Fictober23

What if we are wrong? 19/10

You hadn't stopped shaking since you left the Catacomb. You walked back to the castle, you knew it would take you hours to get back that way but it didn't matter because, in a way, you never left, a part of you would always be there. The pictures of Sebastian blasting the curse at his uncle, still feeling the heat from Anne's fire, and Sebastian leaving you there, kept playing in your mind over and over again.

As you walked through the forest you heard some birds, and the light of the afternoon sun rose on your face from time to time, the day was beautiful, and it didn't have the right to be that perfect when your world had just crumbled to pieces.

You didn't even notice when you arrived at the Undercroft entrance, but there it was in front of you, and when you noticed where you were, the memories fainted and you had your first thought in hours.

Ominis.... I need to find Ominis.

The memory of the Catacum was painful, but now reality had hit you and it was more painful than you could imagine. How would you tell Ominis? Would you even be able to look at him? How would you even begin explaining how things got so out of control when you couldn't even make sense of it in your head?

Ominis...

He's going to hate me...

He wouldn't be wrong in doing so...

You couldn't decide if the faiths hated you or had pity on you when you walked in and found Ominis there, walking from one side of the room to the other, muttering in hisses. He was speaking Parseltongue. You had noticed he tended to do that when he was nervous about something. He tried to hide it but the best he could do was slow whispers that were barely audible, except this time you could hear them and your heart crushed knowing how worried he must be, that could only mean...

"Seb...? Oh MC, it's you." he froze as he said the words.

You walked near him, but couldn't look at him.

He wasn't expecting you, he was expecting Sebastian and it was your fault that he wasn't there. 

So you wanted to talk, explain everything. But you couldn't keep it together any longer, you fell on your knees to the cold ground and weep.

"I'm sorry Ominis." You mumbled, "You were right. All along. I-I should have listened to you a-nd I didn't. I'm sorry. Is all my fault. I'm... so sorry".

You felt Ominis's light touch on your shoulder.

"Is not your fault. You were just trying to help Sebastian and... I can't blame you for his decisions. He is the only one responsible"

You tried to control yourself, wiping your tears with your sleeve and breathing deeply.

"I d-don't know where he is. H-he left and..." Before he left, Sebastian offered me to learn the killing curse, and I..., that's what you wanted to say, but it felt so hollow now, what was the point of giving Ominis more worries?

"He went looking for Anne, naturally she kicked him out. She sent me an owl about an hour ago or so. I-I thought he might come here."

"Poor Anne" the guilt hit again, suddenly you could only think about Anne, you pictured her alone in her cottage, having to deal with the sorrow of losing her uncle and, in a way, losing her brother. All by herself. 

"I read her letter" continued Ominis "She doesn't know what to do. She knows Sebastian has to pay for what he has done, but also  believes that the guilt will be punishment enough." Ominis sat next to you on the ground, the weight of the situation had made him crumble as well.

You saw a couple of silent tears running down his cheeks. You reached out your hand and slowly cleaned his tears with your thumb. He didn't move, but he didn't complain either.

"Do you think as she does?" you asked him. Your heart raced, a little afraid about his answer.

"I'm not sure." he said moving a little bit away from you, trying to compose himself "He's been using dark magic against all warnings, being careless, and casting unforgivable curses without thinking about consequences... those are crimes that would send him to Azkaban without a trial... but I don't believe myself to be strong enough to turn him in." the tears started to come out again "He's like a brother to me" this time he wept and couldn't stop.

You didn't know how to comfort him. Ominis was right, if anyone found out what Sebastian had done, he would have a one-way ticket to Azkaban by morning.

You moved a little closer to Ominis and put your hand on his shoulder. Once you saw he didn't reject your touch you hugged him. You felt more tiers coming down his face, but you didn't let go of him, not even when he could talk again.

"What do you think?" 

You didn't know. You didn't though you had a say in the matter. You hate yourself for feeling a pinch of happiness in such an awful moment. Ominis wanted your opinion, he trusted you with Sebastian's predicament, and you had a say in Sebastian's faith.

"Perhaps Anne is right, perhaps his guild will be punishment enough." You said out loud, not sure if it was meant for Ominis or you.

"But what if we are wrong?" he freed himself from your hug and held you by your arms tight enough to leave marks as if he was begging you for an answer, not just a simple guess. "What if he is too far gone?"

You stood silent for a minute, thinking about what to say and, more importantly, what to do. Ominis wasn't going to make a decision and neither was Anne, it pained them too much. It was on you to make the call.

"We won't know for sure until we find him. Let's find Sebastian and talk to him, we'll know what to do then."

You stood up and helped Ominis on his feet.

"I don't know if I can face him." he said wiping his tears.

You took his hand and spoke gently.

"You won't have to do it alone. We will do it together, I promise."

He hugged you and mumbled "Thank you"