Love's Not Time's Fool // Ominis Gaunt & Anne Sallow

An Invitation

December 1887

Christmas with the Sallows. It had always been a possibility, Ominis supposed, at least since last year when he and Sebastian became good mates. But to be asked, and so nonchalantly at that, with nothing expected of him? It was, frankly, astounding.

And Sebastian had been so excited too. "Stay with us for Christmas, why don't you?" just thrown out there as if it was as ordinary as a request to walk to class together, or to join Sebastian for breakfast. Which they did all the time anyway.

Ominis's parents wouldn't care. His siblings would probably be disappointed, but only because there would be one less thing to keep them entertained over the holidays. One less thing to hassle, to insult, to torture.

'Thing' was the appropriate term too. Ominis wasn't a person to them. Especially not to his elder brother, Marvolo. Ominis was an object to play with. A nuisance, but at least a nuisance that served a purpose. Ominis despised it. Ominis despised home.

Home. Hah! Gaunt Manor wasn't home. Home was Hogwarts, home was his friends. Sebastian, of course, then 'head perpetually in the clouds' Rupert, even obnoxious Henry most of the time, but, to a certain extent, Anne as well. In a different way that he couldn't quite place yet. There was something about her.

The soft lilt of her voice intrigued Ominis, mostly because it was so antithetical to her headstrong nature. Her intelligence, too, made her stand out among his classmates. Sebastian was clever - when he wasn't doing something daft, like stealing a rabbit from Transfiguration class and releasing it in the library - but Anne was brilliant and so very capable. An independent soul; she needed no one. At least she made it seem that way. If only Ominis could soak in just a little of her poise.

On the outside, he pretended to be self-sufficient, confident even with his disability. And a disability it certainly was. His family wouldn't ever let him forget it. But on the inside, Ominis was constantly on edge. What did people think of him? Did they pity him? Was Sebastian only his friend because he felt sorry for him? Merlin forbid.

Perhaps that was why Ominis was always eavesdropping on conversations. He was always waiting for someone, anyone, to voice the words that were constantly running through his head. Why is he here? How can he do magic? What a terrible waste; he surely has no future outside Hogwarts. What career could he pursue?

But, to be fair, his illustrious listening skills also gave Ominis something to do when he was just standing, sitting, lounging: in class, in the halls, on the lawn. You'd be surprised how often people forget a blind person is there when he's not contributing to a conversation. It helped if he closed his eyes. Then, people would assume he was asleep. The fools.

Oh, but Anne was on to him about his eavesdropping, the gossip. She knew it was him who was spreading rumors around the school. Sebastian probably knew too, but he most likely approved. Anne was harder to read. She loved to get up to shenanigans - safe pranks that didn't cause much harm; she had not been pleased by Sebastian's rabbit scheme - but gossip, hmmm, it depended entirely on what Ominis overheard and what he chose to share. He had to be careful around her. Yet another aspect of Anne that intrigued him, made him want to get to know her better, even please her.

Ominis rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned against the wall, sprawled across the bottom step of a staircase in Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower. Christmas with Sebastian and Anne... what would they do? What sort of traditions did they celebrate?

They didn't have a house elf so they couldn't participate in the ghastly Gaunt tradition of dressing the house elves up as Father Christmas's reindeer and whipping them as they galloped around the house to his father's shrieks of, "More realistic now! With gusto!" and his brother and sisters cackling like the barbaric creatures they were. Ominis shuddered just thinking of it. It would be a relief to not have to overhear that for once.

He supposed the spread of food wouldn't be as diverse or as satisfying, knowing that the Sallows were not as wealthy as the Gaunts. But he didn't mind that one bit. Better poor than wicked. Not that the two couldn't go hand in hand, but in Ominis's estimation, the richer a family was, the more hideous the secrets they had to hide. That was certainly the case for the Gaunts.

The Unforgivable Curses, the deaths on their hands. The horrible things Ominis had done as a boy. If only he could forget. If only he could pretend they never happened. Never again, never again.

He had friends now. No, not merely friends. Surely, surely now they were family. Ominis had a new family. A family that he could trust would do the right thing. That wouldn't lead him astray. That would keep him on the straight and narrow, and vice versa. Meeting Sebastian, meeting Anne, had been the greatest thing that ever happened to him. If he could help it, they would be in his life forever.

Ominis Gaunt was no longer a burden, no longer a stain on the family name. He was no longer alone. He had friends, and they had invited him to Christmas.