What Follows | Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 2: Are We Still Friends?

Early April 1891

With the flourish of a wand, the dim fire roared to life again, the crackle echoing off the common room walls. The unkempt shape of a sleep-deprived student sat huddled on one of the couches, blankly staring into the flames with a quilt tightly wrapped around their body.

"Mind if I join you?" Ominis's soft voice spoke out, barely audible. He took the shifting of weight as his cue to sit on their right.

Somehow even in his nightwear, he still looked ethereal. It was strange how hair could change a person's face. Usually, his blonde hair was styled, not a lock of hair out of place, making him appear as imposing as his family name. Now, with pieces of hair strewn across his forehead, he didn't seem so threatening. He was still somehow otherworldly, although that could be passed off as his eyes carrying that effect. Some students said it was creepy that he would blankly stare in their direction, but Adalinda wouldn't trade anything in the world for the way his eyes always seemed to light up when he was around her. Despite the fact that he stayed up with her every time she was having a rough night, the circles under his eyes weren't nearly as dark as hers, probably due to the frequent naps he took around the castle. Adalinda would be lying if she said she wasn't just a little bit envious of the way Ominis always carried an air of elegance with him.

Her onyx hair was knotted, and she was sure that the dark tear streaks on her face made her appear all the more dishevelled. It was no surprise with the recent events that her eyes didn't carry the light they used to at the beginning of the year.

"How are you holding up?"

Adalinda chuckled at the notion of being well, although it came out more strained than she anticipated.

"Barely." She whispered, as if speaking softer would diminish the truth of the word.

"Hmm." Ominis furrowed his brows together. With wand in hand, he tentatively reached his arms out and awkwardly wrapped them around her, or at least to the best of his abilities with the quilt in between them.

If it weren't for her current distress, she would've laughed. She recalled one of the few times she had hugged him.

"Ominis!" She almost knocked him over as she barreled into his unsuspecting arms.

"Adalinda! I almost dropped my cupcake." He scolded her, holding it high above their heads.

"But you didn't." She beamed up at him. She knew he would never be the one to initiate hugs; he had tensed up every time she wrapped her arms around him. But he didn't this time; she considered this a small victory.

"But I didn't." He repeated back, a smile seemed to tug at the corner of his lips. "Now get off me, or I'll have to waste my cupcake by smearing the frosting on your face."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she disentangled herself from him, "You're no fun."

"Are you sure about that?" Ominis started coating his pointer finger in frosting, making her dash to the nearest exit.

She leaned into his embrace, feeling him relax against her in response.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'll certainly listen if you do."

She felt sick to her stomach, everything suddenly became ten times more overwhelming than before. She paid no heed to the early morning chill of the common room as she tore the lavender scented quilt off like it had seared her skin. She licked her lips, now aware of how chapped they were as she awkwardly stood in the silence of the room. She finally opened her mouth to speak, but a broken laugh escaped her first.