Quality time

[Sebastian Rossi]

Sebastian sat on the steps leading down to the dungeon scribbling furiously into a small notebook that he carried with him all the time. Finally, after nearly two weeks of struggling to come up with lyrics to a song, something had come to him. It had happened in Potions class as he was busy brewing a potion, and even though it was Sebastian's favorite subject, he had waited impatiently for class to be over so that he could run out and write in his book. Not even bothering to go all the way upstairs, Sebastian had simply dropped down onto a step to get the words onto paper before he forgot them again. Humming the tune once he had finished, Sebastian read over the words and was sure that the song was now complete except for one part that simply didn't sound right.

Sebastian's mood which was already high because he was going to be meeting up with Trilby in a few minutes soared at the fact that his song was nearly complete. With OWLs approaching quickly, the two friends had not been able to spend as much time together as Sebastian would have liked. He knew that some of it also probably had to do with Trilby being off somewhere writing to her boyfriend and perhaps a bit had to do with the increasing amount of time he was spending with Clemence, but still he rather missed his best friend.

All done now, Sebastian put his notebook back in his bag and brushed his hand through his hair as he walked up the stairs, forgetting that he had cut most of it off the week before. Now, he had a very short cut and there was nothing for his hands to run through. He shook his head at himself as he continued up the steps and stopped by the castle's front door where he had agreed to meet Trilby. Leaning against the wall, Sebastian put his hands in the pocket of his uniform as he waited.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

Trilby had spent much of the year so far studying hard or attending to her duties as a prefect, with the Triwizard tournament in full flow and the students being as uncouth as ever or probably even more so it was not at all surprising that this role was more fraught with anxiety than ever before. Sometimes she was convinced she would be grey before her time. Letters from Xavier was all that was keeping her going for her best friend seemed to have very little time for her at all these days. She had felt incredibly lonely as a result and ridiculously fed up whenever she had come across him with Clemence. Feelings of jealousy had punctured her and she had berated herself greatly for this. He was not hers to feel this about and Clemence was entitled to be with him just as much as anyone else.

Sometimes she thought it was simply that she missed Xavier that made her pine for Sebastian's company more but the truth of it all was, she was simply too used to spending most of her time with him and now that they were not side by side laughing and sharing jokes or stories she felt almost abandoned. It was a cold day and she was reminded of the day they had spent together in the greenhouse but that seemed like a life time ago now.

As she left the entrance hall to walk out through the front door she smiled when she saw him waiting. He was still as handsome as she remembered him to be and though she saw him every day in class it felt strange that her heart would flutter now at the sight of him. Perhaps it was simply that they were finally going to spend time together again after so long apart.
"Hello you" her soft voice carried across the distance between them and she followed it, reaching up and kissing each cheek as was the way of greeting amongst the French.
"Have you been waiting long?" stepping back she zipped up her jacket and removed her gloves from her pockets, slipping them on effortlessly.

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Sebastian glanced up just as Trilby was walking toward him. A broad smile swept over his face and he pushed himself off the wall as she approached. Alex was so right about the whole beautiful thing, he thought to himself as his eyes quickly trailed up and down her. Quickly, he shook the idea away. It was a very bad idea for him to think of his best friend like that, wasn't it? She had a boyfriend for goodness sake and he and Trilby had agreed to forget about everything that had happened with them before and return their friendship to something more normal.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little tingle as she reached up and kissed both of his cheeks as he planted one of his own on her cheek. "Hey yourself stranger" he joked as he stepped back and reached into his messenger bag for his wool gloves. He already had his coat on, ready to go. Sebastian pulled the gloves on, his fingertips poking through the areas where he had cut off the glove. Shaking his head, he smiled down at her. "Not at all. I just got out of Potions" he said easily with a shake of his head.

"How's life going? With all those prefect patrols and the triwizard tournament, I hardly get to see you anymore" Sebastian said in a gentle voice as they walked over to the door. He didn't want Trilby to think he was mad about it even though their lack of time together didn't thrill him. He also knew that it took two people to solve that problem, which was why he'd asked her if she wanted to hang out. He missed how easy Trilby was to talk to and all the fun they had when they hung out.

Sebastian opened the door so that they could step out and then backed up to let Trilby through first. "You should just give them all detention and be done with it" Sebastian chuckled as they began to walk and then quickly added, "except for me of course. It's ok to keep letting me get away with stuff."

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

As he too donned his gloves she could not help but watch his every move. The incredible urge to tell him she missed him was strong and yet she held back. It would not be fair on either of them for her to blurt something like that out. As far as she was aware he could be dating Clemence now, they spent enough time together for it to be likely. Again the green little monster crept up to niggle her and she sighed looking away from him to the lawn. Descending the steps she did so slowly in order for him to fall in line beside her. It had been a long time since they walked alone together, once upon a time they would have done so frequently and she would have had no problem holding his hand or linking arms with him. That was not something she could do anymore, no matter how much she might want too.

Though they were in the same year, Trilby was taking some advanced classes so some of her schedule did not coincide with his anymore. Another reason for her to miss him.
"Pretty well I guess, the students from the other schools are fine really. It's our own students who are taking liberties, thinking they can run amok when the urge arises" she grinned at him, glad that they were able to fall into the comfort of one anothers company so quickly.
"Actually Sebastian I have been very tempted to give you detention lately, just so as I would see you again. It seems our paths just refuse to cross nowadays" she told him rolling her eyes as three third years raced passed yelling and screaming. Of course on seeing her they changed their pace to a hurried walk but soon raced onward again when they thought the coast was clear. Why students thought it necessary to do things like that around her was crazy but even she was well aware of the nicknames she had been given, the Enforcer and such like.

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Sebastian looked at Trilby with a hurt expression on his face as she told him her idea to give him detention. It quickly turned to a smirk though as a chuckle escaped his lips. "But Trilby my dear, you don't have to go through all that trouble to see little ol' me. You know where my room is" he said, glancing sideways at her as they kept walking. He wouldn't have minded Trilby coming to visit him in his room, though he was pretty sure it would be a bad idea if she did. The rumors of last year had just begun to die down as the excitement of the tournament had taken over, and Sebastian was in no rush to be in the spotlight again. At least not in that way.

Another chuckle escaped him as he watched how the third years behaved when they saw Trilby. "I think you put the fear in them" he teased, nudging her with his elbow as he did. By now, they had rounded the corner of the castle and he could see the Durmstrang ships and the Hogwarts tents.

"What did you think of the first task? I couldn't believe they actually saw veelas. Crazy, right?" he asked. It had been an interesting task though he had spent most of his time talking to Clemence and her friend Grande. "I looked for you when I first got there so we could hang out together, but I didn't see you around" he added nonchalantly. "I ended up sitting with Grande and...Clemence" he ended, feeling as if he should probably have not mentioned Clemence's name. A weird feeling crept into his stomach almost as if it were some kind of betrayal to Trilby that he had been with Clemence. He knew it was silly though. He and Trilby were friends, only friends, a fact that he found himself repeating more often lately almost as if he needed to remind himself of the fact so that his growing feelings for Clemence didn't mess with what he and Trilby had established since they had reunited.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

Forgetting everything but the two of them now, walking as if nothing had happened and their friendship was so well in tact that she had no fear of anything ever. Trilby laughed as he told her she could have come to his room.
"I don't actually even know where that is" she smiled realizing that she didn't either, she certainly didn't make a habit of going near the boys dormitories it just wouldn't be right and there were enough male prefects to check up on them anyway. As the students walked passed before their exuberant run she had to concur steadfastly with his next statement.

"I seem to put some thing into them alright, not sure if it's always fear though" she smiled at him as they walked along. The Durmstrang ship was the first thing she could see when they rounded the corner, the triwizard tournament was a roaring success so far. There were no real mishaps except for perhaps a very frightened Hogwarts student, it had been disappointing that their own champion had only come second place but there were still two other tasks to get through.

"I know and not just half Veela's but actual real Veela's, I've only ever seen them at quidditch games and I've never seen a male one. Don't think I'd have gotten very far in the task if I had" she chuckled but suddenly went all serious and quiet when he mentioned Clemence. The more she saw of them together, the more she did not like it but she couldn't say or do anything about it. She was dating for crying out loud but yet that didn't stop the feelings she had for Sebastian to waver. Deny them as she might, they were always there.
"I was there, you were just too busy to notice me" she told him looking down at her mittens as if intense scrutiny of them was essential at that moment.

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Sebastian nodded enthusiastically. "Me either...the veela women must be scary though. That Hogwarts champion didn't last very long out there with them" he added, thinking that he'd still like to see one for himself. Sebastian was not surprised to hear that Trilby had been at the competition but was surprised to realize that he hadn't seen her at all. His mouth opened wordlessly once or twice. "Oh" he finally said with a frown on his face as his gaze dropped to his gloves and he began picking at a stray piece of wool that was sticking out. Had he really been that distracted that much by Clemence that he hadn't even noticed his best friend in the same stands? The honest truth was that he had.

Reaching up to twist the earring on his ear, Sebastian glanced up at Trilby. "Sorry" he mumbled, feeling really bad about what he'd done. It was a wonder that Trilby bothered to speak to him at all, considering how much he'd neglected their friendship. He walked in silence for a few minutes longer lost in thought about all of the other times when he'd been hanging out with Clemence and passed Trilby with little more than a hello. "I guess I've been a bit of an idiot lately" Sebastian said a few minutes later. "It's just that..." he began awkwardly and then stopped.

"Forget it." Sebastian said and then forced a smile. "We're supposed to be hanging out together today, right?" With an excited smile, Sebastian put the jumbled thoughts about Trilby, Clemence and himself on hold as he grabbed Trilby's hand to lead her to the spot by the lake near the Durmstrang ship that he had come across the other day. "C'mon. I wanna show you something I found when I was walking around out here the other day."

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

She listened to his fragmented conversation and knew without a doubt what he was trying to tell her. Her heart beat impossibly faster and her palms clenched. Why was she feeling like she wanted to slap him all of a sudden? This was crazy, she was dating Xavier and she was happy with him. It was just loneliness without him that was making her look at Sebastian in any other light than one of friendship but try as she might to convince herself of this, it just didn't work. She knew herself and Sebastian felt something for one another and it had unleashed itself last year in the greenhouse. They could conceal it any way they chose but still always somewhere she knew they would care for one another.

Suddenly he was smiling, not anything like his usual smile and he was grabbing her hand leading her to the shores of the lake with every intention of showing her something. Trilby wanted to tell him that it was ok, that she understood; that he had feelings for Clemence now. It was evident enough whenever she saw the two together. As much as she did not like it, she had always known this day would come. He had to bare her relationship with Xavier, so the shoe on the other foot shouldn't have felt so bad - but it did. Standing at the edge of the lake, her hand still in his she hadn't thought once about moving it. It was simply something that they had always done. Something so natural to them.

"So what is it you want to show me?"

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Until they had stopped by the lake, Sebastian hadn't realized that he and Trilby were holding hands. It was such a natural thing for them to do that he barely took notice of it at all. Even when he realized that their hands were joined together, Sebastian didn't loosen his grip. He knew that he should, especially since Trilby had a boyfriend and since he and Clemence were moving towards something considerably more than friendship, but at the moment he didn't care. It just felt right.

"Well, the other day I was jogging by the lake here because my herbology quiz flew out of my hand" Sebastian began though it was more like he had thrown his quiz towards the lake in frustration because of the P score he had received and then jogged after it because he didn't want to pollute the lake. He continued walking alongside the lake, looking at the ground as if he were searching for something. "It ended up falling in the lake, but whatever...anyway, I found...wait. I'll just show you." He smiled up at Trilby and then continued his search of the grounds by the lakefront. "There it is" he said, pointing at a spot on the ground where what looked like a rock was sticking up out of the ground. Only upon closer inspection could one determine that the item was the edge of a small box. "I think it was buried years ago Tril" Sebastian said as he knelt down for a closer look.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

Listening to him she could not help but smile, she had missed this. The easy way with which they both could simply just get on with each other. Slowly the feeling of his hand in hers began to register, as her eyes seemed to glance at his mouth when he spoke. Trilby blinked confusedly at first but became as intent as he at searching the ground for whatever was out of the norm. Really she was merely trying to distract herself now from the warmth that exuded from his hand to hers and trailed up her arm. Again she told herself this was probably because no one had held her hand in over three months. She wondered briefly if he held Clemence's hand as well and pushed the thought far from her mind.

Finally he was pointing to a spot that looked for all the world like a rock. She knelt beside him, they were literally side by side but now she was so fixated on what the box could be that she did not give it any thought, not how their shoulders touched, their hands still clasped together or the fact that they were kneeling with heads bowed so close to one anothers as they looked at the strange object.
"Did you not try to take it out?" she smiled glancing at him then and only realizing the closeness in that moment, averting her head to the box again she removed her hand from his slowly. Grimacing at the cold her palm seemed to instinctively feel from the lack of contact. She nudged him playfully.
"Take out your wand and try to move it".

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

It was during moments like these with Trilby that it became easy for Sebastian to forget that they had ever had any kind of troubles in their friendship. He was quite happy that they had been able to regain their friendship becaues it was something that he treasured above most other things.

His realization that things weren't quite as they used to be occurred only when her hand left his. Feeling the cold air touching his hand instead of Trilby, Sebastian's smile remained but his heart chilled slightly, both at the thought that he'd taken some kind of pleasure that was more than simply friendly when he'd held Trilby's hand and also because of how Clemence might feel if she'd seen what had happened. A bit of him wondered whether Trilby would mention something like this to Xavier. Sebastian tried his best to not think of that guy very much but found that whenever he was around Trilby it was difficult not to.

When she told him to try and take the box out of the ground, Sebastian's green eyes looked into Trilby's with a mischievous glint. "Trilby m'dear...that sounds like a challenge" he said with a smirk as he removed his wand from his pocket. Sebastian tapped the edge of his wand on his chin as he thought and then his eyes lit up again as an idea came to him.

Standing up, Trilby gestured for her to back away. "Stand back Tril...wouldn't want you to get hurt" he said as he turned his wand toward the ground. "Locomotor box" he said with a swish and a flick of his wand. He glanced up at his friend with a satisfied grin as he saw some of the chunks of dirt begin to move as the box seemingly began to break through the dirt that had buried it for years.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

She could not help but smile at him as he took out his wand to perform a spell on the ground. Unable to resist a chuckle she sat back on the grass to watch him. It didn't matter that it was cold out, her father had made sure this winter to put a warming charm on her clothing. Slowly the man seemed to be coming around slowly and though still extremely protective of her, he did not ignore her any longer but actually instigated conversations as well.

"It is not perhaps the spell I would have used but you know best" she watched as the box shuffled about beneath the earth as if trying to break through it, "we could be here some time."
another soft chuckle as she laid her self out on the grass staring up at the blue sky overhead and finding a crocodile in the cloud formations overhead, after musing aimlessly for a moment on what the divination professor would have made of that, she turned her head slowly to look at Sebastian's progress.

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Sebastian's grin fell off his face as Trilby indicated that she would have used another spell. His mind raced through all the spells he knew, yet he still couldn't figure out which one she might be thinking off. "You're just going to leave me here to struggle?" he asked, though he was hardly struggling. By now, only about another inch of the box could be seen and he realized that she was probably right about the whole process taking a long time.

Stopping the locomotor spell, Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Trilby in an attempt to appear annoyed with her that failed miserably. "C'mon Tril" he said with a chuckle. "Show me what ya got then, Ms. advanced charms." Sebastian really wanted to see what was inside that box.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

Trilby laughed and sat upright brushing against his arm as she did so and looking to the box that had indeed been lifted a bit out of the hole. Leaning forward she judged the size of the box, she wasn't sure if it would work but it was worth a try.
"I'm not just advanced charms Sebastian" she winked at him returning to the box, "but this isn't advanced magic at all. Animare" pointing her wand, tapping it three times on the box she waited and then watched as the box seemed to come alive. It grew little legs on either side and literally began to walk itself out of the hole. Laughing she beamed up at him before cancelling the spell and returning the box to normal.

"Transfiguration does have it's uses" she told him, leaning against him as she used to do before nudging him playfully, "go on then... open it."

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Sebastian watched while Trilby winked at him and then easily animated the box which scuttled out of the hole. When she beamed at him, Sebastian brushed the back of his head in embarassment and laughed at the obviousness of it all. He should definitely have thought to transfigure the box. "See...just another reason why you're my best friend Tril. You're a genius" he complimented her.

Kneeling on the ground, Sebastian turned around and gave Trilby a mischievous grin before he turned his attention back to the box. It wasn't very large and when Sebastian tried to open it, it wasn't even locked. "Look at all this" he said as he began to sift through the contents. Inside he found an old Beauxbatons yearbook, a poster of a player from the 1980 Quiberon Quafflepunchers team,some loose papers and other odds and ends. It was all pretty meaningless to Sebastian but he figured that these things must have meant a lot to the people who had buried them.

Picking up the yearbook, Bas flipped through the pages, looking at the students. Most of the students carried the same features of students who went to the school now. Many of them looked arrogant or haughty in their photos. As he glanced at some of the last names, he laughed. He recognized some of the names as belonging to students currently in the school and realized that the arrogance was obviously a hereditary trait. He also saw some of the professors who were still in the school although they looked much younger. One person in particular looked very familiar to him. Glancing at the bottom of the picture, Sebastian was suprised to see the caption "Professor Sophia Rossi, Potions Master." "Holy crap...it's my gran" he said in shock, pointing at the picture which depicted a much younger looking version of his grandmother with platinum blond hair.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

Trilby only laughed at his appraisal of her, nudging him playfully as he took hold of the box and opened it. Together they rifled through the contents, it was magnificent.
"It's some kind of time capsule" she said in awe, picking up and viewing pieces that Sebastian passed to her. It was all amazing and as she looked closer at some of the names she groaned aloud.
"Oooh it seems generations of Daimee's have attended here and all look uncannily alike" she chuckled showing him a photograph of some charms class. So intent on studying some other photographs she did not see Sebastian's intense interest in the one he was holding until he announced who one of the young girls were.
"Really?" she asked leaning closer to look, the girl was lovely and she could actually she traces of Sebastian in her. Turning to look at him as if inspecting him more closely, she ruffled his hair lightly.
"I'm just picturing you with that shade of blonde, think you'd be adorable" another light chuckle before she looked back at the picture again, "you must bring it to her when you.. return home... you're going back to America at Christmas aren't you?"

They had not spoken about it at all for some reason, like so many things in their lives now. Once upon a time they told one another everything and now everything made sure to keep them apart.

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

Nodding, Sebastian pushed the book over so that Trilby could see it easily. "It sure is"he replied. When she ruffled his hair, he chuckled lowly and patted his hair down, forgetting once again that it was not messed up since he had cut it short. When Trilby mentioned him looking adorable with platinum blond hair, Sebastian ducked his head, looking away from Trilby in embarassment. With a mischievous look in his green eyes, Sebastian smirked. "Maybe I'll try it one day...but only if you dye yours too." Sebastian reached out a hand to touch a strand of Trilby's hair. He loved Trilby's brunette color and hoped that she knew he was joking.

Glancing back at the book as she asked about his plans for the break, Sebastian shook his head, pulling his hand back before he did anything too stupid. "Nope. Gran and I are gonna enjoy a quiet dinner at home in France most likely. Maybe I'll hang out with Alexius or something during the break" he explained with a shrug. "He lives down the road from me."

It was hard to believe that the holidays were right around the corner and Sebastian realized that he needed to get started on buying Christmas gifts. "How about you?" he asked. "Any special plans for the holidays?" Sebastian didn't ask whether she had anything special planned with Xavier because he tried not to care about that guy too much. It was difficult though because any time he thought about Trilby, which was often, it was inevitable that Xavier enter his thoughts as well.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

She couldn't help but smile when he made her believe at first that he would dye his hair but the look of shocked horror that she displayed was comical when he suggested she do so herself. Of course she did not mind him picking up a strand of her hair, it didn't dawn on her to mind in the slightest.
"I would never... I guess that means you won't be dying yours then" she smiled at him, somewhat relieved because he looked striking enough to her as he was.

"Really?" she was amazed to discover that he lived so close to Alexius and Maximus but was glad that he was staying in France at least, she shook her head slowly though as he asked her, "My father is going to see my mother and then he is going to ... New Zealand for a while. I am spending the holidays at school. He does not want me to stay at the house alone".
Her voice had taken on a sombre tone, clearly not happy with the way her own holidays would turn out. She had never stayed at the school over any of the holidays before and dreaded doing so now. She would of course get to see Xavier, that went without saying but still he couldn't get into the school and she would only have short periods where she would be able to see him.

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

"That's settled then" Sebastian said with a chuckle as he watched Trilby's horror at his suggestion. It felt good to hang out with Trilby again and joke around as easily as they had when they first met. He wished their relationship could be like that all the time, but had already resigned himself to the fact that they now had a new version of their relationship, one that was becoming what was normal for them now.

He listened to her as she explained what she'd be doing this holiday. He had forgotten that some people spent their holiday at the school and felt a little sad that it was how Trilby would be spending her time. He remembered when Trilby had explained about her mother and wondered why Trilby wasn't going along with her father to visit. "That kinda sucks..." he began, closing the yearbook he had in his hand. "Maybe if you aren't busy with your boyfriend or something...we can uh hang out one day during the holidays?" he asked.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

The situation with her mother was not something her father had wished to discuss with her, she had seen the letter on his desk from the asylum and knew that it could only hold news of her mother. Yet her father had left it to the very last minute to inform her that he was going to England and from there on to New Zealand. Her heart had been gravely heavy for a long time and none of this she had been able to share with Xavier. How could you basically put about your crazy mother in a letter for crying out loud? She had shared the news with him of course, there wasn't much about Trilby that Xavier didn't know. He like Sebastian was a good listener and not in any way judgmental. Thinking about him now made her want to race back and write to him but this was some rare time with Sebastian and she couldn't give it up for anything. Nodding her head she agreed with him. It did indeed suck. Smiling at the euphemism's that she learnt from speaking with Sebastian, she could not help the brighter smile that came to her face as she placed one of the many photographs back into the box.
"I will never be too busy to spend time with you Sebastian. I would love very much to 'hang out' with you" she looked at the quidditch article and rolled her eyes. Never would she understand the game, ever, "I still can't believe you live so close to the Strauss' twins. There must never be a dull moment in your village."

 

[Sebastian Rossi]

With a broad grin, Sebastian put the yearbook back in the box. "I can't believe it either" he said with a low chuckle. He had only found out that the twins lived in his area over the summer when he'd been outside one day walking around their quiet wizarding village. At first, he didn't know what to think of it since he never really spent time with either of the twins while they were in school. He still didn't spend much time with Maximus but Alexius was another matter. Even though Sebastian had thought Alex was a bit of a jerk when they had first met, he now realized that they actually had a lot in common.

"What do you mean? We're perfect angels" he said trying his best to look innocent, though his piercings and persistently sarcastic expression told a different story. "Definitely not a dull moment there" he added with a laugh. Alex had taken him on a tour of the town when they'd met and shown him where all the teenagers hung out. He'd only tried cliff diving during the past summer but already it had grown to be one of his favorite things to do. He loved the adrenaline rush that came as his feet left the ground and he plummeted toward the water.

"My gran's still dying to meet you" he added as he leaned back on his elbows and stretched his legs out in front of him.

 

[Trilby Kiedis]

As he leaned back she rolled over on to her stomach, the cold did not seem to bother either of them and she knew for one she was grateful for charmed clothing. She felt as if she were out on a warm summers day. Picking up a piece of grass as she too leaned on her elbows she smiled.
"Angels with dirty faces" she chuckled softly teasing him, Trilby had been a prefect since fifth year and even before then had always taken it upon herself to watch out for rule breakers and Alexius Strauss was one of the biggest and since arriving at the school Sebastian was just trotting behind. It was a good job she was crazy about one and liked the other or she would have thrown the book at them both ages ago.

"Really?" she smiled, delighted to hear that some female relation of someone wanted to have something to do with her. It was difficult growing up without her mother and just as difficult not having any other female role model around to speak too. She had always enjoyed how he spoke of his grandmother and hoped that perhaps she'd get to see her over the holidays too.
"I'm still dying to meet her too." glancing up at him she could still see the resemblance to the woman in the photograph. "Is she your mother's mother or your fathers?"