take me to the lakes // Ominis Gaunt

Author's Owl (Pre-reading Notes)

"I'll save all my romanticism for my inner life,
and I'll get lost on purpose
This place made me feel worthless
I hate it here, so
Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you
I'm setting off, but not without my muse
No, not without you."

I Hate it Here x the lakes - T.S.

Dear reader,

I hope this letter finds you well, and it is my pleasure to have you here!

Thank you for diving into this story. I truly hope it meets your expectations!

The story is fully written with 5 chapters and 31,000 words. Chapter 1 is already available + there will be 1 chapter/day during this week.

NOTE: If you've read the one-shot that originated this story, you'll recognize the first chapter, but new scenes were added!

• About the story

Before Anne and Sebastian Sallow, Ominis had Phineas Black.

Phineas and Ominis spent every summer together before Hogwarts, two best friends like stars in the same constellation. But the last summer before they started school ended in betrayal—or so Ominis thought. One whispered accusation, and the bond between them shattered.

After the tragic events of the fifth year, not only is Ominis devastated about how things went, but the Black and Gaunt families also force them together once more. Sharing a room. Sharing space. Sharing secrets they'd thought were buried long ago.

Ominis is certain he will have the worst summer of his life—Phineas still laughs too loud, smiles too easily, and it makes Ominis want to push him away again... or pull him closer.

But in a world where boys like them are bound by the expectations of their traditional families, dreaming is the only way to survive.

Or: Friends to Enemies to Lovers, but make it a fluffy story about two emotionally wrecked gay wizards from pureblood families sharing kisses and childhood trauma.

NEW READERS: The story also works as a prequel to "Timeless", my main fanfiction. You don't need to be reading it to understand this piece, BUT there will be major spoilers. (Honestly, in a way, I think that following the chronological order and reading this one first, then getting to "Timeless", if you are interested, will give you a unique perspective on the story! Like starting Star Wars from Episode I rather than IV haha)

• Tags, CW and TW

> Plot and tropes: friends to enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy sunshine. But all in all, this is mostly sharp, silly banter and tooth-aching fluff (I mean minimal angst and smut—in fluff we trust!).

> Rating: MATURE. Content includes, but is not limited to, age-typical behaviour (swearing, drinking, and smoking) and canon-typical violence (Cruciatus and bullying, aka Ominis' canon life).
Content will allude to sexual acts having occurred between two consenting characters of the same age, and to comply with the platform guidelines, sexual acts are by no means explicitly depicted in this story. Still, to be on the safe side, I chose to age up the characters during chapters 3-5 anyway (meaning that you might notice that the mathematics of the years x ages is off, solely to comply with the platform guidelines. So just bear with me on this one haha.)

• Soundtrack and mood board

Music plays a big part in this story—It's summer, it's fluff, it's escapism.

Swifties: this work is heavily inspired by folklore x TTPD vibes ♥

CHAPTER 1: Touch (seven)
CHAPTER 2: Hearing (I Hate it Here)
CHAPTER 3: Smell (Peter)
CHAPTER 4: Taste (august)
CHAPTER 5: Sight (the lakes)
Epilogue - coming soon!

• Acknowledgements

I know this should come at the end, but I don't care—if this story even exists, it's because of you, readers.

When I first started writing "Timeless", the crucial part played by Ominis revolved around Carolyn, Sebastian and their antagonist, the Gaunts. Phineas, as a secondary OC, was meant for an even smaller part, as Ominis' pairing. I never thought these two would get so much love, especially Phineas, who is one of the few original characters I've created (yes, he exists in canon, but just a name. The golden-retriever-tall-muscular-dimwit Phineas you all know and love is an OC). When y'all asked me, "But why were they enemies before?" I didn't have an answer, and it made me realize that not only answers were needed, but the characters deserved to have their love story told.

This work has zero purpose of growing—I know that Sebastian is way more popular than Ominis (unfortunately!), not to mention that M/M pairing is (unfortunately!!!!) also not as popular. So I think, in a way, this is why I managed to really enjoy finishing the full story in 20 days: writing for the sake of self-indulging, less pressure, less complexity, literally just condensed banter and romance because I felt like it.

So, once again: readers, THANK YOU. This fandom is the best thing that happened to me this year (and I also became a Canadian resident this year, so this is saying A LOT. Lmao.) Honestly, I can't thank you enough. Ominis is thankful. Phineas is thankful. You gave them a story. ♥

I'd also like to thank the amazing people who helped me polish this work: my editor, Nora, who is the most brilliant person ever, the true definition of matching my freak lol, and from whom I've learned so much about the writing craft; and my beta readers Jamie and Slothi, whose critiques across all my works have helped me improve so much, and whose flattering comments about my writing always make me feel amazing. You are all amazing.

Also, a big shout out to the amazing and talented artists: Vienguinn, who did the cover art,  and Giselsann, who did the chapters' arts. I'm a really visual person, and you always find a way to bring my ideas to life!



LAST BUT NOT LEAST! I'd like to extend to all readers an invite to this amazing Discord server "Our Hogwarts Legacy". I am not the owner of this server—it's actually a rather big and active server for all things related to HL (stuff for readers, HL arts, and, ahem, NSFW stuff if you are into that). Authors have their own threads, and I use mine to chat with you guys, share updates and ideas, and honestly just laugh. You might find some of your other favourite authors there, too! Don't be shy! Link in the comments ♥

With all of that said, I hope you enjoy the read! Looking forward to any comments, questions and constructive critiques!

Yours truly,

Ms Costa ♥