In the Brilliance of Longing | Ominis Gaunt

In the Brilliance of the Reunion

7:53 pm - August 29th, 1891: The Great Hall

Ominis and I parted shortly after he called me beautiful. My chest was so tight and my mind was so jumbled I was unable to speak, so I gave his hand a reaffirming squeeze and left. I had so many emotions, and I couldn't handle them all at once. I hoped he understood, but we hadn't seen each other all day - it was very unlike him to not try and find me.

The best thing about Hogwarts during the break is that besides being a dormitory, the separation of houses mattered very little. No one batted an eye when I sat next to my favorite Slytherin in the great hall for tea. He smiled slightly.

"Hello, love."

I covered my cheeks with my hands, trying to hide the blush from the slightly more populous Great Hall. "How did you know it was me?"

"How couldn't I?" I didn't understand what he meant, so I stayed quiet in hopes of an explanation. He turned his head toward me, "Your gait, the rhythm of your breathing, that enchanting fragrance you always wear. Your familiarity lies in more than just your voice, you know."

Beneath the table, he laid his hand on my thigh, squeezing gently. He leaned closer to me and whispered, "Hobhouse. Where is he?"

I was entirely too focused on his hand touching my leg, but I still scanned the room. "He's uh- He's across the way, at the Ravenclaw table by the doors to the Hall." Duncan was loading his plate with bangers and mash.

He chuckled softly, leaning closer to me, our cheeks nearly touching one another. "Watch him. Describe everything ."

I lowered my voice to match his, my focus now fully on the Hobhouse boy. "He's grabbing a treacle tart off the plate in front of him. Uh- Okay now he's grabbing the pumpkin juice, and he's getting ready to pour..." As Duncan poured the liquid into his cup, it fizzled for a moment. "Merlin! There's something growing out of the cup... It's pinky brown and-" It was at this point that Duncan noticed and began screaming, and everyone was looking in the poor boy's direction. I couldn't hold in my laughter and neither could Ominis. "He's pushed himself completely from the table, oh! Damn, he knocked over the... worms?? Merlin, they're worms!!" I was snorting at this point, nearly doubling over across the table. "They're all over his food and the table! He's absolutely freaking out!"

Through near tears, Ominis explained quietly, "I put whizzing worm powder in his cup! I figured a coward like him would react as such." He looked so heavenly when he laughed, and I yearned to see this side of him more often. His alabaster face was a light shade of pink, his smile was wide across his face, and even his cackling sounded like a melody.

As Duncan cleaned up the mess Ominis made, the commotion died down, and we finally stopped laughing. It even seemed as if Ominis was going to get away with his prank.

"You are so bad, Ominis!" I whispered to him as he calmed down. I nudged him with my shoulder, and the slight movement of his palm on my thigh reminded me of its placement on my body. Before he had the chance to move his hand, I placed mine atop his in an attempt to encourage him to stay right where he was.

When he turned his head toward me, I couldn't tell if the blush was leftover from the joke he pulled or newly ablaze. He smiled at me, and I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before moving mine. He moved his seat even closer to me, with no space between the sides of our bodies now.

He put his face next to my ear, "Why is your heart beating so fast, love? I can hear it."

His whisper activated every nerve in my body. My hair stood on end. I felt as if I was on fire, but it felt amazing nonetheless. Then, something even more surprising happened.