The Keeper's Legacy | Ominis Gaunt | Sebastian Sallow

The Floo Lady hate group

Sleep eluded me as I tossed and turned in my bed. When nightmares dragged me under for a shallow feast, I begged for dreamless nights. Finally, I woke to the sound of my roommate Cressida loudly packing her books for class and murmuring in disagreement.

I grunted and sat up in bed, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. "You still stink, Darcy," Cressida said.

"Write it down to your diary." I replied. Cresseida and I had never been fond of each other. We had a falling out over a book I bribed her not to reveal, which contained some nasty stuff. Admittedly, I can be very petty and speak my mind, which isn't always the best combination.

I looked to my nightstand, searching for the equipment I would need for the day's classes. My eyes stopped on the decent pile of unopened letters. I had been delaying reading them, as the school year was off to a busy start and I didn't have time to sit down and go through them all. On the top was the one from Ilvermorny, which I was actually curious about. I took it from the pile and shoved it into my infinity bag so that I could read it during breakfast. The rest could wait; they were all from my mom. As a muggle, she had to be taught how to send letters, and because we lived in New York, she opted for the faster Floo post. The fact that she was scared of birds also played a role in her decision.

I was not surprised by the number of letters from my mother, as last year I might have told her that Floo post is not that reliable and I didn't receive all her letters. But, in fact, I did.

"I'll read them and reply tomorrow," I told myself.

Today was a big day - the Quidditch team auditions. I knew I needed to be at my best, but this morning wasn't helping. As I reluctantly dressed in my slightly revised school uniform (there was no way I was wearing that long skirt - it was utterly impractical), I couldn't shake off my nervousness.

Heading down to the Great Hall, I approached the Gryffindor table to find my two Slytherin friends casually chatting with Natty and Garreth. I sat down next to Natty, the boys in front of me, and made a face. "Gentlemen, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

Ominis's nose flared, and before I knew it, he erupted. "What on earth were you thinking last night?" Everyone at the table turned to look at me, and I kicked his feet under the table, silently begging him to shut up. 

The mess of hair next to him smiled under his nose and commented, "Come on, Ominis, Darcy and I have a beef with Peeves since last year. I'm glad that she tried to settle the score, even if she failed miserably." He looked at me from behind his cup, meaningfully. I didn't do it because Peeves caught us in the restricted section of the library with Sebastian last year - or so I told myself.

"What did you guys do last night?" Garreth chimed in, his mischievous eyes scanning us.

"Nothing!" the three of us said at the same time.

"Well, doing nothing last night got you very tired. How will you fare in the audition like this?" Natty shook her head, concerned.

"Actually, I might have something for that," Garreth said. "I'm working on a brewing that could be perfect for-"

"NO!" the four of us interrupted him.

"Okay, okay," Garreth raised his hands in defense and got back to his breakfast.

"It'll be fine, Natty," I reassured her.

"It better be. I don't want Prewett on the team," she complained. She had mentioned that a hundred times before.

"That would be an easy win for us," Sebastian replied. "And it would be more fun to face you as an opponent, Darcy."

I swallowed a bite of pancake. "You're on the team?" I asked, surprised. He had never mentioned it before.

"I'm the seeker," he replied, a sense of pride evident on his face. It reminded me of the first time I met him in fifth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class - where he said he was the king of duels.

"With your build?" I asked, surprised. I had thought the role of a chaser or a keeper would suit him more. He was as tall as Ominis, but with heavier, bulkier muscles. Sebastian raised his eyebrows.

"He's a talented one, the only reason Slytherin won the cup in fourth year," Ominis came to his defense.

"Imelda sees that differently," Sebastian said between two bites of his buttered toast. "But in fact, she's the reason I joined this year."

"How so?" I angled my head, intrigued.

"Hmm. She threatened to murder me in my sleep," he deadpanned.

"Charming," Ominis said with a sigh.

As I looked up, my eyes landed on an unexpected trio making their way towards me. Cressida Blume, Leander Prewett, and Duncan Hobbhouse. I couldn't help but feel a sense of suspicion and annoyance creep up on me.

I eyed them suspiciously. Leander floated a piece of parchment in front of him as he stepped forward. Darcy," he addressed me. "We are officially raising a petition."

My irritation grew. "Against what?" I asked.

"Against you being on the Quidditch team," he replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, grow up, Prewett," Natty chimed in.

Leander handed me the parchment, which contained several "statements of evidence" accusing me of bullying other students at school. "This is ridiculous! It's untrue!" I exclaimed. To my dismay, the petition had already gathered several signatures. I slammed the paper to the table and addressed Duncan.

"Hobbhouse, what is this? I never bullied you. I merely wanted to help you grow some courage by not handing you over to the Venomous Tentacula leaf!"

Duncan looked down, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Once a coward, always a coward, just ask Duncan Hobbhouse," Ominis chanted from behind me. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore him. I turned to Leander instead.

"And Prewett, why does it hurt so much if someone tells you that you're bad at something?"

"Your problem, Darcy," Leander answered slowly, trying to mock me, "is that you are loud, quite rude, and exceptionally ignorant-"

BAMM!!

Before he could finish his sentence, he was blasted back by a hex. I gasped as I watched his nose grow into a pig's snout. The table erupted un laughs as he was cursing (rather hoinking) and running out of the Great Hall.

"DE-TEN-TION, Mr. Sallow!" Madam Kogawa yelled from the teacher's table.

The hex had come from Sebastian, who had winked at me before turning to accept his punishment. I guess the only one who could call me ignorant, by his standards, is him.

I waved him off. "See you at detention, Sallow."