Oh, Merlin. It's you. (Ominis x Reader)

Eavesdropping

Authors note: Hi!! Just wanted to thank you all so much for reading this! <3 You mean the world to me!

Just for that, here is more Ominis' POV.

Sorry for the incredibly slow slow-burn...hang in there, it's worth it I promise.
______

You and Ominis had become the rather inseparable pair. Each morning he would meet you by the stairs and accompany you to the library. The two of you would sit in the library side by side working on homework until eventually, one of you would grow bored, and the studying would be replaced with mindless giggles and gossip. Despite his reserved appearance, Ominis absolutely loved dishing out the latest news to you. You liked to memorize his patterns of speech as the two of you grew closer. When he was really trying hard not to laugh, he had a whine he would let out before finally succumbing to a chuckle. Sometimes he would fold his lips into a tight line and shut his eyes tight when you embellished a story to make him laugh. He would call you out on it and force you to tell it the way it really happened before making fun of you even more. Busy students in the library would shoot you both harsh glances and the wandering librarian would scold you fiercely but it rarely shut you up. Instead, Ominis would lean in closer and begin to whisper. At night, you found yourself dreaming of his sweet scent. A mix of his morning blend of mint and earl grey tea with a citrusy cologne and something damp and smokey as well. You found that you could pick up his trail almost anywhere in the building now and would happen to prance in that direction until you found him.

As you continued your weeks at Hogwarts you became close with many other students as well, though none gave you the feelings in your stomach that spending time with Ominis did. Sebastian, of course, was a trusted companion. You would spend late nights with him reading through books on ancient curses and trying your best to keep him out of trouble. You had also developed a bond with Poppy, a kind-eyed Hufflepuff who accompanied you on trips through the forest to care for animals. More often than not, you found that your excursions with Poppy ended with Imelda stumbling upon the two of you, much like the innocent "stumbling" you did upon Ominis.

Though Sebastian had noted that Ominis' mood had improved considerably since the beginning of the school year, he continued to receive letters at breakfast which most usually ended in a scowl and furrow of the brows before excusing himself from the table. You were curious as to what they contained but did not want to push his boundaries. Between the amount of time the two of you now spent, you and Ominis told each other most things. The letters, however, he seemed to leave out. One brave day at breakfast Sebastian gave you eyes, encouraging you to peek over his shoulder and read it but you found there was no writing on the scroll, simply just a formal-like crest of something at the bottom left of the page.

Cool Autumn days were eventually getting chillier and chillier by the night. Leaves began to fall in clumps of rich browns and deep reds on the castle lawn and somehow the stars in the sky appeared even clearer than before. On one particular night in November, Imelda requested your presence at a Quidditch club (as there was no team this year) practice and Poppy eagerly offered to walk the two of you back. It was dark out, but the grass was illuminated by the great moon, and the glistening lights of classrooms were still ablaze in the castle in front of you. Poppy liked to fidget with her hands in the company of Imelda, often stumbling over her words and drawing on long rants about the most obscure parts of her day. On the contrary, Imelda's face seemed to soften when in the presence of Poppy, having a newfound gentleness and patience when it came to listening to her speak. You liked being around them because you could almost feel the butterflies within each of their stomachs. Poppy had just accidentally complimented Imelda's hair after practice and thus the mumbling had begun.

"Really, I didn't mean it like that. It's just– well, it's just– my mother always told me about this story– well, I just like the little pieces hanging in the front, they seem to–" She cut herself off out of self-preservation.