#sebastian and ominis

[5sospenguinqueen]

Ominis: MC kissed you?

(Sebastian stares woefully out his window)

Ominis: And, you said thank you..?

Sebastian: Yes.

Ominis: Well, that was very polite of you.

(The Library)

MC: Thank you?!? What in Salazar does that mean?

Imelda: He’s stupid, MC. You should know this by now.

[darlingzelda]

Sebastian vs Ominis simps

People who like Sebastian: No but listen he’s innocent and he only used the Killing Curse because he was defending himself and he’s 15 people that young don’t deserve to go to Azkaban and he was clearly not in his right mind and aww look he cares that much for Anne-

People who like Ominis: Aww he looks like a lost puppy

[ninesparrowsoftroy]

To Snakes and Stone | Ominis Gaunt | 2.8k | Part I | Part II

Summary: In which Ominis is persuaded to open the Scriptorium for his closest friend and in doing so is faced with the horrors of his childhood.

Things to note prior to proceeding: this is meant to be a very short series. It is an x reader, however it is a slower romance and is more an exploration into the mind of Ominis. That being said, there is no distinction of the reader’s name, they are purely referred too as ‘the girl’ and ‘she/her’ to create an open and interpretive character in the story. Read the tags!

Water dripped from above, the melodic thrum of each droplet collapsing against the stone floor a reminder of the labyrinthine school above. There were classrooms, cabinets, tile floors and spiral staircases, students who were all but ignorant of the damp, barren halls hidden beneath their feet. Hogwarts, he knew, held many secrets in his walls but this had been one he’d hoped to never discover. It might have been easier for him if he were to let it remain a whisper amongst his family, a mystery better left unsolved no matter how much grief grasped at it. From somewhere in between the cracks of the carved out walls a draft drifted into the space, cold and unyielding in its frost kissed touch.

The farther they descended down this spiral of riddles and shifting stone the colder it became, the slow drop in temperature something that Ominis took a keen notice too. Unlike the common room of his house, this was a cold that pinched at his skin, a needle being poked in his skin in sporadic and uncontrolled speeds. Sometimes it would attack him at once, prickling the exposed skin of his neck causing him to flinch away from it. Other times it crawled over him at an unnoticeable pace, the volume of an orchestra growing in strength and in power until it drowns out all other sound and feeling in the room.

‘Over here,’ Sebastian’s voice strung itself in the air, drowned with the same curious excitement that led him to places Ominis preferred to keep distant from. The freckled boy wasn’t far but he surely wasn’t any closer than he had been prior, ‘I think I’ve found something.’

The cacophony of footsteps that followed Sebastians voice carried itself in the cold air, bouncing off the narrow walls and the distributing the small puddles that had formed in dents in the floor. The familiar pull of his wand enveloped his arm, faint yet forceful enough to direct and bring him to place a few steps away from where Sebastian stood. The trail of footsteps moved past Ominis, continuing on till the sound of them stopped on the other side of the boy. Though there was little change in the physical world around him, there was a discomforting heaviness to the new area, a pressure resting itself on his chest and weighing like lead over his sternum. It felt suffocating, tighter even. Ominis brought his hand to his side, the pulse of the pine-wood wand growing softer as it lay idle against within his hold.

Unlike the walls enclosing them into the chamber, this one resembled an arched stained-glass window, like the ones in the Great Hall only carved into the physical stone. There was no figurehead in the center nor portrait of a dark witch or wizard to free them, only a coiled snake sitting in on itself, watching with a lifeless scrutiny.

‘What is it?’

‘A wall.’

‘Very helpful, Sebastian.’

‘No, he’s serious,’ Her voice came in a sudden wave. It shared the curiosity that consumed Sebastian’s but within the limits of reason which he quite liked. Yet it was far more volatile than his or Sebastian’s: wind that would swell in anger and destroy even the soundest of structures, yet capable of embracing and breathing life even into the lifeless. Her voice grew clearer as he assumed she turned her gaze to him, ‘there are markings all over it. Ancient runes I think but I can’t be sure, and there’s also-.’

‘A snake.’ Sebastian interjected, kneeling down to run his palm against the stone-scales.

‘Yes, there’s also a snake.’

The brunet gave little regard to her glare, ’Do you suppose it’s another door?’

‘It’s possible.’

‘Ominis do you hear anything?’

All attention was then turned to the blond, an expectant and anticipatory weight coming over him at the question. His lips thinned out, a distasteful dryness filling his mouth. Harmless though the question was, there was no denying nor avoiding the bitter pit it stirred in his stomach. He could feel them watching him, waiting for him to become the bridge that was so sorely necessary to continue on their path. He hated it, truly, he did.

‘No. I don’t hear anything, why would I?’

‘It’s a snake statue.’

‘So?’

The response seemed enough to abandon Sebastian’s attention, the freckled boy turning back to the stone carvings with a reverberating hum. Thoughtful, albeit challenged.

‘Could a charm unlock it?’

‘Depends on the charm.’

‘An unlocking one?’

‘You need a lock to use an unlocking charm Sebastian.’

‘A revealing one then.’

‘I doubt Salazar Slytherin would have made it that easy.’ Ominis pointed, a frown painted over his features.

A breath of silence fell over them. No ideas spared, and any attempt at proposing another solution being dissolved before it even had a chance to be uttered. Any idea was quickly thrown and deemed too easy or too juvenile. Blasting the wall with an impact spell? A brute display of force that very well might bring down the ceiling with the wall. Attempting an opening or unlocking charm? There was little guarantee the wall truly was a door, and if so there were no latches or locks to cast upon.

‘Perhaps we’ve missed something.’ The heel of her boot dug mistakenly into the puddle beneath her, the reflection of dripping stone disrupted and distorted by her unknowing assault. Her once confident steps found a quick, desperate succession of lost balance. The body betraying its equilibrium while gravity grasped desperately at it, beckoning its violent descent to the floor. Her palm skittered over the wall, flesh opening against broken stone.

The hiss that followed her was not her own; not to Ominis. What had been a hiss of pain fleeing from her lips had morphed into one of a crueler pitch. It shook in the air, vibrating until it no longer resembled her voice but something deafening, serpentine, consuming him from every corner of the room. He could feel it moving beneath his fingers, thrumming deep within his ears, syllables woven together in a whistled breath.

‘Dirty.’ The sound drummed from somewhere within his bones, burrowing into the cartilage as it were part of him. ‘Filthy.’ The word was serrated in the air, sharper than any curse that could be uttered. ‘Tainted.’ Each syllable biting into him, piercing and blanketing all at once, a vicious embrace.

‘Bloody hell, are you all right?’

Everything grew quiet, Sebastian’s voice crushingly sharp in the absence of noise. Somewhere in front of Ominis another droplet of water fell from a crack between the ceiling, colliding against the toe of his shoe.

‘I’m fine, I just lost my balance.’

‘And cut open your hand.’

‘It’s not anything serious.’

A scoff left Sebastian, ‘Your definition of serious is far different than mine if that’s the case.’

‘Really it’s nothing—‘

‘It’s blood.’

Both eyed turned to him. Sebastian spoke first.

‘Yes Ominis, oddly enough that’s what’s underneath your skin when you get cut.’

‘No, you idiot; blood is the answer to the wall.’

‘What?’

‘How do you know?’

‘I heard it.’

‘So you did hear something! Honestly I’m hurt you’d lie to me Ominis.’

‘I was not. I only heard something when she cut her hand.’

The remark on Sebastian’s lip was quickly cut before he could even sound out the first syllable.

‘What did it say?’

The conviction in her voice stopped him.

The words, though cruel, were not his own, so why was it so difficult to repeat them? It was well known that Salazar was a blood purist, the answer very well should have been obvious the moment they came before the wall. Yet it felt discomforting, standing there, knowing the objective answer to their question but being unwilling and unable to translate it. How could he do it without feeling as if it were his thoughts and his words? He was, after all, a boy with centuries of cruelty and prejudice threaded into the marrow of his bones, opinions that had been passed from generation to generation that became the spoken truth the moment he learned to speak. Of the three of them standing in that cold, damp chamber it would be him who would come to these sort of answers and it stirred something rancid in his stomach.

‘Ominis?’

He failed to realize just how long he had been silent. In his hand his wand gave a small pulse, its faint pressure reminding him of the girl sitting in front of him.

‘If I’m right,’ He began, trepidation lining his words, ‘the wall is only accessed through blood.’

‘Should be simple enough, she’s already bleeding so we can just—‘

‘No. It doesn’t work like that.’

It came out harsher than he had intended, instinct and habit possessing his tongue as the remark spilled past any barrier of hesitancy. They were all incisive enough to know what he was saying, the truth lingering in the space between the words. He hadn’t any need to physically see them to know the slow fall of ignorance from their faces. How any form of Sebastians reckless curiosity or her own intrigue vanished beneath the stoicism of cold realization. Ominis sighed.

‘It has to be someone with pure blood.’

‘Someone like you.’

He attempted to shield the wince that overcame him at the sudden force of her voice, the way it wrapped around him and struck like a knife between his shoulder blades. Someone like him, who came from a line of “purified and noble” wizards, whose every breath came from an intricate tapestry of breeding.

‘Someone like me.’ He repeated back to her, something in his voice far more distant than it had been before.

Sebastian stood, his hand finding purchase on Ominis’ tense one, the touch startling yet not wholly unfamiliar. It was the one that Sebastian had often used when attempting to persuade the blond into some unruly excursion or to lighten the circumstance when he received a rather harrowing and cryptic letter from his parents. The hold firm, grounding, telling Ominis that there was someone there beyond the dark, yet light enough to be recoiled back at a moment’s notice. He could hear the glint of a dangerous smile in Sebastian’s voice.

‘Shouldn’t be too bad Ominis. At least now you can finally prove you’re one of a kind.’

Despite it all, he rolled his eyes, secretly grateful for the normalcy of the joke.

‘I’m already one of a kind.’

‘I’d save that attitude for the wall, let it speak for you.’

There was no faltering the slight etch of a curve on his lip at the conversation, a fleeting blanket of escape falling over him before being ripped away. Sebastian’s hand slipped off his shoulder, the faint clicks of feet ebbing their way back giving him enough of an incentive to know it was entirely left to him. Like the flicker of heat licking at the bare skin of an arm or leg from a flame, Ominis had the short instinct to refuse, to step back and turn on his heel, demanding they leave and never turn back. He’d shut the scriptorium door and return to his dormitory as if nothing had happened and the floors and walls of Hogwarts were just as they were before: familiar and well-known.

But then he thought of his Aunt. The warm memory of who she had been in his idolized and child-like mind. The soft melody of her voice as she described to him the color of the tree in the manor garden, the twisted branches of a nearby shrub, the way his own hair resembled the cold-light of the moon as it hung itself in the dark sky, shining despite all its darkness. How she had been the first person to find him, curled on the tile floor of the manor corridor, his skin still prickling with an invisible agony he couldn’t scratch away. The brush of her fingertips over his wrist as she pried his hands away from his body, palms and fingertips shaded a violent crimson from where he’d held his hands before him as the curse crackled and hurtled itself to him.

What it had felt like when she no longer appeared in the garden, how silent and colorless the world had become as the elm tree lost its leaves and the shrubs withered. Loneliness, he discovered in the cold halls of his home, was the one color she had failed to teach him.

Ominis brought the tip of his wand to his left palm, holding it just barely below his knuckle.

‘Diffindo.’ He whispered, the pine-wood of his wand cracking as the pressure morphed into something sharper. The pain grew more refined as he slid it against his hand, the feel of skin tearing from skin, peeling away layer after layer until the warmth of his blood began to seep from the cut and into the creases of his palm. His fingers curled inward, an inherent motion to staunch the bleeding even though it had been his own hand that had caused it. When the line had been drawn from one end of his hand to the other his wand withdrew its force, the sting morphing into something weightless and familiar.

His features settled into a dark resignation, the wall offering nothing but a frigid greeting to his approach. From somewhere deep within the stone a guttural sound pulled itself towards his hand, the press of his touch sparking a wave of noise that drummed in his ear. There came a hiss, coiling and spreading through air around him until he could feel it thrumming beneath his hand and feet. Then, as blood dripped and stained the stone of the wall, the chiseled scales under his fingers began to move. A sickening groan moved through the room as the once lifeless and graven snake crackled to life, stone scratching against stone with each coil of its body.

His hand long since retreated to his side by the time he stepped back, the room opening as the snake stretched its carved body. The floor trembled beneath them all, the arch of the wall splintering, concaving onto itself as it drew back, revealing the short, lightless corridor that lay behind it. The stone settled, a haunting quiet falling over the trio, the only sound remaining being the sporadic fall of blood dripping from Ominis’ hand.

‘I suppose the flair for dramatics is hereditary.’ Sebastian mused, warranting only a disgruntled groan from the blond and an even poorer effort of shielding her laugh behind a sound of disapproval from the girl.

‘Christ, Sebastian, don’t you have any semblance of etiquette in that thick head of yours?’

‘What? It’s not like I’m wrong.’

‘I make no comment.’ Ominis mumbled in turn, although his words always came off more enunciated even in a mumble.

He could hear Sebastian take a step forward, but before he could bring himself to follow suit he felt a tug at his sleeve. Something gentle but firm, his brows scrunching together as instinct brought him to turn towards what had grabbed at him. In a moment of muffled panic he had imagined it to be the snake statue, reaching out from its carved out frame and lurching towards him. But then he felt the warmth of skin pressing against his wrist, pulling his hand up from his side and out to the empty space in front of him.

There was a faint shifting of fabric, then the cold touch of wood against the damp center of his bloodied palm. He heard her voice, brought to a whisper with the movement of her wand. Where the cut had torn through his flesh, opening up the hot blood beneath it, there was now nothing but a numbing warmth, like when heat dances towards the skin of those sat before a fireplace. She let go of his hand.

‘There,’ Again he could hear the smile in her voice, the slight curve of the syllables, ‘Now we’ll have matching scars.’

‘It wasn’t deep enough to scar.’

Not that he would care if it had, it wouldn’t make much difference to him other than the feeling of it.

‘That’s not the point.’ The sound of fabric rustling came again as she tucked her wand into her pocket.

And before he had the chance to ask what her point truly was, she was gone, walking in a steady beat down the corridor where Sebastian’s voice grew starker with each step he took. Ominis ran a thumb over the healed skin, perfectly an incandescently smooth just as it had been. He took a breath, dropping both hands.

He dug into his pocket, pulling out the familiar shape of his wand, allowing its pull to wrap around his wrist and bring him forward, towards the shadowed hall. Ahead of him Sebastian and the girl moved in quick succession, their steps all at war with each other: Sebastian’s confident ones, the girls firm ones, and Ominis’ own.

I have given no permission for my writing to be uploaded anywhere beyond where I upload it, please do not copy or plagiarize this work. <3

[all-timelee]

To be loved || O.G.

//clearly I’m going through a bit of a phase here 😅\\

Word count: 1.8k

Warnings: use of female pronouns

Masterlist

Being born blind certainly came with it’s challenges. It was something that made life difficult, for sure, but it also had it’s set of advantages.

Ominis had grown more than used to the dark world he navigated through daily, his other senses had seemed to adapt as well, almost overcompensating for the one he lacked. He considered himself to be a very perceptive person, especially due to the fact he lacked eyesight.

He’d been the first person to pick up on your change in attitude. His ears recognized your sudden dreary tone, he could almost feel your deamnor shift into one of resignation and weariness. It was so different from the Y/N he was used to, he wondered how no one else had noticed.

It bothered him, the way things had changed between you two, and while you tried to act like nothing was wrong, he knew better. You weren’t being rude when you turned him away, you were simply exhausted. He could tell you needed time to yourself – he had his own ways of knowing. You didn’t want to bother anyone if you could help it.

But it had been months of this and Ominis’ concern was growing by the day. The way you had become so distant with everyone, even the people who meant the most to you, was worrisome. And it just wasn’t you.

He’d spent countless days trying to approach you to talk, but the last thing he wanted was to make matters worse, so each time he found the courage to do so only to find the conversation falling flat at his hands.

When he finally managed to ask what was bothering you so much, you brushed him off, doing your best to assure him everything was normal. But Ominis saw straight through it all, despite how good at lying you thought you were.

But he dropped it. If you weren’t ready to talk, he wasn’t going to force you. At least, not yet.

—————————

“Have you noticed anything strange about Y/N lately?” Sebastian asked, pulling Ominis’ attention away from the parchment sprawled out in front of him.

“I can’t believe you’ve only just noticed,” the blonde remarked, turning his gaze towards the other boy with a sigh. “Of course I have.”

Sebastian frowned, tilting his head questioningly. “What do you mean? When did you notice?”

“I don’t know… maybe a couple months ago? I’ve tired to ask her about it, but she told me she was fine. Obviously, I don’t believe that for a second, but I can’t force her to tell me.” Ominis scratched absentmindedly at his arm, trying hard to keep his frustration to himself.

“I’m worried, Ominis. Poppy told me Y/N’s been having nightmares. They’ve gotten bad enough that she woke up screaming in the middle of the night.” That caught Ominis’ attention quickly, the blonde sitting up straighter in his seat.

“Y/N wouldn’t tell Poppy what they were about, but she seemed pretty concerned.”

Ominis could feel the frustration growing in his body. He was well aware it wasn’t fair to be upset with the girl, she was clearly dealing with something, but he just wish she’d confide in him. He hated that Y/N continued to suffer in silence when she was surrounded by friends who only wanted to help.

Ominis abruptly stood, leaving his things spread out on the common room table, making large steps towards the exit.

“Where are you going?” Sebastian called after him, looking bewildered.

“I’m going to find Y/N.”

He left without another word, walking briskly towards the Astronomy tower. He remembered Y/N telling him she liked to star gaze when she couldn’t sleep, maybe that was where he’d find her.

The walk there only took a few minutes at his quick pace, but he couldn’t help the unease that had crept into his body. As he approached the tower, he felt his heart rate begin to pick up its pace.

His thoughts were racing when he finally reached the top of the steps, taking them two at a time in search for her.

“Ominis?” Her voice was soft but surprised, and he stopped dead at the sound of it. “What are you doing up here?”

He approached you cautiously, unsure of what to say next, “I was looking for you.” He heard the small sigh that fell from your lips, the rustle of your clothes as you stood.

“Whatever it is, it’s probably best we wait until tomorrow. It’s late, Ominis. You should get some rest,” you spoke softly, causing the boy to frown. He should’ve expected you to dismiss his concern yet again.

“No,” he spoke firmly, completely aware that his body was blocking your way through. This had gone on too long, he would not let this continue.

“No?”

“No, Y/N. I can’t watch you suffer anymore and I won’t let you push the help I’m offering you to the side yet again.” He spoke with such conviction that it was almost a little intimidating, especially coming from someone as kind as Ominis usually was.

You weren’t going to crack that easily though. You gently placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to push him back enough you could squeeze through. “I’m serious, Ominis. I’ll be fine, just go back to the common room.”

His hand quickly wrapped around your wrist, keeping you exactly where you were. “If you can’t trust me to help you in your time of need then why should I trust you when you say you’re fine?”

Ominis hadn’t meant to sound so angry, but he could help the hurt slowly growing in the pit of his stomach. He considered Y/N one of his closest friends, (he sometimes thought of her as more than that), she was one of the few people he undoubtedly trusted. Did she not share that sentiment with him?

“Let go of me,” you said quietly. There was a slight tremor to your voice, betraying your emotions. He used his taller frame to walk you back to the railing behind you, his arms moving to trap you against the metal. Your eyes widened, unable to fight him off.

“Please, Y/N….just tell me what’s wrong,” his tone was softer than it had been before, his words full of desperation and genuine care. You could see the worry on his features and you could feel the walls you’d put up slowly cracking.

It was silent for a few moments, you debating on whether or not to confide in him, and Ominis desperately wanting to know what was plaguing you. The tension in the air was heavy and thick, it was getting harder and harder to breathe under the pressure.

Eventually, you sighed, giving in.

“No one asked how I was doing during our fifth-year. They put a wand in my hand and suddenly it was my duty to save Hogwarts. They gave me a role to play, a responsibility to uphold.” You paused, furiously trying to blink back the wetness steadily growing in your eyes. Ominis stayed quiet, allowing you to finish before giving his input.

“No one cared that I was a child dealing with the weight of the world. No one noticed or cared about how I was feeling, no one noticed how much it was hurting me. And every single person that should’ve known didn’t care.”

Ominis slowly moved his body back, a sense of shame washing over him. He hadn’t realized how much it all had taken out of you, and now he was forcing you to relive it for some selfish need of his.

“You all just looked at me and saw my magic, not the teenager who needed help.”

The sadness in your voice nearly broke Ominis’ heart, he nearly collapsed when the first sob reached his ears.

Without hesitation, he pulled you into his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around you, holding onto you with both arms as if his life depended on it. His face pressed against the crown of your head, letting you cry onto his shoulder while he held you close.

For a moment, you forgot all about the tears that were streaming down your cheeks. All your pain melted away the longer you buried yourself against him, feeling his heartbeat calm down your own heartache. His warmth radiated from him, warming you up in a way nothing else could.

After a few minutes, you calmed down entirely, feeling more relaxed than you had in weeks. You pulled back slightly from the embrace, looking directly at the blonde, wiping the tears from your eyes.

“I’m sorry you went through everything by yourself. If I’d known, I would’ve done more to support you,” he whispered, cupping your cheek in his palm. “And I’m sorry I didn’t notice how much pain you’ve been carrying until now.” His thumb caressed the corner of your eye, wiping the remnants of stray tears.

“I didn’t tell you all of that for an apology, I’m not angry, Ominis,” you assured, leaning into his touch. “It wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you.”

“It still hurts to think I failed to notice all your struggles.”

“You and Sebastian were dealing with struggles of your own, it’s okay.”

“Struggles that you helped carry. You went out of your way to help so many people, the least we could’ve done was notice how much you were cracking under the pressure.”

Without much thought, you placed your hand on top of his, pulling your lips up into a small smile. “Don’t do that to yourself, Ominis. Stop blaming yourself. You’ve always been a source of light for me, I promise.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise, “Really?”

“Really. I’m grateful to have met you.” Your words made Ominis blush deeply, making your heart skip a beat. His own smile grew wider once he recovered and he brushed the tip of his finger across the edge of your mouth lightly. A shiver ran down your spine, your heart pounding in your chest.

“I wish to always be that light for you, Y/N. If you’ll have me.” His expression seemed pleading, begging for your answer.

As if on instinct, you leaned in to press a quick kiss to his soft bottom lip. A soft gasp escaped you as soon as he responded by placing his fingers on either side of your face, deepening the kiss.

His lips were warm against yours, his tongue slipping between them and exploring every inch of your mouth. You couldn’t contain the sigh that left your lips, relaxing into him as he continued the kiss.

This was what you wanted, you told yourself. To be loved like this. To be desired. And you found it, in the arms of another human being, you found happiness.

[l-littlebird-l]

l-littlebird-l’s Masterlist 🪶

— Requests are Closed —

My dear little birds,

A big thanks to all those who take time out of their day to read my stories. I have a lot of fun making them and seeing sweeties like you enjoy what I write fills my heart with the deepest gratitude. May our paths intertwine.

| Fluff • 🍰 | Smut • 🍒 |

Ominis Gaunt

• The Blind Dance • 🍰 🍒

A mysterious letter from Sebastian leads you to The Undercroft at night. However, upon arrival, it’s not Sebastian you find, but Ominis. To your surprise, you find yourself caught in an escalated dance that trembles you to your core. As the night descends into a heated mess, you finally experience a long yearning you’ve always desired.

• Jealousy Is a Terrible Thing • 🍒

Ominis’ jealousy flares up when Sebastian returns to the common room well past midnight, carrying your scent. The accumulation of lies and excuses reaches its breaking point, leading to a heated confrontation between you two.

Sebastian Sallow

• The River, The Bucket, and The Crumpet • 🍰 🍒

Amidst a remote mountain range, you lost Sebastian during a pursuit of poachers, finding yourself cornered and injured. After falling unconscious, you discovered yourself safely ensconced within a tent. Days pass as Sebastian tends to your wounds, his tender and loving side reemerging after a prolonged absence. Stranded together in the wilderness, the isolation fostered an intimate connection, making it increasingly difficult for your growing feelings to be held at bay any longer.

The Slithering Trio

• A Dirty Birthday • 🍒

Sebastian talks Ominis into sneaking in your dormitory at the break of dawn on your birthday. After waking you from little to no sleep, Sebastian proposed a game. The game was simple: You will be blindfolded, testing the limits of your friendship. Guess which one of them is which. If you guess right, the two of them will buy out everything The Three Broomsticks has to offer. If you guess wrong, they get the privilege to do whatever they please with you.

[blueberrydinosaur]

I know a lot have people have already noticed that there are two beds inside the sallow house in feldcroft. Buttttttt there is (very close to/underneath of the tower Sebastian waited for the player when he asked the player to come see Anne) a locked hut. It has a pillow and blanket on the floor, tons of books and scrolls with two baby cauldrons. In my mind it was easy to imagine Sebastian getting kicked out of the house because of his drive to look for a cure, so then he’s forced into a tiny space to sleep and research possible cures (also on par for Sebastian to not care about a comfortable place to sleep as much as a workspace/research station). As well as this hut needing to be unlocked with alohomora 1, so no one interrupts his research and the probability of a few items tied to darker magic than the average healer would get into.

[dumpstermermaid]

Misc. Sebastian and Ominis Headcanons

When Sebastian is really annoyed by Ominis being grumpy overly cautious, he stands behind him and 'air fights' him: pantomimes beating him up, throwing fake punches and kicks and stuff. Ominis knows Sebastian is doing something dumb, he just doesn't know what it is.

Sebastian realized in second year that Ominis really likes to be read to, but that he's too proud to admit it. So Sebastian pretends to 'bother' Ominis by reading aloud passages of whatever book he's currently reading, and Ominis pretends he doesn't love listening to it.

When Ominis is annoyed with someone, he will have Sebastian tell him something about that person's appearance that day (like their scarf, hairstyle, etc.) wayyy in advance so he can freak them out by saying something only a sighted person would know.

Ominis was the one who taught Sebastian how to tie a tie.

Sebastian researched until he found a spell that would transfigure printed words into Braille, and he was the one who taught Ominis that charm.

From second year until fourth year, they'd share clothes with each other for the sake of convenience (it was usually Sebastian borrowing Ominis' clothes). Starting fifth year, their builds were too different to share clothes anymore.

Sebastian had Ominis help him pick out his cologne, because Ominis has a good sense of smell (and good taste).

[cranetreegang]

A Niffler, A Blind Boy, and A Clever Witch - Ominis x FemReader

AN: I tried out ChatGPT and inserted sections of this fic into it for feedback and it gave the idea of the secret compartment and the note left by Henrietta. Link Here if you wanna check it out :)

Summary: Ominis is dragged into a treasure hunt and rescue mission. While he enjoys feeling her excitement, he wonders if the guilt she feels about Sebastian is coming to a head.

Music to Enjoy - Playful 🎵 Little's Theme 🎵 Uma

Word Count: ~3,500 words

Read my other Ominis Fics Here

------------------------

Ominis is waiting for her exactly where she thought he would be. He’s on the floor, leaning against the wall, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower with the sun bathing him in a warm glow. The smile he gives her is far warmer though as he angles his head towards her.

“What trouble are you wanting to get into now?” He questions with a stern tone, but the smile tugging on his lips gives him away.

She plops down next to him with a wide grin, “I’m not getting into any sort of trouble.” 

He turns his head towards her with a raised brow.

“It’ll be the both of us getting into trouble. So the more apt question is: What trouble are we about to get into?” 

He chuckles with a slight shake of his head, “I should’ve known the mischievous feeling you’ve had all morning would involve me somehow.” 

She kisses his cheek, making him turn a bright pink, “Don’t pretend you aren’t just dying to know.”

He bites his bottom lip as he turns his head high and away from her, “Whatever do you mean? I am more than content to just lounge here.” 

“Oh? Is that so?” She lets out a dramatic sigh as she stands. “If that’s the case, then I would hate to pull you away from your sunbathing. Especially to some old, dusty ruins of a long forgotten treasure where a Niffler is in desperate need of our help.” 

Omins’ dark brows rise and his eyes widen, “Treasure? A Niffler? What in Merlin’s name have you gotten yourself into?” 

“It’s good to see I can still surprise you.” She beams - making him blush at how excited she is.

He sighs, “I’m going to regret this, but… what do you need help with?” 

She grabs his hand and tugs him to his feet then begins to lead him towards the Room of Requirement, “Well, I was hoping we could rescue this Niffler, named Rococo, together! It’ll be so much fun.” 

“And the treasure?” Ominis can’t contain his eager smile as she radiates pure enthusiasm. He hasn’t felt it in some time. Not since the catacombs. He’s quick to bury the thought before it arises. 

“It’s located at Henrietta’s Hideaway. Henrietta was a paranoid recluse and she filled her castle with all kinds of traps to protect her valuables. Which is where Rococo has taken a shine to. Which also means, there’s treasure ripe for the taking!” She giggles - opening the door to the Room of Requirement and letting Ominis walk in first. 

He laughs to himself as he heads inside, “So, let me make sure I’m understanding what we’re about to do.” 

She bustles about the room, shoving various potions and plants into her pack, as he continues,

“You want us to go into a recluse’s old castle - filled with all manners of traps - to rescue a pet Niffler and possibly find said recluse’s dusty valuables, that may not even be actual treasure or even still be there. Am I missing anything?” 

She hums then nods, “Yes. There’s also Ashwinders that have taken residence there and we’ll probably have to fight them as well.” 

Ominis grimaces - draping his school robe over a plush chair, “Ashwinders? Love, this isn’t sounding as simple as you’re making it out to be.” 

She sets down her pack on a table - covered in papers, quills, and books - and she wraps her arms around his neck. He holds her around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest, and he hates how easily he’s crumbling before she even has to speak.

“It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. And we’re risking our necks for a silly Niffler and whatever dusty knick knacks a recluse would think is worth protecting.” She brushes her nose against the tip of his then she presses her forehead to his. “But, it’ll be fun. And I wouldn’t want to go without you.” 

His features soften into a smile, “When do we leave?”

Her excitement floods him like a tidal wave and it takes everything in him not to be swept up in it. 

“As soon as I gather the rest of our supplies!” She kisses him. “Oh, this’ll be so much fun!” 

She parts from him and she’s a whirlwind around the room as he listens to her shove more things into her bag. He hears her mumbles of a checklist: Wiggenweld, Thunderbrew, Cabbages, and various other potions while he slips on a proper outing robe. He swells at how diligent she’s being when she pauses.

“Why are you surprised that I’m actually prepared?” She teases. “I don’t always run head first into danger, you know?” 

He flushes at being caught, “I know. I just enjoy bearing witness to your preparations. I find it adorable.” 

She saunters over to him with a smirk as she hands him his bag filled with potions and plants, “I am most certainly not adorable.” 

He tucks the bag into his robes then pulls her into him with a wide grin. He cups her cheek, noting how hot they are, then he whispers just above her lips, “You most certainly are.” 

He kisses her, flooding her with a tidal wave of his own emotion - which warms her from her head to her toes and sends shivers down her spine. She melts into him, running her hands up his chest to nestle under his jaw and on his neck. The bond between them flares to life and ignites their bones with a thrumming heat - it nearly buckles her knees. 

She has to part from him, and as she does it’s with a shuddering breath as the sensation of their bond settles into a more gentle hum. 

“Perhaps, if we don’t find any treasure, I can find another way to make this venture more worthwhile.” She whispers. 

His lips turn into a loose smirk, “Oh? And what did you have in mind?”

She opens her mouth to reply, but she frowns instead. What did she have in mind? Her hazy thoughts finally settle and she realizes what a promiscuous thing she just said. Before she can flounder out apologies and excuses, he cups her cheek and places a kiss on her forehead.

“Taking me to dinner would be much appreciated.” He soothes her worries with the gentle strokings of his thumb on her cheek. 

“I suppose that’s a reasonable reward for my dashing assistant.” She whispers, thankful a thousand times over for his kindness. 

She abruptly shoves herself away from him, “I swear. I could spend all day in your arms. But, we really must be going if Rococo is to survive!” 

He chuckles as he takes her hand, “Then lead the way, my Savior of Nifflers.” 

She rolls her eyes, squeezing his hand as she does, then takes them towards the exit. She pauses just before she reaches the door and Ominis can feel a sudden sadness - a guilt - creep up on her.

“What is it?” He squeezes her hand. 

She turns to him, “Do you think we should invite Sebastian?” 

Her question is quiet and innocent, but there’s so much weight behind it - it’s nearly enough to take the air right out of his lungs. He hates the feelings swirling inside her: regret, anger, sadness, longing, resentment. There’s so much ambivalence, it's hard for him to discern what troubles her the most. He’s not sure how to ease her - if he even could.

He sucks in a sharp breath then shakes his head, “Perhaps on the next treasure hunt. For now,” he leans down and whispers in her ear as if they weren’t the only two in the room, “I just want you all to myself.”

This doesn’t fully ease the sorrow and remorse lingering in the far edges of her being, but her excitement is starting to kindle once more. 

“I would prefer that as well.” She says.

=============================

Emerging from the floo’s flames, they’re quick to mount their brooms and take flight. While Ominis is a far slower, and more careful, flier than most, he appreciates her for letting him be on his own. He follows her with his wand - using her like a guiding light. She takes them high enough to avoid almost all the potential obstacles - like trees and protruding rocks - and he’s left to enjoy the flight. 

She starts to lower and he does the same until they land behind a jutting of rocks. She’s peeking around them and he joins her. 

There’s several people walking around a ruined structure. 

“Ashwinders. At least four of them.” She informs him. 

“I assume sneaking past is out of the question.” 

She smirks, “I suppose that’s an option. If that’s how you’d like to approach this.” 

She waits for his answer as he mulls over their options. 

“We could take out a few then deal with whatever is left.” He decides with a sure set of his jaw. 

“I like the sounds of that.” She casts the disillusionment charm and stalks towards her quarry. He watches her for a moment - as she pulses and radiates in his mind’s eye - before he does the same and follows after her. Wordlessly, he takes the opposite side of her and he hears the whisper of her Petrification spell. 

He swallows his apprehension as he approaches his first mark. He presses his wand up to the witch’s neck then whispers, “Petrificus Totalus.” 

The body falls to the ground with a thud and he waves his wand around to ensure they’re still undetected. The Ashwinders walk around the ruin with nary a hitch in their steps. 

Ominis releases a breath then moves in. His heart hammers in his chest, but he can’t deny how thrilling this all is. She’s right there with him, already taking out another wizard while he gets ready to do the same. 

“Hey!” An Ashwinder exclaims. 

Ominis casts Levioso on instinct towards the shout and the wizard hovers in the air. 

“Confringo!” 

Her fiery spell slams into the levitated wizard and they’re launched into a crumbling stone wall from the force of it. 

Ominis gathers himself and deflects an attack and counters with Stupify. Before he knows it, he doesn’t sense any more wizards standing; save themselves. 

“Not bad.” He smirks in her direction. 

“Come on. This way.” She grabs his hand and leads him down a winding staircase facing the crashing ocean and into the cavernous hideout. 

As they step inside the castle, the smell of must and decay hits them, and they are greeted by a large hall filled with cobwebs and moth-eaten banners barely hanging on the stone walls. She sneezes and coughs, and Ominis hands her a handkerchief as he surveys the area.

"Seems like Henrietta didn't have many guests over," he comments dryly.

She rolls her eyes with a snort, "Certainly not a place to host dinner parties."

Something shimmers in the fire light and she goes closer towards it. A golden Galleon lays on the ground and as she picks it up, she notices another Galleon a few meters in front of her then another - all leading further into the castle.

“This way,” she says as she follows Rococo’s trail.

They walk through the entrance when Ominis pulls her to a stop by gripping her forearm. She’s about to question him, when she notices what caught his attention.

Ashwinders walk around the foyer below them. A grand statue of a Hippogriff stands at the center of the room and is illuminated by the sunlight overhead. She draws her wand and Ominis shifts into a more defensive stance as they slowly sneak their way closer. They part - taking either side of the twin staircases - and she’s the first to attack.

“Bombarda!” 

Her spell explodes two of the unexpecting Ashwinders, and sends them flying in different directions.

“Confringo!” Ominis lands his fiery spell into one of the Ashwinders and knocks them onto the floor. 

Her and Ominis take care of the others with precise spellwork, and they continue on their way.

After what seems like hours of dispatching Ashwinders and solving puzzles, they finally unlock a room with a chest sitting in the middle and a Niffler stuffing his pouch with golden Galleons. They crouch just at the entryway into the room. She pulls out her brown, leather bag and looks to Ominis.

“On three, you’ll cast Levioso. And I’ll nab him.” 

Ominis nods.

“One… two…,” she gets ready to open the bag while Ominis points his wand right at the unsuspecting Niffler. “Three.”

“Levioso!”Ominis casts with a whip-like motion at Rococo. 

The Niffler hovers in the air and looks around in confusion. She opens the bag and sucks the Niffler inside, capturing the wayward pet. She laughs and Ominis matches her triumphant grin.

“Not bad,” he grins, giving her a warm smile. 

“Not bad yourself. We make a good team.” 

She walks towards where Rococo was pillaging and Ominis is thankful she doesn’t see the blush forming on his cheeks.

She opens the chest and gasps at the sight of glittering jewels and gold coins inside.

Ominis chuckles, "Looks like Henrietta had a thing for treasure after all."

"Does that mean I’m off the hook for dinner then?" She grins.

“Not in the slightest.” 

As they pack their bags with gold, they hear a faint rattling sound coming from the chest. Ominis investigates with his nimble fingers until he presses down on an indentation. A hidden compartment in the ornate treasure chest opens on the side, revealing a small wooden box. She looks at the box and Ominis with wide eyes while he grabs it.

Inside the box is a note, written in an elegant script: 

'To the brave souls who have found my treasure, I congratulate you. Please take what you wish, but do not forget to leave something in return. Remember, karma always comes back tenfold.

- Henrietta'

She raises an eyebrow, "What should we leave?"

Ominis smirks and he rips out a page from a long abandoned tome laying next to them. She tries to see what he’s writing, but he keeps his work hidden from her prying gaze. 

“‘To those who find this’,” he begins with gusto - making her giggle, “‘know you are too late. A Niffler, a blind boy, and a clever witch have made away with the riches. Where we plan to spend it all on frivolous things. Signed, The Niffler Nabbers.’” 

She laughs, “‘Niffler Nabbers’?” 

“I thought it had a nice ring to it.” He grins, enjoying her amused laughter.

Ominis taps his wand to the note and it folds into a beautiful crane. The crane’s wings flutter then take flight, gliding around the treasure room. She admires the crane with a soft smile while he takes her hand, kissing the top of it.

“Shall we go?” 

She reaches into her bag and sets three golden Galleons in the chest then she nods, “Let’s take one last look around in the other room. Perhaps there’s another secret there.”

They venture out from the treasure room back to the grand hall. Ominis walks over to the other side, waving his wand in search of any more hidden walls or compartments, while she wanders around. She ends up at the far end of the hall and her eyes transfix upon the towering, chipped statue.

With the afternoon’s warm golden light beaming around it, the statue looks majestic and powerful - like a symbol of some ancient magic or wisdom. She’s reminded of some sort of goddess of a long forgotten era. For a moment, she forgets about everything else and just admires the beauty of the sculpture - in hopes it may bestow some of its long lost wisdom upon her. 

She hasn’t moved in some time and Ominis takes careful steps towards her so as to not scare her. The feelings she had earlier in the Room of Requirement swirl within her and Ominis frowns at the heaviness she’s burdened with. Since they both agreed to not turn in Sebastian, they haven’t discussed the matter further. Ominis lets out a heavy breath at not doing so sooner. 

She senses him behind her before his arms wrap around her waist and he presses his head onto the back of her neck. 

“Sebastian worries me, too.” He whispers. 

She gasps at him speaking the very thing she’s been trying so hard to ignore. The guilt is crushing. Like she’s sunk deep below the waves of the sea. And with a great current, it shifts into a bitter tidal wave and her hands ball into fists - her body shaking.

“I am so angry with him,” she hisses. “He used me. He used his sister against us. He used you!” 

He holds her against his chest as she lets out a bitter sob. She grabs his hands and she urges him to hold her tighter - to stop herself from being swept away. 

Her head lowers and she lets out a shuddering breath, “I failed him.” 

“No. No, you didn’t.” Ominis turns her around and holds her closer to his chest, tuckering her head into his neck.

“Sebastian knew the choices he was making,” he whispers in her ear. “He did this to himself. He hurt us. He hurt you, me, Anne… and Solomon…,” 

Her fingers dig into his robes and she shudders. 

“This is not your fault.” He states. 

“It is though.” She pulls away enough to face him and his hands shift to her upper arms. “I never should’ve helped him as much as I did. My hands are just as bloody as his. Because I… I really thought…,” she lets out a bitter laugh and it twists Ominis’ heart to hear such a horrible noise from her. “It’s so stupid to say now, but I truly thought that wretched book had the answers. And everything would be okay. And you would have both of your friends back. How stupid is that!” 

“Stop. Stop that!” He clutches both sides of her face with anguish. “If your hands are bloody, then so are mine. I allowed him into the Scriptorium. I allowed him to torture you with an Unforgivable!” His features twist into a pained expression, causing her to whimper. He closes his eyes with a heavy breath.

“None of us are innocent in this,” he whispers. “We all had parts in this tragedy. So, cease this talk of you being the only one who is at fault. I will hear no more of it.” 

She holds both of his hands with a shuddering breath. She closes her eyes and she presses her forehead to his. 

“The worst part is - I want to pretend like none of it happened.” She whispers.

He shivers, “So do I. But, we all know we can’t.” 

“I know.” 

There’s a sudden resolve within her - one that surprises him. 

He strokes her cheek with slightly raised brows, “What is it?” 

“I haven’t been a good friend to him. I thought I was, but I’ve only enabled him.” 

“What are you saying?” He wonders in an apprehensive, quiet voice. 

She sucks in a sharp breath and she says, “Sebastian needs someone - now, more than ever. And I can’t fail him again. While you’re with Anne this summer, I’ll stay with Sebastian in Hogsmeade.” 

Ominis’ brows furrow, “Sebastian is not your responsibility. You have nothing to atone for!” 

“He is. And I do,” she states. “It wasn’t just Sebastian I failed. It was you, too, Ominis.” 

Ominis is about to dispute her, but she continues,

“You are the most important person in my life, Ominis. And I know Sebastian is an important part of you. And I did nothing to stop him. So, please, let me do this. Let me fix this.” She pleads. 

Ominis stares at her with his cloudy gray eyes, desperately searching for hers. The weight of her words and the determination behind them... he knows he cannot stop her. And he hates that she’s right. Sebastian was not meant to be alone in this world.

He nods slowly, “If that’s what you wish,” he strokes her cheeks with his thumbs. “But I’ll be checking on you both. And if you need anything - anything at all - you come to me. Promise me that.”

She nods, “I promise.”

He pulls her into a tight embrace and she buries her face in his chest. For a moment, they stay like that, lost in their thoughts and emotions. Then, she pulls away, her eyes fixed on the statue in front of them. She looks back at Ominis and she smiles - stroking his cheek in reverence. 

“We should take Rococo back.” She says softly.

He nods and takes her hand, “Come on.”

They walk out of the hideaway, side by side. The sun is starting to set, casting a warm glow over the valley and the air is beginning to chill. As they walk, they both know that things will never be the same again. But they also know that they will face whatever comes together.

------------------------

AN: When I think about the summer for the trio, I envisioned Ominis taking care of Anne since she's by herself. I doubt Anne would want Sebastian around right away. Which is why MC and Seb will be chilling in Hogsmeade or at Hogwarts and they start doing stuff into curse breaking and ancient magic.

Sorry it took so long to post. I literally have been brain rotting over this 7th year fic. It actually took a lot of willpower to finish this and i'm worried it's rushed at parts so sorry.

Hoping to get the rest of the chapters posted soon, so then i can start fully into the 7th year fic!

Any feedback is welcomed and thanks for reading <3

[tabithasmashkittymoonblossom]

Did you just come from the undercroft?

If you did, did you see what I saw?

Some delicious Sebinis.

Damn its getting hot in here and nobody's using confringo.

All images were created by myself, Smash Kitty, using bing AI.

[stephentomwest]

Chapter 2: Unseen Wounds

The silence of the Gaunt family estate was suffocating. Even with the absence of Dementors, the cold here felt just as unrelenting, seeping into Ominis' bones like a poison. The tall, ancient walls of the estate loomed around him, their grandeur masking the decay beneath—both in the stone and in the bloodline it housed. This place was no home. It was a cage, as much as Azkaban had been. Perhaps more.

Ominis stood in the grand hall, his sightless eyes open but unseeing, his other senses alert to the faint echoes of footsteps that reverberated through the cold marble floors. The estate always seemed too large, too empty, the void filled only by the heavy weight of the family’s past—his past. The same past that had drawn him into the darkness he now feared.

His mother had said nothing when he’d returned. She had simply placed a cold hand on his shoulder, murmuring something about his “inevitable return” before retreating into her chambers. There had been no comfort in her words, just a reminder that he could never truly escape the Gaunt legacy. And now, after what had happened in the Forbidden Forest, he felt that legacy wrapping around him like a noose.

The memory of that night haunted him. He could still hear the crackle of dark energy, feel the earth trembling beneath his feet, sense the raw power that had surged between him and Sebastian. That power had been intoxicating—terrifying—but it was the aftermath that weighed on him the most. The creatures they had hurt, the sheer force they had unleashed, the way the forest itself seemed to recoil from the magic they had summoned. The Ministry had responded quickly, too quickly, and they had barely managed to escape.

But the worst of it wasn’t the spell. It was the look on Sebastian’s face afterward. The thrill. The hunger. Ominis could still feel it, lingering in the back of his mind like a shadow.

He shifted uncomfortably, tightening his grip on his wand, using it as a guide to navigate through the hall. Each tap of the wand against the marble floor echoed louder than the last, the rhythmic sound a stark reminder of the growing distance between him and Sebastian.

But it wasn’t just physical distance that had grown between them. It was something deeper, something Ominis had been trying to ignore for too long. He could feel Sebastian slipping away, being pulled deeper into the darkness that had always hovered around him. And Ominis… Ominis was terrified of being dragged down with him.

The door to his father’s study creaked open, and Ominis stepped inside, his heart heavy with a familiar dread. The scent of old parchment and dust greeted him, the heavy curtains blocking out whatever little light might have pierced the estate’s gloomy interior. He didn’t need to see his father to know he was there, sitting in the same stiff-backed chair, cloaked in his usual air of authority and disdain.

“Ominis.” His father’s voice was like a cold wind cutting through the room, filled with the same unyielding control that had shaped Ominis’ entire childhood. “You’ve returned at last.”

“I have,” Ominis replied quietly, his voice steady but lacking the strength he wished he could muster. He felt like a child again, standing before his father’s judgment, the weight of the family’s expectations pressing down on him.

There was a pause, and Ominis could hear the faint rustle of papers being set aside. His father’s presence felt larger than life, a towering shadow that filled the room. “And what have you brought back with you, Ominis? Trouble, I assume.”

The question lingered in the air, more accusation than inquiry. Ominis clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stand straighter, though his sightless eyes remained focused on the floor. “Nothing worth mentioning.”

“Nothing?” His father’s voice hardened, disbelief dripping from the word. “I find that difficult to believe. The Ministry was at our door this morning. Azkaban destroyed. A dangerous criminal on the loose. And you, Ominis, caught in the middle of it all. I warned you, did I not?”

“I didn’t—” Ominis began, but the words faltered, his throat tightening. He hadn’t wanted any of this. He hadn’t wanted to be dragged into Sebastian’s plans, into the darkness that seemed to follow him like a shadow. But how could he explain that? How could he justify his part in it?

His father stood, the creak of his chair echoing in the heavy silence. “You are a Gaunt,” he said coldly, stepping closer to Ominis. “Our bloodline is pure, strong. We do not consort with… dangerous influences.”

The implication was clear, and Ominis felt his chest tighten. Sebastian. His father had always hated Sebastian, had warned him time and time again to stay away from his friend. But Sebastian had been the only one who ever saw Ominis for more than just his family’s name, more than just a Gaunt. He had seen the person behind the bloodline, the one struggling to break free from the chains of tradition.

But now, even Ominis wasn’t sure who Sebastian really was anymore.

���You must end this,” his father continued, his voice low and commanding. “Cut ties with Sallow. He is dangerous, Ominis. He will destroy you.”

Ominis flinched at the finality in his father’s words. There was no room for argument, no room for doubt. His family had always seen the world in black and white, in purity and corruption. And to them, Sebastian was corruption.

“I won’t abandon him,” Ominis said, his voice softer than he had intended, but firm.

His father’s hand gripped his shoulder, tight enough to make Ominis wince. “You will do what is necessary. Your loyalty lies with your family, not with some misguided fool playing with powers he does not understand.”

Ominis swallowed, the guilt and confusion swirling in his chest. Was that what Sebastian was? A fool playing with powers he couldn’t control? Ominis wanted to believe otherwise, wanted to believe that there was still something good in Sebastian, something worth saving. But the memory of that night in the forest haunted him. The darkness had been so real, so tangible, and Sebastian had seemed… consumed by it.

“I’ve warned you once before, Ominis,” his father continued, his voice low and dangerous. “You will not bring shame to this family. Not again.”

The pressure on Ominis’ shoulder increased, and he knew the conversation was over. His father’s word was final. There was no room for debate, no room for negotiation. Ominis was expected to do what was right for the family. What had always been expected of him.

And yet, as his father released him and turned back toward his desk, Ominis stood frozen in place, his heart pounding in his chest. His family’s expectations were suffocating, pressing down on him with a force he couldn’t escape. But so was the loyalty he felt to Sebastian.

How could he choose between them? How could he sever the bond that had kept him tethered to the only person who had ever truly seen him?

As he left the study and made his way back to his chambers, the weight of his father’s words echoed in his mind. “He will destroy you.”

Ominis knew, deep down, that his father wasn’t entirely wrong. Sebastian was dangerous. His obsession with power, with breaking the rules, with pushing the limits of magic—it was all spiraling out of control. But Ominis couldn’t just turn his back on him. Not after everything they had been through. Not after the choices they had made together.

But if he didn’t… he feared his father’s warning might come true.

The estate was quiet as Ominis sat on the edge of his bed, his mind racing with the weight of it all. The Gaunt bloodline was a curse, binding him to a legacy of darkness and pride. But his friendship with Sebastian was its own kind of curse, pulling him deeper into a shadow he wasn’t sure he could escape.

And as the night stretched on, Ominis realized that no matter which path he chose, part of him would be lost forever.

[im-clapped-af]

In the shadows of the past Chapter 9

9. Birthday Boy

October 18th, 1890

Dear Anne,

Hogwarts is not the same without you. I know I’ve told you that multiple times, but it stays true every time. I hope you are feeling well. Whatever you need, please, let me know and I will head to Hogsmeade as soon as I receive your owl.

I feel as though I am becoming a true friend to Audrey. We spend most of our time together. You would love her. I plan to visit soon, just after our birthday. So, expect to see me at the end of the month. I’m going to invite Audrey to Feldcroft as well. I think you two will get along amazingly.

Before I sign off, I did not use your potions kit. I simply borrowed it.

Love,

Sebastian

Sebastian held the candle flame up to the wax and watched as it dripped onto the parchment. He sealed it with the wax seal of his family's crest that Anne had carved for him a few years prior. He stood up and placed the letter in the pocket of his robe. He contemplated taking the present he had bought Anne with him as well but decided against it. Growing up, she had always tried to peek into her presents, and Sebastian’s, every Christmas and birthday. He didn’t want her to open this present. It was his favourite one he had ever gotten her. She would just have to wait.

“Where are you heading?” Ominis asked him. He was lying on his bed, finger tracing along a sentence in a book he was reading.

“I’m going to the Owlery, I have a letter I need to send to Anne. After that I want to find Audrey, I think she’s been avoiding me after the Undercroft.”

Ominis sat up and tossed his book to the end of his bed.

“I’ll join you. I owe her an apology for how I reacted yesterday.”

The two walked along the path towards the Owlery, their scarves whipping in the wind. It had gotten a lot colder in the Autumn months, and it was approaching winter.

“Where do you think Audrey will be?” Ominis pondered.

“I believe she has Care of Magical Creatures next. I know she and Poppy walk to the lesson together.”

“You have noticed Audrey and Poppy walking to lessons together?” Shit! He didn’t need anyone else to know that he observed her a lot. First Audrey knew he was taking long looks at her, now he just revealed to Ominis that he saw Audrey and Poppy walking together to Care of Magical Creatures. Truthfully, it was just a simple pattern he had noticed in her day-to-day routine. Every time Audrey had Potions with him, she had Care of Magical Creatures next. The two girls would walk to it after Potions. The one time they didn’t have Potions before that lesson, Audrey would always wait near the Hufflepuff common room entrance, and they would walk together then. Today was that day. It was just a simple, innocent, observation.

“It’s just something I noticed; besides, Poppy asked me in the Great Hall at lunch if I had seen Audrey today. Did you not hear her?”

Ominis was going to remind him that his hearing was above average compared to everyone else but decided not to. He knew Poppy never spoke to Sebastian that day. He was aware of his best friend's blossoming crush on Audrey the day before. He wouldn’t have betrayed his trust for anyone unless he was infatuated with a girl.

They continued up the hill in silence, the only sound accompanying them was Sebastian’s heavy breathing.

“Sebastian, I truly believe you should get your breathing checked out. Tuberculosis is still strife now and I’d hate for you to be unaware if you have it.”

“Shut up. I’ve always been like this.”

“All I’m saying is –“

A scream broke the conversation between them. They both peered up to where the sound had come from. Sebastian saw her. Audrey. She was falling. Instantly, he pulled out his wand and cast it towards her falling body.

“Levioso!”

Sparks shot out from his wand towards her. Audrey felt her body slow down as if a giant hand had stopped her fall. She was mere inches from the floor when it stopped her in the air. Sebastian raced over to her.

“Audrey, are you ok? What happened? How did you fall?”

The spell let go of her when she let her feet touch the floor. She tried standing but felt her legs give away. Sebastian caught her, his hands holding her up by her armpits. Ominis had managed his way over to the pair.

“Audrey, are you ok?” He said it slower, allowing her time to respond. She breathed heavily, trying to recollect what had happened. It had happened so quickly.

“I ... I … It … the shadow it – pushed me …. I.” She stammered. She tried standing up straighter, but once again, her legs gave away. Sebastian held onto her more firmly now. He reached his arm around her waist and pulled her up straighter. She leaned her weight against him, feeling weak from the fear that was racing through her body.

Sebastian inched his face towards her, her lips brushed against the top of her head.

“Shh, everything is ok.” He said softly.

“We need to take her to Nurse Blainey,” Ominis ordered.

“No!” Audrey almost lurched at him as soon as he said that. “No. No Nurse Blainey.”

Ominis shook his head.

“Audrey, we need to take you there in case you’ve been hurt. You’re already in a state of shock; she can help you calm down.”

Audrey shook her head adamantly.

“Please, don’t take me there. I’ll be ok.” Raindrops had started falling around them. Sebastian looked down at her.

“Audrey –“

She looked up at him, tears brewing in her eyes.

“Please.” She didn’t say anything more. He understood, nodding at her. The rainfall had gotten heavier now. It trickled down their faces and the bottom of their robes were dampening from where it tickled the ground when they stood.

“Let’s head to the common room. We can deal with what happened there.” Sebastian confirmed. They started making their way towards the castle. Ominis led them hurriedly, with Sebastian and Audrey following behind. His arm was draped over her shoulder and his other arm rubbed her arm to comfort her. “When we get to the common room, we can talk about everything there. Try to remember what happened. It’ll help us for later.”

Audrey nodded softly. She didn’t want to know what he meant by his last sentence. What was he planning for later?  The three of them were becoming soaked now, the rain had gotten heavier with every step they took. Lightning cracked in the sky and thunder echoed loudly. Audrey counted the seconds between each clap of thunder. It was still some miles away. Her father had told her that every second between each sound of thunder represented how many miles it was away.

Ominis splashed ahead of them quickly. They reached the entrance of the building, and he held the door open for them as the pair followed. It wasn’t busy in the castle. The majority of students were in classes, so the halls were barren, aside from the occasional ghost wandering around. They walked in silence. Their footsteps echoed around them. It felt like years before they arrived at the Slytherin Common room. Ominis uttered the password, and they rushed inside. Sebastian guided Audrey to the chairs beside the fireplace.

“Here, warm yourself up with fire. Ominis, stay with her while I get a blanket.” Sebastian rushed off towards his and Ominis’s dorm while Ominis perched beside where Audrey sat. He could feel her shiver beside him.

“It’s ok, Sebastian will get you his blanket. It’s very warm. I remember falling into the Black Lake once and he gave me it to help me warm up.”

“It’s not the cold.”

Ominis offered her a sympathetic smile. They sat in silence listening to the crackle of the firewood. Sebastian hurried over to them, his blanket in his arms. He stood in front of her and wrapped her in it. It engulfed her and she laughed softly at how ridiculous she must look. They all looked a little ridiculous admittedly. Their hair was plastered to their faces. Sebastian’s face was tinged red and he was breathing quite heavily. Ominis look so dishevelled, something she had never seen before. Normally, he was dressed exquisitely, now he looked like a wet dog.

“Ok, so we need you to tell us everything that happened at the Owlery. How did you fall? Was it a person?”

“Sebastian!” Ominis warned him. He was getting ahead of himself. Asking too many questions before Audrey could calm herself properly.

“It's ok, it's fine.” She took a deep breath. “Something … p-pushed me.” Sebastian and Ominis listened to her carefully. The two boys already knew that once they knew who it was they would be tracking them down and having a friendly chat with the person.

“it was –“Tears started streaming down her face. “I – it was … I don’t know.” She started crying. Two months of intense learning, unfamiliarity, and stress weighed down on her, and it was finally taking its toll.  

Ominis reached over to her and wrapped her in a hug tentatively. He rubbed her back as she cried quietly, her face hidden in his shoulder. Sebastian knelt in front of her now and rubbed circles against her back. She didn’t care that two boys were touching her. To hell with what people would say about this. She needed this. She needed them.

“I think it’s best you calm down for a bit. Take a breather. I like to take a bath when I’m not feeling great. How does that sound?” Ominis offered his solution. There had been many times when he had taken himself away to submerge himself in the comforting warmth of a bath. Sebastian would accompany him, sitting on the stool that was placed in the corner. They didn’t care that they saw each other naked. The naked feeling of expressing their true emotions was far more intimidating than flashing each other their bare skin.

“I can’t,” Audrey responded meekly.

“Why not?”

Her face flushed a soft shade of pink.

“It’s … I don’t want to be alone.” Sebastian flushed a soft shade of pink now. He couldn’t believe what he was about to offer.

“How about … if Ominis and I sit with you while you bathe.” He saw Ominis’s face snap up scowling.

“We can sit on the floor and face the wall. I will close my eyes as well if you want me to. It’s just so you don’t feel alone.” Audrey nodded. “Ok, um, we can use the boys’ bathrooms. Ominis and I can’t enter the girl’s bathroom remember.” It was confusing as to why the girl’s dormitory and bathrooms were enchanted for the boys to not enter but the girls were able to enter their dorms and bathrooms. They were all aware of the girls that would sneak into the boy’s side of the common room and how they would slip out a while later.

The trio walked over to the boy’s bathroom. Fortunately, it was empty. Audrey shut the curtains as she filled the porcelain tub up. She didn’t have her luxurious soaps with her to soak in, but she didn’t care. All she craved was the warmth of the water to engulf her. She enjoyed the way her body floated in the water, it was almost as if the weight of all her problems left her body and all that was left was the shell that looked after her.

The boys stood awkwardly against the wall. The coolness of it failed to lower their body temperature which was rising over the situation they were in. I’m standing in a bathroom with a girl while she’s about to undress in front of me, I didn’t imagine Ominis would be here honestly, Sebastian thought to himself. He hated that that was what he was thinking of. He peered at Ominis whose eyes were sealed shut. Always the gentleman, he had told Audrey that he would close his eyes because, despite his blindness, he didn’t want to make Audrey uncomfortable if it looked as though he was staring at her.

Sebastian closed his eyes as well and tried flooding his mind with images. Professor Sharp in his pyjamas, specifically a woman’s nightgown, Uncle Solomon in that ugly green suit he had, grandma, grandpa, anything to not let his mind wander about where he was currently standing.

Audrey peered over the shoulder and saw that the two boys had their eyes closed. Very respectful of them, she thought. Quickly, she peeled off her robes and folded them over the stool. She unbuttoned her blouse and shimmied out of her skirt. She pulled off her tights, stays and undergarments and hid them under her robes. Why did Victorian women have to wear so many unnecessary layers?

She hopped into the bath.

“OK, you can sit on the floor now. Don’t worry about closing your eyes anymore, you won’t see me.”

The boys did as they were told, their backs leaned against the porcelain and their legs stretched out uncomfortably in front of them. The bathrooms were too small for them to extend their legs fully. When they arrived in the first year, the boys could extend their legs fully and still have some room. Now, they sat uncomfortably. It reminded them of how much they had changed since their arrival.

It was quiet for a while. The sound of the water, as Audrey adjusted herself in the tub, echoed around the walls.

“Never in my life did I think id be in the bathtub with two boys beside me.” She laughed to herself. “If my father heard of this, he would never let me return to Hogwarts.”

“Don’t worry about it. Plenty of girls sneak in here with the sixth- and seventh-year boys. Only a few of them have been caught. Although, it's best not to, rumours spread like wildfire here.” Sebastian joked. He removed his robes, overwhelmed with the heat from the steam, or was it from something else?

“Oh, I know.”

Ominis cleared his throat.

“So, if you’re Ok with talking about it now, what was it that pushed you.”

Silence filled the room again. Sebastian wished he could stand up and look at her face. To see her expression so he knows if he needed to save her from answering the question. He was desperate to know what had happened. But he wanted to prioritise Audrey’s feelings.

Audrey took a deep breath and dunked her head under the water. She didn’t come up for air straight away.

“Why did you ask her that?” Sebastian tapped Ominis’s shoulder aggressively. “She was laughing and happy.”

Ominis rolled his eyes. The pair didn’t have serious fights often, but they did bicker.

“We need to figure out what happened to her. It could be a serious threat to the school and not just herself.”

“I care about – “Before Sebastian could finish his sentence, Audrey’s head rose back up from under the water, and droplets dripped over the sides onto the two boys.

She took another deep breath.

“It was the shadow.”

“What? The shadow? What is the shadow?” Sebastian quizzed her.

“About a month ago I was attacked when I was taking a bath. It held me under the water and only stopped when a Prefect came into the bathroom. I haven’t seen it since then. Well, not until today. I was sending a letter to my father and … I saw a butterfly.” Audrey was embarrassed over how a small fragile insect had captured her attention so intensely. “I followed it to the highest point of the Owlery. I watched it fly off, that beautiful blue speck in the sky, and when I turned around it was there again. It pushed me off the side and that’s when you two saved me.”

The pair took in what they had heard. They had so many questions. What was this shadow spoke of and had it attacked anyone else in the castle? They would have heard if it had.

Ominis spoke first, “Does it look like someone? Or is it quite literally a shadow?”

“It’s not a shadow as if was cast by the sun. It is a black silhouette with no face or any depth to it. Somehow, it can hold onto me but I can’t hold onto it, my hands just slip through as though it’s some void. I don’t know, am I making any sense.”

“No, everything you’re saying does make sense.” Audrey appreciated Sebastian’s attempt at consoling her, but she knew she didn’t make sense. All of it was so surreal. “There might be something in the library about it. We can go tomorrow and look through all the books. We can try and get into the Restricted Section again, there must be something in there.”

“Sebastian.” Audrey leaned her head against the tub and closed her eyes. “I appreciate what you’re suggesting but I’ve had a look and I didn’t find anything.”

“But –“

“I don’t want to speak of it anymore.” Audrey snapped. Sebastian obeyed her request and sat silently. Ominis didn’t speak either. For what felt like the hundredth time that day, the trio sat in silence.

“It’s your birthday next week Sebastian. Ten and six. How are you celebrating?” Audrey attempted to change the mood into something more cheerful. Sebastian didn’t understand why she didn’t confide in the two of them. Why wouldn’t she confide in him?!

“Oh yes, Sebastian, aren’t you still insisting that a party be held in the Slytherin Common Room?”

Everyone knew Slytherins held the best parties at Hogwarts. You would be considered lucky if you were invited and were from another house. Normally, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-year students would hold the parties. The younger years would either stay in their rooms or stand to the side in the common room. Sebastian had forgotten about his wish for one of Slytherin’s notorious parties to happen on his birthday. He didn’t want to think about it much, especially since Anne would not be here for this one.

“Well, I was planning on it but not – “

Audrey sat up straight and clapped her hands together. More water splashed over the sides onto the two boys, wetting them further.

“Amazing! I’ve heard about these Slytherin parties and have been so excited to experience one. That is, if I’m invited of course?”

“Of course, you’ll be invited!” Ominis answered her enthusiastically. The two of them started speaking excitedly over Sebastian’s arriving birthday. Normally, he loved his birthday. This year he was dreading it

~

October 27th, 1890

Sebastian’s birthday had crept around the corner and slapped him in the face the minute he woke up. His body was filled with dread. Every inch of him screamed guilt and sadness. It was a day to celebrate him and Anne. They were supposed to be eating cake and opening presents and spending time together. Instead, he was surrounded by friends, and she was stuck at Feldcroft in agony.

He kicked off his blanket and dressed slowly. Ominis wasn’t in their dorm, and his bed wasn’t made either. He knew where he was. He would be sat waiting in the common room, most likely with his gifts for him with his other Slytherin friends where they would all say happy birthday and chat about the party later that day. He looked in the mirror that was next to his bed. Small hairs stuck to the basin where some of them had started shaving and were too lazy to wash it. He rubbed his chin. Only a few hairs were growing above his lip and along his jaw, so he decided against shaving for today.

He made his way out of his dorm down to the common room. As expected, Ominis, Audrey and a couple of other Slytherins stood huddled around a table. Audrey peered over her shoulder and spotted him. Quickly she turned back to their friends and tapped all of them and they all turned around. She held out a cake, a Victoria sponge, that had sixteen candles teetering on top. A broad smile was plastered on her face. Had he not felt as solemn as he did, he would have found her quite beautiful at that moment.

“Happy birthday!” they all chimed. He walked over to them and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Ah thank you guys.”

Audrey held the cake up to his face.

“Blow them out and make a wish.” He wished that Anne was here.

His friends clapped and cheered as he blew out the last candle. A couple clapped him on the shoulder wishing him happy birthday again before rushing out of the common room to their lessons. Imelda walked over and stood next to him as Audrey and Ominis fussed over the cake. They were arguing over whether jam should be the first layer or cream.

“A couple of seventh years managed to get fire whiskey and other alcohol for tonight. I’ve already warned the younger years to keep their mouths shut.”

“Good, alcohol is good.” Imelda left him then, not wanting to spend more time with him than she had to. They had a weird friendship/rivalry. Sebastian looked over to the table where alcohol was already being stacked for tonight. He walked over and picked one up. He read over the label. Fire whiskey. A couple of sips wouldn’t hurt.

Sebastian's solemn mood never wavered throughout the day. The only thing that changed was his sobriety. He had taken one of the bottles of fire whiskey and snuck it into his robes. Whenever his mind started drifting towards thoughts of Anne he would take a sip, and he had taken a lot of sips. His vision had started to blur by his third lesson of the day out of five. This didn’t stop him though.

In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ominis noticed as he wobbled slightly more as he had been struck by Leander as he duelled him. It was unlike Sebastian to let someone hit him in a duel, let alone Leander. The pair despised him.

Audrey had pointed out a strong alcohol smell in potions, but Garreth had told her it was one of the ingredients they were using. Sebastian wasn’t grateful for what Garreth did, but he could have kissed him at that moment. That was the alcohol speaking he told himself. Sebastian rushed out of the classroom when it was over, not bothering to let Ominis know where he was heading. His bottle had run out and he needed another one before more thoughts of Anne in pain pained his mind.

“Sebastian!”

Shit!

“Ah, Natty. Something the matter?” He slurred slightly at his words.

She gave him her dazzling smile.

“I heard you're celebrating your birthday tonight in the Slytherin Common Room. Audrey told me it’s best to ask you for permission, but may I join?”

Sebastian gave her a big grin.

“Of course! Invite all of your friends, the more the merrier!” She gave him a quizzing look.

“Is everything Ok, Seb?”

“Of course, everything is fine, it's my birthday!” He spoke the last part a lot louder than he expected to.  Natty accepted his answer, wished him a happy birthday, and rushed off. He watched as she pulled aside another Gryffindor fifth year-student and spoke to him quickly before rushing off to another student. Sebastian carried on his journey to obtain more fire whiskey where he had been ambushed by some more students asking to come to his party. He told all of them yes.

A seven-minute journey had turned into twenty-six minutes with how many times he had been stopped by students. He reached for another bottle on the table, this time not reading the label and took a swig of it. It burned his throat and it tasted horrible. He took another swig and put the bottle into his robe pocket. His vision had become completely unfocused, and it felt like he was floating slightly. It didn’t feel like he was walking when he moved, which made sense as he suddenly found himself at Charms with no recollection as to how he got there.

He stared ahead of him to where Natty and Audrey were engaged in conversation. Well, he couldn’t see what they were doing, they looked like little blobs from where his vision had blurred.

Professor Ronen paced the length of the classroom as he spoke about charms. What charm Professor Ronen was speaking about, Sebastian had no clue. Ominis nudged him.

“Huh – what?” Sebastian gave him an annoyed look.

“Mister Sallow, can you answer the question please?” Ronen was standing at the foot of his desk peering over him.

Shit, why did he not pay attention.

“Um, sorry Professor. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Professor Ronen tutted and started his pace of the classroom again.

“I could already tell that Mister Sallow, please pay attention in the future. It was essential for your OWLS. Five points from Slytherin.”

A cast of groans filled the room from Slytherin students. Great, that will make this party tonight so much better, Sebastian thought.

“What’s wrong Sebastian? You’re not being yourself. I saw what you were like in Defence against the Dark Arts.” Ominis whispered harshly to him.

If he focused enough his vision cleared, it was blurring the most when he changed where he was looking at.

“Are you listening to me?” Ominis asked. Sebastian was not listening. He was staring at Audrey now. She wasn’t looking at him, instead, her attention was on Natty. Natty glanced over at the boy and tapped Audrey on the arm and pointed towards Sebastian. Audrey looked over to him and gave him a smile, that beautiful smile. Sebastian smiled back at her as well and winked. She gave him a thumbs up and started talking with Natty again. She had found the entire thing amusing and was giggling to herself while Audrey swatted at her arm, but she couldn’t hide her laugh as well.

“Unbelievable.” Ominis rolled his eyes. “You’ve been drinking haven’t you.”

“So what.”

“Sebastian, I understand that today is going to be difficult for you but a decision like this isn’t going to help you or Anne.”

Sebastian gripped Ominis’s wrist under the table.

“Don’t speak about her,” Sebastian growled. Ominis had witnessed Sebastian in a couple of fights and had heard him get aggressive, but he never was like this to Ominis. He knew he had tapped a nerve and regretted it.

“Ok, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Tonight will be fun, we can let loose a little.” Sebastian's grip on Ominis’s hand weakened and he let go eventually. Yes, tonight will be fun.

It was 8:00 pm when students started arriving. The older students had brought alcohol with them. The table that held them all had filled up so much that two other tables had to be pushed up against it to hold the collection of bottles.

Since Charms, Sebastian had consumed another bottle of fire whiskey. There were a lot more students in the common room than he realised. There were students from all years and houses here, even some he knew he did not invite. What the fuck? How the hell did Zenobia Noke get invited? Imelda strolled up to him, bottle in hand.

“I must say, Sebastian, this party is the best one yet. I have to say some student invites are a bit more questionable than others.” He followed where her gaze landed on Puffskein Dunkein. Ominis was so proud of that nickname he made. “Have you seen Audrey? Last I saw she was with Poppy and Natty, but I didn’t get to speak to them before Garreth came over and started kissing me.”

Sebastian almost choked as he took another swig of his drink. Garreth and Imelda, what a pair that was.

“When’s the wedding?”

Imelda scoffed.

“There will be no wedding. He was just there, and I have needs Sebastian. Women have needs just like boys like you do.” With that, she laughed and walked off. What did she mean by boys like him? She must have heard that damned poltergeist Peeves when he went through the corridors chanting about how he caught Sebastian right before he was going to touch himself.

Women have needs just like boys like you do. He let that ponder on his mind. Did Audrey have needs like he did? She must do. She is a woman, and as Imelda said, women have needs. What if she found her way to Garreth and he satisfied these needs she had? He couldn’t allow that boy to do anything to her. He needed to find her.

His drunken mind had taken Imelda’s simple statement and spurred it into a plan to protect her from Garreth’s wandering lips and tongue. He wobbled as he pushed past a group of seventh-years who were trying to bounce balls into goblets filled with wine. He made his way over to fifth-year girls, in the complete opposite direction of where Audrey was standing chatting with Poppy and Natty.

They clanked their goblets together, tipsy off the wine they were drinking.

“What was that about him winking at you in Charms?” Poppy asked Audrey. The three girls had become quite close in their infrequent time spent together.

“Oh my god, you should have seen it. He gave her the biggest smirk and winked. I know Sebastian is a flirt, but I’ve never got to witness it.” Poppy and Natty laughed as Audrey blushed. Sebastian was a flirt? Audrey didn’t take much notice when he had winked at her earlier. She assumed it was just their friendship and it wasn’t nothing more than that. She hadn’t heard any rumours that he was a flirt. Did that mean he spent a lot of time with other girls? She was disappointed but shook it off.

“He’s a flirt but will never get with any of the girls. I saw Cressida crying in the third year once because he didn’t return her affection.” Poppy added.

“He’s never courted any girls?” Audrey asked.

Natty and Poppy laughed again.

“You’re so formal Audrey. People don’t court here, well it’s not taken as seriously as muggles take it. Have you not seen older students sneaking into the rooms of others late at night?” Audrey took a long sip of her drink, trying to hide her blushing face. Yes, she had seen people sneaking around at night with red faces and puffy lips. Imelda has sworn her to secrecy when Audrey had heard her return quite late at night after hanging out with Garreth. She assumed it was just kissing that everyone was doing.

“Course I have, I was just wondering whether Sebastian has been with any girls is all.”

Poppy took a long swig of her drink and Natty poured herself another.

“Tell me, Audrey.” Audrey noticed as Natty’s drink sloshed over the sides which Natty hadn’t noticed. “If Sebastian asked you to sneak out with him, would you?”

“I would.” Poppy chided in quickly. The three erupted into laughter. Audrey downed the rest of her drink and contemplated her answer. She already had snuck out with Sebastian. Though, not in the same way the two girls might have encouraged her to. Sebastian was nice. Sebastian was handsome. He was funny, sarcastic, witty, charming, and talented. He was her closest friend at the castle.

“If you mean it in the way I know you are, then no. He’s my closest friend. I wouldn’t want to ruin that by trying to do anything scandalous with him. It’s risky.” The two girls booed her and pushed their drinks into Audrey’s hands.

“Drink up Audrey, and then maybe you’ll start admitting things to yourself.” Quickly, she gulped down the two drinks. The velvety heat of the alcohol burned her throat as it travelled down it. She laughed loudly, the effect of the numerous alcoholic drinks she had had that evening already taking its toll on her. She felt weightless as if every stressful event that had happened in the two months had vanished from her memory. Ominis had sauntered up to the three girls, goblet in hand.

“How are you three enjoying the evening?”

Poppy rushed over and hugged him. He froze at the sudden contact but quickly recovered, wrapping his arms around the small girl. Natty picked up the goblet that was falling out of Poppy’s hand and downed the rest of the drink.

“This party is great. But have you seen Sebastian?”

“Ominis shook his head. “No, I haven’t. It’s difficult to navigate myself around here with so many people.”

“Yeah, there’s so many people here, yay people!” Poppy cheered loudly. She was a lot more drunk than they had realised. Audrey peeled Poppy away from Ominis, and he sent her a grateful smile for being freed from the clutches of Poppy.

“You stay here with Poppy and Natty. I’m going to try and find him.” Before Audrey could protest, he had disappeared into the crowd of people. She turned on her heel to find Poppy and Natty slowly dancing together.

“Audrey come join us!” Natty called out. She did as was told Despite her need of finding Sebastian, she owed it to her girls to hang out with them. She crashed into their embrace, and they giggled as they twirled around each other in drunken bliss.

Ominis made his way through the crowd shouting out Sebastian’s name. It was useless considering how loud it was in here.

“Sebastian! Sebastian – ow that’s my foot you dick!”

“Sorry!” A sixth-year called out.

Ominis cried out Sebastian’s name until he felt something clap him hard on the shoulder. He turned around quickly.

“Ominis, my brother! How are you enjoying my party? Best one yet I’ve been told.” He was incredibly drunk. Ominis felt him wobble and he held a hand out to steady him.

“You want to dance with me? You only have to ask.” Sebastian reached out for Ominis’s hands and wrapped them behind his neck and situated his own hands around Ominis’s waist. Ominis laughed and rolled his eyes.

Sebastian scoffed. “You do realise that just because you can’t see doesn’t mean I can’t see you roll your eyes.”

“I do it because I know you can see me.” Ominis heard Sebastian’s lip squeak and he knew he was sending him an air kiss. “Audrey’s looking for you.”

“Where is she?” He asked him urgently. “I need to protect her from Garreth, he’s going to try and kiss her because she has needs!” Ominis had no clue as to what Sebastian was referring to.

“Garreth is not going to kiss her Sebastian. Wait where are you –“ Before Ominis could finish his question, Sebastian took off towards the staircase. He had seen a flash of ginger. That specific ginger shade of Weasley! He had to warn him to stay away from Audrey. Ominis tried to keep up with him, his wand guiding him through the crowd and up the stairs to where Sebastian was heaving out of breath.

“Sebastian!” Leander greeted the boy cheerfully.

“Leander!” Sebastian spat.

“I heard you were having a party and so here I am. Where was my invite?”

“I don’t know Leander, where was your invite? Enlighten me.” Sebastian crossed his arms across his chest. He had started tipping backwards but Ominis had placed a firm hand on his back balancing him.

“Come off it Sebastian. Put this stupid rivalry aside and just let me in.” Leander looked too confident in his effort to try and join the party. “Everyone knows the party doesn’t start til I’m here.”

Ominis laughed loudly. It took him by surprise, but he couldn’t hide his amusement over Leander suggesting that.

“You hear that Leander, that’s the laughter of everyone’s amusement over such a bullshit statement. Go home.” Sebastian turned on his heel, almost falling over Ominis from where he stood still holding him up.

“But –“

“Fuck off Leander!” Ominis and Sebastian both yelled at him. Defeated, Leander made his way back to the Slytherin common room entrance.

“You do realise that he’s going to rat us out to a staff member now,” Ominis told him.

“I don’t care. Everyone will hate him for ruining such a great party!” He spoke the last four words very loudly and held up his bottle of rum. Wait, when did he get that? The crowd at the bottom of the stairs cheered loudly and raised their goblets and bottles and took long swigs. They resumed their chatter. Sebastian’s mission was not over. He scanned the crowd for red.

Red dresses, red drinks, red faces – wait is that Natty smacking Poppy on the ass? Ginger!

There. He saw him. That flash of ginger near the far-right corner of the common room. Sebastian rushed down the stairs, tripping at the bottom. Ominis struggled after him.

“I’m going to kill him.”

Audrey whooped as Natty smacked Poppy on the ass for the fifth time to the music playing. Beethoven just got people in the party mood. She twirled around, her dress fluttering around her and lifting higher than anticipated. It flashed her thighs to the people around her but she didn’t care. She was enjoying herself and that’s all that mattered at that moment.

She took another swig of her drink and realised it was empty.

“I’m going to get another drink!” She called out to the two girls but it didn’t appear they had heard. She stumbled over to the wall where a bottle of alcohol had been placed. She didn’t know what type it was, but she didn’t mind as long as it kept her in the state she was in. She felt herself stand on something hard and heard a yelp.

“Shit, I'm so sorry!” She held her hands up apologetically as the victim turned to face her. It was Garreth. He was sweaty, his face red and lips puffy from where he had been kissing Imelda, who was pinned up against the wall. “Oh wow, sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“It’s ok, I haven’t had a drink in an hour.” Imelda stood up and straightened her skirt and shirt which had become dishevelled from Garreth’s wandering hands. She rushed off quickly to find a drink. Sheepishly, Garreth rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry, we got a bit ahead of ourselves.”

“It’s ok, our dorm should be free so you two can go off into there. I won't interrupt again.”

Garreth choked as Audrey said that.  His face turned a deep shade of crimson.

“Garreth it’s ok, I know that you and Imelda sneak out all the time to do whatever scandalous thing you do. I won’t tell.” Audrey leaned against the wall to steady herself. Garreth chuckled.

“Ah has she told you then? Tell me, Audrey Thornhill, what scandalous things do we get up to?” She could smell the alcohol on his breath and she was sure he could smell it on hers as well.

“Well, you’re kissing obviously.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Just kissing?”

She didn’t know how to respond to it. She knew there was something more that happened after kissing. She just couldn’t explain it. The act and details of it were still foreign to her.

“You don’t know, do you? Do you want to know?” He leaned closer to the eye. She wanted to tell him yes. She wanted to know what this act was.

“Weasley!”

Sebastian stormed over to him, face livid. Garreth stood straighter but didn’t shy away from how close he was stood to Audrey still.

“Sebastian! Amazing party!”

“Shut your mouth!” Before Garreth could respond, Sebastian’s fist collided with the boy's face. “Leave her and her needs alone. She doesn’t want or need you!” The boy kept colliding his fist against the other boy. Garreth retaliated and tried pushing away.

“What the fuck Sebastian! You’re drunk. Ominis help me!” Ominis rushed over and restrained Sebastian.

“Garreth, are you ok?” Audrey asked him. She took his face in her hands and checked over him. His nose was bleeding but other than that he appeared fine.

“Other than a bruised ego I should be fine. At least his duelling skills are better than his fist-fighting skills.”

Sebastian tried lurching forward again but was pulled back by Ominis.

“Thank you Garreth, let's rile him up even more,” Ominis said sarcastically and pulled Sebastian away from them all and tried heaving him up the stairs. Audrey followed as everyone around them continued with what they were doing before the fight.

“Let go of me Ominis!” Sebastian broke free from his friend and started rushing up the stairs towards the entrance of the common room. Audrey checked the time and saw it was 12:56 am. Fuck! It was too late for Sebastian to be wandering the halls. It was too late for any of them to be in the common room. They were all going to get in trouble if people didn’t start leaving soon.

Sebastian burst through the entrance and took off down the hall.

“Stay away from Garreth everyone!” He yelled down the corridor to no one. Audrey and Ominis chased after him, yelling out his name.

“He’s going to get us caught.” Ominis hissed at Audrey.

“I Know. Sebastian no!” She shouted out to him as had made his way to a garden. He decided to climb over the brick fencing rather than the normal entrance. He stumbled over to the fountain, muttering something about needs and how It was something he could do. He leaned against the fountain and heaved. Ominis and Audrey stood behind him unsure of what to do. They watched as he leaned forward slightly and retched, emptying the contents of his stomach into the water.

“For fuck’s sake,” Ominis muttered and rubbed his temples.

“Such colourful language Ominis. I don’t expect this from you.”

Ominis stretch out his hand towards Sebastian. “Well, I never expected this.” Sebastian retched again, and more contents of his stomach entered the fountain.

“Should we help him?” Audrey asked.

“No.” Ominis sat on the ground and leaned against the fountain, far away enough from him to avoid raining droplets of vomit but close enough to offer a comforting stroke on his leg. “He will cope.” Audrey sat down beside him.

“I never got to apologise properly for what happened at the Undercroft. I reacted poorly. I hope you can forgive me.”

Audrey gave him a sympathetic smile and held his hand.

“Don’t worry about it. The Undercroft is special to you. Admittedly, I would react the same way.” He smiled at her and they sat in silence while Sebastian heaved more.

“Why was he so riled up against Garreth? I heard him mention something about needs.” Ominis shrugged his shoulders.

“I have no clue. He’s been drinking all day did you know? I imagine Garreth said something to him and it’s been on his mind all day. We can ask him tomorrow. That is if he will be conscious tomorrow.” The pair glanced over to where Sebastian had slumped onto the ground. Audrey stood up and tried picking him up by his armpits.

“Come on, we need to get you back to the common room.” He didn’t fight back. He stood up with the assistance of the two and they walked slowly back to the common room. They had their arms under him and his face was slumped forward.

“Christ Sebastian at least help us,” Ominis begged his friend.

Suddenly, they heard the echo of footsteps down the corridor. They knew it was a staff member. Professor Sharp appeared around the corner and his gaze landed on the three instantly. He made his way over.

“Care to explain to me why you three are out so late in the corridor? And why is Mister Sallow looking like that?” Ominis and Audrey offered the professor a sheepish smile. Instantly at hearing his name, Sebastian stood up straight and shook himself from his friend's assistance. He raised a hand and looked Sharp in the eye.

“Professor Sharp, there Is something I must tell you.” He lurched forward and emptied his stomach all over the professor’s shoes. It felt like hours before he finally stood up straight again, wiping his mouth clean. “Oops.”

[darlingzelda]

POV: Every time MC and Sebastian go on a mission

Credit:

Pinterest

@amience on Tumblr

[ninesparrowsoftroy]

To Snakes and Stone | Ominis Gaunt | 3.4k | Part I | Part II

Summary: In which Ominis is persuaded to open the Scriptorium for his closest friend and in doing so is faced with the horrors of his childhood.

Things to note prior to proceeding: As said in the first part, this is meant to be a short series, and is an x reader fanfic, however that is more a subplot. This part deals with Ominis’ family, so there are darker elements to it. Read the tags and enjoy the piece!

If he had thought each previous room had felt stifling or laced with an unknown threat of unknown discomfort, then this corridor was death. It did not choke nor weigh itself upon him as the others had, instead it felt as if he had stepped into an abysmal emptiness. There was no presence of discomfort or any touch of cold against his skin. He was surrounded by nothing, a barren and apathetic space with no atmosphere to determine what it was that stood either meter or a kilometer before him. There was a torpid and pungent stench that drifted in the still air, scorching his sense and rendering it nearly impossible to discern where the source of its grotesque cause was located.

‘Lumos.’

The three split apart, Sebastian surging unabashed and impudent forward towards the end of the corridor, his wand outstretched. The girl moved swiftly behind him, although Ominis noted the slight drag of her boot on the stone floor. That left only him to linger behind, absent in the way he shifted from one foot to the other, listening half-heartedly to the mutterings of Sebastian and the girls commentary.

He tried to place the smell, not knowing if its identification could possibly aid them in uncovering an answer for some other unknown obstacle or if it would warn them of a threat best left undisturbed. It was too forceful to be any potion he had encountered in Sharp’s class, the decaying bite of it in the air told him it couldn’t have been any creature from his textbook either. There were no plants he was aware of that Professor Garlick had taught that mirrored such a bitter scent as the one that stained the corridor air.

‘Great, another dark, ominous corridor to walk through.’

There was a pause before he heard the girl huff, no doubt rolling her eyes at the freckled boys antics.

‘You never give up, do you?’

‘Come on! That was a good one.’

‘It felt a little desperate.’

He could hear the smile in her voice.

‘You just don’t understand the art of humor like I do.’

‘Oh, it’s an art is it?’

‘Do either of you smell that?’ Ominis’ brows scrunched together, the conversation halting as both eyes fell back to him.

‘I assumed it came with the scenery.’

At this Ominis gave an unamused glare, garnering a defensive ‘what?’ from Sebastian. He only shook his head, turning in what he presumed to be the direction the girl had descended towards, hoping she at the very least would provide some assurance it was not just him being bothered by the rancid stench. But her assurance never came, instead she took in a sharp breath, something that immediately caught Ominis’ attention, her footsteps dragging to a stop. Before he was able to question anything she spoke.

‘Oh god, is that—’

The final words of her sentence were crushed beneath the ripple of noise, the floor trembling as it had before. By the time any of them had turned their attention to the source or made any hurried motion to draw their wands and throw any charm or spell at it in a fruitless desperation, the open doorway had vanished, leaving only the flat, granite wall behind in its wake. The corridor grew suffocatingly small.

A string of curses slipped beneath Ominis’ breath, the words all falling flat in the still air. Any previous thought of the stench or of the reasoning behind opening the scriptorium all but vanished in the face of their waning escape. ‘We should’ve expected that.’ He muttered, running a bitter hand through his hair, his voice echoing alone in the room. He paced before the wall, making a sound between a sigh and a hiss, ‘Fuck! I knew we shouldn’t have come here. I never should have let you convince me to open the door, now we’re all going to die in here.’

‘We won’t be the first.’ It had been a quiet response, half-muttered and half-spoken by Sebastian but it had caught the blond’s ear regardless. Ominis would have remarked with something critical and disproving of the freckled boys ability to jest even in the worst of circumstances, but there was nothing factitious about Sebastian’s voice. Instead, the familiar edge of impishness was all but absent, replaced by an uncharacteristic severity.

‘What are talking about?’

‘There are bones in here,’ Her voice carried a morbidness he hadn’t heard from her before, her footsteps drifting farther to the right until they stopped again. A tremor tugging at the edges of her words, ‘human bones.’

An acrid taste formed on his tongue, the hollow shuffle of bones moving over the stone floor telling him she had moved closer, tapping the decayed cartilage with the toe of her boot. It was the stench of death that had been the smell permeating the still and damp air of the room; not any potion, plant, or creature from his books or classes as he let his naivety incline him to believe. The lingering odor of decayed, rotting flesh peeling off its bone, the muscle deteriorating, mold breathing to life between the floor and blackened body. How long had it sat there, the tissue of the body long since dried, putrescent and festering in a pile of its own decomposition? Was this their fate? Trapped in the doorless corridor of the scriptorium, withering away beneath the floors of their school and forced to become an omen of death to the next unfortunate and arrogant soul who would wander into the room as they had.

Ominis took a step forward, intending to cross the small distance dividing him from the other two, when a crack splintered beneath his foot. The hollowed sound shattered his resolve, and for a horrifying second he had imagined it had been the rotted bone of an arm or leg beneath his shoe, but the noise had been too sharp to be something that large. Instead, it had been more like a twig, frail and thin. Possessed by something he could not describe or name, he craned down, bending his knees towards his chest and reaching for what now lie in two pieces on the floor.

The moment the pad of his pointer and middle finger found the wooden twist of what had broken, all thought of his own death perishing. He had felt the wood before, its intricate curve as the two limbs melded and danced in a thinning spiral. He knew it without seeing it; honey colored cypress like when sunlight seeps through the leaves and warm specks of the bare skin of his face or neck, firm in but not rigid, a single unicorn hair woven into the wood. It had been a wand that snapped in two beneath his foot.

It was his Aunt; her wand, her bones, her death, her failed efforts. The corridor suddenly felt too tight, the stench of the dead tripling in strength, pouring itself into his throat and filling his lungs. He wanted to stop breathing, to escape the air of the room, to stop taking fragments of her death into him with every inhale and exhale from his nose or lips.

He pressed his thumb into the side of the wand, tracing the curve. Perhaps he had always known, somewhere deep within his consciousness where the shame and guilt of his own actions eroded at his hopefulness, like waves colliding against the cliffside and stripping parts of it from its home with each draw and crash of the salt water against the land. The rational part of him that knew no amount of hope could resurrect the past or resolve the aching cavity of feeling abandoned, forsaken when he scarcely even knew what the words meant. She had chosen to prove their family wrong and even as a child, even now in the depths of his mind and body, he had known that she would sooner be dead than be any closer to achieving such an impossible feat.

‘Ominis, what is it? Did you find something?’

He drew back at her questions, her softened tone, her proximity that he could feel shrinking with each fall echo of her voice. His knuckles turned white around the fragments of the broken wand.

‘It’s nothing.’ He pushed himself to his feet, tucking the pieces of the broken wand into his pocket beneath the fabric of his school robe. His hand lingered, but he was quick to force himself to straighten, glaring into the dark space ahead of him where he imagined her to be.

The girl retreated, forcing out a sigh at the brusqueness of his response, ‘I know this isn’t what we imagined would happen but—‘

‘No, it isn’t.’

‘—but, we’ll figure a way out.’

There was a bite to her tone that he couldn’t ignore if he tried.

‘And what do you propose to do then if you’re so optimistic about our circumstances? Blast each wall and see which one crumbles?’

‘No.’

Both heads turned to Sebastian. The one whom, in the time from when the wall restored itself shut and during the discovery of the bones, had taken it upon himself to be the first to cross the full length of the corridor to its opposing end. It was there, in the flickering light of his wand, that he found their only means of escape.

Situated within the far wall of the corridor was a mirror, its arching frame sculpted to resembled what appeared to be witches and wizards holding one another up. The lower Sebastian looked the more crumpled and agonized the carvings became, their arms and legs bent at obscure and unnatural angles, their bodies crushed and caving into their chests beneath the weight of all those held above them. Each chiseled face, however, was marked with a look of contrasting pain; some, Sebastian saw, had squeezed their eyes shut whilst others had their stone teeth bared in a scream he swore he could hear faintly in the air. His reflection, he discovered quickly, was entirely perverted and distorted in a haze of black, his own features he failed to make out beyond the rippled silhouette staring back at him.

‘To get out Ominis has to cast the Cruciatus Curse.’

‘What?’

‘Have you gone mad?’

‘A mirror with anguished faces carved into the wall, the last door being opened by blood,’ The freckled boy stepped back from the mirror, his features set in place. ‘It makes sense that the next way through would be something more difficult.’

‘So you took difficult to mean casting an unforgivable?’ Ominis accused, the pieces of his Aunt’s wand growing heavier in his pocket the longer Sebastian spoke.

‘It makes sense.’

‘No, Sebastian, it really doesn’t.’

‘I think he might be right.’

Ominis was starting to think they had gone mad.

‘What?’ It came out as a hiss. ‘You’re agreeing with him?’

The girl’s feet moved to the right of him, her voice in a solemn agreement to Sebastian’s, the hollow echo of bones being brushed aside following her movement. ‘Whoever was here before us scratched the curse into the floor.’

‘See. They just have died because they had no one to cast it on.’

He shook his head, ‘No.’

‘Ominis I know this will be difficult but you cannot think being trapped here is any better than casting the curse again just this once—‘

‘There has to be another way!’

‘You and I both know there’s not.’ And even if he knew it was true, Ominis refused to accept that Sebastian may have been right. The brunette gripped his wand, ‘You’re the only one here who has experience casting it.’

Betrayal would be too easy a word to describe the sudden nausea and anger that sparked within Ominis at the words. The guilt ridden memory thrown back at him so easily, what was spoken in confidence now fractured by Sebastian’s quick exploitation. ‘I vowed to never use dark magic again. You, of all people, should know that.’

‘I do! But this one time would be different, you would be casting it on someone willing, there would be no victim.’

���That’s not how it works!’ A spark he had long since choked back flashed in his mind, the weight of the curse on his tongue, how broken and strained the syllabus had been, each scraping from the depths of his scorched and torn throat. What it had been like to listen, the screams of someone he could not see nor know begging for him to kill them, to take away what he had done in place of something far worse. The guilt that burrowed in his heart, his pulse breaking into an untamed staccato, the fogged over weightlessness that came from feeling so nauseous that he had taunted the line between consciousness and oblivion. ‘To cast it you have to mean it. You have to want to cause pain and for that there will always be a victim.’

‘It’s either that or we die in here.’ Sebastian matched Ominis’ conviction, if only for the entirely opposing reasons. ‘I know there is something in that Scriptorium that can help Anne and I’m not above casting a spell or two to make sure we get it.’

The silence that filled the space between them stretched as neither were willing to surrender their position.

Ominis understood the desperation behind the words, wanting nothing more than to cure Anne of whatever had latched itself upon her, but it was reckless of Sebastian to place his tenacity over his morals. The rabbit hole of corruption that dark magic would bleed into his veins and the way it would erode at any sense of ethics that he may have had should he stepped too deep into its grasp, would consume him.

‘If you cast that curse,’ Ominis warned, enunciating the words sharper than he knew he needed. He knew that even if he took Sebastian’s wand from his hand and ran, any further argument he made to try and sway his mind would be utterly pointless. Sebastian had made his choice. ‘I will have no part in it.’

‘If that’s what you choose, fine.’ Sebastian turned, his voice now directed to the girl, a newfound staunchness wrapped within it. ‘It’s your choice then, either we cast it or we die.’

She was quiet, her breathing the only sound that revealed any sort of inclination she may have had. It was slow, steady in the way it often was when one was caught between their thoughts. He had hoped, even if it was wishful and arrogant, that perhaps she would have found reason in his argument and that, in consequence, she might be the one to sink reason into Sebastian.

‘We cast it.’ But hope was rarely ever realistic anyways. ‘I think you’re right, it might be our only way out.’

‘I’m glad we agree.’ Sebastian paused, ‘Do you want me to cast it or should you?’

‘You.’ Her answer came quicker than he’d expected.

‘Are you sure?’

‘You’ve studied the dark arts more than I have, even if it’s only ever been in theory. Out of the two of us you’re more likely to be able to perform the curse successfully on the first try.’

‘I’d take that as a compliment under any other circumstances.’

‘Then don’t take it as one.’

Their footsteps shifted.

‘Ready?’

‘Ready.’

‘Crucio!’

Suddenly he was twelve again, frozen. His mother’s nails puncturing the skin beneath his cotton shirt as she grasped at his bicep, forcing his trembling hand to still and his wand to direct itself to the body at his feet. Even if he could not see the red streaks in their eyes, or the line of crimson connecting their nose and mouth to the puddle growing beneath their cheek on the floor, or the unnatural angle at which its legs were now bent and the bone protruding beneath raw flesh from where they had thrashed too hard against tile, he could hear it. He could hear them twitch in the darkness, their breath nothing more than a choked rasp.

From somewhere behind him his father seethed, a wretched impatience morphing into something malicious, unwilling to sit idle in Ominis’ reluctance. His mother hissing another command into his ear, her grip tightening with each admonishment she threw at him, creating a constellation of bruised reds beneath his sleeve. He no longer remembered each of her castigates, each guiltless threat and unfeeling reproach that she had tried before his father pulled her away. He had thought, if only for an ignorant moment, that their disappointment in his inability to cast the curse would have meant they would turn to his brother. To their prized son who was all but eager to watch the red light crack in the air, moving from his wand to the unwilling body on the floor.

But when the curse spilled from the lips of his father it was Ominis at the end of the light.

When it hit him, it had drowned him, swallowing his every sense until there was nothing but noise clawing through his throat. It coursed through him, scorching the blood inside his veins, the cells in his body tearing and ripping themselves apart over and over and over again in a continuous and broken cycle. In his calves the bones shattered, breaking beneath a weight that failed to lift off him, his knees buckling, the cap covering the joint, shifting out of place as he hit the tile floor. The nerves in his body revealed themselves with every sensation, heightening whatever pain groped and impaled itself into him.

His nails which had been buried in his arms from where he had clutched to himself, were ripped from their beds, yanked from his skin. He felt his fingers dislocate one by one, his knuckles being thrust from their place in his hand leaving them aching and sore. Frost burned at his skin, the prickling of an incessant cold seeping into his flesh with a searing persistence, no part of him being left untouched. The drums within his ears ruptured, every sound, every bone popping in and out of place, every breath coming from his constricting lungs, every scream from his drying lips piercing his hearing with a newfound anguish. His ribs pressed into his caving lungs, squeezing the air from him until he was rasping, suffocating on oxygen that was no longer there. The tears that fell from his eyes were hot, boiling water poured onto his skin.

He had begged, pleaded to his father and to his mother that he would do anything, anything, if only they would make the pain stop. He couldn’t hear them when his father told him he had needed to know what it was like to be the body on the floor if he was so willing to let it live. That he was no better than it if he was going to give it the mercy of his hesitation. Nor did he hear the way his mother scorned him, watching on with a malignant obstinance at her youngest son weeping, crying for a grace that had never existed in his family.

A scream ripped its way through her throat, the thud of her knees striking the stone floor submerged somewhere deep beneath the echo of her scream and the sparks of the curse still burning in the air. He’d lost count of how long the curse had lasted, each of his sense overwhelmed with the harrowing flood of her screams, each one dancing off the four, cold walls.

‘That’s enough!’ He shouted, his wand pulling at his wrist with a sharper urgency than before. ‘Sebastian you’ve enough, stop!’

The crackling in the air faltered. The echo of the screams replaced with Ominis’ hurried steps forward and Sebastian’s unsteady breathing.

No words were spared when the mirror stirred, its blackened fog vanishing amidst the splintering of the glass, the surface transforming into a mosaic of colorless shards. The rippled reflection now a shattered replay of the curse spilling from Sebastian’s wand, sparks of red dancing between each broken shard. Her screams echoing from somewhere deep inside the mirror, playing over and over again with each octave shifting. Then, piece by piece they began to fall, descending towards the floor before evaporating into dust, revealing glimpses of the room that lay abandoned behind it.

No one moved.

I have given no permission for my writing to be uploaded anywhere beyond where I upload it, please do not copy or plagiarize this work. <3

Tag: @islayhawkin

[all-timelee]

So I was messing around with an incorrect quote generator and found these gems 😂

[actually-mentally-ill]

when im being asked a question, but i was busy daydreaming about __ x y/n

[lovesicklovermia]

normalise making a list of character x readers u like to read so you can spin a wheel every night before bed to decide ur bedtime story xx