Ancient: The Legacy of Slytherin

Requiem

Content warning: Discussions of domestic abuse, violence, and death. All characters aged 18+

Arabella POV

"Speak." Ominis paced back and forth, his hands clasped tightly behind his back as his jaw clenched. His sweater was still covered in the blood from Sebastian's nose, and his normally perfect hair was falling in strands over his forehead. He looked...wild.

Sebastian and I sat next to each other on the Undercroft couch as Ominis continued to pace. Seb was tapping his foot incessantly and I thought Ominis may rip his head off if he continued. My heart rate was much faster than normal, and I knew Ominis could sense it. I took a deep breath in and exhaled to calm myself. Sebastian reached down between the gap in our thighs and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. I turned my head towards him and he gave me a reassuring nod with those brown puppy eyes. I began:

"Four months ago my life changed. I come from a long line of witches and wizards but for my entire life, I didn't possess magic. My family viewed me as less than. They would make me do things they deemed as "muggle tasks," which basically made me their servant. I was a disgrace to them, a spot on their otherwise perfect history. They tried to have other children but for whatever reason, they couldn't. And I think they both resented me for that. My mother loved me- at least I think she did. I suppose she gave me her version of love. But my father...well. You don't do the things he did to me and my mother to people you love."

I shuddered at the thought of that wretched man and squeezed Sebastian's hand so hard I thought I may break it. He looked at me with concern in his eyes, but didn't say anything.

Ominis stopped pacing when I said that. He was still standing rigid, but his hands were at his sides now. I cleared my throat and continued.

"One day four months ago when my father came home, he was angry. But he never used his magic when he was angry. No. He hated muggles, so I suppose it's ironic that when he was angry, he resorted to one of the only tools available to muggles-his fists." Sebastian's gentle look of empathy dissolved into anger. Now he was the one squeezing my hand. Ominis seemed frozen in place, like not even the reappearance of Merlin himself would stir him. I fought back tears as I continued:

"He hit me first, but it was nothing I haven't felt a thousand times before. But the way he hit my mother...I thought there was a possibility she wouldn't make it through this time. I screamed and cried, pleading with him to stop." I couldn't stop my voice from shaking as I recounted the worst day of my life. "I just remembered wishing, pleading with anyone who was listening, to give me magic. Let me have magic so I could finally protect my mother. A second later, a powerful blue energy shot out of my fingertips directly into my father's chest. He was dead instantly. I thought my mother would be happy, I thought we were both finally free from him. But she screamed at me, called me a monster, and told me they'd send me to Azkaban for what I'd done. She was making me so upset, I couldn't control it..." My voice cracked with emotion as the tears finally spilled over onto my cheeks. "I- I didn't mean it. I would do anything to take it back!"

I couldn't hold back my emotions any longer as sobs racked my whole body. Sebastian immediately pulled me into him and held my head tight against his shoulder. He was whispering things to me, but I couldn't hear him. Ominis ran to us and knelt on the floor in front of me. He stroked my leg up and down, trying to soothe me. It must have been a few minutes before I finally calmed enough to speak. But Ominis spoke first.

"Arabella...the things you've been through in this life are unimaginable and I am so, so sorry for making you relive that." He pushed himself in between my legs while he was still kneeling and reached his hands up to my face. His fingers did their best to wipe the tears from my cheeks. It felt like a very intimate gesture as I closed my eyes and focused on his cool touch.