Chrysalis

Chapter 9: Veiled Envy

TW: Foul language and mention of bullying.

On January 14, 1875, the Gaunt family celebrated the arrival of their youngest member. Bursting with pride, the parents, who already had four children – two boys and two girls – bestowed upon their newborn son the name Ominis. Yet, fate had other plans...

Within hours of little Ominis' birth, a sense of dread gripped the entire Gaunt family as the infant opened his eyes and cried in his mother's arms. Instead of the expected pair of eyes, each with iris and pupil, two pale blue orbs, faintly clouded and crystalline, emerged, unresponsive to light or motion. The newborn's eyes appeared devoid of life, unable to perceive anything. Immediately, the child's father accused his wife of deceit—how could a Gaunt produce such a monstrous offspring? The poor child was born blind, and despite numerous efforts over the ensuing months to cure his condition, nothing and no one could reverse the curse that had befallen him. A profound tragedy for the Gaunt lineage...

Racked with shame at the sight of his youngest son's veiled and sightless eyes, Lord Gaunt resolved to end the child's life. At nearly a year old, the infant's condition was too much for him to bear. His growing disdain for young Ominis led him to a chilling conclusion: to commit the heinous act of killing his own son. The entire family seemed united in the idea, opting to sacrifice the life of the unfortunate infant rather than stain the esteemed name of the Gaunts. They all desired his disappearance... except for one individual, perhaps the sole member of this extensive family who appeared to possess a clear mind. And this individual happened to be one of Ominis' aunts, Noctua.

Noctua Gaunt held the position of the eldest among her siblings, affording her a certain inherent authority over her younger brother Cornelius, Ominis' father. She possessed a strong character, refusing to be undermined or overlooked. Despite her position and the rigorous, if not harsh, upbringing typical of the Gaunts, she held divergent beliefs from her family, leading to alienation from some of her siblings. Nonetheless, to the surprise of many, Cornelius maintained a connection with his sister, rooted in reasons that spanned back to their shared history, known only to them. However, Noctua vehemently opposed her brother's decision, forbidding him from taking the life of his son. Knowing he couldn't defy his sister for the same reasons he hadn't disowned her, he relented but with one condition: Ominis would never marry, and he would ensure that he never lay with any woman to prevent him from fathering children. Noctua agreed, viewing it as a lesser evil. Even if Ominis was condemned to a life of rejection from his family and loneliness, at least he wouldn't suffer the heavy burden imposed by family tradition: marrying a first-degree cousin and perpetuating a lineage tainted by vice and consanguinity that flowed in the veins of the Gaunts.

As young Ominis journeyed through childhood, he found himself growing up in a family filled with disdain for him. His mother, father, and even his siblings held him in contempt. Especially his siblings, who seemed to take pleasure in tormenting him, eliciting tears that only angered their father further. "A Gaunt does not whimper!" he would roar, delivering a slap each time Ominis shed tears over what he considered trivial. Exploiting his blindness and Ominis' lack of magical skill, his siblings continually found amusement in causing him to stumble, locking him in the manor's dungeons, or rearranging objects in the house to trip him. Among them, the cruellest was undoubtedly the eldest sibling, Marvolo, who harboured the most intense hatred towards Ominis. On one occasion, Noctua caught him using the helpless child as a living training dummy for his spell practice.

Indeed, Ominis Gaunt was loathed by all, save for the one he considered as his mother, his beloved aunt Noctua...