In The Shadow of Our Choices

Chapter 114: Bound

Previously:
Elizabeth and Ominis argued the night of his birthday after Sebastian offered to officially adopt Ominis into the Sallow family, and Ominis broke down and told them about the Vow he made. Elizabeth was furious Ominis hadn't told her, and when Ominis tried to tell her he loved her, Elizabeth pointed out that he didn't trust her (because he didn't tell her). Ominis then spilled ALL the beans.
Andrew ran across a very stressed Anne catching up on schoolwork and received a letter from his father requesting to speak with Elizabeth about the Rookwood gang.
Also, in general, you may recall: Ominis had a family dinner with his father and the Pinch-Smedleys scheduled for a week after his birthday, which is also a week before the wedding date (during the easter holidays)

Ominis

Ominis felt... numb. He floated through school that week - Elizabeth avoided him at every turn, and he kept his promise and gave her time and space and Merlin it hurt. But that was fine - it had to be. Because now he was sitting next to Grace at a grand dining table while his father tried to make conversation with her parents. So far, the conversation had been inane. Discussion on flowers and food for the wedding kept turning to his father going on about tradition and their family and. the Pinch-Smedleys trying to gently steer back to normal topics. Ominis, thankfully, had only been asked one question so far - whether or not the watercress salad had been to his liking. It hadn't, but of course he'd smiled and said yes. Now, his father was clearly asking about their money, even if his pride was getting in his way.

"And what about that piece over there?" Marcellus asked. "How long has it been in your family?"

"Ah, yes, the astrolabe," Mr. Pinch-Smedley said, his voice falsely bright. "It belonged to my father but was lost for a decade or two before our darling Grace found it."

"It wasn't me, papa," Grace said with a taut edge to her voice. "Like I told you, it was Elizabeth who actually retrieved it."

The name pulled Ominis from the well of his thoughts.

"Ah, yes, but you were the brilliant mind that found the location." Ominis could hear the pride bubbling up in his voice. "We couldn't ask for a better daughter, honestly."

"Is that your oldest heirloom? Three generations?" Marcellus asked, a hint of disdain creeping into his voice. "We have pieces going back to the Peverells and to Slytherin himself. In fact, I recently re-acquired a piece that my six-greats-grandmother sold off. We had records of it for five generations before her, at least."

"Ah, is that so?" Mr. Pinch-Smedley sounded begrudgingly intrigued. "It must be an impressive artefact. The Gaunt lineage truly is ancient."

"Indeed, the Gaunts have always held the most important of relics," Marcellus said smugly. "In fact, this particular piece used to be well known in some circles - called The Mirror of Erised, it shows that which the heart most desires."

Ominis choked on his dinner. There was no way. No way. Grace patted him on the back as he coughed, reaching for his water. He waved away the Pinch-Smedley's concerns as he drank, still sputtering a bit. When conversation had finally resumed and Ominis had caught his breath, Grace leaned in to whisper to him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, keeping his voice low.

"Is it something your father said?"

As sharp as ever, she was.

"It's nothing, really. I just... thought that that mirror had been destroyed."

As the conversation got back on track, Ominis sank back into his thoughts. Of course he knew what must have happened. That damnable woman from Borgin and Burkes had simply created a copy of the mirror - easy enough to do as it didn't need to function - and used the time he'd given her to move the real one out. Simple and clever. Borgin had even mentioned he knew Ominis' father. Ominis could have kicked himself. All that time and money trying to get a dangerous artefact destroyed and it had ended up right in the hands of... of his father.