#i stand by the fact that ominis wants to be a good person but he has no interest in being a hero either

[ominis]

ominis&poppy&natty would be an amazing trio imo. all three of them have strong morals and have first hand experiences on how bad people can be and how disorienting it is to lose your home. and the girls have that chaotic good urge to go and YEET themselves into danger while eternally grumpy ominis (who would still loyally follow them anywhere) would be like "can't we just chill and be normal kids for ONE week??"

YES!! Ominis always follows them around and says it's just to make sure they don't get hurt. He complains the whole time, tells them to just be normal for once, but he really wouldn't want it to be any other way. He loves that they both want to do good! They want the world to be better, so he puts up with their antics and their knack for putting themselves into danger because he's not going to deny them the positive change they could cause. And they both would just make him begrudgingly smile because how could he not be so fond of them? Poppy and Natty are so full of life and that's the opposite of the world he's used to. He'd want to be around that.

And if one of them put themselves into too much danger and did get hurt? Just imagine how much Ominis would fuss over them while scolding them the whole time, but only because he cares.

[latoyalestrange]

a court of thorns and roses

s. sallow x f!reader

summary: while on a mission to retrieve a textbook for you, sebastian comes across something incredible. he didn't want to embarrass you, so he waited until the right moment to use this piece of information against you.

words: 900ish

warnings: my first kinda-smut in literal years. i hope i did good job. pain kink!reader?? kinda?? just read it u'll like it. established relationship, aged up seb and mc, slytherin!reader, i stg if i see a minor interacting i will block u. also if u know me personally dni i beg of u. not edited!

"in my desk, upper right drawer." should be easy enough right?

except, when he finally arrived at your dorm, your potions book was, in fact, not in the upper right drawer. so, he frantically checked the other three drawers, on top of the desk, on your bookshelf, under your bed...huh.

he glanced around the room, looking for another sensible place to check. his eyes fell on your bed, unmade and inviting. just to make sure, he thought.

upon pulling back the emerald duvet, he instantly recognized the green potions text. sat on top of it, however, was an unfamiliar, smaller red book with gold lettering on the front. he took the book in his hands and opened it, skimming to the middle to read a random page. his eyes widened with curiosity as he grinned from ear to ear.

"erotica, hm?" he quickly thought to retrieve the objective and put the other text back in its place. ominis would be waiting with you, and he would almost rather catch you in the act than confront you.

hours later, you found yourself inviting sebastian to study in your dorm, on account that your roommate, imelda, was at a sleepover in another dorm. you were lounging on your bed while he sat at your desk, hunched over a roll of parchment with his inked quill in hand. the gentle glow of the cluster of candles on your desk danced across his features, making him appear more and more delicious with every hour that it darkened outside. once nothing could be seen outside of your stained window, your eyes couldn't avoid the crimson leather cover that was burning into your peripheral vision with every moment that passed. you carefully closed your dramatically large textbook and tossed it to the side, replacing it with your desired literature.

soon enough, you found yourself engulfed in your fantasy, the romantic light coming from the tiny flames around your room helping you along. your active imagination allowed you to form the words into pictures, then pictures to feelings. you wanted-- no, needed-- to be worshiped in a way you never had before. you needed to feel special. you'd only done things similar to this the one time with sebastian and he was so fucking sweet and gentle and caring. you were curious ever since that day. after your...research, you had discovered a new feeling, a better one.

but how could you possibly bring it up to sebastian? he was so confident, he seemed so experienced, and he was really good at teasing you. wanting to avoid that for as long as you could until you mustered up to courage, you hid it from him. that was, until now.

"looks interesting." his tone seemed casual, unknowing. you had to stop yourself from throwing the book across the room in attempt to avoid detection.

"mhm." your lip found its way in between your teeth as you averted your gaze.

he furrowed his brow, standing to his feet rather quickly to place his hand on your jaw, lifting your eyes to stare into his.

"no mumbling." you couldn't find an answer, so he took it further. he snapped the book closed and tossed it to the side, never breaking eye contact. he pinned crawled back onto the bed, trapping you beneath his strong frame. he lifted one hand to slip under the hem of your skirt, the other holding him up. he slowly entered your undergarments and slithered his way further, further...

"i knew it. are you going to tell me what's making you so wet for that book or do i have to read it myself?" he was so close, you could feel his breath ghosting your earlobe.

"could you be a little less...forgiving this time?" you asked innocently under him. you looked so defenseless, needy, and perfect.

"i think i know what you mean, my love. just tell me if it hurts, okay?" you nodded at his caring, yet hungry eyes. he lowered himself, peppering kisses on your skin as he slowing exposed it. as if he were claiming his territory, he left red and purple marks every few inches or so before reaching your center. he sent you into a whimpering mess skillfully quick, which had you begging for him already. he couldn't help it, he was so fucking eager for you too. he unraveled his belt with ease before teasing your entrance.

"please, sebastian--" he didn't need to hear more. he was already sinking into you and bottoming out, filling you completely. he growled, feeling you form to his shape. you wrapped your arms around him to brace yourself as he started rocking his hips into you at an unrelenting pace. you called out his name, which quickly turned into a whine. he listened to every sound you body made, every movement. soon enough, he wasn't holding back and had you pinned down by your throat as he pounded into you with an unfamiliar force. your moans turned into cries of pleasure. he had unlocked a whole entire world for you.

you were feeling spent, used, but god did you love it. upon hearing a new sound that bordered both pain and pleasure, he was quick to stop his rhythm to check on you.

"do you want more gentle?" his eyes were undoubtably guilty and concerned. he pressing his calloused hand to your now flushed cheek.

"no," you breathed out. he chuckled and smirked, repositioning himself at your entrance.

"be careful what you wish for."

[spaceyaceface]

Sorrow - Safety Ch 6

Ominis Gaunt x f!Ravenclaw!Reader (Reader is not MC)

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: Angst (but also fluff)

Summary: Y/N L/N had always despised Ominis Gaunt. He was everything she hated about her life. As the only daughter to a wealthy pure-blood family, she knew it was inevitable that she would someday find herself in an arranged marriage.

But why did it have to be him?

Or, a classic arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, slow burn.

Also available on AO3

Chapter One | Chapter Five

He should have known better. 

That’s all he could think from the moment Constance had stormed off, the fresh wounds from her words still bleeding out. It’s all he thought when he made his way to the Undercroft, allowing a fire of anger to burn to keep a sea of tears at bay. It’s all he thought when he heard her voice, when he turned away, ignoring the painful sting in his chest as he left her there. And it was all he thought when Sebastian came, dragging him back up to the common room, insisting he at least try and sleep. 

He was glad his fallen tears had dried long before Sebastian came for him. Anger was an easier emotion to describe—it was one Sebastian had seen on Ominis before, and could therefore understand. But that deeper hurt—that feeling of betrayal and remorse that made his eyes burn—that was one he didn’t want even Sebastian to see. 

Ominis couldn’t sleep. The words that Constance had said—words she had once said—still echoed in his mind. 

Look at you, nothing but pure evil. A disgrace to magic.

No wonder you had to precure a bride—no one would willingly choose you. 

I pity the monster you are. 

There were more things Constance’d said. An entire torrent of insults, of partial truths, of words he’d tried for years to stop saying to himself. And it was all back in a flash. 

To think, it had all come from the first person he’d put his trust in in years. 

That was what hurt the most. Not the words themselves. Not even Constance’s cruel tone of voice. No, it was the fact that just that morning, he’d smiled a bit at the idea of greeting her. Mere moments before, he’d hummed the simple song he’d taught her on piano. He’d let himself think for even a second that she could see past the blood that ran through his veins. 

And it all tumbled down. 

So he paced, unable to sleep, in the Slytherin common room. Sebastian sat on a sofa, and after a good several minutes of his friend’s relentless steps, he sighed. 

“I thought you were going to try to get some rest after coming up here,” he said. 

“And I thought I’d told you I’d be in this state whether here or in the Undercroft. You should have just let me stay there.”

“I couldn’t do that,” Sebastian said, quietly. 

Ominis whirled around, facing his friend. There was something in his tone. Some sort of admittance. “Why? Why have you dragged me up here?” 

“She…” Sebastian hesitated a bit. “She didn’t have anywhere to stay the night.”

Ominis’s jaw dropped, and his shock quickly gave way to more fury. More betrayal. “So you pulled me out for her sake? After all she’s done?”

“She hasn’t done anything,” Sebastian said, standing up from the sofa. “Last I checked, it was Constance who came to torment you.”

“And where did Constance get all that?” Ominis fired back. “You think she came up with all that herself? She was just repeating what’d been fed to her.”

Ominis knew this much to be true. A lot of what Constance had said had been echoes of Y/N’s words when they’d gotten the news of the engagement. Coming from her, with anger over the situation, with knowing that she had never known him before—well, that was easier to forgive. To look past. But having been lied to, tricked into thinking she viewed him differently only to be proven completely wrong was painful.

“Y/N told you she was wrong about you,” Sebastian said. “Her friend’s opinions are her own.” 

Ominis’s lip curled in a near snarl.  “She didn’t even try to stop her from coming to me.” 

“She didn’t have the chance.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, didn’t have the chance?”

“Constance stole a letter from her parents, and she went off to find you while Y/N was still in class. She had no idea, not until she fought with Constance and went to you to apologize.” 

Ominis frowned, taking in Sebastian’s words. “They fought?” He asked. 

“Yeah. It… must have been pretty bad. She didn’t tell me much, but it sounded like she took your side. She was—well, she was a bit of a mess over all of it. Over hurting you.” Sebastian gave a small, humorless chuckle. “Kept asking how you were.” 

She’d… defended him? The memory of them outside the Undercroft came flooding back to him. Her tone, shaky and desperate. And his returning voice—defensive and fierce. She’d just stood up to her friend, her best friend the moment she spoke out against him, and he’d returned the favor with nothing but more anger. Would he have done the same? If Sebastian had confronted her, would he have thrown all caution to the wind to stand against him, risking it all for a newly formed friendship?

He wasn’t even sure. 

She couldn’t even sleep in the same room as her friend. That’s why Sebastian had taken her to the Undercroft, wasn’t it? To stay away from the friendship she may have just shattered for his sake. 

What was the last thing he had said to her? I should never have let you in.

His heart fell. He had been so quick to let his emotions control him. He’d chosen to forget how clear the regret had been when she’d apologized in the past, how just as much as he’d let her in, she’d done the same. 

He’d figured she still thought the worst of him. And in fear, he did the same. 

He ran a hand through his hair, sitting silently on the sofa. “Merlin, I…” He let out a shaky breath. “You… you said she was a mess. Is she alright?” 

Sebastian sat down in the chair across from him. “She will be, I think.” 

“I should go talk to her. Apologize,” Ominis said, preparing himself to stand before Sebastian interrupted his thoughts.

“Let her get some sleep,” he said. “You can talk to her in the morning. You’ll both think clearer after some rest.” 

Ominis scoffed a bit. As if he would be able to sleep at all. But he figured he’d done enough damage for that day—best to leave something for tomorrow. 

He dragged himself up to bed, not even bothering to lay under the covers as he settled there. In the morning, he thought to himself. In the morning he’d try to make things right. 

-

The night had dragged on, until finally, he simply couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled on his uniform and rushed to straighten his hair, bypassing the typical care he gave it. It was only a few minutes before he found himself trekking down to the Undercroft, the familiar creaks of the door sounding as he entered. 

She wasn’t there. 

Instead, all he found was a few neatly stacked blankets, tucked into a corner. He brushed his hand over them, noting the sweet scent of vanilla still clinging to them. He frowned a bit. Perhaps she had gone back up to the Ravenclaw tower sometime in the night. Maybe she’d fixed things with Constance, realizing she shouldn’t have tried to offer any of her sympathy for him. He couldn’t blame her if she had. 

Ominis stayed there a moment, wondering what to do. He needed to think. He left his secret sanctuary to head for another, walking the familiar path to the music room. 

And unlike every other time he’d arrived, someone was already there. 

The piano player was clearly inexperienced. The notes were choppy, and more often than not, wrong. But he could still make out the melody through the mistakes, and it brought a small smile to his lips. 

She hit one particularly sour note, and he stepped into the room before he could overthink his approach. “It’s a c, not an f. Though your choice certainly has some sort of flair to it.” 

She whirled around, hands dropping off the keys in a sudden lurch of silence. “Ominis,” she said softly. After a slight breath, she began a torrent of words, standing from where she was sitting on the bench. “Ominis, I’m so sorry. I had no idea what she was doing until she had done it, please don’t think I still think those things of you. I’m so—”

He said her name gently, approaching her. “Sebastian explained things to me. It’s me who should be apologizing.” 

He heard the sigh that left her lips. “No, this is all my fault. You were hurt. I can’t blame you for being angry. I… I don’t even want to know what things she said. What things… what things I used to say to her.” 

He reached out, placing a careful hand on her arm and pulling her down to sit on the bench once more. He sat beside her, letting his hand fall away. “But you don’t think those things anymore?”

It came out as more of a question than he had intended. He realized he needed to hear her say it—to reassure him. Thankfully, she was more than willing to give him that. 

“Of course not,” she said. Her voice was thick, as if she were on the verge of tears. “I would take it all back if I could. Every word. You… you’re good, Ominis. And kind, under all that sarcasm of yours.” 

He chuckled a bit as she continued. 

“Kinder than I deserve.”

He frowned. “Well, I wasn’t very kind to you last night. I… I didn’t mean what I said. I’m sorry. I value our friendship, despite it’s strange beginnings. I hope it can continue, even after all this.” 

Her hand came back up to the keys, tracing over them. “I would like that,” she said softly. 

The relief that filled him so completely surprised him. He hadn’t been wrong to place his trust in her. She had done the same—and they’d managed to navigate through this storm. But another worry still ate at him. 

“You and Constance,” Ominis said. He felt her tense up beside him. “Sebastian said the two of you fought?”

“Yeah,” she muttered. “I can’t blame her for being angry with me. I lied to her. But she—she shouldn’t have taken that letter. She had no right.” 

“I agree,” Ominis said. “But can I ask… Why did you lie to her in the first place? I’m not saying you were wrong to, but why keep that from her?”

She hesitated before speaking. “I wanted something to feel normal,” she said softly. “I wanted… I wanted something to stay unchanged. Something to not feel like it wasn’t falling apart. Let myself pretend it was all fine, you know?” 

Of course he knew. He knew all too well. 

“It wasn’t fair of me, but I forced her to be that.” She laughed bitterly. “Funny. Now I doubt things will ever be the same with her again.”

“You don’t think she’ll forgive you?” 

“I haven’t got a clue,” she admitted. “I took my side when we fought. And I didn’t choose her.” 

You chose me, Ominis thought. He hated the small bit of warmth that thought brought to his chest—hated it because something she cared for had been broken, but it had been for his sake. 

“I’m sure she’ll see sense in time,” he assured her. “She made her own mistakes. I’m sure she’ll recognize that she wasn’t fair to you, either.”

“Maybe.” The word sounded so full of defeat it nearly broke Ominis’s heart. He wished he could fix this for her—it was a strange desire, one he had never felt before. Not even for Anne or Sebastian. When they made mistakes, when things went wrong because of choices they had made, it was usually easy to step back and let things play out. Of course he would comfort them—but he also knew they had to deal with their consequences. That was just how it went. 

But for her… well, if he had the power, he’d wave his wand and set everything right. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t think there was a spell for that. 

He placed his hands on the keys, beside her own. “You’ve been practicing.”

“Not much,” she admitted. 

“Still,” he said, small smile curling the corners of his lips. “You’re improving.”

“Ah, yes, my lovely rendition of the song you heard when you arrived surely proved that.”

He chuckled. “I very much enjoyed the melodic liberties you were taking.”

“I’m glad someone was. Sounded awful to me.”

“Not awful. Just abstract.” 

He felt her mood lighten. Perhaps he couldn’t fix everything. But he could make it a little better. 

“Would you play something?” she asked. 

Her question took him a bit by surprise. But he found himself unable to turn it down. “Of course,” he said. She took her hand from the piano, and laid it on her lap. He allowed himself to spread his fingers over the keys, and began. 

He wasn’t used to playing for an audience. But any nerves he may have disappeared the moment the music began to swell. That was how it always was. He could get lost in the notes and chords, and he’d stay there as long as he could. 

Even as he found himself in the music, he found a small thought in the back of his head hoping she felt the same. That he could let her escape with him, even for a few minutes.

When those minutes ended, when his song was complete and he lifted his hands from that final chord, they let the following silence linger for a moment. It was… intimate. Sacred. It was a little overwhelming, if he was honest, and he found himself needing to break it.

“Breakfast will be starting soon,” he said softly, hardly more than a whisper. 

“Yes,” she said. 

“You can sit with me and Sebastian,” he said. Then he realized that that was quite the suggestion, and that it was perhaps too much. “If you want, of course. I just thought I’d offer, considering…”

“I think I’ll accept your kind offer.” There was a hint of a smile in her voice. One he couldn’t help but be glad to hear. 

“Well then,” he replied. “I suppose we should be off before my menace of a friend steals all the pastries.” 

She laughed, and he felt lighter. 

-

If Sebastian was surprised to see the two of them walk into the Great Hall together, he didn’t let it show in the slightest. He was quick to scoot down a bit on his usual place on the bench, providing room for her. It wasn’t unheard of for students of other houses to sit at different tables—really, the only time the unofficial ‘rule’ was strictly followed was the grand feasts at the beginning and end of the year. Still, she seemed a little tense. He could hear he she shifted nervously in her seat, the way her breath was just a little more shallow than normal. 

“Apple tart?” Sebastian said, offering it out to her. She took it. 

“Thank you.”

“Do you have another?” Ominis asked. 

“Nope,” Sebastian said, eating the last bite of his own tart. She chuckled from beside the two of them. 

“Wonderful. Glad to see you’re already favoring your new friendship,” Ominis said dryly. 

“Well, she hasn’t ever done anything to piss me off,” Sebastian reasoned. 

“I can’t promise it’ll stay that way,” she said. 

Sebastian shrugged. “S’alright. I’ll still prefer you to Ominis any day.”

Her laugh was cut short, and Ominis quickly assumed why. “Is she looking at us?”

“She did for a moment,” she said softly. “But she’s gone to sit down now. She… she seems fine.”

The three were quiet for a moment before Sebastian changed the subject by offering her some bacon. 

-

The days passed much the same as that breakfast had. It was strange, Ominis thought, that she hadn’t been by their side for so much longer. Letting her into their group had nearly been effortless. Part of Ominis thought it was because he and Sebastian had always been so used to a trio. She filled the space Anne had left. But it was more than that—she brought her own things to the table. They were quick to realize that she was a Ravenclaw, through and through. She was always learning something new. From practicing charms to memorizing her favorite poems to picking up new hobbies, there was always something. And she was always eager to share it with the both of them. 

Ominis found it quite endearing when she would track him down in the library, tossing a book on the table, ready to show off whatever new trick she’d learned. She didn’t always get it perfect, of course—at least not on the first try. But her determination to figure out where she had gone wrong was impressive. 

“What are you doing now?” he asked, hearing her fiddle with something as they sat across from each other in the library. 

“Knitting,” she answered. She paused for a moment, observing her work. “At least, I’m trying to knit. I’m not sure I’ve quite got it right.”

“Knitting?” he asked, small smirk on his face. “Is there anything you haven’t tried your hand at yet?” 

“Oh, plenty. But I’ll get around to them eventually, I’m sure.” 

He chuckled, leaving his textbook on the table as he turned his attention more fully to her. “What sort of things have you already mastered?”

“Mastered is a bit of a stretch, but there are a fair few things I’d consider myself adequate at,” she said. “I’ve tried my hand at embroidery, sewing, crochet… there wasn’t a lot to do in the manor growing up. I had to entertain myself most of the time, so I made it a habit to try whatever I could.” She smiled. “There was even a summer I got pretty good at baking. Of course, when my father caught wind that Diane was sneaking me into the kitchens, he put a stop to it real quick.” 

He felt the slight shift in her mood, and knew her mind was wandering into unpleasant memories. It was a feeling he knew. 

“Diane?” he asked, hoping to shift away her worries for a moment. 

“She’s a servant at our manor. She’s… well, she’s wonderful. Raised me more than my parents ever did,” she said. “She’s the only thing I miss when I’m not home.”

He hummed. “Seems like she would get my approval, sneaking you into the kitchens and all that.”

She laughed. “What about you? Any Dianes you have, or did I just get that lucky?”

Ominis smiled fondly. “My Aunt Noctua. Truly the only good thing to ever come from my bloodline,” he said. 

“Besides yourself,” she amended. 

“It’s all thanks to her,” he said. “She always treated me kindly, even before I got my wand and could prove myself. When my mother would complain about how hard it was to raise me, she’d take me to her home for a few days, telling me I didn’t have to believe her. I didn’t have to believe any of them.” 

He trailed off a bit, getting lost in the strange mix of hopeful and heartbreaking memories. “She was the only person I ever considered real family.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Was?” she asked softly. 

He gave a solemn nod. “She disappeared several years ago. No one knows what happened to her. My father didn’t ever seem too concerned about her fate, and I was too young to do anything about it.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. 

“It’s alright,” he said. “I miss her terribly. But having known her makes me all the more determined to become someone she’d be proud of.”

She reached across the table, placing a hand on his wrist. “I think you’re well on your way to doing that,” she told him. “It seems a part of her lives on in you.” 

He didn’t know what to say to that, mouth gaping open as a strange prickling started behind his eyes. He cleared his throat. “Thank you. She’d be happy to see me have a friend like you.” 

The topic changed after that. He asked more about knitting, more about baking and Muggle books and poetry. She didn’t hesitate to share these parts of her. And he didn’t hesitate to memorize every word. 

Mere days before, he’d worried his worst fears were true. That there was no one he could trust. That he was doomed to be as lonely as he’d always been. 

How glad he was that he was wrong.

-

Chapter Seven

A/N: Oh my gosh thank you thank you THANK YOU for all the kind comments and asks I've received recently for this series!!! Seriously, it's made me so excited to keep writing it! You're all amazing, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

TAGLIST:

@skarathewitch (it wouldn't let me tag you ahhh I'm sorry! @cherryflavoredcoke @phoenix666stuff @wt-fxck@shameless0shenanigans @fitzs-trained-monkey @mxmia @vee-mage (same with you sorry!!) @myrachondria

[theleakycauldrn]

amortentia (s.s)

summary: you disliked sebastian, well, at least that’s what you told yourself.

warnings: none

not hogwarts legacy mc

-

you couldn’t stand sebastian sallow sometimes. he was confident, charming, smug, and you wanted to punch that constant smirk he wore on his face clean off. but, despite your attitude toward him, he took quite a liking to you. he constantly flirted with you, invited you out on secret rendezvous to the restricted section in the library, duels in crossed wands, tried to partner with you in any class you had together. frankly, it was almost annoying how much he tried to spend time with you, despite you denying him of most of it. but, since you were such a good sport, you went along sometimes. it’s not like you hated the boy, in fact it was quite the opposite. but, you didn’t want to get your feelings hurt, so you simply distanced yourself from him.

on the contrary, you were very good friends with ominis, which is what got you dragged into spending time with sebastian in the first place. you and ominis became friends quite quickly, bonded over the fact that you both came from power-hungry, status-crazy, pureblood family’s. you both didn’t agree with the traditional ways of your families, so you bonded. and since sebastian was practically joined at the hip with ominis most days, he would plead for you to give him a chance, saying sebastian would complain non-stop when you wouldn’t agree to do things with him.

you hummed to yourself as you walked to you next class. potions was one, if not your favourite, class. walking in the door, you realized you were one of the first students there. luckily, you got to choose who to sit with, so you looked around the room, quickly spotting onimis already seated. you walked over to him, gently putting your hand on his arm and greeting him. he greeted you in return, as you took your seat, getting yourself situated. you noticed the lesson seemed to be different today, as sharp stood at the front of the room, placing different ingredients on the table, getting ready to brew a potion. you looked back to ominis, the chatter of students filling the room as the rest of the students entered the classroom.

‘do you know what we’re learning about today?’ you asked, watching sharp intently.

‘not a clue. but, I heard we’re not brewing anything today.’ he replied.

‘garreth won’t be too pleased with that.’ you joked, which he hummed in agreement.

you continued to watch sharp, until you heard the familiar voice of sebastian entering the room. he walked side by side with imelda, clearly arguing about something. once he spotted you, his attention to his previous conversation was now gone. he gave you one of his usual charming smiles, taking the seat at a table across the room, as you table was already full. imelda followed suit and sat beside him. sharp turned around to address the now bustling classroom, low chatter from each table filling the silence. he loudly cleared his throat, grabbing the students attention.

‘today we will be learning about a highly dangerous potion, so I will be brewing, while you observe,’ he began, striding around the room, eyeing each of you in turn. ‘the amortentia love potion.’

there were a few snickers around the room, hearing the words ‘love potions’ and ‘dangerous’ in the same sentence. you’ve heard about this potion before. it smells uniquely to each person, depending on what attracts them the most, even if the person did not acknowledge or was unaware of their fondness for the object. you too were unsure about how a simple love potion could be dangerous, but was eager to watch the process nonetheless.

‘this the most powerful love potion in the world. It is distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen while brewing,’ he continued, walking back up to his cauldron, dropping in the correct amount of pearl dust into the cauldron. ‘If someone were to drink this potion, they would become infatuated or obsessed with the person who gave it to them, as no potion can truly make someone feel love. it will smell differently to each person, as to what attracts them or what they desire most.’

you contented to observe him, carefully watching the steps. you looked in amazement as the potion started to change colour, the mother-of-pearl seen escaping the cauldron that was previously mentioned. the scent in the room started to shift as he continued. you could smell faintly of a cologne and - some sort of candy? your brows furrowed as you tried to figure out where you’ve smelled this and what the particular scent was. it was something you’ve smelled many times before, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. ‘is the room starting to smell different to you too?’ you whispered to ominis before shaking your head, dismissing the thoughts from your mind as your gaze fell back on your professor finishing the remaining steps of the potion.

ominis turned his head toward you as he whispered a simple ‘yes’ back. before you could reply, sharp looked in your direction, at the sound of voices behind him.

‘ms (Y/l/n), mr gaunt, perhaps you would like to tell the class what unique scent you each smell, since you seem to have more interesting things to be disscussing.’

‘of course professor,’ your cheeks instantly flushed, the heat in your face ever so present. reluctantly, you stood from your seat, and stepped up to the cauldron. whispers began circulating the room as you took sharps place at the cauldron. you weren’t entirely sure what was about to be revealed, but you figured it was going to something uncomfortable for you to admit. the scent only grew stronger, the closer you stood to it. it began to consume every part of your senses, almost able to taste it on your tongue.

‘I smell ceaderwood - a cologne I believe,’ you began, inhaling again before continuing. ‘and peppermint toad’s from honey dukes.’

sharp dismissed you, a satisfied look on his face at your clear embarrassment from the task. you took a seat back at your station, as ominis made his way up to the cauldron. realization hit you like a ton of bricks, your thoughts swarmed your head trying to pinpoint the culprit. it was sebastian. you huffed to yourself; you hated the stupid comments he always made under his breath, his over confidence of sneaking into the restricted section of the library - or really any restricted part of the school which often ended in detention, his stupid cologne that seemed like he took a bath in it every morning for how strong it was, his addiction to those peppermint toad’s he carried around everywhere which him. his chocolate brown curls that messily fell in his face, the freckles the covered his face so perfectly. fuck.

you liked him. deep, deep down, you always had the thought in the back of your mind of something more. but, you convinced yourself it was an impossible thought, so as quickly as it came to your mind, you would push it away just as fast. you distanced yourself, never truly opening up to him, and frankly being kind of rude, so you didn’t end up with a broken heart.

you snapped back out of your thoughts as ominis sat back down beside you. sharp signaled the end of class, and ominis bid you a goodbye as you had different classes next. before you could make your escape, sebastian was standing in front of you, the widest grin on his face that you’ve ever seen.

‘it seems like someone has a cru-,’

‘say one more word sallow, and i will take you out.’ you grumbled, glaring at him. picking up your things and carefully placing them in your in your arms, you stood up beside him. he stood quite a bit taller than you, the top of your head resting right at his shoulders.

he looked down at you with a certain gleam in his eye, that you’ve never seen before. “are you asking me on a date?”

‘no, i said i would take you out. as in beat your ass in a duel.’

‘no need to be so hostile,’

you rolled you eyes, hastily walking towards the exit, trying to end this conversation as soon as possible. you simply didn’t need to hear him gloat about his awareness of your newfound crush on him.

but, he very obviously, has been waiting for this day since they first day you met. he followed closely behind looking like a lost puppy looking for its owner.

‘i’d would love for you to accompany me on a date,

if you would be so kind to indulge me.’ you stopped in your tracks, hearing the words leave his mouth. at this point you were standing a few steps outside of the classroom. ‘you’ve acted like you didn’t like me. why?’

you pulled him to a secluded corner around, thankful there were no students around. you weren’t expecting to have this conversation right now, or frankly at all.

‘i - i didn’t want to get my feelings hurt. i didn’t want to like you,’ his expression fell as each new word left your mouth. ‘i didn’t want to get my hopes up for something more, only to be left alone at the end.’

‘you can be so daft, you know that?’ he questioned, taking a step closer to you. you didn’t realize how close you were standing, until you could feel his breath in your face. you shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. ‘i’ve always liked you. only you. i tried so hard to get you to see that, but you pushed me away.’

you looked back up, seeing him staring down at you, an adoring look in his eyes. something he only reserved for you. but, you didn’t know that. before you could process what what happening he was leaning down, and his lips were on yours. it felt like time stopped, your eyes wide like a dear who has just been spotted by a hunter. you didn’t know what to do. every alarm bell was going off in your head, telling you to pull away. you were in public, and would most defiantly get in trouble. but instead, you relaxed into it, deepening it. your eyes fluttering closed. running your fingers through his hair, you felt his hand gently placed against you waist, one on your cheek. it felt like ages before he eventually pulled away. your heart felt like it was going to beat right out of your chest.

‘do you know how long i’ve been wanting to do that?’ he sighed, grabbing your things from your hands. he began heading in the direction of your next class, signaling for you to follow. ‘how about that date?’

[damn-it-a-hogwarts-legacy-blog]

Hey! Have you ever thought about any headcanons if Ominis and MC decided to have children? I know the fandom is a little on the fence about Ominis having children of his own (some want him to be a dad, others want him to be a godfather to Sebastian's kids). But I was thinking about... what you think about Ominis having children (or even just one child) who is blind like him? I think this would make Ominis feel like it was his fault his child is blind, but MC loves their baby even more. 🥺

Oh my god I love love love the idea of Ominis having kids, he would be such a good dad 💚 God I feel so disorganized, I need a better tagging system, but I've explored Dad!Ominis here, here, partially here, and here, and I'm always more than happy to return to the subject. I am extremely grateful you gave me an excuse to write more :)

I have had ideas of Ominis being blind due to the influence of dark magic (because injuries inflicted using dark magic usually can't be healed, so congenital dark magic disabilities don't seem so far-fetched), and I could see it being a reason why he would have a child who was blind, too.

I started exploring this in meta, but it quickly devolved into a narrative, so here you go lol:

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Ominis had gone his entire life believing he was blind purely by coincidence. He felt he had simply been given a handicap by fate, and as he had never known anything different, he had no trouble at all accepting it. He had not even been aware of the fact that his blindness was unique until MC had explained to him one day in their sixth year that not every blind person had eyes that looked like his. Having recently learned of incurable maladies stemming from dark magic, she had idly wondered if it was a consequence of the dark magic the Gaunts insisted on using. Still, it meant little to Ominis, and he went about his days as normal, simply happy to be sharing them with his beloved MC and not with his family.

When Ominis was wed to MC, he thought nothing of his blindness. Her happily trembling lips had touched his as they sealed their bond before friends and family, and then again that night as they shared their wedding bed for the first time. He needed nothing more in the world to be happy.

It was not long before talk of a baby filled their home, and Ominis eagerly helped MC prepare. His lack of vision did nothing to dampen his excitement; he was overjoyed each time his hands skimmed over his beautiful wife's stomach and felt their baby—a brand new life they had created together—growing each day.

Ominis was full of nothing but hope and enthusiasm for the nine months they awaited the arrival of their child. He could barely stand the wait. He looked forward to giving someone the happy childhood he had never been given himself, raising a child with the love of his life in a safe home far from the dark magic and misery of the Gaunts.

On the day of their child's arrival, Ominis had all but rushed to be with MC the moment the healers allowed him. He carefully held his newborn son, memorizing every tiny feature and listening to the little coos and babbles with so much joy he thought his heart might actually burst. MC had also been overjoyed, but seemed hesitant about something.

It was then that the healer entered the room and broke the news to Ominis. Their son had been born blind—much in the same way Ominis was, in fact. Where pupils should have been, his son's eyes were only a starry blue. He was otherwise healthy and quite happy to be held by both his parents.

Ominis' heart grew impossibly heavy in his chest, and he felt MC's hand reach out to touch his arm as he slowly sank next to his wife on the bed, still holding their baby who yawned and peacefully fell asleep.

It felt as if Ominis’ world was collapsing in on him.

Tears stung at Ominis' eyes as he immediately remembered the conversation he and MC had had years ago as students. He held his son to his chest as a sob escaped his lips, followed by whispers of apologies. There, next to the wife he felt he had disappointed and the healer he was sure would hate him, Ominis mourned for his baby’s sight. He had tainted their happy little family with the dark magic that coursed through his veins, and there was no going back now. He cursed himself and the Gaunts for forever haunting him in a shadow that constantly lingered behind him. He thought he had escaped his family’s terrible influence, but in that moment he felt he never would.

Ominis had been contemplating how he could ever face his wife again when MC's voice finally pulled him from his despair. She rubbed his shoulder and murmured his name.

When Ominis turned toward her voice, she smiled and reached up to gently wipe the tears from his face. Her voice was soft and calm as she hushed him.

Ominis had managed quite well on his own and lived a happy life, MC noted as she gently pushed a strand of his hair back in place to watch it fall again—so what was stopping his child from doing the same?

Ominis bit his lower lip. It was so much more than the blindness alone. It was the blood of a violent and despised family that was now part of his own son. It was the reminder that those same people would forever color his life—and now his son's life, too. And it was Ominis' fault for thinking he could escape his birthright of pain and suffering.

MC reached a hand up to Ominis' face again and cupped his jaw in her hand. He closed his eyes with a sigh and leaned into her hand. Ominis had already defied all expectations by choosing to abandon his birth family for the family he had chosen with MC. Perhaps the Gaunts could leave physical reminders of the past, but they could never choose his future.

MC loved their baby wholly and unconditionally. It mattered little to her that he was blind like his father. Like her love for her husband, her love for her child was completely unaffected by his appearance or his ancestors. All that mattered was the three of them forging their destiny together.

[witchywriter18]

Sebastian Sallow with a beast loving Hufflepuff

So after weeks of begging, you finally let him into the Room of Requirement. In pure Sebastian fashion, he's exploring with unbridled curiosity while being respectful of your space.

He is curious about the Vivariums but first wants to check out the downstairs area.

"Bloody hell, why so many brewing and potting stations?"

Also, if you're like me, you used the botanical style all over the place! Like with the Hufflepuff common room, Sebastian is very much vibing with the cozy ambiance of the room.

"Can I just move in here? Ominis complains that I snore."

"If you do snore then no, you'll disturb the Puffskiens!"

"......The what?"

Onto the beast Vivariums!!!

To say Sebastian is impressed is an understatement! He already knew you were battling poachers in your time between classes and saving beasts but he didn't know you were keeping them here!

He liked hanging around the smaller critters like the Nifflers and Puffskiens.

The Kneazels also enjoyed his presence, especially since he gave good ear scratches.

Then he met your more impressive beasts.

"YOU HAVE A PHEONIX?!"

The boy is in shock in the presence of your Thestrals, Unicorns, Hippogriffs, and lone Phoenix.

He had to contain his excitement until he properly approached the Hippogriffs so they wouldn't maul him to death. He may be an idiot sometimes but he wasn't stupid.

"What other manner of beasts are you keeping in here? A dragon?"

"No but I do have one other beast to introduce. Just don't freak out."

"...... Okay, somehow you saying don't freak out and that it's not a dragon makes me nervous."

You lead him to the coastal Vivarium (that's where I personally keep this one) and ask him to stand a good distance away.

After you let out a whistle, Sebastian felt the ground shake. He damn near fainted when he saw a bloody Graphorn charging toward you.

Like most of his experience here, he was once again shocked when this large beast all but laid on its back in front of you as you proceeded to give it belly rubs.

"........ HOW IN THE HELL-"

So now here Sebastian was, gingerly giving this intimidating beast head pats like it was an overgrown dog. And was it purring?!

Well, Sebastian's respect for you just increased ten fold, not that it wasn't high before. But the fact you had a GRAPHORN of all things trotting up to you like a happy pooch for belly rubs made you much more interesting.

So now on occasion, Sebastian would come to the Room of Requirement to assist you in taking care of your critters, big and small.

He was still warry around that Graphorn though...

"HOW IN MERLIN'S NAME DID YOU NAB A SECOND ONE?!"

">:3"

[legacyshenanigans]

With your post about Rowan sniffing out the polyjuice potion... would he be super sensitive to smells, say if MC/ Ominis was wearing a strong perfume? Would he hate the overpowering smell and would want them to wash or? Was wondering how he'd react👀

Have a great day B! Xx

p.s. fuck them neighbors 🤣

Hey you 🤍 I'm having a good day so far apart from the fact I'm disgustingly hungover after last night, my aunt was making Cherry bakewell cocktails and I had like 5 of them, ontop of everything else I was drinking 🤣 but I'm good, Hope you have a good day too! And YES fuck my neighbours 🤣🤣 yeah I can a little something for this, hope you dont mind if i add more to this ask as a HC? It gives me an excuse to talk about him more hahaha 🤍

Rowan HC's

High sense of smell.

Nothing gets past Rowan in regards to scent. He knows what each person he has contact with on a daily basis smells like, and not even just outer smells. He can smell their pheromones, their body chemicals, and there's some folk he doesn't like to be around because he doesn't like their body chemical scent. For example, there a man who comes into the Den regularly, Rowan has no beef with him or anything, but he can't STAND the way the man smells.

The Man: *walks into the Den* Afternoon, chaps.

Marvolo: Good afternoon *small smile*

Rowan: *trying to hold back his disgusted face* ...Hi...

The Man: *wanders off to go do his shady business*

Rowan: URGH...

Marvolo: What's your problem with him? You always say "urgh" or shiver a little when he comes in here.

Rowan: He smells fuckin weird..

Marvolo: Does he? I've never noticed.

Rowan: Nah, not like that. I mean, like his body, his chemicals. I swear there's something wrong with him..

But outer smells are a more simple thing, smells in general are more intense to Rowan, but he actually doesn't mind it so much, especially if it's a smell he likes, so he wouldn't ask someone to change something or not wear something, unless he really didn't like it, the only thing that happens if someone is wearing TOO MUCH perfume, it can make him sneeze uncontrollably🤣 but other than someone's personal pheromones, outer smells are another good way for him to sniff folk out if he's used to what their outer scent smells like because of things like sprays, hair product, what they use to clean their clothes ect.

Rowan: *in the woods near Gaunt Manor in Werewolf form*

Ominis: *steps outside into the gardens of the Manor*

Rowan: *SNIFFS the air, smelling Ominis's usual cologne from quite a distance away* Ominis~ *turns around and starts bounding back over towards the house*

MC: *walks over to where they were meeting each other* Hey you~ *gives him a hug*

Rowan: ....*AGGRESSIVE SNEEZE*

MC: (?!)

Rowan: Heh. *sniffles* Ya wearin A LOT of perfume today?

MC: Oh?! I...I didn't think I was wearing anymore than usual? Perhaps a little more? I'm not sure. *chuckles*

Rowan: *chuckles* Ya definitely are *another aggressive sneeze*

~

[imthejudge]

on the topic of ignorance

Sebastian Sallow x m!MC

Word count: 3.9 k

Tags: fluff

Read on Archive

In which our beloved Sebastian Sallow is most upset with MC and attempts to avoid him, when in actuality he is the one being avoided. A fact that simply does not sit well with him.

“We’re not talking.”

Sebastian promptly takes his seat beside his best friend and fellow Slytherin, Ominis, as students begin to filter into the Charms classroom for their afternoon lesson. 

“Who’re you talking about?” Ominis sends a perplexed expression his way.

“Who do you think?” Sebastian’s words are short and impatient.

It only takes one guess as Ominis drawls out in a now bored fashion at the realization, “are you talking about MC?”

“Yes, obviously I’m talking about MC!” He hisses in an aside to his friend.

“Good,” Ominis turns away from Sebastian, drawing his attention away to place his wand on the table in front of him. “Then you can finally stop bringing the poor lad into your affairs. He seems far too busy as it is.”

Sebastian furrows his brow, blinking at Ominis in disbelief. “My affairs–he was the one who wanted to get involved in the first place, you know.”

“Whatever you say, Sebastian. I just think you put too much on him sometimes.”

He’s annoyed, not bothering to hide the fact that it’s because Ominis isn’t siding with him–even when he’s his best friend, and by default should side with him no matter what–to the point where he is now fully scowling. “Is this because of what happened at the Scriptorium?”

A slightly panicked look crosses Ominis’ face. Sebastian can’t help the little bit of satisfaction that flickers within him at getting a response out of Ominis, aware of how uncomfortable the topic makes him. Ominis faces him once more, leaning in closer with a lowered tone, “Can we not speak of this here, I don’t want you casually mentioning what happened out in the open like this. You know it still haunts me.”

It was true that what had transpired in his, Ominis’, and MC’s search for Salazar Slytherin’s scriptorium was unpleasant–to say the least–but Sebastian stands by that it was necessary in order to extract the information they’d received. He knows MC would agree, too. 

“Oh, come off it, Ominis. It’s fine. But okay, I’ll drop it.” Sebastian leans back in his chair, casting his gaze to the door where students continue coming in from. “Besides, this is to do with a disagreement we had and I only wanted to say that we are collectively going to ignore MC together. So no being friendly when he comes in, okay?”

It’s Ominis’ turn to frown now, the corners of his lips pulled down. “You might have the luxury to avoid whoever you want for a bit of overdramatic reason, but I–for one–would like to keep the few friends that I have. Do whatever you want, Sebastian, I won’t be a part of this.” He fully turns his back on Sebastian now to face the front of the classroom. 

He supposes he understands, Ominis has always had a hard time getting people to like him, nevermind trust him. He was a Gaunt, after all. The family name carried quite the reputation within the school, and not one other students–or teachers alike–saw to fondly. 

Sebastian never cared, Ominis was his oldest and closest friend, having struck up their acquaintance and fast growing friendship back in first year alongside his sister, Anne. The three had always been inseparable, and Ominis had gone through more than anyone could ever imagine while still retaining a kind soul. 

The only other person to look past his name and the fear it brought out was MC, who’d been quick to extend an introduction and a smile when meeting Ominis and him in their first class together.

But all that aside, Sebastian can’t help the irritation at his request being turned down by Ominis. Not that it really matters, he’ll do a fine job of ignoring MC on his own. He’d been waiting for this moment since his and MC’s last conversion in the Undercroft. After MC had disclosed knowing–and working with–the enemy. A goblin, of all creatures. He couldn’t believe it. And by extension, Sebastian hasn’t spoken to him since.

That had been the evening before the weekend, and now that Tuesday has approached alongside their first shared class of the week, Sebastian is eager for MC to show up so he can follow through with his plan to ignore him completely. That’ll teach him.

Most of his classmates have now settled at their desks, distributing themselves away from the classroom entrance where they’d crowded before the start of class neared. Sebastian feels a jab of disappointment when Garreth is the last to slip inside before Professor Ronan swiftly walks down the stairs from his office and shuts the door to the classroom with a flick of his wand. 

“Alright everyone, shall we begin?”

-

“He never showed up.” 

Ominis points the observation to Sebastian–as if he already didn’t know–while Sebastian paces the small alcove in front of the windows that look into the lake where Ominis leisurely leans against. It’s his preferred area of the Slytherin common room to hang out in, and Sebastian is finding himself joining Ominis here more often as of late. 

“You don’t think I’ve noticed?” He squints over at Ominis, a look of frustration plastered across his face and seeping into his voice just the same.

After Charms class came and went, Sebastian expected MC to show up the following day in the morning at Defence Against the Dark Arts to little avail. But no matter, since they also shared Herbology in the afternoon. Only, there was no sign of MC then, either. Wednesday was a lost cause as their houses do not cross paths again until Friday. But that day came and went, too, without so much as a glimpse of him. 

Sebastian lets out a frustrated sigh, turning sharply on his heel to take the couple of steps he’s been pacing on repeat beside Ominis. He knew MC had other, more pressing assignments at times, but this was just ridiculous. If the two of them were on speaking terms, he’d be quite cross with how absent he’s been.

“Well, it’s a good thing then, isn’t it? He’s too busy to take part in classes with you. Therefore you don’t have to waste so much energy in trying to avoid him.” Ominis comments casually.

This only spurs Sebastian on further, “No, it’s not a good thing! He’s not around for me to show how annoyed I am with him! He needs to know, Ominis. He needs to be around for me to ignore.”

Ominis’ brow creases, “I don’t follow, you want him to show up to class so you can… pretend he’s not in class? Is this… is this some sort of attempt at courting I’m not familiar with?”

“Ugh, no, I’m not trying to–to court him! You don’t understand…” Sebastian shakes his head in continued frustration. Though, he’s secretly glad that Ominis can’t pick up on the way his cheeks have tinged ever so slightly red.

“No, apparently not.” Ominis replies shortly. Sebastian decides to drop the topic for the evening, slumping into a chair opposite of Ominis and burying his face in one of the many books he’s preoccupied himself with since the beginning of the school year.

-

“I hope they’re okay.”

Ominis says, out of the blue–even if what he knows the subject to be is constantly at the forefront of Sebastain’s mind.

“Of course he’s okay.” He snaps, a little too harshly, so he continues, this time with less malice, “I mean, I’m sure Professor Figg has pulled him out of school to do more of those ancient-magic-trial-things.”

Another two weeks have passed where the both of them still haven’t seen or heard from MC. Worry over him has seeped in the back of Sebastian’s mind, too. But his annoyance, and certainty that he wasn’t in any real danger, won out in the end. 

“He could have at least told us.” Sebastain states sourly as him and Ominis trudge side by side on their way to Magical Beasts. He has his arm looped with Ominis’, practically barreling down the path that leads out of the campus grounds to the hut where Madam Howin teaches. 

“Maybe he’s upset with you, too–also, could you slow down please? You’re going to make me trip over something.”

“Upset with me? You’re joking.” Sebastian slows his pace, but only slightly. “No, this is a lapse in judgment, it happens to the best of us. Soon he’ll realize the error of his ways and come back apologizing. And I will be here to graciously accept him back into our graces with open arms. I am fair, after all.”

A sly smile appears on Ominis’ face, “so you do miss him, then.” 

“What—don’t be ridiculous, Ominis. Have you even been listening to what I’ve been saying? I don’t understand why you’d say something so preposterous.”

A moment of silence passes as they continue their stride together. Sebastian eyes his friend to see his expression has fallen, letting out a sigh, “I miss him, too.”

-

Potions class just wasn’t the same without MC at his side, whispering about what they presumed Garreth might concoct next. How the two would place stupid bets that if the result lined up with what they’d each written on a spare bit of parchment, the one who guessed correctly may try to sabotage the other’s potion with an ingredient of their choice. Now Sebastian has been sabotaging his own potion perfectly fine on his own. At least it still wasn’t as bad as Ominis’, who’s gave off a murky mud green colour instead of the luminous description it was listed to have. 

But Sebastian was never going to admit MC’s absence dampened his spirits—least of all to himself. He was quite satisfied with joining the station beside Poppy, the excitable Hufflepuff who particularly perked up when the subject of magical creatures came around. 

In truth, he’s been going in and out of their mostly one-sided conversation for the majority of class. Not that he didn’t like Poppy, but more so from the fact that there was only so much he could hear on the topic of puffskiens. He’d never found them very interesting in the first place. 

Though, her rambling provided distraction enough from his mind wandering back to what has been plaguing him for almost a full month now. “...mind you, Highwing doesn’t take to just anyone. If I were to compare him to other Hippogriffs I’d say he’s quite stubborn, but I had no doubts that MC would win him over! They got along right away. I’d even reckon Highwing will give him a ride if he’d wanted.”

Sebastian’s attention snaps to Poppy as she crushes some dittany leaves into her cauldron, her face set in a content manner from recalling the story. “Sorry, Poppy, did you say you were with MC?”

She nods enthusiastically, making her eyes squint, “and Highwing!”

“When was this?” 

“How was he? Is he alright?” Even Ominis piped in, focusing in on their conversation.

She’s a little taken aback, possibly from the sudden attention on her and the berating of questions. “I think so? He said he couldn’t stay for long, but I’d been wanting to show him for ages.”

“Poppy, when was this?” Sebastian repeats a little more forcefully.

Poppy tilts her head in thought, “hmm… I believe it was just this past weekend. Friday, yes.”

Something heavy weighs in the pit of Sebastian’s stomach, wrapped with a growing irritation that he can’t help but extend towards Poppy, too. He tightens his jaw. Since when were the two of them so close? Why didn’t Sebastian know this? Why had he bothered to see her instead of him–or Ominis?

“Should I be worried?” Poppy looks between the two of them with a crease between her brow.

Ominis has returned back to his potion, apparently perfectly contented with learning that MC is still alive and well, albeit without checking in with the two of them. That same suppressed smile from before Beasts class in back in place, however, and he avoids Sebastian when he answers Poppy. “No, you don’t have to be worried. Our dear friend Sebastian here simply doesn’t know what to do with himself in his absence. Like a lost puppy, really.”

“I am not!” he barks out, fuming as he glares at Poppy and Ominis alike. They both snicker behind their hands. The gall of them both, Sebastian focuses back on the potion he’s brewing with the determination to ignore them. Though, he feels heat rise up his neck and pointedly glowers inside his potions book to see what ingredient needs to be added next, trying hard to put his mind on the task at hand. 

One thing is for certain, he will not be sitting with Poppy again. And as he hears continued whispers coming from their direction, Sebastian thinks to yell at them some more. Only, he doesn’t get the chance when a loud boom sounds from behind him, the force of the blast ruffling his hair and robes. 

He, alongside the rest of the class, peers over his shoulder to see Garreth has failed in yet another endeavor to brew one of his own original concoctions, exploding in his face and disintegrating everything in the general vicinity of his work station. Including his eyebrows. Again.

The angry voice of Professor Sharp follows throughout the dungeon, “Weasley!”

-

Monday brought forth Charms class once more, and torrential rain with it. Any promise of getting a practical lesson outside on the school grounds was quickly squandered. Sebastian also gave up on the anticipation of having MC show up. Well, mostly. He pretends he wasn’t aware of the tiny bit of hope that remains deep rooted in his chest and told him it might still be a possibility. 

So he couldn’t be blamed for almost falling out of his chair that he’d been leisurely leaning back in when MC walks into the classroom. A small gasp escapes him as he lets all four chair legs meet with the ground, half expecting his mind desperate enough to have created some sort of illusion of him. “Ominis, Ominis,” he hisses while tugging at his friend's sleeve. “He showed up!”

This piqued Ominis’ interest, straightening up in his seat, “He did? How does he look, still in one piece?”

Sebastian peers over Ominis’ shoulder while still attempting to remain inconspicuous. His gaze follows MC as he walks up to Professor Ronan, a cloak that’s drenched through wrapped around his frame. “Yeah he’s intact. He looks tired, though.” It was true, causing Sebastian to frown. The dark circles under MC’s eyes are noticeably distinguishable even from where he and Ominis sit. 

A twinge of guilt, the first he’s felt since their argument in the Undercroft, twists inside Sebastian. Perhaps he was being a bit too harsh. Seeing MC now almost dissipates any of the animosity he had felt after their argument in the Undercroft, tempted to push everything aside and welcome him over to the seat in between himself and Ominis where he usually settles into.

“Is he coming over?” Ominis sounds as hopeful as Sebastian secretly feels. 

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Sebastian cranes his neck to see MC saying something to the Professor that’s too quiet to pick up amidst the rowdy atmosphere of the classroom. Part of Sebastian wants to turn around at his classmates and yell at them to shut up, but he can’t tear his eyes away as he watches MC proceed to hand Professor Ronan a slip of paper.

Then, with an increasing sense of disappointment, MC turns around to head back out of the class. But not before he’s interrupted by Garreth calling out to him, “Hey, MC, you have to try my latest mixture! It was a great success in potions class.”

MC screws up his face as he looks over at Garreth, “no thanks. And I seriously doubt that.” Garreth only shrugs while MC acknowledges Poppy and Natty, who sit a ways down from where Garreth had stood up. He sends them a wave and a smile as he proceeds to leave.

He disappears for only a fraction of a second before popping his head back in, this time looking towards where Sebastian sits, his heart seeming to skip a beat. 

“Oh, and hello, Ominis!”

-

“Okay, that’s it. This isn’t on.”

Sebastian gets up from where he and Omins have been lounging on the grass in the main area of the Hogwarts grounds. The rain that plagued most of their week was gone, replaced by a bright sun that brought most of the students out to enjoy it. 

“I’m going to find and confront him about all this.” He stands above Ominis with his arms crossed, blotting out the sun.

“Do you mean it this time? Or will you be changing your mind again.” A disgruntled Ominis attempts to maneuver his way back into the direct sunlight he’d been bathing in a moment prior, and out of Sebastian’s shadow. 

He scoffs, “Yes, I mean it, he just hasn’t been easy to get a hold of, you know.”

Ominis hums, already relaxing on a new patch of grass with his hands behind his head and his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. He dons a pleasant smile, his eyes closed, “Then I bid you good luck. Goodbye.”

“And we know he’s been the one avoiding me, now. Tactfully shown by wherever that was in Charms class.” Recalling the event of when MC had greeted practically everyone but Sebastian, leaving him with his mouth hung open in awe and quite dumbfounded before starting their lesson.

“Right, it’s almost like how I’d previously mentioned he might be upset with you over your last discussion. What was it about, anyhow? You still haven’t told me.” Ominis rests up on his elbows. 

“Well, it was nothing, really.” Sebastian begins to fumble with the hem of his cloak under Ominis’ stern gaze. “Okay, it wasn’t nothing but—he said he was speaking with a goblin, Ominis! A goblin!” 

“Well, that's certainly better than fighting one, isn’t it?” 

“You know their lot aren’t to be trusted, after everything with how they cursed my sister!”

Ominis frowns, “And then what happened?” 

“I, uh,” Sebastian brings up a hand to rub at the back of his neck, angling himself slightly away, “proceeded to yell at him. Quite a bit…”

Ominis blinks, then lies back down. “I would have avoided you, too.” 

Rolling his eyes, Sebastian sets off across the grounds and inside the castle. Although, once he’s inside he realizes he’s not sure where to start looking. He supposes he could check by MC’s common room. Though, he’d have no way of knowing if MC was actually around. Sebastian doubts this, anyway, seeing as MC was likely too preoccupied to spend more time than a night’s rest inside their own common room.

It’s just then that Sebastian decides he might ask Natty if she’s seen MC around. Or perhaps Amit, who’s been known to spend time with him after their late night Astronomy classes. He’s sure one of their shared classmates has seen MC around. He might even ask Poppy if he happened to bump into her.

It’s with this new goal in mind that brings Sebastian through the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower where he winds his way through the elaborately designed marble staircases and hallways. It’s mostly deserted, as what seems like a majority of Hogwarts was taking advantage of the wonderful weather they were experiencing.

The set of enchanted violins serenade him as he walks past with a quick stride, trying to spot someone to question regarding MC’s whereabouts. It’s not until he turns the corner at the end of one of the larger staircases that something draws his attention. A flicker of a robe at the end of the hallway. 

If it were any old hallway, Sebastian wouldn’t have taken any notice. Wouldn’t have given it another thought, really. But at the end of this particular hallway stood the entrance to the Undercroft. And he only knew of three people who were aware of its secretive location: Ominis, himself, and MC. 

So glance again, Sebastian did, as he knew full well who had now skirted around the corner and flattened themselves against the wall in hopes of not drawing any attention. 

A smirk twists the side of his mouth when he rushes forward, confronting and further cornering MC there “Hey, you’re not allowed in there. It’s off limits to anyone who doesn’t acknowledge my presence.” 

Face set in shock, MC takes a moment before responding, their expression returning to one that’s unreadable again, “I wasn’t going in.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“Looking for you.”

“Oh.” Whatever Sebastian was expecting in response, it certainly wasn’t that, “you were?”

It’s MC’s turn for a sly smile to brace his features now, “Mhm.”

Sebastian takes a step back, allowing MC some breathing room. “Why have you been ignoring me? And don’t say it’s because you’ve been busy.”

“I have been busy.”

“Not too busy to hang out with Poppy, though.” Sebastian retorts.

“Poppy didn’t call me ignorant and stomp out on our conversation. Or proceed to disappear for the rest of the weekend.” Smile turning innocent, MC states this in a matter-of-fact way. 

“Ah.” He’s strikingly aware of the remorse that floods him now. “Yes, perhaps I was slightly brash in my reaction… maybe a bit uncalled for…” MC nods along enthusiastically, attentive to Sebastain’s poor attempt at self redemption. He lets his eyes drop, and notices MC holding both hands behind his back suspiciously. “What’ve you got there…?”

“Nothing.” MC angles his hold on something away from Sebastian’s gaze, but not before he’d caught a glimpse of a small box adorning red and white stripes.

A grin is quick to return to Sebastian’s face at the sneaking suspicion of what he thinks it might be, making a swipe for it that MC is swift to duck away from. “Did you–? Are those for me?”

“No.”

Sebastian eventually finds out he was right–after scraping with MC–to see a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, “Oho, missed me, did you?”

“Not as much as you missed me, apparently.”

“And how would you know that?” The two of them are in close proximity after having fought over the box that MC now holds in front of him, almost forgotten at this point.

“Ominis told me.”

“Om—when did you speak with Ominis?!” Sebastian straightens up, frowning.

“Only the other day. We had afternoon tea together, he did ask you to come,” MC says casually.

“That little–obviously I didn’t know you’d be there!”

MC shrugs, then relents to giving Sebastian the box of jellybeans, holding them out to him.

Sebastian accepts them, hesitating slightly. “I’m sorry, by the way. Properly. I didn’t mean what I said before, you’re not ignorant.”

“No,” MC agrees with a slight smile, a mischievous glint in their eyes, “though, you certainly are.”

Sebastian thinks he rather deserves that. Perhaps. “Come on then, let’s crack this open. Maybe we can trick Ominis into eating a mouldy cheese one.”

“Merlin, finally.” Turns out they didn’t have to look too far for their friend, both of them jumping when Ominis speaks up from a ways behind them. “I was afraid I’d have to entertain Sebastatian for the rest of my days.”

Sebastian turns to face Ominis as he comes sauntering down the hall toward them, feeling slightly put out, “...how much of that did you hear?”

“Enough.” Ominous replies in an aloof manner, turning his nose up at Sebastian. “I think I’ll take a leaf out of MC’s book and be the next one to avoid you for a while.”

[toctua]

Hi! Did Ominis and Aena ever find out what happened to their granddaughter? The whole thing about her affair with Tom, being kicked out of the family, etc, did she have a good relationship with them?I'm just researching your beautiful blog and want to know more 🤭❤️ Thanks!

Hi~~~! I'm very glad that you asked, because I thought about this a lot and still think about it… And sorry for such a long text 👀

In fact, it so happened that Ominis died quite young (I had their family tree with dates, but Noctua's date of birth was incorrectly indicated there, because I made it before Toctua became my hyperfix and I did not make it thinking). He died about a month before/after the month of Noctua's birth.

With Aena, everything was somewhat more complicated, because she is not the kind of grandmother who would simply leave everything to go as it is. But I think she was afraid of quarreling with both her son and her granddaughter, so she tried not to put too much pressure on them. As she grew older, Aena greatly missed Ominis and preferred to travel, visiting her relatives and friends in other countries. And when there was a quarrel between Eleazar and Noctua, she was simply not at home. This was also the reason why she didn't know how serious the situation really was.

Because At that time, Eleazar was married for the second time, I thought that probably her younger step-brother begged his sister to stay at home and make peace with his father.

Aena tried to act more through Eleazar, pushing him to a truce with his daughter. But at that time, contacting Noctua was quite problematic. Tom cut her off from contact with her family (although Noctua hardly knew about it), after a quarrel he believed that they were not worthy of being part of their circle.

It must be taken into account that the quarrel occurred very large, thinking about it, I added to its content:

Yes. Eleazar was incredibly angry, at that moment he already realized how dangerous Tom was and was simply afraid for Noctua. In addition, he had a chance to communicate with Dumbledore, who explained to him the situation with Tom and… just hinted at their family connection. And Eleazar was blown away when he realized that Noctua knew about all this and continued to stay close to Riddle. Moreover, he notices this unhealthy connection between them. Of course, it’s not new among purebred wizards to start relationships and start families with relatives, but Tom was Gaunt, and Eleazar couldn’t stand them.

I suppose it all came down to Noctua’s exile when, in a fit of emotion, she raised her wand at him. It’s unlikely that she wanted this, and she never cast the spell, but Eleazar was wounded in the very heart. It was a quarrel full of the most desperate emotions when he tried to reach out to his daughter, but he understood that she did not value his words because of her arrogance.

And Noctua left. I think they sometimes saw each other from afar in London, but at that moment, when Eleazar finally decided to approach her, he never saw her again in person, only in photographs. Noctua simply disappeared, and after a while, thanks to Dumbledore and his colleagues, he learned that his dear daughter died, and not from what he feared most, but because of a banal incident at work.

And even after that, he would not have received her body, would not have buried her properly. Noctua simply disappeared, and only her room and family tree reminded him that he really had a daughter.

I also want to add that Tom initially had a good relationship with the Noctua family. We all know how this boy can fawn, but for him, this was primarily an opportunity to keep Noctua as close to him as possible.

While they were studying at Hogwarts, Eleazar loved Tom. Of course, he was a little afraid, after all, his girl is friends with the boy (although in fact Noctua was friends with girls too, but not so close, again because of Tom). But Riddle was an excellent student, everyone spoke well of him, and Eleazar was even proud that his daughter was next to such an outstanding young mind. He also noticed Tom's ambiguous behavior, but ultimately chalked it up to the fact that they were teenagers and was probably prepared for the possibility that one of them might fall in love with the other in the future. The last thing on his mind was that Tom was evil in the flesh, considering how well he treated Noctua.

Aena did not have much contact with Tom, but she was completely fascinated by the boy. She repeatedly teased Eleazar about the fact that Tom was his future son-in-law. I think she treated them more lightly, remembering herself and Ominis in their school years. Probably Aena romanticized everything too much; after all, her personal life with Ominis was full of romance, until his death.

I'm so sorry this took so many words, it was a nice opportunity for me to speak. I should probably really start writing small headcanons, in addition to the art, to give depth to this lore for everyone who is really interested.

I also want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your question. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that anyone is interested in the story between Noctua and Tom and it warms my heart. I'm beyond happy to be able to share my thoughts on them! 💚

[hogwartslegacypics]

HL rewrite: instead of Seb casting crucio on MC (he can't in this rewrite, he cares about them too much), or MC casting it on him (the feeling is mutual, so they can't cast it either), MC casts it on themselves while Seb and Ominis are trying to figure out what to do. All of a sudden, they hear screaming coming from behind them, and they find MC lying on the floor. Imagine their shock and horror. The door still opens, and the rest of this quest goes as usual, but now the boys need to carry MC around because they're too weak to stand.

I HC that the cruciatus curse MC/Seb casts is much weaker because neither of them want to hurt each, which is why we see Natty react much more extremely when she gets hit with it from an actual hostile person. So now that MC has cast it on themselves, fully intending to make it work, it hits a lot harder, weakening them severly. I'm still on the fence on whether or not they would take them to the Undercroft or the ROR, or maybe even the nurse (there's an appeal in the boys being desperate to take care of MC, even at the risk of very big consequences.)

Either way, we should have gotten more options during that quest. Well, all quests, really.

omg yes i’ve always wondered what would have happened if they were unable to cast it on each other. like imagine if it took place later in the game when mc and seb are closer and have had more time to bond and/or if mc and seb were in a relationship and were both just straight up unable to cast the curse. they would have been so fucked. that is such a good idea though and i could see one of them attempting to cast it on themselves and perhaps being able to will it to work just by knowing that the only alternatives are dying in that room or hurting the other. i do wonder if they could cast it long enough though because i highly doubt one would be able to continue casting it once the pain hits. if you touch boiling water for example, your immediate instinct is to flinch away. just a second of it may have been enough to trigger the doors to open though.

i think they would take mc to the undercroft and ominis would stay with mc and attempt to comfort them while sebastian sneaks into the restricted section to look for any books that could provide some info or remedies for after the cruciatus curse. no way the restricted section doesn’t have any books about that. i could also see them being so worried that they take mc to the nurse too though. i’ve read a few fanfics where they do that. i can also imagine them being a little concerned for the mc even after they recover too because of the fact that they would have wanted to hurt themselves in order for it to work at all.

i 100% agree with your headcanon! the degree of pain definitely depends on how strong the intent is. seb/mc didn’t actually want to cause pain, they wanted to get out of there alive. it also was their first time casting that curse whereas dark wizards have casted it numerous times. i’m ignoring that the game made it look so effortless for them because they for sure must have had to really will and mentally prepare themselves to be able to cast it. “if i don’t cast this curse on him/her we are going to die in here, so i NEED to cast it.” i wish it would have failed at first too and taken multiple attempts because it would have made it more realistic.

also wanna add a headcanon of mine that i don’t think sebastian was planning on casting it, i think he was planning on enduring the pain. when he said “i know what to do. it’s going to be difficult” i 100% believe he was referring to ominis casting it on him. he wanted ominis to cast it because of experience (also obviously seb wasn’t going to cast it on ominis) and he knew mc didn’t know it. no reason to teach mc if there were two willing participants, and i highly doubt that after convincing mc and ominis to go there with him, he’d expect mc to be the one to take the pain of the curse. then when ominis refused to cast it, seb didn’t just go “well looks like i have no choice but to cast it on you” to mc, but he offered to teach mc so they could cast it on him. when mc has no choice but to be the other participant, he lets mc choose what they’d rather do.

now i’m imagining what if mc didn’t want to learn it and didn’t want to experience it/seb didn’t want to cast it on mc so seb would have to cast it on himself

but yeah i wish we had more options with quests and that our choices would actually make an impact besides just getting a slightly different cutscene or slightly different dialogue. i wanna see the lasting effects of our choices

[imagrindylow]

Duplicity - Chapter 7 - The Confession

Past Sebastian Sallow / f!Slytherin!Reader; dark!Ominis Gaunt / Reader; Garreth Weasley / Reader

2.1k Words Content Warning: Hurt/comfort, Angst, Emotional Manipulation, Predatory Behavior, Violence Chapter Summary: Ominis's guilt is eating at him for what he was devising the night of the ball, and he decides to come clean to you, even though he knows it will hurt. Overall Work Summary: After your long term relationship with Sebastian Sallow ends, you're left to lean on your friends for support. While you try to move on and find happiness again, you come to realize that not all of the friends helping you actually have your best interests in mind. A/N: Special thanks to @skittish1807 for flushing out the dialogue of this chapter with me! This would have been nowhere near as good of a chapter without her.

Chapter Index Ao3 Link, if you prefer to read there.

You made your way quickly out of the Great Hall, and found that Ominis hadn’t gone far. He was pacing outside of the large wooden doors near suits of armor.

“What’s gotten into you Ominis?” You ask as you approach him. You mean to sound concerned but it comes across too harshly.

He groaned and seemed perturbed that you followed him, but he took a deep breath before he spoke, and sounded calm, “I… I was embarrassed by my behavior at the ball and I tried to make myself feel better by insinuating Garreth was partially to blame by giving me the alcohol. It was out of line, I apologize.”

You furrowed your brows. That seemed too simple of an explanation for his behavior this morning. “That much was clear, Ominis… There is something else bothering you. There is something you aren’t telling me.” You were matter of fact with him, standing with your hands on your hips in front of him.

He sighed and fidgeted with his wand as you continued to speak.

“You are one of my dearest friends. You have been so supportive and helpful this last month. I don't know what I would have done without you. You know that you can tell me anything, Ominis.” You tried to press him, taking a step closer to him and trying to sound as understanding as possible. “Please. What is it really that is bothering you?”

He leaned back against the wall and rubbed his temples. He let out a very defeated sigh before he spoke. “You’re right. There is something, and you deserve the truth. But you should know, it’s going to hurt.”

“You can tell me, Ominis.” You reached out and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly, and he brushed your hand away.

“I got drunk intentionally,” he finally admitted.

You let out a disbelieving chuckle. “What on Earth for? You’re lucky you didn’t end up in the hospital wing…”

He did his best to look you in your face as he spoke. You could tell whatever he was about to say pained him greatly. “That is not all. I wanted to get you alone. To pull you away from the ball… away from Garreth. To get you to come back to the common room with me.”

You took a half step back and breathed out in a whisper, “Ominis… To – to what end?”

His eyes teared up as he thought of what to say. Any amount of honesty would crush you, but you deserved the truth. He spoke very quietly, to the point you had to strain to hear him. “I've developed feelings for you,” he admitted, and took a deep breath before he continued on. “I think maybe I always had them, that I just suppressed them as you were with Sebastian.”

You shook your head and narrowed your eyes as he spoke, and he just kept on. Now that he had started divulging, it just kept on spilling out.

“I told myself that I just loved you as a sister, as the person I thought would be with my best friend forever. But I realized this last month that I had been fooling myself. The time we have spent together lately has only confirmed my feelings. I knew that we agreed we were only going to the ball as friends… But I had hoped that the mood of the evening would lead to something romantic.”

“Ominis, I was clear my intentions when we agreed-”

He cut you off and just kept talking, his demeanor shifting now to one of anger and jealousy. “But then Garreth had to intervene. I could hear you laughing with him from across the Great Hall. I could feel my chances slipping through my fingertips.”

You could hear the irritation and disdain in Ominis's voice as he spoke about Garreth. You took another small step away from Ominis as he continued. “I knew that I had to act. I had to do something. Garreth was going to slip in and steal my chance with you. I had to act... while you were still impressionable.”

You interrupt him with a scoff before you snapped at him, "Impressionable?" You say a little louder than intended. You stood with your mouth agape in actual horror as he continued unloading on you.

Ominis nodded. “I had deduced that in order to have a shot with you, I needed to make a move while you were still mourning the loss of your relationship with Sebastian. While you were vulnerable and... susceptible to the idea of a relationship with me. Had I not, I feared that I would lose any opportunity with you... I had planned to make a move, but Garreth threw a wrench in my plans. So, when I went out to get some air, I decided to do what was necessary to get you alone and make my attempt.”

You gasped, completely stunned speechless at his entire thought process. This was not at all the friend you knew. But he wasn’t finished. He sighed. "In the shower… you falling wasn’t an accident,” He sounded ashamed. You stared at him with a cold face. The pieces of that evening were starting to come together in your mind.

He continued speaking. “I pulled you down like that, on to me, on purpose. I had hoped that by forcing us into a compromising position, you would get caught up in the moment and kiss me… and, well... if that happened... I’d have had an in, and could cement my claim on you. Securing that Garreth would be out of the picture.”

You could barely wrap your head around what he was telling you. It sounded insane and so terribly unlike him. You were furious with him at this point. Furious and repulsed. It took all of your restraint not to tear into him, but your cool, shaming voice was probably more chilling to him than shouting would have been. Your words were laced with contempt as you spoke. “You were… you were trying to force me make a move on you? Which you’d have further exploited.”

He lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry… truly sorry that I even considered it. I honestly do not know what came over me... well, jealously mostly... Hearing how happy you were with Garreth drove me insane. The thought of losing out on another chance with you... I just couldn't take it. I had to act.”

You took a step closer to him now, getting in his face, tears welling in your eyes as you shouted at him, now. “You did more than consider it, Ominis!” You exhaled sharply with a huff and scanned your surroundings for other students before continuing, a bit more quietly, through gritted teeth. “You pulled me over top you. You were actively plotting to take advantage of my vulnerable state. You knew that I was still hurting from Sebastian. You knew that I was not ready for anything other than friendship from you.”

You were starting to raise your voice at him again. “Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that made me? I thought I was helping you! But all you thought about was yourself and what YOU could gain from the situation YOU created. You knew how upset I was! HOW COULD YOU?”

Tears began falling from your eyes at the betrayal. It truly felt as though your heart has been ripped in two. “I trusted you.”

~~~

Garreth watched as Ominis stormed out of the Great Hall after he had taken his seat back at his table, and watched anxiously as you followed after him. He didn’t think too much of it, until he heard your voice shouting from the hall outside of the doors. The sound was painful to him. He tried to mind his own business and to keep his head down and focus on his breakfast and the conversation around him at the Gryffindor table, but as your voice continued to rise, he couldn’t help it. He set his tea down and swung his legs over the bench and made his way out of the Great Hall to see what was going on.

He spots you with tears in your eyes, pacing away from Ominis who was stood against the wall with his hands over his face in frustration. He glares at Ominis but approaches you first, wanting to comfort you. He put his hands on your shoulders and sunk his head down low trying to meet your gaze, he spoke softly. “What is it? What happened?”

“He.. he tried to..” you sobbed quietly, “he tried to take advantage of me last night. I thought it was an accident… a drunk accident he made… but it wasn't… it was intentional...” Garreth was seeing red. He furrowed his brows and marched over to Ominis who was crying now as well. “What the fuck is she talking about Gaunt?”

“I… my judgment was clouded, and I made a mistake.” Ominis stammered, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

“Get out, go. Leave her alone. Now.” Garreth ordered him.

Ominis was much more angry now that Garreth had reared his head. “I… I can’t, I have to fix this.” Ominis protested and side stepped around Garreth with his wand to lead him. He headed towards you once again and brought his voice back down to plead with you. “Please, there has to be a way, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, that was never my intention.”

“Please leave me alone,” you back away from him. “I cannot speak with you right now.”

But Ominis didn’t back down, he stayed in your space, desperate and pleading and offering to do anything he could to make things right. Garreth was seething at the sight of Ominis not backing down after you asked him so clearly to give you space.

“Back off Gaunt, you heard her. What are you doing?” Garreth got between him and you.

Ominis felt out in front of him, grabbing Garreth’s robes in one hand and snapping, “This doesn’t even concern you Weasley. Now will you move?” He tried to push Garreth aside but Garreth was steadfast.

“I’m warning you again Gaunt, you’ll meet a fate worse than Sebastian’s if you don’t back down now. You need to go. Give her space.”

You took a few steps back as the confrontation between the two boys only looked as though it was getting more heated. “Ominis, please just go. We can always speak later…” You told him trying to get him to leave to spare him from whatever Garreth was planning because you had no doubts, he’d follow through if he felt he had to.

Ominis was angry, both at him self for his lapse in judgment last night and with everyone telling him what to do. He knew what he felt he needed to do, and leaving before things were rectified was not it. But typical as of late, he made the wrong decision and retorted at you with, “Oh, you would like if I left right now – left you with him, wouldn’t you?”

That was all Garreth needed to hear, he shoved Ominis away, and the smaller boy stumbled back, but as soon as he recovered, he was back at Garreth’s collar, speaking hauntingly calmly through gritted teeth. “I told you this doesn’t concern you Weasley. In fact, if you had made yourself scarce in the first place, this confrontation wouldn’t even be happening.”

“Please, both of you stop, this is too much…” You tried to interject, stepping between the two boys, physically removing Ominis’s hand from Garreth’s robes. He took a step back, turning around and rubbing the back of his neck in a huff.

Garreth couldn’t help himself but to respond to Ominis’s insinuation that this was somehow his fault. “No, this confrontation wouldn’t be happening if you had any shred of self control. In either you’re drinking habits or you groin.”

Ominis turned back around to face the direction of Garreth’s voice, he lunged forward, both arms in front of him, to shove the Gryffindor in the chest. The impact was hard, so hard in fact that his target fell backwards to the floor. But it wasn’t Garreth’s voice that gasped at the contact. It was yours, crying out in a startled shock. You had still been standing in front of Garreth.

You landed on the ground in no gentle manner, barely catching yourself with your hands, and having all of the wind knocked out of you with the force of his shove. You look up at Ominis and see the guilt and horror on his face immediately when he realized his error. He reaches towards you, wanting to help you up but in a split second, Garreth had grabbed Ominis’s collar and dragged him away to the side. Ominis winced knowing what was inevitably coming. You shouted, wanting to stop him, not wanting to see any more pain, but Garreth’s fist was already in motion. He made contact with Ominis’s face with a loud crack.

Chapter 8

~~~

A/N: Welp! It's all coming to a head. This was chapter 7, writing wise I'm currently on chapter 9. I'm not as ahead as I'd like to be at this point. Besides the ending pairing which I know I want to be reader/Garreth, I'd like to know how you all see this coming to an end, I'm open to suggestions! Feel free to pop into my asks, anon is enabled.

[incendio22]

FOR THE HOPE OF IT ALL

Chapter 22: Red Roses, White Lies

I can feel something changing about Ominis. He is growing more and more distant by each day that passes and is spending a worrisome amount of time on his own. He keeps dismissing my efforts to talk to him and blames it on the fact that he's stressed about assignments, as well as his faked medical condition. He told Nurse Blainey that he had tickling sensations that wouldn't go away, and for each time he seeks out it has gotten worse. Of course, this is a serious matter but I cannot blame myself for finding it absolutely hilarious that he chose that as his medical condition out of all diseases to exist. When I asked him about it he told me that it's a disease that is difficult to cure and that he had his doubts in Nurse Blainey to treat something like that. I assume that the idea is good, but I still find it extremely funny.

It's a sunny Saturday in February. The sun is announcing its appearance by shining through every window in the castle, creating a warm atmosphere. Today Ravenclaw is playing quidditch against Gryffindor and everyone having breakfast seems to be in a better mood than ever. You can feel the tension and the rivalry between the two houses, as they have the same amount of points in the quidditch cup and share 3rd place. Hufflepuff has a solid lead, followed by Slytherin. I sit down with Imelda, who also seems to be in an extraordinarily good mood today.

"Who do you think will win?" She asks with her mouth stuffed. "I hope it's Ravenclaw, because we have a much greater chance of beating them than Gryffindor. So I hope the Ravenclaw's can get their act together and just win."

To be honest, I didn't care much about today's game. All that matters to me is that Slytherin sina the quidditch cup and I'd rather spend my time practising, instead of speculating who we have a better chance to beat. The other houses have many quidditch talents on their teams, but I believe that is also one of their weaknesses. What separates us from the others is that we know that talent means nothing without hard work and practice.

"I don't know," I tell her. "I just hope they all fall off their brooms so we can have a last game against Hufflepuff and crush them like last time."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin," She says and looks proud.

When you spend five months with snow and a concerningly low amount of hours with sunshine, the first day of the year when the sun is warming up your face is undescribable. You can almost feel how spring is starting to Bloom. I try to catch every possible ray of sun as I stand on the Ravenclaw bleacher writing for the quidditch game to start. I got there sooner than most people, but I didn't want to let the sunshine go to waste. I stare directly at the sun, just to close my eyes and take it all in when I am interrupted.

"Just the person I was hoping to find," It's Sebastian walking over to me, holding his hand above his eyes to cover the sun. The sun makes his freckles even clearer and I think he looks like a daydream. "Enjoying ourselves, are we?"

I give him a smile while squeezing my eyes, they are in a bit of pain from my mistake of staring straight into the sun. He walks closer to me, reaches for my hand and gives it a quick squeeze.

"Hi there," I say, still smiling.

I've been thinking about how he told me about Madam Puddifoot's on our first date, but how he never brought me there after. The tea from her shop is marvellous and I would love to visit the café. Imelda told me that it's a common place to bring your date on Valentine's day and since that specific day is just around the corner I figure that I might as well work up the courage to ask Sebastian out, since he hasn't asked me yet.

''Do you have any plans for Valentine's day?'' I ask him curiously, trying to make this as smooth as possible.

''Actually I do,'' Sebastian tells me and looks up in the sky.

''Oh,'' My voice sounds shocked and I have nothing else to say.

He's nodding and kicking the ground like he always does when he's nervous. I am obviously disappointed since I thought we had something going on, but I can't afford to let him see me being sad and jealous. We stand in silence for a moment.

''There's this girl that I want to ask to go on a date with me. But I'm a bit nervous. I really like her,'' He says and looks at me.

At this point I'm not sure if he is taunting me or talking about me.

''You should just ask her,'' I tell him in a short voice.

''I suppose so,'' His voice is soft and the foot is still kicking the ground. ''Will you be my date?''

My heart starts beating faster. I nod and give him a massive smile.

''Then it's all set,'' He says with a grin. ''I'm taking you to Madam Puddifoot's. Wear something nice.''

Without thinking I give him a big hug and his arms fold around me. The bleachers are getting more and more crowded and I notice some people looking at us. Some are looking excited, some are surprised and others roll their eyes. Neither matters.

The quidditch game is intense but Gryffindor manages to win, which is bad news for Imelda. As the days pass and it's suddenly Valentine's day I notice that she is even more tense than usual. She spent the morning getting herself fixed up and in the afternoon she changes into a cute outfit. I barely see her in anything other than the Slytherin robe or her quidditch uniform, so it's odd seeing her in a skirt with a knitted sweater. She looks great.

''Do you have anything special planned for tonight?'' I ask her curiously.

She bats me an angry eye and turns around. I figure she is just stressed and I am also convinced that she does have special plans for tonight, I'm mostly curious about with whom. I put on the sweater Sebastian gave me for Christmas and undo my french braids, making the waves fall over my shoulders.

''I can't believe you have a date and didn't tell me,'' I say to Imelda who is still running around the dormitory.

''You didn't tell me either,'' She spits back. ''Not that I didn't know, of course. But still, we're friends!''

''Exactly,'' I agree with her. ''You already knew, but me on the other hand have absolutely no idea what you're up to tonight.''

''I'm going to Madam Puddifoot's with someone,'' She says and stops for a second to look at me. ''But it's nothing. Just an act of kindness.''

I'm just glad I got something out of her, so I forget to mention the small detail that I'm also going there. And given how nervous she is, I'm convinced it won't be a pleasant surprise.

I see Sebastian standing outside of Madam Puddifoot's with a bouquet of red roses. I smile as I walk up to him with his gift in my hand. It's a small red box tied up with a white ribbon.

''There you are!'' He says and wraps his arms around me. ''Here.''

He hands over the roses and when I see them up close I notice that there are small fireworks bursting from every flower. I smile as I thank him.

''I got you something as well,'' I tell him as I reveal my hand that I was hiding behind my back.

He opens it eagerly and goes silent as he sees the silver watch lying inside. Eventually, he looks up at me and smiles.

''Thank you so much. You really didn't have to,'' He sounds sincere and places a kiss on my forehead. ''I love it.''

He leads me inside and I notice the bell above the door tinkling as we enter. It's crowded with Hogwarts students that all seem to be on a date. The inside is tiny and pink-themed, decorated with bows and lace. We sit down at a table and he orders two sweet coffees that I never heard of before, but he insists that I should trust him. I suddenly remember about Imelda.

''Imelda is going on a date here, too!'' I tell Sebastian in an excited voice and he pretends to drop his jaw.

''I bet she's going with Ominis,'' Sebastian laughs slightly as he says it.

''No,'' I say hesitantly. ''They are just friends. He said so himself.''

Sebastian gives me a funny look.

''I have my reasons to think I'm right,'' He says with a grin. ''But if you're so sure, why don't we make a bet?''

Now that he said that he has his reasons to think they are coming here together, I absolutely don't want to make a bet and risk losing. Before I can answer the doorbell tinkles and I very much to Sebastian's satisfaction, it's Imelda and Ominis walking in together. He looks at me, leans closer and grins.

''You were literally saved by the bell,'' His grin is not getting any smaller. ''I won't forget this. I still won.''

''Oh you did not,'' I give him an angry look but I am quickly interrupted by Imelda who gives me a dirty look. Not more, not less.

''Did you two fight?'' Sebastian asks.

''No,'' I start. ''She just told me that she was coming here and I forgot to mention that I was too. She has been so stressed all day, probably about this.''

''This is hilarious!'' Sebastian says and laughs out. ''Ominis likes her, but refuses to admit it. And she seems to be doing the exact same thing. I wish they would just admit it to each other.''

I had no idea Ominis liked Imelda, in fact I was convinced that they were just friends. However, that was until I see them together. Ominis, who has been feeling off lately, looks happier than ever and Imelda's upset wrinkle between her eyebrows is gone. They look natural and seem to have forgotten everything around them. My heart warms up as I see them, but is quickly interrupted by another couple covering my vision as they make out. I have a sip of coffee. It's extremely sweet and tastes like brown sugar and cinnamon, which is comforting.

''This is a curious place to bring someone you want to keep secret,'' I tell him, remembering how he wanted to keep our relationship low.

''Oh darling, don't be silly,'' He says in a gentle voice. ''I never said I wanted to keep you like a secret. I wanted to keep things private. There's a massive difference.''

''Whatever you say,'' I say as I roll my eyes.

''Let's give them something to talk about,'' He says and leans over the table, pulls me in and kisses me softly. He tastes like sweet coffee.

Something about it feels so magical. Not because people saw us, but because I now know for sure that there is something between us.

This evening I struggle to fall asleep. I roll around, but no matter what I cannot seem to enter the world of dreams. Instead I get up and walk out into the Common Room. I sit in front of the massive glass window facing the Black Lake. Something about it is so calming, especially in the dark. The creatures passing by are impossible to tell what they are and it's so mysterious. My thoughts are interrupted by some male voices.

''I can't believe you actually went on a real date with her,'' The voice is so familiar to me at this point. It's Sebastian talking in a loud voice.

''Keep it down!'' The other voice belongs to Ominis. ''But yes. And I'm glad I got the courage to ask her. Thank you for the help.''

''Anytime,'' Sebastian says.

They don't seem to notice me. It's not surprising since I'm sitting on the floor, probably melting in with the room.

''How did you know Y/n was the one?'' Ominis asks. I feel as if I'm intruding on something that I absolutely should not hear.

''Honestly,'' It's once again Sebastian's voice and for some reason I feel terrified of what might come out of his mouth. ''Ever since I met her, there hasn't been a day I haven't thought of her. I guess that if it's right, you know it.''

I recognize his words. It's exactly what Poppy told me when I asked her if you knew if someone was right for you. I have to hold my hand over my mouth to not let any words slip out.

''You know, I spent lots of time with her the last weeks. She has kept my mind busy from everything going on. I really, really like her,'' Ominis then says. ''And tonight she said that she really, really likes me.''

[ick25]

Rockman.EXE Episode 29. Review.

O.O Netto... Considering you live in Japan, that is not a good thing to say.

“...You’ve come to realized, that you’ve seen her kind of eyes watching you from underneath a rock!”

We start the episode with Enzan waiting in a room while Blues argues with a snake like Navi named Snakeman, duh. Enzan gets tired of waiting and tries to leave, until a giant monitor turns on revealing the person he was waiting for, Mrs. Millions aka Ms. Millionaire.

She says that she wanted to talk to him as a Net Battler rather than the vice-president of a company, until she is interrupted by Snakeman who tells her that Netto and Rockman are arriving at Brand City. Ms. Millionare gets excited over this and tells Enzan to wait even longer.

After this, we find Netto enjoying a hot dog in a train as Rockman tells him they will be arriving soon at their destination.

Don’t fight it Rockman, it will only get worse.

After the tittle card, Netto is walking around the city wondering if somebody would like a Net Battle with him, not knowing that a stranger is following him.

We cut to a random Net Battle with Ms. Millonare as the audience, but she gets bord, and Snakeman tells the Navi that “the game” is over and vanishes him by deleting a snake like bracelet on his wrist.

Back to Netto, Rockman makes him stop to look at a purse in a Chanel parody store.

Why? What could that woman have possibly done to deserve a present?

Anyway, Netto enters the store and is shocked to find out the price of the bag.

Is it in dollars, Yens or Zennys? It doesn’t say.

A man with a fake mustache and beard (because they don’t match his hair color) appears next to Netto and asks him about the purse he wants.

There is a lot of stranger danger in these episodes lately. Why does he need to disguise himself for a kid? Its not like his telling him to steal the bag or anything.

Netto is excited to hear this and runs to the Net Navi museum where the game, which is called Survival Seven, takes place.

As he opens the door, we inmediately cut to Hinouken leaving an airport in Ameroupe, ready to find and challenge Netto. Unfortunately for him, he arrives at Heaven’s city where the kids from last episode tell him that Netto isn’t there anymore.

Face it, Hinouken, Netto is one step ahead of you.

Inside the Net Navi Museum we see a life size Navi just like the one that was battling a while ago, we also see some easter eggs on the wall where Netto finds the poster for Survival Seven.

All he has to do is touch the screen of the poster and it will instantly show him the direction to the room he needs to go.

Rockman has a bad feeling about this, but Netto is just too excited to worry.

Rockman face palm. XD

They arrive at a room filled with computers where they are greeted by Snakeman on one of the monitors.

I think it’s funny how Rockman knows almost everything about the bag and Netto didn’t even know that his mom wanted it. Also, Aki-chan has her own handbag line?

Netto plugs-in Rockman who is showen on the big screen. A door appears and he walks over to it where a snake like object wraps around his wrist.

Rockman enters a jungle like area where Snakeman explains the objective of the game, he has to survive each area and get a gold coin to move on to the next, and during this scene, we get a close up of Snakeman’s hand that has FOUR FINGERS!

It’s just so weird to look at.

Before Snakeman finishes explaining the rules, Rockman is inmediately attack by a Navi. Rockman manages to defeat it and is then surrounded by three more Navis before cutting to commercials.

We cut back from commercials with Enzan still in the waiting room with Blues sugesting if he should partake in Survival Seven since that is what Ms. Millionaire wanted.

“You are getting a college education and that’s final!”

Speaking of the stupid game, we cut to Rockman battling the three Navis and taking them out one by one.

After clearing the first area, Rockman receives a coin and a door appears. Ms. Millionaire has been watching them and praises Rockman’s battle style.

The door takes Rockman to the next area where he has to fight the Easter Bunny! JK, he fights a creepy looking rabbit Navi that surrounds him with Bunny viruses.

The Bunny viruses attack, but Rockman jumps and the viruses delete eachother, causing Netto to say an uncomfortable line.

The Navi then sends out level 2 Bunny viruses, during this, Ms. Millionaire is interrupted by the guy from before, minus the fake beard and mustache, who reminds her the Enzan is still waiting.

And there’s a miscoloring in the second panel.

Rockman defeats the rabbit Navi and moves on to the next area.

Yo yo and nin nin nin? Are these Navis for real?

Enzan enters the room and Ms. Millionaire shows him Rockman playing Survival Seven, hoping that Enzan will tell her more about him.

After this, we skip to the final area of the game where Rockman has to face a large Navi.

Rockman stands his ground and as he keeps fighting Ms. Millionaire says something ominious about what will happen when Rockman finishes the game.

Rockman defeats the Navi and is shown to be tired, he gets the final coin and walks over to the door that appears.

However, Rockman is taken back to the first area and the game starts over. Enzan asks Ms. Millionaire what is going on, and she explains her plan.

So she’s stealing Rockman? Netto just got Rockman back and already we have two attemps to steal him.

Enzan suddenly decides that he will “play” her game too and Plugs-in Blues. Meanwhile, Rockman is getting a beat up by the three Navis from before, showing us that Rockman’s HP is going down.

“Oh, shut up, Masa!”

Rockman is saved by Blues at the last moment by destroying the game with the Program Advance. So those weren’t real Navis? O-O

Blues tells Rockman that the game is a trap, Snakeman isn’t happy with this and appears to confront Blues. After luckily avoiding Blues’s attack, Snakeman orders Netto and Rockman to continue playing, they refuse so he makes Rockman’s wrist band shock him.

He’s my favorite too, but I don’t go around shocking the things I like.

Netto has enough and activates the instant win program that destroys the wrist band, Rockman changes into the Heat Guts Style and defeats Snakeman easily.

Ms. Millionaire has lost her number one Navi, but since the battle put her in a good mood, she accepts to finally talk about business with Enzan who is understandably confused.

Netto is in front of the Brand store again sad that he couldn’t get the handbag for his mom, but just then, he receives a video message on his PET. Apperantly, Ms. Millionaire kept her promise and bough and delivered the handbag to Netto’s mom.

And the episode ends in Heaven’s city, where Hinouken once again has to earn money to travel to where Netto is.

For some reason this final scene was cut from the dub.

What do I think?

This episode is the only appearance of Snakeman and Ms. Millionaire until the Beast saga, both of them don’t play an important role in the anime, but they do appear in the game as an opcional boss. In fact, Netto has to battle Ms. Millionaire since she bought his stolen chip pack when he arrived in Amerope.

Despite wanting to keep Rockman as a permanent part in her Net Navi museum in the anime, Ms. Millionaire isn’t a villain, she is just an excentric billionaire woman who loves a good Net Battle, maybe a little too much.

Season 2, teaching Kids about stranger danger.

The dub made changes to the episode by cutting and editing shots like when Millionaire’s wine glass is colored to look like water, and who knows why they decided to rename the brand store to “La Glassy.”

 Also changing lines from the original dialogue, like in the end of the episode where Netto’s mom lets him know that she got the handbag from him, in the dub it was changed to her bragging about Netto’s dad buying it for her. Why did they changed that? To teach kids that there are no shortcuts to getting expensive stuff? It’s not like the bag was stolen, unless the dub thought is wasn’t a good idea having a kid ask a stranger to buy an expensive item in exchange for something. Still, it doesn’t help knowing that Netto almost lost Rockman over a handbag bet just for his dad to casually have the same idea and buy it for her easily.

[incendio22]

FOR THE HOPE OF IT ALL

Pt 2 Chapter 2: A Familiar Face

As I walk up to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall for breakfast, I see her. Sitting in front of Sebastian. It's as if the shock paralyzes me. I stand still, looking at them and feeling completely unsure about how to react. Sebastian looks my way and gives me a confused look, which for some reason creeps under my skin. My brain seems completely unable to function, so I simply sit down at the other edge of the table as far away from them as possible.

I need to gasp for air quietly as I pour myself some pumpkin juice. The sight of Anne Sallow was a shock. I had no idea she was going back to Hogwarts. Of course I didn't see her before. Of course she didn't go to the party last evening. What baffles me, however, is the fact that Sebastian went to the party without her. Ominis sits down next to me.

''Did you hear that Anne is back?'' Ominis asks me in a low voice.

''I didn't hear it. But I just saw it,'' I say while glancing her way.

''To be honest, I'm not surprised,'' Ominis goes on. ''I mean, she's been unwell for a long time but it's only reasonable that she needs to finish her studies.''

''I guess so,'' I tell him. ''I was just surprised, though.''

''Have you spoken to Sebastian since before summer?'' he asks while having a sip of juice.

''No,'' I shake my head. ''I found a bunch of letters from him when I came back home.''

Ominis looks up at me with a confused face.

''What did they say?'' he asks, obviously eager for details.

''Just some fluff about how he was falling for me. But it doesn't matter,'' I tell him in a low voice as I shrug my shoulders. ''He wrote them throughout the year. So it's nothing new, exactly.''

''I mean,'' Ominis starts. ''If he really was falling for you, it would have mattered. But you're over him, so of course that means nothing now.''

I sit silently.

''You are over him, right?'' Ominis asks, as if he needs clarity in his previous statement.

I sit in silence for a moment. It was so easy to forget about him during summer, but with him across the room my heart makes me question if I really am over him. During summer I talked to other people, felt some flutters in my stomach but nothing compares to how he made me feel. I glance over at Sebastian quickly and notice that he's looking our way.

''Yeah,'' I lie to Ominis. ''Of course.''

''That didn't sound too convincing,'' Ominis laughs as he says it. ''If it helps you feel better, that man could live a million lives and still never be as good as you.''

''You're so stupid,'' I tell him jokingly. ''That didn't make me feel better. And you used to be friends, don't forget that. He was your best friend for a reason.''

''And there's also a reason he isn't,'' Ominis says promptly before he gets up and starts walking out of the Great Hall.

My first class of the day is History of Magic, which we are taking with Gryffindor. I notice Garreth looking my way and there is an empty seat next to him, but I head over to Natty and sit down.

''You recovered from last night?'' she says in a tired voice.

''Barely,'' I tell her. ''You look like you've had better days?''

''Better days, yes,'' she's laughing ''But no better night.''

Professor Binns enters the classroom and starts talking about the history of Azkaban. If I wasn't tired before, I was ready to sleep by now. The class feels like it lasts forever, but eventually it's over and I quickly leave the classroom. I feel someone walking close behind me, so I fasten my pace and head out to the courtyard. I still feel the person's presence.

''Y/n,'' the voice gives me chills running through my spine. It's Sebastian.

I freeze. It's like I'm unable to move. Why on earth is he trying to talk to me? I turn around.

''What do you want?'' I ask him in a cold tone.

''Please, can we talk?'' he asks in a sincere tone. His eyes are pleading.

''I think the air between us is pretty clear,'' I tell him and wave my hand between us to  gesticulate that there really is nothing to talk about. ''We have said all that needs to be said.''

He rolls his eyes slightly, pressing his palms together.

''Please,'' he begs.

I start walking away from him. He doesn't follow me, but I hear his voice behind me.

''I'll be waiting in the Undercroft.''

I keep walking with determined steps, trying to get away from him as quickly as possible. My entire body feels tense after just being in his presence. His voice is still lingering in my head, and whilst it's a comfort I just want to get rid of it. A part of me wants to meet him in the Undercroft, but my mind is telling me no. That I will only get hurt again. And I can't go through that again.

Having  heartache is a risk you take when you choose to love, I have always been well aware of that. But I also know that it's foolish to think that he wouldn't break my heart twice. After all, it seemed so easy for him to break it and walk away from what we had. Even if I love him, I won't let that cloud my judgement.

I spend the evening sitting in front of the window facing the Black Lake. It's getting late, so the common room is getting emptier by each second. It's quiet until someone walks up behind me.

''Y/n,'' I turn around to see Anne Sallow. Her voice is kind. ''I'm glad to see you.''

I always liked Anne, but right now it feels like too much to talk to her. Not because I have anything against her, but because she reminds me too much of Sebastian.

''I'm sorry about what happened to Ominis,'' she says in a low voice. ''He did the right thing, though. I'm just sad that he had to pay the price he did.''

I nod silently, avoiding her eye contact. She sits down next to me.

''Sebastian messed up,'' she says in a comforting voice. ''I don't want to make any excuses for him, not in any way, but he really misses you.''

''Good,'' I tell her in a short tone.

''Y/n,'' she says in a low voice. ''People make mistakes, I know that better than anyone. I know it takes time to heal, but what the two of you had was something real. Something rare.''

''Anne,'' I begin but stop myself as I feel the urge to say mean things bubble up. ''With all due respect, Sebastian broke my heart. He made me feel like the most special person in the entire world, just to leave me when I needed him most. And he made it look like I was easy to walk away from. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I will ever let myself love like that again.''

She looks at me with kind eyes for a good moment. I feel as if she understands me, despite barely knowing me.

''I really get it,'' she says. ''And I'm not saying you should give him a second chance. I'm just saying that you should hear him out.''

We sit together for a long moment. In silence, we watch the lake and the creatures swimming around. I've gotten a bad habit of staying up too late, causing me to lose sleep. But I don't see the point in lying in bed if I can't sleep anyway. I decide to go for a walk in the castle.

I wander around the astronomy tower, exploring parts of the castle I have never seen before. Somehow I end up in the defence against the dark arts tower, facing the entrance to the Undercroft. I don't know how I got here, but I decide to go there. Since it's in the middle of the night, I just assume that Sebastian won't be there. He said he'd wait there, but given how easily he gave up on us I simply don't expect him to wait around for more than an hour. But there he is, sitting half asleep on the floor. He looks baffled when he sees me.

''I didn't think you'd come,'' he says with a worried look on his face.

''I didn't come for you,'' I tell him in a short tone.

I wander around the Undercroft, looking at the books lying around and the abandoned gobstones lying in a corner.

''I missed you,'' he says after some time in silence.

''That's unfortunate,'' I tell him as I glance his way. ''Please, save your tears. I don't want them.''

''I messed up, I know,'' he pleads. ''And I'm sorry, I really am. I was in a really bad place after all the things that went down with Ominis and I pushed you away. Please, forgive me.''

I stare at him. His eyes look as if they are begging and he looks genuinely sorry. It feels like a knife to my heart. All I want is to throw myself around him, to forgive him and go back to how it was. But my heart is fragile and I can't risk having it broken again.

''You really hurt me,'' I tell him whilst burning my eyes on him. ''And you know that if you would have tried to fix this sooner, I would have let you. But you waited all summer. Not a word. Please, tell me how I could ever trust you with my heart again.''

''I don't know,'' his words are barely audible. ''But for what it's worth. You've been on my mind so long that I can barely stand it anymore. And I torture myself with the memories.''

I can't stand to look at him. My heart is too soft for him because all it wants is for me to give in.

''Sebastian,'' I say firmly. ''I gave you everything I had. I loved you when you couldn't love yourself. I was there, for all of it. And if you only would've handled things a bit more maturely, we would have been fine. But you didn't. So I'm sorry, but I can't go back now. I need some time to heal this wound.''

He looks disappointed.

''I will wait for however long that takes,'' he looks into my eyes at me as he speaks. ''I'll wait and do my very best every single day to make you change your mind. And if you don't, then I'll accept that. But I swear on Merlin himself, I won't give up on us. Not this time. I'm not letting you go again. At least not without fighting for us.''

I can feel my heart drop. And the butterflies in my stomach. But in this moment, I wish I could kill them. My mind feels like a warzone where no thought makes sense. One side is telling me to forgive him, to let him try to make things right whilst the other is telling me that it's not worth the risk of him breaking my heart again. I walk away, feeling filled with hatred and angst towards him.