The Unwanted Malfoy Heiress

Twenty-Two: Confrontation In The Undercroft

Ominus

After classes for the day and the Crossed Wands meeting where Anastasia handed quite a few duelers their asses on a silver platter, Ominus finally received his howler from Anne Sallow. It was not a typical howler where the sender shouted their message angrily to the recipient, but a message invented solely for blind witches and wizards by the Owlry office.

Anne's melodic voice spoke through her howler:

Ominus dear,

I told you when we broke with one another that I hold no ill will towards any witch you might engage in a future courtship. However, it does seem quite intriguing and curious to me that you and my brother are so drawn to this same witch. I simply must meet her with all due haste, especially since I recall that Colin Malfoy was of such a loathsome character in how he dealt with others. He even tried to grab my rear end on more than one occasion in Herbology class and I had to get Professor Garlick to stop his shameless groping of my person.

Do you truly wish to wed her, dear? If so, she must be a special witch indeed, but do guard that tender heart of yours. Malfoys do not have the best record in keeping faith with their loved ones if Malfoy Senior is anything to judge by. I encourage caution on your part, especially since I am perhaps the only witch who knows how passionate you are. Naturally, I have not dreamed of informing my uncle that I am not as pure as the driven snow even now. But as this curse progresses through me, I have come to believe that if you had to be the only wizard, I was able to share such deep intimacies with I am honored that it was you.

Much love,

Anne

Ominus listened to the message two times before he allowed the parchment to tear up into pieces on his study desk. He repaired it with his wand soon after the verbal magic in it dissipated and tucked it into his school robes. He felt that deep sadness he always felt hearing from Anne Sallow because even from her voice, she was beginning to sound more frail. The frailty in her voice reminded him of his mother in her later years when the consumption was at its height, although he later had to be told that that was the common muggle term for tuberculosis.

Ominus held up his wand, cursing his need to see the aural beams of light around people to determine who they were before hearing their voices. The only time his eyes revealed sight to him, true sight like everyone else was in Anastasia's arms. Despite his growing devotion towards her, he desperately desired to see, to not be so crippled.

He had written of this magical revelation to his father, and his father's reaction had been nothing short of astonishment: "...Oh yes, by all means secure the Malfoy heiress's hand in marriage before some other stupid boy beats you to it. I shall speak to Desmond myself personally on the matter if you wish."

Ominus had written back via a howler that that was more than acceptable. Why he felt a queer sense of accomplishment in achieving his father's approval in anything he did, he had no idea, but he knew that this approval of his choice of bride had little to do with sentiment. After all, they were Slytherins and aligning the Gaunt family with such a prestigious pure blood family as the Malfoys would open high society doors previously shut in their faces due to poor political and questionable moral choices in previous years in his grandparents generation.

The Undercroft had been a Gaunt secret his father shared with him before Ominus arrived at Hogwarts. A month into befriending the Sallow twins, Ominus felt comfortable in revealing this hidden storage space in the castle. Quickly, it became their personal hideout space. But for this night, Ominus knew that the Undercroft would be the space for this inevitable confrontation with his best friend to occur.