i'm humanoid -- [ SEB ]

[Brianna McLaggen]

Holding on to the five-year-old boy's hand, Brianna walked leisurely down the street of Hogsmeade Village with Matteo in tow. It was maybe the third or fourth time they'd been to Hogsmeade, but Matteo still held on to her hand, not trusting all of the village's shoppers. Brianna had to fight back a grin at the memory of the first time Matteo had seen a yak in the middle of the street.

She had come to Hogsmeade for a day out with all three Ambrosi children, Kaycee, and Mrs O'Malley. As of the moment, they were all separated, each adult having one child. Kaycee was at his potion shop, showing Michelangelo around and giving him a pep-talk in preparation for his first year at Hogwarts in a couple of months - Brianna highly doubted the 'advice' the sneaky Ravenclaw was giving the poor eleven-year-old. The last she'd seen of Mrs O'Malley, the older woman was at Scrivenshaft's looking for a new quill, Margot gazing around her world in wide-eyed wonder from inside her cozy perambulator. And lastly, Brianna herself, walking around Hogsmeade with Matteo, browsing shops until four, when they were all going to meet up at Madam Puddifoot's for a spot of tea.

All of a sudden, Matteo tugged on her arm, and she paused in her tracks to look at what had caught his attention. Of course, it was Zonko's - Brianna smiled to herself. Matteo looked to be opening up and wanting to do things that he wanted to do. Sharing a grin with the little boy, they both headed over to the shop.

---

(( it's a bit short, sorry lovely! ))

[Sebastian Nott]

Seb's sheer adoration of Hogsmeade boiled down to about three things; the fact that it had the best sweet shop he'd ever come across, the presence of Zonko's, and the Three Broomsticks. That, and the obvious factor that the Hogsmeade weekends in Hogwarts were among some of the best memories he had. Not that he had very many terrible memories, but Hogsmeade weekends had been the business. He'd spent a decent hour of his day off trawling through Honeyduke's and getting his hands on absolutely every sweet possible (he was prepared to have to share with Chloe, which meant triple amount than any normal person could handle) and then had a couple of butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks and flirted with anyone who was milling around, and ended up in Zonko's. As was usual when he ambled into Zonko's, there was the slight crisis of being unable to choose what he wanted. He'd have just bought everything he clapped eyes on if he could, but he hadn't quite brought enough money to do so, and so he spent a confused forty-five minutes wandering around, picking up certain things and examining them and then shoving them back onto the shelf with a sigh. Life was difficult sometimes.

As he was wandering, peering absently at the window display, he caught sight of a familiar mane of blonde hair out on the street. It took him about thirty seconds to fully recognize the girl, and when he did, he grinned - Brianna McLaggen, who was in his year at Hogwarts when he attended, although she'd been in Hufflepuff. She'd disappeared in sixth year, and seemed to have changed dramatically in seventh, but he remembered her fondly as as much into partying as he was in the years prior to that, always up for a laugh. Plus, he'd dated her for a while, and so he held her in quite high esteem. Deciding against buying anything, he made his way towards the door, determined to bound up to Brianna and find out how she was, and maybe see if she was up for going to the Three Broomsticks with him - he'd already been, but he couldn't stay away from butterbeer for too long.

Once he reached the door, however, he was met with a sight that nearly completely bowled him over, because Brianna wasn't alone. She was with a kid. Seb wasn't great at guessing kids' ages - he generally surveyed children as competition for food and attention - but he could probably estimate that the boy was about four or five. Maybe a big three year old. It was hard to tell, because nobody in their right mind would have ever gotten Seb to babysit for them, and all of his cousins were somewhat around his age. Was she babysitting, though? As was usual, Seb's mind flung itself into a dramatic spiral, and he wondered vaguely if the kid was Brianna's. Shit. Seb had always considered it one of his biggest achievements that he'd never gotten anyone pregnant, and he felt wholly sympathetic towards the father, whoever he was. But, as he was wont to do, another dramatic thought struck him; what if the kid was his? Eyes widening and face twisting into an expression of horror, he tried to count back to when, exactly, he'd slept with Brianna. Logic never having been his strong point, Seb's hand jumped to his hair, and, befuddled, he stared at Brianna and the kid with narrowed eyes. It was idiotic, of course, he told himself crossly. The kid couldn't be his. Not a chance. He'd slept with her ages ago. Still, it was somewhat horrific that there was even a minuscule possibility it could be his. He'd never hear the end of it if he got someone pregnant. That, and he was utterly clueless about kids.

He began making his way towards Brianna, trying to calculate whose kid it could be - Seb being Seb, he'd completely forgotten that at first he'd come to the assumption that she was babysitting, or taking care of a younger cousin, or something - and forced a grin onto his face, calling, as he got closer, "Heyyy, Brianna!"

[Brianna McLaggen]

The blonde girl was cajoling Matteo about their trip to Maestro's music store - their previous stop - when she happened to look up and saw someone very familiar. Sebastian Nott, ex-boyfriend, ex-party friend, a reminder of her past, was standing on the threshold of the joke shop, frozen with a flabbergasted expression on his face as he studied them. Or rather, the little boy by her side, still chatting to her about the magically playing cello on the second floor. Her steps slowed as she eyed Seb cautiously.

She wasn't judged very often when she was walking around the streets with Matteo in hand. But she did sometimes get comments, and a few were not very pleasant. Sure, some were kind, saying Matteo was a very sweet child, well-behaved, polite, had a brilliant smile. Once, he'd picked up something the old lady in front of them had dropped, and she'd peered at him over her glasses, given him a rickety smile, and told Brianna that she was raising a fine gentleman. When he'd given his unopened candy to a little girl who'd accidentally dropped her ice cream, her mother congratulated Brianna on her generous son. But there'd also been that time when the old pureblood woman in Madam Malkin's had pinned her with a withering glare, muttered something about teenagers these days, before leaving the shop completely without purchasing anything. And that time when she'd been buying Matteo food in a Muggle restaurant in London, and the waitress had asked her incredulously if Matteo was hers, as if that was the most scandalous thing to happen. Brianna didn't even want to remember some of the more condescending looks from the pureblood biddies at the Leaky Cauldron.

Brianna didn't want to get into an argument with any of them in front of Matteo. He was oblivious to them all, occupied by his curiosity and Brianna's explanations to his many, many questions. It didn't bother Brianna that they all thought Matteo was her son, that wasn't it; she just hated that they all assumed or presumed or whatever the heck they were doing, and on top of that, judging her. Even if Matteo had been her son, they had no right to judge her. She hated it, hated them. And at the same time, she was afraid of them - but not for herself. She was afraid for others, much more innocent, who might get hurt. Like Matteo.

So it was with a cautious air that Brianna walked closer to Zonko's and her old friend, Matteo completely oblivious to her wariness but still decreasing his pace to match hers. The closer she got to Seb, the clearer she could make out his features, and her memories of her old life appeared in her mind's eye. She remembered the time she and Seb had snuck out to Hogsmeade at midnight to steal alcohol. She remembered the time they went down to the kitchens at two in the morning, working their way through sweets and pastries until four. She remembered the time they climbed to the Astronomy tower and drank Firewhiskey, and somehow started snogging each other until the sun rose. She remembered partying with him before and after dating him, she remembered snogging him before and after dating him. She remembered being drunk off her arse and stumbling in some back alley, and rambling to Seb about cars and hands. She also remembered avoiding him in school in her last year at Hogwarts, not making eye contact and only muttering a quick "Hi" whenever they happened to pass each other in the corridors. She remembered running away and freezing him out, like she'd done to all her old friends.

She missed him, really. She hadn't when she'd first come back, but the closer she got to her graduation and the realization sank in that she'd never go back to Hogwarts as a student again, that she'd never see her friends in classes or eat with them in the Great Hall again, that she'd sort of wanted to mend bridges. But she couldn't not any more. Too much time had passed, she'd pushed them too far away. And she missed them. More specifically, she missed Seb, because he'd never hurt her.

As she reminded herself that Seb had never hurt her, she tried to ease up a little. She smiled warmly at Seb upon reaching him, breathing, "Seb! I've missed you."

[Sebastian Nott]

"Hey, you too! Give me a hug. I know you can't resist one," he said, easing up a bit as he threw his arms out and gestured for her to hug him. Brianna McLaggen had always been fun, and he could always count on her for a seriously good time - well, a couple of years ago he could. She was exceptionally easy to be with, because the two of them were both so relaxed about things that there had never been any awkward period in their relationship. Not before they got together, not after they broke up. It had all been amicable, and they had snogged and partied and broke rules as they pleased whether or not they were together. Seb sometimes fervently wished that almost everyone he came in contact with was like her. She'd been easy to get along with, up for a laugh, always in search of a good time. In fairness, he'd been somewhat insulted when he'd found himself completely frozen out by her in seventh year, and probably would have determinedly found out why, exactly, but once he realized that she was freezing practically everyone out - all of her friends, all of the old crowd - he'd taken a step back and decided that he'd roll with it, because obviously the problem wasn't just about him. Probably not, anyways. She was smiling at him now, and she said that she had missed him, therefore he couldn't have completely destroyed their entire friendship over something he couldn't remember. Not that Seb didn't have a talent of pissing people off, but still.

"So, just how much did you miss me, eh?" He said smugly. "Has it been bad without seeing me everyday? I can't blame you," he nodded solemnly. "I get it all the time. Running into people who used to be in the year and they start clinging. Getting letters of adoration from girls who haven't seen me in weeks. You know how it is," he shrugged, arms in the air and palms out, eyes widening in innocence, before lowering his gaze to the boy beside Brianna. He wasn't sure if he could just casually blurt out, hey, so are you a mum now, or something? Who's the daddy? Please say it's not me. Children scare me slightly, so instead he directed a somewhat awkward, yet friendly smile at the kid, and said, "Hey, mate! Want a lolly?" He fished out a lollipop - not one of those freaky blood-flavoured ones Honeydukes offered to vampires - and presented it to the child flamboyantly. He hesitated, and then hissed towards Brianna, "Children like sweets, right?"

[Brianna McLaggen]

Sebastian Nott was pretty much exactly how Brianna remembered him, and she was glad that some things in the world stayed the same. The way everything had gone, she was glad for some piece of normalcy, and it was refreshing to find someone she knew who didn't seem all that touched by the drama that had affected her life. Seb treated her with the same easy-going friendship that had been once before between them. She really had missed his friendship - she shouldn't have pushed him away. Thankfully, at least he didn't seem to be holding it a grudge against her.

The blonde smiled back at joyfulness and his open arms, arms that she stepped into willingly. At first, her hug was one-armed, but just being hugged by an old friend, just feeling not judged, just being hugged, in general - gods, she'd missed it. After two seconds or so, she dropped Matteo's hand to wrap her other arm around Seb, and burrowed her face slightly in his neck. "Merlin, Seb," she murmured. "I've missed you so much."

She pulled back when she felt his arms loosen, one hand automatically going to Matteo and the other nonchalantly wiping a tear from her eye under the pretense of fixing a stray tendril from her face. She let out a chuckle, and teased, "I missed you quite the amount, of course. No one can ever replace you in my life." She laughed a bit more. "Ooh, on the topic of fan mail, are we, Sebby? Merlin, I forgot to send mine. And flowers - terribly sorry, old friend."

Her laughter faded away a little as she noticed his eyes travel to Matteo, but considering the greeting she'd just received, she had no doubt that Seb would never judge her. She smiled as Seb offered a piece of candy to Matteo, and she encouraged the little boy, saying, "Go on, baby. Usually I'd say 'don't take candy from strangers', but he's not a stranger. You'll probably see him a lot more often." If Seb wanted to hang out with them again, anyway. The little boy took the candy with a wide smile, and Brianna ruffled his hair affectionately. The girl returned her attention to the older boy, laughing again.

"Yes, they do - some useful information for you! They like you a lot better if you have sweets. So bring sweets around with you, please." At that, Brianna paused thoughtfully, suspiciously eyeing his pockets. "But you always do, anyway, don't you?"

[Sebastian Nott]

Seb was so often in his own bubble of happiness and sunshine and liquor and shagging that it always slightly alarmed him when he came face-to-face with other peoples' pain, because he had no idea whatsoever how to deal with it. Sensitivity was certainly not his greatest virtue. In fact, most of the time he was downright callous, although it was generally due to sheer obliviousness rather than cruelty (although sometimes it was just when a malicious mood struck). He was greatly surprised by the strength of Brianna's embrace, and her confession that she'd missed him, but admittedly quite pleased. A little embarrassed, too, actually, which was certainly not the norm for Seb - embarrassment was such a rare emotion for him he was never quite sure what to do with himself when it happened. Not knowing quite what to say, he made sure he had himself together as he pulled back, rewarding her with another cheeky grin and saying, "Well, that sounds about right. I'd be surprised if you didn't - hey..." he blinked at the tear. That was a tear, right? That was a first. He'd had girls cry at him before - generally because he'd gone off and slept with someone else and completely muddled everything up, which was why he liked to make it perfectly clear that he was a no-strings-attached sort of bloke - but never out of what appeared to be happiness, and it sort of freaked him out. What was he supposed to do? He'd already hugged her, it'd look stupid if he did again. And it'd probably embarrass them both terribly if he made a big deal out of the tear. As well as he could pull his dark and brooding look off, he felt certain he was really about as deep as a child's paddling pool, and he wasn't sure how to be sympathetic and sensitive and sexy and cool at the same time. The struggle was real.

Luckily, she wiped the tear away in the most casual of fashions and seemed to brush it off entirely, and so Seb followed suit, bumping her shoulder gently and saying, "Don't knock the fan mail. The fan mail's what keeps me up in the morning. That, and my stunning good looks," he gestured proudly to his face. Seb really enjoyed his face. He didn't understand how he tore himself away from the mirror some mornings. "And I'll hold you to that," he wagged a reproving finger in her directions. "I want flowers, you hear me? Bouquets. Roses, preferably."

Smug that he had been right about kids liking sweets, he nearly missed what she had said, but when it registered in his mind his eyes widened in horror. You'll probably see him a lot more often. That sounded ominous. Deeply ominous. Not that Seb didn't think Brianna was great and all, she totally was - and she was completely hot - but that did not sound good. His overactive imagination once again plunged him into a frenzy, and he just had time to rearrange his features back into a smile when Brianna returned her attention to him laughingly. What she'd said had probably meant nothing. Absolutely squat. That was hardly a way to introduce someone to...Merlin, he couldn't even think about it. He needed a drink, pronto, and he had a sudden gripping desire to write to everyone he'd ever slept with and make sure they weren't pregnant.

Defensively, Seb clutched his bag of sweets to his chest. "Oi! Some of 'em are for Chloe. I'm a growing boy," he patted his stomach with his other hand. "I need all the sweets I can get. Growing boys do, you know," he directed this at the kid somberly, although his brain had flung itself into overdrive. Bring sweets around with you, please. What the fuck was this? Was this some sort of elaborate practical joke? Was this because he had pushed Damien into the pool one too many times?

He really needed a drink.

[Brianna McLaggen]

Brianna inwardly cursed herself. She and Seb were never emotional towards each other - their dating was casual, their friendship was fun, their relationship was sunny. But it was never deep or any of that 'feeling' stuff because that wasn't who they were. Even Brianna herself wasn't like that, before. And then things had changed and she simply felt too much and she forgot that not everyone was the same. She and Seb weren't similar in that aspect any more. She could see that completely awkward look on his face when he noticed that she'd shed a tear - a single tear was enough to cause havoc and leave a trail of total destruction and devastation in Sebastian Nott's mind, she knew - and she'd wished that she'd had a tighter hold on her emotions. Damn it, she didn't want to alienate an old friend she'd missed dearly and she'd just caught up with. And when he trailed off, the awkwardness in the air became even thicker, making it harder to breathe, and Brianna slapped herself mentally. This was why she no longer had friends, because of her inane ability to push them all away, whether she meant to or not.

She smiled gratefully when he continued, rolling her eyes playfully as she joined in again on their banter. "How do you keep up with all of the letters? Really, Seb, I'm surprised you've not yet drowned under the sheer amount of fan mail you get every morning. I'm also surprised as to how you've not yet cracked a single mirror with the intensity and frequency at which you stare at yourself. Although," she added mock-thoughtfully, teasing him, "I must say, you really do have a rather fine face. Just the face, of course." She grinned and waved a hand nonchalantly. "Oh Seb. Are you still chasing after Rose Weasley and that's why you need to be reminded of her?"

The blonde girl was too busy keeping an eye on Matteo as he opened the sweet with some wonder as he'd never had it before, and his eyes widened with pleasure as he popped the candy into his mouth. She smiled widely at him, smoothly taking the wrapper from his fingers under the pretense of throwing it away herself. Instead, she put it in her pocket for future reference. "You have good taste in candies, Sebastian Nott," she then said, very officially, to the man standing rather still next to her. "I wonder if it'll be inherited." Would his kids have a sweet tooth like their dad's? Because they'd need weekly check-ups if they did. And bankrupt the family in buying sweets.

Matteo smiled widely at Seb, nodding at his statement of how growing boys needed sweets. Brianna laughed at that. "He's met you for all of two minutes, Seb, and you've managed to corrupt him already!" She tutted amusedly, before laughing again. She didn't notice Seb's gradual decline into insanity. "Oh, I'll never hear the end of this now. I'll never be able to pry him away from you and your dastardly teachings. One day, he might even start carrying around his own bag of sweets - if he starts dressing like you, I know where you live!"

[Sebastian Nott]

"Hey, I'm a miracle. Life's tough, but I manage to get through it. All of the fan mail's a burden, but I can't disappoint my admirers," he informed her, picking an imaginary piece of lint off of his shirt and scattering it into the wind. Well, non-existent wind, rather - the summer they were having was surprisingly hot, so hot that he was often forced to eat large amounts of ice-cream and spend the vast majority of his days in the pool. Not that he wouldn't have done that anyways, but with this heat it was practically mandatory. "And what about my fine body?" He demanded indignantly, before remembering the fact that a child was present and screwing up his face in slight embarrassment. Once he had pulled himself together, he adopted a heart-broken expression, bottom lip pushing outwards. "She ran away with a musician. She's living with Albus. Life hurts." He traced a finger down his cheek to indicate a tear, widening his eyes.

Of course Seb had good taste in sweets. He'd have been terribly disappointed in himself if he hadn't. In fairness, though, he'd eat practically anything. He practically hovered up his dinners unless very important company was present, and then went on a hunt for more. He was opening his mouth to agree vehemently with her when she spoke her next words, and he very nearly jumped a foot in the air. Leaning away from her, he surveyed her with an expression of sheer horror. What was she saying? This had to be a joke. Eyebrows drawing together, he cast a suspicious frown around him, on the look-out for a friend (or enemy, or family member) lurking in a corner somewhere trying to keep a straight face.

"I...suppose we won't know until...I have a kid..." he said awkwardly.

Seb decided that he had better keep his composure, even if it was some sort of creepy, screwed-up practical joke. So, even though there was a hunted look in his eyes, he straightened himself up and arranged his face into a relaxed, cheerful expression - although his gaze continued to dart from one side to the other, as though anticipating someone to appear out of nowhere and take a flying leap at him. "Corruption is among my many talents..." he nodded righteously, but when she carried on, he froze. This all sounded very ominous. He choked out a laugh. "Hey, we Notts are resourceful. You'll never find me..." She'd never find him, because he was going to move very, very far away.

[Brianna McLaggen]

Brianna laughed joyously, day brightening and thanking Merlin that she'd stumbled past Sebastian Nott of all people. "Yes, yes, you are a miracle," she agreed, only slightly to appease her friend and more because he really could be a miracle, just not in the way he was thinking. "Merlin, but how do you keep up with your fan mail every day and still have time to eat so much? Really, Seb, you must be doing something extraordinary with those letters because your body is just as fine as your face, admittedly. Why you don't get an ounce of fat while eating as much as you do, I'll never understand." Brianna's laugh was a little more uncomfortable this time around, remembering Matteo and how this conversation really wasn't suitable for small ears. Thankfully, he seemed to be concentrating on the candy - what had Seb given him? - and wasn't paying much attention to their conversation. Turning back to Seb, her eyes widened comically, before extending a finger and poking gently at Seb's bicep. "Although... is that arm fat? Merlin, Seb! Not arm flap! Do you ever work out?"

It was sobering to hear that Rose Weasley, a girl in her own year, was now happy with someone she loved and who probably loved her back. They probably lived together in a nice house, had friends over for tea every weekend or something. At least Rose Weasley was happy - Brianna's own flatmate, however, was a grump and a grouch and was decidedly not happy about being single. And they couldn't exactly say that they were pleased about their living arrangements; they just dealt with it and moved on. Brianna grimaced slightly at her choice of bringing Rose Weasley into the conversation, and was about to change the topic and tease Seb about if he still lived at home, when he visibly started, giving her a look of utter horror. "Of course your contribution to your child's sweet tooth won't appear for years," she replied slowly, watching with growing concern as her conversation partner oddly looked around him as though searching for someone or something, "if it'll show at all - really, Seb, are you alright?"

The blonde girl was taken aback when Seb arranged a mask of cheeriness on his face, and Brianna became suspicious as to what exactly was going on through Seb's mind right at that moment. His eyes were a dead giveaway, not focusing on her while she was talking; he seemed intent on finding this someone or something and seemed restless. What was wrong with him? "Of course it is," she agreed, although this time she wasn't exactly sure what she was agreeing to, something about corruption probably. Her mind was working on what exactly was going on with Sebastian Nott, while keeping up the facade that he seemed to need. She teased him half-heartedly: "This little boy here has a sniffer for sweets. He'll hunt you down, and he'll find you easy."