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The atmosphere in the room was heavy with the scent of incense, lighting dimmed by smoke. Thick silks draped the walls, and the floor was littered with plush pillows. The classroom was far too comfortable for an academic setting, and many students were already drifting to sleep into their teacups.
Not Sebastian and MC, however. The two friends had agreed to take Divination in their final year at Hogwarts in lieu of an extra free period. MC complained that it was a rather ludicrous subject, but thanks to Sebastian's incessant pleading and insistence that the pursuit of all knowledge is worthwhile, she reluctantly agreed to sacrifice her study breaks for him.
To his credit, the class certainly was worthwhile. Perhaps not for the reasons Professor Onai would have preferred, but each new lesson brought them plenty to discuss. Between telling Sebastian that his tea leaves foretold he would soon lose an incredibly intimate part of his body, to the time he retaliated by discreetly shattering her mirror during a catoptromancy lesson - she must have been too hideous for even the mirror, he'd teased - Divination soon became their favorite lesson.
"I see... detention in your future. And lots of it!" MC grinned as she held Sebastian's hand, pretending to cross-reference his palm with the textbook lying open on the little table between them.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "You don't exactly need to use palmistry to divine that. Besides, I distinctly recall you being the reason for several of those detentions."
She scoffed indignantly and said, "I didn't exactly force you into the Black Lake after curfew."
"You said you were going to feed toast to the Giant Squid! How could I possibly allow you to have all the fun?" He pulled his hand away and glared playfully.
"Fair enough, but who was the one foolish enough to get caught by Mister Moon?"
"You didn't even warn me he was coming - just Disillusioned yourself while I took the fall. It's the library in our fifth year all over again. Some friend you are!"
"Alright, alright, I'll make it up to you." She picked up his hand again, tracing her fingertip along one of the creases. He suppressed a shudder at the way her feathlight touch tickled. "Here - this line tells me that you can expect a good friend to let you copy their History of Magic notes over the weekend."
His eyebrows raised, and he hummed appreciatively - a fair bargain struck, it seemed. For as academically inclined as Sebastian was, he was not immune to the curse of Professor Binn's sleep-inducing lectures. MC took pride in the fact she could resist and made a regular habit of exchanging her notes with Sebastian and Ominis for favors.
In this particular instance, she was feeling especially generous toward her best friend. She would never say it aloud, but she was secretly very pleased that Sebastian had convinced her to sign up for Divination that year. It meant they could be palmistry partners and gave her a sorely needed excuse to marvel at and touch his exquisite hands.
Broad, masculine, and calloused from dueling - she thought his hands were truly a thing of beauty. A guilty pleasure she could never let him, or anyone else, know about. Still, the hands she had merely stared longingly at over the years, aching to hold - and in turn hold hers back - were quite literally within her grasp, and she intended to make good use of the golden opportunity presented to her.
"I would appreciate it if the two of you took my class a little more seriously. You're seventh years - it's time to start acting like it." Profesdor Onai tutted from behind them, clearly not enjoying their lighthearted treatment of her beloved subject.
"Sorry, Professor. We do take your class seriously. It's just nearly impossible to read Sebastian's palm when it has the texture of a graphorn's backside." MC explained with a barely concealed smirk, but it slipped when Sebastian ripped his hand out of her grasp and muttered something crass under his breath.
"Perhaps Mister Sallow will have better luck reading your palm?"
With an exasperated sigh, she moved on from their table to check on the other students' progress. MC and Sebastian waited carefully until she was out of earshot before turning back to each other.
"A graphorn's backside? Really?" He hissed, frowning.
"I couldn't very well lie to dear Natty's mother, now could I? I suppose it's because you spend every waking moment of your life dueling like some kind of brute that your hands are more callous than not." She responded, satisfied that she'd riled him.
Without warning, Sebastian lunged forward and snatched hold of her wrist, dragging her hand roughly toward him for inspection.
"You duel far more than I do, on top of all those creatures you care for in your little room. If my hands are reminiscent of a graphorn, yours must be - " He stopped speaking immediately upon running a testing finger across hers.
"Mine must be...?" She prodded, curious.
What did Sebastian think of her hands? His uncanny silence made her nervous. The slight red tinting the tips of his ears and cheeks made her doubly uncomfortable, and she wondered with growing concern what dreadful thing he could possibly have to say that caused him to clam up.
"Soft." He said simply, still staring at the hand he kept clutched in his own, tracing over the creases in her palm with his fingers.
She stuttered for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she'd heard him clearly. He reminded her in that moment of the nights they'd spent together doing more illicit research when Sebastian found a subject he was particularly keen on and allowed it to absorb his attention entirely. The way he focused so thoughtfully on her hand, like he was memorizing every detail of something he'd never seen before, had her heart fluttering. She worried he might feel her rapid pulse in her wrist.
"Soft?" She repeatedly slowly.
Still keeping hold of her, he pried his gaze away to look at her seriously.
"Yes, soft. How are your hands so delicate? You've lived a harder life than most since coming here, yet you've not a single callous or scar to be seen." He marveled.
She thought for a moment, unsure how to answer such an unexpected question. "Well, I suppose if I had to guess, it's to do with the fact I drink Wiggenweld like it's water most days."
Sebastian's expression contorted slightly into another one of his signature frowns. He was somehow displeased by her response.
"Very well." He started slowly. "So it's the result of my own failings to properly look after you."
Ah, so he was in a rare chivalrous mood, was he? She wouldn't have that, though. She would not allow Sebastian to twist the situation to somehow blame himself for her misfortunes, as he was so wont to do since their fifth year. That said, she also was not about to allow him to try convincing her to stop running headfirst into danger, or rather, adventure as she preferred to term it. Whatever word made it more palatable that she was still charged with sourcing out the remnants of ancient magic in the highlands.
"Sebastian, that's absurd. It's not your fault that I go looking for trouble, and there's not a thing you can do to stop me, either. I have a duty." She told him hotly, expecting him to argue.
He watched her quietly for a moment before turning his attention back to her hand. Briefly, she expected him to deliver a biting remark or simply ignore her entirely for defying him. But then he carefully slid his thumb across her hand, gently mapping the skin to her wrist before circling back again. It was a startlingly tender touch and nothing at all like the way he should be reading her palm. She felt goodbumps rise along her arms, and he must have noticed because he smirked.
Making a dramatic act of looking down at the book before returning his attentions to the task he said, "I see here that a stubborn graphorn - or perhaps it's a rather dashing lad, will be demanding to come with you on these expeditions from now on."
Meeting her gaze to see if she was about to protest, he was pleased to see she was stunned silent by the way he gently massaged her hand.
"We can see if my prediction is correct by having these palmistry sessions regularly. We'll know if your companion has done an adequate job looking after you once you've kicked that Wiggenweld addiction." He shot her a wink and squeezed her hand before letting go and closing the book.
She nearly whined in complaint at the loss of his pleasant touch, until she realized class had ended and she had been too lost in his brown eyes and the way those perfect hands of his were navigating her own.
She was so glad she'd taken Divination that year.