Heir of Gaunt

Chapter Seven

October 6th, 1891: 8:35 AM, Great Hall

For the first time in years, Nora found herself wide awake at breakfast. She hadn't been getting enough sleep, instead spending most of the previous night rolling back and forth periodically, trying to figure out where she had heard that scream from the boggart. No, Nora was more alert because she was anxiously waiting for a certain face to appear in the Great Hall. She bounced her leg impatiently, despite the protest from Poppy next to her.

"What has gotten into you lately? Normally, I have to drag you out of bed." Poppy questioned, spreading strawberry jam across a piece of bread. That morning, Nora had been completely ready to go before Poppy had even woken up.

"I'm just...worried about him, you know?" She sighed, resting her head on the knuckle of her hand.

Poppy nodded. "I'm sure Sebastian has been keeping an eye on him. Could you pass the eggs, please?"

Nora reached for the bowl of eggs to her left, but as she did, she looked at the doors to the Great Hall and saw Ominis step inside. He looked worse than he had the day before. His normally straight posture was hunched, and his hair was a little messier for once. He walked over to the Slytherin table, sitting down next to Sebastian. He gently laid his head on the table, closing his eyes. "One moment, Poppy." She muttered, getting up quickly and walking towards him.

She walked over to the opposite end of the Great Hall, approaching the Slytherins. As she did, she received a glare from Imelda Reyes. However, Nora couldn't care what she thought, especially in that moment. All that mattered was him.

"Hello, Sebastian. Hello, Ominis." She asked as she approached the two Slytherin boys. Ominis didn't move, but Sebastian smiled and waved at her. "Good morning, Nora. Sleep alright?"

"I slept fine, thank you. How did you two sleep?" She replied, trying to figure out how to check in on Ominis without being too obvious.

"I slept as great as ever. What about you, Ominis?" Sebastian grinned, looking down at his friend. Ominis didn't say anything. Nora frowned and looked at Sebastian. He shrugged his shoulders.

Well, that didn't accomplish much.

She sighed, walking back towards her table. Poppy was now reading the Daily Prophet, eating the piece of bread she spread jam on earlier. As Nora sat down next to her, she looked back at the Slytherin table once more. Ominis still had his head down. Sebastian tapped his shoulder, offering a bowl. Ominis then lifted his head, shook it, and then laid it back down. "Something's very wrong, Poppy." Nora frowned.

"I'll say, you still haven't passed me the eggs."

-

9:46 PM, Astronomy Tower

Nora looked into the telescope, trying to focus on the stars above her. However, her mind was too clouded with thoughts to even process what she was looking at.

She heard Sebastian clear his throat. "Nora, I appreciate your dedication, but you've been looking through that blasted thing for twenty minutes now."

She let out a frustrated groan, pulling her head away from the telescope. The entire day, she could only focus on Ominis. She still couldn't trace where she recognized that scream from, and she also couldn't understand why he was ignoring her. It would have been different if he had given her a way to fix things, but he had yet to tell her exactly what she had done. Something in Hogsmeade had clearly flipped a switch inside him. He had gone from comforting her in the Vivarium to pretending she didn't exist within the same week they had gone to Hogsmeade.

The worst part was that she couldn't talk to anyone about it. She didn't exactly want to admit that she was hopelessly in love with him to anyone, even Poppy. It was difficult trying to hide the pain from her best friend, especially considering that they lived together. There had been a few nights she had silently cried herself to sleep because she missed those little things he did that used to give her butterflies. Even if he didn't like her back, she missed her friend. Sebastian had implied that her friendship with Ominis was something that couldn't be replicated, and she thought she meant at least something more to him.