Poppy become accidental parents of a little boy

Theme song: You'll be in my heart by Phil Collins

Thank you @celestial--sapphic for beta-reading it! ❤️

@hogwartslegacyprideweek

[ps-cactus]

Pride Week: Modern AU

Sam's grid features my girl Ellie (third row center) and his sister Abby (bottom left)

Garreth's features one of his brothers, William (second row center) and Ellie (bottom left)

as you can see, they have very different social media habits 😆 Sam is more reserved and it generally doesn't occur to him to post anything, while Garreth is active and open about his life, especially his obsession with his boyfriend 🧡💙

[ps-cactus]

Happy Pride to the HLMCU Boys! 🏳️‍🌈❤️

Damien @theladyofshalott1989, James @leaping-toadstool-caps, Ale @savingsallow & Cal by me.

[ps-cactus]

🌈️ Hogwarts Legacy Pride Week: Day Two!

Prompt: Modern AU

🤫 "Mum's the Word" (Ch. 3: "He's a friend from work!")

[ AO3 Link ]

[ Chapter Two ]

[ Chapter One ]

Synopsis: It's Sebastian's 31st birthday, but also his first anniversary with Damien. So, what do they do? Attend Damien's Zumba class of course! With his mum? Check! And will there be presents? Double check! But there's also another big surprise headed Sebastian's way...

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 2304

Relevant Tags: POV Sebastian Sallow, Modern AU, Bisexual Sebastian Sallow, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, Banter, Pining, Sebastian Sallow Is Bad at Feelings, Proposal, Fluff, Chris Hemsworth Appreciation, Chris Evans Slander

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Male MC (Damien Evans)

Author's Note: Alexa, play “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull.

One Year Later…

Sebastian was currently ogling his boyfriend's outrageously well-proportioned arse. Like, offensively good. A true work of art. A Michelangelo sculpture in motion, if Michelangelo had ever sculpted in Lycra. This would've been a perfectly pleasant way to pass the time if they weren't currently surrounded by pensioners shaking it to Shakira.

Because, of course, at this very moment, Sebastian was attending Damien's Zumba class. Where else would he be on their first anniversary? Clubbing? A romantic dinner? No. He was at the front of a whole army of old women, all of whom had better rhythm than he did.

Today marked what Damien liked to call their "real" anniversary: Halloween. The day they met. Also, coincidentally, the day Sebastian and Anne were born, which meant it was technically Sebastian's birthday. He should have had the divine right to do whatever he bloody well wanted. But no.

In a stunning act of self-sacrifice, or perhaps temporary madness, Sebastian decided to throw Damien a bone, so to speak, and show up for Zumba. Again. For the second time. Because the first time a year ago had been more than enough… until tonight, that was. Sebastian Sallow did many things well, but dancing was not one of them. His limbs operated on a strict 'no coordination' policy.

Anne wasn't here tonight, even though she'd been the one to introduce them exactly a year ago, because she was currently ridiculously pregnant. She'd reached the "waddling and death-staring anyone who dared suggest she 'glowed'" stage. She and her husband, Ominis, were expecting their first any day now. Sebastian had popped by their flat last night, and Anne had looked thoroughly miserable, like a woman personally betrayed by the concept of childbirth. Frankly, Sebastian was thrilled to be a man and blissfully uterus-free. He didn't handle pain well. In fact, he'd stubbed his toe last week and nearly filed a will. But that was beside the point. 

Also present: Damien's mum, Mrs. Potpourri herself, the woman, the myth, the legend, Mary Evans. Zumba regular and resident social butterfly. Tonight she was, naturally, in full workout regalia, radiating posh cheer. Sebastian had grown relatively accustomed to her, after attending what felt like the entire social season of family dinners at the Evans estate in Mayfair. So that was something.

Unfortunately, Mary was one of those extroverts who believed silence was a disease to be cured, and she was on a personal mission to introduce Sebastian to every single elderly woman in the class. Even during song breaks. Especially during song breaks. Like right now, as he stood sweating profusely and contemplating faking an ankle injury.

"Sebastian!" Mary all but chirped, seizing his shoulder with shocking force for such a short woman. "This is my friend Susan! She says she's never seen someone with so many freckles before!"

Sebastian shot Damien a please help me look, but Damien was otherwise engaged, deep in conversation with the woman who had been dancing aggressively to Sebastian's left all evening. She was new. She was chatty. And, blessedly, she had fixated on Damien instead of him. For now. Small mercies.

Sebastian turned back to Susan, somehow managing to muster a polite nod. "Lovely to meet you," he said, raising a limp hand. "Susan, was it?"

Susan beamed, the studio lights bouncing off her glasses, nearly blinding Sebastian in the process. "Freckles on a man are just divine," she said, a little too dreamily. "I told Mary, any woman who catches your eye is an awfully lucky girl."

Ah. Well. That explained the besotted look. 

Sebastian had asked Damien, in a rare moment of self-preservation, not to act overly couple-y tonight. No hand-holding. No smug winking. Definitely no mid-Zumba kisses. Not because he was ashamed—God no!—but because his dancing was so painfully tragic that he didn't want Damien associated with it. Damien had frowned, but hadn't argued. Sebastian planned on making it up to him later. 

Before he could respond, Mary let out a theatrical gasp and batted Susan's arm. "Oh heavens, no! No, Susan. Sebastian's dating my son. No ladies for him! Not on my watch."

Sebastian nearly choked on his own breath. So much for subtlety. So much for keeping the whole "deeply, irrevocably gay for each other" thing on the down-low.

Susan turned a shade of red usually reserved for old-timey telephone boxes. "Oh! I do apologize. I didn't realize!"

Sebastian waved a hand in the air casually, as if to say it happens all the time. Which, honestly, it kind of did? For some reason people tended to think Sebastian was aggressively straight. To be fair, he had thought so for the first thirty years of his life. Truly silly, that. Anyway… 

"No harm done," he replied.

Luckily, Damien cued up the next song: Pitbull's "Timber," of course. Because what better soundtrack for minor public humiliation?

And oh. Oh no. Damien's arse was back. Front and center. Wiggling like it had ambitions of its own. He was dancing like he "just don't care," which—did the youths still say that? Did it matter? Absolutely not, because Damien winked at him mid-shimmy, and Sebastian nearly forgot how legs worked. Good thing he hadn't tried to start the routine yet, or he'd have face planted right into the laminate flooring.

Sebastian’s dancing throughout the rest of the song was… (probably) passable. He managed a few kicks, somewhat in sync, mainly because he told himself they were a therapeutic outlet. A means of booting his workday stress into the ether. Because uni students, while allegedly the future, were also deeply annoying in the present. But he digressed.

Before he could spiral further into existential academia rage, a round of overly enthusiastic clapping snapped him back to reality.

"Everyone!" a voice called out. Now, logically, that should've been Damien, what with him being the instructor and all. But no. It was Mary. Damien's mum. Commanding the room like she was about to give a TED Talk on how to choose one's signature scent for a night out on the town. 

Damien blinked, glanced at Sebastian, then shrugged with an expression that said, let's see where she's going with this, but I'll step in if necessary. At least Sebastian assumed. 

She clapped again, louder this time. "Everyone! Today isn't just Halloween," she declared, beaming. "It's the anniversary of my darling son—"

"Mum! Stop!" Damien shouted, clearly mortified.

Damien’s mother did not, in fact, stop.

"—and his lovely boyfriend—"

"MUM!" That was Damien again, obviously, sounding increasingly like he was about to teleport out of his own skin.

Sebastian, right on cue, added a strangled, "Mary, please!"

But alas, it was too late. Far, far too late.

The entire room of retirees erupted into applause.

And then, things somehow got worse.

"Now!" Mary called out. "I've invited some guests today to help us celebrate!"

Guests?

Guests?!

Sebastian's soul briefly attempted to exit his body. How? Who knew? But he was pretty sure it was a near thing. Who, in the name of all things powdered and permed, had Mary bloody invited?

Mary, seemingly unbothered by the collective panic radiating from Sebastian and her darling son, whipped out her mobile from the pocket of her blinding magenta joggers.

She tapped the screen. Speaker phone. Because of course. "We're ready for you. Come on in!"

Sebastian and Damien turned to each other, faces flushed, eyes wide, eyebrows sky-high. Damien's mouth flapped uselessly, open, shut, open again. No words flowed forth, until…

"Mum," he croaked, "who—?"

But he didn't get to finish the question. Because at that very moment, through the doors of the fitness studio strode—

Chris. Motherfucking. Evans.

No.

Absolutely not.

This was a hallucination. A stress-induced mirage brought on by Zumba and secondhand embarrassment.

"Mum! No!" Damien yelped, launching himself forward so fast he nearly flattened the elderly woman doing post-song stretches beside Sebastian. He skidded to a halt in front of the literal Captain America, and also Sebastian's least favorite celebrity Chris. 

Sebastian, meanwhile, was rooted to the floor. Statues were less stiff than he was. Heat surged from the tips of his toes to the top of his unruly mop of hair. He briefly considered faking unconsciousness, then thought better of it. Although… maybe it was a good idea after all? Especially since Chris Evans was grinning at him smugly. 

And now Chris Evans was raising his hands, seemingly attempting to placate Damien. "Relax, D. I'm not here to steal your thunder." His voice dropped conspiratorially as he pulled something small from his shirt pocket and leaned in, whispering into Damien's ear.

Sebastian watched his boyfriend's brows fly upwards in cartoonish disbelief. Damien fumbled with the object—something small and rectangular. A case for cufflinks? A… very tiny book? A very small container of lube? Although… that would be a bizarre thing for Chris Evans to hand to his cousin. So probably not that. 

Then, Damien gave a cautious nod. He let Chris Evans step forward.

Sebastian blinked. Once. Twice. What in the actual hell was happening? Come to think of it, was he dead? Had he died and been sent to hell? It made a certain sort of sense… 

The room had gone oddly quiet. Most of the ladies looked vaguely curious, but mostly unmoved. Sebastian suspected they had no idea who Chris Evans was. Maybe they recognized him from some BBC miniseries where he played a brooding detective in a jumper. If that was even a thing. Sebastian didn't know. He avoided everything he possibly could that Chris Evans somehow managed to get cast in, what with him not being able to act and all that nonsense. 

Chris Evans turned to Sebastian with a glint in his eye that spelled trouble. "Sebastian," he said solemnly, "brace yourself."

Brace himself? Brace himself? For what, exactly? What level of chaos had Mary Evans unleashed? And how much, precisely, had Damien disclosed about Sebastian's interests?

Okay, he'd clearly told her that Sebastian liked Marvel movies. Great. But he had neglected to mention that Sebastian couldn't stand Chris bloody Evans.

And then—

AND THEN.

Chris Hemsworth walked into the room like the god of thunder himself, glowing, grinning, hair practically backlit by divine light. 

"Sebastian!" he boomed. "Nice to meet you!" 

"He's a friend from work," Evans quipped, already sporting a grin that could only be described as shit-eating. "We were filming nearby. Mary thought it would be fun if we popped in to say hello to my favorite cousin and his ridiculously handsome… fiancé."

…Fiancé?

Fiancé…?

Sebastian spun around. Where was Damien?

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh yes???

Damien was right below him. Literally. On one knee. Ring in hand. Smiling up at him like this was not a fever dream produced by Zumba-induced dehydration. And Sebastian even had his Nalgene with him this time, having not forgotten it on the Tube like last year. 

"I, uh… wasn't exactly planning to do this here," Damien began, shooting a daggered look at his mother, who looked entirely too innocent. "But, erm… Sebastian…" He cleared his throat and adjusted his knee on the polished studio floor. "You already know I love you. Excessively. Obnoxiously, some might say. But, erm, I realized last month that I don't want to be with anyone else. Just you. Forever. If you, erm… don't mind?"

Sebastian's knees turned into jelly. It was a miracle he hadn't collapsed already. The world around him, the Zumba grannies, the two Chris-es, even Chris Hemsworth, his Day-One celebrity crush, even though it took him a while to realize it was a crush and not something else entirely, just sort of… blurred. All that remained was Damien. Bright-eyed, a little sweaty, and down on one knee, like a bloody prince out of a fairytale. 

"Do you… do you mind?" Damien asked, voice gentler now, eyes wide with worry. "We could, uh… honestly, we can do this somewhere else—"

Sebastian didn't answer, not at first. Instead, he dropped to his knees with a thud, holding back a wince. That was definitely going to bruise. But he didn't care. Not one bit. 

He scooted forward on the floor, grabbed Damien by the back of the neck and pulled him close until their foreheads touched.

"Damien Andrew Evans," Sebastian whispered against Damien's lips, out of breath, and not just because he had been dancing terribly mere minutes ago. "That's a yes. Obviously. You gorgeous, exasperating fool."

Damien kissed him first, because of course he did. That was so very them. Sebastian smirked against his mouth, already dizzy with joy and adrenaline.

The room exploded—yes, again—into applause and whooping and what might have been a very enthusiastic "YAAAS QUEEN" from one of Mary's friends. Over the cheers, someone (most likely Mary) cranked the speaker and suddenly Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" blasted like it was 2011 all over again. It was completely surreal. And somehow absolutely perfect.

Sebastian broke into a delightful peal of laughter. Damien joined in, and together they collapsed sideways onto the floor, arms looped around each other, like the idiots in love that they were. 

Damien's shirt had ridden up just enough to reveal a sliver of his slightly bigger belly, courtesy of Sebastian's bread-making. It pressed against Sebastian's ribs in the most delicious way possible. Sebastian's brain promptly short-circuited with lust. He wanted Damien. All of him. Clothes gone. Right now.

But, alas. Witnesses. Dozens of them. Including Damien's mum. And—glory be!—Chris Hemsworth.

Sebastian did not think about Chris Evans. He refused. He wasn't about to let America's ass ruin his engagement.

Anyway, Sebastian had found his own hero. His name was Damien, he wore questionable tank tops, had a bizarre taste in music, and taught Zumba to old ladies, but, most importantly, his ass was the eighth wonder of the world. So there, Chris Evans! So fucking there. 

[ps-cactus]

On today's prompt, I chose to do Tori's hypothetical IG account!

Photo descriptions here!

@hogwartslegacyprideweek

[ps-cactus]

Part 1 here! (Tori's IG account introduction)

Pls remember that I'm no expert and I tried, I felt (still feel) like a nonna with an Internet connection 😂

Pictures found on Pinterest and IG created on Canva!

[ps-cactus]

On AO3!

Title: This is the start of something beautiful

Relationship: Tori Lewis x Poppy Sweeting

Summary: On the last day of the summer break between sixth and seventh year, Poppy wants to repay Tori's patience

AKA

BOOBS AND TORI.EXE STOPPED WORKING

Theme song: This by Ed Sheeran

Big shout out to @celestial--sapphic for beta-reading it ❤️

@hogwartslegacyprideweek

[ps-cactus]

🌈️ Hogwarts Legacy Pride Week: Day One!

Prompt: Big Firsts

🐎 "A Little Hoarse"

[ AO3 Link ]

Synopsis: Sebastian's first time on a horse doesn't exactly go to plan.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 1505

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Male MC (Damien Evans)

Tags: POV Sebastian Sallow, Humor, Banter, Summer Love, First Time (... Riding a Horse), Young Love, Sebastian Sallow in Love, Sebastian Sallow Is Bad at Feelings, Established Relationship

Author's Note: Thank you so much to @hogwartslegacyprideweek for organizing this wonderful event! I have been looking forward to it for weeks, and I can't believe it's finally here!

Damien was riding a horse.

Merlin, Damien was riding a horse!

Sebastian was in absolute thrall to the vision before him. This had to be a dream. It simply had to be. Sebastian was still fast asleep in the guest room of Damien's estate in Mayfair. There was no other possible explanation. 

He pinched himself, wincing when the pain hit. No, not a dream. Definitely not.

So, how was this happening?

When Sebastian woke up in the wee hours of the morning, in bed with Damien, placing a quick kiss on his forehead, savoring Damien's softly murmured, "Mmm, Bash," before sneaking back to the guest room to wait out the remaining hours until sunrise, he did not have this unusual and entirely glorious circumstance on his mind whatsoever. 

Now, to be fair, Damien had said last night there'd be a "surprise waiting for him on the morrow," but Sebastian's dapper lover on a horse seemed a bit far-fetched. A lot far-fetched.

Oh! Damien's horse was galloping toward him now.

Erm, what did one do to greet a horse? Certainly one didn't bow, did they? Or… perhaps one did? Well, hm. He supposed there was no harm in it. So, Sebastian bowed.

A warm, throaty peal of laughter shocked him back to his senses. 

"Sebastian, I'm not a prince. There's really no need for that."

Sebastian lifted his head slowly, schooling his expression to appear cheeky, not embarrassed. A difficult feat, to be sure.

"As you wish, Your Highness," he said, waving his arm out with a flourish and bowing his head once more, but lower this time. Much, much lower. Might as well commit fully to the act. Perhaps he'd even convince himself it had always only been a joke.

When Sebastian lifted his head, Damien was already sliding off the gorgeous tan creature, whose curious snout had stretched forward. In fact, it was now hovering perilously close to Sebastian's head.

Sebastian leaped back, eyebrows raised, somehow managing to stifle a curse, knowing that Damien wasn't overly fond of them. He coughed into his hand instead. 

Damien appeared none the wiser for once, perhaps too preoccupied with gently stroking the horse's back.

Sebastian suddenly recalled another time, not so long ago, when Damien had done the same for him: warm, circular motions, soothing him in his great distress, in the catacomb, shortly before… No! He gave his head a brisk shake. Now was not the time to dwell on that terrible memory.

"Sebastian, meet Persephone. Persephone, Sebastian."

The horse, in typical horse-fashion, at least Sebastian presumed, blinked at him, its long, blond eyelashes reminding him of Damien's. 

"A pleasure," Sebastian said, tilting his head ever so slightly at the beast, playing along. 

Damien burst into a delightfully carefree grin. "Now that you two have been properly introduced," he said, "Would you like a go on her?"

Sebastian swallowed. "I—uh, erm, well…" He trailed off. How did one admit to having never ridden a horse before? This would be his first. 

He supposed he'd just say it outright, as much as it went against all of his instincts. Better that than "I'd love to!" through clenched teeth.

Oh no. Wait. Wait one blasted moment! Did he just say that out loud? He opened his mouth to rescind his words, but just before he did, Damien's eyes lit up and his smile grew wider. What an expression! Sebastian would be a proper fool to wipe such a stunning grin off the love of his life's face. 

Damien clapped his hands. "I presume you know how to mount her?" 

"Ah, yes, of course." He'd ridden Highwing a handful of times. With Damien, yes, but that counted, right? Right?

Sebastian stepped forward, eyeing Persephone from head to hoof, calculating. Now, how to go about this? She looked to be at least a head taller than Highwing, maybe even two. And, regrettably, Sebastian hadn't grown much since the last time he'd mounted something or someone. Sweet Merlin, Sebastian! Stop that! Mounted a creature. And grown in physical height, not… well. His lower extremities warmed at the thought. Honestly. What was wrong with him this morning? He was half-tempted to conjure a bucket of cold water and throw it at himself.

He supposed he'd just scramble on top of her, awkwardness be damned. He took a deep breath, puffing up his chest, and then, promptly, clambered on top of the beast. Persephone, apparently unaccustomed to such a graceless mount, nickered and stamped twice. He nearly toppled off, but a firm hand caught him, gripping his ass, hoisting him the rest of the way, and giving a cheeky squeeze before letting go.

"There you are, Bash," Damien said smoothly. "A bit rusty, hm?" he added, then gave Persephone's rump a slap—and they were off!

Sebastian yelped.

"Take her around the estate a few times!" Damien called out. "She needs the exercise!"

Sebastian had just enough presence of mind to shout back, "Right!" but that was the extent of his current capabilities. He was far too busy trying to figure out how, exactly, one was meant to steer this creature. Too bad he didn't have his wand. Arresto Momentum would've come in handy right about now.

Oh no. Persephone was galloping now.

Still, she seemed to know where she was going. The Evans estate was gargantuan, and judging by the path she'd chosen, they were only halfway through the circuit, but at least she was making a proper round of it. He hadn't even had to do anything.

The gardens loomed ahead. Persephone veered right, straight toward a hedge. A very tall hedge.

Oh shit.

Sebastian screamed as she launched into the air, her hooves skimming the topmost bit of the hedge. 

"Damien! Get me off this thing right this instant!"

Too bad Damien was still somewhere near the front of the house and probably hadn't heard a word of his panic-stricken plea. Another hedge appeared. Sebastian didn't have time to curse—he just braced himself. Persephone leapt again.

"EVANS!"

And then, blessedly, Damien appeared. Face flushed, sweat streaking down his brow, racing forward with his shirt untucked and the small curve of his belly bouncing with every step. He looked both worried and entirely too amused. Come to think of it, was he laughing ?

"This is not funny!" Sebastian barked. "Your horse is a menace!"

He tried to shout again but choked instead, which dissolved into a fit of coughing.

Ow. His voice was—ugh—hoarse.

"I'm sorry," Damien said, chuckling as he casually tucked his shirt back into his trousers, as though Sebastian hadn't just been hurled over multiple hedges. "But you really should've told me you'd never ridden a horse before."

Damn. Of course he'd figured it out. Damien was far too perceptive for his own good.

Spotting Damien like a loyal crup might her master, Persephone came to a halt directly in front of him. Damien stepped forward with slow, practiced ease, and she nuzzled the top of his head.

Then, from behind his back, Merlin only knew how, a carrot appeared in Damien's hand.

Sebastian huffed. "Seriously?"

"What?" Damien blinked, the perfect picture of innocence, fluttering his ridiculously thick eyelashes.

"You're rewarding her for her terrible behavior!" Sebastian's voice cracked at the end of his surly exclamation. He cleared his throat with as much dignity as he could muster.

"It's not her fault you couldn't control her."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "She launched me over two hedges, Damien. Two. I could've died!"

Damien tilted his head, clearly unconvinced. "You didn't, though. In fact, you looked rather majestic mid-air."

"I screamed like a banshee!"

"Yes, but a handsome banshee."

Sebastian slid off the saddle and scrambled off Persephone to the ground with a graceless thud. "I'm going to hold this against you for the rest of our days."

Damien grinned, tossing the carrot top aside and reaching out to brush a bit of windblown hair from Sebastian's forehead. "You're positively adorable when you're furious. Are you going to hex me now?"

"Don't tempt me."

"I live to tempt you." His expression crossed over into an infuriating smirk. Infuriating, but also ridiculously good-looking, of course. 

Sebastian groaned, but the corners of his mouth twitched despite himself. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." 

"... Fine." That was entirely fair. Of course Sebastian didn't hate Damien. He loved him so much it hurt most days. But still. It was the principle of the matter. "I hate your horse," he corrected himself. 

"Tragic. She rather liked you." Damien gave her a pat. "Can't say I blame her. You're rather dashing." 

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were already warming. And then Damien kissed him, quick and sure. All too practiced. 

Not like whatever this had been.

Sebastian and Damien had plenty of firsts together over the past year or two, but this? This would not be one of the fondly remembered ones.

He would stick to brooms, thank you very much.

Sebastian's first time on a horse was definitely the last.