Acceptance: Hogwarts Legacy Continued

Chapter 62: Ominis- stressed

Ominis ran his fingers through his hair, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. He had been working for weeks on a plan to sneak Diana into his home, but he wasn't sure about anything. He wanted to have his part done by the time they met again to talk about it, but time was running out. He just wanted her to be safe, and not take any unnecessary risks. He was afraid if he left anything to chance then something would go horribly wrong.

They had already been through some dire circumstances together, but he didn't exactly want a repeat of any of those. He knew she could handle herself in trouble, but the thought of facing trouble with his parents or Marvolo... it was too much to handle. He had to find a way to get her in without anyone knowing, and out with all the animals. No problem....

He turned back to his notes about the different points of entry to the manor, and was about to go over the again with his wand- when the door to the undercroft opened. He recognized her footsteps before the scent of oranges even made it to him. It was only ever between her and Sebastian when it came to the secret room, and the boy's steps sounded more like a bear.

"How did dress shopping go?"

"Well I found a dress..." he heard her slump down on the sofa next to him, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Mmmm sounds more like Poppy found a dress for you."

"I guess so, but to be fair if it was up to me I probably wouldn't have found one I actually liked. They're all so tight and... open.."

"Open?" He asked quizzically, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Ugh I don't know. Charlotte said it's normal for a ball gown to be low cut, but I feel like I look ridiculous. Trying them all on made me feel like an imposter. Like who am I trying to fool into thinking I belong in a dress like that."

Ominis tried to suppress a chuckle "well you will be at a ball so better dress than pants."

"Funny." She replied flatly.

"Jokes aside, I get it. I had to attend a lot of events with my family, and it always felt like I was just acting a part. In truth I was an imposter, pretending to be something that I didn't want to be. Unfortunately it meant I had to do more than just put on a stuffy suit. The feeling doesn't last forever though, and even if you feel your clothes don't accurately represent you, at least you can choose to be with people who you can be yourself with."

He heard her hum in thought "you're right, at least I will be choosing to spend that evening with people that I know and trust. Speaking of which, you're still unsure of your attendance?"

"Unfortunately that is still the case. With all that needs to happen over the Christmas holiday, I am not sure what I will be dealing with so I don't know how available I will be to dance."

"You mentioned that yesterday when we talked, but I didn't get a chance to ask you more. Are you worried that there will be a lot of fallout you will need to deal with? Isn't the goal to not let anyone know you were involved? If this is going to cause a lot of trouble for you we can figure something else out."

"No it's just- well I might as well talk with you about it." He reached out, feeling for his paper with his notes. He was going to pass them over to her, but she moved to sit next to him. He moved over to give her room on the smaller couch. He felt her lean in closer, looking over the dictation.

"I am worried about how I am going to get you onto the grounds without any detection. Getting the animals and getting out is less of a worry to me, if we can just get you there. There are a few different enchantments around our manor that detect things like apparition or floo entry- even walking up to the front gate itself would be difficult because of magical barriers."

"There's no parties your family throws or anything like that, that I can sneak into?"

He shook his head "No, not anymore. They act like it's above their notice, but really it's just so no one sees the state of our house, not to mention the lack of help. Literally I think the only other person to see the inside of my home willingly is Sebastian, and that was just when I somehow convinced my parents to let him visit me over the summer a few years ago."

"Not Anne?"

"No, her uncle wouldn't let her come, but he couldn't have cared less about Sebastian. Honestly it was for the best, I knew Sebastian could hold his own against Marvolo, and really Anne could have as well, but I would rather not test his limits. I heard him talk about some of the terrible things he did to some of the muggle girls in the town nearby..."

The room was quiet then- they both sat with the solemnness that his words brought. He hated talking about his family, especially his brother, but he also wanted to make sure Diana knew what his family was capable of- just in case.

"Well... we will figure something out. We still have some time left. I trust that you'll make sure everything works out."

He just nodded his agreement and they were quiet again. She had gone back to leaning against him, looking at the papers he still held. He would have handed them over to her, but he didn't mind the closeness. It was a calming sensation that helped him let go of the anxieties that had been building.

"I am curious though- how did you convince your parents to let Sebastian come over when they never let anyone else?"

"Oh I just told them that I had told him the truth about everything anyway so he wouldn't see anything he didn't already know."

"Oh my gosh... they must have been furious...."

"Yeah they were pretty upset, but I knew what I was doing. I had timed talking to them right after a particularly nasty incident with Marvolo. He obviously didn't have any friends, so he spent his time getting into a lot of nasty encounters. They probably saw the need for me to be socialized and agreed to it. I think it also helped that the Sallows are technically a pure blood family."

"Technically?"

"Yes, but they aren't the prestigious kind. Which basically means they aren't inbred."

Diana coughed, or maybe laughed? Honestly he couldn't tell, but she did choke on her spit and ended up in a coughing fit. Ominis just chuckled to himself as he patted her back. Something about his self deprecating humor always seemed to hit its mark with her.