Between The Shadows | Ominis Gaunt x Sebastian Sallow x Reader

Chapter 5: A Promise (I.)

Reader POV

Next morning during breakfast, Sebastian stated pretty clearly that he wouldn't be participating in the experiment anymore but that he would be there to help us with the damage if we wanted to continue to torture ourselves. I was quite determined to try again but we decided to have at least a few weeks break between trials.

Watching Sebastian perform that healing enchantment on Ominis' hand yesterday was quite impressive. I knew that these types of spells were very complicated and that they take a lot of focus and energy but he did it like it was the simplest of charms. It made me wonder how many times he had performed this type of magic to heal Anne. It was a heartbreaking thought.

The beating of many wings could be heard above as owls entered the great hall to deliver the morning post. A tawny owl swept through the air towards Sebastian and managed to drop a letter directly into his bowl of porridge. After cleaning the food from his robe he studied the letter more closely and a worried expression crossed his face. He noticed I was watching him.

"It's from St. Mungo," he explained.

"What happened?" asked Ominis immediately with a concerned tone.

Sebastian's eyes quickly scanned the sheets of parchment and then sighed in relief. "Nothing... nothing, it's just Anne. She's getting used to her new day-to-day routine there. Apparently they have a nice library on her floor and horrible food and she sends her regards to the both of you."

Having finished, he slowly folded up the letter and carefully placed it between the pages of one of the books he had been previously reading.

He continued in a more optimistic tone, "I thought I'd make a quick trip to Hogsmead after breakfast. I want to send her some sweets from Honeydukes. Would you care to join me?"

"That's a wonderful idea!" Quickly scanning the timetable, I remarked "we only have transfiguration in the afternoon. That should be plenty of time and the weather is great today. It could make for a nice walk, if you wouldn't prefer to fly there. What do you think, Ominis?"

"You two go ahead, I already promised Poppy I'd help her with something this morning."

"Really?" I said skeptically, "I spent all afternoon with her yesterday and she didn't mention anything." Ominis just gestured like he also had no idea what it was all about either.

"Right." I looked at Poppy having breakfast with her housemates at the Hufflepuff table. She caught my eye and waved back with a most innocent smile.

I turned to Sebastian "Soo.. let's go then? Walking or flying?"

"Definitely walking," he said. "I have to stop by the library to return some books so let's meet at the gate in 15 minutes?" I nodded. When Sebastian left, I moved my chair closer to Ominis so no one else could hear us "Do you think Poppy wants us to take care of some poachers again?"

"I honestly don't know, y/n. Maybe she just wants to ask me out."

"What??" my voice was much higher than expected.

"Is that such a shocking idea, y/n? Didn't you say yesterday that I was the most handsome man you've ever seen?"

"Ominis!" I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. I sighed heavily and pressed my forehead against his shoulder. He was laughing quietly.

"Thank you for reminding me, I was hoping we could just forget about that part" I mumbled with my face partially hidden in his robes.

"Why?" He asked, still smiling "It was definitely the highlight of the experiment. And the part when you said, 'we should say these things more often' I happen to agree with, So..." He found my hand, and to my surprise, brought it up to his lips and placed a very soft kiss on it. "y/n unfortunately I can't tell you how pretty you are, but you're definitely the brightest witch I've ever met."

I was just staring, too stunned to say anything. The spot on my hand that his lips touched was burning. My heart started pounding in my chest like the wings of a hummingbird. Yet he still didn't let go. He held my hand close to his chest, his thumb stroking my fingers. I noticed a few strands of hair that had fallen from his otherwise perfectly styled hair. With my free hand, I brushed them off his face and tucked them behind his ear. He turned, facing me. We were so close that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin and couldn't help but wonder how his soft, beautiful lips would feel on mine.

Just then, Poppy appeared next to us and caused us both to practically leap from our seats in an effort to put space between us. Ominis almost fell from his chair and I knocked over my cup of tea in the process. I cleaned the mess with a quick spell and tried to act relaxed. With little to no success.

Poppy glanced from me to him with a grin and then winked at me with an all-knowing expression. Really Poppy?

She turned to Ominis, "Shell we go? It's quite a walk from here."

As they were leaving, Ominis placed his hand on my shoulder and wished me a nice day in Hogsmeade.

Right, Hogsmeade! I had almost forgotten, Sebastian must have been waiting for me already.