In The Shadow of Our Choices

Chapter 62 - Sanguine Lies: Part 2

CONTENT WARNING: Death, Dark Magic

Ominis

After he and Grace had said their farewells, Ominis apparated them back to the front gates. When they had materialized, Grace released his arm, stepping away and creating an awkward distance between them that was filled with silence. Around them, Ominis could hear the gentle sounds of night, the distant waves of the lake, and their footsteps on the gravel, but she was quiet. As they made their way up the sweeping front lawn, the path ahead felt as though it stretched into nothing but an uncomfortable void. It took a good few minutes of the silence growing ever louder before Ominis began to cast about for something to say.

"Your parents seem nice," Ominis said at last.

A pitiful attempt at conversation.

"Yes, they seemed to like you," Grace said briskly.

Unsure how to respond, he tried, "I'm glad, I was nervous."

He heard her let out a little breath, but she said nothing so the silence came rushing back in. As they neared the front doors, the bells began to chime the time - ten o'clock.

"Oh," Ominis said, his steps faltering. "I didn't realize it was that late... Curfew..."

His mind immediately jumped to wondering if she would be okay sneaking back in, and if not, what they should do. Then he remembered - she was a prefect. She wouldn't get in trouble, but... She wouldn't give him detention, would she?

"We had better hurry back to our dormitory," Grace said, sounding frustrated. "I knew we should have left earlier."

He let her take the lead as they slipped into the school and across the entrance hall to the door to the dungeons. The descent into the dungeons was accompanied once more by a thick silence that seemed to wrap around them like a heavy cloak. Their footsteps echoed off the cold stone walls, amplifying the unease that Ominis felt. He couldn't help but feel the urge to break it once again.

"Do you find yourself sneaking around after hours much?" He asked quietly, adding a light smile to show it was a humorous remark.

"No."

She said it with a little sniff, like it was an obvious answer, like he should have known. Ominis sighed as the silence reappeared. At the Three Broomsticks the other night she had been polite, then at dinner she had seemed curious, but now she didn't seem to want to speak with him. Ominis felt a pang of frustration. Had he done something? Said something? Or had she just been putting on a show while they were in public? He hardly knew the girl - how was he supposed to know what she was thinking? They'd said they were going to make a genuine effort of this, and she was his fiance, though he shuddered to think of it like that. He needed to know what had changed.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, breaking the silence once more.

"No," she said stiffly, "I just want to get back to the dorm."

Ominis pursed his lips but let the subject drop. As they reached the stretch of wall that hid the Slytherin common room entrance, Grace gave the password, and Ominis followed her inside. There were still a fair few people in the common room. Ominis could hear soft chatter and wondered how much was about them coming in together, late. Grace made straight for the girls' stairs without saying anything, so he caught her wrist.

"Hold on," he said hurriedly.

He felt her tense, tugging her wrist from his grasp, but she did stop. He let her pull away easily, never intending to hold on.

"Er, sorry," he said, "I just - did I do something?"

"No."

It sounded, if anything, like a simple statement of fact. No, he had not done anything - which told him nothing. Frustration welled up again - speaking with Elizabeth or Anne wasn't this difficult. He wasn't sure what else to do.