Hogwarts Legacy: Shades of Silver Lining

Ch. 2: Needles

A/N: Shoutout to asallowgrave (at tumblr) for beta reading 🫶 You are a treasure ✨ thank you!

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While heading to the Undercroft, Alyn ran into a group of Gryffindors. Natty told her the duelling club would be meeting tomorrow evening, and Alyn was glad to hear that Onai was planning a brief lecture on a new intriguing combat theory she had recently read about. To Garreth, Alyn quickly promised to share her stash of Horklump juice, making him promise she wouldn't have to be a test subject.

Once alone again, she glanced cautiously at the empty corridor and quickly slipped through the hidden door.

"Hi, Ominis," Alyn greeted him right away when the grate slammed down behind her. She looked back at it pensively, still not quite grasping how no one outside had ever noticed the sound.

Ominis was sitting at the table, which was large enough for both of them to spread out books or even astronomy charts. However, there were no books or piles of parchments in sight. The table was scattered with tiny, soft feathers and glittering fragments, which, upon closer look, were clearly sewing needles.

"Alyn," Ominis rose to his feet as she approached the table. His blazer was draped over the back of his chair; all lamps on this side of the large room were burning, giving off warmth from the enchanted fire. Alyn set her bag and cloak on an empty chair, freeing her hands to fall for a moment into the embrace she had missed every second she had been away from it.

Though their first kiss had happened a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't something that had become a daily routine. That's why these moments alone were so precious—when they found the courage to do more than just sit next to each other in the courtyard, shoulders touching or accidentally brushing elbows or knees during class.

She had quickly grown used to seeing Ominis smile at her again when they met, though she still had to push away the anxious thoughts that whispered it might change once more. But they had promised each other over Christmas—no more 'alienation' like the times they had drowned in silence and gone weeks without speaking. Now, the key was for them both to keep that promise.

"A little practice, you said?" Alyn glanced over the cluttered table. It was one of his extra Transfiguration assignments, the reason he hadn't joined her in Hogsmeade today.

"Only enough to make sure it's working decently," Ominis slipped his blazer on before retaking his seat and picking a parchment filled with diagrams and runes. "I think this is the first one that doesn't crumble into fluff when you try to bend it," he added, handing her the needle that lay in front of him—no doubt his latest creation.

Alyn leaned against the table, lifting the needle to her eyes and inspecting the tiny eye in the light. Then, she gently tried to bend it; the metal was giving in slightly, exactly what one would expect from a needle.

"A genuine needle. No magic distortions," she summarised, which made Ominis smile even more as he leaned back in his chair. She always gave him her honest opinion when he asked about his assignments. She had occasionally fretted that she might have been overly honest about people's assignments since she always felt the need to handle things flawlessly herself—it was how she could feel a bit of control and stability, even if just in one part of her life.

"Can you try, if I've got this one right, please?" Ominis handed her a piece of parchment. She placed the fingertip onto the rune that had been encircled multiple times and shut her eyes, concentrating on the feelings beneath her touch.

With enough focus and while directing all her attention to the rune under her finger, she could first feel a feather's soft, smooth parts, which, after a gentle pulse, morphed into the sensation of a thin, metal needle. She could even gently slide her finger over it and feel the needle's point, sensing just how sharp it might be.