Marriage, Murder & Magic- [OMINIS GAUNT]

Chapter 22- The Storm Prince, and the Prince of Bleeding Hearts

I thought I would introduce some fun little nicknames for our characters... You may hear people around Hogwarts refer to our characters as the following:Ominis Gaunt- The Storm Prince, because of his bad temper Sebastian Sallow- The Prince of Bleeding Hearts, because of his tragic backstory.Prisma St. Cloud- Rainbow Princess, because of her colorful clothes and her name sounding like "Prism", which reflects light (but she doesn't know about this nickname yet, and it's kind of embarrassing)

Word spread throughout the school of my engagement to Ominis quickly. In every class I was met with choruses of congratulations. There was suddenly an invisible forcefield around me through which no man could enter; instead, they eyed me with distant curiosity. Everyone wanted to know how I could have possibly won 'The Storm Prince's' heart. It was all for show, of course; we were only together because Professor Sharp and Professor Weasley ordered it.

"What is it that you love most about Ominis?" Adelaide Oakes asked me at History of Magic class. Professor Binns had already begun lecturing, but no one was paying much attention. Everybody's eyes seemed to be on the glittering black rock on my finger.

"Ah... I rather enjoy Ominis for his personality," I said, which was the only thing I could think of at the moment.

"The Storm Prince?" Nerida, a Slytherin, hissed from behind us. "Ominis has insulted just about everyone in the castle. Professors included."

"Ominis is only nice to Prisma." Adelaide agreed. "Perhaps Prisma has become the rainbow after his storm."

The reality was actually far from that. Ominis and I had tea together most mornings, and studied together in the library. But it was quite obvious that he was still missing Morgana. Bringing her up made him visibly wince, and so her name was never spoken between us. My investigation into her death was at a temporary halt as well. While Morgana had blackmailed Leander Prewett, and cheated on Andrew Larson, they both had alibis. So my list of suspects had almost entirely disappeared.

Meanwhile, Sebastian had become the most charismatic bachelor in all of Hogwarts, known as the 'Prince of Bleeding Hearts'. Ladies found his tragic backstory of dead parents and a sick sister surprisingly charming. He was always with one lady or another, sometimes multiple at a time: Cressida Blume, Charlotte Morrison, Poppy Sweeting, and even a few 7th years. I would pass by him having tea and hear him laughing in that carefree way that used to make me smile. Hearing him laugh now with someone else felt like a punch in the gut for some reason.

Right now was another one of those moments where I felt my gut twist into knots. Ominis and I were in the library studying Defense Against the Dark Arts, while Sebastian and Poppy Sweeting giggled at another table a few yards away.

He whispered something to her- his mouth pressed against her ear, his voice too low for me to hear. Whatever he said made her burst into an adorable laugh.

I saw Ominis's eyebrow twitch in annoyance as he ran his fingers over the enchanted words in his textbook. Ominis's sour attitude towards Sebastian still confused me. It had been nearly two months since Sebastian's return, and the two of them still hadn't returned to being friends. I wish I knew what it would take for them to get over their grudge. I wanted to lock them both in a room and not let them out until they've resolved their issues: but I was afraid they'd only end up killing each other, or doing some serious damage to the castle.

Poppy and Sebastian's giggle cut through the quiet library once more.

"Some of us are trying to study," Ominis snapped at them.

Sebastian and Poppy paused their red-faced laughter, looking over their shoulders like bashful children. "A-apologies, Ominis. Prisma." Poppy said quietly. Sebastian and I locked eyes before he returned to their hushed conversation. I noticed Sebastian's hand on top of hers, and felt another odd twist in my gut.