In the Brilliance of Longing | Ominis Gaunt

In the Brilliance of the Forsaken

(a/n: please go easy on me, i HATE writing action sequences)

11:27am - November 28th, 1891: Diagon Alley

"What?!" Poppy asked as I pulled them both toward me, out of the outside's line of sight.

I peeked around the wall and looked out the window. "There's a lot of bad people out there," I explained shakily, "and I'm pretty sure they're looking for me. Please, just trust me on this one."

Natty peeked around the window, confusion across her face. "I don't see anything unusual."

"It's the ancient magic. A dark, twisted form of it. Listen, I promise I will tell you everything once we're back at the castle. We aren't safe in London. We need the Sigils!"

The other patrons in Sugarplum's were starting to stare at us, giving us odd looks for causing a scene. We all lowered our heads and voices, trying to keep any prying eyes and ears at bay.

"The next train doesn't leave until four! What will we do until then?" Poppy questioned.

"We need to lose them then, get back to your gran's." I paused, panic beginning to swell to a crest inside of my abdomen. "How will we ever be able to sneak past them though? There's so many!"

Natty suggested using the disillusionment charm and crawling between the two of them until we made it out of Diagon Alley. I worried about getting lost or worse, trampled, but it was the only idea we had given our limited time and supplies. I handed them my bags and had them form a wall around me in the corner so it wouldn't be painfully obvious I was casting the charm. I knelt down and whispered for them to walk slowly and calmly out the door. I was going to be looking purely to their footsteps and staying between them.

We made our way out the door and into the busy alleyway. I was trying to keep calm as I crawled along the cobblestone path, and I found that focusing on the pain on my knees and palms helped. However, as we were about to enter the Leaky Cauldron, I heard whispers about the Fool. As much as I tried to keep following the girls along, I got distracted. I had to know what they were saying.

I heard a trio of Dark witches speaking amongst themselves in a hushed tone to my right. I found an opening in the crowd, stepped into a crouched position, and made my way toward them. Finally behind them, I could clearly hear their conversation.

"Orion is positive that the Fool is here?"

"Saw her with his own eyes, apparently."

"She's probably long gone by now."

I had heard enough. I needed to get back to the Leaky Cauldron, back to Natty and Poppy. I turned quickly and snuck my way down the street, waiting for openings in the crowd so no one would bump me out of my disillusionment. I finally made it to the Leaky Cauldron and peered inside, searching for my friends. They were there, but the exit back to London was being watched carefully by two Dark wizards. I needed to0 get back between Natty and Poppy fast before they left the pub.

I waited for someone to open the door and snuck in. Natty and Poppy were quickly approaching the door as they had not noticed my absence, and the pub was crowded. I made the difficult decision to stand and pace myself to the rear of my two friends, and luckily, no one seemed to notice anything strange happening about. Perhaps my ancient magic was also helping my ability to conceal myself.

We successfully made it back onto the streets of London and I waited until we turned the corner to come from under the charm. It frightened both girls when I appeared standing behind them rather than between them, but we booked it back to Poppy's gran's flat despite that.