Destined to be

SIX - NEW YEAR, SAME ME

I was walking through Hogwarts halls with Amit on my side, smiling like crazy. It felt good to be here again. Even after the hectic and scary end of the last year. The castle was my safe place.

The two of us were heading to our first lesson of Herbology in comfortable silence. It was nice to have Herbology in the morning. The greenhouse wasn't that hot at this time especially this soon in September when the sun had its summer power still. In the afternoon it could get really humid and stuffy there.

I waved goodbye to Amit and headed to the empty space next to Ominis. I was surprised that he passed his Herbology O.W.L.S and that he even received Exceeds Expectations grade. He never looked like a botanist to me. But he was really smart and had a really good memory so he had no problem with the theoretical part of this subject. Unfortunately the lack of his sight could sometimes be a problem here. I still vividly remember how he almost lost his fingers last year because he got awfully close to Chinese Chomping Cabbage. Thankfully, Sebastian was near him at that time.

"Good morning, Ominis," I smiled at him. "Is this seat taken?"

"Good morning, Lynette. No, please. It's yours if you wish. How was your first night back? Did you sleep well?" He turned his head to me, also smiling.

"Great!" I plopped down to the chair next to him. "Never slept better, actually."

"Hello back, my lovelies," Professor Garlick interrupted our conversation. "Welcome to the first Advanced Herbology class. There is a lot to do and a lot to learn this year. So we should start right away. Who can tell me which plant is before me?" she asked with a sweet voice. I looked at it carefully but couldn't recognise it. I automatically started to describe it to Ominis in a whisper. He tilted his head slightly so he could hear me better. The plant had a spindly stem and large green leaves with red tinted veins. Few bean pods which contained a single pearly-white bean that looked like an overgrown mistletoe berry.

"That would be a Sopophorous plant, Professor," Ominis said after a few seconds of thinking. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets, that he knew that. I've never seen one, but I've read about it.

"That is very much correct, Mr. Gaunt. Five points to Slytherin," Professor Garlick praised him.

"You gave me a very good description, Lynette. Thank you," Ominis whispered to me.

"And who knows what we used them for?" Professor Garlick kept asking.

"Sopophorous beans have powerful magical properties, and are used in Potion-making. For example during making Draught of Living Death potion. The juice also can remove the drinker's memory," I answer quickly. My eyes flicked to the left where Ominis was sitting. His mouth corners raised for half a second as he chuckled.

"Always first to answer, huh?" he whispered to me again without turning to my direction. I just shook my head with a smile and remained quiet.

"Very good, Miss Carrow. Five points to Ravenclaw," she smiled at me. Everyone in the room was looking at me suddenly. No one except my friends and professors knew about my uncle and about my origin. Not at least until now. Professor Garlick did not notice the sudden change of the atmosphere in the greenhouse and kept teaching.

"Today I will show you how to cultivate it and how to prepare a nice fertilizer from a Mooncalf dung. This plant is really rare and could be quite difficult to grow. The fertilizer should ensure that you would be able to harvest a lot of beans from them," she chimed but almost no one was listening to her. All eyes were still on me. Suddenly, I could feel Ominis's hand on my knee. He squeezed it ever so slightly and finally looked in my direction.

"Ignore them," he said almost inaudibly. I inhaled and exhaled deeply looking directly ahead, trying to ignore all of the whispers that carried through the greenhouse as best as I could.

"Ok class, follow me. I have a few dung composters just over there..."

* * *

As soon as we finished the class I quickly sprinted out of the greenhouse. I felt a little bit bad that I left Ominis there but I really did not want to explain myself to anyone. I quickly walked through the castle with a clear destination in my head - the Undercroft. When I was just a few meters from the hidden clock I slowed down my paste. So I looked a little bit more inconspicuous.

Just a few minutes after my arrival I heard the loud clicking noise of the entrance again.

"Lynette?" Ominis's worried voice echoed through the empty space.

"I am here," I beeped from the back corner. "Did you hear anything?"

"The best one was that you wedded someone during the summer," he chuckled softly. He kneeled before me and placed one of his hands on top of mine which were resting on my knees. "Don't worry, people here usually forget quickly."

"I just don't want anyone to look at me differently. I am the same person I was two months ago even if my uncle worked really hard during the summer to change me," I sighted.

"I know that. And I am sure that everyone else will see it too," he kept reassuring me.

"Do you think that someone is looking at you differently? Because of your pure-blood status?" I asked timidly.

"They do, but just because I am a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. The only ones who care about blood status are those with pure-blood. And there are not many of them in this school. And one of them already does not care at all," he smiled at me. "I think that people are just confused with the sudden change of a name."

"Alright," I stood up and brushed my robe quickly. "We should head back. My uncle would be disappointed with how I handled the situation," I giggled at the idea.

"And he would be really angry that you are with a boy, alone," Ominis flicked his eyebrow.

"You are not a boy. You are a gentleman. And my best friend. I think there is an exception in this case." I helped him stand up and brushed his knee from the dust.

"Thanks. Shall we?" He offered me his elbow.

"See. Gentleman! As I said." I locked my arm with his one and started walking towards the exit. "I have to visit my dorm quickly. I forgot my book. But book me a seat maybe?"

"Deal."