December 18th 1887
"What the...?"
The two brown haired ones at his door, he knew them but he was pretty sure the blond one in the middle was not a Sallow...
Children had never been Solomon's Sallow strong suit.
His brother Adam was the one who loved little imps, to the point he ecided to make it his job but for Solomon they were kind of a nuisance.
He would spend weeks coming back and forth from Azkaban to deliver prisoners, hunt down dark wizard in dangerous forests or spend hours in useless Ministry meeting without batting an eye but he almost got traumatized the day his brother asked him to babysit the twins so his wife and him could go on a romantic date.
Then Adam and Rose died.
And he became his nephew and niece's guardian, for better or worse...
"What kind of stray did you bring me this time ?" the man asked, defeated.
"This is just Ominis uncle Solomon, he'll spend the holidays with us"Anne said with a smile.
She did not ask no no, she just informed him. While Sebastian was his late father's portrait, Anne definitively took on Adam's attitude.
He looked at the kid, curious.
Small,skin and bones, shaking in fear, his head low like he was about to cry he yet was dressed in fine clothes and his truck was impeccable and probably more than a month worth of his old salary as an Auror. He sighed, knowing the battle with his niece was already lost.
"And do you have a name 'Just Ominis' so I can inform you parents ?"
"Gaunt Sir" the young boy answered in a shaky voice. "But don....don't tell my family...please..." Solomon tensed immediately. A Gaunt ? on his doorstep ?! Was this some kind of a joke ?!
The man was about to say something not very polite when his nephew interrupted him.
"He's a friend" Sebastian said, grabbing the blond's shoulder while looking at his uncle with all the conviction of an 11 years old kid and, for a moment, Solomon saw Adam in him and it broke his heart.
He sighed again. When those two had something in mind...
"Alright, get inside before one of you gets cold..." he grumbled "i'll make tea and hot cocoa".
As the days passed by, Solomon could not help but be nervous having Ominis around.
First the child was a Gaunt and he had quite the history with them, especially Malakai Gaunt who was, you guessed it, his little guest's father.
Second,he was clearly blind as Solomon realized when he teased him about that when the blond boy had issues decorating the Christmas tree, breaking a few ornaments and his nephew looked at him like he had said something horribly inappropriate.
Third, the kid was clearly traumatized.
As an ex Auror, he had spent some time in Azkaban for work, facing some...complications himself when he would stay stationed there for a few weeks and he had seen first hand what years of mistreatment could do to someone. The kid was checking all the boxes and this was not surprising considering who fathered him...
Sometimes in the middle of the night he would hear his nephew comforting Ominis after a nightmare, telling him he was safe and that nothing would happen to him. Yes his uncle was scary and rough on the edges but he would keep them safe...
Christmas Eve - 1887
"Here Anne, bring this to the table would you" Solomon asked while giving his niece a plate of potatoes as he was cutting the turkey "Boys for the third time, come help Anne set the table !" he added to Sebastian and Ominis who were playing chess in front of the fireplace.
Outside the storm was raging but in the little house they were all cozy and warm, ready to enjoy their first Christmas Eve's dinner together.
Under the tree, presents were waiting for the kids as Solomon had to rushto Hogsmeade to get something for the little blond boy who was now trying his best not to spill the water carafe while making his way tothe table.
After talking with him, he had found out Ominis wasactually born blind and it did not take a lot of time for Solomon torealize why the kid had been so ostracized. Being a Gaunt was surely not easy but adding blindness to that...kids were cruel and it made sense to him now why he was so clingy over the Sallow twins.
After a few awkward days they seemed to have found their rhythm, the 4 of them and as everyone sat at the table he felt...good, for the first time in months.
It's been only 8 months since his brother and sister in law died and if one thing was for sure, it was that Solomon was not coping well but tonight...tonight was going to be a good night and he was actually excited to see the kids open their gift.
