Between The Shadows | Ominis Gaunt x Sebastian Sallow x Reader

Chapter 23: In the Cave (I.)

Reader POV 

"Poppy, look out!" I shouted as a giant spider leaped out from the bushes, lunging towards my friend. Fortunately, Poppy swiftly ducked, and I quickly casted a nonverbal Flipendo, knocking the spider back. Poppy followed up with a Depulso spell, sending the creature flying out of sight.

I stood there, wand raised, ready to attack with a deadly spell, but Poppy shook her head "It won't come back." she said "You don't have to kill them every time, you know."

"You have compassion even for spiders, Poppy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "This one would devour you like a little fly."

"They belong here, we're the intruders," she shrugged. "Just show them you're capable of defending yourself and push them far enough, they'll leave you alone."

"As you wish," I replied. There was a stark contrast between fighting alongside Poppy and Sebastian. If it had been Sebastian with me now, the spiders would have already been reduced to ashes.

We left Highwing at the edge of the forest and continued the rest of the path on foot. Riding a hippogryph would attract too much attention, and we needed to avoid that here. We were walking further, towards The Gilded Perch, Poppy liked to check the area from time to time, to be sure the snidgets were safe. At least that was the excuse she always gave me, she knew Centaurs did a great job protecting the cave, she actually just wanted to visit the colony. I didn't complain though. This night was all about her, and if she wanted to see the snidgets, then that's exactly what we were going to do.

We stepped into the cave and the familiar earthy atmosphere enveloped us. The sight that greeted us there was breathtaking as always - numerous nests filled the cave, teeming with dozens of little golden birds, their wings fluttering in unison. Poppy's face lit up with pure joy. "Let's stay here," she suggested.

"Sure, we can camp here for tonight," I agreed. Using Incendio, I heated some rocks to create a warm spot, and conjured a few blankets for added comfort. We settled down, allowing the little snidgets to flutter closer to us. They were truly unrecognizable from the golden Quidditch balls. The way they moved their little wings, almost imperceptible to our eyes, hovering in the air before swiftly changing direction.

Poppy giggled as one of the little birds landed on her open palm, playfully hopping in small circles. I reached into my bag and pulled out two bottles of butterbeer, a thoughtful gift from Deek.

Handing one to Poppy, our bottles clinked together, creating a gentle echo in the cave. We both took a satisfying sip of the chilled, delicious liquid.

"Thank you, y/n," Poppy said with a smile. "This is wonderful."

"What are friends for," I said, but I instantly wished I could take back my words as I saw Poppy's smile fade, replaced by a pained grimace once again.

I wrapped my hand around her in a comforting hug again.

"I'm sorry, y/n, you should be with Ominis now." She said when we finally let go.

"Nonsense, he would be the first one to understand that you shouldn't be alone now." I replied.

"But you two have just started dating. I feel so selfish taking up your time like this" she giggled. "Especially at night"

"Poppy!" I blushed and playfully slapped her arm. "Anyway, I'm sure he'll be fine. But, um... There's something I wanted to tell you. It's not just Ominis I'm dating... It's Sebastian too." I looked at her nervously

"Sebastian... Sebastian Sallow?" She exclaimed in disbelief. "The same Sebastian, Ominis was in love with? And you and him...? How did Ominis react?"

"Um... He took it really well actually" I said hesitantly.

"Are you serious? That must be tearing him apart. Are you sure he's not just saying that because he's in love... wait," she said, her eyes widening. "Are those two also...?"

I remained silent, not feeling like it was my place to disclose their relationship. However, since Poppy had already figured it out, I wasn't going to deny it.

"Oh, that's great!" she exclaimed, interpreting my silence as confirmation. "I'm so happy for him, I mean, I'm so happy for you too and Sebastian, of course."

"Thank you, Poppy." I replied with a smile.

"So, how did that happen? Tell me everything," she asked and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, settling in for the story, while taking a sip of her butterbeer.

I was worried at first that it would be painful for her, considering her recent heartbreak, but she seemed genuinely interested, and after all I was here for her tonight so I told her, and everything else she asked about. At the end she was staring at me with her jaw dropped.

"Now I'm not feeling bad that I stole you from your guys tonight, I bet they're having a great time together" She said with a thoughtful expression.

After a moment she spoke again "You know, before that Christmas party last year, I wasn't really interested in anyone" she continued. "At least not in a romantic way."

"What happened there? If you don't mind talking about it." I asked, realizing I didn't know how it all started.

She shook her head with a weak smile "Natty and I kissed on a dare and it felt... well...It felt right, don't know how else to explain it." She said "But nothing happened after, honestly I thought it was just a weird crush on a friend and I tried to get over it ... ahem.. You probably know... "

"By dating Ominis, yeah I know" I replied, waving my hand dismissively.

Poppy noded "But actually, it only helped me realize that it was really Natty who I wanted. And don't get me wrong, he was great, I mean..." She suddenly blushed bright red and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

I chuckled. "I'm sure he'd be flattered to hear that," I said, teasingly.

She laughed along with me but then a frown appeared on her face. "I should have told her earlier, It would save me a year," she said with a tinge of regret.

"That's not fair, Poppy, you really couldn't have known." I tried to reassure her.

"I'm just afraid that I will never meet anyone else like her."

"I'm sure you won't." I replied.

"That's not helping, y/n" she said, sounding a bit frustrated.

"I'm sorry that didn't come out right," I replied. "What I meant is that while there's only one Natsai, I believe there's someone else out there for you who you'll love just as deeply and passionately."

"Thank you for saying that, it's hard to imagine now but..." she sighed "I believe you."

I didn't even notice when we drifted off to sleep. But when I woke up it had to be still middle of the night, too early for the birds but the rocks were cold already. I realized I wasn't shivering only because Poppy was snuggling against me in her sleep, keeping us both warm.

Then I heard it - the faint sound of footsteps in the distance. It sounded like human's. I couldn't believe they had managed to enter the cave. I gently shook Poppy's shoulder, placing a hand over her mouth to prevent any sound from escaping. "Keep quiet," I whispered into her ear. "Someone is here."

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A/N:  Thanks to everyone who voted in the last chapter. Reading your feedback is amazing. It not only helps improve the story but also boosts my confidence, which I can't stress enough, is quite low. Your support means a lot to me.

Also a big thanks to EleniaE for her amazing editing work and to Belilula for proofreading this fanfic.