Between The Shadows | Ominis Gaunt x Sebastian Sallow x Reader

In the Cave (II.)

Reader POV 

I didn't need to say more, we quickly got up and I made any evidence of our presence vanish. We pressed ourselves against the walls, silently moving closer to the source of the noise. Now we could even hear them. One person with a deep voice was talking, so there must have been at least two of them.

Poppy went a few steps ahead, taking cover behind a partially destroyed wall. She mouthed "He is alone" silently in my direction. We were still hearing the muffled voice but no one else was to be seen. We had to be careful.

They probably didn't know about us, that was our advantage and we couldn't, at any cost, let anyone discover the snidgets.

I glanced at Poppy, she seemed just as worried about the birds. I gestured towards the man, raising my wand and she nodded in agreement.

I watched as Poppy casted the spell, becoming nothing more than a flicker of the light, and I followed suit, swiftly moving forward.

"Incarcerous!" Poppy shouted, and in an instant, the man was writhing on the ground, tightly bound and gagged. I casted the "Homenum Revelio" spell in a wide circle around us, confirming that there were only three people in the cave. That was odd.

I was watching the man, judging by his clothes, he wasn't a Hogwarts student, but he didn't seem much older than us, so he had to graduate only recently. Definitely not a muggle, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get inside the cave. His face struck me as familiar, with its longer, dark curly hair and a sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks. Though I couldn't recall his name and now he looked genuinely frightened, his eyes darted around, searching for the source of the attack. Giving Poppy a gentle nudge, we made ourselves visible. She kept her wand poised, ready to attack if needed. Once again, I was grateful that I wasn't on the receiving end of Poppy's wrath. She could be quite intimidating, especially when a beast's life was at stake.

I picked up the man's wand from the ground and loosened the rope around his mouth, allowing him to speak. "Who are you and how did you get here?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

He appeared somewhat relieved that it wasn't poachers or necromancers who had captured him. However, Poppy swiftly positioned her wand under his chin, tilting his head up to make it clear that his situation hadn't become any easier with us.

"We asked you something," she said impatiently.

"I... I'm here to study the colony. I work at Brood and Peck in Hogsmeade," he replied, his voice strained.

"Liar" Poppy hissed in his face "Centaurs would never let any stranger in and I've never seen you in the shop."

The man nodded toward a pile of bags off to the side. "Look there... my bags," he said, gesturing with his head. "You'll find the book where I'm keeping my notes about the colony and I have permission from the centaurs. I'm friends with Dorran."

We exchanged glances. I didn't need to say anything, Centaurs didn't typically form friendships with humans.

I rummaged through his bag, finding numerous parchments, quills, and a book. Whoever he was, he didn't appear to be a poacher.

"Hey," he said suddenly, "I know who you are. Dorran told me about you. You're the ones who brought the snidgets here."

Poppy finally lowered her wand, but her grip remained firm.

"Who were you talking to before?" I asked him.

"My friend," he replied, gesturing with his head behind us. We turned around, but there was nothing there. "Don't worry, she won't hurt you. she's just very shy," the man quickly reassured us as he noticed our alarmed faces.