Marriage, Murder & Magic- [OMINIS GAUNT]

Chapter 11- An Honorable Man

By the time Professor Weasley released us from the transfiguration classroom, breakfast was being served in the Great Hall.

Quinn and Samantha were terribly concerned when I did not return to our room last night. I had to put on my best acting performance, and say that I had fallen asleep studying in the Astronomy Tower.

However, most everyone was not concerned with my whereabouts last night, and was instead fascinated with the sudden return of Sebastian. He and Ominis sat at opposite ends of the Slytherin table and did not speak to each other.

I ate my breakfast like a zombie. I was performing the actions, but not really processing them, and so I ended up with a soupy mess of nuts and pumpkin juice on my plate. I didn't feel like eating anyway.

Professor Black stepped up to the podium. Everyone quieted quickly, curious eyes looking to the Headmaster for what he had to say. I could feel my stomach twisting into knots.

"Last night there was an incident in the castle," he began. "A Slytherin 6th year, Morgana Rosier, died."

Concerned murmurs erupted here and there. Quinn and Samantha were saying something to me- something I couldn't process. It all felt like I was not really there.

Black did his best, but everyone knew that elogies were not his strong suit. "Miss Rosier was a talented musician. And a loyal, cunning Slytherin. At this moment, we ask that her close friends and family be given space as they grieve."

I heard Quinn crying beside me. Across from me, Samantha was pale.

I wanted so badly to tell them the truth. Morgana was murdered. But if everyone knew there would certainly be a wave of paranoid chaos. And Black needed the school to stay open for the courting season, or else he'd have to answer to an avalanche of angry wizarding families.

Headmaster Black left the podium. It seemed he wasn't going to announce Sebastian's return. Not that it was needed; you'd have to be utterly oblivious not to notice him. Even from across the hall, his presence was felt.

I turned slightly, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

He was looking at me.

I turned back around, pretending as if I hadn't seen him at all. If Sebastian thought I was an easy target for a marriage, he was wrong. The last thing I wanted to do was think about the courting season. No, I was going to catch Morgana's killer.

Presently, Sebastian and Ominis were the only people I could trust that knew about the murder. I would have to ask for their help in the investigation. It was too bad that they could hardly stand being in the same room together anymore.

"Prisma, are you alright?" Natty appeared next to me. Despite being a Gryffindor at Ravenclaw table, no one dared tell her to leave. "I'm so sorry about Morgana."

I accepted Natty's squeezing hug even though I felt like a pile of bones.

"What had happened?" Quinn asked worriedly. "She wasn't sick, was she?"

"No," Samantha agreed. "Morgana was healthy as a hippogriff."

"Headmaster Black would have told us if she had suffered an accident. Right?"

Natty must have taken notice of my desolate stare. "Let's stop making conjectures for now. Perhaps we could make a memorial shrine of some kind, just to have a place to remember her."

We decided that the entrance at the bottom of the grand staircase leading towards the Slytherin common room was a good place to begin a memorial. We made a plan to gather some of Morgana's favorite things: her hand mirror adorned with seashells, lavender candles, sheet music, and angel cake from the Three Broomsticks.