Run Away ✧ Hogwarts Legacy

chapter sixteen

Cigarette Daydreams by Cage The Elephant

-✧-✧-✧-

Last Day of Seventh Year

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

There was that unavoidable break of silence before Antheia answered him, "I'm sure." She had a habit of always forgetting that he was blind when they spoke. For years, he assumed she was being indecisive when she wouldn't answer. That was until Desmond had been the one to tell him otherwise. Now he knew it was because she was likely nodding her head during those moments, but she always was ready with an answer.

In an odd way, Ominis did not mind that silent reaction. She had treated him just as she did everyone else, which was always so rare in his life. That mindlessness made him a complete equal. He had grown to appreciate and respect that about her in such a short time.

That was the reason the conversation had been so difficult that day.

"There is no turning back," Ominis reminded her. He wanted her to change her mind. "The Ministry doesn't know about Sebastian being here yet; they believe he is still on the run, with nothing to do with either of us. You could both leave tomorrow without a trace. I'll help you. They will assume he is dead, and you won't draw any attention to yourself or your... Ancient Magic."

He wished he hadn't known about that now. Or at least, he wished that he'd been let into the secret of Ancient Magic sooner than when it had threatened his life. The words felt heavy like bile on his tongue. Each time he spoke to them, he heard Desmond's voice in his place, the panic and fear from their last moment together in the Undercroft. The shaking hands. Even trying to speak about it made it feel like there was tar coating his throat.

This was far from the first time that Ominis had attempted to convince Antheia otherwise, but it was the first time that she was able to truly hold the conversation after days spent in bed with her head ringing. The days after the events at the Respiratory left him feeling like a ghost. There were only a few of them who knew what had happened. Everyone else was either busy or gone. Ominis felt completely alone all at once.

He tried to go around her directly to Sebastian, but he was already too hard-headed and refused to listen to any reason. Antheia's decision was the only one that mattered, even if it was the wrong decision for everyone else.

It should have brought him comfort that she wanted to stay. He'd always lost one person who was important to him. At least this way, he wouldn't be losing two more. But it only made him worry about what it would cost.

"I'm the last of the Keepers," Antheia repeated endlessly. It wasn't clear to him what that title meant, but it had sounded serious enough. "This is not my choice, it is my duty."

In truth, Ominis did not care to learn any more about Ancient Magic than he was required to. The less he involved himself, the less damage it could cause him.

He let out a heavy sigh- not in relief, they were far past that. "I'll speak with my family then."

The air outside the castle was heavy with summer salt. He thought it had been dreadful at the time, but he had not known it would be the last time there, or he would have savored it. Later, he would miss the sting of brine from the lake in his nose because the Thames never seemed so fresh and crisp. Time always feels so plentiful until you are made aware of its limits. The same could be said for love, only many like to assume that the feeling is timeless, beyond measurement, and existing in the infinite.