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

Echoes

January 1890

Before the curse, when Anne thought of pain, the most she could imagine was a broken bone. A quick burst of pain, followed by a dull ache, which could be easily fixed with a healing potion.

This pain was different. This pain lingered.

It had been three weeks since she had been cursed, and Anne knew by now that there were good and bad days, but that the pain was always there beneath the surface, poised to strike.

A simmer, a burning, then a raging inferno. Her body, alight.

Today was one of the bad days.

Anne writhed in torment as a fresh surge of pain enveloped her. It always started in her belly, precisely on her right side. It would begin as a subtle prick, akin to the jab of a sewing needle, only to burgeon outward, transfiguring into what almost felt like a broadsword. The pain, her proverbial assailant, would drag its razor-sharp edges across her body, traversing from her abdomen to her chest and finally reaching her head. And then, in a bewildering twist, the sword would seemingly shatter into countless shards, embedding themselves into every conceivable nook and cranny of her body, sparing no inch from the relentless agony.

Suffice it to say, Anne didn't return to Hogwarts after the holidays.

When the onslaught subsided and she could breathe again, Anne sighed, utterly defeated.

She was already at her wit's end here in Feldcroft, with only Uncle Solomon for company. She missed Sebastian. She missed... Ominis.

To distract herself, she lived in her mind, in the echoes of her memories. One memory in particular stood out.

When she had awoken after that terrible night, Sebastian and Ominis had been holding vigil at her bedside. Sebastian held her hand gingerly. Anne didn't open her eyes right away because they were whispering about something or other. Ever curious, even in her confusion and pain, she had listened.

"If you want to leave, you can go," Sebastian had said.

She heard Ominis shuffle in his chair. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean... It's the holidays. You shouldn't be stuck here with me waiting for Anne to wake up."

"You think me that heartless? That I would abandon my friends in their time of need?"

"No!" Sebastian sounded like he was struggling for words. "No. Of course not. Of course I want you here. I just..."

"Sebastian, I'm not leaving."

A weighty silence hung in the air before Sebastian muttered softly, "Thank you."

When Anne had finally decided to open her eyes, she was surprised to see that Ominis had his hand bunched up in the sheet by her side.

"Anne!" Sebastian yelped.

Ominis's hand had jerked up at Sebastian's sudden exclamation. In the process, his knuckles brushed Anne's side very briefly, but it had still been enough to send a jolt of electricity up her spine.

When Anne reflected on that moment now, weeks later, she realized that it was the first and last time she had truly been distracted from her pain. When Ominis had touched her, time seemed to still. And with it, the pain had momentarily subsided. Perhaps it had just been a fluke, or she was misremembering, but on bad days like this one, she played this memory over and over in her head. It seemed to help.

"You're awake!" Sebastian had continued. "How are you feeling?"

Anne tried to smile. She hoped whatever expression she managed to make was reassuring, but she had her doubts about that. "I've been better," she replied through clenched teeth. "How long?" She grimaced upon realizing how much it hurt for her to talk. "How long have I been out?"

"Four days," Sebastian said, his voice rough. He had dark circles under his eyes. Anne suspected he hadn't been sleeping.

"Oh." Anne struggled to sit up. Sebastian released his firm grip on her hand to help. She shrank back, shrugging off his assistance. "I can do it," she insisted. Ominis looked away. Anne observed that Ominis's typically immaculate hair was now in disarray. That was highly unusual for him. She wasn't sure what to think of it.

When she was properly seated in bed, leaning against the headboard for support, she addressed Sebastian again. "Fill me in?"

Sebastian nodded. Ominis straightened up slightly in his chair.

"Solomon brought you immediately to Nurse Blainey at Hogwarts. After you were... cursed. That very night." He ran his hand through his hair. "She kept you for two days. But there was nothing she could do. So we took you back here, to Feldcroft."

After a beat, while Anne was processing Sebastian's words, Ominis piped in, "I sent an owl to my father."

Anne inhaled sharply. She knew how much Ominis despised his family, particularly his father. For him to reach out on her behalf... Well, things must be truly dire. Or... Ominis liked her very, very much. No, no, she wouldn't entertain that preposterous notion, as much as she wanted it to be true.

Ominis had cocked an eyebrow at her loud intake of breath before resuming, "My father has some contacts at St. Mungo's—Healers that specialize in curse breaking. Hopefully, one of them can help."

Anne had nodded solemnly, trying to mask the sudden pounding in her chest. At the time she hadn't been sure if her increased heart rate had been due to the lingering pain or because of Ominis's surprising revelation. In retrospect, it was probably a little bit of both.

But all of that had occurred weeks ago. In fact, Anne would be taken to St. Mungo's in a few days. A flying carriage would be coming for her since she couldn't travel well, not in her weakened state. Sebastian and Uncle Solomon would, presumably, be joining her. Ominis had arranged it all, so hopefully he would come too.

She briefly wondered what Ominis and Sebastian were up to right now. It was late morning, so perhaps they were in Charms. Maybe Professor Ronen was holding class outside today, since the sun was out. It would be bitingly cold, but that never seemed to bother him. "Every day is a good day for Summoner's Court," he was prone to say, ever cheerful.

If that were the case, Anne longed for the best for Sebastian and Ominis. May today mark their victories in their respective matches. Ominis would certainly need luck. Unsurprisingly, he had never won a match. Sebastian also wasn't the best - he tended to be too forceful - but he had won a handful of rounds in the past. Regardless, whether they played or not, or even if they both lost, Anne longed for at least one cheerful story to relish later in the week. And, if fortune smiled upon her, Ominis and Sebastian would both be there to lift her spirits.

A girl could dream.