The Tale of a Gaunt

The Gaunt-Potter Slumber

Arabella stepped off the Hogwarts Express and breathed in the air of Platform 9 and 3/4. She walked over and greeted Ominis.

"How was the year? Pretty eventful, from what I've heard" Ominis chuckled, his blind eyes seemingly catching the essence of the moment.

"Yeah, it was pretty mad, but rewarding, too" Arabella replied, smiling.

Ominis mirrored her smile. "Where's Harry?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Arabella asked, and Ominis laughed.

"Who do you think Dumbledore chose for Harry to stay with for the next two weeks?" Ominis teased.

Arabella's eyes filled with excitement, and without further ado, she darted off to find Harry, who was making his way towards the Dursleys.

"Harry!" Arabella called out, catching his attention, and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Come on, Harry, you're staying with us until Sirius is ready" Arabella smiled, and Harry also became quite excited.

"Come on then, boy" Harry's uncle said, not really sounding like he cared.

"He would normally, but you're not his legal carer anymore, not that you did any caring, anyway" Arabella said, dragging Harry away to Ominis.

The three of them apparated to the house and entered.

"Thank you for this, Mr Gaunt," Harry said.

"You're welcome, and call me Ominis," Ominis responded, smiling.

After a few minutes, Ominis approached Harry.

"I'd like to show you something" Ominis smiled at Harry, bringing out a picture. Arabella looked at the picture to see Ominis holding a red headed girl's arm, the girl was wearing a white bride's dress. The girl was Lily Potter.

"Your grandfather had passed about a week before this photo was taken, and so I offered to take her down the aisle of her wedding" Ominis shared. "A very nice lady, your mother was"

Arabella, remembering something, asked Ominis a question. "Ominis, are you an Animagus, by any chance?" she asked, needing to know information about the previous year.

"No, why?" Ominis responded, shifting his attention towards Arabella.

"In the school year just gone, I saw a gazelle on two occasions - once in Hogsmeade and another when we encountered Lupin in his werewolf form," Arabella explained, linking the threads of mystery.

Ominis chuckled. "That gazelle was Natsai Onai, an old mutual friend of mine. I asked her to keep an eye on you after I heard about Sirius escaping Azkaban," Ominis said, rising to retrieve a photograph from a desk. "Let me show you what she looks like."

Handing a picture to Arabella, Ominis pointed out Natsai - a dark-skinned girl with brown eyes and tied-up black hair. Arabella noted her Gryffindor tie, placing her in the context of Hogwarts history.

"That photo was taken back when I was in Hogwarts, so she's definitely different now. I believe her great-granddaughter is in your year," Ominis shared, connecting the past to the present.

"Amari Onai? I've seen her around," Harry chimed in.

"Yes, that must be the one," Ominis confirmed, a smile appearing on his lips.

As the day turned to night, Harry and Arabella got changed into pyjamas and went to Arabella's room, where they sat and spoke for a little while.

"So, first thoughts of the second wizarding house you've been in?" Arabella asked.

"It's pretty good, very cosy" Harry responded, his satisfaction evident.

"Good" Arabella said. The pair of them arranged Harry's sleeping bag so it was lined up with Arabella's bed.

"I have a question, why does Ominis hold his wand out all the time?" Harry asked.

"It guides him around because he's blind, it's almost sentient," Arabella answered.

"That's cool. How long has he been blind?" Harry continued his exploration.

"For his whole life, he was born blind," Arabella revealed.

Harry and Arabella spoke for a bit more. Harry then said something. "You think next year will be crazy too?"

"Probably, knowing us. I won't even be surprised if they brought in a bloody dragon next year. I mean, first year it was a three-headed dog, second a massive basilisk, this year was a load of Dementors, so I wouldn't doubt it" Arabella predicted.

With a yawn, Arabella spoke. "Alright, let's go to bed now" extinguishing the light beside her bed.

While she went to sleep, she looked to her right to see Harry, although he looked quite uncomfortable.

"Hey, if you want, we can switch. You don't seem like you're very comfortable sleeping there," Arabella offered.

And so, they switched places - Harry now nestled in Arabella's bed, and Arabella slept on the floor in a sleeping bag.

"Goodnight, Harry" she whispered.

"Goodnight, Bella"