Marriage, Murder & Magic- [OMINIS GAUNT]

Chapter 32- Tomorrow

Author's note: Hi, sorry it's been a minute since I've updated. I just got engaged!

We're in the homestretch of the fic now. Let's gooooo! -kittyhawk

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I laid awake in a fancy bed. Tomorrow, I will be married.

Tomorrow I will be married.

I'm getting married tomorrow.

The words echoed in my head until they didn't make sense anymore. I made it clear to my sisters that Ominis was a good man, and that I was marrying him willingly. But still- knowing that he did not love me, when I had feelings for him- it was difficult.

I thought I was dreaming when I heard a soft knock on the door. I assumed it was perhaps a House Elf checking to see if I needed anything, or one of my sisters again. But before I could get up and answer it, the door opened.

"Prisma?"

Ominis had entered my room. He closed the door behind him.

I sat up in bed and put on my glasses. "Yes?"

"Don't turn on the light," he said. "If anyone found out I was in your room the night before the wedding, we would both be in trouble. But- I had to speak with you."

"What's the matter?" I breathed.

"It is my parents. They spoke to me after dinner, and they were not exactly happy."

From his tone I immediately knew what he was talking about. "They don't like me, do they?"

Ominis sounded frustrated. "They do not."

I sighed, feeling my stomach twist again. I had been trying so hard to make a good impression on my future in-laws, but there were fundamental things wrong with me that I just couldn't change.

"They were expecting Morgana," I nodded to myself. "They wanted someone from a rich pureblood family. That makes sense."

"Prisma."

"I mean, my dowry was like pocket change to your family, and our gift was clearly of no value to them," my voice wavered. "Every time they look at me it's as though I'm an embarrassment to them already and they've only just met me. I've been trying so hard to be perfect, Ominis, I really have. I'm sorry I've let you down-"

I felt Ominis's hands on my shoulders. He shook me gently. "Prisma. Stop."

I exhaled a shaky breath that was like removing a splinter from my heart. "You don't have to lie to me Ominis, I can tell that your parents think that you can do much better than me-"

He silenced me with a kiss.

His lips forcefully pressed into mine, banishing the words from my mouth. I sank deeper into him and felt my body relax, much like when you slip into a steaming hot bath. With Ominis I found calm again.

When Ominis broke off the kiss, he said, "I want to marry you. I proposed to you, I chose you. I don't want anyone else. So please, stop talking about yourself like you're not worth anything. To me, you are everything."

Ominis was a stoic guy. It was rare for him to show any kind of emotion that wasn't annoyance. I had thought he was annoyed with me, and that he'd come here to tell me to shape up or get out. Instead, he was being rather- sweet. "That means a lot, Ominis. It felt nearly impossible to step into Morgana's place after she died. I know that she lied to you, and concealed a lot from the both of us, but you two truly loved each other. I just can't replace that."

I could feel Ominis's eyes on me in the dark. There it was- annoyance again. "Would you stop speaking of yourself this way?" He snapped. "You are not a replacement. You are a blessing. And you are incomparable to anyone else I have ever met. You may just be the best goddamn person in all of Hogwarts, and the fact that you can't see that about yourself makes you almost as blind as I am."

It warmed me to know that Ominis felt these things about me. "Then... then I shall try every day to change your parents' minds. And if nothing else, I will be civil if they are."

"They are corrupted by Dark Magic and money. They are rotten to the core. My siblings are no better; perhaps, even worse. You're too good for them, Prisma, can't you see that?"
I wasn't sure what point Ominis was trying to make. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Ominis stiffly removed his hands from me. He seemed suddenly far away. Ominis was putting up another one of his walls, and trying to shut me out.

"I'm giving you an out," Ominis said stiffly.

I wasn't sure if we were speaking the same language. "You're... you're suggesting that we not get married?"

"No, no!" Ominis hastily clarified. "I'm not suggesting that at all. I want to marry you- my god, I've been wanting to marry you since the second I proposed. But I also care about you too much to let you enter my family without knowing exactly what you'd be getting into. Their money comes with a price. As long as we live in their houses, on their land, we are tied to them- indebted to them. They would control our lives. They'd force our kids to learn Unforgivable curses. And I just couldn't do that-" his breath caught, and for a moment I thought he was going to cry. "I couldn't do that to someone I loved. I wanted to give you the option to say no to that life. Because I didn't have a choice.'

Tears wet my cheeks. I understood now why Ominis was so worried about me.

He loved me.

I took Ominis's face in my hands. Before now I never would have done something like that. Before now I didn't know that he cared so strongly for me.

I said, "Ominis Gaunt, you are wonderful. And I am ready to marry you tomorrow."

I kissed him. When I did, he reacted in restrained surprise, pulling back slightly as if he were waiting for me to say that I was just kidding. But I meant it. So he pulled me in closer, letting his hands tangle in my hair, and moving our lips against each other in a steady rhythm.

His hand traveled to my breast, and he lightly pressed there. A soft gasp hitched on my breath when he found a sensitive spot through my sheer nightgown. I heard a growl in his throat- there he was again, Ominis the animal.

My body went to the sheets, pulling Ominis down with me. His slippery satin nightclothes rubbed against the thin material of the nightgown covering my stomach and chest. Somehow my nightgown became bunched around my waist leaving my legs bare and exposed- but when Ominis's fingertips brushed the outside of my knickers, he pulled away faster than a rabbit dodging an arrow.

He got to his feet, nearly knocking over a nightstand, and pressed a hand to his mouth. "I-I apologize. It is the night before our wedding, and I should not be-"

"We," I corrected while I straightened my gown. "You're right, we should not be doing this. But I wanted to."

Ominis paused. "You wanted to?"

I laughed, which made Ominis even more confused. "My god, Ominis, you could not tell? For months I wanted you to kiss me so badly I thought I was going to burst. And then when you finally would, you'd always pull away like my skin was suddenly made of fire. I assumed you did not like me. Which made me sad, because I certainly like you."

I sometimes forgot that Ominis was just a 16 year old boy. But its moments like these that make me remember.

"Y-you... you... this whole time, you wanted me to kiss you?" Ominis sounded as though he was making a major realization. "My god, I feel thick-headed. Ever since we got engaged, I was worried day and night about controlling myself around you, always thinking the next time I kiss you would be the time when I took things too far and scared you away."

"You can't scare me," I replied sweetly. "And we shall have a chance to continue things properly tomorrow night, after the wedding."

Fueled by a newfound energy, Ominis kissed me again. "Tomorrow can't come fast enough."