Moments In Between

Just Focus on Me

Andromeda has just received an owl from Sebastian, asking to meet him in front of the Slytherin common room to discuss on an important matter that relates to the scriptorium.

"Sebastian! I just received your owl and got here as quickly as I could. What is going on?"

Andromeda found Sebastian standing off to the side of the door to their common room. The contents of the letter sounded urgent about this scriptorium that made her worry about her friend. She noticed that he kept looking over his shoulder, almost like he did not want anyone else to know he was there.

"It's about Ominis." Sebastian shook his head at her and crossed his arms. "We need to learn more about Salazar Slytherin in regards to Anne and finding a cure. But he refuses to help in any sort of way because of the Dark Arts. He is the only one that knows the location of the scriptorium, but he continues to ignore my plea."

Andromeda could see that Sebastian was frustrated. He truly thought that diving into the Dark Arts would save Anne. "I mean...I could try talking to him but..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about what Ominis had told her of what his family did to him as a child with their punishment. "I honestly do not blame him for not wanting to help. How could he after what his own family did to him!?"

Sebastian quickly whipped his head around to Andromeda. "Wait, how on earth do you know about that? I do not recall telling you which only means..."

"It was after you two had your fight in the Great Hall about finding the scriptorium. I wanted to make sure that he was okay. We talked for awhile and eventually he told me..."

Sebastian seemed to be in absolute shock with his eyes wide open and at a loss for words. Ominis rarely talked about his family to anyone and yet, Andromeda has somehow already gained the trust of his best friend.

"Well...if you managed to get Ominis to talk about his past, then perhaps you will able to convince him to help us find this scriptorium." Sebastian started to head down one of the corridors and motioned her to follow him. "Come on, I know where he is."

As Andromeda trailed behind Sebastian, she could feel her heart start to pound against her chest. It was difficult for her to tell if she was nervous about finding the scriptorium or trying to persuade Ominis to do something that was against his will. She rubbed her palms together, noting the moisture forming in between her hands. Sebastian turned his head over his shoulder and alerted her by saying, "Just keep an eye out for anyone that may be watching us. You never know in this castle."

"Oh...you mean like Peeves?"

Sebastian muttered under his breath. "Damned poltergeist," and continued down the dark corridor. After turning the corner, he stopped and turned to her. "Ominis is right down there, you can't miss him. I'll wait here. Good luck...but something tells me you will not need it."

Andromeda peered down the long, dark hallway and noticed Ominis pacing back and forth. She inhaled deeply and released a breath to calm her nerves before setting off on her task. He must have known she was coming since he stopped pacing once she was close and turned his head right in her direction.

"Andromeda...What are you doing here?"

She let out a soft sigh. "Sebastian wants me to talk to you. I know you are hesitant to do anything with the scriptorium but..."

Ominis immediately began to raise his voice in anger and cut her off. "Oh for Merlin's sake, Sebastian needs to understand that I will not help him with this damn scriptorium! Anything that has to do with the Dark Arts is simply too dangerous and it is best that we left it untouched!"

Andromeda winced and took a step back. She could understand his frustration and his hesitancy but Sebastian would never let this go. This is not going to go well unless she tried a different approach.