KEEP IT, LOSE IT (HOGWARTS LEGACY FANFICTION)

Chapter Fifty

 Laughter echoed softly off the marble walls as they teased each other over everything from their studies to the events of the day. Sebastian had just made a joke about Ominis's serious demeanor when suddenly, Ominis's expression changed, his head tilting slightly as he listened intently.

"What is it?" Mary asked, her laughter fading into concern.

"Shh!" Ominis hissed, his voice urgent. "Someone's coming!"

Panic flared in all three of them, Mary's eyes widened, and Sebastian immediately began to think out loud. "We need to get out of here. Now."

"how?" Ominis asked, a bit frantically. "We're in the bath! we can't just—"

"The windows!" Sebastian suggested, pointing to the high, narrow openings on the far wall. "we could climb—"

"and what? fall to our deaths?" Ominis shot back, trying to keep his voice down.

The footsteps were getting closer, Mary glanced between then, her mind racing, Then, without another word, she grabbed both sebastian and ominis by the arms, 

"No time to argue. Take a deep breath!"

Before they could protest, Mary pulled them towards the deep end of the pool, draggings them under the water just as the door to the bath creaked open. 

Professor Dina Hecat stepped into the room, her sharp eyes scanning the area with suspicion. Behind her, the mischievous ghost Peeves floated around, his face twisted in a greeful grin as he pointed toward the pool.

"I'm telling you, Professor," Peeves cackled, floating in erratic circles above her head. "There are students here! Naughty, naughty students, breaking all the rules!"

Professor Hecat sighed, clearly exasperated. "Peeves, if this is another one of your tricks..."

"No trick! No trick!" Peeves insisted, clapping his spectral hands together. "They're here, they're here, I swear it! Hiding like little mice, yes indeed!"

As she stepped further into the room, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. The bath was empty—no sign of any students—but all the taps were still running, filling the pool with warm, steaming water. She frowned, her gaze shifting from one end of the room to the other.

Meanwhile, beneath the surface of the water, Mary, Sebastian, and Ominis were holding their breath, their lungs already starting to burn. Sebastian cast a worried glance at Ominis, who looked like he was struggling more than the rest of them.

mary tried with all efforts to recreate the air bubble from before, but without any success.

Ominis's face was turning an alarming shade of red, his need for air growing desperate. He tugged at Sebastian's arm, signaling that he couldn't hold it much longer, but Sebastian just shook his head furiously, clamping his hand over Ominis's mouth in a silent command to stay quiet. Ominis flailed slightly, but the seriousness of the situation kept him from breaking the surface.

Quickly, sebastian and ominis began to wrestle with each other, a fight that would be comical were it not for the situation. 

Mary, noticing their struggle, shot them both a stern look, mouthing, Behave! The silent command was clear: they couldn't afford to be caught.

Up above, Professor Hecat walked slowly around the bath, her sharp eyes taking in the scene as Peeves continued to hover nearby, insisting that the students were there. 

"See, see!" Peeves said gleefully, pointing at the taps. "Someone's been here, all the taps are on!"

"Or," Professor Hecat said dryly, "it could just be another one of Headmaster Black's careless moments. He's notorious for leaving things unfinished." She started turning off the taps one by one, each one releasing a final spurt of water before falling silent.

Peeves hovered closer, growing more frustrated as he tried to spot the hidden students. "They're here, I tell you!" he repeated, his voice almost a whine now. "I can feel it!"

"You know what, Peeves?" Professor Hecat said as she turned off the last tap and straightened up. "I think you're just trying to get me into trouble. There's no one here." She shot the ghost a stern look, one that would have made most students quake in their boots. Peeves, however, just floated back, sulking.

"But—"

"No buts!" she interrupted, cutting him off with a stern finger wag. "Go on, off with you! I have better things to do than chase after your pranks."

Peeves huffed, his face scrunching up in a pout before he finally gave up and floated through the ceiling, leaving Professor Hecat alone in the now-silent bath. For a moment, she stood still, glancing around the room one last time. Then, in a rare moment of softness, a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door clicked shut, the trio erupted from the water, gasping for air.

"Oh, Merlin!" Sebastian panted, wiping water from his face. "I thought we were done for!"

"I couldn't breathe!" Ominis muttered, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "You were going to let me drown, weren't you!?"

"Would you rather be caught?" Sebastian shot back, though his tone was more teasing than harsh.

"Quiet, you two!" Mary scolded, though there was a smile on her face as she tried to wring the water from her hair. "Honestly, you were about to give us away with your little underwater brawl!"

"I'm not the one who should be scolded, you know?" Ominis grunted, still panting.  "I really thought I was going to pass out."

"I wasn't going to let you drown, Ominis," Sebastian assured him with a playful shove. "Just keep you under for a bit longer, that's all."

Ominis shook his head, exasperated but smiling. "You're impossible, Sebastian."

"Well," Mary said, letting out a relieved sigh as she leaned back against the edge of the pool, "at least we didn't get caught. "

"Lucky us," Ominis said dryly, his smile growing wider. "Remind me never to follow one of your plans again."

Sebastian chuckled, leaning back beside Mary as the tension finally dissolved into relieved laughter.