Legacy | Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter Four: Darkness

"You look like you're feeling better."

Sabrina looked up from her breakfast and grinned at her mother from the hospital bed. "I do feel better," she explained as she took another bite. She had never been so hungry before.

"Good," Minerva smiled. "With any luck, we should be out of here today. One night is already too long."

St. Mungo's was not a bad place to look at. It looked like how Sabrina had imagined it with the white tile floors and the white stone walls. Along the wall were various hospital beds separated by curtains, and the bright lights from the windows made it feel safe and sterile. Despite that, Sabrina agreed and couldn't wait to get out of the hospital.

Her curtain was pulled back, and an older woman in a white coat approached Sabrina and Minerva. "Miss Lewis! You look to be feeling much better."

Sabrina politely finished the bite of food she was eating. "I am, thank you."

The woman looked at Minerva. "Where is your husband? I thought I saw him this morning."

"He had to head into the Ministry for work," Minerva answered.

"I see. Well, that actually might be for the best."

Minerva and Sabrina eyed the doctor. "Why?"

The doctor shut the curtain behind her. "Before I start, I want to let you know that the Pepper-Up potion seems to have healed your travel fatigue. You should be able to go home today. However...." The doctor hesitated before transfiguring a chair for her to sit down. "Sabrina, we did a full exam on you, as is standard, to make sure that everything is internally working and there's no diseases or ailments we should be concerned about. I was surprised when your mother said you were seventeen, as you look younger."

Sabrina couldn't help but give a slight chuckle. "My best friend, Sebastian, tells me that a lot," she said. "Nurse Blainey at Hogwarts said that it might be because I was malnourished as a child."

"I see," the doctor said. "Well.... We have the results of your full exam. Everything looks to be working well and correctly for your age. You're at a safe weight, your lungs and organs are working well. Your heart seems to be just fine." She paused, and finally gave Sabrina her full attention. "We did find something."

Sabrina put down her food and felt her stomach begin to churn. This didn't sound good.

–

She never realized just how many scars he had.

Ominis' arm was wrapped around her waist and his slow and even breathing told Sabrina that he was in a deep sleep. She couldn't help but wonder if he had gotten any rest during the summer with the threat of Marvolo present. As he slept, Sabrina had begun to trace the many star shaped scars on his chest and arms, the only physical indication that Ominis had been tortured by the Gaunt family. They weren't as red as she had seen them, and some of them seemed to be fading, but they were still there as a glaring reminder of everything they had been through.

Which was why it was so hard to talk to him. After everything he had endured, Ominis deserved the world, and Sabrina felt like she would be taking a part of it away from him if she told him her diagnosis.

He deserves someone better, Sabrina thought sadly as her fingers traced another scar close to his heart. Someone healthy, someone capable.

"Why do you look so sad, my dear?"

The whisper shocked Sabrina, and she lifted her face to see that Ominis had opened his eyes just enough to watch her. She still shivered under the large comforter they were both under before replying. "Do I look sad?"