THE KEEPERS: A Hogwarts Legacy Story

Chapter 9

Sunan was one of the first to get to the Great Hall this morning. After missing two meals yesterday, he felt like he could eat a Thestral.

He piled his plate with a generous serving of everything within his reach - buttered crumpets, smoked fish, baked potatoes, sausages, and mushrooms - and beckoned the enchanted coffee pot to float over and fill his cup.

"Are you sure that's enough food?" Sebastian asked archly, taking a seat across the table. Ominis sat next to him and reached for the platter of soft-boiled eggs in cups.

Sunan replied, after swallowing, "I'm weighing my chances for seconds."

"Don't get carried away, now," said Ominis, cracking the top of the egg with a spoon. He pointed his spoon in Sunan's direction. "We're meeting in Undercroft after this. You've a lot to fill us in."

Sunan hummed tepidly and put another forkful of potato in his mouth. He'd moved onto his fish when post owls flew into the Great Hall and brought down a flurry of parcels and letters. One of them, a small brown hawk owl, hovered circles above the Slytherin table and landed near Sunan's plate.

"Hello, Oli. Had a good night?" Sunan put down his fork and nuzzled the owls' head with a knuckle of his finger. The owl, named Oliang for its near-black brown feathers, had been a gift from his father upon his start at Hogwarts.

Sunan untied the letter from Oli's talon. It was missing the sender's name, but by the familiar shape of its seal, Sunan knew it was from his mother. With a faint sigh, he pocketed it without opening it.

Then he reached down to his satchel and took out his stationary. He had a note of his own to send. He addressed it to Natty, asking her to meet him briefly before their Charms class today (Slytherins and Gryffindors shared the same period for the NEWT-level Charms this year).

He needed to tell her about his Ministry investigation. If Harlow had requested his presence in Azkaban, perhaps the same was expected of Natty. She hadn't said anything to him, but he wanted to make sure, and either way, she deserved a heads-up about the gang's alleged return.

Sunan rolled his note and tied it around Oli's talon. When he returned his gaze to the table, he found Sebastian watching him curiously.

"Is that all you're having?" Sunan asked. A half-eaten toast was looking forlorn on Sebastian's plate.

Sebastian shrugged. "Not hungry," he said curtly. He jutted his chin towards Oli. "But I think your owl is."

And, as if on cue, Oli started pecking mercilessly at Sunan's fingers. He snapped his hand back. "Aw! Sorry..." He rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a box of owl treats.

Sunan grumbled, "bossy," as he watched his owl gobble up her reward. Ominis chuckled quietly into his goblet.

Truth be told, Sunan was surprised to have become this friendly with Ominis. At a glance, Ominis was everything Sunan was not: a pale, prickly fellow with dry humor and temper that switched up like the colors of a streeler.

He was certain Ominis' first impressions of him had been equally as uncharitable. They hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot. Sunan recalled their first chance encounter in the dark corridor of the Defence Tower.

"You breathe a word about Undercroft to anyone," Ominis had muttered in Sunan's face, all but baring his teeth. "My father is friends with the Headmaster. I'm not afraid to exploit that connection if I need to."

Undercroft was a hidden brick cellar on the second floor of the tower, its entrance guarded by a seemingly unassuming grandfather clock. No one knew about it, apparently, except the Gaunts and those they trusted enough to share its secret. Ominis had been affronted, understandably, by Sebastian's divulgence of it to a new student, hardly more than a stranger.