No Choice But You // Ominis Gaunt x Reader

Chapter 14

The matter of the locket was still lying heavily on my mind. I couldn't think of anyone who would gift this to me, especially considering the note. 

No one had any reason to apologize to me. I couldn't think of a single person that had done me wrong. 

I considered the fact that it was most likely someone in our group that day in Hogsmeade, but no one made sense. Sebastian was a no. He and Poppy were getting along well, and he didn't seem the type to go around buying other girls gifts. 

Anne seemed just as surprised as me about my receiving the locket, so she was out, as well. And she didn't have anything to apologize for. 

Garreth, Natty, and Poppy all didn't make sense, either. And that left me with Ominis, who I knew for a fact hadn't gotten it for me. He had no reason to be sorry to me, and had no interest in getting me presents. He didn't even care for me as a friend right now, so he was off the table. 

So, there had to be someone that I was missing--someone who hadn't come along with my friends and I that day who just so happened to be there. There were other students in the shop at the same time as us, but none I who knew me well enough to get me something, or who had wronged me and felt the need to apologize for something. 

Really, it was the note that was throwing me for a loop. I'd also considered that the note might've been in the locket previous to my secret gifter buying it, and maybe they just hadn't checked inside it before giving it to me. 

Nothing made sense. I couldn't piece together a single hypothesis on who this person could be. 

 * * *

Slytherin beat Gryffindor in the quidditch match, and there was to be yet another party in the Slytherin common room. Anne was already bugging me about it and throwing dressed down on my bed that she wanted me to try on. I knew better than to fight her anymore, so I gave her a bit of a fashion show, just to humor her. 

She decided that I would be wearing a plum-colored skirt that fell just above my knee, paired with a black blouse with a low neckline that I was a little less than comfortable with. It didn't show any cleavage by any means, but I wasn't a fan of showing off my jutting collarbones. The more skin I showed, the more sickly I looked. 

"You look fabulous in that," she told me as I stepped out of the bathroom, flaunting the final look. I gave her a small smile and shrugged my shoulders. "Though, you'll have to wear that outfit with a bit more confidence than that," she teased. 

Anne wore a green, floor-length dress with a corset around the middle, showing off her enviably perfect figure. The dress had long sleeves and a rounded neckline and complimented her perfectly everywhere that it mattered. 

"Confidence," I stated. "You'll just have to share some of yours with me, then." 

Anne approached me and wrapped her arms around me. "Here, then" she laughed, squeezing me. "Some of it might rub off."

I smiled and peeled myself away from her. And it was a genuine smile, too. She'd slowly been getting more and more of those out of me. I couldn't deny that I didn't mind her pestering me all the time. She'd been more than persistent, pulling me away from my normal schedule and getting me to hang out with the others more often.

Of course, that made it less possible for me to heed Ominis' wish for me to stay away from Sebastian. Anne and him were close, and he was often where she was. I had to make an honest effort not to get too involved. He was in the center of the friend circle, and it was getting harder to pull away from them. 

I followed Anne out and into the crowd, and she instantly gravitated toward Ominis and her twin, of course. I drew back a little bit, purposefully keeping myself out of the conversation. Poppy was clinging to Sebastian's side, and he gave Anne a chuckle at whatever she'd just said. Ominis stood next to them with a stoic look on his face like always. 

You could never quite tell what was going through Ominis's head. 

I wondered how he felt at parties. Of course, having so many bodies jammed into the same space made it harder for him to find his way around, even when his wand was in use. 

I cleared my mind of all things Ominis and headed toward the drink table. Alcohol would surely help purge my brain of him. 

I poured myself two shots of fire whiskey and downed them before making a drink. I held it close to my body as I navigated the crowd, trying to find where Anne had run off to. I found the edge of the room and scanned the crowd, but didn't see any signs of Anne. I sighed and leaned back against the wall. I took a swig of my drink and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the cool stone. 

Someone bumped my shoulder, and I jolted up, coming face to face with... you guessed it: Ominis. 

Of course, it was him. I couldn't go anywhere these days without inadvertently running into him. 

"Sorry," he said, taking a step away from me. He almost backed directly into someone else, so I reached out and jerked him toward me. His body fell forward, pinning me between him and the wall. 

"Y/n," he said. That's all he said, and my heart raced. I cursed my body for acting out against my mind's wishes.

"How do you know it's me?" I asked him. I felt his breath on my lips and smelled alcohol on his breath. Ominis didn't move. Why wasn't he moving away? 

"You smell good," he said. 

"You've memorized my scent?" I joked. 

"No--I mean, not on purpose. I just know you." He frowned, and brought his face even closer, turning his head to the side, His lips were slightly parted, and I darted my eyes away from the sight. "I was right, wasn't I?" His lips pressed themselves into a thin line when he finally took a step back. I grabbed his arm, keeping him from almost making the same mistake he did a second ago. "I was thinking about something just now," he said, his tone darkening. "No--never mind." He ran his fingers over his lips, and I watched his movements with intense focus, unconsciously hung up on every move he made. 

He turned away, holding his wand out in front of himself, and headed off, leaving me standing by myself to wonder what the hell just happened.