Green is the Color || Ominis x OC || Hogwarts Legacy

Of Fading Joy

The magic of the Yule Ball lingered on throughout the rest of the Christmas break. Hogwarts suddenly had an influx of students willing to stay over the holidays, so the school's stone halls and wintry grounds were filled with activity for the rest of December.

Sebastian, however, had to get to work.

He allowed himself two more days of rest after the Ball. On a snow-covered Sunday afternoon, Garreth invited a handful of students out to the Quidditch pitch for a casual game. He arrived practically dragging Allegra by the scarf, mouth moving rapidly as he fired off instructions and explanations.

Sebastian sat on a bench beside Ominis. As Allegra joined them, muttering about the cold, Sebastian pulled out the clue box from the folds of his coat.

"Finally going to open that, then?" Ominis asked. He had his arm hooked around the shivering Gryffindor girl beside him, whose eyes were watching the game with interest.

"Might as well," Sebastian said. "Come look, 'Legra."

Two gazes rested on the unassuming wooden box. Sebastian slowly pulled the lid open, half-expecting something to explode.

What he found inside, however, was equally confounding.

It was a tiny bronze ball, about the size of a pebble. Squinting, Sebastian held it up to the light. It was made of a series of interlocking sections. Confused, he began turning it this way and that. The box was empty. With a frown, he waved his wand a muttered a Revelio. Nothing happened: this was his only clue.

"Well, what is it?" Ominis asked.

"I don't know," Sebastian mused. "It's...a ball? Carved out of metal. Tiny thing." He handed it to Ominis, who turned it around in his fingers.

"That can't be all, can it?" Allegra asked, taking the box from his hands. She ran her gloved fingers along the box's wooden sides, searching for hidden sections. "Well, I suppose they weren't going to make it easy on you."

"Allegra!" Garreth called from his broom. He was waving a Beater's bat in his hand. "Come give it a try!"

Allegra beamed. She shed her thick Gryffindor scarf, laying it around Ominis' neck and giving him a placating kiss on the forehead.

"Now hang on a moment," Ominis warned, grabbing her by the edge of her skirt.

"I'll be careful, I promise," she said giddily, giving him another flurry of kisses. Allegra was dashing away before Ominis could say anything more. His jaw dropped in indignation.

"Allegra Chant!" he called furiously.

"I love you! I'll be fine!" she called, bounding over the bleachers and hopping onto her Summoned broom. She took the bat from Garreth and hefted it in her palms, turning to the Gryffindor boy with a wide smile on her face.

"She's going to be the death of me," Ominis sighed. "Maybe you should ask Black about this. Didn't he help you out with the first task?"

"I suppose," Sebastian murmured. "Will you come with me? Maybe he'll be less of an ass if you do."

"Sebastian, Black is always an ass. Why do you think he and my father got along so well?" Ominis adjusted Allegra's scarf, a fond smile growing on his lips. "But of course I'll go with you."

In the distance, Allegra dashed to intercept a Bludger with the bat, whooping as it headed straight for a panicked Arthur Plummly. The Hufflepuff boy dashed away in time, but he failed to stop Garreth from shooting a Quaffle into the ring. Allegra gave a whoop of joy. Grinning wildly, she raised her bat and dove for the next Bludger.