In the Brilliance of Longing | Ominis Gaunt

In the Brilliance of Elusion

(a/n: howdy!! friendly reminder that this fic is occasionally spicy, and there is indeed a spicy part in this chapter. as always, it's marked with asterisks! feel free to skip it if you like.

also i have a tiktok now! i'll be posting excerpts from the fic read in the character voices (thanks to ai cloning!) @cottagecoreunderscore
ttfn!)

11:56am - September 28th, 1891: Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower

Despite seeing Ominis absolutely furious a mere two days ago, he was perfectly chipper this morning in Defence. He was suspiciously kind, nearly doting on me ever since he met me outside my common room before class. Sebastian didn't seem to mind, to my surprise. Ever since I agreed to be his girlfriend Saturday at the festival, he hasn't been nearly as possessive, at least, I thought so.

As I was packing to leave, Ominis stood up and left in a hurry. I gathered my things quickly, nearly tripping over myself to try and catch the blonde boy. I wasn't quick enough, and I lost sight of him. Sebastian wasn't in the room either, being forced to sit next to his twin in the back of the room. However, Anne was still present.

I approached her, hoping she was still on good terms with me. I'm not sure how she would react to her brother and I's relationship. "Anne! Did you see where the boys ran off to?"

She shrugged and shook her head. "No, they both ran off together, but I do need to reschedule my measurements. Can we push it to later this evening?"

"Will eight o'clock do?"

She smiled, "Nicely. In the undercroft?"

"Of course," I said. Her mentioning of the undercroft gave me an inkling of where to search for the boys, though. "I'll see you then!" I stepped briskly out the door, slowing to a slug's pace when it dawned on me that they probably meant to leave me behind. Whatever they were doing, they didn't want me to know about it.

They just had to be in the Undercroft. I reached the bottom of the staircase and turned right, into the corridor with the clockface. I cast Silencio on the clock and the disillusionment charm on myself, stepping in as quietly as I could manage.

I was between the door and the gate, and I could already hear the heated conversation between Sebastian and Ominis.

"I told you to stay away from her, Ominis!"

"Absolutely not! I cannot fathom how you could have betrayed me like this, Sebastian. I've made a grave mistake forgiving you." The angle I was crouched in didn't allow me to see the two Slytherins, so I couldn't read their body language. Both boys were absolutely spitting venom at one another, and I couldn't help the anxiety that I felt. I hated to bear witness to this. I decided to take my leave until I realized they were speaking about me.

"She's my girlfriend! I am the one who gets to walk her to class, sit next to her, take her out. That is not your job - you lost that opportunity."

"I loved her! You were well aware of that and chose to snatch her from me regardless!" Ominis' voice cracked as he said it. I felt as if I had just been hit with Depulso , straight to my solar plexus. He loved me? Loved? I could feel my throat tightening, and it became painful to breathe and swallow.

Ominis continued, his voice quiet. "All you ever do is take, Sebastian. You never consider the feelings of others. You shamelessly manipulated her last year under the pretense of finding a cure for Anne, and she fell victim to it! I had to bear witness as you suffocated her, consumed by the Dark Arts." He paused to sigh, "I haven't a clue why she chose you of all people. She quite literally witnessed your descent into madness, and-"