The Phoenix

Summer

*Ominis*

It was hot, and I could feel the sun shining down on me. I had a book tucked under my left arm as I used my right to navigate the tiny hamlet I called home with Anne and Sebastian, with my wand. "Really Ominis? Studying before our last year at Hogwarts?" I could hear the smile in his voice as I let out a sigh. "After all the mishaps, I'd like to stay a step ahead."

There was a chuckle to my left. "Would you look who it is.." He trailed off as I gave him yet another sigh of disdain. "I can't. Or did you forget Sebastian. I'm blind." I felt as he stopped me in my tracks and took my book. "OMINIS! SEB!!" That sweet voice. I had missed it all summer. "Your face is red." Sebastian opened my arms and turned me in a different direction. I felt as he pressed his back against mine. Why?

"I've missed you!" Y/n's body collided with mine, and if Sebastian hadn't braced me from behind, she could've easily knocked me over. Her arms wrapped around us both and I hugged her tightly. When she pulled away, her hands found the sides of my cheeks. "Your face is red Ominis. Let's get you cooled off inside." Thank Merlin she thought it was because of the heat.

Y/n looped her arm through mine and began leading toward the Sallow home. "Where's Anne? I've missed her." As we passed through the doorway, she let me go and I felt, alone. "Anne!" The sound of her soft footsteps retreated and I sat down in an available chair. Sebastian sat next to me and I felt a slight nudge. "She looks lovely." My face grew hot and I turned my head away from the sound of his voice. Of course she would.

I sat there while Sebastian droned on about the rest of summer, thinking back on the first time she hugged me that tightly. It was only us in the common room. I could hear the waves of lake, softly crashing against the walls of the castle. Y/n was telling me how she found a book during one of her outings, on unforgivables. It was handwritten and the way she spoke, indicated that she was fascinated by it. Sucking in some air, I spoke softly.

"They're awful Y/n. My family uses them on muggles for fun. Their screams. They haunt me at night." There was this silence that followed before she spoke in a hushed tone. "Sebastian told me there's no love lost with your family. Are they really that bad Ominis?" I nodded and felt as she shifted closer to me on the sofa. "If you'd like a listening ear, I have one." I chuckled and tried my best to smile at her. "It's not a good one if you're reading my lips."

She placed a hand on my arm, reassuring me that she was indeed listening. I took a deep breath and told her about them. All of the horrible things they did. To muggles. To me. What I was forced to do, and how I felt guilty about it to this day. When I described the pain that coursed through my body, I was suddenly knocked back. Y/n had thrown her arms around me in a tight hug. One of her hands held the back of my head as the other, placed on my back, pulled me in.

My body, stiff at first, began relaxing into her. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my nose into her neck. "Oh sweet boy." Her fingers combed through my hair and she hugged me even tighter. I never wanted her to let me go. I hadn't felt comfort like that in a long time.

Smiling at the memory, I was jogged from my thoughts when someone sat next to me. "So we can't stay in Feldcroft the rest of summer. We should floo to the coast. I know a cozy little cottage that's vacant." I raised a brow at Y/n's suggestion and spoke loudly. "How do you know it's vacant?" There was a pause before she spoke again. "It may have been the house of a poacher. I may have, you know what? Don't worry about the details. It's not haunted. Let's go."

Sebastian laughed before speaking and I could feel as Anne shifted next to me. "I like that idea. It's been pretty boring here and you know how to make things exciting y/n." Anne placed her hand on mine and I turned to face her. "Do you want to go Ominis? Or will it be too overwhelming?" Y/n scoffed and I felt as something soft hit me in the face. "Ominis? Overwhelmed? Anne, I may not have known him as long as you have, but I'm sure he won't feel that way with all of us with him."