Alone

Chapter 56

"How do you know what form your patronus takes?"

Ominis's voice was low, smooth. Casual, even, as if he were asking her about something as trivial as the weather.

But Marian knew better.

She knew him well enough to discern that particular undertone. The one that managed to give her pleasant chills, the one that rang with that certain kind of authority and a hint of darkness.

It gave her chills now, too. But not the good kind.

With a shuddering exhale, she lowered her gaze. She didn't have it in her to look at her friend, to look past his calm exterior into his unseeing eyes, raging with a storm she knew would come upon her if she gave him the explanation he demanded.

But it was no use.

Sooner or later, she would have to come clean.

She and Natty had agreed to keep their little outing a secret until the mock-exams were over, after Ominis's birthday and the start of the new term.

Of course, she could lie to Ominis.

She could tell him she had practiced the charm as a part of her revision for the exams. That it hadn't been a big deal.

But that would be just another lie she would never forgive herself for.

Because it was a big deal. At least to her.

She knew the lore about swans, what they symbolised, what they stood for. And she also knew enough lore about charms and magic to realise that matching one's Patronus to someone else's was as special as the bond shared between them.

No.

She couldn't lie about this.

Not after all the dishonesty with Ominis in their fifth year. Not after the betrayal that ultimately had ended in that disaster in the catacombs.

Not when all she wanted was for him to understand how important he was to her, how much she meant it when she said that she cared about him.

But even that seemed to fade into the background as she desperately tried to find the right words to explain herself.

In the end, there was no way around the truth.

"I know my Patronus is a swan... because I cast one."

Ominis gave a tiny snort.

"I figured that much. When did you cast it? And why?"

"I-..."

"Don't even try to fabricate a lie, Marian."

His voice was cold enough to send unpleasant shivers down her spine once more. She even flinched a little as Ominis stood, dragged one hand down his face and resumed his habit of nervous pacing. Or in this case, angered pacing. Marian shrank in her seat.

"I know you. You're not one to brag, but you would have told us about a major achievement like that. You didn't cast that spell during practice or revision."

He stopped pacing and ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back, out of his face.

"I demand an answer. A truthful one."

She let out another shaky breath and swallowed hard.

"I cast my Patronus... the same day you did. I-..."

She took a deep breath, bracing herself.

"Natty and I snuck out while you were comforting Sebastian in your dormitory. We-... Natty had told me about Jenkins and the other missing persons and how nobody was doing anything, and I just... We agreed that we had waited long enough. We... headed out."