The Hope beneath the Dark - Sebastian Sallow

12. Moving on

"Tom Forsythe". The man answered.

"You've got to be joking!" Ominis declared. "Of course, your father would be a damn Forsythe!" He scoffed in my direction.

Tom looked at Ominis with confusion, unsure what that comment stood for.

"Ominis mentioned previously that I was kidnapped the last time I met strangers... Well, it might've been two of your relatives." I explained. "They tricked me to go into the Forbidden Forest and took me to an abandoned castle not too far from here."

"Did you get their names?" Tom asked concerned.

"Yes, they were Alfred and Eileen. Two siblings." I answered.

"That would be my older brother and younger sister. I am the middle child, there are three of us." He added.

"It is only safe to assume that your father is named Barberus Forsythe..." Ominis sighed, pacing back and forth again.

"Correct. Why, was he there too?" Tom asked.

I looked at Ominis, and I wasn't sure where he was going with that. Was there a connection between my father, my disappearance and the letter? Tom and I remained silent for a moment while Ominis was trying to put all the pieces together. Gladly, he was better at it than me. I had a hard time looking at the bigger picture, even more when it was affecting me directly.

"No, your father was not there, at least not according to Maude. That is not why I asked." Ominis sighed. "You see, I am a Gaunt..."

"Of course, you are... Ominis Gaunt..." Tom stated in shock.

"Maude wasn't missing for long. For some reason, they released her only a few hours later, sending her on her way. We thought it was odd that they revealed themselves and did not obliviate her. I thought I could find something about your family, using information amongst mine. I ended up finding a letter that Barbarus sent to my father. It was dated a decade ago, but it allowed us to know a bit more about the Forsythe family." Ominis explained.

"What was in that letter?" Tom asked.

"Barbarus was thanking Ominis father for something the Gaunts have taken care of for him. They talked about... taking care of a muggle who knew too much..." I stopped mid sentence as my head started spinning and I put two and two together. My body suddenly felt heavy, and I fell to my knees, in complete shock.

"Maude?" Ominis asked concerned. "Are you okay? What is it?" He kneeled in front of me and pressed his hands onto my shoulders.

I looked up at Tom, who was not sure what to expect.

"They knew." I stuttered. "The Forsythes knew about my mom. The letter... it was dated about 10 years ago? My mom died when I was 8..."

"No... no it can't be, I took all precautions..." Tom was now the one pacing back and forth with a horrified look on his face.

"Oh no Maude... I'm so sorry, I did not realise, but it makes sense now." Ominis said as he pulled my shoulders to give me a long hug. "What Barbarus said, he must've been referring to getting rid of your mom in a way no one could suspect... hence the sudden illness that slowly took her life..."

"I had learned that your mother died following her sickness, but I have never for a second thought my family could've done that, I didn't know they were aware of her. I guess killing her that way worked if their plan was to avoid me noticing." Tom explained.

Ominis got up and offered me a hand. I took his hand, and he helped me get back up on my feet.

"Are you alright?" He whispered.