Chapter Text
Sebastian looked up to the sound of footsteps. The new student descended the few stone steps into the Slytherin common room, the damp green light of the lake washing across their singed robes. Back from some secret undertaking that he would no doubt wring out of them later. It always took some pushing, but persuasion was one of his most honed skills.
At this late hour, the common room was a warm, solitary space, with plush green sofas and armchairs arranged around a slowly dying fire. The walls were hung with tapestries and portraits, each painted in muted, cool colours. Small, jellyfish-like lamps created pockets of light, splashing just enough onto the page of Sebastian’s library book. Beside him, Ominis was curled up in a high-backed armchair, knees tucked under his chin. Though Ominis had an arsenal of spells to help him read their textbooks, he often preferred to let Sebastian read to him.
The light from the fire danced and flickered, casting long shadows across his sleeping face. Ominis had drifted off somewhere after the passage on grindylow hunting patterns. Sebastian sighed fondly and marked his page with a length of black ribbon, setting it aside as the new student approached. He held a finger to his lips, shushing their eager steps.
“So, back from slaying dragons?” Sebastian whispered.
“Something like that,” They said, settling into the loveseat across from him. They stretched their legs, sinking into the cushions with a sigh. It was as though a great weight had lifted from them and Sebastian narrowed his eyes.
“I much prefer the adventures I get to come along for,” He said, cataloguing the circles under their eyes. “And I dare say they go a measure more smoothly. Did you burn off the end of your tie?”
Their eyes snapped open from rest and they grabbed for their tie. Sure enough, the tip was blackened and flaked off in their hand. For a moment, they looked distraught, before exhaustion usurped any feeling and they collapsed back into the loveseat. It wasn’t as though they didn’t have spares, but Sebastian had a feeling the issue was deeper than a damaged tie. Their palms, blackened, lay upturned at their sides and Sebastian drew his wand.
“Scourgify,” he sent a whisper of magic across their hands, watching their fingers twitch at the sensation.
“Thank you,” they mumbled, eyes shut. “Got a spell like that for my brain? S’all full of… magic.”
They said the word magic like it was a pest, like moths in their closet.
“I expect,” Ominis said, his voice scratchy with sleep, “A good sleep will do the trick.” Waking slowly, he stretched, arms making wide arcs over his head as he did. The hem of his shirt came untucked from his trousers as he arched his back, cat-like and at ease in their company.
“Can’t sleep much either,” the new student said.
“What, the squid knocking at your window keeping you up?” Sebastian said, already knowing the answer.
“Dreams,” they said with a tired smile. “I’d take the squid any day.”
They were all familiar with the sort of dreams they meant, though Ominis perhaps knew them best. Sebastian had slept in the same room as him since they were eleven, sharing nights even in the summertime when Ominis would hide away at Feldcroft with him. Ominis’ night terrors were as familiar to him as his own. It was crueller too, he thought, that Ominis could see the horrible imaginings in his mind. His only glimpses of the world…
Sebastian’s brows drew together and watched the new student for a long moment.
It was Ominis that broke the silence once more. “I’ve got a bucketload of Dreamless Sleep. I could lend you some.”
The new student opened their eyes. “Really?”
“You’ll owe me one.” Ominis always added this in when he gave a favour, though he rarely called upon his debts.
“Please,” they said, a touch of desperation in their voice.
Ominis unfolded himself from the armchair, rising and drawing his wand. He barely needed it to navigate the common room, with five years to acclimatize himself to it. “C’mon then. To bed with you,” Ominis chided them, ushering them toward the dormitories.
Sebastian’s heart clenched for a moment, a stifling feeling of affection closing over it. He tucked his textbook under his arm and followed dutifully out of the empty common room.
–
After the three of them had changed into their sleep clothes, they gathered on Ominis’ four-poster, curtains drawn. He drew out a small case, leather-bound and with two gleaming buckles. From it, he withdrew a fat decanter of purple potion. He set it between them and uncorked it.
The sweet, floral scent wafted up to meet him, and he couldn't help but breathe deeply. Lavender, wormwood, earl grey tea. He felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him as if all of his energy was being washed away.
His limbs felt heavy and his eyes drooped, the candlelight around him becoming hazy and indistinct.
From the same case, Ominis produced a set of glasses. They were tiny, carved crystal and probably priceless. It was then that Sebastian made the connection; these were doubtless gifts from Ominis’ family. It turned his stomach, that they would care enough to soothe the night terrors that they had induced. Regardless, he took the proffered glass after Ominis had poured.
In another life, they might be taking their first forbidden sips of firewhiskey. Instead, they toasted sleeping potions together, trying to fend off dreams.
“Bottoms up,” Sebastian said humourlessly, knocking their glasses together gently. He swallowed the purple liquid in one go, expecting bitterness. Instead, he found it mild and sweet. In a moment, it took effect. The new student made to stand, to return to their own bed, but they stumbled, legs uncooperative. They relinquished themselves to the feeling and curled up against the headboard, hair falling into their subdued eyes.
“Stay.”
Sebastian looked up to find Ominis staring at him, hand heavy on his forearm. His fingers were soft and curled over his wrist as he spoke.
“For tonight, stay.”
It wouldn’t be the first time they shared a bed, though they hadn’t the liberty of childhood to excuse them. Sebastian cut his eyes to their friend, the way their limbs overlapped Ominis’, the warmth of their eyes.
Slowly, Sebastian nodded. “Alright.”
Ominis was the first to succumb to slumber, his breaths slowing as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Their friend followed shortly after, their nose tucked into the shoulder of Ominis’ sweater.
Sebastian looked at the two of them, cocooned in their patch of warmth within the bedcurtains. His heart clenched again and at first, he mistook it for jealousy. As he settled on Ominis’ other side, he understood it to be longing.
He let sleep overtake him, listening to the soft, gentle breathing of his friends as they slept. Though he couldn’t guarantee a night without dreams, he at least felt safe enough to try.