Basilisk (Dark Ominis Gaunt x OC gothic romance)

Chapter 31: Darkest Night

Tw: mentions of suicide

————————

~~Sebastian~~

Another book, another dead end. He growled angrily and tossed it across the room in frustration, grabbing his hair in his hands as he let out a ragged breath. He had to figure this out. He only had two weeks left!

He didn't know what Damien had meant when he'd said 'one more month' but he could take a guess by the way he'd been talking lately. He knew this was hard on him, but he couldn't bear the thought of that happening! They'd been through so much in the last two years, battling these damn dark wizards that seemed intent on trying to take over the area. But then they'd started deliberately attacking Damien, all but ignoring him in battle...

And then one night it had happened.

Everything had gone downhill from there. Rumors that Ministry people had heard what happened. Forcing him to go into complete silence to keep everything a secret. He hated it. He hated feeling so isolated like this, but it was the only way to keep the Aurors from finding them.

He took a ragged breath as he tried to think. They had to be able to do something. Something had to be possible! But the months were wearing on Damien, he could see it. He looked more and more tired every time he came back up from the cellar. It had been a whole year now, and he could see how his affliction was weighing on Damien. The tired look in his eyes, the goofy carefree attitude he'd once had was all but gone.

I'm kind of regretting letting you heal me.

Those words had torn him apart, because they had revealed just how much Damien was struggling with this. He remembered that night well. Every moment was burned into his mind.

The latest group of dark wizards had turned out to be formidable, wounding Damien enough that they'd had to take a few days to rest for him to heal even with the wiggenwelds. He'd sent an owl to Ominis- not knowing it was the last one he would send. He wished now that he'd written more.

The moon was bright that night as they searched for more wizards in the forbidden forest, their newest hideaway to keep hidden from the law. It wouldn't keep them hidden from the Keeper, though.

Damien was fierce and strong back then, and even more determined than ever after getting wounded. He remembered the grin on Damien's face as he pointed to the hovel in the distance, hidden by overgrown branches and ferns. It was an odd looking place, as if it had been lived in but the occupant hadn't cared much more to keep it maintained.

They'd approached cautiously, encountering a strange shield charm that surrounded the house, some sort of powerful charm to keep everything and anything out. They'd glanced at each other, because charms were neither of their strong suits. If only Ominis was here.

Damien had stood at the doorway with his wand ready, casting 'Finite Incantatem' into the quiet night. The silvery shield dissipated with the counter spell, and suddenly they heard loud noises from inside the hovel. Terrible noises.

Damien looked back to Sebastian with wide eyes, and both of them seemed to have the same thought. What if the spell wasn't to keep people out, but to keep something in?

The door burst open while Damien was looking back at him, claws and fangs flying as he was tackled to the ground. He screamed in pain as fangs sank into his shoulder, digging deep as claws ripped at his clothes and raked across his skin.

"CONFRINGO!" Sebastian sent the creature flying back, fur singed and burning as it quickly got up and turned fierce yellow eyes back to Damien, charging toward him again.